#wrong blog to discuss this with . i fear

[rainbowrolex]

and if i say the rabid shipping culture that crosses so many lines on twt has ruined some of the friendships in the club (and has actually probs already ruined one) then what

pardon

[nyxtickled]

tw: DARVO, unsafe kink community member, compulsive lying, details abt a situation i have been asked about.

i've had a lot of people asking about my previous play partner @/socaltickle5. i have been struggling with how to proceed about what happened, but after speaking with 4 play partners/potential play partners (who are also now no longer in any dynamic with him), we have all realized together how unsafe this individual is. as a result, i've decided the fear of creating conflict is outweighed by the responsibility i feel towards the safety of other women in the kink community that i am directly involved with.

safety concerns

gaslighting (telling me i misremembered things, misheard him, or that he downright never said things that he said to me)

telling harmful lies to me about his other play partners and to his other play partners about me (ie. told me @tklmeadi was envious of our dynamic while also telling her i was envious of theirs. told me @itsticklishme23 was returning to the community and repeatedly asking to session with him due to being "jealous of our content," while in reality she was resisting his persistent requests to session with him and make content with him and never spoke negatively about my content to him one time - screenshots were exchanged to verify this as truth)

neglecting my emotional needs that he agreed to meet in the D/s dynamic that i consented to with him (aftercare, communication, consistency, honesty)

convinced me to dismiss multiple warnings i received from his play partners who attempted to warn me about him, telling me that they were only approaching me due to being jealous and vindictive

responding to open communication of my needs with defensiveness, deflection, scorekeeping and guilt-tripping

creating detailed and convoluted stories of things that never happened in order to make himself seem more desirable

push/pull breadcrumbing (pushing away until i would ask to reduce our dynamic expectations due to feeling disconnected, then pulling back with attention and enthusiasm again so i wouldn't end things, then disappearing again, repeat)

socal did everything right in the beginning. he was attentive, affectionate, validating, and enthusiastic about safety and consent. he told me that he wanted me to be his primary lee. he said he wanted to play consistently and he is the one who encouraged me to create this blog and start posting our content. then, everything changed.

he became distant, he stopped debriefing with me after sessions, he stopped engaging in banter, he no longer expressed interest in sessioning with me without me asking him for it or initiating. whenever i tried to approach him about it, he would list off all the ways i had the wrong idea until i believed that i was perceiving things incorrectly.

the first conflict that raised serious red flags was the night that i found out my dog had cancer. one of socal's play partners whom he had recently connected with at a gathering reached out to me in an attempt to warn me that he had shared personal things with her that i had expressed to him in confidence. the alarming part is that the things he told her were never actually said by me.

after finding all of this out, i was exhausted and confused but i needed time to think. i texted socal to explain why i needed some space but expressed that i did not have the emotional capacity to discuss it in detail with him yet because i just found out that my dog had stage 4 lymphoma and i was in the ER vet with her, my partner and my ex at the time.

the above messages are just a tiny glimpse into what turned into 24 hours of harassment, defensiveness, gaslighting, invalidating and cornering me while i was trying to process horrible news about my dog. i was a wreck, but was receiving calls from him and walls of texts all evening and all night. i continuously tried to disengage, but the more i tried, the more hostile he became. he convinced me that she was manipulative, psychotic, vengeful and cruel. he would not stop pressing these accusations, so i tried to divert the conversation into a solution instead.

i was already feeling neglected in our dynamic due to a few of the prior safety concerns mentioned above; he began our connection with intense enthusiasm, attention, effort, and interest. then, once we played, he became distant, detached, and only seemed to pour his energy into new connections (which would have been perfectly ethical had he just been honest about wanting a one or two time thing, rather than stringing me into being a primary and consistent play partner). so, i told him if this individual was really such a crazy master manipulator, maybe it worked on me because i was already noticing such an energy shift and her words confirmed my suspicions.

so, as you can probably tell, throwing it in my face that he agreed to fly me to AUNT with him (which i only asked for because he was parading around tumblr advertising me as his duo ler, tagging me in posts for gang tickles with women i'd never even met before, potentially causing discomfort for them) was my final straw and i became extremely angry. i was done trying to gentle parent a 38 year old "Dom" while simultaneously crying over my sick dog.

i understand this is a lot of information, but i must stress that context is everything in a situation like this. because the truth of the matter is: socal was never unsafe physically. he always respected boundaries during sessions. he never pushed for more than i was comfortable with. on PAPER, he presented himself as the perfect ler.

and that is why it is so important to show what goes on behind the scenes. because emotional responsibility is just as important. i was consistently left feeling crazy, and being convinced that any other play partner who had issues with him was the crazy one. my needs were clearly neglected, and when i repeatedly tried to advocate for myself so that we could have a healthy and fulfilling dynamic, i was hit with scorekeeping, guilt-tripping, defensiveness, and just complete and total dishonesty. socal gave me all of the emotional care that i would need in order to session with me and build a connection with me, but i was left feeling like nothing more than a reputation enhancer. it was at this point that i began to fully detach.

now, this all went down in december. i will admit that after this horrible night continued (and got much worse might i add, but tumblr won't let me put that many screenshots and frankly they're probably too triggering anyway) he continued pushing until i finally called him the next day. he managed to convince me that this play partner was the problem, and i was so exhausted that i gave up. i agreed to move forward and expected whatever apologies he offered. he showered me with attention and care for the next 1-2 weeks.

then, the pathological lies started to unravel. this is what eventually led to me telling him (while literally on the plane to AUNT) that he will never have access to me ever again.

due to this post being way longer than i intended already, i will keep things brief with bullet points.

i started chatting more with @tklmeadi and learned that she was experiencing the same breadcrumbing where he initially put an excessive amount of energy into their connection and then completely fizzled out with no communication to her on the matter.

i admitted to her that i hadn’t tried to connect with her sooner because socal had told me that she wanted their dynamic to be more like mine and his, and that she was jealous/got in her head about my connection with him, but he didn’t want that dynamic with her. she was shocked and shared that she never suggested that to him, and never expressed jealousy.

she was upset about hearing this, so she asked my consent to approach him about it, which i gave. she texted him and said she wanted to talk about some uncomfortable/unsettling things she’d heard that he said about her. he immediately called her, and began texting me while on the phone with her telling me things like “i never said i didn’t want xyz with her, why would i even say that? you must have misheard me!”

i responded to him refusing to allow myself to be gaslit again, stating “no i did not mishear you, i remember exactly what you told me the last time we saw each other. i don’t know why you said it, it didn’t make sense to me at the time, but you said xyz.” i then sent adi a screenshot of my response.

she responded telling me: “he read that text but left out the last sentence.” he was literally on the phone with her, only reading half of my responses, leaving out the parts that he didn’t want her to hear. this was the moment i texted him again and said i no longer want us to continue playing and that i would not be playing with him at AUNT.

he sent more walls of texts but i ignored them. he continued talking in circles to adi on the phone for about an hour, expressing to her how important she was and how i am just saying these things “because i am upset with him.” he also told her “uh oh, Nyx is mad at me again cuz she’s not getting enough attention!” which really really infuriated me to find out.

i continued chatting with adi for the next few days, sharing stories, realizing how much of the same emotional neglect and up/down effort we both experienced. this is when another lovely friend @itsticklishme23 (aka T) happened to ask her how things were going after the play party in LA. adi, T and socal had all been there.

adi admitted that she wasn’t sure what socal was doing because she wasn’t feeling great about him at the moment. T expressed immediate concern/hesitancy because this was apparently not the first sketchy thing she had heard involving socal lately. keeping in mind T and socal have been friends/play partners in the community for 10 years, adi began to share some of the recent things she’d spoken to me about.

next thing you know, we’re all in a group chat with our jaws on the floor. i showed T a screenshot of socal telling me that T “came back to the tickle community because she was jealous of our content!! she’s sent me like 4 dates trying to session this week😑” — and, in shock, T sent me screenshots of her conversation with him from that very same day (and the entire week!) showing where she had never mentioned a session with him at all, and never mentioned my content at all.

i showed T a screenshot where socal asked me “not to say we played last night” when i was about to post a session clip, because he “played hooky from a hangout with T.” he had a whole story about how T “invited him to attend an event with her” that evening. she was again shocked, and sent screenshots of their entire conversation +2 days before and after — there was never any event. she never invited him anywhere.

there were more negative things and lies said that i won’t get into. but at this point, T had the same reaction as adi. shocked, hurt, confused, and she wanted to address these issues with socal directly. so, she also texted him asking him why he would say these things about her after she trusted him as a community friend for 10 years.

he immediately responded in the exact same way that he responded to me in the screenshots above, and to adi. “NONE of it is true. You KNOW me. I would NEVER say anything negative about you. I know who you talked to. It’s Nyx. She’s on her revenge tour right now.” claiming he had “endless screenshots” of me being “jealous and malicious over his other play partners.” not realizing we had all 3 already shared every screenshot we had of our conversations.

he also then texted me extremely aggressively, saying what i was doing was “wrong and i know it.” i told him he was genuinely terrifying and that he would NEVER have access to me ever again. this was literally while i was on the plane to AUNT. i put all my energy into staying as far from him as possible and having the best time that i could possibly have.

believe it or not, this is all merely the tip of the iceberg, but i don’t want to go on and on for too long. i did my best to include as much detail as possible about the points that matter the most in terms of harmful and dangerous behaviors. since these unsafe practices are not so cut-and-dry as violating a physical boundary, it requires a lot of context, detail and explanation. i was honestly afraid of doing this, but i don’t care about the backlash if it helps spare any other women from getting caught up with someone who is legit causing harm and attempting to instill insecurity between play partners.

in summary (tldr)

socaltickle5 was revealed to be an emotionally unsafe play partner and friend, a compulsive liar, and a neglectful Dom/ler. i have now either heard of, or spoken directly to, more than 7 play partners who have had harmful experiences with him. he has been directly caught in detailed and convoluted lies that seem to serve no purpose other than to turn his play partners against each other or to control the narrative at all times.

i was very saddened to find all of this out. i trusted him deeply and we shared a great connection (at least, i thought we did but i was misled). the only reason i am sharing all of this now is because i feel i owe it to those who follow me, after all of the praise and positive vetting i did for him on my blog. i do not want ANYONE to experience harm as a result of his dishonesty, manipulation, or emotional neglect due to believing that he was a responsible Dom/ler based on my posts and content that spoke so highly of him before any of this came to light. i have removed all of our content that i posted on my page. i want nothing more than to offer full transparency to everyone who follows me and trusts my judgment of character, especially if there is misinformation that could lead to them pursuing a connection with a harmful ler. i cannot delete posts that have been reblogged, so i will at least try to explain.

thank you for taking the time to read.

[leth-writes]

bait

SUMMARY: Damian would like to welcome you to the family.

WARNINGS: 18+ as always on my blog, though the work is safe for work. Typical yandere shenanigans.

MASTERLIST: https://www.tumblr.com/leth-writes/757800060720496640/requests-open?source=share 

Requests are open!

Normally, Damian would hate being babied. He was a trained assassin, the blood of Ra’as Al Ghoul ran through his veins, he was the son of the feared Bat! And yet, here he was, sitting in your kitchen, watching you make him some (vegan) mac n’ cheese. 

Originally, Damian did not understand the obsession his family seemed to have with you. He spent days complaining, stomping around the manor, irritated that his family was wasting time with some… weakling. It seemed that every time he walked into a room, the only topic of discussion was you.

As one of the newer additions to the family, and a biological one at that, it seemed he had missed out on something vital to his family. So, he decided to just… ask, as his father would advise,  just why they were wasting time on someone who wouldn’t ever be able to adhere to the illustrious standards his family had set. 

The person he decided on was Grayson, someone he normally looked up to.

He sat across from his older brother, who was preoccupied with that insipid app that Drake had designed, keeping track of your vitals and ensuring your safety. Finally, fed up with being ignored, Damian cleared his throat to alert his brother of his presence.

Grayson looked up and beamed, bouncing up to flop down next to Damian. 

“What’s up, lil’ D?” Grayson asked, voice jovial even as he spared a glance at his screen.

“Tt. Grayson, I must… request your assistance.”

“Anything for you, lil’ D!” Grayson leaned over and rustled Damian’s hair. Damian, annoyed, fixed his hair and leaned away.

“I do not… I do not understand your recent… Preoccupation. It seems the family has decided, rather unanimously, that we will be gaining a new member. I do not understand why we must lower our standards!” He huffed, crossing his arms.

Grayson’s eyes softened. “Oh, lil’ D. It’s alright, you’re new, we should’ve known this would be confusing…” He looked away, staring out the window for a second, letting out a little sigh. 

“I’m not really sure how to explain it, but sometimes, sometimes people, especially people like us, get… passionate. Dinah likes to explain it away as the way we… deal with the constant loss, the uncertainty. Vigilantes don’t ever do anything in halves, afterall.”

“But why, but why them? They have nothing to add to our family, Grayson! They cannot fight, they are not trained, they have no extraordinary skills!” Damian huffed.

“Well, it doesn’t always make sense, Damian, and it doesn’t need to. Sometimes, sometimes people just… click, it doesn’t always have to make logical sense. I think if you got to know them, maybe you’d understand it a bit better.”

Grayson smiled, looking back at Damian. Damian looked away, blushing. He didn’t like not getting something; it made him feel vulnerable, weak, like he was missing out on something everyone else just seemed to get.

“And this is, this is… typical, for vigilantes such as our family?” He asked, voice quiet with mortification. Grayson smiled softly.

“Of course, Lil’ D. There’s nothing wrong with being passionate, and there’s no way we��re gonna let someone else get hurt. I mean, just think about it; do you think they could defend themselves?” 

Damian shook his head.

“And there’s no way they’ll be able to defend themselves. As vigilantes, especially in Gotham, we see the truth, we see how nasty the world can truly be. Most civilians just don’t get it. So, I think we can be forgiven for being a little intense, right?” He laughed, elbowing Damian gently.

“I mean, just think about Jon getting hurt.” 

Damian scowled. “I would not allow it. It would never happen.” He said, certainty clear in his voice.

Grayson snorted. “I know, Lil’ D. I’m just using him as an example; now take those feelings, and imagine if Jon couldn’t defend himself. “

“I-I do not know what I would do.”

“And that’s okay, you’ll get it eventually, okay? It’s hard to come to terms with, at first.”

“I still do not understand why you have chosen such an unworthy target for your affections, but I will… try. To understand.” Damian looked down, face tinged slightly red in embarrassment. 

Grayson ruffled his hair again, and peeked at his screen. “Maybe ask Cass to take you, or Jason? I have a shift in a little while. I’m sure they’d be willing to help you, Damian. It’s okay to have questions, to not get it. It’ll click eventually.”

So, Damian did.

While embarrassing, the idea of not getting something that was clearly of high importance to his family rankled in his chest. So, he approached Cain and asked for her help.

She was in her studio, as she normally was at noon on the weekends, working on a new routine. Damian paused in the door, waiting for her to finish up. No matter how many times he saw her, especially during her performances, he was always surprised by just how graceful the young woman managed to be.

It was normal for his family to move with a lithe grace, especially Grayson, who seemed to move so fluidly he lacked a skeletal structure, couldn’t compete with the natural poise Cain held herself with.

She finished up her routine with a flourish, then rose to her feet with a sigh. She floated over to her water bottle and took a sip, before turning around to face Damian. She smiled gently, eyes crinkling at the corners, her slightly damp choppy black hair framing her face perfectly.

“Little brother,” she said, delight clear in her voice. 

“Cain,” Damian greeted, nodding his head and moving into the room.

Cain sank to the floor, back against the mirrored wall, and patted the wooden floor next to her. 

“Sit,” she said.

He did. There was no refusing Cain, after all.

“You seem… confused.” She glanced over at him, taking another small sip.

“Yes. I do not… Understand the new obsession you have all taken with that Civilian.”

Cain nodded. “Yes.”

“Grayson explained the general feelings of protectiveness, but was unable to elaborate; why them?” Damian crinkled his face, nose scrunching.

Cain laughed. “Stubborn, not seeing.” She poked his forehead, startling him. He scowled further, rubbing the spot. It didn’t really hurt, but he was not about to let her get away with poking him like a child!

She snickered at his bewildered expression. 

“It is hard to explain… Instinct.” She hummed, looking away in contemplation.

“Innocence. They do not know… the violence, the heartache… they are kind.”

So it was about the contrast, Damian concluded. The difference between a trained vigilante and a weakling.

“They cannot… protect self. Need help. Like baby.” She continued, sighing and leaning a hand against her cheek, propped against her knees.

“Like… Like Titus, or Alfred the cat. Need looking after.”

Just like that, it clicked.

You were utterly defenseless. Completely alone, with no one to prevent you from being hurt, or worse, killed. You were like a young kitten, unable to open their eyes to see their savior, like the one Damian had fostered.

A warmth bloomed in his chest. You would be like the kitten, and he would protect your innocence, no matter the cost.

Cass smiled widely, scrunching her nose. 

Just like that, Damian was clamoring to get involved. He could not wait until you were home, and he would be able to ensure your safety, keeping you from losing that childlike innocence, that thin film over your eyes preventing you from seeing the true danger.

It was Drake who had the brilliant idea to place Damian in the field; Damian, for all of his sword-related faults, was still young, after all. Someone as naive as you would be sure to enjoy looking after such a cute child, not being able to see who was truly caring for who.

While both Grayson and Todd had failed to make your acquaintance, it seemed you were too aware of stranger danger to fully fall for the ruse, he knew Cain had made inroads as a member of your book club. Surely, having a young brother by her side would only make it easier to get closer to you.

And just like that, the trap was set, and Damian was ready to act.

The next week, your book club would be meeting to discuss the selected offerings. You had wisely offered up Pride and Prejudice. Damian could still hear the muffled curses Todd had let out; you had no clue the extent to which you had so thoroughly endeared yourself to him, just by picking an Austen novel. Damian could not help but be amused, Todd was easy to enthrall despite his tough exterior; it was almost comical. 

Cain had brought him with, dressed in clothes he was told were appropriate for his age (Grayson had laughed and forced him to stand for pictures. He would secure his revenge, and make sure to talk badly about him. He would be victorious in the so-called prank war, after all, and you would stand at his side, unscathed.).

You opened the door, smiling and bringing Cain in for a hug. Even from his position, he could see Cain melt into the hug, smiling and bringing an arm up to pat your back gently.

“Hello,” she sighed as you pulled back, looking her over.

“Oh, Hello!” you said, looking down at Damian. 

He sighed internally. It would take everything he had, but the thoughts of showing you Bat-Cow would get him through the evening. He smiled brightly, artificially pitching his voice up slightly.

“Hi!” He said, stepping forward and shaking your hand with vigor. “I’m Cass’s brother, Damian!”

“Oh, so you have a brother?” You said, smiling even brighter. It almost hurt Damian’s face in sympathy, how widely you were able to smile. Was it due to your innocence?

You ushered the two of them inside.

“Yes, Our father forgot Damian would be home tonight, and did not arrange for a babysitter.”

“Oh, that’s more than alright! Here, are you hungry, kiddo? I’ll make you something to snack on while the book club gets going! Cass, you can take a seat if you want.”

Damian watched as you puttered around the kitchen, enamored with the way you seemed completely oblivious to the danger present in your home. You were lucky he was there to protect you; what if Cass hadn’t been a kind person? You would’ve had no idea you were letting a threat into your house, and into your life! Luckily for you, Cass would never harm a hair on your head, let alone let you get hurt.

“Milk okay for the Mac n’ cheese, kiddo?” You asked, not bothering to turn around as you pulled down a box.

He informed you he was vegan.

You took it in stride, pulling out some soy milk. He was almost surprised you would have some, but your clear kindness would never allow you to potentially offend a guest. Damian could feel a bout of cuteness aggression overtaking him, and he clenched his fists hard enough to draw blood under the lip of the counter.

The rest of the night passed without incident, though you seemed particularly interested in Damian’s contributions to the conversation about Austen’s works. He could not help but be satisfied at the impression he had made; it was not his fault the majority of the people you surrounded with could not understand basic literary analysis, after all.

Every week for the next few months, Damian would tag along to book club; he eventually managed to become your favorite conversational partner, though Cain was a close second, as you slowly began to ignore the others in the club. It was better this way, after all; they could not protect you.

However, Damian soon became frustrated by the lack of progress. They were talking to you regularly, yes, but he wanted you safe at home! He could tell the others were building in frustration as well, and yet the consensus remained; they would need to take more time.

So, he approached Todd.

And Todd agreed.

The plan was set.

Damian waited breathlessly in the alley by your workplace. It would be easy, after all, to get you to follow him down into the dark.

The second he saw you, he took a few wide steps back, and began to scream.

“Help!” He shouted, crumpling to the floor. He let his voice take on a tinge of desperation, pitching slightly higher to exaggerate his innocence and hopefully trigger your panic so you would approach without a second thought.

It worked, and your pounding footsteps soon approached.

“Hello?!” You called, frantically dropping to your knees in front of his crumpled form.

“D-Damian?” You cried, searching desperately for the injury.

Behind you, he could see Todd approach, syringe in hand. 

He let out a groan and rolled over, head in your lap. As you ran your hands over his back, looking for something, he surreptitiously grabbed your waist, hoping to prevent you from running, just in case.

Finally, Todd was in range. He stuck the syringe into your neck without a second thought, and you were out like a light.

Damian was just glad your hand had landed in his hair.

[mythicmanuscripts]

Hi! It's me again! 🤗

I was reading about the awful things that happened to Aegon in the brothel. Him so desperately trying to be taken care of and only finding more abuse broke my heart 🥺 and also got me thinking... What if he doesn't have a good, loving wife to make it all better? 😭 What if instead, one of the workers (Reader) finally takes pity on him and treats him the way he needs so much? Taking him away from the awful workers and under her wing? I imagine he would become instantly addicted. Never letting other worker touch him again. Only accepting her services. I bet he would get possessive as well. Paying an enormous amount of gold to be the only one that can touch her.

Do you think he would dare bring her to live in the castle? Or even more scandalous, actually MARRY her? Or he would be too scared of his pious mother's reaction (as well as the rest of the kingdoms') to a whore becoming queen? There is also the possibility of him just gifting her a big house with servants, close to the castle, so he can visit whenever he wants needs... Sooooo many possibilities! 😳

What do you think?

Oh my god. Are you sure you don't want to take over this blog because this is INCREDIBLE??? I am obsessed. I actually think I'm gonna tag this with 'subby Aegon!au' so that we can discuss this more and you guys can easily use the tag to find everything about this because I fear this may be my new obsession.

Anyway, NSFW sub!aegon that starts very angsty but has a happy ending under the cut!!

So for anyone who missed the post that inspired this, we were discussing how Aegon would know he was a submissive and go to a brothel to submit to the workers there. He desperately wants to just be loved and cared for and feel like a good boy but none of the workers will do that and he doesn't quite have the language to explain what he wants/needs. So instead he just ends up going through all this abuse and humiliation and degradation just to hear them say he did well at the end. He always goes into subdrop afterwards and he feels so terrible but he also can't stop going because it's the only time that he actually feels like he's good enough.

For this AU, I think it makes the most sense that you first encounter Aegon after he's had a scene with someone else? Cause Aegon always pays very VERY well and so the brothel workers who have dominated him always ensure that no one else can lay with him because they want all that money? Like maybe the madam of the brothel you work at has a very strict rule that no one other than her is allowed to lay with the king. Of course there's plenty of rumours going around the brothel about what he likes he and pretty much everyone knows that the madam dominates him.

You first encounter Aegon after he finished a particularly brutal scene with the madame. Half an hour later when the madam wants to use that room again he's still laying there? He hasn't even gotten dressed, is just laying there with a thin blanket wrapped around himself.

The madam does not want to deal with him because she knows from experience that he gets all clingy and weepy after a scene and so she sends you in to kick him out. Well, she tells you to kick him out.

But then you walk in and he just... he looks so small? You slowly walk over and gently place your hand on his shoulder. He jumps up and scrambles off the bed, mumbling apologies because he knows the madam told him to leave and he still hadnt.

You quickly tell him it's alright, that he's done nothing wrong and the look he gives you is just so heartbreaking? He's all wide eyed and shocked and there's a very very small smile on his face when he whispers, "Really? I... you're sure? I'm good?"

Which, yeah there's no way you're kicking him out now. You help him get back into his clothes and then take him to your private room. The rule is supposed to be no clients in the personal quarters, but this is quite literally the king so you don't see anyone complaining.

You keep an arm wrapped around his waist, guiding him like that and he just leans against you? You can't believe that the madam doesn't stay with him after she dominates him, especially because he's just so sweet? He's leaning against you, mumbling thanks and letting you lead him without complaint. He's so sweet and vulnerable and you can't believe the madam would leave him and not care for him.

He's so shocked when he finds himself in your private quarters, and he's even more surprised when you wet a rag and gently clean the tears off his face. He leans into every one of your touches, trying to soak up as much attention as he can.

You ask him if you can undress him again so you can clean him properly, and he just starts sobbing and throws himself in your arms because he can't believe how lucky he is. You just hold him and tell him that he's doing so good, that you just want to get him cleaned up a little more and then he can take a nice nap with you.

He closes his eyes and cries silently as you clean him. There are welts on his back from the madam's whip so you have to ensure you clean them properly or risk infection. You expect to have to clean dried cum from between his thighs but to your surprise there's nothing?

When you ask, he just wines and mumbles, "Wasnt good, couldnt cum" which just breaks your heart because you refuse to entertain any possibility that this sweet little thing wasnt absolutely perfect.

You finish cleaning him and you're about to help him get his clothes back on when he just kinda collapses onto the bed. You don't even bother with that then and instead you just get into bed with him.

"Come here," you tell him, opening your arms and he immediately dives right in. You hold him tight and when you press a kiss to the e top of his head he just melts into you.

When he wakes, he's hard. He tries to apologise for it but you won't hear it, and you ask if you can help him. He tries to shake his head and say that he can't go through that again, but then you interrupt him and promise him that you only mean helping him cum and do nothing else.

He's so sweet when you stroke him, mumbling how good it feels and begging to cum and after he does, he even takes your hand and licks it clean? He's just the bed boy and he's clearly trying so so hard to please you, so you make sure to praise him constantly because the poor thing deserves it.

The next time he comes to the brothel, he tells the madam to get lost and asks for you. He won't even consider another, not after you cared for him and praised him and made him feel safe. Of course the madam is not happy about this, but she cant stop him and so he goes to the room and waits for you.

When you walk in and ask why he's asked for you, he just says that he really liked you from before. And then he actually looks nervous? Like you might tell him that he has to go back to the madam.

You tell him that as much as you'd love to, you can't do what the madam does to him. You explain that you can't degrade him or slap him or anything like that. But then he just smiles even wider and tells you he doesn't want that, he just wants what you did last time.

He seems all blushy and nervous and there's a very obvious tent in his breeches. You smirk then and say, "Aw, do you want me to take care of you? Yeah? Let me do all the thinking and you can just be my pretty good boy?"

Instantly he's slipping from the bed and down onto his knees, kneeling and nodding comically quick because yes. That's everything he's ever wanted and more.

And he's just so good for you? He listens to every single order, and he begs so prettily and his sounds are just insane. When it's over, you pull him into your chest and kiss his head and tell him he did so so well for you. He's just on cloud nine, because this is absolutely everything he's ever wanted and more.

When he leaves, he pays you double what he pays the Madam and when you tell him that's too much, he says that there's no amount of gold in the world that could be enough to thank you for how you looked after him. He asks if he can come back, if you'll let him do that again and of course you agree to let him.

The madam isnt happy with you of course, but she can't exactly force the king to lay with her instead. For about three weeks things continue like that, with Aegon visiting every few days and paying you very very handsomely. He always stays for a few hours after this, just getting cuddles and kisses.

After a while, the madam comes to you and is unhappy that Aegon will not be with anyone else. Aegon pays very handsomely and he also lets them basically beat him up, so of course the madam is unhappy that she no longer get aegon's time. Aegon, meanwhile, will not even look at another.

The next time Aegon comes to the brothel, you're with another client? As much as you wish that you could just see Aegon, if you did that then the madam would kick you out. The madam is overjoyed when Aegon walks in and you're with another client, because it means she can swoop in and tell Aegon you're busy but that she'd be more than happy to do it instead.

And Aegon just... he knew that obviously you had other clients, but knowing and actually being there while you were with someone else are two different things. His smile falls instantly, and he says that he doesn't want anyone else. The madam tries again, maybe even touching him and telling him to think about all the good times they had, which prompts him to stumble backwards and very firmly say that he won't be seeking the services of anyone else.

He ends up leaving the brothel and then comes back the following night and is so so relieved to find that you are free. He's much more whiney and clingy than you're used to, to the point where he cries if you even let go of his hand. You end up having to pull away o ask what's going on, because he seems very distressed. You hadnt seen him like that since you took care of him that first night.

He gets quiet and then eventually asks how many other men you see every day. You sigh, because you knew this question was coming and you're not sure what to say to him. You end up just saying that this is your job, and that the madam is already upset with you for being the only one he goes to so you can't risk only seeing him because then you'd almost certainly be kicked out of the brothel entirely and have no wear to live.

Before you had even finished speaking Aegon had already made up his mind to give you enough gold that you never have to be with anyone else. You try to tell him that's not necessary, but for him it absolutely is. He will not allow the only person who makes him feel good in the entire seven kingdoms to struggle to earn a living when he is quite literally the king.

At first you turn him down, stating that you have to earn your own way and that you can't rely on him.

And then he goes quiet for a moment before he just softly says, "But, I rely on you? We can rely on each other?" Which is just the sweetest thing you've ever heard. You kiss his head and let him curl against your chest, giving him a little squeeze before telling him that you won't let him pay everything, but you will ket him pay enough to the madam that she will allow you to only take clients of your choice and also to set aside 4 nights every week that are just for him. It's not everything he wanted, but it's pretty damn close. And Aegon is so obsessed with you that he will absolutely take 4 days a week of your undivided attention.

It carries on like that for a while, with you and him being together 4 nights a week and he's just... he's so sweet and he's so perfect and he loves being with you so much. Maybe sometimes he doesn't even want anything sexual? Which yeah is wild cause Aegon is pretty much always horny, but when he's getting so thoroughly fucked every second day, sometimes he just wants to be with you.

Even when he doesn't want something sexual, that is not at all to say he doesn't still want to come be with you. Aegon would sleep in the same bed as you every single night if he could. He also just loves being able to talk to you about his day? You always listen to him and offer him advice. He's never really even able to feel like he can decompress at the end of the day, but now he's always able to with you. He knows that the moment he walks through the doors, you will know how to help him.

I think that eventually you'd accept his offer of him being your only client, and the day you tell him that he is smiling and giggling for the entire day. He definitely buys you a little cottage close to the keep, and as much as you try to say he doesn't need to, he won't hear it.

In fact he actually loves providing for you like that? You do so so much for him and he knows he'd never be able to function without you and so to know that he can do something to help you is just amazing and it makes him so so so happy.

I absolutely adore this concept!! This ask is already insanely long so I'm not gonna go any further here but if anyone else has thoughts about this let me know!!! I'd love to discuss it more :))

[deathbxnny]

New follower here!! Can i request for ekko (or with jinx and vi, or just ekko) with an s/o who was from the modern world? Thank you!

Hey there, Anon! Welcome to my blog! Thank you for your interesting request, and I'm sorry this took so long to post!<3

Content: Reader is from our world, isekai trope?, kinda unserious, established romantic relationships, sfw

Reader has no mentioned pronouns.

((Not proofread))

》EKKO

"Hah... yeah, I figured that."

You didn't really have to do much convincing when it came to you being from a different world. He has seen crazier things, really.

But it does immideatly spark his curiosity.

How were things like in your world? He needs to know everything, write it down somewhere, and discuss it with you for hours even. It's a way for him to know you better as his significant other, after all. Besides, he loves hearing you talk about yourself.

It does get hard, though, if you express a form of homesickness. He acknowledges that it is hard to live in a different reality with no way back but is therefore ever more grateful that you've decided that he's worth staying for ultimately.

》JINX

"Haha, you're always sooo funny!"

Jinx doesn't take you seriously at all and figures that being around her so much must've made you crazy too. There is no way that you're right about that... right? Well, you certainly look serious when you say it like that.

She'll follow up her skepticism by asking you plenty of questions about this supposed other world you're from. And once her curiosity has been satiated, she still has a hard time believing you.

But what if it is true? What if you want to go home and leave her here all alone? The jealousy and worry begin to creep in, and that will require you to make it clear that you're not going anywhere, even if you could.

She's your new home, and that seems to keep her fears happily at bay... for now.

》VI

"Uh... yeah, right, whatever you say, pretty."

Vi is more concerned for your well-being than skeptical, to be honest. She's seen and heard some crazy things, so hey, maybe you're not wrong? But even so, that's some crazy talk coming from you all of a sudden.

Don't be surprised if she drags you somewhere for a check-up in case you hit your head too hard last time you got into a fight.

And it's not that she doesn't want to believe you. It's just that she can't mentally wrap her mind around the concept of different realities existing outside of the one she's in. That's too much thinking for her... so she'll just smile and nod, if that makes you feel better.

[sizeofyoursoul]

After the publication of The Queen of the Damned, I requested of my editor that she not give me anymore comments. I resolved to hand in the manuscripts when they were finished. And asked that she accept them as they were. She was very reluctant, feeling that her input had value, but she agreed to my wishes. I asked this due to my highly critical relationship with my work and my intense evolutionary work on every sentence in the work, my feeling for the rhythm of the phrase and the unfolding of the plot and the character development. I felt that I could not bring to perfection what I saw unless I did it alone. In other words, what I had to offer had to be offered in isolation. So all novels published after The Queen of the Damned were written by me in this pure fashion, my editor thereafter functioning as my mentor and guardian.

Edit 9-14-17 -- I fear this gives the wrong impression of my relationship with my editor; her detailed responses to my novels are very important to me, very constructive, and always right on. And there are still times, indeed, often, when she speaks up on a certain line, or a certain character, or a certain moment, asking pertinent questions, asking for more to illuminate, etc. I respect her insights mightily. I respect her responses mightily. ---- And over the years, I've been less threatened my detailed criticism. --- I still believe in the solo voice with all my soul, and when a reader tells me that she loves a certain paragraph or a certain chapter, I must know that I am indeed the sole author of that paragraph, that chapter. But I have become more secure, more able to handle my editor's insights and requests. --- What I have always rebelled against is the popular presumption that all fiction books have to be edited, --- the idea that fiction authors really are eternal adolescents, and, unlike painters or poets, they can't bring their work to perfection without a parental figure at a publishing house going over the work with a blue pencil. I've heard people actually voice this view, that fiction must be subjected to editing by some one else in order to reach its full potential. I have always questioned this. And always will. The publishing house does always have the option to reject a book if they feel it isn't good enough. (

EDIT - Feb. 18, 2019. I came back here this morning because I stumbled on a blog post where some one referred to this post and said it went "viral" in 2018. I was not aware of that. --- Allow me to add this: discussions of editing are confusing because the words involved simply are not precise. Every book published by my publisher, or any New York publisher, is thoroughly copy edited before it goes to the printer. No exceptions. And the copy editor is the final proof reader who catches a multitude of inconsistencies large and small, words that don't mean what the author might think they mean, unintentional repetitions, mistakes in chronology, plain goofs like a blond suddenly described as having black hair, possible dropped words, or sentences that for some reason don't make sense, inconsistent use of capital letters, and a lot of other things I can't now recall. None of my remarks on editors have ever referred to the almighty copy editor. I repeat: every book is copy edited. No exceptions. When I get the copy edited manuscript back, I not only go over ever single correction or query made by the copy editor, I read every single word of the book myself to catch the small mistakes which only I can catch. ---- When I speak of editors, as I have above, I'm speaking of creative editors --- In my case, this means the editor who accepted my first novel for the publishing house, and who has been my mentor, guardian angel, and friend ever since. And she does always respond to my novels with profoundly insightful comments. And she will indeed speak up if she thinks a character or a scene doesn't work as it should. -- My editor and I have one of the longest editor-author relationships in publishing today. We've been together over 40 years. --- I think we're a perfect match. But each such relationship is unique because each author is unique. I found exactly what I needed in my editor. And I count myself as blessed. I hope every aspiring author has good luck in this regard, and I firmly believe that getting to know the editor, becoming relaxed with the editor, and being able to explain one's feelings to the editor are all for the good. Thank you, guys, for all your marvelous comments below.

Anne Rice's thoughts on editors, twice revised for clarity, from her Facebook page.

[nekropsii]

Nekro, I'm very glad to have your blog exist. You are a shining beacon of hope. I need your input on somebody's opinion, somebody's very bad no good opinion. Somebody told me that Cronus and Mituna was just "blackrom flirting", which is supposedly "no different than normal trolls playfighting". They also told me that Cronus is a GENUINE HERO because of Dualscar! I need your input on this. I want you to tell me everything wrong with this. You don't have to, but I just love seeing you analyze stuff and this particular person's statements made me genuinely angry

Hey, thanks! That means a lot, really! <3

This one's easy. I fear I have to put this under the cut, however, due to... Cronus... Cronusing.

Content Warning: Detailed Discussions and Depictions of Abuse and Sexual Assault. Cronus is there.

Absolutely zero indication is given that it is BlackRom Flirting, or even "Flirting" at all. Just because someone is interacting with someone sexually does not mean it is flirting, or even that they're attracted to them. In this case, it is at the barest minimum Sexual Harassment, but if we are being completely honest about the events that are happening on screen, this is Sexual Assault.

Cronus is not attracted to Mituna. This is not BlackRom. This is just abject hatred from someone who is deeply entitled and wishes to control the bodies of his peers, but especially the bodies of those he deems most vulnerable. Some people counter that idea with the fact that he is literally Sexually Assaulting him here, but that requires a major misunderstanding of why people commit Sexual Assault. It is not about Love, or Lust. Oftentimes, rapists are not attracted to their victims at all. Sexual Violence is an act of Violence, not an act of Attraction. Sexual Abuse is, like all other modes of Abuse, about Control, not about Love. Abusers isolate you from your loved ones and limit your access to your money/car/phone to increase their control over you and your ability to flee or get help. They demean you, lovebomb you, and gaslight you to control your sense of self worth and your sanity. They beat you to control your behavior. They sexually assault you to control your entire sense of bodily autonomy. This is how you get Heterosexual Men sexually assaulting other Men or Boys, or Heterosexual Women sexually assaulting other Women or Girls. It is not about attraction, it is about control, and it is about violence. If I may be candid - I've been assaulted more times than I can count in my life. I can safely say that almost every single person who laid their hands on me in that way was in no way attracted to me, they just thought I was an easy target, and wanted to control me because I was an "Other" at the nigh bottom of the social hierarchy. Violence and Control. Not Attraction. Not Love. Not Lust. Pure Violence.

It does not take much thought to realize that Cronus is completely and utterly disgusted by Mituna and everything he represents - it's just that Mituna is also an extremely vulnerable person with extensive issues with communicating due to his speech impediments and his TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), and a storied history of not being believed by his peers. He is, in essence, a Perfect Victim.

You do not need to look further for proof on Cronus literally just hating and being disgusted by Mituna than his comment about how he wishes he could kill him for being disabled, and the only reason he didn't was because it would have negative social consequences. Killing Mituna would make him lose control over his own social life. So he doesn't, and he resents Beforus for not being the right kind of Eugenicist to enable that murder. I don't think I need to tell you that this would be a Hate Crime.

I also do not think I need to state that Mituna is not attracted to Cronus, considering the first set of screenshots show nothing but a visceral rejection of all advancements being made towards him. Over and over again, he reiterates his lack of consent, and Cronus just keeps on touching him while constantly Verbally Abusing him for being disabled. At most, one could say Mituna experiences an odd kind of "Fawn Response" to his abuse, possibly hoping that playing the role of a friend will make things not as bad, when really all it does is just open up more opportunities for abuse.

I think it's noteworthy that Mituna has a few speech impediments that effect most of his speech, except for key phrases that he says a lot, and/or is making active effort to say clearly. The implication behind how clearly Mituna is speaking while constantly repeating his lack of consent is positively dismal, especially in conjunction with the fact that Cronus is doing this outside, in a public area, seemingly implying that this is so routine that he isn't even being careful about it anymore... But what's even more depressing is that this clarity continues into Mituna's near constant apologies - many of which are prompted by Cronus, as a reflexive response to abuse.

Also, there's my favorite piece of evidence that this is abuse... The fact that Cronus calls it that, point blank. He just admits to it.

He calls his own actions abuse. Yes, it's sandwiched in... Hmm. Manipulating Meenah to get her off of his case for being abusive towards Mituna by redirecting the guilt onto her for actions that she didn't even do herself...

... But that was still a tacit admission of guilt, was it not? He calls his actions abuse.

Everyone go home. Discourse over. He admits to it. We can all throw bricks at anyone denying it now.

Also, Dualscar was not a hero, and neither is Cronus. Dualscar? Hero? Fucking Dualscar? Orphaner Dualscar was a slave owner who was having a real good time in a BlackRom with a straight up rapist, only to die because he literally couldn't tell a good joke to save his life when he went to tell on her.

The closest Cronus gets to "heroism" is the fact that a prophecy was told to him once, which he assumed to be about him, and then got really upset when it was not about him. It was literally just a Harry Potter joke, though, and also - again - did not happen.

He isn't a hero, he doesn't fill the archetype of a hero, nothing. He's also just pathetic, and now he's the one who's the sexual abuser, rather than Aranea taking that role herself.

Everyone go home. Get outta here. Shoo. SHOO!!!!

Discourse Over!!!!!! I've solved all of it. Thank you for reading.

[barszcz-czerwony-i-biali]

It's been so funny watching people suddenly care about antisemitism again.

It's like where were you the past sixteen months?

I seriously couldn't give a shit about a fucking Nazi salute because I'm not even sure Musk is particularly antisemitic. I think he's worse than that, he simply does not care about humanity as a whole. To him, world is simply his playroom and everything in it his toys he can use and break for his amusement. Something I find more despicable than actions that arise out of fear or hatred. Hatred and fear and distrust of those different from us arises from being human whether we acknowledge this or not, a complete disregard towards humanity is something entirely different.

But people's sudden care towards this Nazi salute showcases human hypocrisy. We are likely to point out the wrongs in the other side and fail to do so or excuse the wrongs on their own side. And now I won't let this piss me off too much because this principle is reliant on someone judging what is and isn't wrong and only G-D is the true judge of that. And I wish to acknowledge my own hypocrisy in being human.

But I guess thing to ask yourself even in situations that aren't about antisemitism is "Do I truly care about this thing or do I only choose to care when it makes me look better than the other side.

Now I think the other important thing to remember is that belief is not fully reflected on social media. There are things I care about but don't post about for a variety of reasons. I just don't reblogg everything I see and like or feel I don't know enough to share the message or feel that it's too much to share one thing or another because it's heavy in one way or another. So once again I acknowledge my hypocrisy. Because I can hear people saying (mainly my internal monologue) Beetroot what about this issue that you've only posted once about?

However that being said. I can't stand people pretending they are standing up for something when the act of posting or reblogging a post is so superficial.

Probably what's more is that I hate that people think they care about antisemitism but their blog is riddled with a different strand of antisemitism and they don't even realise it.

This is why I don't post shit because I usually start with a statement and then get wrapped up in a introspective philosophical discussion that contradicts what I say or points out human bias and the inherent bias that comes from being oneself.

xd tl;dr i guess what I want to say is don't feel too proud of yourself for calling out Elon Musk. He's a piece of shit, there's forks in the kitchen, tell me something I don't know.

[lees-chaotic-brain]

How would jjk men react to reader being pregnant with quadruplets?

Feat. Gojo, Yuta, Inumaki, Nanami, Megumi, Itadori (all characters are aged up)

Note: I did headcanons for this request because there were so many characters I wanted to include, and it would get a little boring to write the same scenario out in a full fledged fic like seven times. However, if there are one or two that you want me to turn into proper fics lmk!! I had to do research on pregnancy for this bc it's been awhile since my high school health class

CW: pregnancy, implied thoughts of abortion ig, mentions of fear regarding labor, AFAB reader bc, yk, pregnancy, one singular swear word

Word Count: 1.2k

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Gojo

I feel like Gojo would think you were joking at first, and wouldn’t believe you until you got frustrated and he finally realized you were being for real. He would have mixed emotions. On one hand, he was excited to have a big family and a house full of laughter and love. On the other hand, he was afraid, because more babies meant more defenseless mini-people for him to protect.

He had only known that he was going to be a father of quadruplets a few minutes ago, but he already knew that it would destroy him if he ever lost one of them. That he would gladly give his life for them. And then there was the matter of you. He already knew that childbirth was difficult for women, but quadruplets?? Childbirth was something that even he couldn’t protect you from and that terrified him. 

After a serious discussion in which he made sure you were okay with the added risks and you continuously reassured him that this was what you wanted, he settled down and began imagining a future for your family. Until he realized that he would have to share your love with four little gremlins who would surely take after their clingy father. Then it suddenly seemed less appealing.

Yuta

Baby boy would be shooketh. Because he’s sorry please don’t be mad at him and oh you’re not mad at him and the two of you are having quadruplets well technically you are but he’s the dad and oh god what if he’s not good at being a dad and-

You would have to calm him down as he fell into a downward spiral. Once you had properly reassured him, and he had fully absorbed the information he was ecstatic. He has always wanted a big family, and together the two of you were making that dream come true. Cuddling up to you he would thank you for loving him and gifting him with the many kids he had always dreamed of having.

He for sure would be the type to rub your stomach and whisper sweet nothings to the growing babies in your womb, telling them how much daddy loves them and how excited he is to meet them.

He would also start baby-proofing every square inch of your house before you had even started your second trimester.

Inumaki

He would be in shock. Because he put- wait how many??? babies in you. There was no way he heard you right. There was no way that you were pregnant with quadruplets. Because, wait, he didn't sign up for this! Yeah, he wanted tons of kids, but four babies at a time was a lot. And the strain it would have on your body was concerning as well. 

After he stopped opening and closing his mouth as he gaped at you, he managed to organize his thoughts. First he wanted to make sure you even wanted that many kids because, well, it wouldn’t be easy to give birth to or take care of that many. Once you had reassured him that you were, in fact, sure that you wanted to go through with the pregnancy and that you were prepared for whatever the future held for your not-so-little family he took a moment to process his own emotions.

At first he was conflicted. Sure he was excited, but he held his own private reservations. What if something went wrong during labor? What if he wasn’t cut out to be the parent of one kid, let alone four. But as the months sped by and your stomach grew, the anticipation grew, until one day he let go of any and all trepidation and allowed himself to be optimistic.

He also bought tons of matching onesies for the whole family.

Nanami

Ever the responsible adult and caring husband, first he sat you down and had a serious discussion about the pros and cons of having quadruplets, and whether or not the risks were worth it. Deep down he was thrilled, but he wanted to make sure the two of you were on the same page and understood what continuing meant.

Once the two of you had established you were going to see this through, and it was something the two of you wanted his planning would begin. First came the research. He thoroughly educated himself on everything regarding pregnancy, learning everything he needed to do to ensure your comfort and the healthy birth of his children.

Expect a special diet plan that fulfills the needs of you and your unborn children in the healthiest way possible, essential oil massages, weekly check-ups starting your second trimester, vitamin gummies and more.

He also would begin saving up because raising four children would be expensive. Would for sure have a whole financial plan set up and college savings accounts set up for each of his children within a week of his learning.

Megumi

Honestly, he wouldn’t have super strong feelings about it. He wanted to be a dad, but he didn’t care if it was one, four, or one hundred. He just wanted to have kids with you, and beyond that as long as you were happy he was too. 

So when you told him, his only response was asking you what you thought about it. When you told him you were excited, he was excited too. He had wanted to build his own family for as long as he could remember, and you were helping him reach his dream. What more could he ask for? The only other thing that mattered to him was that his children had siblings. As a kid he had resented Tsumiki, but as an adult he couldn’t imagine the loneliness he would have experienced growing up without her. So yeah. If you were happy, and his children would have siblings so they would never have to walk through life alone, he was content.

There was nothing more he wanted in life than your love and a family with you.

Itadori

Kids!!! He had wanted a ton of kids, so this was perfect! You were happy with it, so even better! He sees it as a four-in-one deal, and is over the moon. His golden retriever personality becomes even worse when you’re pregnant. Like, this man is at your side 24/7.

Constantly following you around, looking at you with big pleading eyes as he begs to cuddle in bed with you so he can talk to your stomach.

Oh my god talking to your stomach. This man would talk to your stomach more than he talks to you. Asking what your kids want to be named. Telling your unborn babies about his day. That he loves them and can’t wait to meet them. Describes all the fun things the six of you are going to do once they’re born. Definitely tries cuddling your stomach because he ‘wants to know what it feels like to hold his children.’

Also is a little shit that constantly asks ‘are they coming yet? Why not??’

[delicatebarness]

winters widow | chapter x

Summary: The shock of the incident still haunts you as Lord James faces the consequences of his actions.

Warning: Mentions of previous Sexual Assault. Violence. Murder. Trauma and Revenge.

Word Count: 1599

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A/N: I know it's not Saturday but I wanted Lord James okay, deal with it. - Please feel free to leave feedback or let me know where and how you want the story to continue, this is just as much yours as mine. - B

Winter’s Widow: @lanabuckybarnes | @sapphirebarnes | @sebastians-love | @mrsnikstan | @learisa | @railmesebstan | @mishkatelwarriorgoddess | @barnesxstan | @ghalouha | @mrsstuckyboo | @g-nobodycares-blog | @mishidrish | @melsunshine

Everything: @hallecarey1 | @pattiemac1 | @uhmellamoanna | @scraftsku35 | @ozwriterchick | @sapphirebarnes | @rach2602 | @thetorturedbuckydepartment

The gentle sound of water pouring into the bath was meant to be soothing, but today, it only heightened your fear. Two of your attentive and careful handmaidens began to move closer to you, their intentions clear. They were to help you out of your nightgown and into the warm water. Yet, the mere thought of being touched by anyone filled you with a deep, unshakeable dread. 

“Please, my lady, allow us to assist you,” one of the handmaidens said softly, her hands reaching for the string on your gown.

“No!” you cried out, your voice trembling. Stumbling back, your breath came in quick, shallow gasps. Their touch, gentle as it was, felt like an unbearable intrusion.

Alarmed, unsure of what to do, the handmaidens immediately stepped back. They exchanged worried looks before one quickly rushed out of the room. Her steps echoed down the hallway as she went to the council chamber.

Within the council chamber, Lord James was in deep discussion with the advisors, but he knew something was wrong the moment the handmaiden burst in, pale and out of breath. 

“My lord,” she panted, “Lady Romanoff… she needs–” 

Lord James did not wait for further explanation, nor for the handmaiden to finish her sentence before he pushed back his chair and rushed out the door within an instant. His long strides took him swiftly through the Reach’s corridors. Hurrying behind him, the handmaiden tried to keep up with him, concern still etched on her face. 

Reaching his chambers, Lord James could hear the muffled sound of your panic and refusal from within. He threw open the door and saw you, standing by the bath and clutching your nightgown tightly against your chest. Your eyes widened with fear. Standing helplessly nearby, the other handmaiden was unsure how to help. 

“Out, now,” Lord James commanded, his voice firm and authoritative. “Leave us.” 

Obeying immediately, the handmaidens bowed their heads and exited the chamber. Lord James closed the door behind them. He turned to you, his expression softening as he approached.

“My love,” he gently said, his voice instantly soothing your frayed nerves. “It’s just me now. You’re safe.” 

Tears streamed down your face as you looked up at him. “I can’t… I can’t James. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” 

His movements were slow and deliberate as he took a step closer. “You have no need to apologize, my love. You do not have to do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” he paused, his gaze flickering between you and the filled bath. “May I assist you instead? Only if you’re comfortable with that.” 

For a moment, you hesitated but the trust you held in your betrothed, outweighed your fear. Nodding, your voice strained barely above a whisper. “Yes… please.” 

Approaching you with the utmost care, Lord James’ hands were steady and reassuring. He gently undone the spring tying your nightgown together, his eyes never leaving yours. He silently asked for your consent with every move. While you nodded again, he began to wase the fabric over your shoulders and down your arms, his touch respectful and comforting. 

As the nightgown pooled at your feet, he wrapped you in a large, soft towel, keeping you covered and warm. He then guided you to the edge of the bath, trying to disguise the hitch in his breath as he caught sight of the bruising against your skin.

“Step in when you’re ready,” he said, his voice a calming presence in the room. 

Taking a deep breath, you found your strength in his steady gaze. You stepped into the warm water with his help, feeling the heat seep into your tense muscles. Lord James kept hold of the towel until you were fully submerged, he draped it over the side of the tub within easy reach. 

Lord James knelt beside the bath, his hands resting gently on the edge. “I’ll stay right here, my love.” 

You managed a small, grateful smile. “Thank you, James. For everything.” 

His eyes filled with love and understanding, returning the smile. “Always, my love. Always.”

The warmth of the water and Lord James’ presence began to ease the tension in your body. And, for the first time in days, you allowed yourself to relax. If only a little, knowing that you were truly safe with your lord, and wolf by your side. 

~

The bath and Lord James’ presence had calmed you significantly, and once you were settled, he left his chambers to allow you some privacy and to return to his duties. 

The council chambers were now empty except for Lord James and his father, Lord George of House Barnes, Lord of Winter’s Reach, and Warden of the North. The atmosphere was tense, the weight of unspoke words hung in the air as Lord Barnes stood with his arms crossed, stern but fair gaze fixed on his son. 

“James,” the seasoned commander began, his voice heavy with disapproval. “We must discuss what you have done.” 

Lord James’ turned to face his father, defiance, and weariness etched on his expression. “Father, I merely did what had to be done. He deserved to pay for what he did to her.” 

Lord Barnes shook his head, frustration etched in his brow. “Acting on vengeance might feel justified, but it jeopardizes our position and our plans to rebuild. We need stability now more than ever, you can not let your emotions cloud your judgment.” 

The White Wolf’s fists clenched at his sides, struggling to keep his anger contained. “Stability? That monster violated the woman I love and you talk about stability? I could not stand by and do nothing.” 

“You think I don’t understand your pain?” His father’s voice rose, his emotions breaking through his usual stoic facade. “I’ve led my men into battle, I have seen horrors that even you can not imagine. But, as leaders James, we must rise above our personal vendettas. Your actions could have far-reaching consequences.”  

Lord James took a deep breath, his resolve unwavering. “Consequences or not, I had to do it. For her. For the peace of mind that she can begin to heal knowing that man is gone.” 

Lord Barnes let out a heavy sigh, his anger giving way to a more somber tone. “And, what about your own peace of mind? This burden you’ve taken on– it will haunt you. Killing him might have satisfied you, but… it won’t erase what happened.” 

“I know, Father,” Lord James’ eyes softened, his thoughts drifting back to you. “I did not wish to rewrite our history. But, I’ll bear that burden if it means she can sleep a little easier. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect her.” 

Stepping closer, Lord Barnes placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I may have let my emotions take over. But, I will not regret what I did.” Lord James spoke, breaking the short silence between father and son. 

“Nor should you,” Lord Barnes replied, his tone softening. “But, you must learn to find the balance between protecting those we love and leading our people with a clear head.” 

~

As the men delved into discussions about fortifications and resources, there was a sudden commotion erupting outside the council chambers. Sounds of muffled shouts and hurried footsteps grew louder, pulling their attention away from the map of the realm, and spread out plans. 

Lord Barnes frowned, looking toward the door. “What in the Seven Hells is going on out there?” 

As Lord James rose from his seat, the door burst open, and one of the guards, wide-eyed and breathless, stumbled into the room. “My lords, your attention is needed outside. Now.” 

Exchanging a puzzled glance with his father, the lords quickly followed the guard out of the chambers. The scene that greeted them as they stepped into the courtyard was one of awe and chaos.

The people of Winter’s Reach were gathered, fear and curiosity mixed on their faces. In the sky, circling above them, were not one, but three dragons. The creatures cast long shadows over the grounds, their scales reflecting in the sunlight.  

The first dragon held a majestic and commanding presence, landing with a thunderous thud. Its rider, Lady Natasha, dismounted with a practiced ease. Her braided, fiery hair flowed in the wind. Lady Natasha’s dragon, was the eldest and a leader, with its regal bearing and steely gaze exuded authority and strength. 

From the west, a fierce and valiant dragon descended. This dragon, ridden by Lady Yelena, was smaller in stature but no less intimidating. With an almost metallic gleam, the dragon's scales shimmered and its eyes burned with determination. Sliding off her dragon’s back with the grace of a seasoned warrior, Yelena’s expression was that of urgency. 

A much smaller and distinctly adorable dragon, followed closely and riderless. Its scales were a brilliant array of colors, and its eyes sparkled with a playful curiosity. Know for her endearing demeanor and fierce loyalty, Sunflower, Sunny for short, was your dragon. She landed softly, nuzzling Yelena affectionately as they approached the Reach. 

“Why are there suddenly three dragons in the North?” Lord James muttered to himself, bewildered by the appearance of the legendary beasts from the sky. His heart raced as he recognized their riders, shaken by the sudden appearance of your sisters. 

Striding forward, Lady Natasha’s eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on Lord James. With the confidence and authority of someone accustomed to command, Yelena followed as the dragons watched over them protectively. 

“James,” Natasha called out, her voice cut through the murmurs of the onlookers. “Where is she? Where is our sister?”

---

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[lemon-russ]

In my late night writing stupor I; 1) used the wrong dividers on the morty fic, I reopened it aghast to see that vague circle shape was not death gaurd but black legion. Please disregard. And 2) I forgot to tag @squishyowl for it 😭

I REGRET NOTHING ELSE

There were discussions. I now am expanding the Otome Cage Morty fic to have Lore because I'm insane and I GUESS it's getting me to write again so. We roll with it.

PREQUEL TO THIS || NEXT

Mortarion x F!Reader (Pt. 0)

CW: None for this specific thing. Many for the linked one. Many for the future of whatever this is.

TAGS (If you guys do not want to be tagged in whatever this is lmk 💀): @sleepyfan-blog @undeaddream @scriberye @lisikk @moodymisty (<- except you, you get no rest /j)

Your hoe hits the dirt with a soft thud, the thick warm air of sowing season opressing your lungs. You sigh and lean on the tool, wiping sweat from your brow as it threatens to sting your eyes.

Same as it ever is, you have been tilling the field for three days straight in preparation to sow the grains that will feed you another long winter. Your back aches, your arms tire, but worst of all is the humidity as your lungs try to wring oxygen from the air.

Your sister calls your name, and you ignore her a moment, catching your breath. But the next call is sharp and panicked. You turn to look for your sister, but are stopped dead when you see the sky.

Your life, until this moment, has been a cycle of doldrum. Wake up, feed the animals, feed yourself and your sister, do whatever seasonal chores were required of you. Today that was till and turn soil, sometimes it is irrigate the crops, sometimes harvest, maybe darn your garments or weave.

Nothing in your life so far could prepare your brain to process what it currently was desperately trying to parse into your synapses.

A… thing. A building? A construct of some sort, hangs in the hazy sky. Sat there like a cloud, but sharp and pointed and menacing. Whatever it is, it screams predator.

You fall backwards into the softened soil, primal fear gripping your heart. Everything you know screams “wrong, danger, flee” as smaller constructs fall away from the main one, like the large flying insects you chased off of growing season crops.

An alien noise, deep and bone rattling, approaches from the sky behind you. You scramble around to see another small construct coming right for your field, kicking up dirt and debris. You have to cover your ears to muffle the painful thudding sounds it makes.

It settles onto the ground, and mercifully it stops screaming. You wonder if it is hunting, should you run? Where is your sister? You need to find safety from these beasts-

The belly of the thing cracks open and falls to the soil, shaking the ground, and you freeze again.

Something human shaped, but wrong and hard and large, steps out with a heavy thud onto the ramp. It’s terrible face is partially made of metallic plates, with two cylinders that belch thick gasses as it breathes. It seems to be wearing clothes- you think you see human eyes under a hood- but you can’t begin to guess which parts are shell or exoskeleton and which are clothing.

It does have eyes, you realize as the cloudy green things lock onto you. Have you been staring this whole time? You need to run, your body screams, run, run, run-

It makes a noise that sounds like speech at you, and points. It’s… trying to communicate? It barks the clipped noise again and snaps its fingers at you.

Your baffled mind reels, overwhelmed by the onslaught of new information. You point at yourself.

“M- me….?” You squeak out to it.

It thuds across your field, heavy shelled body sinking into your freshly tilled dirt, ruining several days of effort, before coming to a stop in front of where you sit. It peels back its upper skin- Oh, it was a hood- to reveal shockingly human adjacent features. Shoulder length silver hair, pale and cloudy green eyes, and ashen white skin marred with cracks and scars.

It speaks at you again, the sound mechanical and muffled by its gaseous breath. The smell from its cylinders is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, acrid and sharp and foul, and you recoil from it as its attempt at speech spits the smoke at you.

The being- person?- hesitates, and sighs. To your horror, it hooks its thumbs under the metal plates of its face and pries them away, revealing a human-ish lower face. Its cheeks are gaunt, and its mouth cracked in a sickly way, but at least it is now human looking enough for your brain to process what you are talking to.

A man. Almost.

He starts speaking again, but is overcome with a coughing fit. He turns away, coughing a sickly rattling sound out, and instinctively you clamber to your feet and step towards him. Is the air foul to him? You’re sure this massive man, already a foot in the grave if you’d ever seen it, is about to keel over right in your field. He holds up a hand to stop you, and retches something vile into the dirt.

You grimace. Not because of the sick, you were plenty familiar with disease and the death rattle of a creature’s last breaths, the poor thing, but whatever he is producing actually sizzles when it hits the dirt, and you’re pretty sure you’re going to have to dig up the soil this man touches when he finally dies. That’s going to be a lot. He is REALLY big.

Surprisingly, he catches his breath, and surprising more, when he turns back to you, his pallor is slightly healthier. He takes a deep breath, rolls back his shoulders, and speaks again, much more clearly. Unfortunately, it is gibberish.

“I… don’t understand…” you say, shuffling on your feet.

He tilts his head as you speak, then nods. “Ah, you do not speak gothic here. That is fine, I think I know this language too.” He responds, his voice deep and raspy. “Tell me little peasant, who are your rulers?”

You frown. “I… rulers…?”

He rolls his eyes, “Yes, do you have that? Is there a person who makes the rules you all follow? Someone who runs your country or whatever you have here?” He says, gesturing around you.

“I…. no? We all just live our lives, farming mostly….” you say, starting to feel lightheaded. This shelled man came out of a flying beast and now is asking if you had, what, a parent?

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his scarred nose. “That makes things less convenient.” He grumbles.

Suddenly he is scruffing you by the back of your tunic, and you yelp in surprise. You hear your sister scream and run away, calling for the neighbors down the way. The massive man holds you up so you are face to face with him as you squirm and grab at the cold hard hand.

“I am here to bring this planet back to the rule of my Father, The Emperor of mankind. And you-” he stops to cough into his shoulder, “-Are going to tell me what I ask for without argument.” He said between wheezes.

You fight through the confusion and anarchy in your mind to think about the situation you are in as logically as possible. A giant man from the sky in a screaming beast, who speaks your tongue, wants to own your land- what is a planet- and has you grasped in one hand like a stray kitten. And apparently he intends to bring you along as he does whatever it is he is doing for his father, who, presumably, is another large and strange man who could crush you in his fist like a locust.

You could fight, scream, run. Hide until your sister returns with help, hope this man is too sickly to give chase for long. There is a side door to the root cellar, if you could get out of his hands in time maybe….

“Okay.” You squeak out.

He raises a brow. “Okay?” He asks.

You nod quickly. “Okay.”

A very, very faint smile cracks across his weathers face. “….Okay.”

[candiid-caniine]

on punishment. tw: dom-shaming

so this post is going around on some blogs i follow and i kind of want to discuss it, without adding to a post that has some fair and reasonable points:

in context, the bulk of this post is about training a submissive partner to take on some behaviors, or cease others, and how the author believes praise/rewards are the most effective + ethical way to do this. buuuut this doesn't sit right with me.

there's definitely a need 4 discussion with some subs about how their desires are not punishment-worthy or guilt-worthy. + much to be said about the psychological efficacy of behavioral change methods. i think it's probable that many subs have a negative relationship with punishment for good reasons, and in particular i think the OP here may have personal issues with the topic, which they are fully entitled to.

however, acting as if this is the best practice is, imo, harmful and unacceptable. i'll be addressing the issues i have with it under the cut; if you don't want to see discourse/philosophy, don't click :)

your sub is not your child: "training" is an entirely conscious and mutual decision. the post does mention this, but it also shames doms who are inclined to use punishment as a training method. let me be clear on how i feel here: the efficacy does not matter. you are adults. if you mutually decide punishment is an acceptable way to train, it's your brain.

you know what motivates me the most to change my behavior? being treated like someone who knows what they are doing.

"an adult punished for stealing will learn to steal more effectively." consider that the adult is making the choice to steal regardless, whether out of necessity or due to personal motivation. a sub who wants to be trained is not an adult who doesn't want to be stopped from stealing. both of these points are needlessly infantilizing to the submissive.

"Your submissive is no different from any of those examples." yes the fuck they are. your examples are a dog, a child, and a person the state views as a criminal. if your submissive is "no different" from those examples, you need to examine your shit as an adult and remand yourself to some form of personal growth.

"why would you want to rule through fear." because the fear is fun. lol. alternatively, doms who want to rule through pure, earnest, and unwilling fear are not doms, they're abusers. no matter the level or relationship involved in behavioral training for subs, the end goal is mutual fulfillment. if you don't like what others do in their bedrooms, or their 24/7 dynamics...simply don't participate.

"kill the cop in your head." okay. i already did that--i killed the part of my brain that moralized the things i wanted in my dynamic. i killed the part of my brain that designated punishers as violent, cruel, and unstable and the people who want to be punished as naive, weak, and child-like.

listen. my goal is not to say this person is wrong, or that their feelings towards punishment in a power dynamic or a training dynamic are invalid. they are very much not!! my issue is the dom-shaming and sub-infantilizing rhetorics behind what should be a personal exploration, not a sweeping, moralistic generalization about what consenting adults should do in their relationships.

if punishment in a training dynamic makes you feel unsafe, that's okay. don't do it.

if punishment in a training dynamic makes you feel safe, that's great. do it.

if your partner disrespects your position on either side, or intentionally trains you in a way they know you dislike, they are a bad partner and that is a separate issue.

punishment, for those who choose to utilize it in a training situation, is:

a morally neutral action. it would be immoral if it was done without consent. that is an issue with consent, not punishment.

agreed upon by both parties. see above.

sometimes pleasant: in this case, it may be sexually fulfilling, which makes it more of a soft punishment/"funishment." it becomes either a safe, predictable outcome for bratting, which can promote feelings of trust in the dynamic, or just unpleasant enough that the partner being "trained" prefers not to do it most of the time.

sometimes unpleasant: not sexually gratifying, perhaps, but still a reinforcement of the dynamic. again, a way to promote safety and predictability. your dom isn't slacking. your dom cares about your behavior. your dom's attention is on what you do, good or bad, because they're invested in you.

a way to reclaim feelings of guilt, make them safe, and deconstruct them. i cannot stress this enough. guilt over "bad" behavior (that i as an adult know i am allowed to do, but want to be controlled in) is not always a safe emotion for me to be alone with. as someone with religious trauma, as someone who grew up in a religious, corporal-punishment household, being punished for "bad behavior" is vital to my mental health in a dynamic. it lets me process guilt and shame, however "undeserved," in a safe way with a clear ending. it gives me closure. whether that makes me damaged or not, it also gets me the fuck off, so idc. there's a reason i prefer RACK over SSC these days, and it's because moralized definitions of the word "sane" are rampant.

not your business.

please, please make an effort to stop moralizing over what adults get up to in the bedroom. your dynamic is a personal choice that does not reflect on your moral value. i would normally have no issue with this except that OP is phrasing their opinion as a "guide" or "how-to." here is a list of true things, or affirmations, if you felt as unsettled by this as i did:

what goes on in your head is more important than psych articles.

you are allowed to choose how to motivate yourself to change your behavior.

doms are not controlling, abusive, or bootlickers for enjoying using punishment as a motivator.

subs are not damaged, oppressed, or naive for being motivated by punishment.

it does not mean you need to grow as a person if you want to balance punishment and reward in your dynamic.

mental safety is more important than psychological efficacy.

guilt and shame are things you are allowed to process however you want.

i just really need people to stop pushing dom-shaming narratives under the guise of pop psychology + holistic wellness language, pls and thanks. everyone thinks they're an expert nowadays, but the only expert on your mental and sexual wellbeing is you--and hopefully your partner(s) are willing to develop the same expertise :)

play risk-aware and consensual, my loves!

[dontmixpaintinyourcoffee]

As per usual, info under the cut <3

IM BACK BITCHES!!!

Alright, here's the design stuff:

I wanted to go for kind of a Lois Lane vibe, including the way she gets all the way up in business she should not be up in. At the same time I wanted to bring the super cutesy gothic lolita style in at least a little. So I ended up going with a poofy short jumpsuit with bows and teddy bears. I would love to make a specific thank you to @themooncallsyou for suggesting I look at the Moschino 2022 spring line for inspiration, it ended up having a very heavy impact on the final design.

I tried to lean into the investigative part of investigative reporter, so that's what the heavy coat is about. I thought adding that classic detective silhouette would be a nice final touch. Plus, I think Blondie likes the drama of the coat flying behind her as she's chasing down a lead. It makes her feel very cool.

Alright, so her original pet is a bear cub named Grizz but I have. Several problems with that. The main one is that it's not clear what the difference between Grizz and the actual sentient bears and her story is. There is never any differentiation between them. It's a Goofy-Pluto situation. Like it doesn't need to be explained, but the minute you start thinking about it too hard it gets weird real fast.

Anyways say hello to Honey the magpie!! Magpies are great mimics and lovers of shiny things, so I thought one would be a perfect fit for Blondie. She repeats bits of gossip and steals little trinkets and clues to help Blondie with whatever case she's on. Honey is where Blondie gets her infinite supply of bobby pins. Her scale is a little off, I don't think magpies are actually that big, but I still think she's cute so I'm not changing it now lol.

Now for character stuff:

Honestly I'm not really changing anything as much as I am exploring what's already there. I think Blondie has the potential to be really interesting, because she's unique within the class system of the school. She's kind of the inverse of Raven status-wise. Raven was born to royalty, but because her mom is the Evil Queen she's actually considered a commoner by society. Blondie was born to a wealthy commoner family, but her fear of rejection leads her to exaggerate the prestige of her lineage. Everyone sort of knows that she's not a Princess but she's so desperate to keep up the image of royalty that no one knows where she actually lands. Most of the royals assume her parents are Lord and Lady or Duke and Duchess or something. In reality they don't have any noble title, and Blondie is very insecure about that.

Blondie isn't so much ashamed of her family as she is terrified of exclusion and rejection. Her standing in society is the one major thing that makes her different from all the other royals, but she has major anxieties that she's always on thin ice. In her mind she's permanently one wrong step from total ostracization.

On a happier note, she does have a genuine passion for journalism! She considers her news blog/podcast practice for her future career. She starts out discussing school drama and gossip, but tries to stay a neutral third party. That's why her hair is so big. It's full of secrets. As the story goes on she starts reporting on more political and social topics beyond the boundaries of the school (and therefore becomes one of Milton Grimms worst nightmares). She is really, really, really good at getting into shit people do not want her to get into. She's got her eyes on prize and good luck stopping her

[utilitycaster]

Been burning through the third campaign of NADDPOD recently off of your recommendation and it's been incredible. Though it has made me think of what exactly makes its callbacks and references to the previous campaign work so well compared to C3. As you pointed out in your post about the podcast, they share more than a few similarities. I'd guess that the lighter tone overall helps quite a bit, though the Irondeep Saga and Hardwon's return to the adventuring life is genuinely very effective!

To me, most if not all of C3's returning characters and callbacks were self-aggrandizing and distracting. The initial return to Whitestone for Laudna especially.

I have not finished NADDPOD's C3 yet so maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I was just wondering if you had any insight on why it just, works better than its counterpart? Also, big fan of the blog! Your meta post have kept me sane during the various errands that Bells Hells half heartedly accomplish.

So I do want to note my issue with Whitestone and Laudna's resurrection isn't so much seeing Percy and Vex and Pike and Keyleth; it's much more that having that available so early cut off some notable opportunities in Marquet. Going to Jiana would have probably made the Delilah issue much more of a factor (since I doubt anyone she'd have known would have been a L20 cleric familiar with Delilah), would have done interesting things for Ashton's story, and would have kept the party on the continent and in the city, possibly spending more time with Eshteross and maybe even giving them an additional chance to encounter Otohan in person. In retrospect this could have fixed like five different things. I actually found that the previous character callbacks were one of the strongest elements and increasingly I also feel the original NPCs of C3, Otohan and Ozo aside, while few and far between, would have been great if Bells Hells like, cared about them and spent time with them.

I think the more important part is that Murph is not trying to wrap up an overarching plot across multiple campaigns; he's simply telling, well, the campaign after the campaign. He was pretty clear about that in the initial discussions for NADDPod C3 - it's heavily influenced by the decisions in the initial Bahumia campaign but like, the plot isn't to end the astral plane god-battles that set off; it's to save Bahumia from Mothership (and those two factions evolve to have other implications, but the core conflict is introduced early and remains as is). Now, I also think that having a smaller party that is generally absolutely fearless when it comes to decision-making is an important part and they deserve credit (just as, while I think Matt's errors were most significant for C3's issues, the cast's waffling and fear of picking the wrong choice is a factor - even a "wrong" choice would have been better in most cases), but a lot of it is that it's a pretty standard D&D style plot executed well. (This would be another really long post but I really do think D&D can handle a range of plots and genres, but it's still a limited range of plots and genres, and if you try to subvert it, as people increasingly try to do, it will not reward you for cleverness but rather backfire. I don't think C3 tries to subvert D&D nor do I think D&D is the problem here; also just to stave off dumb comments, Pathfinder has the same exact limitations and Daggerheart likely will have very similar ones - this is about a combat-skills-forward fantasy game with level progression in general of which D&D is the most prominent but by no means only example. However since I just answered about Neverafter, while that's not the question, I think Murph has a particularly good understanding of what D&D can do.)

I think it's a few things but I think one reason Murph has such a track record is first, he identifies pretty strongly as a comedy writer, though he's also obviously a performer; secondly, he is as far as I can tell cautious and surly and he came to TTRPGs as an adult; and thirdly, two major influences he has that others tend not to cite are gaming and wrestling, and I really think this is important.

I think as a writer, he tends to have a good sense of narrative and where things have to go. That doesn't mean there aren't unexpected turns, but I think he does a good job of planning for contingencies and having a confident hand in turning the story back. And again, I think having a 3-person party makes it easier to get back on the rails (or to build a new track very quickly) but I think he, to quote a truly stupid but not entirely wrong self-help quote, begins with the end in mind.

The cautiousness and surliness are in my opinion the secret to NADDPod. Look. Niceness is, well, nice, though Brennan has a great bit that I watched recently and have since forgotten the source of about how kindness and niceness are two separate concepts. I think Murph is really willing to tell his players "No" and I think it is always to his benefit. I think making your players explain what they want to do, or being willing to turn your player's riffing into something that might not be their intention (Sol and Albie and the whole reveal that the Academy made everyone feel like a hero while essentially churning out manufactured duos stands out to me) is important. I don't want to say every home game should have this because it shouldn't - if you are playing at home casually and just want to make your friends feel like the coolest people ever, you don't have to do this! But if you are an actual play show you should be telling a story, and to tell a good story you do have to kill a few darlings and make a few edits, and Murph is willing to do that and Matt is sometimes too generous for his own good to the detriment of story (and, imo, I think it's ultimately less rewarding for the players in the long run much of the time too!)

And thirdly, games and wrestling. Now I am obviously no expert in games, but from a complete beginner's perspective, something that keeps striking me is how many people become affronted when the side quests (or, more accurately, ignoring the side quests) impact the main quest in significant ways, even though it's simply good writing to have side quests that enhance your understanding of the main quest and make you stronger or better able to approach it because of your experiences. This is in fact one of the biggest reasons why C3 is so weak, and one of the reasons why I think NADDPod is consistently strong. And then as for wrestling: I am even less of an expert here, but wrestling requires clear storytelling and especially clear motivations, (hard to be subtle in that medium) and story told primarily through combat that better have a great conclusion. It's also, notably, a remarkably unpretentious thing to be into, even though it's popular with a lot of nerds (Danielle Radford is the guest from last week; Ify's a wrestling fan as well). As a result, I think Murph isn't afraid to be blunt and unsubtle in service of actually making something good and entertaining and cohesive, instead of trying to say something deep and failing. Because nothing crashes to the ground and burns than trying to say something deep and failing. I mean I love pretentiousness, but I know when to drop it, and I think NADDPod on the whole does too.

[felassan]

hi! first of all, love your blog, everything is so organized and there's so much info out there about everything and you having this blog makes it easier to find.

so there's something that idk if i saw on this blog or if i made up in my head and maybe you could help? I remember seeing something somewhere about how the devs or at least david gaider didn't understand why so many sided with the mages. do you know anything about that or did I made that up completely in my head?

hello! ◕‿◕ tysm for the nice comment about my blog. I'm happy that it can be helpful!!

rest of post under cut for length.

if you think you may have read it here, could you be thinking of one or some of these quotes from [this] post series? those posts are some notes I made of things which David Gaider said (pls keep that context in mind when reading the below) during some Twitch streams some years ago. as far as I know the original streamed videos are no longer available.

"The experience of a mage in the world isn’t represented or conveyed very well to the player when the player is a mage. The experience of the player when they’re playing a mage or have a mage in their party doesn’t really match up with how the world lore tells them how dangerous mages can be - for example, how they can lose control and so on, we never really have an example of a PC mage struggling with being taken over by a demon. This was originally supposed to be a subplot in DA2 for mage Hawkes, in one of the last cuts. In Act 2, mage Hawke was originally slowly being tricked by a demon in their head that they thought was real, only to realize at the last minute. Mouse the Pride demon in the mage Origin is the only time in the entire series that they really ever properly demonstrated how demons can fuck with [PC] mages. Also, PC templars were originally supposed to have a permanent lyrium addiction that they needed to ‘feed’, but this was scrapped as the system designers weren’t keen on it and felt that it was essentially handicapping the player."

"They managed to keep the Tranquil in. There was a while there where they were going to be cut. At the same time, DG regrets that they couldn’t solve the making of the player more aware of how mages are dangerous, thing. Players could make a cogent argument like “they’re not that dangerous, look at me [mage PC]” and the writers were like “well… yeah, that is fair”. It was a case of showing one thing and the player experience of it being another. DG feels that this made the templars come off worse than they are. DG feels that they are being massively unfair and too extreme in their approach to the problem, but the problem itself is a real thing. He feels that there’s some merit/truth in the argument that mages are oppressed, but he looks at it more like an issue like gun control rather than as treatment of oppressed people, saying that we don’t have an example in real life of oppressed people who can explode into demons and cast fireballs and so on."

"Going into DA2, the team had a long discussion of the themes of the game, the whole ‘security versus freedom’ argument. “Let’s try to understand the motivations of people who do things wrong. Is it possible to feel sympathy for somebody who might otherwise be labelled a terrorist? Is it possible to understand why templars might view the mages with fear?” As a whole, DA tries to encompass villains that have motives we can understand a little better. DG feels that Corypheus isn’t one of these. He’s less a villain and more an antagonist or plot device. There are certain things that they did wrong with the implementation of Cory in the game. Originally in DAI he attacked Skyhold as well as Haven. Cutting the Skyhold attack for example made him seem like less of a threat."

"There are certain spells/abilities in D&D that can make a GM’s life frustrating, such as teleportation, telling the future, resurrection. The fact that death is not permanent, for instance, should be a huge thing that affects society and how the people in it view death. This is why they were thinking stuff like “If every low-level mage in the setting had a skill like ‘Charm Person’, what would non-mages make of that?”"

or maybe something from [here], or an [old post] [random example] David Gaider made on the original official BioWare Forum? 🤔 [the forum was archived by fans on Fextralife] or could you be thinking of something that he said on his old Tumblr? [this] and [this] are links to some Tumblr blogs which archived some of the original Tumblr. it might be worth browsing through those/searching them for "mages" and suchlike in case it turns anything up. :>

apologies if nothing here is pinging as familiar. :<

[lucywritesagain]

My Silly Midgardian

꒰ა ˚₊ ✧・┈﹕Loki masterlist ꒰ ᐢ｡- ༝ -｡ᐢ ꒱ Navigation ﹕┈・𐑺 ‧₊˚໒꒱

Please note that this story is a repost from my old blog @lucywrites02.

Summary: Loki’s friend/crush has the flu. Loki having no knowledge about midgardian diseases panics and tries his best to make her feel better.

Word count: 2.2k

You knew something was wrong the moment you’ve woken up. Trying to stretch your muscles a little bit you noticed how sore your body was. At first you blamed it on the training session you had with Natasha yesterday but realisation hit you as you started coughing uncontrollably. You felt incredibly warm. Way too warm for your liking. You looked at your face in the mirror and noticed the bags under your eyes. You groaned in frustration. A fracking flu? You were one of the best agents S.H.I.E.L.D had to offer. You have been working alongside THE Avengers for more than 2 years now, fighting aliens and terrorists and yet a simple flu defeated you. 

You splashed some water on your face and put your most comfortable clothes on. It was going to be a really long day after all. You wanted to crawl back under the covers but your tummy demanded breakfast. You weren't sure if food was what you needed right now. You didn’t want to upset your stomach after all but you also needed to eat something. After some thinking you decided on some plain toast and a cup of tea.

Walking into the kitchen you noticed Loki sitting at the table with a book in his hand. It was one of many you let him borrow to “become more familiar with midgardian culture”. He truly enjoyed some of them but would never admit that. You have seen him reading your favourite book more than once but decided to not make any comments about that. Upon noticing your arrival Loki put his book away and greeted you with a warm smile. 

“Good morning!” he said happily “How is my favourite midgardian doing!”

“She’s doing just fine, thank you,” you responded and pulled two slices of bread out of the bag. 

“I was wondering when you’ll wake up,” the god announced “I made you some tea, it’s still warm.” Your heart skipped a bit when he said he was waiting for you. The two of you talk about books Loki has read every morning and discuss them together. Loki didn’t want to tell you he had already read most of the books you have given him before in fear you would stop talking with him altogether. He was utterly smitten with you but he knew a woman like you would never be interested in him romantically. Several people had mistaken you two for a couple before and every time that happened you would immediately correct them and say you were just friends. The idea of you reciprocating his feelings sounded unrealistic to him. If he only knew you felt the same….

You gave him a tired smile and thanked for the tea. As the bread popped out the toaster you put it on your plate and sat down next to Loki. 

“I think there are some pancakes in the microwave if you want,” Loki stood up, wanting to give you some. “Romanoff made them before they head out.”

“Oh, no thank you! I’ll stick to the toasts today,” you reassured him and took a small bite of your food. “By the way where is everyone?” you asked upon noticing how quiet it was in the tower this morning. You knew Nat and Clint had a mission in Alaska because the redhead told you that during your training but you had no idea what happened with the rest of the team. 

“Thor left with Natasha and Barton, “ he explained” Tony is in Paris with Pepper. Captain and his squad are on a mission in Australia and Wanda joined them”

“So it’s just the two of us in here?”

“Banner is in his lab doing whatever he thinks will help him pass the time” Loki added

You winced in pain as you felt a throbbing in your head. You felt as if you took part in a marathon. Your muscles were aching and you were slightly dehydrated. Loki noticed your discomfort and turned to face you. 

“Are you ok?” he asked, concerned. The trickster only now noticed the bags under your eyes. He touched your hand and got even more worried when he felt how warm you were. 

“I’m great, Loki,” you announced and drank the rest of your tea.

“I’m not an expert but midgardians shouldn’t be so warm and-”

“Really, Loki I’m fine!” you said.

“You are not looking that fine to me.” he responded.

“Wow, rude. Not everyone can just wake up and look like a cover girl.” you tried to laugh but the constant throbbing in your head wouldn’t allow it. You stood up wanting to put your empty mug in the dishwasher. As you did that your vision went blank and the only sound you heard before passing out was the mug shattering on the floor

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You opened your eyes and yawned loudly. You were laying down on the couch with a warm blanket over your body. You tried to sit up but your muscles were too sore to allow any movement. Realising how drenched in sweat your clothes were you groaned.  You started to wonder how you got there when you noticed Loki with a glass of water and a sandwich.

“Norns! You are finally awake,” he said and put them down on the small coffee table. Loki quickly walked to you and kneeled. His hand gently touched your forehead and tucked your hair behind your ear. “You fainted, darling,” he announced and started stocking your cheek. 

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“It’s really nothing bad, Loki,” you tried to reassure him but the god didn’t believe you. You wanted to explain to him that it was just a flu but you started coughing uncontrollably which made the trickster panic even more. He helped you sit up and gently caressed your back. 

“I’m calling Banner,” Loki said but you stopped him before he could do anything else.

“Seriously, Loki, I will be fine.” you hugged the covers even tighter to your body that was already drenched in sweat. “It’s just a flu.” Loki looked at you as if you were crazy.

“Just a-.... Y/N, you fainted!” you knew Loki cared for you but now he was definitely overreacting. “If I didn’t catch you you would hurt yourself!” you noticed the worry in his eyes. It looked like he was on the verge of tears but you blamed your brain for sending you such images. You felt something weird in your stomach and quickly kicked the blanket off of you. You stood up and ran out of the living room, Loki was right behind you. You opened the door to the bathroom. When the trickster entered the room you were  kneeling on the cold tales as you emptied your stomach. 

“Hey, it’s ok, everything’s all right,” Loki held your hair in right hand while his left one was on your back. “JARVIS! Call Banner and tell him to immediately come to my room!” you would argue with him but you didn’t have any energy left. “Can you stand up?” you nodded and flushed the toilet. Trying to take a step forward you winced in pain because your muscles were still too sore. 

Seeing your struggle Loki picked you up in wedding style and carried you to his room. You tried to protest but didn’t have the energy to do so. Instead you put your hands around his neck as your head rested on his shoulder. As he walked into the elevator and pushed the bottom to his floor he felt you shiver and hugged you closer to his body. Loki had no idea what was happening to you. Was it something you caught during the last mission? Is it deadly? Will you be ok? He was seriously panicking now but as long as he was able to feel your breathing on his neck it was ok.

“You’re going to be ok, my love” he whispered, gently kissing your head.

The elevator stopped and Loki quickly walked into the direction of  his room. He opened the door and carefully laid you on his bed. 

“Bruce should be here soon,” Loki announced “Is there something you need? Water? Something to eat? Another blanket? “ if you weren’t feeling like shit at that moment you would kiss for the way he was acting  “Or maybe not, you are already too warm, another blanket would just make it worse.” Loki was mumbling to himself and  it wasn the most adorable thing you have ever seen.

“One blanket would be just fine” you smiled at him softly “But if you could bring me some clean clothes I would be grateful. Those are drenched in sweat,” you asked shily, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

“Of course! That’s no problem” he replied quickly and opened his closet. “Do you need some pants or just a shirt?”

“Pants, too, please” you were sleepy again and ready to drift off any moment now “I mean, if it’s not a problem. I promise I will wash them afterwards”  A few seconds later Loki came back with a pair of black sweatpants and a green sweater.

“The pants are too big for you but I hope that won’t be a problem,” he gave them to you with a soft smile. You tried to stand up and go to the bathroom but winced in pain again. Loki must have figured out what was wrong and insisted that you stay in the bed. He said he would go to the bathroom and give you some privacy and that you should tell him when you’re decent again. 

“Such a gentleman,” you joked

“Everything for you, my lady” he winked at you and left to the bathroom

This man will be the death of you sooner or later.

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After you put the clothes on you awkwardly called for him. Loki came back and ogled your body. You were significantly smaller than him but now that you were wearing his, way too big, clothes you look tiny. The god thought you looked adorable wearing his clothes, especially if they were green. He blushed when he realised what he was thinking about. The two of you were still looking at each other in silence until a knock on the door pulled you both out of that trance. Loki opened them and pulled Bruce inside. 

“What took you so long???” Loki asked, irritated. You wanted to greet Bruce but because your eyes were closing involuntary you decided to rest for a while.

“I was at the store!” Banner defended himself “I just came back and then JARVIS told me you wanted me to come ASAP” Normally the trickster would argue with him more but you were his number one priority right now. The scientist asked what was so important and Loki pointed at your exhausted body laying on his bed and explained what happened. 

“So let me get this straight,” Bruce said confused “You panicked and called ME because she’s sick”

“Yes! You are a doctor, you should help her!” Loki was getting more anxious with every passing second.

“I have some PHDs but that’s not the same” Banner explained

“But you are a midgardian, right?” the god continued “You know what’s happening to her so please help her!” the trickster begged. The scientist was taken aback by his words. It wasn’t a secret that Loki had feelings for you. Everyone in the tower could see it. Except you, of course. But no one would ever expect Loki to beg someone for help. You really meant a lot to him.

“Ok, I see what I can do” Banned patted his shoulder and headed towards you. He gently shook your body and you woke up again. “I heard you weren’t feeling well” you nodded your head as your friend touched your forehead.  “You have an awful fever. Loki, could you bring me a wet towel, please?” Bruce didn’t even blink and Loki was already in the bathroom. The scientist turned to you again “Do you need some pills? I have some painkillers in my room if you want”  you nodded and gave him a grateful smile. Loki came back with a wet towel and handed it to Banner. He then put it on your forehead and stood up. “I’m going to my room to get her some medicine. Give her some water and keep an eye on her. I will be right back”

And with that Bruce left the room. 

Loki sat at the edge of the bed right next to you and gently caressed your cheek. You put your hand on top of his and smiled. Loki’s heart was beating like crazy now. Did you have feelings for him or was it just because you were ill? He wished it was the first one. He could keep staring at your beautiful face for eternity if you allowed him. 

A few moments later Bruce came back with the painkiller he promised you. Loki handed you a glass of water and you swallowed the pill. 

“If you need anything else just call me” Banner said to Loki “Get better soon, Y/N!” you waved at him and the scientist was gone again.

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” the god asked

“Could you read something for me?” you hugged the pillow and moved closer to him “Please?” you added

“Anything for you, my love” he took a book from his nightstand and leaned on the wall. You raised the blanket silently inviting him to lay with you. The gesture made Loki’s heart flutter. He got under the covers, one hand was holding the book and another one was hugging you close to his body, You took the wet towel off of your head and threw it on the floor where your old clothes were. You put your head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. You noticed it was faster than it’s supposed to be but asked no questions. Asgardians were different from humans, right? You closed your eyes as Loki was reading but didn’t feel like sleeping anymore. You could listen to his voice forever. 

The trickster was a few chapters in when he noticed your closed eyes. Assuming you were asleep he closed the book and put it away. He decided that watching you was far more interesting than any story he could read. Not hearing his voice anymore you opened your eyes to check on him. Your eyes met with his and you could have sworn he was blushing. You smiled and he did the same. It was now or never, Loki thought. He leaned in slowly and rested his hands on your waist. You figured out what he was planning and you pushed his lips away with your index finger. 

“I must have misunderstood the situation” Loki took his hand off your waist and awkwardly cleaned his throat. He looked hurt, heartbroken even “Please forgive me”

“No Loki, it’s-” you started “you didn’t misunderstand anything. I’m sick and I don’t want YOU to be sick, too” you explained and gently stroked his cheek. 

“My silly midgardian,” Loki laughed and hugged you “I’m immune to your diseases so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get sick”

“Well, if that’s the case-” you grinned and put your lips on his. Loki didn’t waste any more time and immediately reciprocated the kiss which quickly went from soft and gentle to passionate and rough

“That was way better than I have imagined” Loki whispered after you two broke the kiss to be able to breathe again. 

“What else did you imagine?” you gave him one more kiss and laid your head in the crook of his neck.

“I imagined going on a date with you” he interfered  his fingers with yours and continued “I imagined us holding hands whilst walking together. I imagined us falling asleep and then waking up together”  you kissed his neck and looked into his eyes.

“I’m feeling sleepy again so your last dream will probably come true” you said, smirking

“In my imagination we have fallen asleep after doing something different than reading but I guess this is ok, too” he added and you playfully smacked his chest. He laid on his side to be face to face with you and put one of your legs around his waist. You put your hands around his body and hummed in satisfaction. “You, my love, are the most beautiful and mesmerizing woman I have ever met” he kissed your head one more time and you both drifted off to sleep.