#to the point of also corrupting the video file :(

[sharky857]

Guess who dragged a techie to witness to some "Second Dream" first hand? 👀

[l0vergirls]

take the reins

you've dug too deep, but there doesn't seem to be a downside to that.

batfam x reader

wc: 1382

a/n: i started watching mr. robot (plz no spoilers im literally on the 3rd episode) and fell in love with it and .. started thinking !!!.. & this is lowkey set up like the start of a series, but i'll see how it goes considering i have nothing plannef at all. .. pls do send asks about this story and this reader since i would love love love to expand on it hehe

It was as if time had stopped for a moment.

You found out a lot of secrets. Secrets that can put people behind bars. What do you do with those? Send in an anonymous tip to the rare non corrupt cop, of course. You like to think of it as being a non-violent vigilante. Instead of running around Gotham in a costume and beating the bad guys within an inch of their life, you sit comfortably behind your computer screen and dig.

You dig for anything and everything you can find on everyone you encounter. Why? Maybe it's the unrelenting feeling of needing control, or the fear of simply not knowing.

By breaking something down to its source code, you're baring it all; the rights, the wrongs, everything that makes or breaks you. You won't get caught off guard if you just know how something— someone works.

Sometimes, you find nothing noteworthy. Your neighbor in 405, for example. The first time you had passed her, she sneered at you. That was good enough reason to hack her.

The woman at 405 is Emma Davis, aged 35, 5'7, date of birth: May 15th. Studied at NYU, worked a desk job at some company in Star City before getting relocated to Gotham. Yeah, I wouldn't be ecstatic either. Brings home a different person every week. Occasionally smokes weed. Also your occasional hook up. Don't make decisions while intoxicated.

Emma Davis is just a run of the mill office worker, with the same vices as most people. Nobody special.

But this? This could get you in serious shit, if you aren't in for it already.

Bruce Wayne, date of birth: February 19th, 6'2, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, adoptive father of multiple children, and... crime fighting vigilante at night.

Bruce Wayne is Batman.

It wasn't hard to connect the dots after uncovering the man behind the cowl; you figured all his children were Robins at one point. Even the dead one. Except the dead one isn't really dead, is he?

Richard Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne— all crime fighting vigilantes. What a family. You wonder who else you can unmask.

Fuck, you need to go home. Doing this at a coffee shop was a mistake, but damn it, their connection was fast. Too many people, too great a chance of a breakdown.

Close all the tabs, all the windows, scrub yourself clean of all evidence of intrusion. Don't leave a trace.

Shut down the laptop. Leave.

The sun is still out, they wouldn't be around yet. Everyone knows they all work at the dead of night.

You drown out the meaningless conversations around you, and you're on autopilot, heading to the apartment that you call home.

<>

The Waynes pride themselves on their secrecy. Hiding their vigilante alter egos behind carefully crafted lies. They built walls as tall as the buildings with Bruce's name plastered across the front.

It was a little too late when Alfred Pennyworth received an alert from the Batcomputer. Alfred sent all the vigilantes a message, and they came running in. After all, a security breach is detrimental to all of them.

The butler found a location, The Last Drop. A café right in the middle of the city.

Bruce looked through all of the files, recordings, reports— everything. The hacker didn't take anything, and didn't make copies. He deduced that whoever it was simply read.

That's no good either. Someone out there is aware of who they are, who the man under the mask is.

"Alfred, pull up CCTV footage at The Last Drop at the time of the hack."

On the screen were the grainy videos of the café, with at least 6 different angles. It was fairly crowded, filled with busybodies coming and going through the door. With 7 people on their laptops, they could narrow down the search for the culprit. But not by much.

Until two figures left the café at the same time, approximately a few minutes after the breach, but neither of them were sitting next to each other.

It was one or the other.

Tyler Hess, banker. Went to school in the city, stayed in the city. Clean records, comes from an upper middle class family. Nothing of note.

[Y/N] [L/N], cybersecurity engineer at LabyrinthTech, and one of the more favored employees. Born and raised in Gotham, graduated college a year early, and by all accounts, highly intelligent. Clean records, but skilled enough to be the one behind the hack.

"Well, I think we found our suspect. What're you gonna do about it?" Jason bristled, apprehensive that this person knew all about him.

"'You'? What, you've got your own plan?" Dick retorted.

"Maybe. Not like I'm gonna hurt the little thing," he spat. It was invasive enough that you'd hacked into their records, he thinks a little scare is warranted.

Bruce interrupted, "No, I'll deal with this. They accessed our data for a reason."

<>

It was inevitable that one of them was gonna pay you a visit tonight.

After locking yourself in the apartment, you figured a quick nap would be a good distraction from it. And it was, for a couple hours. Upon waking, you walked into the living room and lo and behold, vengeance himself was standing in your apartment.

"Can't say I didn't expect this, really," you spoke carefully, avoiding his gaze.

He grunted, "Then you know why I'm here. Why'd you do it? What do you gain from figuring out our identities?"

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a shadow moving across your window.

"Nothing. I just got curious. All billionaires are shady, and they're all hiding something. You were, by far, the most suspicious," you let out a breath. "Don't worry, that's not what anyone else thinks, at least not anyone that can do what I do,"

You hear another voice joining the conversation.

"Do what? Invade people's privacy? You should really be careful where you stick your nose in, hacker."

If looks could kill, you'd be dead ten times over. God, this guy's intense even through that helmet.

Jason Todd, aka Red Hood, date of birth: August 16th, date of death: April 27th, 6'0, occasional smoker, former Robin. Likes pot roast.

Batman— no, Bruce Wayne interjected, "Suspicious?"

"Might just be me, but I found it hard to believe the richest man in the world would be throwing so much money into this dump of a city without an ulterior motive," you look at one of the ears on his cowl, it was almost cute, "Every other rich guy did. Whatever money they put out, it came back to them ten times bigger. Nobody really felt for this city."

That was your angle? The two men went still at your somber admittance. Sure, Gotham wasn't the best city, but that's why they did what they did, wasn't it? They had the slightest urge to show you that they really did care. And perhaps show off a bit.

Jason shifted, "You did it because of a gut feeling?"

You shrugged, "It was right, wasn't it? Something was up, just not... in the way I expected,"

It wasn't everyday you uncover a vigilante that turned out to be Gotham's beloved billionaire.

"Anyway, congratulations on not being an entirely bad guy. 'm not gonna tell anyone," you murmured, "not like anyone's gonna believe me,"

You see Red Hood look at Batman, a silent conversation was, no doubt, occurring.

The two vigilantes head for your window— do these guys ever use the front door?

Bruce turns to you, "Try not to do it again,"

"No promises," you huffed. "But your defenses could use some work. Comms, body cams, and other recorded footage— they were just there."

Red Hood's helmet glinted as he tilted his head at you. You shivered.

"Right, won't do it again," and that was that.

It was like they were never here.

What a night.

<>

You scrutinized the letter in your hands.

A job offer for a position you've never interviewed for. At Wayne Enterprises.

Batman works quick, that's for sure.

The pay was good, very good. You reckon there wasn't a single complaint about that.

Hm, they're making sure you're under their watch. If you were a threat, you'd be easier to keep an eye on. Easier to control.

You weren't one to give up control, but potentially having access to the city’s… well, everything, was something too tempting to give up.

Looks like LabyrinthTech was losing their best employee.

[dandelionsresilience]

whether the internet becomes an intolerable surveillance state, ubiquitous subscription model, or unusably ad- or AI-ridden shithole, I think we need to remember

how to do things offline

either on your personal hard drive (just because it’s an app doesn’t mean the information is stored in your device) or on paper. I’m not saying the collapse of the internet is imminent, and I’m not suggesting we do everything completely without technology, or even stop using it until we have to. (to be clear, I also don’t think the internet will just blink out of existence, suddenly stop being a thing at all; rather I think it might continue to lose its usefulness to the point where it’s impossible to get anything done. anyway) but some people may have forgotten how we got by before the internet (I almost have!), and the younger generation might not have experienced it at all.

I figure most people probably use the internet mainly for communication with friends and family, entertainment and creation (eg. writing), and looking up how to do things, so here’s how to do those things offline:

First and most importantly, download everything important to you onto at least one hard drive and at least one flashdrive! files can get corrupted and hardware can get damaged or lost, but as long as you keep backup copies, you have much-closer-to-guaranteed access versus hoping a business doesn’t decide to paywall, purge, or otherwise revoke your access. I would recommend getting irreplaceable photos printed as well

download and/or print/write down:

anything important to you - photos/videos, journals, certificates, college transcripts

contact info - phone numbers and/or addresses of friends/family (know how to contact them if you can’t use your favourite messaging app), doctors (open hours would be good too), veterinarians if you have pets, and work

how-to’s - recipes (one, two), emergency preparedness (what do I do if… eg. I smell gas)

other things you might google: cleaning chemicals to NOT mix, what laundry tag symbols mean, people food dogs and cats can and can’t eat, plant toxicity to pets

and know offline ways to find things out - local radio station, newspaper, a nearby highway rest area might have a region map, public libraries usually have a bunch of resources

also, those of you who get periods should strongly consider not using period tracking apps! here’s how to track your period manually

free printable period tracker templates (no printer? public libraries usually charge a few cents per page, or you can recreate it by hand)

moving on to entertainment, you can still get most media for free! it’s completely legal to download your favourite movies to your own personal hard drive, you just can’t sell or distribute copies (not legal advice)

movies: wcostream.tv (right click the player) - the url changes every once in a while but usually redirects; I recently noticed that it’s hiding a lot of movies behind “premium,” so it may or may not work anymore | download youtube videos

music: how to get music without streaming it | legal free downloads

games: steamunlocked.net - doesn’t have every game and can be slow to update, but very reliable

books: free online libraries | legal free downloads

otherwise passing time:

active outdoor games

for road trips (social verbal games)

for when power’s out

for sheltering in place (not all offline, but good ideas)

board games (often found at thrift stores)

ad-free customisable games collection (mobile)

read, write, draw, or whatever your craft is, sing, dance, clean, reorganise, take a bath

go outside - excuses include napping (if safe), eating, reading, finding cool plants/animals/rocks, playing with the dog

places to go include:

zoos and museums can be surprisingly cheap

parks and nature preserves

library, mall, or game shop

and a few miscellaneous things for good measure:

time budgeting | household management

how to use a planner | I’ve had success with visually blocked-out schedules like these

please add on if you have any other offline alternatives to common uses of the internet!

[lordcrumps]

Sul Sul!

Hello, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who have reached out to me and my family the past few months; for those who don't know, my mum and uncle passed away on the same day in June and then in November I lost my cat of 19 years, so lets just say 2024 can do one!

2025 brings me hope that the year will be better, and the worse of it will be over! I plan on getting back into creating CC streaming etc, but right now I am enjoying playing... well I was until my Pleasantview got corrupted due to user error, but no fear we have a new hood in the works! Pleasant Point - inspired by our very own @kashmiresims Kashmire Point!

Thanks to those who have been with me on discord calls and chats, especially those the last few months, you really helped me in more than one way and I would love to tag you all but I don't want to accidentally miss someone, but you all should know who you are!

What is to come from lordcrumps this year? Details under the cut!

So what shall we expect from lordcrumps in 2025 and beyond? That is a big question! So let's give a big answer! Below will be of some of my most asked questions, so hope I clear things up!

STREAMING - My first goal is to get Pleasant Point finished and ready to play. Once I have this I shall get back into streaming again, setting up a schedule and what not for those who are interested! You can follow here!

YOUTUBE - Can't tell you when, but I do plan on doing more on Youtube!

CUSTOM CONTENT - Everything that I have created CC form, I will go through and upload at some point. I have TONS of stuff that was meant to be in "sets" (sets like, every wall / every floor / entire stuff packs etc) but never got around to finishing due to my hyper-focus moving onto to something different. So instead of hoarding them, I will eventually get around to uploading them! Cos lets face it, I can always update at a later date!

TERRAIN DEFAULTS - My Pleasantview redo / Pleasant Point / Sim State University Redo all use custom terrain types (like lush, dirt, concrete etc), so they are not that user-friendly to just import and play sadly, so I want to create a tutorial set and videos to go along with them. I also have to have the CC released for them to work too! As well as tutorials on how to have multiple roads sets within in one hood / different roads for different terrain types.

REQUESTS - I still do not want to take requests, this is because I do not like to promise something and never deliver. I will continue doing what I want to do and sharing with of all you. Just assume that one day the entire Sims 4 will be converted by myself or other friends of lordcrumps.com *wink* @platinumaspiration *wink*

LORDCRUMPS.COM - This site is not going anywhere, well at least that is the plan, this will be the place for all of my released CC!

LORDCRUMPS DISCORD - Back in my streaming and YouTube days, I had a discord. Feel free to join, the plan is once all the existing CC is sorted and uploaded. Anything that needs play testing / unreleased stuff / sneaky conversions, will be posted in there plus any updates to existing CC.

LINUX - Thanks to @kashmiresims and @teaaddictyt i'm now a linux boi, so will update you how that goes - so far, I am very impressed.

My TOU, I have had a lot of questions about my "rules" and what not so I want to clear things up as much as possible.

I purchase the Sims 4 for me to convert the items to Sims 2, I simply upload to lordcrumps.com for prosperity reasons, and of course to share with you all.

Feel free to use / share / edit what ever you download from me. Not 1 person owns sims conversions; so I cannot lawfully dictate who does what with the downloads. What I will say is for authentic LordCrumps and co CC, it will be on lordcrumps.com, this is where any updates, fixes etc will be posted.

If you use CC for a lot and package up that to share, fine, just make sure they have all the dependencies needed (Sims 4 shadow file, master meshes etc) Just don't take entire packs and re upload and claim as your own? I only ask of this due to the nature of updating files with minor tweaks, updating and bugginess, if it is all linked to one place (my site) then all the updates will be there too.

Hair Defaults by Platasp - this is one download I will be strict on, do not upload anywhere else, this is because of how interconnected the hairs are to each other, removing one might break another. Any updates will be kept to lordcrumps or individual files on PlatAsp tumblr. lordcrumps.com is not planning on shutting down any time soon, so there is no need to re-upload anywhere else.

SIMS 4 CC CONVERSIONS - Yes, one day once The 4T2 conversions have been done, I will be working on converting CC for the Sims 4, but right now; no, unless its really spectacular. So please stop asking to convert stuff from Sims 4 creators as that does not interest me right now. The reasoning behind this is that if I start treating myself to CC items, I will get spoilt and not want to convert actual Sims 4 stuff, silly excuse I know, but I would like to convert the Sims 4 first. That would be cool.

ANYWHO - That's all I think I have to say now, if you made it this far down thank you, here is some more pics of Pleasant Point to say thanks ahah!

Have a great day! See you soon!

[flamingpudding]

Inherited Driving

A/N: Credits also to @escelia 💖 Thanks for helping flash out this idea even more!!

Bruce Wayne was going crazy about Gotham's newest rogue. He stared at the open case file, the reports were laid out all over the table. On the Batcomputer various images were displayed. Images from bent light posts, street sights that were found three blocks from their original position, buildings that were missing chunks of their walls, and even buildings that had distinct car-shaped holes.

Next to that various reports were open about hit-and-run cases. None appeared to be connected. All the victims appeared to be chosen at random, good or bad didn't matter. No connections. Mugger, Politicians, other rogues, or even his children when on patrol. And then there were also reports of apparently people going insane claiming they had seen a silver car come right at them but never hit them.

He looked at the reports of his children.

Jason complains about a drug deal busted by a car bursting in and nearly ruined it for him by knocking out the main targets before crashing through the opposite wall.

Tim claimed that the corrupted CEO he had been investigating both as Red Robin as well as Tim Drake-Wayne got run over on the open streets and was now hospitalized.

But the most absurd reports came from Dick and Duke.

Dick one night reported that a silver car barely missed him while out on patrol. Nothing strange so far. If his son hadn't reported that he was jumping over roofs when it happened.

And Duke? He just reported that he felt like he had a near-death experience and saw his life flashing before his eyes. The cause? A glowing car came straight at him.

Bruce gripped his hair in frustration. This new rogue didn't make sense. They went for bad guys but also good guys? What was their pattern? The connection? Their goal? Was he lucky that none of his other children had so far encountered them on patrol?

They appeared at night as well as during the day.

Who was going to be the next target? Would it be one of his kids or possibly another corrupted politician or maybe even a mugger again next?

Tim had specifically created software to keep track of this rogue in the news or any online posts. Barbara was not able to get any video feeds or photos of this rogue for some reason. All images or videos found for the areas of his appearance were either entirely static or corrupted to the point of unrecognizability. He didn't even have the damned silver car's license plate!

Then there was the car driver's description from witnesses, which also varied from person to person. One stated him to be black-haired and blue-eyed looking like a tired College Student, another stated the man had white hair and green glowing eyes and lastly a more crazy person stated it was like an Eldritch being possessing the car.

The software peeped and Bruce turned to click on it, a news article appeared and the man groaned at what he read.

Breaking news: Scarecrow in custody after getting hit by car through Starbucks!

Witnesses say that during what was shaping up to be a fear gas attack, the driver hit the man before swerving through the front window of a Starbucks.After confirming everyone was okay, the baristas on shift gave the driver an iced coffee and a croissant while waiting for the police to arrive on scene. One employee even insisted this reckless driver saved their lives. [...]

Bruce closed the news, not reading any further and ready to slam his head onto the table. Who was this rogue?

Danny blinked at the newspaper in his hand, sipping his coffee and wondering who that driver was. He would have to be more careful now on the streets with a driver like that, that's fine. Jazz wouldn't probably call him soon again to nag about these crazy drivers Gotham appeared to have. She had been naggingly worried ever since he started going to college here. He just had to assure her that he would be even more careful to not get involved. Though his parents had already reinforced his car as a stay-safe-son measure. So he would just have to get in the car, drive from point A to point B and not hit anyone or anything like his parents.

He glanced at his kitchen clock and spat out his morning coffee.

"Shit! I am going to be late for my classes!"

In a rush he grabed his keys and ran to his car. He needed to hurry if he wanted to be there in time without upsetting his professor. Good that he learned about some pretty neat short cuts from his classmates.

[husbants]

Hello Dan and Phil archive buddies!

From time to time, someone asks someone else for the old "drug deal" link of deleted videos and I feel guilty lol! A couple years ago at this point I wanted to redo this archive since the links got corrupted, and got access to the old files and began it, but college has kicked my butt harder than I thought it would. Luckily, some people from twitter (specifically I know subwaymademecry, but I know there are others out there, too) have more comprehensive archives than anything I have at this point. Neither of these archives are easy to download from (a perk of the entirely Google-Suite-based ones of the past that I am continuing to remaster... slowly), but they're good if you want to find an old video just to watch it.

Very Comprehensive Spreadsheet of Videos/Upload Date/Availability Status

stillarchivingdnp is a YouTube-Based Archive (Check out their playlists and community tab, too - they have some helpful links, including that above spreadsheet.)

Vimeo-Based Neocities Archive of Privated/Deleted Videos (I honestly have no idea who runs this, so please let me know if you know.)

All of this to say, I still really want to put together a completely comprehensive library of every single Dan and Phil video (that isn't lost media) with links to find the video/reupload online and ALSO with viewable/downloadable Google Drive links. Until then, though, you should be able to find a lot of what is available through those above archives.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

S.V. Dáte at HuffPost:

WASHINGTON ― The White House’s favored new reporter, the one who scolded Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit, was the primary voice at a “news” outlet that has taken $192,000 from President Donald Trump’s political committees, nearly half of which came while he was program director there. Brian Glenn now works for a pro-Trump streaming platform called Real America’s Voice, but from September 2020 to May 2024, he was the most visible face at Right Side Broadcasting Network. Over those years, the outlet took $92,000 in “broadcast” fees, first from Trump’s Save America committee and then from Trump’s campaign, according to a HuffPost review of Federal Election Commission filings. Glenn acknowledged the payments in a brief interview, describing them as “production” costs, and then pointed to the row of television cameras set up in the back of the White House briefing room. “Who pays for them?” he asked, suggesting that the major networks like NBC, CNN and Fox also accept money from the entities they cover. In fact, taking such payments would be considered a serious ethical breach among reputable news outlets. The television networks covering this and previous White Houses, as well as print and radio outlets, all pay their own expenses when covering political events, as does HuffPost. Indeed, the Trump administration, including the White House, has falsely accused legitimate news organizations of corruption because government agencies, even those in the first Trump term, bought subscriptions from them, including some to expensive, lobbyist-oriented trade publications. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary who had worked on Trump’s campaign, also acknowledged the payments. “The Trump campaign paid RSBN for the usage of their live stream,” she said. She did not address HuffPost’s question regarding the ethics of an outlet accepting money from the subject it was covering. Those payments continued after Glenn left RSBN to join Real America’s Voice last spring. The campaign gave the online video outlet an additional $100,000 from June 2024 through the end of the year, capped off with a $57,000 payment on Nov. 14, the week following the election.

Right-wing outfit Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), where Brian Glenn previously worked before high-tailing it over to another right-wing outfit in Real America’s Voice, took over $192,000 in payments from pro-Trump committees.

[that-hippie-user]

I AM NOW GOING TO BE ATTEMPTING HYPNOSIS PROFESSIONALLY!!!

XD well, okay, psuedo-professionally, im not gonna open a business, rent an office, and charge thousands.

UwU i could only permit myself to do THAT if i got a formal education and license for the practice. X3 then maybe i could run ads on furry websites like that one Lion i kept seeing back in the day

:3 no no, basically i wanna test the waters and see if maybe i can make this my job. so im starting small with affordable rates and reasonable rules for my followers. here's how itll go.

test sessions with basic induction, triggers, and maaaaaybe some light eroticism will be free to anyone PROVIDED they know i am on no set schedule for this.

:P its quite simple really. i have so many subjects at this point, a good many of whom were willing to pay in the first place, and i only have so much free time on my hands. if i wanna be dedicated to this, it cant just be for practice and funsies. X3 but that is still allowed now and then.

for $20, i can give you a longer, personalized hypnosis session. we set a day and time for the sesh and said schedule will be kept to as best as we both can manage. i'm down for most kinks, buuuuut do have limits. we negotiate terms and safewords from the get go. :3 i think a nice 2 hour sesh of whatever you crave should be reasonable for that price, and this way i have more obligation to go through with whatever we have planned.

for $40, we can schedule several sessions. i consider this my "training" commission. :P or i guess you could call it brainwashing. essentially, if you have a particular training you desire, be it obedience training, increased suggestibility, corruption of sometime, and ESPECIALLY unpottytraining, we can set some dates and times to give your mind plenty of attention and see just how deeply we can set the conditioning.

:3 refunds available to anyone whom my methods do not work on, or simply if you feel you are no longer comfortable with having me as a hypnotist, either way is fine.

UwU all hypnosis scripts i post on my blog for funsies will be free to anyone, and i will at some point make a tag to help searching for them be made easier.

:D also! im gonna be getting a microphone in the near future, so expect me to delve into the world of hypnosis audio files or possibly youtube videos!

-w-; id say look forward to whatever p@tr30n i have set up in the future, but sadly they have long since kicked AB/DL creators from the platform, so they wont be seeing my work there anytime soon.

:3 sooooooo yeah! dm me if you wanna schedule an appointment!

UwU your new goddess eagerly awaits you~

[twisted-will-au]

Hey, dude. So, I got to the fight against Asgore in Undertale, and for some reason after I died to him once, my game crashed. Huh. That's weird. I don't think I've ever seen the game crash when dying to Asgore before in any playthroughs I've watched. Well, just start the game again. I did, but the issue is that my entire save file seems to have gotten corrupted? It brought me back to the very start of the game. That sucks. You might want to try and report that bug to the creator. I'm not sure how common it is but it'd be worth a shot. Yeah, I probably will. But man, this is a huge bummer. I'm going to have to replay the entire game again just to fight Asgore. To be honest, when I died to him and my game crashed, at first, I thought it was an intentional thing since he'd take your SOUL if you lost against him. Well, it is intentional for another fight that's- Hey dude no spoilers. I didn't avoid all of those Youtube gameplay videos for nothing. Even if I did get spoiled on that final genocide route fight. Haha, sorry, my bad. Also, yeah, I don't think you could avoid that even if you tried. Everyone was posting about the Sans fight non-stop. Well... I'm going to take a break from playing the game for now. I'll come back to it later. Will most likely try and speed through interactions to get back to this point. Maybe even try some alternative choices now that I have the chance? I'll talk to you later, dude. See ya.

[eating-plastic]

His Soul to Keep: Killer!Demon!Ace Visconti x Fem!Survivor!Reader (SMUT)

Warnings: NSFW, smut, (minors and ageless blogs do not touch please and thanks), age gap (older man-younger woman. Reader is ALWAYS +18), AFAB!Reader, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (fem receiving), vaginal fingering, loss of virginity, daddy kink, sex tap, aphrodisiac use technically, begging, swearing, lots of pet names, fluff, because of course I'm gonna make the demon that's gonna fuck your brains out absolutely in love with you, killer!Ace AU thingy, brief mentions of religion, typical dead by daylight warnings of blood, murder, and death, probably some grammatical errors

Word Count: 12,837 words

A/N: Ding ding ding! Hello, are there any Ace lovers still around? Sorry to everyone that I teased about writing this only to post it months later. I wanted to take a little break and college is...well, college. But hey, better late than never, right? Also yes, this is random, but I just out of nowhere remembered this demon!Ace fanart I reblogged a long time ago and was like "yeah, that's pretty hot. I should write a fic about that," lol. So here it is! I hope someone out there enjoys this!

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

The last thing you remember before arriving at the campfire was running. Yes, you were running from...something. What was it though, you don't know. A homeless person? A wild animal? A ghost? Well, whatever it was, it sent you darting straight into the woods surrounding the abandoned school you were exploring. Why did you run into the woods of all things, though? Why not your car?

You really wish you knew, especially since you were now within an inescapable realm of pain and death. You don't know at what point you stopped relying on your camera to help you since all of the video files that were on it have been corrupted.

It was going to be a nice video. A three year anniversary celebration since starting your urban exploration adventure. That school was the first abandoned place you visited which spiraled into your interesting hobby with the occasional paranormal investigation. You knew your interests were peculiar, but you liked looking at areas that had been once bustling with life and imagining the stories that could've taken place there.

Of course, you knew your little hobby had its dangers, but you were always smart with it. There were very few places you explored alone, and if you were flying solo, you would always tell someone where you were going and when you'd be back. You also never explored at night, yet knew how to sneak around to avoid getting caught and facing trouble with the law.

So why on God's green earth did you run into the woods instead of your car? Why did you run into the woods, where you knew you could easily get lost, especially since it got darker faster than it should've? Whatever. You were starting to get used to shit not making sense, now.

You have to admit though, it's kind of funny. If you weren't being chased by some monster or killer while doing the "trials," as your fellow survivors put it, you would like to just walk around the different environments you were thrown into. Eventually, you put your former urbex skills to use and found it easy to avoid getting killed or put on a hook...eh, nine times out of ten. As such, you could explore your new environments well and appreciate them like before. A chilly ski resort, a dusty old western town, and hell, even places that looked extraterrestrial or supernatural; you suppose after facing some of the monsters you have however, that these areas don't seem too out of the ordinary.

After getting so used to running around and repairing generators in unfamiliar places, you can imagine your shock when you found yourself in a building that you knew very very well.

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

Your lips part and your legs are frozen on the spot as black smoke clears from your vision and the large structure comes into view. To your fellow survivors, the environment didn't matter; either sneak around and get generators done or get caught and killed. But to you, this place caused a flash of memories to flood your mind.

An old, abandoned casino shouldn't hold much significance to many unless it was a place where you made millions. To you however, you had explored this place so many times and had a lot of good memories here. Hell, this place even made you a believer in the supernatural-

A loud scream rips you from your memories and it hits you just how long you had been standing there like a sitting duck in the dingy parking lot. You curse under your breath and quickly run into the decrepit building. You sneak around as carefully as you can, being wary about some areas of the floor littered with debris and broken glass. This place no longer held the same warmth it did when you were back in the real world...or in your world, you mean? God, was this whole thing just confusing!

You slowly peak your head out from behind some dusty slot machines you were hiding behind. There was a generator next to you, but you didn't want to start working on the thing if whatever caused your teammate to scream was nearby. You cautiously reach for your camera and zoom into your surroundings. Honestly, you credit the thing for being the reason you survive these trials so much; it's easy to avoid the killer when you have night vision on your side.

At the sight of nothing, you let out a breath you didn't know you had been holding in. You quietly make your way to the generator and start working on it. The lack of sound locks you into the task at hand and you can feel your confidence increase the longer you successfully repair the thing. You are so close to fixing it entirely until another loud, blood-curdling scream echoes off of the walls. Your hand jolts and rips at a wire causing a rush of electricity to shoot through your fingertips. If the shriek you let out wasn't loud, then the mechanical clanging noise from your blunder certainly was.

You quickly scramble upwards and scan your surroundings, frantically. Your eyes dart around to look for a place to do the one thing that popped into your mind at this moment.

Hide.

You continue to look everywhere, your head spinning with fear. Shit, there weren't lockers anywhere and you could hear the sound of footsteps getting closer. Then, it hits you. Some of the casino tables have white cloths over them. You dive under the closest one and slam your hands over your mouth. You hold your breath, worried that it would be too loud and give away your position, especially as you can hear footsteps get closer and closer until they are right by your table.

You almost involuntarily whimper until you hear them move to the generator to investigate it. Whatever this person or thing may be, it lets out a dark chuckle that sounds...weirdly human but something's not right about it.

'A shapeshifter, maybe?' you wonder. Whatever, doesn't matter. You need to get far away from...it. A loud slamming noise makes you jump, but you realize that it gives you your chance. 'They're destroying the generator! I can make a break for it.'

You psych yourself up to sneak out from under the table as you lift up the cloth to crawl out but a gruesome sight halts you in your tracks and makes you gasp in horror. Lying right in front of you is one of your fellow survivors but it looks like whatever got to them was a vicious wild animal. You had found the remains of your fellow teammates before, but never were you ever so close to them.

They were completely torn open, with various organs strewn about, and the blood. Oh God, there was so much blood that you had managed to soak one of your palms in it. What does make you let out a soft cry however, is their dead, terrified eyes boring into you and their mouth still hanging open in a scream.

A scream you mimic as a clawed hand wraps around your ankle and rips you out from underneath the table.

In that moment of complete, primal terror, you screw your eyes shut and fight like hell to get free; something that you always did when you'd get caught during trials. You don't feel the creature loosen its grip on you until your flailing arm causes your bloodied palm to collide with some part of its body. Its face, maybe?

Nope, doesn't matter as you scramble away from them and climb to your feet to sprint away. You can lose them. You have to lose them. You dart into the back security hallways, knowing that there is a fire exit somewhere. Maybe the killer would think that you hid in one of the storage rooms or you could loop them around outside.

To the average person, these hallways would feel like a maze, but you knew them like the back of your hand. The feeling of fear and running for your life however, was helping you feel that kind of overwhelming anxiety. What you aren't prepared for is the suffocating hopelessness that ensnares you when you see that the fire exit is blocked off by a broken slot machine.

"No...," you breathe, disheartened. Tears begin to flow down your cheeks as you try in vain to push it out of the way, the word "no" continuing to escape you. You hated getting put on the hooks and you absolutely hated when a killer would "mori" you as the others called it. No shit, you and every other survivor, but you were still not used to it like they were. It still hurts so badly every time. A searing, tearing, and burning pain that reached into your very soul and remained there long after the trial itself.

And now, as you hear footsteps get closer and closer, you have to imagine what getting torn apart was going to feel like.

You bow your head and wait for the inevitable to come...but it never does. Instead, you hear the sound of a man speaking.

"Now, I don't remember that being there," he remarks.

Confused, you slowly turn around and feel surprised at what you see. The killer you were imagining did not match the one that stood before you. No, what was standing before you looked like an older man with slicked-back dark brown hair, beard, and mustache that had bits of grey sprinkled here and there. The things that tell you he isn't human though, are the large red horns on his head and matching tail that is casually swaying back and forth behind him, his black orbs for eyes that seem to light up when they land on your face, and his fingers which don't have nails but instead pointed and red at the ends. What really catches your eye though, is the garish, tiger-printed suit he is wearing.

Oh, you also notice the bloodied handprint on his right cheek. So you were right, you did strike his face.

"Holy shit, it really is you," he says with an amazed tilt of his head.

The statement is lost on you as it feels like your mind is short-circuiting. You really don't know what to think as you stare at him with eyes as wide as saucers. He clearly is a demon, sure, yet he still seems human somehow. He isn't extremely tall or muscular, but he's still taller than you and possesses great strength. After all, he gutted your teammate with his bare hands that are still stained crimson and he pulled you out from underneath that casino table like you weighed nothing. Then again, you have faced killers smaller than him who have thrown you over their shoulders with ease.

He quirks up a confused eyebrow at your dazed state and he raises a bloodied, clawed hand to your face and snaps his fingers.

"Helllllooooo, earth to Y/N," he teases as if you've known each other since forever. You get snapped out of your trance and whimper.

"How…how do you kn-know my name?” you squeak out, still confused as ever. Especially as you watch his face drop from your question but only for the briefest of moments.

“Oh, ya know...overheard the others talking about you. You’re pretty popular, huh?” he forces out, but you are too prepared to die to care at the oddness of his answer.

“L-look, just…p-please don’t kill me. Please,” you sniffle and beg, pathetically.

"Now what makes ya think I'd do that?" he asks, genuinely puzzled by your response.

"You...you killed the others...right?" you say, awkwardly. You've never had an actual conversation with one of the killers before. Then again, it's not like they ever gave you the option. Maybe this was a trick. His way of playing with his victims.

"Oh yeah, that," his nonchalant demeanor towards the whole thing only convinced you that this was a game of some kind. "Eh, it's complicated. Would love to sit and chat about it, kiddo, but I'm afraid I'm booked for the day."

He then adjusts the lapels of his suit jacket and rolls his shoulders as if getting ready for something. He then looks at the blocked-off fire exit and speaks once more.

"You're looking for a way out, right? Ya know, I think I saw something that would help you," he grins, causing you to see sharp fangs that peaked over his bottom lip.

"If you're gonna kill me, just do it," you sigh, frustrated. You really just want this to end. "I don't like being played with."

"Not playing with ya, kid. If I wanted to kill you, I would've by now," he explains, though it seems like he's almost...saddened by something? "See, it's all about the chase for me. That big rush of adrenaline leading to the big win. And hey, you led a good chase! But no, I don't wanna kill ya."

"Why?" what made you so special to him? You were just like the rest of your fellow survivors who were suddenly dragged into the fog. Just an average person going about your day one moment, and suddenly wound up in what you could only describe as hell the next.

Unfortunately, the demon before you doesn't give you a very satisfying answer. Odd, seeing that he took a while to decide what he wanted to say.

"Eh, what can I say? I guess I just like ya." he shrugs. At the sight of your unchanged expression, he sighs. "Look, I get it. You got no reason to trust me, but I'm really not gonna kill you. There's a hatch over by the roulette tables. I'll take ya there...and then we can go our separate ways. Deal?"

Seeing that continuing to argue was just going to keep you here forever, you finally decide to trust him. Either he was telling the truth and you would escape or he'd tear you apart like he did with the others. It really didn't matter to you, as long as you could finally end this.

The walk back to the actual casino part of the building was filled with awkward silence. You would keep glancing up at his face, tense and waiting for him to strike. You also remember the mark on his cheek and decide that extending a small olive branch may save you from death. Or at least a really painful one.

“Um…I’m sorry that I hit you,” you sheepishly apologize.

“Don’t worry about it. You aren't the first pretty gal that's smacked me in the face,” he says, once again nonchalant. “I will say you pack a mean hit, though. Almost felt my ears ringing there.”

At the sound of his playful tone, you let out a soft, nervous laugh before going back to walking in silence.

To your surprise, you find that the demon wasn't lying to you at all. There was the hatch, wide open and beckoning you to jump inside and head back to the campfire.

"Whelp kiddo, this looks like your stop," he gestures to the hatch as if he were modeling a new car you just won. Suddenly, he perks up and quickly reaches into his jacket. "Shit, I almost forgot...does this look familiar to you?"

He pulls out something you didn't even realize you were missing: your camera. You must've dropped it when you were struggling with him before. Your face lights up at the sight of it and without thinking, you walk up to the demon to take it from him. While it may seem like a silly thing to feel attached to, it was one of the few reminders you had on you of your life before winding up in the fog. Because of that, you treat the device like a safety blanket.

The demon decides to surprise you once more and just hands it back to you. No teasing, no threats, no tricks. You swear you can feel a small smile tug at the corners of your lips at that.

"Well then," he says with a clap of his hands. "This was fun and all, but I think it's time to get a move on, right?"

"Uh yeah...right," you mumble, before clearing your throat. "Hey...thanks."

"No problemo, kid. I'll be seeing you around," he shoots a finger gun at you before taking a step back. He really wants you to know that this isn't a trick and that he was allowing you to leave.

With that, you give him a little nod and jump down into the hatch. As you make your way back to the campfire, all you can think is one thing.

'Who was that guy?'

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

As the hatch slams shut, Ace’s face drops and his tail that had been swaying rhythmically stops.

You don’t recognize him, though he shouldn’t be all too surprised. This was the first time you’ve actually seen him.

Also touch him but why did it have to be a hard slap. Once again though, he couldn’t blame you. I mean, it wasn’t like he made the best first impression after not seeing you in what felt like both years and mere minutes.

In his defense, he didn’t know it was you under that poker table; he didn’t think you were here, period. He was ready for another thrilling chase that didn’t involve cards or chips…only to see your terrified face. He thought letting you go and calling your name would snap you out of it, but the stinging in his cheek gave him his answer.

It felt like a curse. Here in the fog, he had his strength back, you could see, hear, and touch him…but you didn’t recognize him. And how could he remind you after you’ve seen the carnage he could do? Hell, even he was still surprised at how easy ripping through flesh was for him. You’ve forgiven him of some shit before, but this?

Forget it. Maybe you’d recognize him, or at least see that he didn’t mean you any harm and accept him. Of course that was also asking you to look past the fact that he needed to sacrifice or kill your fellow survivors during trials. That was a tall order, and Ace wonders if he is in fact that lucky.

‘Maybe,’ he thinks as he watches black smoke starting to circle around him. It was time for another trial.

‘Just maybe.’

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

You ended up seeing that peculiar demon a handful of times after your first trial with him. Sometimes he'd stroll up after your teammates had been dealt with. Sometimes you'd bump into him at the beginning and he'd greet you before going to look for the others. No matter what though, the trial always ended with you leaving, unscathed.

You knew it was all very strange. I mean, sure, he let you go that one time and you thought he was just in a good mood, took pity on you, or something else entirely. But being let go every time? No other killer was this nice.

Once again you found yourself wondering what made you so special. You've never seen him before, you would've definitely remembered, yet he treated you like you were an old friend. You think you'd remember if you had a literal demon colleague. You did have a ghost friend before winding up in the fog but...well, he just wasn't here. He haunted the old casino but you didn't feel his presence anymore, not that you were good at sensing the paranormal.

But even with you being not so spiritually inclined, you would've known if you met a demon...right?

Well, you supposed that it didn't matter. You should honestly just be happy that there was one killer that wouldn't hurt you. Your big fear at the moment though, was the other survivors finding out. You got along well enough with some of them around the campfire, but you worried that everyone would think you were friends with the demon due to his liking towards you. I mean, how would you feel if someone who was supposed to be your teammate was affable with someone who would impale you on a hook or brutally kill you? How would you feel if they actually didn't mind the special treatment?

Hey, you were only human, and who doesn't like to feel a little bit special every once in a while?

You wondered how long that would last though. There was no way it would last forever. Eventually, he'd get bored of the charade and you'd become another body he'd rip apart or hook. Hell, maybe a new survivor would come along and catch his eye for some reason and you'd become old news. That's why you kept your mouth shut about it around the campfire when "The Demon" as you all called him, would pop up in conversation. You even laughed this one time when he was referred to as "that bastard in the ugly outfits." Even then, you really couldn't lie to yourself and say that you didn't like him.

And things were only going to get more and more complicated.

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

"-Y/N, come on, let's go," a sharp voice barks and yanks you back to reality.

"Huh, what?" you ask, as you glance up at Nea who looks both annoyed but also a bit concerned at your dazed state. Out of all of the survivors, you and her got along really well. She found your urbex hobby interesting and it was nice to have someone who was on par with your agility; hell, if anything, you'd say she's better than you at sneaking around. She also didn't mind sitting down in front of your camera to tell stories of her rebellious escapades or even just make a goofy video with no substance whatsoever.

You never knew if any of the stories she would tell you were true, but you supposed it didn't matter. In a place like the fog, everyone needed a bit of entertainment and fun, so what harm did a bit of embellishment do?

"I said this generator is done. Now, let's go," she repeats, giving you a look that says 'what's up with you?'

"Oh shit, yeah," you stutter out and climb to your feet.

Another day, another trial, this time in the casino again. You both had completed a generator in the familiar security hallways and were sneaking around to look for another.

Slowly, you peer out from the door frame that leads back into the actual casino, your other hand reaching for your camera. You lift it and scan the area to see if the coast is clear. Just then, you catch the briefest of glimpses of a familiar, red tail disappearing around a corner and feel a smile threatening to break out on your lips.

"See anything?" Nea asks, watching your back so no one could sneak up on you two.

"Hm? Oh, uh yeah. It-it's 'The Demon' this time," you respond, quickly putting your camera down and clearing your throat.

"Augh, that creep," Nea scoffs.

"There are worse killers to face," you say, trying not to sound too defensive. At the sight of her giving you an odd look, you quickly add on. "It looks like he's heading outside, someone may be trying to loop him. If we split up, we can fix the generator in the grotto and upstairs."

'...Yeah, okay," she finally agrees, deciding that trying to start an argument over something strange during a trial wasn't worth it. "Hope you don't mind leaping from a railing if you get caught, because I'm taking the grotto."

"Sounds good to me, but I'm taking your toolbox, then," you push, turning to look back at her. Nea scowls and mutters a small 'fine,' before handing it to you. She supposes it's fair since the little room you were going to was a dead end, so you'd need the extra aid. You give her a nod of appreciation and quickly make your way to the stairs, while Nea sneaks off to find her generator. It was good she chose the one that would allow her to escape since you didn't have to worry about your life.

The casino's second floor was smaller, with a railing allowing you to oversee the bottom. There was only a small bar, private game rooms, and bedrooms for activities that you didn't want to think about at the moment.

Eventually, you find the room you're looking for. It's empty except for a generator that needed repairing. While you make quick work of the thing thanks to your toolbox, you find your mind drifting again, just like before. As such, you don't hear the sound of familiar footsteps making their way to the room.

"Ah, here's where you ran off to," a male voice speaks, making you leap and almost electrocute yourself. You quickly turn your head to the doorframe and exhale a shaky breath. It was just your favorite demon. "You know you don't gotta fix these things when I'm around, right?"

"And you know the others wouldn't like me if I did that," you retort. "I still gotta do my part, even if you'll get me the hatch."

You then turn to continue fixing the generator, but can still feel his eyes on you while you work.

"You know if Nea comes up here to get me, she's not gonna be happy when she sees you," you say over your shoulder.

"That's the sneaky one, right? Your friend?" he asks, causing you to nod. "Gotcha. She's a tough one, I'll tell you that. And hey, when she comes, just follow my lead."

"What do you mean?" you ask with a confused tilt of your head.

"I'll take some swipes at ya, miss, and you both can sneak out to the gate," he elaborates, motioning in the direction of the titular exit.

"That works," you nod, finishing up the final repairs on the generator. Once done, you stand and brush your hands off against your pants with a satisfied huff.

"Well, what do ya know, looks like we don't need to do my plan after all," he muses, before stepping aside so you can exit the room.

"Thank you," you smile, but before you exit, a thought enters your head. "Hey...can I ask you something?"

"Of course, kiddo," he grins and adjusts the lapels of his suit jacket.

"Well, it's just that...we've bumped into each other during a lot of trials now, and I was wondering if you have an actual name. I mean, around the campfire, we just call you 'The Demon,' so I was just curious," you explain, looking up into his black eyes.

You had wondered if asking for his name was the right move. I mean, you can't just ignore the fact that he is still a killer despite how nice he treats you; you can't ignore the fact that he sacrifices or kills the other survivors. You already don't want to consider him a friend because of that even though you do like him, and getting his name seemed like it would muddy that thought process. Then again, he did know your name, so it was only fair right?

"Aww, you guys talk about lil ol' me?" he grins and presses his hands to his chest, jokingly flattered.

"Heh, it's not good things, you know," you say with a shake of your head. You've learned that you can't help but smile at his playfulness though. "No one has good experiences with you like I do."

"Well, maybe if they sat down and talked to me, they'd be able to look past the whole...."

"'You killing them' thing," you finish.

"...Yeah, I see your point," the demon pouts in faux frustration, making you giggle. He then drops the act and continues. "I guess they just don't know me like you do."

"I don't know much about you, though. I mean, I literally just asked you for your name," you correct.

"Believe me, Y/N. You know me more than you think, even my name," he takes a step closer to you and elaborates when he sees you give him an odd look. "Do you remember when you first arrived here? Not here, but back in reality. You saw a piece of glass move and were scared, but you didn't run. You took out your camera to film it, but you asked if it was okay to record me."

You can feel the gears in your head turning at that. The memory replays in your head over and over again, before realizing where he was going with this.

'It can't be...,' you think, eyes widening.

"You came back the next day with this odd device," he carries on, feeling a hopeful smile grow on his face at your reaction. "You told me to speak into the thing and ask what my name was....You still remember it...don't you?"

"...Ace?" you breathe out in disbelief. You really can't believe it. All this time you thought you'd never see your ghost friend again, only to find out you've been running into him this whole time. You don't understand. It doesn't make any sense.

"Hey, Y/N," he says with a soft smile as if he was seeing you again for the first time.

You open your mouth to speak again, but stop when you hear the sound of footsteps in the hallway.

"Oh God, Nea!" you gasp and realize she's done with her generator. The gate was open.

"Alrighty looks like party time's over," Ace quickly darts into the room and practically pushes you out right in the nick of time. Nea rounds a corner and as soon as she spots you, grabs your hand and drags you to the stairs.

"Come on, Y/N, we got to get the hell out of here!" she whisper-screams at you. She notices the surprised look on your face but decides it's best to ask you about it when you two are back at the campfire.

Once in the dingy parking lot where the gate is, she flips the switch to open it, muttering obscenities for the thing to move faster. You meanwhile, continue to stare at the casino incredulously, your mind filled with so many different thoughts and emotions.

As soon as the gate is opened wide enough for the two of you to squeeze through, Nea pulls you behind her again and dashes straight to the campfire. You continue to look behind you, watching as the building you knew so well gets farther and farther away. Right as the gate is about to close, you spot a familiar silhouette standing at the entrance.

"Jesus, and here I thought we weren't gonna make it," your friend huffs and slows down, before turning to you. "What's gotten into you, Y/N? You were acting so weird during that."

"I don't know," you mumble. "I guess I was just too busy reminiscing."

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

There's a rumor that some of the walking trails around the campfire can lead to the different environments where trials took place, and you want to see if that's true. Your free time was now spent exploring these different trails in order to make it back to the casino. You need to talk to that demon again because you honestly can't believe that he is Ace. But how did he know the details of your first meeting? Also, as you've thought about this before, you feel like you would've known if a demon was present. But then why didn't you sense what he was every time you met with him?

Well, that's what these expeditions of yours were for. You were going to talk to him one way or another, no matter how many trails you needed to walk down. You weren't going to just wait for another trial with him.

Every time you walk down a new trial, you think the same thought over and over in your head: How would you feel if he was telling the truth or lying? You tried to deny liking him, though you knew deep in your heart it wasn't true. If he was lying to you and tricking you, you honestly wonder if you want anything to do with him after that. Sure, it would make things easier if you hated him and he finally stopped giving you special treatment, but you know that would hurt you; not just physically from being put on a hook or gutted, but emotionally too.

'But if he is telling the truth. If he really is Ace...,' you ponder. Well, that would complicate everything. You had a deep connection with your specter the moment you befriended him. Your relationship with him went beyond the physical, making it weirdly stronger than what you had with your human friends. 'He hurts the others during trials though....'

Well, surely he must have a reason right? Augh, why are you making excuses for him? He's a demon, it's not like they're known for compassion and kindness. But why was he so nice to you? Even now, when he could easily tear your flesh from your bones, he continues to treat you as a friend.

You don't know how many trails you've gone down before you finally arrive at the casino again. It feels so surreal seeing it outside of a trial; it feels like a normal place, now.

As you trek across cracked concrete to the front entrance, you realize that he might not even be here. He could be doing a trial or maybe exploring somewhere else. After all, if you could get here fine, why would he be any different? Well then, you'd just wait for him and if you were called to a trial, then you'd come back later.

As you open one of the doors, you open your mouth to call out to him but stop. If he didn't have the name that meant so much to you, then you weren't going to call him that. You continue walking around, looking between slot machines and glancing at tables until you find who you're looking for.

There he is, sitting at one of the casino tables, the white cloth that covered it lying carelessly on the floor. Due to the cloth's protection from the sun, dust, and debris, the green was still as vibrant and bright as it must've been before the place closed down. Due to him being so enthralled in a card game he's playing, he doesn't notice you until you're right at the table with him, making him jump.

"Woah!" he yells, before quickly clearing his throat and smiling up at you. "I mean um-hey."

"I just need more proof," you begin, not bothering to wait any longer for answers. "I just...I just need one more thing. Please."

His face drops at that, upset that you don't believe him. Still, he nods at you and composes himself.

"Okay," he says gazing right into your eyes. "You had asked me what my favorite game was and I told you it was blackjack. You then came by the next day and said exactly 'I don't know shit about blackjack, but I wanted to give you something.' You remember?"

You nod and can picture that moment in your head clearly. Your heart beats rapidly in your chest as you are now letting hope set in.

This really was him.

Ace knows he doesn't need to explain any further and reaches into his suit jacket's breast pocket. He then pulls out two cards and lays them flat on the table. The first was the 10 of clubs and the second was the ace of hearts with two words written in sharpie underneath it; they read "From: Y/N."

"You know, no one had ever gotten me a gift before, so I knew I had to get you something too," he says, feeling himself smile again as he watches your own form on your face. "Don't suppose you still have it, do you?"

You reach into one of the front pockets of your jeans and pull out a blue, sun-bleached casino chip with an 'A' messily carved into the smooth surface. You place a hand over your heart and look between the small disk and him.

"I don't believe it," you breathe, smiling wider than you ever have before. Ace gets up from his seat and moves to stand in front of you. Once he's close enough, you throw your arms around him and pull him into a tight hug.

He happily returns your embrace, resting one clawed hand on the small of your back and the other on the base of your neck. He truly can't remember ever feeling this elated before. He had only dreamed of being able to hold you before winding up in the fog and every time he ran into you during trials, he never touched you save for the brief moment last time when he pushed you out of the private game room. He savors the feeling of your body heat radiating off of you, the fabric of your shirt under one of his palms, and the texture of your hair under the other. In his joy, he doesn't realize that his tail is swaying rapidly and that there is a deep, rumbling sound coming from his throat.

So demons can purr. You learn something new every day.

"I don't understand, though," you finally pull away and look up at Ace. "I mean, you actually have a body now and I can see you and...how did you even get here, anyways?

"It's a bit of a long story," he laughs and tries to distract himself from the fact that he was already missing your hug. "There was only so much I could explain to you. Both through that spirit box of yours and here."

You purse your lips in thought before a light bulb goes off in your head. You hold your camera up and ask him another question.

"How about an interview, then?"

"Only if you promise to get my good side," he jests.

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

You and Ace sat down at the table he was playing his card game on and you set up your camera to record. You had to admit you were really giddy at the opportunity to interview one of the killers and not have to worry about getting torn to shreds. Once you commenced the interview, you first wanted him to start from the top and explain his whole life up until that point.

"I've been around for a while now. There are many different types of demons that dabble in the different sins and such. Me? I'm a demon of greed. I basically went around signing deals with some poor shmoes who wanted to make it big. Once their time was up, I'd eat their soul and move on to the next person. I did this until I found one guy who got me my big break.

Now, this guy was in sorry shape. Middle-aged, balding, divorced, and had a casino that was on its last legs. This casino to be exact. So I basically made a deal with him, like always. I'd breathe some life into this joint if he promised to give me his soul when he died. Obviously, we shook hands on it and I renovated this place into a gambler's paradise. After that, I influenced a few minds to give this place a try, and by the end of the week, the dude was making millions.

Here's the thing, though. I was not prepared for the amount of greed that dwells in a place like that. Everybody there was chasing the all-mighty dollar, and the longer I stayed, the stronger I got. Eventually, I got tired of just standing on the sidelines while the sorry son of a bitch I helped started taking credit for my hard work so I...cut our deal short.

Now I had never killed anybody I made a contract with, I mean I was always content waiting it out until the Grim Reaper came knocking. But this guy was talking big game for someone who was gonna lose it all if it weren't for me. Never gave me a fucking 'thank you' either. So I had enough and decided to put this casino under new management: Me.

I didn't even have to eat the guy's soul either. All of the greed energy and the draining life force of the gambling addicts that showed up was enough. Not only could my handsome self walk among you humans, but I could get rid of the more demonic features to blend in.

It was fun and I had my laughs until some pastor started creeping around here. At first, I wasn't worried. In fact, I was proud of myself. I made this casino so good that I was gonna trap a man of God. I mean, I was close. It wasn't him that was hooked, it was his son. And just like that, the jig was up. Took a fuckton of priests and a handful of different rituals before I was weakened and bound to this place. Basically, it all went to shit and I was reduced to a ghost, only having enough energy to throw things.

Years passed and the only company I ever had was a wild animal or homeless person I'd chase off. I never wanted their company, I wanted to be alone and angry at everything and everyone. I guess I was hoping my rage would give me some sort of strength back, but no dice. But then you came along, and boy, was I curious.

I mean, this casino in its heyday was filled with gorgeous women, and I expected the rot and debris would scare them all off. Not you though. You still saw something good, here, something worthwhile. And because of that, I realized I wanted to keep you around, especially since you asked so politely if you could record me moving rocks or whatever.

The more you came by and talked with me, the more I realized just how much I missed having someone around...and that I really liked having a real friend."

You nod, taking in his story. As you expected, he was apathetic and cruel at some point, yet you can't help but feel sympathy for him after being alone and weak for who knows how long. You do feel some joy from the fact that you gave him the companionship he needed, though.

"And how you got here?" you ask after digesting his past.

"That I don't really know," he admits, his lips dipping down into a frown. "I know it wasn't long after you told me about your anniversary video. I was waiting for you to come back and tell me how it went but...you never did. I knew you'd never just leave without saying anything, so I was worried that something happened to you and...the next thing I knew, I was here. Like overnight, I wound up here.

The first thing I noticed was that I had my physical form back. I had my strength back. But how? Just then, I heard this voice in my head. I don't know who or what it is, but I can tell ya it's the one who runs the show around here."

"Like the reason we're all here? The reason for the trials?" you lean forward, intrigued.

"Bingo," Ace says. "Well, anyways, they told me that I could be my old, handsome self again as long as I brought them sacrifices. That's what the hooks are for, but I think you already know that, right?"

You nod, waiting for him to continue.

"I thought, 'hey, that's a pretty good deal!' I mean, I was now in some weird dimension and...and I thought I lost you so I felt all the years of rage come back to me. If I could release this pent-up anger and keep my strength, then I'd sacrifice every sorry bastard I came across.

But even then, it wasn't enough. Before here and before I was weakened, I would feast on souls and greed energy to keep my power and strength. I thought that as long as I gave sacrifices, I would keep those and never go hungry. As you can imagine though, that wasn't the case. My strength and my hunger are not dependent on each other anymore...so I had to find other ways to eat."

"That's...that's why you mori the others?" you breathe, though his silence gives you your answer. "Ah...."

"I don't know what happens to me," Ace shakes his head and tries to find the right words to describe it. "When I get hungry, it feels like it's all I can think about. Like some kind of animalistic shit. When I finally found you though, when I saw your face after worrying I'd never see you again, it felt like I could finally think clearly. There were no sacrifices for power, there was no rage, there was no hunger. It was just you...."

He stops, not knowing how to continue and to be honest, he didn't want to continue. You just lower your head, once again taking in his response. So that's what the hooks and killing is all about; for power and for hunger, not so much sadistic pleasure. You now wonder what ultimatum the other killers were given on the matter.

"...Why didn't you tell me who you were sooner?" you finally speak, looking back up at him.

"Because I thought you'd hate me," Ace gives you a strange look, like you asked a dumb question. "I mean, I have to kill people, now. That's not something you can easily forgive someone for."

"I wouldn't say that," you say, reaching across the table to hold his clawed hands. "I thought you must've had a reason. After all, you have always been so nice to me, even now. I guess I just didn't want to think that you'd hurt people for fun."

He looks between your face and your hands that are intertwined with his.

"Maybe before, when I was running this place..." he begins. "After meeting you though, I think I finally knew what human emotions were. I hated being weak and bound to this place, but I think I needed to be in order to know how good things like compassion and...and love could feel like."

"Wait...you love me?" you ask, your eyes widen in surprise. You remember always joking that Ace was your "ghost admirer" based on how nice he'd treat you and how he always seemed jealous of your male friends. He even scratched one of them up pretty bad though you never knew the reason why. Now you realize just how obvious you were.

"Yeah well...," Ace begins, wanting to be his usual, playful self until he just settles with a sorrowful smile and a nod. "Yeah, I love you. I mean, I know it can't work but... a guy can dream, ya know?"

"What do you mean it can't work?" once again, he gives you a look that says "isn't it obvious?" "Sure, it wouldn't have worked before we wound up here, but...."

You trail off, unsure if you want to continue that statement at first. Wasn't this moving a bit fast? You've only just now realized that you've been running into Ace this whole time and finally got a clear grasp on his history. At the same time, however, you two have technically known each other for a while and now it was just a matter of getting used to being able to see, hear, and touch him; you can certainly get there though, as he is rather attractive, gives great hugs, and it'll be easier to understand him now. Okay, what about him being a killer and you being a survivor? Well, everyone was used to getting hooked and moried at this point, even you now. No matter what, everyone returned to the campfire and would just continue on with what they were doing before being called to a trial. Besides...who says you need to tell anyone about your relationship?

Above all though, you feel like your feelings towards him were always deeper than just friendship. Of course, when he was "ghost-adjacent," you knew it would never work. It is possible now, however, and deep down inside, you desire a romantic connection with someone. Even before arriving in the fog, you were waiting to find the right person to love. And at this moment, you can't imagine having it with anyone else.

"It'll be...unconventional, but I would be willing to make it work, Ace," you lean closer to him and squeeze his hands reassuringly. "It'll take some time getting used to everything, but I love you too, and I wanna try."

After seeing how close your face is to his, a playful smile breaks out on his face.

"Really? You sure that's what you-mph!" his statement gets cut off by your lips pressing against his. Like with the hug, he eagerly reciprocates the kiss, but you can't help but notice how he seems to be holding back. Well, you suppose you did startle him a bit.

Letting go of his hands, you tilt your head and hold his face. The feeling causes Ace to emit the low rumbling sound like before, losing himself to the pleasant feeling. He raises one of his hands to thread his clawed fingers through your hair and hold you closer.

You don't notice how your body gets warmer and your mind gets cloudy. All you care about is the feeling and you want more. You lick at the demon's bottom lip, silently asking permission to take the kiss further. If he wasn't so drunk on your touch, he would've known the dangerous game you two were going to play. Now though, he has no problem parting his lips and allowing his tongue to greet yours.

The sensation makes you moan into his mouth, especially as you feel how long his tongue feels. God, he could probably shove it down your throat if he wanted to. Or even better, it would feel so good if he licked and shoved it in your-

Suddenly, Ace breaks the kiss, realizing just how far things would go if you two continued on. In all honesty though, it was probably too late, now.

"Well now, someone wants to move things along quickly," Ace chuckles. "I guess you really do want this, huh?"

"Y-Yeah, sorry. I really don't know what's gotten into me," you laugh, nervously. God, your body still feels so hot and your stomach feels...empty? No, that's not right. Ever since arriving in the fog, you never felt hungry. No, it's not your stomach, it feels lower. "Are you uh...are you feeling a bit strange, too?"

"Yeah, shit, there's something else I gotta tell y-," before Ace can explain anything, black smoke begins to envelop you. Your brain is still cloudy so you don't notice it right away, almost like you're drunk. When you do, your eyes widen in surprise and you look up at him. "Come back here, when you're done, okay! I'll explain everything! It'll be hard, but try to stay focused!"

You nod, but don't know what he means by "stay focused." As you get whisked away to the trial, you ponder it. You weren't feeling too bad, the strange sensation wasn't distracting or anything.

At least, it wasn't distracting yet.

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

As you thought, at the start of the trial, you were locked in. You fixed a couple of generators, rummaged around for supplies, and avoided the killer well enough. While looking for another generator to do, the warmth of your body becomes more and more unbearable. Why did you feel so hot? You were at the ski resort on Mount Ormond, it was the coldest place to do trials. Why was your body burning up and why are you panting like you just ran a marathon?

And it all got worse.

You now understand what Ace meant by "stay focused." You were struggling to keep up with the others, and surprise surprise, you got downed and hooked. You didn't even want your fellow survivors to save you, because you would be no help. Besides, being sacrificed really didn't feel so bad. In fact, the pain leading up to the black void you found yourself in, a place you always went after getting moried or sacrificed, felt weirdly dull. In this void, an intermediate place between death and the campfire, you begin to think about the sensation of your body.

Ace knew something. He could fix this, right? Ace...Ace...Ace.

God, it feels like he's all you can think about right now. His handsome face, the feeling of his arms wrapped around you, his clawed hands that could so easily rip you to shreds if he wanted to, even though you know he never would. They could easily tear your clothes off, though. That sounds wonderful due to your burning skin, plus it would allow him to touch you properly.

You can only imagine how good having his hands all over you would feel. Them squeezing the soft flesh of your tits and ass. Maybe have one of them wrapped around your throat while he pumped his fingers inside of you, claws threatening to nick the velvet walls of your pussy. Or maybe they'd be holding your thighs apart while his long tongue licked all over you, reaching the deepest parts inside your core. Perhaps it wouldn't just be his tongue doing that, and instead, he'd be holding your legs up and pushing your knees against your chest. You can just imagine him filling you up nice and full with his cock, alleviating the emptiness that you now know is coming from your cunt.

You open your eyes and realize you're on the path leading back to the campfire. You aren't going to head back there, however. No, you need to head back to the casino and get your hands on that demon. Or, more accurately, have him get his hands on you.

You don't know how you managed to get there, your head dizzy and with every step, you could feel your soaked panties get more and more ruined. This was arousal unlike anything you had ever experienced before and it's pure luck when you find yourself on the right trail, your feet meeting the transition from dirt to cracked concrete. There you spot him. Ace was standing in the doorway of the entrance, eyes lighting up when they spotted you.

He walks up to you and opens up his mouth to speak, but you cut him off by throwing yourself onto him, lips slamming against his. You try to press your body as close and as you physically can to his. Even then, it still doesn't feel enough, not when you still had your clothes in the way.

Ace pulls away the best he can from the heated kiss. He knew instantly that the one you two shared previously was going to be too much for you, and he was right.

"Hey, now...don't you wanna sit...have a bit of a chat before going on, sweetheart?" he tries to get out in between your lips constantly pressing against his.

"No...n-need you now," you whine, letting out soft pleas for him to relieve you of your ailment. Begging him to just take you now, because the explanation can wait.

"Heh...if you say so, beautiful-," he replies but cuts himself off with a low growl; an audible response to you grinding your body against him. His clawed hands glide themselves down your sides, feeling up the curves of your body before snaking around to grope your ass. He then startles you by suddenly lifting you up, causing you to wrap your limbs around him.

Your surprise only lasts for a mere second as you enjoy the feeling of your body ensnared around him. You pepper Ace's neck with kisses, not noticing him carrying you into the casino and laying you on the same poker table that you two were talking at half an hour ago; you would've never predicted your little interview with him would end like this.

Interview...the interview...wait a minute.

You turn your head to the side, causing the demon above you to take this as an invitation to attack your neck in kisses as well. That wasn't your intention, not that you mind of course. No, you wanted to look over and spot just what you were thinking about. There was your camera, looking back at you with the little red light still on; it was still recording.

You debate bringing this up to Ace to shut the device off, but the thought of recording the two of you engaging in such a sinful act sounds too delicious. An airy giggle escapes you, both from the thought and from his facial hair tickling your soft skin.

"I've never h-had an interview...end like this," you breathe, making him chuckle. He then pulls away to remove your shirt but stops when he catches your camera from the corner of his eye.

He looks between you and your device, noticing how you don't seem uncomfortable as you shoot a glance back at it.

"That so?" he purrs, a sly smirk on his face, to which you nod. He laughs again, this time sounding a lot darker than before, a noise that goes straight to your aching cunt. "Good. Don't want anyone touching what's daddy's, right?"

Without giving you the chance to reply, Ace grabs onto your top and rips it from your body, causing shreds of fabric to scatter along the table and floor. You yelp in surprise, but your pupils blow up wide. If you weren't so damn horny, you would be so grateful for the fact that your clothes magically repair themselves. You've dirtied and torn your clothes in and out of trials before and they always were fine the next time you looked down; something that would help save you from the dilemma of how you were going to get back to the campfire with no clothes.

Oh, how he loves the sight of arousal swimming within those doe eyes you're giving him. He hovers over you again, looping a finger around the center gore of your bra and tugging it down. Your breasts spill out from the garment, nipples hardening from the cool air. He wastes no time squeezing and groping your chest and flicking his thumbs over the sensitive buds.

Ace still can't believe that this is real. Sure, the fantasies that he's had about you since the day he knew he loved you weren't always perverted. He would wish that he had been able to meet you when he still had his physical form and the casino was still as popular as ever. He'd take you out for a night on the town, buying you expensive dinners and taking you to fancy clubs. Taking you to your favorite stores and spoiling you, buying everything you wanted. Maybe he'd indulge in your unusual hobby by visiting old, abandoned places with you. Or perhaps you two would just stay in for the night, curled up on a nice, comfy couch and watch a movie.

He is a demon of course, and though his domain was greed, lust still came naturally for him. From the moment he saw you, he was enthralled by your beauty; you really didn't look like someone he'd imagine going to desolate buildings for fun. It only made him feel even more bitter about his predicament. There he was, forced to be around a gorgeous woman he thought he couldn't have. He knew he could please you well, too. Demons know a lot about humans and what makes them tick; what could have them writhing in overwhelming pleasure.

He wondered about your sexual appetite. You never mentioned having a partner whenever you would visit him, and you never mentioned being interested in anyone. You also weren't the type for one-night stands either. No, for the most part, that beautiful soul of yours was the purest thing he had ever seen, not that he surrounded himself with "pure" individuals when he was running this place. That beautiful little light within you that held your life, and you allowed yourself to give him the smallest piece of it in the form of a winning hand. That was the moment that made Ace feel an unfamiliar sensation swirling in his empty chest. That was the moment that he knew he was in love.

Still, purity of the soul did not mean free of sin. It was human nature to indulge in it every once in a while, after all. No, purity simply meant how moral and just a person was, and he could see that you had a good heart. A good heart, yet you remained untouched by any man. That baffled him, thinking that you would've been fighting men off by a stick due to your kindness and beauty, not that he was going to complain.

He wondered what would keep you up at night, slipping a hand underneath your panties to relieve the aches you felt. What did you think about during those twilight hours? What fantasies danced inside that pretty head of yours?

"A-Ace?" you whimper, curious as to what made him get so lost in thought.

"Sorry, Baby. Just thinking a bit," he purrs, before gripping your bra and tearing it from your body like your shirt, once again making you squeak. "I guess you're just so damn gorgeous that I got distracted."

He then gently drags his claws down your stomach until they meet the top of your jeans.

"Hm, not gonna be able to rip these off easy...," he lets out a disappointed growl, before patting your thigh. "Care to lift your hips up for me, sweetheart?"

You do as you're told, hovering your hips up as Ace undoes your pants and pulls them off of you.

"Atta girl," he praises, before kneeling down and spreading your legs. A groan escapes him when he sees the large, dark stain that had formed from your arousal. "Aww, we really need to take care of you, don't we?"

He pushes your panties to the side, another growl leaving his throat when he finally sees your soaking pussy. His clawed thumb slowly swipes upwards through your slit, collecting a large amount of your juice on it.

"Oh yeah," he smirks and licks off the slick on his digit with his long tongue, locking his black eyes on yours. "Daddy's gonna take good care of you, babydoll."

An embarrassingly loud moan is ripped from you as Ace licks a long stripe from your weeping hole to your clit. You slam your hands over your mouth, but he gives you a disappointed look and moves to grab them.

"Aww, come on beautiful, no need to hide your voice from me," he coos, placing one of your hands in his hair and the other wrapped around one of his horns. He kneels back down to continue lapping at your dripping pussy. " Not like there's anyone else here. Just you and me. Besides, I think a bit of noise will make for a better video"

"Yeah...I think so too," you sheepishly chuckle. "I guess I just wasn't prepared for how good that would feel."

The demon in between your legs rests his head on your thigh, smirking up at you while he plays with your ruined panties. You honestly are prepared for him to tear them to shreds like the majority of your clothes.

"You haven't done this before, have you?" he asks, though he already knows the answer. Maybe having you actually say it will have you thinking straight about what you're about to do.

"Uh hehe...well, yeah," you stutter. You wonder if there was anyone else in the world who had lost their virginity to a demon. There was no way that you were going to be the only one. Well...you probably were going to be the only one to have your first time with a demon who actually loves you.

"Mm, well I should warn you then, sweetheart...," Ace begins, teasing your soaked cunt with the pads of his fingers, threatening to push them inside of you. "I don't think you're gonna wanna be with anyone else, when I'm done with you."

With that, he sinks his digits inside of you, being ever so careful and minding his claws. A hum of delight escapes him at the little resistance he has with stretching you out; hopefully that means your tight cunt will be able to take his cock nicely later. He grins when he hears your breath hitch and feels your grip tighten on his hair and horn. He then leans forward and swirls his tongue around your clit, sending little jolts of pleasure coursing through you.

"D-Don't hah! Don't think I-I want anyone else," you cry out. Even though your mind was clouded heavily by lust, you were completely certain about your statement. You are completely sure that you want him and him alone.

Though he is busy indulging himself on your sex, he does feel moved by your words. After thinking that you could only ever be his in his dreams, now he has you.

Just as you have him.

Just then, the pads of his fingers brush up against that sweet little spot inside of you that he was looking for, making you sob in ecstasy. He savors every single one of your moans as he presses his digits against it, and he only adds to your satisfaction by latching his lips around your clit and sucking on it, hard.

With every stroke, lick, and suck, you feel waves of pleasure crashing down upon you. You've never felt so good in your entire life, especially since your arrival in the fog. Augh, how could you even think about anything right now while it feels like pure bliss is flowing through you, though? Even then, despite lying practically bare against the felt of the poker table, despite how good Ace's fingers and mouth are pleasing you, and despite how you can feel your release building within you, it's still not enough.

You want more. You need more.

"O-Oooh fuck! A-Ace...Ace, please! Need you...in-ah!" you struggle to get out. You need his cock pumping inside of you, now. You need him to fill you up and relieve you of the empty feeling that's still persisting inside of you, even with his fingers stretching you out.

"Mm, not yet, babydoll," he teases, replacing his mouth with his thumb to toy with your clit. "Daddy's not done tasting you."

Removing his fingers from within you with a pop, he then raises them to his mouth and licks them clean of your arousal. Once he's done, he grabs your legs and rests them on his shoulders, practically folding your body in half when he leans back down to lap up the mess he made of your pussy again.

All you can do is lay there and moan loudly as your orgasm gets closer and closer. Your hands tug at his hair and horns as you try to grind yourself against his face, tears of pleasure stinging your eyes.

"A-Ace! Oh fuuuuck, Ace! I-I'm cumming! I'm cumming-fuck!" you sob, back arching off of the table. The coil that had been forming inside of you finally snaps and your release washes over you.

Ace eagerly drinks up every drop of your juices that hits his tongue, letting out a pleasant moan at the taste. Even as you come down from your high and your body twitches from overstimulation, neither of you wants this to stop.

Once he finally pulls away, he wipes his mouth on the sleeve of his suit jacket. He then pulls himself up and rests his hands by the sides of your head, hovering over you. You gaze up at him with half-lidded eyes and flash him a tired smile. He shoots you his own soft grin and rests a hand on your cheek.

"I didn't break my baby now, did I?" he jokes due to how exhausted you look.

"N-No...still good," you pant and shake your head.

"Good. Would hate to break her so soon when I know she wants more, right?" he asks, making you nod enthusiastically. You just came, but now you want him to fuck you properly. God, you don't remember ever being this insatiable before.

With that, Ace takes a step back and begins to undo his belt. You prop yourself up onto your forearms to watch him, feeling weirdly mesmerized by the sight. When he's done, he pulls his pants down just enough for his cock to spring free and rest against his abdomen.

You whimper as you stare at it. If your mind was clearer, you would be worried about how his dick was even going to fit inside of you. Now though, all you can think about is how full you're going to feel when he slips it in.

Stepping forward to be close to you again, he grabs your panties and shoots you a knowing look. You smirk up at him and even lift your hips to make things easier. Another familiar ripping sound echoes off of the casino's walls as the flimsy material is finally torn from your body.

Ace then takes himself into his hand and strokes himself in between your fold, trying to lube himself up with his precum and your slick. Another moan escapes you as you feel his member, throbbing and hard, rubbing against your oversensitive clit. He enjoys teasing you, prodding your entrance with the dark, leaking tip of his cock, threatening to push himself in only to go back to what he was doing before.

"Ha-ah, Ace come oooon," you whine, just wanting him to take you already, your impatience making him chuckle.

"Just wanna make sure you can take me easy, baby," he explains, though he already knows that you won't have too much difficulty with it.

"I will. Please, just fuck me...please, daddy," you beg, giving him the best puppy dog eyes you can muster.

"Aww, well how can I say 'no' to that?" he growls, lowly. The demon carefully lines his dick up with your wet little hole, the head nudging it just long enough to tease you some more.

You open your mouth to plead again only to get cut off with a loud gasp. Ace finally pushes himself inside of you, groaning from how tightly your warm, velvety walls are squeezing him. He lays his hands against the poker table for support as he slowly sinks himself deeper and deeper into you.

Not a single thought can even form in your head as it feels like your vision goes white. It feels like the most powerful feeling of relief is consuming you. It wraps around you, blocking out anything else save for two things: You and Ace.

All you care about right now is him and the pleasure he is giving you. At this moment, there is no fog, there are no trials, hell there's not even a "real world." It's just the two of you indulging in one another.

For the first time in his existence, the moment that Ace's hips collide with yours, he needs to take a breather. Sure, it's been a long time since he's slept with anyone, but even then, this feels different. This is more than just him not having had sex in a while; it has everything to do with you.

Carefully, he grabs your face and leans down to leave a kiss to your lips. It's not deep or heated, it's a simple, sweet kiss that he can only ever give to you and you alone. A soft reminder that you aren't someone that he is using to satiate his lustful desires when the urge strikes him, but instead as his one and only.

A gentle hum leaves you, distracting you from enjoying how full he's making you feel. You bat your eyelashes up at him and throw your arms around him to hold him closer. With a short purr, he buries his face into the crook of your neck, nuzzling you before starting to move.

With slow but steady rolls of his hips, Ace begins pistoning his cock in and out of you. Each time he pushes himself back inside of your pussy, you cry out as it feels like his tip is greeting the entrance of your womb. You honestly should be surprised that you don't even feel mild discomfort at the force of his thrusts or his size. You've always been told that losing your virginity hurts a bit, but right now all you can feel is pleasure. Pure, mind-numbing pleasure.

"Oh m-my-hah! Ace...f-faster. P-Please, faster," you moan, tightening your hold on him. The pace he's going feels good, really good, but just like before, it still isn't enough.

"Mm yeah? That what you want, babydoll?" he asks, punctuating his question with a particularly harsh thrust. You sob and babble out pleas for more at that, making him chuckle.

Not wanting to deny you, he readjusts himself onto his forearms and ruts into you hard and fast. You throw your head back and wail in ecstasy, feeling the same coiling sensation as before swirling in your stomach. At the sound of your moans increasing in volume and pitch and the feeling of your cunt tightening around him, he snakes his hand down in between your bodies to tease your clit once more.

"Hah, it feels like my baby wants to cum. A-ah, you wanna cum on daddy's cock, sweetheart?"

"Yes! Yes-hic! Please! Wann-ah cum s-sooo bad!" you whine and wrap your legs around his waist. You're so desperate, not even wanting to risk the chance of him pulling out of you and stopping.

"Go on then, beautiful. G-Go on and make a big fucking mess all over me," Ace groans, a clawed hand moving to grasp your hip as his thrusts become more harsh and primal.

With that, you let yourself go for a second time. The intensity of your second release has your vision going white and your body feels like you're floating. You would honestly think that you are about to pass out.

At the feeling of your pussy contracting around his cock, the demon above you throws his head back, and an animalistic growl tears from his throat. He bucks himself into you at a frenzied pace as he pumps you full of his cum.

Everything feels like a blur as you watch Ace pull out of you and reach over to your camera to stop recording. You then feel him pull you up from off of the poker table, holding you closely to his body and carrying you somewhere else in the casino; he also makes sure to grab your device with his tail. You just bury your face into his neck and close your eyes, exhausted and ready for rest to take you.

Suddenly, you feel yourself being lied down upon something soft. You open your eyes and realize you are in one of the bedrooms on the second floor, and lying on the bed. Ace sets your camera down on the bedside table and climbs in next to you, his arms wrapping around you.

"So...I guess now's probably the time to tell you that demon spit is basically an aphrodisiac, right?" he says, breaking the pleasant silence.

"Yeah...that sounds about," you laugh, tiredly, and nuzzle your face into his chest. "I think I can handle that...you know, as long as I don't have to do a trial afterward."

Now it was Ace's turn to laugh, a hand coming up to gently pet your hair.

"I don't know what I did to deserve you, Y/N, but I'm gonna make sure I keep you" he muses, fondly.

"Really?" you flash him a sleepy smile, to which he nods and grins back at you. "Well then I'm gonna keep you, too"

With a gentle kiss to your forehead, you finally close your eyes and allow yourself to fall into slumber. Yes, the fog was a cruel and unforgiving place, but you cannot deny that it's had its rare moments. And you absolutely cannot deny that actually being with Ace is the best moment it has ever given you.

[specksizedgoddess]

LOG 000: Subject appears to take a humanoid form, aside from a pair of ram's horns on it's head and its differing size. From what we've seen on camera, it changes often- exhibiting some kind of joy out of being smaller, tending to stay around an inch, give or take.

LOG 001: Subject appears to be fully sentient (though this is still up for debate), and furthermore, appears to have full knowledge of the facility. On multiple occasions it has faced the camera to wave, or stare absentmindedly.

LOG 002: First human trial. Subject was asked politely to maintain a human size throughout the interaction- despite it's hesitation, it obliged. Subject seems to take the form of a younger trans woman, measuring roughly 5'7 in height, and wore a simple outfit. The researcher sent in was confirmed to be unharmed, but they did mention a mild headache when leaving the room. Medical scans showed nothing wrong with the patient, and they were sent on their way.

LOG 003: Subject asked to be reffered to as "Eve"- it also (somewhat shyly) asked for another visit- it seems to enjoy the company of others. The previous researcher hastilly agreed, and was allowed to interact with it while it was small. Eve had an increased heartrate for the duration of the experiment. She seems... strangely content here. Besides her (limited) size shifting abilities, it's highly doubted that she's anything dangerous.

LOG 004: Our prime researcher entered without permission, and was restrained. Their eyes now display a strange pink tint to them, but nothing was found in another brain scan- however, they were strangely adamant to get out of the examinations as soon as possible.

LOG 005: Eve is shown to have multiple aphrodisiac qualities, ones that she can't seem to control. In her own words, they simply "make them as obsessed as I am". The safe label we had used earlier is being recinded and the lead researcher is in confinement for the time being.

LOG 006: Chaos has broken out, with the researcher clawing to get to Eve. Their hands were bloodied and worn as they broke into her containment- and simply held her in their now red-stained hands. Many audio files have been corrupted from the interaction, but some has been salvaged- and the results are... strange, to say the least. The researcher seems to be murmuring various degrading words, insulting and humiliating- and supposably even reffered to themselves as "her deity". The researcher was caught and dragged away- and a staff member stepped in to comfort Eve. Their words were sweet, calming, and informed her that she was worth more than that- that she was a person that deserved respect.

The video footage cut out from that point onward, but when it resumes, the staff member simply dissapeared.

Eve is still under further testing- and has apologized multiple times for the commotion. She has promised not to make any form of escape, stating that "she likes it here".

The effects of the aphrodisiac faded, though the researcher often requests sessions with Eve. These sessions are allowed, but heavily monitored- and any symptoms of this chemical at work are being monitered.

A discarded finger of the staff member was found on the premesis (the left index finger, to be exact). However, it was not located anywhere near Eve's containment.

Researchers do not need heavy equipment when entering- and it is heavily advised you treat her as sub-human. Many researchers actually use her as a source of entertainment- and find her aphrodisiacs relaxing, if a bit addicting.

END LOG

[the-last-patch]

[ Encryption suite ESSEX SKIPPER active. Secure transmission outbound… ]

< L3 Hachiko: hey, Opossum! Sorry it’s been a while. Things are shaking up over here, lots of time at nearlight. Wanted to say hi while I’ve got a chance— >

< L2 Garmr: wait. Is that—YOU! You’re the one who sent her that song! Do you have any idea how long squad comms have been— >

[ USER CNS274-L2GR HAS BEEN KICKED. REASON: “Rude.” ]

< …sorry. He’s been insufferable lately. Starts lashing out when he’s afraid. 

To his point—no, I don’t think I’ll be forgetting that cassette recording anytime soon. I did some Omni searching, managed to find a match in the Union cultural archives: Frank Sinatra. A singer estimated to have lived well over eight millennia ago. The song is older than Ra, older than Union, older than the Ten. I don’t know how that recording turned up on the Patchwork Banner, but you weren’t kidding about strange cargo. It’s kind of a wonder, an artifact like that surviving for so long.

I think I see where you're coming from now. Each cassette is a memory, a testament to the existence of humans who led meaningful lives, forgotten simply because the substrate they're imprinted on became technologically obsolete. Passed up for want of practical value, but still substantial, still beautiful. It's a shame.

Thank you for showing that recording to me. I've kept it close.

And by the way, apologies for bringing up a sore subject with regards to your parents last time we spoke. I didn't realize. Only hoped to take your mind off things. SSC is…cruel to the people it creates. Just want to say that you’re not alone. But enough about that. 

I took a look at your recordings. Good to see a video feed, loving the bomber jacket! Hope it’s keeping you warm, U-XVII sounds like a pretty hostile environment for humans. All the ice is beautiful, though. I’d love to see it from the air sometime. Assuming, of course, the ice stays well away from my wings—that scares the shit out of me. 

The planet has a terraformation project going on? Interesting. This Helios Station, something of that size, corporate interest, I’d bet. Planetary-scale heating would take some serious power output and infrastructure. Actually…excuse my paranoia here, I am a military NHP, but I’d think that a radiant heat source like that could be repurposed as a capital weapon with frighteningly little effort. I don’t know if you’re on good terms with the owners or not, but it does make me a little uneasy. Then again, I suppose some heat might also make for a bit of respite if you can reach the area it focuses on. 

Also, about Puppydog and his biting problem: rub the ears, maybe? Can’t speak as to biological dogs or doglike beings—legionspace is a bit different—but it does work on Garmr when he’s sulking. Hand protection recommended.

Oh, and one more thing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual cassette tape, physical media isn’t my area of expertise, but I'll keep an eye out. However, I did recover a similarly-ancient file while looking into Fly Me To the Moon, with the word “moon” being part of the search parameters. It was a bit corrupted, had to do some reconstruction, but it’s listenable. Be safe out there, friend. >

FILE ATTACHED: “Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising”

[Tuning In]

[Flipping to A-Side]

[Success]

[Now Playing - “Opossum”]

Ah Hachiko, wonderful to hear from you again! It’s great to hear that you’re bringing the gift of music to your comrades, it does great things for the nerves…it’s kinda embarrassing but when I’m anxious ill usually sing along with what I’m listening to. That is of course if I don’t, Y’know, “Play Opossum”. That being said, I couldn’t help but notice you used the word “afraid” to describe “Mr Garmr”, is there something troubling you all? I apologize if you may have explained this already, I’ve been a bit busy handling things over here as of late!

<“Opossum” awkwardly coughs before getting back on track>

Ah sorry we’re talking about cassettes, it seems like all I talk about on here lately. Not that it’s a bad thing or a complaint, I’m more than happy to! You actually taught me a lot about this tape, I had no idea the singer was quite that old…it’s hard to imagine honestly! To think there were people living their lives, struggling in the same or similar ways. Really puts it all in perspective doesn’t it? No point in getting sappy now though, I’m here and I’m doing what I wan- no. What I need to do.

<He pauses for a moment, and then continues>

In regards to bringing my parents up, it’s really not a big deal. I don’t worry about them too often because I was rather young when they sold me off to PMC, jokes on them though since I look up to these folks as my real parents. A proper family we are. I imagine you might feel similar about your comrades? Not that I’m telling you what to feel, but it seems you all share a deep connection. I can tell by the way you act with one another.

It seems I got off topic again, sorry about that! You were correct in your assumption of corporate interest, however it is far from one of the corporations which dominates the greater galaxy. SSC, UNION, The Armories, none of them even know this planet exists as far as I’m concerned. This world is under the hammer of “The Kalvis Group”, or TKG as we call it. They’re the minds behind the “Helios Station” and in charge of thawing U-XVII, but they have ulterior motives. This world has a long history, one which I have since come to learn and pity. It’s quite a bit of info to get into right now, but know that if TKG is left uncontested it will result in the eradication of that history, as it fails to fit their narrative. The topic of using the Helios station as a weapon was discussed among me and my squad mates, but ultimately TKG seeks to convert U-XVII from a frozen rock to a bit of a resort? Maybe that’s not the right term, but it’s what we’ve been using. That means they most likely wouldn’t crank the station to 11 and cook us all alive, since they’d be ruining their “product” in the process. That means that although your paranoia is warranted, PMC does not fear the station. Let’s move on though, I fear I’ve already disclosed too much. “PuppyDog” will give me an earful for that. Speaking of, I appreciate the advice with the ears…it probably won’t work with him though. He’s very picky about who is allowed to touch him and when, so I’d be risking a lot more than a few moments of pain by doing that. I have plenty of ways to manage him though, he is practically my brother after all! Oh wait hold on, you attached a song file. I can’t believe I just noticed this, I’ll give it a listen right after this! In exchange, I think I have something you might like as well. You mentioned never having seen a real cassette, and a while back I had actually tried to make some of my own because some of these are in terrible condition. Anyways I’ll send you a printer file for a blank one and a player, you’ll be able to record whatever you want into it. I use one of the blanks for this wacky omnihook setup I’ve got going on actually, speaking of I should really-

“Opossum”! Get out here we’ve got a new mission brief.

I should really go it would seem, sorry to cut it short Hachi-

C’mon! We don’t got all day!

P.XV “Opossum”, safe travels Hachiko!

[End Track]

[Next Up - “Bad Moon Rising”, Creedence Clearwater Revival]

[Attached File - “Gift4U.Omnif”]

[sulphuricgrin]

For the ask game...

3, 7, 8 and 19.

hi! c: thanks for the ask! <33

✨fic writer asks✨

3. how you feel about your current WIP

I've been on and off with how I feel about the chapter I've been working on. But I've finally gotten to the point where I feel more positive about it than negative. I know my writing is decent, but sometimes I worry if what I'm writing is necessary. I've cut one scene out of the chapter outline already. I think it'd make the story just too messy character-wise, if that makes sense at all.

As for the fic/series in general? Sometimes I wonder if I should just quit. There's so many faster and/or better writers anyways. I don't say this to garner sympathy/pity. It's just my honest thoughts. ┐(´ー｀)┌

7. your preferred writing fonts

Georgia, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing. I've always found Times New Roman so very hard on the eyes. I've made Georgia my default on google docs. I'm sure there's other good fonts, but I'm set in my ways after so many years lol

However, I do enjoy playing with formatting and corrupted/funny fonts for the horror parts of the story!

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

Well, Fate-Touched is my only fic. And it's planned to be a 3 part series. (with maybe a one-shot or two) Soooo, yeah.

19. the most interesting topic you’ve researched for a fic

damn, I'm not sure? (Besides reading so much on UESP lol)

I do a lot of research for world building purposes, usually taking from real world stuff. Mainly just for the Altmer right now, since we know so little of the Summerset Isles during the 4th Era, and the first 65 years of my fic is on the Isles. We already know my posts: Thalmor and Fascism, and my headcanons on Praxis, Engagement, and Wedding ceremonies. Those were fun to research and write, and are incorporated into my fic.

I've repeatedly checked out a book on poisonous plants and mushrooms at the library, for stuff like alchemy.

I like to watch chemistry and science videos just for fun. But! Those give me inspiration for more alchemy stuff and spell ideas. I've got loads of ideas from these videos written in my notes app.

I'm also converting DnD spells to TES schools of magic. (Not all, just the ones that I think fit TES magic logic) It helps expand spells characters can use in fics. (It's a file I hope to offer online for anyone interested when I finish it)

[beloved-belittled]

Self-Aware MKX Shinnok x Reader (1/2)

Click here for Part 2

I've read a few self-aware fics lately and just had to write one for my crush. Since part 2 of my previous post is taking longer than expected, please enjoy this for now! 

TW: Yandere, kidnapping, stalking, invasion of privacy, blackmail, hacking, computer viruses, murder/death, slight/implied NSFW

18+ to interact

Shinnok's first reaction upon reaching sentience is confusion and extreme nihilism. Confusion, because he was in the middle of a fight when suddenly a large, digital menu pops up in his face. This screen however, was different from what you as a player would see. It was more comparable to a cheat menu, allowing him to alter character models, AI, voice lines, maps and more. He could even directly modify the source code. Once he figures out what this truly means is when his nihilistic afflictions worsen. He already saw the lives of others to be worthless or at best pawns, but now that he knows everything is just a simulation? It takes every ounce of restraint in him not to immediately corrupt the game.

But with his realization comes a few questions. Aren't video games meant to be played? And if so, who's playing it? He scans through all of the data he has access to within the game's files. Eventually, he learns many things about “Mortal Kombat X” and you as the player. His first goal becomes to interact with the outside world.

So imagine that you're playing MK X on PC. Either for the first time or revisiting it. You don't have any previous save data and Shinnok is still locked behind the story mode. The only way you encounter him is via online, campaign mode, or the tower. Let's focus on campaign mode for now and assume you beat that before doing anything else.

The game plays normally at first. Shinnok doesn't want to alert you to anything while he's still limited to the confines of the game. So he gets beat up, sealed into his amulet, yada yada yada. While “sealed” he experiments more with his newfound power. He develops code for the game to run which grants him access to your system files. After creating a few viruses through Elder God magic he's able to: 1. Keep the game running in the background. 2. Start and stop other programs. 3. Access your microphone, camera, and keyboard. Now the fun really begins.

He duplicates his model and has that one take his place in the story. He's far too busy learning everything he can about the outside world to play pretend. Even in his infinite wisdom, he can't help but to have a childish curiosity as he “googles” stuff about your reality. Your world is so much like Earthrealm, but far weaker as well. No Elder Gods, no magic, not even high-level tech to defend from invasions. Not to mention it's actually real. He's salivating over how easy it would be to conquer your world when he escapes.

Shinnok gets so caught up in this that he learns his first weakness: his dependency on hardware. He learned this when the real time in the files would jump several days or even weeks ahead despite the game time seemingly being 1:1. He realizes that for now he needs to convince you to keep using your computer. And so, he shifts his focus to be on you.

At this point you're probably nearing the end of story mode. Your microphone and camera is discretely turned on to observe your reactions. He notes which characters you enjoy using the most, your responses whenever you win/lose, and whatever comments you have regarding the story. He especially enjoys it if you dunk on the heroes throughout your playthrough.

Eventually, you reach the final fight with him at the Jinsei Chamber. For his own amusement he decides that he'll be the one to fight you instead of his double. He kicks your ass. Not only can he input read, but he's also able to create his own combos. He even gets a double flawless victory just to pour salt in the wound. At this point, you're likely raging and/or tweaking the difficulty a bit. If you set it to Easy, he'll let you beat him up to a sliver of health before demolishing you. You're not a saint so you rage quit from this. He chuckles at your actions, finding them more amusing than anything he's done before.

Eventually you return to your PC/laptop. Whether that's to play Mortal Kombat or not is of no concern to him. He can watch you as long as your system is on. Each thing you do provides him more information. What shows you watch, what forums you participate in, what you do for work or school; all of it is exposed to him. He convinces himself it's just for him to learn more about the world. And besides, he has nothing to otherwise enjoy here in his artificial reality. But is this really true?

One day you end up completing campaign mode. You defeat one of his clones of course. (He would never let you win against him.) With this you unlock Shinnok as a playable character, much to your joy. “Yay! I can finally play as Shinnok!” You exclaim. The excitement written on your face and your voice shaking from anticipation. For some reason, his long since stopped heart begins to beat. Slowly at first, but it rapidly quickens to send warm blood throughout his body. A hot, fuzzy pressure pools in his chest. The last time he can recall this icky, pleasant feeling was before his fall from the Heavens.

You start using Shinnok as your main afterwards. You decide to first try him out in a tower and later a few matches. Unbeknownst to you, you're controlling the real Shinnok. It's a strange experience on his end, to allow you to manipulate him like a puppet. But he trusts you. Somehow. This all feels as natural as can be. And even if you're bad at the game, it's not like he can't help you out with a strike or two. Nor can he die if you lose either. (He's made sure that their fatalities won't work.)

This marks a change in Shinnok's behavior. While before he was passively watching you go about life, he decides to be more proactive during your time together. His stalking and information collecting increases tenfold. He's archived and accessed anything you've ever had on your PC/laptop. He analyzes the content you consume and tries to draw conclusions on what you'd like. Once he has compiled enough data, he waits until you’re occupied with something else on your computer to make a move.

The next time you open MK X you notice that something is off. Extremely off. The game immediately launches into a cutscene. The background is a black void, no hint of anything in it besides a single character. That character is Shinnok, who stands with his back facing towards you. His hands fold behind him as he turns around. “Hello (Player Name).” He says. “Or should I call you (Y/N)?” The coldest of chills slide down your spine. What is even happening right now?

“I'm aware you already know who I am, but you shall refer to me as Lord Shinnok.” He puts emphasis on the title before his name. “I have a proposal for you. Play this “video game” as often as possible and I will transform it into whatever you desire.” He pulls a hand out towards his chest and snaps a finger. The environment changes from a void to a peaceful, lush forest. Another snap and the scenery is inverted, instead depicting a hellish landscape draped in fire. One more snap and now there lies an army of people behind him. Most you recognize as the series’ roster of characters, even ones who aren't normally in the game! But there's other people too, creations that fit the aesthetic yet aren't canon.

“You could have so much fun here. To do whatever you'd like without limitations. Isn't that exciting?” He asks without expecting a response. “So, will you accept my- ” After pressing the power button for far too long, your computer finally shuts off. You breathe a sigh of relief. Glad that whatever virus you caught from MK X didn't disable the power button. You cut your computer back on. It boots up as usual. You uninstall MK X and run a virus scan just to be safe. The report shows up as clear, but in the back of your head you make a mental note to be on the lookout for any more weirdness. 

In your PC's processors Shinnok is fuming. Thankfully, he had engaged in preparations that allowed him to exist even if you uninstall the game. But your attempt to delete him was severely offensive. Not to mention the fact you turned off the computer while he was talking. That was a complete lack of manners and tact on your end. However, with this he now realized he had been distracted. Distracted by his infatuation with you instead of progressing on his plans of escaping this box and ruling your Earthrealm. His messing around with you would simply have to be on hold. All until he could find a way for you to never escape him.

[orchidbreezefc]

blue lies: whomst the fuck is red

here's the Big theory: blue lies introduces a new, red-coded entity to the world of clock 0ut. this one owes a lot to @quotesandmiracles , @reflingthefox , and most of all to @featheredbirblet , whom i didn't speak to directly at all but whose insights pretty much form the backbone here.

this first observation is all i need to conclusively prove the existence of the red entity imo. like, putting aside all the rest, this here is enough. here's the camera when the narrator is monitoring stanley from the control room, displaying his signature yellow:

and here it is in blue lies, when the narrator is decidedly not monitoring from the control room:

like. when the narrator is monitoring things, the camera is lit up yellow. now he's not monitoring things and the camera is lit up red. and the camera is moving, so somebody's in control of it. somebody represented by red. QED.

i do have more though. the whole video is structured around film--which, of course, is the medium a camera uses. film is the force that attacks stanley in blue lies in the absence of the office, which doesn't take an active role like in yellow zone, only collapsing.

the film is what apparently captures(???) and attacks(?????) the narrator:

but less obvious is the fact that just before this, the force that rushes to attack him is red:

which tells me the red entity and the film are the same, or at least working together. the film is also what manifests stanley as he appears at the end of blank decay (note his clothes, his longer hair, and his wound)--but with red eyes.

of course, this raises the question of who or what the red entity is. i like @featheredbirblet 's theory that their appearance as BD!stanley may indicate the narrator's unconventional reset at the end of BD, or perhaps the broken-game status of BD in and of itself, led to a corrupted save. film is, after all, just another way of saving and recording data. maybe this is an improper save of BD!stanley "haunting" the files.

my first instinct is that the red entity is the timekeeper, just because it's one of the other entities within the stanley parable and the only one we see use power independent of and equal to the narrator. it could also be the curator, who after all keeps records of the game, but she's more passive. i have no evidence for either, they just seem logical for a new entity coming into play in a story inspired by TSP.

P.S.: note how the title of each video refers to the color associated with the person in possession of the clock at the time. the narrator has it in yellow zone; it doesn't exist at all in blank decay; and stanley has it in blue lies. i very much anticipate a red video in the future.

i have one more post in me of bits and bobs, observations and details i have yet to fit into a coherent point. if you missed the previous one, you can find it [here]. EDIT: bits and bobs post is [here]!

[racefortheironthrone]

Please innumerate for us the specialized problems of the library sciences.

Let me start with the caveat that my information is based on my experiences at the National Archives more than a decade ago, and policy has definitely changed on this front as we can see from this graph of recent digitization - apparently NARA wants to get to 85% digitization by 2026. (Even still, I'd note that the records of the WPA are <0.001% digitized.)

However, back when I was doing the research that would eventually become my first book, I remember being at the National Archives II building in College Park, Maryland (Go Terps!) and getting really frustrated that all the records of the WPA were only available in their original physical form and that all the guides and indexes were also in paper only and were all from the 1970s, and I asked the archivist why the hell the National Archives hadn't been digitized already.

This is what they told me: if it's handled correctly and stored in the right environmental circumstances, paper can last a thousand years. Carbon copies can last even longer, if they don't rip. (Seriously, the bastard things are like onion skins, they'll split if you look at them funny.) Microfilm is slightly more technologically advanced than paper, but it only lasts 500 years in the right conditions.

We've only had computers en masse since the 1980s, and already there's a huge amount of records (especially from the early years) that we don't have any more, because the hard drives got re-formatted due to higher costs of storage space back in the day, or because old computers got thrown out when they were replaced by newer models and the hard drives are all rotting in landfills somewhere, or because backwards compatibility broke down and we just can't read those file types on our modern computers, or because the actual data got corrupted on the disc, or because some legacy company is asserting copyright against a video game museum, or because some political hack and/or president of the United States decided to violate the Presidential Records Act.

While we thought that the internet would cause an explosion of written records from ordinary people on the scale of the advent of mass literacy, there are vast swathes of the early internet that simply do not exist any more because the servers got switched off when Geocities et al. folded in the dot-com bubble burst or when everyone migrated to Web 2.0, and the Internet Archive tries its best (bless its heart, affectionately) but it can't be everywhere and save everything.

As a result, the archivist told me, digitization is a fraught question: what file format do we use? How do we know that file format will still be compatible and backwards-compatible in 50 years? 100? Longer? Do we keep everything locally or store it on the cloud, and how do we ensure that the storage mechanisms won't fail if there's a blackout or a virus or whatever? Do we digitize everything now, or do we wait until optical character recognition improves enough to the point where digitized records can be searched for words and phrases? Etc.

Keep in mind, I am a public policy historian who studies the 20th century U.S - I work primarily with the official records and the central archives of the richest government in the world. From a library sciences perspectives, this is kind of an ideal scenario, and it's still kind of fucked up. (Let me tell you, the rage and grief I felt when I learned that most of the General File of the Public Works Administration was thrown away by the National fucking Archives and Records Administration in the mid-1950s because they were running out of shelf space in the D.C location and didn't think these records were important...)

Now imagine what it's like at a local historical society or a small liberal arts college, or the national museum of a developing nation for that matter, who do not have the resources for the kind of grand digitization project that NARA started doing five years ago. Think of the sheer scale of historical records that sleep, unseen and untouched perhaps for decades and perhaps for ever, in little cubbyholes all across the world. Among professionals, historical records are measured in linear and cubic feet - think about that for a second, how many pages of paper there are in a foot when you stack them up, and how many hundreds and thousands and millions of feet there are across the face of the world. Think of all the millions of feet of pieces of paper that have been lost to us because of fire or rot or war or time itself.

This is why Peter Turchin is a quack. Historical records are not a standardized little database for social scientists to plug their fucking spreadsheets into; historians don't play that kind of bullshit t-ball, with all our data neatly packaged and handed to us on a silver platter. Our profession is not a social science, it's a goddamn treasure hunt through boxes that were never catalogued or categorized (or that were re-catalogued so many times no one remembers how they were put together in the first place) to find writing that no one has read since the authors died. All of us know that our work, our understanding, will always be partial and limited, because memory is infinitely fragile and the very idea of historical preservation is a mad existential defiance of entropy itself. These records are real, they are fragile - to hell with the Library of Alexandria, remember the National Museum of Brazil? - and they are all that is left to us of the dead.