#why have we made. one singular sub this match

[appleciders]

can someone tell vlatko you don’t catch cooties when you sub your players

[quixoticall]

This Could Get Ugly 5. Recording Studio 3B

Summary: It's 1983 and The Downsides need another lead singer and you just happen to need a band--it's a perfect match. The only issue? You have to pretend to be in a relationship with your bandmate, Steve Harrington, but you can't help but be drawn to the band's broody guitar player.

pairing: s.h. x fem!reader, e.m. x fem!reader, j.b. x n.w., r.b x n.w.

warnings: Brief mention of pregnancy, Steve in his King!Steve era briefly, again with the misogyny

A/N: Happy Stranger Things Day! I want to say thank you to everyone who's reading this old and new readers alike! Every notification makes me so excited and I'm just happy to be here, ya know?Listen, I know we're really Steve-centric right now but you got to trust me on this, we are laying a FOUNDATION here right? Remember we're covering six years' worth of drama and we are just getting started, trust me!

wc: 4.8k

MASTERLIST🎸

Previous Chapter 🎹🎺

***

STEVE: Yeah, I know I had fucked up. Like, as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. I don’t know why I did it, I think I felt threatened or something. Listen, I think about what happened all the time and there isn’t one singular moment that we can pinpoint where everything went south, really, we all made mistakes, a lot of them. But sometimes, I can’t help thinking to myself that if I had just handled that day at the restaurant better, our whole lives would’ve been different. Or… who knows? Maybe not, maybe we were always meant to end as bad as we did.

***

June 7th, 1983–Los Angeles, California

A few days after your lunch with the Downsides, you see your own face peaking at you from the cover of a Subrosa magazine on a grocery store newsstand. 

You glance around before surreptitiously crouching down for a closer look.

It was a grainy picture of you and Steve, sitting across from one another at lunch, clearly in conversation. The picture had been taken from outside the restaurant and framed in such a way that it looked like it was only the two of you dining together. You can tell by the looks on your faces that it was before everything had blown up—the two of you looked like you were enjoying yourselves.

Sultry Songstress Sees Upside with the Downsides’ Flirty Frontman reads across the top of the page, and you gag. They sure do love their alliteration over at the Sub.

You briefly wonder to yourself what Steve and the others will think of this once they see it. Shrugging that thought off, you toss the magazine into your cart.

***

You actually find out pretty quickly what Steve and the others think about the cover later that evening when you receive a call from an unknown number.

“Hi, it’s Robin,” you hear from the other line as soon as you pick up.

“Hi Ro—”

“Robin Buckley, from the Downsides? I don’t know if you remember me, but we met at lunch the other day when my friend made a huge ass of himself and— ow, Steve that hurt, God.”

Sounds of some sort of physical struggle echo through the telephone line until you decide to interrupt.

“Hi Robin, of course I remember you and your ass of a friend, what can I do for the two of you? Also, how did you get my number?”

You’re more curious than bothered when you ask the latter question.

“Four.”

“Pardon?”

“Four. There are four of us. See, you asked what you could do for the two of us but it’s not just me and Steve. Nancy and Argyle are here too—” At this point, you hear a faint ‘hello’ and ‘what’s up’ from the background—"For the sake of full disclosure I felt that I should mention that. Jonathan is visiting his family in Lenora Hills, otherwise, I’m sure he’d be here too. Oh, and to answer your question I got your number from Murray.”

“Uh-huh.” 

You glance at your wristwatch; there’s a party in the Hills that you were planning on going to and you were going to have to leave soon if you didn’t want to be stuck in traffic all night.

As if she had read your mind, you hear some shuffling on the line before Nancy decidedly takes over the conversation with a much more serious tone.

“Hi, sorry to bother you this late but we wanted to ask if perhaps you had seen the latest issue of Subrosa? It seems like you and Steve are on the cover.”

Exhaling a laugh, you answer, “Yes, actually, saw it at the grocery store today, sorry you guys didn’t make the front page, I’m sure you’ll get them next time.”

“What? No, I mean, have you read the article? They’re printing lies about you both,” Nancy stutters out, indignantly.

“They’re saying that you and Steve had a private lunch and that he’s been seen sneaking out of the Hotel Mormont for weeks and that you might be pregnant? They’re even alluding to a fight breaking out between him and Jason Carver of all people.”

 This causes you to fully chortle.

“I wish, that guy deserves a few punches to the face. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though, everything they say about me is a lie.”

“What do you mean? Aren’t they supposed to have some journalistic integrity? Don’t they get in trouble for printing lies like this? Have you tried to contact their editors about this?”

The confusion you feel about this conversation is outweighed by how weirdly touched you feel that these girls who had only met you once seem so offended on your behalf.

“No, I mean, it’s a gossip rag, not like The New York Times or anything,” you placate, “and after all the terrible things they’ve said about in the past, I’m kinda just glad they got a half-decent picture of me.  I appreciate you all calling about it though.”

And then, after a beat, you address the band’s lead singer, who has been oddly quiet throughout the whole exchange.

“I hope being pictured with me didn’t sully your reputation, Flirty Frontman.”

Really, you didn’t care if Steve was bothered by the whole thing, you just hoped that he wasn’t making his bandmates call you on his behalf. You didn’t know what to make of the guy quite yet. On one hand, he was completely sweet to you most of the lunch, he spent the meal asking you questions about yourself and refilling your drink without you having to ask. But the tantrum he had thrown reminded you a little too much of the dangerously self-absorbed musicians that had grown sick of these last few years.

“Me? No, I’m fine. Did you see how great my hair looked?”

You laugh silently at his answer. His hair did look great in the photo, but you were not about to give him the satisfaction of letting him hear that from you.

He continues, “Plus, they never really said anything terrible about me. They’re like, totally after you which is why Nance and Rob have been so worried, I guess. Are you good?”

His question comes out more hushed than everything else he’s said, and you are once again reminded of the earnest smiles you exchanged across the table a few days ago.

“I’m fine, Harrington, this is a regular Tuesday for me.”

With that, you bid goodbye to the band, citing your lateness, but not before expressing a very sincere thanks for their naïve concern.

The unexpected phone call makes you hit traffic, as you had predicted. You spend nearly an hour and a half in the back of a cab, the whole time, you can’t stop replaying the conversation you just had in your head.

Maybe there was more to the Downsides than met the eye?

***

This theory is proven, in part, after Hopper sends you a demo recording of some of their songs the following week.  

The Downsides, you quickly find out, are good, like very good. Their music is like nothing you’d ever heard before: experimental and fun but polished and very technically sound. Steve’s vocals are annoyingly impressive—his growly timbre grounding the lighter sound and keeping it from sounding too saccharine. You can see them dominating the charts and blowing The Letterman’s and every other one-trick band out of the water.

The track they wanted you to jump on was part of the demos Hopper had sent out. It was called “Feel It”, a romantic song, tinged with melancholy but paired with an upbeat synth sound.

You had been sent a copy of the lyrics that included a cue for you to come in.

You practiced your part for days, agonizing over how you wanted to deliver the lyrics, and eventually, you came up with exactly what you wanted to do after making some minor adjustments.

You were actually excited to record the song until you remembered that you would have to come face-to-face with the band’s two asshole guitarists again.

On the day of the recording, you tried your best to be early, but you had been up tossing all night which caused you to oversleep then you lost your keys, and you were moving at the time, so your things were all over the place. You also had to turn around and come back when you realized you had forgotten the gift basket of cookies you were planning on bringing for the band—something left over from a package Charles Riva's team sent you as an apology for him blowing you off. All in all, you were about thirty minutes late.

You pulled into the Starcourt parking lot a harried mess and as you rounded the corner into the studio, you could hear the booming voice of Eddie Munson.

“She’s probably stuck circling the parking lot trying to find some working-class sucker to park her car. Harrington, why don’t you go check out there? Maybe you’ll get papped again and get another 5 minutes of fame.”

You hear Steve respond and while you can’t make out the words, you can tell he’s annoyed, embarrassed, or possibly both.

You can see the faces of every other band member fall like dominos as they each caught sight of you rounding the corner to stand directly behind Eddie.

Eddie though doesn’t seem to pick up on what’s clearly written on all their faces and persists through his tirade, “She’s only coming for the photo opp anyway—she doesn’t care about any of this.”

It’s Argyle who finds his voice first, “Eddie, man, isn’t that her?”

Eddie whips around and with comically wide eyes, looks down at you, grimacing.

You consider telling the guy off but decide against it.

If there is one thing you have learned these years it’s that while the male artists can throw fits, yell, scream, and even damage equipment without anyone as much as blinking an eye, one emotional misstep from you and you would be branded a diva. They would say you were difficult, rude, and find any excuse to toss you aside like they had so many women before you and you refused to let them have that satisfaction.

So, instead, you smile at the band, eyes lingering on Eddie for just a moment longer than on anybody else, to let him know that you had heard him, and then say brightly, “Sorry I’m late everybody. I brought some cookies.”

***

EDDIE: Yeah, it was a dick thing to say, and I regretted it immediately and not just because she brought us cookies.

I wasn’t—that wasn’t me.

I was just so angry about everything that I had lost, and I didn’t know where to put it all and then she shows up: this rich, spoiled girl who just seemed to float through life without a single fucking care or struggle, and suddenly I had an easy target.

I felt bad about it until she changed my fucking lyrics.

***

Unlike their guitarists, most of the band seemed pleased to see you and you spent a few minutes greeting everyone and handing around cookies while Eddie and Steve kept their respective distances—Eddie, sulking in a corner and Steve doing a poor job at pretending to tune his guitar.

“Okay kids let’s give the voices some space to do their thing,” Hopper says waving them through the door sounding more like a disgruntled parent than a manager.

In the end, it’s just you, Steve, Murray, and the sound booth tech. The latter two are busy prepping the sound and mic, leaving you and Steve standing in the back.

“Hey, I wanted to apologize about what I said the other day at lunch,” he leans in close to your ear, his eyes transfixed on his shoes.

“I didn’t mean it—not really. I guess I was just lashing out because, well, they keep changing things about the band without even talking to us. First, they made us go pop, then they made me give up lead guitar to Eddie because his previous band didn’t want him anymore, and then it seemed like they wanted to replace me with you and like, it’s not that I wouldn’t want you it’s just that—well they never even asked what we wanted, you know? I was frustrated about that, and I took it out on you and I’m sorry about that.”

You watch him as he digs the toe of his sneaker into the carpet, eyes downcast, clearly waiting for you to respond. You’re too busy contemplating his words, however, because an apology was the last thing you were expecting from him, much less such a sincere one.

Out of all the difficult men you had dealt with in your life—producers, musicians, lawyers, managers, former flings, hell, even your own father—you had never received an apology from any of them regardless of how poorly they’d treated you.

Steve’s eyes finally trail up to meet yours, searching your face for signs that he didn’t say the wrong thing yet again.

Seeing no trace of dishonesty on Steve’s face, you decide to trust the apology for what it is and nod in acceptance.

“I get it,” you say, and truly, you did, “I’ve had most of my career decisions made for me, and a lot of times, they weren’t really what I wanted. It makes the whole thing feel kind of…empty, doesn’t it?”

His face floods with relief as he nods along in understanding.

“Yeah, like does success matter if we can’t do things our way? Me and Rob, we’ve been best friends since we were little and this has always been our dream and now that it may be coming true, it doesn’t feel like we imagined. I guess that’s kinda stupid though, expecting things to be like you imagined them as a kid,” he laughs at himself nervously.

“No, it’s not,” you counter, “that’s not stupid at all.”

You understand Steve’s disillusionment completely because it mirrors your own.

“Listen, I get how you feel, trust me, but you got to keep going. You guys are good, and I think you could all be big one day and then it’ll be you who’s calling the shots and then you can kick me and Eddie to the curb,” you clearly say the last part in jest but that doesn’t stop the shame that rolls across Steve’s face.

“Hey, don’t say that. You’re really talented and we’re lucky that you’re doing us this favor. We’d be even luckier if we could get you to stick around. Munson I could give or take, though.”

His joke makes you laugh so loud that Murray turns around and glares.

***

Steve was sent into the booth first to record his final vocals for the song, leaving you to observe.

As they set Steve up, your eyes kept bouncing over to the newly appeared Eddie, trying to figure out what exactly he was doing there.

“I wrote the song,” Eddie explains, after catching your eye.

“Oh,” you say, not bothering enough to hide your surprise, “well, congratulations, it’s a good song.”

You catch him eyeing the plate of cookies at your side. You open your mouth to offer him a cookie, but the echo of his words rings fresh in your mind, so instead, you reach for one and make a big show of savoring it.

Steve records his part of the vocals in five takes. He appears a bit nervous at first but eases into his groove rather quickly.

As the audio engineer is setting up the booth for you, you feel your own nerves rise. You wanted this to go well. You wanted to impress Steve and Hopper and even Eddie.

They signal you into the booth and the first two times, you record the song exactly how it’s written. Then, on the third one, you switch up the final chorus.

The original lyrics were: Fear in your heart, can’t conceal it/ But baby, my loves your cure, can’t you feel it? / Lay your hope bare next to mine/ and even if the world caves in, we’ll be fine

You changed the lyrics to: Fear in your heart, can’t conceal it/ But baby, my loves your cure, can’t you feel it? / Lay your flaws bare next to mine/ because when the world caves in, I’ll leave you cryin’

The change was slight, you thought, but meaningful.

The original version—Eddie’s version—was too hopeful. It was a boring portrayal of lovers staying with each other through thick and thin.

Your change added some conflict and dimension to the narrative. You made it better.

“What the hell was that?” Eddie pushed past Murray to yell into the mic that fed into the booth.

You roll your eyes at him dramatically interrupting your take, “I was just trying something out.”

Hopper pulled Eddie back by the shoulder while Murray wrestled the mic from him.

“Woah, sweetheart, pump the breaks. That was good. Better than the original. Can we run that one more time but with your lyrics instead? Harrington, we’ll re-record some of your parts too.”

Hopper has to all but carry Eddie out the door after he hears that.

***

EDDIE: The thing that pissed me off the most was that her version of the song was better. I just didn’t want to admit it because I wrote that song about Chrissy, about how even though I was so scared I was going to fuck up our relationship, she understood that and was willing to work through that with me. Her version was much closer to what actually happened and that hit a little too close to home.

***

“Woah, what did you two do to Eddie?” Robin demands as soon as you and Steve are dismissed into the hallway. “Hopper pretty much had to drag him out in tears!”

You worry at your bottom lip, caught in the wondering eyes of the group. At the time, you felt like you were doing the right thing, but now you wonder if you had forgone the common courtesy of at least letting him know you had changed the song. You didn’t want to come across as unprofessional as he accused you of being.

“I should probably go talk to him,” you say in response.

“Geez, Robin. Was the third degree really necessary there? This is just like last week’s DMV visit all over again,” Steve chastises as they all watch you walk away.

***

You find Eddie in the smoking area, cigarette in hand. “Hey, listen can we talk—"

Eddie turns dangerously to face you, cutting you off.

“You know what your fucking problem is? No one’s ever said no to you so you think you can do whatever the hell you want and that everyone else just rolls over and gives it to you because you’re so pretty and charming and rich.

“Well, you may have the rest of those assholes fooled but I see right through you, okay?”

Your eyes narrowed in response before you snap back.

"First of all, you don't know anything about me, so stop pretending that you do. I have worked hard to be here, just like the rest of you, and as far as this song goes, my name is going to be attached to it too, so I have just as much of a right to give input as you or Steve. It was wrong that I didn't say anything to you beforehand, sure, and I apologize for that, but let's not pretend that you've been the epitome of professionalism here either because you've been an ass to me since we've met, and I don't know why but I won't stand for it again. Fuck you, Eddie Munson,” you spit out before turning on your heel and stomping away.

***

EDDIE: That was hot, not gonna lie.

***

“Are you really going to let some mangy metalhead from Bumfuck, Nowhere keep you from finally doing what you want?” Murray asks exasperatedly when you call him to complain about the exchange later that night.

“Listen, I’ve recorded a lot of songs in that studio, some of them great, most of them mediocre, but today blew all of them out of the water. The band’s never sounded better and neither have you, frankly. If you gave up the chance to finally write your own songs and sound this good while doing it, that would be flat-out idiotic. You know that, right?”

The line goes still.

“Yes,” you finally say.

“Great, now that that’s settled, why don’t you get some rest, huh? Ruining Muson’s day must have tired you right out.”

You exhale a laugh before saying goodbye.

Although you would never say it to his face, you were grateful for Murray. It was nice having someone looking out for you.

***

MURRAY:  Brenner loved the track. After that, we had a very short time to make a lot of big things happen. The Downside’s debut album was already 70% recorded, but now that we had a whole other person on vocals, we had to scrap a good portion of the work they had already done and rerecord with our new vocalist. We couldn’t even celebrate our victory because we were just getting started.

Those poor kids had no clue what was coming.

***

When your phone rings a few mornings later, you suspect it’s Murray again with an update on the song, and while you’re right about the message, you’re wrong about the messenger. 

“Hi, it’s Steve, uh, Harrington. Obviously,” you hear a familiar voice crackle over the line.

“Oh? And to what do I owe the honor Mr. Obviously?” you respond.

“Oh, very funny. Listen, I wanted to call and let you know that we just heard from Hopper that Brenner and his guys liked our song, and they want us to continue, you know… recording together and stuff. So, yeah, would that be something you’re interested in… being a part of, you know, the band?” his voice wavers a bit as he asks.

“Is that even a choice?” you fire back, “I was under the impression that once Brenner gave the go-ahead, it was pretty much a done deal.”

He clears his throat in response, “I think you deserve to have a choice. I talked to the rest of the band, and they agree and if you don’t want in, we’ll back you… even if that means breaking our Starcourt contract.”

The line goes silent as you contemplate the gravity of what Steve has just said. The Downsides would be willing to put their own career at risk just to assure you the luxury of choice.

The answer was easy after that.

“I’m in,” you say after a few moments of terse silence. “I want to be a part of the band.”

You can all but see Steve pumping his fist on the other side of the line.

“That’s great! That’s great news. I’m glad my asshole tendencies didn’t put you off,” he laughs, relieved.

“I mean, it was a tough sell,” you tease back, “but I think we can be good together. The band, I mean.”

You wonder if you’ve said the wrong thing when his joyous peals of laughter stop suddenly at your words.

“Actually, um, about that,” he begins, once again nervously, “I’m really grateful that you’re giving us—the band—a chance and that you were nice enough to record the single with us in the first place. And, I mean, I know I’m already pushing my luck with the universe and you but maybe—uh, maybe today it’s my turn to be the luckiest guy in the world? Who knows?”

You have absolutely no clue what he’s getting at, and you let him know as much.

“Right, hm, I was wondering if I could take you out, on a date, to celebrate us becoming a band but also like, you know, a date. I know I made a total ass of myself, but I really like you, and I think you're gorgeous and talented and smart. I know I may not deserve another shot, but I would love it if you gave me one.”

You’re at a loss for words. First, you’re not even sure if you want to trust Steve fully, not quite yet. Sure, he apologized, but a part of you wonders if he only did it to get on your good side once he had seen how your pre-established infamy could serve him after that Subrosa article ran. Murray mentioned how radio runtime for the few EP songs The Downsides had in the rotation tripled since the publication. It definitely wouldn’t have been the first time you were being used like this.

Even if you could find it in yourself to look past that (and who knows, maybe you could?) there was still the matter of what Murray and Hopper had so delicately mentioned that day at lunch.

“I’m sorry, Steve, I don’t think that would be very professional. Especially on account of our…  front-facing, romantic narrative.”

“Our what?”

***

MURRAY: I thought that Hopper had gotten his team on the same page about the more personal aspects of the band’s arrangement, but apparently, I was wrong. None of them had any clue what was going on and the thing about running a ruse is that people that are in on it kind of have to know that they’re in on it.

A few days before we began re-recording, the girl called me all in a tizzy because she accidentally spilled the beans, not knowing that Harrington had no clue at all about the plan.

I then call Hopper; it turns into this whole thing. We had to arrange an emergency meeting with the two of them and the entire legal team.

A bit slow on the uptake, that Harrington kid, but he got there. Eventually.

He was harder to convince than the girl, though. At least she didn’t have a problem with lying to the public. But Harrington was all about that Midwestern “integrity” and “letting the music speak for itself”. Hop eventually had to spell it out real simple for him: either they do this, or the entire band was cooked.

STEVE: I guess after like 15 years the ruse is finally up, huh? Yeah, the relationship was fake. Or, at least, it started out that way. Listen, it was complicated and we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

But, if you’re asking about what I was thinking when they finally told me their plan, well, I wasn’t happy or on board at all. It felt like we had already given up so much of ourselves for this—like, where do you draw the line, you know?

But then Hopper reminded me that it wasn’t all about me: Nancy had dropped out of college to be in the band, Jonathan…he had his sick little brother to take care of, and even Munson was going to be in trouble if he didn’t fulfill his contract with Starcourt.

It was selfish to say no, in my opinion. And really, what was I losing? I got to make music for a living and parade around, pretending to date a total hottie while doing it. I mean, the only way it could’ve gotten better was if the relationship had been real.

***

After what feels like days—but is most likely hours—with the Starcourt legal team, you and Steve are finally released with a very long grocery list of instructions that include a minimum number of required public appearances; a very specific list of acceptable PDA; and interestingly, enough, a sample NDA in case either of you wanted to “be involved” with anyone on the side.

“Nothing says romance like NDA, right?” you weakly joke in an attempt to break the ice.

“How are you so okay with this?” Steve shoots back, seemingly stunned.

“Well, it’s not like this is my first rodeo, or my fourth, or my sixth.”

And before he can question further, you tell him everything, starting with Jason fucking Carver.

***

STEVE: I couldn’t believe it. They had been forcing her to pretend to be involved with all these guys for years. It was super fucked up, but she stuck with it. That’s how much she wanted it. How could I possibly let her down after that? Especially with my own selfish, dumb feelings? She was right, we needed to keep it professional, no matter how hard that was going to be for me.

NEXT CHAPTER 🎤

Taglist: @rexorangecouny , @persophonekarter

[buffintruder]

Here are some real life Tokusatsu shows that inspired the show in my fic what if the real steel samurai fandom was the friends we made along the way, focusing on the enemies to homoerotic partners aspect. Almost all of these are with men because unfortunately I don’t know any shows in this genre with women as the main characters

Each of these shows can be watched as stand alones, though they might contain some references to other series, and a lot of the extra-canon content includes crossovers

Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

This is what I would recommend if you’re interested in the tension aspect of enemies-to-lovers. Watching this made me go ‘wait I need to increase the homoeroticism in my fake show by at least 300%’

The premise for this is that people are getting infected by sentient computer viruses so a bunch of doctors have to transform into video game characters to heal their patients. (Yes it is as ridiculous as it sounds. they’ll be like “it’s time to perform a surgery” and then go beat up a guy in a funny costume)

The main character is a former competitive gamer turned doctor intern who is just really doing his best to help people while also wrangling three other doctor Kamen Riders with enormous trust issues and martyr complexes, and also trying to avoid this one game disease guy who is weirdly obsessed with fighting him.

The homoeroticism in this comes in the form of people pushing people against walls in the middle of arguments, villains that spend way too much time thinking about the main character in a “nobody is allowed to touch him because i will be the one to defeat him” way, going from calling someone your ‘fighting partner’ (opponent) to ‘fighting partner’ (best friend and trusted ally), cradling a dying person in your arms, etc.. Also one guy transforms into a motorcycle and cannot fight unless someone rides him, I am not joking.

You can watch the series here https://archive.org/details/kamenriderjw27 or here https://bit.ly/3cvFdOr

Kamen Rider Blade

This series is enemies-to-homoerotic friends in more of a tragic star-crossed lovers way and gave me inspiration for Cloud and Murasaki more towards the end of their show.

The premise is that 10,000 years ago there was a Battle Royale type fight between the Undead which are the immortal representatives of 53 species, each of which matches a card in the typical deck. The Human Undead won, allowing humans to flourish on earth, and the rest were all sealed up in their corresponding card. Now they’ve all gotten released. The main character works for a research company trying to seal them all back up, and one of the other major characters is an Undead who lives with a widowed woman and her young daughter as he tries to understand humans.

The homoeroticism in this is like “I don’t know why I trust you, I just do.” “I hate everyone in the world except like two singular people, but you have won my trust and affection.” “Literally everyone we meet says that we should be enemies and that I should destroy you, but I would fight fate itself if it means we can both live happily.” “I would rather risk letting the world be destroyed than kill you.”

You can watch the series here http://bit.ly/2zEeiyq or here https://toku.fun/post/kamen-rider-blade-full-series-episodes-movies-english-sub. Some of the links for the episodes in the second link didn’t work for me, but you can also find the episodes on archive.org. They’re not organized into a playlist so you have to find each episode individually (you can search “Kamen Rider Blade ep 1” etc)

Kamen Rider Drive

This one isn’t the high up on the rec list despite being the first one to inspire Cloud and Murasaki because I haven’t actually seen most of it. I saw like 5 or so episodes towards the end plus some of the post-canon content and got obsessed with two of the side characters (one of which I would say is canonically gay for the other one in the post-canon audio drama, unless you can think of a way that saying “I can’t deny that one of my hidden desires is to go on a date with him, even though he’s a boy” is platonic)

Additionally, the main character has a guy who really wants to fight him and the lesser villain trio has weird tensions of the girl and guy both really wanting their leader’s attention and being jealous over each other.

This one is about a police officer in a ‘special investigations unit’ that deals with weird going-ons with this robot race that slows down time and is trying to take over humanity or something like that

You can watch it here http://bit.ly/2UhJfly or here https://toku.fun/post/kamen-rider-drive-full-series-english-subbed

Kamen Rider Revice

I also haven’t seen this one but I know people who have (with mixed opinions on the show). The writer of this show originally wanted to make the main Rider a woman but the company shut him down. However, that does mean that this show has a major female character with her own character arc and homoerotic rival (and from what I hear, she is the best part of this show). This is currently airing though it’s almost over

It’s about a family who runs a bath house and fights using their inner demons (and fights against their inner demons sometimes). I’ve only seen a couple bits and pieces of this but the parents of this family are wholesome heterosexuals and the sister definitely seemed like she was trying to go on a date with her rival-turned-ally. 

You can watch this here: https://toku.fun/post/kamen-rider-revice-full-series-movies-english-sub

Super Sentai Donbrothers

I also haven’t seen this, but I know at least three people whose taste in media I trust who love this. I’m reccing this one because it’s also based in Japanese fairytales, specifically centered around Momotaro. Characters include guy who was found in a peach and is unable to lie and has a homoerotic rivalry/secret identity thing with a villain where they’re friends out of their suits and enemies in their suits; teenage manga artist accused of plagerism; wife guy; wanted fugitive; and anti-money poet

Every time I hear about this show I wonder how on earth they can pack so much into one 20 minute episode. This one is also still airing

You can watch it here: https://kshow123.be/avataro-sentai-donbrothers-2022-episode-10/

and here https://www.bilibili.tv/en/search-result?q=donbrothers

Miscellaneous

Here is also a link to all the Kamen Rider series of the Heisei era (2000 to 2019) with some brief summaries of each show if you’re interested in seeing a bit of what else is out there. I’ve seen OOO and W, both of which I recommend

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19wl37LsDD4J_yqR7usLNkXA4hGAXngnlI3HgSgMN2Kk/edit?usp=sharing

[stalkerxyou]

♡ How BTS Would Eat You Out

a/n: a ‘head’canon — literally 😉

warnings ⚠️ graphic smut, dom/sub dynamics, femdom, voyeurism, period sex, face-riding, hair-pulling

📷

Jimin ⇢ Slow, tantalizing, the sloppiest among the members. Not afraid to get all dirty and extra, whatever idea is your request — Jimin will just giggle and go for it. You don’t wanna know what he’s truly capable of, do you. He got hooked the first time he made you cum like that, now he’s straight-up possessed. No going back, and he keeps on learning new things and stimulating new spots every time to create a big moan-worthy surprise.

Prettiest and immensely vocal when it’s getting so, so sweaty, on the brink of exhaustion. Most likely, Jimin’s finishing with smudged eyeliner. Does it best with music playing in the background, but that’s obvious: Oral equals dancing to him. Prone to lack of confidence while getting started, so your guidance is always in dire need. Best matched with a domme who can don a firm grip on his neck and shoulders. Face-riding all day every day.

📷

Originally posted by jimiyoong

Taehyung ⇢ Not the soft teddy everyone believes him to be. Singularity revealed to us that really, we were mistaken. Full of mischief, out of the seven members he is the cockiest by far when it comes to oral. Does it best underneath the table or when you order him to go for it in the car. The backseat of course, with Yoongi driving — sternly! — because nobody else is as hard-boiled and like “yeah he’s giving head that’s more normal than brushing one’s teeth”.

And Taehyung, well he just enjoys having someone listen to him going down on you. It usually means twice the praise as 1) hardly will he be unable to fully please you and 2) head-master Yoongi approves anyways, Tae is a natural. Goes berserk the second your back arches. Moans a whole lot, likes to switch locations all over the house each time. Ultimately has to be tamed and held in place by squeezing his head with your thighs, hard.

📷

Originally posted by attacked-by-bangtan

Jin ⇢ So suave. Tender loving, lots of food involved to play around with. Has a very sensitive tongue, so he won’t do anything too wild. The advantage being that he can have a taste and accurately guess your mood and current level of vitamin E intake or something. Those soft lips don’t help, he’s just super gentle and makes sure you rest on as many pillows as possible. Might even use loads of chapstick because JK told him that’s a good idea.

Generally speaking, Seokjin is probably the only guy on this planet who can make his partner feel like she’s in a movie. A little bathtub romance will accompany your evening, although it’s important to mention that Jin is also at his best when the sun rises. With some tea on the nightstand, it’s gotta be classy. He just never disappoints, to be exact. Easily responds to any demands or suggestions, but infuses it with plenty of personality.

📷

Originally posted by theseoks

Yoongi ⇢ Ace of slow tongue-fucking and sexy slurping noises. You’d think he’d be the one to do it fast because eating you out is just like doing a verse. Nuh-uh. He can bob up and down for ages and still have enough tension in his tongue to penetrate deep enough. Always makes an effort to clean up in between because so much drool is getting in his eyes, that rascal is not afraid to dive in not seeing anything. Will use his damn nose as well.

Won’t stop until his bangs are sticky against his forehead and you — satisfied twice, because once is never enough. It’s his orgasm that you get instead if you will. Yoongi won’t care what his dick tells him and what it wants. His first #1 sexual asset is his tongue and it’s married to your clit and labia. The stimulation reaches its peak when you pull his hair and twirl it at the base of his neck. The more it hurts, the better, it really pushes him to the limit.

📷

Originally posted by sugasuite

Hoseok ⇢ Fast and lowkey furious, a true challenge for a domme. This slippery tongue is all the rage, an engine of its own class. While Yoongi does it slow and good, Jung fucking Hoseok is all about fast and good. Can’t wait until you finished showering, even. He slips right in and who are you not to seize the opportunity. Makes up for lack of patience with lots of technique and putting on a show which can get pretty loud. It’s not giving head, it’s thrusting head, in fact.

All day if you only say the word, Hobi exceeds a vibrator with high-performance batteries. Yeah I know, I can’t stop comparing him to a freaking machine but that’s what he is. Second in sloppiness, although he will gobble it up fast. Definitely an eager swallower and dirty talker. Could aptly school any man about the faulty belief that giving your gf head is not the main event. Matches high passion type of encounters where you are sure to bring a leash.

📷

Originally posted by jitonic

Namjoon ⇢ Eager and obliging. Feels compelled to serve you, but needs clear instructions. Do this, do that, more to the left, lower your arm. Or maybe because he wants to serve, your wish is his exact command so he won’t do anything you dislike. It’s a promise, Joon can make you feel so good. Treats it all with utmost respect, but will loosen up once getting the hang of it. Won’t crack under pressure either, RM can be stern and quite like a workhorse to give you everything he’s got.

Although, it won’t feel like a chore because it’s all spontaneous. Doesn’t tend to be sloppy, his tongue movements are quite precise and use mostly… tip. Delicious. It’s a rapper thing, but also very Namjoon. Most likely to eat you out on your period cause since his MVs we all know he likes a little freaky shit. Believes that if he doesn’t do all the work, his duty is not fulfilled and he has to start from the beginning. Well, why not, actually.

📷

Originally posted by thisisjustforfunval

Jungkook ⇢ Wow. This is like a trip to the spa, and all for free. Always does it to unwind you. Like Jin, a very sensual approach is default. No stress, he reserves a silent hour for it each day if you please even if he’s sleepy. This is not Hercules Kook who thinks everything in life is a competition, nope. Oral sex is like bunnies munching on salad for him, he does it all the time, just for the sake of it, something nice to savor. Thanks to his athletic skill and stamina, virtually any bizarre position is possible, no limits here.

You wanna do it up in the air and he just lifts you with two hands? No problem noona, as you wish. He also thinks it’s healthy for some reason, don’t ask why. Rather vocal in a way that he is pretty breathy most of the time, even huffing. You have to remind him that sometimes, two workouts a day are more than enough. Hence he pauses quite often, and so pleasing you is a matter of not a dozen minutes, but way longer. In love with your taste and the adrenaline.

📷

[cherryblossomtease]

Chapter 18

18 + only (sub reader/bucky, dom zemo, first time m/m, collars/leash kink, and more please see masterlist for full warnings)

Warnings and summary - Masterlist

The directions were simple

“Go into the bedroom, you may help one another, and when you’re done getting ready, wait for me on the bed. The collars are in the bottom drawer…”

Bucky follows you, his hands wandering; stroking your hair, your back, your neck. He’s never going to be able to follow rule three if he keeps this up. You laugh swatting his hand away, trying to avoid his touch as you open the door to the bedroom.

Inside, he watches as you go to the closet and find the items just as Zemo said you would.

“How do we know which are which?” He asks from the bed.

You turn and grin holding them up.

His is thicker, heavier, and you wonder if these were in the crate Oeznik did not open.

“Me first?” You offer going to him.

“Sure” He says and watches you pull your tank top off over your head and toss it onto one of the plush chairs in the room. Bucky surprises you and finds the zipper of your skirt, pulling it down easily. He tugs the silk organza off your hips with a cocky smile as the fabric falls, giving you a little wink that makes you roll your eyes, giggling with your tongue between your teeth. Oh fuck it—your underwear comes sliding down your thighs too— no use pretending this won’t escalate quickly.

“Come closer.” He says and you stand between his legs.

He’s breathing hard already, his eyes bright with the excitement.

You look him over thinking about how beautiful he is. This is an established fact stated so many times it doesn’t need to be said. But you can’t stop looking at him tonight and you know it’s because you’ve lived with and loved him for more than a year now. The many connections between you run deep and now you’ll share in this singular experience with him. You feel… special.

Does he feel hesitant, you wonder eyeing his profile. You did the first time you ever had sex and you desperately want him to know that every time he’s ever tried to play the hero to you, tonight you will be his should he need it— but James is a lucky man. Zemo actually loves  him. He won’t find himself under some greasy haired, overly perfumed son of a Low Town gangster who thinks he’s hot shit. You hold in a laugh at the memory of your “first” and his sad, selfish attempts to satisfy you.

Watching Bucky from the corner of your eye, you raise your chin and keep close so he can gather the leather around the back of your neck. He buckles it easily, and you feel that familiar sensation of your body waking up. The clink of the metal, the touch of the leather, your nipples perk, you feel the slippery response between your legs— it’s all nice but you want to focus on him and you hope your desire to care for Bucky as he would you shows through in your own movements.

Pressing the center of the strap to his strong neck, you pull one side and then the other, pausing to kiss his jaw, nipping at his ear, you make him practically giggle involuntarily. He tucks his ear to his shoulder, leaning away from you. You smile and loop the ends, finding the perfect notch. “How’s that?” You ask softly, running your fingers back around and down his neck.

His eyes close as he smiles. “Good. A little tight, but— I like it.” How the tides have turned you think, remembering the first time he ever heard those words from you when he reluctantly fastened you into your restraints.

Your smile matches his as you stroke his scruffy cheek. “Perfect” You quickly unbutton his shirt and smooth your hands under the lapels sliding it off his shoulders and in doing so actually catch a glimpse of a metal loop you hadn’t noticed on the back of the collar at first. “Oh wait. I think there’s more.” You say realizing what that other thing was in the drawer. “Hang on.” You tell him, leaving Bucky shirtless on the bed.

“What is it?” He asks as you go back to the closet and open the bottom drawer. You don’t answer but when you return with a matching leash he tilts his head —a little like Zemo does— looking slightly suspicious.

“This is meant to clip on.” You say wondering how he’ll respond.

Bucky’s eyes go wide for a second. He pushes his palms to his thighs letting this layer of information settle as he leans in and chuckles shaking his head. “He thinks I’m dog now?” He inquires with a brow raised high. He sounds ever so slightly disturbed.

You snicker sweetly “Hush.” You say and go to him. You lean around and clip it on, feeling his hands on your ass as you smooth the length of it out. The leash is long, but not overly done. It’s the perfect length for Zemo to wrap around his hand once and really get a tight grip. “More like, a puppy. A good boy.” You tease trying not to laugh too hard.

Bucky’s look of outrage does it and you can’t hold the laughter in. Still grinning you try to soothe the sting. “Im sorry, I’m only teasing. You’re a very grown man with very large muscles who could probably crush everyone on this ship if he wanted. You’re very scary and we all fear you.”

“Oh ha ha. You’re so funny,”

“Aw, okay I’m sorry. Really.” You say meaning it.

He glances up and you can tell he’s not really mad, you’ve teased him about looking like the least intimidating killer before, which truth be told is something you probably shouldn’t joke about given the hurt he’s caused but it was never his choice. “Listen.” You say and lay your hands on his chest. “I think he made it very clear how he feels about you James.” You say his name so he knows you’re not playing anymore and it works like it always does.

Bucky looks up at you, studying your face for a second or two before he breaks, and looks away flashing the widest smile.

“By the way. When did you tell him? How you feel I mean.”

He thinks back as if he can’t remember. “This morning.” He says a little awkwardly.

So that explains why he was acting so off and sort of fidgety all day, and why Zemo has been so quiet. “And he clearly didn’t say it back.”

Bucky looks down as though he still feels the sting of rejection. “It was —not good. We were on the top deck laughing about something and I just, well I went for it. I looked him in the eyes, I held his hand and told him. He just stared at me. Eventually he said something like thank you, I think, I dunno, I sort of blacked out a little.” He says looking towards the windows “He said he needed to “attend to something” and walked away. He kissed me first though” He says with a sad laugh.

“And you’ve just been acting like nothing happened all day?” You hate that he’s kept it to himself, what an awful thing to suffer through; then again, it is Bucky. He’s known worse.

“What else was I supposed to do?”

“Tell me?”

“Why so you could make it a thing?”

“Well yeah?”

“I’m not a kid.” He says your name and you back down a little “I’m a grown man. I’ve had my heart broken”

“And put back together.” You remind him.

His eyes dart up to meet yours and slowly his smile returns. You know he’s thinking about the dance and the beautiful moment that followed. “Yeah. Turns out he wasn’t as ready as you thought he would be. But it didn’t take long.” He says sounding a little smug.

“I never had a doubt about Helmut’s love for you. I wouldn’t have wanted you to come with me if I weren’t sure. So,” You gently pull the strap around letting him see, “when it comes to things like this you just have to be honest. He trusts that you will, that we will. If you don’t want the leash James, don’t have it. Never be too proud to say no.”

He’s listening and you can see him actually thinking about it. Probably assessing his boundaries and weighing them against his love for Helmut and his level of comfort. He’s not used to this feeling, you can tell. He’s so physically strong, there are times he probably feels invincible. He’s certainly not used to being intimidated by the idea of the unknown. But tonight you suppose it’s more than that. “Are you sure you want this?” You ask wondering.

Bucky leans back surprised by the question. “More than anything.” He says without hesitation. You exhale the breath you’re holding feeling elated for tonight to become the start of so much more.

“You look beautiful by the way, you have all night.” He says softly “I meant to say so earlier.”

Damn it Barnes.

Your lips meet in a soft kiss and you lean against his chest feeling small in the warm space between his legs as his hands slowly glide across your back holding you so close…

The bedroom door opens and you part.

Turning in Bucky’s arms you’re fully aware that together you must paint the prettiest picture. The way Zemo gazes across the room at the two of you, this notion is quickly confirmed.

He has to stop in the doorway and just take it in. You’ve never seen him at a loss like this before. But you’re standing naked wearing the collar he chose for you with your arms around the man he thought he would never have, now in his own soft black leather restraint and that leash held loose in your hand.

You slide it up slowly over Bucky’s bare chest letting it drag across his skin and he closes his eyes against the rousing tickle until it falls over his back. You know damn well what you’re doing as you look back at the Baron with big, innocent eyes.

“Get up.” Zemo says, his already rough voice gone deep like it does when he’s ready to destroy you both.

Bucky gently moves you aside and stands.

“Take off the rest of your clothes.”

You stand beside Bucky watching him strip.

“And why are you still standing?” Zemo asks the second Bucky is finished, as if it’s laughable that either of you should think to do anything other than kneel before him. Funny though, he doesn’t have say it again before you’re both on your knees.

“Safe words” Zemo says unbuttoning his shirt as he comes closer.

“Rapunzel.”

“Streusel”

“Songs” He says, undoing his pants, slipping them down and off.

“Anything from the sound of music.”

“Penny’s from heaven.”

“Colors James?”

“Red means stop, yellow means slow,” Bucky’s breath catches and you glance over to find the Baron pulling his head back by the hair just a little “Green— means go.”

Zemo slowly reaches with his other hand and grips the leash letting go of Bucky’s hair, but he keeps him in this back bent position as he trails his fingers down over Bucky’s face and traces his lips, lowering to kiss him before letting go of the leather strip. Bucky’s soft moan as he melts into the kiss makes the deepest center of your belly quiver as you take a stuttered breath in.

Zemo holds his face in both hands now, the tip of his nose grazing over Bucky’s, his lips gently kissing his closed eyelids and his forehead before leaving him.

Moving silently Zemo comes to you so quickly you hardly have time to catch your breath before his mouth closes in and your eyes roll shut as his tongue finds yours with ease. It is an unexpectedly calm kiss that makes your skin tingle. He knows that when he kisses you like this, you feel both his affection for you and completely overpowered; so much so that you do nothing but submit to whatever it is he wants. He licks the crest of your top lip, presses a soft kiss to you again moaning very quietly and smiles at you.

“Sweet girl… you taste like James tonight. Have you been kissing him?”

“Only a little.”

He laughs “It’s all right. I like it.” He lifts your chin holding onto your jaw as he smooths his hand onto the top of your head, keeping it there. He sighs deep in his chest, and you look up at him waiting, wondering if he will show you his gentle side…

He sighs and smiles at you shaking his head just a little “You do like to tease me don’t you?” He clicks his tongue with a disapproving tsk-tsk. “Oh, I will enjoy this.” He pets your head and you watch the way he looks you over; naked, on your knees, willing to be his completely and there is the most beautiful darkness in his kind eyes.

You swallow feeling your throat resist the collar. You want to smile but you’re a little afraid of what he means and you know better than to assume.

“James.” He says looking over, with you still held close in this slightly awkward position.

“Yes Baron.”

“Go to the center of the room, sit and wait.”

“Yes Baron,” He says and gets up leaving your line of sight.

His grip on your face tightens. “Beautiful girl.” Zemo says looking back down at you, his eyes wild like they were before he was sent away, “Forgive me. I will enjoy this…”

**

Bucky never looks away from your punishments anymore. Now he watches with a jealous sort of lust that makes it all the better.

His eyes are fixed on you as he waits from his place in the center of the room and you are momentarily distracted by him which is nice because you need a break from the pain.

“You do like to tease, don’t you.” Zemo says circling you slowly. He sighs pretending to feel sorry for you.

Your fingers are interlaced on top of your head and you don’t dare put them down again after he gave your palms a slap with the leather— how silly that you hadn’t considered that the leash could be used against you. Now you’re here paying for underestimating Zemo and your earlier actions.

Your lips and eyes shut tight but you manage to open you mouth and answer him. “Yes Baron.”

“I know.” He says, his tone all too cool. He steps in front of you again and you wait breathing fast knowing that it’s coming.

That thin leash strikes the tops of your thighs licking your skin with the heat of fire and you hold in your cries, looking across the room at Bucky whose narrowed gaze shows some ounce of sympathy, but mostly you see how badly he wants to get up, push Zemo out of the way and fuck you.

When the next few strikes criss cross your thighs in a pattern of pain you give in, unable to take more and sink down onto your heels, your shaking breath nearly turning to tears.

Zemo stops and comes over pulling you back up onto your knees by your elbows. “Look at me.”

You won’t

“Look at me.”

You open your eyes but you hate him right now.

“Don’t tease.” He says shaking his head. He smiles and kisses your cheek, ignoring your angry face. “But, I have to admit, you are an incredible dancer. Next time, let me touch the parts I like most, yes?” He asks tweaking the tip of your nose.

You roll your eyes but quickly mumble. “Yes Baron”

He laughs a little and kisses your forehead. “So feisty tonight,” He says petting your head. “Should we continue until I’ve whipped it out of you?” He asks, standing with the leash dangling in his hand, both the front and backs of your thighs stinging.

“No! I’m sorry.” You insist while thinking back to how you shook your ass in the lounge and how you can’t wait to do it again. Maybe next time you’ll be able to take more of the consequences…

He smiles stroking your face.

“Fine.” He gazes down at you for a little while until you calm and eventually his hand feels as good on your skin as it ever has. “James.” He calls.

“Yes Baron.”

Zemo walks over going around behind Bucky and clips the leash back onto his collar, the sound is soft but chilling. You see the way Bucky’s eyes close and his muscles tense. “Come, let’s make her feel better. I think she’s learned her lesson enough for tonight.”

Both their eyes are on you.

You watch Zemo take that leash in hand and wrap it around his palm closing it in his fist like you knew he would, but you’re curious if he’ll actually take the next step, so you wait holding your breath. Sure enough, as he orders you to lay on your back with your legs spread, Zemo pulls Bucky along making him cross the short distance on all fours.

Holy shit…

“I want to hear her say your name.” Zemo says as Bucky lowers “I want you to make her come like you did while I was away.”

Bucky does not hesitate and your entire body responds to the warmth of his mouth closing in on you. Your toes curl to points, your knees bend boxing him in, your back arches high letting your chin lift until the top of your head is nearly touching the floor.

He licks up the center of your divide parting your lips to circle your entrance quickly, you can hear and feel his arousal as soft, muffled moaning against your wet center and when he slides his hands under your ass and raises you up like a plate to be licked clean you nearly scream.

As he finds a good rhythm it does begin to feel just like New York. Bucky always loved burrying his face between your legs for as long as you wanted him to, there was never a rush, never any pressure to hurry, just this sort of lazy enjoyment that consumed you both.

Helmuts voice sounds very distant as he asks, “Does it feel good?” He already knows.

“Yes” You sigh feeling relaxed after a while, Bucky’s fingers press into the fleshy parts of your backside and you smile.

The sharp crack of leather on skin makes you jump and your eyes fly open. Bucky gives a surprised but subdued yelp that gets lost against you.

Helmut doesn’t want you relaxed, he wants you screaming.

You’re dropped to the floor and the flicking of Bucky’s tongue becomes a heavy, more determined effort, amplified by the way he moans as Zemo takes a knee behind him and directs his attention to parts of the soldier’s body that you can’t see.

So it’s like that tonight.

It might be out of your line of sight, but you can imagine what’s happening based on the lovely sounds Bucky is making; all those deep moans laced with a hint of pain and you open your eyes gasping as he vigorously begins to suck your clitoris.

From the throws of your rising orgasm, you sense eyes on you and manage to look. Helmut is watching, left hand down busy with Bucky between the two of you.

“Let go, don’t hold back.” He says looking in your eyes as you pant. “I like to see it. I like to see the way you nearly cry when he makes your thighs shake and you say his name when you look at me.”

When you moan it’s the sort that you’re not in control of, it’s a response to the things Zemo is saying to you, a reflex that grips and holds as tight as your collar.

His right hand glides across the horizon of Bucky’s raised ass, the leash rolling along with it and you toss your head back and flex every muscle as Barnes puts his all into devouring your pussy.

His head moves up and down as he works his tongue, but it is the sight of that single, otherwise innocuous bit of black leather held by the man in control of it all that sends you over the edge.

“Would you like to come?” He asks his favorite question.

“Please,” You beg.

He pulls the leash; you feel the loss of pressure which is maddening. That smug little smile on Zemo’s mouth making it both better and worse.

“Please Baron.”

“Did you ever think of me when he fucked you?” He asks suddenly curious. "When he licked you like he is now?”

“Sometimes,” You confess still breathless.

Zemo frowns and pulls the leash harder. The muscle of his arm flexes and you hate him when he denies you a climax but he looks so good doing it. Bucky rises up to sitting to stop from being choked.

On even level with Bucky now, Zemo reaches around to grab his wet chin. “You were a good substitute soldat I’ll give you that much… she does seem ready to come, what do you think?”

Bucky gazes down at you licking his lips slowly—tasting, you, smelling you— he’s happier than he’s letting on and you know he’s just thankful for the permission to have your legs wrapped around his neck again. A hint of his own dominance flickers in his eyes. He stares at you with your thighs parted for him, moaning softly as they rock open and shut from wanting more. “Yes Baron. She does.” He says and the way they look, towering over you together with Zemo like a dark shadow behind the tightly wound power of Bucky; you bite your lip and swallow hard so ready to be devoured.

“Go on, finish her off,” Zemo says and gives him the slack needed. He pushes Bucky back down and the wonderfully obedient Sergeant dives back in.

The pause only makes the continuation better and when you see Zemo reach between Bucky’s legs again, you feel, not hear Bucky’s response as a deep, heavy moan that vibrates against you.

Your orgasm is nearly instant.

The rhythmic pressure rises until its inescapable; your voice goes high and your body jerks once with the perfect shock of pleasure, holding tight until you melt into the pulsing release, moaning again and again, thrusting against his face until you are shaking and yes, in the end you say his name. Just as your Baron wants. You breathe it, gasp it, reach and pull his hair, shoving his face deeper into the throbbing result of his skilled tongue as you smile “James” You sigh releasing him as you sink to the floor with a shiver so happy to have said it.

In the dizzying afterglow — your arm draped over your eyes, your breath shallow, your legs completely useless— you keep your eyes closed until their sloppy kiss breaks the silence.

“And now, you taste like her” Helmut says with a soft laugh against him, followed by the distinct sound Bucky makes when anyone touches him, especially on the underside of his shaft where he’s so sensitive it’s almost cruel— you really do love that sound.

From under lazy half open eyelids, you watch the smooth motion of Zemo’s hand stroking Bucky a few times. His smiling approval has a warm humming tone as the solider grows harder in his hand, and then Zemo kisses Bucky’s cheek, gets up and leaves him throbbing.

You just close your eyes again, still feeling so high.

Helmuts return rouses you and when you manage to open your eyes it’s just in time to see the blindfold come down covering Buckys’.

He goes stiff, alerted and resistant for a moment, but Helmut is there whispering to him in Sokovian to calm him like one would a prize stallion. He takes a knee behind Bucky and gently slides the elastic band further down around the back of his head.

With a look of lust and wonder at the man he gets to have, Helmut smiles and smooths his hands down both of Bucky’s shoulders, kissing the metal one as he slips his hand through the space between his arm and waist to lay it flat against Bucky’s stomach pulling him close.

“Can you feel how hard you make me?” His deep voice sounds needy in Bucky’s ear.

You sit up a bit, somewhat recovered from your climax and watch the way Bucky’s pretty mouth opens, how he doesn’t know what to say, how his powerful form looks both stronger in his bondage and yet so ready to submit.

“Answer me.”

“Yes Baron.” He says, barely audible.

“Are you afraid of this? Of me?”

“No…”

“Good” His eyes peer down at you in the dark “Come” He motions with his free hand, two fingers like he does inside of you, “Take him to the bed.”

You stand slowly, accepting Bucky’s leash, raising it high as it can only be done from the back and pull him up. For a moment you feel every ounce of control and power that Zemo must, then you take his hand and lead the man along.

“We’re at the bed” You say and lay his hand down letting him feel it. Bucky’s not so timid as you might be without your sight and you’ve been in his position many times before, but you can feel him being careful as he follows you onto the cool bedding.

“On your back” Zemo tells you not far behind.

You crawl up to the pillows and turn over.

“Legs open, he’ll find you.” Zemo says with confidence in Bucky.

“Go to her James.” He says, his eyes flitting from you to Bucky’s profile and along the length of his beautiful form.

For a second you don’t think he will, but he does in fact make his way to you and quite easily. Super heroes— you grin and roll your eyes. Bucky finds your foot and you flinch, giggling from the tickle. He smiles too and gently grabs your ankle, smoothing his hand up to your knee, his fingers reaching and then closing over the curve as he waits to be told what to do with his head tilted ever so slightly as he listens for Zemo’s voice.

Watching from the edge of the bed, Zemo looks distant and detached in a way that sends a chill down your back but you don’t mind, there’s something thrilling in the voyeuristic nature of it. “You may break rule three.” He finally says.

With a soft gasp of surprise you stare at Helmut a little shocked to hear him say it. Bucky however does not need to be told twice.

He parts your knees and you suck in your bottom lip watching the White Wolf hover over you.

His silhouette is stunning. Just long curving lines of tense muscle and power and that vibranium shining black and gold, reflecting the moonlight from the large windows.

Both his hands move up to your thighs before you can stop him and you hiss from the pain— a reminder of Helmuts earlier punishment. Bucky loosens his grip instantly choosing instead to slide his metal arm under your hips, pulling you down flat onto the bed. You look down between your bodies and see him so hard and so ready that he’s making you eager for it in spite of already feeling spent. He however could go all night.

Bucky lifts your ass while lowering his own to blindly find and spear you without hesitation.

You gasp like the air has been knocked from your lungs. Your fingers dig into the flesh of his shoulder and neck and his open mouth finds yours as he starts to thrust, punching his hips forward. Your loud, awful cries are muffled by his deep kiss. He’s been craving you since the last time and it shows.

“She feels so good after she comes.” Helmut says now on the bed with you. “Theres nothing quite like it” He’s close, you hear him just over Bucky’s shoulder but your eyes stay shut.

“Yes” Bucky exhales in your ear holding you so tight. “She feels incredible” He moans.

“So do you.” Helmut says, and you let your eyes open to find him beside you. He’s watching with the hard look of a man who loves as much as he wants to destroy. It makes you smile before you look away just as Bucky jerks his hips forward drawing a loud cry from you. “Don’t stop James. Whatever you feel, don’t stop,” Helmut says, his voice fading.

You slide your head over a little and see him behind Bucky running his hand down the man’s back. He then reaches back and you hear the snap of a bottle but you can’t see so you close your eyes to listen.

“Don’t stop.” Helmut mumbles again.

Bucky disobeys almost instantly. The leash is pulled. The smack to his ass is loud. He starts again and you smile, loving the feel of his ordered thrusting, though it is hesitant. He lets go of you and reaches up, running his fingers over the black satin that blinds him like he might take it off but thinks better of it and keeps fucking you instead.

“You’ve had this before.” Helmut says assuring him that it’s nothing new.

Bucky groans a little slowly grinding against you though he turns his head to the side. “You’ll make me come.” He says, his jaw clenched, voice deep and harsh in warning as he licks his lips, pressing them tight with a tense moan.

“Not yet.”

You stroke his hair where it’s very short at the nape of his neck and nip at his ear, “Don’t come” You say softly and he turns back to you, the tension easing in his shoulders a little as he fucks you just a bit faster.

“Slowly.” Helmut tells him and Bucky moves his hand in close to touch your face, his thumb stroking your cheek. You kiss it and lay your own hand over his, letting him feel your smile as you moan from the way he moves. “Like before, yes?” Helmut says.

“Mmhm” He agrees.

”Just like before so that you will know what to expect, even when it’s not the same” Helmut says softly and you open your eyes. Bucky turns his head left to right, curious, excited and nervous. He opens his mouth and you stare at it, hypnotized by the way he expresses every second of what he feels. He bites down on his lip but lets go just as quickly with a gasp, a moan, a sharp hiss and you feel his cock twitch inside of you.

That, must have been two fingers.

He takes it though, and turns back to you slowly, cautiously starting to draw back and push forward again enjoying the stimulation that will make what comes next easier.

“Are you okay?” You whisper through your own shallow breathing as you kiss along his collar bone and run your fingers down his arms.

“Yes” He damn near growls and kisses you hard.

Lost in the feel of his perfect lips and thick cock, just as he starts to find the perfect rhythm, you’re taken by surprise when you feel Bucky groan deeply. He pulls away, turning his head again and even through the blindfold you can see his deep frown.

With one hand firm on Bucky’s side, his fingers pressing deep into his ribs, the Baron’s words melt into Sokovian and his eyes close. You aren’t sure at first, not until you see his right hand on Bucky’s back pushing down just a little and Bucky’s thrust stop completely— not because he’s been told to. Then you know.

The sound, god that soft, unmistakable sound of being taken fills the room and for once it’s not coming from you.

You hold your own breath and reach up cradling his face. You want to look into his eyes but the blindfold was put there by the man you both obey and you think you understand why. It has him so keyed into every touch, it’s heightened even the lightest sensation, that you wonder if it’s fair, it must be so intense, but it’s already happening. And you realize that as good as Bucky still feels inside of you the fact that Helmut is almost inside of him nearly pushes you over the edge.

With his hands tight on Bucky’s waist, you listen to Helmut moan deeply as he pushes past the resistance to smoothly but very slowly, inch by inch, fill him.

Bucky is loud in your ear, louder than you thought he would be and you smile holding him tight until he sighs sounding somehow both relieved and overwhelmed.

“It’s done.” Helmut says between tight breaths leaning over him, “Are you all right?”

Bucky nods against you.

With his cock finally sheathed and the two people he loves beneath him, you get a taste of what the future holds as the Baron starts to, in a sense, fuck you both.

Helmut pulls back. You can tell because Bucky shakes his head in protest, just a little. He pushes up between you like he might want to stop but you stroke his face and bring him back down showering him with kisses until your tongues are playfully rolling along and he seems to be reminded of how good it feels to be buried in your tight walls with you flexing and pulsing around him, so that when Helmut thrust back into him again you both moan together.

He pulls from your lips mouthing “Oh… fuck” with a stuttered breath and if he’d said it, it would have been a shout.

It’s enough to make you moan again beneath them and for a second you close your eyes just letting it happen to you instead of being a part of it until his tone changes and you think maybe its to much…

Helmut pulls the leash and brings Bucky up somewhere halfway between the two of you. “Are you all right?” He asks again reaching to turn Bucky’s face to profile, letting his lips brush his ear. Bucky flashes a breathy smile and nods reaching back, his cold fingers spreading across the top of Helmuts thigh. “Yes.” He manages.

Helmut smiles then, thrusting slowly up and in, laying his head on Bucky’s shoulder to make them moan together and the resulting slow return of Bucky's cock into you makes you join them.

Helmut lays a slow line of kisses across his neck, towards his shoulder, one hand curved over the black and gold, the other snaked around his waist and against his solid stomach as he controls himself, fucking him just a little faster now.

Bucky is as noisy as you are. He hisses when Helmut draws back, his fingers gripping harder on the top of the Baron’s thigh. Zemo unwraps the leash from around his hand and pushes Bucky back down wanting to see you both again.

You moan at the feel of him deeper inside of you, but look beyond Bucky to Helmut; he’s so beautiful with his brow furrowed as he fucks. He looks down at you, legs spread, pussy filled with another man’s cock. He loves it and reaches for you and you for him, your fingers finding one another to interlace. He looks deep into your eyes, his gaze fixed and he refuses to break the link between you even as he bluntly thrust into Bucky until any notion of his “first time” is completely destroyed. Bucky so perfectly becomes this submissive, moaning mess between you.

“Please,” He gasps, your fingers tracing his collar as he raises up “Please, I can’t hold back.”

Helmut just leans over him sighing against his back, holding him tight.

“It’s too much” Bucky says and you try not to moan but the weight of Helmut pushes Him into you and he feels so good.

“Do you want me to come?” Helmut asks sitting up.

“Yes” Bucky answers.”

“And would you like to come?”

“Yes. Please!” He pleads.

Helmut smiles at you, quickly taking your hand to kiss your fingers before letting go and grabbing Bucky’s waist to hold him down. He draws back and snaps his hips forward making the man truly cry out for the first time and you wrap your arms around his neck feeling yourself pulse. You try to hold back too.

Helmut moans deeply enough to get your attention but when you open your eyes and see the look on his face, you know it’s not over yet.

“Beg.” He demands

“Please.” Bucky says in your arms.

“Louder.”

“Please may I come.”

Helmut leans down, his cock drawing back and out, Bucky’s head raising as he does his mouth open looking anxious.

“Louder.” He shoves forward again driving into him which pushes him deeper into you and you press your forehead into his his chest as Bucky nearly cries into the pillow.

“Please Baron.” He actually begs. “Please, I can’t take it… I can’t take more.” And you can hear it in his voice, he’s not talking about the denial.

“Yes.” Zemo exhales in his ear. “Yes come.”

Bucky pushes up showing just a fraction of his strength, and you truly don’t know who is fucking who harder.

Someone has taken hold of your ankles, some else is pushing down on your knees. Bucky’s body flexes and he thrust deep, pushed further by Zemo. He moans through a clenched jaw going stiff before the pulse and warm rush which sends you over the edge with your own climax and you gasp as you cling to him wondering if you’ll always come together now.

The familiar sound of Helmut sighing loudly and breathing hard tells you that he’s only a second behind the two of you. You wish you could touch him…

Bucky is very still as it happens. You watch him openly accept Helmut’s warm ropes of come. You watch him feel exactly what you do right now, what you have countless times— that explosive finalization of being claimed by the man who dominates you so perfectly.

And when the heavy breathing slows, when everyone calms a bit, when you all start to ease back and away— it’s over.

“Bucky” You whisper.

He turns his head towards your voice and knows the tone. Its how you say his name when you’re worried. He smiles a little and leans down to kiss you lightly. Good. He’s not broken.

But maybe you are…

You can’t move, you don’t even want to try, you just wait until the layers of bodies fall away and the cool bedroom air hits your skin and slowly, scared to know what shape your lower half is in, you close your legs, feeling the deep ache in your hips. Your body is spent.

Time passes slowly before you move again and when you do, you prop yourself up onto your elbow somewhat surprised to find Helmut beside you and not Bucky. He’s on the other side lying on his stomach.

The blindfold is on the pillow and his eyes are open. His unfocused gaze seems a little shaken but at least he’s smiling.

“Did we hurt you?” He asks blinking and glancing up when he notices you staring.

Still the damn hero. After all that. “No Bucky.” You smile and roll your eyes laying back down, curling up beside the Baron who rubs your thigh. “You didn’t hurt me.”

You sigh deeply and let your mind go blank closing your eyes again, welcoming the calming silence.

**

“James” You hear from the edge of the bed.

You must have fallen asleep.

You think Bucky might have too, but you can’t tell. He looks down and Helmut motions for him.

He’s moving slow, rubbing his eyes, groaning as he twists onto his back, but Bucky does finally go and sit beside him.

Helmut motions for him to lower his head which he does and gently he unclips the leash and takes the collar from around his neck, pulling it free.

Bucky raises his head looking into those soft brown eyes for a while, the unspoken affection enough for a moment until he slowly folds into the Baron’s arms.

You turn onto your back wincing from all of your aches listening to their softly spoken words some of which are so low that you can’t make out exactly what they’re saying and that’s okay— but what you can hear is everything it should be.

“Not always.” Zemo is saying in answer to a question you missed. His arm is still around Bucky’s shoulders. “Whatever you want is what I’ll give you. You know my nature and I know yours but, never forget my many sides James.” He teases calling back to the earlier conversation.

Bucky sits up “I haven’t. And like I said. I want— well all of it— everything. You. Her.” He looks back over his shoulder and you smile at one another as he reaches back and strokes his hand down the curving arch of your foot.

Bucky looks back at Helmut and sighs. “I thought I knew how it would be… I had no idea.” He says still processing everything thats just happened.

Helmut looks at him and your heart aches with love as you’re sure his does. Bucky is the oldest person in the room with so much to learn. “It’s late, and if we keep on I’ll start getting emotional, I think Whitney Houston has a song about it and she’ll start fucking, dancing again” He tosses a nod in your direction like he just doesn’t know what to do with you.

You laugh from the pillows “Hey!”

“Go on,” Zemo says smiling “Get cleaned up and I’ll send her in after you.”

Bucky nods happily accepting a firm but quick kiss. “Yes Baron” He says with a hint of sarcasm. The submission is fading to the confines of the collar for now and Helmut watches him get up and walk away, with only the slightest change in his gait.

When he says your name you take Bucky’s place and bend your head letting Helmut remove your collar next. He unbuckles it and slides it off, dropping it to the bed; rubbing your neck, kissing where the buckle was. “Now lie back, let me see the rest” He says softly.

You don’t know what he means, but you do anyway.

Helmut bends over you and kisses the now dull, nearly forgotten marks left behind from the leash, but you still flinch. “I don’t mind when you dance, not in the least.” He confesses against your skin and you shut your eyes smiling. Oh. “You dance as much as you want to” He kisses the other leg tracing the fading lines towards your inner thigh. “When you want to and how you want to. So long as you know I’ll probably always find a reason to punish you” He says squeezing your hip, making you laugh. He pulls himself up coming closer and lets his chin rest on your stomach for a second. Helmut looks up at you and sighs rubbing your stomach with his hand flat. “You know that I love you? You— feel it?”

Your heart flutters with an unexpected rush of so many things. You know why he’s asking. A lot of this has been about Bucky, so now Zemo is checking in, making sure you still feel seen —Your dear, wonderful Baron.

You stroke his hair back lost in the clear brown gaze. “I need you to know, to always know.” He sits up sliding close along the edge of the bed so that he can look down at your face as a stream of Sokovian words tumble from his lips, his deep voice laying over your naked body like a blanket. “It’s clear this relationship involves three people and I may share my heart with him, but my love for you is no less. If anything I’m thankful to have a woman like you,” He pauses to lay his hand to your face, the heat of his palm against your cheek feels calming. “Someone capable of bringing the three of us together, no one else could have made this happen, just you.”

“Me?” You ask looking up at him leaning against his touch just a little more.

He nods “Yes, of course. Don’t be modest.” Helmut says stroking your cheek. “I may have loved him first, but you reminded me that it was safe to feel that way in the first place after everything… and to say the words out loud” You can see him thinking back, probably to the night you first declared your true feelings for him as only you would, and it makes him laugh softly. “I loved him first, but you were and are the one I need, so that I may love without fear.”

You feel that sunlight on your face, that warmth that only comes when Baron Zemo looks at you. Sometimes you feel like you will burn too bright from the heat of it; like a struck match. Sometimes you fear you will burn to ash…

You shut your eyes. Anything to break the spell.

He says your name softly and you open them a little embarrassed to find tears blurring your vision. Helmut wipes the stream that falls before you can stop them from falling down the side of your face with the back of his hand and bends to kiss you gently.

He pulls you up to sitting keeping you close.

“Thank you.” You say in his arms. He nods as he looks you over, like he’s looking to make sure you have no physical injuries he needs to care for and brushes a lash from your cheek before smoothing another tear with his thumb.

“No more tears. Go and get cleaned up, yes? You look tired, I was hard on you again."

You laugh hanging your head. “Both of us.”

He joins the laughter rubbing your back inhaling deeply through his teeth, the memories of tonight so good they hurt. “You don’t know; you have know no idea what it’s like to see the two of you…” You lean to the side to see his face clearly, “When you’re both beneath me, and you look small enough to break and he looks like a god” He smiles, a warm laugh mixed with a breath “And you’re both mine.” His smile fades into a look more serious. “And I am yours.”

You’re hopelessly in love with this man and lean in kissing him until you both feel the possibility of it becoming more which really should not physically happen, so you pull away.

“Go on.” He says tapping your leg. “Go and get clean and then come to bed.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll use the smaller bathroom across the hall”

”Okay, I’ll make sure Bucky’s okay too” You add and he smiles but looks up towards the door like he’s suddenly very worried “I’m sure he’s fine.”

You get up but stop and turn back to find him just sitting there looking off, lost in his thoughts. “Helmut?”

“Yes?” He looks at you, the shadows along his face making the sharp angles so pretty.

“Did you think you’d end up loving us both?” You ask and you can see that your question has surprised him.

He looks past you to the bathroom door again listening to the running water of the shower, then back at you for some time before finally answering. “I didn’t think I would give myself the chance.” He says and flashes a smile, the truth surprising even him. “Luckily I don’t always listen to the voices in my head.”

Authors Notes: I'm busy working on the final parts of this story as I've been learning how to work Tumblr thanks to the ever patient, ever wonderful, ever amazing @natbarnes1917 who is basically the best human alive and you should all go and read all of her stuff because it will make your day infinitely better. Thanks for your support and help bestie! and for encouraging me to never delete a single smut scene because why have one bj when you can have two!

[puttingfingerstokeys]

a friend in need [reworked]

so here’s the OG if ye cared: The OG(tm)

I’ve added characters and koncepts. Shinnok IS in the amulet, Quan-Chi is around probably, uhh... some shit happened offscreen a la annihilation that I’m sure I can enumerate on later or whatever. Uh

Faraday Cage

Energy crackled and radiated outward, sparking off pavement, trees, vehicles, people—anything with which it came in contact. Fires had erupted all over and people were fighting them as best they could, but with little hope of relief. Destruction radiated outward in all directions from one point. At the center of that point was an angry god, grieved at great loss, enraged beyond his own ability to control.

Earthrealm could not be protected by a weak, fatherly deity; Raiden understood that now, and it scared him. His own weakness scared him. His foolishness scared him. The “justice” of the Elder Gods scared him. He would end this fight and all fights, because they, for some reason, had chosen the path of passive observation. He had to do this; there was no other way. Why did no one understand? He was singular in his purpose and not even the chosen of Earthrealm, Liu Kang, could stand in his way.

Raiden had taken his own advice, a frightful echo from a future as yet unknown, an Armageddon which killed them all, himself included. It had taken many trials and many more errors to realize his own, true meaning. 

“He must win.” 

Raiden had finally reached the conclusion that the “he” in question was not Liu Kang, Earthrealm’s chosen, but Shao Kahn, the bloodthirsty outworld dictator. Reality shivered under the threat of the merging, however, and still the Elder Gods did not step in. How far would this have to go? Did they know that Shao Kahn’s army was, even now, trampling the tenuous pact between the realms? Did they know it had been making rubble piles of Earthrealm cities for almost a decade? Did they care?

“Liu, over here!” It was Johnny Cage, long having grown from the self-absorbed jerk Liu Kang had once known. In fact, he was a father, and proud of his little girl, but right now, damn near shitting in his britches to see Raiden this way. He offered an arm and pulled Liu Kang to his feet. He and a few others were taking shelter behind a small building which shook with the march of outworld foot soldiers and presently began to flicker with a terrible energy.

Raiden had warned himself, somehow, that the merging of realms must begin, that this was the meaning of victory in his own prophetic words, for the Elder Gods to step in. Shao Kahn had begun his dark work, however, and still nothing moved, nothing in favor of the forces of light and justice, anyway. It seemed the Elder Gods had a different idea of what it meant to maintain balance.

Certainly, there had been debate at first. There was no guarantee the Elder Gods would step in to honor the ancient pact between the protector of Earthrealm and Outworld’s greedy dictator, Shao Kahn. The deal had been struck before the eyes of those gods, however, and between divinity and divine blood; it was unbreakable. What no one had anticipated was that Shao Kahn could, technically speaking, send his forces through into Earthrealm without entering himself, or even starting the merge. 

The terms of his further challenge, after having lost to the warriors of Earthrealm had been untenable, however, and so, with little debate, all kombatants under the god of thunder agreed to fight for the safety and security of their realm as a veritable army, rather than allowing their fate to once more hinge on a single battle. It had not stopped Shao Khan from taking Lao from behind and nearly snapping his neck when the behatted monk was the only one he could reach. This should have killed him, but for Raiden’s quick, skilled intervention. Even then, he realized he had been afraid that the Elder Gods would see this as blatant interference, though he had never once regretted it.

The invasion was small, at first, relatively speaking, and confined to Shang Tsung’s island, the weakest place in the fabric of reality, a sort of nexus point which connected most other realms. The Earthrealm fighters were able to contain it there, using it as a funnel, but only for so long. After that, the secret invasion began. Fortunately, the marching armies of open conquest had only made themselves apparent in the last few years or so. As the fabric of reality between realms had become thin, more thin spots had appeared, making crossing realms much, much easier. 

“Your tournament is canceled, puny god! I have rescinded my generous invitation!” Shao Kahn called, raising his great hammer to the sky as Outworld began finally to merge with Earthrealm, tearing down buildings and reconstructing them in hideous amalgams. People fled and were trampled; people stood and were gored. He would line the streets with bodies before the day was out and only Raiden stood before him. Raiden, who had fought his own, dear Liu Kang, who had defied him nearly to death.

Had he died? Was Liu Kang dead? Raiden could not see him. He could not see anything past the haze of fury clouding his vision and judgment. I have killed him, again, as it was said I always will, as I always must. The thought was errant, not his own, and he brushed it aside, focusing on Shao Kahn and the present. It was his only choice.

For Raiden, at that moment, there was only himself, the protector of Earthrealm, and Shao Kahn, the invader. The world around him had narrowed to a tunnel which saw only the vicious Kahn. His soldiers had massed around him, many of them clearly conscripts from Netherrealm. Quan-Chi had long been on the side of Shao Kahn. It had been his magic which resurrected Sindel, giving her Shang Tsung’s many souls and turning her into a maddened force of nature. She was gone now, but while she lived, she stole many an Earthrealm warrior from him and Raiden could see some of these, lined up near Shao Kahn, not least of all the revenant kryomancer, Sub-Zero. 

Meanwhile, Earthrealm’s remaining defenders did their best to regroup. Their numbers had dwindled in recent years. They were hanging on by the skin of their teeth, but only just. Everyone was exhausted and no one could remember when last they slept a whole night in a real bed. 

“He… Johnny—you should have seen his eyes,” Liu Kang gasped, slumping to his rear-end near the wall. Jacqui Briggs stooped to examine him, checking for external injuries, and wishing for a better facility in which to check for internal. She was no expert, but godly lightning probably left a nasty mark.

“I see ‘em from here, Liu, and it’s… this is fucked,” grunted the Hollywood star, handing the binoculars over to his daughter, Cassie. She shook her head.

“He said we had to let Shao Kahn win, or else the Elder Gods would never step in,” gasped Liu Kang between labored breaths. Something was definitely wrong and if it was not treated soon, it could become permanent. “They… aren’t stepping in—I knew they didn’t care about us. I…” He groaned in agony and Jacqui pushed him back down.

“Hold still, Chosen One, your guts’ve been rearranged by a pissed off god—maybe take it easy.”

“If I ‘take it easy’, we all die,” Liu Kang snapped, jaw tight. Jacqui gave him a look that suggested she would take no lip, no matter how damn chosen he was or who chose him, for that matter. She could see from the way he held himself, the way his muscles tensed and tightened, that he was going to get much worse before he got better, especially if he pushed. They might not have a choice, soon enough, but while they did, there was no point risking it.

He met her gaze—it was burning with rage and sadness—with his own. They were matched in this way, both earthrealm natives with everything and more to lose, both people who had fought, tooth and nail, against this very thing. Sitting by idly and wishing things were otherwise was not something to which either Liu Kang or Jacqui Briggs were accustomed. 

Somewhere in the midst of it all, Kung Lao approached, supporting a figure between himself and Hanzo Hasashi, the Shirai-Ryu Grandmaster. Behind them trailed Takeda Takahashi, Scorpion’s pseudo son and likely successor, half-carrying Lao’s cousin, Jin. The figure between Scorpion and Kung Lao was dressed all in blue, with cracked, gray flesh. He seemed to exude chill and once they had placed him, only Grandmaster Hasashi seemed inclined, or able, to stay near him.

“Is this all that is left?” Lao’s voice was not incredulous, so much as despairing. He moved immediately toward Jacqui and Liu Kang, dropping to one knee. “Where is Princess Kitana and her force?”

Liu Kang shook his head. He explained that the last he had seen her, she was leading an auxiliary force of Shokan loyal to her and her claim to the throne, plus a few Osh-Tekk warriors, a gift from the rebellious general Ko’atal. The big man himself had been nowhere to be seen, but he was resourceful. Jade, too, had been missing, but Liu Kang assumed that if they were together, they were safe. She was much more than Kitana’s handmaiden. Their party had been split by the arrival of the irate god of thunder and Shao Kahn’s largest, most potent portal yet.

“Dad!” The three looked up suddenly at Cassie’s shout, pulled from their informal debrief. She was reaching out to an empty space where Johnny had just been standing. Before she could go after him, however, Jacqui was at her back, grasping her elbow, hard.

“No,” Jacqui hissed, “you’ll be fried—we don’t know if Raiden’s friendly anymore… if he ever was.” Cassie jerked her elbow away, but Jacqui held tight and shook her head. “I mean it, Cass. Your dad’s… gunna do what he’s gunna do, just like mine.”

With effort, she pulled Cassie back and away from the violent arcs of red lightning that were even now consuming trees and landscaping, cars, enemy soldiers, anything within the dome of the thunder god’s power—an area that was growing. Cassie hated that explanation, but not because it was foolish. Jacqui was spot on, in every way. Johnny Cage was a force of nature himself and always had been. Cassie wasn’t sure, however, that he would be enough to combat an elemental who had, in her mind, clearly gone out of his wits. 

Raiden and Shao Kahn met somewhere in the middle, just beyond the portal the Outworld emperor had opened to begin the final invasion and merging of Earthrealm to his blasted home. Still, the Elder gods did not stir.

Shao Kahn’s hammer swung mightily and met a fist that moved with swift violence. A thunderclap resounded, flattening the area and then cratering it. Neither hand nor head of hammer shattered, but that was of no consequence to Shao Kahn, who reached out and hauled Raiden forward by his collar.

The thunder god looked into the emperor’s animal eyes and neither hated nor pitied him. Raiden’s rage was beyond petty ire toward the man who had caused his beloved Earthrealm so much grief over the centuries. He would simply destroy Shao Kahn. It had become singularly simple in his eyes. He had been a fool. He would end this once and for all, for everyone, forever.

Perhaps it was the look, the nearly directionless fury which met his eyes that made Shao Kahn drop Raiden. Johnny Cage, who had worked himself much closer than was probably safe, watched from still a ways off and could not quite pinpoint what it was that had Shao Kahn backing away from the thunder god.

“It is forbidden for you to fight,” Shao Kahn warned, with more authority and sureness in his voice than it seemed he felt. “You cannot engage in Mortal Kombat! You are not mortal!” Even his minions began to back away as Raiden’s arced, red lightning crashed violently into them, disintegrating here, vaporizing there, starting fires all over. Raiden’s chest heaved with the effort of either sustaining the onslaught, or holding it back, Johnny wasn’t sure. 

On that heaving chest, Shinnok’s awful amulet pulsed with life and light, beckoning and promising strength. Raiden reached for it, but hesitated, seemingly doubting himself for the merest fraction of a second. It was in that span of time whence Shao Kahn regained his courage, approached, and swung again. This time, he would have caught the god of thunder on the chin, had it not been for the quick footwork of Johnny Cage.

This time, boots met hammer, though the clash was not so even. The force of the impact sent Johnny into the side of a building. His back hit concrete and he was certain he felt something snap, but if he gave up now, Raiden was absolutely going to do something stupid. Johnny didn’t understand Shinnok’s power, or even who and what Shinnok really was, or had been, as the case may be, but he knew an evil piece of jewelry when he saw it. Perhaps ironically, his experience in the film industry had clued him into its potency and danger, if the sickly green glow was not enough.

“Time for a scene change,” he grunted, pushing himself to his feet and spitting blood. The tang of adrenaline was on his tongue and coursing through his veins, making him hyper focus upon this detail or that, the world around him moving in slow motion. Johnny fancied he could hear Cassie screaming somewhere in the distance, but right now, his attention was on the battle before him.

“You are too weak to use that amulet on me, or anyone, thunder god,” Shao Kahn mocked, manufacturing enough bravado to satisfy his immense ego. Raiden grimaced, as if considering whether or not the man was right. He ground his teeth and once more moved to grasp Shinnok’s amulet. Shao Kahn struck again, this time with a boot.

Raiden was forced to block this with a cross before his chest and to step back. He balled one fist and surrounded it with lightning, shaking his head. “You do not know my power,” he growled, “but rest assured, Shao Kahn, you will.” Raiden discharged the lightning at Shao Kahn, who used his hammer as a ground and laughed.

“Pathetic, and weak.” Each descriptor was punctuated with a sharp wag of his finger toward Raiden’s chest and the deadly amulet which sat throbbing with energy thereupon.

“I am not weak—I am doing as I have always done. I am protecting Earthrealm.” His hand once more rose to the amulet. “Whatever that takes, I will do it.”

With his free hand, Raiden wound up a massive store of radiant, red energy and hurled it at Shao Kahn. The tyrant was thrown back mightily, taking out a score of his foot soldiers as he flew. Raiden continued forward, his pace slow, but deliberate. The troops of outworld were suddenly cowed by this display, as if their fellows being randomly vaporized had not been enough. Something had shifted, they sensed, and they began to back away. 

“You are forbidden, Raiden!” This time, Shao Kahn’s voice was laced with fear; the confidence he had earlier displayed with his first remark of this kind had evidently deserted him in the face of what Raiden had become. The deity’s hand was now resting almost lovingly, protectively covering his father’s amulet. It was as if a very small part of him still fought for his own innocence, whatever might have been left of it. 

Yes, a voice whispered, emanating from the amulet, but resounding in Raiden’s fevered mind, yes, grasp the power you have earned. With it, no one will threaten you again. Earthrealm will be safe, forever. The voice which came from the cursed object was familiar and comforting. His thoughts clung to it, to the truth of it. He had earned this power. Eons of bending to the will of the Elder Gods with no reward signaled the need for it, the deserving of its power. He only ever moved to protect Earthrealm.  

Meanwhile, Johnny had begun to close the distance between himself and the wrathful deity. He could feel his hair standing on end with the force of the red lightning radiating outward from Raiden’s body. He was tense; the actor could see that from where he was, and… Are those tears? He shook off the thought as a stray bolt vaporized a fire hydrant less than a yard from him; it burst into a geyser of city water which soon began raining down upon everyone in the vicinity.

Johnny ducked behind a bike rack, realized that was probably a poor choice of cover, and scuttled along on the ground until he found a trash bin that looked as if it was made of plastic composite, rather than anything that might conduct those wicked red arcs of enraged power. His heart was hammering a thousand miles per hour and for a moment, he wondered if that was the first sign of an electricity-induced heart attack. Maybe he had been struck and did not realize it.Thinking about the ramifications of that hurt his head, so he stopped and decided to do what he did best. 

“Now or never,” he told himself, taking a deep breath and fully expecting to be vaporized like the fire hydrant. It would be guts, however, not water spraying about, if he was lucky. Speaking of the water... too much of it, and Johnny would be zapped for sure; he was already soaked to the bone. Oh like it’s any different than what I’m about to do, he hissed internally, covering his face to keep his sunglasses dry. He needed to be able to see for this one. Johnny simply told himself that god lightning was different than the regular stuff and, in a burst of foolish energy, tossed himself around the trash bin and ran, full tilt, toward Raiden’s position. 

A wayward bolt struck his glasses, tossing them from his face and exploding stars before his eyes. Johnny stumbled and, somewhere in the distance—she sounded thousands of miles away—he thought he could hear Cassie’s voice calling his name, screaming it in raw, brutal, throat-rending panic. He prayed someone was holding her back, because if this went south, as he was almost sure it would, she would be about to fight a hurricane, armed with only a pair of pistols. 

Raiden was not going to be stopped, but Johnny felt that it was his duty to try. Liu’s shouldered too fuckin’ much already—my turn, he reasoned, forcing himself to keep going, running harder and faster than he had ever done in his life. 

Raiden had stopped his inexorable stride and Shao Kahn looked on in bewilderment as the earthrealm action star closed the gap, running directly into that deadly lightning. Shao Kahn had been so sure Johnny’s miserable back had broken against that building. There was something to be said for the tenacity of a cornered, wounded animal. The Outworld dictator considered the benefits of having stock like that in the breeding pits. If Johnny Cage lived through this, his life in Outworld would be relatively comfortable, Shao Kahn decided. 

The god turned his head, acknowledging Johnny with eyes as red as his lightning. Sure as shit, Johnny thought, noting that Raiden was, indeed, in tears, though they did not seem to be saline, as a human’s might be—they stood out, even upon his pale flesh, catching light and reflecting it like diamonds—or perhaps rubies, stained by the power of his rage. When they fell, they seemed to solidify midair. He supposed the sound they would make might be the minute clattering of diamonds or solidified quicksilver, though of course he could hear nothing through the rush of blood in his ears and the ambient roar of battle nearly-joined.

“Stop it, man!” Johnny called, reaching a hand out. Raiden still did not move, but neither did he cease his bombardment. Shao Kahn’s forces were at a standstill, watching, for once uncertain of the correct path. Some were even edging toward the portal, back to Outworld and relative safety. “Raiden—you listening to me? You don’t hafta—” 

A bolt struck him square in the chest and he dropped to his knees, eyes wide, staring with pain and fear at the man—the god—who had struck him down. Raiden seemed to shift a little at that and then to turn. Johnny had caught his attention and would have held it but for Shao Kahn’s voice. “An earthrealm fraud has halted your march, Lord Raiden—what sort of god are you?!” He urged his forces forward, but no one stirred. Shao Kahn looked around and once more met Raiden’s eyes, which were again trained upon him. The grip on Shinnok’s amulet tightened and finally, it seemed Raiden would use it. 

“No more.” 

Cassie continued to scream. Johnny could hear her now. He was coming to, realizing that he was not, in fact, dead, nor even too terribly scorched. At the last moment, evidently, the magic of his strange heritage had leapt up to protect him, but he could feel in his bones that this would not happen again. He had one chance. For Cassie, he thought, all those kids—for Liu and Lao and Sonya, for Jax, even Scorpion and Sub-Zero, and Earthrealm. His heart thudded and he started forward, first at a trot, the once more at a leaping gallop. For Raiden. 

Before the god could respond, Johnny Cage had tossed his arms around that broad, pillar-like torso. He had never realized just how big Raiden actually was, and thought perhaps he had allowed himself to retain a human size when dealing directly with them. He had to have been at least seven feet tall and change, but Johnny held tight all the same. He could feel a surge of anger and fathomless grief within his own body, as if it belonged to him, originated IN him—and it scared him. All this time, they had though Raiden was losing his mind to the desire for power, something much more understandable to a human mind. Johnny had never held tightly to the belief, having gotten to know Raiden over the years, but others, his late ex-wife included, had been downright certain.

“Christ,” he grunted, “is this what you’re feeling?” 

It was then that the Outworld dictator chose to rush them. With him leading the charge, his hordes felt renewed confidence and vigor and lunged forth as one, howling their triumph over Earthrealm. Raiden was frozen in place, but only for a moment. He seemed suddenly to come back to himself, as if he had been far away, no longer in control of his limbs or actions—certainly not of his lightning. 

He wrapped one powerful arm around Johnny, who still held him, and with the other, lashed a wide, sweeping arc of blue-white lightning across the crowd, releasing his hold on the wicked amulet to do so. Shao Kahn’s hammer protected him, but his troops were not so lucky. There was a smell of ozone and charred flesh left hanging in the air when Shao Kahn opened his eyes and straightened. 

“Send your champion to face me, then!” Shao Kahn shouted, beating his chest, his hubris seemingly undiminished. His tone, however, was just this side of desperate, and his stance was far too eager, too frantic, to regain and retain control over this place. Johnny looked to Raiden, then back to Shao Kahn. He knew what this meant. He’d been at this long enough. The challenge had been issued years ago and Raiden had, with the blessing of Earthrealm’s defenders, refused it. Now, it would be taken up.

“So you’re declaring Mortal Kombat?” Johnny was going to be absolutely clear on this one, since… god contracts and all that—or something. He wasn’t wholly certain on this point, but it seemed to be the right thing to do. Shao Kahn seemed actually to consider this. His troops were slaughtered or retreating, Raiden was placated for the time being, but who knew how long that could last? His konquest had begun unlawfully, but for the loophole of his not quite finishing the merging of realms. That would be his next step—because if there existed no Earthrealm champions to defend her, then who would stop him?

“Yes, Earthrealm clown,” Shao Kahn rumbled, slapping the handle of his great hammer on one rough palm.

“Mime, actually,” came another voice from across a few lanes of what would have been traffic. Emerging from the alley where they were taking shelter, Liu Kang led their friends, injured and whole, into the open. He was supported by a grimacing Jacqui Briggs and a relieved but concerned Kung Lao, but it was clear from Liu’s expression that “no you have ruptured organs” was not an answer he would be hearing today. Raiden’s shoulders sagged a little in relief; he had not killed Liu Kang after all. 

“Thank you, Liu—wait hang on…” Johnny narrowed his eyes at his friend. The Shaolin fighter did not respond and seemed, for a moment, not to be able to meet Johnny’s eyes. In fact, if Johnny wasn’t tripping completely, he could have sworn that the guy was blushing. Still got it, he thought, grinning. 

Before he could continue, however, Cassie broke into a gait he very much recognized as one that signaled extreme displeasure. Her face held a look of grim determination as she stomped toward her father. Johnny knew he was in for it and backed away, hands up.

“Whoa, whoa, pumpkin, easy, huh?” He looked between Shao Kahn and his daughter and realized he would rather face the Outworld tyrant. “C’mon—easy, what was your old man s’posed to do?”

“Not get fried by a pissed off god and leave me a fucking ORPHAN? MAYBE?” Her voice held an edge of hysterical panic he did not like. “Oh. Shit…” she stammered, stopping just as her path crossed Raiden’s. “I’m—sorry… I didn’t mean—”

“You did,” said the god, inclining his head toward her, “but you are not incorrect.”

Cassie was sheepish and mumbled another apology. Raiden seemed to understand her position, however, and addressed it no more. Instead, he turned his attention upon the waiting tyrant.

“When will this foolishness subside so that I can begin the konquest of your filthy realm, Raiden?!” Shao Kahn was growing impatient. “The Earthrealmer has declared Mortal Kombat and I accept, on the terms that, when I win, the merge will begin and you, pitiful servant of the Elder Gods, will stand aside and bow to their will as you have always done!”

Johnny’s jaw tightened at this hateful commentary upon Raiden’s character, but for once in his life, he held his tongue. Now was not the time to bandy words with dictators and monsters; now was the time to make them eat those words with a garnish of ball-crushing whoop-ass.

“It is my destiny to fight Shao Kahn,” Liu Kang hissed, eyeing Johnny, his gaze flinty. The hardness in his voice and tone belied the real fear that they were thwarting destiny and tempting a fate no one was equipped to handle. His eyes snapped to Raiden, then, pleading. Raiden shook his head. Jacqui echoed the movement. Even now, protesting this, Liu leaned heavily upon both people holding him up, in no condition to fight. 

“Guess it’s not, Liu—stand back and watch.” Johnny would hear no more, turning toward his opponent and shouting. “I accept your terms, Shao Kahn—winner take all.” I mean, I’m not gunna take over Outworld, but like… it sounds pretty good when I say it out loud, his fevered brain nattered.

He must win. Raiden’s own, incomprehensible words came back to him in a sickening echo he still wondered, even now, to whom his future self had been referring. He had been so sure it was Shao Kahn, but that sureness had nearly killed his chosen champion. He met Liu Kang’s furious gaze.

“By the rules of Mortal Kombat, the challenge must be taken up by the one who declared it. I am sorry, Liu Kang, but this fight indeed belongs to Johnny Cage.”

Johnny heard his name, but no more. He was focused, utterly and completely, upon Shao Kahn, who stood a few yards hence, leaning upon the head of his hammer and observing the company with such arrogance, it turned Johnny’s guts. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head upon broad shoulders. 

“Okay big guy, you heard the god. Let’s fuckin’ go.” He dropped into a deep stance and beckoned Shao Kahn. The tyrant chuckled, the sound a raspy, hollow thing, mirthless and full of contempt and triumph for a victory he had not yet won. Kung Lao winced at the sound and whispered to his companion,

“This is insane…”

Johnny made the first move, using his distance to gain speed and launch into a combination of forceful, heavy kicks which utilized his size and the length of his legs. Shao Kahn blocked these with little effort and jabbed in return, hoping to push Johnny off balance. 

The years had made him wily and this was not the Johnny Cage that Shao Kahn remembered, so cocksure and arrogant, his insecurities showing upon his countenance like a glowing sign, pushed by his own self doubt to showboat and make light of his own skill. This Johnny was an old veteran of many ugly fights; he was vicious, clever, and quick. The fate of his world hung in the balance. He would pull no punches and playing fair wasn’t necessarily a given, either.

Using the tyrant’s momentum against him, Johnny ducked around him and launched into a hard kick to the back of Shao Kahn’s head. This, the tyrant bore with an enraged snarl, a stumble, and a wide, arcing swing of the hammer. That swing, too, Johnny dodged, spitting in his opponent’s direction. “Gunna hafta do better’n that, slugger!”

“So your arrogance has not been tempered,” Shao Kahn commented. “Good, good. That will make your defeat all the more satisfying.” He laughed viciously and swung the hammer down, shaking the ground around them. Johnny found himself out of sorts for a moment, but it was long enough for Shao Kahn to catch him up in one hand, tossing the hammer aside and plying both powerful limbs to their grim task. He lifted Johnny over his head and began to bend. “Do you see your champion, Thunder God?”

Raiden, formerly watching with a mask of impassive disinterest, was suddenly assaulted by visions of Johnny Cage, broken nearly in two, over the shoulders of this selfsame tyrant. He could hear Shao Kahn’s triumphant laugh, the horrified scream of Sonya Blade, the heartbroken, barely-audible moan of Liu Kang. As he blinked, the entire scene flashed behind his eyes and, without thinking, he stretched forth one hand and fired a bolt of pure, blue-white lightning.

With a single shot, Raiden, god of thunder and protector of Earthrealm, ended it all. 

Shao Kahn was vapor, dust in the light breeze that had begun to pick up. Johnny hauled himself to his feet, heart hammering once more, and looked between the two. Shao Kahn had been mere moments from snapping him in half, powerful hands crushing him wherever they reached, his back beginning to feel the strain of the Outworld dictator’s prodigious strength when, all at once, it was over and he was on the ground. 

Coughing, brushing off, and reorienting himself, Johnny’s only thought was for the thunder god and he rushed back to where Raiden stood, staring, shocked (there was a pun here someplace), at his own hand, as if he had never before seen it. The amulet, curiously, remained upon his chest, unused, bearing no mark of having been harnessed.

“I…” Raiden stammered as Johnny reached him. The others watched the pair, who had sunk to the ground together, Johnny’s rough hands finding either side of Raiden’s face. They were murmuring—mostly Johnny, in point of fact—and no one was sure if they should get close. 

Liu Kang directed them away and gestured that they ought to start dealing with the portal, which was still open and continuing its inexorable work. He hoped, silently, that the Elder Gods actually did decide to step in, because he was no sorcerer, nor was he a god and could not see himself becoming either in the near future.

Across the expanse of what had become the field of kombat, Kung Lao and Jacqui spotted Kitana, Jade, and a limping Ko’atal. They were followed by a few singed Shokan and some Osh-Tekk, bruised and battered, but alive. Kitana raised a hand and Jacqui returned the salute, made a brief gesture to the murmuring pair, and then to Liu Kang, still suspended between herself and Kung Lao.

“Hey,” Johnny hissed, “it’s okay—it’s gunna be fine… You finished it. It’s—”

“It is not over, Johnny Cage,” responded the god, eyes downcast. “I have upset the balance; the Elder Gods will be furious. The consequences—”

“Seriously,” Johnny interrupted, “fuck the Elder Gods—what’ve they done for us, huh?” Raiden’s eyes opened wide at these words of blasphemy and he reached out to grasp the lapels of Johnny’s vest.

“You know not of what you speak, Johnny Cage,” warned Raiden. Johnny hated that fearful look on Raiden’s face. It was foreign and wrong and did not belong there under any circumstances. Johnny scowled deeply.

“I know a thing or three about shit parents… Listen, this whole… fatherhood thing, y’know, it blows sometimes—no offense Cass; I love ya pumpkin—and it’s… like a never-ending cavalcade of horseshit, nonsense, and doubt.” He shook his head. “I had ONE. I can’t imagine being the… like, dad of a whole-ass world…realm… thing.” Pursing his lips, Johnny searched for his next words, choosing them carefully. “We spend our whole damn lives worrying and wondering if we did all we could—if we fucked up somewhere along the way and if that… y’know, if it caused more pain than it should’ve, or… more than we knew at the time, or could ever know.” He sighed. “And yeah, it’s gunna do that—it will do that. You’re going to hurt your kids and sometimes meaning well isn’t the be-all, end-all… the ends don’t always justify the means and all that shit, except when they do… But the bottom line here is that a good parent does THAT, y’know, looks back and… worries… about the process. Getting there ain’t always half the fun, big guy—and frankly, whoever-the-fuck got you here, where you are right now? They’re not the good kinda parents. Just sayin’.”

Raiden looked as if he had never been told that the Elder Gods were poor parental figures. He looked as if he had never considered them parents at all, which Johnny supposed made sense, since they weren’t exactly physical beings or whatever, but sometimes, one had to wonder at the “my ways are higher than your ways” explanation. 

He, still holding either side of Raiden’s face, pressed their foreheads together and closed his eyes. “We’re gunna be all right, man—I promise. I… we… no one’s gunna let anything happen to you—or Earthrealm, or whatever.” He had clearly run out of words, for the time being

“Thank you, Johnny Cage,” whispered Raiden solemnly. “Your faith and fair words mean more to me than you can know.”

“Ah, one more thing, though.” Evidently, Johnny was not completely out of words. “Just… Just Johnny, please? Whenever I hear the whole thing, I kinda assume I’m in deep shit—y’really don’t wanna go there with a god… ‘specially not the kind who can do… y’know, what you just did.”

Raiden regarded what he had just done very carefully, then regarded Johnny. This, he supposed, was a request he could grant, but it felt strange, not addressing him that way.

“If I am correct, then we are, all of us, in ‘deep shit’.”

“Lord Raiden,” Liu Kang called, hobbling toward them having escaped, temporarily, his captors. “Forgive me, but that portal isn’t closing itself and I…”

Raiden shook his head and stood, grasping Johnny’s hands and pulling the man with him. “I will make this right,” he promised, stepping away from the mortals and lifting into the air. Once more, energy crackled all around, but it bore the tranquil, blue-white glow that they were accustomed to seeing. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that.

Cassie approached her father slowly. He seemed dazed. She could have slapped him, but she wasn’t sure that wouldn't trigger some kind of heart attack. Johnny’s eyes were wide, fixed on the hovering thunder deity. 

“You ah… okay, dad?”

“I don’t… I dunno, kid. I’m not sure. But he is… and right now, that’s kinda what we need.”

[voodoochili]

My 75 Favorite Albums of 2020

Every year produces excellent music and 2020 was no exception. The exceptional thing about this year, though, is the loss of livelihood so many musicians suffered as a result of the pandemic. To better celebrate all I’ve listened to and loved this year, I’ve expanded my albums list from 50 to 75 albums and included a highlight track from each in the Spotify playlist below. If you like what you hear, why not throw the artist a few dollars on Bandcamp?

Check the Spotify playlist HERE.

Without further ado, my favorite albums of 2020. Happy New Year, and happy listening!

10. Playboi Carti - Whole Lotta Red: Carti’s long-awaited opus has only been out for a week, which is probably not a long enough time to give an album as sprawling and surprising as this one a full critical evaluation. But I do know when I’m hearing something that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard: this album rearranges hip-hop at the molecular level. 

Whole Lotta Red is overstuffed with invention, the glitchy, expansive production giving Carti ample opportunity to glom onto the contours of the beat and experiment with his voice. That voice is the album’s main attraction: it squeaks, it squeals, it roars, it spits, it shudders, and organizes itself into irresistibly ignorant mantras (my current favorite is “Lamborghini parked outside, it’s purple like lean”). 

Across its 24 tracks (which feels like too many, sure, but only the 5-minute long Kid Cudi-infected droner “Metamorphosis” overstays its welcome), Carti plays with listener expectations, annihilating rap songwriting conventions (why do you need verse-chorus structure if every line is a hook) as he defiantly proclaims his desire to be unlike anybody else. Though it bears some resemblance in sound and subject matter to Future’s Monster (and much of the production owes a debt to the work of Lil Uzi Vert’s favored Working Of Dying collective), Whole Lotta Red firmly establishes Carti as a totemic figure connecting mainstream and underground sounds.

9. BbyMutha - Muthaland: BbyMutha is a natural born spitter, armed with a drawly stutter-stepping flow that routinely annihilates unconventional instrumentals. She glows with supreme confidence and comfort in her own skin, especially when she’s dripping with disdain with those who’d dare refuse her the respect she deserves. A 25-track opus that earns every minute of its runtime, Muthaland is an engrossing immersion into Mutha’s world, balancing a fascination with the occult (“Sorry I don’t fuck with n****s who don’t fuck with Satan”) with grounding interjections from close friends and her four children. Boasting rockstar fantasies like “Heavy Metal,” bad girl anthems like “Nice Guy,” and dancefloor-ready jams like “Cocaine Catwalk,” Muthaland is a tour-de-force by one of rap’s singular voices, and if she’s really finished with music as she’s claimed (rappers never really retire, but Mutha has indicated she wants to focus full time on her Apothecary), the game will greatly miss her incisive punchlines and crudely empowering perspective.

8. Westerman - Your Hero Is Not Dead: In 2020, Mid-’80s sophistipop grew into one of my favorite comfort foods. Westerman’s Your Hero Is Not Dead struck me directly in the sophistipop sweet spot, evoking the attention-to-detail and synth-heavy craftsmanship of that era and pairing it with harmonic complexity and a piercing emotionalism that recalls his idol Neil Young. On songs like “Blue Comanche” and “The Line,” Westerman constructs tales as twisty as his melodies, economically exploring how people relate to each other at the beginning and end of romantic relationships. Westerman complements his tasteful palette of synth sounds with intricate and lyrical guitar playing, most notably on the sighing, gorgeous instrumental “Float Over,” which softly segues into the title track to end the album on a gently-rising high note.

7. WizKid - Made In Lagos: The focal point of the sub-Saharan Afrobeats renaissance, Lagos is having one of the most exciting musical moments of any city since Kingston in the early ‘70s. WizKid is one of the scene’s biggest stars, with an ability to combine the sonic tapestry of his hometown with Caribbean-influenced beats and vocal styles. Made In Lagos is a masterwork of sound design, bringing creamy bass, chicken-scratch speckles of guitar, tasteful interjections of saxophone and brass, and an intoxicating mix of acoustic and electronic percussion, all offered in service to an immaculate vibe that matches the album cover’s shiny, monochromatic color scheme. Made with lockdown in mind, the album eschews uptempo dancefloor workouts in favor of stress-relief and romance. WizKid plays the perfect host, tamping down his melodic flights of fancy and embracing a song-serving smoothness. He’s a warm and inviting presence throughout, laying out the red carpet for a cross-continental cast of collaborators like H.E.R., Skepta, Burna Boy, and Damian Marley. The result is a truly global pop masterpiece, capable of brightening even the dourest day of a miserable year.

6. Ka - Descendants of Cain: Firefighter by day and rapper/producer by night, Ka is a master of allusion. He organizes his thoughts into themed collections of metaphor, illustrating the bleak realities of street life with gnomic symbolism. On Descendants Of Cain, Ka’s strongest work to date, the enigmatic rapper expresses himself through a litany of biblical references, drawing parallels between ancient parables (he goes far deeper than the Cain/’caine double entendre that rappers have been using for decades) and the stark code of morality with which he lives his life. The 48-year-old hermit produced the project himself, creating an immersive sonic realm, crafting expansive, noir-ish backing tracks populated by late-night saxophones, sparkling pianos, and the occasional shot of sweeping strings. Once again, Ka’s music comes almost entirely without drums (certainly without “beats” in the traditional hip-hop sense–every once in a while, he adds an open hi-hat or a subdued shaker), the artist preferring to let his music swirl around his half-whispered words of wisdom. The album ends on a tearful, sentimental note with “I Love (Mimi, Moms, Kev),” in which the artist ditches the biblical lyrical conceit and expresses his love for his wife, his mom, and his best friend atop light percussion and a warm soul sample.

5. SAULT - Untitled (Rise): Rise is the second part of a diptych that SAULT recorded in response to the movement that exploded in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Black Is, the first part, is a great album (you’ll find it in the lower reaches of my 2020 list), but the mysterious UK collective fulfilled their immense potential with Rise, a propulsive, powerful, and danceable album that doubles as a thought-provoking examination of the nature of freedom and liberation. The album tackles weighty topics–police violence, fake-woke “allies,” protest, cultural appropriation–but handles them with an inspiring effervescence and a propulsion meant to usher right-thinking people into the streets. The music itself is an intoxicating marvel, combining elements from every trendy musical movement from the early ‘80s (post-disco, post-punk, house, hip-hop, whatever the hell ESG was) into a percussive and surprisingly cohesive cocktail. The album immediately makes its greatness known with its first four songs, one of the strongest opening runs of any album in recent memory: the swaggering, funky, keep-your-head-up anthem “Strong,” which features a drum solo from SAULT architect Inflo, the soaring, club-ready vamp “Fearless,” concept-establishing, string-heavy interlude “Rise,” and especially “I Just Want to Dance,” the best song ESG never wrote. 

4. Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters: Fetch The Bolt Cutters arrived with the kind of universal acclaim that can make some people suspicious. The Pitchfork review got a lot of attention, not just for its perfect score but for its bold statement that “no music has ever sounded quite like it.” 

That statement might’ve been slightly hyperbolic. Fetch The Bolt Cutters has the kind of propulsive left-hand piano figures, chest-thumping percussion, and impassioned vocal performances that we haven’t heard since...the last Fiona Apple album. But the album deserves its experimental reputation. These songs mess around with song structure and melody in ways that resemble avant-garde singers like Meredith Monk, use overlapping vocals that occasionally evoke the works of post-modern composers like Luciano Berio, and echoing modernist composers like Edgard Varese in the way she wrings pathos out of rhythmic elements.

Though Fetch might be a slight step down from The Idler Wheel, it’s an invigorating listen, packed with the soul-baring confessionals that only Fiona is capable of executing. Combining literary wordplay with plainspoken directness, Fiona forces the listener to confront her trauma and contemplate her diagnoses of patriarchal ills. The songs are uniformly excellent–especially opener “I Want You To Love Me,” the most “traditional” song on the record, and “Shameika,” a burrowing childhood rumination with a happy ending–but Fetch The Bolt Cutters stands out to me as a collection of amazing moments: when the jig-like “For Her” fades into an unforgettably painful cadence (“Good mornin’, good mornin’/You raped me in the same bed your daughter was born in”), Fiona’s ground-shaking vocal intensity at the end of “Newspaper,” her dogs howling over the outro of “Fetch The Bolt Cutters,” the winking repetition of the title phrase on “Ladies.” Her albums display more than enough ambition to forgive the long gestation periods, but hopefully we won’t have to wait another 8 years for Fiona to bare her soul once again.

3. Drakeo The Ruler - Thank You For Using GTL: Embroiled in a Kafkaesque legal saga that shines a light on the worst aspects of our horrendous justice system, Drakeo The Ruler spent more than three years wrongly incarcerated for a crime he not only did not commit, but for which he was acquitted (for more info on Drakeo’s ordeal, read Jeff Weiss). He’s now mercifully a free man, mostly due to the work of his lawyer, but at least partially because of publicity generated by Thank You For Using GTL. Recorded over the phone from prison during the height of the pandemic, it’s a miracle that an album created under such sub-optimal conditions sounds as excellent as it does, but credit producer JoogSzn–who not only supplied the creeping, head-nodding backing tracks but recorded Drakeo’s phoned-in vocals–and engineer MixedByNavin for the project’s astonishing fidelity. Drakeo and Joog spent hours on the phone to record the album, in the process paying thousands of dollars to GTL, the predatory telecom company of choice for the L.A. corrections system, whose mechanical interjections serve as a constant reminder of the injustice that made the album necessary. Of course, a good story is a good story, but that alone doesn’t get an album on 2020’s most prestigious Best Albums list (mine). It’s a classic rap album, perhaps the best ever released by an incarcerated rapper, and a thumb directly in the nose of the D.A. and the LAPD. The album is a lyrical marvel, packed with winding wordplay and outlandish flexes, as Mr. Mosley takes aim at 6ix9ine, cackles at sorry-ass Instagram haters, and sneers at American-made cars (“To be honest, a Hellcat isn’t a foreign”). Each song has a carefully considered concept, the rapper’s punchlines building upon one another to make an airtight case for his status as L.A.’s top dog. He contrasts his own whip-crashing lifestyle with flashy wannabes on “GTA VI” and “Backflip or Sumn,” mourns a favorite department store on “RIP Barneys,” and proves he still doesn’t rap beef on “Maestro’s Tension.” The album’s masterstroke comes with “Fictional,” the final track, in which Drakeo exposes the prosecution’s use of his lyrics as evidence in criminal proceedings as the farce it is: “It might sound real, but it’s fictional/I love that my imagination gets to you.” Drakeo’s story was a rare bright spot in 2020, and a rare one with a happy ending. Just last week, the rapper released Because Y’All Asked, a studio-recorded version of Thank You For Using GTL, giving the album’s songs the clarity they deserve. But I think I’ll mostly return to the original, which will live on as an excellent album and a vital document of post-George Floyd America.

2. Pa Salieu - Send Them to Coventry: Hailing from the middle of nowhere–or, more accurately city in the English Midlands only known in the states for its middling Premier League team–Gambian-British artist Pa Salieu served up the most distinctive, visceral, and daring rap debut of the year. His style fuses elements of grime, drill, afro-trap, dancehall, and the darker edges of U.S. hip-hop into a percussive slurry, injected with the urgency of his struggle to survive. The magic of the album comes from the way Pa’s fluid flows interact with the shimmering and foreboding production (Felix Joseph and Aod lead the cast of the project’s sound architects), which is perfectly suited for cold city nights. He slips effortlessly into the pocket, toe-tagging the beats with a combination of aggression and trance-like meditation and uttering casually powerful pronouncements (“I'd make a killa riddim offa any riddim/The grind can never stop 'til I'm wrapped in linen”) that make you believe he’s Britain’s next great rapper. Pa keeps the vibe consistent throughout, but the moments that stand out are the moments when he locks into an unbreakable groove over no-frills production, like on singles “Block Boy,” “Betty,” and “B***K.” The artist’s wry sense of humor and brash confidence keeps the album from feeling bleak, but Send Them To Coventry wisely ends on “Energy,” a warm and bright ode to keeping your creative spark safe from the prying forces of fame and fortune.

1. Kassa Overall - I Think I’m Good: “I think I’m good”–a phrase that’s ran through my head throughout this shitstorm of a year. Sure, I postponed a wedding, cancelled trips, and saw my friends and family much less often than I would like, but I count myself among the lucky ones. Still breathing, still sane. Though it was recorded and released before the pandemic started, Kassa Overall’s I Think I’m Good became a lodestar of sorts for me. It’s a brilliantly introspective and deeply personal album about existing in enclosed spaces–whether a jail cell, an NYC subway car, or the inescapable prison of your own body.

Kassa Overall made his name as a jazz drummer, touring with icons like Geri Allen, but his solo music incorporates elements of hip-hop, classical, and trap to create a wholly original milieu. The album features contributions from over 30 accomplished voices, ranging from luminary Vijay Iyer, to Kassa’s saxophonist brother Carlos Overall, to virtuosic pianist Sullivan Fortner, to venerated activist Angela Davis. But all the disparate elements come together in service of Kassa’s deeply personal and engrossing vision.

Taking partial inspiration from Kassa’s struggle with manic depression, the music fluctuates between meditative calm and unbearable tension, mimicking the patter of an unquiet mind. Album opener “Visible Walls,” is a mesmerizing prayer for salvation soundtracked by fluttering harps, piercing woodwinds, and heartbeat percussion. “Find Me” buries a plea for help within a cacophony of sampled voices and rattling piano notes. Fortner’s piano guides us through the hauntingly devastating “Halfway House” and the Chopin-indebted “Darkness In Mind,” each highlighting a different stage of grief (despair and acceptance, respectively). The arc of I Think I’m Good concludes with the hopeful “Got Me A Plan” and “Was She Happy (For Geri Allen),” a Vijay Iyer-assisted tribute to his late friend and mentor. 

It’s ironic that an album that so deeply explores the feeling of isolation vibrates with such a collaborative spirit. I Think I’m Good feels like an answered prayer–a community coming together to check on a beloved friend who’s gone through a tough time: “You good, man?” “I think so.”

Here’s the rest of my list.

11. Yves Tumor - Heaven To A Tortured Mind 12. Shackleton & Waclaw Zimpel - Primal Forms 13. Bob Dylan - Rough & Rowdy Ways 14. Duval Timothy - Help 15. Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 16. Moodymann - Taken Away 17. Secret Drum Band - Chuva 18. J Hus - Big Conspiracy 19. Headie One & Fred Again - GANG 20. Tiwa Savage - Celia 21. Andras - Joyful 22. Bill Callahan - Gold Record 23. King Von - Welcome To O’Block 24. Flo Milli - Ho, Why Is You Here? 25. Chubby & The Gang - Speed Kills 26. Madeline Kenney - Sucker’s Lunch 27. Empty Country - Empty Country 28. Smino - She Already Decided 29. Destroyer - Have We Met 30. Yves Jarvis - Sundry Rock Song Stock 31. Ela Minus - Acts Of Rebellion 32. Creeper - Sex, Death & The Infinite Void 33. Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol. 1 34. Good Sad Happy Bad - Shades 35. The 1975 - Notes On a Conditional Form 36. Kate NV - Room For The Moon 37. $ilkmoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 38. Eddie Chacon - Pleasure, Joy and Happiness 39. Kenny Segal & Serengeti - Ajai 40. Bad Bunny - YHLQMDLG 41. Kahlil Blu - DOG 42. Califone - Echo Mine 43. Boldy James - The Price of Tea in China/Manger On McNichols/The Versace Tape 44. Bufiman - Albumsi 45. Moses Boyd - Dark Matter 46. Thanya Iyer - KIND 47. Jyoti - Mama You Can Bet! 48. Obongjayar - Which Way Is Forward? 49. Rio Da Yung OG - City On My Back 50. Young Jesus - Welcome To Conceptual Beach 51. Owen Pallett - Island 52. Oceanator - Things I Never Said 53. Shootergang Kony - Red Paint Reverend 54. Shabason, Krgovich & Harris - Philadelphia 55. Six Organs of Admittance - Companion Rises 56. Lido Pimienta - Miss Colombia 57. Kelly Lee Owens - Inner Song 58. Polo G - The GOAT 59. Actress - Karma & Desire 60. Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher 61. Porridge Radio - Every Bad 62. Yg Teck - Eyes Won’t Close 63. Mozzy - Beyond Bulletproof 64. Ratboys - Printer’s Devil 65. R.A.P. Ferreira - Purple Moonlight Pages 66. Ulver - Flowers of Evil 67. Rina Sawayama - SAWAYAMA 68. SAULT - Untitled (Black Is) 69. Ezra Feinberg - Recumbent Speech 70. Davido - A Better Time 71. Hailu Mergia - Yene Mircha 72. HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III 73. Half Waif - The Caretaker 74. Key Glock - Yellow Tape 75. KeiyAa - Forever Your Girl

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Grand Theft Auto 5 - 4 Ways to enhance Your Sequel

L.A. Noire is great. Really great, even. a way welcomed breath of fresh air to a medium that nearly never cares to require itself seriously. except for me? Personally? it is a teaser. A bone on which to gnaw while the most course is being prepared in some mystical laboratory where video games are birthed. That main course is grand larceny Auto 5. GTA3 was the primary game I played on the (incredible) PS2 console and, ever since, I've held video games to a better standard of quality. It knocked down all the walls of the traditional game (figuratively and literally) and pushed the bar for the 3rd person perspective and literally created the open world genre.

Flash forward to today. grand larceny Auto 4 has been out for quite 3 years and, despite the critical and commercial successes of Red Dead Redemption and now L.A. Noire, I find myself primed for subsequent GTA. albeit we should be another year or more faraway from it's actual release there still are the standard signs and rumors that it'd already be in development. And with E3 being right round the corner, I feel it'd be the proper time to mention the question: What do i would like from a replacement GTA?

Modern Multiplayer

There's nothing wrong with GTA4's multiplayer, so to talk . Competitive multiplayer was fair, fun and it worked. The free roam mode may be a dream come true for fans of the series. With or against online players, it enabled you to explore the rich detail of the planet and plan to achieve completely absurd and arbitrary goals, like "How many vehicles can we slot in this nutriment restaurant?" or "How long can we survive holed up during this bank against cops?" and therefore the fan favorite "How am i able to ruin what everyone else is trying to try to to by running them over?". Possibilities are, for lack of a less cliche description, endless. It's fun, but it isn't perfect. Matchmaking, and therefore the basic online UI, wasn't as intuitive because it might be and it could. Unlocking more appearance pieces was arcane and poorly explained (if at all).

So will GTAV's multiplayer be any different? in fact it'll . it'll probably adopt an equivalent infrastructure that made Red Dead Redemption's online a hit . But i feel letting it fall to the wayside may be a mistake. Grant that extra little bit of functionality. Let the creator of a free roam match dictate the principles of the planet dynamically and seemlessly. Allow them to summon all players to one location-- these simple added functions expedite the method to set-up those awesome moments. The money-for-appearance system shouldn't get away completely, it should just be overhauled. getting to a store to shop for hard-earned cash (via competitive multiplayer) on goods for there avatars appearance? People eat that stuff up. Each subsequent DLC release improved the multiplayer, but I could see the multiplayer being lost on those that didn't bother digging deep into it's possibilities. Remember those nifty multiplayer-centric trailers RDR got? Let's have a number of that.

Mission Variety

GTA's single-player is lost on those without a particular degree of patience. The core gameplay can get fairly repetitive: attend this location and kill so then , drive this person to the present place and avoid the inevitable encounter. More often than not, it's "blah blah and oh yeah, kill something". This wasn't the case for The Ballad of Gay Tony, however. The missions introduced were a number of the foremost inventive and theatric I've ever seen. This was because the story was shorter and more condensed. i feel I represent tons of individuals once I say we'd rather have a shorter, more memorable story than one that's longer and dragged out. Will this happen? Probably not. GTA is one among the most important Ip's within the industry and when people hand over their $59.99 they expect a particular amount of content-- an invisible threshold that justifies their purchase. So a more practical request could be to extend the archetypes of the missions that you simply run. rather than a 4 different mission variations with a special coat of paint.

Import/Export Garages

Import Export garages were a stimulating feature only present in GTA3. They were a kind of side mission that asked players to seek out and deliver cars from an inventory . Once all cars were delivered, the player then had access to any of the aforementioned vehicles by visiting the garage. it is a very simple concept that asks an arduous task for a reasonably cool reward. Why this feature never returned to any of the subsequent GTA's, i do not know. And why stop there? Enable import/export garages in free roam at the hosts discretion. Allowing players to manifest any car they please (with an inexpensive cool down) given they've completed the work to try to to so in single-player could leave some really fun and straightforward functionality during a free roam environment.

Relationship System (kinda)

Both GTA4 with it's quirky online dating service and therefore the Ballad of Gay Tony with it's redundant and useless "booty call" side-mission (if you'll call It that) have entertained the thought of a relationship system, but not even at a 'not gonna happen' spoof level (as many things are in GTA), but at A level that required some consideration. Now, I'm not suggesting that since GTA4 dipped it's toes into the dating sub-genre that it's successor have a full fledged relationship mode, but rather it include a kind of progressive affiliation leveling system with any sort of entity.

In GTA4 there have been many "put out, get back" instances-- this could be expanded upon. rather than doing 'x' amount of missions to receive one 'y' reward, mix alittle story in and make the reward less transparent. deem instance the tiny named quests during a game like Oblivion or Fallout 3. You join one so-and-so group/club/faction, do missions that effect it, get up the ranks and obtain access to it's resources. This almost spills over into the mission variety request, except for side-missions. Maybe, almost like Club Management in TBOGT, there might be no real end thereto , just a singular thanks to make money. to raised summarize, they're more elaborate side-missions.

For more info:-

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[86-was-his-year]

Burn (Wong Yukhei) Smut

Requested: No but requests are open! I think?

Warnings: smut, a dash of dom/ sub dynamics, yukhei being hot af, drinking (not underage), I couldn't find the kink name but he's fully dressed and you're not ( if anyone knows what that's called lemme know), oral (female receiving), public teasing (oh goodness me), dumbification, orgasm control/denial, overstimulation, that one crying kink, and so many cute petnames cause we need that in our lives.

Summary: Yukhei notices you at the bar and he knew that he needed to have you.

A/N: this toon two months and is probably one of my longest fics I've ever written. Please excuse spelling errors cause I'm tired and too lazy to go through the whole thing again :))

.

I couldn't tell whether it was hot in this bar because it was the middle of July or if it was hot because he had been staring at me for most of the night. To celebrate my friend turning 21 the girls and I took her to a big club and planned for her to get wasted. We kept giving her drinks and kept ordering food to satisfy our craving as the drunken hunger began to set in.

We quickly figured out that she was a lightweight after getting drunk in only three drinks. It was the quickest I'd seen someone get drunk but it was worth it because she fed into our mood and boosted us up until the affects of the alcohol took hold of us. Five drinks in and I no longer needed her to keep me going as the drinks made my brain cloudy.

I was out on the dance floor when I noticed him staring. You know that feeling when someone is watching and all the hair on your hair decides to stand on end, kind of like the spidey sense? That's when I decided to take a look around, finding his dark peircong eyes among the crowd of dancing people. He was casually sitting down, holding an amber colored drink in one hand while the other rested on the top of his booth. He was gorgeous to say the least, dirty blonde hair that complemented his bronze complexion, white shirt, and grey pants. The whole outfit seemed to be working for him, even though it would probably look atrocious on someone else. I looked away, not wanting to be caught staring for longer than I already was.

"Hey, that guy over there keeps looking at you." One of my friends screamed in my ear. Even then it was hard to hear her over the blasting music.

"I know. What should I do?" She held out her drink for me and I took a sip, trying to get more of that liquid courage to flow through my veins.

"Go over there, talk to him. Get that dick!" She slapped my behind and danced away, probably to find our other friends. I took a deep breath and turned back to the booth only to find him gone. My heart broke as I figured I missed my chance for a hot date until two arms draped around my waist.

"Well, looky what we have here." His voice was deep and raspy, just the combination to put my belly aflame. I turned my head and found the man I was looking for.

"You're taller up close." My mouth moved before my brain and I immediately blushed, putting my hand up to my mouth. He laughed and it sounded like heaven to me. It was so genuine and beautiful that it almost brought tears to my eyes.

"I hear that a lot, believe it or not." He chuckled and put his hands on my hips, pulling me closer to him as he swayed back and forth. Move by Taemin played through the speaker in the club and I couldn't help but love the way his hips were pushing into mine, swaying with the beat of the song.

"I bet you do, handsome stranger." I turned my face to the front to avoid him seeing how flushed it was. Although the club was dark and crowded I didn't want to look like a school girl with a crush on her teacher. I was 22 years old and I shouldn't be feeling like this anymore. Those days are over, or they were.

"Got a name, Sweatheart?" His low drawl and the pet name had me squeezing my thighs together, a spine tingling blast of heat going through my body.

"Y-Y/N. And yours?" My voice shook and I felt the rumble of a laugh in his chest. My stutter only made me sound more vulnerable than I sounded previously, causing my neck and face to burn even more.

"What a pretty name there, Sweatheart. Mines Yukhei." His hand lifted from my hip to rub my cheek tenderly, causing me to let out a slight whimper.

"Yours is p-pretty too." I leaned into his soft hand finding that his fingers were almost as long as my whole face. That was a huge turn on and I whimpered some more.

"You're so sensitive baby, what would happen if I just," he brought his hand up my crop top and under my bra, finding my nipple easily. "Rolled my fingers like this, hm? What then." I leaned back against him and arched my chest out reveling in the pleasure his soft fingers gave me. The pads of fingers pinched my nipple ever so slightly before swirling it in circles.

The pebbled skin reacted way too quickly for my liking but it seemed to please Yukhei a whole lot because he gave it one last pinch before moving to the other one, having the same effect on that one as he did the previous. He pulled my bra back down to its normal position and took his hand from under my shirt. By now I was a panting mess, not sure what do do with myself as I swayed my hips back into his as a sort of reward for the pleasure he gave me.

"Yukhei?" I put my hand on his neck and grabbed the hair by the nape of his neck, pulling slightly only to receive a moan from his lips.

"Yes, baby?" The song had changed to a new one, I could only recognise it as my number one sex song. Singularity by Kim Taehyung. His deep baritone voice began to float in the air and we swayed our hips in sync.

"Can you touch me?" I grabbed the hand on my hip and tried to lead it under my skirt, thank God I wore it today. He resisted, tapping his fingers against my hip almost as if he was impatient.

"Right here? In front of all these people? What if they see, Y/N." He had a teasing lift to his tone and I knew he was just doing it to be an ass.

"I don't care, please, Yukhei." I felt his hand ease up and he chuckled, pulling my shirt up before putting his hand under the soft fabric.

"So, if I were to bend you ever right now and fuck you, you wouldn't care? Is that right Sweetheart?" He set his handd on my stomach rubbing small circles with hus sift fingers earning a small moan from me. He was testing the waters, seeing what reaction I would give if he did this or that.

"Yes, you're right. I wouldn't care, please." My voice had a pleading tone to it and I never thought that I would have to beg for someone to touch me. Usually guys are all over me wanting to touch me, sometimes without even asking but here Yukhei was, making me beg for him to touch me.

"Well," he tilted his hand down and softly made his way into my panties, "you sound so pretty when you beg. Don't see why I should keep you waiting." He was light and soft with his touches. Making his way down to my panties he found that I was already soaked, making a damp patch that he could probably feel through the thin fabric. He pulled them to the side and began to do whatever he pleased.

He collected the wetness on his finger and slowly made his way up to my clit, circling it lightly driving me absolutely mad. When he finally put the littlest bit of pressure on it I felt myself buckle. My knees wobbled and my thighs began to shake. Never in all my life have I had a man make me shake and quiver just by touching my clit. It was almost embarrassing but I found myself enjoying the new sensation, the exhilaration of knowing that I was in public and he was going to make me cum.

"Well, baby. I think that's enough for right now." He slipped his hand out of my panties and popped then in his mouth. I began to protest at the lack of his touching but when I turned my head to see him sucking on the tips of his fingers all words fell out of my mouth in the form of a moan.

"Fuck." I laid my head against his shoulder once more and tried to steady my breathing, trying to match my erratic breaths with his calm ones. It seemed almost impossible after watching him do what he did.

"Can I take you home, baby?" Yukhei moved my hair to the side and nibbled on my earlobe. I sighed and smiled.

"Please?" He chuckled and moved away from me. Spinning me around before giving me a light peck on my lips.

"Go tell your friends that you're leaving, I'll be outside." He made his way to the bar and I went to find my friends. My thoughts ran wild as I moved through the throng of people dancing. They were all having a good time and I smiled, knowing that my friends would still be having fun even if I left.

"Hey, Y/N! How was it?" The friends in question all seemed to throw questions at me.

"Did you fuck in the bathroom?"

"Did you get his number?"

"If you don't want him can I have him?" That one was a little weird but I laughed anyway.

"I've come to tell you that has taking me home. Have fun and don't wait up for me. If I don't text you by noon tomorrow call the police!" I waved to my friends and they laughed going back to dancing and drinking.

I was honestly afraid that Yukhei had left without me when I couldn't find him at the front of the building. I was just beginning to lose hope when a motorcycle pulled up right next to the curb. They took off their helmet and Yukheis face smiled back at mine. He put his kickstand down and swung his long leg over the bikes seat.

"You looked a little worried there, Sweetheart. Thought I left you?" He chuckled and put the helmet on my head, clipping the underside for me. He also walked back to his bike and unclipped something from the back, producing a shiny leather jacket that he probably kept there for an emergency.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He helped me put the leather jack on and zipped it up to my neck, lightly grazing my chest on the way up.

"Trust me, I'm not leaving you behind. Not tonight." He flicked the plastic around the eye area shut and led me to the bike, swinging his leg back over the bikes before holding a hand out, helping me get on. It was so much harder than he made it look and the bike wobbled a bit as I sat down on it. He waited for me to get comfortable before revving the loud engine.

I clasped into his torso and held on tight, afriad that if I let go I would fall and end up dying. I felt a deep vibration in his chest and I could tell he was laughing at my fear. The rumbling had caught the attention of some bystanders who began to whistle and marvel at the bikes clear sound.

"First time on a motorcycle?" Yukhei asked before revving up the engine one more time.

"Yeah, you could say that." I had been on a bike once before but I was too young to even remember who I rode on it with. It was probably my grandpa or someone who had long since given up their motorcycle days.

"Just hold on and relax." He put up the kickstand and slowly took off, pulling out of the small curb space with ease. That's when I knew if was safe, he knew what he was doing and I just had to trust him. That's also when I felt the small vibration on my lower half. Without the protection of pants and my thin panties not doing a thing to help, I felt the low rumbles directly on my clit. Yukhei must have noticed my whining and squirming because at the next red light he turned around and flicked up the plastic cover.

"What's the matter, baby?" His voice had a teasing edge to it, almost like he knew what was going on.

"T-the bike." My voice squeaked as the vibration hit just the right place. My face becoming hot in the helmet.

"Are you going to cum on my motorcycle? Does it feel good, baby?" He looked forward before looking back once more.

"Yes." I let out a tiny moan and he chuckled.

"Hold it." His voice turned serious and held a small threat in the undertone. He flicked the helmet down and took off without another word. I grabbed onto his torso again and squeezed. The vibrations had become even stronger than before and with the bike being so loud I knew it would be okay to just let myself be as loud as I wanted. I held my head against his back and moaned, panting as the vibration from the bike traveled to my clit. I knew that I wouldn't be able to last much longer like this and began to embrace it, rolling my hips against the smooth leather of the bike. I felt the warm knot in my stomach began to tie itself together, white hot pleasure filling my veins. Then, the bike stopped. I whined and felt him tap my hands, a signal to let me know that we were here and I had to get off.

I grabbed his shoulders and lifted my leg off the bike, getting off proving easier than getting on. I stood and waited as he swung his leg off and looked to me, taking in what a mess I was. He unclipped the helmet from my head and took in my appearance. The helmet hair rivaled what my sex hair would look like and the deep blush on my neck and face showed my desperation and want.

"My baby was just about to cum, wasn't she?" He grabbed my chin gently and made me look at him.

"No, I held it. I held it, please." I felt tears enter my eyes and he smiled.

"Good girl." He let go of my chin and took my hand instead, which was previously laying by my side unsure of what to do. For the first time since he stopped the bike I looked at my surrondings. I had never been here before but it looked familiar. One of those apartments you drive by and envy the people who live there, wishing that you could make as much money as they do. It was truly as pretty on the inside as it was in the outside. Cream colored walls paired with dark wood floors and a shiny elevator all the way at the end.

"Hello, Yukhei!" A man at the front desk said cheerfully. For it being so late he sure had a lot of energy.

"Hey, Bob. How are you tonight?" Yukhei made his way over to the desk and I found myself becoming impatient, slightly pulling in his arm trying to tell him to go.

"I'm great! Who's this lovely lady?" Bob turned to me and smiled. I returned the nice gesture and looked back down at the ground not wanting to have any other integration with him.

"This is Y/N, she's coming into my place. Speaking of, could you unlock the elevator for us?" Yukhei sounded so pleasant with this guy, you could almost say they were friends.

"Sure thing! Enjoy your night guys!" He waved us off as Yukhei pulled me away toward the elevator at the end of the hall. By now I was jumping out of my skin every little touch sending me into overdrive. So, when he grabbed my hand and took me away I nearly moaned at the skin ship. It was just us in the elevator and I could feel my stomach sink, not wanting any other company in this elevator.

"Are you alright?" His voice didn't have the usual teasing edge to it. He was asking a genuine question and that showed he cared, that I wasn't just some fuck that he wouldn't ever see again. Or at least that's what I hoped.

"I-I," taking a deep breath I calmed myself and gave him a response. " I need you so bad please. Fuck me." My thighs were already pushed together, trying to alleviate some of the tension on them but it became too little after a while. All I could think of was traveling my hands into my pants and getting myself off right now.

"Patience my pretty little girl." He came closer and cupped my cheek, forcing his thighs between my legs. I gripped onto his thigh and began to roll my hips slightly, I didn't want to do too much as I knew he would take it away so I started light. He put his hand around my neck and pulled me closer, just barely touching my lips but it gave me something and I whined. At this point I was jumping his thigh and we were just breathing into each other's mouths, it was more than enough though because infelt my orgasm build for the second time that night.

"Fuck, Yukhei." I gripped his shoulder in one hand and is thigh in the other, thinking that I could hold him there somehow.

"You're not going to cum are you?" He didn't take his thigh away so I assumed that he was asking me for real and I shook my head, blatantly lying to him. "Because if you are and you're lying to me I won't give you anything." He came close and whispered his threat in my ear making my hips stutter and stop.

"W-What? No, please I wanna cum so bad. Please, please!" I pushed his thigh down and closed my eyes, trying not to cry. I had no idea what I would do if he didn't let me cum tonight. I know my hand wouldn't even come close to what he could probably do to me and with that thought in mind I tried to be as good as I could.

"It's okay, baby. Don't cry." He grabbed my cheek and liked me towards him, giving me the real first kiss of the night. His lips were soft and plumb, like tiny silk pillows atop his face. I decided that I could make out with Yukhei forever, proving easy enough for me. He was soft given the gravity of the situation and my heart began picking up an unusual pattern something that should definitely not be healthy. He licked my bottom lip before biting my lip and grabbing it in his teeth, pulling away and letting it fall back into his natural place. He smiled and put his hand on my face running his thumb over my bottom lip.

"Look at you," he turned me around to face the mirror that I hadn't noticed before and I took myself in for the first time since I left the house. My hair was wild from the helmet and my face was almost as red as a bad sunburn. My lips were swollen and red against my face and my breathing was uneven. He took his place behind me and just looked at me. "What a pretty baby."

The elevator dinged but the doors didn't open and I turned to Yukhei. He smiled and took a small key out of his pocket, putting it in the slot to assure it was him before the elevator doors opened. The walls were a light grey and all the appliances were white, dark hardwood flooring covering the expanse of the house. My arousal was forgotten for a quick second as he welcomed me in to the large house. I took my shoes off at the door and hung the jacket up in a little peg near the door. The aura to the house just emitted the sense of power that he must have.

"This is your house?" I walked into the living room and looked at the beautiful red furniture that was settled around the television, which was huge by the way.

"Yep, but just wait till you see the bedroom." He grabbed my hand and it just reminded me of my touch starved nature. I felt his finger rub against my hand and I immediately slipped back into the headspace I had been in the elevator. Just something about the way he touched me had me wanting more.

The bedroom had the same theme of the living room. The color of the walls being a darker grey and the floorboards being the same as the rest of the house. But the thing that mattered most was the four poster bejd the sat in the middle of the room, a mesh material falling from the top of the bed posts. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

"It's beautiful." My voice was light and barely there, still ready for him to fuck me into next week.

"I see something more beautiful right in front of me." His comment made me blush heavily, making my face heat up once more. "Let's get these clothes off shall we?"

"Yes." I sighed and let him put his hands on my stomach rubbing them against my soft skin. He trailed his hands up my sides gripping the crop top lightly.

"Arms up for me babe." I let my arms reach for the sky and I my side's tickled as he brought fabric up and over my head, throwing it somewhere in the room. His fingers gently caressed my skin on my back grabbing the clasps of my bra pulling the together before they pulled themselves apart, falling down my arms easily. I let it fall to my feet and I kicked it away I didn't even think about covering up with him, I really just wanted him to touch me.

He brought his hands around and trailed them up my stomach to my brests. He grasped them lightly and flicked my sensitive nipple with his fingers, I arched out into his touch wanted to receive more from him. He began to push me closer to the bed wanting to continue his work over there. He spun me around and grabbed my hips before lowering himself onto his knees.

"Oh my fucking god, Yukhei." My knees buckled and he gripped my hips tighter.

"Stand up straight." His voice was strong and commanding causing me to lock my knees and look ahead. He slapped my high lightly making my eyes fly open and down to him. "Eyes on me." He grabbed my skirt and panties in one go and slowly pulled them down my legs, knuckled brushing against my smooth naked legs.

I was completely naked I'm front of him and usually I would care about covering up but as I looked in his eyes I really didn't care. He pushed against my stomach and I fell back into the bed, quickly getting on my elbows to look at him.

"What a good girl. Look at you spread out on my bed, so pretty." His praise had me reeling from a kink I didn't even know I had. He was also fully clothed and I bare, the contrast spiking my arousal heavily.

He said his hands down my thighs and to my ankles and back up again to rest at my hips. I bucked into his hands slightly and he chuckled tapping his fingers teasingly. I almost lost it when he began to kiss my calves. They began to shake as I threatened to close my legs around his head. Thankfully he held them open and made sure that they stayed that way. He nipped and planted soft kissed on my calves and thighs until he was so close to where I wanted him.

"Yukhei, p-please." I was panting by now and my thighs were shaking. I had broken out in a hot sweat long ago and I could feel my own fluids leaking down onto his soft bed covers.

"You're glistening for me sweetheart. All fucked out and I havent even done anything yet." He finally spread my lips and I moaned at the contact, my eyes almost rolling in the back of my head. I babbled and pushed my hips toward his hand, trying to get the friction that I wanted.

"Yukhei I can't-" I let out a moan as he dipped the tip of his finger into my entrance.

"Yes you can, and you will. Now, if you want me to stop at anytime say red. Do you understand?" He took the tip of his finger out and ran my wetness up to my throbbing clit.

"I understand." I nodded and let my jaw go slack confirming my understanding but also nodding at the pleasure he was giving me.

"Good girl. If you want me to slow down say yellow and I'll tone it down. Understand?" He spread my lips again and I felt another glob on wetness roll down to his sheets.

"Yes." I arched back and squeezed my eyes tight, this time he let me. He pulled me closer to the end of the bed and wrapped his arms around my thighs keeping my legs still and in place. He put his flat tongue onto me and pulled it upwards giving my whole pussy something pleasurable. I gasped and tried to pull my legs up, unable to handle the pleasure he was giving me.

"Stay still." He mumbled harshly before going back to what he was doing. Moving his head back and forth to give me some sort of stimulation, just enough for me to feel something but not enough to get me off. After waiting for so long I knew that it wouldn't take much for me to cum and I guess he knew it too because his touches were feather light and teasing.

He let the tip of his tongue move around my throbbing clit I held my breath before gasping wildly. My hands were gripping the sheets, not wanting to grip his hair in case he decided to stop because I did that si, I kept my hand at my side's and sometimes I pinched my thighs to keep myself sane. I could feel myself building up, the big crescendo before the ending of the piece and I got louder and high pitched. I couldn't hear myself but I knew that I wasn't saying anything that made sense. Right as I was about to tip over the edge he pulled his lips back and I found myself writhing around trying to get that pleasure back.

"Hold it, don't you dare cum." His voice was stern and I could feel him watching my erratic movements.

"What? Yukhei no, please don't do this to me I wanna cum so back I can't please." I shot up and tried to pull him closer. Tears leaked down my cheeks and I couldn't bring it in myself to feel embarrassed about it.

"Awe my pretty baby. You cum when I say you can. Be patient, now lay back down and just enjoy it." He pushed on my stomach once more and I followed his lead, letting the tears roll down my cheeks and the sobs leave my mouth, sounding like a child who got their candy taken away.

"Fuck." I stared up and the ceiling and I felt him rub up and down my thighs.

"Relax, Y/N." His tone was serious and he wasn't commanding or teasing. He gave me a second and I took a deep breath. I hadn't said red or yellow yet but I was greatly for the small break. Hs kissed back up my thighs easing me back into his delicious torture. He kissed my clit and I felt that lost fore reignite, after 30 minutes of wanting to cum I felt that anything too much would send me completely over the edge.

His tongue was still soft and light, not giving me much but it still felt amazing. I didn't have to work so hard to cum and I kinda felt thankful that he was holding it back from me. I was able to feel everything like how good his tongue felt on my clit, or how his strong fingers held my thighs in place when I tried to close them around his head. This continued for so long I lost count of how many times I held back from cumming.

"Do you want to cum?" Yukhei pulled away and rubbed my thighs as a distraction. I arched up and let more tears fall so close to the last one, feeling it like a ghost in the wind.

"Yes please I want to cum so bad. Please I've been so good I can't hold it anymore." I let out a sob and he shushed me gently. Kissing my thighs sweetly.

"Okay baby, okay you can cum this time." He rubbed my thighs a bit more before going back into it. His movement were more vigorous this time, licking and kissing my clit with calculated movements unlike his lazy movements that he was using previoisly.

"Can I cum, please." The knot in my stomach was tying itself up again and with the promise of cumming this time I let it all go, whining and moaning and crying all at the same time.

"You can cum sweetheart." He pulled his mouth away and went back to it even before I felt he left. I tried to toll my pussy of his lips but he was having none of it, gripping my thighs tighter whole growling into my clit. It really just helped me along and I was arching and twisting my body needing just something to get me there.

"I'm gonna cum!" I yelled a warning to him and I really had no idea why.

"Go ahead. You can do it for me. Be a good girl and cum." Yukheis voice was soft and light being the exact thing I need to push myself off the edge. My eyes went into the back of my head and I arched my back my vision going bright white. I could feel my arms move around the bed, not knowing what to do with themselves. When I gained my vision back Yukhei was still licking and sucking on my clit, the sensitivity making my thighs shake and my hips buck.

"Yukhei, fuck please stop." I grabbed his hair for the first time that night, attempting to gain control of the situation. He stopped and looked up at me, a threatening look in his eyes.

"You will take one more." I took my hand from his hair and nodded, tears pricking my eyes at the sensitivity. He ate my pussy like a starved man desperate to make me cum on his tongue again. It didn't take that long and the white hot pleasure exploded in my stomach once more. My breath stopped and I rolled my hips into his mouth, riding out my second orgasm of the night. He cleaned me up and pulled away rubbing my thighs as I shook, my orgasm taking hold of me in the best way possible.

"Yukhei fuck thank you so much. Thank you, thank you." I out my hands on my thighs feeling them shake under my hands.

"Wow, she's pretty and she has manners. You're such a good girl." He stood up and both his knees cracked after bending them for so long.

"It's your turn." I smiled and sat up with a small groan. My thighs pushing together creating friction that I didn't want at the moment making my hips spasm and buck against the mattress.

"Not tonight baby. I just want to be inside of you right now." He quickly pulled on the hem oh his white shirt discarding it by throwing it across the room. There was no earthy way to describe how beautiful his toned skin was, he wasn't deck out with a 12 pack but he was a spaghetti noodle either. It was a happy medium that made me well, happy. When he pulled his pants down it made it even better his black Calvin Kleins sticking to his meaty thighs like glue. But the best part by far was the outline of his fuck that was just begging to be let out.

If I looked close enough I could see it jumping slightly, ready to be let out of his cage and touched. I watched instantly and he hooked his fingers around the thick elastic band and pulled, slightly pulling his cock with it. I almost let out a moan or maybe I did, but as soon as those boxers were off of his cock and around his ankles I felt drool pool inside my mouth. It was the most delicious looking cock I had ever seen in my life. Yeah, some guys can be packing but they always look funny but his was the whole deal.

The head was a dark and the same color as his lips, a thick vein running down the bottom and side of it. It was at least 8 inches and it tempted me to go grab a ruler from his drawers, just to see how long it actually was. He was cleanly shaven and the vein on his cock sparingly went up to his pubic area. Like I said, it was the most delicious looking cock I've ever seen.

"It's so pretty." I almost wanted to reach out and touch it, to make sure it was real that this whole thing was a real sand I wasn't about to wake up in a cold sweat with a puddle in my panties.

"It would look even prettier inside you baby." He stroked his cock and walked over to the nightstand and was about to pull the drawer open when I stopped him.

"Can you fuck me raw?" He let out a small groan and looked at me from the side of his eye. "I'm clean and I'm on birth control please, fuck me raw." I watched as he took his hand off the handle and smiled.

"I can fuck you raw but," he put his finger up and smiled at me, "I want you to ride me tonught." He climbed into the bed and leaned against the headboard spreading his legs, letting his cock stand proud and tall.

"Okay I can do that." I climbed over in his lap and he reached below me, prodding his fingers at my entrance.

"I'm gonna open you a bit, it won't hurt as much that way." He slipped two fingers into my easily and began to scissor them.

"Have you h-hurt other girls?" I said before letting out a loud moan, his long fingers reaching all the right places.

"Only a little bit. You'll be okay sweetheart." He put in a third finger and I felt the familiar stretch. The pain almost non-existent as he scissored his fingers again before curling them up hitting the certain spot that had me shuddering.

"Okay I'm ready." At this point I was just eager to have him in me.

"No, you're not. Patience pretty girl. I'm give you what you want." He took his fingers out of my pussy and rubbed my juices onto the bed sheets, not caring about how good or unhygentic he was being. He reached over to the drawer again and I was going to whine about fucking me are when he pulled out a small bottle of lube.

"Will we need that?" I said looking at the clear liquid slowly sloshing around as he fumbled with it.

"I just don't want to hurt you." He followed a generous glob on his fingers and gathered it onto his cock, groaning slightly as the pleasure he was giving himself. He wiped the rest of it on my pussy and I gasped at how cold it was. He held my hip in one hand and held his sick up with the other, making sure it was lined up properly.

As soon as I felt it on my entrance I silently thanked him for stretching me open and applying lube. He pushed in slightly and I felt like I was hit by a truck, the stretch being painful but so good at the same time. I held onto his shoulders for support and I could feel my nails digging into the skin, trying to gain some leverage over the pleasure I was feeling.

"Fuck, Y/N. Relax for me, you're so fucking tight." He gripped my hips almost tight as I was gripping his shoulders. I took a deep breath and tried to influence myself, making it easier to slip in. I could feel the heat in my belly and all I wanted was for him to fuck me to next week. I took a deep breath and slid down until my hips were flush with his.

"Oh my fucking god, Yukhei. You feel so good." I could already feel my eyes roll into the back of my head and my ears began to ring. I didn't care if I was ready or not, I began to slowly rock back and forth testing my limits. He hit all the right spots in me and I couldn't hold back the babbles and moans that fell from my lips.

"Y/N stay with me babe." He grabbed my hips and helped me rock back and forth. I opened my eyes and shuffled my knees a bit, giving myself good leverage before I slowly moved up and down his length. The small curve that his cock had curves just enough to hit that little sweet spot in me and had me moving up trying to handle the feeling of it. He grabbed my hips and pulled me back down.

"Fuck." I let my head fall back and I picked up my pace, trying to reach my own high once again. The feeling of being stuffed just right had my brain going to other places, leaving my subconious white and blank. I could feel my mouth movkng but u couldn't understand what I was saying and I really didn't care. His raw cock felt so good against my fluttering walls that I couldn't think of anything, I was just caught up in the feeling.

"Look at my pretty baby, fucked stupid. I bet nobody has made you feel this ood, have they?" He moved one hand from my hip to my clit and I let out a silent scream, my throat feeling the pressure but I couldn't hear a thing.

"No, you're the only one. You're the only one." I rocked a few more times and my eyes rolled back once more, this time my vision going black the feeling of my orgasm going from my head to my toes.

"Come back to me baby. Come on, you did so good." I blinked a few times and I found my head buried in Yukheis neck. He had already pulled out of me and was rocking me back and forth softly.

"Did I just pass out?" I rubbed my head and the pain of everything set it.

"I think you did but look," he ran his hands up my thighs, "You're shaking so hard." He helped me move my legs from around him and went to the bathroom, leaving me lying there until he came back with a warm wash cloth. He cleaned me up, hitting my clit a couple times causing me to spasm and close my legs which then he pried them open and scolded me. He pulled back the covers and tucked me in, rubbing my back until I fell asleep to the sound of him lightly humming.

[annisir-kaugan]

Report: Origins and Operation of Triglavian Society Annisir Kaugan - Third Eye Analytics.

The first interesting thing about the Triglavians is their language. It is not an exact language, meaning many of the terms they use have no one definition. They use cultural idioms in a contextual way, phrases can have different, but related, meanings depending on the context of the sentence. The 'Flow of Vyraj', which is used a lot, refers to the passage of time, but this can be in terms of a project plan, the course of events or even, as fate wills it. 'Poshlost' generally means bad or unsavoury and its opposite, 'Sobernost' means good, or good for the majority. Understanding this is key to understanding the Triglavians and people seem to miss this because its not a normal usage of language. It is worth spending time with their language, either the data streams, or other example that are scattered around, simply to gain an appreciation of their culture.

The other area that people get confused with is the organisation of Triglavian society, when in reality, although complex in some ways it is actually very simple. There are three main Clades, Perun, Veles and Svarog, each has a number of sub-clades and so far only a few of these are known. For the most part these are made up of Narodnya and all the pilots of vessels encountered are Narodnya. Again its a general term, they call capsuleers 'Augmented Foreign Narodnya' and Sansha 'Hivelinked Foreign Narodnya' for example. Each Clade appears to have a number of Koschoi and Navka associated with them, from various models there is a simple reason for this and it will become clear.

The term 'Struggle' is used a lot, while there have been various theories it is actually, again, very simple. Triglavian society is an extreme meritocracy, rank within society is entirely based on 'Proving', whether in technical arguments or combat they always compete and trial everything. An individual Narodnya begins life with a base level of rank in society, throughout their life every qualification, contest, successful project or failure adjusts this ranking. The Triglavians speak of 'Glorification' and 'Mortification', which were confusing at first. 'Extirpation' refers to destruction or death. 'Glorification' simply means an upward adjustment in ranking, and 'Mortification' a downward one. This is the 'Struggle' of which they speak. In one case an entire sub-clade was given Mortification because their ship design did not come up to specification and fell short in proving.

It suggests there are upper and lower limits to rankings too. The point is that those reaching the ultimate rank become Koschoi, and those dying in the attempt or reaching the lowest rank become Navka. Which is why the Koschoi and Navka make up the Convocation of Triglav Outside the Struggle; they are not in it, they have either won or lost. Explaining the Koschoi and Navka is complicated to say the least and will be followed up later. Every clade and sub-clade have their own, because they belonged to them before becoming as they are, but the Koschoi and Navka can also act independently of the clades; both have been shown to be operating as 'Detached' from time to time. This too has implications that will be revealed in due course.

In order to explain this it is necessary to go right back to the very beginning of New Eden, to the first settlers in the cluster. At first is appears not much is known about these times, but a lot can be inferred. Analysis of human DNA has shown that all the inhabitants of New Eden belonged to the same species which originated on a single planet some two hundred thousand years ago. Many of the animals and plants we see are not native to New Eden, but were imported around the same time as human settlement took place. Countless archaeological studies have found no trace of any predecessors which would show that they evolved on planets in the cluster. Astronomers have been studying space around New Eden for centuries, in particular the Eve Gate, Which was a natural wormhole that formed fifteen thousand years ago and was open for around 75 years before collapsing into a singularity. This data complies with the findings of archaeologists on all the settled worlds.

There were three main clusters of activity; the Amarrian and Minmatar home systems and the system shared by the Caldari and Gallente. Outside of these there were a handful of smaller colonies and these groups were almost pilot studies. Pioneers to test the soil, lay down the infrastructure for terraforming and habitation as well as surveying the planet. They were not really prepared to operate without support, unlike the Jove, who fared much better after the gate's collapse. The two groups that really stand out are the Talocan and the Yan Jung, for different reasons.

"The Yan Jung nation immigrated into our world through the EVE Gate aeons ago. From where, we do not know, though the fragments of texts we've managed to translate talk about a mysterious middle kingdom. They settled here in Deltole, though we suspect they also colonized other systems, even in far off places. But what we've uncovered so far is here in the Deltole system, especially on Deltole V and VI, which seem to have been much more inhabitable back then."

– Sebast Mathon, Professor of Archaeology, University of Caille

The Yan Jung are an oddity. The majority of the early settlers were unprepared, they were not, they left few traces but the Hidden Path site in Deltole is odd. An Ancient Gargoyle Statue guards the site, although defunct now and a beacon lights up the system. Their artefacts are found throughout space, notably, from a Triglavian point of view, texts on Semiotic Theory, Singularities and Trigonometric Laws. Although they apparently were only around for a millennia or so they seem to have been masters of ancient technologies that New Eden science still cannot match. Rather than being simple settlers they could have been fugitives escaping to the newly discovered space, but there is another option.

The second oddball group are the Talocan. Unusually they did not settle anywhere, but rather roamed as nomads or lived in space, another connection to the Triglavian way of life perhaps. They seem to have left only one site in New Eden, the Devils Dig in Otitoh, now heavily over run with Rogue Drones to the extent all archaeological research has had to stop. This may be deliberate. One interesting feature of the site is the Sun Reader, a black monolith, similar to others found elsewhere in New Eden, which may also be Talocan artefacts. These seem to contain solar data, of some form, which points to them being some kind of observational device. Its is possible they formed some kind of distributed network in the manner used by astronomers today, several devices creating a much larger device when working in unison. Even more intriguing is the possibility that the network is still operable and the Triglavians accessed it to determine which systems to target.

There are numerous ancient relics scattered throughout the cluster, black monoliths, ancient stargates and even odd rift like features. The Amarrians expanded into space by reverse engineering an old stargate, and the technological principles are still not fully understood. In the same way the original Minmatar expansion was via an ancient acceleration gate. If the black monoliths are Talocan in origin, then did they also build the other structures in space?

The Jove were better prepared, setting in the Utopia system in the Heaven constellation. Since the Jove moved out there have been numerous archaeological surveys of the area. Ice core and soil samples show that they spent a long time adjusting the climate and seeding the ground before establishing colonies. It seems likely that they used automated systems and kept the vast majority of their personnel in cryostasis until the planetary installations had sufficient resources. This may have been as long as a millennia in some cases. Further studies have shown that the first Jovian expansion did not really develop until the third millennium, which has implications to be discussed further on.

Nothing is known of what lies beyond the Eve Gate, although it is certain that New Eden was colonised by the inhabitants of that space. Exhaustive DNA studies have shown that everyone in the cluster originally came from a single species originating on the same planet. Minor mutations concomitant with space travel and living in space show they had been in space for some millennia prior to the Eve Gate. We can infer a lot from the behaviour of groups within New Eden, everyone is essentially running on the same underlying code. It would have been a place of Empires, Corporations and factions in a similar form to those established in New Eden. It seems to be a natural development in human society. Colonising a new space is a difficult task, but with great possibilities; the first steps have been taken already in the Anoikis systems and they are relatively easy to access. New Eden was virgin territory. The original crews had to scout and survey and be followed by teams to build the star gates. That meant mining and refining resources, and all done in space, massive industrial ships must have been used, on a scale we only really see with the World Arks, Anchorages, and perhaps the rumoured City ship being built by Thukker.

They would have needed the technology to move across vast distances without cynos, some advanced form of jump drive or wormhole generating system maybe. Sansha, Drifters, Triglavians, the Jove themselves and maybe even Rogue Drones now, have shown something like the abilities required. Whether they developed it themselves, or found the necessary information in some ancient cache is not known. While the Empires of New Eden build star gates and know how to set them up it is still a massively complicated process, the original Amarrian gate required sending ships out using cryosleep chambers. The incoming crews from beyond the gate managed to push lines of stargates deep into the cluster in just a few decades. This raises some interesting questions and possibilities.

The other side of the gate could have been contested, but there are actually quite a mix of different groups in the original settlers, so that may well not be the case. The engineering group should therefore be a representative mix as well, from those factions with an interest. They are not another race, or nation, but almost certainly something like a corporation or other entity, composed of members of the existing nations. It is not known how the gate failed, certainly echoes of the collapse are still heading out into space but it does not seem normal. The gate appeared to be a wormhole of huge size, which is interesting. Gates are formed by the conjunction of points of gravitational resonance, in simple terms. New Eden has a propensity for forming wormholes now but did not at one time. When two systems get close enough on the right path, that can trigger the formation of a hole. For something this size it would mean another cluster or a galaxy moving into the right position relative to New Eden for it to form. Normally that kind of movement is slow, in terms of galactic time, which means the lifespan of the hole can be very long. The mass limit too, given its size but there is a possible way around it. Mass Entanglers are used to increase the mass of a ship for the purpose of rolling holes, better than the old Higgs device. An array of Entanglers, much as we see with the Triglavian Solar Harvester could be used to pull the hole apart, compensating for mass entering it. There might need to be an array on both sides, but there is no way of knowing, this kind of engineering is beyond the capacities of most groups in New Eden.

The question is did one of the groups in the original settlement phase sabotage the gate? Preventing a massive influx of settlers coming to plunder the resources, and maybe giving their allies a better chance of success? It is a distinct possibility, some of the ancient stargates are badly damaged, but others are not, they have been deactivated and rendered useless, which implies deliberate sabotage. If somebody rigged the mass entanglers to reverse polarity then that could collapse the hole, but the array on the other side would work against it, resulting in the singularity that exists now. The same for the stargates, it is as though a deliberate attempt was made to stop the early colonies being able to support each other or receive any assistance. That is curious in itself, as is the behaviour of the Talocan and Yan Jung. Perhaps they decided humanity needed a second chance, to work out a better way to live rather than simply plundering the resources of this new space.

Archaeologists often use the term cultures and it frequently gets misinterpreted by people from outside the profession. All the inhabitants of New Eden belong to the same culture, there are racial differences but in fundamental terms everyone speaks the same language and follows the same basic ways of doing things. Prior to meeting the Amarrians and Udorians were distinct cultures, but they lost their individuality not long after. In a similar way the Talocan, Yan Jung and even the Jovian, from Sleeper artefacts, are obviously from the same basic culture. The labels given them come from the Jove, but they may not be entirely accurate or show the true picture. Given the hypothetical existence of an engineering team that facilitated the early migrations it makes good sense that the Talocan and Yan Jung were a part of this. The Talocan appears to be based in space, the engineers, scouts and surveyors, while the Yan Jung fit into the role of scientists and theoreticians. The planetary settlements of the Yan Jung being research bases, and perhaps food producing areas or for the production of other planetary materials. They both disappeared from New Eden, possibly around the same time, maybe fourteen thousand years ago. The Talocan reappear, in Anoikis, occasional wrecked ships and quarantine zones around ruined Talocan structures, something certainly went on and to discover what requires a reworking of the established position. It is impossible to say if Yan Jung went with them, or were somehow taken over or absorbed. This appears to coincide with the Jove becoming more active which indicates the Talocan group wanting to avoid them in order to let the new colonies flourish uncontaminated

Anoikis is a cluster of systems, possibly located in a region of dark matter or energy, or a region of intensely folded space, it has some extremely unusual characteristics. Assuming that the Talocan used the network of black monoliths as a wide area observatory, then this should have piqued their interest. How they travelled there is unknown, but they must have, and spent some considerable time there preparing their plans. Presumably using the same kind of technology that was used to set up the original gate network but it may have taken longer due to distances involved. They seem to have had a much more intimate understanding of the way space operates than anyone in New Eden possesses today. The New Eden cluster consists of 5431 systems, 230 of which are in Jovian space and inaccessible and there are 2603 known systems in the Anoikis cluster; the true extent of Abyssal space is unknown at present.

Many people see the system of wormhole connections between New Eden and Anoikis as randomly occurring, this is simply untrue. Anoikis has a definite structure and while the formation of connections may seem random it does, in fact, operate according to a comprehensive set of rules. There are 30 Regions and 310 Constellations, these directly affect the class of system and also the connections that will open up between them, and also New Eden. This might be due to the way the data is represented, rather than an actual physical map, no such map exists so it is a convenient way of looking at things. All of the Region 30 systems are class 6, for example and that pattern follows for all the other regions. This suggests that there is something highly unusual about both the underlying structure of space and the matter-energy balance of the cluster. Most unusual indeed.

The Talocan must have spent some considerable time there. Exploring and mapping the area offered challenges not found in New Eden and chances are that meant modifying their technology. From events in New Eden much later on it is suspected that some of the precursor technology was based on Isogen-5, an allotropic form of Isogen, connected in some way to the formation of blue stars. It is highly volatile, as evidenced by these later events, Isogen-10, used by the Triglavians is a much more stable form. It does not, as far as anyone knows, appear in Anoikis, meaning that the Talocan may well have had to find alternative materials. ~

Oddly the materials and blueprints for making tech III ships all come from Anoikis , so are a sign of Talocan adapting to the new environment. Which means that the Talocan wrecked ships spotted in Anoikis and New Eden are more than likely not their original ship forms, but developed later on. This is an interesting pointer. For one thing it does point to an extended time in the Anoikis cluster. They also must have taken the construction and mining vessels. There are a large number of ruined Talocan sites around, some of which are co-sited with Sleeper sites, probably the origin of the Jovian-Triglavian satellite polity mentioned in one of the data streams.

The Talocan built a complex network of structures known as Epicenters, which are vitally important. Each contains Talocan static gates and violent wormholes, impassable by any means available. There are similar wormholes in the Drifter systems, but more on those later. Thera formed the heart of this network, and still functions in that respect, although possibly in a different way. It is a unique system and may have been artificially engineered, in itself a prodigious feat of stellar engineering and beyond the capabilities of anyone today. There are twenty-five small ship systems, known as Class 13, these only form small connections that will only pass frigates, or some specially engineered ships. In addition a further seventy-five systems also contain Epicenters.

The operation of this network is unknown, although there are a number of possibilities. This gave the Talocan one hundred and one systems to explore and operate in. It could have been fixed, Thera acting as a hub and the Epicentre static gates and what are now violent wormholes connecting to other systems in the net. The Drifter systems also contain strange wormholes that do not seem navigable but may once have connected. Alternatively it may have been programmable, the Epicentres acting as controls for the system, rather like a modern mass transportation system. In either case they had access to systems within the network but presumably also those outside it. Overall a fixed system makes most sense in light of later events.

This must have taken a considerable amount of time, which presupposes that the Talocan used some form of Kitezh class ship, as discussed by the Triglavians and also the Jove appear to have some knowledge of them as well. It is unknown as to how many of them there were, or what the ratio of male and female was. Likewise did they use sexual reproduction or some system to generate viable embryos as the Jove did? It is a task of mammoth proportions, feeding so many without access to planetary resources, not to mention completely adapting to a whole new technology. They did it, while dating technologies for planetary archaeological sites are commonplace and a number of methodologies may be employed, those for spatial artefacts are much more complex and prone to error. Especially in the complex topology of Anoikis space. The only realistic figures quoted suggest some of the installations may be as old as twelve thousand years. This seems reasonable; the first Jovian expansion began around this time and the Talocan should have completed most of the work by then.

It is now a piece of history, but the Seyllin event was linked to Isogen-5 caches and caused the first wormholes to begin appearing in New Eden as well as shattering a number of planets. The later Caroline’s Star event, since found to be W477-P, revealed the presence of Thera and the shattered systems. Again, this points to the Talocan network and the main Anoikis cluster being two distinct entities. The Talocan must therefore have returned to New Eden prior to the Jovian expansion to complete their work unnoticed. It is also worth bearing in mind that a society can change beyond belief in three thousand years and that this happened twelve thousand years ago.

Somehow the Talocan used a device, or array of devices at W477-P in order to create some form of sub-spatial affinity between New Eden and Anoikis. How this was done is hard to even imagine as it necessitates altering the topology of space in both clusters. Interestingly this manipulation may have had other side effects as well, the abundance of deadspace zones, and even the Dead Storms of Detorid, which may point to the Abyss and even the Abyss itself may have been formed by this work. The Seyllin event probably opened up the existing weaknesses permitting the formation of wormholes and made this easier to achieve naturally. The event at W477-P travelled through the Epicenter network rendering the wormholes and static gates dysfunctional and unlocking the now shattered systems.

This made the formation of wormholes a lot easier and allowed the explorers much more access to Anoikis. Thera can support a dozen or more connections and maybe as many as twenty-five, this is a lot higher than most systems where the upper limit may be five or six. Most systems have one or two static connections, these can despawn and respawn very quickly so appear to be always present. There are any number of wandering connections as well, but all connections follow the underlying rules. Systems in the New Eden cluster itself do not have static connections, their limit seems to be around the usual five to six, Systems in Jovian space do not connect to normal Anoikis systems, although there may be others that are still hidden. The J005299 system is occupied by Sansha’s Nation and is unique in this respect, although it really suggests Sansha have other hidden systems in which they stage their fleets. The Jovians used a time-based system to name the Anoikis systems, the majority of the systems, excluding the unique, the shattered systems and four others, fall into the format of J-hours, minutes and seconds, two digits for each. The list is possibly not complete.

Connections form according to the systems, their statics and then any available wandering connections, These may follow some kind of hidden paths within the structure of space, it is impossible to say at present. Connections generally disappear within twenty-four hours, although the new Pochven holes have a shorter lifespan. Different connections have different mass limits, affecting the size and number of ships that can pass through without triggering a collapse. The inhabitants of Anoikis systems use this to their advantage, triggering an early collapse, or leaving the hole at a critical point thus trapping intruders. These cycles create endless patterns in the map of Anoikis, Class 4 systems can form long chains leading across the Anoikis cluster and Class 2 systems can form smaller ones or bridges between Anoikis and New Eden. The map is therefore a complex map of both scientific phenomena and human activity, the mathematics of which is extremely complicated.

It is not possible to predict where a given system will connect to, the type maybe but not an exact location. Organisations like Signal Cartel rely on huge numbers of scouts and specialised mapping tools to create a window into the map. In that respect it corresponds with the mathematics governing the formation of freckles on skin or the pattern on a variegated leaf, the patterns are unpredictable but expected.

The so-called Drifter systems are also unique. They contain a number of ancient structures, black monoliths and violent wormholes. The Caged Wormhole in particular is interesting in that it seems to link to Thera. Another site is a wrecked Sleeper Enclave, and there are ship graveyards containing unknown vessels. These appear to be experimental areas, strange rifts and mysterious probes, the black monoliths are also in evidence. The Sisters of Eve have been researching these systems for years, although have yet to report on them, standing flotillas of vessels stand guard in each system. A focal point for the system is the Hive, a complex of acceleration gates guarding entry to the Nexus. This is staggering, a massive double rift with a broken structure at the centre. Originally the structure resembled a sea urchin but quickly fell apart and is now an S-shaped disarray of huge beams, lightning sparks through the components on an intermittent basis. Nearby is an alignment device, but frequent attempts have failed to move the beams in any way. It is as though it was once trapped or sabotaged to make operation of the Nexus impossible. Drifters guard the way and have a Hive structure on site, hence the name, but the systems themselves are obviously the work of Talocan, or their descendants.

Anoikis is a grey area, it hides its secrets well and in many ways offers more questions than answers. The Talocan were active there from maybe twelve thousand years ago, the first Jovian expansion lasted for nine thousand years before collapsing in what appears to be civil war. From the archaeological record it is possible to see that they leapt ahead, making great strides in science and technology, their installations were re-engineered at a furious pace. It seems likely that some Jovian group made contact with the Talocan during this period, laying the foundations for the Sleepers. Analysis of at least one Drifter corpse was completed by a team consisting of Dr. Mizhir Starsurge, Dr. Anslo Tetua, Kybernetes Moros and Kalo Askold. The corpse had been much modified, beyond the original Jovian improvements, the Jovian corpses are similar and formed the basis of Warclone technology. Capsuleer infomorphic technology relies on a destructive brain scan at the point of death, the information is transmitted as a burst and used to reconstruct the brain state in a new clone, thus preserving memories and experiences. The Jovians, and now, Warclones, use an incremental system, much more sophisticated but requiring much higher bandwidth. The intricacy of some of the implants is such that the technology is unfathomable, but it probably has applications in interfacing with a virtual reality system.

Virtual Reality Environments (VRE) have been a desirable theoretical possibility since the use of computing technology really got going. There have been a large number of thought experiments, a lot of research, and they have formed the basis for numerous stories and a number of popular holoreels. The principles are well known and a lot of research has gone into virtual reality and its many applications in science, industry and entertainment. While great strides have been made the ultimate goal of a fully immersive world has never actually been realised and remains tantalisingly out of reach. The difficulty lies in the interface to the human brain, due to its complexity, and the Jovian implants appear to do just that.

The brain contains around 86 billion neurons, with interconnected synapses numbering maybe 60 trillion or more. The numbers are that large and frightening. A neuron is relatively simple to simulate, it's a switch, although there are countless different types and it has weighting with experience. The firing of a neuron triggers hundreds, even thousands, of synapses and these react in different ways because of the nature of the triggers released. Synapses also react to the firing of other synapses in their local area, which makes the processes much more complicated to simulate. Even the most highly sophisticated technology available in New Eden would require an installation the size of a large city and would not operate at anything like the speed of a human brain.

The Sleeper installations in Anoikis are densely packed with processing units and use advanced materials and methodologies not really understood by New Eden science. Even they do not appear to simulate the brain, but there is a way round it.

Old time philosophers talked of mind, body and spirit, to a great extent this is true. The brain is split into two sections, often referred to as the bicameral mind, on side being the emotional centre, the other dealing with logic and problem solving, but both interconnected and also interdependent with the body as well. It processes around 3 terabytes of information a day, a lot from the environment but a significant amount is derived from within the body as well; even the kidneys have nerves. The chemical balances of the body can affect the brain and vice versa. It seems as though the Jovian design uses the mind as a processor in conjunction with the high bandwidth infomorphic interface. This group mind acts as a kind of computational cloud which interacts with the processing structures to produce a kind of consensual reality, filling in the blanks as necessary.

The body is largely switched off, or the external stimuli are ignored and replaced by those of the VRE. This has to happen, without the bodily awareness in the circuit it can destabilise the mind. At its height there were countless installations throughout Anoikis, linked through the Talocan Epicenter network. Presumably the Jovians had been working towards this for thousands of years, and who is to say the Talocan were not doing as well. The supposed disappearance of the Yan Jung could be due to them taking their research into a VRE as well. It was a substantial computational structure. There must have been external operators and many working within it on various research projects. The early efforts of the Jovians would go a long way towards explaining the exponential gains in sophistication made during the first Jovian expansion. It is not known when the Jovians encountered the Talocan, perhaps only a few did, and maybe during the course of the first expansion, or shortly after it’s collapse.

Then things might have taken a different course, likely in light of subsequent events. In order to construct an ideal society, or at least experiment to find a better way, which appears to be a constant motivation for the Talocan at least, they would have to go a different route. The Jove created embryos, from bloodline genomes, rather than sexual reproduction. If they connected an infant to the VRE, and raised it inside it, using external operators, or even some form of artificial intelligence actors then the possibilities are extra-ordinary. They could link the infant’s mind to adaptive neuromorphic arrays, which would then grow as the child did, This then gives a reproducible processing array capable of hosting a human mind or forming the basis of an artificial sapience.

Artificial intelligence is used in many applications, and is frequently misunderstood. Any program that makes a seemingly intelligent decision is deemed AI. Although the leap to something which is artificially sentient is a big step. The Rogue Drones are for the most part simple intelligences performing according to a sophisticated script of some form. Very few are actually sentient, and even those may be part of a much larger single mind. The Triglavians use the term ‘distributed artificial entities’ in speaking about them and are very cautious.

It does make sense that the Jovians used some form of AI actor within their VRE, to guide events perhaps and steer things in the right direction. From analysis of what appears to have happened, this was their downfall. If they used an array capable of sentience for their actors, then it is possible that one or more actually achieved it, and in realising their nature, also perceived the nature of the VRE. The purity of the society within the VRE relies on the inhabitants being unaware that it is a construction. Something went badly wrong. The Talocan were forced to rescue infomorphs from the VRE, there are numerous quarantine stations around Anoikis to confirm this. Quarantine because they had to make sure that the rescued infomorphs were human and not some artificial infomorph. Very much letting the genie out of the bottle.

This took place not long before the total collapse of the second Jovian expansion and the Talocan of this time might well have been calling themselves Triglavians, or were heading that way. The Jovian Sleeper installations were equipped with guardians, the Patrollers and other ships still seen today, the actors from the VRE would have had little trouble taking these over and using them against the Talocan and surviving Jovians. It would seem that they fought a defensive battle heading for the Drifter systems, then using the giant rifts to take their Kitezh, presumably into the Abyss. This was not a controlled migration, it was a rushed evacuation, who knows what they left behind, or how many were lost.

The sentients from the VRE, and the other AI were able to take over the corpses of the Jovians, it is unlikely than any actually survived, although the question still exists; did the AI achieve sentience by accident, or did someone deliberately engineer it? As with the initial settlements, they were left alone to develop naturally, to give humanity a second chance. Were there agents among the Talocan that still wanted that to happen? Whichever the case it would seem that the sentients used the knowledge within the VRE, possibly to create the feared Drifter vessels, or perhaps simply using the guardian vessels left behind, to attack the rest of the second Jovian expansion colonies in New Eden. Revenge on, maybe as they saw it, their jailers. Certainly the second Jove Empire sites were attacked from outside their sector, fighting inward to the centre. It is possible they also infiltrated the genome databases and left behind a gift, the Jovian disease, a fatal flaw in their physiology. It may never be known, the evidence points to all the Jove being dead, only leaving their remnants behind.

These then are the Sleepers, a group of autonomous defensive systems and possibly some actual artificial sentients, maybe even one or more rogue agents among them. They seem to have built more structures, looking for a way to follow their jailers, or discover their technologies. Seemingly they did in the end, the scraps of trinary data recovered from damage fleets of Drifters in New Eden revealed the first glimpses of the Abyss. It is known they were fighting in areas of the Abyss capsuleers were not able to access and the Sansha had managed to invade their as well. The Triglavians referred to them as the Ancient Enemy, but not quite as they had known them. They also linked them to the second Jove Empire quite clearly, but these were Drifters, not the Sleeper vessels they had fought originally.

The Sleepers and Drifters are therefore two facets of the same group, some of the Sleeper installations being built after the surviving Talocan and Sleeper infomorphs escaped. The Talocan installations were left in ruins, the result of the Drifters' frustration at the escape. Sites like the Mirror may be Sleeper attempts to decode the Talocan technology in order to follow them, the actual truth may never be known.

The story from that point has been well recorded elsewhere. The Talocan prospered in the Abyss, modifying their technology, and adapting, as they had done previously. Its unknown how their society evolved, although these were the descendants of people who had gone through doubtless many changes in the last fifteen thousand years. For now their invasion seems to be at an end; they are consolidating Pochven and creating Bujan, or moving Bujan to Pochven, This is indeed perhaps one of their enduring mysteries, but given their history, simple to decode.

The Narodnya live lives of Struggle, seeking to improve themselves or die trying, their pilots fight ferociously without mercy for the most part. Each success improves their ranking, as seen in the Abyssal Proving Ground contests. Presumably failures send them down the ranks and Glorification can therefore be seen as a promotion, Mortification as a demotion. For the ultimate survivors the reward appears to be the rank of Koschoi, these live in the Domain of Bujan. It is obviously a VRE of some form, a fabled pleasure garden, similar to those depicted in ancient religious texts. There they reap the rewards they have earned, outside the struggle at last. The Navka receive somewhat different treatment. Their infomorph is edited, the emotional facet of their personality removed, and what is left is hosted on some kind of processing array. They act as librarians, guarding the memories of the Triglavians, and with the addition of a personality and a script, as actors to serve the Koschoi. Both may leave the Domain of Bujan from time to time as requested, but under the names Detached and Unshackled, to undertake missions of import.

The Domain itself is probably based on the Anchorages, linked together through their conduit network. Koschoi and Navka are both able to interface with individual Narodnya it would seem, acting as information stores and advisors. Indeed the Koschoi and Navka, being beyond the Struggle are those that form the Convocation of Triglav Outside the Struggle. From the Triglavians themselves it is known that those left behind in the Abyss are the Poshlost, the unworthy, maybe they can in time redeem themselves, but for now the bulk of the Triglav care nothing for them. It is telling that now the Sansha, Angel Cartel and even DED operatives are fighting over what remains in the Abyss. There will be more developments to come.

The Triglavians have wrought great changes to the fundamental nature of space, on a scale not seen since the establishment of the affinity between New Eden and Anoikis. This in itself was almost certainly responsible for the phenomena known as the Dead Storms of Detorid, elusive, but appearing when the alignments of Anoikis connections are in a certain conjunction. It could also have been responsible for the formation of the Abyss, lost systems trapped between the folds of space. Since the Triglavians moved the Anchorages into New Eden it has become even more unstable, Metaliminal storms sweeping the fringes of the New Eden cluster, and strange clouds moving through the Abyss. So far Anoikis has been unaffected, but for how long?

One of the communications from the Triglavians showed Sansha fleets fighting in what appears to be an unknown part of the Abyss. Certainly a part nobody has been able to access, but it might be possible given the Triglavian migration. The ship building facilities were only found in the deepest pockets, and no sign of the anchorages ever found. There could be tracts of systems never seen by capsuleers, the remnants of Triglavian civilisation, archaeological sites giving clues to their origin, as well as any facilities they may have left behind. Triglavians still live in the Abyss, Poshlost, but with the capacity to achieve some form of redemption and, although Narodnya, they remain connected to the Koschoi and Navka. These must live somewhere, even have Kitezh to use as a base and some means of harvesting food and other supplies. Maybe one day these wonders will be accessible, a new frontier of exploration.

There are fifty Abyssal pockets, linked by the conduit network, that is still Triglavian controlled, possibly a number of Proving Grounds as well. The Talocan directly controlled 101 systems out of the 2499 known Anoikis systems and Pochven is comprised of only 27 New Eden systems so far. When these are consolidated the Triglavians might desire to expand. They are building up, repurposing existing stations, constructing military installations and there may well be covert research facilities being constructed. The limitations of the conduit network restrict both capsuleers and those Narodnya who are still to prove themselves, not forgetting that even now the clades still prove against each other, it the way of the Triglav. New wormholes appear in systems, mostly local to Pochven, but other areas as well and in Anoikis, and the Triglavians still come out to prove themselves against the forces of New Eden.

A further complication could be Edencom; Provost Marshal Kasiha Valkanir has amassed a great deal of power and there are rumours of political turmoil between Edencom and the Empires. They have established 53 Fortress systems, between Edencom and the Triglavians there are a further 112 systems that have been ravaged by combat. Those systems obviously still hold some interest for the Triglavians and Edencom are not likely to let them go, nor do they seem content to let the Triglavians hold Pochven. While the systems are sealed off for now there are ongoing planetary resistance operations underway from all appearances. From the history of New Eden it would not be the first time a military command has gone rogue. This conflict has already seen a number of mercenary groups emerge, even Sansha have had some kind of schism and there are questions about the Upwell Consortium outstanding.

Both Edencom and Upwell have been found to have covert research facilities out in the fringes of the cluster, how many of these remain is unknown, but the two organisations seem to be linked in some unknown way. What further developments will take place is hard to imagine but there are undercurrents even now. It is a possibility that the Empires will write off their losses and seek peace with the Triglavians which could lead to them opening the border systems of Pochven, only time will tell.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Spider-Man 2099 v3 #13-16 Thoughts

This was mostly great fun!

I must admit when hearing about this arc and even approaching my re-reading of it, I was not looking forward to it. Typically event crossovers derail the ongoing plot in a big way, and for PAD’s Spidey work and for his 2010s Spidey 2099 work in particular it was a problem.

Plus I despise both the original Civil War 2006 and as this arc was originally released was in the midst of despising Civil War II.

I don’t know if it was the fact that I’d forgotten most of the plot points, the fact that I binged the whole arc or if the tie-in nature of the story lowered my expectations but regardless, I wound up really enjoying this arc, much like the last one.

In fact comparisons to the last arc are very apt as they’re almost going in for the same thing.

It’s an adventure in the altered 2099 future depicting futuristic versions of characters and groups we’re (in theory) familiar with, utilizing a fair amount of older 2099 continuity.

The difference is that whilst the Sinister Six arc was more Spider-Man centric, this arc is more concerned with the wider 2099 universe.

Just off the top of my head this story features:*

·         Spider-Man 2099

·         Captain America 2099

·         Strange 2099

·         Hawkeye 2099

·         Black Widow 2099

·         Hercules

·         Hulk 2099

·         The X-Men2099

·         ‘The Power Pack’

·         Punisher 2099

·         Iron Fist 2099

·         Deadpool 2099

·         Daredevil 2099

·         Moon Knight 2099

·         Sub-Mariner 2099

·         Ghost Rider 2099

·         Nik Fury, granddaughter of the original Nick Fury

·         And Ravage 2099 (although he’s an original character debuting in the 2099 line anyway)

 Now featuring this many characters is a double edged sword, much like the last arc.

On the one hand a lot of them have little development, little substance to them. They show up with cool looks, cool abilities and the novelty factor of seeing futuristic versions of familiar characters.

Some of them are pre-established people too, like Daredevil 2099 and Moon Knight 2099. So there is fanservice to be found there, but if you really liked those characters you didn’t get that much out of seeing them briefly back in action.

On the other hand I think considering this was a mere four issues and with this many characters, giving them all depth and distinction is difficult. More importantly I think it would detract from the fact that this is ultimately Spider-Man’s book. It’s about him and his ‘world’, of which these figures are definitely a part of, but also definitely not the point.

The fact is PAD does the best he can with what he has. More than this, I think it’s an example of PAD making the lemonade out of lemons and making the tie-in nature of the issues work for him  as opposed to making his series work for the tie-ins.

For starters he uses Ulysses lightly but effectively. He gets the ball rolling on the plot and beyond that has little involvement. In fact the entire story has little to do directly with the events of Civil War II, which is a plus given how shite the crossover is.

Rather PAD uses the tie-ins as an excuse to essentially present his own story with the general gist of Civil War, which you could say is true of every 2099 spin on the classic characters.

So in practice this arc is less a Civil War II tie-in and more Civil War 2099. It actually has more in common with the original 2006 Civil War story except you know, it isn’t dogshit.

There is an anti-superhuman legal act in force. Superhumans work directly for the government to round up their fellows. Those opposed to the law fight back. Hell Skrulls are even the root of the problem, which was initially the implication during Civil War 2006 and Secret Invasion.

PAD also demonstrates how massive crossovers and events like this should ideally be played. If I were being blunt, there isn’t much substance to this, there isn’t much character exploration.

With so many characters who draw from so many genres that simply don’t really go together (Greek myth side by side with sci-fi monsters, arcane magic and crime noir), going for something simple, superficial and yet fun (with at best a singular central character who shoulders whatever substance there is to be found) is the most logical approach to such events.

It’s why Infinity Gauntlet and Secret Wars 1984 are still fun reads decades later but hot trash like Civil War II has been forgotten about. The former know they’re trying to have fun and at best place one or two characters as the heart of the stories, the latter try to include everyone, be about everyone, and also strive for substance in stories that can’t support that.

Getting back to the specific heroes vs. heroes nature of the series, if there is one major failing in the set up its that the two sides don’t feel evenly matched.

The rebel superhumans have heavy hitters like Hercules, Cerebra, Hulk, Sub-Mariner and Strange, whilst the government forces...well, don’t have anyone in the same league. They’re also outnumbered by the rebels.

The pro-government side is also a clever use of subversion as they are comprised of the Punisher, the X-men and the Power Pack. Now I know little of the Power Pack so I did feel a little lost with them, and know equally little about the X-men 2099. But what little I do know makes their choice of sides unexpected but toally logical. The reasons given are that mutants were deemed not responsible for their powers as they were born with them and thus granted amnesty from the anti-super human laws provided they work for the government. Essentially mutants were given their best chance for rights and protection from persecution BY discriminatory laws. Ironic, but as the comic points out, mutants accepting this deal makes sense given their history.

Now we need to talk about Jameson and the Skrulls.

On the one hand it was a good twist. It had sufficient set up and you genuinely didn’t see it coming. It also made for neat and effective explanations of Jameson and Power Pack’s surviving into the distant future along with their questionable histories (like marrying Liz Allan or JJJ running Alchemax).

But I must admit, I was a little bummed by the Skrull reveal as I found the prospect of Jameson as the actual villain behind this fascinating. I’ve noticed that Peter David’s Spider-Man work, whilst not painting Jameson as a villain per se, has painted him often less flatteringly than he’s usually been played since the 1980s. In the 1960s-1970s, Jameson was one step away from practically being a super villain, his bufoonishness often offset his more unethical practices in the eyes of readers.

In PAD’s stories he still does unethical stuff and so the idea he could go down a road where he’s essentially happy to persecute super humans is frighteningly believable.

The Skrull reveal undermined this, and undermined the great twist halfway through the story that Jameson was behind everything. I thought it was Tyler Stone so the subversion really worked!

It also wrapped things up a little too neatly, in the sense that the heroes could get along just fine because the heroes on the opposite side were fake anyway. Maybe that was a subtle dig at the original Civil War, that they should’ve done something like this instead of commit to the schism in the superhuman community. But at the same time since we’re dealing with a version of the Marvel Universe that doesn’t need to last long term that’s kind of unnecessary.

One small criticism I have, and this is a nitpick. I felt that the part where Spidey was holding Punisher hostage before the issue ends wa not properly resolved at the start of the next one. The X-men have simply retreated, the heroes have gone back to their bases. It’s like if you smashcut in the middle of a hostage situation to the aftermath when everything is fine.

Over all a great way to do a tie-in and deliver a fun time for old time 2099 fans. I’m not one of them and even i had fun with this.

 *Note, whenever I don’t put ‘2099’ after a character’s name it means we’re dealing with, at least supposedly, an older version of the 616 characters, rather than new characters adopting their mantles.

[sciencespies]

Could Black Holes Be The Dark Matter Our Universe Needs?

https://sciencespies.com/news/could-black-holes-be-the-dark-matter-our-universe-needs/

Could Black Holes Be The Dark Matter Our Universe Needs?

Black holes, when you fall into them, inevitably lead you towards the central singularity. Because… [+] they don’t emit light, they are worth considering as a potential candidate for our Universe’s dark matter.

ESA/Hubble, ESO, M. Kornmesser

The Universe, as we know it, simply doesn’t add up. On the one hand, we can look out on a cosmic scale and measure — based on how the Universe gravitates, clusters, and evolves — how much total mass there has to be. On the other hand, we can also measure, quite independently, how much matter there must be. These two numbers are both measured to a very high precision with very low uncertainties, and there’s a big problem: they don’t match.

The first number, which tells us how much mass must be in the Universe, is about six times as large as the second number, which tells us how much mass is in the form of known, Standard Model particles. Something must be out there that goes beyond known physics. Even though we don’t know what it is, we have a name for it: dark matter. For many years, a few scientists have argued that, just perhaps, black holes are the answer. But they’re almost certainly not. Here’s the science behind why.

On the largest scales, the way galaxies cluster together observationally (blue and purple) cannot be… [+] matched by simulations (red) unless dark matter is included.

Gerard Lemson & the Virgo Consortium, with data from SDSS, 2dFGRS and the Millennium Simulation

If you want to know how much total mass is in the Universe, there are lots of different ways to measure it that are independent of one another.

You can look at the patterns of fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background, where the number of peaks, along with the relative peak heights and scales, teaches us the ratio of dark matter to normal matter.

You can look at the large-scale clustering of the Universe, where the structures we see require both normal matter and a component that does not collide with itself or normal matter.

You can look at gravitational lenses, which are sensitive to the total mass both in a massive structure and along the line-of-sight, providing a measure of the total amount of matter present.

In all three cases, you get the same approximate result: the Universe is about ~30% total matter, but only about ~5% normal matter.

By leveraging a total of eight quadruply lensed systems (six are shown here), astrophysicists were… [+] able to use gravitational lensing to place constraints on dark matter substructure in the Universe, and hence on the mass/temperature of dark matter particles as a result.

NASA, ESA, A. Nierenberg (JPL), and T. Treu and D. Gilman (UCLA)

Additionally, we can look out at the Universe and count up all the different forms of matter that we can find. We know that stars play a role, as does gas, dust, and planets. There is material in galaxy clusters that lives between the various galaxies, as well as the intergalactic medium, which is full of ionized plasma rather than neutral gas. And there are the burned-out corpses of prior generations of stars, all adding to the total.

When we add up everything we know of, we get a figure: about ~5% of the total energy in the Universe is normal matter. We even have a completely independent way of measuring that, by looking at the ratios of the light elements that were present before any stars were formed. Since nuclear physics is very well understood and so is the Big Bang, all we have to do is put these pieces together to see what comes out. The result? Still 5%.

The predicted abundances of helium-4, deuterium, helium-3 and lithium-7 as predicted by Big Bang… [+] Nucleosynthesis, with observations shown in the red circles. This corresponds to a Universe where ~4-5% of the critical density is in the form of normal matter. With another ~25-28% in the form of dark matter, only about 15% of the total matter in the Universe can be normal, with 85% in the form of dark matter.

NASA / WMAP Science Team

This is strong enough evidence that we must take the dark matter problem very seriously. Something is causing an excess of gravitation in our Universe over and above what we can explain with the normal matter in our Universe alone.

It could not have come from neutrinos nor any other low-mass, fast-moving particles from the early Universe, or the structures we get out would have been all wrong. Dark matter, in addition to being five times as abundant as normal matter, must have been born cold.

And wherever it came from, it must have been present from a very early stage in the Universe. The light elements (from normal matter) were created just minutes after the Big Bang; the Cosmic Microwave Background was emitted just 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The evidence for dark matter — and that it’s something distinct from normal matter — comes to us from very early on.

The fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background are of such small magnitude and of such a… [+] particular pattern that they strongly indicate the Universe began with the same temperature everywhere and only had 1-part-in-30,000 fluctuations, a fact that is irreconciliable with an arbitrarily hot Big Bang or a scenario involving large anisotropies or inhomogeneities.

ESA and the Planck Collaboration

So what about the idea of black holes? After all, black holes:

are dark,

don’t emit light,

can have an enormous amount of gravitation, and

definitely exist, unlike (at least most of) the particle candidates we’ve concocted for dark matter.

The idea that black holes could play a role in solving the dark matter puzzle is an old one, going back many decades. Unfortunately, the only ways we know of to form black holes — from stars, from large amounts of collapsing gas, from the mergers of neutron stars, etc. — all involve normal matter as a starting point. And, in a second unfortunate happenstance, we already know how much of the Universe’s mass is in the form of these massive and supermassive black holes, and it isn’t close to enough.

The visible/near-IR photos from Hubble show a massive star, about 25 times the mass of the Sun, that… [+] has winked out of existence, with no supernova or other explanation. Direct collapse is the only reasonable candidate explanation, and is one known way, in addition to supernovae or neutron star mergers, to form a black hole for the first time.

NASA/ESA/C. Kochanek (OSU)

About 0.007% of the total mass of the Universe exists in the form of black holes, and that’s if you add up all the black holes that we think ought to exist. It includes black hole growth and mergers, and includes all of the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. Furthermore, they cannot be too massive, because massive black holes that have existed for a long time will preferentially sink to the centers of massive structures: a process that astronomers have traditionally called mass segregation but would be more accurately described as differential settling.

Even if black holes were the dark matter, they’d have to be lighter than a certain threshold for this reason: dark matter must be distributed in a large, diffuse halo around each galaxy, cluster, and supercluster. It cannot be centrally located in the core of each such structure. When you put all of this together, it paints a very unlikely picture for dark matter being made of black holes.

A map of the 7 million second exposure of the Chandra Deep Field-South. This region shows hundreds… [+] of supermassive black holes, each one in a galaxy far beyond our own. The combination of supermassive and stellar mass black hole populations both contribute to the total amount of matter in the Universe, but they cannot come close to accounting for dark matter.

NASA/CXC/B. Luo et al., 2017, ApJS, 228, 2

But there is one scenario that isn’t yet ruled out by everything we’ve mentioned so far: primordial black holes. It’s plausible to think that the Universe might have been born with a large number of very small regions of space with enough mass, overall, to lead to the formation of a black hole through direct collapse. Rather than forming a star, a galaxy, or any other structures that survive until today, they could have been dense enough that they would have formed a population of black holes very early on: what we call primordial black holes.

Theoretically, we can calculate the threshold for just how “above average” in density a region needs to be to inevitably collapse into black holes through this mechanism, and it’s not ridiculously large on the surface: 68% (or so) above the average density. If you had some tiny regions with 68% (or larger) overdensities to them, they could produce a large population of sub-solar-mass black holes, and that could be an interesting dark matter candidate.

In addition to formation by supernovae and neutron star mergers, it should be possible for black… [+] holes to form via direct collapse. Simulations such as the one shown here demonstrate that, under the right conditions, black holes of any mass could form in the very early stages of the Universe, dependent on initial conditions.

Aaron Smith/TACC/UT-Austin

If this was how we made black holes, everything would still add up. The abundance of the light elements might not be affected, because all of the “extra mass” would become individual black holes, potentially very early on. The clustering patterns seen in the Universe’s large-scale structure and the Cosmic Microwave Background would be unaffected as well, because the black holes would be created on scales too small to probe with these methods.

And the late-time signals, like gravitational lensing or galactic rotation, would only be sensitive to the overall dark matter fraction that exists, not the individual size of the clumps. We do have individual constraints from things like gravitational microlensing, pulsar timing, and other astrophysical measurements that apply over specific mass ranges, but if we had black holes of just the right mass range — or a series of mass ranges — they could still account for the dark matter.

Constraints on dark matter from Primordial Black Holes. There is an overwhelming set of disparate… [+] pieces of evidence that indicate there is not a large population of black holes created in the early Universe that comprise our dark matter. The lowest-mass black hole our Universe should have ought to come from stars: about 2.5 solar masses and no lower.

Fig. 1 from Fabio Capela, Maxim Pshirkov and Peter Tinyakov (2013), via http://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.4984v3.pdf

But it’s almost certainly not to be. The problem is this: we can measure, over a large scale range (from the full sky down to ~0.07 degrees or so), how significant the density fluctuations are. And over that entire range, we find that:

the fluctuations on the largest scales are the largest,

they get gradually, slightly smaller as you move to smaller scales,

and the largest-magnitude fluctuations, which happen on the largest scales, are only 1-part-in-30,000 or so.

In other words, we need a ~68% fluctuation, but we only have ~0.003% fluctuations. We need them to be enormous on small scales, but they only get smaller as we go to smaller scales. According to the predictions of inflation, there should be no “spike” on small scales, but that’s exactly what we’d need. Although we can cook up any theoretical scenario we’d like, there’s simply no motivation to do so other than “some people would like the answer if we did.”

The fluctuations in the CMB are based on primordial fluctuations produced by inflation. In… [+] particular, the ‘flat part’ on large scales (at left) have no explanation without inflation. The flat line represents the seeds from which the peak-and-valley pattern will emerge over the first 380,000 years of the Universe, and is just a few percent lower on the right (small-scale) side than the (large-scale) left side.

NASA / WMAP Science Team

In science, simply concocting a scenario to give you the answer you’d desire is not the way we approach problems. Instead, we must let the evidence we have be our guide, and consign the rest to an enormous bin of speculative (but not compelling) ideas. While there were many reasons to be excited about Primordial Black Holes in the 1970s and 1980s, the evidence we have today highly disfavors them. It would take a revolutionary new piece of data to bring them back into favor.

The idea that our Universe’s dark matter might be black holes is interesting and deserves scrutiny, and get revived periodically as new generations of scientists take an interest in the old idea for themselves. But the data simply doesn’t support it. Black holes as dark matter are both highly constrained and disfavored for numerous reasons, both theoretical and observational. Until new evidence supporting them comes in, don’t believe the hype surrounding them, no matter how fashionable it becomes.

#News

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Late at Night pt4

This takes place just before and during my other story Phantom Lover. You may want to read that one to understand what’s really going on.  

Master List

~~

“Hey, Nonnie, what's up?” Seungkwan answered his phone, jogging down the stairs towards the mailboxes. The pair had been together, officially for a month now, having met two months prior.

“Hey Seungkwan, have you heard from Sora? I've been trying to get a hold of her all day.” Kwannie stopped, hand frozen in the mailbox.

“Why? Has something happened?” Worry flooded his system at the concern in Vernon's voice.

“I don't know. I've been trying to get a hold of her about something we discussed a few days ago but she's not answering the phone.” Kwannie didn't like the feeling he got at Vernon's words.

“Have Wonu or Gyu tried?” He asked, snatching his mail and scurrying back into the safety of his apartment. 

“Nothing. Three different times, even her drop phone, nothing.” Kwannie sighed, tugging on the hair on the back of his neck.

“I'll give her a call.” He decided, putting his boyfriend on speaker and double-checking his messages. “My last message from her was at about 4 on Thursday, after that modeling session she did at the college, I was in class, so I didn't respond for a while, but she said she was heading over to GyuNu's”

“She never got there, they say they hadn't seen her since Wednesday night when they took her home.” Kwannie let out a shaky breath.

“Nonnie, do you think something's happened to her?” He could feel tears stinging his eyes as he clenched his teeth to stop them from falling.

“Try calling her Boo, I'm sure she's fine. We can go over to her place if she doesn't answer.” Vernon explained, “She's okay, I know it.”

“Yeah, she's probably stuck on one of her paintings again.” Kwannie tried to reason, but deep down he knew something was different. The last time she had messaged him was nearly three days ago, which was rare because she was always messaging him, even at odd hours of the morning when he was supposed to be asleep.

“Bonjour, this is Lee Sora, leave a message at the tone, or if you're helping me find my phone, hang up and call again.” The voicemail greeted Kwannie seconds later. That meant her phone was off, either dead, or off because she turned it off, and she only ever turned her phone off during finals season.

A feeling of dread settled in his stomach as he dialed Vernon's number again.

“Tell me some good news.” Nonnie sighed as he answered.

“Her phone's off, I don't know if it's dead or just powered down for some reason, but I don't like it.” Kwannie wanted to cry, he had never been so worried about her before and it was beginning to make him feel sick. “Vernon, what if-”

“Don't.” Vernon's voice was surprisingly soft as he spoke, “I know she's okay, she's strong and one of the most dangerous people I know.” Kwannie nodded, despite knowing Vernon couldn't see him. “I'm going to head over to her house, want to join me?”

“Do you even have keys to her place?”

“No, I was just gonna break in.” Kwannie chuckled, able to see Vernon shrug despite the distance.

“I have keys.”

“So is that a yes?” Kwannie hummed in agreement. “Be there in 15.”

All the lights were off when they arrived at her apartment.

“This isn't good.” Kwannie barely had the chance to comment before Vernon was grabbing his chin and turning it to look at him.

“She's fine. I know it. Maybe she's just sleeping, maybe she's at work and just hasn't called yet. I know she's fine.”

“But what if she-”

“No. If you believe in the worst it is always what you will find.” Kwannie nodded, trying to regain his composure.

“Okay, I believe you.” Together, they climbed out of the car and headed up the stairs to her front door. Kwannie searched upstairs, in her bedroom and study, while Vernon searched downstairs in the living room and kitchen.

No signs of her.

“She hasn't been home in a few days.” Vernon sighed when Kwannie joined him downstairs. He pointed to the bowl of incredibly brown bananas sitting on her kitchen table. “And I messaged Wonu, he called her work, she hasn't been in since Thursday morning.” The younger man bore a grim expression, one that didn't belong on his usually cheerful face. “At this point, we can have her legally declared missing, but the Boss says its up to you.”

“Why me?” Kwannie stuttered, both confused and concerned.

“You're the closest person to her. Her parents are far away, her boyfriends are mobsters, you're the only person with no inherent familial connection or violent tendencies.” Boo's hands began shaking as realization dawned on him.

“Sora's really missing isn't she?” He gasped, staring at Vernon wide-eyed. The younger man stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.

“I'm sorry, Boo. The decision is yours, but...” He stopped as Kwannie began to cry, shaking uncontrollably and burying his face in the taller boy's chest. “You don't have to decide right now, let's get you back home and you can figure out your next steps.” Kwannie clutched at the back of Vernon's shirt when he tried to pull away, trying to stop his tears and speak.

“I don't want to be alone.” He whispered. “Please stay with me tonight?”

“Not like this, I'd be taking advantage of you.” Vernon joked, earning a light smack from Kwannie. 

“Not like that, you perv, just, stay with me?” Kwannie looked up at him with big puppy eyes brimming with tears. Vernon caved, kissing Kwannie's forehead lightly.

“Of course, love.”

~~

Lee Sora was declared missing the following day, now three weeks later, and Seungkwan was no better off then on the first day. He kept up appearances at work, every day hoping that she was going to waltz into the shop and order a caramel frappe with extra drizzle, but to no avail.

Today, as the rain splattered down, Kwannie spent most of his free time during his shift, staring up at the gloomy clouds. The bell jingled, alerting him of a new customer and he quickly slapped a smile on his face, only to find that it was only Mingyu.

“Ah, good afternoon, Mingyu hyung.” He greeted, letting the smile drop from his face at the sad look on the other man's face.

“Afternoon Seungkwan.” He sighed. “Can I have an iced caramel latte?”

“Not a problem.” He turned away, focusing on the task at hand. He could only imagine how Gyu was feeling, his love was missing, and he couldn't do anything.

��I know this is sudden, but my boss would like you to join us for something today.” Gyu began. “He has a friend in the police department, they have some information on Sora. The boss thinks you deserve to be there.”

“Who all will be there? I heard there are a lot of you.” Kwannie asked, setting the drink down in front of his boss, who chuckled.

“Only a few of us, the boss, his husband, the other sub-leaders, myself and Wonu, and Vernon.” He listed. “And you, hopefully.” Kwannie wasn't sure, he barely knew Wonu, and he had no idea who the boss even was, it seemed like something that might not end well. “Vernon won't let anything happen to you, and the boss seems to like you, you'll be fine. Besides, the boss won't do anything with a police officer there.”

“Alright, when?” Gyu smiled that weird smile at him, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

“I'm going to drive you back to your place and you're gonna get dressed.”

“Wait right now?” Kwannie gasped, “But I still have to close up and-” Gyu let out a laugh, standing up straight and removing his suit jacket.

“Don't worry, I'll help.” He offered, picking up one of the aprons from the wall and beginning to clean away at the machines. Boo stared incredulously for a moment before getting his mind together and continuing to work.

~~

Gyu pulled up to a large mansion in a part of town Seungkwan had never been. There was a large staircase leading to the front doors and many men in suits standing guard. The door flew open just as Gyu cut the engine, and Vernon jogged down the stairs. He pulled Boo into a protective hug, glaring daggers at the older man behind him.

“Are you okay?” He whispered.

“Yeah, I'm okay. Nothing happened.” Kwannie pulled away, cupping Vernon's jaw and looking him in the eyes. “Nothing happened, I promise.” Vernon nodded, accepting the kiss offered to him.

“Let's go then, the boss is excited to meet you.”

The Boss was a man only a few years older than them known as S. Coups. He sat at the head of the table with his husband, Han, sitting on his lap. To the left of him sat a muscular man in a face mask known only as Hoshi, with a small man called Woozi to the right. Neither of them spoke much when Vernon introduced Seungkwan.

“S.Coups.” A voice interrupted the silence, and an unknown man entered the room a moment later.

“Captain Minseok.” S. Coups greeted. “ I thought you were sending one of your detectives.”

“It would be better if you heard this from me.” The grim tone in the cute-faced man's voice made Boo nervous.

“I'll make tea.” Han offered, standing quickly.

“I have quite a bit of information.” Minseok sighed, sitting at the far end of the table and placing a folder in front of him.

“Anything good?” S.Coups asked.

“Not really. Good for me, not very good for Miss Lee.” He explained. Vernon reached under the table, clutching Kwannie's hand. “We thought Miss Lee's disappearance was a singular event but information that may say otherwise.” Minseok opened the folder, flipping through more than a few pages. “Her disappearance was the first of now 5, all women, all college students, but so far, no other connection. Zhang is ripping his hair out over it.” He slid the folder down the table, right to S. Coups.

“What else?”

“We've found her cell phone.”

“Oh no.” Gyu sighed, dropping his head onto the table. The usually stoic Wonu sighed, rubbing his boyfriend's back.

“What's wrong with it?” He asked.

“Blood.” Minseok sighed. “DNA matches Sora.” Kwannie tensed, gripping Vernon's hand.

“Oh god, is she...” Kwannie couldn't continue his sentence.

“Doubtful, there were only a few drops. Only on the phone, like she did it on purpose.” Minseok offered, “We don't have a whole lot of answers, a lot of circumstantial things, but we'll keep you updated.” S. Coups slid the folder back down the table, and the room fell silent again as Minseok began to leave. Kwannie's heart was heavy, he had so many unanswered questions, so many worries, and nothing had really been answered.

“Captain.” He broke the silence, still staring at the oak table he was seated at. “Be honest with us, don't hold back.” He tore his gaze away, back to the captain. “Are we looking for a body?”

“How dare you-” Gyu started, jumping up and slamming his hands on the table, making Kwannie flinch and Vernon tugs him backward slightly.

“Mingyu!” S. Coups warned.

“No.” The Captain responded immediately. “Sora is strong, if someone has her, she's still alive and fighting. Don't give up hope just yet.” He smiled at the gathered boys before walking away quickly. Vernon tugged at Kwannie's hand, leading him out of the house quickly. Once in Vernon's car, the younger man let out a breath.

“That was dangerous Seungkwan. You're lucky Gyu didn't have a gun on him.” He clutched Kwannie's hand tightly.

“He did,” Kwannie told him quietly, Vernon's head snapped towards him eyes wide with shock and fear. “I watched him check it before he drove over here.”

“And you still said that? Do you have a death wish?”

“I wanted answers! I don't care that he's her boyfriend, she is the closest thing I have to family right now and I needed the truth.” Kwannie snapped. “He needed them too. He doesn't realize it now, but I did what was needed.”

“You'd make a powerful mobster.” Vernon laughed as he pulled away from the house.

“I suspect that’s not going to be the only time I hear that.”

~~

“Do you just not drink coffee?” Seungkwan asked, setting the cup of hot chocolate in front of his boyfriend.

“I used to drink it all the time but I drank something like 48 ounces during finals once and didn't sleep for like 2 days, so Coups made me stop drinking it.” Vernon explained, giving him a grin. Three more weeks had passed, all without any good news.

“I'm surprised that you didn't just die.” Kwannie joked, “My heart probably would have stopped.”

“I'm lucky mine didn't.” Vernon laughed, stopping when Boo's phone rang.

“Hello?” Vernon watched as Kwannie's eyes went wide and he snatched Vernon's pen from his hand, frantically writing on a napkin. “Of course, thank you, we'll be there soon.” He hung up and flew from his seat, collecting his things with a huge smile on his face.

“Babe! What is happening?” Vernon finally managed to ask, stopping Kwannie in his tracks.

“They found her. She's in the hospital right now. You need to text GyuNu.” He ordered.

“I'll take you over there first.”

~~

Room 434 was dark when Seungkwan pushed open the door. Sora was sitting up, eating the food on her tray in the darkness, but she looked up quickly when Kwannie opened the door. A smile erupted onto her features when she saw him, but he felt himself gasp involuntarily. Her arms were completely wrapped in bandages and there was a large piece of gauze adorning her cheek. She tapped a finger to her lips, pointing to the bed next to her where another girl wrapped in bandages lay unconscious. Kwannie moved forward quietly, pulling her into a hug the moment he could. She gripped the back of his shirt, mumbling apologies and crying softly.

“Hey, don't apologize, it wasn't your fault.” He assured her, sitting in the chair beside her bed. “I'm just thankful they found you.”

“It was thanks to her.” Sora nodded towards the woman asleep next to them. “Turns out her soulmate is Detective Zhang, the guy in charge of the case.” Kwannie must have outwardly grimaced at the comment because Sora let out a quiet laugh, “Ah don't worry Boo, I'm sure that even though you don't have a soulmate there is someone out there just for you.”

“Ah, but what if he has a soulmate then?” He asked, pulling the hairbrush out of his bag to hand to her.

“I'm sure the heart is always right.” She winked, making them both smile.

“So what happened to you?”

“I'm not too sure, I figured he chloroformed me when I was walking home. He was obsessed with the idea of girls being modest or something.” She stared down at her hands, watching the bandaged fingers shake. “He tortured all of us. I was the only one who knew how to endure it. I hit him with a rock when he was hurting her, I didn't know what else to do.” Kwannie stood up, cupping her cheeks as he wiped the tears away.

“You did what you had to do. I promise. No one is going to think worse of you a because of that. You helped save their lives, you're a hero to me.” She closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing. “Now, would you like some of this chocolate I managed to smuggle in?”

“Oh god yes!”

~~ Once visiting hours were over, Seungkwan made his way home, giving himself time to think on the train ride. When he arrived large manila envelope was leaning against this door, which made him suddenly anxious. The only way to leave things at people's doors were to be able to access the building, which meant it was something from a neighbor but with the people Kwannie had recently begun to associate with, he wouldn't be shocked if it was something he didn't want to see.

Sitting on his couch he tossed the envelope on the coffee table, not sure he wanted to open it.

“Nope.” He decided, standing and moving into his kitchen to make a cup of tea. The call of the mystery seemed to prevent Kwannie from thinking about anything else, even as he made dinner and showered.

Eventually, the curiosity got the better of him and he found himself sitting on the couch again, this time, opening the envelope.

He immediately wished he hadn't opened it.

Inside were roughly a hundred photos, photos of him and the people he was close too. Shots from him and Vernons first date, shots of GyuNu and Sora together, and most hauntingly, a photo of Seungkwan looking directly at the photographer as he spoke to someone on the phone and checked his mail. At the bottom of the stack of pictures lay the thing he feared, a note.

Boo Seungkwan.

Thank you for getting so close to them, you have done us a great favor. Now, you are going to follow our instructions carefully and help us destroy Seventeen. If you obey us, we may let you join us in the end.

Do not tell Vernon, or Sora, or the police. Violating this rule will result in your death and others.

We will be contacting you soon.

BH

[bubypjm]

why bighit is trash

or, alternatively, a list of things that bighit, an entertainment company/music label, should start doing and stop acting like a small company.

im puting everything under a read more bcos its a lot, for one, and im also sure that not everyone wants to read it or cares lmao

a little disclaimer;  i speculate and connect things based off of the things we are shown/told, i will spoil some parts of their recent movie AND its not bighit-positive, obviously

okay to start this off, bighit released an official statement to say that bts will be going “on an official and extended period of rest and relaxation” and that’s honestly one of the best things that bighit has done for bts.

the statement is linked, but since i will be referring to a fair few points on it i will also attach it here

the issues start with the opening sentence.

“for the first time since their debut” bts will be going on an official and extended period of rest. to rephrase, for the first time in 6 years, the 7 men of bts will not be surrounded by cameras, will not be expected to attend any rehearsals or interviews and will not be expected to produce or write lyrics. they will not have any responsibilities tied to their work. or, that is what we all had assumed, but as we now know the members were expected to film content on what they do during their break and, if jungkooks video is anything to go by, they were also expected to edit and send it in to the company for “review”.

judging by the release/filming of Hoseok & Becky G’s CNS, it seems like their “break” does not include solo activities. or does bighit consider the building of ones own reputation as an individual artist an “extra” and not a part of ones work?

“enjoy the ordinary lives of people in their 20s, albeit briefly”

this just hurts. it was bighits responsibility to make sure that they got more chances to enjoy their lives.

the good

bighit reminding uglies to stay the fuck away from them during their short break.

okay, the statement aside, i want to talk about a few other bighit-bts related things.

bighit staff and sasaengs

- stalkers appearing in hoseoks bday vlive (no its not staff, the girls’ accounts were found on instagram. they were quite pleased with themselves) were was the security ? how did the girls know which room the boys were in ? doesn’t bighit rent out the entire hotel floor ? does that mean they were allowed in ? why ? did they pay ? do their parents have connections bighit could use ?

- giving away members clothes, providing concert entrance, giving away members numbers ect

the thing that occurred during hoseoks vlive was not looked into, as far as i am aware, however Jimin’s Gucci concert shirt being 'lent’ to a stalker was.

However, minimum to little effort was put into the case because no staff was fired, no disciplinary measures were taken and no consequences occurred.

- during either DNA or Fake Love comeback stages on music shows, some armys were not permitted entrance and some privileged people were taken backstage to meet the members (which is NOT allowed, at any point. those are PRIVATE areas for the idols to rest and prep for the stage) source 1 & more if you look around.

- not firing a manager that hit jungkook source (some speculate he was fired, others speculate he was removed from being a manager and took another position within bighit.)

- bighit restricting any and all interactions with the members among staff. according to one of the backup dancers during Not Today and/or Singularity, bighit staff was very strict about NOT speaking with the members.

take the last point as you will. I have my own thoughts about it

- no subs on army kit content, no subs for bangtan bombs (other channels have them. bighit claims themselves to be a global company but doesn’t move as such). its all well and good to say “you’re stanning a korean company, learn korean!” and this may work for bangtan bombs, but what about army kit content? why isn’t that subtitled? or should that be dismissed with “you don’t have to buy it”?

the good

- giving bts a private jet and not making them go through public entrances and exits. thank u bighit

the movie

this will contain spoilers.

- big hit staff filmed the members during their vulnerable moments.

jungkook nearly passing out, filmed and slotted into the movie. the members crying and clearly feeling emotionally vulnerable ? recorded and snipped into the movie. this would’ve been fine if the members were fine with it, but jungkook was clearly trying to hide his face from the camera and jimin expressed not wanting to show himself in bad conditions.

- treatment of bighit staff

we all know that jungkook had to sit out during some stages during the love-yourself tour. what we didn’t know was that he got stitches without any medication that would ease his pain because he had to go on stage.

jungkook hurt himself so badly that he needed stitches, but was not allowed anything to subdue the pain while getting the stitches because it would not make him stage-ready. the staff members watched as he screamed while getting stitches.

now, i don’t really care whether it was jungkook’s decision or not. nobody in their right mind would let someone they care about go through with something like that. there will be other stages, there will be other concerts. however, idk why i find this surprising since jungkook was hit by a staff member before and the only reason why he got fired was bcos it was spotted in the bg of a bangtan bomb and armys demanded for the man to be fired.

- secondly, jimin’s neck and dropping out of the graham norton show.

i cannot find the translation rn, but while deciding what to tell the fans with regards to what happened to jimin and why he isn’t able to perform with the rest, namjoon tries to opt for telling the truth in a gentle way while one of the staff members suggests a white lie as to not worry the fans.

this has also happened before with the korean vs english statement regarding jungkook’s heal injury. the korean explanation stated that it was serious, while the english one explained it more casually. i cannot find the sources currently, but if you look around yourself you can find them. 

bighit.

- keeping supreme boi employed

- forcing jimin and jin to sing in female key in fake love, despite both of them expressing their struggle with reaching such high notes.

- not providing a vocal coach while on tour (jimin had to ask jungkook for advice)

- vocal line still have not got their own studios despite expressing their want for it, yet txt members have their own studios already. source

- members having less and less influence over the groups music. even recently yoongi mentioned that the songs he makes don’t match with bts’ music/style anymore source

- bighit being immensely difficult to work with overseas (strict venue rules regarding staff, changing things last minute, not being time-efficient)

- leaving taehyung’s stage name out of promotional works/promo tweets

- not taking action against death threats made against taehyung

- forcing jimin to speak about his death threats during a live, global interview in korea

- not cleaning up the copyright matter over using michael jackson’s song “black or white” in the festa performance of jimin and jungkook - resulted in their performance being taken down 

- no bangtan bomb behind jimin creating his song “promise”, while recently there have been videos released of jins, jungkooks and taehyung’s solos

- bighit shooting down collaborations and picking and chosing the artists that collab with bts, despite the members wanting and expressing interesting in collaborations with said artist (why did we get a chainsmokers collab before a tinashe one? a khalid one?)

- bighits deal with dispatch. dispatch is known for exposing scandals and relationships among idols, so the fact that they get an exclusive peak into the bangtan life is interesting and rather worrisome.

-however, one of the dirtiest moves that bighit pulled was during the break between DNA and Fake Love. as we know now, that time was very hard for the members. it was in that gap that the members spoke of disbanding, there were rumours/concerns about jungkook’s well being and fans also pointed out taehyung’s odd state.

during this time, instead of allowing the members time and space to decide everything, bighit had applied for the legal copyright regarding everything bts. the group name was copyrighted, as were the members stage names, fandom name among other things (there are articles on naver, if you’re interested).

SPECULATION

i just want to stress that these are my thoughts and you are welcome to disagree and have your own opinions.

Although we know that the members have re-signed the contract with bighit for another 7 years, I do believe that their pens were pushed by bighit’s copyrighting run. the members had 2 choices; either bind yourself to another contract and stay with that which you have built for years, or drop everything and start anew. however, something tells me that bts didn’t sign the contract with no leverage.

namjoon had said previously that although the group started with 7 boys with the same goal, it now consists of 7 men on one boat, each with their eyes set on different horizons. i believe that with namjoon’s collaborations with more and more overseas artists (honne, fall out boy, lil nas x ect), he may have gotten himself more opportunities for solo work.

similar could be said about yoongi. the man is a musical genius and with his production of suran’s wine and heize’s we dont talk together, yoongi may also end up branching in that direction.

taehyung has expressed his interest in fashion and photography a lot over the past years. seokjin has not acted at all in his life, despite starting off to do just that. hoseok began to branch out with CNS but jimin and jungkook have seemingly little to no outside projects, either (though you could count wiom for jungkook)

the boys’ previous contract was, clearly, restricting and very demanding. i think that their new contract allows them a lot more freedom and room to establish a reputation as individuals. that isn’t to say, however, that bighit let the boys end bts as a whole and permitted them to go off and start solo careers.

from what is happening now and what has happened in the past, I do not believe that bighit would let bts disband, you can decide if that is for better or for worse. however, the only way to keep bts together and satisfied, is to give room for the members to do that what they want. i think that we may start to see some more solo projects from the members, and a lot more control and influence from the outside over bts’ music, concepts and management. ever since LY: Tear had been released, i find myself thinking that their next release will be the last one before a mass hiatus due to enlisting. this time, however, i feel like it may be their final release and concert tour before the group steps back for a while.  bighit debuted a new group and is pumping a lot of money into it. they had also recently obtained an entire new company that not only has a lot of trainees of its own, but also manages Gfriend - an already debuted and established group. bighit is no longer the little underground company that relied on 7 boys to bring it out of its debts. however, it will not let its biggest source of income fall away because, at the end of the day, bighit is a company. the most likely scenario, to me, is that once seokjin and/or others enlist, bts as ot7 will go on a break, but bighit will still get to cash in through the boys’ solo work. so, we may see sneak peaks of their solo careers here and there, but bts will remain active as 7 until it can’t no more.

[sugar-petals]

♡ How BTS Would Eat You Out

a/n: a ‘head’canon — literally 😉

warnings ⚠️ graphic smut, dom/sub dynamics, femdom, voyeurism, period sex, face-riding, hair-pulling

Jimin ⇢ Slow, tantalizing, the sloppiest among the members. Not afraid to get all dirty and extra, whatever idea is your request — Jimin will just giggle and go for it. You don’t wanna know what he’s truly capable of, do you. He got hooked the first time he made you cum like that, now he’s straight-up possessed. No going back, and he keeps on learning new things and stimulating new spots every time to create a big moan-worthy surprise.

Prettiest and immensely vocal when it’s getting so, so sweaty, on the brink of exhaustion. Most likely, Jimin’s finishing with smudged eyeliner. Does it best with music playing in the background, but that’s obvious: Oral equals dancing to him. Prone to lack of confidence while getting started, so your guidance is always in dire need. Best matched with a domme who can don a firm grip on his neck and shoulders. Face-riding all day every day.

Taehyung ⇢ Not the soft teddy everyone believes him to be. Singularity revealed to us that really, we were mistaken. Full of mischief, out of the seven members he is the cockiest by far when it comes to oral. Does it best underneath the table or when you order him to go for it in the car. The backseat of course, with Yoongi driving — sternly! — because nobody else is as hard-boiled and like “yeah he’s giving head that’s more normal than brushing one’s teeth”.

And Taehyung, well he just enjoys having someone listen to him going down on you. It usually means twice the praise as 1) hardly will he be unable to fully please you and 2) head-master Yoongi approves anyways, Tae is a natural. Goes berserk the second your back arches. Moans a whole lot, likes to switch locations all over the house each time. Ultimately has to be tamed and held in place by squeezing his head with your thighs, hard.

Jin ⇢ So suave. Tender loving, lots of food involved to play around with. Has a very sensitive tongue, so he won’t do anything too wild. The advantage being that he can have a taste and accurately guess your mood and current level of vitamin E intake or something. Those soft lips don’t help, he’s just super gentle and makes sure you rest on as many pillows as possible. Might even use loads of chapstick because JK told him that’s a good idea.

Generally speaking, Seokjin is probably the only guy on this planet who can make his partner feel like she’s in a movie. A little bathtub romance will accompany your evening, although it’s important to mention that Jin is also at his best when the sun rises. With some tea on the nightstand, it’s gotta be classy. He just never disappoints, to be exact. Easily responds to any demands or suggestions, but infuses it with plenty of personality.

Yoongi ⇢ Ace of slow tongue-fucking and sexy slurping noises. You’d think he’d be the one to do it fast because eating you out is just like doing a verse. Nuh-uh. He can bob up and down for ages and still have enough tension in his tongue to penetrate deep enough. Always makes an effort to clean up in between because so much drool is getting in his eyes, that rascal is not afraid to dive in not seeing anything. Will use his damn nose as well.

Won’t stop until his bangs are sticky against his forehead and you — satisfied twice, because once is never enough. It’s his orgasm that you get instead if you will. Yoongi won’t care what his dick tells him and what it wants. His first #1 sexual asset is his tongue and it’s married to your clit and labia. The stimulation reaches its peak when you pull his hair and twirl it at the base of his neck. The more it hurts, the better, it really pushes him to the limit.

Hoseok ⇢ Fast and lowkey furious, a true challenge for a domme. This slippery tongue is all the rage, an engine of its own class. While Yoongi does it slow and good, Jung fucking Hoseok is all about fast and good. Can’t wait until you finished showering, even. He slips right in and who are you not to seize the opportunity. Makes up for lack of patience with lots of technique and putting on a show which can get pretty loud. It’s not giving head, it’s thrusting head, in fact.

All day if you only say the word, Hobi exceeds a vibrator with high-performance batteries. Yeah I know, I can’t stop comparing him to a freaking machine but that’s what he is. Second in sloppiness, although he will gobble it up fast. Definitely an eager swallower and dirty talker. Could aptly school any man about the faulty belief that giving your gf head is not the main event. Matches high passion type of encounters where you are sure to bring a leash.

Namjoon ⇢ Eager and obliging. Feels compelled to serve you, but needs clear instructions. Do this, do that, more to the left, lower your arm. Or maybe because he wants to serve, your wish is his exact command so he won’t do anything you dislike. It’s a promise, Joon can make you feel so good. Treats it all with utmost respect, but will loosen up once getting the hang of it. Won’t crack under pressure either, RM can be stern and quite like a workhorse to give you everything he’s got.

Although, it won’t feel like a chore because it’s all spontaneous. Doesn’t tend to be sloppy, his tongue movements are quite precise and use mostly... tip. Delicious. It’s a rapper thing, but also very Namjoon. Most likely to eat you out on your period cause since his MVs we all know he likes a little freaky shit. Believes that if he doesn’t do all the work, his duty is not fulfilled and he has to start from the beginning. Well, why not, actually.

Jungkook ⇢ Wow. This is like a trip to the spa, and all for free. Always does it to unwind you. Like Jin, a very sensual approach is default. No stress, he reserves a silent hour for it each day if you please even if he’s sleepy. This is not Hercules Kook who thinks everything in life is a competition, nope. Oral sex is like bunnies munching on salad for him, he does it all the time, just for the sake of it, something nice to savor. Thanks to his athletic skill and stamina, virtually any bizarre position is possible, no limits here.

You wanna do it up in the air and he just lifts you with two hands? No problem noona, as you wish. He also thinks it’s healthy for some reason, don’t ask why. Rather vocal in a way that he is pretty breathy most of the time, even huffing. You have to remind him that sometimes, two workouts a day are more than enough. Hence he pauses quite often, and so pleasing you is a matter of not a dozen minutes, but way longer. In love with your taste and the adrenaline.

[tinkdw]

hi I don’t know if it’s just me, but does it feel like d/c’s relationship has been kind of stagnant for the past few seasons...? i just don’t sense much development but it could all be in my head. maybe it’s bc cas can’t be in every episode so it feels like he has a very set role

The TL;DR version is: WE, the audience, know they love each other romantically. THEY are written as thinking they can’t have each other (he doesn’t love me that way / I’m only needed not wanted / everything I touch turns bad / I’ve done nothing but screw up his life / I’m poison). 

Cue audience frustration < That’s the point we are at now. But the story itself isn’t backing off, it’s building. It’s just currently in the stage of incoherent frustrated noises as we know they are in love with each other but they’re holding back.

Why?

Dean/Cas as romantic since mid season 11 has been growing at an alarmingly massive rate but it has grown as a love story core to the plot, not as a bunch of wink wink nudge nudge moments as it had been many times previously.

It’s not a JOKE anymore it’s CORE TO THE PLOT.

So yeah, we haven’t had so many moments like Thelma and Louise or lip licking  or boner scenes but we’ve had Cas literally tell Dean he’s in love with him then telling the rest of the family that he loves them, surrounded by a bunch of peripheral characters prior to this in s12 doing their own rendition of singular v plural (like Magda’s mom “she did this to me, she did this to us” etc) then finally in season 13 this came back again with Jack’s reminder of this moment in the finale just as Dean is with Cas and saying yes to Michael to save the others and the world just as Cas originally helped him avoid. Of all the ironies amiright.

Because in between this we had the Empty literally telling Cas he knows who he loves and that there’s nothing for him there and Dean running around for 3 years yelling “what about CAS?!” at every opportunity.

It couldn’t be clearer that Dean’s mourning for Cas was different to Sam’s. That Dean’s grief is what caused Jack to reach through the veil and wake Cas up. Insert gif of “gay love pierces the veil and saves the day”. Cos I mean JEEZ. Plus this reminds us again of how Amara had to reach through Cas’ heart to get to Dean at the end of season 11 even though they were apparently “bound” but ahem no, she had to work through Cas to get to Dean because Dean’s chosen bond with Cas was way stronger than the forced bond with her. She couldn’t contact him until he was thinking about Cas and she hovered her hand over his heart to feel the link then she was able to speak to him. TWICE. Like… this is all canon and it doesn’t really come across as platonic you know? All this heart symbolism and it being clear that something here is deep and meaningful, meanwhile Dean is going through his personal arc of accepting who he really is and a huge amount of that is stuff like ahem, riding Larry, and a whole bunch of stuff over 13 years leading us to see him as bisexual and at the same time he happens to have deep and meaningful and different feelings towards one dude in particular who tells him he loves him then Dean goes and makes him a mixtape and is so friggin awkward like a teenager with a crush who at the same time is not sure what he can and can’t have, is going through a whole personal arc of self worth and acceptance where he’s flitting between letting himself have what he wants but then also holding back so he gives him the friggin mixtape but is also like “buddy” “pal” cough um, I mean, uh, here have this tape I made you and let me look after you here’s a beer though you don’t need one, do you need a back rub? I mean, uhh.… ok this is all a massive coincidence right? Pfffft.

Meanwhile it couldn’t be clearer that Cas thinks Dean is not in love with him, that he feels rejected romantically and this is the basis for all of their interactions in season 13. Dean being all “oh I was grieving and nearly died myself until you came back but then I immediately went “welcome home pal” and suppressed the CRAP out of all those feelings and then went on to tell you you were brought back cos we needed you back which is such horse shit everyone was screaming at their tv “NO THE ONLY PERSON WHO NEEDED HIM BACK WAS YOU DEAN AND YOU DONT NEED HIM, YOU WANT HIM! IT’S NOT THE SAME!”. The only reason Jack at that point needed Cas back was because Dean was being such a dick to him because of what he did to Cas. Like… ain’t no sub to that text. Again that’s all canon.

We then had Sam’s “we need you, I need you” to Gabriel which was clearly NOT ROMANTIC but emphasised both the fact that Cas thinks Dean’s “I need you” was not romantic and therefore feels rejected AND the plural/singular thing.

We have Tombstone where Dean’s been a mess for 5 episodes then Cas comes back and he’s BEAMING. But to Cas nothing has changed, he doesn’t know Dean was a mess, to him Dean’s just being Dean but we the audience see the huge change. This then builds all season up to Dean’s BS “we needed you back” no chickflick moments totally suppressing the truth comment to Cas so Cas has no idea of what really happened and how it all hinges on Dean’s feelings for him.

We have the Donatello thing where the reason Cas goes full on triggered and ends up doing what he does is because he hurt Dean. When he hurt Sam it was like oh bad times but whatever lets just tie him up and ask him questions.

Hurting Dean though?

x 

Like… sure of course it’s all still subtext and if they really wanted to they could chicken out because noone has said “I love you” in a direct and open manner to the other without the other thinking it’s not really what they mean or rejecting the crap out of it because they don’t think they’re worthy and causing them to feel rejected but it would make no real narrative sense at this point other than as massive queerbaiting and storybaiting because they’ve built them now so far in the context of the plot as intrinsic to each other and to the plot itself as romantic now.

Like, what is the point of all this if not to lead here you know? You just wouldn’t bother making it romantic in the first place. You just wouldn’t bother building the plural v singular and need v want and perceived rejection over the course of 2.5 YEARS if not to go somewhere with it all when it all points to the same conclusion?

I think a big problem rn in the narrative and fandom is that both of them feels the other has in the past or is currently romantically rejecting them. Their feelings are stalled and suppressed which makes us watching it feel it is stalled / suppressed even though it’s built into the narrative more than ever.

WE, the audience, know they love each other romantically. 

THEY think they can’t have each other so act accordingly awkward around each other instead of flirty / like they think it could happen so it comes across on screen like they’re not interested in each other even though at every opportunity around it we are being continuously told they are.

Cue audience frustration.

^ That’s the point we are at now ^ 

THEY think the other isn’t in love with them in return and that there’s nothing for them there (Cas) or that they don’t deserve that love (Dean) or a mix of the two plus a whole bunch of “he’s confused and doesn’t know what he wants we’re better off as friends anyway and everyone I touch / love ends up dead and if we ever did get to a point where our lives weren’t this apocalyptical mess and he still felt the same way maybe then when we’re on the beach sipping beers in matching Hawaiian shirts then I could entertain the thought of us together and offer to put lotion on his back and go from there but at this point it would just end badly and I don’t think I could lose him again after getting together it would just hurt even more and I can’t do that to either of us”.

Remember in season 9 when Cas was human and they were at a point of literally flirting so much Sam was like WTF

But then Cas had to become an Angel again to do his duty, to help Heaven, save Sam etc and Dean was like dude what why did you do that are you ok with that and Cas didn’t answer at all except to say he had to do it. Like, they literally built in that episode what would happen if they were actually allowed to do what they wanted for once, which was whatever the hell was coming after all this flirtation ^, it was a massive exposition of what Cas wanted instead of what he thought he needed to do to be useful. It was “hey look this is what Cas wants but he is stopping himself from having it but remember this and bear with until he gets to the point he can allow himself to have it”.

Which is again exactly what Dean’s Hawaiian shirt speech was in 13x23!

=>These are exposition of what they want right before forcing them to reject it in order to be useful to save others. Exposing their desires to make it even more heartbreaking when they reject it out of their selfless desire to help others. 

BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT HEROES DO.

You can’t really build a hero without first showing what they want so it is even stronger when they suppress that in order to help others. I mean, you could but it would be pretty hollow, showing what they want and then not allowing them to have it until their happy ending is kind of how you build the tragic hero story, otherwise it’s kinda like meh what’s the alternative? Give the audience the alternative, what they want, then take it away from them due to their selfless desire to help others, that’s what makes a real hero story. Then give them their happy ending and the audience will have wanted it for so long for them they’ll love you for it.

Like - SPN fandom is mostly a bunch of people yelling “why can’t they just be happy?! Give Sam a dog! Let him have friends! Let Dean cook and have his Dean cave! Let Cas feel loved!” That’s because it’s been so well built this way to make us want this for them and them not having it for years. 

Make the audience want something then hold it back - lesson 101 of building their engagement with the story.

TL;DR since mid season 11 they’ve given us so much Dean/Cas as romantic that the GA have started noticing, it’s a serious topic in interviews eg Dean and Sam’s reactions to Cas’ death and more and more people are seeing it as romantic (even the anti Destiel people are foaming at the mouth and yelling at TPTB because they can’t deny it in the text of the show anymore), whilst also building it that the characters themselves think it’s NOT romantic or that they just can’t have it and I think that’s where this perception that it isn’t comes from - the characters own perception that they can’t have it.

But the narrative is showing us it bloody well is romantic AF but the characters are suppressing it, so buckle up for when they realise they might be able to actually have it.