#I actually didn’t set out to write the villain like this it just sort of happened

[screampied]

‘ #KNOCK(HER)OUT ! ’

ᡴꪫ‎ sum. you get more than what you bargained for by getting involved with two boxers—two boxers that can’t keep their hands off the pretty new journalist. what happens in the ring stays in the ring though…. right?

wc. 5.7k

warnings. fem! reader x t. fushiguro & s. ryōmen, boxer!au, thrēesome, manhandling, unprotected, semi public, size kink, ōral (f & m receiving), head lock, spīt, sqūirting, they fight over you, brēeding, fīngering, implied multiple ōrgasms, nipple play.

an. based on this ask, haven’t recovered since :,)

sukuna ryōmen and toji fushiguro. . .

the talk of the town. top most infamous boxers of your city, they were supposedly rivals but ended up becoming super close friends. 'friends' was probably a stretch. acquaintances was probably a far better word to describe the two. there was hardly anyone that didn’t tune into your detailed magazines about them—your occupation? a journalist. you’d be the first to write about their fights, their strengths, weaknesses, their total wins & losses, and even a few unnecessary things like their love life. you were new, but you were good. always in the front row, you’d watch them spar against some of the most scariest opponents imaginable. something about guys taking it out in the ring right before your eyes got your panties in a twist. how unprofessional..

you only did it for the money, the publicity— a lot of people adored your skill to make such stories so interesting. between toji and sukuna, they were almost always compared, and oh did they hate it. ex rivals continuously pinned against each other, it’d piss anyone off. although, you were in dire need for a new story topic to write and you just so happen to stumble into their private gym.

“yo,” a rough sly yet cunning voice mutters, and it’s so deep—you recognize it from anywhere, toji fushiguro in the flesh. “are ya lost? no fuckin’ autographs.”

“don’t be rude, ‘toj,” and your eyes avert towards sukuna— he’s a few inches taller and your eyes roam at them both. they had droplets of sweat racing down their washboard abs, scars coating their skin with ruffled hair as if they’d just finished a match. sukuna drags his feet towards you before his eyes light up. “ohh, i know you,” he snickers, grabbing your notepad before nudging his friend. “she’s our little journalist toji. and she’s a damn fine one too..”

“. . . uh,” was all you could make out, feeling a sudden tightness in your stomach. your eyes continue to stare, your lewd thoughts only become more and more vulgar. seconds pass before you realize sukuna took your notebook, toji pauses his sets to get a good look at you. “i thought this was the ladies' room.”

“girl bye,” toji grumbles with two hands buried into his shorts pockets— he reads right through you as if you were some sort of exposed novel. people said he was a lot sassier in person but you didn’t think it’d actually be true. green dark eyes linger onto you for a long time before he stretches, leaning down to get a good glimpse at your figure. “did you come here just to stare or what?”

you were taken aback at how blunt he was.

a coy grin appears on his lips as he watches you struggle to formulate a good enough response.

you were nosy, you were really really nosy. for once, perhaps you didn’t wanna just jot down things about these two— just maybe, just maybe . . you wanted a hands-on experience.

“i… needed new material for my article before the next match starts,” you utter, squeezing your thighs together. sukuna tilts his head, eyeing you in a way that makes you feel hot. toji’s stare was ten times more intimate, darkened irises practically staring right into your soul—you knew this wasn’t the bathroom, you were lying. “i was hoping maybe you’d give me some uh . . inspo.”

they were both towering over you with height, you felt small—like an ant that was preparing itself to be crushed by a villainous shoe.

“inspiration, she says?” sukuna hums, his voice is low—raspy, an almost purr hiding underneath it before he moves closer towards you. “just tell us what you really want, princess.”

“nah don’t get all shy now,” toji chimes in once he sees you grow more sheepish. they both close in on you—you felt like you were trapped in a fever dream, you weren’t exactly complaining either. they smelled so good, a mixture of sultry sweat and a loud scent of heavy cologne that wafts throughout the entire training room. “you got our attention so spit it out, girl.”

“i— i want you both.” you finally mutter after seven long consecutive seconds. with the way toji’s staring right through you, you felt like your stomach sank between your legs - your legs that were throbbing with nothing but mere arousal, again perhaps this was unprofessional. no, it was very unprofessional—but anyone would kill to be in your position, being sandwiched between the top two boxers of your city.

sukuna snickers. “both? what makes you think i’d wanna share with this bum?”

“shut up,” toji snarls, and the way his facial expressions tense a bit—so attractive. the headlines + press was right about toji, he was a lot more handsome in person. he was a fairly new boxer yet a pure lady's man. he’s had a plethora of fangirls while in the ring and maybe you were one of them. as he inches towards you with a hand softly gripping underneath your chin, he inhales. his entire facial structure, so chiseled—brief dark stubble coats the entirety lower half of his jaw and he rubs his left boxing glove against his left knee. “that really want you want? both of us?” and his voice softens. it’s a bit more pitchy and low, and he sneers. “on me, look at me when you reply too, girl.”

your lip gradually pulls down from his thumb playing against it. you felt so hot, the air suddenly felt thick.

a sudden lump gets caught in your throat before you mumble. “i want you both,” and your eyes meet the dark-haired boxer, simultaneously glancing at his attire— shirtless, boxing shorts on with his custom-made ‘fushiguro’ briefs wilting near the top—only showing the hem part. just a teensy detail like that was so enticing that you even spot a few parts of his exposing snatched waist. only after awhile you then abruptly snap out of your vulgar fantasm. “…please.”

“the real question is, pretty little journalist,” sukuna steps in, a hand stroking against your chin. you didn’t know where to even look. both boxers had their hands on you and the tightened squeezing between your plush thighs grew even more. “can you handle both?”

“yes.” you’d speak in a soft voice, most likely as of now you were probably speaking from between your legs—you didn’t care though, everyone’s a little delusional at some point. emphasis on a little in your case, because you had no idea what you were getting in to with these two.

toji snickers. “hm,” he mutters, eyes focusing on you for a long time before he raises his chin. “fine. let’s test your strength then,” and he briefly gazes at sukuna. “sukuna. we can take her ‘n the ring.”

and they mean it quite literally— taking you, the both of them versus you, except you weren’t relatively fighting.

not in that sense, but it was versus an opponent that was throbbing between your thighs.

the arena was empty, about a good hundred or more vacant blood-shot red seats scatter everywhere.

inside the ring, it was a mere raised platform, guided and shaped by strong stringy ropes that were yanking between poles at each side and corner. you lay on the spongy canvas of the ring’s floor before biting back a moan.

“scared yet?” sukuna hums, and he props himself right between your legs. this was risky—entirely risky, anyone could just walk in. besides, you were pretty sure they had a match in about a good forty-five minutes. with sprawled-out legs, he moved closer before dragging a thumb down your panties. his voice was a bit deeper than toji’s, they both shared the same amount of rasp.

sukuna had the charm, toji had the suaveness.

you shake your head, feeling yourself grow even hotter the more he stalls time. it feels warm, the entire air around you is humidly thick and you whine as he teasingly bites your panties. not enough to pierce his teeth into your folds, but he bites near the fabric—you watch, the string of your underwear slowly dragging with him. yet, you can’t help but glance at toji who’s just standing there—arms crossed and that same scowl that stuck against his face. “mhm,” he jibes, eyes flickering towards toji. “toji. she’s looking at you.”

“i know she fuckin’ is,” he grumbles, and your head tilts upward. you’re face first with his bulge that was right against your face. talk about space, it was right there. such a big bulge, who were you even kidding though—you found yourself gawking at his bulge at every match he had. with the skin-tight shorts he’d worn, you just knew he was nothing more than a packer. “nosy girl. y’er mouth bored or somethin’?” and he watches your hands paw at the hem of his tucked-out briefs. “need a bit of throat training, huh?”

sukuna’s playing with your panties still. by now, he’s peeling them towards the crevices of your thighs and you whine whilst you feel a thumb of his drag down your honeyed slit. sopping wet, just a three-second stare and he was suddenly esurient.

“look at me, not him,” toji lightly turns your head to face back up to him again. his bulge, his damn bulge that was right up against you. you nod, feeling your mouth dry—you wanted your throat to be filled, it wasn’t even a question. toji gruffs lowly, moving your chin side to side. “huuuh? girl, i don’t speak silence. thought i told ya how to use those words when you speak.”

“i- i wanna suck you off, ‘toj,” and you get cut off once he pulls his boxing shorts down halfway, bringing your face close to his briefs. you’re taken by surprise once he makes you rub your face against his hardened bulge—you moan, as if on instinct, your tongue lolls out just to taste him. even if it’s just the clothed fabric protecting his actual cock, it was something.

he scoffs. “y’er a nasty girl, huh,” he mumbles, peering down to see sukuna starting to lick against your cunt. your legs quaver upon impact and you slump back against the corner of the ring. “can’t wait, yeah. want me to train this empty throat? maybe it’ll make ya a better journalist, nosy ass.”

you’d almost laugh at his little side remark if it wasn’t for sukuna’s tongue lapping against your slick entrance. your lips part as you lean back, a hand going through his hair. “mphm,” he grunts, one hand squeezing the right part of your thigh. “sweetest taste i’ve had in a . . . looong while.” and he’s so sloppy, not even a few seconds pass before he’s already slurping. your panties were lazily shoved to the side and that’s when toji hauls down his briefs.

you gulp, damn.

he wasn’t just big, he was huge…

your mouth starts to salivate the more you stared at the swollen shaft. toji was a big guy . . hence meaning, toji he was a thick guy.

staggering height and a fat base to back it up, he had about two veins running down the side. his tip was a reddish pink, you could already taste him throbbing in your mouth. toji was quite well shaved a bit— though, it was a few specks of black hairs scattered everywhere. however, his happy trail was so pleasing to look. it roams all down his sculpted body, he sighs once you slowly wrap a hand around his cock.

“spit the fuck on it.”

five words and you didn’t hesitate to roll out your pink tongue once more.

you gather a good amount before watching it coat against his pink sweet tip. he groans, watching your hand stroke him a bit. he was so big, so fucking big that you could barely wrap your entire hand around his dick. toji groans, watching you make a total mess out of yourself. pretty glossy lips, pretty glossy lips that would soon be wrapped around his hefty length.

once you get it wet enough, you gently move your mouth onto him. he hisses, the warmth of your throat has his abs clenching.

“m-mhm,” you’d moan out, though your words were purely muffled. sukuna’s sucking on your clit, occasionally nipping and nibbling on it just to make you squirm even more. it was cute— the way your legs could barely hold still, so this was your weak spot. it’s what he thought to himself, lapping his tongue against your slick entrance. brief kisses coat near your folds before he maneuvers such circles against your pussy. feeling his canines nip against your folds every few seconds had you feral in the best way possible.

“y’er makin’ her squirm all over, ‘kuna,” toji lowly chuckles, such baritone in his voice that it makes you soak even more. you didn’t even know how it was possible with the way you were just profusely dripping like a faucet. not even—you put faucets to shame with how slick you were, quickly coating the lower part of sukuna’s chin with your syrupy taste. “open that mouth a ‘lil more, yeah . . . yeah,” and he tilts your head back a bit, prying your mouth open some more. he starts to slowly sink his cock in, so slow. the pace was incredibly tantalizing, your tongue runs against his slit before he pushed more inches inside. “fuckkk, girl,” he continues to grunt out, knees already starting to buckle. the way you took him in, hollow cheeks all puffed, you were already starting to drool a bit. small amounts of your saliva trickle past the corners of your lips as he goes deeper and deeper. deeper until his tip ends up mashing against your uvula and you gag.

“. . ooooh,” he hums, and just a simple noise as that was so seductive. “good…. good,” he swallows, a hand digging through your hair before maintaining a good grip against it. “now . . let’s test this pretty throat’s durability, hm.”

your little nod makes his sly smile widen, your jaw hangs and he starts to gradually piston his hips. such a mess, he was just so big that you were surprised all of it even fit.

“alllll the way down, shit,” your head starts to move, bobbling as your tongue swiftly running against his pulsating head. he gnashes his teeth together, dim eyes flickering towards your hands. you were feeling hot yourself so you made a cute attempt at reaching between your legs. doing so only greets you to a soft concise smack.

“hands to yourself, silly girl,” sukuna grumbles, and this time he grabs your wrist. he simpers, watching you try to even still rub one out but with his grip, you weren’t getting anywhere. as your mouth was occupied with such inches, you whimper once you feel sukuna spank your cunt a few times. “don’t touch my pussy.”

one turns into two, then three, then four. . .

your pretty cunt starts to become his new obsession—the way you’d squelch for him so easily, he gets hard in his boxers. so wet, he knows the layout as if he’s so used to doing this. you wouldn’t be surprised, especially with a tongue like he had. lapping left and right, he parts your legs just a bit farther before the tip of his tongue swirls all around it. he lays it flat, getting a good enough taste before giving it yet another mean spank.

you whimper, feeling your tummy cave in before toji makes you face him once more. “eyes up here, eyes on me,” and he sounds almost jealous the more you focus your attention strictly on his boxer acquaintance. you’re still stroking him, a thumb sliding down a vein that prods alongside his shaft and he groans. your throat, so warm that he starts to feel his right thigh bounce. “should be . . usin’ this throat for shit like this instead of running that mouth.” his voice pitches lower, boxer shorts pulled down and his hair was slightly ruffled. you stare up at toji and he gives you that same cunning smirk. oh, you were soaked. again, this simply felt like a fever dream. even if at the slightest chance that you were dreaming, you never wanted to wake up.

toji’s quite talkative throughout the entire thing, sukuna’s dragging you further and further onto your incoming release and your legs start to rapidly shake even more. you whine and mewl out such sweetened moans, occasionally coming back up for air as you kept his cock warm in your mouth. each time it hits the roof of your mouth, you let off a straddled noise and he finds it so cute, so filthy.

“relax y’er throat, girl,” he mutters, a firm grip on your scalp. with glossy eyes, you follow his words and you stop gagging a bit. he grunts, getting hard every time your pretty eyes make direct contact with him. “such a pretty girl when you listen.” and his tone gets a bit more sensual, more tender.

you whine, feeling sukuna insert a single finger inside of you—you swallow his digit almost immediately and you cringe at hearing your own salaciously lewd squelches.

soaking, sopping wet,

three perfect words to describe between your legs, you choke out a moan once you feel that sensation brew right up inside your stomach. steadily, it was coming closer and closer. you’re breathing through your nose—feeling a few of his pubic hairs tickle against you. you’re moaning, eyes becoming half-lidded and droopy. toji had a mere pout stretching against his face and he felt himself coming close too.

the icing on the cake was your tongue, the way you swirl and slide it against his frenulum—he groans out a low grunt that rings throughout the arena. it reverberates, it's raspy and it only makes you even more aroused. “s-shit, you close too?”

you nod, and toji jeers, finding it amusing to taunt with you as you’re about to reach your inevitable peak. “yeah? gonna make a mess on ‘kuna’s face?”

“told ya don’t call me that,” sukuna grouses, resuming to pump not one but two fingers into you now—you’re almost there. it’s a hot feeling stirring up near your lower abdomen, a pool of it. your eyes start to roll, still slobbering down toji’s cock before he starts to thrust and thrust into your mouth.

“make me.” toji stared at him—and the both of them grew quiet before laughing with each other.

idiots.

your maw opens just a bit wider, and he’s shoving himself in and out of your tight throat—the noises that follow are so lewd, he finds you so pretty like this. mascara all smeared and runny, your hand continues to wrap around his length—his sagged base, so full. you start to salivate again, imagining what his taste was like. you craved it like you crave sweets, sukuna’s tongue running against your clit only made things far more intense before you start to convulse.

“f-fuckkk, ‘m gonna cum,” toji rasps, tilting your head back a bit more. you stare at him, tongue still grazing against the pulsing slit before after a few more pumps—he shoots a nice velvety load into your mouth. he grunts lowly, nostrils flaring up, jaw tightening and all. “. . damn,” he swallows, allowing himself to slow down. you end up finishing around the same time, costing sukuna’s mouth with a honeyed amount of your slick and he hums. you whimper, legs barely able to hold themselves up before you feel toji’s dick pour the remnants of his cum flat on your tongue. “nah, don’t fuckin’ swallow yet. stick it out, lemme see that shit.”

your legs felt like they were about to fall off, sukuna’s kissing near your now swollen entrance and you slowly loll out your tongue. obeying, you didn’t exactly swallow yet and he hums. “best savor that shit,” he groans, giving his veiny cock a few subtle strokes before he smacks his angry tip against your tongue. “and where’s my thank you for the meal, baby?”

“t—thwak y—you toji,” you speak, barely coherent with his seed splattered all on your tongue. you didn’t wanna spill any, and if you did—you didn’t wanna stick around to find out his reaction.

“yeah,” he huffs. “you can swallow now. get every drop in.”

sukuna moves towards you, you’re still laid on the ring’s mat before he softly wraps a hand around your throat. “hey. don’t let this bastard have all the fun, i want a taste too,” and you're taken by surprise once he pulls you into a deep steamy kiss. you moan, feeling him quite literally take your breath away. your tongue drags against sukuna’s chin, the bitterness. a concoction mixture of your saliva and his mixes, and you whine once he snakes a hand up your blazer. you taste yourself on his tongue and it’s so dirty, hot breaths mash against each other, teeth gnashing, and only then do you feel his cunning smirk.

“no one told you to hog her,” toji grumbles, pulling you back towards him. you briefly gasp for air and they both stare at each other, then you. “tell me, baby. who’d you think win in a fight? me or this . . . thing.”

sukuna glares.

“i don’t … know,” you pant out, heaving from your current orgasm—so cute, yet you only wanted more. from kissing sukuna to having your throat entirely filled, you didn’t know which was better. “can we finish?”

“aw, is someone impatient?” sukuna titters, and you stare at his glistening body—beads of sweat race down his precious v-line, the ideal body for a boxer. you just couldn’t stop staring at his pecs, so chiseled. you even thought his pictures were edited, but seeing them up close . . you wanted him, you wanted both of them. “hm. how ‘bout this? we teach you a few ah, moves. full nelson to start, ‘s pretty easy.”

easy, sure.

with it all being easy, you’d least expect to be put into a full nelson position. a mere popular wrestling position, although you’d be performing it with no one other than sukuna.

he’d have you slump back against him, hooking both arms underneath your thighs as you’re taking such mean thrusts from him. time and time again, you’re spasming out. mouth all open, saliva running down the very corners of your lips before you moan. “s—sukuna, oh my godddd,” and you glance up at toji who’s got a cute pout, stroking himself. you lost count of the time, it’s probably been about a good thirty-three minutes by now, thirty plus minutes of various teeth shattering orgasms. your head hits back against him and each time his tip smacks against your cervix, you short circuit. “fuck, fuck, right there, hit it thereee.”

“you coachin’ me how to fuck, dumb girl?” he chortles with a groan shortly following—he was so deep, the heftiness of his base taps against you each time you bounce back against his cock. he sucks his teeth, the way you easily took him had him groaning all up against your ear. “gotta get a little more stretchy, we gotta . . hah, work on your flexibility too, huh.”

“sukuna hurry the fuck up. watching you fuck my girl ‘s boring as shit,” toji grouses, pumping his cock into his fist every few seconds—you stare and he’s so needy, you could tell. his scowl he had earlier forms into a cute pout, dark eyebrows furrowing together and he’s growing impatient.

you caught that though. ‘my’ girl.

who would have thought toji . . the womanizing boxer who’s never had time for any woman throughout his career would start batting for you?

“your girl?” sukuna snickers, resuming to hold your legs up a bit further. he reaches so deep, that your stomach starts to seize and your maw drops. hooded eyes, your lashes flutter and you felt continuous strained breaths get yanked from your lungs. “your girl yet she’s gettin’ fucked by me? the better boxer?”

toji snarls, and he kneels to kiss you. you moan, barely able to return the gesture since you were in the midst of taking sukuna. with being gifted with such sharp thrusts, you dig your nails into his thighs before running tangling your tongue alongside toji’s. his breath was warm, you whine once you feel one of his hands stroke your cheek.

“aha, look at him. already whipped before me,” sukuna snickers, feeling you sink and gape around him—he stretched you out so good already, it was so relentless. each time you bounce back against his lap, the ringing in your ears grows louder and louder. he feels his dick twitch inside you. seeing you make out with toji irks him a bit before he spanks your ass—the recoil making him even more aroused than before. sukuna hums, seeing the current pout on toji’s face before nodding, “aw. toji wants a turn too, yeah? don’t ya . . big guy?” and he intakes a breath, your pussy constricting around his length as sukuna pulls you further to slam back and forth against him. you’re moving against him now as his dick jackhammers right into your gummy was. your mouth idly dangles with your tongue stil shamelessly lolled out. a raw moan rips from the back of your throat at the pure feeling of utter bliss.

so thick, so girthy—you gasp once you feel his fingers tend towards your neglected tits. toji shortly follows, a hand going between your thighs. your cunt was all stuffed of sukuna, feeding your swollen pussy was so many inches. “hngh, f-fuck, fuckkk,” you’d whine between wet, saturated kisses. toji purposely feels against your folds, all stuffed and sopping wet. he rubs a thumb against your slick entrance as your legs were just about to give out. “toji, m-more. need you to touch me more.”

“you don’t need shit, little girl,” he corrects you, squeezing your lips together before presses a kiss against it. you moan, your ass stinging every few seconds from the stings of sukuna’s palm making direct contact against your ass cheek. spank after spank, oh how he adores the jiggle. he could watch it all day, even in slow motion if he could. “such a cute thing though, had the nerve to say you thought our training room was the fuckin’ ladies' room.”

you cringe once he repeats that. the same ringing going through your ears once more. your ears perk, hearing sukuna’s raspy grunts against the shells of your lobes before you start to stammer, “toji, touch me.”

“i’ll touch this messy body when i wanna,” he gruffs, leaning to nip kisses near your neck. sukuna’s still holding you up—you’re like a rag doll, eyes goggling from the stretch before you start to feel it. not your orgasm, but something entirely different. it was a new type of pressure, sweet whiny moans emit out of you before you feel sukuna’s rude tip thrash against your g-spot again, and again, and again..

toji’s thumb softly strokes underneath your neck as he pulls you into a short kiss. you whimper, pulling away before spreading your legs a bit further.

“i— something’s coming, i f-feel tingly.”

sukuna roughly laughs against your ear, seemingly getting what you were implying. “yeah, gonna make another mess on us, princess? oh. i mean on me, heh?”

you shudder, your pussy feeling entirely stuffed and your eyes merely roll way back. he fit nice and snug, you bare around him before a whine drags out your throat. so deep, so so deep, you’re spasming—each relentless piston of his hips makes you whine louder. a feeling that was purely euphoric welts right against you, and you’re laid all back against sukuna’s bare chest, riding him in reverse. “c-choke me, ‘kuna, choke me, please.”

“want me to put you in a headlock, yeah,” he whispers to you in a rough low voice. you moan, feeling him lick against your earlobe before toji strokes your cheek. you could tell he wanted a turn too, the pout on his lips stretching even further. you’re nodding against him before your cunt gapes more. “sure. i’ll let you in on what my opponents feel, pretty girl.”

you moan, his voice was so low up against your ear, you’re about to cum. or were you, you swallow thickly despite having a sudden dry throat— voice all raspy and strained from moaning for such a duration that your head’s woozy. it feels too good, your thighs ache and quaver before you feel a beefy arm wrap around your neck. “upsie daisy, thereee we go,” and he scoots you on his lap just a bit farther. he’s buried to the hilt. you moan, toji pulling you into the nth kiss of the night, lips moving in pure tandem. just when you’re about to finish, you feel him rub against your stuffed cunt once more. yet that’s only when you decide to move your hands towards the boxers . . . nipples.

“t-the fuck,” he grunts in a hoarse tone, his voice was suddenly a bit shaky. it was cute—you couldn’t lie to yourself, you found yourself staring at toji’s chest way more often than you should. practically always shirtless, his pecs were huge. such pink swollen nipples, you slide a thumb against it and he shivers from your touch. “fuckin’ weirdo. ‘m sensitive there, s-shit.”

he doesn’t tell you to stop—instead, he grips your hair not so tightly but firmly. you look up at him, speaking in a tiny yet sheepish tone. “can— can i?”

“can ya what?” he grits, watching as sukuna continues to feed your cunt of his cock — you were just about to burst, you felt it and your toes clench and curl all up. so cute.

with a thumb still sliding against his pecs tenderly, you murmur. dilated pupils flicker towards his chest, then back up at him. “. . can,” you huff out in short breaths, tummy seizing, breathing hot and heavy. “can i suck on them?”

“no you can’t fuckin’ suck on them. what kinda question is tha—”

“toji, don’t be fuckin’ mean. you claim she’s your girl so let her suck your tits, big guy.” sukuna chimes in, releasing his soft grip against your neck. you gasp, leaning way back against him now. he was so warm pent up against you—you whimper out, sukuna leans against your ear and he starts to talk you through your incoming orgasm. “right? wanna make toji a little whiny bitch?”

“shut the fuck up,” he rasps, and his pecs literally stare at you—so beefy, you could have sworn they twitched. he groans, watching you give him such eyes before he inches closer towards you, bending down. “…….fine. whatever.”

still grinding against sukuna’s lap, you hold toji’s pecs before latching your tongue against it. his face scrunches up and it’s so cute, for whatever reason, the way your tongue curls against his perky nipples feels … good. awkwardly, he pulls your head closer towards his chest, eyeing closely as you briefly start to suck. as usual, you were so sloppy too—moaning up against his sensitive skin, rolling your tongue all against his nipple.

“nasty little g—girl,” he chokes out.

you glance up at him, parting your lips away before he makes you go back to tending to his tense nipples. “i didn’t tell you to stop. use y’er fuckin’ tongue some more. and stare at me while you do that . . . weird shit.”

toji’s voice significantly pitches and you’re so into it that you don’t even realize that before you know it, you end up squirting. everything comes at once, you’re pulsing with sukuna’s cock still twitching vigorously inside you and you whimper, mouth still sucking onto toji’s tits nipples. low laughter could be heard from behind you, and it’s all so much. your pussy was equivalent to a waterpark, gushing out all into sukuna’s lap. “fuckkk, princess,” he chortles, slowing down your hips and he ends up finishing a few seconds after you.

when he came inside, it came out quite a lot too. a hefty amount, it came out in ropes to where he paints the entirety of your womb. so warm from the inside, your tummy briefly caves in and your legs felt like mush.

“heh, did you just squirt?” sukuna points out, cock still twitching inside but he just lies still. you’re stretched out literally on the mat, seeing pure stars— the lights of the arena merely blinding you before you lie back against him. “a squirter and you’re tapping out already? aw boo. ‘n here i thought you could handle a few more rounds in the ring, princess.”

“i— i can,” you protest, parting your lips away from toji’s sheeny pecs. your lips were spit-glossed, he stared at you before squatting down to stare at the mess right between your legs. so messy, sukuna lifts you off of him and it just pours right down between your thighs. “i can go for more.”

toji hums, taking a quick three-second glance at his watch. “five fuckin’ minutes, ‘s all you’ll get with . . me,” and it’s cute because a mere pink forms on his face.

he’s still embarrassed from you sucking on his nipples that he tries to act all tough—but that only makes his tone quaver even more. “match’s gonna start soon. sukuna, let’s take her both.”

he snickers, pulling your shirt that was tucked underneath your blazer all the way up.

“both?” and sukuna lifts you to sit on top of toji, straddling him. you were being preparing to be overly stuffed with not one but two cocks. you fall face forward into toji’s broad chest, the coldness of his chain that wraps around his neck brushes against your skin before he helps you align yourself.

you moan, feeling sukuna get behind too—you gulp, toji’s fondling your breasts that almost poke out through your unbuttoned shirt whilst sukuna was behind. you’d be taking them both— one in each hole. “can you handle us both at the same time, pretty girl? toji’s known for his record of lasting a good ah . . . two solid rounds.”

toji glares, feeling himself start to open you up again. with his plump crownhead of his cock, he splits you open, and he is a tad thicker than sukuna—you moan, wrapping flimsy arms around him before sukuna enters from behind with toji focusing on the front. “shut up. you say that ‘n act like i won’t k.o. you right now.”

“oh yeah?” sukuna cavils, and you gasp, landing on the cold canvas with an 'oof' once the boxer lightly places you down. you pout—glancing up at the two of them who were having a face off at a time like this. sukuna already pulled out and they stared each other down before toji slyly smiles. “is that a fact?” and for a brief moment, he leers down at toji’s sheeny lips— the dark-haired boxer slides his tongue against his scar before humming.

“don’t play, you know it is,” he replies, giving you one ogle before turning back towards his rival. “y’know, ‘kuna. you sure talk a lot of shit but you couldn’t even pin me down if you tried.”

sukuna rasps lowly, inching closer before they were inches apart—you thought they were gonna kiss at this rate. oh, something like this would be such a good inspiration for the headlines.

“if you wanted my attention, should have said so,” sukuna sneers, rubbing his hand that was carefully wrapped up in a white bandage against his slim torso. “besides, i think we all know who can last more rounds.”

“did you two just forget about me—?” you furrow your eyebrows, literally still soaked and laid against the corner of the ring. they shoot you a glance before turning back towards each other.

toji scoffs back at sukuna, ignoring you. “prove it then. pin me the fuck down, hot shot.”

“bend the fuck over then, big guy. we’ll show the pretty journalist who’s gonna win this night’s match. round fuckin’ one.”

[scoops-aboy86]

By The Heart (Secret Admirer pt 2)

Steddie Week 2024, July 2: Hands / touch starved / Invisible Touch by Genesis

wc: 2136 / rated: T / set between seasons 2 and 3 / also on ao3

After the world fell apart a second time in November of ‘84, Steve had finished out the rest of his senior year in a daze. Partly because Billy Hargrove had broken a fucking plate over his head, giving him a small scar by his hairline that the doctor said would fade and recurring headaches that the doctor said might stick around anywhere from a few months to forever. 

It’s been more than a few months and the headaches are only slightly less frequent and a tiny bit less severe. 

He graduated, barely. His dad keeps dropping pointed comments about how his parents let him stay in their house rent-free after high school, how he’d saved up while attending a nearby college by not having to worry about the cost of a dorm or basic meals, and that it is his gratitude towards them that has moved him to offer the same to Steve. Usually said comments come after Steve tries to sidestep some sort of menial task, and it always feels like a threat.Steve just grits his teeth and takes it—refills his dad’s drink when the bottle is already literally right by the man’s hand, washes the family car after dinner when both his parents know that Steve has a shift at Scoops first thing in the morning, whatever. He can’t afford to get kicked out right now. 

His job at Scoops Ahoy is shit, all bright fluorescent lights and kids screaming and everything getting sticky for a measly minimum wage, but that probably reflects the quality of the job application he’d submitted. 

He has no friends, no prospects, no one in his corner except a bunch of incoming freshmen and the only one who really seems to want him around is off at some sort of smart people camp that he’d never even heard of… Go figure. 

But he has Secret Admirer. 

Okay, what Steve has is a pen pal who has a PO box and prefers to remain anonymous, possibly because Steve is an embarrassing person to have a crush on these days. And it’s really stupid that he thinks of them as first name Secret, last name Admirer, but it’s not like he hasn’t tried to come up with better names! Unfortunately, there are so many things Secret Admirer has called him (sweetheart, darling, dearest, honey, baby) that he can’t really think of anything original with those constantly rotating in his head… He can’t use them, though. It’d be weird. 

The first letter had been shoved into his locker in the last few weeks of school, looking like someone either wrote it with their non-dominant hand or had also suffered a blow to the head recently, and he hadn’t known what to make of it at first. In fact, he’d considered the possibility that Tommy or Billy were playing some sort of prank on him… but he didn’t think either of them could write “To Steve, the heart of my heart” without bursting into homophobic flames, and if it was Carol she would’ve done her girliest handwriting with hearts dotting the eyes. And his Secret Admirer had mentioned things no one else in his life seemed to care about. 

Like, 

I hope you’re feeling better. Sometimes I notice you squinting or grimacing in the classes we have in common… Are you still getting headaches? Do you get enough rest? You probably already know this, but mental and physical rest are super important for getting your handsome self all recovered, big boy. 

And,

I had a concussion once, not a bad one but it really left an impression. Felt like I was trying to think through a head full of soup for weeks. It sucks that teachers didn’t seem to cut you much slack because, just saying, I noticed they used to do that a lot more when you were still on the basketball and swim teams. Jock privilege placed above consideration of an actual, serious injury? I’m sorry, but that’s the rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended nostril, sweetheart, and you deserve better. 

So, yeah. Clearly his Secret Admirer is a nerd who doesn’t necessarily have the best opinion of jocks… but still took the time to notice all those things and write kindly about them. It felt nice, knowing that at least one person out there noticed, maybe even cared. 

And when that letter turned out not to be a one-off, a few more letters in his locker and then one in his mailbox, postmarked and everything, after graduation? Steve was hooked, enough to start writing self-consciously back. 

Which has brought him to the point of wanting so badly to meet this person that he’s stooped to begging, and it’s not even getting him anywhere. 

It’s occurred to him that it could be a guy, of course it has. Steve might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he knows it happens. He’d had a friend in middle school, Todd Fischer, nice guy, totally normal kid—got caught kissing some boy in the next grade up behind the gym and turned out to be the worst sprinter of the two. The Fischers had moved out of Hawkins a few weeks later and Steve hadn’t heard anything from or about Todd since. They’d been halfway through reading Romeo & Juliet in English at the time, and Steve remembers thinking when they got to the end of the play that at least things hadn’t gone that badly for Todd and whoever the other kid was. He’s old enough now to know that it could have; between Todd being such a nice kid, Barb dying in his own backyard, and the threat of government agents coming out of the woodwork if he ever breathes a word about certain secrets, the thought leaves a bad taste in Steve’s mouth. 

Anyway, if it is a guy, that would explain why Secret Admirer keeps dancing around his pleas to meet. And the initially disguised handwriting—which had been dropped by the second mailed letter, along with a brief, sheepish apology. 

But it could also be a girl who’s really shy or something. Steve doesn’t want to assume and then look like a total idiot further down the road. Whoever it is, all Steve knows is that he doesn’t want to lose them. He has to play this smart, play it cool… because he knows himself, and already knows that they have him by the heart based on words alone. 

The latest letter is in his hands, crinkled a little at the edges, and Steve can’t help himself from rereading the fifth paragraph yet again. 

… those indecently tiny shorts. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about running my fingers up the inside of those thighs. Or my mouth. Whichever you think you’d like best, baby, I’m not picky. And while I do like ice cream, particularly strawberry with rainbow sprinkles in a cone, I can think of something else I’d love to wrap my hand around and run my tongue over before any drips can escape. You just think about that, hmm? Maybe share some of those thoughts in your reply, if I haven’t scared you off…

He’s not scared off. Doesn’t need to know exactly who put pen to paper to imagine hands and lips running up his legs, either, an invisible touch that sends shivers along his spine. 

Okay, maybe it’s been a while. Between striking out from behind the Scoops counter and not really trying all that hard anyway, the only action Steve’s seen is from his own hand… and this letter. He has thoughts, alright, but has a much better idea of how to translate them into action than words. And this is his problem with the whole pen pal only thing, his natural charm (if he has any left) is absolutely useless in this medium. 

The other problem is that he really, really wants to jerk off about this, except he’s got almost no details to fuel the fantasy. He knows that Secret Admirer had a concussion once, but not what color or length or texture or style their hair is; knows they’re on the fringes of popularity and not really into sports, but nothing about their height or build or how they might move against him. Hell, he doesn’t even know if they’re a girl or a guy, isn’t sure if he should try to imagine boobies and painted nails or stubbled cheeks and big hands. 

Secret Admirer has mentioned being a smoker though, of both tobacco and grass, and Steve is not exactly proud of how strongly this makes him want a cigarette just because it’s all he has to go on. He has work in under an hour and Robin hates the smell of cigarettes, will be extra vicious for their entire shift if he comes in reeking of smoke. 

He’ll have to figure out something else…

Dear Secret Admirer, Thanks for writing again, I was really glad to get your letter. I don’t sleep with them under my pillow because sometimes my pillow ends up on the floor and I don’t want to drool all over them. I keep them in a box in the back of my closet, because sometimes my parents have the cleaning lady do my bedroom without telling me and I don’t want her going through my stuff or putting it in weird places that I can never find again.  Sorry for laughing at you You must not have seen me last week when I threw a banana peel at my coworker for It’s not being humble if I don’t deserve Yeah, fuck high school.  Sorry for not rewriting this, I’m running out of paper and my dad’ll kill me if I break into his office to get more I definitely thought about what you said in your last letter. I thought about it a lot. It’s hard to figure out how to explain what though, because I wanted to picture you like you were probably picturing me when you were writing it. You obviously know what I look like, but I don’t know who you are so I had to get creative. (Which isn’t my strong suit. So if this is stupid maybe we could just never mention it again?) Since I don’t know what you look like and it’d be weird to try and picture you anyway, and then what if I’m not even close and that makes it seem like I don’t like you for who you are? I’m not sure if that makes sense. But anyway, since I don’t know what you look like I pictured you dressed like a ninja.  Hear me out, okay? You’re such a mystery. Ninjas are mysterious, and dressed all black to blend in with the shadows. You can’t see their hair or face and they wear gloves because you can tell a lot about a person by their hands. I guess what I’m saying is I imagined you sneaking into my room at night when the lights are off. Totally silent but with this powerful presence, you know? I think if I were in the same room as you it’d feel like that moment right before the whistle goes off at a swim meet, because that’s just like, holy shit it’s about to happen and your muscles are all tense but ready but you’re waiting, coiled like a snake. So I’m coiled like a snake and you’re still a ninja and I’m not very good at this. I’ve done it over the phone a few times but that’s different. I don’t know where I��m going with this just sitting writing this alone in my room with Genesis playing in the background so I’m going to stop. Just trust me, it was hot. If you ever want to exchange numbers I’d be happy to tell you all about it sometime.  It feels weird to end like that, so I’ll also tell you that I tried reading that Hobbit book you suggested and you were right, it’s a lot easier than the Rings book that the kids I babysit tried to bully me into reading. Bibo is freaking out about all these dwarves in his house and I can relate, it sounds like when those kids all show up and try to rope me into driving them around town. At least they haven’t tried to make me steal anything or try to take on a damn dragon yet. Hopefully this book won’t give them any ideas.  — Steve PS If that was so dumb you changed your mind about still writing to me, please let me down easy. Seriously it would be no hard feelings. At least I still have a great ass and great hair, so I’ve got that going for me.

Tag list (open): @hotluncheddie @lawrencebshoggoth @sofadofax @tangerinesteve @steviewashere

@cryingglightningg @theresebelivett @sleepy-steve @rozzieroos @lunaraindrop

@just-my-latest-hyperfixation @wheneverfeasible @swimmingbirdrunningrock @yesdangerpls @matchingbatbites

@ihavekidneys @p0lybl4nkk @grtwdsmwhr @cheesedoctor @thetinymm

@practicallybegging @fuzzyduxk @greatwerewolfbeliever

[too-much-tma-stuff]

What the Workers See

I wanted to write Hyena!Danny at work as Hood's second in command.

Hyena!Danny Masterpost

tw: physical abuse

Jason had been delighted when Danny had presented him the ideas for his Hyena costume, helping him sort out the details and reminding him to add armour. Danny had argued he’d heal anyways so there wasn’t any point, and surely the armour would make it less sexy! Jason had just rolled his eyes and reminded Danny that he was trying to keep his powers secret, and if Nightwing could look like that in his heavily armoured suit Danny would be fine. 

He had sighed and relented, asking for help to get some of the materials he would need, which Jason happily provided. Danny worked on it in their free time, and Jason watched with fascination as Danny’s nimble fingers and equally quick mind fingered out the construction and problem-solved any roadblocks. It was impressive, and when it got to the try on stage most of them ended with the suit on their bedroom floor by the end, Jason just loved it. He particularly loved the choice of the collar.

One rational corner of his mind mentioned he should probably talk to Danny about the power imbalance and the fact that Jason was definitely possessive and abusive. But the other half of his mind fucking purred at the sight of Danny in the collar and catsuit and that part won out, Jason didn’t mention it. 

When it was finally time to unveil Hyena Jason called a meeting of all his goons. The ones that worked for him consistently, not the villain hoppers or the temp workers, they’d find out eventually. If he called everyone who worked for him sometimes he’d need a fucking football field, this would do. As he knew they would they all came, gathering and mingling in the warehouse in front of the makeshift stage.

Jason hopped up onto it about ten minutes after the time he’d told everyone to be there, once he was sure everyone who was coming was here, and Danny was here. “I know you’re all nervous about why the fuck I called you all here. First off let me assure you it’s nothing bad and not a fucking scheme. I have an important introduction and an announcement.” He said and made a hand signal.

Danny, the dramatic bastard that he was dropped down from the rafters and landed on overly light feed on the stage. He grinned behind his muzzle and made a little ‘tada!’ motion that made Hood role his eyes fondly. 

“This is Hyena. He will be working with me from now on. If I am not here you take orders from him in my place, obey him like you would me.” He explained and Hyena gave a dramatic little bow and a cackling laugh. “Is that understood?”

“Yes Boss,” People chorused, looking a little nervous and curious about the new person still. Hyena would have to do some work earning their respect and trust but Jason knew that Danny was more then up for the task. 

---------

As the fighting wound down Jason looked over the damage. It wasn't to bad, but it was so fucking unnecessary, there shouldn't have Been another gang trying to operate out of his territory, under his fucking nose! Did they really think he wouldn't notice? They should have just left when he confronted them, not actually initiated a fight! Now they had bodies to deal with, of those who didn't run, and a bunch of injured people.

A loud whistle made Jason jump slightly before he glanced over to Hyena, who was taking charge. He beckoned a couple field medics forward and cupped his hands around his muzzle to yell over the crowed. 

"If You'd rather go to a real hospital clear out! you need stitches line up here, if you need a bone set, line up there," Hyena directed before glancing around as people straggled into lines. Not many left to go to a actual hospital, in Gotham people tended to be suspicious of doctors, and field medics got a Lot of practice.

"You two!" Danny pointed at two goons who jumped. "You're unhurt, I saw you hide when the fighting got bad. You carry anyone who can't wait in line to the front for emergency care, then we'll talk about reassigning you."

Jason hadn't noticed that, but he was usually too caught up in the fight once blood started to spill so that wasn't Overly surprising. He was grateful Danny had. 

The two singled out looked sheepish and started to obey Danny's commands, checking on those on the ground and either dragging the dead to one side or carrying the living over to Hyena and the other medics. Danny grabbed one of the first aid kits the medics had brought in, ignoring their disproving look, it faded quickly as Hyena started efficiently, and correctly tending to those who needed stitches.

Jason wasn't surprised, Danny had stitched Jason up more then once and he had always done a damn good job. Jason loved seeing Danny liked this, in his element, taking charge and taking care of people. It reminded Jason how much he loved Danny, and it was hot as hell. 

Jason approached Danny, who glanced up at Jason from the wound he was cleaning on a goons arm who was looking away from the blood looking a little green. "Hey Boo, are you hurt?" Danny asked. Jason could hear in his voice that he was smiling even though his muzzle his it.

"No, I'm perfectly fine," Jason assured, he was bruised but he wasn't bleeding anywhere and he could move all of his extremities. 

"Good, I'm glad you're okay. Now make yourself useful and go grab some more clean water," Danny directed him, focusing back on his work.

Jason laughed, if anyone else talked to him like that he'd probably blow a gasket, but Danny was allowed. Jason looped an arm around Danny's waist and leaned his forehead against the top of the other man's head for just a moment, wishing their masks weren't in the way so he could kiss Danny. Jason let go again almost immediately before Danny could start fussing at him for being in the way. 

"You got it Cub," Jason assured fondly, striding off to make himself useful as well.

--------

Unfortunately not every fight went well. They couldn’t win everything, and sometimes the people Hood was after got away. It was another fight, fucking Black Mask had tried to move in on Hood’s territory! Unusual for the cowardly little weasel, he had decided to come himself and join in the fight.

It was absolutely the perfect opportunity to kill the creep once and for all! And maybe Hood was a little too fixated on that, because he was on a fucking one frack mind trying to get to Mask. Hyena was covering his back, and giving orders while he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on, compensating for his tunnel vision though he didn’t notice that. 

What he certainly did notice was when Hyena yanked him back. Mask had called a retreat and was on his way out. Hood had been about to give chance into what was definitely a trap, or at the very least a bad idea to abandon his people and run into a gang of… however many people Mask had left, Jason had not been counting.

It wasn’t a smart thing to do to follow Mask, but that didn’t mean that Jason was fucking okay with Danny manhandling him! He was furious, he was consumed by green blood lust and obsession, and he absolutely would not see reason. 

Hyena was trying to say something but Jason didn’t hear what it was past the blood rushing in his ears. He swung around and struck Hyena hard sending him stumbling back, Jason could see a little blood from where the metal of the muzzle had cut Danny’s cheek under the force of Jason’s blow. 

“Hood,” Hyena pleaded, holding out his hands towards Jason. “Listen, you can’t-”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” Jason snarled, advancing on Danny again, though at least he wasn’t still trying to follow Black Mask anymore. Danny didn’t shield his body when Jason punched him in the stomach clinging to his arm instead, forcing him to stay close and to pause. 

“We’re in public, people are watching,” Danny wheezed, big blue eyes fixed on Jason’s face. He recoiled when he saw tears gathering at the corners, Danny had never looked so… genuinely hurt when Jason had hit him before. But then again, he’s always done it in private before. 

Shit! They weren’t in private! 

Jason looked up and around them, at his people watching them with horror and shock. He saw judgment, anger and disgust there too and shame joined the uncomfortable roiling of emotion in his gut. “We’ll deal with your anger when we get home,” Danny said softly, letting go of Jason’s arm and resting his hands either side of Jason’s helmet instead, making him look back at Danny, focus on him. “I can handle this if you need to go calm down.”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Hood said, gently brushing his fingers over the bruise on Danny’s cheek. It wasn’t healing, he didn’t know why. Could Danny… stop himself from healing? Did he have that much control?

“Good,” Danny said, leaning in to Jason’s touch. “I’ll be fine. Let’s get this over with.” 

Jason nodded and the two of them separated and took control of the situation again, Danny starting to give orders regarding medical care as always, and Jason starting to direct repairs, and plans for retaliation against Mask.

Most of his goons seemed to snap out of their shock and start following orders on instinct, though Jason couldn’t help notice the worried looks that were being directed at Danny in particular. And it seemed Danny did too and was getting sick of it. 

With everyone either treated or being treated he hopped up on a random crate and glared over the room with narrowed eyes. “Of anyone has something to say then fucking say it!” He demanded in an angry hiss that still carried throughout the room. 

When nervous looks were shot Hood’s way he shrugged, spread his hands, and then gestured back at Hyena. Red Hood wasn’t going to interfere, so answer Hyena’s question. 

After a awkward moment one brave soul seemed to appoint themselves the spokesperson and shuffled forward, Danny’s eyes fixed on them, raising an eyebrow. 

“We’re just worried I guess? We all know the two of yous are together, and you know it’s not right for him to hit you right? We all saw the way that Harley was treated and I know you two-”

“We’re nothing like them,” Hyena cut in scowling. “And our relationship is none of your business. If I wanted to stop him I could, we do things the way that works for us. It’s not your place to question it, and I don’t want any of you fucking worrying about me. God forbid if I ever catch anyone pitying me I’ll show them exactly how big of a mistake they’re making. 

“And don’t you fucking judge Hood either. I told him he could do that. I started it. You should mind your own business,” He practically snarled. He hopped down from his makeshift soapbox and stalked passed all the goons without looking at them. “Let’s go home,” he said, grabbing Jason’s hand and leading him away. 

Jason was so grateful to Danny for defending him, and he had a feeling he owed his boyfriend some flowers and a very nice dinner for putting him in a position where he had to. 

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure Arc: A Song on a Silent Night

Before we begin I’d like to get personal for a moment. About a year ago I decided I was going to step away from this blog as a daily format and only post when I was really inspired to. It was a drastic step, but one I had to make because I was so burnt out and so deep in seasonal depression that I was on the edge of having a breakdown. Ironically, it was this specific adventure arc that did it for me, as I felt pressured to make something for the holiday season but literally couldn't get words on the page. Taking a break turned out to be the best thing for me. This past year has been great and I’ve actually had enough energy to not only do the projects that are important to me, but to also improve my writing.   My partner and I have written a narrative podcast and we’re shopping it around to producers at the moment, I couldn’t be more excited. (BTW if you happen to be in the business, give me a shout) In many ways it’s very cathartic to come back and finish this adventure. I’d even say it was easy, since I didn’t have the pressure I self imposed because I thought I needed it to write. I just wanted to say: Take care of yourselves friends. Nurture yourself and good art will follow. I am so thankful to have you all as my audience and I hope you know that no matter how bleak the season gets it’s an absolute joy to write for you.

It’s the coldest night of the year, and despite all the lights on in town no one is home. They have been snatched from their beds and their hearthsides by a sinister song that carries on the wind and has spirited them off to another world. Our heroes must follow, and in order to get their friends and family back they must lay siege to the sorrowful heart of winter itself.

Find out what led to these events, and their outcome, below the cut.

Into:   Some weeks before the disappearances begin, the party are sent into the cold to check on a missing mail shipment, only to end up clashing against a group of hobgoblins intent on ruining the holiday season. From there, acts that might be construed as harmless planks escalate into outright malice as it becomes clear the hobs are disappearing townsfolk, working off some sort of list given to them by an unknown villain. 

Adventure Hooks:

If you’re running this adventure arc as part of a longer campaign, consider previewing the hob’s lair long before the villains every arrive, an old ruin where fey and witches are said to revel during the new moon. Having a low level party venture out to the ruins for a test of bravery only to return months later as veteran heroes will show them just how far they’ve grown.

From deadly pranks to highway robbery, each act of malicious mischief committed by the goblins is accompanied by a list of names and seemingly innocuous offenses, evidently ripped off a far larger list in possession of their leader. The party are likely to collect more than a few scraps of these over the course of their journeys, and will be surprised when they begin to form together, laying out a series of disappearances that stretches back some years. 

The goblins’ leader Klatterbell was having such a nice time in the mortal realm before the party got involved. As a hob-knight in service to an archfey of sorrow and frost, the material plane was practically a balmy vacation destination compared to his patron’s foreboding frozen realm. This led to Klatterbell slacking off on his task of collecting mortals and develop aspirations of becoming a sort of yuletide bandit lord.  Aspirations the party can’t help but thwart when they riad Klatterbell’s fortress and set the captives free.  The fight can end either two ways, either the party is defeated, captured, and banished through the portal to the frozen realm of the bleakfather,  or the party is victorious, and as his last act Klatterbell rips a horn from his belt and plays a haunting and mounrful note that will be picked up by the wind and transformed into a haunting tune. 

Returning home from defeating the goblins and rescuing the captives, the party find the town deserted, the strange music unleashed by Klatterbell’s horn echoing in the roar of an approaching winter storm. With their rescued townsfolk in toe, the party will begin to explore the eerily empty town, discovering that the inhabitants seemingly got up from what they were doing and walked into the cold, proceeding enmass to the edge of the settlement where the snow erases their footprints.   It’s at that point that the frost giants attack, walking out of the enroaching storm like it was a curtain between worlds. They’re here to mop up any townsfolk where were not swept up by the enchanting song and whisked away to the feywild, and maybe do some looting while they’re at it. 

Regardless of how it shakes out, the party will have to assail the realm of the Bleakfather, battling their way through a boreal wind that will seek to rip all warmth and joy from their bodies. The only way of getting through this storm is to think back on the moments of joy and light they’ve experienced through their adventures: the festivals, the little kindnesses, the gifts, the pranks, the games, the songs, their friends: These things will lend them strength when the cold and the dark creep in to swallow them… battling their way up the mountain, to rescue the townsfolk and perhaps defeat the archefey himself. 

Future Adventures: 

It wasn’t only the party’s neighbors that were taken captive by the bleakfather, scores of innocents from across the realms were taken by the frostgiants as thralls, all living out their indenture over the feywild’s timeless years. Hospitality will hold for the winter, but come spring the heroes will need to set off to find these people a place to live. 

With their slaves stolen and their fortress breached, the ice giants will scatter, some returning in months or years later at the head of raiding parties as they too seek a new home.  While some may be hesitant to give up their supremacy and seek to subdue the locals wherever they go, others may wish to live only in peace. 

[gaybananabread]

♡~A Mother Always Knows⁠~⁠♡

~I’ve been reading a ton of sad books recently, so I needed something fluffy to get myself back together. So, here’s a completely self-indulgent fic I felt needed to exist. Fair warning, I haven’t seriously written in a few weeks, so this might suck. If you’re still here, I hope you Enjoy!~

Lee: Miles

Ler: Rio

Summary: Miles’s job as Spider-Man has been weighing heavier on him, and school and the Spider-Verse isn't helping. Rio notices almost instantly, and while she may not know what's causing her baby to feel so stuck, she knows exactly how to give him a little boost.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!

THIS IS NOT A SHIP! IT'S A MOTHER LOVING HER SON! DON'T BE WEIRD!

Groaning, Miles keysmashed on his laptop, trying and failing to generate ideas. He’d done everything: rewarding writing websites, the Comic Sans trick, drinking electrolyte-heavy beverages. Nothing was working.

His English teacher had assigned another essay, and he was completely stuck. Miles was an artist, not a writer; the creative essay assignments loved to kick his ass. That, coupled with the actual routine kicking of his ass from villains, left him all sorts of stressed out.

Deciding he needed a break from staring at the white screen, Miles got up and went to the kitchen. He had all weekend to complete the creative essay; unfortunately for him, that was prime villain attack time. He had barely gotten to sit down and work for a cumulative of two hours.

Rio had been noticing her son’s off behavior for almost the entire year he’d been Spider-Man. It was negligible at first: forgotten assignments, baggy eyes, messy appearances. Those were typical for teenagers going into High School.

So, when she saw him stumble into the kitchen while favoring his left side, her mama bear instincts kicked in.

Over time, however, it had progressed to very noticeable, very worrisome changes. While she hadn’t confronted Miles yet, Rio was definitely not oblivious.

After all, a mother always knows.

“Miles, siéntate ahora.” Her voice was loving, but undoubtedly stern; he’d be smart to listen, and listen he did. Miles sat down at the kitchen table, doing his best not to limp. It wasn’t enough.

Rio set a bowl of Cheez-Itz in front of him before sitting across from him. Miles could feel the heat grow beneath his collar; she was using her Mom Face. For a solid four minutes, she just sat there, watching him as he snacked. Just act natural, just be cool, just eat the damn crackers…

“You gonna tell me what’s going on, or are we just gonna sit here?” Yeesh, there was that tone. Miles knew there was zero way of getting out of there without some sort of conversation.

“Just…loaded up, Mami. I’ve got a lot on my plate with Visions, ya know?” He tried to pin it all on school, hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn’t technically a lie; he did have a lot of stress due to assignments, especially his English teacher.

Rio sighed a bit; that was true, sure, but not the entire story. It worried her to see her baby like that, even more so when he wouldn’t let her help. Still, she had to find a way to get him to de-stress, even if she didn’t know the full cause.

“Hmm. Couch,” she ordered, standing and heading to their living room. Sure, it was a short walk, but she could still be mysterious.

Miles knew better than to argue, setting the empty bowl in the sink before joining her. He was stiff, his mind spinning with all sorts of theories and questions. Was she gonna press the issue? Did she know, and was just trying to see how much he would lie to her? Was she gonna ground him indefinitely for not coming clean?

Instead of confirming her son’s fears, Rio just pulled him into a hug by the shoulders. Miles’s eyes widened, but he quickly relaxed, resting his head on his mom’s chest. Man, he was tired…

“I love you, Miles. I know something’s wrong, and I know it’s hard for you to tell me. Just…remember that I’m always here for you, okay?”

Miles felt his heart lift at her words. She…she really loved him. She knew he was lying, but she still loved him. He swallowed a small lump forming in his throat before nodding; he didn’t trust his voice.

Now that she’d gotten him nice and emotional, Rio decided he needed to cheer up a bit. Miles was so stressed and reserved most of the time. She missed the days where his bright, unapologetic smile would light up their home - especially his giggles. How Rio longed to see him happy like that again…

Oh. Lightbulb.

“Thank you, baby. You just seem so sad anymore. Me encantaría verte sonreír de nuevo.” Shifting her hand down Miles’s side, she tried to hide her growing smile. If she wanted to surprise her son, she had to be crafty.

Miles's brain lagged a bit as he translated her words. Smile again? What...why was his spider-sense going off?

"Lucky for you, I think I remember how to fix that," she crooned. Then, in a gentle and teasy way, she started wiggling her fingers into her son's side.

The teen's eyes shot wide open, a giggle slipping out. His mom was...tickling him? It wasn't something they'd done in a while, thanks to his constantly loaded schedule and isolating tendencies. It immediately made him giddy and lit his nerves on fire.

"M-Mahahahahahami! W-Whahahat?!" Miles was shocked, kicking his feet against the couch. How could just a few fingers tickle so much?

"What? It's kinda obvious, Miles. I'm tickling you!" Her other hand joins the fray, pulling her son against her. While Miles was a helluva lot stronger than her, he couldn't risk overdoing it. So, like a true man, he giggled his heart out.

"Dohohon't sahay thahahat! Mohom!" Right as Miles tried to pry her hand off, Rio started to scribble on his belly. His giggles shot up for a moment, turning to adorable belly laughter.

"HEHEHEhehey! C'mohohon!" Two hands was just being mean. Rio was loving all the giggles, and she could feel the tenseness in his shoulders melting away against her. There was no way she could stop at that point.

"Don't say what, papa? Tickle? How about this? Cosquillas cosquillas cosquillas~" Rio quickly whispered the words in his ear, loving the squeak she got in return. Her son was just the cutest, even when he was trying to be all macho.

The teasing fried his brain, leaving him a squirming mess of nonsensical babbling and giggles. The t-word in one language was bad enough, but two? And in his ear? His mom was killing him!

Deciding to be cruel, Rio suddenly jammed both her hands into his underarms. Miles was tired, so she had to hit the sweet spots quickly.

"NAHAHAHA! *snort* MOHOHOHOHOM!" Miles shrieked and thrashed, absolutely losing his shit when his mom targeted his worst spot. Her nails were torturous, far worse than Hobie's lanky fingers or Pav's loving squishes. It shot ticklish lightning zipping across his skin, sending him into near hysterics.

Rio cooed at her son's near manic reaction, giggling as he snorted. Miles was always trying to act tough, but he just couldn't get any cuter.

Miles was sort of exploding inside. He was already tired from patrols, and now he was laughing his ass off; the boy was ready to crash. His mind was a goopy mess of flustered joy and giggles, rendering him unable to speak. Still, he could feel his stress melting away, leaving him in a stupidly happy, ticklish bliss.

Still, it tickled like crazy, and he couldn't last forever.

"MOHOHOHO- *snort* OHOM! IHIHI CAHAHAN'T!" Small tears of mirth pricked at the corners of his eyes as he tapped out. Rio stopped as soon as he said that, moving to pet his hair and rub his shoulder soothingly.

"Te tengo, Miles. Take a breath." She held him close, trying to help him regain his composure.

Miles was still reeling, giggling off the phantom tickles. After that lovely attack, he was completely drained. Thanks to his mother's gentle pets, he was on the verge of passing out right then and there.

"Ohoho crap... Whyhy?" Miles failed to stifle a yawn and rubbed his sides as he asked. His mother chuckled at his attempt before answering. "Because you needed to relax, Miles. You're too stressed anymore."

He rolled his eyes, but she wasn't wrong; he was practically limp against her. "Ihi...yeah, I guess. Still though, that was overkill."

She chuckled and booped his nose, making him grunt. "Maybe a bit. Now, do yourself a favor and take a nap."

Miles begrudgingly closed his eyes, mumbling something about not being a baby anymore. Still, thanks to her gentle head pats and his exhaustion, he was nodding off in seconds.

"Te quiero, Miles. Sleep tight."

Rio couldn't help but smile at the sight. Her son was finally relaxed; she couldn't find a trace of the earlier stress on his face. After he relaxed, she'd work on the essay with him. It might not get far, but they'd struggle together. That was what mattered, especially to her. She kissed the top of his head with a small, happy sigh.

[yugiohz]

i do agree with you, and i’m still delusionally hoping shigaraki still has something left to help that conclusion even though it’s not looking likely, but do you not think these endings are more “realistic”? like obviously it’s a superhero world and we are already stretching reality in every way possible but do you think it would’ve been too “and they all lived happily ever after and everything was okay yayy” if all the villains just turned out good? (in the most basic way to say that lmfao). i’m not saying that i fully think this because i do agree with you, that this ending is giving bad writing. i think hori had the guts to set up this beautifully complex world with flaws and wrongs and made some amazing villains and anti-heros with valid mindsets and then didn’t have the guts or maybe the artistic ability to fix it all.

so yeah my only “reprieving” thought i guess is the idea of like… i guess that’s real life? like the wronged people are wronged to the end, and bad people are forgiven, and life is unfair. but idk i just think hori is a coward too lol. i will say i’m at least surprised that he had natsu actually cut contact, maybe the best handled part of it all imo (or maybe it just hits home for me lol)

sorry for dumping all this i guess i just have a lot of thoughts too you don’t have to post this dhdhdhd

re: realism: yes i think everyone suffering from irreversible consequences is realistic and that's sth i expected. As i said in my previous ask, I never expected or wanted dabi to magically survive and heal from this by any means, but I think there are better ways to handle a character like him because the narrative frame of bnha allows for that.

re: happily ever after: I don't think that giving one of the biggest victims in a story some sort of good ending is necessarily a corny, wish-fulfillment type of bad writing, especially when the protagonist postulates that the other big villain is worth saving. I also find it fascinating that bakugo can survive an open-heart surgery on the battlefield & that deku's arms get disintegrated and grow back while that level of suspension of disbelief doesn't seem to apply to the villains. bnha has always been kind of corny, so I don't think it would have been weird for shoto to be able to somewhat save his brother when that has been his goal within that dynamic all along. So far, neither deku nor shoto could save their foil, so what's up with that??

happily ever after: while it has always been obvious that bnha is not a radical, anti-establishment story, to me, deku's conflict with grand torino & the vestige has allways been representative the "everyone deserves to be saved, everyone deserved to have their hero who's gonna save them". why set up characters as foils within the context of a hero story with saving as one of its core themes when 2 of these 3 villains won't get saved in the end? why do deku and shoto fail at such a point in the story? "saving" is a very tangible thing in the case of bnha, I think ep. 1 basically sums up the overall narrative paradigm of the good guy indiscriminately saving someone out of a bad situation, so to me, it just feels like there is a glaring narrative incongruence in this final arc & epilogue

re: i guess that's just real life: i think that premise is a bit misplaced here because bnha is not a story that is meant to reflect our reality, like ofc it's all a big allegory that tackles a lot of real issues, but it also is a genre-typical hero comics that is borderline fantastical, so i wouldn't say "that's real life" is a valid premise, like the established diegesis & themes of bnha would have allowed for sb like shigaraki or dabi to be granted a kinder conclusions

i'm not forcing anyone to agree with me and i'm not saying that i dislike this closure because i don't want anyone to die, i just think horikoshi's choices for the villains of his story are rooted in pragmatic reasons; shigaraki & dabi die so he won't have to think too much about how to handle the abjects of society, so he won't have to consolidate that with his decision to cling to the establishment

like i don't think it's too much to expect a victim of abuse to survive in a story that's about a boy who constantly risks his life to save random people, esp victims of grooming & abuse like i don't think it would be corny for dabi to end up in a better state, esp when we've seen deku grow his arms back and bakugo dying and coming back to live and

[lykaios2]

Heya hope you're having a good day/night ^^ if you're requests are still open I had a rottmnt Leo x reader fanfic idea. (No pressure to accept this request if you don't want to)

Basically the reader is a spider person (fem or gender neutral it's up to you ^^) and Leo has a crush on them. I like the idea that maybe they cross paths when fighting a villian. Sorry if that's too unspecific.

ugh. holy moly

for some reason I really struggled with this one. there are many things I could say about this but I'm just going to leave it here for you. hope it doesn't suck

(the title is supposed to be joke about how spider people get their superpowers hahahaha I'm so funny)

Love at First Bite

rise leo x reader

tw: mid writing

word count: 2816

Leo was racing to the scene of the crime. He had only gotten the call a minute ago, and he was thankfully ready, already on patrol. As he turned the corner, he saw the culprit. Him again. Leo didn’t want to have to deal with this guy again…but maybe he didn’t have to? It appeared that someone had arrived before him…but who? He couldn’t recognize them, he didn’t think it was anyone he knew. But if they were here, they must be some sort of superhero, and he knew every superhero there was in New York. And your fighting style…so eloquent, like nothing he’d ever seen before. He had to know who you were.

He jumped to your side to help you take down the villain. As the police arrived on the scene to apprehend the villain, Leo walked over to where you were.

“That’s quite the skill set you’ve got on you, stranger. I’m Leonardo, nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to shake.

“Oh, thank you,” you replied, a bit out of breath. “I could say the same to you. I’m y/n.”

“Well, y/n, you’re looking at the greatest ninja on this side of New York. And the other side too. Now, see, I know every superhero there is in New York, but I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Oh, you could say I’m new here. I moved here about a month ago, but this is one of my first missions here.”

“I see. Well, y/n, welcome to New York. I’ve lived here my entire life, so I know this place like the back of my hand.”

“Thank you, and yeah, I could imagine you do.”

“You know, that’s quite the costume you’ve got there. It’s like…a spider?”

“Yeah, that’s supposed to be the theme.”

“Okay, interesting. Any particular reason?”

“Well, not much, it’s just kind of the theme of my organization.”

“Ah, okay. Cool beans.”

“For sure. Well, I’ll be off now, I have to head back. See you around, Leonardo.”

“See you around, y/n. Just remember me if you ever need help!” He said, waving to you from afar. He heard you laugh as you walked away.

A new hero, huh? He was certainly going to have to get to know you now. If he didn’t know you, how could he even consider himself the greatest ninja ever? Like he said, he knew every superhero in New York. Besides, there was just something about you…but he couldn’t quite place it. But, he had realized he didn’t know when he would actually see you again. He would just have to hope he could meet you…

“Donnie! I need your help!” Leo called to Donnie as he entered the lair. “I’m being for real this time.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. What is it you need?”

“This may sound like a strange request, but I need you to do a bit of…non-malicious stalking for me.”

“Oh, my dearest brother, you came to the right person. You have no idea how excited I am to do this for you. And you ask me this like you don’t know I place trackers on you all.”

“I always forget about those. Anyway, you can do this for me? Great.”

“Now, brother, who, perhaps, might we be stalking?”

Leo explained his situation, how he had met you, how you had just moved to New York.

“And I need to get to know them…I know everyone, all the superheroes in New York. It’s part of my job as the greatest ninja in New York.”

“Well, you are indeed the face man. I’ll see what I can do. Give me say, an hour?”

“Okay, I’ll be back here then.”

Leo acted calm while talking to Donnie, but in reality, he was a little nervous. He hadn’t quite realized, but he was becoming very focused on this. A little too focused, maybe. He sat in his room, waiting, staring at the clock. 10 minutes, then 20, then 30. He was so focused on the clock, he hadn’t even noticed that Donnie was in his doorway.

“Leo…?”

“Yeah? Wait- Donnie? What are you doing?”

“I could ask you the same question. You’re staring at the clock, and it looks rather unsettling.”

“Well, I was just, you know, waiting for you to finish up. Anyways, what are you doing here? Did you finish?”

“Well, I had to use the restroom, so I got up to do so…have you been sitting here looking at the clock the whole time?”

“Uhh…yeah, I guess.”

“Right, because that’s a normal thing to do. Is something the matter?”

“I think I’m just…a little too fixated on this, I think. I probably just need to take my mind off of this.”

“Why don’t you do that, hm? I’m going to try and finish this up.”

Leo left his room to find Mikey or Raph. It didn’t matter to him, he just needed to get his mind off of things.

Donnie came to find Leo a short time later. He informed Leo he had found the information he wanted.

“So, they moved here from Arizona, it seems. They have two siblings, a brother and a sister.”

“Okay, okay. What else?”

“Well, as for their interests, those include video games, stargazing, reading, among other things.”

“Hmm, okay…thank you. Although one more thing, did you happen to notice any spots they liked to hang out?”

“Uh…they posted a lot of pictures of them at the park. You could try there.”

Leo nodded and thanked Donnie before heading off to the park.

“Wait, Leo, do you even know exactly who you’re- Oh, he’s gone. Well, I don’t even know what his plan is at this point.”

Leo rushed off to the park to find you. He made an effort to look everywhere he could think, all the popular spots and the hidden ones, too. It was a fairly big park, so he had plenty of spots to look. Nothing here, nothing there. All the while, you had indeed been at the park. Every so often, you thought you saw a quick flash of blue out of the corner of your eye.

“Man…I must be seeing things.”

Leo kept looking, but he couldn't find you. After all, he didn’t know what you looked like under the mask. He would just have to hope he ran into you. But he wouldn’t have to wait long. Before he could search every corner of the park, a huge crash came from a couple blocks away, followed by screaming. Leo stopped immediately.

“Woah, we got a problem.”

Leo pulled out his communicator and called his brothers to the scene. At the same time, unknown to him, you pulled down your mask, hearing the commotion and getting ready for action.

All of you rushed over as fast as you could. As Leo met up with brothers, he was unaware that you were shortly behind you. Leo and his brothers started to fight, and to his surprise you joined them.

“Oh, it’s Leonardo! And…some other heroes? I guess I’ll find out in a second.”

Mikey and Raph noticed you first.

“Who is that? Never seen them before.”

“Me neither, but it looks like they’re on our side. So fight now, talk later.”

Leo heard them and looked around, finally finding you.

“Guys, it’s them!”

“Who is “them”?”

“I’ll explain in a second, I’m a little busy here.”

Leonardo, along with you and his brothers, eventually stopped the ruckus, and was able to finally talk to you again.

“Hi y/n! Fancy meeting you here again.” Leo was breathing quickly, trying to catch his breath after the fight.

“Yeah…who are they?” You said, looking over at his brothers.

“Those are my brothers. Let me introduce you. This is Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello.”

“Hi, I’m y/n, as you may have already guessed.” Mikey was the first to speak up.

“Hello! So, how do you know Leo?”

“Well, we met not too long ago. Only once though, I had to leave before we could really get to know each other too much. All I know about him is that he’s a fellow superhero, and the greatest ninja in New York.”

“You know it!”

Leo talked for a while longer with you, getting to know you. Thanks to all the info Donnie gathered, Leo was able to hit it off with you. His brother stood behind him while he talked, occasionally chiming into the conversation. But in the meantime, Mikey and Raph started their own conversation.

“You know…I think Leo might have a little thing for y/n…if you know what I mean.”

“Omigosh, you’re so right!”

“Hey, chill. Don’t want ‘em hearing us.”

“Right, right, sorry. But that’s so adorable. I think they would make a good couple. But also it’s a little early to say, they only just met. But Leo totally has a thing for them.”

Leo kept talking with you, as his brothers stood behind him.Donnie left after some time, realizing he was no longer needed in this conversation. Mikey and Raph followed suit shortly after, and it was just Leo and you.

“Well, now that it’s just us…wanna go have some fun?”

“Ew, gross, no.”

“Chill, not like that. You have such a dirty mind.” he said while smirking.

“You’re stupid, you know that?”

“I get that a lot. Anyway, do you actually want to go do something?”

“Maybe. If I can get over your sense of humor.”

“Fine, I’m sorry. Really. Does that help?”

“I guess. But, there was this one place I wanted to check out…”

“Oh? Would you mind if I joined you on this little excursion?”

“Promise me no more of those jokes, and I’ll allow it.”

“Okay, okay. But I can’t promise I’ll stop all of my jokes.”

“Well, if you are joining me, I hope you’re hungry.”

Leo was led to a new restaurant, which he had never seen before. On the way there, he was becoming a little suspicious, as the area he was being led through was an area known for high amounts of crime. But when he got there, he was in awe. He never knew about this, so how did you? Every moment he spent with you, he was becoming more amazed. He…he could almost say he loved you. But he just met you, it wasn’t anything serious. So it couldn’t be love…right?

“Come on, Leonardo. Let’s go in.”

Right. Focus on what’s happening right now.

“O-okay, coming.”

Leo followed you into the restaurant. As he looked around, he took in everything. It was definitely a nicer restaurant. The atmosphere was very calm, but also busy.

“Woah…nice place. You’ve never been here?”

“Nope, first time.”

“Hello, have you two been helped yet?”

“No, we just arrived.”

“Ah, okay. If it’s just the two of you, we have a table open right this way. Follow me.”

You and Leo followed the waiter to a table in the back. As you sat down, he handed you some menus to choose from.

“Take your time. I’ll have someone sent out in a minute to check up.”

“Thank you. Good thing I have my wallet on me, I would hate to have to make you pay. Let’s see what we have to eat…”

“Yeah, this place is a little pricey. But I’ve heard it’s really good, and worth the price.”

“It better be…ooh, they have pizza? You already know I’m ordering that.”

“Pizza? I mean, sure.”

“Pizza’s my all time favorite. If it’s on the menu, I’m gonna order it.”

“Be my guest. I’m just gonna get the chicken sandwich.”

Another waiter walked up to the table.

“Hi, I’ll be your waiter for tonight. Are we ready to order?”

You and Leo ordered food, and after a bit more waiting, the food came and you began to eat.

“Mmm…this is so good. I might have to bring my brothers here sometime, they would love this place.”

“They are also big pizza fans, I assume?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely.”

“Your brothers seemed pretty nice.”

“Eh, they can be a little annoying at times…but we’ve been through a lot together. I love them very dearly.”

“Yeah…must be nice. I didn’t get along too well with my siblings, and I had to move away from my family when I took up this position.”

“Oh…that must have been hard.”

“It was…but I got over it. I’d rather not think about it.”

“Hmm…yeah. Well, I’m done with my food. You wanna head out?”

“Sure. I’ve been done with my food for a while now, anyway.”

You and Leo left the restaurant, thanking the staff on the way out. Leo decided to lead you around New York, showing you all of his favorite spots. All the shortcuts he knew, his favorite hangout spots, good places to eat.

“Wow, you sure know about everything.”

“When you’ve lived here your entire life, it becomes second nature.”

Leo showed you around a few more spots before stopping on top of a building near the edge of the city. It was nearly night time, and the city lights were starting to turn on.

“Wow, the city looks so beautiful at night.” Leo smiled.

“Just one of the cool things about living here. Sometimes I come here alone, when I need to relax.”

“I can see why. It’s very relaxing up here.”

Leo watched as you sat and looked over the city at the lights. You looked so cute, in awe like that. Maybe he did love you. Maybe it was love at first sight, but he doubted it was the same way for you. Sure, he was amazing in every way possible. But things like this took time.

“Leo? Leo!”

“Hm? What?”

“You spaced out for a second, dude. Look at the sunset. And the stars are starting to come out, too.”

The sunset looked incredible, and with stars sprinkled about the night sky, it was even better.

“Woah…so beautiful.”

You both quietly watched as the sun went down over the horizon. The stars started to come out, and soon it was nighttime. Leo looked over at you again as you yawned and laid down on the roof.

“Tired?”

“Heh, a little. I could use a little extra sleep anyway.”

“Want me to take you home?”

“No, I want to stay here…and look at the stars.”

“Well, the roof can’t be comfortable for sleeping on.”

“You’re right. I think this would work better.”

Leo was taken aback as you came over and laid your head on his lap. He blushed slightly, but luckily for him, it was too dark to see.

“Much better.”

“Y-you comfortable there?”

“Yes, very much so.”

Leo sat as still as he could to make sure you were comfortable. He didn’t want to ruin this moment. It was perfect for him. He looked up at the stars with you. They were truly a sight to see.

“What are you doing, stupid?”

Leo hadn’t noticed, but his hand had started to drift towards your head. He was too caught up in making sure everything was perfect that he didn’t realize.

“Oh sorry, I was just…um…”

“Just…um…what?”

“Well…sometimes my brothers lay on my lap, and…they like it when I rub their heads…so I guess it was just like instinct, or something…”

“Well, keep doing it. It felt nice.”

Leo chuckled as he kept rubbing your head.

“Heh, okay.”

Leo laid back a little bit while you both continued to look up at the stars. He was so comfortable with you…he could almost just let it all out right now. He was in love with you and there was no denying it.

“Hey y/n…”

“Hm? What’s up, Leonardo?”

“Can I tell you something?”

“As long as it’s not another stupid joke.”

“Haha, no, it’s not. It’s something else…”

“Then what is it?”

“Well…um…I’ve had a great time with you tonight. And I know we’re not very close…but I think I like you.”

“I mean, cool. Good to know you don’t hate me.”

“I don’t think you understand.”

“What don’t I understand? You just said you- oh.”

Leo looked away as you realized what he meant. He was blushing again, but you couldn’t see it.

“Well…I think that’s okay.”

“Okay? What do you mean, okay?”

“Well…you’re pretty cool. Despite your stupid jokes, you’re actually pretty funny. And I’ve seen you fight before, sometimes I just sit back and watch you guys if I get there late. You’re a pretty nice guy. I like you too.”

Leo smiled as you told him how you felt. It was a relief to hear. After a second of silence, he spoke again.

“Well, now what?”

“Hmm…I think I’d like to relax and watch the stars with my boyfriend. That would be nice.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Ugh, you’re so stupid. You, silly.”

Leo laughed awkwardly. Right, him.

[justanotherwriter140]

Kung Fu Panda 4 - Edited

A really, really long discussion post.

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve expressed an explicit opinion on anything, hasn’t it? Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever done a hot-take post. I guess now is as good a time as any to write my first one, given our current situation...

So, the elephant (panda?) in the room: CinemaCon.

While we’ve hardly even had twenty-four hours to process this new information, I know that there are already a lot of strong opinions out there, and many of which are displeased. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone who’s necessarily happy about the news we received yesterday, and while everyone has differing reasons as to why they’re not thrilled, I think there are a lot of common factors among the skeptics. IMO, all of the concerns I’ve heard since the announcements have been understandable. Here’s a list of the most significant concerns:

Chen/Fox Warrior

A replacement for the Dragon Warrior

A villain whose “power” is (potentially) resurrecting past villains from the dead

The Furious Five and their relevancy

Director Mike Mitchell

Many fans are finding themselves confused with this alleged plot, mainly because (to put things bluntly) it doesn’t make any sense. I have a plethora of questions in regards to the second bullet alone, imagine how many I have in total!

You won’t have to imagine, actually, because I’m doing you all the favor of writing down my every thought. Strap in, folks!

First of all, who is Chen (?) and why is she relevant? While these are things that will, without question, need to be answered in the upcoming film, I’m still feeling apprehensive. Why would Po choose her as the next Dragon Warrior, a title that for three consecutive movies has been regarded as the highest possible title that any living being in this universe can achieve? What makes Chen the next Dragon Warrior, what makes her eligible? The Dragon Warrior is essentially OP at their full potential, and if we’re assuming that this title can in fact be passed on, why would Po give this power and influence to someone he meets in the same movie in which he makes the life-altering decision to seek out an heir? Why wouldn’t he at least choose someone he knows closely, rather than someone he initially doesn’t get along with (as stated in the plot description) and likely doesn’t trust? In my mind, the movie could only justify that choice with some sort of “message from the universe” making itself known to Po and telling him to choose Chen as his successor, but if that’s the road the writers end up going down, then I’d have to reiterate: why?

Backtracking for a second. We have never had any reason to believe that “another” Dragon Warrior existing is even a possibility, forget the concept of them co-existing with the current and original Dragon Warrior. Didn’t the initial significance and nuance of the title come from the fact that there is only one person who can be the Dragon Warrior, because the concept of the “Dragon Warrior” isn’t so much a title as it is Po himself? The universe (Oogway) must choose the Dragon Warrior because they are a singular being of legend. It is one person, and that person is Po. Wasn’t the point of the first film that the title ultimately doesn’t really matter because there is no “secret ingredient,” so to speak? The title doesn’t actually give Po anything. “It’s just you,” Po says, and that was the resolution.

Let’s set all of that aside for a moment, because I have a follow-up question: why in the world would Po be finding a replacement so soon? Yes, the alleged plot states that he’s been given a promotion and therefore wants someone else to fill in for him as the Dragon Warrior, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Why would Po’s new status (as something along the lines of the “Spiritual Leader/Master” of the Valley of Peace) hold him back from being the Dragon Warrior? If there’s something else behind him wanting to leave the role behind, I’m listening, but right now it feels very unbelievable. Why is he doing this so early in his life? He’s been the Dragon Warrior for four or five years at most, why is he throwing in the towel so soon? He’s young and has so much ahead of him, especially after all that he’s done. He’s built prestige and respect over the years and he’s so proud of his role as the Dragon Warrior. I’m confused!

One could make the argument that Po wants to settle down, which I’ve seen a few times on different social sites as a suggestion. However, he has shown no interest in such things in the past. He’s always excited to travel and see new things, so to see such a sudden change in attitude and priorities would likely have to be the result of a drastic occurrence. Po is not giving up his title as the Dragon Warrior, at least not with the way things are now. I’m not necessarily adverse to bold decisions being made in sequels, but this is probably too sharp of a turn for me to be okay with it. 

Is it even possible for Po to no longer hold the title? If we reference what I stated earlier, about the title being not so much a title but rather just Po himself, could we even consider that Po can just spontaneously decide to not be the Dragon Warrior anymore? He was chosen by the universe; can he UNO reverse card the universe? 

So many paragraphs, and I haven’t even gotten around to discussing the villain or the Furious Five. Let’s see how long I can write before my passion-induced rant starts to fizzle out!

In regards to the villain, I’m conflicted. 

On the bright side, I’ve been rooting for a female villain for as long as I’ve been in the fanbase. A female villain could add something really new and fresh to the series, giving fans a new perspective and experience altogether. The only canonical female villains in the KFP universe as of right now are the Wu Sisters, who are some of my personal favorite villains to ever come out of the franchise.

Additionally, rumors suggest that the chameleon can shape-shift. The idea of a shapeshifting villain (who potentially possesses dark magic, or something similar) is admittedly really cool. In an unreleased (unfinished) discussion post, I go into detail regarding the advantages of a manipulative villain. If the chameleon is as manipulative as her shape-shifting powers suggest, she could actually be pretty interesting to watch. Of course, being me, I’d prefer emotional manipulation over anything else, but that’s still a possibility!

In the plot description, it’s stated that the chameleon has the ability to “summon” villains from Po’s past. While it’s been assumed that this is in reference to full on resurrection, there’s still some wiggle room for speculative variation. There are disagreements and conflicting information on whether or not the chameleon can actually revive Po’s former adversaries, as some claim that she has the ability to resurrect the dead (perhaps via dark magic), while others state that she simply takes on their form to mess with Po.

Let’s assume that the chameleon is legitimately able to bring back villains that Po has done away with in previous movies. Isn’t that an incredibly easy way to make it seem like Po is going to experience difficulty in defeating this movie’s opposing force? While I’ll admit that coming up with someone/something that will make Po falter and struggle was never going to be an easy task, especially at this stage, I can’t help but feel as though there’s a bit lacking in the creative department. It’s also a bit insulting, to be honest, because if this new villain has to rely on the reputations and powers of previous villains to put up a fight, then is this a villain worth paying any real mind to? Does she pose any kind of true threat?

Personally, I hope that the whole resurrection theory is false. I don’t think it would be in the best interest of anyone if the past villains were to come back in any way that’s not a flashback (even then, I’m not sure I’d see the point). In all honesty, I thought that the whole point of the villains was that they died and stayed dead. They were defeated by Po once and for all as a testament to the idea of establishing Po's character growth and journey as a person through the bad things he’s able to overcome. It’d be highly contradictory to the messages of the other films if these villains were to suddenly come back.

For a while, there were theories floating around that suggested that Kung Fu Panda 4′s villain would have some significance to Tigress. The thought process behind this follows a “villain formula” of sorts; each movie villain so far has been connected to a main character through that respective character’s past. Tai Lung was Shifu’s failed prodigy; a fallen angel archetype. Shen killed Po’s mother and led a genocide on his people in a feeble and desperate attempt to save himself from his own fate. Kai was Oogway’s former fellow warlord and brother-in-arms, seeking revenge for the betrayal he felt had been enacted upon him.

I am a full-fledged supporter of the next villain having a connection to Tigress. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t seem likely given the information we currently have. This chameleon, from what we know at this point in time, has absolutely no connection to Po or anyone in the main cast. I’d even go as far as to say that there’s more of a reason to believe the chameleon will have a connection to Chen; mainly because I think that if Chen needs to be integrated into the main cast, that’s the way the writers are going to go. The problem with this, however, is that it doesn’t make that much sense given how significant of a character Tigress has become in the franchise.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt, though, because in truth, we really don’t know that much about our new villain. This chameleon could very well have a connection to Tigress! We won’t know until the time is right, I suppose.

I’ll use Tigress as a segue to talk about the Furious Five, because unlike in the third film and god-forsaken TV shows, they’re actually relevant here! Personally, I think that the Furious Five still have a bit to offer as characters, for found family feels and to act as nostalgic plot devices if for nothing else. I love the five, and while I can understand if the upcoming film's story doesn't call for their involvement as frequently as in KFP 1 and 2, I would still very much appreciate their presence throughout the movie instead of being totally cast aside like in the third movie.

That said, though, I have a different opinion regarding Tigress. She has always stood out as the most significant member of the Furious Five (to both the audience and Po) and has been very impactful to Po and his journey; she was especially important in Kung Fu Panda 2, during which she was shown coming out of her shell and showing something akin to affection towards Po. Their interactions were later described by Guillermo del Toro (who I believe worked on the movie as a creative consultant) as possessing “the hint of a romance.” Whether or not the fourth movie will decide to capitalize on this idea is fully up in the air. It’s been stated by former directors that the theme of romance in KFP would only ever be applied in a comical fashion, but those directors may no longer be involved at all. I’m a Po and Tigress enjoyer, but I’d much rather KFP 4 be a good, solid movie than it being weak and trying to hold itself up with a shallow romantic subplot with Po and Tigress. I would also hate (with the fury of a thousand suns) to see Tigress’s character reduced to that of a love interest; she’s strong, capable, independent, and totally awesome. If she has a larger role in the fourth movie, I’d watch her being a cold-hearted badass a thousand times over before I sit through two hours of her being overtly out-of-character for the sake of a “classic romance” with Po. A relationship between them could work, and I’ll be supportive of it if it’s done well, but it doesn’t and shouldn’t have to happen for the movie to be emotional and impactful and mean something.

I have an unfortunate yet strong suspicion that the Furious Five will be tossed to the curb in this movie, and I really hope I’m wrong, because they’re fun characters that help encapsulate the original feel of the franchise. They’re a key part of what gave Po his beginnings in the world of martial arts, and they’re also the people he desperately wanted to be like throughout his childhood (and young adult years). They’re his best friends, and while I want Po to have adventures of his own, I don’t want his origins to be forgotten in favor of new characters. I want the nostalgia, alright? Is that wrong? No, and if it were, I wouldn’t want to be right. Speaking of long-time characters, what about Shifu? I can’t help but wonder what he’ll be up to during this whole debacle. Meditating, perhaps? I hope nobody in the writers’ room decides it’s Shifu’s time to go, which has been a growing concern of mine since learning of Po’s ambiguous “promotion.”

The movie’s director, Mike Mitchell, has been involved with KFP before, but not to the extent of previous directors. While I know little information about him, I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and I’ll maintain that sentiment until the movie releases. A potential (confirmed?) co-director is Stephanie Stine, the director of Raya and the Last Dragon.

Final thoughts, summarized:

The plot is kinda off and contradicts both Po’s character arc and the other movies

A female chameleon is the villain, which is maybe the only aspect of the movie I can get behind

The Furious Five and Shifu may be completely ignored (again)

The whole “passing of the torch” storyline does not work given Po’s situation

Chen’s character doesn’t make sense

I’m not familiar with the director(s) 

If you took the time to read this post, kudos to you. I hope I was able to help you arrange your thoughts regarding this news, because I’m still a bit scatter-brained myself (which is a feeling that I think we can all relate to at the moment). I’ll likely add more to this post over time, whether it be via re-blogs or simple edits. I think of something new to add to this post every few minutes, which I’ve been doing for a few hours now...

Let’s end on a positive note, because I know I was a bit of a downer here:

The title looks pretty cool, I’m not gonna lie. I like the scale texture!

[amarylliasky]

Number 9!

Huiss Academy: Where History is Repeated

Welcome to Huiss Academy, student! I’m the Vice Headmaster and I’ll be taking you on a tour of our school grounds! On the way, you’ll meet all sorts of students and faculty, so make sure to be taking notes of all the major happenings and familiarize yourself with the environment.

As we walk around the courtyard, you’ll notice quite a few students keeping a distance from that fountain in the middle. Would you like to know why? …..No, they’re not afriad of getting wet, if it were that useless of a reason then all the students would throw coins into it like a normal fountain. The real reason they stay clear of the fountain in the courtyard is because there is said to be a legend about the water in this fountain. Would you like to hear it?….

The legend goes “You have tried to trap my child just as you had done in the ancient times. Very well, I shall take aim at he who tries to tame the water that eats the sky. Do not think yourselves great because you can shape the water in whatever way you choose, for the water cannot be contained. The moment of freedom is at hand. For he who touches the sea that strikes the sky, your life is one that is filled with pain and hardships.” …..Kind of eerie isn’t it? And that’s not all.. For those who get closer to the fountain…. ….! As you can see, the water here is grey, not clear. It definitely does the job of scaring students away, am I right? Let’s move on. We’ve go a lot of ground to cover before the school day ends!

Our next stop is the Library! Make sure to keep your voice down as some students are studying. ……What? You didn’t expect there to be so many? Well, believe it or not, there are quite a few students who come to the library each day! Many come here to study history and the ancient times!…The Ancient Times? Oh, that’s a story for another day! Let us carry on. Anyway, there are a great deal of students who come to study history, especially those attending Professor Eruhaben’s class. The Roan History Professor expects all of his students to be well versed in our continent’s past. Other interesting topics to read would be the many books detailing Chemistry and ancient Alchemy, along with the philosophy of matter and mana. I could go on about our vast collection here in the Huiss Academy library, but you probably have better things to is to do than hang around with these dusty old books!

As we continue along the hallway, do make sure to avoid the students with blond hair. Hmm? Which ones? Why all of them of course! Especially those broom- Oh! My apologies, student! I nearly said something disrespectful! Let’s be on our way now! (…)

A little while later……

And that’s all the time we’ve been allotted today! …..It was my pleasure, student! Here at Roan’s finest academy, we strive to make all of our students feel welcomed and included! So if you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to reach out! Headmaster Sherrit and myself would be glad to help you adjust in any way we can!

I’ve taken the liberty of calling a cab for you. … Oh no, it was my pleasure. Have a safe trip home, student! I’m sure we will see each other at orientation!

////////

So while writing this, I kinda imagined a sorta otome game style narrative. That’s why there aren’t really any quotations and stuff to differentiate between narration and dialogue. The dots are supposed to be the student(you, or whoever I’ll decide on later). While I don’t intend to add any actual romance in it if I do continue this story, the whole otome game genre is what this was inspired by the most.

Anyway, this is kind of a silly little drabble set in a modern au. I won’t go into specifics, but the idea is that pretty much every major character (including villains) go to this academy or are part of the faculty.

Until tomorrow, everyone!

[fromtheboundlesssea]

Never thought a show could get worse with their writing decisions till now, because literally what are they doing, so many characters are different from who they were in the first season, their motives are all over the place, I honestly don’t care what aemond did to aegon if it wasn’t for the fact it was in the midst of the war, they now literally only have one dragon on their side to fight, they should have made this a mistake like in the book instead of trying to change and go on a whole diff arc that doesn’t make any sense.

I feel like this might be my last season. It’s just getting so bad. I feel like all the things certain people wanted in game of thrones (Starkbowl, as in Dark!Sansa and Arya actually following through on her threats to Sansa, savior Targ vs villainous redhead) plays out in this show. And every episode just gets worse and worse.

The thing about GoT is that while the last couple/few seasons of the show were not great, D&D had at least built a sort of rapport with the audience so we trusted them to a degree. When they had books to adapt they did a decent job and it’s only when they had to make things up that they started messing up, but even then we initially didn’t think it was *that* bad because we got episodes like Battle of the Bastards and, until they cut their seasons shorter, they did at least attempt to give opposing sides even amounts of intrigue that let you cheer for them even if you did not really want that side to win. LOVED the Lannisters despite I knew they would be doomed.

We had YEARS with the cast. We watched the younger cast grow up and saw the older cast age.

We don’t have any of that with the GoT cast despite the cast being excellent here. We glossed over so much time in season 1 and we’re told off handedly about what happened without any indication of how this affected the characters. I honestly don’t think the writers contemplated what the characters were actively doing between timeskips. They either change drastically (Rhaenyra going from not wanting any marriage or children to suddenly popping out three bastards, or Aemond being proficient at swords) or remain so stagnant that nothing has apparently changed in the near decade we last saw the characters.

The writing, while bad last season, was at least somewhat entertaining with the cast really being able to shine through in quite a few of the scenes. This season is more sparse with its quality scenes that are then thrown away in the very next episode so they don’t really matter anymore. Season 1 characterization goes out the window. Where we left off characters is not where we pick them up. We miss very important scenes that would help us establish things.

Again, this might be my last season and it’s making me even less hopeful for the Dunk & Egg show. They really should have stayed away from characters that we have more set understandings of.

We should have gotten the Starks and the Long Night show as we know they would win, but we would know nothing about these characters or their motivations. Or that show that had Naomi Watts (I think) as a Lannister. Those could have been interesting shows where Condal could have made up crap to his heart’s delight.

It gets so annoying when shows that are based on books become inspired by instead. I understand Fire & Blood is a history book, but they could have fleshed the characters out more. We could have done dual historic perspectives like The Last Battle (not a great movie but an intriguing premise) or a dual timeline where we could see the past and the present intermingled.

It’s just… bad. This truly might be my last season for HotD to watch intently. I might watch next season, but not with any excitement. I would be surprised if we get a fourth season at the rate they’re going.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Gestation 1.6 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

I didn’t want to be seen fleeing the scene of a fight, and risk being labeled one of the bad guys by yet another person,

Ooof. Again I say. Oof.

All this girl wants is a purpose. She tries for that to be hero, and it ends up not working out for her.

If you’d asked me just a few hours ago about how I thought I would feel meeting a big name superhero, I would have used words like excited and giddy.  The reality was that I was almost too exhausted to care.

I do like this touch, both for the character, and because of how it sets the tone for this universe. Who cares who you're meeting? The world's falling apart, and you're fucking tired. Taylor is about to get virtually no rest in the next two years.

When the core group of the top Protectorate members from around Canada and the States assembled in that classic ‘v’ formation for the photo shoots, Armsmaster was one of the guys in the wings.  This was a guy who had his own action figures.  Poseable Armsmaster with interchangeable Halberd parts.

I like how... practical, Worm worldbuilds the existence of superheroes? Like, yes, it's not as if Wildbow invented the superheroes in-universe being commodified like this, but there's something about this phrasing of it here that really works for me in painting the picture.

Stepping closer to me, he tilted his head, “You don’t look like one.” That stung, especially coming from him.  It was like Michael Jordan saying you sucked at basketball.  “That’s… not intentional,” I responded, not a little defensively, “I was more than halfway done putting the costume together when I realized it was already looking more edgy than I’d intended, and I couldn’t do anything about it by then.”

Ooof, Armsmaster. Man. Foot. Mouth.

On the other hand, I think Taylor is just overreacting a bit. It's less 'Michael Jordan saying you suck at basketball' and more 'Michael jordan saying your uniform sucks'. And Armsy isn't exactly wrong, is he?

 I had considered applying to join, but the notion of escaping the stresses of high school by flinging myself into a mess of teenage drama, adult oversight and schedules seemed self-defeating.

You know, one thing I see in the fandom is to what extent Taylor going the villain/Independent route was actually essential. Some people think it was vital, some people seem to think not so much, in the end the same effect could be achieved if she'd joined the Wards...

We'll see what I think when we get that far.

But I do understand the impulse for some fanfics that want to explore some what-ifs to feel like Scion is actually an inhibitor to storytelling freedom. Because whatever AU they write, no matter the changes they explore, sooner or later, the golden idiot is gonna try to destroy the world.

Then again, what happened in canon wasn't the only way to beat him, and yet... no one else was coming up with anything that worked by the time Taylor pulled a Khepri, so... who knows.

“I’ll try to look at it that way,” I said, struck by how he easily he was able to employ the whole ‘take a negative and turn it into a positive’ mindset I’d been trying to maintain.  I envied that.

Easy to do from his position. I don't know what his trigger was, or if it's ever given, but it was presumably some time ago. I gather from some commentary that there's at least some notion one never moves entirely past their trigger event, but age and distance has to play some role in it.

Taylor is 15. Everything seems like the end of the world at that age.

Really, who the fuck authorized teenagers to be given this sort of power? :P

“Lung has an extensive gang throughout Brockton Bay and neighboring cities.

Really? That's never come up in fics, though it's always made sense. But then, it did make sense that something like E88 wouldn't only be in Brockton Bay, and yet, it never seems to have figured into things.

Granted, everything I know about superhero media is that it does tend to make 'the city' where the action happens seem both incredibly small and incredibly large, and weirdly isolated from the rest of the world.

I gather Worm averts some of that, but probably not all of that. It is still trapped by certain conventions of the genre.

“You’re saying I shouldn’t take the credit,” I said. “I’m saying you have two options.  Option one is to join the Wards, where you’ll have support and protection in the event of an altercation.  Option two is to keep your head down.  Don’t take the credit.  Fly under the radar.”

The wikipedia summary (and large chunks of the fandom) presents this as Armsmaster stealing credit out of being like, a glory-hound, and he's sure being... not ideal in how he presents this whole thing, but equally, again, he's not wrong.

And he's not being that bad. Doesn't come off as glory hound. But I suppose this, paired with some of the other stuff coming down the pipeline for him really colors his perception.

“Please keep my involvement in Lung’s capture secret,” I told him, painfully disappointed to have to say it, even as I knew it made the most sense.

Again, I think Armsmaster has a point, but honestly, I think he forgot what it was like to be a teenage hero, assuming he was one. He really should have considered how much the recognition would have mattered to her.

It could have gone worse.  Strange as it sounds, those words were a  security blanket I wrapped around myself to keep myself from dwelling on the fact that tomorrow was a school day.

In this scene alone, Armsmaster doesn't come off that bad. Yet. We'll see how he comes off when Taylor calls him about trying to go undercover. I've heard he's a bigger ass then. But then, he was supposed to be a huge ass here, and he's just not.

[violet-coyote]

My thoughts on Edward because idk I’ve got that type of autism ._.

Watching him the first time was actually so amazing. He reminds me of a slasher because how scary and foreboding he is in a lot of those scenes. And don’t even get me STARTED on the lighting! That scene in Arkham where only one eye is illuminated, the way the clear glasses reflect light- it’s all completely amazing. I also really love the home brew look and aspects. It makes him feel so much more real which in turn makes him scarier! And lemme be real for a sec… I kinda… maaaaaayybe agreed with him a little bit. Only a little cause he killed a bunch of civilians (obviously). He really does bring up a relevant, very real issue with a crazy amount of important officials. Also- he basically wins! The Batman didn’t figure things out in time and the plan completely went off. The shooting was a little iffy, but even then his plan WORKED. My dad jokes about this Batman being a terrible detective which I think I may agree with, though that just gives him more space to grow as a character. Maybe Edward didn’t get recognized in the end, but he did essentially win that movie which is such a fresh take for Batman and I love Matt Reeves.

Paul Dano is also just a really amazing actor and I am SO glad he was cast and is now getting bigger roles cause he totally deserves it. And I don’t know how to describe it, but I can’t imagine Edward with anyone else’s face, y’know? It’s like round and unassuming and like soft. But then he’s the main, crazy antagonist. That reveal of him being this weird little guy was actually hilarious and a bit chilling at the same time. Paul also just really deeply understands the characters he plays which is shown in his writing for the comics.

Now, the COMICS! I know people hate on it and I know it’s partially deserved, but Steven Subick was a really good pick for the artist. The muted tones, messy panels- It’s grimy and messy and perfect for the ~vibes~ I imagine Edward has. It’s also really good at reflecting the sort of rot and disease in his mind. Absolutely amazing- though I think Dave Mckean would’ve been even better.

The story and mind that Paul Dano shows is so interesting. It shows his complex motivations and how he got to the point where he’d literally flood an entire city. The issue about his childhood is chilling and sympathetic. I love a sympathetic villain. It also really sets up a lot of themes for his character like drowning the rat and his love of chemistry and puzzles. The 5th issue was a fantastic stylistic choice with so many interesting details and elements. It also has some really funny (if not dark) moments. In that 6th issue, he is SO BADASS WTF? He gets a guy chomped in half by a fucking saltwater crocodile (which it’s so big that must be the species)! Then he fucks with his own boss so hard he hangs himself like OMG?? And he saves that lady! That might be one of the most pivotal moments just because it shows that he does have good in him. And yeah some of those final panels are goofy as hell, but cope ig. I really loved the comic and looked forward to it each month once I discovered it.

Also, although it’s never outright stated, it’s very VERY clearly implied that he’s autistic. He starts talking later, is very smart otherwise, has trouble with social skills, and literally gets called “Rain man” by his coworker. I feel like making the Riddler allistic would be completely stupid. At his base, hes a guy who likes riddles and puzzles (usually to an obsessive degree), and feels the need to prove his intelligence to those around him. That screams neurodivergency! Like bro I get it fr.

I also like the short novel, even though it is simple and made for a younger audience. It’s interesting to see a teenage Edward Nashton (Edweird 😭) delivering food on his ratty old bike. It also mentions that he’s pretty bad in school which I would definitely not have guessed considering his whole thing is being super fuckin smart. And I absolutely LOVE how he burns down the orphanage. It’s a huge character moment and tbh just makes me very happy cause it shows us one of his first crimes which is fun.

For Batman ll, I’m really interested to see where that takes his character. Paul Dano already said he would reprise the role for it so he will be in there- even if only for a short while. They clearly set something up between him and the Joker. Now I’m very curious how that will turn out. On one hand, I can see him being manipulated by the Joker for his own selfish gain and ending up as another rat in the gutter. But that writing also wouldn’t really makes sense for the character. The Riddler’s point in the rogues gallery is to reflect his intelligence. He’s often shown as being even smarter! The only thing that gets him is the obsession with leaving little puzzles and games that inevitably lead to his arrest. Obviously though, Reeves has his own spin on basically everything so this might not be the case with this iteration. Basically, I don’t know where Matt Reeves is gonna take this character. I HOPE and PRAY that with Paul Dano beside him they will do him justice, but only time will tell. I’ll probably be off the grid by the time the movie comes out but I’ll make sure to pop by a theatre just for that lol.

TL;DR- I love my blorbo

-small rant regarding the fandom-

I hate hate HATE how people make him a twink! NO! Have you seen Paul Dano? That man has the DEFINITION of a dad bod. Obviously they can be different, but they literally almost share a BIRTHDAY. That man is NOT A TWINK. He’s not skinny. He is a weird, stinky accountant that sits in his house most of the time. And if you like the character, why would you want to change that? If you change that part of him, he’s a COMPLETELY different character. You can’t make him a twink without destroying his characterization in the process.

Also, I’m a riddlebat hater

-rant over-

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 62 – The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

This is the latest book I never would have heard of if it wasn’t for an award nomination (WFA for Best Novel, in this case). Overall, I was left dearly wishing I had liked it more than I did – it was so thoroughly soaked in imagery and references to a whole milieu I only barely know enough about to catch all the references flying over my head. Unfortunately by the final act the whole thing just collapses into a mess of spectacle without much in the way of connective tissue or context.

The story follows Perilous “Perry” Graves, his kid sister, and his best friend/crush Peaches (who is clearly an ersatz Pippy Longstocking but for some reason this is almost literally the only reference the book doesn’t explicitly acknowledge). They live in Nola, a fantastical alternate New Orleans full of zombies, animate graffiti, sky trolleys, and music that is indistinguishable from magic. After the magical songs that sustain the city escape/are stolen, it’s up to the three of them to get them back before Stagger Lee (the song) hunts down and kills the others for his mysterious partner. There’s also an extended subplot with Casey, a recently returned Katrina refugee in what seems to be our world, discovering that his and his cousin’s graffiti and other art is very literally magic and can come alive when he isn’t looking. Things just generally get messier and harder to explain from there.

Above everything else, the book’s a love letter to New Orleans. The sheer fascination and affection Jenning’s has for the place just about oozes out of every page. The geography and the culture and especially and overwhelmingly the art. Now I know barely anything about modern pop music and even less about classic jazz, but Jennings is either a massive fan or an incredibly confident bullshitter, and either way it’s an absolutely loadbearing part of the book – famous jazz musicians appear as magicians and ghosts, snatches and stanzas of different songs are quoted liberally, and of course the songs themselves are the driving engine of the plot. I, at least, just kind of let all the references wash over me and try to figure them out from context, and also started listening to the namedropped songs as I read. But even without really knowing the subject, the sheer love for the culture that just suffuses the book is really incredible endearing. Which is good, because it’s absolutely the main actual draw here.

The dialogue also deserves a shoutout – both because there’s a fun line you can draw between the characters that talk like actual people and the ones that intentionally present themselves like cartoon characters, and also because it’s the first book I can recall reading this year where people speak in AAVE. Plus, as a matter of style, when songs or certain ghosts were speaking telepathically the book used a different font for what they were saying, which is the sort of flourish that I always like when it’s not too overused.

While the surreal, exaggerated sort of magical absurdism works very well for the setting of Nola, the plot is...just kind of a mess. You almost get the sense the book was written in one sprint and then never revised – the protagonists are constantly getting help out of nowhere exactly as they need it to solve their latest problem, and revelations of plot critical information exactly when it’s needed to keep things moving abound, whether there’s any setup or justification for it or not. The metaphysics that underpin Nola are all vague and confused, which really wouldn’t be an issue if the entire third act didn’t turn on on the villain being wrong about them. The end result is a finale that feels like a bunch of big set piece scene the author had been looking forward to writing without any real connective tissue linking or supporting them.

Also, like – it is a major part of Perry’s arc that a year before the events of the book he had a run in with a monstrous caricature of a Jim Crow era hanging judge, and it has traumatized him sufficiently that he had steadfastly refused to try and do any magic since. The judge is later revealed to be an escaped bit of living graffiti, with absolutely zero relevance or deeper significance, and never appears on-screen again. Which just feels like some sort of narrative malpractice, honestly.

I’m also just left a bit disappointed with the villain – or, specifically, the wasted potential. Like, the idea of The Storm as this primeval elemental force that wants nothing more than to drown the world is a pretty great villain for a magical New Orleans, honestly. And there was something there of graffiti and music and just art being this engine of joyous hubris letting the city exist in defiance of its inevitable doom – but you really have to dig to get at it, and most of the other personal plots and heroes journey stuff burying it was far less compelling to me.

Anyway yeah, in the end this very much felt like it was style over substance, but on the other hand the style was excellent. In the end I kind of feel like this was ill-served as a book? Not that it’s necessarily impossible to write a novel that’s mostly about music, but this was really begging for a medium that could include a soundtrack.

[meraki24601]

Hey it’s me again

Could you maybe write a part 2 to Just a Fever ?? I really like your writing

Hello again, friend! I'm so glad you like my writing. You made my day! I was feeling a bit more of the whumpy direction this could go this time, but I'd be open to trying another version with more of a comfort lean if anyone wants that.

Part 1

---*-***-*---

Just a Fever Part 2

Hero’s head hurts.

They… They’re going to be sick.

Hands, rough with urgency, turn Hero onto their side. When they’re finished, the hands roll them onto their back again. Warm. The hands are warm. 

****************************************

A gentle voice pulls Hero to shore from the ocean of darkness they’ve been floating in. They try to cough up the water filling their lungs, but nothing comes up. There’s no water to get rid of. There’s weight. Pressure on their chest. They can’t, can’t breathe. 

New pressure. Skin touching their own just below their collarbone, gently patting. 

“Please,” They try to beg, but Hero isn’t sure anything came out except more coughing. 

Something slides beneath them. It puts pressure on their aching back until Hero starts to rise into a sitting position. The elevation change eases some of the pain in their chest, but Hero doesn’t have the strength to hold their head up to take a solid breath. It still hurts. They can’t stop.

The hand rubbing their chest shifts. It supports Hero’s head as if they were a baby. “Look at you. Be good for me and take a deep breath. That’s it. That’s it. Breathe and sleep.”

****************************************

“It hurts.”

“What hurts, darling?”

“Who’s there?” 

“Just me.”

Hero’s hands twitch and their eyes open. Even with their eyes open everything is black. Their heart clenches in their chest. Fingers curl into fists. “Where am I? I can’t, I can’t see. Can’t see.”

“So you’re actually awake this time?” Sharp fingernails scratch Hero’s face as a damp rag is lifted from their eyes. “There. Is that better?”

Bright. Everything is bright. 

The sound of someone shuffling around makes Hero flinch. They blink quickly, trying to adapt to the light flooding the room. A rough scratching noise has Hero’s ears ringing, and the light dims enough Hero can see the room they’re in. 

Of all the places they expected to be, (the hospital, Mentor’s house, etc.) their own bedroom was not one of them. And they definitely didn’t expect to see Villain hovering over them.

“You!” Hero lurches up only to be pushed back by a single outstretched finger from Villain. As Villain laughs, Hero throws themselves at the other side of the bed. The blankets wrap tightly around their body and keep them from freedom. 

Honestly, they’re not sure if they could have gotten much farther even without the blankets. The short burst of movement sends Hero’s head spinning. Their chest burns and their lungs… they can’t breathe. One last deep cough rattles their whole body. Their hands shake as panic starts to set in. 

Air. Please, air. The thought rattles in their mind as Hero begs their lungs to breathe in. They couldn’t cough anymore if they wanted to. The world starts to go dark around the edges. 

A shadowy figure hovers over them. A solid weight pressing down on them. Then, air. 

Villain’s lips press lazily against Hero’s as they whisper, “I told you, Darling, I simply won’t let you die like this.” Hero’s world finally goes dark as Villain forces another shallow breath into their lungs.

****************************************

“No!” Hero woke screaming. 

“You will drink.” Villain’s voice is harsh in Hero’s ear. They’re all but laying on top of Hero, pinning both of Hero’s arms above Hero’s head with one hand while the other presses a glass with some sort of liquid to Hero’s lips. “Open and drink. You need water.”

Gathering their strength, Hero thrusts their hips up, knocking Villain off balance. The water splashes across Hero’s face as they take a deep breath. The water sends them into another coughing fit. Their whole body aches, but Hero finds they have enough strength to fight as Villain tries to take control again. They flail and kick and bite. 

It’s not enough, but at least this time they really tried. 

One strong hit to the head sent Hero’s world spinning. “Enough!” Villain’s voice drains any fight Hero had left. They’re in serious danger. They’d seen Villain turn on their own men after speaking to them with that same tone of voice. Villain grabs Hero by the back of their neck, pulling them close to their face, “You will do as I say. You’re severely dehydrated and haven’t eaten for three days. Lie still until I return with more water. If you choose to defy me, you will suffer the consequences.”

The moment Villain’s footsteps retreat down the hall Hero throws their feet out of the bed. Their house is one floor so once they make it to the window all they have to do is hop out and run. One chance. One chance to make it out alive and Hero’s legs can’t support their weight. 

Hero falls to the floor with an incriminating thud. Their head, their chest, their legs, and every part of them aches. Vision fading in and out, Hero drags themselves across the floor to the window. It’s locked. Hero is going to have to stand to open it. They… can’t. It was pointless to try. This time, Villain wins.

“Turn around, Hero.” Villain’s voice burns in Hero’s ears. “Turn around. I want to see the defeat in your eyes. For years we’ve fought each other, and I could never win against you. To think, all it took was a little illness.”

Villain grips Hero’s hair and throws them to the ground next to the bed. “Please,” Hero begs, gripping the edge of the bed in what Villain sees as an attempt to sit up and face them. And it is. They face Villain head-on, carefully hiding the emergency button they just pressed. “Please, Don’t kill me.”

“Silly Hero. That’s not why I came, and it’s not why I stayed. Now, drink.” Villain shoved a new glass of water into Hero’s hands. 

When Hero nearly drops the glass, Villain sighs deeply. They sit down on the floor next to them and pull Hero into their lap. Hero doesn’t struggle, letting Villain manipulate their body until they’re half lying against Villain with their head supported against Villain’s chest. When Villain offers them the water, Hero opens their mouth and drinks. 

“That’s it. Good Hero. Drink the whole glass if you can. You need it.”

The cup wasn’t large, but the effort of fighting Villain and forcing themselves to suddenly drink after going so long without exhausts Hero. Sip after sip they drink the offered water until Villain’s words register in their drowsy mind. By then, it’s too late.

“Rest, Darling. We’ll worry about your punishment later, but for now, don’t fight it. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us, so finish it all. It’ll go much better if you sleep.”

Part 3

[insert-cephalopod-joke]

YOU SHOULD ramble about your headcanons/aus NOW!

A!

I will!!

At least some of the aus because headcanons are gonna be explored in mah main comic

Also ye there’s definitely aus where the agents get mixed around with one another into different groups because thanks to au there are infinite possibilities and outcomes

Now, Top 13 AU (Numbered Randomly) ((Bakers dozen let’s go))

Green: What If scenario for/related to AU-00

Blue: New set of agents, separate from AU-00

Red: Never used/scrapped AU concept

AU-00: MC3 (Hyousuke), M4 (Liam), M8 (Milo), FN3 (Beatrix/“Bea”)

The main one I work with, pretty self explanatory (though not the very first batch of agents I’ve made)

AU-01: FC3 (Summer/“Sunny”), F4 (Ember), F8 (Saturn), MN3 (Rook)

Second most used batch. Sort of a gender and personality swap, with Sunny being more extroverted (but much, much more creepy looking), Ember being actually cool instead of faking it, Saturn being less… feral?.. and Rook constantly questioning the whole Secret Child Labor Service Thing instead just rolling with it like Bea does.

AU-02: F3 (Three), M4 (Four), M8 (Eight)

The first ever batch. Didn’t make it very far though…

Their dynamic was mostly Four getting into trouble, Three getting mad at Four getting in trouble while trying to put out whatever fire he started, and Eights there just vibing in the background or something. I think Three and Four were siblings…

AU-03: M3 (Tres), F4 (Quatre), M8 (Vosem)

The second ever batch. Lasted a teensy bit longer. Tres is a little hotheaded but it’s mainly to cover up insecurity and fears of not being “worthy” or “good enough” for Squidbeak (which leads to some… very bad coping mechanisms/strategies to be good enough). Quatre is the type to have a smaller smug look under the smug look on her face. Also she makes a majority of her income through art commissions and writes a bunch of fanfic. Vosem tries to come off as aloof and put together but is “secretly” a little obsessed with Tres. Not like in a stalker way, just always thinking about him and hanging out with him and leaving food in his backpack when Tres “forgets” (this has led to Tres being very confused because “who puts 7 oranges and an unwrapped sandwich in someone else’s backpack?!?!”)

AU-04: M?3 (Three), M4 (Liam), M8 (The Commander)

The bad end, essentially. Three (prev. Hyousuke) gets re-corrupted by Tartar and loses (almost) all of his memories, becoming a husk that only does anything when The Commander tells them to. The Commander is formed when Tartar uses Milo as a host body, but due to Milo’s Special Soul Gimmick, he essentially takes Tartar down with him and they fuse into one conscious. There is no Tartar. There is no Milo. All that’s left behind is a manic cyborg that wants to “reunite”/sanitize Squidbeak (they disbanded after losing so many members) and get Three to “wake up.” Liam was struck with grief and went into a horrible depression due to it all and Octavio tried to help him by making new Hypnoshades that would act like an advanced antidepressant. Cuttlefish, Marie, and Callie are with Octavio too, hiding until they can make a plan to get their friends (and Inkopolis Square) back. Off the hook… off forming a rebellion to fight back. Oh and I should probably mention that Three is talking to Liam through his headset and shades and maybe watching him through any other tech in Liam’s vicinity.

AU-05: M[UNKNOWN] (Three), M4 (Liam), M8 (Eros)

(Same Liam technically different Three and technically different Eight)

Sort of a role swap between my one splatband oc Etto and Hyousuke. Essentially, Squidbeak believed that Hyou… “didn’t make it out” of the metro, but when Liam and Eros split up on a recon mission down there a few years later.

Let’s just say Eros finds him.

AU-06: M3/10 (Déka), M4 (Luke), M8/C3 (Apollo), NBN3 (Zip)

(Usual 3 base becomes Agent Ten, usual 8 base becomes Captain, Four is an octoling)

What if the Octos won? Cuttlefish would probably go complete villain mode ngl. His flaws are bad sometimes but make it worse.

Octavio, who’s not even king anymore as he passed the responsibilities to others (gotta spend time with the grandkids, you know?), starts noticing reports of octos getting attacked around town and decides hey, I’ve already got military experience so let’s do some quick vigilante stuff and hire a team.

Story would pretty much be the same from then on. Maybe instead of the Squid Sisters there’s another band with ties to Octavio, but I definitely imagine the original idols becoming high ranking, vicious generals (Callie would def defect later tho)

AU-07: FC3 (Haru), F4 (Liana), F8 (Mia), MN3 (Beau)

Genderswap, except practically nothing changes design wise. You would never know

AU-08: MC3 (Hyou), M4 (Liam), M8 (Milo), FN3 (Bea)

AKA No Metro Milo. Just. Just imagine a Shadow version of Milo and that’s it.

This isn’t what he’d be like with his memories… well… sorta.. he has some but trauma repressed the rest

AU-09: Everything’s the Same Except Little Buddy is a Big Buddy

AU-10: Everything’s the Same Except Milo Got Sanitized in the Metro Yet Somehow His Personality Was Left Untouched by Tartar Aside From Increasing His Separation Anxiety

AU-11: Everything’s the Same Except Liam Wears Glasses (It Causes an Extreme Butterfly Effect)

AU-12: Everything’s the Same Except Hyou’s The Only Agent Hired Besides 1 and 2 (Trauma x1000000)

AU-13: Everything’s the Same Except Little Buddy is a Psychic (As In Can Read Minds Based On Vibes and Souls, Presumably) and is the Main Character of the Series ((Little Buddy Psycho 300???))

[duckiemimi]

I AM SO PISSED OFF ABOUT GOJO'S DEATH, like everyone is ofc, the execution was so miserable. but lemme elaborate

I love tragedies, i love when a character dies before they can achieve their goal, when the ending is completely hopeless, when happiness is completely out of reach for the mc, that's my type of thing, i love stories that are willing to have an ending that kicks you in the nuts and makes you regret ever consuming it. and I'm 90% that's what gege is going for, maybe not that extreme but a sort of bittersweet ending (more bitter than sweet tho).

but the thing is that writing effective tragedies is hard, it's a very careful process because it can easily feel cheap or lazy, you need to set it up properly or it will fall apart, and i personally believe that gege's set up was pretty decent! but they pay off...

i'm used to important characters dying, i love it! but i look at Gojo's death and it's like... damn, what a wasted chance. that thing had the potential to be one of the most impactful deads in modern manga, yet it was so rushed, so lazy and cheap, a good character death can make you cry for a character that u didn't even care about to begin with, but with Gojo, whos character i loved, I didn't shed a single tear! gege really set up this amazing character FOR NOTHING, IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO POWERFUL, WE WERE ROBBED!!!

also, I'm so angry abut the lack of reaction from gojo, like, you are fighting the child you basically RAISED, SHOW SOME EMOTION, sure he is possessed but it's still his body??? like at least pretend to care y'know? it could have been another incredible powerful thing yet gege said "nu-uh :3"

when i catch u gege....

i completely agree! and i know gege’s capable of writing fantastic tragic character arcs because geto’s a great example—no one ever actually complains about how his death was written! gege absolutely nailed the set up of his character and the downhill journey he went through in the hidden inventory arc, and even when he turned villainous, readers still loved him because of how human he read. geto never had a happy ending! but we still loved the way he was written and the way he ended! it made sense, it had meaning.

gege used to be great at resolutions and pay offs, at delivering the unwritten promises he started the story with, but this arc has just been one big mess…just like you, when gojo died, it didn’t feel real to me. but not because it was grief for a well-loved character; it was because it held no weight at all. he died and the world kept turning, and while that’s just the way their universe works, having someone who came out the womb shifting the balance of the world just die inconsequentially makes no sense. no one stopped to mourn him? no one gave him the minute he gave to geto in shibuya? no minuscule pause at all, no shock or outright anger? was he not loved?

i’ve lost most of my hope for the ending i’d hoped for, but i’m staying because i want to see yuuji decide to live for himself. but even that small flame of faith i have, it wavers…