#we love dest

[babyjakes]

🚨 WEEWOO

DEEEEST I WAS HOPING YOU'D SHOW UP, take some white button down!andys hehehe 😌💕🫶 idk why but i have soooo many andy pics in the collection, like he might be my most pinned daddy 😌

send me a 🚨 for a chris pic!!

[babyjakes]

UM— DEST???? WHAT THE?? FUCK??? IM SO?? HJORNY RIGHT NOW???????? he’s so fucking yummy and for what, he’s SUCH a daddy dom, after reading this i’m convinced there’s just no other way to write him 😭😭it’ll never be this hot, this good 😔🙏 i’m saving this one… tucking it away.. y’know… for personal reasons… (i will be slutting out to this fic with mayhaps a fav little toy of my own hehehehe👹👺👹👺👹👹👺👹👺👺👹👺👹)

So Close

Pairing: dad’s best friend!Ari Levinson x fem!Reader

Summary: Part two of We'll Get There. Showing Ari exactly what you’ve been up to for the two weeks he was gone.

Warnings: Age gap, inexperienced!reader, sex toys, masturbating, fingering, overstimulation, calling him “daddy,” 18+

Word count: ~1,500

a/n: I'm sorry for the 6-month wait ✋ Enjoy 🫡

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Hearing his front door open, you jump. You lost track of time waiting for him, but you quickly pull his comforter over yourself and listen intently to his footsteps coming toward the room.

There’s a silence when he walks in, one full of tension waiting to be cut by one of you acting on the anticipation.

Pushing his luggage against the wall, he stands back up, running a hand through his hair to get it out of his face.

“What have you been up to?”

If his gaze finally on you wasn’t making you nervous all of a sudden, you would almost laugh at how normal he’s acting, as if he hasn’t spent the last two weeks sending you the nastiest texts and having hushed, obscene phone calls with you.

“Nothing,” you shrug.

Subtly looking around, he’s beginning to think your acting shy is a facade.

“Really?” He suppresses his smirk. “Just waiting for me to get back?”

“Yup.”

As he steps closer, you catch his eyes drifting toward the familiar toy on the nightstand next to you – clearly recently used.

“So if I…” His voice trails off as he gently pulls the sheets off of you, revealing no clothes on the bottom half of your body.

“Hey–”

Reaching to tug them back, feigning offense, is no use when a giggle escapes your lips.

“Ah-ah,” he stops you, pushing your hands away. “You couldn’t wait for me, babygirl?”

“Wanted to be ready for you,” you try to defend yourself, putting on a pout for good measure.

“Well,” he lets out a breath. You let him sit on the side of the bed and bring a hand between your thighs to part them, exposing your slick-covered skin. “Looks like you’re very ready. What got you so wet, princess?”

“Was watching that video you sent me,” you mumble, too embarrassed to say any more.

He won’t let you leave it at that though.

“Which one?” He smirks. “The one where I… told you exactly how to touch yourself for me? Or the one where I was moaning your name as I–”

He could keep going if you let him.

Flustered though, you try to squeeze your legs back together, but he doesn’t let you.

“Don’t get shy on me now, baby…”

His teasing touch trails along your inner thigh, getting closer and closer to where you’re desperate for his attention.

“The one where you called yourself daddy!” You blurt it out quickly, closing your eyes.

He laughs. “Oh, you liked that?”

“Yes,” you gasp, pushing your hips toward his hand, needing to feel his fingers on your sensitive clit.

He gives in fleetingly, rubbing his middle finger in slow circles. You let out a moan of relief, effectively doing Ari in. For a moment, he finds it impossible to deprive you of what you've been so patient for since he last saw you.

“You gonna show daddy how well you can take your toy after all week?” He cooes, nearly mocking.

He didn't let you use it the first week he was gone, instructing you to get comfortable with your fingers and a few smaller vibrators first. He said you had to work up to it, that it would work if you listened to him.

“Yes!” You yelp when he pulls his finger away and slaps your pussy. “Please, daddy. I'll show you.”

Grabbing it off the table, he hands it to you and stands up just for a second to shed his jacket and jeans.

When he gets back on the bed, he has you move between his legs. Instead of your back against his chest, he turns you slightly so your legs are over his, giving him a view of what you're doing.

The small shift makes you feel a hell of a lot more vulnerable. But you find comfort in locking your eyes with his, catching a brief reassuring look before one of lust takes over again.

“Go on,” he nods, resting a hand on your thigh to keep your legs in place. “I've been waiting to see you like this again since I left…”

A desperate sigh falls from your lips as your head rests against his chest, warding off your embarrassment by closing your eyes and focusing on the heavy toy in your hand.

You let the tip of it glide through your dripping folds, shuddering when it touches your clit.

“The pictures weren't the same, baby,” he continues. “Sure, I got off, but nothing beats the real thing.”

The image of him jerking off to you flashes in your mind, the videos he sent leaving nothing to the imagination – Sweaty strands of hair sticking to his forehead as he tips his head back, a large hand stroking his cock while the other caresses his balls, all while groaning your name.

It prompts you to finally push on the base of the dildo, the fat tip stretching you open.

“Ari,” you whimper, elusively squirming against him, against the evident erection nudging your hip.

He lets out a breath, trying to contain himself. “That’s a good girl.”

He watches as you thrust it deeper, working yourself up to almost taking it all.

“Feel good?”

“Uh-huh,” you sigh, the initial twinge of pain quickly turning pleasurable.

“You're doing so well,” he praises. “Keep going.”

With how deep you feel it, you swear you're taking the whole thing. The pressure has you hurtling toward the edge already.

“So close, babygirl.”

His words have you peeking your eyes open, a quiet frustrated whine coming from you when you see that's not the case.

“Please, daddy,” you beg, grabbing his hand and putting it over yours, a silent plea for him to take over again.

Lucky for you, he’s feeling generous. He wordlessly replaces your hand with his, fucking you rougher than you had the nerve to do.

A loud moan rips from you as he thrusts the toy the rest of the way, finally filling up your needy pussy.

“Fuck,” you choke out, grasping at his forearm.

You think he's showing some mercy when he slows down, the drawn out drags of the fake cock allowing you to feel every bump and ridge of it against your tight walls.

But that doesn't last long until he's picking up the pace again, laying a hand on your lower belly to keep you in place.

“My good girl can take it, can't she?”

Your rapid breaths make it hard to answer with words, so you nod, but that's not good enough for him.

His free hand slips farther down, fingers landing on your swollen clit, making you gasp.

“Can’t she?” He repeats.

“Yes, daddy,” you cry out. “Please.”

It becomes the only word you know, repeating it until the pleasure becomes too much.

Your eyes roll back as your orgasm washes over you, legs trembling and involuntarily trying to close around his hand. He eases his fingers off your clit to slap your thigh, forcing your legs open, earning a high-pitched moan from you.

The toy practically slips out of your spasming cunt, and Ari lets it, prolonging your high by thrusting his fingers into you instead.

“There you go,” he growls, keeping you full with two fingers as his palm grinds against your clit. “Good girl cumming for me.”

“D– Da– Ari,” you shout, voice quivering as an unexpected second orgasm hits you. “It's– Too much.”

He knows it is by the way you stammer your words like that. He slowly stills his hand, easing away from your throbbing clit and pulling his fingers out of you carefully.

A few more whimpers of his name fall from your lips, your body torn between being over sensitive, but yet not wanting his touch to completely leave you.

“I've got ya,” he whispers, rubbing a warm hand against the side of your leg, up to your back as he pulls you closer against him.

A few residual shocks of pleasure, teetering on discomfort now, course through you as you curl up to him, nestling your face into his neck. Your heavy breaths are hot against his skin.

“I know that was a lot,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “You okay?”

He can feel you nod against him as you hum. “Mhm.”

As your breathing finally steadies, you shift in his arms to get more comfortable.

Your side rubs against his still-hard cock again and he clears his throat to disguise the sharp breath he takes in, but you catch on anyway.

“Sorry,” you chuckle, scooting away just slightly. “Do I need to…”

“No, no,” he hushes you softly. “Not yet. We'll get there.”

He doesn't see your eyes widen upon hearing the words. Not again.

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Tag list: @patzammit @denisemarieangelina @thummbelina @pppsssyyyccchhhiiiccc @princess-evans-addict @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @turtoix @katiew1973 @harrysthiccthighss @bluemusickid @rocketrhap3000 @mrspeacem1nusone @geminievans1 @doozywoozy @americasass91 @dwights-new-plague @wwwmarissa92 @redhairedfeistynerd @whxre4cevans @aubreeskailynn @white-wolf1940 @melchills-j @xoxabs88xox @just-one-ordinary-fangirl @before-we-get-started @chrissquares @christowhore @ice-dtae @mariestark @justile @rogersbarber @dilfbarber @livstilinski @payperhearts @vintagestarlight @chaeycunty @miss-ariella @bemysugarbean @t-stark35 @seitmai @reginaphalange2403 @raelorns21

[silverthehedgehogexplained]

Explaining Silver the Hedgehog's Backstory

One of the most confusing subjects in the Sonic fandom is Silver’s backstory, the chronology of Sonic 06 and how it affects the characters. So in this post I’ll go over what we know about Silver’s backstory, its effects on his character, his involvement with Blaze and how the ending of Sonic 06 affects them.

Silver was born 200 years into a devastated future ravaged by the Flames of Disaster Iblis. The sky was always dark and the world was filled with endless wastelands ravaged by constant disasters and hostile Iblis spawn. The people are exhausted and live without hope. Iblis rampages and burns everything in its path. Silver has fought against Iblis for most of his life and tried to find the source of the disaster for just as long but no one could tell him how the world came to ruin.

This backstory informs Silver's character in the following ways:

Silver is a warrior. He is proficient in and enjoys fighting, has very aggressive determined expressions with constant fists and is a noted fighter(Shadow describes him as a fighter in Team Sonic Racing) whose power is respected by Sonic and Shadow. Silver is extremely powerful and capable of defeating small armies of enemies and giant monsters by himself. This stems from his apocalyptic background in the hostile future filled with Iblis minions and disasters such as flame tornadoes that he had to battle constantly. When you surprise him in Generations he is instantly ready to fight and angrily looks around, he comes from a world where all manner of Iblis spawn could attack at any given moment. It is explained in Silver's introduction story on Sonic Channel that Silver fought and struggled for half his lifetime, indicating that Silver fought against Iblis and its forces from a very early age.

Silver is naive, he has a black and white perspective and tackles things bluntly. He expects people to believe and cooperate with him when he says he’s from the future or explains outlandish things about his mission. He is earnest, he has no filter and acts unrefined when talking to people(which in Japanese is signified by his use of the informal "Ore" and "Anta" to address himself and others when he speaks). He sometimes takes things literally, misinterprets things or doesn't get jokes. He can also be unfamiliar with things in Sonic's time period. We don't know how people lived in the apocalyptic future or what they did and didn't have access to but it seems to be very rudimentary, destitute and even militarized as one of the glimpses into Silver's future from Sonic Pict shows him eating calorie bar rations that are described as apple flavored. Related to the above, Silver likely spent the majority of his time fighting.

Silver is also very pragmatic. He has a straight to the point mindset and hates distractions, frivolous details or just things getting in his way. As a survivor there is no room for pointless things for him.

On the flip side of that however, Silver is also wide-eyed. He loves challenges and experiencing fun new things he never had access to and is said to engage in cheerful activities following the historical change of 06.

Silver is incredibly optimistic and hopeful. He was able to fight through the hopeless ruined future world because he had the hope for a blue sky and the determination to keep fighting when everyone else had given into despair.

Most importantly of all however is Silver's deep love and drive for peace and prosperity. Silver is a very empathetic person that cares deeply for the state of the world and people around him. Note the beginning of his story in 06 where he expresses outrage at the state of his future with dark skies, endless wastelands and people that live in despair then contrast that with his later dialogue throughout the series where he expresses love for blue skies, beautiful vistas or just places where people live happily. Something as simple as a desert is beautiful to him simply because there is no destruction and the people are happy. Silver particularly loves and desires to protect smiles and blue skies because he came from a world that is stated to be filled with darkness and despair according to Sonic Team's Sonic Channel stories. Silver fights for peace and prosperity for the world and its people because he has experienced quite literal hellish suffering and devastation.

I also want to emphasize that Blaze isn't part of Silver's backstory and he didn't have her in his life in the apocalyptic future. Sonic Team head Takashi Iizuka confirmed that Silver and Eggman Nega originate from the future while Blaze originates from her dimension and writer Ian Flynn has confirmed that Sonic Rush takes place before Sonic 06 with these answers on his podcast.

"I can't get too much into it because this is kind of internal stuff that has not been clarified publicly but Sonic Rush comes first, the Blaze of 06 is the Blaze of Rush and she doesn't die, she turns into Burning Blaze and warps back to her own dimension and forgets the events of 06."

"I don't know how much I can get into it without being given the official go-ahead, but Blaze is not from Silver's post-apocalyptic future. She is from her own dimension and it's extremely nuancey, but she doesn't really see or interact with Sonic until like the very very end of Silver's campaign. It's...an incredibly narrow loophole but she doesn't necessarily know that it's Sonic they're after. Again I'm sure someone can tear that apart very easily but suffice to say, I believe the intention is that she doesn't know that Silver is targeting Sonic specifically and she has no interaction with him or really anybody else in the main cast for that reason."

Meaning that Silver and Blaze only met shortly before the events of 06 and Silver faced the ruined future on his own before that point.

Things are gonna get a bit complicated here but Blaze only temporarily appearing in the future before being ripped away from Silver actually ties into their Tanabata parallel. In the story of Tanabata, Orihime(the princess) only descends to the world of Hikoboshi(the cow herder) for a short while before they are separated for neglecting their duties. At the end of Silver's story, Silver neglects his duty by refusing to seal Blaze away and so they are separated, only to ever meet again when crossing paths in Sonic's world.

When arriving in Wave Ocean, Blaze notes the world of the past. This is because Blaze seems to actually have amnesia.

According to Ian Flynn, the reason why Blaze was kept away from the cast besides Silver in 06 is as a narrow loophole to keep her from realizing it was Sonic they were after. In a 2012 Q&A for the Sonic Boom convention, Sonic Team Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka stated that the characters in 06 had amnesia and at the end of the Metal Virus arc in IDW we learn that rough inter-dimensional travel can cause amnesia which happens to Sonic when he crashes into Blaze's dimension. Blaze then reawakens Sonic's memories by reminding him of his super form, something that Blaze was kept from in 06.

What happens with Blaze in 06 as I understand it is that at some point prior to the events of the game Blaze was transported to the future where she developed amnesia upon arrival before joining Silver in his war against Iblis. They are deceived by Mephiles into trying to assassinate Sonic before Silver learns the truth and returns to the future to seal Iblis away, he is unable to do so however due to not being a compatible vessel and Blaze seals Iblis and herself away instead. Following the defeat of Solaris and the subsequent historical change, Blaze warps back to her Dimension and forgets the events of 06(according to Ian Flynn).

Silver also warps back to the future and forgets the events of 06 but not his apocalyptic life under the devastation of Iblis, only the events of 06 itself and his original partnership with Blaze which was clarified in his Fast Friends Forever profile that states he can't remember how his future was restored(as in the events of 06). 

So yes, the ending of Sonic 06 doesn't change Silver or Blaze's backstories. Silver is still the apocalyptic warrior from Sonic 06 and Blaze is still the imperial princess from Sonic Rush before and after the events of 06.

The endings of both Silver’s Story and the Last Story of 06 tie into the game’s themes of duty, sacrifice and exchange.

“Do we have to sacrifice something in order to gain something?”

To gain something you have to lose something, to become a hero you must be willing to make sacrifices. Blaze sacrifices herself to save the future and in exchange for the peaceful happy future he always wanted, Silver, alongside everyone else, loses their memories of the events of 06.

But Silver's duty doesn't end there. He continues to protect the peace of the future as new disasters and changes in the timeline occur, and just like with Iblis, Silver will continue fighting them for a peaceful world.

[giggly-squiggily]

Freckle-Dusted Daffodils (Jujitsu Kaisen)**Tickletober2024**

Y'all know I had to write for the girlfriends. Like- it's the law. Anywho- happy Tickletober! :D Today I bring you some NoMaki (Makibara?) cause dang it they're cute and I love them!

Cloud 9 (Taglist Peeps):

@thatbigbisexual29 @duckymcdoorknob @gladdygirl18 @baby-tickles2022 @cupcake-spice13 @rachi-roo @mystwrites @chibisstuff @imjusthere07 @sevenincubistolemyheart @riisada @sp1racle @happy-trenchcoated-impala @r-ne_lovesu

Maki wasn’t the type to sleep in. Not usually anyway.

She was fairly consistent with her morning workouts- making it a point to get up extra early and hit the fields with her various cursed weapons; coming home around brunch hour with treats for her and Nobara to share. Some days however- she just let herself relax.

Today was one of those mornings.

Nobara let out a near mute sigh of content as she laid her head against Maki’s chest, relishing this rare day off from their usual routine. The room was the perfect temperature of cool but not too cold- the sky outside was cloudy and threatening to rain at any moment. Maki’s heartbeat was white noise; a soothing rhythm that pulled her towards sleep the longer she listened to it.

She didn’t want to sleep though. It was a rare sight, Maki at peace like this. She wanted to drink it in for as long as possible.

Leaning into the pillow, Nobara took in her face, from her long lashes to the way her hair fell against her scarred and freckled shoulders. Maki always had her skin covered- she never knew about them until now. The brunette took one last peek at her girlfriend’s face before reaching out, barely tracing the pattern of brown spots with her nails.

A twitch, a squirm. Nobara felt her lips curl into a grinch like smile.

Oh?

She did it again, just barely touching her as she traced the freckles dusting her scarred skin, feeling her girlfriend stiffen some in her sleep. Despite this, she didn’t look mad or unhappy- the slightest of frowns and Nobara would back off. Instead, she seemed even more relaxed than before.

“What do we have here?” Nobara barely spoke over a breath, biting down giggles as she carried on walking her feathery fingers down the freckled skin of Maki’s arm, tracing constellations against the warm surface. The entire time, Maki remained asleep- only occasionally reacting whenever Nobara got close to her armpits of the skin not covered by her tank top. It was such a warming sight, seeing her so peaceful, and knowing Nobara’s actions- admittedly backed by mischief- were a part of it made the smaller girl happy.

She ran her fingers back to the skin on Maki’s shoulder, debating whether she’d go for her neck or not. It’d end the game, but she just might have an advantage. She was about to do so when-

A hand caught hers, golden eyes opening and staring down her wide brown ones. “Oh, hey honey. Good morning.” Nobara smiled, hoping she didn’t look like a field mouse to Maki’s lioness glare. “You erm- sleep well?”

“....You know, I did.” Maki admitted, making Nobara relax. “I had a dream that I was in a field, and no matter how many times I swatted it away, this daffodil kept tickling me.” Oh no! Nobara tried not to laugh as she was suddenly pulled closer, Maki’s dangerous form looming over her. “So I decided when I woke up, I’m gonna pluck it out of the ground and tickle it. What do you think?”

“Well…erm, can the daffodil make a request?” Nobara squeaked out, giggling more when Maki quirked an eyebrow. “Cahan she have breakfast first?”

The green haired warrior blinked. Then she laughed, the sound low and raspy and doing funny things to Nobara’s insides. “Later.”

“Wait-wai-ahhahahahahhahahahahait!” Nobara let out a shriek as her sides were grabbed, Maki’s fingers flying up and down with merciless intent. “Mahahhahaki! Mahahhahhaki babahhahahahbe pleahhahahahshe-gehahhahahahah!”

“What’s wrong, daffodil? Not happy with the consequences of your actions?” Maki cooed at her, voice sweet compared to the destruction her fingers were bringing upon Nobara’s nerve endings. “Did you not think this through? Or are you just realizing this is what you wanted all along?” She kneaded along the terrible spot against Nobara’s  hip, making her shriek so loudly they were sure somebody would complain. “Admit you wanted this all along and I’ll stop.”

“THAHHAHAT’S NOHOHOHOT FAHAHAHAHIR! AHEHAHAHAHAH MAHAHHHAKI!” The brunette cried, cheeks burning and eyes blurred with mirthful tears. She didn’t have the strength to push her away, so she opted to let her hands kinda flail, slapping at the sheeted bed and pulling at loose strands of Maki’s hair. “OHOHOKAY OOHOHOKAY FIIHIHINE! THIHIHIS IS WHAHAHT I WAHHAHHANTED NOW STAHAHHAP!”

Maki hummed in thought, moving her fingers to Nobara’s belly as she pretended to think about it. The brunette’s screeches died down to relentless giggling, her hands coming up to grab onto Maki’s. “Well…okay. I guess I can forgive you this time.” She finally stopped for good, letting Nobara breathe. “Do that again however and I’ll really make you regret it.”

“Schahahhary.” Nobara giggled out, squeaking when her hips got pinched. Before she could protest, Maki was kissing her, switching gears in her brain and making her melt. When they pulled back, she let out a happy sigh, reaching up and brushing her bangs back from her forehead. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too, you dork.” Maki kissed her again before rolling off her, going towards the bathroom. “Hurry up and get dressed- I promised a daffodil breakfast.”

“Aww, but I just got comfy!” Nobara whined some from her sheets, curling up more with a small pout. “Can I have you for breakfast instead?”

Maki paused, turning back with a raised brow. Nobara let out a witchy cackle before hiding in her blankets, grinning from ear to ear. “You’re too much.”

“You love me!”

“Do you want real breakfast or not?”

“Can it be that new donut place that opened up?”

“If you get your ass out of bed in time, yeah.” Maki smirked as she walked into the bathroom, the sounds of Nobara flailing out of bed making her laugh. 

God, she loved her so much.

Thanks for reading!

[notearsnora]

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for the November issue of Vanity Fair.

[saku0115]

So here we go @sonic-fankid-showdown

So at last it's finish, here its the final video

at firt this was gonna be a little comic of dest playing the piano but i started to add, and add and well here we are now....

take this as little of a shitpost and a little of a tribute to this 2 sfs event, in the video there are all the children that took part of the 1 round, so even when dest is the main focus, all the children are there so go find your's i guess.

i have more word in my mind that i cant really express through writing, im just really happy that something as this event exist, i love the kids and the community that has been born from it, this is my love card to this event, have a great day and stay hidrated.

@head---ache

Base on this post; 1 , 2(ok, i didnt base the final scene with this in mind, but its funny that i made the scene got in the blog for ref and find this)

[inklore]

forbidden cravings

premise: stay in your room; that's all you had to do. a simple demand that you planned on following until something goes bump in the night and you're trapped between two monsters.

pairing: vampire!din djarin x reader x vampire!bo-katan kryze

word count: 5k

contents: blood and biting obviously, oral, threats, murder mention, reader is a little clueless, power imbalance, bo is kinda evil but we love her for it, brief mention of piv.

note: this took me way too long to write and by the end of it i was very tired so hopefully someone out there enjoys this lmao. i could possibly see myself writing more within this little world, maybe.

haunted hoedown day five.

You had never noticed how creaky the house was until tonight. Until you were stuck in a dark, dampened room. Your only light coming from the candle at your bedside, the moon, and the flashes of lightening through the windows. The deep red drapes that match the ones that hang around the four poster bed in the middle of the room, that look ancient and eerie, set your already on edge nerves into a frenzy of fight of flight.

You had dusted this room many times. Have been past the threshold and seen it painted in the daylight. 

But never at night. 

You were prohibited from being here past nightfall. 

The master of the house—your boss—had made it clear upon your first interview a year ago that you’d only be needed in the daytime. That staying after nightfall was not something he needed you around for, and it would be of best interest to the house if you departed once the sun set. 

It’s a rule you questioned little. A rule you were fine and happy to obey. 

It wasn’t your job to question it. It wasn’t your place. 

You were the housekeeper, nothing else. Nothing less. Nothing more. 

And you’d never think of going against the lord of the manor, Din Djarin. 

The infamous inventor. 

The mysterious scholar.

The man with whom you’ve slowly bloomed a friendship with while you’ve worked here. The two of you have spent hours in his library with your fingertips, running along old books, relics he’s come across in his travels, and blue prints for inventions he one day wishes to create. 

The pair of you bonding over the love of old words and worlds you wish you could have been a part of. 

Working for him and being in his home—the dark gray spiraling staircases, the arched doorways, the black and red wallpaper that look hundreds of years old and yet look like they’d just been done yesterday—was a joy. 

A better job than working at the mill or getting by on your looks alone to put food on the table. 

You lucked out. Was honored to get the position and even more honored to befriend the destinguishinly handsome Lord Djarin. 

His staff soon became like a second family to you. A home away from home—a much more beautiful and sprawling home than your own, but a home in all senses of the word. 

Not even the curfew could dampen your love or the job. 

The only thorn in your side, the only downfall—negativity—to working for the Lord was his companion, his wife, Lady Kryze. 

While most days, the two of you would rarely cross paths. Her off on travel, or in the west wing of the house that you seldom find yourself in. 

But when appearance’s were known, brief or not, she always had a look of haughtiness about her. Her red hair laying perfectly on her shoulders, and her dresses always form fitting and beautifully cascading to the floor. The neck line plunged lower than what’s usually considered proper—that always made your cheeks heat when you found yourself rudely staring, a smirk on her lips that quickly got washed away with a scornful arch of her brows. 

She had never been rude to you. Had never demanded of you or treated you unkindly the way one would think when you looked at her intimidatingly beautiful face. The power you know she held with just a look, a twitch of a smile, or the flick of her fingers. 

She was the opposite of Lord Djarin. 

The two seeming an odd match for two people destined to be together. 

Your schoolgirl crush on the Lord of the Manor definitely having little to do with your opinion on the fact. 

It had been Lady Kryze who had suggested you stay. Almost demanding it, with the weather outside being too dangerous to travel. The winds whistling through the old bones of the house. The rain coming down like heavy hail. The thunder that you could feel deep in your bones each time it rumbled. 

Lord Djarin had protested on the matter. Said you could wait out the storm but insisted you leave after. 

“Don’t be rude, honey.” Lady Kryze had said. The sentiment, honey, came off more as an insult than as something sweet and tender. The look on the Lord’s face one of strain and frustration. A warning flashed in his eyes before he gave you a tight lipped smile and nodded in agreement. 

And now here you are. Dressed in a nightgown that Lady Kryze had supplied you with. The white fabric feeling almost like satin against your chilled skin, the lack of heat coming from the radiator on the other side of the room making you frown as your breasts made it more than clear how your body was reacting to the draft in the room—to the cold storm outside. 

The loud thump that startles you from outside of your door tears your gaze from the window and elevates your unease when you put your ear to the dark wood and hear nothing but the old house talking in the way one does in storms or settling.

Lord Djarin had ordered you to stay in your room. To lock the door from the inside and try to get some rest. Assuring you that all was alright, the drafts liked to open the doors at night. 

Listening to the plea in his voice that he tried to hide with his endearing smile was enough to convince you not to try it. To listen to his words. To do what had been asked of you without question once again. 

But the thump comes again. This time, sounding closer. Perhaps a glass broke somewhere in the hall. 

Your teeth chew at your bottom lip in worry. 

What if the Lord or Lady needed help? What if they had fallen? The lack of electricity in the house was more than a factor, a reason, for something that could cause a fall. Candlelight only shows so much in these dark halls. 

And while there had been no cry for help. No croak, groan, or indication that someone needs help; you can’t help the way your heart escalates or why you ignore the nerves, making your hand shake as you unlock the door, twist the cold handle, and open it a sliver. 

Your eyes search the vast darkness of the hall within the tiny space you’ve given yourself. The lit candles in the holders on the wall do little to aid in you seeing anything other than small glows of orange light past the railing that lines the hall. 

The words of the Lord push into the back of your mind as you open the door more and poke your head out into the dark space. The strings of lightening outside paint the empty hall in blue light. Streaking against the dark wallpaper hauntingly. 

“Lord Djarin?” Your voice is faint compared to the booming thunder outside. A gulp of air fills your lungs when you get enough bravery to step fully out of your room and speak a little louder, “Lady Kryze?” 

The silence only pushes you forward. 

Has your bare feet cold and weary against the long rug on the hardwood floor. The floorboards creak with each step that you take.

The portraits of unknown people by unknown painters look more intimidating and scary the longer you venture through the hall. The candles shadow their faces in scowls that aren’t normally there in the daylight. 

Your fingers dig into the side of your nightgown, bunching up the fabric as your heart hammers against your ribs. 

Maybe you should go back to your room. Maybe it was nothing. The rooms with open doors were dark and abandoned. The staircases are bare, and the entryway below, when you look over the rail, is completely encased in darkness.

Maybe it had come from the west wing of the house. Maybe it was a branch outside. Your mind isn’t sure. Isn’t thinking about anything other than getting back to your room, engulfing yourself in the bedspread, and trying to ignore every creepy sound that the storm outside aids in the houses off putting nature.

Being here at night was, in fact, something your nerves could not handle, it seemed. 

You sigh. Come to a stop at the last door along the hallway. Your bottom lip sore from your worrying. Whatever the thump was, it’s not something as drastic as your mind had probably come up with, and unless you feel like venturing down the stairs and through the rest of the house, it wasn’t your concern—and the prospect made you shiver knowing some parts of the house didn’t have candles lining the walls. 

But when you turn to head back to your room, your body crashes into another, and the scream you let out rings along with a crack of thunder, filtering the hallway into a horrific sound of chaos and fear. 

“You were told to stay in your room.” 

“Oh my—" your hand flies to your chest. The beat of your heart feels as if it might beat it’s way out of the cavern of your ribs. Your lungs finally fill with the air that had been whooshed out of you when you had collided with the other person once you realized who it was. “Lady Kryze.” 

“I was told you listen to directions well,” her smile is pressed and sure. Humorous in the way her eyes move along your appearance. The relief you felt from it being her soon dying when you remember how see through your nightgown is. Your arms cross over your bare chest. “How misguided.” 

“I-I was just,” you swallow. Try to get your breathing back to normal. Try to stop the pounding in your ears matching up with the rain outside—with the booms of thunder. “I heard a noise.” You manage to get out. The amused raise of her brow makes your body heat up in something akin to embarrassment or a child running to their mother at night because they are scared. 

Lady Kryze hums, “many things go bump in the night around here. It’s an old house.”

“Of course,” you nod. “Yes.” You laugh nervously, breathy, and unsure. Trying to ease the tension that’s growing between the two of you. Worried you might be jobless come morning. “I apologize. I was just worried that you or Lord Djarin may have been hurt.”

“You’re a doctor? Here I thought you were a maid.” Her smile is mocking, unkind. But that’s when you finally take her fully in. With the flashes of lightening through the window at the end of the hall, giving light to the shadows that dance along her face in the candlelight.

She looks…different. 

There's a deep red tint to her lips that’s not usually there. You can’t recall the last time you saw her wear lipstick, let alone that shade. Her hair is darker and more unruly at the bottom than usual. Than the sleek look of perfection it’s always at. Her clothes—her dress—stained a deep red and ripped at the top, standing her paler than normal skin out. 

Your eyes look down to her nails; they’re longer. Stained the same shade as her lips and her dress. 

Somethings not right.

And when your gaze meets hers again, you can see how much darker her eyes look than what you’re used to seeing below that scowl. Bigger. Almost as if her pupils had doubled in size.

Your lack of subtlety seems to give you away when you quickly try to sidestep her and head for your room. 

“Now that I know you’re both fine, I’ll just go back to my room now.” You say softly, give her a forced smile as you try to keep your composure and act as normal as you would if you weren’t scared out of your skin. 

Lady Kryze laughs under her breath. Let’s you step past her and walk one, two, or five steps before there’s a grip at the back of your elbow and your back is being slammed into the wall. The gasp of your lungs deflates from the pressure puffing out against her face with how close she is. 

“Lady Kr-”

“Bo.” She corrects, her eyes wandering down your face, pausing at your lips and the junction where your jaw meets your neck. Swallowing hard before her gaze cascades to your chest, “I always hated the pleasantries Din demanded we go by to fit in with you…humans.” 

“You humans?” You give her a quizicall look, too much going on in your nervous system to comprehend her words. To make sense of them when the fear of the emotion in her eyes reads hunger. 

And when she laughs again, her smile more genuine than any you’ve seen spread across her perfectly proportioned lips before; you see it. See them.

The pointed teeth that have replaced her normal ones. 

The way they gleam off of the orange glow of the candles. The way they make you swallow. Make your chest hurt from the bruising your heart is doing to your ribs from beating so fast. 

What is she?

“I thought you were smart? With the way Din talks about you, I imagined you would have figured it out by now. Especially with how close the two of you have been getting.” The accusation makes your heart stop. A cold fear pricking at your insides that makes your skin feel clammy. 

The raising of her brow makes the feeling worse as you shake your head. Open your mouth to protest on the matter, to not encourage the accusation that there might be something going on with Lord Djarin and you, her husband. 

“Don’t worry,” she smirks. Leans in closer so her lips are ghosting over the shell of your ear as she murmurs, “I like to share.” Your body trembles when her hand leaves your shoulder and her fingers run along the side of your breast. Her pointer skating along your erect nipple, making you gasp softly. “We both do.” 

“Lady Kryze–I,” there’s words meant to come out. Words meant to put an end to whatever this standoff, or showdown, is. You’re lost, you’re captivated, and you’re frightened. But her cheeks and lips brush against yours as she moves herself back so she can look at you; her dark eyes make every syllable on your tongue lay thick and weighted down like sludge. 

There’s a silence that has enough tension to make your body buzz and your brain catch up to put the puzzle pieces together with the information that has always been laid out for you. Things you took as old family traditions you didn’t care to understand. 

The presistant curfew, the eerie darkness that hung over the manor once the sun started to set. The mysterious cases of maids and butlers going missing without a trace. The town just beyond your own’s population dwindling down. Neighbors and friends gone. 

Lady Kryze’s dark eyes, her teeth. 

“You’re the cause of all the disappearances.” It’s not a question because you already know the answer. The slow spread of her lips only solidified the gathered information in your head to fit neatly in a box of truths. “And,” you swallow, hate how your heart aches at the very thought. “Lord Djarin..he–”

“Is much more discrete than I.” She seems to find a silent annoyance in the statement. In the way your body lets out a shaky breath as if you’re relieved. It makes her eye twitch before she’s leaning in again, her lips closer to yours now. Her breath smells of metal. “He doesn’t like to indulge in the bounty we’ve been given. Says it’s not right to eat thy neighbor.” Her tongue runs across her bottom lip, one of her sharp teeth catching on the skin. “I say, why waste such delicious gifts? And delicious they are, especially the ones who beg. The ones who let me play with my food before I eat it.” 

Her laugh makes your body shiver. A reaction she seems to like too much, as her lips skim across yours. The metallic scent of her tongue inhaled by your shaky breaths and swallowed down, leaving your throat dry and your tongue itching to reach out for the source. 

The source of it’s weight, the source of the ache in your jaw with the need to drink. A thirst for what you’re sure is water and not the nourishment that’s so clearly painted Lady Kryze’s lips red and her tongue. Your body willing to use any source of fluid to aid you. 

Not because the metallic linger of her breath sits on your tastebuds like an open invitation. Not because her fingers are still at the side of your breast, your peaked nipple aching to be brushed over by her again. 

“Will you let me play with you?” Her nose brushes yours as her head turns, and her lips just catch the corner of your mouth, a gasp leaving your lips as they move across your cheek and her teeth clip on your jawline. “I know how hard it is for my husband to be near you every day and not sink his teeth into this beautiful neck. You look as good as you’ll taste.” 

A moan racks your ribcage when her hand grips the side of your neck, bending it so the other side is on full display and her lips press to the sensitive flesh. Her tongue coming out to run the tip lightly against you, like she doesn’t dare indulge too much. Like it’s an appetizer to what she really wants. 

A trail of bruising kisses and hungry noises coming from the woman making your chest heave, your fingers daring to come up to her elbow to grip the fabric of her dress as an anchor—or to pull her closer—you're not too sure what your body wants, your senses not matching up with the fear still plaguing your brain. 

“Will you run for me, little rabbit?” You can feel the amusement at her own words with the smirk that’s pressed just below your ear. Your body canting at the derogatory pet name.

Until her next words come out of her mouth in a booming shriek that makes your ears ring and your body recoil from her in defense to protect itself from wrath. 

“Run!”

And you do. 

Not turning back to look to see if she’s chasing you. All the heat once again drained from your body, any pleasure you had been feeling doused out, and brought tears burning at the corners of your eyes. 

The candles on the wall continue to be your guiding light. Even when you step on something that makes you hiss. That tears the skin on the bottom of your foot enough to stutter your sprint. A limp catches in your leg as you try to make haste.

You were foolish for staying here. Foolish for leaving your room. Foolish for not seeing what this house really was or what it’s occupants really were.

Foolish. 

If there had been a spell, you had fallen for it. Like a silly little girl.

The closer you get to your chamber door, the harder your heart beats against your ribs. The harder you try to ignore the sting in your heel. The harder it is for you to breathe. 

The distance only seems to get further and further away from safety the longer you try for it. The longer your eyes strain in the candlelight to not step on something else that could make you completely imobile. Completely at Lady Kryze’s mercy. 

Who you don’t hear behind you. 

Who—upon your better judgment, one would say—you look for as you turn your head towards the path behind you. Your blood running cold when you see that all the candles have completely gone out and you can’t see a thing. 

The flashes of lightening from the windows down below cascading the barest amount of light onto the floor. 

It’s the least of your worries when your body collides with a wall. 

Or what feels like a wall—a strained ache coming to your chest upon the collusion, your body thrown backwards as you groan from the impact your tailbone makes against the hard floor. 

And when your eyes open, you realize it’s not a wall you’ve collided with; it’s Lord Djarin. 

“I told you to stay in your room.” His voice is full of authority and aggravation as he pulls you from the floor. It’s a tone he’s never used on you, a grip on your arm that’s much more cruel than the light touches of fleeting moments spent together. 

“She–Lady Kryze–She.”

“Is insatiable, yes.” There’s a growl that’s completely for his wife’s sake and not your own. But the sound still makes your stomach clench. Your body dragged along the hallway by the hands of the man you’re now realizing is more dangerous than any normal man. 

A monster.

Like his wife.

And yet, you feel safe in his tight grasp. Feel safe with the memories you share with him. Of him. The man you knew before the monster. 

The fear of him never coming. 

The fear only comes back once you’ve reached your room, and he’s pushing you through the door only for your back to collide with something icy that grips your wrist and snakes it’s fingers along the column of your neck to hold you against it.

“Bo.” Lord Djarin’s voice is stern. Angry. 

“Darling.” You can feel the smile that’s wrapped around the word even without seeing Lady Kryze’s face. 

The cold of her body seeping through your night dress and against your skin—a cold that’s not from the fear of what she is rather than what she’s doing. What has stained her lips and tongue and what you wanted so badly to taste just minutes ago. The same deep red clearly stained in the front fabric of your gown that you hadn’t noticed until now.

Until you’re standing in front of Lord Djarin, your night dress more see through and clinging to your body, where it’s damp from blood and straining against your breasts. 

Lady Kryze’s grip tightens on your throat, and it makes a breathless noise fall from your lips. A noise that has Lord Djarin’s eyes honing in on your mouth, moving along to his wife's hand on your throat, before plunging down to your chest. A hard swallow and a deep scowl shot at the woman holding you in her vise. 

“Let her go.”

“We were just having a little fun. Weren’t we?” Her teeth knick your earlobe, and it makes your body contort against her hold. “See,” she smirks. 

“Bo. No.” His tone has finality. Has something that wordlessly lets you know he’s tired of this topic; he’s clearly told her no on before. 

Something inside your stomach lightens up and burns at the thought of Lord Djarin denying his wife the pleasure of making you a meal time and time again. Was it out of respect? Care? Want?

Did she want to sink her teeth into you so badly because of jealousy at the closeness you and her husband had found the longer you worked here? No, she said they like to share. Said she likes to share. 

Was it want then?

The want to do more than end your life by draining you.

“Come on, Din.” The hand at your wrist does a show of crawling with her sharp nails over your midsection and to your hip to start pulling up your night dress. Your thighs quickly come into view as she bunches the fabric further and further up. A shyness takes over you as you wiggle in her grasp as you watch Lord Djarin’s eyes follow the movement with a hungry look. “We all know you want her.” 

Her lips press against your jaw as she murmurs to you, “he never allows himself to indulge in the things he wants. He’s so disciplined. Such a good man. He’d never let it slip that after you leave his library, he bends me over his desk and fucks me the way he wishes he could fuck you.”

An involentary noise that get’s choked out of your throat makes her laugh softly, “tell him he can have you. Tell him you like it.” Your eyes lock with his; his eyes just as dark and monstrous as his wife's now that you’re really looking at them. His lips that deep red—the same red you smelled and craved to taste on her lips. 

Your thighs inwardly press together, causing the pressure between them to ease the slightest, but grow worse when your backside pushes back against Lady Kryze and she lets out a noise that sounds just as lovely as she looks. 

“Look, Din.” A heat comes to your cheeks as the rest of the fabric of your gown is pulled above your hips, showcasing your nakedness to both of them. “There’s no denying she wants you,” her fingers move down to grip your inner thigh. The clear and evident proof of your arousal—that you’re not sure was caused earlier or right now—coats your skin and her fingers. 

“No, she is not-”

“What? Food?” Lady Kryze laughs, “we both know you’d never let me drain her. Nor could you bear to have anything but her essence touch your tongue. But she can be a toy. You can fuck her. We both can.” 

You can see the internal battle he’s fighting with himself—against his wife, against what’s right, against his want. 

And there’s a part of you that understands. That knows this is wrong. That has barely come to terms with what they are—monsters, myths, and scary stories you tell little children at night to get them to go to bed. 

But then the proof of your arousal, of your own want is being toyed with between your thighs as Lady Kryze runs a finger through your wetness. Your hips canting against her hand as she pulls it away just as quick as it was there and holds her finger out to her husband. 

“Taste her.”

His head is about to shake; you can sense it. See it before it happens by the way his fists bunch at his sides. Maybe that's why you finally find your voice, “please.”

And it’s as if those are the words he’s been waiting for you to say since the day you’ve met. Since you’ve started working for him. The speed at which he’s against your front and his lips are wrapped around the finger that has gathered the wetness from your pussy makes you feel woozy. 

Makes you sway on your feet and loosen in Lady Kryze’s hold. Her nails dig into your flesh as she holds you tighter, keeping you upright for her husband. 

Whose finger is under your chin, mouth daringly close to yours as he murmurs, “are you certain?”

Do you want this?

Do you want all it entails if you let this continue?

His dark eyes speak; let you know that he’ll stop this. That while you might be weak in comparison to who they truly are, you have a say, and he’ll do whatever you wish. 

A wise woman would heed the warning that’s in the brow he raises. Thats in the descent of his finger down your chin and to your jugular. Your heartbeat thudding against the pad of his finger. His tongue comes out to wet his bottom lip as his eyes cast to your neck and then up to his wife. 

Who's giving him a smile you can’t see but can feel in the way her body shifts, pulling your thighs apart easily. Lord Djarin needs no more confirmation for either of you as he falls to his knees, a rough hand cupping the back of your thigh to lift and bring it up and over his shoulder. 

Your back arching, and a gasp rakes through your body when you feel the bite of teeth against your inner thigh. Feel the sting of punctured skin, the pull of something inside that’s making your eyes flutter, and the pressure in your lower belly thumping at the same speed as your heart. 

When your eyes shift down, when he’s stopped, when you feel like you could either pass out or come from just this, you see blood—your blood—staining his lips and tongue. See his eyes go even darker, black, and void of any human attributes. Making him look entirely like a monster that’s hungry, starved. 

And you’ve completely offered yourself up for the taking. 

There’s a deep moan coming from Lord Djarin as his fingers and tongue clean his mouth. It’s obscene as much as it is beautiful to watch. Your arousal only grows worse at the sight. 

“How does she taste?” 

“Exqusite.” He murmurs against your skin, his tongue running over the marks he’s just left in your thigh, working it’s way up to the apex of your thigh. Your legs shake the closer he gets to your pussy. 

A cry burns your lungs when you feel him dive into you without any warning. His tongue licking through your wetness, his nose pressing against your clit. The tip of it creates a slow grind that only intensifies when you cant your hips up. When you thrust against the air, his tongue slips inside of you, pushing it further inside. Your fingers dig into the sides of your dress as you try not to completely collapse against either of them. 

The pleasure coursing through your body makes that easier said than done. 

Lady Kryze is humming against your cheek, her hand coming down to slow the movement of your hips. “Take your time, little rabbit.” She trails kisses and soft bites over and under your jaw to your earlobe, where she lets the tip of her tongue run against it. “Because once you’ve come, you’re mine to play with.” 

[strangelittlestories]

“Where are we going?” asked Khalida, attempting to adjust her denim jacket to hide the worst of the scorch marks.

Cassandra took a moment to answer. She tucked her domino mask into the pocket of her combats, then cast her eyes around and upwards. Satisfied they were not being observed, the ducked out of the alley and merged with the flow of pedestrians.

“To see someone I used to know.” the hero replied, quietly. “An old friend?” Khalida’s voice rang out with enthusiasm. She lowered her voice in response to Cassandra’s pointed look. “Dang, I love the whole ‘visiting an old friend for help’ thing. Always a juicy dynamic.”

“Not exactly a friend.” she looked up and down the street, eyes flicking up and down. “Not anymore.”

“An old enemy? That’s even juicier? Are they, y’know, your very *best* enemy?”

Cassandra sighed.

“They’re an old … something.”

“Ah, a classic ‘it’s complicated’ type situation. Very nice. Love a tangled backstory.”

“It’s not a backstory, kid. It’s my life.”

“I mean, yeah. Sure. But also: you’re a hero! So, to *you* it’s your life. But to us fans, it’s kinda also backstory.”

Cassandra could practically hear the girl adding tags to her mental blog post. There were exclamation points.

“You realise you have powers now, right? You gonna start thinking of your own life as backstory?”

“Are you kidding me, I’ve already started my entry on HeroWiki!” she produced her burner phone and triumphantly showed a draft on the screen. “Wait, is the person we’re seeing on Hiki?”

“I hate that portmanteau. Sounds too much like ‘hickey’” Cassandra finally spotted what she was looking for and started steering the two of them towards a particular sewer grate.  “But … yes. She’ll be on there. Search for Troubleshooter.”

“Oh dip.” Khalida looked up with open mouth. “She’s on the anti-hero section.”

“She wasn’t always.” Cassandra reached into her seemingly endless pockets and handed Khalida a high vis vest. “Now put this on, so no-one will ask questions about us dropping into the sewers…”

---

Troubleshooter’s sewer lair was surprisingly dry and homey. It smelled of lemon and baking soda, making Khalida think someone had been making cakes (though there was no sign of sweet treats among the utilitarian fittings).

“You bringing trouble to my door again, Cass?” Troubleshooter was squaring up to Cassandra; both were bristling with tension.

“Well, trouble is your business, Shoots.”

“It used to be.” Troubleshooter’s hand was on the sidearm holstered beneath her armpit. “But folks got … snippy about the solutions I offered.”

“Thought you’d be thrilled for me to admit I couldn’t handle this on my own.” Careless of the implied threat, Cassandra leaned in to speak softly in Troubleshooter’s ear. “I need you.”

Troubleshooter looked up at Cassandra and bit her lip. Slowly, fingers unwrapped themselves from the weapon.

“Why didn’t they like your solutions?” Two sets of eyes snapped over to look at Khalida; they’d nearly forgotten she was there. “You’re a prognosticator, right? Like Cassandra. You should be, like, the *most* helpful kinda hero.”

“I’m not a prophet. Not like this one.” Troubleshooter tutted. “It’s more … extremely limited universal knowledge osmosis.”

“Huh?”

“I see a problem. I know the most efficient way to solve it. Step-by-step. Like God’s instruction manual.”

“That’s amazing!”

“Not when the problem people bring you is a *person*. They get pretty antsy when you tell them the best solution is a bullet.”

“Oh.” Khalida gulped and looked nervously between the two of them. “Um, Cassandra, did you bring me here to…”

“No, kid.” Cassandra ran a hand through her hair. Suddenly she looked tired. “Here’s the situation, Shoots: I had a prophecy. End of days type stuff. Told me to be in a place to find a person. The place was full of bad-tempered hired muscle. The person was Khalida here. The visions since then are confused, but they all call her the same thing: ‘Reality Ender’. So here’s the problem I put before you: how do we help her *not* destroy reality?”

“You know you might not like the answer.”

“But we’ve still gotta ask.”

“Fine.”

Troubleshooter’s eyes went blurry. It was as if they were vibrating, flickering suddenly through a thousand upon a thousand realities, like searching for a station on an old radio. Just as suddenly as it started, her gaze blinked back into the present.

“Huh.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good result.”

“No. But it’s not a bad one, either.”

“Explain.”

“Let me put it this way: you hear ‘Reality Ender’ and your mind goes to ‘end of *existence*’. Makes sense - matches your prophecy. But that’s not her *power*.”

“So what is it?”

“Oh, it’s still ‘Reality Ender’. But … not ‘reality’ as in ‘existence’. It’s ‘reality’ as in ‘real versus fiction’. As in, ‘possible versus impossible’.”

“...I don’t get it?” Khalida’s voice was small and lost.

“I think the best way to put your deal would be … you’re a Potential Manipulator.”

“Um…that sounds a little problematic. Like, very cancel-able. Could we go with, I dunno, Possibility Manipulator?”

“Honey, trust me, being cancelled is the least of your worries…”

---

Enjoy my writing? Consider supporting me on Ko-Fi with a one-off or recurring donation https://ko-fi.com/strangelittlestories

[mar3ggiata]

professional help, c3. preview

simon riley x original character.

abstract: Simon here, I saw Jude again, she's still going on about her theories, whatever. it's not even funny anymore and she has some weird secret I want to find out… still, she's a fucking menace to society. idk what's wrong with her probably got dropped on her head on purpose as a kid. don't blame the parents.

trigger warnings: violence, sexual assault, mentions of rape, trauma, sexual themes, swearing, use of alcohol and drugs.

song to listen to when reading this: The Fruits, Paris Paloma.

In the end, she did hear back from Price. An email. 'Scherzi!' She shouted out loud in her apartment. She sat down on the couch and Jinx hopped on with her, sniffing her laptop. An email from the captain, an invitation to a briefing, to discuss the situation. Tomorrow after your last session at 5pm. 'No vabbe, me fa parià…' she mumbled and wrote back that she would be there.

'So, I wanted to update you on your patient. We spoke with him and three other soldiers about joining us to the next mission in Al-Jareena next week but he refused. Well…' he stopped, rubbing his beard in clear distress. 'He got up and came up to me saying his injury is not fully healed and he will not be able to get deployed. So I told him we needed him and he started to get nervous and left the room in a hurry.' She listened without intervening. 'I know you have an appointment with him one day before we leave. I was wondering if you could let me know if you find out something about this, he's required to leave with us, otherwise we'll have to report him. His doctors cleared him.' He showed her a piece of paper, sliding it across the table.

'Too risky.' It was Simon that spoke. He was British, his voice was deep. He had been debating on intervening in the meeting from the moment Price asked him to be present. He asked him cause he trusted him, and valued his opinion. Jude could have been informed and educated with her little theories and stories, but she didn't know how things worked in the army. This wasn't Cluedo. She had the same attitude when she walked in the room, maybe a bit less stiff. He took his time exploring her. Her pretty green eyes, her nose, her neck. She wore a blouse this time, with grey trousers. She still had those shiny high boots. She had her hair up, a blonde ponytail. He looked at her jaw. She had a mole on her cheek. He shook her hand, he could smell her deodorant. Her skin was warm, soft. He liked talking to her. Her voice still sounded weird, he couldn't pick up a particular accent. He understood she would't let it go.

'I think you're waisting an opportunity.'

'I think you're thinking too much about it.'

I think I want to brake your neck. She was mad now, he could see her, he could feel it. They weren't listening. She stood up and thanked the two for inviting her to the meeting, she assured them she would keep them updated. Her smile was fake, she still wanted to be polite even thought she thought they were both fucking stupid. Ghost didn't feel guilty for going so hard on her, he looked at her leave while she was trying to hide her anger. He said what he really thought, that was what he had been trained to do. 'What's her deal?' he asked the captain on his way out. 'Jude?' the man looked up, then shook his head.

notes: translation: 'Scherzi!', you're joking! 'No vabbe, me fa parià' Naples dialect for 'you're making me laugh'.

notes: Saturday or Sunday for full chapter, when do you want it?? replies and reblogs are highly appreciated!!!

love, mare.

taglist:

@ummmmmwat @ghostlythots @sweetfemmefatal @natxpat @chavarriakeren647 @ravenmoore14 @farther-than-pleiades @internallyscreamings @hwromi @atoxicrat @cuti3maddi3 @deafeningkittenblaze @its-celeste @serene-hills @lexidoll12 @poohkie90 @lunatiquess

@warmedbythebody @katzykat @iristhemuse @azkza @keiraslayz @abbyandermine @jennyjencakes @dest-nai @corset-briefs @nutze-kekse @ilytsukiw @b3anspr0ut

@pondsblog @missyouzoe @fallenkitten @bigauthorrascalturkey @bethtay @angelynn-nicole @starluv @stargirlisworld @giyuuslittleslut @impossiblecupcakelight

@rkrivees-blog @ghosts-hoe @kam1snotverysmart @gauky76 @freyjaaasstuff @spicyspicyliving @scottpilgrimvsmyfists @courtney0-0 @shinchanboi @darling006 @my-therapist-hates-me

[canirove]

Friends, lovers… and an orange | Chapter 6

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Masterlist

"I'm seriously moving to the North Pole."

"What?" Jourdan laughed.

"I'm sure paparazzis would not find me there."

"Don't underestimate them."

"I just... How did they find us in Paris? How did they know?"

"It was fashion week, there were photographers everywhere."

"Urgh" Adele grunted, sinking a bit lower on the sofa.

The day after the Dior photoshoot, she had woken up to her and Mason all over the internet. A paparazzi had caught them during their walk and then while having lunch, and there were what felt like hundreds of articles talking about it, most of them saying the same: that things were ok between them after she had been seen getting cosy with Nico at that party. 

"You do look like an actual couple, tho. Again."

"Jourdan... Not you, please. I already have enough with my mum, Toni, and our brothers. You should see our family group chat, I had to silence it."

"That bad it is?" she chuckled.

"Worse. They keep saying that they believe we are just friends as we tell them, but that if something else is happening or will happen, we have their support."

"That's cute."

"That's... I don't know what it is. But nothing is happening."

"I disagree, Adele. Because something is happening: you and Mason are getting closer. You may not be dating or falling in love, but you are slowly becoming the type of friends everyone expected you to be since you were born."

"Yeah... I guess. I just wish they would leave us alone for five minutes."

And after those Paris photos, it looked like they had finally left them alone. Each day there were less photographers outside Adele's house and less often, and people online had also relaxed. Though it probably was just because there was a new scandal surrounding the royal family. Either way, she was glad her mundane life was back. Kind of. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Mum, please, stop!" Luca complained.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I've missed you so much!" Elizabeth said.

"I know. But if you keep squeezing me like that, you will miss me forever."

"Luca! Don't say that!" she scolded him. 

"Sorry” he said, trying to shrug. “But please let me go. I'm sure dad also wants a hug."

"I'm fine" he chuckled.

"Addie?"

"Mase just arrived, gotta go open the door for him. Sorry" she smiled.

"Yes! Run to your boyfriend instead of helping your dying little brother!" 

"Whatever" Adele said, rolling her eyes. 

That year they had decided to spend the holidays all together in Switzerland, having some proper white Christmas as when they were kids. And, of course, the Mounts were joining them. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"If I hit Luca in the back of his head with a snowball... What do I get in return?"

"Another one?" Adele laughed. It was Christmas Eve, and they were going back to the resort where they were staying after having lunch in town.

"Boring" Mason said, rolling his eyes. 

"Sorry for being realistic" she shrugged.

"What the fuck!" Luca screamed. "Who hit me?"

"Your sister!" Mason said, pointing at Adele.

"What? It was... Fuck!" she complained. "Luca! That hurt!"

"So did mine!" he replied.

"I think they are having a snowball fight without us" Adele's dad said. "Should we join them?"

"Darling..." Elizabeth started. But it was too late. Everyone was already throwing snowballs, screaming and laughing. 

"Mase, no. No!" Adele laughed while trying to run away from him.

"Come here, Addie!"

"No!" she laughed again, running as fast as she could without slipping.

"Oh, you've made such a big mistake, Miss Turlington."

"Shit" she whispered when she realized she had run into a dead end. "Mase, please... I didn't mean to hit you in the face, I'm sorry."

"I made a living out of it, you know?"

"I know, and I'm very sorry."

"It's too late for that now" Mason smirked.

"But that snowball is huge! Mine fitted in my hand, and that one is bigger than your head!"

"I have a small head."

"You do" she snorted. "Wait, I'm sorry. Mase... Mason."

"Too late, Adele. Time to face your destiny" he said, lifting the big ball and throwing it against her. Throwing it... And missing.

"Oh my God" she laughed. "That was so bad! You hit the wall!"

"Addie..."

"You better not have that bad aim with everything."

"Addie... Adele!" Mason said, quickly grabbing her by the arm and pulling her against him.

"Holy shit" she whispered after a big chunk of snow fell where she had been standing just a moment ago. 

"That was close."

"So close" she said, suddenly realising how close she was to Mason. To his face. From that distance, she was able to perfectly count the freckles on his nose.

"We should join the others." Four, five, six... "Addie, did you hear me?" Ten, eleven... "Adele!" Mason chuckled.

"Damn it" she said under her breath, losing count. 

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just... Just a bit chilly. We should go back."

"Are you sure you are ok? You looked... Distracted."

"It was the shock of the snow falling, nothing else."

"Ok..."

"Hey, what are you two doing there?" Luca said behind them. "Making out?"

"You are so funny" Adele said, rolling her eyes.

"I mean, you are hugging and way too close to each other. If I was a pap and saw you like that, that's what I would think" he shrugged.

"And you would be wrong" Adele said, letting go of Mason. She hadn't realized she had her arms around him. "Not let's go, I'm getting cold."

"Then ask Mason to keep hugging you" Luca smirked.

"Fuck you" she said while walking away, trying not to think too much about what had just happened, or what she had felt.

[babyjakes]

TRICK OR TREAT 👹😇

cool guy andy answers the door, unfortunately he’s handing out erasers instead of candy bc his stinky wife laurie said it’ll be better for the kids than all that sugar 😒😒

[babyjakes]

oh oh oh evie’s birthday?? 🥺🥺 you know i gotta—

EHEM. *cracks knuckles gets out da catnip*

haaaapppy biiiirthday to youuuuu 🥺🥹🥺🥹

haaaapppy birthday tooo youououuuuu !!! 🤩😍😤

haaaapppyy bioiirthfayyy deeearrrr eeeevvviiiieeeee 😇🫶😇

haaapy biiiirthtjtjthday too youuuouou 😅🤠😎

haaapppy happy birthday sweet evie babie, hope you have the most wonderful birthday ever !!! wow you are six!! getting so big, growing up so fast 🥹 and look at what a nice birthday party dest set up for you!! all your friends here, wishing you happy birthday 🫶 dest please give evie so many scratchies from me!! 🩶

EVERYONE TELL EVIE HAPPY BIRTHDAY 😽🎈

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Lightening the mood after Miami with another edition of my US number ones posts - the drivers from all series version. Please enjoy 😊😊

Sebastien Loeb (26th February 1974) - Barbara Streisand - The Way We Were

Tony Kanaan (31st December 1974) - Helen Reddy - Angie Baby

Juan Pablo Montoya (20th September 1975) - David Bowie - Fame

Mark Webber (27th August 1976) - Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Kimi Raikkonen (17th October 1979) - Michael Jackson - Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Jenson Button (19th January 1980) - Michael Jackson - Rock With You

Felipe Massa (25th April 1981) - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Kiss On My List

Heikki Kovalainen (19th October 1981) - Christopher Cross - Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)

Andre Lotterer (19th November 1981) - Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes

Pippa Mann (11th August 1983) - The Police - Every Breath You Take

Simon Pagenaud (18th May 1984) - Lionel Richie - Hello

Robert Kubica (7th December 1984) - Wham! - Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

Nico Rosberg (27th June 1985) - Bryan Adams - Heaven

Jerome D'Ambrosio (27th December 1985) - Lionel Richie - Say You, Say Me

Rahel Frey (23rd February 1986) - Whitney Houston - How Will I Know

Kamui Kobayashi (13th September 1986) - Berlin - Take My Breath Away

Rene Rast (26th October 1986) - Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

James Hinchcliffe (5th December 1986) - Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name

Oliver Turvey (1st April 1987) - Club Nouveau - Let It Be

Sebastian Vettel (3rd July 1987) - Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

Alexander Sims (15th March 1988) - Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

Molly Taylor (6th May 1988) - Whitney Houston - Where Do Broken Hearts Go

Simona De Silvestro (1st September 1988) - George Michael - Monkey

Sarah Bovy (15th May 1989) - Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You

James Calado (13th June 1989) - Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings

Brendon Hartley (10th November 1989) - Roxette - Listen To Your Heart

Earl Bamber (9th July 1990) - New Kids On The Block - Step By Step

Cristina Gutierrez (24th July 1991) - EMF - Unbelievable

Abbie Eaton (2nd January 1992) - Michael Jackson - Black Or White

Timmy Hansen (21st May 1992) - Kris Kross - Jump

Daniel Abt (3rd December 1992) & Alice Powell (26th January 1993) - Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

Tatiana Calderon (10th March 1993) - Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle - A Whole New World

Christine GZ (22nd July 1993) - SWV - Weak

Alex Lynn (17th September 1993) & Bubba Wallace (8th October 1993) - Mariah Carey - Dreamlover

Michelle Gatting (31st December 1993) - Mariah Carey - Hero

Naomi Schiff (18th May 1994) - Ace Of Base - The Sign

Jessica Hawkins (16th February 1995) & Luca Ghiotto (24th February 1995) - TLC - Creep

Beitske Visser (10th March 1995) - Madonna - Take A Bow

Nicholas Latifi (29th June 1995) - Bryan Adams - Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?

Jack Aitken (23rd September 1995) - Coolio ft L.V - Gangsta's Paradise

Oliver Askew (12th December 1996) - Toni Braxton - Un-Break My Heart

Louis Deletraz (22nd April 1997) - Puff Daddy ft Mase - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down

Catie Munnings (15th November 1997) - Elton John - Candle In The Wind

Cem Bolukbasi (9th February 1998) - Janet Jackson - Together Again

Jamie Chadwick (20th May 1998) - Next - Too Close

Kevin Hansen (28th May 1998) - Mariah Carey - My All

Mick Schumacher (22nd March 1999) - Cher - Believe

Toni Breidinger (14th July 1999) - Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love

Max Fewtrell (29th July 1999) - Will Smith ft Dru Hill & Kool Moe Dee - Wild Wild West

Robert Shwartzman (16th September 1999) - Enrique Iglesias - Bailamos

Bent Viscaal (18th September 1999) - TLC - Unpretty

Felipe Drugovich (23rd May 2000) - Santana ft The Product G&B - Maria Maria

Marta Garcia (9th August 2000) - N'Sync - It's Gonna Be Me

Arthur Leclerc (14th October 2000) - Christina Aguilera - Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You)

Sophia Florsch (1st December 2000) & Clement Novalak (23rd December 2000) - Destiny's Child - Independent Women Pt 1

Frederik Vesti (13th January 2002) - Nickelback - How You Remind Me

Luke Browning (31st January 2002) & Liam Lawson (11th February 2002) - Usher - U Got It Bad

Olli Caldwell (11th June 2002) - Ashanti - Foolish

Jack Doohan (20th January 2003) - Eminem - Lose Yourself

All added to this playlist

[popculturebuffet]

Supermay! What's So Funny About Truth, Justice and the American Way? (Patreon Review for Brotoman.EXE)

Hello all you happy kryptonains and welcome back to supermay, a month long tribute to all things man of steel. This week is a two parter as we look at one of the best superman comics of all time, one of the best one shot issues of all time and one of the best deconstructions of "Why don't heroes do whatever they want and kill whoever they want" of all time. I'm not softballing it: this issue is fantastic. We'll also be looking at it's adaptation later this week, the DTV film Superman Vs the Elite.

For now though we're focusing on the original story. What's So Funny... was originally published in 2001 in Action Comics 775, written by Joe Kelly and drawn by Doug Mankhe and Lee Bermejo.

For those not familiar with him Kelly is a comics legend, having helped define deadpool with his first solo book and coming back to the character quite a bit without the dimnishing returns creators sometimes have. He also founded animation studio Man of Action and is one of the co-creators of both Ben 10 and Generator Rex.

Kelly wrote superman for a 5 year run, a nice stretch all things considered and one I wish, like most of 90's and 2000's superman would get recollected. Or at the very least hopefully is on dc universe infinite. It's not AS good as having collections out there, but it's something. But if his stories are anywhere near this good, i'd love to see more of them.

Kelly wrote What's So Funny as a direct response to another book DC was publishing at the time: The Authority. The Authority were created by emotinally abusive grooming coersive dickhead Warren Ellis and entirely good dude Bryan Hitch. I bring up the latter because Hitch seems genuinely kind and deserves his flowers... and the former because it shouldn't be forgotten. Ellis hasn't genuinely atoned, deserved to loose everything he did, and while his talent shouldn't be forgotten, it's only because his talent is WHY he was able to do this. If we suddenly go "Oh he always sucked", it undercuts HOW he was able to do this. Most people he abused were fans of his and it's worth remembering he was talented.. and must ALWAYS be remembered what he choose to use said talent to do to people. I won't go into details as to avoid triggering those of you who have been simiarly abused, but if your curious go to somanyofus.com. What testimonals I have read are heartbreaking.

As for the Authority itself, it was a followup to Ellis' run on storm watch, a book created by Jim Lee about a UN Sanctioned super team that Ellis helped transform, adding in some new creations of his own to revitalize the team. The book was a critical hit and loved at the offices of Wildstorm, the company that published stormwatch and would soon be bought by DC. The problem was it wasn't selling, and Ellis, both feeling bad they were keeping the book around just because of him and wanting to take things up a notch, reconfigured the team into the authority.

The Authority was a massively powerful team, assembled to face massive threats like an army of supermen dispatched by a mad dictator, a colonliast alien-italian empire that wanted to take earth, and God itself who turned out to be an elder god wanting to restore earth to factory settings. Hitch's art made things feel BIG and cinematic, his specality, and helped show just how big comics could be alongside other works before it (JLA) and after it (New X-Men).

The team had swagger, cool powers.. and most important to this story.. no problem with killing. The team carved their way through armies of enemies, killing whoever they had to and in the first two arcs comitted mass murder: Midnighter, the team's batman and biggest asshole, drove their ship through a country just to get at the first arc's big bad, while the Doctor, their magic man and only able to get away with the name because Doctor Who hadn't been revivied just yet, killed all of alternate italy to destroy an alien empire. These steps weren't taken lightly and were only taken because otherwise more death would follow, but it was clear the team weren't meant to be good guys: simply the only ones who COULD do the job.

This changed with the following run, and I read both Ellis' run and the first two arcs of it's followup for proper context. I ddin't necessarily half to and Brotoman didn't ask and was honestly shocked I put in this much extra effort... but I realized if your going to disect a work calling out the other work, you need to have a fresh understanding of what it's fighting against.

So Ellis' run was followed up by comics legend Mark Millar. Millar seems to be a nice guy nowadays, fun to be around, lvoes the buisness, keeps going simply because he can and with one of the largest creator owned rosters of characters around.

In the 2000's though and for most of his career.. Millar was the king of the edgelords. he was the threw it on the ground guy as an actual tangible person. Millar's idea of adult storytelling was some genuine political comentary idaes.. mixed with a lot of sex and violence for the sake of sex and violence, using senstive topics like sexual assault simply to seem "edgy". So naturally the Authority went from "assholes to a point but with limits" to every last one of them saying edgelord shit, mowing down everyone in their path and LOVING it, and fucking everyone they could because Mark Millar likes ot scream

In your ear while doing nothing to prove he's not a 13 year old boy in a grown up's body. And please note I would gladly review Millar's shit as much as it frustrates me, but will never cover anything by Ellis as long as he lives, as I do not want to give that fucker any more attention than I have to, despite my reactoin to reading the first arc of the authority under him being a resounding

To give you an idea of what I had to put up with dialouge wise, here's a samping from the first four issues of Millar's run.

There's more and the bad guys are even worse, but i'd rather not throw that in here on the grounds that I LIKE you guys and I don't want to throw unecessary edgelord bollocks in here that might trigger some of you who've geninely gone through things Millar brings up just to seem more "adult".

So that's where the authority were at, and it's impressive that things escalated so much in four issues less than a YEAR before What's So Funny was published> It's why I read what I did: It's what would've been out there and while Ellis' run had likely bothered kelly, given how the Elitie are depicted and how their leader acts, it's clear a LOT of it came from Millar's work. I mean you have to be a specail brand of douchebag to get a response to your characters being the worst less than a YEAR in.

The bigger reason for this response was how fans reacted: Fans.. LOVED the authority and as tends to happen when you get a shiny new "edgy" team, some asked: "Why doe we need those other guys? If we have heroes willing to kill, topple governments and swagger all the while, why do we need some guy in tights telling us not to?" Superman was seen by some as outdated and as a result was the target of one of the oldest arguments in all of comics: should superheroes keep doing what they do, or should they take the world and force it to be better or else? It's an argument that NEVER seems to go away.

Proving this, DC had just done a story like this 5 years ago with Kingdom Come, which explored both heroes who are worse than the villians and what happens when the heroes take over. And before THAT marvel did Squadron Supreme in 1985, showing what would genuinely happen if a justice league equilvent took over the world. It'll always be a questoin to be had because readers will cycle out and the next batch will ask the same questions. So join me as we look at the answers, see WHY Superman needs to stand against this and why his methods, despite being questioned every couple of years, stand the test of time and the test of someone who had a dream he didn't like.

We open with Superman flying to Libya as superman flies to stop a superterror attack.. in this case a giant gorilla wielding a giant gun and I will pay adam wingard 5 dollary doos if the next Godzilla X Kong Film involves Kong pistol wipping a giant monster with a shot gun. Just saying.

At any rate clark arrives.. to find something truly horrific.

I give artist Doug Manhke a LOT of credit... despite having only a spread to work with he shows just how horrific this is.. and that's WITHOUT giving anything away about who did it. All we know is suddenly a group with a lot of power saved the day.. but also dropped a giant monster corpse on a city, left said city in ruins, and massacred what was , in all likelyhood an animal who had no say in being made into a giant cybernetic monstrosity. I mean this IS the dc universe with an entire ape city. I could buy Grodd or someone like him growing giant and giving themselves some cable armor to go do some murders, it just comes off more like someone super sized an ape afte rloading it up with hardware and relseaed it on a city and instead of rocgnizing the beast was simply a wild animal, those responsible brutalyl murdered it.

We soon find out who as Clark hears back from the rest of the Daily Planet crew as competing paper the Star, based on the paper Clark worked at in the earlier stories and that grant morrison would bring back for their action comics run, published a gushing story about the four monsters responsible: The Elitie, a super powerful superteam whose leader, Manchester Black even gave a statement "Trust me the old ways are dead in a year you'll love me for this".. then he cut the general he gave the statment too's legs off. It's a great intro: without meeting the guy we instantly know the deep level of prick we're dealing with, and how he'll do a casual violence simply becaues he wants to. Two thousand soldiers died in this attack along with the actual target. Also Jimmy gives a VERY poorly aged joke about watning to shoot the staff of the daily star, which is in character but still feels entirley messed up especially since Columbine had happened at this point. Jesus Jim.

As for who wrote this puff piece that would be Jack Ryder.

For those not familiar with him, Jack Ryder is a "Journalist" and I say so in the loosest terms as in most apperances he's just trying to get attention, being eerly similar to the wave of reactionary assholes we'd see in that decade. He's also the superhero the creeper, a split personality of his who wears a giant boa, cackles and is both awesome and criminally underused by dc. Seriously why they don't use this guy more I don't know. Jack gets more apperances and they can find another strawman or make one.

At any rate Jack's not here to be creepy but to praise terroists while his other self facepalms on the inside. He and clark have debate that is less than civil... and it's telling that clark , who does try to be calma nd kind even when he's pissed off, is absolutely FURIOUS at jack propping these assholes up

Now what I really like about this scene is Jack is an asshole. He make sa mocking joke before maknig an actual pointa nd dowplays all the innocent people who died. And the ape. Seriously someone feel bad an ape died. Why is it just me.

But he raises one valid point while talking directly out of his ass: "And three months later it would happen all over again"> Jack is wrong about..e verything else. Entirely. Seriously creeper needs to get a body seperator machine asap.. but he's right this shit is cyclical and people want a fix. Even 23 years later.. the world still feels broken. Kelly doesn't like the authority.. but he gets WHY people like them: Their a power fantasy, a group of people killing all the big bad dictators, putting corrupt presidents in check and trying to fix a broken world. Their methods are horrible.. but in a time that' scomplciated, unfair and frightening.. it's so easy to cling to someone who seemingly has the answers. It's why so many people flock to the right: turning to hate is sometimes the easiest solution.

We get a brief interlude with president luthor where we find out just HOW powerful these guys are. one of them, coldcast blinked and it shorted out satilites. As Amanda waller put it superman would need a jetpack and a space shuttle to even come close to their power

Naturally Lex's position.. is to let it lie. He plans to turn them into cat food, his exact words, if they so much as touch the US.. but for now their fighting other metas for respect.. and given their clearly gunning for superman and badly outclass him.. well Luthor can't resisit seeing how it plays out, letting the leitie have their fun for now.. and seeing if he can get a dead superman out of the deal. He dosen't say that directly.. but he's sure as hell thinking it as hard as he can.

The Elitie aren't resting on their laurels either, releasing a manefsto that amounts to "do bad shit and we'll fucking kill you". Superman talks this over with Steel.. but it's clear their getting to clark.. and the one thing he says makes it clear why "Do you think the world's moved on?". IT's a powerful statment: Clark himself is wondering if this is what people WANT now, if he's outmoded and if he' sreally making a diffrence.

He dosen't have time to answer as a crisis in Tokyo happens .. and Clark gets to be front and center to meet the Elite this time. Sadly.. Clark can't do anything. His body start's slowing down and we later find out it was coldcast of the elite, having done so to stop an army of geneticly engeneered samurai from massacring toykyo... so the elite massacre them instead. And after a good 15 or so pages of setup.. we finally get a look at the future.

They clockwise from the center; Manchester Black, the groups leader and mouthpiece and powerful Telekenetic, Coldcast, electric man whose deisgn was really not thorught through whatsoever and looks racist as hell, Menagre, a woman combind witha colony of deady creature and the hate, a japanese man merged with a demon that give hims a bunch of magical powers

What's intresting is rather than go 1:1, the elite compress the members of the auhority down from seven people to four so before we move on here's who they represent on the Authority

Manchester Black: Manchester is a combination of the authorities leaders: Founder Jenny Sparks and her successor Jonathan Hawksmore. Sparks is the spirit of the 20th century, had no real fliter and was never all tha tpolite, while Hawksmor was modified by aliens to become one with cities, able to travel between them effortlessly, and was also a jackass in a leather jacket who was dismissive to everyone> both gave grandose speeches and had no respect for anyone else who wasn't on their team. His powers are all him, likely because the electric poewrs were already livewires thing (and thus ported over to another member) and jack's powers were creatively specitic and somethign that might not work on superman, able to have cities eath people alive.. and given Superman's a good dude they likely woudln't.

Coldcast: Electric dynamo. Again that design what the fuck .Seems to be a combo of Jack and Jenny power wise, able to manipuate the ground in addition to electricity... I say seems as I had to look pu their power sets as the story isn't very speciic about them and Manchesters is only known to me because being a telepath and telekenetic are key to later stories starring the guy.

Menagere: Seems to be a comination of the team's two other female members; the Engineeer, a scientest with nanites in her blood that can shape into anything and swift, a woman who can grow claws and has wings, simply combingin the living hive nature of the engineer and making it more biological like swift.

The Hat: The only one that's honestly.. pretty much the same person from the authority just with a diffrent name. The Hat is based on the doctor, an ex drug addict and voice of the earth itself, latest in a long line of doctors who can do whatever he feels like really. That's not hyperbole: the doctor can bend reality and the rest of the authority all had weaknesses: Swift is fast but not super strong, the Engineer can only make things up to the the point her body has enough blood to still function, Hawksmoor's powers only work in a city, Apollo has to have a solar charge built up, something their dimension traveling spaceship dosen't provide, etc. The Doctor's only issue is if someone can cut him off and when that was done in Millar's first arc it still made no sense. It's also why I gather while the rest of the authority keeps coming back now their a full part of the dc universe, Jenny, who was dead, is even getting a mini series in august, the Doctor is just too powerful to bring back without finding some new check and ballance for him that isn't just "he's an ex addict", as we're more senstive to addiction these days, as we should be.

There's two notable omissions: Apollo and Midnighter. Apollo and Midnighter are the book's breakout stars by a wide margin, having been the first to be succesfully integrated into the dcu and being fan faviorites from the word go. The two are stand in's for superman and batman, but still distinct enough to work: Both are a bit darker given their background being raised by manipulative bastard among all manipulative bastards Henrey Bendix and both have unique power diffrences that set them apart: Apollo , as established, charges up his powers with the sun and what he can do is dependant on how much charge he has... but to compesnate for having a bigger reliance on the sun, he can shoot energy and thus wipe out an entire crowd of enemies with one shot and keep going. Midnighter meanwhile has a combat computer in his brain, is a few steps ahead like batman and has regenerating nanite blood, being essentially what happens if batman and wolverine became the same person.. again, and had less restraint.

The two are also married. Yeah, in the 90's, edgelord as they could be... we had two openly queer characters. Not only that the rest of the team accepted them: they'd crack jokes about the two's relationship, but no one genuinely cared the two were gay and given this was the late 90's, that's a HUGE statement. And i'll give credit where it's due: I may not like MIllar's run and only read what I absolutely had to... but he DID end said run with the two getting married and thankfully even with ellis being the worst. if your curious about the two I highly recommend Steve Orlando's run on Midnighter and it's followup Apollo and Midnighter, integrating the two into the dc universe.

So why would they leave out the two biggest characters on the roster? Simple.. their based on Superman and Batman. Having a golden god around kinda undermines the Elite's whole "Take a seat grandpa the new kids are here", gimmick, and if you throw in a batman type guy... it begs the question why Clark dosen't bring in Batman. And while pitting the elitie versus the justice league WOULD'VE been intresting, it wasn't something they had time for: Kelly wasn't writing JLA yet, and while having them appear in superman's book isn't out of bounds.. they had one issue. And my guess is they were squeezing said issue in before they had to start the build up to the big "Our Worlds at War" crossover that year, which started in august. The fact this story happened before that with Kelly presumibly already having stories planned, in less than a year, is a miracle in itself, so I get Kelly didn't really have time to loop in the rest of everyone and thus he trimmed the authority down to four elities for time's sake

And even with a small group... none of them are really fleshed out here aside from Manchester. I had to look up their powers because they got filled in in later stories. Here their just vauge and powerful. It's one of the stories few weakpoints: the rest of the elitie are just jackasses on a power high and that's all their personality is. It dosen't hurt the story a lot as that's all the story really needs and Manchester Black is such an engaging and despicable shithead that you only really need the one ring master for this circus, but it is something I look forward to in the movie, which has the time to flesh this out Kelly simply didn't have here.

Like I said though.. Black is engagin. He's thorughly vile here... but in a way where you get WHY people are trusting this asshole: he gives cleverly worded speeches, takes out bigger bad guys, and generally has a swagger to him. He still has the charm that Sparks and Hawksmoor genuinely had.. but he also has the asshole turned up a notch, again whY I feel that this story is a response to millar: Jenny and Jack were dicks under Ellis.. but Millar just has this very specific brand of dickishness in his characters , especially his mouth pieces, that Kelly captures REALLY well with Manchester. He's a swaggering asshole who answers to no one else and would stop a man from saving lives simply to try and prove he's outdated.

He also gives supes a tour: like the authority, the elite have a ship that's sentient. Unlike the Authority's ship, which is at best a lost child the team basically adopts when they realize it's alive and spend time gently coaxing when they need it to leave earth orbit and face it's abandonment issues, Bunny, the Elitie's hq.. is enslaved by them. They found out it was sapient, found out she didn't like what they were doing.. and cut out her heart to make her more compliant.

Superman understandably isn't here for a tour, he's here to stop them.

Manchester isn't wrong: some villians don't play fair, the world itself dosen't, and so he raises the question of "why shoudlnt' we". The brilliant thing is while he has a point that the world is in rough shape... it's HOW he phrases it that points out the flaws in his philosphy: "Any normal person could do this if they had the chance".. but SHOULD they. Is it really okay to be a bad person simply because your going after worse people? And superman's answer is a very clear "No". More on that as we go but for now Superman gets sent to a superman themed car dealership for his trouble.

We cut to the Kent Farm, where we get pa revealing he decked a guy insulting clark for the incident. I like that it dosen't shy away from the fact that no, Small Town America is not immune to this kind of thought, giving into hate because it seems like the easy solution. But once again Kelly, rather than be super condescinding, gets into why people might buy into what the elitie are selling: the world is a scary place, and it's easy to buy into someone offering a quick solution, a band aid to the world's problems. To become the evil to stop the evil.

This story, while deconstructing him slightly, does get ot hte heart of WHY Superman is needed, in his worlds and in ours: He's an inspiration. As Pa points out.. clark shows them theirs a better way. That we can be better. Clark himself madea speech like this in JLA a few years before this, a speech I feel gets to the heart of the character and superheroes in general

That's what a superhero is. not a babysitter in spandex, not the cure to a wounded world... simply someone there to help humanity at it's lowest, when it needs them.. and to inspire the average person to be better. To try and make a bette rowrld even if it seems impossible. And note this dosen't mean ignoring rough shit in the world, both Supermana nd Wonder Woman have gone into dictatorships and saved civliians. It's not letting that consume you. It's hard, so very hard, to not let the world swallow you up hole.. but fighting that every day is heroic. To simply be and to be good to others. It's what makes these guys heoric: they may stumble from time to time.. but they get back up, and do good despite the world shitting on them, or people like Black telling them "your irrelvant". You fight because it's the right thing to do, because it's what you can do to help the world.

Pa is also sure clark can just.. kick the elitie's asses if it goes south.. but Clark isn't. It's not helped by the tide turning against him: while several citizens do doubt the leitie... many support them. An easy fix to hard issues. But the most chilling.. is the children

That idea that being able to kill somehow makes you better.

Supes still tries to take the high road, stopping the men in black, who in the dc universe apparently traffic aliens. He stops the aliens witht hem with water. no loss of life, no muss no fuss. The Elitie have been watching, and Manchester is utterly bored with this lecture, not taking it seriously and calling supes an idiot when he plans to have the league and the DEO haul these guys in. Black lets supes know these are super black ops people and will just be given cushy job training other guys to do the same. And superman.. just says he'll keep putting them away till they get the point.

Yeah while i'm on clark's side, and do think the elitei's solution of just.. killing them solves nothing, after all if these guys can be replaced, how does killing a few to send a message do anything? They'll just find more guys willing to do it despite the risk. But at the same time... Superman is smarter than this. We'll see that shortly. He knows better than to just "lock them up again". He'd have Batman look into it, then use the league to make sure these guys got the justice they deserved. He has on his team a telepath with global connections, a recognized ambassador, a king and a billionare and that's just people on the team currently. He can make sure these guys ar eheld acoutnable and find out and bust up who they worked for. Just.. phrase it tha tway instead.

Black isn't impressed.. but his repsonse shows he's somehow worse at this than just "keep beating them and hopefully they'll stop which has worked never times but i'll do it anyway": Have the hat Kill them all.. and their families. Superman naturally punches the hat before he can do this.. and Black decides this is more than enough justifacation to formally go after superman.

Honestly the more I think about this scene, the more I see it as a ploy: Dont get me wrong, given his actions I do think Black would slaughter someone's family as a message... but he does so right after superman genuinely tried to show them a better way, making it clear he hates the lecture and ONLY listned to try and prove some kind of point. He KNEW these gyuys existed, they created menagre.. but didn't do anything about them or give Superman actual advice. He just wanted to strut in and then try and undo everything clark did, all the live she didn't take, just so he'd have the thinest justifcation to pick a fight with superman one on four. As for why not just do this from the outset that's simple: Manchester Black CLEARLY wannted the smug satisfaction of breaking superman, of getting him to see his way, wether it was by sitting out or by being humbled. He wanted this fight from the second he swaggered up, and simply dragged it out this long to humilate superman. He knows this isn't just a battle of two blokes punching each other, it's a battle for the world's soul, a battle of ideals: Black's "kill ema ll and let god sort it out" pessimist versus superman "We have to let them be better on thier own and they can be" optimist.

Lois.. is less pleased, mostly because she's sure her husband is going to die. And I like how the art convey's this too: Lois has more faith than clark in anybody but you can tell by her eyes she's worried about her husband picking a fight with a team on the league's level just to prove a point, to possibly die for it. It's chilling to see lois, of all people, scared. But clark has to go: even if he dies for this, it's, like I said, a battle of ideals. If he backs down more people like those kids find killing fun, the easy way the only way, and the world gets even worse. He has to show the world there's a better way.. because if he dosen't everything he's fought for, everything he stands for slowly slides away and more good people fight and die to preserve his ideals.

Clark confronts them. Naturally they choose metropolis for this final battle.. and naturally Clark says "hell no" to that as he isn't going to put innocents in danger. Black agrees, though he has their ship broadcast it worldwide: he wants the world to know this was a fair fight.

Our fighters head for the moon. Unsuprisingly Clark tries one last time to talk them down. I'd call this suicidal... but it's also Supes. He'll try talking, try reforming people if he can. And it'd be weird if he didn't. The Elitie take this as you'd expect.. Manchester tk's him then they take turns beating himn while he speechifies again.

Superman is seemingly curbstomped, with Coldcast delivering some electricity to his brain , seemingly blwoing superman up real good.. but as the Elitie brag... a voice is heard

We then get one of the most bonechilling scenes in comics.. as Superman finally decides to play by The elitie's rules..

In only two pages for us and two minutes for the elitie.. the team is down, semeingly dead. IT's a terrifying display of just what superman CAN do: take the air away, rip your powers away, or just hurl you into space. We've seen plenty of evil superman stand ins do things like this, the viltrumites from invincible are essentially one long look at that, but seeing CLARK do it.. is something else. Something far worse.

Superman finishes the fight by seemingly lobotmizing black, taking out the section of the brain that give shim his powers.. and as black cries and breaks down.. Superman.. lifts the curtain

It's a brilliant twist that also puts all the pieces in place: Clark went alone.. because he had to make it beliviable, and the others were always on standbye. He likely told Bruce and the others what he had planned simply because otherwise.. they would've come to stop him. It's what Clark would want if he really crossed that line.

He simply disabled their powers for now: he gave Chester a concussion: he'll get his powers back.. but will be under tons of psy dampeners befor ehe can.

I love this display: it both shows WHY superman could be dangerous.. and why he isn't. It's easy to be vengeful... it's harder to try and inspire people not to, to keep dreaming ot keep trying to be better. It' sthe hard road but the better one: sure he could kill or take over the world.. but humanity isn't his to take. It's his to help inspire, to make us better by showing what the best of us can do with the gifts they were born with. Chester, like any villian vows he'll be back this isn't over... and clark's response to being told he's dreaming?

A simple powerful closure: superman is living for some lofty ideals .. but their ones worth aspiring towards, to neve rstop fighting for.. ever.

What's So Funny is an excellent story. It suffers here and there from it's short run time, but still serves as an excellent response to critics of superman while not trying to be patronizing. The grungy art fits the tone of the story and the climax is a thing of beauty. check this one out if you can find it

Next Time: It's Superman Vs teh Elitie. Yes again. This time on the medium sized screen as Kelly expands his story into a full blown animated film.

[theforbiddeneden]

FROM THE ROOM BELOW - LAFAYETTE - SLEEP TOKEN - 29/04/2022

Cr: Luke Honeysett, link

I believe it is fair to say that we've both been awaiting this moment for a considerable period of time. Suffice to say, we are sorry to have kept you waiting however, while it may differ in it's presentation, the intention at its core remains the same. We are here to silently collect. To project ourselves onto one-another. We are here to remember. We are here to forget. We are here to.... Worship.

Acredito que seja justo dizer que ambos esperamos por este momento há um período considerável de tempo.

Basta dizer que lamentamos ter feito você esperar, no entanto, embora possa diferir na apresentação, a intenção em sua essência permanece a mesma.

Estamos aqui para coletar silenciosamente.

Para nos projetarmos um no outro.

Estamos aqui para lembrar.

Estamos aqui para esquecer.

Estamos aqui para Adorar.

Some time ago i was given a message. It was a message that originated from one among you. Someone possessed by a strong desire to tell me something, the message went very simply: You. Saved. Me. I have thought about this message a great deal since. It left me with a feeling that I had somehow been mistaken for someone else. I did not save anyone. I do not believe I have the capacity to save anyone. All I have ever given anyone is a small window into the emotional waiting-room of my mind. I do so whilst doing everything in my power to minimize my own vulnerability. In this way I am selfish. I choose not to give what others can? And yet, I am the benefactor of this thankful praise. I experienced a great deal of pain in my life, however I do not believe I have suffered as you have suffered. Perhaps that Is another reason why we are here. At the very least, we have all suffered.

Há algum tempo, recebi uma mensagem. Foi uma mensagem que se originou de um de vocês. Alguém possuído por um forte desejo de me dizer algo, a mensagem foi muito simples:

Você. Me. Salvou.

Tenho pensado muito sobre esta mensagem desde então. Isso me deixou com a sensação de que, de alguma forma, fui confundido com outra pessoa.

Eu não salvei ninguém.

Não acredito que tenha capacidade de salvar ninguém. Tudo o que dei a alguém foi uma pequena janela para a sala de espera emocional da minha mente. Faço isso enquanto faço tudo ao meu alcance para minimizar minha própria vulnerabilidade.

Desta forma sou egoísta.

Eu escolho não dar o que os outros podem? E, no entanto, sou o benfeitor deste louvor agradecido. Senti muita dor em minha vida, mas não acredito que tenha sofrido como você sofreu. Talvez essa seja outra razão pela qual estamos aqui.

No mínimo, todos nós sofremos.

I would sincerely like to thank you for taking the time to be here. I once again apologize for how long it took for this ritual to come into fruition. I would also like to take this chance to tell you something. To love oneself is not the easy task we are sometimes told it is. We are all limited by something. We are all guilty of something. My own path towards greater self acceptance is paved with the art that I create. It is a path I continue to stumble down at the expense of everything else. I am nothing without this music. I am nothing without this mask. So In this sense, the message I received was true, but only in an inverse sense. The truth is, I did not save anybody. You. Saved. Me.

Gostaria de agradecer sinceramente por dedicar seu tempo para estar aqui. Mais uma vez peço desculpas pelo tempo que demorou para que este ritual se concretizasse.

Eu também gostaria de aproveitar esta oportunidade para lhe dizer uma coisa. Amar a si mesmo não é uma tarefa fácil como às vezes dizem que é.

Todos nós somos limitados por alguma coisa.

Todos somos culpados de alguma coisa.

Meu próprio caminho para uma maior autoaceitação é pavimentado com a arte que crio. É um caminho que continuo a trilhar às custas de todo o resto.

Não sou nada sem essa música.

Não sou nada sem esta máscara.

Então, nesse sentido, a mensagem que recebi era verdadeira, mas apenas no sentido inverso.

A verdade é que não salvei ninguém.

Você. Me. Salvou.

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

cr:

Transcription English Version from click here

Portuguese translation theforbiddeneden

Photos taken by Luke Honeysett, click here

SLEEP TOKEN- FROM THE ROOM BELOW- LAFAYETTE, click here

[kuvvydraws]

I have had a lovely time reading up on solitale lore! So many interesting things we are learning about the world and the characters in it through Praetorius and Laudaris. As an ask, in relation to those cuddling sessions, as well as his lil thing with scent, how would he react when his sig other (in courting) begins wearing scents he is favourable towards, carefully picked out to also be favourable to how they usually smell? and an ask for Laudaris, what's his current opinion on the character that broke the Barrier? Actually what is their both opinions on them, and the Court's opinion on them?

You're very hardworking because there's indeed a lot of lore, mostly about Praetorius, with some hints at a bigger universe here and there XD good job!

About Praetorius and scent: he would prefer his SO to wear their natural scent, no need to mask it. He understands the social impulse of wanting to smell more appealing or enticing to others, and gets why one would like to change the way they smell or present themselves a little from time to time. He does! But he's also a monster with a sensitive sense of smell, who inhabits a Castle where the rest of the people either stink like chores and servitude or purposefully stink themselves up with copious amounts of perfumes and other scents to become more appealing for the Court lifestyle. Scents can be deceiving and too much of anything would end up clogging his skull, so Praetorius doesn't really like perfumes. Natural scents are much more personal, difficult to mimic, and even intimate.

He does enjoy the smell of certain things, like crisp paper, fresh ink, or cold stone. They're mostly associates with good memories or moments of peace, so he tends to favor them. As many monsters trapped in a cave for centuries, he actively dislikes the smell of petrichor, which many humans favor. Even after Surfacing, he doesn't really get it, but he'd start missing it until he gets used to not being Underground, which would take him a lot longer than he'd like to admit.

★

Regarding the human who broke the Barrier, since it's a swapfell type of AU, we can pinpoint Chara for that role, with Frisk being the first Fallen Child and sibling to late Prince Asriel.

As the story goes, Frisk perishes, Asriel dies with them, and monsters lose HOPE while imprisoned, until Queen Toriel comes up with the plan to harvest human SOULs and gather their power to break the Barrier, consequently causing her separation from Asgore.

I could go on a tangent about how the Barrier broke and what that implied for monsterkind and for the memory of Gaster after how his mistake condemned a whole species to remain trapped, but the truth is I don't have a solution for that just yet, so I'd ramble aimlessly.

The first thought monsters have after finding a human again is to take their SOUL, to start over collecting them all, no matter how much or how long it takes. And then, the Barrier is gone, the child thrives on with their new adopted dad, monsters gain their happy ending and the world broadens impossible.

The Court would be the easiest case. The Queen needed an heir, and who better than their liberator? The Crown acolytes are a sadistic bunch, ready to tear into each other, and for a while the crowd was divided - some wanted to resume the SOUL collecting, some others wanted to give the child a chance and see what would happen. If it hadn't been for Asgore's brief return to the Castle to ensure Chara would have been treated right, their SOUL would be in a container and their body disposed off as fast as a sneeze. As all things evolve, after Surfacing, everyone was suddenly on board with letting the child live on, be cherished and grow up as free as the rest of them, as if they hadn't been ready to dangle them over a pit of snakes as the smallest turn of the wind.

For Praetorius, they're a means towards redemption. He could never let go of the guilt of trapping monsters forever because of his Father's mistake. He didn't directly destroy the SOULs but all his life he felt responsible for it, aware that no matter how hard he worked to improve the Underground, he could never make up for the freedom monsters would never get. He keeps them in mind in a careful way, planning and scheming around them, as to not distort the tentative equilibrium their presence has gifted monsters. He's not very comfortable around them, regardless of how grateful he feels about them falling and not perishing on their way to the Castle.

Laudaris? He just went a little bit insane and rolled with it. His mind was never quite the same after his Father messed up the SOULs. The experiment changed everyone Underground, but Laudaris is particularly sensitive to SOUL, and he might have been over for a quick visit after he caught word in how his dad had been holed up in his lab for weeks. He was a witness to his horrible crime, which is why he was appointed to be the Judge in his trial - not only as a key witness but also as a test of loyalty from the Court. He never had the opportunity to Spare Gaster, he never could have. And again, the SOULs self imploding in the equivalent of existential fireworks did something to him.

From that day on, Laudaris was always a bit out of sorts, a bit unstable and unreliable, a bit too intense, a bit too bleak. He rides his highs as hard as he rides his lows, and all that could be an explanation on why he thinks he was stuck in a resetting loop for ages, until the anomaly new child fell Underground. Not that he's ever going to share his thoughts on that matter. In the end, he just had to keep a careful socket on them, threaten them a little and let them struggle their way up to the Royals to fight their case. Maybe he helped them last time. Or the time after that. Or the one before those two? He doesn't quite remember. Did the child kill anyone? He has a feeling they did, but that last time, the real last time, their SOUL was spotless, and they did break the Barrier... Ah, everything is so confusing, this is why he doesn't bother to keep track of timelines!