#we’ve seen all of them cry MULTIPLE times

[aquitainequeen]

Here I am, hours later, still crying about Furiosa and Praetorian Jack. George Miller, Nico Lathouris, Anya Taylor-Joy and Tom Burke are geniuses. They completely sold me on just how much these characters loved each other.

Furiosa coming out of a nightmare, wielding a knife, to be caught by Jack. He doesn’t say it’s all right or that she’s safe, she doesn’t say it was just a bad dream. They don’t say anything. Jack eases her back down to her cot and they settle down, aware of each other.

Jack stitching up Furiosa’s shoulder in a hidden spot in the Citadel, Furiosa showing Jack the peach seed that she’s kept hidden in her hair for so long, proving that the Green Place is out there, asking him to come with her, pressing her forehead to his while cupping the back of his head, showing him her love in the manner of her people, and him returning the gesture. After fifteen years, she’s finally going home, and he’s coming with her.

And then...

Spoilers beyond here!!!

And then:

The battle of the Bullet Farm, which is where the strength and force of their love really started to batter me. Furiosa manages to avoid the ambush and get out of the Farm before the gate closes, and Jack could easily have slipped through the gate to join her, but he sees the enemy forces mustering and knows they’ll quickly be hunted down if there's nothing to stop their pursuers. He shoots off a green flare that clearly tells Furiosa to abandon him and get the hell out of there, intending to sacrifice himself so that she has a chance to escape and set off for the Green Place. Furiosa does drive off, but gets maybe five metres before she decides ‘fuck this’ and goes back in to try and save him. And she saves him from his pursuers and she saves him from falling to his death, and they get to their escape vehicle and drive off, with nary a word spoken or exchanged until they’re on the flat and heading for freedom. And even then, all that’s mentioned is what direction they should take to reach the Green Place. That's it. They don’t need anything else. They survived, they got out, they're together, they’re going to be all right.

And they almost make it. They almost get away.

When they’re captured by Dementus and forced onto their knees, there’s no special close up on them; mostly they’re on the edge of the shot while Dementus is ranting centre stage or screaming into their faces. They pay no heed to him. That love infuriates Dementus. He shrieks, he tears at them, but he can’t break them. He doesn’t matter. What matters is that they spend their last moments touching each other, leaning into each other, pressing their foreheads together, breathing deep, loving each other.

There are no parting words between Furiosa and Jack, no declarations or promises or screams of despair, but it hit me so hard and cut so deep that the second to last time we see Jack’s face, he’s craning desperately to see what’s happening to Furiosa, trying to get one final precious glimpse of her, before he’s quite literally dragged to his awful death.

We don’t see Furiosa’s reaction to her torture on multiple fronts, as she is strung up by her maimed arm and forced to watch Jack die. We’ve seen her scream and weep for her mother, but this moment is hers alone. It’s not for us.

How fitting it is that Jack saves Furiosa one last time, as his execution distracts Dementus and his crew from noticing that Furiosa has cut off her own arm to escape.

The last time we see Jack’s face is in Furiosa’s last nightmare.

Furiosa doesn’t mention Jack in her final showdown with Dementus, when she screams about her mother and her stolen childhood. But from what’s shown to us, I think that the spot in the Citadel when she imprisons Dementus and grows the peach tree in the midst of his emaciated, maggot-ridden body…is the same place where Jack stitched up her wounded shoulder, where she showed him the peach seed, where she asked him to come with her to the Green Place and he accepted, where she showed him her love in the manner of her people, where they embraced. Where she avenged herself and Jack, upon the man who destroyed their lives.

Where Furiosa now plucks the first fruit of the tree to bring to the Five Wives, whom she will bring with her to the Green Place.   

[ireallydontknowohcrabs]

Brian Moser NSFW ALPHABET˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

long overdue, I hope u guys enjoy!

MINORS DNI 18+ content! Themes of knifeplay, amputation, uhhh average brian moser freakiness!!

A= Aftercare (what they’re like after sex) Brian would most definitely pet your head and play with your hair in bed, we’ve seen in the show sooo!

B = Body part (their favorite body part of  theirs and also their partner’s) HIS ARMSSS, you cannot tell me he wouldn’t enjoy putting his partner in a chokehold during sex. As for his partner, he has a thing for collarbones and breasts.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically) If you did something upset earlier, he’ll likely cum on your face or on your collarbones.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs) As much as Brian cares about you, I feel like he would fantasize about amputating you. He adores being needed so if you were to get into a terrible accident where you’re immobilized, he would pop a boner if you needed help bathing or changing.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?) Brian has had sex with multiple women, safe to say he knows what he’s doing

F=Favorite position (this goes without saying) Missionary, against the wall, and any position where he has control.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.) He’s more serious but if the situation calls for it he’ll joke around a bit, just to lighten the mood.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.) Neatly trimmed, clean.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment?  the romantic aspect) He’s very passionate, He’ll pepper kisses all around your body and worship you.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon) If you aren’t together yet, he’d break into your bedroom and jack off to the scent of your panties and take photos of you in compromising positions. ( this man is a FREAK)

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks) Choking, amputation, dacryphillia, vulnerability, fear play, bondage, and a lot of body worship. He takes his sweet time dragging knifes across your body while you’re tied up, helpless and vulnerable. He also goes crazy for your pained whimpers and cries that come out when he over stimulates you. I could go on and on about his kinks and fantasies.

L=Location (favorite places to do the do) His apartment, and in a dark, well hidden alleyway. 

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going) He’ll get an erection on the spot if you start begging for him. Bonus points if you’re injured or you start crying.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs) Nothing that involves him losing all of the control. 

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.) Excellent at eating pussy. He prefers receiving though.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.) He enjoys slow and sensual but if he’s riled up he’ll go fast and rough. Big fan of manhandling. Also a fan of taking care of you and being gentle. Both are pleasurable for him.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.) He does them a lot in his office. They’re fun.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.) He’s down for anything really.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?) Brian lasts several rounds. He has a lot of stamina.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?) If you count tying ribbon, knifes, and gags as toys then yes!!!

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease) HUGE TEASE. He finds it amusing.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.) Brian will let out a few grunts and moans here in there, but he usually pants.

W=Wild card (a random headcanon for the character) If hes just finished a kill he’s going to be really horny so prepare to fuck in his freezer while his apron is covered in blood. He’ll push off whatever’s occupying space to make room for your body.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes) He’s canonically big, so I can see it being lengthy with a thick base. Slightly curved upwards, with the tip being a light pink.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?) He can go for several rounds, and even longer if it involves one of his favorite kinks. (*cough* *cough* begging and knifeplay)

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards) Even after you fall asleep, Brians going to spend some time admiring your resting face before he finally rests.

[sepublic]

The Owl House Pilot Leak!!!

            Oh my titan.

            The Owl House’s original pilot episode (basically a bunch of voiced-over storyboards) just got leaked and OMT. Watching it felt like experiencing the original magic of the show all over again… Reminding me what it was like to fall in love the first time!!! The hype and rush, the excitement to type down my thoughts after a new episode, analyzing and gushing over both big and small moments, the details!!! The pilot has reiterated all over to me again why I love these characters, from Luz's powerful earnestness, to Eda's chaotic demeanor! It’s like having the whole show open ahead of me, the possibilities endless when knowing this is just the beginning and we could go anywhere from here!

            What’s interesting is that Luz’s conflict with Camila doesn’t really exist here; In fact Camila isn’t present or mentioned at all! What brings Luz to the isles is Amity, who’s been learning in the human world, under the guise of being a human by disguising her ears! It’s alluded to that Odalia and Alador made her do it, though we don’t know why…

            But WOW that must’ve been so meta, doing S3 with Amity stuck in the human world with Luz, hiding her ears! It must’ve been a fun way to bring back the older concepts in new form! And indeed, we see a couple of stuff we’ve already gotten glimpses of, such as the storyboards of Luz offering her friendship art to Amity! I love that we get to see the actual scenario of how Amity accidentally defended Luz in the first place, since we heard that but didn’t get to see how it turned out.

            It’s interesting that Lumity is basically the inciting incident of the story, though I can see why the final version opted instead to emphasize Luz’s conflict with her mother. Especially with how she chooses to stay in the isles in the final draft, which leads to guilt over lying to her mom, having her ‘coming out’ moment that eventually occurs in Yesterday’s Lie, etc. So more agency when it comes to Luz losing her access to the human world. Plus in the pilot, there isn't the same emphasis on Luz trying to live out her dreams of being a witch, and her obsession with stories that ties back to Manny and forms the basis for a lot of other themes and arcs.

            That said, I also appreciate what this alternate take offers, and how Lumity helps tie everything together, it really is the queerness that is such a foundational part of the ‘weirdness’ theme that the show is about, and it’s intertwined with the pilot! God Luz being heartbroken when Amity dismisses the drawing… And then crying when Eda compliments it without realizing who it’s about! Or maybe she did, she could’ve recognized Luz there and figured out a way to stealthily make Luz feel better…!

            I love Luz routinely lock-picking her locker because she presumably forgot the combination! And it’s interesting that we have a setup of there being multiple dimensions that the Boiling Isles has access to, and not just the human world and Demon Realm. That plays a role in the climax, more on that later. Given we have what is basically an airport for different dimensions, I wonder if we would’ve seen Luz find her way back home much earlier on, under much less intense circumstances, in a S1A episode?

            The ‘Emperor’ is also alluded to in the pilot, which we didn’t get actual mention of until the fifth episode in the final show. He apparently dislikes humans and wants Luz brought over to him, is this still operating off of the ‘Pupa’ version of the character who claimed to speak on behalf of the true ruler, trapped in their metamorphosis by him? So maybe he wasn’t always human, or maybe this is Belos’ hypocritical way of ‘protecting’ humans by keeping them away and in blissful ignorance of the demon realm.

            We also establish Hexside much earlier! IIRC Hexside was always part of the show, but executives pushed for it to have more emphasis, which the crew continued to follow through on in S2 onwards because that had already been set up. Lilith is the principal, and I recognize the storyboards of her, including her bat transformation! We get a Tinella Nosa cameo, we see Amity, and there’s also a brief cameo of Willow too! Nice way to set her up before her proper debut.

            The ‘barrier’ containing King’s crown turns out to just be a regular human locker, which makes me wonder if the writers updated the final draft to make it a force field that only allows humans through, because of the whole Belos twist. Which makes me wonder if in this draft, Belos is Pupa, who never was human, or maybe they realized the opportunity to insert foreshadowing into a big twist regarding the main villain. Makes me wonder if the house we see Amity enter in the pilot, which is on sale, would've had any significance like in the final show. Love how Tinella Nosa is a student at Hexside, and also Dana having to occasionally insert lines for Wendie Malick and others was great.

            Lilith is a lot more openly adversarial, which is different compared to how her actual debut provides a softer side to her; I imagine this would’ve been apparent in a later episode of the ‘Pilot AU’, and her transformation has me curious; Was she originally the one with the curse, but then the writers changed it to Eda? Or did they both have a curse? Eda also has an owl form she can summon and control at Will, maybe all Clawthornes have a beast mode that’s less of a curse and more of a talent. Lilith ends up trapped in another dimension, which makes me wonder if she’d have a temporary replacement –possibly Pilot Bump- or if she’d return offscreen. We see the portal key get destroyed under much more casual circumstances, though it’s less as big of a deal for this and the established ‘dimension port’ we saw before.

            (Also, Amity recognizing Luz in the hallway… Everything to me!!!)

            Warden Wrath doesn’t exist and neither does the Conformatorium, it’s Lilith and Hexside. With her as principal and Amity as student, I wonder if we would’ve gotten more of their relationship in the pilot AU, if Covention was a way of carrying over that former connection since Amity would be a teacher’s pet in either version of the story. And speaking of ties to Covention, it’s interesting is that Eda’s chest gem seems to be linked to the Emperor’s Coven, as ‘Pilot Kikimora’ uses it to control her. Curiously, we have a scene at the end mirroring what we got with Lilith in the final draft of the show!

            I feel it implies that Eda DID join the Emperor’s Coven with Lilith, if only for a brief moment, but then defected; But the chest gem is basically the pilot version of the Emperor’s sigil, except with the explicit function of being a shock collar. I find it interesting that Eda still has the mirror to contact the EC with, instead of just getting rid of the thing. Is she a rogue agent who hasn’t totally cut ties, because she can’t? Won’t?

And the fact that Pilot Kikimora can just shock Eda at will makes me wonder if the Emperor is low-key just letting Eda roam around, which makes me wonder if he’s aware of the familial connection, is using Eda to find Luz, already knows about her doing that because of the time loop, etc. We’d of course have gotten an episode where Luz finds out about Eda’s connection and helps her deal with the gem… I realize now that Luz learning Eda also wanted to join the EC with Lilith is a carryover of this idea.

I can see the ups and downs between both versions; The final draft sets up Luz’s conflict with Camila and the reality camp, which is foundational to her character arc throughout the whole show. Her pain over being ‘sent away’ is just so vital that I appreciate its inclusion in the first episode. But I also like the inclusion of Lumity and the earnest desire to be friends with someone who showed her, unwittingly, any kindness at all! We get explicit bullying from Luz’s peers in the pilot, but in the final draft we also get her thoughtlessness that plays a big part in her S1 arc. And Luz’s arrival in the isles is more intertwined with Eda and King in the final version, which also feels right; The show is about these three in particular!

All in all, this was wonderful to watch! The magic was experienced all over again, not just in watching an episode, but also commentating on one that was just ‘released’ as well? I thought the last time I’d do anything like this was with the series finale Watching and Dreaming… But as Luz said, it really comes full circle with watching the first episode all over again! So maybe we have other stuff to still look forward to after all… At the very least, we have an eternal anticipation with an unexplored universe ahead of us, that will never reach completion; So it's like our ever-lasting final gift from TOH, and a good last one. So until next time: BBBBBYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

[miss-celestia13]

Mask On

Jake x MC - Smut One-Shot

The lovely @hacked-by-jake asked if I could write a smut scene inspired by this meme. I said yes, it’s been a while, and it was a lot of fun; I missed writing smut 🤭 all credit to HBJ; I wrote it, but it was her meme that inspired me enough to do so!

It's sex against a window! So they can watch themselves. And Jake can enjoy the visual of MC coming apart for him while wearing his mask.

It’s also available on Ao3.

With that out the way, I hope you enjoy it 🥰

The MC here is my Manon from Marked Me Like a Bloodstain and other stories. But you don’t have to read those to be able to read this. This is more of an “in another life, we might’ve done this instead” type of thing. It doesn’t fit their current timeline and can be read as its own story.

It is a dual POV. The names are in bold when they change.

———————-

The elevator ascended in slow motion. Or felt that way to Manon. She was a ball of frenetic energy as she stole glimpses of Jake from her periphery and edged ever closer. He was remarkably tight-lipped despite the filth that spilled from his lips a mere 24 hours before they arrived.

They were rising to the top floor of a swanky apartment complex he’d brought her to from the airport. She’d known he had a base home hidden in the city and was aware he had money stashed in secret accounts and cash buried in multiple places in Duskwoods forest. However, upon seeing this fancy building, she realized he was wealthy as she caught sight of the formally dressed doorman who required ID on entry and observed the expensive marble floors, polished to a dazzling shine, as they walked over them.

A thousand questions swirled in her overactive mind, but she kept it all inside as the elevator came to a sharp stop. Jake turned to her, a bashful smile curling the corners of his full mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. It might be a bit of a mess.” He said, sounding uncertain.

She sidled closer, slipping her hand into his to squeeze, and smirked as she replied, “After all we’ve been through, do you really think a little dust will frighten me?”

He chuckled, lovely and deep, and she fought off a shiver as he led the way out the open doors and into a red-carpeted hallway. The beat of her heart went out of time as they approached a black door, and Jake took out his keys. She let go of his hand and stepped back, pretending she didn’t notice how his hand shook as he turned the key.

An eardrum piercing, loud, robotic screech sliced through the peaceful quiet between them, and Jake hurried inside, beckoning her with a hand as he punched in the code to shut off the alarms.

“Well, that would wake the dead, never mind frighten off an intruder.” She joked to lighten the tension, settling on Jake’s shoulders as he loosed a sigh once the alarm silenced.

As he said, “I couldn’t let myself get caught unawares,” he reached up and scratched the back of his neck, continuing, “It had to be loud enough that I’d hear it through my headphones.”

She nodded as they kicked off their shoes, surveying the expansive apartment as Jake locked the door. Her eyes skipped the other closed doors she assumed led to his bedroom and the room she’d seen in their first video call. The sparsely furnished space held little personality; the most dominant feature was a massive dark couch by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

She suspected the stretched around the whole building.

“I’m guessing they treat those windows in a way that allows only you to see out and prevents anyone from looking in?” She asked when Jake seemed anxious about her thoughts on how he once lived.

He gave her a sly smirk and slid a hand around her waist to guide her into the living area before he spoke. She watched him in the window reflection.

“You guess right. I can’t have a drone appearing outside and catching sight of me.”

She wanted to cry for him, but knew he wouldn’t want her pity. Manon did what she did best—distracted him.

“And where do exhausted hackers sleep when they finally run out of caffeine?”

With a suggestive brow waggle, she turned to face him and grinned so extensively that she wouldn’t have been surprised if he could see her wisdom teeth.

Jake laughed, stepping closer and staring at her as he said, “We sleep wherever we fall. But I assume you’re looking to rummage through my bedroom. Unfortunately, you’ll be disappointed. There’s just a bed and a gun safe in there.”

“You really know how to get my blood going. Guns and a bed? What more could a girl want? Come on, show me!” She teased, grabbed his hand, and tugged until he allowed her to drag him behind her.

He laughed as she flung open the door and came to a stuttering halt.

“I warned you. I rarely used this room,” he said.

She cast her gaze around the ample space and shook her head. He hadn’t been lying. There was only a double bed and a safe cunningly disguised as a nightstand decorating the room. Or so she thought. Her feet were moving toward the black and white object hanging on a hook beside the bed. It was in her hands before she could recall giving her body the command to move.

Jake had worn the scuffed and cracked Guy Fawkes mask during his video calls. Without thinking, she turned it over and pulled the elastic attached to the back and shoved the mask over her head. It severely limited her peripheral vision, the hard plastic cut into her jaw, and it smelled slightly sweet and sour. A blend of chemicals and sweat, she thought.

She was so engrossed in her own thoughts she didn’t notice Jake had gone wholly still as though petrified.

“Don’t tell me you actually wore this on a regular basis? It’s terribly uncomfortable. I thought it was just for me, so I wouldn’t be able to describe you if Bloomgate ever got off his ass and did some work!”

There was a long pause, and Jake seemed to take a steadying breath as she cut her eyes to him. He practically trembled as she frowned at him.

“What’s wrong? Is there some strange rule that only you can wear this mask?” She enquired when he only fisted his hands and groaned softly.

He shook his head. His pupils had blown wide, black swamping the blue, and his fingers spasmed at his sides as though he wanted to reach for her. It hit her like a slap, and she grinned behind the mask, adopting a nonchalant stance as her muscles went loose and she sauntered closer to him.

“Are you going to answer me? Or has an invisible cat caught your tongue?”

It was as if she electrocuted him. He shuddered, blinked heavily, and said in a sheepish tone, “What were the questions?”

She choked down a gleeful laugh and swished her hips as she approached him. Her dress swirled around her knees as she moved and she lay a hand on his chest to feel the rapid fluttering under his skin.

“I asked if you really wore this mask while working, Jake. Keep up, love.” She taunted, tilting her head and tapping her fingers over his pounding heart.

Jake reached up and rested his hand over hers as he shook his head, grinning freely, saying, “It’s an annoying accompaniment to my lifestyle. I have faith in my ability to prevent people from getting through my intensive security measures. Still, if someone manages to view me through the webcam, they won’t see anything they can identify.”

“Clever. Handsome, intelligent, and you have a filthy mouth on you? Are you real, or am I dead and in heaven?” She said in a sing-song voice, edging into his personal space until her senses were filled with him. She reached up and shoved the mask up so it rested atop her head.

He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her and replied, “I don’t know about that, but I’m real. It’s you I’m wondering about.”

She smirked, winding her arms around his neck as she said, “And what are you wondering about me?”

Jake drew a deep breath, pulling her closer, eyes flicking to the mask on her head and back to her again.

“You’re wicked, infuriating, and so beautiful. I’m terrified I’ll mess you up.”

With a purr in her voice, she said, “If you don’t mess me up, I’ll be sorely disappointed.”

It wasn’t what he meant; she knew his fears of dragging her down with him, but she was prepared to fight for him. The air between them was electric. A thrumming current seeped under her skin and made her restless; her eyes dipped to his mouth. His gaze did the same to her, neither wanting to break the spell as the delicious tension threaded through them.

She felt like a moth at a candlelight vigil whenever she was around him—overwhelmed, unable to keep still, and desperate to share his light.

He pressed his forehead to hers. They were sharing breath, and her lips tingled as familiar impatience itched at her and demanded she push up on her toes and close the distance.

Time seemed to halt as she waited for him to make a move; her voice was little more than an airy breath as she said, “Do you want to kiss me now or later? Or both?”

His response was instantaneous. “Both.”

She chuckled, low and throaty, and said, “Good answer,” before taking the lead and digging her fingers into his hair to pull him down to her.

The first brush of his lips on hers was the sweetest. His deep groan as she plastered herself to his front and silently encouraged him to kiss her forcefully sent a wave of lovely heat rolling out from her center. He listened to her unspoken demand, much to her delight.

His hands splayed wide on her back. One slid up to cup the back of her neck, the other settled on the base of her spine and tugged her flush against his rapidly hardening cock. She almost whined as his bristled mouth bruised hers, coaxing her open, and his tongue slipped inside to slide along hers as she sighed in relief.

Glittering, scalding heat surged through her, turning her liquid between her thighs and making her hands shake as she lightly pulled his hair as though to drag him inside her. She forgot about seeing his hacker hideout as his sharp teeth nipped and his plush mouth ruled hers.

She wasn’t a religious woman, but when he kissed and touched her like this, she felt like she was holy. The silly, dramatic thought made her smile into his addictive lips as their breathing grew labored and their hands wandered.

She didn’t know where to touch first. All of him. Preferably draped all over her.

Her fingers roamed along his broad shoulders and back again, climbing up his neck to cup his bearded jaw as his tongue flicked in her mouth and his hands gripped her hips mean.

Chemistry sizzled between them like a pot of rich, thick molten chocolate begging to be indulged and she was nothing if not a greedy woman. His knee parted her thighs, and she whimpered as it pressed against where she burned for him.

The skimpy underwear she wore was already soaked as she wriggled against the hard length trapped between them and gave into the urge to grind down on his muscled thigh. Sparks shot through her like tiny lightning strikes. Their kissing turned wet, sloppy, and utterly filthy.

A thrill shimmered down her spine, setting her entire nervous system alight and making breathing difficult. What little air she could suck in. Jake stole it right from her mouth. Heat built to a blaze inside her and her empty cunt clenched in complaint as his hands moved to grasp her ass and began kneading her until she was in a frenzy of sensation and painful anticipation.

She nipped at his plump bottom lip, teeth sinking in and pulling, a whine leaving her as she felt him smirking into it. Her pulse flickered in her neck. The shake in her hands turned to a quake, and she needed him to touch her. She needed him to fuck her before she came out of her sweat and gooseflesh adorned skin.

He tasted wild and sweet and felt like home. A place she’d long given up finding until he appeared in her path. She was desperate to have him inside her.

Jake felt Manon’s distress as her body shivered and tautened under his hands. He hadn’t expected that her wearing the mask would have such a profound effect on him. His painfully hard cock twitched as he teased her tongue with his and bent at the knee, sliding his hands down the back of her parted thighs to grab hold of her and hoist her up.

Her legs wreathed around his waist and locked in place. Captivated by the little sounds she made and the way she fit perfectly into all his hollow spaces.

Her enveloping body was a warm embrace of sunshine, wrapping around him like a cocoon and melting the night’s chill from his bones. The heat emanating from her scalded him as he blindly walked over to the wall of windows and pinned her against it.

Freeing a hand, he flattened it on the window beside her head as his other hand tapped her thigh. She hesitated all of a second before catching on and unwound her legs from his waist as he reluctantly parted from her mouth to help her stand on weak knees. His heart trembled in his panting chest as she looked at him with eyes full of trust and smoky lust. Their emerald color had darkened to evergreen as she licked at her swollen lips and waited for his next move.

He eyed the mask perched precariously on her head and decided. She liked it when he bossed her around.

“Turn around, step back, and face the window.”

He moved away to give her space and smiled when she immediately did as he bid. The flimsy dress she wore had buttons from the neckline to the hem, all down her front, and his fingers itched to tug it open, but he held it back as she met his eye in the window reflection.

“Good. Now, put the mask on, Sweetheart,” he ordered in an undertone he barely recognized.

He watched her as she swallowed thickly and shifted on her bare feet. Time slowed to a crawl as he observed her hands lifting and grabbing the mask, slipping it down to cover her face as he nodded in approval.

A sparkling, fizzing sensation trickled down his spine and swirled in his lower back, sweeping through all of him and he was hard enough to hammer nails as he swept her long hair up in hand. He let the pale strands rest over her shoulder and dropped his head to the side of her throat he’d bared for his teeth.

He ran his nose down the elegant column of her neck and inhaled her warm, spicy scent and let it feed the desire racing through his bloodstream. She trembled as he brushed his lips over her rattling pulse and bit down. He banded an arm around her to keep her upright as she gave a muffled moan and her knees failed her.

The scent of her arousal, heavy with musk, was a humid warmth cloaking them both as he sucked and bit her skin, a swipe of his tongue over the small hurt so she murmured his name. His cock jumped at the sound of it. There were so many emotions packed into that four-letter name of his. He wasn’t entirely sure he deserved them yet, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

He glanced at the window as his hands moved to her full breasts and cupped them, enjoying the weight of them in his palms as he watched them in the night dark window.

Manon stopped seeing the incredible view of the city as Jake teased her sensitive flesh, nipples stiffening to hard peaks, and the wetness between her legs turned to a drenching flood.

If he didn’t have that devouring look in his eyes, she would feel foolish wearing the mask, but his feverish touch and harsh breathing conveyed his desire was at a level she had never seen from him. Excitement turned her legs to water as he grasped the neckline of her dress. She gasped in shock and giddy pleasure as he tore it wide open. The fragile buttons were no challenge for him. They popped free and clattered off the window as he hurriedly dragged it down her arms and exposed her nearly naked body to his starving eyes.

Sweat trailed down her face as she ignored the ache eating away at her fast failing patience. Her mouth went dry as she saw his reflection take off his t-shirt and jeans, hands fisting at her sides as she waited for his move. His boxers and socks soon joined the rest of clothes on the floor and his fiery body melted into hers from behind.

She ground her ass against his hard cock. Wetness dripped down her inner thighs as her mind skipped ahead and she needed him inside her before she exploded from the ardour burning through her. She luckily didn’t have to wait long before his large hands were on her again.

He latched his fingers into the elastic back of her mask and firmly pulled her head back. His other hand slid around her hip and traveled to her weeping cunt, teasing her soaked folds through her underwear. His fingertips traced the shape of her like a rhapsody, each taunting stroke composing a symphony of desire that echoed through her entire being.

Her head lolled against his chest as he shoved the lace covering her aside and met no resistance as he plunged two fingers into her tight cunt. The strangled moan that left her seemed to bounce off the walls as she felt herself clenching to keep him from leaving her body. Slick and so hot, he groaned. She couldn’t think as he played with her like he’d always known her body.

Her pounding heart and rushing blood muted all sounds as those fingers moved within her taut heat and she ground herself into his hand at his whispered urging. Her cunt clasped and unclasped as he grazed her clit and sent a trail of wheeling stars scattering across her bare skin.

The hand holding her mask slipped to wrap around her throat and the gentle squeeze he gave her was a warning of what was to come. She couldn’t wait for it. The simple action sent her heart thrumming, and she panted into the plastic covering her face. Any discomfort it might’ve caused blasted away by Jake’s obvious delight in it.

His touch unraveled her like a tightly bound scroll, releasing a cascade of longing and urgency that surged through her veins like liquid flame.

Suddenly, he removed his hands from her and stepped away, leaving her swaying as her head spun and she blinked stupidly as he whirled her to face him and ripped the mask off her. He dropped to his knees in front of her and did the same with her underwear, lifting her ankles one by one to help her step out of them. He tossed them both aside without a care as he crowded her until her overheated skin met the cold window. She hissed in shock as her head thudded back to meet his ravenous gaze.

“I want to taste my name on your tongue as I fuck you,” he said in a voice like a growl.

She squeezed her legs together to counter the ache as her empty cunt clamped around nothing and her essence glazed her inner thighs.

She formed three words, but they were enough. “Fuck me then.”

His smirk was salacious. They pounced on each other, and he quickly caught her. She extinguished his midnight chuckle with a dirty kiss and he trapped her between him and the window. He reached under her to palm his cock.

Her hips tilted as he ran the fat head of him through her saturated folds and sank inside her so fast she had no time to prepare as he stretched and filled her so completely she didn’t have room for the air in her lungs. Her nails clawed at his shoulders, mouth agape and gasping as his hand smoothed loose strands of damp hair away from her sweaty face.

The maddening pressure built and built as he remained unmoving to let her acclimate to his sudden invasion. Her hips rolled, and she used his shoulders for purchase to lift and drop back down, taking him to the hilt, both groaning as she slowly softened for him.

He muttered her name as he let her breathe and studied her face as she shook in his arms. Part of her worried the treatment on the windows only went so far and someone in the building across from them might get the show of a lifetime. But most of her didn’t care if that was true. Let them watch.

Jake had gone still, muscles jumping and quivering as she made soft little noises of frustration as that intense pressure demanded a release. Her skin stuck to the glass and there was an audible sound as he peeled her off it and he at last moved. Shallow darts of his cock inside her to open her up and rile her further.

His strength thrilled her, no strain as he hefted her up and finally, finally slammed her down on his rigid cock. Her rapturous cry of pleasure sliced through their heavy breaths and the vulgar smack of flesh meeting flesh. Fingers dug into her ass as he fucked her, planting violets and giving him more leverage to ruin her.

Every deep caress of his cock inside her dripping cunt set her ablaze, a wildfire of untamed passion consuming her as she surrendered to the exhilarating storm of sensation. When he kissed her, she clung to his hair, fingers weaving through the black strands until she could use it to hold him captive against her whining mouth.

He tasted like sin, felt like heaven and looked like hers all at once, and she could only hold on. It was as though someone had flain the first layer of her skin to expose her nerves. Even the whisper of air pressing against her skin as his hand braced on the window sent a bolt of fire down her torso.

His lips branding hers, his thumping heart that matched the beat of her own, and the heady, clean scent of his skin. She wanted to never forget a single detail. They had earned this. Through blood and sweat and fire, they had earned this and she would be damned if she didn’t take all he offered her. Tension coiled in her core as his thrusts fell out of rhythm and each one shunted her up the window.

As his tongue teased hers, she yanked on his hair, feeling owned by him and getting swept away. Drowning in the blistering sea of their shared desire. The heat in her abdomen grew out of control, but it was nothing compared to the fire she had kindled in Jake. All the awkwardness in him had vanished, and he fucked her like he’d never get the chance to do so again.

He stole moan after moan from her. The sanity eroding tension coiled and coiled until it drove her to the brink of insanity and made it impossible for her to breathe. Her stuttering hips, his thick cock, and her clenching cunt were all she knew, her throaty cries smothered against his stubbled lips as they rubbed her mouth raw.

Hovering on the brink of shattering, Manon sobbed and rocked her hips, freeing a hand from his hair. She worked it between them. The tense skin of her stomach flickered as her fingers ghosted over it and she kept going until she swirled them around her swollen clit.

“Fuck, Manon,” Jake cursed as her inner walls clamped down hard on his cock, making her smile.

A little helpless sound spilled from her as she toyed with herself and the tension in her drew so taut she arched. Jake pounded into her mercilessly, giving her no room to calm down. The sensations and lust were so intense her mind fractured with jagged white light and she struggled to withstand the tremendous pleasure ricocheting through her.

Her body convulsed as she circled her clit and pushed herself to the precipice. Jake sobbed into her mouth as he felt her clench around his cock, burying his face in her neck as his forceful thrusts slowed a little. Bursts of darkness speckled the edges of her vision as her orgasm sparked its warning.

Relief glimmered at the back of her mind as her back arched again and Jake lifted his head to see her face. His voice was a sinful melody she’d been searching for from the beginning of time.

“Come for me, Sweetheart. Take me with you.”

Any thoughts she had left disintegrated at his words. Her fingers swiped that bundle of nerves deliberately again and again. The rough glide of his heavy cock inside her threw her over the edge and she splintered into a million glistering pieces. His kiss smothered her warbling moan of his name as her cunt spasmed around his cock and sucked him in deeper, dragging him down with her as he slammed home one last time and they soon sank to the floor as his legs failed him.

Her twitching, useless body slumped and practically merged into his as he lazily drank from her mouth and ran soothing hands down her slick back. She felt every jump of his cock as he spilled into her, and her inner walls fluttered as the scalding waves of her release rippled out from her core.

How long they sat there in a complete knot of disheveled limbs, kissing and touching. She didn’t keep count. Just reveled in it and in him, as he silently told her he loved her. She shivered from the chill settling in the room at some point and he instantly broke away from her lips, concern in his cobalt eyes that she rushed to comfort.

“I’m just a little cold. Take me to bed and warm me up again.” She winked and smiled softly as the worry in his gaze cleared and he gave her a proud smirk as he eyed the bite mark he’d left on her neck.

“Your wish is my command,” he chuckled, but made no move to get up. She caught sight of the Guy Fawkes mask, and an enticing idea popped into her mind.

“After we sleep a bit and you’re able to go again, it’s your turn to wear the mask.”

A startled laugh burst from him as she nodded seriously and fixed her features into a haughty expression as he said, “Is that an order or a punishment for making you wear it?”

She gave an indolent shrug, committing his smile to memory and hoping to make good on her promise to christen every room in his apartment before they left for Duskwood. There was only one thing left to say.

“It can be both if you’re into it. Pain and pleasure, Jake,” she said in an imperious tone that made him shake his head and she patted his shoulder, jerking her head toward the bedroom door as she finished, “Come on, let’s get food and some sleep. You’ll need your strength later.”

——————————-

Thank you for reading. I hope it was worth your time. If you comment or reblog, thank you so much for that as well❤️

If I have time, I might write another part where Jake wears the mask. But I am busy with many other stories, and it won’t happen anytime soon.

I hope Sunday treats you well!

[libby-for-life]

Idea

We’ve had a lot of yandere Lucifer where he captures Adam but what if Adam falls and wakes up in hell, realizes that he’s totally fucked and needs protection, and after a month or more of desperately trying to find another way out of it and getting murdered several times he admits defeat and goes to the one place he knows he’ll be… well, not safe but also not a homeless target. Lucifer’s castle

The journey there feels like a walk to his own execution. He turns around multiple times, desperately trying to find another solution but nothing works.

He finally makes it to the gates and is stoped by a pair of guards. “Tell Lucifer that Adam is here”

They do

The smile Lucifer greets him with could freeze hell

Overjoyed at the fact that he didn’t need to find Adam, his little lamb came to him.

Adam sobbed into his hands as he recounted his last horrific death. It was brutal and Adam swore he could still feel the phantom pains of those hands digging into his organs. How they ate them right in front of him.

He shivered and curled in on himself in the alleyway. Everything hurt and he just wanted to sleep. Preferably forever.

Of course, there was one idea...

Adam bit his lip. He swore to himself that he would never think of that option. There had to be a different way. He just had to be more careful.

'But that hasn't been working well, has it?'

Adam felt himself beginning to cry again. He was tired of dying. He was tired of being hurt and molested in an alleyway for the sick fucks down here.

'You could go to him. He would....well, it would be better than being homeless.'

Adam stood up, feeling dizzy by the sudden movement. He had to leave before dark. That's when they came out.

It felt like he was moving through syrup, his feet dragging as he walked to the tallest building in the Pride Ring. Lucifer's palace.

He hated how much pain and hunger he was in.

Several times he almost turned around and ran back to his alleyway. This was the only way though. He was tired of dying. He was tried of hurting.

He got to the entrance and came across a guard. They brandished their swords but Adam had seen enough blades being shoved into him for it to have little to no effect on him fear-wise

"Tell Lucifer Adam is here." The guards exchanged glances before one of them ran off to inform their king. Adam could feel himself shaking. Why did it feel like he was tying his own noose right now?

Lucifer walked outside and Adam froze at the sight of his expression. It was cold, dangerous, and obsession all woven together to form the smile that the devil wore.

"Adam. Looking terrible. Run into any cannibals lately?" Adam jerked at those words. Those words were specific. The last things he ran into was cannibals.

Lucifer was watching him suffer. Of course he was.

A gold chain wrapped around his neck and Adam yelped as he was pulled forward into Lucifer's embrace. "I'm glad you came, little lamb. Because I am never letting you go."

[laniemae]

SO UHM WHAT THE FUCK

spoilers under the cut because genuinely so much shit happened today in day 20

Looking back to what I said at the start of the day thinking nothing too extreme or horrific was gonna happen and instead it’ll focus more on the subtle relationships and combating the cold. As well as me pointing out how the tetro spoilers chat was suspiciously slow

BOY HOW WAS I WRONG???

So we got what was essentially ice fairy 2.0 but this time nobody around to stop Okazaki physically assaulting Wada so ruthlessly unlike Yanagi and how he hid away in his room to hide what has happened to him. And what the ever living fuck was going on with Okazaki’s motive for this??? And if I thought the tetro server in ice fairy was a war event I could not have prepared for the absolute mayhem that was good child I am scarred for life.

Hiroaki coming out as gay holy fucking Christ if I was traumatised from good child then boy talk set me over the moon. Buuuut there’s also how devastating it is with this conformation how we’ve learnt about Hiroaki’s struggles with compulsorily heterosexuality due to all the stigma about being gay and how much he forces himself to hide who he is and I already did a mini analysis on this but aaaaaaa. At least this means the odds of hirojima becoming canon have dramatically shot up.

The whole conflict with tamba beginning to lose it and having a mental break at hayashi screaming at her and blaming her for the deaths of the others because she said she’d protect them. And how hayashi was alone crying after what tamba said to her and especially after that with tamba showing a ton of growth when she was talking to Tsuno and feeling legitimately bad about her lapse of anger and wanting to apologise to hayashi

Kamimura’s backstory being shown with his chronic depression and how it’s been heavily affecting his life to where he can’t even get out of bed on lots of days and how he felt when he dropped out of school and nobody really cared. And him starting to believe he has a worthless existence which that and his depression lead to him becoming suicidal and wishing to disappear in which from confession game we already know he attempted multiple times. And hasegawa being so worried and genuinely upset for kamimura saying that he cares so much about him and what I can only assume was kamimura about to confess to hasegawa only to back out of it???

HAYASHI DISAPPEARING IN THE LAST EPISODE??? Like I was worried from the last episode of last Friday that she’d try to break the rules and she tried to bust down the door in which monomoko came in and teleported away with hayashi only for the remaining 3 to hear a horrifying piano note and high pitched ringing and becoming extremely frightened over what just happened and the text at the end? And oh my god in the staffside threads we learned that hayashi got teleported to the facility and now she’s under heavy restrains in DR KANS LAB??? OH MY GOD NO NO FUCK NO NO FUCK. AT LEAST YONEKURA IS MORE ATTENTIVE ON HIS DIRECT INFLUENCE ON THE KILLING GAME NOW? But oh my god what is he going to do to hayashi we’ve seen the absolute torture that he’s done to the interns hayashi is not coming back in one piece. I have so many thoughts on this scene but I’ll save them for a ramble later when my brain isn’t as messed up

[crestwood-survivor]

Mythal in the Deep Roads Pt. 2: Trespasser DLC

Everyone who has played through the Trespasser DLC already knows that the ancient elves were in the deep roads, but I noticed some things in my most recent playthrough that I haven’t seen discussed. Mainly, the coffin room:

But let’s go through the area first. We exit the Eluvian and find ourselves in this weird combination of elven-dwarven ruins beneath Thedas. One of the things that stood out to me about this area is how Evanuris symbols we find (or at least I could find) are Mythal’s and Fen’Harel’s. There are two giant Mythal statues in this section, one is near the Eluvian we enter:

And the other is deeper into the area:

There's this one:

And finally two handing over the "coffin room" at the very back of this area:

There's also lots of wolf statues, some framing the eluvian:

Or caved in hallways:

On the path leading through the area:

And framing the "balcony" overlooking the coffin room:

Notice what there isn’t? Any statues for the other gods.

All the other elven ruins we’ve seen have had multiple gods portrayed in them, even in temples dedicated to one specific god. For example, the Temple of Mythal had a whole separate area depicting the other gods as well as hart and owl statues. The Temple of Dirthamen also had hart statues and statues of Mythal and Fen’harel. But in the deep roads? It’s only Mythal and Fen’harel. This to me implies that whatever operation was going on the deep roads, it was Mythal’s project.

Let’s go over some of the comments companions make in the area.

Cole has a few things to say. The first thing he’ll say is: “Songs screaming far away. It wants to wake up but can’t remember how.  No one should be here.”

This immediately made me think that Cole was referring to a Titan. Lyrium, the blood of the titans, is frequently described as singing. Cole makes similar comments if you take him through the deep roads in The Deep Descent DLC. Valta also describes what she hears from the Titan as a song, but she also tells us something else that’s important: Titans do not stir lightly. The Titan from the Deep Descent was asleep for a thousand years, and only woke up and started causing trouble because the breach disturbed it. Cole says that the songs are screaming far away, so it’s possible that this is a dormant titan that is near the area we are in.

Dorian will say: “It shouldn’t be this dark. Dwarven buildings are lit by molten rock. That doesn’t just go out.”

I’m not sure what to make of this comment, but it seemed odd to me. Maybe someone else has thoughts on this?

Further in, Cole will make a comment about the Qunari and Lyrium: “The stone sings. The song scares them. It’s the wrong song, the wrong blood. They don’t know how we stand it.”

Is this suggesting that Qunari have a greater sensitivity to Lyrium? What does the “wrong blood” mean? Is it referring to the Lyrium, the titan’s blood, or the Qunari’s blood? If Cole is referring to the Qunari’s blood, this wouldn’t be the first time someone has commented on their blood in the game. Kieran can comment on the Qunari Inquisitors blood at Skyhold if he has the Old God soul:

Kieran: You're the Inquisitor. You're very tall. Mother didn't say you were a Qunari.

Inquisitor: Oh? I'm told it's the first thing one notices about me.

Kieran: I noticed your blood. It doesn't belong to your people.

Here’s where things might get a little tin-foily.

When we get to the end of this area, the part looking over the coffin room, Cole will say:

“They’re all singing. Coffers, coffins, corpses that aren’t dead. A song crying out in the dark.”

The type of coffins/tombs we see in this area can be found in other parts of the main game. Here is an up-close screenshot of the tombs in this area:

And here is an example of the same type of tomb from the Solasan Temple, which is also associated with elves:

Based of Cole’s comment, I think the tombs we see in this room may contain ancient elves that are in uthenera. The “corpses that aren’t dead” part is what really makes me think this is the case. Uthenera is described as an alternative to dying for the ancient elves. When they didn’t want to be a part of the world anymore, they went into uthenera. It sounds similar to a coma. Abelas calls it the blissful sleep that never ends. The Mythal statues poised above the tombs, looking down on them/watching over them, makes me think that these are some of her people that have been put into Uthenera.

I’m not done with this topic yet; I still want to discuss the notes left behind by a dalish Qunari, but this post is already stupid long so it will have to wait.

[brackishkittie]

୨୧- CHAPTER NINE, feel it! - ୨୧

summary: ellie apologizes to you and you forgive her, you guys also decide to meet up and things maybe take a turn…

c/n: strong language, smut, fingering (r!receiving), edging + pussy eating (r!receiving), and groupchat chaos.

a/n: COME GET Y’ALLS FOOD, IT’S HOT N READY!

series masterlist! - chapter nine ➝ chapter ten!

just say you look away from your phone, you get a text from ellie that says, “I’m outsideeee, let me in plssss” you giggle at how silly the message was and get up to open the door. you make your way to the door, open it, and you’re instantly taken aback by the sight infront of you. “what’s all this els?” you say, shocked and smiling, “felt like the apology wasn’t enough..so I got you something.” she mutters while looking away and scratching her neck. she had a bouquet of flowers and a bag of all of your favorite snacks and candies. “ellie you didn’t have to do all of this..” you frown slightly and she just swats you away with her hand jokingly. “cmon I brought something else,” she laughed and pulled out a movie you two used to cry to when you guys first started dating, “no way you still have that? I kinda thought you threw it away..” you uttered. “what? never. now cmonnnn, don’t just stand there.” she smiles and you nearly run towards the couch and sit down while she puts the movie on. you felt at peace and calm in the moment.

about half way into the movie, you feel ellie’s hand snake around your waist which catches you by surprise but you don’t say anything. she decided to move her hand from your waist and down to your thigh, squeezing and rubbing on your inner thigh as you look at her, “ellie what are you doing?” you whisper, still trying to hear the movie. “m’cold..between your thighs are warm..” she mutters with her eyes still on the movie. “you’re distracting me ellie..” you whisper again, trying to still hear the movie though you both have seen it multiple times. “y/n,” ellie finally takes her eyes off the tv and looks at you, “look at me baby.” she gently turns your face to look at her and she smiles. “you mean so much to me y/n…I don’t ever wanna lose you again..” she smiles softly and moves in closer, “can I?” she asks barely above a whisper, “you can els” you smile and she closes the space between you two.

she lays you down on the couch slowly and starts kissing down your neck, her hands roaming up and down your body. her head is now in between your legs, she’s trailing kisses along your inner thigh and her finger hooks onto the waistband of your shorts, and she looks up at you. “are you okay with this?” she looks at you for reassurance and you nod with a slight smile, she looks back down and pulls off your shorts. “fuck..all of this for me baby? you’re so wet.” she laughs a bit and you hide your face from embarrassment, “hey hey hey, don’t hide your face….cmon pretty look at me.” she moves your hand and caresses your face, “no need to be embarrassed, we’ve done this before yeah? don’t get all shy on me.” she tilts her head with a smirk. “oh please we haven’t touched eachother in weeks.” you roll your eyes and she presses down on your clothed clit with her thumb, “but I’m touching you now angel, so what’s your point?” she moves her thumb in circles now which shuts you up and you just stare at her.

she moves your panties to the side and she just looks mesmerized, “holy fuck.” she mutters quickly and licks your slit all the way up to your clit, circling her tongue around it as she looks up at you, watching you come undone already. ellie keep eye contact with you and she rubs your clit with her thumb again, her tongue going in and out of you as she does this, “ellie- fuck..” you buck your hips and tilt your head back but then she suddenly stops. “you’re not cumming yet angel, I’m not done with you.” she says and replaces her tongue with two of her fingers, pumping them in and out of you while using her tongue to flick at your clit, you feel like you’re about to pass out from all the stimulation. she keeps pumping her fingers in and out of you as she moves her other hand up your shirt and starts rubbing your harden nipples with her calloused fingers. “you’re taking my fingers so well baby..” she smiles and you feel your legs twitch and your hips buck again, “go ahead angel, cum for me..” she breathes out as she takes out her fingers and replaces them with her tongue again, sucking and licking at your clit.

you finally cum on her tongue and she smiles proudly, “let’s go get you cleaned up yeah? you did so good baby.” she kisses you and picks up your disregarded shorts that were laying on the floor. you two look at the tv and realize that the movie already finished, “oh shit it finished and we didn’t even realize..wonder why we got so distracted…” ellie teases and you push her playfully, “you’re so annoying..” you laughed and walked to the bathroom as followed so she can help clean you up.

the next following morning though was eventful..

tags: @elsmissingfingers @astrcmoni @cowgirlcherrie @theganymedes @ximtiredx @ellieswifee @liabadoobee @loversquarr3l @ellieslegalwife @thecowardwrites @qvrcll @mqddieas @ariianelle @blvebanisters @machetegirl109 @goodabop @inf3ct3dd @strawderrypoundcake @sawaagyapong @villainousbear ( sorry it won't let me tag u 💔 )

[dandelion-wings]

Love your blog and all your Jean takes, so I was wondering if you have any songs that remind you of her?

I do! Although with the caveat that I tend to notice/fixate songs that reflect more on relationships than on individual characters themselves, unless they really really strike me. But I have playthroughs for multiple Jean relationships, so I'll go through and try to winnow out a few of the most Jean-centric.

That said, first of all, this triptych, which only released recently but which I had the tremendous pleasure of hearing a first draft of on a livestream concert in 2001, and which I immediately fixated on as the perfect Jean-and-the-Knights song. It has been living on my head ever since, and I'm so glad it came out in time for this ask. :>

We've Got You - Vienna Teng

From the first song (reflecting the Knights' confidence in, and reliance on, her): and in our ears and on our minds beyond your years your rallying cry is calling us out again calling us in again

And from the second (because it should be obvious from my fic that I love people Caretaking For Jean): we’ve got you so let go, we’ll bear the weight awhile lay down, we’ll walk the waiting miles when you’re not alright we’ve got you we've got you

Anyway, now that I'm done screaming about that one, the rest under the cut:

Continuing with the same artist: The Tower - Vienna Teng is my main shipping song for her, because, again, you will notice that I tend to like pairings where the other person is supporting Jean when she overstretches herself. XD But tell me this isn't Jean: the one who survives by making the lives of others worthwhile she's coming apart right before my eyes

Shoulders Back - Honest Men has more of a breakdown in its lyrics then we've seen from Jean yet, but the "get back up and go forward" vibe in the second half really feels like her to me (it's also explicitly religious, but I mean, I think that works for her): I won't give up the wrong thing And I won't lift up the wrong name Cause I can see its a long way I'll carry on till the last days

The rest are from my knight-trio (Diluc & Jean & Kaeya) playlist,

Hold Us Together - WILD; a lot of it is the trio in my head, but the chorus is pure Jean to me: I will not falter, I will not break I'll hold my ground under the weight I will not waver, I will not shake I'm searching for the steps to take

Come on Home - Indigo Girls is purely the trio, but it is THE trio song for me the way Kids Again is THE Jean-and-Kaeya song for me: Just come on home, the team you're hitched to has a mind of its own But it's just the forces of your past you've fought before Don't you recognize them anymore I'm stacking sandbags against the river of your troubles

And I'll also link to my Jean-and-Kaeya and Diluc-Jean-Kaeya playlists, with the caveat on both that a lot of songs are on there for specific fics, and the caveat on the second that it has a lot of Diluc-and-Kaeya specific ones because I don't have a separate playlist for them. Again, I just really trend more to 'relationship' songs than individual ones for characters.

[uluvjay]

Can i request “don’t come any closer! “ from list4 for Mason McTavish please?

Mason x fem reader

Warnings?; admissions of cheating, crying, arguing, angst, long distance relationship

The first thing that came to mind was mason cheating on his long term / long distance gf over the season and having to admit it when he went back home and drama😍, I hope you enjoy!

—

I stood with Masons dad at the pick up area in the airport waiting for Mason. Long distance had been hard and i couldn’t wait to have him in my arms again. It had been almost eight months since I had seen him and I couldn’t wait.

I must have zoned out because next thing I knew I heard Masons dad saying “here he comes” and then the two were in a tight hug.

When they pulled away Masons dad went to get Masons bags and mason turned to me, and i couldn’t contain myself as I jumped into his arms.

“I missed you so much” I mumbled into his neck and his arms wrapped around me.

“Me too, I’m so happy to be back home” he spoke putting you down. But he wouldn’t make eye contact with me and i noticed he was a little nervous.

“Mase you okay?” I asked as his eyes finally met mine, they looked different, the bright light that was usually there was missing and they looked sad when we made contact.

“Yeah baby I’m all good” he said before pulling me back into his arms and placing a kiss on my head.

—

A few hours later everyone was sat at the McTavish dinner table eating and catching up, but i still noticed something was up with Mason. He was a lot more quiet then usual and every time someone’s iPhone went off he jumped and checked his. His mother had scolded him multiple times for it but unlike him he still checked it every time. As everyone started to clean up i noticed he had slipped out onto the back deck and was on the phone with someone.

“What’s up with him?” His mom asked as i helped her dry dishes from dinner.

“Not sure, is it okay if I go check on him?” I asked not wanting to leave her with all the dishes.

“Of course sweetie, go ahead” she smiled at me

I thanked her before heading out the sliding door. At the sound my boyfriend quickly told the person he was talking to that he’d call them back later. He turned to face me but once again with a sad look in his eyes.

“I’m only gonna ask one more time, what’s wrong Mason? And don’t say nothing because I can see it in your eyes” I told him in a stern but caring voice.

He didn’t reply for a moment, only tipped his head back and took a deep breath, “I messed up Y/n” he said to me looking at the ground.

“What do you mean Mason?” I asked him, stomach filling with dread at what was about to come out his mouth.

“I’ve been cheating on you” he mumbled and i swear I could feel my heart breaking.

“What?..W-with who? Why? What the fuck mason?” I couldn’t believe him, all the times you’d had guys come up and offer to buy me a drink, attempt to take me home even after i told them about my boyfriend, and I never once thought about actually being with anyone but him.

“She’s a friend of one of Trevor’s hook ups, we’ve been sleeping together for a few months now” he told me with his eyes still on the ground.

“Are you fucking kidding me Mason!? You couldn’t have just told me you didn’t want to be with me anymore? You had to go and consistently fuck another girl?” You yelled at him not caring if his parents heard.

“I’m sorry Y/n, really you don’t deserve any of this and I’m a total piece of shit for putting you through this”

My tears were coming now, all these years I stuck by his side just for him to throw me to the curb for a groupie.

“Your right Mason! I don’t fucking deserve any of this! I’ve been nothing but a good and supportive girlfriend for the last four years just for you to end up fucking some groupie!”

“Baby please don’t cry” he tried as he began moving towards me.

“No! Don’t come any closer you asshole!” You yelled at him.

“I’ll ask your mom to pack my stuff and pick it up once you go back to California. Lose my number while your at it” I told him before walking back into his parents house.

As i reached the front door his mom was standing there with tears of her own in her eyes, “Honey im so, so sorry he did this to you” she cried while pulling me into a hug.

“I love you mama, but I really have to go and I promise not to become a stranger I love you guys to much , I just need some time” I told her giving her a kiss on the cheek and walking out.

[impossiblesuitcase]

Tomorrow

Benoit Farms and Gardens was cold and windy, but if it weren’t for the gust rattling the timber beams of the ancient homestead, Kai would have never known. It was warm and peaceful with the three of them: himself and the soon-to-be Benoit-Kesleys.

Scarlet hummed away as she doused the dinner and dessert dishes in the soapy kitchen sink. Wolf regaled Kai with his adventures of chasing escaping pigs as he tackled the pots and pans. The dishwasher had broken after Wolf—attempting to pull out the top rack—underestimated his force and mistakenly swung his fist right into the heating element (“he still isn’t quite adept to his new bioengineered strength,” Scarlet had explained). They planned to enlist Cinder to fix it sometime during her stay, and until then, they mutually agreed to force Thorne and Jacin into dishwashing duty.

Like this, the two were perfectly in their element, calm and unflappable. Completely unlike the frustrated pair he had met when he’d arrived that afternoon, and with him, hundreds of paparazzi vultures. Scarlet’s course of yelling, Wolf keeping her from shoving her pitchfork into multiple eyes, reminded Kai—with a touch of fear—that she was the scary one in the relationship.

It was distressing to be the one to break their closely guarded serenity, even if he couldn’t control the press.

Although it wasn’t entirely him fracturing the peace. A good chunk of the journalists had been there to report on the ‘first Lunar-Earthen marriage since the Second Era’. Scarlet was clearly uncomfortable with this invasive, nascent fame, and from her lengthy ranting, was clearly hoping it would pass after the wedding.

“—And when I finally got her back in the pen, I realised I left the gate open,” Wolf continued.

“And the piglets escaped?” guessed Kai.

“The piglets escaped.”

Kai chuckled heartily hearing the genuine disappointment in Wolf’s voice. He was a far cry from the ferocious killer Kai had been afraid of on the Rampion. Whipped cream in the corners of his lips, wrapped in a bright red polka-dot apron, sulking over baby pigs, Kai wasn’t sure this man could kill a fly if he tried.

Kai’s hands were wrapped around a homely, slightly misshapen mug. The handle was a little wonky, the paint splotchy, yet upon seeing the sloppy inscription on the base, Scarlet, agedd 7, he treated it as the finest china. A long sip of the hot chocolate inside travelled to his belly and warmed his core. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so relaxed.

“It’s nice to have you here before everyone else,” said Wolf, scrubbing a cast iron pan.

“Well, I am the very best of the guests coming,” Kai teased.

Scarlet spun around and flicked water at him. He dodged with a laugh. “Wolf means that we’re happy to spend some time with you before the fanfare of our loud friends.”

Kai rested the mug on a coaster and held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. You’re right—when was the last time it was just the three of us?”

A collective pause. Wolf even stopped attacking the pan.

Then, in unison, “Never.”

They all fell into laughter.

“Wow,” he drawled, “Does that mean I’m a bad friend? Or are you bad friends?”

“Maybe we’ve all been busy,” Scarlet chastised, dunking a plate in the water.

Kai sighed, running his finger around the rim of the mug. It was nice to be here in this little bubble of friendship and familiarity and comfort, yet he couldn’t help being reminded of how rare this was. Aside from a few brief catchups with Cress and Thorne, the occasional diplomatic dinner with Winter, and the Peace Ball last year with all of them, he’d barely seen his friends since the revolution.

He’d barely seen his girlfriend since the revolution.

Tomorrow. He would see her tomorrow.

“I hope we’re all less busy in the future,” he wondered idly. “We don’t get to do much together, do we?”

Wolf grunted in agreement. Scarlet said nothing.

The mood turned too sombre too fast.

“Well, it’s not like we can help it,” Kai amended quickly. “We all have different lives, different path–”

“No,” said Scarlet, back still turned. “No, we will see each other. We won’t grow apart.” She drew two wine glasses from the sink. It was precarious holding just the stems with slippery fingers, but she handled them with ease. “What’s the point of life if you never see your friends?”

What’s the point of life if you never see your friends?”

(What’s the point of life if you never see the love of your life?)

Tomorrow.

“You’re right.” Kai dragged a hand down his face. “Stars, I didn’t mean to be depressing. I think…the long distance is getting to me.”

“I admire you, Kai,” Wolf commented. “To be apart from the most important person to you for that long…I know I couldn’t handle it.”

“Everyone knows.” Scarlet nudged his side with her elbow. “You went more than a little crazy last time I was kidnapped.”

Redness crept up his ears, though he didn’t appear ashamed. “I couldn’t help it. Not when it’s you.”

She scoffed, but her smile was tender.

Kai’s heart warmed watching them. “Are you excited to be married?”

“Yes,” Wolf said immediately as Scarlet shrugged and said, “Sure.”

Wolf blinked.

Kai blinked. 

Enough silence passed that Scarlet finally glanced over her shoulder. With two sets of confused male eyes upon her, she jolted. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Wolf crossed his arms, soap caught amongst the forest of hair. “What did you mean?”

“Well, of course I’m thrilled to be married to you, Ze’ev. I just don’t really think excited is the right word. Excited is like…something new. Something you don’t already have. You’re excited for the unknown.” She draped her kitchen towel over her shoulder and crossed the two steps to him, tucking her hands around his waist. His arms came around her instantly. “With you, I know exactly what I’m getting. It’s what I already have. I’m ecstatic, elated, emotional…all the words. But it’s not unknown.”

Wolf pulled her closer. “I knew what you meant,” he whispered, “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

When they kissed, Kai looked down at his drink.

Scarlet pulled away and pushed the steel scrubber back into his hand, winking. “Get back to work. You’re just acting offended so you can get out of chores.”

Wolf scowled. “I’ve been scrubbing for ten minutes and it’s not coming off!”

“Use those strong muscles of yours.”

Kai couldn’t help tuning out their back and forth as his mind focused on her words. It’s not unknown. I know exactly what I’m getting. It’s what I already have. He wished it were the same for him. Yet he and Cinder only barely knew what they had. They hadn’t been together enough to be together; to learn about each other as intimately as Scarlet and Wolf, even as Winter and Jacin or Cress and Thorne had. The ring in the inner pocket of his suitcase burnt a hole in his mind. Too weighty, too heavy a promise of the known when all they had was latent unknown—

“So why do you bring up marriage, Kai?” Scarlet asked, almost succeeding at casualness. “Been thinking about it yourself?”

Wait, had he been speaking out loud?

He seized up his now cool drink and finished it off in a single draught. The milk coated his throat uncomfortably. A cough. “Well, I mean, when a couple have been together for a few years it naturally comes to mind.”

“Get real,” Scarlet laughed. “You’ve been wanting to marry Cinder since the moment she tranquilised your wedding planner and kidnapped you.”

“...Maybe.”

“What’s wrong then?”

“Nothing! Nothing’s wrong between us. I-I love her; she loves me. We’re just…not ready to take that step yet.”

“Fair,” said Wolf, still scrubbing. Kai thought of offering to help, but they’d already turned him down when he’d insisted he clean after dinner, and he thought doing so now might hurt Wolf’s pride. Relinquishing the tool, Wolf turned to face him. “When do you think you’ll be ready?”

“I don’t know. We probably need to spend more time actually together to figure it out.”

“Time to figure out what? How you feel? If you’re right for each other?” Scarlet wiped over the last plate and pulled the plug. The sink gurgled loudly as water pooled down the drain.

He knitted his fingers together. “I already know how I feel. I know we’re right for each other.”

“That sounds like a man ready to propose.”

Kai’s gaze darted up to her, jaw slack.

She had a loving authority on her face. “Sooo, you’re ready. Is Cinder ready too?”

“I…I think maybe. But as you said: you and Wolf know. There are no unknowns between you. You’ve been together all this time to learn that. Cinder and I��”

“—Have talked every day over comms, have spent every possible moment in each other’s arms?” Wolf listed.

“Okay, when’s her birthday?” Scarlet probed.

“December 21st. But every year she forgets and still thinks it’s the fake birthday the cyborg surgeons gave her: November 29th. She goes around saying the wrong age for at least a month.”

“What’s her favorite colour?”

“Midnight blue.” (Because it made him look handsome, Cinder had bashfully admitted.)

“How many children does she want?”

Cheeks burning, he uttered, “Three. We both want three.”

Scarlet smiled smugly. “Hmm. Doesn’t sound like there’s much unknown.”

Before he even thought of a response, she pulled out the chair opposite him and sat, grasping his hands into hers. Wolf circled the table, laying a hand on his shoulder.

Eyes sparkling, Scarlet squeezed. “Kai. If you think you’re ready, then there’s no need to wait. All the things that are still unknown will just be…happy bonuses. And the bad unknowns will just make your relationship all the more stronger when you conquer them together. You don’t need to know it all yet.”

“And proposing is a commitment to each other,” Wolf added. “You’ll have time to learn the rest before you actually get married. Some things can wait.” A shrug. “Maybe I won’t finish that pan tonight, but I’m sure I will tomorrow.”

Kai looked up at him. “It’s bugging you that much?”

“I don’t understand,” he growled, “I’ve soaked it twice now.”

Kai disentangled his hands from Scarlet’s, digging them into his lap. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I am ready, but—how do I know if she is?”

“Well, you’ll be seeing her very soon. Try to get a sense for it,” she suggested.

“And if she is…propose the next time we see each other?”

“Psh. That could be months with how busy you two are.” A flick of the hand. “If she’s ready now, propose now.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Now? As in, here? As in: the next few days?”

“Sure.”

“Bu–no. I couldn’t. This is about you two. Your wedding. I can’t take that from you.”

“Honey,” Scarlet smiled up at her fiancé. “Would seeing our two friends finally get their happy ending be a nice wedding gift?”

“Sounds wonderful.”

She grinned. “Just do it, Kai. If it’s right, don’t wait when there’s no reason—oh, hang on. Unless you wanted to propose with a ring.”

Heart hammering, Kai glances down at his feet, hair covering his eyes. “I…actually brought the ring with me.”

“Ha! All this ‘I’m not ready,’ but ‘I’ll bring the ring with me’?’”

“Yeah, I know.” He took in a breath. “The only reason I’m delaying is because, well, I’m nervous!”

“So was I,” said Wolf warmly. “So nervous that she ended up having to propose for me.”

“It will be fine,” Scarlet assured, red hair flaming under the yellow ceiling light, as fiery as her effervescent constitution. “Don’t let happiness wait, Kai.”

Waiting for the antidote. Waiting to find Princess Selene. Waiting for Cinder to wake up in her hospital bed, bleeding and bruised but alive.

They don’t have to wait anymore.

His eyes welled up suddenly, too fast to rein in. He choked back a wet laugh. “Sorry”—a sniff— “I don’t know what came over me.”

Scarlet’s chair screeched against the tiles as she launched away, rounding the table and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. Bulky, comforting arms circled them both.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

Family. This was his family, as all his friends were, as Cinder was and always would be. When he had hesitantly informed Torin of his plans to propose, it had vaguely felt like what it would have been to tell his father.

Telling Scarlet sort of felt like telling his mother.

Collecting some of his emotions, he extricated himself. “Okay, but if I do propose here, don’t go acting like this wasn’t your plan.”

“Aw,” Wolf groaned. “I wanted to make you look bad.”

“I’ll buy you a new skillet.”

“You have my blessing.”

They all laughed and all smiled, and that was precisely when exhaustion started knocking on the door alerting Kai to the fact that he’d had a long day.

“You look exhausted. Off to bed,” Scarlet commanded, apt as ever. Kai went along willingly as she pushed him out of the kitchen.

He yawned, leaning against the banister of the stairs. “What did you put in that drink, Scar? Crushed up sleeping pills?”

She posed a finger over her lips. “Trade secret.”

With one last warm glance, Kai left his friends in the kitchen and headed up to the guest room, the final image of Wolf kissing Scarlet’s cheek lingering in the air. It would only be his for the night; Winter and Jacin would have it tomorrow, while he’d bunk out with the others in the Rampion. Maybe he and Cinder could even stay in the same room.

The first thing he did once inside was pull open his suitcase. He hadn’t touched it since arriving except to retrieve the small gift for his hosts, an old-fashioned analogue clock set inside a chicken figurine. It had seemed so perfectly them when he first saw it. He just hoped they wouldn’t netsearch the artist listed on the base, as he was sure they would keel over when they saw the 1,300 univ price tag.

Carefully, he reached into the inner pocket of his suitcase and procured the fated ring box. A moment of reflection, reverence even, then he opened it…

And there it was. A ruby ringed in immaculate diamonds. A band of carefully burnished gold. His mother’s ring. His grandmother’s ring, and his great-grandmother’s.

His wife’s ring.

It was not heavy or burning in his mind any longer. It was a token. A promise, one that filled him with greater certainty than he had yet felt. A certainty that had been birthed and reared and matured since that first look in a humid New Beijing market.

Tomorrow. He would see her tomorrow.

Notes

I have three fics I’ve been trying to finish for a year and then I finish this in two days. What is brain function.

So in my headcanon, Kai doesn’t really ‘plan’ to propose at the farm. He just feels like it’s right and so he does. So as to not take away from Scarlet and Wolf’s special day, he and Cinder keep the engagement a secret for a while. But a tumblr ask prompted me to think about if Scarlet and Wolf knew and approved, and thus this was born. Still not sure which explanation I prefer.

(btw just letting you know that if someone hasn't interacted with my fics for a while, I remove them from my list, so if you get removed and want to be re-addded, let me know!)

@cindersassasin @hayleblackburn @spherical-empirical @salt-warrior @just2bubbly @gingerale2017 @zephyr-thedragon @icarusignite @kaider-is-my-otp @slmkaider @luna-maximoff-22 @cosmicnovaflare @kaixiety @snozkat @mirrorballsss @skinwitch18 @vincentvangothic

[bugeyedfreaks]

Silly Chemical X thoughts I have been pondering are below the cut…

So, yeah, in the show the girls have been shown to get revived through the power of love multiple times. However, we’ve seen other beings made from Chemical X, uh, y’know… like, blow up and die (Bunny, Dick Hardly getting destroyed by his Frankenpuffs, the RRB exploding that permanently killed them their demonic resurrection is not canon to me because it’s dumb), and then there are other people who’ve had Chemical X exposure who don’t retain their powers (such as when the GGG’s powers got, um, flushed down the toilet, and when the schoolkids in Mojo Jonesin’ had their powers wear off after a while). So for most individuals, Chemical X is way too unstable, and for others, it barely even sticks. Love isn’t going to bring any of the exploded ones back and it won’t bring back any of the powers the other people had.

……………sooooo the famous Chemical X explosion that created the Powerpuff Girls basically gave them permanent powers that can still be brought back if they DO get Antidote X’d or if they get beaten up badly. It also gave Mojo Jojo permanent smart bad boy powers that have not faded away. Chemical X also gave Bullet permanent squirrel power powers… even though that was during another incident, but still.

…so does the love thing apply to them, too? Would Bullet get her powers back if her animal family hugged her (SHE BETTER 😤)? And, more importantly to me because of course it is, if no one’s around to cry or be sad for Mojo, is he just, like, dead?* Like that’s such a depressing thought, but imagine Mojo doing some surprise selfless (or inadvertently selfless) thing at like the very last minute and getting the snot kicked out of him by some other baddie resulting in the day accidentally (or not accidentally????) being saved… like could he be revived through love powers too? Could the girls and the town have like a moment where they all of a sudden genuinely mourn him and it unintentionally brings him back?

I mean… it would be kind of adorable if true. And I wonder just how annoyed he’d potentially be if it WAS possible (like he gets revived and is all, “No, but… but I wish to be feared! Dreaded! Despised! I am supposed to be the ruler of you all, and all of you are supposed to be cowardly cowering before me!” and the girls/Townies are all like, “Sorry, we decided we love ya instead!” and he proceeds to have an existential crisis because technically it’s worth it because he can live to crime another day… and yet it’s still infuriating 🤣).

*Technically this sort of happened in the IDW comics and he got turned back into regular monke BUT those aren’t canon… he actually did get Antidote X’d in a gas chamber which he voluntarily allowed to have happen but he made up some elaborate plan to get the Antidote X’d version of himself to Chemical X himself again or something… ugh, it was weird. 😵‍💫 I ignore all that because he and almost everything/everyone else was freakin’ off for the last half of that whole comic arc anyway, despite it being one of the better PPG comics I’ve read.

[inkykeiji]

does touya-nii let reader have safewords? and if she does, would he even allow her to use them?

oooh anon that’s a very interesting question :o

tw: noncon/rape, stepcest, toxic relationship

i’m inclined to say no, because he would not and does not respect her when she tells him ‘no’ or ‘wait’—touya-nii wants what he wants when he wants it, and he believes he is wholly and entirely entitled to her body at all times, as if she is some object (because, in many ways, that’s exactly how he sees her. she belongs to him. he owns her. he is to use her however the fuck he wants to, whenever the fuck he wants to).

in the past we’ve seen him ignore her protests, with these instances literally beginning in part one of my main series (and often using her ‘good girl’ weakness against her, ie be a good girl for me and take it, show me how good you are and take it, etc with the implication that if she doesn’t, if she denies or doesn’t want to, then she is bad, and that’s the last thing she ever wants to be. he plays on that extreme insecurity of needing that external validation, from him especially, of needing to be told she’s good and not bad, to manipulate her and uses it to his advantage to get what he wants/control her)—and we also see it very heavily in beautiful when the damage is done, where he punishes her and natsuo and completely disregards their multiple objections.

with that being said, touya-nii isn’t entirely heartless. i do think there are some VERY rare cases where he would stop if she told him to, but the circumstances would have to be genuinely extraordinary (by his standards). to him, she’d have to have a very good reason to ask him to stop, or be in extreme distress (keeping in mind that touya is quite sick and gets off on her crying) for him to stop. so! to answer your questions: it isn’t impossible, but it’s highly unlikely. he might give her a safeword to be used in absolute emergencies (especially if she asked for one and rly wanted one!), but she’d be punished pretty heftily if she used it in a situation that he doesn’t deem dire and necessary.

[rivby]

Honestly, it’s the fact that his name is “Mayday” for me

I haven’t seen anyone talk about this yet, at least not on my feed, so I’m gonna cause it’s been running through my head since I saw the episode. Spoilers for S2, E12 of The Bad Batch below the cut

The fact that the clone we meet is named Mayday is so fitting for this episode and where Crosshair is at right now. “Mayday, mayday, our ship is going down, we need help” is a phrase we’ve heard multiple times throughout the various pieces of media, especially in the Clone Wars show. Mayday is a cry for help. Everything is crashing down around you and you’re calling out to anyone that can hear you. You are throwing a plea into the emptiness and hoping to be met with friend, not foe. 

That’s what this episode was. We saw the cracks that Cody made in the foundation of Crosshair’s ideology come crashing down around him. Throughout the entire series, the one thing Crosshair always fell back on was “Good Soldiers Follow Orders.” He used it to try and guilt the Batch early season one, then as a justification. By the time he goes on that mission with Cody, that phrase had become a life ring for him. He repeated it like a prayer, like saying it would change the fact that even though he followed orders, he was getting left behind and discarded. When Cody left, it caused the first cracks in the foundation. 

Throughout the Clone Wars, Cody had basically been the perfect soldier. He followed orders, but still tried to find peaceful resolutions whenever possible. He was a model clone, and for him to desert the Empire was a huge blow to Crosshair. And then, Mayday said something that I think really drove the point home for Crosshair. “We’re good soldiers. We followed orders. And for what?”

I think that was the moment that things changed. This clone had been challenging his way of thinking the entire episode, and to hear his mantra thrown to the air when faced with the reality of the new future the Empire had in store for the clones... I feel like before that scene, Crosshair might’ve just left Mayday behind. But they were both forced to see the change that was coming at them, and Crosshair finally had to accept that things were changing, and not for the better. 

He spent the second half of the episode carrying the nearly dead body of this random clone he’d met hours before to try and get help. He had talked about deadweight before, he could’ve left him behind. But instead, the first thing he did once he escaped the snow was find Mayday, put his helmet back on him, and pick him up to head back. They were both on the brink of death when they got back, and that’s when Crosshair threw his mayday into the wind. 

Of all the Bad Batch members, Crosshair always had this air of mystery, of distance, to him. He wore is helmet more then any other Batch member, opting to keep his face concealed. If they can’t see your face, they can’t read what you’re feeling. And it feels really symbolic to me that Crosshair left his helmet behind without a second thought. So when he threw his cry to the winds, all his hidden emotions were on display for the world to see. And so we got to see him realize that, to the Empire, he wasn’t special. His special army and fancy gear meant nothing to them. He was just another clone that they couldn’t wait to replace with something shiny and new. 

Mayday’s death is very symbolic to me. It shows the point where Crosshair’s already crumbling foundations have shattered, leaving him in a free fall with no safety net to catch him. He watched as the Empire he swore allegiance to chose to let his brother die when they could have saved him. All because it was a “waste of the Empire’s resources.” And so, he made the choice. With the last of his strength, he killed the Lieutenant that had killed Mayday. One last act to avenge his fallen brother, then he collapsed. 

When he wakes up in the lab, being poked and prodded as an experiment, that really drove it home. To the Empire, he’s expendable. He’s not special. He’s just another clone. One of thousands of outdated models, just waiting to drop dead so they could be replaced by the newer version. Everything they’d done for the galaxy, all the good, discarded. Just like them. It’s tragic, honestly. 

Also, I cannot wait for him to reunite with the Batch. We know that the Doctors are gonna go after Omega, so they’re probably gonna end up in that facility anyways and they’re gonna find him. I think, this time, he’s actually gonna go with them. He’s not really with the Empire anymore, especially after he killed one of their officers. So, yeah. I’m excited to see how the season plays out.

[halfmyth]

𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘞𝘈𝘕𝘛 𝘛𝘖 𝘋𝘐𝘌 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌. 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘼𝙇𝙒𝘼𝙔𝙎 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀.

(   evan mock  .  cis man  .  he/they  )       —       blasting  cool-doug, at night  by  sammy rae & the friends  down  main  street  we’ve  spotted  KIERAN “KIKI” AQUINO  sporting  their  pearl earring & pink buzzcut.  the  seventy-two (appears twenty-seven)  year  old  VAMPIRE  who’s  been  in  town  for  six years  often  can  be  seen  driving around town with rolled-down windows, crying during sad scenes in movies, trying new recipes,  or  working  as  an  SURGEON  at  PORTUM GENERAL.  people  say  they  display  good-humored  and  irreverent traits,  but  we  rather  trust  their  vibes:  the scent of salted ocean air, knowing that the sun is there even if you cannot see it, hearing someone whistle a song you forgot the name of, a dog running with a stick of dynamite between its teeth.  also,  we’ve  heard  they  love  SURFING, DISCO, & BIRDS !   aren’t  they  fascinating ?   

biography .

kieran is born in 1952 to two older parents who had, in their retirement, finally followed their dreams to move away from rigorous city living to a small coastal town in southern australia. his parents had all but given up on having children, and kieran's birth was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. kieran ( better known as “kiki” ) had a happy upbringing, awash with love. it soon became apparent that he was a surfing prodigy. by the age of ten, he was competing in national competitions, winning multiple junior titles in the late 60s & early 70s. he disappeared from the sport in his mid-twenties, something that was seen as a shame but not too deeply investigated. most attributed his early retirement to an injury he sustained during a competition ( or out of it ). in reality, he fell in love with a merman @highertides. after realizing that his boyfriend was indeed immortal, not one to be outdone by fate, kiki went and got himself turned into a vampire. voluntarily. ah, young love.

extras .

has been in a committed relationship with his husband ( rui aquino ) for the last fifty years !!

while not entirely reckless, he's not opposed to taking risks. he doesn't often let his thoughts spiral, instead choosing to act first and deal with the consequences.

athletic & active ! still surfs at the crack of dawn and has probably run marathons before.

gets along with kids — maybe because he still is one at heart. lies to them about how old he is and where he is from. there are kids running around portum who think he’s a 500 year old vampire pirate.

was a part of melbourne's counterculture in the 70's.

on that note. lies for fun !! but it’s rarely malicious. very lame sense of humor. finds himself funny.

owns two caiques: razor and scooter. owns some pet fish as well.

this isn’t his first time in portum. he also briefly lived in town sometime in the 80’s(?), but left after a bit. probably to travel.

being a surgeon isn’t his first career path. only the truly bizarre and immortal would find med school to be a side quest, but that’s what being a surgeon is for him. it’s something he enjoys and finds interesting.

more tba !!

wanted connections .

SIRE . he would have been turned ~45 years ago (in 1979). not looking for anything super weighty or angsty here. while i’m more than open to a past negative relationship, maybe they have a mutual understanding now and kiki is more or less just an annoyance. or, maybe their relationship has more or less been positive for the past few decades, and your muse felt that it was refreshing that someone wanted the bite for a “pure” reason as opposed to wealth or power. — taken by seyfi mocan .

IMPRINT . people he’s taken under his wing !! i was mainly thinking younger vampires, but it could be other supernaturals. we could work out the particulars, but i feel like he’s the type to accumulate strays 😭

A LONG WAY BACK . long-term connections and/or people he’s met outside of portum !!

GROWING PAINS . a mentor/guide of sorts; someone older than kiki (90+) who's been someone he has confided in throughout the years. while kiki did consider the ramifications of being 27 forever, it's one thing to think you'll know what it's like and another to actually be faced with the reality of outliving friends, family, and the culture you grew up in. — taken by calahan macarthy .

+ super willing to brainstorm !!

[willow-lark]

birthdaygate ficlet!!!

(shoutout to @andiwriteordie for inspiring this—go check out andi’s latest birthdaygate fic!)

Mike Wheeler doesn’t trust this new guy at all.

It’s always crowded in Hopper’s cabin when the entire gang decides to meet up there, but it becomes claustrophobic with the addition of this extra person. Mike sits across from him in the circle as Nancy addresses the group—though the information she gives is mostly for the benefit of the new guy—about her, Steve, and Jonathan’s latest mission to the Upside Down, which they just got back from.

It’s been a long and difficult two years since Vecna first split Hawkins into quarters and fully opened it up to the Upside Down. They’ve been fighting ever since, but though they know full well that Henry’s still alive, he always eludes El’s discovery, instead taunting them from the shadows as he plans his next attack.

Nancy, Steve, and Jonathan took a dangerous reconnaissance mission into the Upside-Down over night and returned an hour before dawn, immediately calling everyone together instead of waiting for their planned meetup at eight-thirty, which is why Mike is sitting here stifling a yawn instead of being asleep in bed.

It’s this kid’s fault.

Because not only did the three of them return with the information they set out to gain—a success, to be granted—they also came back with someone new.

This kid looks to be about the Party’s age, but he’s gaunt and pallid, with dark circles under his eyes. Mike’s never seen green eyes look so dull before. The kid keeps twitching as he glances around at everyone, like some kind of cornered rabbit. Maybe like Bambi. Earlier, Joyce Byers passed him a blanket, which he keeps drawn tight around his bony shoulders, clutching onto it with trembling fingers.

“How long were you in there?” Nancy asks the boy.

“A long time,” he tells her in a scratchy tone of voice. “What date is it?”

“November sixth, 1988.”

Nancy’s response seems to amuse him slightly—the corner of his mouth turning up for a split-second in an expression that Mike usually sees Jonathan wear—but his voice is sullen as ever. “Oh,” the kid says, and then amends himself, “almost two and a half years.”

“Did you ever see anyone else when you were in there?” asks Joyce, and the kid’s eyes dart to her.

Nancy is standing, and she paces a little back and forth. “I can’t believe we didn’t realize there were survivors who fell through the gates when they first opened!”

“No,” the boy answers Joyce. “It was just me. And—”

“Henry. One,” El fills in, and the two of them have the same kind of wide, docile eyes. But Mike knows that El is anything but docile. She’s killed multiple people directly in front of him. The thing is, though, Mike knows that El is on his side. He doesn’t know that about this random kid.

“Yes. Him.”

After a little while longer of questioning, the boy asks if he can go to the bathroom, and once he disappears into the cabin’s small one, the rest of them all erupt into arguing.

“How do you know we can trust him?” Mike snaps immediately. “For all we know he could be working with Vecna! What if Vecna sent him as a spy?”

“Mike!” Nancy snaps back. “You don’t know that! When we bumped into him in the Upside Down he was running for his life. He’s just some kid who fell through the gate. Benefit of the doubt, much?”

“And survived for two and a half years? I bet you couldn’t last a week in there. You don’t think he had help?”

Nancy throws up her hands, and Jonathan joins in, a little more placatingly. “We’ve been at a dead end for months now, Mike. This kid is the only lead we have at this point. He could help us.”

The general consensus is in Nancy and Jonathan’s favor, even from the adults. Hopper raises an eye at him, and says he needs to be a little more reasonable. Whatever that means. They’ll all come crying back to him when it turns out he’s right, just wait and see.

Tomorrow it’ll be five years to the day that all of this started, when Mike and Dustin and Lucas found El in the woods and expanded their Party to four. It’s been so long now that Mike can’t really remember the reason they were out there in the first place, considering that there was a heavy storm. It was probably some kind of pre-teen rebellion among the three of them. Mike’s pretty sure he had actually gotten grounded earlier that evening. If rebellion was what they were looking for, they ended up getting involved in something way more insane. Though they couldn’t save Barb Holland, Nancy’s friend, El killed the monster that hunted her. And since then, things have only escalated.

And that’s without adding this strange new boy into the mix. Mike doesn’t trust easily, and he certainly doesn’t trust him.

Not even when the boy returns from the bathroom and Nancy finally remembers to ask him his name.

Not when the question seems to catch the boy off-guard, and Mike watches him gulp before he answers in a quiet voice, gaze flicking toward Mike and away again, “My name is Will.”

Not when his answer sends an odd jolt of déjà vu through Mike’s chest, like he’s five years old again making friends with the shy kid on the playground. For a moment, Mike wonders if he knows this kid.

Probably, if he’s a student at Hawkins High. They’ve probably made brief and accidental eye contact with each other walking down the hallway.

Will is a pretty common name.

/end scene! if u read all of this then thank you ☺️💕 i have SO MANY birthdaygate ideas but i feel like this would be a long au which i don’t have the capacity to write rn :/// however i DO have literally the whole thing planned out in my brain so if anyone wants to hear it just come send me an ask 👀