#yes he's using the same costume on bottom right ;)

[tagidearte]

DCA Sketch dump from the last few days... Well, mostly Moon, but what's new?

[daisyvisions]

✦ Day 33 - Wildcard (Double Penetration)

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Pairing: Boyfriend!Hyunjae x afab!reader x Boyfriend!Younghoon

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Word Count: 1.2K

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Warnings: Smut (18+, minors DNI), threesome, porn with minimal plot, mask kink, poly!am relationship, double penetration (vaginal and anal), oral (m! receiving), fingering, nipple sucking, rough sex, lots of teasing, pet names (princess, good girl, sweet thing, baby, slut), double creampie, slight manhandling, ass slapping, slight roleplay, implied foursome

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. A/N: I can officially say my kinktober list is complete! Sorry this took longer than it should’ve BUT as I’ve said before, kinktober ain’t over til I say it’s over. Had way too much fun writing this in the end hehe enjoy! Proofread once

‧⋆ ✧˚₊‧⋆. Network: @deoboyznet

✦ Kinktober Masterlist ✦

You’ve always loved celebrating Halloween for as long as you could remember. From picking the treats that go inside the snack bowl at home to the movies that you planned to binge watch with your family.

But most importantly, every year you made it a point to always dress your best. From cute silly costumes as a child to more sexier options as you started becoming an adult.

So when your boyfriends Younghoon and Hyunjae said they’d give you the best trick or treat surprise for you this Halloween, you didn’t think it would end up like this.

“C’mon baby, can’t you tell who’s dick you're sucking right now? Thought it would be obvious.” The man wearing a ghost face costume teases as holds your face together, fucking his length inside your mouth.

The other ghost face behind you chuckles with him, giving you a hard smack on your ass as he continues to rut himself inside your wet cunt. The squelching noises coming from you turning him on with every thrust.

From a third person point of view and with no context whatsoever, anyone who might’ve been watching the scene happening in front of their eyes right now would’ve thought an incredibly kinky porn was being filmed.

But to you, it felt like you were in heavenly bliss.

Sure, this is the first time you're being fucked by both your boyfriends at the same time. But your hot boyfriends fucking you with ghost face masks on? And the fact they’re making you guess who’s who? Yes please…

You release the cock in your mouth with a pop, slowly jerking it off as you pause in between trying to catch your breath.

It would’ve been really easy to guess whose cock you were sucking by now. But these two were ten steps ahead by making the room incredibly dark, leaving you to guess based on feeling alone.

“C-can’t you give me a hint?” You try to hold back a moan as the ghost face behind continues to roughly pound you, pulling back your hips til his whole length is bottomed out inside you.

“Nuh-uh princess. Remember the rules-” The ghost face in front of you caresses your cheek. “If you guess wrong, you don’t get to cum.”

You suddenly yelp when the ghost face behind you delivers a particularly hard thrust before slowing his movements and snaking his hand between your thighs to rub your aching clit. His fingers start quickening their pace, trying to get you closer to the edge.

With the little window of time you have before you reach your high, you try to recall all the moments you had with each boyfriend to give you any sign of who is currently fucking you and whose cock you’re currently jerking off.

“Fuck baby. Keep doing that-” The ghost face in front of you hisses. “Such a pretty slut for us don't you think?”

“Only ours. Isn’t that right?” The ghost face behind you slaps your ass once more.

You try to see if you could guess by the tone of their voices, but they both sounded too similar since the ghost face masks they were both wearing had muffled their voices.

And suddenly, the clue to finding out who’s who hit you.

You look up at the ghost face in front of you, giving him the prettiest doe eyes you could give.

“Please Mr. Ghost Face, can I ride your cock?” You ask with the sweetest innocent voice while trying to somewhat play the role you’re currently in.

“Yeah? Wanna ride my cock sweet thing?” He rubs his thumb on your bottom lip. You nod in response.

The ghost face behind you give your ass one more slap before pulling out, while the ghost face in front plops down onto the bed and instantly manhandles you. Pulling you to straddle his lap before grabbing your hips and pushing it down onto his length.

He wraps his arms around your waist for a moment, holding you down as the other ghost face positions himself behind you, teasing the tip of his cock at your asshole before pushing his length completely inside.

You let out a desperate moan from feeling incredibly full from two cocks dragging in and out of you both inside your cunt and your ass. The overwhelming feeling of being this full pushing you closer to your orgasm.

You hold onto the edge of the headboard, trying to find balance from how hard both your boyfriends are going at it with you.

“Fuck- look at you. Those pretty tits.” The ghost face under you groaning as your breasts start to spill out from your bra. You tried to hide your smirk, knowing you’d be getting your answer in a few moments.

“W-want you to suck on them, please-” you beg.

“Yes please-” He groans as he slightly adjust his mask enough to free his mouth and take in your hardened nipple between his lips, sucking them like there’s no tomorrow. Swirling his tongue around and slightly nipping them, making his cock twitch inside you from the act.

Bingo.

“P-please. Wanna cum so bad-” you moan out, feeling your orgasm getting close to the edge and tipping off any second from now. You could also feel both of their thrusts starting to become a bit sloppy signaling their own highs nearing as well.

“Then what’s the answer princess? Who’s who?” The muffled voice of ghost face behind you whispering in your ear.

“Who’s fucking that little pretty cunt of yours?”

“H-Hyunjae, it’s Hyunjae! Please let me cum-” You whine.

“That’s a good girl. Now cum for us won’t you?”

The second the ghost face behind you says this, knot in your stomach snaps in two. Making you see stars as your cunt tightens around Hyunjae’s cock.

“H-holy shit, she’s gripping my cock. Gonna cu- fuck!” Hyunjae pushes your hips down, bottoming out his length in you as he fills you up to the brim.

Younghoon follows close as his hips stutter. His thrusts slowing down and becoming sloppy as he empties himself inside your ass.

All three of you take a breather for a moment before you lift Hyunjae’s mask off. His sweaty bangs clinging to his forehead while his cheeks glow a blushing pink.

“What gave it away sweetheart?” He smiles at you.

“Between the two of you, you’re the one who can’t resist sucking my tits whenever they’re in front of your face-” You chuckle.

“Wait, seriously?” Younghoon huffs as he lifts his mask.

“Can’t help myself-” Hyunjae replies. “Plus, our princess is way too smart.” He strokes your cheek before pulling you down for a kiss.

“Well, if that’s the case-” Younghoon pulls you back up, pressing your back against his chest as he leans forward to kiss the side of your neck.

“Why don’t we blindfold you next time? Maybe even give you noise cancelling earphones? That way you can’t even tell who’s fucking you...”

He nips your earlobe making you moan. He moves his lips close to your ear, whispering something only the two of you could hear,

“…And maybe bring a friend of ours to join, hm? What do you say?”

[theresthesnitch]

Trick or Treat!

Part 1.

Remus scratches his long ear, which buzzes a bit from the charm he uses on them. He uses the same costume each year because it's easy and he finds it funny, even if no one but James and Sirius really get it.

Remus braces himself as he hears James and Sirius coming down the stairs. Sirius has been tight lipped about what his costume is, which means Remus hasn't been able to prepare himself for it.

Last year, Sirius was a vampire nun (to match James’s vampire priest) and for some reason, the costume came with a slit up to his thigh, which Sirius took as invitation to wear fishnet stocking and heels. Sirius decided he needed to practice walking around in both for weeks, and Remus nearly died.

Death by Sirius Black's thighs, which apparently will be a recurring them this year.

Sirius hits the bottom step with a flounce of a short skirt that barely covers... well, anything. He walks right toward Remus, and it takes Remus a moment to drag his eyes up from Sirius’s thighs to see the rest of the his costume.

"Are you little red riding hood?" Remus asks, his voice a little huskier than he intended.

"Yes," Sirius says. He stops in front of Remus and pops his hip to the side, making the skirt bounce. "Such big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf."

Remus has to swallow a few times before he can form words again. "All the better to see you with."

Sirius smiles wickedly, and Remus feels like he might be the wolf and Remus is the one who is lost. "And what big hands you have."

"All the better to touch you with," Remus says, and it isn't until Sirius's smile turns amused and James snickers that Remus realzies he messed up the line. Remus doesn't just want a hug, though. He wants to touch.

Sirius takes both of his hands and places them on his bare thighs under his skirt, then sits down straddling Remus's lap. Remus's brain shorts out, and he tries very hard to keep his eyes on Sirius's face.

"Mr. Wolf," Sirius says, but his voice feels like caramel, sticky and sweet, "what big lips you have."

"All the better to--"

Kiss you.

He would have said it. Meant to, even. But before the words make it out of his mouth, Sirius is kissing him and Remus forgets the whole plot.

"I can't fucking believe that worked," James says.

Sirius breaks the kiss. "Mr. Wolf, what big teeth you have."

Remus laughs, breathless from the kiss. "Oh, I'm going to eat you alive."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Siruis say, and then kisses him again.

Trick or Treat!

[persephoneflowerpetals]

I’ve been having a lot of Persephades thoughts recently and I’m thinking about….70s/80s Au LIKE I AM I REALLY AM I NEED TO SEE PERSEPHONE WITH BIG FLUFFY HAIR AND FLOWERS IN IT AND I NEED HADES IN BELL BOTTOMS RIGHT NOW OR ILL TWEAK (I’ll probably draw it later but yea!! Just dropping this idea here😽)

DUDE OKAY WE ARE SHARING THE SAME BRAIN BECAUSE I’VE HAD THE 80S PERSEPHADES IDEA FOR SO LONG 😆😆😆

But omg the fact that you’ve been thinking about 70s/80s Persephades makes me so happy like aaaa you’re thinking of aus for my babes?! 😭💗

I do have a couple of 80s AU ideas but never posted about them because they’re basically just my other more modern aus but in the 80s lol.

But, for my general modern au (aka the office romance au/Olympus Inc. au), it has a little twist where Persephone finally gets a job at Olympus Inc. so she moves from her small town to the big city and Hades basically takes it upon himself to help her adjust to city life lol (while in the normal AU Persephone and Hades have been working there for the same amount of time and she’s from the same city lol).

And for my music industry au, Persephone is just an 80s pop singer and Hades has a competing record label with Zeus lol.

I think my main inspiration for those is the movie Straight Talk (it’s a 90s movie but it’s very early 90s so it definitely has 80s vibes) featuring Dolly Parton and James Woods lol! Like I just love the idea of 80s Hades flirting with that sweet little thing (Persephone lmao) in the big ol city lol! 🥰

BUT SERIOUSLY I LOVE THE 80S AESTHETIC SO MUCH (I think it’s mainly because my mom grew up in the 80s so I was kinda surround by some 80s stuff when I was a kid and she’d tell me about the stuff she liked from the 80s when she was younger lol)!!! I can totally see Hades having that sleazy Miami Vice businessman aesthetic walking around in bright colored suits and those giant cellular phones from that time lol! But I can also see him just being like a classic 80s businessman with the chic suits and slicked back flame lmao! Idk I just always see Hades as a businessman wearing such nice clothes and suits in a more modern setting lol. It’s that used car salesman vibe he has I think lol.

And omg Persephone wearing the cutest vintage 80s outfits lol! Like the casual ones with lots of denim and the sneakers and thick ankle socks lol as well as the more generic “costume-y” 80s outfits with lots of neon or like the Madonna style outfits lol! And UGH YES Persephone with that big fluffy 80s hair with lots of volume lol! Doing those cute ponytails with the scrunchies and flowers! SO CUTE!!!

But honestly I’ve never considered a 70s AU! I love that actually!!! Like Hades in bell bottoms 👀 SHSKDHKD seriously he’d look so good in 70s fits too lol! I can totally see them meeting at a 70s disco! Like, Hades spots her from the crowd of people in the disco and just falls head over heels! 🥰

Seriously I would go crazy if you drew them in 70s or 80s style (and as always I’d be honored for you to grace your wonderful art skills with my silly couple lmao 💗)!!!! 😆😆😆

[woodle-isbae]

Hi! I’m a huge fan from ages and I have a request, if you’re comfortable ofc!

So could you do male reader (top) x Joost (bottom) smut, where reader get jealous at a party cause this girl flirts with Joost and Joost says it’s nothing so reader slowly works Joost up during the night to the point that he is really needy and kinda desperate for his touch. Reader then takes him into the bathroom and proves who’s in charge. (sorry if that sounds weird)

Please and thank you (I love your work sm, don’t stop 🙏🙏🙏)

🎐anon

You entered the costume Party with your Boyfriend , Joost , him dressed as a man in black and you as a vampire

The party alive and wild , with people playing crazy beer games and couples all up on eachother in the corners of the house

"I'm gonna go get us drinks..be right back"

He hummed in confirmation, allowing you to dissapear off into the dimly light house.

You were mixing up some drinks all together for you and Joost until a softer voice came up behind you.

"Your gonna drink all those by yourself?"

It was some chick dressed up as an angel , the extremely short pink dress and white wedge heels.

"Uh..nah I'm drinking these with my..uh friend"

She giggled at what you said , mabye it because you were awkward about it or the fact you said it in a dumb vampire accent

"Your really hot...you got a girl?"

"Well-kinda?"

"Would she mind?"

You were kinda taken aback by her boldness , she really expects you to cheat on your partner for some one night stand? Jeez.

"Well-I have to go-"

You couldn't even bother to give her a smile or anything , wasting no time to get lost in the crowded living room. Trying your best to find some platinum blond hair in the wave of bodies before you.

In the corner of your eye you saw your boyfriend laughing with some blond girl , not being able to tell what they're talking about but it seems entertaining.

Just as you began walking towards them, they began walking to the dance floor , dancing all up on eachother. Placing the drinks down on the table before you pushed through people to get to them , throwing your arm over his shoulder

"Exuse-"

"Who do we have here?"

You looked over at the girl and it was the same chick from the drink table. She moves on fast. Turning back to face your boyfriend who was avoiding your gaze

"You wouldn't mind if I stole him huh? Great ,thanks."

Not even giving her a chance to speak before you pulled him away from the dance floor , shoving him into some seat.

"Fuck around and find out"

"Wha- what do you mean?"

You simply shrugged at his question, helping him get up from the seat before brushing your hand behind his neck , face being dangerously close to his collar bone. Moving away from him with a cheeky smile as he was about to grip onto you.

This continued on for the rest of the night, constantly sending him lingering touches and being all up against him. He was ready to explode by the time you let your touch linger longer than the rest.

. . .

"Where are you taking me?"

"I fucking need you."

You held back a chuckle , for his sake , allowing him to shove you into the bathroom. Locking it with haste before he turned over to face you , his outfit was absolutely ruined , his tie sitting loose and shirt slightly unbuttoned.

"Your a mess"

"I wonder why."

"Watch your tone."

Sloppily making out with him against the bathroom counter , clothes flimsely being removed before Joost stood before you , only in his Vest and briefs. Wasting no time to unbuckle your belt and drop your pants , boxers following suite

"Fuck prep , just do it."

Taken aback by his need , you allowed it. Turning him over to face the sink mirror , staring him in the eye as you entered him, shockingly easy to get in but obviously not with full prep.

"R'you sure?"

"Fuck- yes! I'm sure."

The desperation in his face evident as he bucked his hips back into you, your own following the steady rhythm. In a blink of an eye the taller man beneath you was ruined , face pressed into the sink and hands held behind his back.

"This what happens when you try f'king around."

Your anger proven in the harsh thrusts and grit of your teeth , the way you shoved his face down and held his hand with the other hand. Hips not giving out the slightest.

"Flaunting around , y'tryna fuck someone?"

Pulling his head up by his hair , forcing him to look at you both in the mirror. The sly smirk on your face enhanced by the dark red contacts and the dimly lit bathroom. His face red and covered in tears , moans choking out of his puffy red lips

"They know you liked to get fucked? Like some whore , always wanting me..even at parties"

"N-no! -fuck- I won't do it again-pleasepleaseplease-!"

His voice cracking , barely being able to form a full sentance , too fucked out to even thunk about what you said , all the things he did earlier in the night far from his worries

"You can cum , you deserve it after all huh? Say it."

You were also nearing your end , unable to hold back anymore but still wanting to torture him a little bit more.

"I- fuck - I deserve it...I deserve to cum"

Those words were all you needed to hear , letting go of his hands and turning him over , kissing him as he came all over your torso.

A few more pumps and you pulled out , gasping out as you came in between his legs , coating his inner thighs with your cum.

After cleaning up and getting redressed you both left the bathroom separately, Joost heading over to some corner of the house to regain his composure while you went to get some drinks.

[raisingcain7433]

Incorrect Quotes

Harry: Guys, there’s a monster under my bed and it’s really ugly. Valkyrie, on the bottom bunk: Honestly, fuck you.

Valkyrie: I refuse to apologize for being weird or off-putting. That’s actually your problem. I’m having a fantastic time!

Harry: WHY DID YOU KILL HIM?! HE COULD HAVE HAD HOPES AND DREAMS, HE COULD HAVE HAD A FAMILY!!! Valkyrie: Harry- Valkyrie: It- it was just an ant-

Valkyrie: I eat cheerios because they’re heart healthy. Valkyrie: And my heart has been severely damaged, so Militsa, if you’re out there—

Harry: I wanna be a knight! Valkyrie, a knight: What the fuck do you want this shit for? I kill people, all right? Their blood is on my hands! Every night, when I go to sleep, I see their FUCKING faces staring at me! Their families weep, and I FEEL NOTHING! I’M DEAD INSIDE! Harry: Man, I want some of that in my life!

Valkyrie: Do you want some tea? Fletcher: What are the options? Valkyrie: Yes or no.

Harry: Do you feel any better? Valkyrie: I feel much better now that you here with me. Fletcher walks in Valkyrie: I feel half better.

Fletcher: I’m so excited! Valkyrie: We’re gonna have the best costumes, get the most candy… Fletcher: And have the biggest stomach aches ever! Valkyrie: Yeah!

Fletcher: What do you three have to say for yourself? Nefarian: Skulduggery: Valkyrie: Oops?

Valkyrie: What’s wrong? Harry: I have to write a whole paragraph for school. Valkyrie: That’s not so bad; I write entire books. Harry: Yeah, but this has to be good.

Nefarian: Dude, I will never forgive Craigslist for banning me after I wrote a post seeking a sworn nemesis. Whoever reported that is obviously my nemesis but I was so pissed.

Skulduggery: Just trust me. Have I ever put you in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation? Fletcher: All the time. Skulduggery: Then you should be used to it by now.

Harry: Last night I found out Valkyrie is a sleep talker. Skulduggery: Oh, really? Harry: "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Right. In. My. Ear. At 3am.

Nefarian: cooking Fletcher: kicks down door Fletcher: grabs knife from Nefarian's hand Fletcher: WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR? Nefarian: Nefarian: What. Harry: He's trying to tell you he wants to cook.

Nefarian: Wow, left handed AND British? You really are an illusion.

Fletcher: How do Valkyrie and Harry usually get out of these messes? Skulduggery: They don't. They just make a bigger mess that cancels the first one out.

Nefarian: Help! I’m drowning! Valkyrie: Calm down. We’re only in six feet of water! Nefarian: NOT ALL OF US ARE TALL!

Skulduggery: Come on, you need to go to bed. Harry Snuffles says that I can stay up as long as I want. And that you need to die! Skulduggery: … Skulduggery: What the hell, Sirius—

Skulduggery: So what’s the plan? Harry: I don’t know. You’re smart, points at Valkyrie they’re mean, come up with something.

Skulduggery: I dunno if I'm ready to process the ramifications of this bullshit.

Harry: So anyways have y'all seen Skulduggery? Valkyrie: I think they went in Nefarian's room 'studying'. Fletcher: Doubt that. I heard groans there. Meanwhile in Nefarian's room Skulduggery & Nefarian, fighting:

Harry, looking at a selfie of Valkyrie’s: I hate this photo. Valkyrie: I’m cute as fuck in that photo! I’m smiling kindly. Harry: You’re not smiling kindly; you look like you’re up to something. Valkyrie: Up to kindness.

Nefarian: Sometimes, I don’t realize an event was traumatic until I tell it as a funny story and notice everyone is staring at me weird.

Valkyrie: Stands in trash can. Skulduggery: Valkyrie, not again! You're not trash, you're at least recycling!

Valkyrie: Nefarian always accuses me of having a favourite but that’s not true. Valkyrie: I love Harry and all the not-Harrys equally.

Skulduggery, at the slightest provocation: I came into this earth screaming and covered in someone else's blood and and I'm not afraid to leave the same way.

Fletcher: Nefarian, you need to react when people cry! Nefarian: I did. I rolled my eyes.

Nefarian, shooing Skulduggery away: Can you go be depressed over there? You’re bumming out my whole area.

Nefarian: It smells like henway in here. Skulduggery: Harry: Skulduggery. Harry, forcefully: Doesn't it smell like henway in here? Skulduggery: sigh Skulduggery: What's a henway? Nefarian: OH ABOUT TEN POUNDS!

Valkyrie: I think I need a hug… Fletcher: Good thing I'm hug shaped! 45 minutes later Valkyrie: You… you can let go now. Fletcher: No, I absolutely cannot.

Valkyrie: Fletcher won’t wake up, what do I do? Nefarian: Did you try kicking him? Valkyrie: Yes. Nefarian: I’m out of ideas.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Catch and Release

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam

Summary: AU where Jason doesn't die in the explosion and he and Tim end up attending the same high school months later.

Chapters: 16/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Sebastian Ives, Jack Drake, Janet Drake, Donna Troy

Relationships: TBA

Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd-centric, POV Jason Todd, POV First Person, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake Has Issues, Tim Drake is Not Robin, Jason Todd is Not Robin (Anymore), Bruce Wayne Needs a Hug, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Alfred Pennyworth Knows, Stalker Tim Drake, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unlikely Friends, Injury Recovery, Emotional Baggage, Rage, Bruce Wayne is Bad at Communicating

Chapter Sixteen: Family Reunion

Dick took us home at the end of our week. He offered to stay the night, but Tim said it was okay for him to leave. I decided to sleep in Tim’s room because I didn’t want to leave him alone.

I slept on the bottom bunk, only waking up to scissors clattering to the floor. “Tim?” I mumbled, still half-asleep. “What are you doing?” 

“Working on the cost—.” 

“Tim, it’s late. Get some sleep… I’ll help you work on it tomorrow morning,” I replied, turning toward the wall and shutting my eyes. 

“That was Wonder Girl, wasn’t it?” Tim questioned. I answered with a soft noise. “How well do you know her?” 

“Go to bed. I’ll tell you over breakfast,” I whispered. My phone vibrated under my pillow, and I opened my eyes, taking a peek at a text message. It was Bruce. I told him I’d be outside as soon as Tim was asleep. That wasn’t long. He was exhausted. So, I crept out on the balcony of Tim’s parents’ bedroom. “What is it? Did you find Jack and Janet?” 

Bruce stood in his cape and cowl, hiding from me. I would’ve been furious with him if I wasn’t so worried about Tim’s parents. “The hospital’s gonna call any minute now, so I’ve gotta make this quick. It’s not good news,” Bruce whispered. I stared at him in the dark, trying to seem angrier than I was frightened. “Janet’s gone, and Jack might not—. He might not make it, Jason. Do you want me to meet you at the hospital?”

“I don’t know… You—... Stay nearby,” I replied. He moved to hug me, and I stepped back. The costume helped him hide from me, and I hated him. 

“Jason, I’m sorry—.”

“I don’t blame you for that. Why can’t you talk to me without a buffer?” I asked. 

“Jason—.” 

“I gotta go. You said the hospital’s gonna call any minute,” I replied as I turned to leave. I returned to Tim’s room, climbing the ladder to nudge him awake. 

“Tim… Tim, please wake up. I have to talk to you,” I whispered. I felt tingling in my legs, and I knew it was a matter of time before they gave out, so I gripped the metal railing tight. Tim opened his eyes and groaned. “You have to get dressed.”

“What’s the matter?” Tim asked. 

“Your mom… She didn’t—. She didn’t make it, and the hospital’s gonna call any minute because—. Because your dad might not—. Tim,” I whimpered while I held back tears. I couldn’t take it. Tim stared at me and wrapped his arms around me. His calm frightened me. “I’m so sorry, Tim.” 

He let go of me and leaped down from his bunk to get dressed. I changed into my warmer clothes and put on my glasses. I felt sick to my stomach, but I had to hold it together. Tim slipped his portable charger into a duffel bag and a few days’ worth of our clothes. “Are you okay?” Tim asked. 

I couldn’t believe he asked me that. “I’m—. It doesn’t matter how I feel. Tim, are you alright?” I questioned. 

“Let’s keep moving. I just—.” His phone rang, and we froze. Tim stared at me and swallowed hard before answering the call. 

“Hello? Yes… No, I’m—. I’m awake,” Tim whispered, “And my mom? I understand… My brother and I will be right there.” 

He hung up and looked at me. “Mom’s dead… And Dad—. Dad’s paralyzed. Jason?” Tim questioned. 

“Tim, every day, I regret that I never got to grieve my parents. If you don’t stop to feel something, you’ll be forced to keep moving forever. I’m not okay. You can be okay if you allow yourself to be upset,” I explained. “Please don’t get stuck with their ghosts.” Tim rubbed his temple with his fingertips. He groaned and burst into tears. I grabbed his wrists and pulled him into a hug. 

“My mom,” Tim sobbed. I nodded, rubbing his back. His cries shook us both, and I finally allowed myself to cry with him. Tears slid down my cheeks, and I wished I could’ve done more. At least he wouldn’t be like me. At least he wouldn’t be like Bruce. He’d be okay.

**

Tim’s driver dropped us off at the hospital, and I offered to hang back. I sat in the hallway while he spoke to Jack. I didn’t expect him to ask me to come in, but he did. Tim stepped outside of the hospital room and beckoned me. So, I followed him inside and sat on the couch with Tim until he fell asleep. My phone vibrated. “Bruce?” I whispered. I couldn’t stop staring at Jack. I knew he was hooked to all those machines, but I saw Catherine… I could see my mom. I could almost smell the vomit and cigarettes. I wanted to break down, but something blocked it. 

“How is he?” Bruce questioned. I pushed the feeling down to look at Tim. He slept peacefully with his head on my shoulder. Warm. Breathing. Alive. 

“Not great… Tim’s asleep. What do you want?” I asked. 

“Jason, you have to come home—.” 

“I’m not going anywhere without Tim,” I interrupted, “If he can come and you promise not to bother him, I’ll come home. Without any argument…” 

“Jason, do you mean that?” Bruce asked.

I shut my eyes and swallowed my pride. “Mhm. You have my word… Let me talk to Tim about it… Give me until Monday,” I answered. 

“Do you need any extra money?” Bruce questioned. 

I sighed. “I don’t need any money… I’ve been alright,” I answered. 

“Jason, I don’t understand what happened earlier between—.” 

“I’m not a comfort item… I’m a person, and my thoughts and feelings deserve consideration. When have you ever put my feelings before what you believe and want?” I interrupted. 

“I don’t want to fight, Jason—.” Exactly!  It’s always what Bruce wants.

“Okay. Well, I don’t have anything else to say. I’ll talk to Tim before Monday… Goodbye, Bruce,” I replied. I hung up.

Tim stirred, put his feet on the couch, and laid his head on my lap. I rested a hand on his head. I couldn’t sleep because I saw death every time I shut my eyes. I could barely keep my eyes open by morning, and Tim woke up. “No, Jason… Tell me you weren’t up all night,” Tim mumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. I nodded, removed my glasses, and pressed my palms to my eyelids. “Jason, you didn’t have to—.”

“It’s not your fault… I couldn’t turn my brain off last night,” I explained, “I’m in my head… It’s not—. It’s okay. I’m glad you slept.” 

“Um… Is there—? Is Bruce gonna let you stay with me?” Tim questioned. 

I nodded. “I gotta talk to you about that… He wants us to move in with him until Jack comes out of the coma. I said we would,” I answered. Tim shook his head. 

“I can’t do that. You said you were suffocating there—.”“Tim, it’s okay. I can handle it… And he promised not to bother you while you’re there,” I reassured him. I wanted Tim to feel secure more than anything. I would’ve done anything for him. I knew what it felt like to lose my mother… Two times over. I refused to let him return to an empty house. The relief that washed over Tim’s face was enough for me to stomach our return to the manor.

[hellohimawarihana]

Yu-Gi-Oh Transformations, ranked by me

I did say in this post that Yu-Gi-Oh is no stranger to transformation sequence, but the more you look at it, it's like that all series had this in some degree, so I decided to rank them from least appealing to the most mind-blowing. It was inspired to this post, by the way. Unlike the protagonists ending post before, I'll include Go Rush!! as well, but I'll only include those from the protagonists and their main anime, so no Capsule Monsters or special episodes like Bonds Beyond Time, or supporting characters in that matter.

We'll start with the series that stood out the least, which is...

8. ARC-V

Yes, it’s pretty unappealing even for me. The Awakened version (left) are just him surrounded with aura and his mutated Z-ARC (right) is… not on my book.

7. Original / Duel Monsters

I ranked DM version a bit higher than ARC-V for this list. Yes, it’s the first and longest Yu-Gi-Oh series and therefore it’s iconic but Yami Yugi a.k.a. Atem didn’t really change clothes outside of making a cape jacket from his host. It’s still good that he manages to split into two selves for his partner later in the story.

6. Duel Monsters GX

It’s like Yami Yugi and Awakened Yuya because he spent some time being possessed by Haou / Supreme King (right), but Judai does had a control of his powers after gaining that and Yubel’s (left) powers and abilities, after that he doesn’t actually transforms outside the eye changes so I can’t rank him higher.

5. SEVENS

From demonic look to Sentai hero... Though unlike other series (except number 4 that will be explained later) these came off as one-off forms as he only wears the costumes in one duel with the process akin to early Metal Heroes series. But his roll call of The Yugaman (right) is cool, by the way.

4. 5DS

While the usual preparation before Riding Duel is pretty cool, this part stands out among my brother's favorite Yu-Gi-Oh series. Yusei just turns gold for his ultimate Synchro Summon technique, but it’s still cool. There’s even non-Riding Duel version on his Duel Links portrait too.

3. Go Rush!!

This recently airing series has the protagonist surrounded by blue (sometimes green) aura to turn back into his real, alien form. But it’s just “casual *flash* battle form” so I can’t rank him too high. But I like how he keeps doing this before his own duel, even when he doesn’t use this stock footage anymore starting in Season 2. And he’s unique among the protagonists as he’s one of the two capable of transforming on his own without outside source.

2. ZEXAL

The concept is similar to DM and GX, only this time Yuma merges with Astral and can de-fuse anytime unlike the latter series. Dark ZEXAL (top right) isn’t in my book and just a palette swap between the first ZEXAL form (top left), which is my favorite. But the other ZEXAL forms (bottom) are awesome too, evolving through Yuma and Astral’s bond. I just wish that the other forms appeared in Duel Links as a skill and not just his first form. Normally, this will be all-time favorite for transformation fans for Yu-Gi-Oh, but he’s ranked here because...

Well, you know who will be my top pick:

1. VRAINS

While I grew up with DM series, my interest took at peak after seeing Yusaku’s transformation sequence when he logs into LINK VRAINS or any cyberworld. It’s cool and flashy, and I like the blue background, even though his Playmaker form has barely any blue on it. The pocket dimension where Yusaku transforms fits its technology theme too. I especially like the hair part, just look of his cool face! And he can transform by himself, just like Go Rush!! series!

The only downside is like Go Rush!!, he doesn’t do this stock footage anymore after Season 1 Episode 30, any login after that is just offscreen or the intro survives but he’s just do the login in blue flash of light, which is disappointing, he even lack the double henshin with Takeru! (his adventuring partner who has the same animation when he individually transforms) But I do like the fact that the world unlock scene in Duel Links has this transformation sequence, which is a nice callback for the first episode where Playmaker’s transformation was shown for the first time, especially for the players who had finished the anime since spoiler alert: Duel Links’s VRAINS World takes place after the end of the series.

See more of VRAINS' henshin here.

[meraki-yao]

Another anon but please, share the nicknames🥹 I want cute things after all the chaos it’s been created because of people projecting things

Here are a few cute/fun ones that I know of!

Note 1: I'm bilingual and I'll try my best to translate it but certain things get lost in translation, I'll add the original Chinese text if you want to look up Google Translate or something, and the reason for said nickname

Note 2: A thing in Chinese nicknames is adding the character 小 meaning small/little to the beginning or repeating the same character as a sign of affection, I don't know why that's a thing but it just... kind is and has been for forever

Note 3: They use the nicknames interchangeably between the boys and Firstprince, and this has something to do with how Chinese audiences view shipping, especially in queer media which is a topic I do not want to get into right now, it would be a fucking mess.

Alright now that that's out of the way!

Nick/Henry:

王子 Prince, self-explanatory

小藍 Little Blue, self-explanatory

小王子 Little Prince, self-explanatory

貓貓/小貓 Kitty, in East Asian Culture people assign the two people in a ship as a cat or a dog, they think he's a golden British shorthair

小肥鵝 ... Chubby Little Goose. Yes, it's weird af but it got popular after a reaction video repeatedly referred to Henry as that. Two reasons: 1, Henry/Nick with kiss-swollen lips, specifically in the Paris scene reminded them of a ... goose... for some reason...? 2, um, uh, so there is a common dish in Chinese cuisine called 燒鵝 Roasted goose, and the first character 燒 （shāo）is nearly homophonic with the character for .... horny/flirtatious 騷 (sāo)... so given that scene...yeah go figure. I've seen literal fan art and fan merch of Henry as a goose. It's weird but hilarious to me.

甜心 sweetheart, fairly self-explanatory although the actual meaning it carries is close to "babygirl"

寶寶 baby, as in literal child, in fact my mom calls me that

老婆 wife, um, China, or actually as far as I know East Asians tend to feminize the bottom of a queer relationship and they're oddly persistent on positions which... all I can say is it's a cultural difference thing that doesn't have any disrespectful or harmful intentions but yeah

公主 Princess, same as above

媽媽/媽咪 Mommy ... yeah I'm gonna leave that there

Taylor/Alex:

第一公子 First son (第一 means first, 公子(gōngzǐ) is the phrase referring to a gentleman in ancient Chinese, more specifically sons of noblemen, if you watch costume c dramas you probably hear it a lot) most of the time they just use 公子 though

小紅 Little Red, Self-explanatory

太陽花 Sunflower, a simile for his fucking eyelashes

狗狗/小狗 Puppy, same explanation as Kitty, in particular, they think he's a Berner Sennenhund

美狗魚 merpuppy, like a mermaid, but a puppy, mostly due to how fucking beautiful and handsome he looks in the lake scene

老公 husband, same explanation as wife, just the opposite/ complimentary

爸爸/爸比 Daddy, yeah not gonna elaborate on that one either

Chinese fandoms, or honestly, East Asian fandoms tend to be a toxic mess (think about how notoriously toxic the reputation of k pop stans are) which is why I prefer sticking to the Western side the vast majority of the times I'm in fandoms such as RWRB, but there are some beautiful things in the midst of the mess that I occasionally check out.

Anyways yeah! That's a list of nicknames this side of the world gave the boys! I honestly don't know if it's still fun after translation but I hope this was a bit of fun????

[pardi-real]

Butler's Halloween / Chapter 5 - Observe Carefully

Prev | All | Next

[Devil’s Palace, Backyard]

A few days before the costume party at the mansion...  I came to the backyard alone. Lucas, Haures, and Bastien were there.

> "I wonder what they are up to?"

Lucas: "Well then, Haures, Bastien. To prepare for the real party… Let's practice attending to guests, shall we?"

Haures: "Well… a practice sounds good, but…"

Bastien: "Why do we need to wear costumes?"

Lucas: "Fufu. That's because we're practicing for the real deal, of course. Say, if we practice in the same costume from now on, we won't fumble in the real thing, right?"

Haures: "I see. Yes, that may be true. Like this wing decoration on my back for example… If you don't get used to it, you might bump into someone."

Bastien: "So that's why… Understood. Again, I'm counting on you, Mr. Lucas."

Haures: "Thank you in advance, Mr. Lucas."

It seems that the three of them are going to start practicing attending to guests.

I was curious to see how they were doing, but I didn't want to disturb their practice... I decided to observe from a distance.

Haures: "Nevertheless… It's reassuring to know that Mr. Lucas will be teaching us."

Bastien: "Yeah. I have the impression that Mr. Lucas is always good at hospitality."

Lucas: "Fufu, thank you. I'm flattered, but it's nice to hear you say so ♪"

Bastien: "No, it's not flattery.

I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I can't imagine how you can carry on a conversation with all sorts of people...

I can't do that. I'm not proud of it, but I'm often called unsociable.

It may not be possible anytime soon, but… I'd like to be able to talk to other people as much as possible."

Lucas: "Ooh… That was unexpected coming from you, Bastien… Fufu. You've really grown up, haven't you?"

Haures: "He sure has. I want to learn from Bastien's attitude too. My hospitality skills are nothing compared to Lucas's…"

Bastien: "Is that so? From my point of view, I think you're doing a pretty good job…"

Haures: "No, that's not true. I think I talk a little too stiffly myself… and to top it off, I've always had a hard time talking to women I don't know."

Lucas: "Yes, yes ♪ It seems that both of you have done a good job on self-analysis.

I think that is a very good thing.

To overcome a weakness, it is important to look at yourself first. If you practice with that in mind.... I am sure you will do well on the real thing.

Well then...

Let's start practicing attending to guests, shall we? I'll play as a guest-...

*Close-up* Oh? The one over there…"

> "Huh?"

Lucas seems to have noticed me watching from a distance.

Lucas: "My lord. You are just in the right moment. If you don't mind… would you like to be our practice partner?"

> "Practice partner?"

Lucas: "Yes. We would like you to play as the guest ♪ Of course, only if the Lord is willing to…"

> "If you're fine with me, let me help"

Lucas: "Fufu ♪ Thank you very much, my lord."

Haures: "We appreciate it, my lord."

Bastien: "I am more motivated to practice now that I know the lord is watching us."

Lucas: "Yes, that's right. Now then, I will ask you two to treat the lord as if they were the guests. There is only one trick in attending to guests:

"Think about how you can please the other person". Keeping this in mind, you should act proactively."

Haures: "I see. It's important to take the initiative…"

Bastien: "But... How do you know what will please them?"

Lucas: "That's the thing. You have to "observe them carefully."

We can read a person's personality and preferences from the way they speak, their facial expressions, and so on.

What they are thinking, what mood they are in... things like that"

Bastien: "Hmm... Observe them and find out what they are thinking.... I see. It's kind of like fighting."

Haures: "Yeah… I guess you could say that."

Lucas: "Exactly ♪ So it shouldn't be too difficult. Both of you should be doing the same thing in battle all the time."

Bastien: "You're right…  I think I can do it, too. I can observe them and see what they are thinking… 

what their personality is like, what their tastes are…"

Bastien is staring into my eyes.

> "U-uhm…"

Bastien: "Hmm… Mr. Lucas. We have a problem."

Lucas: "Hm? What's wrong, Bastien?"

Bastien: "I've been observing the lord, as you asked, but… I know the lord well without having to observe them."

Haures: "Well, that's true. I already know the lord's personality and preferences as well."

> "I-I see…"

Lucas: "Fufu ♪ That's of course within my predictions. So I'm going to ask the lord… to do a little bit of acting."

> "Acting?"

Lucas: "Yes. I'm going to tell the lord about a simple setting in secret… Your goal is to be able to see through that setting and provide the best possible service for the guest."

Haures: "I see… Understood. I guess I should think of them as "a guest" rather than "my lord"."

Lucas: "That's right. Let's start with you, Bastien."

Bastien: "Yeah. I'm looking forward to work with you."

> "I wonder if I can play it well…"

Lucas: "Fufu, It's all right. It's just a simple scene. 

*Close-up* Well then, my lord. The first scene is...."

Lucas approached me and whispered in my ear.

Lucas: "Please do "a guest who is depressed because of a mistake." "

> "O-okay…"

Prev | All | Next

[blazehedgehog]

Why in your opinion do the humans have less of a body stigma compared to the anthropomorphic animals in Sonic? Notably, the developers elect that Sonic and his anthro animal friends should never have their gloves and shoes removed (not real animals ones like Flicky or Pocky), but Eggman does not have the same limitation so in the Olympics, his feet can be seen in some sports.

Because the animals aren't human. Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Also, when you remove literally the only piece of clothing they wear, it's not only like stripping them literally naked, it's removing some of the only markers of their whole identity.

A character like Sonic is actually an incredibly simple design when you consider what a modern character looks like nowadays.

Sonic is mostly a solid color, made out of simple shapes. He is all silhouette. Maintaining those visual shapes is key to what he looks like. The white gloves against the blue body, the bright red of the shoes denoting where the "bottom" of Sonic is, the triangles that represent Sonic's ears, all of it subconsciously helps you orient the character in your head.

If you took Marcus's gloves off, you might not even notice. Take Sonic's gloves off, and it will be the only thing you notice. This is why some people got so bent out of shape about Sonic's blue arms.

You mess with the way these colors mix and sit on top of each other and the whole thing breaks. That simplicity is a very delicate balance that must be maintained. He was designed to look an extremely specific way on purpose and he's not a person you can just throw a different jacket on.

This is also why for Smash Bros., the licensed characters often have so few alt costumes. It's not just Sonic, after all. Changing what Pac-man looks like isn't just a simple costume change.

When your house is built using only four bricks, changing or removing one of those bricks might spell disaster unless you go slowly and plan carefully.

Now you mentioned Eggman, and that Eggman doesn't have those limitations. He's still a cartoon character, just like Sonic, right? Yes, but Eggman also has a history of being a more complex design and much closer to humanoid in silhouette. He's also had a larger history of looking more different across interpretations, so there's more wiggle room to change his look compared to Sonic. Borrowing an image from Kotaku:

And, obviously, this isn't even all of Eggman's looks. Right from some of the earliest interpretations, there has been a history of portraying this guy having varying costumes and proportions. It's more a part of his identity.

But the longer Sonic is Sonic, the more set in stone his visual identity is. It's all about precedent and not changing what already works. That is how businesses operate. If it's making money, preserve that momentum as much as possible.

And, historically, Sonic is the immutable star, while Sega has always been a lot more willing to mess around with Eggman.

[possessionisamyth]

Since that person said to ignore or block them for their post if there's disagreement, I will respect that and just make my own post.

Why is RE5 labelled racist and not RE4? Well, there's two things going on here. First, the original RE4 was kinda racist too. There's Ada Wong's depiction, the people in Spain weren't speaking Spain Spanish but Latin American Spanish and some of it was just gibberish. There's the "mexican yellow filter" layered on top of the village segment. Yet, the word we're actually looking for when it comes to the issues of Resident Evil 4 is xenophobia not racism. Everything is going under the cut because there's a lot here. Pardon for any typos, and there are links attached.

I genuinely think an RE5 Remake would be a reboot due to it's issues and the story direction changes RE4 Remake has made. If that helps get an idea of my thoughts before you click that button, you've been warned.

What's the difference? Let's look at the dictionary terms according to the merriam-webster dictionary.

Xenophoba- Fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.

Racism- A belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

A further example of the difference here is a French white person can be xenophobic to a Polish white person showing that same hatred, but it's not racism because both parties still benefit from the privileges provided to them due to the color of their skin and lack of ethnic features.

So what's the difference between the RE4 and RE5 depictions, and why is RE5 labelled as racist? Starting with the setting, RE4 is set in Spain. It's not set in Mexico, or Brazil, or Cuba, but it is in Spain. Spain is a colonial power who colonized huge areas of South America. The reason there are so many english speakers in North America is the same reason there are so many spanish speakers in South America. Which is the brutalization and murder of the people and their cultures to force assimilation into another culture. Here is the Britannica article [X] and a list of a colonies Spain exerted control over if you scroll to the bottom [X].

Spain as a country and a culture have the same foot to stand on when it comes to being turned into mindless zombies and being killed as US Americans, British, French, Canadians and so on from a world perspective. There are very obvious classism themes going into play for this village Leon has stumbled into and proceeds to shoot his way through including how the houses are built and what the bridges are made from.

The most important distinction is that RE4 has villagers, soldiers, monsters, cultists, a man dressed as a priest, and another man cosplaying as a Spanish colonizer. You know what they don't have? They don't have enemies dressed up in luchador outfits, fiesta outfits, or wearing big sombreros. The only blonde woman they're seen trying to steal and infect is the character you have to save, get to know as a person, and get to play as in a game segment. Plus the person pulling all the strings is another white man looking for power like the Spanish did when they killed all those people historically speaking.

On the other hand, what colonizers did to the entire continent of Africa was so awful many labeled it The Rape of Africa. Historians later labeled it The Scramble for Africa, yet the history remains as bloody and grotesque regardless of the title.

Spain did have it's own tragedies, but you don't want to read all of that history junk. You want to know why RE5 is labelled racist specifically! It's just a video game. Sure there was the tribal costume for Sheva, but that's the worst of it. I mean RE5 is just RE4 with a setting change and with Chris instead of Leon, right? Yes and No. Let's list the similarities first and bleed into the differences.

Evil white guy seeks power and discovers a resource he can use to gain power. (Saddler with the plaga in amber, Wesker with the sonnentreppe flowers for Uroboros)

Heroic white guy comes on the scene based on a tip they received so they can find a particular woman. (Chris for Jill, Leon for Ashley)

Both groups that the player has to kill are infected with parasites.

Both protagonists deal with an infected population where the line between their humanity and inhumanity is questioned due to their ability to communicate and use tools to further their goals to kill and infect.

Both games have the player enter a village where it's clear the place isn't the richest and- wait a minute. Wait a minute!

The town we enter in RE5 is being occupied by the military on the hunt for terrorists. It looks like it used to be in pretty good shape, but based on the random plumes of smoke and what appears to be previously bombed rooftops, it's clear this place has been through some shit which can be based on the amount of damage these buildings have. The houses in the village in RE4 look as though they were falling apart due to age and negligence not outer forces. In RE5 we also keep seeing the imagery of killed livestock unlike in RE4 where the player is responsible for most dead livestock. So Plaga Type-1 can take care of their animals but Plaga Types 2 and 3 don't care? Well, that probably has nothing to do with the location.

Speaking of location, did anyone else notice whereas in RE4 the locations get more modern and/or expensive you can visibly see where the money has gone, but in RE5 the locations get more ancient and tribal themed until you have to deal with Wesker? Just me? Okay, back to the similarities.

Both the plaga amber and the sonnentreppe flowers have been there for hundreds of years, and the- hold on a second. Ramon's family was responsible for making sure the amber never got out. They sealed the place up because they knew it was dangerous. The sonnentreppe flowers were used by the Ndipaya tribe in West Africa to determine who would rule them and their king would then become super human. They fled when their empire fell, labeled it as sacred ground and sent men of their tribe as soldiers to guard it, and then later lost that sacred land to a corporate militia. Ramon opened up the amber caves to Saddler willingly after his parent's "mysterious death and disappearance." Hmm.

Ramon is a descendant of a famous colonizer. The Ndipaya tribe was doing some messed up eugenics tests as The Right of Kings, stopped doing that to turn the zone into holy ground, and then were removed from their own land by a foreign power. Hm. This is starting to sound familiar in a bad way.

Okay, but no one cares about that stuff! No one thinks that deep in the lore or set pieces. The people claiming racism are "blowing up" about RE5 when it comes to the visuals. All right. Let's talk about those because you are right! The visuals are the meat of the racism label.

Remember how I said RE4 doesn't have ganados running around in sombreros and luchador or fiesta outfits which would actually be racist? Let's look at the majini.

Both the ganados and the majini are being used by their specific higher ups, (Saddler's cult and Tricell) to act as a militia force in order to protect foreign interests. As a result both parties are hostile and murderous to outsiders.

Both games gives distinct costuming to differentiate stronger enemies. For RE4 you have Salvador, El Gigante, J.J. the gatling man isn't great imagery for Spain not going to lie. There's the bella sisters. The group that has the most distinct costuming due to them being bags are the cultists as the soliders just line up with Krauser's choice in wear.

Now the majini are- oh. Okay, gattling gun majini and gattling ganado cancel each other out. The rest though... Okay, Executioner is probably supposed to be like Salvador, but we get a chainsaw majini segment so the Executioner must be like the Bella Sisters? Okay, there are two of executioners so that's what we're going to claim. Big Man Majini? They didn't even give him shoes or a shirt. He's just in short pants. I can't think of a ganado comparison that would even this out. Giant maijini? Why do they have those masks on?!?! Why are they running around with rope loincloths?!!! Stop being so tall!!! Get down from there! Yeah but El Gigante was, no no, RE5 also gets their own El Gigante, the Giant Majini were a different enemy. Okay but the rest of the Ndipaya are supposed to be like the cultists and- hello? What do you mean there was a letter written by a dying child in that village that the surviving Ndipaya men put on the ceremonial outfits before they started their killing activity?

But the cultists also wore ceremonial outfits! Okay, but I don't think I need to explain the visual difference between wearing a long black dress versus putting on ceremonial clothing and body paint used only for special occasions. If you need a comparison, the cultists dressed that way to show dedication to their religion similar to nuns so they wore it everyday. The Ndipaya tribe wore normal clothes up until infection where they then dressed up in their special formal costumes so they could look more tribal for the section where the player gets to kill them all. That's not great. At all.

I think the overall reception for this game being labelled as racist or not racist has to do with people just wanting to enjoy the game and ignore the issues, and people talking about the issues in a way that isn't exactly concise. We know black people were on the development team according to an MTV interview with RE5 Producer Jun Takeuchi [X]. According to him, the team valued the opinions of their black members during development and were constantly checking with them.

We know many people writing articles trying to debunk the racism label were running to Glenn Bowman who is an anthropologist and Sue Clark who at the time was the head of the British Board of Film Classification wherein both parties stated the game was not racist. [X] But when it comes to Glenn's comments, it turns out he wasn't an expert on race relations at all. [X] I tried digging deeper into the source, but the blog post exposing videogamer.com is now gone. Yet, I can look up Glenn Bowman and see that he's a retired professor. A retired white professor who was an expert on international relations like in Palestine, Israel, and Yugoslavia. [X] Not race relations. So the fact that everyone was referencing these two people as sources for the game not being racist does concern me.

Look, RE4 dropped in 2005. The conversation about it's racial and xenophobic issues were held mostly between the small RE circles people managed to find and other people of color who played the game at the time of it's release. This is also if those circles even brought up the topic because it was such a game changer for the genre, the issues it had were an afterthought until later on.

RE5 dropped in 2009. Social media was just getting it's foot in the door outside of forums. The first black president had been in office for a year, and conversations about race were finally being brought back to the table in a way that wasn't immediately humorous or dismissive because "things had gotten better". The US cultural consensus during the 2000s was a situation where the middle class felt like everyone had a seat at the table when it came to discussions of race. That's one of the reasons why looking at that decade of films you'll see things about race that would never pass into a final script today. I mean Tropic Thunder came out in 2008, and the negative reception it received still didn't "blow up" as understood public knowledge until a couple years after the fact. Some black people thought it was a hilarious when it dropped, and those were the voices being highlighted.

When and why people are saying RE5 is racist is because like many things of the 2000s, there are concepts in there that have aged like milk. They are offensive, outdated, and based on negative stereotypes given to an entire continent of people and the people who are descendants of the slaves reaped from those countries.

Yet, the scene that people bring up the most in this game other than th Ndipaya tribe is the classic racist fear mongering image where we see a dark skinned black man violently yank a blonde white woman away from safety while she screams for help. Does this remind you of the "Mad Brute" poster by Harry R Hopps. Or "America’s desire — Europe’s fate" from the Fliegende Blätter. Or the assumed excuse a lot of black men got lynched for? I understand this town is supposed to be horrible and the majini the victims, but I have to ask why it was specifically a white woman with blonde hair instead of a black woman being yanked into that building while she screamed for help. That is such a strong visual decision to make in the middle of this town in an African country where we also see a black woman walking by carrying a basket on her head at the beginning of the game. So the black women are still here, but they're not even cast into the role of a throwaway victim in this game?

To answer why is RE5 racist and not RE4, I've said a lot here. If the story is set in Africa, of course Chris is going to be killing african zombies. That's what we're going to see. That's not the racist part when here are other zombies who are not visibly black in those crowds that mob the player. What is racist is seeing the racially charged tribal imagery to frame these victims of this tragedy as monsters. What we need to see in instead if we get a remake is a concentrated effort to focus on Tricell and Wesker and the last tendrils of Umbrella as the bad guys.

These are places being occupied by corporate interests, and people being experimented on and tortured for corporate profits. Yet we have a location where something sacred was not only thematically framed in a way that justifies the extinction of an ancient tribe, but their descendants are then punished for it through being lied to and tricked under the promise of receiving healthcare.

RE5 is racist not because a white guy is killing african zombies in an african country. RE5 is racist because it tries to take a story about colonialism and racism and the structural failings of the government and doesn't execute it well. And we know it doesn't because people are still having these conversations long after it's release despite it's financial success.

[maggie32432]

Prisoners - Finnick Odair Imagine (Part 3)

Finnick Odair and Sirena Nighthart both won their respective Hunger Games at age 14. Both from District 4. Finnick and Sirena both grow up in the Capitol, though keeping their distance from each other. What happens when both get reaped at the Quarter Quell for the 75th Hunger Games?

Third POV

A few floors above Finnick and Sirena are Peeta and Katniss.

This morning Haymitch Abernathy is taking the time to show Peeta and Katniss all the tributes that they will be facing. Tributes that he is all too familiar with. 

"Cashmere and Gloss. Brother and sister from District 1," he says while showing the pair of siblings on the screen. Both tall and extremely well-built for the Games.  "They won back-to-back Games. Capitol favorites, lots of sponsors, and will indeed be lethal," 

The screen switches to Brutus and Enobaria from District 2.  "What's with her teeth?" Katniss asks, referring to the sharpened teeth on the woman, 

"She had them filed into fangs so she could rip people's throats out," Haymitch says, increasing the nerves of both Peeta and Katniss. 

"District 3. Wiress and Beetee. Not fighters, but indeed brilliantly intelligent," Haymitch says, showing the two older tributes on the screen,  "He won his games by electrocuting six tributes at once," 

They both raise their eyebrows, impressed that anyone without fighting skills was capable of winning the games, 

"District 6. The morphlings. Basically, won their Games by hiding until everyone else was dead," Haymitch explains, "Self-medicating ever since. Which I applaud, but indeed not a threat," He says. 

The screen switches to reveal a blonde man with a white sweater on the screen, a smirk plastered on his face. Beside him is an intense-looking girl with bright blue hair and shocking blue eyes, she doesn't share the same smirk, but instead a serious look and sharp jawline.  "Finnick Odair and Sirena Nighthart, right?" Katniss asks, 

"Yes, both from District 4. Both won their respective back-to-back Games at age 14, being the youngest ever. They both are the Capitol darlings and are deeply loved here. Finnick is known to be extremely charming and smart. He and Sirena are both extremely skilled in combat, particularly in water," 

"What are their weaknesses?"  "None. That I currently know of," he says, making Katniss and Peeta both more nervous. 

Sirena's POV

I stand intensely still as about a dozen designers and make-up artists work on my face, hair, and costume for the tribute parade.  My dress is blue and quite ocean-y, which is always the goal for District 4. 

Lots and lots of sparkles on my nails, lips, and face. I also have this huge and heavy seashell crown on top of my head. 

I groan as my hair is yanked to be put up in a big dramatic braid. Blue and gold makeup is done on my face while I watch in the mirror, they do fish-scale-looking makeup on the sides of my face. My lipstick is also a vibrant blue and purple color. 

As it all comes together I do admit that I kinda look badass, and much cooler than I did the first time around.  I get guided by all sorts of people down to where the chariots are awaiting us.

Just before I enter the area Finnick walks over to me. 

His costume is insanely more simple than mine is. He has no shirt on and has a fishing net type of bottoms on.  I can't help myself but stare just a little bit at his bare chest.

Just a little.

"Hey, Blue," he says with a grin and I raise an eyebrow,  "C'mon if we're gonna be fighting for our lives together I may as well give you a nickname, right?" he asks and I smile just a little bit, 

together

"You look gorgeous, by the way," he grins and I roll my eyes,  "Flattery gets you nowhere, Odair,"  He smirks while taking my hand to walk into the main area. The hand holding is only a strategy at this point to get people to be on our side and adore us.

That's been the goal since we were 14 years old. 

On the way to our chariot, we say hello to dozens of people that we both know including some victors we will have to fight very very soon.

I continue to remind myself to put on a smile, at least for now. I've always been known to be much more soft-spoken than Finnick, so in some ways, I'm relying on him to strengthen allies for both of us. 

I look to my left to see Katniss Everdeen, and I gotta admit, she is pretty damn intimidating. "Should we go introduce ourselves?" Finnick asks me with a grin and I simply nod. 

He keeps holding my hand, which I appreciate.  "Katniss," I say and she turns to both of us walking over to her, 

"Sirena. Finnick." She says and Finnick asks,  "You want a sugar cube?" 

Where the hell did he find that?

"I mean they're supposed to be for the horses, but they got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I...well if we see something sweet, we better grab it," he says in his charismatic voice. 

Is that flirting? 

"No thanks. But I would love to borrow that outfit someday," Katniss says to him, and I smirk as does he.  "Well, you look pretty terrifying in that getup. What happened to the pretty little girl dresses?" he asks cockily, 

"I outgrew them,"  "You certainly did," he says with a grin, 

"Shame about the Quell thing. You could've made out like a bandit in The Capitol. Jewels, money, anything you wanted," He says,  "Well I don't like jewels and I have more money than I need, so... What do you both do with all your wealth, anyway?" she asks, 

"We don't deal in money," I say, speaking for the both of us,  "Then what riches do you have?"  "Secrets," I reply with a smile,  "What about you, Girl on Fire? Got any secrets worth my time?" He asks, stepping close to her, 

"I'm an open book. Everyone seems to know my secrets before I know them myself," She replies 

I like her 

"Unfortunately, I think that's true," he says, and he turns to see Peeta and Cinna walking over to us, 

"I'm sorry you had to cancel your wedding, I know how devastating that must be for you, " Finnick taunts, leading me to smile again.

We all are well aware of the fact that their love story is a complete sham, anyone trying to survive the Games would've done the same thing.

[karizard-ao3]

Here's a deleted scene from my current wip. It's pretty much definitely not making it into the fic, but i liked it, so here it is.

(For context, Eren and Mikasa have become friends again after a 13 year estrangement and neither will admit that they have renewed their former crushes on each other. Historia is in town visiting and is aware of Eren's feelings for Mikasa and wants them to get together.)

Mikasa and Mason looked at each other when the knock sounded on the front door. They weren’t expecting anyone.

“What if it’s a bad guy?” Mason whispered. “Don’t answer it!”

Mikasa held her finger to her lips and slipped over to peer through the peephole. “It’s just Eren and some people,” she said. “I can’t tell, but I think the short one might be Armin somehow?”

“Oh, okay,” said Mason, getting up to stand behind her as she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.

“Hi!” said Eren, beaming at her. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes had a glassy sheen Mikasa would have recognized even if there hadn’t been alcohol on his breath. At his elbow, Historia was swaying on her feet, and Ymir was standing behind them both, managing to scowl and smile at the same time.

“Um, hi,” said Mikasa.

“Hi!” said Historia, surging forward and wrapping Mikasa in a hug.

“Oh, my!” said Mikasa. “Um, hello!”

“Good to see you again,” said Ymir, leaning forward and shaking Mikasa’s hand.

“Get off her,” said Eren, pushing them both away, then putting his arm around Mikasa’s shoulder. “Mom’s watching the girls. We’re here to see Adri’s costume. Hi, Mason.” He held out his fist for a bump, which Mason eagerly delivered.

“I was actually just working on it,” Mikasa said, motioning towards her sewing machine. “It’s almost done.”

“You’re coming trick-or-treating with us, right?” Historia asked, coming in and plopping down on Mikasa’s couch.

“Yeah!” said Mason before Mikasa could answer. “Wanna see my costume?”

Historia pointed at him. “Yes I do, little dude.”

Mason scampered to his room.

“Here,” said Eren, producing a bottle of cola from his sweatshirt pocket and handing it to Mikasa. “Help yourself.”

Mikasa unscrewed the cap and was instantly overpowered by the stinging scent of hard liquor and black licorice. “Christ! Is this Jagermeister?”

“Heh heh yeah,” said Eren. It had been his signature drink at parties in the old days: Eren Jaeger with his trademark bottle Jager. Girls always commented on it, giggling and batting his arm and asking for a sip.

“I don’t really like Jager,” Mikasa confessed, handing the bottle back. Eren’s face fell while Historia cackled.

“Same. But don’t worry. I got you, doll,” said Ymir, dipping into her purse and handing Mikasa a water bottle with glinting flecks at the bottom.

“Goldschlager?” Mikasa asked, raising her eyebrows and uncapping the bottle, sniffing it to confirm. Cinnamon. There it was.

“Nostalgic, right?” said Ymir. “Did all the girls at your high school love it or was it just my lady wife?”

“It was all of us, unfortunately,” Mikasa said, shaking her head with an amused sparkle in her eyes and taking a swig. “I didn’t even know they still made this.”

“Me, either,” said Ymir. “Eren and Hissy were reminiscing about their teenage party days, so we stopped by the liquor store on the way over to see if we could find any of their old faves.” She raised an eyebrow. “We were unfortunately successful.”

“What’s wrong with Jager?” Eren pouted.

“Everything!” Historia giggled.

“I just don’t care for it,” said Mikasa, recalling far too many drunken nights with the other art club kids, hunched over the toilet, her stomach churning as the lingering taste of anise on her tongue gagged her. Jagermeister was a liquor she always ended up tasting twice, once in each direction, but she had insisted on drinking it anyway, solely because of its connotation with Eren’s last name and her hopeless, teenage crush on him. “Yeah, no, I actually hate it,” she admitted. “Just the smell of it…” She stuck her tongue out, clutching her belly. “Bleugh. No more Jager for me. Ever.”

Eren dropped his arm from around her shoulder and sank onto the couch next to Historia, brushing his fingers through his long, brown hair and staring into the middle distance, utterly crushed.

“Awwwww!” said Historia, squeezing him around the middle. “Cheer up, bucko. It’s just booze. It’s not personal.”

Eren looked down at her, then reached up to ruffle her Goldschlager blonde hair with a weary sigh. “I forgot you’re nice sometimes.”

“Dweeb,” said Historia, squeezing him again.

Mikasa’s lips thinned and she turned away to go check on Mason and see if he needed help with his costume. He flung his door open just as she was positioning her knuckle to knock. “Ta da!” he announced.

Historia squealed, jumping off the couch and running over to look at him.

“I’m a cat,” said Mason. The explanation was redundant. Anyone who looked at him could recognize what animal he was dressed as.

“You look so good!” said Historia, pinching his pointy, pink-lined ears.

Mason dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a stuffed fish skeleton. “Look! Mom made me a prop,” he said, popping the piscine plushie into his mouth and curling his fingers to mimic paws.

Historia screamed, clapping her hands.

“Calm down, babe,” said Ymir.

“But he’s a cat!” said Historia. “An’ he’s got a lil fish!”

“Wait until you see Adri’s costume,” said Eren, leaning forward, his good cheer returning now that he remembered his excuse for their visit. “Mikasa sews. She’s so good at it. She's, like… so good at it. But, I mean, what else would you expect from a bona fide professional artist? Did I tell you she's a professional artist? She draws. Professionally.”

"Oh my God, I know," said Historia.

"Silence, drunkards," said Ymir. "Mikasa. Show us the masterpiece."

Mikasa flushed and went to retrieve Adri's costume. While her back was turned, Historia plopped back onto the couch next to Eren, then clasped her hands together and pressed them against her cheek, making pointed kissy faces at him. He planted his hand in the middle of her face and pushed her away. They were glaring at each other when Mikasa turned back around, holding the structured, quilted, tan bundle she had been working on. "Please moderate your expectations," she said, shaking it out. “Eren’s just talking me up.”

“That’s freaking awesome!” Eren crowed, leaping to his feet to grab the costume from her while Historia shrieked again, kicking her feet with delight.

"It's a peanut," Mason said, redundantly. Everyone who was looking at the costume could tell what legume Adri was going to be.

"Um, there's more," said Mikasa, fetching the rest of the costume and holding it up next to the peanut shell Eren was showing off. There was a pink, conical princess’s hennin with a trailing tulle plume sprouting from the tip and a pink velvet cape trimmed with lighter pink fake fur. There was a gaudy, bejeweled clasp at the neck to hold it in place.

"No! I love it!" Historia screeched. "Oh my god! Junior's going to look like shit next to these two!"

"Oh no! I hope not!" said Mikasa, fingertips flying to her lips.

"Yeah, everyone's going to see Junior and know you're a bad mom," Eren jeered.

“Eren!” Mikasa gasped.

"Shut up, douchebag!" said Historia. "Adri only has a good costume because you're mooching off your little g-"

Eren leaped towards her and clapped his hand over her mouth. "You shut up! You fucking- Ugh!" His mouth fell open, disgust twisting his features. "Did you just fucking lick me?"

Historia began to crack up, her snickers muffled by Eren's palm. He jerked his hand away, wiping it on his pants. "What the hell?"

"You know there's a child present, right?" Ymir observed, flicking a finger towards Mason, who was taking note of all the interesting words and their usages.

Eren and Historia blanched in unison. "Um…" said Eren.

"Fuck," said Historia.

"What's fuck?" said Mason.

"Well, time for us to go," said Ymir, herding Eren and Historia towards the door. "Thank you for your hospitality, Mikasa. We'll see you tomorrow?"

"Um, yeah," said Mikasa.

"Mom, I said, 'What's fuck?'" said Mason.

"Later, Mase," she said, following her unanticipated guests to the door. "Thanks for stopping by."

"They'll be better behaved tomorrow," said Ymir, pushing them both over the threshold. Eren turned around and elbowed his way past her and back inside, sweeping Mikasa into a hug.

"Bye," he said.

"Um, bye," she said, patting his shoulder.

"Bye," he said again, squeezing her tighter.

"Okay, bye," Mikasa laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow. Go drink some water."

"Okay," said Eren, resting his head on her shoulder. “Bye.”

"You know what? I have something I'm going to give you," said Mikasa, trying to squirm out of his grip. "I think you might need it."

He pulled back to look at her. "What is it?"

"One second," she said, extricating herself and hurrying to the bathroom medicine cabinet. She returned a moment later with a bottle of charcoal pills. She handed them to Eren. "Take a few of those tonight," she said. "It'll help with your hangover."

Eren held them to his heart. "I won't let anyone else touch them," he vowed.

"They're for all of you," Mikasa laughed. "Share them around."

"You're an angel," Eren said, moving to hug her again. Historia leaned through the door and smacked him. He looked over his shoulder at her, his lip curling. "What?!"

"Let's go!" she said, grabbing the back of his sweatshirt and giving him a good yank.

"I'm not ready to leave!" he protested as Ymir and Historia manhandled him through the door.

"Bye, Mikasa!" said Ymir, pulling the door shut behind them.

"Bye," said Mikasa, although there was no one left to hear her but Mason.

"They were acting weird," he observed. "Do you think it's because they're so excited for Halloween?"

"Yes, I do," said Mikasa.

[siremasterlawrence]

The Dawning Of The Sun Part 2/2

It is a untold sight of beauty brimming us in the heat of the sunlight over The Great City of Metropolis The home of The Man Of Steel the city is blinded with light.

A giant billboard almost the same height of The Daily Planet buildings globe a screen is activating for the first time showcasing a ad for the next Presidential campaign.

A black screen appears quickly light stirs in the back a spot light exposes him in mid way of the scene droning about whatever I scripted for him.

The video is captivating the citizens of this fair city especially piquing the interest of one person in particular a Mr. Clark Kent who is on a mission.

Avoiding his current assignment Clark digs for his cellphone pressing a contact the cell phone rings calling a private number to whom a stranger answers.

“Mr. Kent, how can I help you? Yes I do Mr.

Allen. I can get you a meeting.” The stranger replies making another call and then texting the Clark details.

Mr. Kent smirks heading him to change his clothes, he packs his costume in a suitcase he dashes out catching a cab he is on a mission.

Clark steps into the building with an air of The House Of L confidence rising into him he is right to not trust the President Allen’s campaign plans.

Clark strolls onto the elevator alerting all go my AI system of his presence my faint ideas of what this meeting is about are now ended.

The camera moving in a odd array of moves

scanning his body entirely with a x-ray and interface gives me a blueprint copy of his body.

“My, my….what are you hiding from me Mr. Kent?” I say analyzing his non human scan of his physiology a body worthy of a gold medal.

“Oh Mr. Kent, you want to see me well I do say it’s honor to meet The Man of Steel himself.” I answer in to the speaker.

Clark looks up in a state of confusion he is caught off guard when the elevator takes advantage of shaft dropping in a free fall.

Clark no longer in the illusion of his secret identity he flew off the ground breaking into the roof but he is unable to he through.

He fell back onto the bottom cart the box goes haywire as Clark loses his mind at the scene the room goes black spiral paste on to the ceiling.

“You are right on time Clark focus onto the ceiling let it draw you in, relinquishing all of your control and forgetting everything else.”

“Your body stuck the floor of the cart a heat wave of psychological and physical pain is overtaking you with kryptonite inducing led”

“NNNNNNOOOOOOOO! I refuse to let you win this, I will never allow you to control me, I am The Man Of…I mean the Pussy of Steel”

“MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

“You vile flee ridden fiend you won’t get away this.”

“Even with your own eminent defeat you still defy me.”

“I won’t…..aaaaaaahhhhhh”

“You will kneel, you will bow and obey”

“Cat got your tongue”

“Activate manipulation row full throttle”

“Time to meet your maker”

“Your ultimate demise begins now”

The elevator implodes from inside forming a shield covering The Man Of Steel in a green cascade spinning in mid air exposing his body and mind to my brainwashing.

“Allow me if you will to construct the real a plus grade of truth for to envision who and what you are.”

“Your family hates, your friends hate you, the world fears you and view how I am the only who care about you.”

“I own you Superman, I am your maker, your creator and owner”

“You bound to me for your life you are not hero”

“Say it boi”

“No……….I”

“I Said Say It”

“I am not a hero….oooooohhhhhh….aaahhh”

“Oh God! I am your Master Lawrence “

“You can stand up now and greet your ole protege”

“Superboy”

The end

[ladyinsertnamehere]

Roses and Thorns part 4

I know it’s no longer Halloween but it was already after Halloween when I thought of this idea and it’s a Halloween fic here you go

Fair warning: mentions of fake blood, dehumanizing use of the word ‘it’, Ardie used as a prop, Ardie is subsequently ignored by people who think he’s just an actor in makeup, typical Damion-is-an-asshole

And special thanks once again to @magziemakeswhatever . If you, too, wanna be tagged, feel free to ask

A knock at the door. Darius opened the door, a sweet smile on his face. He bent down to the eye level of the trick-or-treaters, delightedly commenting on their costumes.

“Look at you!” he cooed, “Aw, you’re the scariest vampire I’ve seen tonight!”

Beatrice slipped behind him to see if she could have a look at the little ones. Sure enough, there was a little vampire staring up at him, orange pumpkin bucket in hand. His lips were painted with fake blood, dripping down his chin for effect. She knew this because Darius told her after the first trick-or-treater, sensing her concern.

Beatrice, with her cat ear headband and her nose and cheeks painted to look like a cat face, squealed with delight. The kids looked so cute in their costumes; the vampire was flanked by a clown in a rainbow Afro and red nose, and a fairy princess dressed in a white puffy dress and carrying a plastic wand.

Darius held out the bowl full of candy he’d arranged by the door, picking up a handful to put in the vampire’s bucket. Beatrice did the same for the other children, wanting to help.

The fairy princess caught a glimpse of Ardal, most definitely not dressed up and instead curled up and sinking into the couch. She smiled and waved at him. In response, Ardal gave the most guttural growl he could muster, staring deep into her eyes. She giggled at his stone-cold expression and ‘scary’ growling, thanked Darius, and trotted off with the rest of her trio.

________________________

Ardie thrashed around in its cage, shaking the bars. Every time a group would come by, the pet would beg for help. It would sob and scream from within the tiny metal cage, he’d try to get them to understand. And every time, the group commented on how realistic these haunted house decorations felt. They praised the pet’s acting skills, the makeup they used to paint the scars on its back, the way it was able to cry on command. Many sped right through. A few kicked Ardie’s cage to show their friends how “tough” they were.

In a quiet moment, Ardie had resigned himself to laying, curled up, at the bottom of the cage. The pet’s throat was sore and scratchy from yelling, though its ears perked up upon hearing footsteps come around the corner. To the pet’s dismay, the sound only belonged to the one who had imprisoned it here.

“Alright, Ardie?” Damion asked, almost teasingly. “How ya holdin’ up?”

“You’re a monster,” was the only thing Ardie’s shot voice could manage. Damion laughed, “Yeah, I know. Fitting, isn’t it? Kept in a cage…by a monster…on Halloween…”

“Fuck you.”

“Hey, listen, Tris’s been especially good tonight, so would it be okay for me to let her man the payments for the rest of the night?”

Ardie shot up, darting to its hands and knees. “WHAT?” the pet protested, “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Damion teased, turning on his heel and sauntering back down the hall. “Thanks, Ardie.”

Ardie became furious, rattling the bars of the cage once more. “YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME HERE, ASSHOLE! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME HERE!! PLEASE! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME, YOU CAN’T!”

The next batch of haunted house guests were greeted by the pet in the cage, screaming and sobbing once more.