#(seriously this is so wordy)

[eriyu]

I was looking through your character's tag and I saw that she has relationships ranging from 'very complicated' to 'fuck buddies and very uncomplicated' and I just want to know more about them. Specifically, why is her relationship with Raha complicated as opposed to Thancred where it's simple?

Oh I love this question. :D

The short answer is just because G'raha is in love with her and Thancred isn't.

There's never been so much as a hint of romantic feeling between her and Thancred, and they've both had their share of casual sex before, so it's very easy for them to just be FWB. That's not to say nothing's ever strained their friendship, between various traumatic events, one of them accidentally spending five bonus years in another world, etc etc, but I say it's simple because there's zero desire on either of their parts for it to be anything but platonic.

G'raha, on the other hand....... Ehryu really, really cares about him; he is one of her favorite people ever, and she is physically attracted to him, but she's grey-aro and if her feelings are romantic at all (maybe? if she squints hard enough?), it's not at all the same as what he feels for her.

So Ehryu thinks he deserves more than what she's willing and able to give him and doesn’t want to lead him on and hurt him, and for G'raha's part, he doesn't want to tie her down or guilt her into anything she doesn’t want. At the same time, it's very difficult for both of them to ignore that there's something there, and eventually (during 5.4) they do talk it out and come to a compromise that lets me be self-indulgent makes both of them happy. :')

[azalawa-scroggs]

OKAY I guess I'm doing this. While working on my fic Ananke, which is an exploration of Manfred von Karma's perspective from DL-6 all the way to Turnabout Goodbyes, I've been having so, so many thoughts about him that I realised they didn't actually all hold into my fic. So I thought that maybe I should make them a tumblr piece. This thought has kinda just hovered at the back of my mind flaring from time to time, but eventually I decided to jump the gun. (No pun intended.) (That's a lie.)

So, um. Manfred von Karma character analysis time, I guess?

(Warning: this turned out to be LONG.)

The question I see pop up a whole lot when it comes to this guy is: Is he a good father? I'll be honest from the beginning: I'm not going to give an answer to that question here. What this is going to be is a somewhat larger examination of his character, which naturally does involve, in great part, his influence on Miles and Franziska. But I don't want to lock myself in the false binary of a yes/no question when there's so much else to talk about.

So I want to, sure, talk about him as a father a little, but mostly as a piece of the narrative, as a mentor, as a legacy-holder, and as a bringer of destiny - because he is not called Karma for nothing.

We first hear about him from Edgeworth in Turnabout Goodbyes, right as his trial is about to begin. Edgeworth seems utterly terrified of him prosecuting his case. "He is a god of prosecution, Wright, a god," he tells us. "He taught me what it means to prosecute. Imagine a prosecutor as ruthless as me, times twenty." Considering Edgeworth has been giving us a bit of trouble himself, between witness coaching and updated autopsy reports, that's quite the introduction.

And the man lives up to his reputation. He barely lets us align two words before interrupting us and scoffing at us, he's the first one to make the judge give us a penalty for pressing a testimony in the wrong place, when pressing testimonies had been such an important way of getting information up until then, he's dismissive and memeishly funny and a piece of shit and an absolutely great final boss... and then he also happens to be the culprit of DL-6. The case that has been underlying the whole game, and whose repercussions are going to be felt for the next two ones. Discovering him and taking him down is one of the best pay-offs ever after a masterful, game-long build-up.

Tumblr user trlsvn wrote a very thoughtful post in answer to an ask, making the point that von Karma is a story element before being a person. His primary purpose is to drive the plot to its conclusion, more than being psychologically developed as a character. Our antagonist up until now has been Edgeworth, but Edgeworth is being given a redemption arc, and so von Karma stands as the evil behind him.

The writers make the decision to humanize [Edgeworth], make him not just a character that represents a wrong idea but a person who has a backstory and some good in his heart [...]. This is where we start to question what exactly made him like this - this is why Miles gets a tragic backstory. He is meant to be explained, he is meant to be human, he is meant to be more. So Manfred von Karma becomes the answer. He is the reason, he is the influence, the part of Miles's life that made him like this and the part that he starts to oppose.

I recommend reading the post for more thoughts about his narrative role as a mirror to Edgeworth and a symbol of what he could have become. Von Karma is, like Redd White and later Damon Gant, the personification of the corruption of the courts that we've been fighting. He represents everything that Phoenix stands against, he is a willing and willful cog in the system that convicts people for crimes they did not commit. His metaphorical crimes, the innocents he sends to death row or to life in prison, all culminate and cristallise into an actual, legally defined crime: the murder of defence attorney Gregory Edgeworth, who represents - quite literally, in court - all those innocents.

Turnabout Goodbyes is possibly my favourite case in the entire series, because on top of having incredible pacing and wrapping up the first game wonderfully, it is so very dramatic. There is theatre in there; I may be getting ahead of myself in this but I find it Shakespearean. There is an atmosphere of supernatural mystery on the misty lake, with those two gunshots resounding in the silence and the ominous shape of "Robert Hammond" disappearing in the water without a trace. The slowly unveiled connection to DL-6, Edgeworth's recurring nightmare, the wound of the unsolved crime fifteen years festering, the guilt of patricide.

And, at the centre of it all, von Karma. The prosecutor who was Edgeworth's mentor and who has been making our job difficult every step of the way - it turns out he is behind everything. His overly complicated revenge scheme makes him something of an Iago. The murder, the blood on his hands, something of a Macbeth. The place he then took in Edgeworth's life, something of a Claudius.

The localisation also did something that I find very interesting with him: they made him German nobility. His Japanese name is Karuma Gou; "Karuma" is basically "Karma," and "Gou" according to the wiki could mean "great" or "excellent," or "fires of hell" or "the effect of karma." The localisation took back Karma, added the particle "von" to it and made the rest of his name basically a reference to Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Von Richthofen was a German pilot during WWI; he is famous for being basically undefeated for years, having a nearly unmatched victory record, and being brought down by a single bullet. Sounds familiar?

There's probably something to be said about Mei, Franziska in the original version, being a Japanese immigrant practising law in the USA burdened by her father's legacy into expecting impossible perfection of herself, but I am nowhere near qualified to make that point, so I am going to stick with the localisation from here on. Making the von Karmas nobility is interesting to me because the nobility as a social class is one of declining power. They once had power, and they still hold a certain social prestige, but their political power is in fact gone as the system that supported them is no longer in action, and most of them are losing their money or already ruined. As a reaction, many nobles (not all of them, but this is again about archetypes) stay among themselves, hold conservative values and sometimes somewhat of a superiority complex due to their education. Nobility's core value, by its very structure, is that of family, so although this was more the case at the time where they were the ruling class, there can be an emphasis on upholding one's legacy and being worthy of the family name. All of those elements suit the von Karmas extremely well.

And Manfred, the patriarch, holds a particular place in that family. He is defined by his power. He is the establishment, the system you're fighting against. He is the nepotism and the corruption, and he holds all the prestige that makes taking him down extremely difficult.

So von Karma holds a strategic place in the narrative as the literal and symbolic obstacle you must take down, but... when it comes to his motivations, we get nothing. We know, for a fact, that perfection is the most important thing to him. We know he was so shocked at receiving a penalty that he dissociated for at least five hours afterwards, and that plus the pain of a bullet in his shoulder was enough to drive him to kill a man. We know that he mentored Edgeworth, his enemy and murder victim's son. We know that fifteen years later, he framed Edgeworth for murder with the intention of falsely revealing Edgeworth as his father's killer, in a plot that was a significant risk to himself, and which ended up uncovering him as the true culprit the very day before he would have been free forever. Later on, we learn that he not only taught Edgeworth his work, but took him in and raised him, so that his daughter saw Edgeworth as a brother.

Put together, those aren't actions that are logical or make any sense. The whole thing is actually completely insane. And the game doesn't offer us the slightest explanation as to why he did them.

Most of the fandom runs on the idea that framing Edgeworth, presumably having him convicted for Hammond's murder, and compelling him into confessing to his father's murder afterwards was his plan from the very moment he decided to take Edgeworth in. That's not a groundless idea but it isn't actually canon. It's a theory that was formulated by Marvin Grossberg:

Maya: B-but how could von Karma know about Mr. Edgeworth's past like that? Even Mr. Edgeworth thought it was just a nightmare! Grossberg: Hmm... That, I do not know. Yet I do know that von Karma is both persistent... and a perfectionist. He may be seeking to satisfy a grudge against Gregory Edgeworth by hurting his son.

But von Karma himself gives us nothing.

Phoenix: Why did you take his son under your wing afterwards? The son of your most bitter rival? Karma: ... That, my dear attorney, is none of your business.

So it could be Grossberg was right and this really was a fifteen-year-old revenge plot in the making. It could also be that von Karma, a father himself, felt enough guilt at the thought that his impulsive crime had orphaned this kid that he decided he should take him in. Equally, there is the possibility he realised the third person in the elevator that day was a potential witness of his crime, and that he took Miles in to surveil and control him. Or it could be yet another thing - the point is, we do not know. The game gives us nothing.

(The theory I chose to explore in Ananke is a mix of several things: that it started with good intentions, then as he realised Miles was a potential witness, hatred and paranoia grew in him until they spiralled into framing him for murder as a desperate attempt to erase him from his life. But there are many possibilities.)

In fact, except for Edgeworth and Franziska's clear admiration of their mentor and father, the main games also don't give us anything about their dynamic with him. Edgeworth and he never interact directly in Turnabout Goodbyes, unless you count von Karma's breakdown, and after that he is in prison. Franziska first appears in the story after he's been locked up. To see them interact, we need to turn towards other media. There are little bits and pieces in interviews and official manga but the main media featuring them are two: Ace Attorney Investigations, the spin-off game starring Miles Edgeworth, and one episode of the Ace Attorney anime, Sound the Turnabout Melody.

And what's interesting is that von Karma's characterisation in those two pieces of media is at first glance completely different. It is my theory that this is the reason for this insane controversy around the character's parenting skills. They're not contradictory, as such, but it definitely takes some brain power in order to reconcile the two - and as such it opens wider possibilities of interpretation.

(Spoilers ahead for both cases.)

In Turnabout Reminiscence, the fourth case of Ace Attorney Investigations and a flashback case from Edgeworth's early career, von Karma acts as the main source of exposition. Edgeworth has just been assigned the very first case of his career by way of hasty reassignment after the previous prosecutor was compromised, and von Karma quizzes him to make sure he knows the facts of the case perfectly. Then of course, shenanigans happen, and by shenanigans I mean murder because this is Ace Attorney. Edgeworth investigates, he is joined by Franziska, and the case progresses.

Mostly, von Karma acts in a rather neutral way. He prompts Edgeworth into giving information, praises him when the information is correct, completes his information with some of his own, all peppered with various "Hmph!"s and "Bah!"s and other expressions of contempt, with a few quips full of dramatic irony here and there ("Criminals have a way of incriminating themselves, don't they?") and many, many demands for perfection - as well as internal oaths from Edgeworth to uphold it, bless him. He dismisses Franziska when she asks him if he will come to see her court debut ("... I'll consider it") and calls Edgeworth worthless when Edgeworth asks to do something Manfred isn't keen on seeing him do. In fact the whole exchange is pretty interesting in terms of the dynamic between the three of them:

Edgeworth: ...Sir, if I may, please allow me to continue with my investigation. Manfred: Whatever for? Edgeworth: I know that there is already a suspect in the murder of Mr. Faraday and Mr. Rell... ...however, there is not enough evidence to prove that it was he who committed the crime. I'd like to continue investigating in order to find the perfect proof of his guilt. Manfred: The perfect proof? Don't make me laugh! A worthless person like you has no right to claim such a thing as perfection! Edgeworth: .................. Franziska: .........Umm, Papa? Who do you think is the real culprit behind these murders? Manfred: .................. Franziska: Miles and I, we're competing to see who can find the real killer first. Plus, being able to investigate a real crime scene is a really rare opportunity. It would give us some real-life experience, wouldn't you agree? Manfred: ...Hmph! If you want to investigate this case that much, then do as you wish. Edgeworth: Then, you're allowing us to continue...? Manfred: In court, your top priority is to win, and a solid investigation is one of the keys to winning. We have to make sure you become recognized as a first-rate prosecutor, don't we? .........It wouldn't be very interesting otherwise.

To be noted that on that last line, Manfred is smirking.

While there are several reasons why he could be saying that, the smirk specifically, to me, establishes it firmly as a reference to his plan to frame Edgeworth for the murder of Robert Hammond in Turnabout Goodbyes.

All in all, his characterisation here is pretty much in line from what we saw of him in Turnabout Goodbyes and what we could infer from Franziska's words in Justice for All - in all his Sunday cartoon villain glory. But since this is a completely different case, his motivations for either taking Edgeworth in or framing him for murder are still a complete mystery.

Now let's turn to the anime. Surprisingly, it is an entirely different beast.

The sixth episode of the second season, Sound the Turnabout Melody, is a flashback case from when Miles was twelve years old. The anime is the first media that actually establishes that Edgeworth grew up in the von Karma household, as opposed to being merely von Karma's student and Franziska's (somewhat one-sided) rival. Miles is still struggling with the grief and trauma of his father's death, waking up from his nightmare alone and crying in a huge bed under a high ceiling. Franziska is desperate to cheer him up and make him smile. She convinces her father to take them to see one of their trials, then they go to the mall to have pancakes. During the outing, Miles's dog gets lost. There are shenanigans (murder-free this time) involving another lost dog, reward money and a radio message from Phoenix, after which Edgeworth corners a woman trying to steal the other lost dog for the reward money while von Karma is watching his budding prosecutorial skills from the corner. At the end of the episode von Karma cancels the orphanage application he'd been filing for Miles, ties a cravat around his neck, and Miles gives a bright and wide smile for the first time in the episode at the sign of acceptance, which makes Franziska quietly happy in the corner in turn.

If, while reading this, you were imagining a charming "slice of life" story, a feel-good little piece that establishes dynamics and in which nothing truly bad happens... you would be right. The episode is centred on Miles, showing him as he adapts to his new life and starts to think about his path in life. DL-6 is, of course, alluded to, but only in passing: Miles has the nightmare, he is shown questioning whether he really wants to follow in Gregory's footsteps, von Karma mentions to him after his trial that "if only your father were my opponent, I would have enjoyed myself a little." A rather baffling statement, considering the entire reason Gregory can't be von Karma's opponent is that von Karma ensured that himself, but I digress. In fact von Karma is only there in the background, although he too undergoes an arc of sorts, from being in the process of sending Miles to an orphanage to deciding to let him stay with them. We do, however, get a glimpse of his thoughts for the first time:

Von Karma: I didn't know myself why I decided to adopt that boy three years ago. But I think I caught a glimpse of the reason why today. It wasn't out of guilt. I simply wanted to see what path the pain I had taken on would take. That is my karma.

This is the translation of the subtitles, but the dubbed version is a little different:

I wanted to see where the path of pain would lead us, and how it would eventually develop. Karma has a strange way of showing itself...

What this actually means is quite mysterious, but fascinating. What does he mean by "the path of pain/the path the pain I had taken on would take?" Why is that his karma, if guilt didn't spur him to act? The words ask more questions than they answer.

All in all, factually it doesn't contradict anything previously established. Von Karma lies to the journalists about the fact that his win record doesn't matter to him, only bringing criminals to justice, because again if that had been the truth he would never have killed Gregory Edgeworth, but for the rest, it is all pretty consistent with the games.

But the gentle tone of the episode, especially if you're coming fresh off of "you and your father are my curse," is jarring. There are different ways to reconcile that. First of all, neither the anime nor Ace Attorney: Investigations are the mainline game series, and as far as I know the writing team of the main game series worked on neither of those two things, which probably explains the discrepancies. The canon status of the anime especially is arguable. Secondly, both of those pieces of media have their ambiguities. When it comes to the anime, a friend over Discord told me that to them it read like "the honeymoon phase in an abusive cycle," with as evidence the pointed comments about Miles's father which can be read as derisive and willfully undermining, Miles's overall downcast attitude around the von Karmas, and some "noose imagery" in the scene where von Karma ties the cravat around his neck.

That interpretation, of course, is only that; it is in no way canon. In fact, you could absolutely make the opposite case of taking the cute, heartwarming tone of the anime at face value, and arguing that it is in the Investigations case that the tonal dissonance resides. I don't have a source for this except the hearsay of Japanese-speaking friends, but the Japanese word which was translated into "worthless" in AAI would apparently be less harsh in the original version, being closer to meaning "amateur," or “a person without experience.” (It is to be reminded that in Turnabout Goodbyes, von Karma called Edgeworth “an amateur and a romanticist” when talking about him with Phoenix, so that could absolutely be a reference to his characterisation in that case.) And aside from that line, von Karma's behaviour towards Miles is overall neutral.

Those are the two most extreme interpretations, but naturally there are many ways in-between to read those two pieces of media. My point is that the range of the characterisation is actually very wide. Various manga, interviews, promotional material travel in that gap: between victory family karaoke sessions on the tune of My Way, joke strips where Phoenix manages to make von Karma burst into tears by mentioning his daughter leaving the nest, and Edgeworth being roped by his mentor into being a chauffeur for an impromptu shopping trip on his day off, the different insights into the creators' imagined dynamics of the family do not help paint a more cohesive image.

And we still have no answer regarding his motivations.

What we do have is the perspective of his wards on how he shaped them into who they are today. His influence on them is felt even years after his downfall, something they aren't shy about; but they aren't exactly open about their feelings about him, either.

It's obvious for Franziska, of course, whose mentions of the von Karma name in Justice for All might as well be a drinking game. Interestingly, though, when it comes to her feelings for her father himself, she is remarkably guarded.

Maya: Why do you keep giving Nick the evil eye!? It doesn't matter if you prove the defendant guilty tomorrow... Nothing will be able to bring your dad back! von Karma: ... My... Dad? You must mean the esteemed Manfred von Karma. Maya: Of course! Your dad! I know you miss him... von Karma: Enough out of you... One more word and you'll get a mouthful of whip. Now. When did I ever bring up my papa's name in this, or any other conversation...?

It's only to Edgeworth that she confesses about how much her family legacy weighs on her in the post-credits scene of the same case.

von Karma: Shut up! You don't understand a thing! You can't possibly understand what it means to be "Manfred von Karma's daughter"! Edgeworth: Franziska... von Karma: So many expectations from everyone around me... Expectations I must fulfill! I'm expected to win no matter what. And failure? Such a thing is not an option for me! My father was a genius. There's no doubt about that! But... But me... I'm no genius. I've always known that. Edgeworth: ... von Karma: But I... I had to be one. I had to.

(Franziska beloved. You became a criminal prosecutor at 13 years old. Kindly shut up about not being a genius <3)

In contrast, this is what she has to say about being the daughter of Manfred von Karma in Bridge to the Turnabout:

Judge: V-Von Karma, you say…? Perchance, you wouldn't be of any relation to the legendary prosecutor Manfred von Karma? von Karma: … Legends are a thing of the past. I am a Von Karma. That is all.

And then she also has a few lines about it in Ace Attorney Investigations 2. The lines are ostensibly about another character's struggle, but you know they refer to her own.

From The Forgotten Turnabout:

Franziska: However... one must be able to accept the mistakes of their father... ...no matter how much they may look up to him...

And from The Grand Turnabout:

Franziska: "Going up against your own father..." It won't be easy.

Regarding Edgeworth, he is about as quiet about it. He briefly says this upon his return in Farewell, My Turnabout:

Edgeworth: A lot of things may have happened, however Manfred von Karma was still my mentor. And a "perfect win record" is proof of a Von Karma.

He also has this conversation with Ernest Amano in The Kidnapped Turnabout:

Ernest: Ah... Seeing that badge reminds me of Manfred. Now HE was one fine prosecutor, the best of the best. Edgeworth: ...Yes, I can't disagree with you there. Ernest: Hmm... I sense that you don't really want to talk about him. Edgeworth: How I feel about him... It's hard for me to be truthful about that with another person. Ernest: Your hard countenance... I don't know what you're thinking or feeling... ...but mark my words, I think you are Manfred's true successor. I really do. Edgeworth: ..................

When it comes to Edgeworth and his complicated double legacy especially, I really really recommend this post by lorillee, a long meta piece on that specific topic in Ace Attorney: Investigations 2 which gave me a lot of food for thought.

What we see here in this whole load of quotes is that Miles and Franziska have slightly different, yet still very similar ways to talk about about Manfred. Both of them readily admit to his skill as a prosecutor and don't shy away from the way he influenced them. However they also do not open up at all when it comes to their actual feelings about him. Edgeworth puts that reluctance into words in his own thoughts; we unfortunately aren't privy to Franziska's, but the way she outright refuses to talk about her experience, unless it is a snide reference made about another's struggle, makes it clear she is in the same situation.

I don't really have any clever observation to wrap up this already much too long post. But it is really interesting to me how deep an influence on the narrative this character has, despite a limited amount of appearances in the series and practically non-existent insight into his own motivations. Miles's and Franziska's perspectives on him are a fascinating exploration of the themes of family, of legacy, of how even the worst betrayal by the most awful criminal doesn't cut their influence away from you; how even gods of prosecution remain, in the end, human, and keep a very human place in the life of the people close to them.

[13eyond13]

.

[lowlyroach]

336) Fuckin' Sick.

Another sleepless night

I stay awake

Wait for you by the lake

Belly of Brandy

Once a week

Make me creep

Will you touch my hand?

Poke at my chest?

Leave me shirtless?

Soaked by sprinklers?

Fuck you

Fuck me

Give me everything

Take my sleep

I'll get by with blisters on my feet

I walk barefoot to my car

Step on pebbles

Every step is worth it

No matter how much it hurts

I'll tip toe across asphalt

-

You call me when you're ready

You laugh when I haven't even done anything

I sprint into view and stand beneath the lamppost

I pose

Laughter

Your laughter is sunlight

It's the greatest feeling in the world

To be by your side

You show me your new tattoo

While you tie your shoe on the fire hydrant

You tie your hair up

I stare are you do it, mesmerized

I tuck my laces into my shoes

I whisper to the schizophrenic spiders

I pick up from a bush

You yell at me because you can't hear what I'm saying

Is she on to us?

We almost got her

Quiet down guys she's going to hear you

She's pretty amazing, right?

You tell me I can't talk to them anymore

We try to web you up

Hit your nose ring

We're aiming for your neck like a garrote

We take a walk down to a nearby high school

When I whisper you tell me to yell

So I start yelling the lies I was whispering

You chide me

Don't yell them if they're lies

I have so much fun with you

Making you laugh is wonderful

Until your head is in your hands with giggles

A small bird lands nearby

I say he's just a friendly lil guy

You say he's probably going to die

He isn't flying away

You say the bird and I are the same

Just- not the death part

When I'm 95, we agree to die together

Triple digits only 5 years away?

We can make it.

Let's live for 75 more years together.

I'll love you all the same.

I promise it.

You threaten to push me in the canal

I stand next to the edge daring

You don't

You threaten to push me over in the grass

You couldn't

Obviously, I'm too strong

Impossibly strong, even

You shoulder check me and I fake a tumble

You admonish me laying in the dirt

You brush the leaf off my back

You threaten to walk home

I call the bluff

You turn back

Grab my arm

Unhand me!

But touch me please, grab onto me!

It's all I have ever wanted

You say I'm small

I'M AVERAGE

Just like that frog

Or the bird

Or the tattoo

Or the alligator

Just an average

Good size

A regular size

You are adamant that it's puny

I agree

Don't say 'yeah' like that

We walk back and

hold hands

I am brimming with joy

Someone kill me now

I'll die the happiest man alive

Then we hold pinkies

You point out when I bring you close

I really wasn't meaning to!

But you say it's cool so..

sick

I'm doing it on purpose now, for sure

You say you're about to pass out

I offer to carry you

We rest at the gableblo

I pretend to be an alpha male

WHICH I AM

Of course

I'm tough, I'm cool

I don't s-stammer my words

I know how to pick up chicks

I get mad amounts of babes

Laid on the daily

I have huge muscles

I'm NOT insecure

I strike a pose

Sometimes, you try to copy them

So, you on the menu?

Let's start over.

Want to have sex?

One more time.

I want you inside me

Wait-

Oh, that one's okay?

Laughter

Your joy is contagious

We look at constellations

I finish endlessly trailing thoughts

Accidentally cut you off

You never finish the thought

Tell me what you were saying! I'm sorry!

I was just thinking out loud!

I get real close to your face

Brim of my hat on your head

We stare at each other wordlessly

Try to fit each other into the light

I squash my imaginary spiders

So that you won't walk home just yet

You get closer as I lean against the railing

Even closer as we look at the stars

You say you'd fight me and as I ready up

Spread my arms out wide

You-

Unexpectedly lean in

Oh, God,

Let me live here forever

I wrap my arms around you

Rub your shoulder and back

With the cruel right-hand

I don't think about it

You rub my forearm

My bicep

My elbow

Is this okay?

You say it is

fuckin' cool,

sick.

Someone kill me now, again!

I'll die the happiest man alive

You're rocking your hip into my thigh

I can't tell if it's on purpose or not

You shift and stop

Bend your back slightly

I must admit, I did look a little

I hold you tight

My hand presses against your stomach

You comment how warm it is

How large they are

I ask if it's okay

You say it is

Again I respond

oh, fuckin',

sick

Let me live here forever, like it's the last time

You're going to walk home again

I'm going to walk away again

What a lovely and awful feeling

Always too short

As we leave you

Thank me for loving you

I say 'Yeah, I love you so much'

And

YOU

SAY

IT

BACK

I am brighter than every star

I am as infinite as the universe

I am-

Soaking Wet.

As the sprinklers turn in our direction

You get behind me, trying to pull me away

But only end up using me as a shield

Right after you said that!

You brat!

I get blasted with water

I only want to hug you more

What a beautiful moment

Let it define me, forever

I'll keep you safe from the water

We walk back and hold hands again

I bring you close

You pinch me

That'll be your new thing, you say

We hug twice

I just don't want to let you go

I sigh out my wow's on the walk back

I touch my own skin like it's ethereal

Imagine you touching my face

My heart flutters, I just want to hold you again

What a beautiful world

To exist with you in it

The backlash creeps in quickly

So, I start begging God

Say a prayer to divinity I don't believe in

Isn't he supposed to be love?

Then why can't I have this always?

Say my vows?

Or is he plague and famine?

Or maybe I'm just some

Dumb ape

You call me on the drive back

I read to you when I get home

listen to you rustle as you fall asleep

Make small noises, small movements

I rest my eyes while I listen

Keep alarms blaring in my ears so I stay awake

When you hang up suddenly, I get up

Late for work

Too busy listening to you

Pretending I am there.

[multiversalstarlight]

@thiscrimsonsoul

There are rules to living at Kamar-Taj. Not very many, of course.  Or, at least, not so many that America can’t keep them all straight.

Some of it is schedule - trainees normally wake up around dawn, then there’s training in the courtyard, then there’s time for independent study, and between all of that is breakfast, lunch, dinner - America always makes time for snacks, carries them in the folds of the new robes that they’ve given her, and eats them between meal times, even when Wong gives her a strange look for doing so.  Some of it is limited access - there are certain books she isn’t allowed to read in the library because she hasn’t learned enough yet (and there are certain books she can’t read because she doesn’t know the language), which is fine with her because she doesn’t really like the sit down and read this book aspect of learning.  And some of it is on places she isn’t allowed to go - mostly it’s other people’s rooms without their permission, although she’s not allowed to run through the kitchen and snatch up rolls or apples anymore (or try to make her own pizza, because she’s really bad at that).

In most cases, the rules make sense.  The schedule is...well, it’s a bit like school, isn’t it?  Only America hasn’t been in a school since Utopia.  It’s just an adjustment.  Having books she can’t read is fine, because eventually she’ll get to a point where she can read them.  And for the most part, the places she can’t go are like that, too (with the exception of other people’s rooms, and she’s fine with that because it means other people can’t go into her room without permission either, and she likes that).

But a few days after America moves into Kamar-Taj, Wong makes an announcement - an entire wing in the area being reconstructed is to be entirely off-limits.  Not just to America, but to everyone.  The rest of the trainees bow to their Sorcerer Supreme, and America follows suit, but she can’t help but glance over to the abandoned part of the temple and wonder...why?  No one is going to go over there anyway.  It is dangerous.

What is he hiding?

---

In the weeks that pass, America’s paths through Kamar-Taj bring her close to the forbidden wing.  Not by necessity, maybe, but in those times when she’s supposed to be in the library for independent study, America likes to wander.  She’s always liked to wander.  It’s basically been her entire life for the past....  Ever since she lost her moms.  She’s had to explore to understand the universes where she found herself.

Kamar-Taj is smaller than a universe, smaller than a planet, and America gets to know it really well.

Other than.  You know.

America doesn’t go past that wing very often, at first.  She’s determined not to go there under any circumstances.  It’s off-limits.  She finally has a safe place to stay.  She has more than one set of clothes, she has a reliable source of food, she has people who care about her, and she doesn’t have to leave!  All very, very good things!

Except there is a wing that isn’t entirely constructed that’s off-limits when it shouldn’t be.  It’s like telling her not to go into the forest after the sun goes down.  The immediate response is what’s in the forest?  Never mind that she never would have gone there before.  Now she wants to know.

Sometimes, when she passes by, America hears something.  She can’t be quite sure what she hears, but it sounds like someone.  Once, she even gets close enough to the first door to press her ear up against it, but then someone else starts to pass by, and she jumps away from the door immediately because no, she was not going where she’s not supposed to go, she’s just standing around, she wasn’t listening, no, siree--

It doesn’t matter.  The other trainee calmly places a hand on America’s shoulder - which she shrugs off immediately; she’s not a kid - and leads her back to Kamar-Taj proper.  Where everything is safe and wonderful and not forbidden.

America scowls, and she glances over her shoulder back at the door, and she squints, and she peers, and it doesn’t matter because there’s nothing really there to look at, just a door closed to everyone outside, and she wonders.

--- It’s late - or perhaps it’s early - when it’s dark out, America can’t really tell - when she snaps awake, heart pounding, hands clenching tight to her bed sheets.  She’s not supposed to dream - she doesn’t dream - but she feels the sense of something niggling the back of her brain, something that she can’t quite grasp.  She shakes her head, but that feeling doesn’t go away.

Her room in Kamar-Taj usually doesn’t feel small.  It’s just right for her because she doesn’t have much to clutter it up with.  But right now, it feels miniscule, like the walls are getting closer together, and it’s all she can do to pull her jacket on before escaping.

The courtyard is empty in the dark, and a cool breeze helps her calm.  America scuffs a sneaker along a scorch mark.  They’ve done a good job cleaning everything up here, but some things won’t change without more than sweeping brooms and picking up clutter.  She shivers and pulls her jacket closer about her.  Not that it helps.

The breeze whips harsh all at once through the parts of Kamar-Taj still under construction, and it sounds like wailing.

It’s late - or it’s early - and there’s no one else around - and America glances over to the wing where she isn’t supposed to go but she’s been getting closer and closer to anyway.  She looks around again, just to make sure, because surely someone is going to stop her.  That’s how this sort of thing goes, isn’t it?

The wind howls as America turns towards the forbidden wing, and that’s probably an omen of some sort, but she’s never really been an omen sort of person.  She takes control of her own fate. (That’s a lie.  She tends to run from that sort of thing.  Fate.  Omens.  Half of the time, she gets really scared and then her powers kick in and...that’s not supposed to happen anymore, so.  And if it does, she can find her way back.)

America glances back over her shoulder when she reaches the door.  Still no one.  She reaches for the doorknob and finds that it’s unlocked.  That’s weird.  She kind of expected it to be locked.  Like, really, the least they could do with a forbidden area of Kamar-Taj is to lock the door, but apparently whoever is in charge of this sort of thing (she suspects Wong, but this doesn’t seem like a slip he would make) trusts everyone else here to abide by the rules.  In all honesty, that makes her feel bad, like she isn’t just breaking the don’t go into the forbidden wing rule but also she’s somehow going against the whole morality of Kamar-Taj by betraying the trust of whoever left the door unlocked, but then she’s already turning the doorknob, and the door is already opening, and she slips inside without another thought.

At least she shuts the door behind her.  It started shut, and it’s ending shut, so no one will know, right?  Right.

America looks around.  It’s just a room.  Just a normal room.  It looks just like any other room in Kamar-Taj, maybe a little better, given the whole reconstruction thing.  She doesn’t see anything that would cause it to be forbidden.

Weird.

Then she hears it.  Something.  Someone?

America shivers, but she takes a step forward anyway.  She doesn’t see anyone.  It can’t be anything too bad.  Wong wouldn’t keep anything terrible at Kamar-Taj.  That’s just--

“Hello?”

Her eyes narrow, and she squints into the room.  “Is someone there?”  A moment and then, perhaps foolishly, “You need any help?”

[note-boom]

Here's another S4 thought.

We know we're getting to at least Volume 18 in the manga (Skyfall, yay!). And the series already started with Untold Origins as the backstory arc.

However...what if, instead of ending at the Sky Casino arc, they go all the way up to the Kamui Revelation arc and end not with [redacted's] removal from the narrative (ㅜ_ㅜ) but with Heartless Dog instead.

If I remember my read of Vol. 20 correct, we did have flashes of the Heartless Dog short story hinted at in the beginning. So I think it would be kinda cool to start with Untold Origins, have Yosano's backstory in the main season with the Hunting Dogs and Sky Casino arc, and then end with Heartless Dog as a sort of question mark OR perhaps have that be the intro to the 2nd part (if there is one, and we do have enough volumes for there to be, I think...).

Either way, I think it would be neat to have Ranpo and Fukuzawa's backstory -> Yosano's backstory -> Akutagawa's backstory as a "fun" follow up to the angst incoming. It probably won't be to end the season as it is a pretty weird way to end it, but I would kill for it to be like an OVA to s4 or be the starter to part 2...I don't know.

Is this ramble me just desperately wanting Heartless Dog to be acknowledged somewhere? Yes. But could it fit with the whole backstories theme this season'll have? Also yes...

Either way Heartless Dog 2023 anyone?

[likes-words-and-shrimp]

12, 22, 23

12. The unpopular character you actually like and why more people should like them

- okay, I thought about it for a second and this is Dirk to me. DIRK MY FAVORITE DAD. But he gets overshadowed by brooding dad Kratos who is also a party member so this makes sense. BUT DIRK THO. A cool dwarf with an accent that built up that entire house for Lloyd?? And raised Lloyd to who he is now?? And he's still such an important part of the story to craft the ring and also one of Lloyds swords (that people also usually ignore lol), and it's been said he helped the people saved from the ranches who had Exspheres on them. HE DOES SO MUCH OFF SCREEN. I love Dirk and everyone should love him too ok

22. Your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

- I think the closest for me is the first half of the game in the Sylvarant, because I've seen of opinions on how it's typical and slow but also that's the point and also by as early as Triet with Colette getting sick we see that something is CLEARLY WRONG and the first half of the journey plays with this discomfort all throughout. It's an unsettling feeling that grows and is in between all the banter and how the pieces start to fall in place when Lloyd begins to figure it out but the party still keeps moving forward. This slowness is so essential and I think also allows a much stronger character interaction between everyone that starts to get lost by Tethe'alla because Too Many People. There's a reason why the Sylvarant arc of the OVA is also my favorite (people complained it was slow too lol)

23. Ship you've unwillingly come around to

- this is tough for me to pin down because any ship I dislike I still don't like lol, but maybe this would be sheelos because I liked it before but more like in the, yeah they're fine, kind of thought. Like real talk I think Sheena deserves better and Zelos should not be in any relationship, like at all lmao. They're fascinating in a disaster way BUT I think there are possible ways for them to heal and grow together. I think trust would be incredibly important between them and they each know about betrayals more than most. There is so much potential between them and there's not just the surface Zelos being dumb and Sheena hitting him like yes they do that. But Zelos has shown time and again that he cares for her in his own stupid ways which I want to examine through a microscope.

[mothpawbs]

here's the rough draft of the mcr vs lord huron compare/contrast essay i'm doing for a college class bc i can't be stopped

it's under the read more, also i'm tagging the people who said in the tags of my last post about this that they'd like to read it, thanks for encouraging my chaos. enjoy :)

               There are many bands and musicians in the world. Because of this, there is bound to be some overlap and similarities between artists eventually. But while this is usually confined to artists of similar genres, occasionally there will be two bands from completely different scenes who are remarkably similar. My Chemical Romance and Lord Huron are two such bands. Quite popular within their own circles, but scarcely heard of beyond pop culture references outside of their fanbases, both have somehow filled the same oddly specific musical and cultural niche while never once interacting.

               One similarity they share is their origins, specifically of their respective founders. My Chemical Romance was founded in 2001 by New Jersey native Gerard Way, and Lord Huron was founded nine years later in 2010 by the Michigan-born Ben Schneider. Both dabbled in music from a young age, and eventually moved on to be educated as visual artists, something both would use later in the creation of album art and supplemental media for their music. Eventually, both ended up following their dreams of creating bands, with Way creating My Chemical Romance in response to witnessing the 9/11 attacks and Schneider forming Lord Huron simply because it was something he felt he needed to do.

A major difference between the two is their genre of choice. My Chemical Romance is a star of the alternative rock scene, with their heavy instrumentals and dramatic vocals, and has a sound and aesthetic inspired by the works of bands such as Queen, Misfits, Black Flags, The Smiths, and Ramones (La Bella, 2008). Lord Huron brightly contrasts that, with their classic indie folk twang and layered acoustics influenced by the likes of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Kate Bush (Orlando, 2022). The closest they ever come in music style is Lord Huron’s third studio album Vide Noir, a vivid departure from their previous folk sound for a heavier, distinctively eerie and distorted garage rock vibe.

Likely the most striking similarity for their fans, both bands are well-known for their extensively narrative-driven concept albums, something which by itself could warrant its own essay. Both bands use their music to tell stories, with each having a surface-level meaning along with a deeper purpose within the overarching plot of an album, as opaque and those plots can sometimes be. My Chemical Romance tells fairly explicit tales, with the doomed murderous duo in I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, the revenge-fueled mission to save a lost lover (likely the same from Bullets) in Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, a cancer patient’s life, death, and subsequent trip to Hell in The Black Parade, and the Killjoys’ resistance against Better Living Industries in Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys. Lord Huron, while having equally rich narratives, are much more vague with their storytelling. Lonesome Dreams tells of a man wandering the world alone, Strange Trails starts with a fast-paced and jaunty gang tale before diving into supernatural themes bordering on cryptid horror, Vide Noir is a bleak and psychotic search for a lost love influenced by drugs and cosmic horrors, and Long Lost seems to be the songs of radio ghosts who maybe don’t quite realize they’re ghosts. Both artists also have companion material for at least one album each, with the story of Danger Days continued through Way’s comic series Killjoys, and Lord Huron recently revealing the full story of Vide Noir with a feature-length film by the same name. Fans of both artists revel in analyzing every video, lyric, and promo piece for details on these stories, and it is the double meanings in their songs that keep many fans coming back for more.

Speaking of these double meanings, another major similarity the bands show is the themes often used in their songs. While their approaches may differ, both bands have one overarching theme that permeates most of their songs: death. My Chemical Romance approaches death from several angles: as a terrifying thing to fight against, and as something to ultimately be embraced. The best example of this is the narrative of The Black Parade, with almost the entire album beingdedicated to the experience and processing of death by the main character, known as the Patient. This is most apparent in the songs The End, Dead!, Cancer, and Famous Last Words. Lord Huron approaches this topic in a similar fashion, with death, as well as one’s memory fading and disappearing, cast as a somber inevitability. This is something the POV of a song is either avoiding (The Man Who Lives Forever, The Yawning Grave, Ancient Names (Parts I and II), and Not Dead Yet) or actively accepting and/or anticipating (The Ghost On The Shore, The Birds Are Singing At Night, Until The Night Turns, Way Out There, Wait By The River, and What Do It Mean). Schneider also adds a third angle, the horror of dying and coming back. This is explored most in the albums Strange Trails and Vide Noir, with songs like The World Ender, Meet Me In The Woods, The Balancer’s Eye, and Back From The Edge detailing what might happen if one dies and returns, for reasons of revenge, rejection by the powers that be, or maybe no reason at all. Another facet of death that both bands explore is death or disappearance of a loved one, with songs like My Chemical Romance’s Helena, The Ghost Of You, and Welcome To The Black Parade, and Lord Huron’s In The Wind, The Night We Met, and Drops In The Lake. In total, both bands have the topic of death covered on almost all fronts possible.

Despite the differences in their genres, influences, presences, and even statuses (with Lord Huron currently still a band and My Chemical Romance only becoming active again recently after an almost ten-year breakup), these two groups share a truly remarkable number of similarities in both their origins and approaches to writing songs and albums. Both explore similar topics, albeit in different ways, and use their chosen medium to process similar themes and bring their stories to audiences that can resonate with them. There is a non-negligible overlap of people who would consider themselves fans of both bands, which, though surprising at first, becomes less shocking when these similarities are weighed against their differences.

@mynervoussystemdoes @smugglerofsass @thatmivy

[yeyinde]

Do you like actively search for other people's fics or do you read only what you are tagged on? :)

I usually try to balance both, but it all just depends on what I have time for. Things have been quite chaotic for me, and it rarely feels like I have a proper moment to myself to really focus on my own writing much less answering asks/requests reading other fics, etc. Because of this, I usually focus on prioritising getting tagged in something because I feel less guilty spending the time reading that over just browsing tumblr (which, i also can't remember in the last few weeks when i could just stalk the pages of everyone i follow😭) when I should be finishing up the wips I promised I'd get to.

I also tend to get hyper focused on something. So, if I'm writing a big fic, I avoid reading all others if I can until it's finished. I don't know why - I just have this need to devote my full brain power to my nonsense, and I've had a lot of fics I've written back to back so there has been a bigger gap lately.

Though, my tbr list is quite lengthy so I'm hoping once things have settled, I can give the fics I want to read/have saved or was even tagged in all the attention I can give them!

[spnexploration]

Me writing a scene about something banal like a sandwich or unloading the dishwasher: wow, somehow this is 700 words and we haven't even gotten to the line I need to say yet.

Me writing intimacy: ok surely that's enough now, I feel like I've described every movement 3 times already. Surely the characters are bored by now, I'm bored. We gotta be at like 500 words, minimum.

*Scrolls back up*

Feck, it's like 100 words, max.

-.-

I don't think I'm cut out for writing smut 🤣🤣

[whimsyprinx]

i hate when I try to explain to people that I have like, idk trauma??? i don’t think that’s the right word but like just Negative Relationship That Has Affected Me To This Day around how much I talk in regards to having grown up constantly being told I talk too much, told to shut up, told I’m annoying for talking so much, having my family limit how much I could talk and ask, being paid to shut up and just that now I’m hyper aware that I talk too much and I hate it but I struggle shutting up and then it’s like “god people must hate me so much and be waiting for me to shut up” because that’s how people always regarded me irl lol

[monstatart]

I've been re-reading my webtoon before releasing it because I just remembered I write like a traumatized AP Lang student.

[musashi]

I am once again being treated like a fucking idiot who was born yesterday on ableism dot com

[quinn-pop]

for the record, mk’s favorite march sister is amy

(yes im elaborating on a silly doodle i did days ago, yes this is the most unnecessary post ever, move along)

to clarify: im looking at this through the lens of greta gerwig’s little women because in spite of having seen the 1994 version my fair share of times i could tell you almost nothing about it for some reason

i don’t think this is something he’d openly admit because of her more childish scenes. she can be loud and cruel and she burns jo’s writing and so it’s easy to dislike watching her

but she also steps up. “learns her place”. ignores what she feels because she believes she has to become something. although not thoroughly explored in the movie, i gotta imagine how absolutely lonely she must feel.

see where im going with this? i think that would really resonate with him and so her character would grow on him. he’s jealous that she can express her “worst” emotions. he’s annoyed with her pettiness because it’s unreasonable to him. these are the same things he could never allow himself to do or think or feel because he has to be something.

so seeing her change hits. because he did that too. don’t get me wrong im not saying they’re the same character or anything lol but in her he sees the heart of the child he once was and the desperate, lonely person he became.

oh also dedede likes beth because he cries every time a parent or child dies in a movie

[fyrewalks]

It's a bad idea, he thinks when he catches Hangman's eye across the Hard Deck and there's a sparkle of something more. It's a bad idea, he thinks when they're quiet in the backseat of the uber, neither wanting to ruin the anticipation with pointless small talk. It's a bad idea, he thinks when his fingers start on the buttons of Seresin's annoyingly tight button-up once safely inside his temporary accommodation - except then Seresin's, Jake's, tongue is down his throat, and really, Bob isn't thinking at all, anymore.

As he's lying there, sweaty and sated, half drowsing, Jake's arm across his belly like he simply forgot Bob's there and is too tired to adjust, it's easy to rationalize the gravity of the situation away. Tomorrow, they'll all scatter back to their postings as if the detachment never happened. He'll go back to the Eagles, Jake to the Vigilantes; they didn't cross paths before at Lemoore, and there's no reason for them to now.

Bob is no stranger to one-night stands, temporary bits of fun. He knows the routine, but when caught attempting to make a quiet exit the next morning, he can't muster up the usual excuses or goodbyes. What's he supposed to say - thanks for the fuck, see you never?

Except, as it turns out, whatever rational thinking he employed that night, wasn't all that thought out. Back with the Eagles, it's harder to avoid Hangman than he assumed. Bob dodges him in hangars, at bars and hangouts Nat dutifully drags him out to. He absolutely does not think about how Jake kisses, or moves, or the way he tastes. Absolutely not. And just when Bob thinks he's got a handle on the worst of his intrusive, betraying thoughts, the orders come - they're all being recalled to Top Gun for the official formation of the Dagger Squad in a month's time.

A week into tense briefings, all of them frustrated and annoyed by the endless paperwork and ground time, Bob thinks himself foolish to think he struggled at all in Lemoore. At least then, Hangman had given him a wide berth too. Now, often stuck in the same room for hours at a time, Hangman's usual taunts feel sharper. If anyone's caught on to how he's singled Bob out, no one voices their suspicions. At one point he worries Natasha's caught on to something, but when she raises her eyebrows at Bob, he mutters something about Hangman being Hangman and that seems to satisfy any curiosity.

And then, Bob has the misfortune of finding himself alone in the locker room after a few miles on the treadmill. If the way Hangman corners him is any indication, he'd guess it's purposeful. Bob very carefully keeps his eyes on the next set of lockers, just to the right of Hangman's face.

"What - miss an insult or two in the classroom," he snarks, surprising himself. Admittedly, it's a little easier when Natasha is in the cockpit with him. Bob takes a breath, his eyes flicking to Hangman's eyes, his lips. Bob refocuses his gaze. "Don't you think it's a little obvious?" If it's not curiosity, it'll be a joke - one that skirts too close to the truth. After all, navy pilots are known for their crude humor. Bob knows himself; he'll struggle to shrug it off. // @a1truist

[mamayan]

Oh em gee can I request, Yan! geto? I was thinking with a reader whose like a black magic witch??queen barely talks to anyone and seems like some high class cunt but rlly she's lives in a forest in some hit with a couple cats and stuff, and like when she actually talks to ppl she's really nice actually.. And also she dresses gothy too,,thank you for your time!!💗💗

Hi Anon !💗 I am so down for this! I’m already ready for October at this point. I’ve redone this like 3x already and still am not completely satisfied. Either it’s too wordy and badly balanced with the smut or too much smut not balanced with your request. I hope this satisfies~ maybe I’ll make a longer fic for Geto because I genuinely like him.

Yandere Geto x “Witch” Sorcerer Reader

CW: Yandere Themes•NSFW•Suguru Geto is already mentally ill, so I’m honestly not portraying him too inaccurately•Death (Geto murders a lot of people)•Kidnapping•Dub-con•Forced Relationship•Breeding Kink•Baby Trapping!

Pretty

It was just a passing thought in his mind. Not truly processing much as he stares blankly at the empty rail car, save for a girl sitting quietly at the other end. Her face stoic and impassive, eyes set outside at the passing scenery. Eye catching makeup dark, all black clothing seemingly tailored, and overall appearance somewhat spoiled looking. She looked like a doll one might find in an old antique store that’s cursed.

Yet not a whiff of cursed energy flowed off her.

The tracks are loud, the old rail system likely never been upgraded since it’s manufacture date. The pretty girl dressed as if attending a king’s funeral seemed completely aloof to the world around her. Geto was beside himself as he felt his normally foggy mind clear for a moment as he blatantly stared.

His opinion shifted the more attention he paid.

Beautiful

Not a single drop of cursed energy was on her, so either she was a sorcerer and was able to channel cursed energy to a high degree, or she was a non-sorcerer who had never had a single negative thought in her life touch her.

He doubted the latter, so it was most likely she was a sorcerer, but he’d never seen her before. Then again, for the first time recently, he’d met his fellow special grade peer, Yuki. The woman operated on her own terms and conditions, but her ideology was something he respected. Was that the case then?

For you, who sat on the other side of the rail car, trying desperately not to show how uncomfortable you were. The sharp eyed man didn’t seem hostile, but he radiated power unlike something you’d seen before. He wasn’t a normal sorcerer, you could quickly deduce, and it worried you greatly how much attention he was giving you.

He got up and moved towards you, and despite the dark circles layered under his eyes, he had a small smile on his face. Friendly and genuine.

That was how you met the living special grade sorcerer, Suguru Geto, a young man in his early twenties.

Geto isn’t an entirely inexperienced man when it came to women, quite popular in school. Despite how dreary his appearance may be now, how clouded his judgement, he can tell when someone is shy instead of blatantly cold towards him. Despite your attire and frozen facial expression from earlier, you melted quickly into a sweetheart. He learned you’d been trained as a sorcerer by your grandfather, whose name he recognized to be a very respected historical figure that taught at his school decades ago. You didn’t work for Jujutsu High, similar to Yuki whom he’d met recently as well.

“You’re a sorcerer not working as a sorcerer… is that correct?” He asked, genuinely curious. You had shook your head, speaking softly.

“I don’t need the money.”

That was it.

Your whole reasoning for it all, was just not wanting to be paid for work that could seriously kill or injure you. Geto was left stunned. “Why…? When it’s their fault these curses are killing them, killing us?” He was still reeling from the information which Yuki provided him. Truly still not understanding where his feelings lay. Your eyes were so clear, your voice barely loud enough over the noisy rail car for him to hear.

“They don’t know any better?”

A few days after his encounter with you, Geto massacred the entire village he had traveled to save. Only two little girls left alive, sorcerers that had been ostracized and beaten for the things their abusers had caused.

Your words and Yuki’s rang in his mind to the same tune of applause of that day.

“They cause cursed energy because they can’t control it”

“They don’t know any better”

Geto wanted to eradicate them all.

“Worthless monkeys”

“Die! Witch!”

“Burn demon! Burn to death! You’ve cursed us!”

“Kill her! We have to kill her if we want to purge it!”

Their terrifying shouts rose with the flames of your home you realized had been burned with the intent to kill you. You watched in horror as their emotions released more and more cursed energy.

“Stop! You’re going to make it worse!” You could only cry out, unable to fathom the circumstances that were happening. How did these people know you were a sorcerer? But as you looked again, finally using logic to see, you realized they didn’t know. They really thought you to be a witch, a demon from hell cursing them. Your cats struggled, clawing out of your hold and you had no choice but to set them down as they raced off into the forest to escape the fire spreading.

Someone threw out a woman from the crowd, badly beaten and still tied up, her body landing with a soft thud on the soft forest floor.

“I-is she… oh god…” you were overcome with horror and anguish as you realized they’d killed her. An innocent young woman. Dead.

The mobs screams and shouts just kept getting louder, and you knew if you didn’t get out now, it’d be a blood bath. Either yours or theirs. You took off, despite being barefoot and hardly covered, you were quick and nimble. The mob gave chase as well, and while they wouldn’t catch up with your speed and abilities, they had the power of numbers to block and surround you.

And so they did. Cornering you, shouting and hollering. Their malevolence combined weighing you down in panic and fear.

“Look at all these pathetic monkeys.” Your head snapped in the direction of the voice, overpowering the shouts of the crowd a little, as their movements closing in on you halted a fraction due to his appearance.

He looked better than he had when you’d met for the first time. His face more jovial and his smile wide, less sincere though. It’s been months since your encounter on the train.

“What…” you were ready to cry, stepping away fearfully as you took him in.

“Aww dear, no need for that. These monkeys aren’t worth your precious tears.” He just kept coming closer and closer, standing tall and imposing before you, looking benevolent almost.

“S-Suguru—”

His smile doesn’t change as he casts a barrier, shocking you with the profound level and speed.

You move to take another step back, but a large hand encases your wrist and yanks you forward. This is much different than facing a non-sorcerer, you’re not even a warm up match for Geto. You hardly qualify as a grade 2, your prowess centered in reversed cursed techniques for healing. He doesn’t seem upset, but you had to admit you were scared. Your home burned. A woman murdered. An entire town apparently filled with so much hatred towards you that they wanted to burn you alive. And now Suguru Geto, a master curse user, is before you.

The same man who massacred 112 people not too long ago.

“Suguru…!” You tried again, to free your arm and figure out what his intentions were. Neither happened.

“I told you not to cry, didn’t I?”

It’s a blood bath. To your absolutely dismay, you’re left to watch as Suguru releases curse after curse which move to prey on the humans around you.

People.

“Ah, the sound of monkeys dying. Isn’t this much better?” You can only take your eyes away when your tears blur your vision so badly you can no longer see as flames begin to light up the forest. People are being torn apart—

“Please stop!” Your plea garners his interest, but his stare is condescending as he looks down on you.

“You want to protect the very things which want you dead? That killed their own for such a ridiculous myth? They’ve dubbed you a black magic witch you know.” His visible hatred for humans takes your breath away, unsure how to handle this situation in a way which doesn’t result in more loss.

“They don’t understand—”

“I think it’s you who doesn’t understand.” His words register after the blow, consciousness fading as Geto wraps you up his arms protectively as he stares off into the carnage with a grin. Flames lick the sky as the night wears on.

When you awake it’s to a new nightmare.

You’re inside a barrier, Suguru’s no doubt, and laid on a futon in what seems to be a prayer room. The space is massive but empty, only a slight stand with a large pillow for lounging it seemed on it. Dimly lit by lanterns around the outer edges.

“Ah, you’re awake?” Your eyes snap to his, fear leaking into your veins as you try to scramble back from the special grade. You realize in horror you aren’t in your clothes, dressed instead in what looked to be a dark silk nightgown much too short for your comfort in front of this man. It’s revealing and scandalous, and if it was a different situation you might’ve admired the garment that fit your taste, but you only felt worried of who changed you.

You’re quick to get tangled in the sheets, fumbling around as you stand and take up a fighting stance despite knowing you were a weaker sorcerer than him.

“Those people—” you’re cut off.

“Monkeys” he interrupts.

You huff, your stoic facade crumbling again as you see his smile grow in deep pleasure. You don’t need him to say it aloud, those people are dead now. You didn’t nothing to stop it either. Your pride was certainly wounded, hurt that a sorcerer who should be protecting humans was instead turning around and killing them.

“Why—!” You could only grit your teeth in anger, unable to fathom how he could do such things without a hint of remorse. Even if they’d misunderstood you, even if you’d been judged for your appearance, it still wasn’t the answer to slaughter them like animals!

“Because they threatened you. Because they served no purpose other than to die.” His simple answer left you dumbfounded, only breaking from the spell as you hear a tiny yowl. You look to see one of your cats, a black cat you’d rescued from some punk kids on Halloween with bad intentions, rubbing and purring against Geto’s leg. “Why can’t you act more like this?” His words struck a cord of annoyance in you, as he points down at your cat smothering him with affection like the hussy she is.

“I’m leaving.”

“I’m afraid you aren’t dear.”

“And why not?”

His smile dropped as his eyes fully opened and focused on you now. What were once albeit tired and kind eyes now bore into your own with a burning hatred in their dark depths. Was it towards you? His eyes widened a bit, likely taking note of the terror he was eliciting from you, throwing his hands up and going back to his harmless smiling expression. “No dear, don’t look at me like that. I don’t wish you any harm at all. Quite the opposite in fact.”

What did that mean? Your gut instinct told you nothing good.

“I-I want to leave.” You don’t mean to stumble over your words, nor can you control how your body reacts like a wounded beast cornered.

“Why? Why try and leave when you can stay here and be excepted by your own, where we understand and care for each other. Those monkeys dub you a witch, but here you’d be worshipped as a Goddess as you should be.” He’s deranged, you’ve already concluded, and you don’t listen any further as you turn and rush for some type of exit.

If you can find a weak point in his barrier then maybe—

You don’t make it far, a strong arm locked around your center and throwing your balance off as you’re tossed haphazardly back onto the futon. You gasp in panic, readying your cursed energy in preparation for attack but it doesn’t come. Instead Suguru looms over you, hands on either side of your face as he blocks out the light of the room with his figure. His knees cage your hips in, his robes tickling the exposed skin the nightgown leaves uncovered.

“Please” you further crumble, realizing this special grade seems to have more intentions towards you than just having you worshipped as some sort of deity.

“So pretty. I thought so the first time I saw you too. Like a doll, so expressionless… I like you like this more though. I think I’d like you best if you smiled. I wonder if I’ll get to see that.” He’s too close. His body heat seeping through into you and you can smell his masculine scent. Your heart is racing, and you wished this wasn’t the situation you were in, wished Suguru wasn’t a homicidal sociopath because yes he is handsome. Your body doesn’t care that his hit list is nearly the entire world apparently, heating up under his burning gaze.

His smirk is as terrifying as it is infuriating because he knows what he’s doing. “What’s wrong dear? Weren’t you leaving?” One hand moves, his size and stature bigger than you, his wide palm and long fingers tracing up your side and pulling a shiver from you. You react slowly, hands wrapping around his wrist in a pathetic and lazy attempt to remove it. “Stop. This- this is wrong…what are you planning…?” Your eyes are wide with confusion, lips pulled down in a frown.

“I’m planning many things… but for you? I plan to make you mine.”

He’s not hesitating anymore, likely emboldened by your lackluster efforts to deny his seduction. It’s really not your fault, not with how his hands feel as he finally sits up to admire how you look beneath him. Under him. How his hands dance over your exposed skin, and so gently begin to warm you up in the cool room. “You can cry and scream if you’d like?” His thin eyes crinkling in the corners as he smiles sadistically. You seem further confused as he pets you, your hands locked on both his wrists, fingers not able to wrap around completely. You aren’t stopping him, if anything you just seem apprehensive as he lightly explores you. Not touching anywhere necessarily inappropriate but his actions clearly not innocent either. “Make me out to be a monster, I’m not against taking you forcefully.” You’re frozen beneath him, his soft grazing not aligned with the vicious statement of raping you.

“You’re being so good though, aren’t you little witch?” The word usually used as a derogatory term against you sounds sweet from his lips. He’s leaning down, finally letting his hands caress your chest through the nightgown, cupping your breasts and letting his thumbs playfully poke your hardened nipples. You’d been left without a bra. You kept quiet even as your hips jerked a fraction at his teasing. His lips so close to your own now. “Not going to fight me?” His grin and tone are light, and you’re more surprised by your own lack of will to stop him than his passionate kiss. It’s soft, his lips and the way he’s able to mold them so perfectly with your own. The skillful manner in which he has your mouth opening for him, his tongue delving into your own for a taste that has you whining into the kiss. One hand stays fondling your breast, another moving down your abdomen and close to your heat.

You aren’t given a chance to squeeze your thighs together, one of his knees swift in slotting itself in between your own and forcing your legs to spread. His hand not shy as he drags two fingers over your wet panties. His own groan vibrating into your mouth when he realizes how you’ve soaked your underwear he’d just put you in not long ago. Shoving the lacy piece of cloth to the side, Geto quickly sinks a finger inside your needy core. You’re shaking beneath him, hands moved to wrap around his neck and keep him close as he explores and stretches your gummy insides. “All for me?” He chuckles breathlessly, breaking the kiss with a string of saliva connecting you two for a brief moment. You don’t have his lips to silence you anymore, and your soft little whines and panting are too cute for Geto to control how his hips rut into the futon. “Your mouth up here says one thing, but your pussy is honest, isn’t it?” He’s mocking you, but you aren’t able to protest his words before his lips are back to devouring you. Another finger enters you, pumping in and out as you begin to soak his hand and the futon beneath you. He’s able to reach so deep inside you, focusing on a spot that has your hips shamelessly grinding down against him. “Right there?” He murmurs against your lips, pulling away to trail kisses down your jaw to your neck. He doesn’t tease or hold back now, rubbing that spot inside relentlessly while using the heel of his palm to apply pressure to your clit. Your noises pick up in volume, struggling to stop them futile as he nips and sucks at the tender skin of your neck. Geto can tell you’re close by how your legs try to close, hips jerking and pussy clamping down around his fingers while you mewl under him in pleasure.

“Hah… I was wrong. This expression looks the best on you.” He’s speaking more to himself as you finally come apart for him beautifully. Your eye makeup mostly removed by his hand but a bit of leftover eyeliner smudges down your cheeks as your eyes water and body convulses. You look ruined.

He lets you catch your breath, kissing over your tears and cheeks sweetly while murmuring praises.

“You did so good for me.”

“Looking so beautiful coming on my fingers. Look how much you came.”

You aren’t really given much time to transition from his fingers leaving you though, and being replaced by his hot aching cock. The soft tip unreserved as Geto pushes into you with no verbal warning. You keen, back arching as you feel his thick appendage stretch and fill you almost painfully. Your fingers dig through the fabric of his robes and into his skin, his breath catching as he groans at the feeling of you so tightly wrapping around him. “Really, so fucking tight.” He sounds almost pained even as his laughs, smiling at the sight of you struggling to take him. He doesn’t pause his hips though, just a continuous pace of filling you until he’s kissing up against your cervix. Cramming every inch of himself inside of your wet heat. “Good little witch, look, I’m all the way inside.” He’s amused as you pant, looking down to see indeed his hips were nestled right against your own, pubic hair lightly tickling you. “A little late for this, don’t you think?” He murmurs softly, brushing a few stray tears off your face as you huff, tilting your head back with narrowed eyes. Geto couldn’t help but liken you to the cats which he saved from the forest that night for you. The cute felines also playing sweet until he happened to graze their belly, only to have their eyes narrow and claws come out. Geto laughs, pulling his hips back meanly and slamming inside you, causing you to choke on a moan as you go to wrap your arms around him again. He sets a mean pace, relishing in how good you feel, and while he’s not overly experienced he’s aware he’ll never feel anything as heavenly as being inside you.

“S-slow down! S’too much Suguru!” Your speech is a bit slurred as you cry out, your defiant eyes from earlier melting into something softer and more to Geto’s liking.

“I told you I was going to make you mine, did you forget already?” He’s not kind as he slides his knees forward, your grip lost around him as your hands now clutch onto his robes and distort them. The fabric pulling until his chest is exposed, his appearance more debauched now as his face contorts in pleasure. His cheeks reddened, eyes darker and lips curled into a seductive smile that leaves you tightening around him in arousal. “My pretty and foolish little witch, I’m going to show you why those monkeys don’t deserve your efforts or that of any sorcerers.” You can’t think as he bullies himself into you over and over, cock dragging so perfectly against your walls that you can’t think straight. “I’m going to prove your place is right—hah—here.” you’re left reeling as he sinks even deeper, palm coming to push down on your lower abdomen where he’s punishing your cunt. The black silk nightgown is torn down with his other hand so he can’t watch your tits move with each thrust into your sopping cunt.

“Too much!” You wail pathetically, but he’s too focused on fucking as deep and hard into you as possible to care much for whines. Grunting as he feels the signs of you being close.

“Do you want to cum?” His question hardly registered, a hand coming to grip your jaw tightly as he makes you look at him. “Answer or I’m going to stop.” His threat finally cutting through the fog of overwhelming pleasure. You nod, trying to drag him down to kiss you again, but stopped.

“If you want to cum little witch, I suggest you beg.” His smile is cruel, enjoying the way you panic a bit as you realize he’s slowed down and your high was quickly escaping you.

“P-please!”

“You can do better than that…” his hips roll gently now, but you could feel him so much better like this.

“Suguru… I want to cum.. please…!”

Geto groans, his thrusts still even and gentle now, keeping you tightly wound without letting the cord snap. Your hand which moved to touch yourself is quickly captured by his own. Threading your fingers together and pushing your hand into the futon to anchor you. He’s watching himself sink into you, too slow for your liking though as you tremble and babble beneath him. Begging him to make you come.

“I can’t! Please please please, I’ll be good, please.” It’s so desperate and needy it sends shivers down his spine, his cock twitching and balls tightening in arousal. Your hips jerking, trying to make him speed up and failing.

“Good girl.” Is all you get before he’s sliding out and flipping you over. Your hips are yanked up, back forced to arch as he applies pressure to your upper back to keep you pressed into the futon.

When he sinks back in, it’s an entirely new experience. Geto filling you so much better like this. “You want my cock?”

“Yes! Yes, I’wan it~!” Your slurred speech erotic, having Geto closer than he’d like to admit to his own finish due to how tight and wet you were. Your mindless pleas only furthering his own ego and turning him on. “I knew you’d beg so perfectly.” Geto is back to slamming his hips into yours, the soft flesh of your ass taking the brunt force of his pelvis smashing into you. His new angle and pace have you seeing white, hands clutching the fabric of the futon in a death grip as you come harder than you’ve ever experienced. “Fuck!” Geto can’t help but curse as your cunt locks him in a vice grip. His nails sink into your hips, using the momentum in which he bounces you off his cock to yank you back onto him. You’re left limp and pliant, using you more like a sex toy than anything else now as he chases his own high.

“I’m going to cum inside you.” He’s not asking.

“W-wait—!” His words snap you from your pleasure induced haze, panic gripping you as you realize now is the most dangerous time of the month for that and you aren’t on any birth control.

“Pull out! I’ll get pregnant, ngh!” You cry out as you feel his cock twitch and fill you. His hips jerking minutely, not pulling out enough to let his semen escape, but enough to try and press it further into you.

Geto laughs at your whimpers, petting the hair from your face sweetly as he stays still inside you now.

“That’s the point dear.”

It doesn’t dawn on you how absolutely crazy and obsessed this man is with you until this moment. His wandering hands moving you onto your side so he can tuck you against him, lips kissing you like a lover might.

“I told you little witch, you’re mine now.”