#first slug encounter

[sinkdogs]

doodles of my slugsona

[ssluggishh]

met a celebrity tonight

[polarspaz]

TrueSight AU

Basically this show Anakin's first time seeing the Snail Jedi deity that lives outside the temple, the first time he see Obi-Wan's parasitic snail, and Anakin's first time seeing his true form.

-Anakin gained the ability to see these things after an encounter with the Slug Sith god, who grabbed Anakin and tried to bring him back into the darkness with it, but Anakin was able to get away, even though he couldn't even see the damned thing.

-Obi-Wan's snail is showing it's real eyes to Anakin as a threat display. Now that it knows Anakin can see it, it is unsure if Anakin will tolerate it's presence, or eat try and eat it.

-Anakin doesn't immediately change after he sees his true form but he begins to feel off, like his skin is on too tight, or like he's being wrapped up in a cage of coiled flesh. He tries to ignore it, buts as time goes on the feeling gets to be unbearable, and Anakin gives in, ripping free of his form.

[nashcigs]

arthur’s sa and bills reaction to it

this may be a little overzealous for a first post but who cares- one of the biggest complaints i see about bill williamson is his reaction to the stranger encounter in which arthur gets sa’d by sonny. i believe that many people misunderstand this scene and use it to pass judgement onto a complex and morally grey character- here’s why:

many people like to say that bill laughed at arthur for getting sa’d but this is just not true. based on how bill was speaking about the situation it seems like he was under the impression that what happened between sonny and arthur was consensual- i really don’t think for a second that bill wouldn’t have put a slug in sonny if he knew the full extent of the situation. bill was loyal to the gang and to arthur, i doubt he would have let something like that slide. next is his reaction to micah’s commeng about the girls in the camp being useless, micah makes a comment about forcing himself onto the women and bill responds “i’m sure you’ve tried” with obvious disdain. it just doesn’t make much sense how he’s react one way with arthur and another with micah who he is arguably closer with.

here are both clips, the first one being bill’s reaction to arthur and the second being bill’s reaction to micah.

i think a lot of bill’s mischaracterization stems from what he became in red dead redemption one. people focus on what he became rather than how he became who he was. i genuinely just get frustrated when i see people bring that up when anyone expresses any kind of fondness towards bill. then again, people usually hear something once then run with it so hopefully this can help some people understand where i’m coming from.

but yeah i hope you enjoyed reading lolol

[ririleil]

vampire!suna and witch!reader headcanons

a/n: these hcs are actually related to a fic i wrote write right here but they could serve as a standalone! there are more hcs under the cut so feel free to check them out! i might make a pt 2 for these hcs because i still have a whole lot of stuff for vampire!suna and witch!reader. im so sorry if this was too wordy i tried to make it as short as i could but anyways, pls do enjoy!!!

cw: mentions of death, blood, and implied sh (very mild but still, do take caution!)

masterlist

you both first met on a quiet night at a library when you stayed behind to help sort through books. you saw a sleeping suna in one of the reading alcoves. he was too still, too pale, with hands that looked too cold to be alive. you also sensed no living mana emanating from him. 

without knowing he's a vampire, you immediately assumed the worst. you thought he had died, or someone had murdered him and left his corpse to rot alone in the library. to make sure of it, you reached down to check for a pulse but felt nothing at all.

instead of calling for help, you took this chance to try out on a resuscitation or revival spell (you had a let-me-do-it-spell-first mentality)

you were halfway through the spell when he opened one eye and with cold hands, suddenly grabbed you by the wrist. 

"could you not chant a necromancy spell directly into my ear while im sleeping? thanks"

startled, you jumped back and smacked him with the nearest book you could grab (he dodged and funnily enough, the book you grabbed was about vampire anatomy and physiology)  

“you were just lying there! dead and cold!”

“uh, im literally a vampire? thats kind of my whole vibe” 

you guys had a mini back and forth banter. you were kind of embarrassed by the encounter so you scowled at him the entire time while he just smirked at your reactions. he liked how unshaken you were. most people would've just ran away from him.

and that’s where it all started. he kept showing up lately after that night. around closing time when you’re there.  

at first, you thought suna visiting the library every night was him being annoying. eventually, you realized it’s one of the only places he feels calm enough to fall asleep.

suna is that one vampire who will still and always ask for permission to come inside your house (except for that one time when he desperately needed your blood) everytime he visits without fail. he won't get in until you let him. even though vampires can enter and exit someone's property freely once already invited, suna still has the need to put distance. he even does it to mess with you for shits and giggles. in a teasing tone, he'll say something like:

"aren't you gonna let me in? or will you just stand there blocking the door?" "suna, stop messing around and just get in, will you?"

you guys banter like two roommates in a very “old couple way”. he called you a hag one time because you speak like an old witch sometimes and you retaliated by calling him nosferatu

you guys share the same humor in morbid things. no one else laughs at it. but you guys crack up everytime.

“if you bite me in my sleep, i swear i’ll curse you to puke slugs for a month” “bet”

asides the library, vampire!suna sleeps in weird places. the attic, his basement, crypts, your couch (his favorite). he dislikes coffins—claims that they are too outdated and too last century.

one of your specialties is making magical tea blends, whether it's for calming or for boosting effects, etc. you occasionally add drops of your witch blood to suna’s tea blend for him to recharge but not enough to satisfy his hunger. you didn't tell him about it but he knows. and he's silently thankful for that.

suna can turn into a bat but refuses to unless it's absolutely necessary. you once pestered him to turn into one because you haven't seen that form of him before. you already did though. once. when you saved what you thought was a regular bat but it was actually suna transformed into one and you tried to “adopt” him. 

you cast quiet wards around his resting places so no one could stumble across him or disturb him while he's asleep. suna, without your knowledge, shadows you in town at night time when you're out searching for magic items or ingredients. he just wants to make sure you're safe and doesn't want you to be alone in dark alleys (you're capable enough to defend yourself, he just wants to be there). 

suna is annoyingly fast. he moves soundlessly and appears beside people without warning, it startles them. you're the only one who doesn't flinch anymore (unless you're hyper focused with something else);

whenever he tries to scare you in that way to mess with you, it always ends in failure with you saying “you don't scare me, suna. let it go.” in a blunt tone. he's glad though, that you don't find him scary at all.

despite being dead for years, something about your exasperated sighs and your passion and dedication in spellwork make his unbeating, dead heart flicker. he likes watching you while you work and pretends not to be fascinated by you (you know he's staring but you pretend you didn't).

suna once half joked about watching everyone around him fade and die. you calmly and seriously replied “i know a few spells and rituals to stop aging or slow time if you ever get tired of being alone.” he didn't reply, but he noticed the look you gave him. it stuck with him forever.

a/n: if you've reached this part, thank you sm for reading until the end. also, did you guys catch the sinners reference?

photo credits: pinterest

dividers: @/cursed-carmine

© ririleil 2025 | do not copy, modify, repost, or translate without my permission

[ariestrxsh]

brattamer!matt x brat!reader

🥀 content warning: smut, humiliation, degradation, sneaking around, use of sex toy, edging, ruined orgasm, enemies to lovers

🥀 summary: after staying the night in a heated sexual encounter with your arch nemesis, matt, the two of you now have to keep up the charade in front of his brothers.

dividers by @/cyberangel-graphics

Hatef--k

chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

[ back to Hatef--k masterlist ] ↖

The rest of the night was calm. Matt helped me move my laundry along, gave me back my clothes, and apologized for being a dick. "Hey, I'm sorry about hiding your towel and shit. That was kinda the meanest thing I've ever done to you," Matt smiled, probably recalling what it led to. It was actually the first time Matt had ever apologized to me for anything.

"Don't be sorry. I liked it. And if you're sorry, that's kind of a turn off," I looked up at him with a twinkle in my eye and a devilish grin plastered on my face, still riding a high from the incredibly passionate sex we'd just had.

"But you seemed legit mad," he looked at me, confused. "Well, I was mad. And I liked it. Both things are true. That's part of the game, isn't it?" I rhetorically asked. Matt smirked at me.

He knew exactly what I was talking about. It was just the first time either of us had really acknowledged the dynamic for what it was. If Matt and I really didn't like each other, we'd feel indifferent in the other's presence. But the only difference between disliking someone and hating them is passion.

Matt still did little things to frustrate me and tease me the rest of the night, like constantly moving my phone in random places, or tapping me on one shoulder but standing behind me on the opposite side. I'd roll my eyes at him and slug him in the arm, but there was something about the banter that was more playful than before.

"Did you wanna sleep with me in my bed tonight?" Matt asked, avoiding eye contact and fidgeting with his rings. "Why the fuck would I wanna do that?" I asked, but I was smiling.

"Because you're a little whore, and you might want something to rub up against while you're dreaming about how I just fucked you," Matt teased me, tickling my side. "Only if you keep your hands to yourself, perv," I joked back.

I fell asleep next to Matt in his bed that night. We did try to keep our hands to ourselves, but there were a few times in our slumber where I felt him poking me in my backside with his cock, and I did find myself mindlessly rubbing up against his hip bone like a dog in heat.

Finally, around 9 a.m. the next day, I woke up to the sunshine pouring into Matt's room, and I rolled over to greet him. He looked like he had also just woken up, and his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the brightness.

"You know, I was joking when I told you I thought you were gonna rub up against me in your sleep, but you actually did it. Fucking whore," Matt teased me in his morning voice and let out a mean chuckle. "Yeah, and when I told you to keep your hands to yourself, I meant your hard on, too, perv," I rolled my eyes at him and smiled, intoxicated by the sleepiness that lingered in his words.

We heard a few noises downstairs, indicating someone had just walked in the door. Matt and I looked at each other wide-eyed, and I immediately jumped out of his bed, grabbing anything that was mine or anything that indicated I might have slept in there and booked it to Nick's room.

I frantically threw the blankets and pillows about on the bed to make it look slept in, splashed some cold water on my face in the bathroom, and stepped out to see Nick ascending the stairs in a white t-shirt, jeans, a leather jacket, and sunglasses. He always looked like a movie star. "Oh, hey. Good to see you awake. And alive," Nick laughed, stopping in the hallway. "Yeah, good to see you too," I lied.

I was definitely hoping to get another round with Matt in before either brother got home.

"Is Matt up yet?" Nick asked, motioning towards Matt's closed bedroom door. "Hmm. I don't know. Haven't seen him since last night," I lied again. Nick glided across the carpet and made his way to his room. "Jesus, was the bed comfortable? It looks like a tornado hit in here while you were sleeping," Nick joked, looking at the sheets in complete dissaray. "No, your bed was great!" I lied once more.

I had no idea if his bed was comfortable or not, considering the first time I'd stepped into his room was two minutes prior.

"I slept fine. I guess I just toss and turn a lot," I nervously laughed. Matt abruptly opened his door, startling me. My face grew hot, and my breath grew shallow. I could hear my heart thumping quickly in my chest, afraid Nick would pick up on the sudden energy shift between Matt and me.

"Hey Nick," Matt said, rubbing his eyes. "Good to see you guys didn't kill each other while we were gone," Nick said. "She tried, actually. Good thing I'm a light sleeper," Matt joked. "Move out of the way, freak. You're blocking the bathroom," Matt said, pushing past me. "Make sure you spend extra time in there. You look like shit," I responded rudely.

"Was he mean to you?" Nick asked after Matt closed the door behind him. "Not anymore than usual," I nonchalantly said. I don't know, Nick, do you consider your brother throwing me up against the wall and choking me and calling me a slut while he fucked me, mean? Because I don't know how to answer any of your questions right now.

Nick was one of those people I never lied to, but in just the past five minutes, I'd fabricated all my answers. I didn't like the act of lying, but I got excited at the idea of having a secret that nobody knew about besides Matt and me.

My phone, placed strategically on Nick's nightstand, started buzzing. It was a call from the company who was working on my water issue. "Hello?" I picked up the phone. "Hey, miss. Your water is back on, and it's all good to go. Sorry for the inconvenience," the man said over the phone. "Oh, no problem. Thanks for the update," I responded, staring Nick in the eyes, and I hung up.

"Damn," I fake sighed. "They said it's gonna be at least another day until I have running water in my apartment." Why stop lying now? "Don't worry about it. Why don't you just stay here another night?" Nick suggested, which was exactly what I was hoping he'd say. "We'll just have Matt drive you over to your apartment and get anything you need," he told me. I like the way you think, Nick.

"Oh, yeah. Matt will love that," I said, rolling my eyes but also smiling because I loved pissing him off. "What will I love?" Matt asked, walking out of the bathroom and past Nick's room. "Hey Matt, my water's still out, and Nick here, just offered to have you drive me over to my place real quick, so I can pick up some things I'll need to stay here another night. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" I taunted him, batting my eyelashes and smiling.

"I'd rather shoot myself in the foot, but I'll do it for my wonderful brother here who loves to help people by volunteering me to help them," Matt slapped Nick on the back and gave him a look. "Let's go, brat," Matt rolled his eyes and motioned for me to come towards him. Matt pushed the front door closed on me as I trailed behind him out to the yard. "Fuck you, Matt," I muttered.

Once we were outside and Nick couldn't hear us, Matt turned around, held me by my neck, and said, "What the fuck did you just say to me?" I loved the feeling of his fist tightening around my throat while he spoke to me through gritted teeth. "I said, fuck you, Matt," I repeated. "I'm gonna make you pay for that one later," he smirked, loosening his grip and getting into the car. Jesus, way to make me instantly wet, Matt.

I hopped into the passenger seat, Matt connected his phone and started playing some music, but as soon as he pulled out of the driveway, I disconnected his phone and started connecting my own. "What the fuck!?" Matt yelled, pushing my hands away from the display monitor.

"Hey, both hands on the wheel," I smiled, tickling his side and causing him to swerve. "You're gonna make me crash," Matt barked at me. "You're gonna make yourself crash. You focus on driving. We're listening to TV Girl," I said, putting on 'Cigarettes out the Window.'

"Whatever. At least it's not as annoying as some of the shit you listen to," he rolled his eyes. We pulled up to my apartment. "Wait here. I'll be just a few minutes," I told him. I didn't need much, just a pair of lounging clothes, since all the laundry over at the Sturniolos' was either gymware or my work clothes, so I picked out a tank top and shorts to sleep in. And my vibrator. God, I needed my vibrator. I knew it would be risky, but in case I didn't get to fool around with Matt that night if everyone was home, at least the vibrator was a less risky route.

As soon as I went to reach for it off the top shelf in my closet, I felt a presence come up behind me, and I immediately whipped around. "Jesus, Matt. You scared the fuck out of me," I said embarrassed as I tried to hide my vibrator behind my back. "What do we have here?" Matt said walking up to me as if he were going to hug me, but he reached around my waist and grabbed my vibrator from behind me. "Is this what you use when you think about me?" Matt teased me, examining it.

"Shut the fuck up, Matt," I rolled my eyes at him. "You know, the funniest thing happened when I walked in," Matt whispered. I looked at him inquisitively, unsure of what he was going to say next. "I turned on your faucet, and your water is just fine," Matt replied.

"I know. They called me this morning. I lied to Nick," I admitted, looking away from him. "Why'd you lie?" Matt asked, raising his eyebrows, thinking he already knew the answer. "Oh, you know, trying to save a few bucks on my water bill this month," I giggled and bit my lip.

"Bullshit. I think you were gonna prance around my house, wearing this little white tank top with no bra and these little shorts," Matt said, pointing at my clothes on the bed, "and I think you were gonna tease me all fucking night, and I'm sure you were gonna plan for me to catch you using this on yourself, huh?" He held my vibrator in front of my face. "Anything for me to fuck you silly again, huh? Are you that desperate for my cock?" Matt replied in a condescending tone. God, he was turning me on.

"Stand fucking still, you cheap little whore," Matt ordered me while he pulled down my bottoms, including my underwear. He stood behind me, his hot breath hitting the side of my neck. With one hand, he held my arms behind my back, restraining my wrists and with the other, he turned on my vibrator. Having been stripped down to nothing but my t-shirt and having Matt hindering any movement of my arms while he studied my favorite sex toy brought me to a whole new level of humiliation, and I couldn't get enough of it.

He rested my buzzing toy on my cunt, and I immediately felt my knees grow weak. He leaned in and whispered, "You're such a naughty girl. Lying to Nick. Telling me to go fuck myself. Running around my house being a little tease." I looked up at him lingering over my shoulder and let out a few soft whimpers. "You like making me angry, don't you? You love being punished when you misbehave, huh?" He cooed, and I bit my lip and nodded. "What would Nick say, knowing you lied to him so you could have another chance to get dicked down by me, huh? What do you think he'd think of you, hmm?" He teased me.

I felt the vibrations torturing my clit, reverberating throughout my being, and inching me closer to the edge with every word Matt gruffly whispered in my ear. My moans became more fervent and more desperate. "Please, Matt. I'm so close," I softly responded.

"Well, isn't that a damn shame?" He said, letting go of my wrists and turning off my vibrator, ruining my orgasm. "Put your clothes back on, whore. We should get back before Nick wonders what's taking so long," Matt smirked at me and handed me back my toy.

part four posted here 🥀

[staybabblingbaby]

Soulmate Garden AU Ch.3 (Daffodil) a2d2

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Growing up, you knew Soulmates weren't all that they cracked up to be. So when, on your 18th birthday, your skin is painted with a garden of flower buds, you resolve to hide it from everyone. Who had ever heard of someone with 8 soulmates, anyway?

Or; Reader has 8 soulmates and no issue avoiding all of them. It's up to SKZ to show her that while every soulbond might not be made of fairy tales, theirs certainly could be.

Word Count: 3,060

Notes: Happy very late birthday to my dearest moot @thatgirlangelb! Thank you for always letting me babble away in your DMs <3 You give me so much motivation to write whenever we talk, I swear over half of BFP wouldn't be written without you. You're a magical and special human being and I hope life treats you so incredibly well <<<333

This chapter is on the shorter side, but it's longer than I was expecting it to be? That seems to be the trend for SG lmao. This one actually came out pretty smoothly and there weren't as many small edits as usual. Ofc I say that and then I'll come back in 4-8 business days and absolutely abhor it lmao. I tried to make it pretty obvious who Reader encountered in this chapter before the little reveal, but y'all'll have to lmk how I did. I tried to do it with actions instead of descriptions bc I'm rlly bad at describing body shapes.

Dividers by @saradika

Warnings: She/Her Reader, allusions to past domestic violence?

Leave me comments or questions or anything! Love hearing from folks <3

Masterlist <3 | Prev Part | Next Part

Taylor spends all of the next morning bugging you about your soulmates.

It’s mostly friendly teasing, you know. A fanboy excited that you’re connected to his idols and a friend who wants you to feel more at ease in a difficult time.

It’s still annoying as hell.

Over breakfast, “Listen, I know men ain’t shit, but these ones have benefits! For me. Maybe give them a chance?”

While you brushed your teeth, “I’m all for independence! Feminism and all that. But they’ve got crazy money.”

Through the door while you were getting dressed, “They’re dancers! I’ve never met a dancer who didn’t know how to use their hips.”

Even as you were walking out the door for work, “They produce their own music, they might even write songs for you!”

You finally turn around to face him, the lucky bastard still in his pajamas since he was smart enough to get the day after the concert off from work. You place your hands on your hips and cock your head to stare him down.

Immediately he starts to stumble and sweat, your quirked eyebrow a hint to your waning patience.

“I-I just- I mean- I was just sayin’-”

You roll your eyes at him and quickly slug him in the shoulder. Ignoring his yelp of pain, you relieve him of his stuttering misery.

“Listen, I know you’re excited because I’m your Idol’s soulmate and whatnot, but I don’t even know them.” You chide him. “Besides, only Bangchan is for sure my soulmate right now. For all we know the other seven are completely unrelated.”

Taylor just gives you a flat look for that. Neither of you believed in coincidences very much, and you knew as well as he did who your remaining soulmates were.

“But you could know them,” Taylor counters, “Soulmates are a lifetime kinda thing.”

“Exactly why I don’t want to meet them right now!” You nod as if to agree with your own point, “We said we’d let fate do it’s thing and we’re gonna let it.”

Taylor opens his mouth to start bargaining with you again, so you cut him off before he could annoy you too much.

You and Taylor didn’t fight much. You’d quickly learned each other’s limits way back when you'd first moved in. Unfortunately for him, you'd woken up with a migraine this morning because of everything that had happened the night before.

He was lucky he still had a head.

“And anyway, what would I even do? Track down their hotel? Chase down their plane? Email JYPE? I’m sure they have fans claiming to be their soulmates all the time. Bangchan didn’t even seem to notice the bond forming, they’d probably file a restraining order.”

Taylor finally deflates at your argument. He’d know even better than you what kind of environment surrounded celebrities and their soulmates.

“I’m just saying,” He whines, “that you don’t have to run from them when you meet them.”

You feel your ears burn with embarrassment at the reminder of how you’d panicked last night.

After you’d dropped the Bangchan bomb on him and closed your door to get to bed, Taylor had thrown it right the way back open to interrogate you. You’d spent another hour explaining the whole harrowing tale before he’d finally let you go to bed.

It was a good thing your hours were as flexible as they were, you’d have been waking up seconds after you’d gone to sleep otherwise.

“I wasn’t gonna run!” You mutter petulantly. Taylor just raises a brow at you. You’re getting tired of how communicative his face is.

“I wasn’t!”

“If you run,” he smirks at you, eyes glinting meanly, “You owe me twenty bucks. If you don’t, I’ll owe you.”

You pout and protest, but end up shaking the devil’s hand anyways. Letting fate do it’s thing included not fleeing when you were confronted by it’s design.

You leave the house a grumpy mess, Taylor seeing you off with a blinding smile.

The rest of your day goes about as swimmingly as the start of it.

You’re already grumpy, irritated, and hurting. Your soul mark prickles at your side every now and again, as if annoyed at you for ignoring it.

You hope Bangchan isn’t experiencing the same thing, the poor guy deals with enough.

Work goes as smoothly as you always expect it to, which is not at all. There’s always some emergency to deal with, another fire to put out. Always started by someone higher than you on the corporate ladder so you can’t even yell at them.

The relief you feel when your lunch break rolls around could power a city.

You leave the building with haste, avoiding all of your coworkers as you went. It’d be a tragedy to be flagged down with more work at this exact moment.

You make your way out to mix with the crowds of L.A, letting the flow of people carry you to your destination a few blocks away: A quaint little coffee shop at the mouth of an alley.

It's quite possibly your favorite spot in the whole city. Decked out with a jungle of plants, walls crowded with framed art from a variety of local artists. The lighting was always warm and natural, large windows at the front making the tiny space feel so much larger than it was. You could even buy the pieces on display if you wanted, prices carefully stuck onto the frames.

Your point being, the vibes were immaculate.

You also swear they put something extra in their coffee. No other place carries you through your day in the same way.

When you enter your little midday safe-space, greeted by the charming bell above the door, you’re faced with a busier interior than you’re used to.

Usually at this time of day you can march right up to the counter to chat with the barista while they make whatever caffeinated atrocity your brain cooks up that day. Today, though, it seems like half the city’s population has decided to give your little spot a go.

You’d normally be happy for them. More business; more money and all that. But today the low din of chatter filling the air just scrapes across your brain like a rusted spoon. Your headache from this morning had only gotten worse throughout the day, and you wished you could just call it quits and go home.

Unfortunately for you, you have bills to pay and only so long of a lunch break. The walk here ate up enough of it for you to suck it up and join the line.

When you join the que you’re basically halfway out the door, practically plastered to the back of the man in front of you. He doesn't seem to pay you any mind, yapping away on his phone in quiet Korean.

You study the back of your new line neighbor with bored interest. Your eyes trace the slopes of his shoulders, drifting down to his waist, before moving back up to gaze at the back of his beanie’d head. You notice the straps of a mask around his ears and wonder how the person on the phone can hear him with his voice so muffled and low.

Apparently the person on the phone can’t hear him very well, because soon he’s raising his voice a bit more. It has you wondering if his tone is just naturally that soft, or if he’s just conscious of the space he’s in.

Soon enough you’re two people closer to the counter, halfway into the coffee shop now, and your line buddy has entered into a full blown argument with whoever he has on the phone.

He’s speaking way too quickly for your barely conversational Korean to keep up with- not that you’re trying very hard to- but you can guess from the keywords “Jagiya”, “Soulmate”, and “coffee” that it’s the usual lover’s quarrel.

From the sounds of it, it was a very “We’ve already talked about this” sort of conversation as well. Poor guy. You hope his soulmate and lover get cool with each other soon.

The conversation goes on as the two of you inch closer to the counter. You’re fully invested in the drama at this point, absorbing what little bits you can to rehash with Taylor later. Your own mini soap-opera.

After a bit more back and forth with what you assume is his partner, he begins resorting to some very creative threats to express his displeasure.

You wonder if this guy might be a bit too comfortable speaking a foreign language around English speakers, because if he didn’t sound so damn fond while he was doing it you might’ve needed to tip the police off to a potential murder. Via tissue, if your line neighbor had anything to say about it.

That sends you down a path of your own creative murder options, wondering what sort of other common items your murderous que friend might use. Stabbing their partner through with a straw, maybe? Perhaps a fork, if the straw proved too flimsy.

You can’t see his face from where you’re stood, but you’d bet it’s the face of someone who stabs. Just one of those “don’t mess with me, I can and will put whatever I’m holding through your nearest body part” type of looks. You can feel it in your bones.

You're shaken from your revery as the line moves forward and the potential murderer snaps at his phone for his partner (presumably) to put a "Lixu-yah" on the line. This sparks another argument, and though you can only hear one side of it, it seems that the desired "Lix" is unavailable. Bummer for stabby-guy.

You might be entertaining yourself too much with a stranger's conversation. You can’t feel too guilty about it though, this is the best mood you’ve been in all day. You’d entirely forgotten about your headache there for a minute. Laughter really does heal all ills, you suppose.

It's a bit of a relief when it becomes Stabby's turn and he hangs up with a grumbled declaration of love. If they were fine enough to say their 'love you's then they’d probably make it through whatever soulmate-related rough patch they were going through. You silently wish them luck.

When your stabby friend (who doesn’t know he’s your friend, but you’re endeared now) steps up to the counter it becomes very clear why he’d asked for a particular person to be handed the phone. You assume this “Lix” must have been an English-speaking friend of his, his own halting English giving him trouble with placing what seems to be a behemoth of an order.

He manages the first part of his order alright, a whopping five drinks already, when he finally reaches the limit of his English vocabulary and begins trying to describe what you think might be a shaken caramel macchiato with some extra bits.

He and the barista go back and forth for several moments, a mix of pantomiming, alternative words, and guesses from the poor flustered barista. You watch him grow more and more frustrated, though he remains very soft spoken and polite about it.

Finally, after another moment of watching them struggle, you can't take it anymore.

You gently tap the stranger on the shoulder, earning a startled little jump. He turns to you with weary eyes and you confirm that there’s a mask covering the lower half of his face. With his beanie pulled low over his eyes, you wouldn't have been able to even tell the color if you hadn't been just that bit shorter than him.

As it is, you get lost in deep pools of brown for a moment before you manage to collect yourself.

"Hi," You chirp in Korean, "Do you need help?"

The man seems to war with himself for a moment, clearly stuck between stranger danger and relief at hearing his native language. After a long moment he accepts your offer.

"Yes, please." He gestures back to the counter where the barista is also clearly relieved by your intervention. "I have a large group and they enjoy making my life difficult."

"No problem," You assure him, "where were you at in your order?"

He takes a moment to check a note app on his phone and begins to slowly relay the final 3 drinks in his 8-drink order. It takes some time, even with you translating, but the energy is a lot less frantic.

He's finally able to pay and you catch him give the name 'Lee' for the order. You wonder if it's his first or last name.

He thanks you for your help as he moves off to the side, and you just give him a small smile and a nod in return. You quickly order your own drink, waving off the barista when she also thanks you. This place was haven enough for you to owe them six times over, anyway.

You and Stabby Lee end up waiting next to each other by the pick-up counter. You feel a bit awkward, having entertained yourself with his private conversation, and end up idly rocking back and forth on the balls of your feet with nerves.

He must have realized you’d heard his entire conversation, right? You hoped not. As fun as it had been, you really hadn't meant to invade his privacy.

Besides, the only serious thing you’d heard was the soulmate thing! You defend yourself in your own thoughts, pursing your lips and nodding your head to your invisible argument. The rest of the argument had seemed to be about a vacation plan. The threats didn’t start until someone said “Zipline”.

You thought that was kinda valid. Heights weren't for everyone.

His name is called before yours, but just for one of the simpler drinks from his massive order. He takes a simple iced americano over to the table with the creams and sugars and begins to doctor it to his liking. Your name is called shortly after and you take your red-eye over to do the same.

The two of you quietly shake and stir your drinks for a moment before he speaks.

"Thank you again for your help," he says, "I really do appreciate it."

You're kind of enchanted by the softness of his voice, now that's directed at you. You’re becoming convinced that this really is just his usual tone. He's speaking normally, but you honestly feel like he's murmuring directly into your ear. He could be a hypnotist or something. An ASMR person, at least.

You wave away his gratirude as you pour unholy amounts of creamer into your drink. "No worries!" You dismiss, "I should be thanking you for the chance to practice my Korean."

"Your Korean is very good." He compliments quickly. You laugh a bit and shake you head.

"I doubt it's that good, I'm really put of practice. It's been a while."

"No, your pronunciation is great." He flashes you a bit of an eye smile to show his sincerity and you find yourself even more charmed by a perfect stranger.

You chuckle bashfully as he finishes up his drink, turning to lean against the table so you can continue to talk. You can't help the way your eyes are drawn to the way he moves, enchanted by the simple action.

"I'll make sure to brag about it everywhere." You assure him, earning yourself another eye smile and a soft chuckle.

Good heavens, you think you might be halfway in love.

"Please do."

Scratch that, you might be all the way in love.

You do your best to contain your smile and push down the blush on your cheeks. You don't think it works, if his amused gaze is anything to go by. It’s not your fault this random guy has rizz for days!

"Well, I gotta scoot." You finish turning your drink a pale tan and shoot him your best 'excusing myself from an ended conversation' smile. You're kind of sad you probably won't run into him again after this.

"I wish you good luck getting that monster order to wherever you're going." You say, shooting the pick up counter with it's growing mountain of beverages an amused look.

He huffs another little laugh and you swear your heart skips a beat. "Thanks, you take care." he offers you a tip of his cup and you tip yours right back.

You do your best to scootch past him in the tight space between the tables and the little counter, but don't quite manage not to bump him on your way. Your elbow meets his forearm and you apologize as you wiggle through.

You're already two steps out the door when the pain of flowers blooming across your right side registers in your brain.

Your face scrunches up and you let out a hiss of pain, the hand not holding your coffee automatically going down to press down where it hurts. Your eyes naturally follow it, and when you finally process what just happened your head snaps back up to the glass door. It's still swinging shut.

You meet eyes with your second soulmate behind the glass, his gaze just as wide and startled as yours.

For a moment, you’re lost again in the depths of his stare.

For a moment, you can almost smell something sweet and floral.

For a moment, you feel peace wash over you.

And then sunlight bounces off the swinging glass, breaking eye contact between the two of you. Spell broken, your soulmate moves, takes just a single step toward the door, and memories of shattered glass and echoing yells ricochet across your brain with all the power of a rocket engine.

You turn tail and book it.

By the time Minho exits the coffee shop, drink abandoned on the counter, you're already lost in the mid-day crowd. A glimpse of your bright blue sweater is the last thing he sees of you before you're gone.

He reaches behind himself to gingerly rub the sore parts of his back and pulls his phone from his pocket.

When you get home that evening, you slam a twenty down on the counter in front of Taylor and storm off to your room without a word.

Perma Tag list: @mbioooo0000

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Floyd Leech - Room Relaxation Vignette

"Happy Birthday"

[Interior Hallway]

Floyd: Oh, it's Sea Slug-senpai. Fancy runnin' into you here.

Floyd: So, hey, how 'bout you hear me out?

Malleus: I'll admit I was not expecting that to be the first thing out of your mouth during this encounter… Fascinating, is there some request you have of me?

Malleus: I suppose I'll allow it, Leech. Tell me what you desire.

Floyd: I mean, it ain't nothing that crazy.

Floyd: Tomorrow's my birthday, see? Soooo… Can'tcha get me a present?

Malleus: A present?

Malleus: Unfortunately, I know nothing of your hobbies or preferences. Even if I were to gift you with something, I'm sure it would be lacking.

Floyd: So what you're sayin' is… You'd do it if I tell you what I like 'n stuff?

Floyd: Recently, I've been real into the fashion here on land. Specifically, I'm all about shoes, but…

Floyd: I bet you'd come up with somethin' real interesting, though. Can'tcha think of anything? I like weird or unique things.

Malleus: Hm… So you're looking for something unique. Understood, I'll keep it in mind.

Floyd: Seriously? Now I'm super lookin' forward to it. See you tomorrow, Sea Slug-senpai

[Octavinelle Dorm – Floyd's Room]

Floyd: I hate doin' all the closing clean-up. It's not like I have to be the one to clean up the kitchen, right?

Floyd: Guess I'll just go hop in the shower. I bet it's completely empty in there, since I slipped out while everyone else was workin'.

Floyd: I'll bring this and this and this… And uhhhh, where'd I put that one top?

[toss, toss, toss]

Floyd: Huh? Can't find it anywhere. The heck?

Floyd: Things shouldn't be just disappearin' on their own! Ugh, I'm tired of lookin' for it, so I guess I'll just go with just my pants on～ …Hm?

Floyd: Found it. Totally thought it was a textbook or somethin', since it was folded all neat and stuff.

Floyd: Bet it was Jade… Wait, no, I think I actually got in the mood to start putting up my clothes the other day.

Floyd: Though, I still got bored of it halfway through. Anyway, shower time, shower time!

Floyd: Whew, toasty. My hair'll dry if I just leave it, so... I think I'll skip using a dryer today.

[Octavinelle Dorm – Floyd's Room]

Floyd: Now that I'm outta the shower, I think I'll just lay around a bit. Guess I'll clear off my bed first…

[thud, thud, thud]

Floyd: Eh? What's this crumpled up piece of paper? "Return Date Notice"…?

Floyd: Ohh, right, there was that time I just randomly checked out a book from the library. Ack, looks like it's overdue already.

Floyd: I think the book should be around… Here it is. I read about half of it, yeah. I think it was about…

[door opens]

Floyd: Hey, Jade. Welcome back～

[Jade speaks]

Floyd: Eh? The kitchen was in disarray just 'cause I left early?

Floyd: No waaay. Even you made it back to the room earlier than usual.

[Jade speaks]

Floyd: …You "kindly spoke with them"? Aha, niiice. I can totally picture all those little minnows shakin' in their boots.

Floyd: …'Kay, and there goes Jade to take his shower. Guess I'll read that book from earlier.

Floyd: I wonder if I got any snacks I can munch on while I read. I think I threw some in my bag earlier… Hm? What's this paper?

「Survey on Quality of Life Improvements for the Student Body」

Floyd: Ugh, surveys are a paaaain. 'Sides, I got way too many things I'd like to see changed.

Floyd: Like for example, if we had more floorspace, I wouldn't need to keep things on my bed.

Floyd: 'Cause it's not like we can just leave it wherever and it'll float like it does when I'm undersea… The floor's the only place to put anythin'.

Floyd: Oh, yeah. Guess I'll add in there that sometimes my roommate can get  annoyin' when things get thrown everywhere, too. 'Kay, no more survey.

Floyd: Found my snacks, and as for what to drink… I guess this is fine. Cool, ready to go. Time to read on my bed.

Floyd: Pretty sure I read up to the line "And so the adventurer was approaching the verge of starvation. Then…" on page 127.

Floyd: …Here it is. 'Kay, let's see what's next…

Floyd: Maan. That's enough of the caramel flavor. It was tasty at first, but I got bored of it in just 3 bites.

Floyd: I still got some of that curry-flavored snack and cheese-flavored snack… But I'm not feelin' like either of 'em～

Floyd: Guess I'll just bust open a new back of sea salt-flavored ones!

Floyd: Delish! Salty snacks are the best～! Ah. But now I'm starting to crave something chocolate.

Floyd: Oh, and looks like the book's about to change tracks so...

Floyd: …Hm? Wait, I don't think I saw that coming…!

Floyd: …......

Floyd: Aaaaah～ That was great. I remember when I read it last time, I started wanting to eat the food that came up in the book…

Floyd: I went to the kitchens to make it, and just completely forgot about it after that. They should say something at the beginning if it's that good of a read.

Floyd: I totally wasn't expecting that minor character from the beginning of the book to make a comeback right when it counted. I wonder if this book has a sequel or somethin'.

Floyd: Hey, Jade… Oh what, he's sleeping? I was so into it, I didn't even notice.

Floyd: Guess a ton of time passed without me realizin' it. It ain't even just the middle of the night, it's basically dawn already.

Floyd: I'm feelin' like I'm not gonna wanna wake up tomorrow… But hey, if I sleep in, I'll deal with it then.

[Octavinelle Dorm – Floyd's Room]

[brrrrrrinnnnnggggg…]

Floyd: …Nnnrgn��～ Yaaaawn～

Floyd: What time's it? Jade…? Oh, he's gone already.

Floyd: Man, that guy's always been a morning person. As soon as he opens his eyes, he's on the move…

Floyd: Mmm～ I wanna go back to sleep… But since it's my birthday, I kinda feel like gettin' "that" out.

[rustle, rustle]

Floyd: Here it isss. I'm gonna polish these shoes today. First, I just gotta lightly brush it all over…

Floyd: Then, I'll use the cleaner to wipe off the cream I applied first. …Nice, that looks good.

Floyd: Next I'll gently apply some shoe cream to the toe and heel.

Floyd: When I first bought shoes like this, I had no idea I'd have to take care of 'em like this…

Floyd: It'd get these weird wrinkles, or cracks all over the surface and just bummed me way out.

Floyd: There's been times I've thought that it's a pain to take care of 'em every time I wanna wear 'em…

Floyd: But I guess it's actually kinda fun to remember where each scratch came from, or notice how certain parts get worn down while I clean 'em

Floyd: …Mm, it's lookin' good. I'll let 'em sit for about 5 minutes, then apply some cream 2 or 3 more times.

Floyd: I guess that's the shoes ready, then. I'm feelin' more awake, so I guess I'll go wash my hands and finish getting ready in the washroom.

[Octavinelle Dorm – Washroom]

Floyd: I'll just use a bit of wax on my hair… Done. The tips of my hair should look… There we go, that's good.

Floyd: The eye makeup's annoying to think about, so I'll just do whatever～ I think I'll use this six-color palette today.

Floyd: I'll take the color in the top left and apply it all the way around my eyes, then add the middle color to it and blend it a bit…

Floyd: Then, I'll take this darker color and apply it to the crease above my eyes… Huh? Why's it feelin' kinda boring?

Floyd: Naaah, time to do it all over again～ This purple one is lookin' way cooler.

Floyd: Mmm～ …Nah, I'm feeling meh about this one too… Should I maybe add lame to the corners?

Floyd: Nothin's really popping at all! I'm starting to get tired of applying this stuff, so I think I'll just skip the eye stuff.

[wipe, wipe]

Floyd: This'll work. If I jump into my uniform now and head towards campus… I should probably make it on time for class.

[Main Street]

Malleus: I finally found you, Leech.

Floyd: Oh hey, Sea Slug-senpai. Whatcha doin'?

Malleus: After our classes end, I will be taking you to some ruins I know of.

Malleus: It is located in such an inaccessible place that you would be incapable of reaching it without my bringing you. What do you think, is that unique enough for you?

Floyd: Some ruins? Unique enough? …Ah, my present! Riiight, I did ask for something yesterday, yeah.

Malleus: Had you forgotten? You had requested for something unique, so I thought you were testing me to see the extent of my abilities…

Floyd: Yup, completely forgot about it. But those ruins sound like they'd be super thrilling and fun.

Floyd: Thanks, Sea Slug-senpai～ Can't wait for school to let out now.

Requested by @thelonepearl and @sakurakudo.

[equipment-manifest]

Voidspawn and the Hunter

Recently, @iteratorsex and I discovered that Voidspawn behave somewhat differently for the Hunter compared to other slugs. I decided to do some digging to figure out exactly what the differences are, and thought I'd present them here. There are a few different ways you can encounter Voidspawn in Rain World:

First of all, there are a number of rooms in Shaded Citadel where free-swimming Voidspawn spawn naturally. Specifically, they swim towards SH_D02 (the room with Monster Kelp and a karma flower at the bottom of the region) and mill about there. These Voidspawn do not appear at all for the Hunter.

Next, In the caverns beneath the Depths, Voidspawn are seen swimming towards and down into the Void Sea. These Voidspawn behave identically on all slugs, with some slight adjustments due to the state of Subterranean in the Saint's campaign.

Finally, there are the Voidspawn Eggs, small, round objects that can appear at specific locations throughout Shaded Citadel, Subterranean, and Shoreline. These locations are fixed across all campaigns, but for the Hunter, each individual egg only has a 6% (~1/17) chance of actually appearing. This is compared to a 100% chance on all other slugs. When the player touches a Voidspawn Egg, its Voidspawn is released and slowly wanders offscreen.

Normally, the Voidspawn released from eggs make their way out of the room through a designated exit, one chosen by Rain World's developers when they placed that particular Voidspawn Egg. However, for the Hunter all Voidspawn released from eggs are aimless: each one swims offscreen in a different, completely random direction. In the screenshots above, I artificially added many Voidspawn Eggs to a shelter. As you can see, for the Survivor they all swim in generally the same direction, while for the Hunter they each have a different heading, and far fewer Voidspawn spawned overall.

So, what does any of this mean?

I'm not sure, though it's all clearly very intentional. I can think of two general ways to explain the differences, at least. Either:

There is something special about the Hunter that makes it more difficult for them to see Voidspawn. It could be their disease, or related to whatever prevents them from encountering Karma Flowers.

Voidspawn are simply rarer outside of Subterranean prior to the Hunter's campaign. Perhaps the reactivation of Looks to the Moon drew more Voidspawn to the adjacent regions.

What do you all think? Which sort of explanation do you lean towards? Any ideas why the Hunter's Voidspawn should be so aimless compared to other campaigns?

[jaybug-jabbers]

Gelatopod - Ice/Fairy

(Vanilla-Caramel Flavor is normal, Mint-Choco is shiny)

Artist - I adopted this wonderful fakemon from xeeble! So I decided to make up a full list of game data, moves, lore, etc. for it. Enjoy! :D

Abilities - Sticky Hold/Ice Body/Weak Armor (Hidden)

Pokedex Entries

Scarlet: Gelatopod leaves behind a sticky trail when it moves. A rich, creamy ice cream can be made from the collected slime.

Violet: At night, it uses the spike on its shell to dig into the ground, anchoring itself into place. Then it withdraws into its shell to sleep in safety.

Stats & Moves

BST - 485

HP - 73

Attack - 56

Defense - 100

Special Attack - 90

Special Defense - 126

Speed - 40

Learnset

Lvl 1: Sweet Scent, Sweet Kiss, Aromatherapy, Disarming Voice

Lvl 4: Defense Curl

Lvl 8: Baby Doll Eyes

Lvl 12: Draining Kiss

Lvl 16: Ice Ball

Lvl 21: Covet

Lvl 24: Icy Wind

Lvl 28: Sticky Web

Lvl 32: Dazzling Gleam

Lvl 36: Snowscape

Lvl 40: Ice Beam

Lvl 44: Misty Terrain

Lvl 48: Moonblast

Lvl 52: Shell Smash

Friendship Level Raised to 160: Love Dart (Signature Move)

Egg Moves

Mirror Coat, Acid Armor, Fake Tears, Aurora Veil

Signature Move - Love Dart

Learned when Gelatopod's friendship level reaches 160 and then the player completes a battle with it

Type - Fairy, Physical, Non-Contact

Damage Power - 20 PP - 10 (max 16) Accuracy - 75%

Secondary Effect - Causes Infatuation in both male and female pokemon. Infatuation ends in 1-4 turns.

Flavor Text - The user fires a dart made of hardened slime at the target. Foes of both the opposite and same gender will become infatuated with the user.

TM Moves

Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Sleep Talk, Rest, Substitute, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Helping Hand, Icy Wind, Avalanche, Snowscape, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Charm, Dazzling Gleam, Disarming Voice, Draining Kiss, Misty Terrain, Play Rough, Struggle Bug, U-Turn, Mud Shot, Mud-Slap, Dig, Weather Ball, Bullet Seed, Giga Drain, Power Gem, Tera Blast

Other Game Data

Gender Ratio - 50/50

Catch Rate - 75

Egg Groups - Fairy & Amorphous

Hatch Time - 20 Cycles

Height/Weight - 1'0''/1.3 lbs

Base Experience Yield - 170

Leveling Rate - Medium Fast

EV Yield - 2 (Defense & Special Defense)

Body Shape - Serpentine

Pokedex Color - White

Base Friendship - 70

Game Locations - Glaseado Mountain, plus a 3% chance of encountering Gelatopod when the player buys Ice Cream from any of the Ice Cream stands

Notes

I'm not a competitive player, but I did my best to balance this fakemon fairly and not make it too broken. Feel free to give feedback if you have any thoughts!

I have a huge bias for Bug Pokemon since they're my favorite type, and at first I wanted to make it Bug/Ice, since any intervebrate could be tossed into the 'Bug' typing. But ultimately I decided to keep xeeble's original idea of Ice/Fairy. There's precedent of food-themed pokemon being Fairy type, and Ice/Fairy would be very interesting due to its rarity (only Alolan Ninetails has it). Its type weaknesses are also slightly easier to handle than Bug/Ice imo

The signature move is indeed based on real love darts, I could not resist something that fascinating being made into a Pokemon move, even if the real games may possibly shy away from the idea. (Honestly it could be argued "Love Dart" is based on Cupid's arrow so Gamefreak might actually get away with making a move like this though.) Its effectiveness on both males and females is a nod to snails/slugs being biological hermaphrodites. I can see this move also being learned by Gastrodon and Magcargo in Scarlet/Violet

[toaarcan]

Great Beings got inspiration/power from a psychic space octopus

First entity to control the MU was a psychic blob of goo

Custodians of the MU have phenomenal psychic powers.

One of the six dudes made to rule the world has mind control powers.

There's a half-dozen masks with psychic powers.

The Death Roombas can mind-control people with facehugger masks.

At least one of the facehugger masks has mental powers.

Masks that get the wrong sort of rust can mind-control animals and people.

One of the most important heroes in the setting has clairvoyant visions.

Turns out the mind-control rust is spread by slugs made from Makuta juice, that can themselves evolve to the point of being able to spread the mind-control rust at a distance.

The slugs also get later mutated into a super-brainwashing creature that literally feed on your morality.

Makuta-juice itself is also mind-control drugs.

Half the biggest characters in the setting have telepathy, mind-reading or both.

The cops have mind control guns.

This isn't even comprehensive.

There is so much psychic nonsense going on in the Matoran Universe that actually I'm willing to argue that psychic nonsense is more elemental to the MU's existence than half the actual elements.

Like, how much actual Water is in the MU? None. It's all liquid Protodermis. An actual Toa of Water encountered water for the first time in 2004 and went "What the fuck is this!?"

[weirdmarioenemies]

SURPRISE! Did you think the day would come when we would cover Love Live on this blog? I didn't!

Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue is the Metroidvania-style game based on the fantasy spin-off of Love Live Sunshine, but you probably don't care about that! Statistically speaking, our target audience is Bogleech readers who are deeply revolted by anime girls!

So why bring up? Why bring it up? The answer is 🐠 FUNNY FISH! It's Funny Fish Friday!

Since this game is set in an underwater temple, the enemies this game are all based on sea creatures, and that's cool! Again, statistically speaking, you probably think sea creatures are cool. I really liked seeing the variety of enemies when playing through this game, so I thought it'd be fun if I could share them with an audience of people who otherwise wouldn't care! None of the enemies really have names, as far as I'm aware of. But I'll do my Rubesty...?

Our first guy we encounter in the game is the sort of guy who emerges from the ground like the Zombies from Castlevania, and wow! A good first impression I think. It is sort of a squid mantle, if the mantle was also a cloak for a spooky sort of wizard! The way it doesn't really have a 'face' in the hood and the eye is below really makes it seem like a weird mimic creature. Cool!

They also get a tough lategame variant which looks like a mix between a flapjack and a vampire squid. You don't often see flapjacks be designed as scary!

---

Next is Barnacles! A whole clump of them, like a cake. They shoot Energy Balls at you. Is this what Barnacles can do if they combine their powers...? The top actually opens up, and it looks a lot like a sea urchin's mouth! So maybe it is some sort of naked urchin creature covered in barnacles? Game Theory!

There are also barnacles with Ice Powers. Like real life!

---

Let's give it up for Garden Eel!!!!

What a fine Garden Eel it is! Complete with the sort of grumpy face, and with the addition of two little arms that make it look like it's praying or maybe a bit shy. But it is mean! It also spits energy balls at you, then hides in the hole so you can't hit it. How very sneaky!

SO sneaky, in fact, that these eels have mastered the art of ninjutsu! The ninja eel shows up for a split second in one single room, before smoke bombing away. You'd have to use a time freeze power to get him, but I never got around to doing that. I don't have any beef with a ninja eel! I respect him and his training!

Did someone say CTENOPHORE? I hope you did, or my hearing has really gotten worse. This thing is a grade A ctenophore, only with a ring of Scary Teeth! A little scary to think of a ctenophore who could Bite you, but nonetheless this deserves a :ctenopog:!

---

Let's not forget Fish Vortex! Fish Vortex was the first guy to make me go 'wow, this game's enemies really are awesome!' So of course I had to put him at the top of the post! He is my selling point! I am selling all these enemies to you. For 4.99 a pop!

Anyway. This design is just so funny and cool at the same time. A swirling school of fish that leads into an endless dark abyss, and in the middle, a big eyeball. Also covered in fish. It shoots fish at you! Yay!

There is also a pink variant - it shoots fish that give you the Solitude status effect, which basically just makes Yohane too depressed to summon her friends. Meaning? They are Depression Fish! Maybe she just becomes so jealous of the unity and teamwork of these sardines. She's me like just for real! ^_^

---

isopot :)

---

This slug is an umbrella. That is ridiculous! Ridiculously EPIC! It does the opposite of shield you from rain, which is create rain, that kills you. But I would still want one as an umbrella.

---

When I first saw this thing, I thought it was some strange round Echimoderm I had never heard of. But upon further inspection (I actually asked Mod Chikako shh), it is obviously like a Brittle Star, with each arm folded round to form a wheel! How creative and fun! It even has a bunch of eyes like a starfish!

---

Last but not least- sushi! There are sushi guys and they are cute. They don't really do much and are typically found in their own rooms, so I'm not sure what the point of them is. But finding a funny walking sushi should be a reward in of itself, I guess! Look at their funny rice feet! Or the one with the roe eyes!

I happened to use fire magic on one of them and this happened. Oopsies...

Now I am sure you are saying, thank you for showing me all these funny enemies. But are there any cool bosses? Of course there are, me! What's a Metroidvania without cool bosses? So I shall show you my favorites without delay!

First is this freak (affectionate)! It is a sort of amalgamation of lots of different animals and I think it just looks plain cool! Two squid mantles combined into one, a bit of a sea angel shape, bug legs and of course a great big eyeball!

If it is not freaky enough for you, let it be known that the bug legs turn into big green skeleton hands, and it also keeps getting pinker, and it grows new eyes and then extra horns grow out of those eyes. If THAT is not freaky enough for you then I am sorry but I cannot do anything about that.

---

Now, how about a sampling of this Freaken Thang? It honestly doesn't seem that sea-creature themed, but it uses seashells so I guess it counts!

What is really neat is that this boss has two different forms, upside down and rightside up! When it is upside down it looks a bit like a Magolor type creature. And of course, I really like the flame thing in the middle as well, that really feels like a Kirby enemy or something! Like a wisp made of plasma!

---

Fans of Anomalocaris won't be disappointed by this one! It's a big Anomalocaris tank and boy is it cool! There's something for everyone here, whether you're an Anomalocaris purist or you've always wanted to see it turn into a sort of futuristic beast with a screen mouth that shoots lasers! It really is the future, zura...

---

After covering all these wacky creatures, I'm going to have to end it off with the final boss! What could the big bad, the ultimate boss of all these sea monsters even be, I wonder? Well, it's...

...a coelecanth. Just a big coelacanth! It is big and blue! And really, does it need to be anything else? It is such an honor to make the biggest ultimate boss a coelacanth. It is even pretty cute!! Think he's smiling! 😊

Uh oh! Is it still cute? I guess so. My first thought seeing this was of course the world-renowned tongue eating isopod, so I really hope it was an intentional reference! It probably just wants to shake hands. Still, a pretty simplistic design for our final boss, right?

Buu buu! Its true form actually looks like this! Actually, it's kind of doing too much. Like let's tone it down a little?

So!! We beat the mega ultra coelacanth, and now we can find out what his motivation is! And it is... that he is the memories of the people of the past or something. And they all didn't want to be forgotten, so they turned into fish monsters! But we forgive them!

It doesn't really matter. All the girlies gather around and sing him a song. Look how happy he is! I forgot I was talking about a Love Live game until now, actually. All's well that ends well, the end, et cetera! Hit it, Yohane! [imagine this is like the end of a kids movie where all the Love Live girls are having a dance party and there is a shot of the big coelacanth in jail and he's tapping his mouth fingers along to the beat]

[combii-art]

hunter!watcher AU thoughts

Long textpost, not sure how this will show up since I haven't made one before. Anyway, some background on why I thought of this in the first place:

When the watcher released, I played it at the same time as two of my friends, one of whom said that they thought it was the hunter killing the watcher's family in the opening scene. Whether or not that is actually the case, it got me thinking about the two of them in the same sphere. Everything that followed was just typical insane person brainrot.

Obviously watcher is not hunter in canon (I used to think it was possible that the prince was NSH, but after learning a little more about outside inspiration and stardust and such I don't believe it's possible anymore) buuuutttttt.... it'd be fun if they were. So how do we explain everything that happens?

The intro cutscene would have hunter killing the watcher's family. When it becomes an echo from reaching the void sea after doing the typical hunter quests, due to rot interference and general "not ready to go" echo-y feelings, it enters a between-world purgatory state. In this purgatory, it takes on the visage of the child it remembers glimpsing out of the corner of its eye as it killed its family in front of it. Hunter just lost its own father in NSH - and now it's watched itself kill another slugcat's parent. I think it would be a little haunted, no?

Prior to meeting Spinning Top, the between-world follows a similar decline to what it witnessed happening to itself as it neared the void sea. Everything, lizards, the walls and floor, sprouting rot. Flies buzzing around everywhere as they did the hunter's own decaying flesh. Trapped in a small area, unable to visit either of the iterators it met for help. No relief from the rot this time.

Spinning Top meets the watcher and maybe sees another like itself. Abandoned (in some ways) by its family and unable to move on. They grant the watcher some control over its echo abilities that it did not have initially (due to aforementioned rot fuckery) and lets it warp into a different between-world. In canon, the watcher's stars appear after the first meeting with Spinning Top. In hunter!watcher they later morph into the "X"s that adorn the rot cysts, so I'm not sure how exactly that would tie in here - like, I can't really imagine, even in AU, as Spinning Top doing anything to further the watcher's rot. Anyone have any ideas?

Anyway, the watcher goes through the typical questline of helping Spinning Top pass on, its echo-y-ness and abilities grow alongside its rot. (I guess this could be used as the explanation to the prior question: due to the nature of its ascension, its rot and status as an echo are just permanently linked, so any gaining of echo abilities follow with growth of rot.)

After doing this, the watcher begins its own quest to return to the source of its attachment and find a way to go through the "white door". It encounters the prince, who calls its scent familiar (jury is still out on the reason for this in canon tbh, like why does bro say that. Maybe watcher/prince were some slug/iterator pair before, just... not hunter and NSH lol) during the several passes before they break out from the cyst. During each pass, the watcher begins to recognize the destroyed facility as the one belonging to NSH, and when it sees the prince, immediately recognizes it as what it's looking for, even if its memories are still clouded.

Something something I'm bad at writing sappy and coherent endings, after spending some time playing with the prince the watcher is able to pass on. I'm still very confused about what all happens with the ending, like... was it intentional? Did the prince want that to happen? Or are the karma flowers the influence of some oppositional force? Either way... we won't know until further updates which will most certainly disconnect with the AU even more than current canon lol.

Of course, the watcher's imagination of what happened to NSH as the rot progressed is only true in this between-world, and the prince only a stand-in built by the watcher's memories. In the "real" world, I think NSH's life went a lot like Pebbles'. Can eventually crashed, decaying back into the world as it freezes over. But of course the watcher is only a slugcat, one trapped in a phasmic world no less, and the difference between their fake NSH and the real one isn't noticeable. All that matters is the self-assurance to let go.

[sausage-rolll]

I've had a bit of a mixed opinion on the newest doctor who stuff for a while now, and for most of that time I've really struggled to pin point what exactly it is that's been missing. The writing isn't bad (for the most part), the actors are great, the settings are interesting and overall its felt like a very needed breath of fresh air for the show... but there is something missing, and I think I've finally figured out what it is.

The aliens are gone.

No seriously, look back on all of 15's episodes from both the current season and the last and count how many of them include some sort of alien civilisation or society. Not just a singular monstrous alien that acts as an antagonist but an actual collective. There are very few. And no, aliens that are visually indistinguishable from regular humans do not count.

from what I can tell, there are three. Just three. Three alien species across an entire season and a half of doctor who.

There's the slugs from dot and bubble, the birdmen in Rouge and the singular Silurian in joy to the world.

And from those three all of them act as antagonistic forces.

Just as a quick comparison, the first season of new who, which came out in 2005 and had a significantly smaller budget had at least 6.

Sorry, wait, did I say first season? My mistake what I meant was first two episodes.

Where have they all gone? The universe of Doctor Who used to be teeming with so many different reoccurring and one off alien races that all interacted and coexisted. They weren't just throwaway villains, they were living, breathing creatures.

It used to be so rich with so much diverse life. The living plastic, The Slitheen, Daleks, Adipose, Sontaran's, The Catkind, The Ood, Silurians, The Silence, The Atraxi, The Racnoss, The family of blood, The mighty Jagrafess, The Reapers, The Judoon, The Hath, The Ice warriors, The vashta nerada, The Sycorax, The tree people, The Zygon.

But now the best they can do is regular humans and sometimes the odd robot or two. It's kind of depressing when you really look at it. The universe of doctor who has lost its magic, the life that was once abundant wherever the doctor landed is now sparse and non-existent. We don't visit alien civilisations anymore, we don't even encounter aliens anymore.

[prolix-yuy]

Beautiful Release

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Summary: You and Din have an agreement. Simple, clean, easy. But not this time.

Word Count: 4.1k

Warnings: Explicit, 18+ MINORS DNI, IT'S PEGGING DIN TIME! Anal sex (m receiving), rough sex, sex toys, fingering (m receiving), handjob, frottage, blowjob, swallowing, cumshot, mentions of oral sex (f receiving), mild dubcon (Reader isn't aware of Din's mental state and stops the session to re-negotiate boundaries), painful sex, sex as self-flagellation, hurt/comfort.

Notes: Welcome to my addition to the Peg That Middle Aged Man Event 2024! This idea had been bumping around in my brain and this gave me the perfect excuse to write it. Thanks @wannab-urs for organizing this event, making the gorgeous banners, and giving me a chance to live my fantasies after S3 gave us the most delicious kneeling restrained Din image. I will never forget it, it's burned into my brain forever.

Set after S2 and before The Book of Boba Fett.

Cross-posted on AO3

He’s come to you before, but never like this.

Din always treats your encounters like serendipity, but from the first time you’ve known how far from the truth that is. He finds ways to drift into your path, tilting his helmet like he never expected you to be at this spaceport, which you prefer for its discretion, or in this cantina, which serves a hell of a barium fizz. The niceties always devolve into the silent request, which you never fail to fulfill.

But now, there’s a holomessage blinking on your control panel.

Send me your coordinates. Usual encoding.

It’s brisk, cold, mostly to protect you both, but even then something’s off. He’s never admitted to seeking you out. Something stirs deep in your stomach, consulting the encoding slug he gave you ages ago in case you ever needed him. Funny, the first time you’d use it would be because you think he needs you.

Your winding relationship with Din Djarin began at the business end of a blaster, but you can’t fault him for that. The ship you were flying then had all the hallmarks of a slaver vessel, but when he found your crew of rebel sympathizers he lowered his weapon. One escort and a few short-lived conversations later, and you’d forged a razor-thin alliance. 

Your paths wound their way across and through each other for over a year, and in that time Din warmed to you. He gave you his name, his allegiances, his contacts if needed. In return you forged documents and built jammers for his ramshackle ship. Mutually beneficial, and after a time pleasantly warm. His laugh always surprised you, a low chuckle when you turned a phrase just right on him. 

And the kid! The curious little gremlin that had been accompanying him more in recent times did help to smooth the rough spots. Grogu’s presence always brightened your days, brief moments of pure joy from his tireless antics. Din seemed to be ever the exasperated protector, but when he tucked Grogu into his arm his aura glowed. 

However, the times when Din “stumbled” upon you with seemingly no purpose had little to do with play dates or trades. Well, maybe only in the most euphemistic sense.

It was on a cargo run - cargo being more frightened people fleeing under the guise of your fake shipping business - that Din first encountered what would bring him back to you time and time again. There was a man among the stowaways who took an interest in you, the feeling mutual. He wound his way around like a lothcat in heat, and when you whispered how you might be able to pass the time he enthusiastically agreed. 

You weren’t much of an exhibitionist, but the ship wasn’t meant for privacy. So when Din happened upon you bending the man over a cargo crate, your strap slickly splitting him open as he moaned behind your clamped hand, you did feel some mild embarrassment. You weren’t sure how long he watched you thrust into the other man, but the little cough that alerted you to his presence made you turn and take him in.

He was clearly affected, hand gripping his belt as the other clenched by his side. Fascinating. The Mandalorian had surprises in store. 

The man garbled about sucking Din’s cock, letting the Mando cum on his face while you pounded his tight hole, but you stuck your fingers in his mouth and picked up your rhythm again. You’d met other Mandalorians in your travels, but Din’s particular religion was much stricter than most. He might take hefty offense if you assumed any of the armor could come off. Instead you let him watch without comment as your companion came all over the side of the cargo crate, soothing him through the aftershocks. As you cleaned him up you noticed your audience fled, and you determined never to speak of this. 

It would take two months for Din to come to you. 

“People like this?” he asked when you showed him your strap and assortment of attachments. You shrugged, picking out the one you secretly thought he’d enjoy.

“Some do, some don’t. It’s just one of many things I like,” you said, leaning against your bedroom wall as he filled the small space with restless energy. “I’m sure you like plenty of things too.”

There it was. The little roll of the shoulders and flex of a hand that told you Din wasn’t as inexperienced as some would believe. 

“Never tried something like this,” he mumbled, and you smiled under the knowledge that he was nervous. Din Djarin, feared throughout the galaxy, and dearer friend than you ever expected, had something he wanted and didn't know how to ask for.

“Would you like to try it?” you said, taking the last barrier away. He tilted the helmet down, fingers restless on his hip. 

“Yes.”

That first night you didn’t fuck him, though by the end he was so close to begging you almost came from the sound. Instead you opened him up with your fingers, got him used to the feeling of fullness and how to connect it to pleasure, while he laid on your bed and gripped the sheets so hard you thought he’d rip them. His pants bunched across his thighs, you got to admire the cords of muscle rippling as you made him shake and choke. His cock, velvety and weeping on his stomach, made your mouth water, but you only offered to suck it when he was just on the precipice. Your hot mouth wrapping around his head, two clever fingers stroking his prostate, tipped him over into bliss as he shouted his completion. Pride swelled in your chest at his belabored breath, chestplate heaving and thighs quivering on either side of your head. 

When you returned from cleaning up he was already dressed again, despite your protests to wait and let you ease him down from this new experience. He thanked you, awkwardly, and left quickly. Lying in the same bed that night, still smelling of him, you reasoned with yourself. He probably had a lot of feelings to sort out, both around his pleasure and the fact that you gave it to him. You hoped he trusted you enough to know you’d be discreet. And, as your fingers slid into your underwear, you hoped he’d seek you out again.

It was only a week before you were at the same spaceport again, his heavy boots clanking up your ramp. You tried to hide your own nerves, but when Din stood before you and let the visor drag up and down your body, a delicious grin crept onto your face.

“Ready to try more?”

Indeed he was.

He enters your ship without preamble, a brief flit of concern clouding your features at how quickly he disarmed your security measures. You weren’t expecting him for another hour. He must have jumped to get to you. 

It’s thrilling, to know the Mandalorian’s need is so great. 

But when he enters and closes the door behind him, the energy is…off. Not seductive, teasing, edged like the other times. No, he’s holding his body so tight and so still. There’s nothing aggressive in it, but you glimpse why his enemies fear him. Without a face, and with so much obscuring the flesh beneath, you’re not sure when he’ll strike. 

He catches you rummaging through your drawer, the strap in your hand. Assessing, you give him a gentler smile than usual, hands visible, softening your stance.

“Hello, Din.”

He nods, quickly, unbuckling his belt and yanking his cape free. Both fall to the floor carelessly. You press on.

“How about you tell me what you want?” you say, watching him carefully as he opens his pants plaquet. The mouthwatering strip of skin you covet peeks from beneath his top.

“Just need…need this,” he says, and while naturally a man of few words you’d taught him to be more vocal in this respect. 

“Okay, Din. How about you kneel on the bed and we start there?” Your voice lowers into a soothing register, reaching for his arm. 

“No,” he almost shouts, startling your hand back. He recovers. “No, I want…” You can practically hear him licking his lips on a sigh, slowing himself down. “Can you sit against the headboard?”

Brows raised, you nod. He’s never ridden you before, always preferring to let you take him from behind or on his back. Pulling the strap-on over your leggings, you settle against the headboard and wait for him. He doesn’t take long, kneeling on the bed briefly in contemplation before swinging over your lap. Shucking his pants half down his legs, you can’t resist a giggle.

“Might be better to take them off,” you tease, letting your hands lay featherlight on his hips. A huff crackles through the vocoder but he doesn’t move to disrobe further. 

“I’ll open you up a bit first,” you say, one hand reaching for lube while the other snakes its way to his hole. You encounter surprising slickness, but he’s nowhere as warmed up as you get him.

“S’okay, I took care of it,” he mumbles, both hands coming up to grip the headboard above your head. Slicking lube on the dildo, you move to finger him enough to ease your way in.

“Just a little more…”

“I’m fine.”

The curt retort snaps your face to the helmet, now more of a cowled chin and shining halo of beskar above your head. There’s something bubbling uncomfortably under the surface, something you feel the need to drag out by the scruff of the neck, but it’s Din. You never talk feelings with Din. Frankly, you barely talk at all during, or after, any of your nights together.

“Sorry,” he breathes, forcing relaxation. “I’m ready. Please.”

Your eyes linger for a moment longer, then you circle the base of your cock in waiting.

He descends slowly, gritted breaths and sharp blasts of air from his nose echoing above you. You watch the strain in his thighs as he sinks and sinks, his cock only half-hard against his stomach. Leaving a hand on one hip, you stroke soothing paths up and down his lower back, watching for discomfort. Instead he’s marble around you, coiled, body not releasing as usual. Normally when you fuck him he dissolves, rolling his hips back onto you and choking out praises of how good you feel.

None of that comes. He meets the base of your cock and immediately slides back up at an almost punishing pace. He can’t be that acclimated yet, and his pained hisses and grunts only make that more apparent. 

“Din, slow down,” you request, hands firmer on his hips to try and even his pace. If he heard you he says nothing, now slamming his hips down on your cock. “Din,” you beseech again, nails starting to dig in. His grunts grow to growls, something from the heat of battle, your headboard creaking from his crushing grip. 

Clarity overtakes you, the shudder of his stomach and forceful downstrokes only getting more intense. There wasn’t pleasure in this. Something is eating up Din inside and he’s trying to fuck it out of himself. And he’s using you to do that.

“Din Djarin, STOP.”

The echo of your voice, strong and steely, finally brings Din to a stop with your cock buried deep in his ass. His chest heaves in front of you, limbs quivering from the exertion, but he’s as still as he can be. Gripping his chestplate, you push him back enough to look him in the visor, your anger righteously reflected back.

“You don’t punish yourself with my cock,” you order, teeth clenched and seething. “Do you think so little of me, that I’d just let you rip yourself to shreds without a word?” 

Din freezes, but this time you know it’s shame. If you were in a clearer headspace you might have tried reassurance, or asked him to lay beside you and talk about what’s destroying him, but you’re just too upset. 

“Is that all you come to me for?” you spit out, knuckles aching from gripping his armor. He’s silent for long enough that you consider throwing him out before he speaks.

“Something happened. And I just want to…be empty. To not think about it every moment.” He leans forward and your visage warps as he presses his forehead to the crown of your head. The anger thrums but starts to ebb as he folds around you. “I didn’t know where else to go. You’ve always taken care of me. More than I deserve.”

The sadness in his voice is palpable, and even with your mouth still sour from his deception you find the compassion to wrap your arms around his middle. The chestplate presses into your cheek, a metronome for Din’s slowing breaths. 

“If you have any care in your heart for me, don’t ever do that again,” you grit out. Din’s breath catches. 

“I care for you,” he says, and a door in your heart you never realized was cracked widens for Din’s admission. 

“I care for you too, you karking asshole, which is why I want you to say something instead of trying to hate fuck your feelings out.”

Din’s chest begins to shake again, but you’re sure it’s laughter this time. You manage a giggle of your own, letting him lean back and look at you again. The motion shifts your cock in him, and his sharp sigh arches your brow.

“If you wanted to forget, you could have just told me,” you say, rolling your hips sensuously up into his clenching hole. Din’s head drops back, grip tightening on the headboard again as you grind into him.

“Please,” he begs, so soft and vulnerable you can’t help but give him what he needs. 

Slowly you press up into him, guiding his hips to rock on your cock. You love the feel of his ass in your hands, well muscled and perfect for grabbing, manhandling him just enough to show he can let go. He follows your direction reluctantly at first, but as you plant your feet and start thrusting with more range he loosens. You can feel it in his arms, holding on to the headboard for dear life, and the building rhythm of his hips meeting yours. For a man whose life is violence, you never want to bring that into your sessions. But a light swat on one asscheek pulls the most delicious moan from deep in his chest.

“Fuck,” he groans, bearing down on you even more. Tilting your hips, you arch his back enough that you’re sure to hit his prostate on the next thrust. 

“Maker!”

There it is.

“Close your eyes,” you whisper. Waiting a moment, you zero in on that perfect spot inside him and hit it with every one of your thrusts. “Do you feel that? Feel how good I’m fucking you?”

“Yes, fuck,” Din curses, one hand flitting down to squeeze the base of his cock. He’s at full attention now, head bobbing against your stomach. You swell with pride that he’s having to stave off his orgasm so quickly, but you’ll be the one to make those decisions now. 

“All I want you to think about is how good you feel,” you purr, tugging his hand away and replacing it with your own. You long for his skin against yours, so you pull up your shirt to skim the head of his cock against your soft belly. He chokes, stuttering away but he’s trapped between your hand and thighs.

“Wait, Maker, I’ll cum if you…” he garbles, but his body keeps meeting your grinds. You shush him gently, stroking from base to tip and smearing precum over the head. 

“You will, but only when I let you. You know I’ll make it good for you, make nothing but this pleasure you’re feeling fill that head of yours.” His rapid nod almost knocks you in the head with the beskar, but he manages to tuck into your neck instead. The helmet is a shocking cool against your skin, but the act of burrowing into you must be rewarded. Bringing your arms around him, you press along the length of his body, trapping his cock between.

“I’m gonna pound into this tight ass until you cum all over us. You like that?” The wail Din lets out shoots heat to your cunt, wishing more than anything that you’d opted for a toy that gave you a little stimulation too. Instead you hammer fast and hard, barely pulling out. Your hips and thighs burn with exertion at his bulk on top of you, but he’s frantically bouncing back and rutting his cock into the wet mess your bodies make. 

“Don’t stop,” he gasps, and you’re not sure if it’s the vocoder but you think his voice sounds watery. “Please, cyar’ika, don’t stop.”

Cupping the back of his neck, damp with sweat, you whisper, “I’ve got you.”

With a handful of final pumps you’re coated in his cum, sliding around your belly as he seizes over and over. Pressing deep, you hold strong against his shuddering body as he finishes. Each weakening thrust draws him down on you, heavier and loose-limbed. 

The armor makes it hard to find the soft spots, so you take to kneading the back of his neck and palming his spine. Before his last aftershock, you urge him higher on his knees so you can slip your cock out - slowly, so as not to shock his jellying body. Easing him down, you hold his head in the crook of your neck and settle him on your lap. His hands slide down from the headboard to your shoulders. 

Then you hear it. A tiny sniff, then another. You can’t pretend you didn’t notice them so close to your ear. So you gather the broad man in your arms and hold him. His hands don’t know where to rest, finally winding loosely around your lower back.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” you tell him again, and the sniffing starts to recede. His body, however, slumps against yours, and it takes all of your strength not to start giggling.

You fucked the Mandalorian right to sleep. Bravo to you.

When Din finally stirs, a deep rumble in his throat, it’s been almost an hour. Your toes are half numb and you’re dying to shift into any other position, but much like a lothcat falling asleep on your lap, you couldn’t bear to move Din. Especially when he started snoring, one of the most endearing and hilarious sounds you’d ever heard him make. 

In the time he slept you wondered what happened. What terrible thing hollowed him out and haunts him. Something keeps him up at night, if the depth of his sleep is any indication. Recent, possibly. Traumatic.

Your breath caught in your throat. If something happened to Grogu you know he would have told you. You ask after him all the time, teasing that you’ll be his Auntie (Din always says he has plenty of them across the galaxy). 

Had you seen the Razor Crest fly up? Where was that old bird anyway?

What happened in the time since Din last saw you?

The cycle of possibilities always ends the same. Maybe he cares for you in some way, but not enough for you to ask. No matter how much you want to.

A shift on your lap alerts you to Din waking, kneading his shoulders and neck lightly to alert him to your presence. He’s never slept with you before, but it wouldn’t surprise you to learn that he’s quick to draw at unexpected circumstances. Of which this one definitely is.

“What…” Din croaks, and if not for the helmet you would have offered him water. 

“It’s okay, you’re on my ship. You’re okay.” 

It takes Din another minute to realize what’s happened. Him, half naked on your lap with your strap pressing against his ass. You, covered in drying cum beneath him. In a flash he’s swinging his leg off your lap, attempting to stand but obviously they’ve gone as numb as yours because he stumbles and crashes out of sight. 

“Oh kriff, are you…?” you start to ask, but as quick as he’s out of sight he pops back up again, tugging up his pants and tucking himself away.

“Sorry, that was…I didn’t mean to…do that.” 

All of the heaviness and anger and lust fizzles away to laughter as you try to suppress the ridiculousness of the moment. After a moment of indigent head tilting Din’s shoulder also shake, chuckles fuzzing out of the vocoder. 

“Oh Maker, what an understatement that is,” you sigh, wiping your stomach with the edge of your bedsheets. Din visibly cringes, hands on his hips.

“Sorry for the mess,” he apologizes, but you wave it off.

“I’ve had much worse, believe me,” you shoot back. Clean enough, you sit on the edge of the bed and look up at the inscrutable man. 

“Want to talk about it?”

Din’s stance shifts, helmet tipping down for a moment before coming back to your face.

“...Not yet.”

You hum and nod. “Well, you know how to find me if you do.”

Din nods. “Thank you.”

As he picks up his effects you shimmy off the harness at the foot of the bed, mentally ticking through the steps to clean everything. Din watches you set it down, stilling until your eyes come back to him.

“It gives you pleasure as well?” he asks, which raises one of your eyebrows.

“I mean, about as much as rhythmically hitting your hips against someone can do.” His posture changes into something hard to decipher, so you continue. “I’ve got a few that do more for me, but it depends on the person I’m with. Comfort, boundaries. As you’re well aware.” You gesture to the armor, his chin tucking down to look at it.

“So you’ve never cum with me?” he asks, and a sudden feverish heat blooms under your skin. Din has a sex appeal you appreciate, but have never acted on beyond what he’s asked for. Now, something’s changed so dizzyingly fast you’re scrambling.

“Well, you’re pretty spent after our sessions. And you leave quickly. I don’t ask for more than you can give.”

Din takes a step towards you, putting his belt and cloak back down.

“What do you ask of other people you fuck?”

Your heart hammers in your chest. How can he turn the tables so quickly and spectacularly? Trying to gain the upper hand, you pull a confident face on and speak as breezily as possible.

“Most can’t get it up twice after I fuck them within an inch of their life, so fingers, tongues, toys, any and all of the above are excellent ways to repay the favor.”

He’s even closer now, and the facade is barely holding up. It’s like the vulnerability he showed you can’t possibly be returned.

“You’ve never asked me,” he says, and you can’t believe there’s a note of regret in his voice. The bed hits the back of your legs, and you steady your voice even though those words make your pussy throb.

“I didn’t think it was allowed.” Your voice drops low as Din steps into your space. 

“Difficult, but not forbidden.” Din’s hands come to your shoulders. “Sit down, please.”

Your knees fold so fast you bounce on the bed, looking up at him. He joins you on one knee, hands coming to rest on your thighs.

“I broke my Creed. I would do it again, for the exact same reason, but now that makes me an apostate.” His hands come to the helmet, thumbs tucking underneath the lip.

“Din, what happened?”

He pauses, and you swear you can feel his gaze through that smoky visor. 

“Close your eyes.”

Darkness surrounds you, then a hiss and a thunk. 

Then the voice of a man you care for, unfiltered and bare.

“I’m not ready for anyone to see my face. But I want this, with you. If you can forgive me.”

You could be dreaming still. It would make just as much sense.

“I forgive you, Din. But just this once,” you sneak in at the end just to hear how melodic his laugh sounds. Then his hand splays over your stomach and urges you to lie back.

“I hope you don’t mind teaching me this. I don’t have much experience,” he says, fire licking through your body as he tugs your leggings and underwear off.

“Don’t worry, you’re a quick learner,” you say breathily.

And when he finally kisses you, sweet with your musk on his tongue and your orgasm dripping from his fingers, you teach him how to do that as well.

END

"I need some distraction Oh a beautiful release Memories seep from my veins Let me be empty Oh and weightless and maybe I'll find some peace tonight.

Sarah McLachlan, Angel (yeah I know I used the sad dog song)

[markantonys]

apparently when some group of WOT fans went to see hadestown a while back, donal outright told them that he'd filmed in south africa, god bless that man just giving out leaks for free. this is how cauthor CPR can still win!!!!!

so, if this fan is to be believed (they did have a picture of meeting donal at hadestown so at least that much is true lmao), donal filmed in south africa. but i remember we were all monitoring his hadestown schedule closely at the time, and to the best of my memory, there was only a single 1- or 2-day stretch where he was off hadestown at the time that south africa filming was going on.

so, he filmed in south africa, but only a tiny bit

per sharon gilham, there is a character who appears in only one scene in either episode 7 or 8 who looks like nothing we've ever seen before and who required a big collaboration between the costume & makeup departments

we've long suspected that the s3 climax would be moiraine & lanfear's mutual doorway yeeting merged into rand's TSR climax in rhuidean

thus, i propose that the theory of mat entering one doorway in the tanchico museum and getting spit out in rhuidean is indeed true - but it happens during rand's SECOND visit to rhuidean in 3x08 rather than his first in 3x04.

no way that donal could've filmed 4 episodes' worth of stuff in south africa, but he COULD have filmed just a scene or two at the end of the final episode. and the finn would perfectly fit the clues for sharon gilham's mystery character; at the time we also considered characters like a new forsaken or the seanchan empress because we didn't think it would take until the end of the season for the finn to show up, but we've seen forsaken and seanchan before, so the finn are a better fit for a completely crazy brand-new aesthetic that requires lots of makeup as well as costume work.

so, mat enters the doorway during the fight with moghedien in the tanchico museum. he has his encounter with the finn and asks for a way out, and they spit him out through the rhuidean doorway instead, hanging from avendesora. at the same time, rand is having his big rhuidean showdown. moiraine and lanfear tackle each other through the doorway and it gets all twisted and melty, indicating there's no coming back out. rand is distraught........and then he catches sight of mat hanging from avendesora. he rushes over, cuts him down, and gives him CPR, and this way, as observed by @butterflydm, rand does get to end the season on a small victory even amidst all the horror of what's happened to moiraine. he couldn't save her, but he could save mat :') and asmodean is there the whole time having a live slug reaction to all of this cauthor hurt/comfort, amen!

this would get mat in position to kill couladin and assemble the band in rand's first post-waste battle in s4. we've speculated that mat, elayne, and nynaeve could join up with rand's crew in s4 (since E&N have several cuttable sidequests in the next chunk of books and the show could perhaps instead use this time to shepherd them back to their love interests for relationship-building and have them join in the retaking caemlyn plotline to head straight into their late-middle series storylines), but mat is the only one who kinda needs to be with rand *immediately* when s4 kicks off, whereas elayne and nynaeve could arrive later in the season after doing something else in the first chunk. (my assumption here is that they would waste no time bringing everyone out of the waste (particularly if they don't want to return to south africa for s4; could be more practical to start the season after a small timeskip with rand's crew already back in the wetlands) and thus that the post-waste battle would happen in the first or second episode.)

i've seen this theory floating around twitter and reddit today, so it's not original to me! i will only take credit for tying it in with sharon's mystery character, which i haven't seen anyone do yet and which feels like a very key piece of supporting evidence to me because most of the other evidence is hearsay.

a potential problem with this theory (aside from the riskiness of hearsay) is that wotseries believes south africa may have also been used for some tanchico scenes, so it's possible that donal was only there to film tanchico scenes. however, wotseries isn't really conclusive about how much tanchico stuff may or may not have been filmed there (although we do know that ceara was in south africa while filming was happening).