#I need to use thread tracker

[damnedrainbows]

tomorrow I will be diving more into my drafts and inbox. I got hundreds to go through and I don’t want people to feel abandoned

[myriadxofxmuses]

@lunarruled from X

To say Daryl was relieved they were back ans unharmed was an understatement. He had already been biting at the bit to figure out a way to get them home. He didn't care what rescuing them may have brought, nor their subsequent escape, he just wanted them back - never having been for them women leaving in the first place. A fact that Rick had been hearing about since the decision had been made to leave.

"He gave ya rooms?" Daryl asked, genuinely shocked they'd gotten such comfort at Sanctuary. "Sonofabitch," he said under his breath.

He'd fully expected them to have been put into a cell the same as he had, but then again they were attractive women. It wouldn't have surprised him if Negan was trying to groom them to become one of his wives. As if that would have worked.

"Dwinght left yea?" he asked further, glancing between the two women. Sydney gave him a silent nod in confirmation. "I knew tha' asshole was up ta no good. I doubt he comes back. 'Specially if he does find his wife," he went on, irritated that the group had even considered trusting that guy. "Saviors ain't no good. Period."

"Relax D," Syd chimed in. "We're fine and anyone in Dwight's position would do the same. Even you," she told him truthfully, momentarily side eyeing Ky knowingly. Daryl merely huffed, knowing she was right and apparently about who he would have done it for.

"Why don't we get back to the house and you can fill us in on everything," Rick started, diffusing Daryl's rising anger and ushering the small group further into Alexandria. "If Dwight is gone for good and you two escaped, then you're right about Negan. He won't stop until he finds all of you and gets you back to Sanctuary. We have to be ready for anything," he added as they walked.

-----

"That's all I could get from out little walkthrough. I gotta give it to him, it's pretty secure," Sydney told them as she finished giving her relay of the trip. "There's only one weakness in the whole compound and it isn't easy to get to. The only way we're going to take it is if we manage to turn some of his guys and convince them to just let us in. But I don't see how we're going to do that," she added a bit dejected.

[fangswbenefits]

Sharing is Caring (II)

Summary: Things get complicated, but you find yourself sharing a bed with Miguel… once again. Too bad someone else is in the room.

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x spider-woman!reader

18+. Sharing one bed. Semi-public. Blue balls. Sexual tension. Mutual masturbation. Creampie. Implied cockwarming.

* ˚ ✦ Part 1. (you don’t have to read it to enjoy this one, though)

You were fucked.

Extremely fucked.

Not only had the anomaly managed to slip through your fingers, effectively disabling the trackers scattered around, but you were also fucked, because now you were left to deal with the aftermath of a very intimate encounter with Miguel.

It was nearly five in the morning and the night was nowhere near being done. Fortunately, it had stopped raining, which helped with visibility and grip, and having Lyla assist you as in replacing the faulty sensors was also very much welcome.

“Sensor 24 up and running,” the AI’s sing-song voice announced, as the device bleeped green.

You leapt over the railing, shooting a string of web to the side of the hotel, so you could swing through the window.

As you landed with a clumsy thump, you noticed Miguel had already gotten back from his reconnaissance check.

He looked positively… pissed off.

Great.

“Lyla, call her,” her grumbled, checking his watch.

“Already did,” she announced, appearing by his shoulder. “Want me to run a diagnostics of the perimeter once again?”

“Do it in five minute intervals,” he said flatly. “The anomaly must be nearby.”

You removed your mask and considered sitting on the bed, but were soon reminded that not even thirty minutes ago, you were getting fucked by Miguel.

A shudder ran through your body.

“You okay?” he asked, his narrowed eyes on you.

You shrugged. “Sure.”

The problem with having impromptu sex was that now you were left to deal with the soreness between your legs, and the frustration of an orgasm that never came to be.

Did Miguel feel the same way?

Your eyes roamed his body, and you find yourself glaring at his-

“Hey! I need you to focus,” Miguel said with a snap of his fingers. “There’s still a chance we deal with it tonight.”

You were about to snap back when a loud distorted buzz filled the room, swirls of flashing lights nearly blinding you, as the inter-dimensional portal expanded quickly in pulsating waves.

Through came Jessica Drew, followed closely by Peter B. Parker.

Fuck.

“What are you doing here?” Miguel growled, pointing at Peter.

“What?” he asked, eyes widening in confusion.

Miguel wasn’t known to be a very patient man, and you reckoned his patience was now hanging by a thread. “I called for Jess. Not you.”

Jess let out an exasperated sigh. “Easy, Miguel. We were both on the same mission.”

He straightened up, but crossed his arms. “Right.”

“Care to explain why I had to leave to be here?” she went on, resting on hand on her swollen belly. “How did you lose track of the anomaly?”

He exchanged a brief look with you. “The sensors didn’t alert us in time.”

That was true.

“Weren’t you supposed to be monitoring, regardless?”

“We dozed off,” you chimed in. “Momentarily! Just for a while.”

Not really true…

Jess glanced at you, suspicion written all over face.

“Sleeping on the job,” she then chuckled, eyeing Miguel deviously. “Didn’t think you’d ever do that, Miguel.”

He narrowed his eyes menacingly. “We weren’t sleeping. We were just resting our eyes for a moment.”

A blatant lie.

“What’s that on your neck?” Peter suddenly asked with a worried look on his face.

Oh….

You let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the tender hickey spot. “Bug bite.”

“Allergic reaction,” Miguel blurted out at the same time.

Fuck.

You shot him a murderous look.

Jessica arched an eyebrow. “Which one is it?”

“An allergic reaction to a bug bite,” Miguel said with a shrug, growing visibly annoyed.

A wave of relief washed over you momentarily. That seemed plausible enough.

But…

“Oh, really?” she asked with a knowing smile. “What bug? A spid-”

But Miguel was already cutting her off. “We don’t have time for this!”

Peter walked to you, craning your neck to the side. “You should have it checked. It looks serious.”

Ah, Peter… ever the innocent.

“Jess, you stay with us,” Miguel says, dragging Peter away from you at once. “We need an extra pair of eyes.”

She frowned. “No. Peter stays. I need to get some sleep,” she said, patting her belly.

“No!” Miguel growled.

“Actually, I was thinking of heading back home,” Peter drawled out, rubbing the back of his head. “Mayday should be waking up soon.”

“And I’m pregnant,” Jess shot, holding her chin high.

Peter swallowed and fell silent. The deal was sealed.

“Lyla, any updates?”

The hologram popped up instantly. “No, boss.”

Jess glanced over at you one last time, before stepping into the portal once again. “You should really have that checked. Whatever bug did that seems… vicious,” she then slipped into the vortex, which vanished behind her.

You momentarily froze in place, feeling the dread of realisation hit you like a ton of bricks.

She knew.

“I’ll be right back,” Peter drawled out with a yawn and a stretch, disappearing into the bathroom.

The moment you heard rhe door click shut, you turned to Miguel.

“An allergic reaction to a bug bite?” you hissed.

He scowled deeply. “Because simply saying bug bite sounded ridiculous.”

“She didn’t believe it, regardless.”

Miguel was suddenly towering over you, his face twisted in annoyance. “Then why does it matter?”

“Because… you gave me a visible hickey!”

It was a silly thing to get upset about. There were worse things in life than having Miguel O’Hara marking you as a result of built up sexual tension.

But you didn’t want to give in.

“Got carried away,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah…”

He cleared his throat. “But I have a problem.”

You looked up at him. “What problem?”

“Well…” he said, glancing at the bathroom door.

“Peter?”

“No!”

You clicked your tongue. “Then what?”

His placed both hands on his hips and glanced down.

Your eyes followed suit.

Oh.

Oh.

“What? Why are you… what?” you stuttered in disbelief at the sight of the outline of his hardened cock.

“Biology, remember?” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s not going away.”

You somehow managed to tear your eyes from the impressive bulge. “Go jerk off, then!”

He had you walk back until you hit the wall behind. “It won’t go away.”

Had you just given Miguel blue balls?

“How’s that my problem?” you huffed, staring intensely into his crimson eyes.

“This is all your fault.”

“Oh, really? I thought we were blaming Biology.”

Before Miguel could retort, the sudden squeak of a door being swung open, had you slipped past him.

Peter emerged, eyeing you both. “Oh, I see what this is.”

Miguel had to move strategically in order to hide his raging boner from him. “What do you mean?”

“I know what’s up with you two,” Peter said, with a playful grin. “All the whispering and whatnot.”

Great.

Were you two that transparent?

“Huh…”

Miguel had pursed his lips.

Peter paced closer to you, eyeing you with a knowing smile. “You’re deciding on Jessica’s birthday present, right?”

You blinked a few times and heard Miguel exhale nearby.

“Right? I knew it!” he threw his arms in the air as if he’d just won the lottery.

In truth, you were simply baffled at how innocent Peter could be. The immediate weight that was lifted off your shoulders was enough to draw a laugh from you.

“Sure!”

“Of course, Peter,” Miguel said, voice dripping with his trademark sarcasm. “We went on this mission, so we could go through birthday checklists.”

A layer of pride settled on Peter’s face. “Ah! You’re growing soft, Miguel.”

You winced at his poor choice of words.

“But fear not!” he said as if he was about to fight off the anomaly himself. “We’ll take turns watching. You two can get some rest and properly plan it out,” he then pinched his thumb and index finger together and dragged them across his lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Miguel didn’t budge at first, but you were all too grateful to stop this insane conversation altogether.

“Thanks, Peter.”

“Of course,” he smiled widely, pacing to the open hotel window, leaping into the the sky night.

You shot Miguel one last look before slipping inside into the comfort of the bedsheets, welcoming the softness.

But you were sorely mistaken if you thought Miguel wouldn’t have followed you.

Your heart skipped a beat. Or two.

You had turned to face the wall, hoping he’d take the hint, and leave you be.

But once you felt his erection pressing into your ass, you knew you were a goner.

There was something extremely empowering about having a man like Miguel be so needy and desperate.

He scooted closer until his breath fanned your ear. “Can you just…”

You scoffed, pride swelling inside you. “Go ask Biology to jerk you off.”

“Whawt?”

“You keep blaming it, so…”

Silence fell between you two.

His hand then came to grip your hip. “It’s you.”

“I didn’t catch that,” you said, feeling his thumb rubbing gently, as he pushed the top half of your suit increasingly higher.

He rolled his hips into you, letting out a shaky moan in your ear that had your skin raise with goosebumps.

You flipped onto your other side to fully face him, and Miguel immediately took your lips with his, kissing you hungrily.

His hand dragged the fabric all the way up until he managed to expose one breast, breaking the kiss only to move down to suck on your hardened nipple.

The thought that he might be too much vaguely crossed your mind. For the second time that night you were meeting a side of Miguel that you had never seen before.

A side you much preferred.

Your fingers dragged through his hair, silently praising him.

In no time, you watched his digital suit disintegrate, giving you full access to the beautifully sculped body underneath.

He gripped your wrist and lowered it until your fingers grazed his cock. Knowing fully well what he craved, you wrapped them around it, earning an immediate jerk of his hips.

“Miguel…” you moaned, letting him freely fuck your hand, spilling more and more precum.

He released your nipple and had his forehead resting on your shoulder, his hand on top of your, making sure you squeezed tighter and tighter.

It didn’t take long for your hand to be soaked with precum, making it easier for him to slide up and down.

You squeezed involuntarily and a gush of wetness spilled into your underwear, your body yearning for him to fill you up with his cock.

He moved his hips deliciously, and you focused on taking in the wet sounds that filled the room as well as his breathless grunts.

But such bliss was short-lived as you heard Peter bolting into the room with a swish of his web.

Well…

Miguel immediately stilled, letting go of your hand.

You didn’t let go of his cock, instead peeking over his shoulder only to find Peter rolling out a sleeping bag on the floor.

He then turned to face you, and your head immediately slumped against the pillow, eyes on Miguel’s.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

Peter’s voice was but a whisper. “Your heart rate is accelerated.”

Ah… spider senses.

“Yeah… I’m just a bit tense… it’s fine,” you muttered, feeling Miguel’s cock twitch in your hand. “Go get some rest. I’ll take over.”

“Oh! Thank you,” he beamed. “Mayday has been giving us terrible nights, and I could use a few minutes.”

You watched as he fluffed out his pillow before settling down on his back with a yawn.

Miguel’s breathing has steadied momentarily and you eventually let go of him.

But he quickly got a hold of your wrist.

The implication of that action wasn’t exactly subtle and you widened your eyes.

“No,” you mouthed right away.

His crimson eyes had darkened and you spotted his fangs from behind his lips.

You shook your head vehemently.

This was a bad idea.

But as soon as Peter’s snores tore through the room, you felt your heart clench.

“Peter is right there… he will hear it!”

He pressed an urgent kiss to your forehead. “We’ll be quiet. I’ll help you be quiet,” he promised, pressing his cock further into your already soaked crotch.

Your eyes fluttered shut, and just as you were about to let out a low whimper, you felt his hand cover your mouth, effectively reigning it in.

“Quiet.”

The other travelled down painfully slowly, palm grazing your exposed breast briefly, before resting just above the waistline of your suit.

“You have to be quiet,” he warned in a barely audible tone.

You nodded and he lifted his hand from your lips.

“We shouldn’t…” you muttered under your breath.

But your words were not matching your actions, as you dragged your hand covered in precum across his hard chest, taking your time to gently rub his nipple with your thumb.

You thought Miguel had stopped breathing altogether, but soon realised he was merely attempting to hold back a moan.

His fingers quickly slipped past the the waistline, finding your clit and drawing small circles. You had to bite your lip hard to suppress a whimper, rolling your hips into him.

You found his cock again, gripping it desperately and giving him a few pumps that matched the tempo of his strokes.

The thrill of indulging in such experience even when someome else was in the room, and with the increased chances of being caught, merely added to the pleasure you were already feeling.

“You’re doing good,” Miguel praised you through a shaky breath. “So good…”

Impatience took over and you wiggled out of your bottom half of the suit, allowing you to grant him betterr acces, as hou parted your legs.

He immediately seized it and slipped one finger inside.

You had to clasp your hand over your mouth to keep from groaning, eyes fluttering shut.

His breath was on your ear again. “Can you take one more?”

You nodded, not trusting your voice. A second finger immediately joined the first one, slinding inside effortlessly.

Feeling that you had managed to keep yourself under control, you dropped the hand covering your lips to grip his cock.

“And another one?”

You shook your head, fearing that would be too much. He pressed a kiss to your neck with a sigh, as he fucked your hand in a slow rhythm.

The knots of pleasure in your lower abdomen let you know that you were headed towards the precipice. You kept on riding his fingers relentlessly, your mind suddenly hazy from the feeling of being so full of him already.

“I’m close…” he mouthed, his breath shaky and cock twitching.

He had bared his fangs, and you thought you’d combust on the spot, realising he was truly overwhelmed with pleasure.

Finding your voice again, you whispered sensually, “Where do you want to cum?”

His eyed widened, pupils fully blown.

Your hips faltered briefly, grazing your clit across the palm of his hand. “Inside?”

He pressed his eyes shut and dug his fangs into his lower lip. “I won’t last.”

“I know,” you moaned, dragging thumb across his tip, feeling more droplets of warm precum coating your skin.

Peter suddenly let out a loud snore that made you jolt.

“Are you close?” Miguel asked.

“I’ll be with you inside me.”

You shifted on the mattress, and he removed his fingers from you at once, a wet sound filling the room.

Your body shuddered from the loss, but you soon felt his tip proding your entrance.

Before you could take another breath, he jerked his hips and slipped past your fold effortlessly.

His hand was on your mouth again, and this time you could taste yourself, as he struggled to keep your moans at a minimum.

It was also evident the sudden position was taking a toll on him. His steady pace was faltering with each passing second.

You soon entered the familiar point of no return, feeling an intense wave of pleasure tear from within you, blinding your vision with each pulse and contraction. It took all of your not to moan out loud even against his hand, the few shreds of sanity having a hold on you.

Miguel joined you, clearly not able to withstand the rhythmic squeezes around his cock as you reached your high.

Your caught a glimpse oh him biting the back of his other hand hard. He would for sure draw blood with his fangs, but you couldn’t even stay properly focused.

He bottomed out as deep as he could, spurts of cum coating your squeezing walls.

The two of you were struggling to breathe, shallow pants surrounding you.

“Oh my god! Butterfly!”

Peter…

You jerked away from Miguel in distress but with him still buried deep inside you, catching a glimpse of Peter sitting on the floor, breathing rapidly.

“Go back to sleep. It was just a dream,” you said with a smile.

Miguel pulled you into an embrace. “You did good.”

“Me? Not Biology?”

He scowled deeply.

“You can slide out now…” you whispered with a yawn.

Miguel didn’t move. “I want to stay a little longer likes this.”

Masterlist

[chanelrolls]

PART XII. caleb's series

n. it's advisable to read all parts of the series. cw: pseudocest

"to you through the screen"

you, 17 | caleb, 19

you liked to sit by the window when it rained.

and so, caleb knew this even though he was already two cities away for college.

he watched from the tiny screen nestled beneath a textbook on his dorm desk, volume muted, rain flickering on his side of the window too. but instead of the outside world, he watched your world. a quiet living room, soft yellow lighting, and you curled by the window, your knees tucked up, a book in your lap you barely read.

you always looked like you were waiting for something, or maybe someone.

his fingers curled against the desk.

“you’re being weird again,” his roommate had said the other night, waving a hand in front of his face. “staring at your phone like some guy in a long-distance relationship.”

caleb had just smiled. no, he wanted to say. it’s not like that. but also- yes. maybe it was.

you didn’t know why you kept checking your phone these days.

he used to text you constantly stupid things. blurry photos of his late-night ramen, videos of airplanes roaring overhead, voice notes of him humming random songs in the shower. but ever since the semester had gotten harder, the messages slowed.

he still texted sometimes, always when you needed it most.

but what you didn’t know was that caleb always knew when you needed it most.

even now. curled up by the window, you sighed into your sleeves and whispered, "i miss you, gege." not realizing your voice, your sigh, your entire posture - had already been recorded by the hidden mic he installed in your room under the excuse of “upgrading the wifi router.”

he heard you. every time.

he watched you that night when you stayed up too late, when you ignored three calls from some boy named zayne from your physics class. when you stood in front of the mirror and tried on the new cardigan, twirling half-heartedly.

his blood ran hot when you smiled at yourself, even just a little.

and colder when you sighed and folded it away again.

it had started with just one camera, then a tracker in your phone, then a hidden app on your laptop.

he told himself it was for safety. only for safety.

but then he’d started saving your photos, screenshots of you reading, you painting. even the blurry ones from the kitchen cam when you cooked instant noodles at 1am.

he didn’t know what scared him more; how much he missed you, or how much he needed to know you still belonged to him.

on a tuesday night, you left your window open by accident.

and caleb, who hadn’t planned to call you - not when he had an exam in twelve hours - found himself dialing your number anyway.

you picked up in one ring.

“gege?” your voice was laced with surprise. you never expected him anymore. never waited, even though you always did.

“you left the window open again,” he said quietly, the warmth of his voice threading through your speaker like he was there.

you blinked.

“…how did you—?”

he could hear the shuffle of your footsteps, the soft slam of wood, your breath.

he didn’t answer it.

“you’ll catch a cold, pip,” he murmured instead. “it’s late.”

“…i was just thinking.”

“about?”

“…you, gege.”

and there was a pause. his hand tightened around the phone.

“yeah?” his voice lowered.

“mm.” you lay back down on your bed, smile faint. “i miss you.”

he swallowed.

“…i miss you too.”

a pause again.

then, you say- “do you think i’m being silly? always missing you like this?”

caleb’s lips parted. his other hand reached unconsciously to the keyboard, the open tab of your location blinking quietly at the edge of his screen.

how could he tell you? how deeply, violently, possessive he had become. how much he watched, how often he checked.

he didn’t speak for a moment.

then softly, “no. i think it’s perfect.”

“you do?”

“mm. because i miss you the same way.” then quieter- “…maybe even more.”

you went silent. and on his end, the rain kept ticking against the dorm window like a soft metronome.

you didn’t know you were being watched. you didn’t know he had been watching for months. but you did know, deep down, that caleb was still wrapped around you like a ribbon - even if the knot had begun to twist into something you no longer recognized.

“i love you, gege,” you whispered.

and from miles away, with a dozen hidden screens and all the wrong reasons, he whispered back, “i love you more, pipsqueak.”

then slowly, he closed the tab.

but not for long.

because when he tells himself it's just this once, it always ends up being the nth time. when he watches you through the sceen, keeping track of what time you took a shower, he takes his time working himself off down there to the sight of his sweet little girl.

pleasuring himself, watching you, trying to swallow the guilt in his throat while grunting your name in a breathless haze.

it was wrong, yeah.

but he couldn't help his hormones. caleb was a growing man, and he needed to stop the ache especially when he was stressed.

and he found nobody else as pleasant as you. you were the only choice.

so, just this once, this is the last time.

gege promises.

[sometimesanalice]

“well,  i do feel a little better now that you’re here”

Bradley and SG please 👉🏼👈🏼 love your work Alexa ☺️☺️

Charlie, you gem! Thank you for always being so lovely and supportive! I hope you enjoy this one! 🥰

There You Are

Summary: It's the first time you're seeing Bradley in over 2 years. A lot of things have changed for you since the night he'd called you before that mission, but if there was one thing you knew you could count on, it was that he'd always be there for you.

Pairing: Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x Female Reader

Length: 1.5K

It had been nine days of radio silence.

Nine days since Bradley had called you in the night before he left for whatever classified mission the Navy had ordered him back to Top Gun for.

Nine days of wondering and hoping for the best. Trying to convince yourself that no news was good news.

Nine days of not tasting any of the meals you'd forced down as you waited. Not that you had much of an appetite anyways.

Nine days of tossing and turning in the bed you slept alone in, as you worked on untangling your life from your now ex boyfriend. The two of you agreeing to share the apartment like roommates until you found out about the promotion you were up for.

The one that might take you to San Diego. To the sunshine and ocean. To new opportunities. To your best friend.

You had pretty much dropped everything the moment you saw Bradley's name flash across the screen of your phone. The relief that washed over you at the sound of his voice- at his Hey, kid- nearly sent you to the floor.

While it had been another few days before you were able to get on a plane- he'd told you there were still some debriefs and paperwork that still needed to be done before him and his team could take leave- but you'd started packing your suitcase the moment the call ended.

You were antsy the entire six hour flight from Boston. You'd apologized more than once for nudging your neighbor's arm as you shifted and squirmed in your uncomfortable seat.

Hearing that final ding of the seatbelt off sign was music to your ears.

You'd called him the moment you stepped off the plane and Bradley picked up on the first ring.

"This feels familiar, doesn't it?" he rasps over the phone. You know he's thinking about the Spring Break you'd went to visit him at UVA. He'd picked you up at the airport then, just like he was doing now. "When is it my turn to be picked up at the airport, kid?"

Of course they'd dropped you off at the furthest gate in Terminal 1. You let out a huff and then set about threading your way through the throng of people standing between you and your best friend.

"Please, when's the last time you flew commercial?" you tease. "And it's not all of us can just waltz onto a Naval Base anytime we want."

"Hey, no one's stopping you from joining up. I'll even write you a letter of recommendation."

You weave around a stroller.

"Hmm, pass. But thank you for the generous offer."

And then past a couple holding hands.

He chuckles. "Guess that means I get to keep my title as designated chauffeur, huh?"

"Lucky you," you sing.

If you weren't on a mission, you'd consider stopping at the coffee shop that you're briskly gliding past for a quick cappuccino. But you had other priorities.

"Such a smart ass." You can practically hear the smirk in his voice.

You speed up your steps, the glimmer of the exit now in sight. "Why don't you say that to my face, Bradshaw."

"I'm trying to, but you're taking forever," he grouses, famously the more impatient one of the two of you. "I'm to the left of Arrivals gate, by the way."

You smile to yourself. Knowing him, he has probably been there for at least an hour keeping tabs on you with some flight tracker app he'd downloaded on his phone.

"It's a good thing you told me, I'm not sure if I'd recognize you with that bold fashion statement you're sporting on your face now."

Bradley scoffs indignantly. "You haven't even been here thirty minutes and you're already dunking on the 'stache, kid? It looks better in person, give it a chance."

You pull over just to the right of the Terminal exit, tucked next to a potted ficus, taking a moment to scan through the crowd of people waiting for their own travelers. He's not hard for you to find, standing head and shoulders above everyone else in the area.

Whole and healthy and here in front of you.

It's been a little over two years since you've last seen Bradley in person, he'd been stationed in Japan before his return to Top Gun. It was still hard to believe that the lanky boy you'd grown up with had become the well-built man standing across the way from you.

During his time in the Navy, he'd truly come into himself. The easy confidence in his posture was well earned and looked good on him. But you had to stop yourself from laughing and giving yourself away when you see him impatiently tapping his toes. Because no matter how much some things change, there are some things that will always be the same.

"I don't know about that," you muse, still taking him in because there was a moment there when you weren't sure you'd ever get to see him again. "I can see it from here and I'm still on the fence about it."

You see him look around, confused for a moment, head swiveling trying to spot you. You don't keep him waiting long, stepping out from your hiding spot and into view.

You mouth hi and give him a little wave.

"Hey, there you are." There's no missing the wide grin on his face. "You going to stand all the way over there or are you going to come see the mustache up close and personal?"

You laugh and shake your head making your way to him. "I guess I might as well considering I did fly all the way across the country to see it."

"And me, I hope."

"And you," you confirm.

You end the call, tucking your phone into your bag as you close the gap between him and you.

Those whiskey brown eyes are one you've known your whole life. His curls looked like they've seen some sun, as did the rest of him. And the soft smile he had directed at you looked like contentment.

What stops you in your tracks are the fresh cuts that mark his face, new scars to be mixed in with the ones you already knew so well. They're shade of bright pink that's impossible to miss.

"Oh my god, Bradley."

He doesn't say a word as you gently take his face in your hands, tilting his head this way and that, inspecting him for yourself. He just gazes at you, reading every emotion as they run across your face, as you try to hunt for any clues to an answer about what happened that you know you'll never get.

"I'm fine, I promise," he murmurs.

"It doesn't look fine," you press.

He grasps you wrists with his warm hands and coaxes yours down between the two of you.

Too close. Whatever it was was too damn close. The evidence is right there on his neck and behind his ear, and you hate it.

Bradley squeezes your hands reassuringly. "I'll have you know passed the concussion protocol with flying colors." He tries to play it off as a joke, but the dark circles under his eyes and the weariness you see around the corners of his eyes tells a different story.

"Does it still hurt?" you ask, trying not to let your voice wobble.

"Well, I do feel a little better now that you’re here.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. "You're so-"

Ridiculous. Frustrating. Important to me.

You don't get to finish you sentence because Bradley is tugging you into his broad chest. The arms that wrap around you are fuller now, but his hug is as just a familiar as it's always been.

Yours thread themselves around his waist instinctively, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

He holds you close, holds you tight. Bradley's always been the type to really hold on tight because he knows what it's like to have to let things go.

People come and go. There's the sound of departure and arrival announcements on the speakers overhead. Some people are saying their goodbyes, and some- like the two of you- are saying hello.

All of it happens around you and Bradley. As you hold him and he holds you. Both of you all too aware that this moment hadn't been a given.

"Thank you for not standing me up," you whisper, throat thick.

"I wouldn’t dream of it, kid," he says, taking your chin between his thumb and index finger, and gives it a little wiggle.

You blow out a breath, not wanting a raincloud of what-ifs to damper your golden afternoon.

"Hi," you say again.

"I'm happy to see you," he replies, earnestly. You just nod your head because the feeling is so, so mutual. "You just gained three hours, you up for a little adventuring?"

"I’m all yours, Bradshaw."

It didn't matter to you what you did for the four days you were in town, just that you got to spend it with him.

"Good." He drapes a heavy arm over shoulder and reaches for your suitcase. "Because I'm pretty sure I owe you a milkshake."

You let him steer you towards the exit, to where you assume the short term parking garage is located, and ask, "Can I drive the Bronco?"

Bradley pauses. "We'll see."

You grin because it's not a no.

The California sun hits you in full force as you step out the automatic doors. You reach up and tug out the sunglasses that had been haphazardly tucked into the pocket of his silly Hawaiian shirt- that you were definitely going to tease him about later- and slip them on your face.

Bradley smiles over at you.

"I think California is going to suit you, kid."

And for the first time, here with him, you think it might too.

[respectthepetty]

It's the Catholic in me, but I don't care what happens in Century of Love because in my soul I know that Vee is the one San has been waiting for, and since this is a story about faith for me, I'm gonna let the grandma from one of my favorite movies, Fools Rush In, say how I feel.

Vee and San are meant to be. It's obvious! But they lack faith, in themselves, in each other, and what the goddess has given them.

San saved Vee's grandmother ensuring that baby Vee would come along decades later.

Vee saved baby San.

The red sheet feel on both of them when they met.

The red veil fell on Vee during the wedding ceremony.

San stops feeling pain when he is around Vee.

The second Vee took the stone, San felt pain again because Vee was also removing his heart from San.

Who has the red (thread of destiny) on their side?

NOT THIS CHICK!

(I hope that damn tracker is still on that queer rock!)

San asked to meet Vad again in her next life so he could repay her kindness and regardless if the story is telling us that Vee is Vad or Miss Thang is Vad, Vee is the person destined for San.

San cannot fight fate!

Which is why I think the goddess made him pick because San had denied his fate several times and when he finally gave into the idea of loving Vee, the goddess tested him to make sure he was secure in his path, and even though our poor baby girl was crying

our old man passed!

The goddess has delivered San the person he needs and he can't keep fighting it. He can't keep denying what is right in front of him because he thought his path was leading to something different, because he wanted something different. He can't be afraid of what's to come. He already extended his life once to avoid fate, but now he must face what this life has to offer him, Vad or no Vad, life or death, which is something Vee must accept as well.

They need each other for whatever lies ahead, and the goddess has made sure they found each other, but it's up to them to stay together.

They gotta put in work, but they have to have faith that'll it work regardless of what's to come.

What Goddess has spent a century bringing together, let no man separate.

[oathena11-writes]

DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN NANOWRIMO

Time to talk about something I haven’t really talked about before.

Nanowrimo. You know the challenge to write 50k in a month? That starts in November, and usually people start coming out of hibernation to start planning for that now.

And to plan, they often find their way to the forums to find others who are gearing up and thinking about turning October into Preptober.

Only… the forums are closed this year. Why is that?

Well… https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSYcdosGLoPFI_Dc--vuC9Bl4-OUFGcmHgBRt2aHSRVWBPc6su4AMFY5iDgZGyC379Zm8C7zhBd2zuf/pub

Wait sorry that’s a long document though as someone who has been keeping up with this since late October 2023 and knows a lot about what’s going on, this is the most accurate summary I know of offhand.

So… short version? NaNo has been crumbling for a while, between dismissing people’s dislike of the 2019 redesign, not handling conflict well in general, leaving MLs feeling unsupported and unappreciated, and allowing a culture to grow in which a forum mod became the sole moderator of a fast moving teen forum.

This forum mod was accused of grooming. Several people compiled evidence to show why they believed that. The staff at NaNo did nothing. They claimed an investigation happened but no action was taken for months.

I read through a thread where many concerns were discussed and barely listened to. I watched many members of the community went from hopeful and believing in the organization to angry and disheartened over the course of several months after being treated like children, being told things would happen that never did change.

Then things came to a boiling point in November, and the Board got involved. They shut down the forums and started investigating. We had hope. Then they started treating us the same way the staff had.

There are currently no known MLs as all were removed before April, as they need to be vetted and go through some training, only there’s no word on when that is going to happen.

There were barely any proper events during April and July, and some events NaNo advertised were hosted by their sponsors.

There’s a lot more that I could get into, but I think the more I try to explain the more likely I am to get it wrong and there is enough misinformation about this controversy out there.

For now, the latest is this post on zen desk about AI.

Yeah… I have no faith left. Do not even look at NaNo’s official site. They don’t deserve to think they’re getting people to participate. Especially since all they want is money these days.

If you’re looking for a substitute word tracker, I highly recommend trackbear.app. It’s still in beta, but I’ve been using it all year, and I enjoy it. There’s a goals option that includes the graph and par line we all enjoyed with NaNo, and there’s leaderboards to have fun with your friends.

[everglow-synth]

Okay, so because my dumb ass is bad at using a thread tracker or anything, I'm gonna have to see which all I owe for my accounts. So I'm gonna make a post here - if you're on this list, I'll be trying to get to these over the next few days. If you want to drop something, let me know.

If you see this and you aren't on this list, let me know and I'll add you there. These are in no specific order, just the order I remember them in because I'm stupid and forgetful.

List below the break.

@everglow-synth

@burnlikeme - Pockets (Reply to Starter) @voot-cruisin - Pockets (Reply to Starter) @cxttonsp1ce - Jonathan (Reply) @norvstforthvwickvd - Demon Hunter Jonathan (Reply) @lemonadecroc - Matthew (Reply to Starter) @maaskuline - Matthew (Reply) @chronicparagon - (Reply to Ask/Asks - I have one from Valentine's Day and one from Christmas I realized I never replied to. If you want to consider those lost, let me know, but otherwise I'll get to them soon lmao) @overx - Polybius (Reply)

@the-devils-toybox

@championofdarkland - Bowser (Reply + Ask) @lachrymosestorm - Bowser (Reply) @popgoesthesneaselreturns - Mewtwo (Reply to Starter) @mortuaest - Undecided (Reply to Starter)

@slayers-testament

@extraordinarygrrls - (Reply to Asks) @thenextchapterbegins - (Reply to Ask) @themosthatedbeingg - (Reply - it's a response to an ask but I think it's silly and want to do it lmao)

@powered-by-prower

@timeclipsed - Tails (Reply) @timeclipsed - Hades (Reply) @familylightfox - Tails (Reply) @themultiversebundle - Gemerl (Reply) @rxbelling-hxrald - Gemerl (Reply to Starter) Replies to assorted asks I still need to get to, including anons

[froggywritesstuff]

stupid | yandere!rise!donatello

ship/pairing: yandere!rise!Donatello x g/n!reader (can be read as platonic or romantic)

request: no one

warnings: kinda ooc, blood, wounds, kidnapping, unwanted touching (non sexual), blades, degrading, sadism, stitches, non consensual scarification (?), vomiting, hair pulling, threats of amputation, isolation used as punishment

fandom: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

word count: 1145

A/N: i wasn't sure to write this with Leo or Donnie so i most likely wrote Donnie's personality wrong. 18+ people DNI. i do not in any way support yandere behaviour, please know that this writing is purely fictional, and should not ever be reenacted in real life

You wanted to cry as you felt Donnie’s disappointed gaze on you. Or maybe it was because of the pain of how tight he gripped your wounded wrist. Either way, it didn’t matter, as Donnie would have absolutely zero sympathy for you if you started crying. After all, it was your fault. Your fault you were currently staining his lab floors with blood.

He brought his other hand to your wrist to inspect the gash, as if something had changed in the last five minutes he’d been staring at it.

”Do you want to explain why you cut your tracker out of your wrist?” his voice broke the dreaded silence, and you weren’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

You stayed silent. He hadn’t been happy with your previous answer explaining that you wanted to be alone from him and go outside without him worrying. It wasn’t the answer he wanted. But the truth wasn’t the answer he wanted either.

He grabbed a new tracker from his bench along with a scalpel, gliding the blade through your wound to make a deeper cut, pulling your wrist tightly as he inserted the new tracker inside the wound. The metallic scent of blood in the room grew worse, making your stomach churn. You whimpered, biting your tongue so you didn’t cry out in pain, while Donnie just seemed unbothered by the pain his actions caused. 

“Or do you need me to tell you?”

You stayed quiet. Your eyes stung as tears pricked the back of your eyes, begging for you to cry. But you didn’t. Tears wouldn’t help you. Donnie would only mock you and belittle you if he saw you crying. 

A sigh left his lips as he brought his hands up to cup the side of your face. You felt yourself wanting to lean into his touch, wanting to cling to the gentleness of his hands that so harshly contrasted the anger he must've been feeling.

”You’re stupid, Y/N.” silence hung between the two of you while he stared you down, his eyes filled with disappointment and frustration. His hands dropped from your face and he grabbed a needle and thread. You felt your stomach drop.

”So stupid,” he muttered, piercing the needle through your skin, guiding the thread through your wounded skin to stitch it back together. The corners of his lips twitched upward as he heard your stifled groans and cries of pain. The tears building up in your eyes felt as heavy as rocks as you desperately tried not to cry.

“You’re even more stupid than I thought you were. I had faith in you, but you’ve proven me wrong. Because you are somehow so stupid, you can’t understand that everything I do for you is for your own good. I’m helping you, by keeping you here, because you’re nothing without me. You’re weak. Completely helpless. Fucking pathetic.”

You broke, letting the tears fall down your cheeks with a choked sob.

The room went silent, anxiety bubbled in your chest while you stared at Donnie’s hands. It was as if he paused for dramatic effect as well as staying silent.

Until he laughed.

He fucking laughed.

For a little longer than necessary in your opinion.

”Fuck, Y/N,” his laughter stopped abruptly with a yell, making you flinch, “that’s exactly what I’m talking about.” He stabbed the needle to your arm again and drew the string through tightly, forcing a strained cry of pain from your throat.

“You’re pathetic. Crying over everything and just so whiny. It’s pitiful, honestly. Consider yourself lucky you have me, darling. I have no idea how all your friends managed to put up with you for so long. No wonder none of them care that you’re gone.”

You found the courage to shake your head, opening your mouth to speak, when he tugged on the needle tightly, quickly making you shut up.

”Sorry, did you have something to say?” Donnie’s smug voice asked. He knew exactly what you were going to say.

You stayed silent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing your weak attempt of convincing yourself he was wrong. The needle was pricked through your skin a few more times before he picked up some scissors, cutting the end of the knot he tied in the string as he finished the last stitch. He cleared his throat.

“Just to be clear, though I am enjoying all this, you brought this on yourself. I want you to look at the scar on your arm everyday and think of this. Think of how dumb you were trying to escape me. Think of how easy it was for me to catch you. I want you to look at it and regret everything you did, until every time you even think about escaping again, you want to ridicule yourself over how dumb of an idea it is.”

You shrank back at his words, your gaze falling toward the floor, when you caught sight of the stitches Donnie had made in your arm. It was obvious he had finished stitching your wound together for a long time, as you stared in horror at the array of letters stitched into your arm, spelling out his name. He had even made sure to stitch his birth name, which you could only assume was to cause more pain for you. The pain from the stitching mixed with the bloody scent and sight on your arm all made you feel sick, until you found yourself gagging, eventually vomiting up spit on the floor.

Donnie's face scrunched up in disgust, "Scoff, don't be so dramatic." he stood up from his chair, a metal claw from his battle shell dug into your scalp, dragging you by your hair as Donnie led you out of his lab. Too tired to fight against him you let him drag you, feeling the heels of your feet stinging against the tiles. You winced as every slight movement from your arm sent a jolt of pain.

You heard the creak of door, followed by the flick of a light switch, and you were shoved into a room you recognized all too well. All white walls and floors, and empty of furniture save for the single bed in the corner of the room. You were roughly placed onto the bed, Donnie wasting no time to restrain you to the bed.

"Take that tracker out again, and you'll lose your arm."

You stared at him with an empty expression, using the little energy you had to nod to show your understanding. His hand cupped your cheek gently, his lips upturned slightly, before he bid goodbye and left, making a show of locking the door for extra measures.

All alone, you let the tears fall freely down your face, eventually crying yourself into a restless sleep.

[hemipenal-system]

this thread is fucking long and the cut is in an awkward place just bear with it please

so werewolves are a stock horror villain (and the posts directly below this one are about that! go look at them) and don’t get me wrong i love werewolf horrorsmut but i want to see more of:

werewolves who just aren’t scary in any way. like sure the shift may be scary. they may look kinda scary. but they’re just people like everyone else even if they are more ruled by instinct than the average human. i think stuff like that is a nice way to explore what it means to be a person and how humanity can be a fluid category, especially when the werewolves in question are transgender/disabled/personality disorder coded.

like i want some wholesome shit about werewolves who can’t even pass as ambiguously human. they’re just very overtly werewolves: massive sharp, snarling bundles of taut muscles and sinew, 8, 9 feet tall, who are very capable of snapping and killing everything around them

but don’t. because they’re treated well and loved even though they’re not like everyone else. and it doesn’t matter that they aren’t, because they are like everyone else even if they’re not. i know that sounds a bit confusing on the face but i mean stuff like:

- “oh yeah no worries, Sharon from accounting’s a wolf too! no no we love her! remember when we went to topgolf for that company outing? they couldn’t find any clubs in her size so she outdrove us all with clubs a foot too short it was hysterical!”

- “all right you should be scheduled for this week! next two weeks are the same? no right of course not because you need moon days. yeah that’s totally fine i will get that in to HR and you should be all good!”

- “is- no it’s fine- is it ok if i stay shifted in here? the pain is less bad when i’m shifted. no i have no idea why lol. you’re sure? the shedding is ok and everything? aww sweetie i love you too!”

- “i mean, hip dysplasia is normal in wolves your age, and you had fairly active teenage years, so it happens. it’s not anything to worry about though, i’ll get you in contact with a fantastic physical therapist! no she specializes in wolf patients. she’s great at what she does, i promise. i’ll get you a month of painkillers but over-the-counter should work alright too. take these, go to therapy, and if it’s still doing that in a month come back and we can try something else.”

- “hey, baby, look at me. i know people are staring at you. you don’t need to care about them. you have just as much right to be here as they do. just ignore them.”

- “no i’m absolutely not mad at you! you can’t control that happening! no it was a full moon what the fuck were you supposed to do? look, i can replace the couch you mauled and the TV and vases you broke but i can’t replace you getting hurt because you tried to stave off the shift. we’ll go shopping for new ones together, ok? and we’ll get some cheap shit you can break for next month and a couple steaks for you to fuck up. i promise i’m not mad- hey get off me you big lug stop fucking licking me your mouth tastes like couch cushions…”

- “it’s actually so real to be worried about hurting your human partner in bed. you won’t hurt her, dude, i’ve known her for years you should be more scared of her than she is of you. they make, like, these rings. it’s like a silicone spacer- no it goes on your dick, idiot. it’s so you don’t like fuck into her cervix or whatever. supposedly those help? idk if they come in wolf sizes though.”

show me the negative stuff, too. show me:

- werewolves who muzzle themselves in cities even though it’s only a first quarter moon because they’re scared they’ll snap and hurt someone even though that fear makes them so careful around everyone they never would

- wolves who have moon trackers on their phone because they need to know when they’re going to get forced into a shift so they can get away from everyone because they don’t want to get violent but they can’t control it and the last time they were around someone she ended up in the hospital. she’s really understanding about it and they’re friends now but it doesn’t make it feel any less horrible

- wolves who get asked every single fucking time they get nice dinner, “so do you want your steak cooked, or what?” by waiters who think they’re funny but really aren’t

- werewolves who walk on eggshells in public because they know if they make any minor mistake or show any aggression whatsoever the pundits on the news will talk about “a werewolf snarled at my kid today. i mean i try to be trusting but you never know with those people. they have those fangs for a reason is all i’m saying.”

- werewolves who are scared to shift in public for the same reason as above, because they know how they’ll be perceived if they show people they’re a wolf

- werewolves who can’t find wolf doctors in their area so they keep going back to human doctors who don’t know how the fuck to treat their unique health conditions and when they complain about this they get a flippant “have you tried a veterinarian?”

- werewolves in therapy because their last relationship was with a human who sucked and it was really bad and that trauma has manifested as resource guarding and reactivity issues and it’s causing problems at work

i love this stuff. i want more. i also cannot write conclusion paragraphs to save my life so this is the end now. thanks for reading all this if you’re reading this.

😊

[beedesigns]

Finished Skin!

I've been busy working on this bad boy for a long time. Most of the site was finished ages ago, but I've redone a chunk of it so it's cleaner and meaner since. And I absolutely love it! I've been using the skin for a couple of months, but this week we finally revealed it to all the members. The gang wanted to keep to the same vibe and aesthetic of the old skin that's been in place since 2020, but to update it with some quality of life changes and responsive design. And I LOVE the result!

Some of the updates on wightwold.net include:

full responsiveness so that the site is just as usable on mobile as PC

light/dark mode and font-size options for everyone

a personal notepad for members to save snippets of code or posts

a post saver on the posting page for folks that like to fly by the seat of their pants

a full set of BBCodes so folks can build their own templates and make things look pretty as they please

new buttons on the post page to drop those codes straight into the post

special BBCode templates that only show in the Battle Forums

discord tagging from the post page on site (thank you Sadri!! i honestly don't know how to live without this any more)

automatic thread trackers on the profiles (another one i need in order to survive these days; thank you Fizzy!)

automatic age tracker on the profiles (so we no longer have to remember to update. turns out one of my characters was two years older than I thought...)

automatic face claims

sortable memberlist so there's no longer a debate over who's the tallest character

and loads more like the interactive map drawn by the talented Wynter

So, come with me on a magical tour of this badboy that sparks joy!

First, let's take a look at the subforums and topic rows.

Each of the RP forums has a different beautiful banner which is a lovely way to quickly pick up on the vibes. Let's have a look at some more!

Taking a sneaky opportunity to show off our top three posters there too because some people are just busy!

And finally (for now) showing off one of my favourite parts of the site, our interactive map that has (most) of our canon locations and member created ones. That I think looks amazing on both large screen and mobile! Super proud of this one.

Isn't it beautiful? Wynter did such an amazing job on the art and Juda was fantastic in adding everyone's locations!

I'll show off some of our new profiles soon too :D

[predvestnik]

Chat, I'm cooked! (I say with fear in my voice, but fondly)

I have decided to purge what I have in my drafts page.

This doesn't mean I'm discarding the threads I have pending, but that, as someone with a condition that plays with my attention span and focus like yo-yo, I need to constantly take different steps to make sure I'll get to my tasks at all (let alone in an orderly manner). And when I get used to these precautions, I will need to switch up to keep the gears turning. Sucks, I know.

This time I have brought my thread tracker account back! I've just begun updating it and here's why I'm cooked:

Of course, I grabbed everything I could backtrack on my blog up to December/24 and some of these might end up archived as I start writing but wow.

The plan is to dive into them after July 20th as it's the official date of the end of my employment contract, and leave the drafts page exclusively to the first replies of a thread since I can't add them to the tracker if there isn't an ID to my blog. Whew!

The page is public, by the way. If you want to see if I've added one of ours or want me to add something I might've skipped, go ahead and check it out right here.

[henosiis]

KAT'S SUMMER CLEANUP

Hello folks! With the new blogs and a bunch of new interactions, I've completely lost control over my thread tracker. I will be doing a COMPLETE cleanup of drafts & selective cleanup of my inboxes. If there is a thread you would like us to continue (regardless of how old), PLEASE send me a DM on here or disco, ideally with a LINK to said thread.

I apologize in advance for the things that will be dropped, but I really need to do this.

EDIT: here's a link to said TRACKER so you can actually check what threads I've got saved for continuing

[perditus]

I am also going to sort of update my rules before I nap today probably. Nothing really new just acknowledging it in writing.

I will start archiving/dropping threads once they hit the one month mark (whether it’s something I owe or someone else) not because I want to rush anyone. I don’t. But I can’t guarantee I’ll have inspiration for that threads particular plot a month later. I don’t personally think there’s anything wrong with dropping threads - sometimes the plot doesn’t click or the energy tapers off. I just know after a month it’s a lot harder for me to kick start my brain to provide a response I’m happy with. I can also always un-archive threads too but I think I’ll be holding that exclusively for people I have ships with. I won’t be archiving those threads unless we discuss first.

I’ll add it to my rules later but just wanted to warn people. My thread tracker will be updated to reflect that as well since I have a lot of month+ ones on there. It also alleviates some of my stress seeing big numbers. I know I really don’t need to worry about it but my brain is not always kind to me 😮‍💨

But yes dropping threads is 100% okay as well. Or if the starter doesn’t click let me know and we’ll try again. I don’t take offense , writing is a collaborative effort - I’d ideally like us both to feel engaged and have plenty of room to write our muses together ❤️

[finalfullmoon]

⁘ JULIUS VELTHOMER HAS 7 MONTHS TO LIVE. ⁘

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE INTERACTING. (Updated: 06/16/2025)

blog links: about / interview / headcanons / stats / thread tracker / meta archive Annie's other blogs: nanna / ferdinand

GENERAL.

Julius Velthomer is an irredeemable antagonist of FE4/FE5. He will die on December 31st, 2025 with no exceptions.*

This is a joke; there are 20 spoken and unspoken rules about character deaths that I will not violate. He will be dropped at this time. Just know I am taking full advantage of his impermanence at TOA to circumvent having to redeem him by making him evil enough to want to kill a second time.

Trigger warnings include: child sacrifice, demonic ceremonies, betrayal, mass murder, matricide, torture, mass brainwashing, and incest, in due part to his unfortunate conception. (Will tag as #tw: topic) Feel free to DM me if you need anything else tagged, I genuinely prefer this and will be happy to.

Muse =/= mun. I touch grass.

Julius was cognizant of his crimes and did everything of his own free will. He cannot deflect culpability by claiming possession, for Julius was not simply overtaken by Loptous — he was made whole. Together, they became absolute. Julia's brother died a long time ago. But Julius still lives.

INTERACTIONS. (*READ CAREFULLY)

Julius has two modes: (1) WILL NOT BETRAY - Eerily charismatic like his mother. Almost hypnotizing, surely magnetizing. Manipulative in a charming way. (2) WILL BETRAY - Same charisma. Wicked and immoral. Will betray you organically.

This is an opt-in system. By default, Julius will work under (1) WILL NOT BETRAY unless you consent to the latter, more negative development. While this may seem a bit neurotic on my part (sorry), this is to ensure Julius casts the widest net for interactions without alienating potential partners. It takes 10 seconds to fill out and makes me feel more at ease to write said content with you. Otherwise, Julius will begin and end the relationship between our characters without blindsiding you. This does not obligate you to be friends with him, but does mean that anything charged with physical, emotional, or mental betrayal will not occur unless you opt-in.

You may sign the form later on or change your mind by refilling the form at any time.

(JULIUS BLOOD PACT / CONSENT FORM)

ARCS.

(Weeks 1-2): Sickly, kind, saccharine. Will state his awareness of having "been possessed". Almost appears to have reverted back to his personality prior to Loptous, will not raise a hand to hurt anyone. Sharena FEH would be proud. (He is lying out of his teeth.)

(Month 1-2): Cockish, snide, but otherwise harmless. Pretending to be repentant or otherwise cooperative.

(Months 3-4): Vainglorious, will no longer cooperate.

(Months 5-6): Betrayal arcs in full motion.

(Month 7): Unrepentant asshole. Loptous revival with assistance of TWSITD.

WRITING NUANCES.

Julius' writing will put an emphasis on time. He is running out of time, so all his posts will be visibly and purposefully shorter. This will sacrifice my typical lexicon in exchange for quicker, more timely interactions. I will do 20 minute challenges to maintain prompt posting and hope to commit some memorable arcs for us both before his "departure". You do not need to match. Roleplay as long or as short as you please and take your time.

Under the unique circumstance that you want to be friends with a villain, Julius will make you feel almost worthy of his attention. It is fun as it is saccharine as it is manipulative. But he will not pull the rug from under you. In fact, he may seemingly offer to choose you over the end of the world. Isn't that nice?

Send asks anytime. He's in the library like a ghost that haunts your narrative. He chose the library on purpose to publicly piss you off. All asks will be put into a post format, but you will not need to make it into a thread if you prefer for it to be a one-off.

The betrayal arcs will preferably happen later, unless threads progress negatively in an organic way or your muse already has history with him. Do not push for unnatural interactions with drama and let it develop as is. Unless there's history behind it, I will be hard-pressed to accept something off the rails immediately.

You may be one of the special many that already want to kill him. (Funny.) Go for it. To reiterate: he's publicly walking around on purpose to piss you off. All I am asking for is that every interaction where you do want to kill him ends up failing. He can't feasibly be killed, but I will drop him in December, so until then, please give him some avenue not to die (i.e. let him fade away like a ghost, knock you out, get pulled away, or manage to escape, etc.) Come January, he will essentially be a nightmare your character will conveniently forget.

WANTED INTERACTIONS.

Julius canonically has the ability to mesmerize people with just his gaze. He gets it from his mother. There is something electrifying about being in his company. I highly encourage you to play into this if this interests you, otherwise feel free to ignore it.

He will be disparaging of both human and dragonkin alike. This is very evidently a god complex substantiated by his revival after death. Coming back to life did such good things to his ego. Yes, he does have a dark god's blood in him but no, Loptous is currently inaccessible—dormant within him. He's working on it.

Frankly, I have a hard time believing he was a kind child prior to his exposure to the Book of Loptous, but because Julia and FEH have emphasized this multiple times, I would like to play into it in my portrayal. It's good fun to take a challenging piece of characterization and run a mile with it. You will see him make god-like attempts at pretending to be human. It should not be easy to discern whether he is actually being truthful, but that is what makes it fun.

Children of Naga. Come here. Come into the dark.

People who want to befriend him (funny). I want to make Julius as available for interactions as possible. Please come here (nicer). Come into the light.

MORE INFO.

...on relationships, OOC Notes, portrayal, etc. can be found here. It's juicy. I thank you for reading it in advance!

[larkingame]

hello folks! I hope that January has treated you all well and that the beginning of 2024 has been kind to you so far. welcome to the second public update for larkin's monthly development of 2024! 

Personally, January seemed to fly by for me, and while it did provide a lot of time for work, it also posed some challenges and taught me a few things. The first of which, is the fact that the new Larkin is a //big// undertaking, bigger than I think even I realized when I first set out on this journey. While turning Larkin into an RPG, with dice rolls, stat checks and the like is a decision that I'm still very happy with and proud of my progress on--it's going slower than I'd necessarily like. To illustrate this to you, the prologue of Larkin currently sits at about 55k words, while the original twine prologue was at just about 21k words in it's complete scope. The big difference there being, in those original 21k words I managed to get the plot moving and the Preacher and Wyatt on their way to Nevada, but in the time that I've been working on the RPG version of Larkin, I've only just about gotten finished with the first major encounter. It's slow going, and I'm working really hard to ramp up the production speed--adjusting my schedule to wake up at 5:00 am to work for a few hours before work and school, and then coming home and working on larkin until about 1:30 am (as much I hate this fact, I //do// in fact need //some// sleep.) Even with all of my free time dedicated to work on Larkin or catching those few precious hours of sleep, I'm still not entirely happy with the speed at which I'm working on it--and I'm still experimenting to try and figure out what works best that helps me produce quality work with a quick turn-around. 

That being said, one of my new systems I've implemented to try and alleviate my production stress is that I've started dropping two updates to the game every week. The first update comes on Thursdays and is called what I've dubbed a 'Bulk' Update, it essentially builds on the choices/routes that have already been presented to the player, giving you room to explore your environment/develop your character compared to the Sunday 'Streamline' Update, that furthers along the plot of the story. Later tonight I'll be posting an update roadmap for the month of February on Patreon. 

Other brief updates about the progress of the game. For one, I've been working with two artists—one who is producing some art that'll be used as future patreon physical rewards and another who's putting together portraits of all the game's main characters that I am. Sickeningly excited about, considering that this artist is my current favorite working artist of all time. In total there's going to be sixteen character portraits that you'll be able to unlock throughout the course of the game, with slight variations depending on our relationship with that character. Other than that, me and my assistant Phillip are in the process of really trying to build a bigger social media presence for Larkin, so we'll be launching twitter/threads/bluesky/instagram and editing the tiktok pages for Larkin, that I'll drop in a card later tonight as well. I’ve also introduced another patreon tier of $1 for those of you who are wanting more consistent updates on the game development on Patreon!

STATS: 

PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT: 55, 750 words

ROUTE TRACKER: 1.5/11

PROLOGUE WORDCOUNT GOAL: 150k