#I started this version back in December

[vexedallay]

IM SCREAMING THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT ITS FINALLY DONE!!

The Worldport Crew, in all their (traumatized) glory!

[ladytauria]

to celebrate hitting 50k i'm sharing a snippet of the longfic i'm currently working on <3 (thank you v much to both @deepwithintheabyss and @paprikadotmp4 for the encouragement & brainstorming help <3)

still untitled (i've been calling it the "aob dubcon fic" lmao) but i have written a summary:

Jason tries to sell off his first heat to make ends meet for the upcoming winter. When he’s taken by traffickers instead, he’s sure that’s the end of him—until he’s rescued by a mysterious alpha. That “rescue” comes with a price: Jason’s heat hits shortly after, and… one thing leads to another, and now Jason and Tim are bound together by a fledgling mate bond. It’s not the first time Jason’s had to make the best of things, but… he finds it a little bit easier this time, especially as he grows to genuinely like Tim. Unfortunately, just as they're starting to settle into mated life, Tim’s ex-pack starts getting involved, and they don’t exactly approve of Tim’s choice in mate—never mind that it wasn’t really a choice at all.

cws/tags for this snippet: reverse robins, aob dynamics, underage jason (15), first aid, medical inaccuracies (probably; i'm not a doctor, so i'm warning to be safe), hurt/comfort, touch starvation, anxiety, allusions to captivity related ptsd, self-deprecation, brief memories of non-consensual touching

editing to add: this snippet takes place in the 2nd half of chapter 2 <3 (& was originally the second scene for the fic lol)

i have also previously shared a snippet of the scene after this, when jason's heat hits, here.

Tim parks outside of an old apartment building. The brick facade is worn, cracked and peeling in places. Most of the windows are intact at least, though; two of them have lights on, the rest dark.

Tim gets out first, already having rounded the car by the time Jason is swinging his legs out. His hand rests on the door, waiting patiently for Jason to join him on the sidewalk. Then he shuts it. One hand rests on Jason’s back again, a gentle guide inside.

There’s a man at the desk near the front entrance, reading a newspaper. He spares them a brief, bored glance before going back to it.

There’s an out of order sign on the elevator, so they have to take the stairs. It’s just two flights, but by the end, Jason’s slightly out of breath. He’d thought he was in pretty good shape, but—

He guesses spending nearly a week in a small, windowless room hasn’t done him any favors.

Tim stops at a door in the middle of the hall, unlocking it and letting Jason go in first. The main room is all one room; living room transitioning to kitchen, separated by an island counter. Tim guides Jason to the couch, directing him to sit while he gets the first aid kit.

The couch is worn but comfortable, cushions sinking under Jason’s weight, cradling him.

Tim disappears down the hall, and returns a few moments later holding the biggest first aid kit Jason has ever seen. Not that he’s really an expert on the things, but— The one at his house was pretty small.

And mostly empty, honestly.

The coffee table looks comically small under it. It makes Jason’s belly flip with nerves, remembering the feeling of latex covered hands on his body, spreading him open.

He bites his lip.

Tim doesn’t open it, though; instead, he slips into the kitchen. He comes back a moment later, holding a bottle of purple Gatorade. Then, he kneels in front of Jason. It’s—odd. Having an alpha kneel in front of him, voluntarily. Even though Jason knows he doesn’t exactly have any power here, the visual dissonance is—

Odd.

He offers up the bottle. It takes a moment for Jason’s hands to move, but he does take it. His fingers fumble with the cap; he flushed, embarrassed despite himself, but gets it open.

As soon as it touches his lips, his thirst hits him full force. He allows himself two large gulps to wet his throat, and then forces himself to slow down, sipping instead.

When he screws the cap back on, he finds Tim still there. Waiting. He twists his hands around the plastic nervously.

“Alright,” Tim says gently. “Other than the bruise on your side, and the rope burns… are you injured?”

Jason shakes his head, twisting the sleeves of the alpha’s jacket. “Nn-nn. Just some bruises,” he says softly. He pauses. “And, um. I did hit my head once. It still hurts, but— I’m not, like, dizzy or nothin’.”

Tim nods. “Alright,” he says. “I’d like to do a head injury evaluation anyway. I’ll just feel over your skull, and then use a penlight to evaluate your pupil dilation. I’ve got cream for the rope burns, and for the bruise—” Tim hesitates a moment, then continues, “I’ll need to check and make sure nothing is cracked, and there’s no internal bruising.” He pauses again. “As long as there’s nothing serious anywhere else… I have some painkillers you can take, when we eat.”

Jason takes a moment to absorb all of that, and then nods, tipping his head forward obediently.

There’s a part of him screaming at himself not to be so compliant. To kick and claw and scratch and bite and fight, the way he has been for the past week. But he’s— He’s so tired, and sore, and—

The alpha smells so good, and— The smiles he keeps giving Jason melt something inside of him. He wants to keep seeing them. Keep earning them.

Tomorrow that might scare him.

Tonight—

His eyes fall closed when Tim’s fingers slide into his curls. The touch is achingly gentle. It feels— It feels good. Nice. Jason can’t help but lean into it. He thinks Tim’s hands linger a little longer than they need to, like he’s indulging Jason’s obvious enjoyment of the touch.

He does pull away eventually. Jason bites back his whine, instead sitting back up against the cushions.

“No bumps,” Tim murmurs. He gets out the penlight next, and cups Jason’s face as he shines a light first in one eye, and then the other. Jason grimaces, hissing a little as he squints. The light aggravates his aching head. “Pupil dilation is normal.” He pockets the light, and strokes Jason’s cheek with his thumb before he pulls away. “Now, I need to check your bruises.”

Jason bites his lip again. The constant worrying is starting to make the top layer of skin break and flake under his teeth. He averts his eyes, rolling the sleeves of the suit jacket up, exposing his hands. Then he pulls his shirt up, bunching it up just beneath his breasts.

His stomach jumps when Tim touches him. Tim pauses, hand hesitating, just barely touching Jason’s skin, and then— He starts to rumble, low and deep.

Jason whines. He doesn’t mean to—but it bursts from him; he can’t stop it, can’t muffle it. It’s a soft, helpless little keen, and the alpha’s rumble gets louder in response. He scoots closer, until he’s between Jason’s knees. His hand settles onto Jason’s skin, curving around his side. His other hand comes to cup Jason’s shoulder, thumb rubbing gentle circles through his clothes.

“It’s alright,” he soothes, the rumble deepening his voice. The sound—

Jason has only vague memories of his father rumbling for him, from when he was much, much smaller. Before working as a henchman had stolen much of his father’s good will. Other than that, Jason has only ever heard alphas rumble on TV. It’s—

It’s a really nice sound.

Against his will, tears fill his eyes, and he raises his hand, pressing his palm over one, like he can force them back inside. Tim’s hand settles against his side, just underneath the bruising. “You’re alright,” the alpha murmurs. “It’s okay to cry, pup.”

Jason sniffs, loud in the quiet. “I—I—”

“Shh, puppy.” Tim’s hand doesn’t leave Jason as he rises, slipping onto the couch beside him. His other hand cups the back of Jason’s head, tugging him forward—Jason’s arms come up automatically, wrapping around Tim’s neck, his shirt falling back over his abdomen. The alpha’s scent drips with comfort and the promise of protection and Jason—

He feels… He feels warm, and safe, and—

A sob rattles through his chest. Tim holds him closer, tighter, his arm winding around Jason’s waist. He buries his nose in Jason’s curls, stroking his skin with his thumb as he rocks him, slowly.

Jason’s chest heaves. His whole body shakes with each sob, so much that Jason is worried he’s going to shake himself apart. Tim’s steady hold feels like all that’s keeping him together.

It’s not just the last few days, it’s— It’s everything, since his Mom got sick and Dad turned to working as henchman and their lives just… fell apart. He’s— Jason’s been on his own for so long. Longer even than he’s been on the streets. Every day has been a fight for survival and Jason—

Honestly, he thought he’d finally lost.

Tim murmurs in his ear. Jason can’t hear a word of what he’s saying, but the tone is low and gentle, and Jason clings to it.

It takes a long time for Jason’s sobs to subside. Jason— He doesn’t know how long exactly. But he does know that when he’s done he feels exhausted. He slumps into Tim’s chest, tremors still running down his spine. His face is sticky. He definitely got snot all over Tim’s nice shirt, and that—

He’s too tired to even worry about Tim’s reaction.

Fingers comb through his hair again, lightly scritching his scalp. He lets out a soft sigh, slumping even more against the alpha’s chest.

Tim hums. He noses at Jason’s temple; a gentle nudge Jason grumbles at. “C’mon, pup,” he murmurs. “I still need to look at your bruises.”

Jason whines—the same plaintive little puppy whine he used to give his mom when he wasn’t ready to get up yet, for one reason or another. It makes Tim huff, amused; the humor reflected in his scent. It’s nice. Really nice.

He noses at Jason’s temple again. “Pup.” His voice is a little more stern. It’s not threatening, though—doesn’t even make Jason’s hackles raise. Tim is still rumbling. Close as they are, it feels like it’s seeping into Jason’s bones. It lessens the ache in him. His skin— His skin has been itchy for years, but. The creepy crawling of it has subsided, for now at least.

He’s comfortable. Jason doesn’t want to move.

He does anyway, sitting back with a scowl on his face. It makes Tim smile—his scowl deepens.

“I’ll be quick,” Tim promises.

Jason huffs a little. He leans back against the couch cushions. Tim’s hand is still under his shirt, sliding back over to the injured side as Jason lifts it. He feels— He feels more settled now. Less nervous, though butterflies still flutter between his ribs.

Jason watched Tim’s fingers probe gently around the bruising. The purple has started to fade to a greenish hue, but it still hurts when he prods it. Jason’s quiet, pained noises are soothed with soft rumbles and fingers rubbing his shoulders.

When he’s done, Tim’s hand lingers, laying casually on his waist. Jason’s skin would normally be prickling, but—

It isn’t.

It hasn’t this whole time, any time the alpha touched him.

“I don’t feel any cracks or breaks. Did— Were there any injuries to your back?” He’s no longer rumbling.

Jason misses it already. There’s a part of him that wants to snuggle up to him, see if he can’t coax that rumble back out.

He ignores it; instead shaking his head. “No. They— The, um, the boss said they were supposed to keep me as uninjured as possible. Any punishment had to be careful not to leave a mark.”

Tim hums. He strokes Jason’s skin with his thumb, and then slips his hand from Jason’s waist. It—

Jason finds that he misses it.

Tim leans forward, finally opening the first aid kit. It’s stocked, full of things Jason has names for and things he doesn’t. Tim takes out two things: the first, a small jar, and the second, a bottle of puppy’s Tylenol. Jason—he doesn’t like it, but he can’t really argue with it. Not at his size and weight and everything. They’re pills, at least, and chewable too,

Jason examines them carefully before he takes them, washing away the chalky flavor with the drink he’d been given before.

Tim unscrews the lid of the jar. The cream inside smells herbal, though not unpleasantly so. Jason holds out his arm, relaxing into the couch as the alpha works the cream into his skin.

It’s easy to let his eyes fall half-lidded. Jason is warm and sleepy. The air is thick with protective alpha scent; it soothes his hind-brain, the part that is purely omega, purely pup and longing for the comfort and safety of pack.

A small voice in the back of his mind is screaming, telling him he needs to keep his guard up.

It’s easy to ignore like this. To focus on nothing but gentle hands on his skin and the ambient noise around him; the hum of electricity and the distant noise of outside traffic.

Jason drifts.

He barely registers when the alpha switches arms, coming back up only to croon confusedly when Tim stops touching him. He blinks up at him, and gets a kind smile in return.

“Hush, pup,” the alpha soothes. “I’m going to get us something to eat.”

Jason blinks slowly at him and hums in acknowledgment. Tim gets a blanket from—somewhere, and lays it over him. It’s soft. Jason likes it. He nuzzles into it, into more of the alpha’s scent, and sighs.

He can hear Tim moving around in the kitchen—the clatter of dishware and pans, the bubbling of boiling liquid, the sound of his soft footsteps. He can smell something savory—chicken, he thinks, and garlic.

He drifts again, stirring only when Tim nudges him gently. A steaming bowl of soup is pressed into his hands.

“It’s hot,” Tim warns, a bit unnecessarily.

Jason still burns his tongue on the first mouthful. He doesn’t care. Having the food in front of him has made him realize how ravenous he is. His bowl is empty far too soon, though he’s too stuffed to go back for seconds.

His empty bowl is taken from him, and then Tim returns again. “C’mon, pup,” he murmurs. “I’ve got a spare toothbrush you can use. A spare den, too. I’ll get you some nesting materials and pajamas while you brush your teeth.”

Jason reluctantly leaves the couch and blanket behind, shuffling down the hall and into the bathroom. Tim procures a toothbrush for him, and then leaves.

It’s a relief to brush his teeth.

His captors had done it for him, so rough his gums had bled and ached. They still bleed under Jason’s gentle ministrations, but at least it doesn’t hurt. By the time he’s rinsing his mouth, Tim has returned, a bundle in his arms. He offers it to Jason.

“Clothes,” he says, a little unnecessarily.

Jason takes them, and Tim leaves again, giving him privacy. Jason goes to shut the door and then—

Hesitates.

He doesn’t want it open. But— He doesn’t…

What if he shuts it, and it won’t open again?

He’s. He’s being silly.

There’s no way this apartment has more than one bathroom. Trapping Jason inside here would be dumb, and he doesn’t think this alpha is dumb.

Jason takes a deep breath. He shuts the door.

Except—

He doesn’t. The latch hits the frame and Jason stops. His heart thunders in his ears. His breaths come sharper, quicker. He can’t. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t.

Tears burn in his eyes.

It’s not fair.

He rests his head against the frame; one hand cradling the bundle of clothes to his chest, the other gripping the doorknob.

God. He’s so fucking pathetic.

He shudders. Takes a deep breath. It shakes on his exhale, a tremor in his chest. It’s fine. He doesn’t have to shut it all the way. He can leave it like this, with the metal latch over the door frame, only the tiniest sliver of hallway visible.

It’s fine.

He’s fine.

Jason strips quickly, clothes falling into a puddle at his feet. He yanks on the pants the alpha provided. They’re a little short at the ankle, and he has to draw the drawstrings all the way out for them to stay up, but. They fit well enough.

The shirt, too, is a little big, hanging off slightly at one shoulder. It doesn’t show his breasts, and hangs down to his mid-thigh, so Jason doesn’t mind.. Both pants and tee are soft on his skin, not scratching like the other set did.

There’s a hamper. Jason drops his old clothes in, though he’d much rather see them in a dumpster somewhere. The jacket—

Jason hadn’t realized how much it had been comforting him until now. Without it, he feels almost naked. Exposed. He wants to put it back on again. He resists the urge, though. Instead, he straightens it as best he can, then folds it in half and lays it on top of the hamper before he exits the bathroom.

Tim isn’t in the living room any more, and Jason stands, nibbling on his lip. Maybe he should go for the door… but. He can’t bring himself to. Instead he stands there, uselessly, until he hears rustling further down the hall.

He approaches tentatively, and finds Tim in the den at the end of the hall.

Tim glances up when he hears Jason approach, and smiles a little. “I was just getting out some nesting materials,” he says, gesturing.

In front of him is a cushioned nest base, held off the ground by a wooden frame. Piled on top of it is—

Jason had been expecting maybe a couple of blankets and some pillows, but—

The blankets are piled tall; the one on top Jason recognizes as the blanket he’d been using on the couch. There are plenty of pillows, too—and padding, for added layers, and cushions, and, it’s… It’s a lot.

Jason’s throat feels a little tight. “Thanks,” he says, voice small.

“Of course, pup,” Tim says gently. He’s pulled his scent in tight now, but when he draws nearer, Jason catches a whiff of safehere and everythingsokay drifting off of him. His hand moves slow enough it would be easy for Jason to avoid it, but. He stays still, letting the alpha brush his knuckles over his cheek.

“Goodnight, pup,” he murmurs. “If you need me, I’ll be just down the hall.”

Jason nods. The alpha’s hand drops, and then he leaves.

The rest of the den… It’s not bare, but it lacks a personal touch. There’s a chest of drawers in the corner closest to the closet; a nightstand by the nest; and curtains hanging over the window. He shuffles further in, leaving the door open behind him.

He leaves the nest alone for now. Instead—

He goes for the closet first, opening the door. It’s bare inside, except for a thin layer of dust. Jason shuts it again. He opens the drawers, as quietly as he can. Empty as well. The den smells— Not stale, it’s definitely been used before, but. He catches the barest hints of alpha scent, and other than that… It just smells clean.

Jason rubs at his eyes.

No more putting it off.

As much as he doesn’t want to… Jason doesn’t shut the door all the way. Instead, just like in the bathroom, he leaves it open the tiniest sliver. Anything more, and he won’t be able to sleep. Anything less—

Panic.

Even the thought makes his heart race.

Jason rubs his face. He hates this. He hates it so much. Fuck. Sometimes it feels like life is just out to get him. Like—someone or something out there wants him to suffer.

Stop it. Plenty of people have it worse than you do, he scolds himself. He’s safe right now, or— He has the illusion of safety, at least. The alpha is being nice. Jason is— He’s not bound up. The door isn’t locked. There are no bars on the window. Tim treated his injuries. Held him when he cried. Gave him food and something to drink and soft clothes.

And he’d given Jason plenty of material to make a nice, comfortable nest to den in. One that might finally satisfy the instincts that have been screaming at him.

Jason takes a breath, and pads over to the nest. The sheer amount of material before him is almost overwhelming, but… He goes through it slowly. He starts with the padding, layering it into the nest base and using the cushions to help give it shape. He tests it as he goes, until he has something that’s plush, but not so much that it will engulf him. He works a nest cover over it. It’s a bit of a struggle to get it on, but Jason manages; only a little winded by the end. What padding and cushions he didn’t use—

He decides to put them in the closet, where they’ll be out of the way.

Blankets next.

Jason sorts through the pile slowly, rubbing each on his cheek. Scenting them. The one he used on the couch is the strongest scented; still thick with the contentment he’d felt in the alpha’s arms, and the protective, comforting scent Tim had drenched the air with.

He ends up using a little over half of the blankets Tim provided. The rest he puts in the closet.

Pillows—

Jason doesn’t use as many of them. He ends up putting most of them in the closet. And then, finally—

His nest is done.

He stands back, surveying his handiwork. He trills with pride, running his hand over the edge. His nest is soft. Cozy. It needs— It needs books. And— His fox. He misses his fox, the one his mom gave him. He kept it— He managed to keep it safe, all this time.

It’s probably gone now. Or ruined.

His eyes sting, and he swipes at them roughly.

Jason is so tired of crying.

He climbs into bed, pulling the blankets over and around him, snuggling down into the pillows. It feels—

Safe.

There’s something missing, though. Jason— He’s not sure what it is, but—

He’ll worry about it in the morning.

[stuckinapril]

the guardian’s review title for nicki minaj’s pink friday 2 album was definitely a choice

[yerimoonlight]

the vault songs were...impeccable

[raiiny-bay]

what if i rewatched fruits basket again

[mioakem]

Back to December tv has me in actual tears

[sncwonthebeach]

taylor swift: do not bully j*hn m*yer

both taylor lautners:

[bemusedlybespectacled]

what's happening with James Somerton right now: a probably-incomplete primer

TW: suicide, including suicide as a threat and a manipulation tactic.

The short version:

James Somerton is a former Youtube essayist who focused entirely on queer history, queer media criticism, and queer issues in general. He is also a flagrant grifter who has made tens of thousands of dollars via fraud, both directly (lying about his finances to beg for money and getting donations for films he never even started making) and indirectly (stealing whole essays and articles and books, reading them out loud verbatim for his videos without indicating they were anything other than his own work, and then using the prestige he gained from using their work to get Patrons and sponsorships).

The story as told James and James apologists was that James attempted to apologize twice, was hounded mercilessly on the internet for weeks, and then, driven to the end of his rope, he posted a suicide note on Twitter, was MIA for several days, and from then on has been avoiding the internet.

The actual story, as revealed yesterday, was that James used two sockpuppet accounts to defend himself and parrot his talking points (again, while publicly claiming to be trying to take responsibility for his actions), using one to try to rebrand the con under a different name and another to deliberately stoke the panic caused by his suicide note. He was not only aware of the pain and anxiety he was causing people, but he encouraged it on one alt while hornyposting about his favorite movies on the other.

He is an unrepentant con artist who successfully used a suicide threat to prevent further interference with future cons. The only reason he was caught is because he is apparently incapable of going more than a couple of weeks without trying to get back in the internet spotlight, allowing people to tie his alts back to him. He lies for fun and profit and he should not be taken seriously, ever.

The long version:

In December 2023, Youtube essayist Hbomberguy (Harry Brewis) put out a four-hour-long video about plagiarism on the internet, and devoted two hours to addressing as much of JS's plagiarism as he could. I strongly recommend watching the entire thing, as the first two hours build on the concepts that he uses later in the video.

He also blew the whistle on James' fraud surrounding Telos, a studio James founded using thousands of dollars of IndieGoGo money that never actually produced any films despite him definitely working on them! Any day now they'll be released! Don't you worry!

A day later, Todd in the Shadows, a guy whose entire thing is music reviews, posted his own video debunking multiple outright lies that James had told about history, especially queer history. A few more days later, The Ace Couple, who run a podcast about asexuality, released an episode detailing how they'd lost $1.5k donating to Telos.

I have put the videos, Twitter threads, Patreon posts, and Reddit posts by other people discussing different aspects of James' fraud under the cut.

Every other time James was caught plagiarizing, prior to Harry's video, he would lie about it. Either he'd have some excuse (easily proven to be a lie) or he'd retreat to his favorite deflection: "I'm just being harassed because I'm gay."

This last lie was one he'd use not only to deflect accusations of plagiarism, but all criticism in general, no matter how trivial. Every time, the critic or someone associated with them would somehow dox him, or harass him, or send him death threats, or threaten to falsely accuse him of sexual assault.

This happened to The Ace Couple (who'd tried to correct him on something extremely acephobic in one of his videos), Jessie Gender (who'd tried to correct him when he claimed that there were no queer content creators on Nebula, given that she and a bunch of other queer creators were definitely on that platform), and the person who first blew the whistle on him stealing from Tinker Belles and Evil Queens by Sean Griffin (who was accused of being behind death threats he'd received, and hounded so harshly they had to leave Twitter).

It is important to note that every time James faced potentially damaging criticism, or even just a threat to his ego, suddenly he would claim to be harassed by people connected to the critic, including threats to his life. There has never been any proof of any threats being directed at him, nor evidence that, if the threats were real, that they are actually from people connected to the critic.

In the original video by Hbomberguy, Harry makes a compelling argument that James brought on a friend of his, Nick, as a co-writer specifically as a shield against accusations of plagiarism. "How dare you accuse me of plagiarism! Nick would NEVER do that!" This is even more apparent given subsequent developments which I will get into.

When evidence started dropping about different aspects of his fraud (not only Harry's video, but Todd in the Shadows' video debunking his misinfo, The Ace Couple's podcast about their experience donating to his fraudulent film studio, and Dan Olson's tweet thread about James' obvious lies about his finances), he went into hiding for two weeks, and then put out the first of two apologies. He then deleted that one and put out another one a few weeks later. And then he immediately deleted that one.

While his first apology was rambling, vague, and dramatic (lots of sniffing/crying), and his second was more measured, thought-out, and totally batshit (lots of hilariously and bizarrely implausible excuses for why he'd done what he'd done), they had roughly the same points:

Not ALL of his stuff was plagiarized! Actually, a lot of it wasn't! No specifics as to what, though!

Most of the stuff that was plagiarized was just a failure to properly cite sources, as he had no idea that putting someone's name in your end credits or video description (without specifying what parts are attributable to that person or disclosing that you are using their words verbatim) is not sufficient credit,

Also, he totally had permission, in some cases, to use their work verbatim prior to publishing the video (this is not true, and is disproven both in Harry's video and his own screenshots);

He definitely didn't commit fraud with Telos and would soon have a good explanation for where the money went! (he did not)

He was going to keep the videos up so that he could either donate the funds from any monetization to the fund Harry had set up for his victims or to "help Nick's portfolio" by showcasing his work;

He lost his best friend (i.e. Nick) over these allegations, who absolutely definitely wasn't a scapegoat, except Nick was also responsible for a lot of the stuff James was being criticized for;

He was going to keep the videos up so he could either donate the advertising proceeds to Harry's fund for his victims (first apology) or to "help Nick's portfolio" by showcasing the work he'd done; and

As a result of this entire ordeal, he had attempted either self-harm or suicide (he merely alluded to "doing something stupid").

Again, his response was to 1) downplay the severity of his actions or flat out ignore allegations against him, 2) come up with ridiculous excuses for his behavior, 3) throw Nick under the bus, and 4) claim to be in mortal danger. As far as I am aware, he has never taken any concrete action to make amends to any person, not even donating money to charity.

This was coupled with some kind of attempt to profit: monetizing his apology videos, closing and then reopening his Patreon right before the monthly charge cycle happened (totally to let people unfollow him, not at all as a grab for that money), creating a new Patreon under a different name, and changing his Twitter and Youtube handles to distance himself from the controversy while gathering new followers.

At one point (I forget if this was on Twitter or Instagram), he also said that someone had broken into his apartment due to the notoriety he'd received from Harry's video. I believe that was after his first apology, when people started to point out that he'd just changed the name of his Twitter and Youtube channel and had restarted a new Patreon under a pseudonym. (BTW, the pseudonym he used for his new Patreon was "The Gay Raconteur"; this will be important later).

It had what I think was the desired effect: any attempt at pointing out that he was rebranding his grift now came across as weirdly fixated on minor things he was doing, which certainly wasn't worth putting him in physical danger. (Again, he has never provided any proof of this happening, nor provided any evidence that these people allegedly threatening him were, in fact, in some way inspired by Hbomb).

So along comes March 5, 2024, and James posts a suicide note on his Twitter, saying that he is going to set up his videos to automatically publish (for Nick's portfolio), provide in some way for the ad revenue to go to a suicide prevention nonprofit, and then kill himself.

The immediate response from the internet was compassion and totally chilling any further criticism, since you might be callously criticizing a dead person. Harry and Kat worked for a couple of days to get a wellness check for him while a substantial section of the internet called them murderers.

On March 6, a day after the note was published, Nick tweeted that that he had cause to believe James was fine. Kat confirmed that James was safe on March 11. Due to the drama of the "suicide attempt," however, the chill on criticizing James stayed in place for months.

And then yesterday Lady Emily, one of the cowriters for Sarah Z., drops two more bombs:

James has not one but two alt accounts that he was using to rebrand and start over.

The first one was created between his first and second apologies, and originally was for "The Gay Raconteur" until he changed it to "Will"/"thatgayyouknow" and, later, "The Achillean Boy."

The second one was much older, under the pseudonym "Mikey JB," and used stolen pictures from Grindr instead of his own face. However, it is pretty obvious that it is, in fact, a sockpuppet account and not just some other person who happens to like James, as detailed below.

Both accounts, both between apologies and after his "suicide," talked about how criticism of James was unfair because the plagiarized stuff was "like a decade old" and repeating the same excuses that James had also made.

The "Mikey JB" account not only supported James, but actively threw Nick under the bus, saying that a criticized part of a video "reeks of his co-writer."

On March 6, the day after James' main Twitter posted the suicide note, The Achillean Boy account was hornyposting about Ryan Phillipe. James didn't even take a day or two off of Twitter. If he had been completely off Twitter for a couple of days, that could have been an indication that he really had hurt himself and was unable to access his phone, or at the very least unaware of the panic. But he wasn't. He was aware of it and did nothing. Actually, no! Worse than nothing!

On the same day (March 6), the Mikey JB account was actively contradicting Nick saying he was okay (they "haven't spoken in months" so there's no way Nick could know if he was alive) and saying that "people like you" i.e. his critics, "drove him to it." Not only did he ignore the panic he'd intentionally created, he actively drove it.

He saw people going emotionally through the wringer over the idea that they might have somehow caused his death, and intentionally made them keep thinking it. He say people calling his critics "murderers" for "driving him to his death," and he joined in.

Why am I explaining all of this? I want to make a couple of things extremely clear, and the context is necessary to my ultimate points, namely:

James Somerton didn't merely "credit people improperly;" he conned his followers out of more money than some people make in a year with the Telos con, while raking in thousands more per month on Patreon and buying expensive equipment, while claiming to be near insolvency and in desperate need of money.

James Somerton has never taken full responsibility for his actions or attempted to make amends. He has only ever tried to dodge responsibility, particularly by throwing Nick under the bus.

Every time he has ever been criticized, for any reason, he has lied about threats to his life to gain sympathy and quell criticism. This is a standard part of his MO. He has done this over and over and over again. At this point, I think if he says the sky is blue, someone should go out and check first before doing anything.

"But BB, what if he really is getting harassed/threatened or really is suicidal?"

So, okay: people who are attempting to manipulate you may use legitimate problems as a tool. It doesn't need to be fake to be effective - in fact, it might be more effective if it it's true. An abusive ex who says "if you leave me, I'll kill myself" and genuinely means it and actually attempts it (and possibly even succeeds!) is a lot harder to leave than someone who says the same thing but is clearly just bluffing, because the threat is real.

My rule of thumb in these cases is to treat the threat like it's real, without caving to the intended manipulation. Whether your ex is lying or telling the truth when they say, "I'll kill myself if you leave me," the appropriate response in both cases is to immediately call a mental health service or supportive family member. If it's fake, it's inconvenient for them; if it's real, you reacted appropriately. Your response needs to be the same regardless.

You don't get back together with them because it's a real threat (presumably you wouldn't do that if you knew it was fake and they were never in any danger), and you don't tell them that they're a piece of shit who should be dead (HOPEFULLY you wouldn't do that if you knew for a fact that they were telling the truth).

In this case, I am extremely confident in saying that he was coldbloodedly lying the entire time and was never once threatened, and certainly not to the degree he claimed to be. But even if he wasn't, that does not and should not change anyone's behavior in terms of holding him accountable.

And I mean actually holding him accountable: making sure he doesn't try to start a new con on new people, continuing to point out that he hasn't paid anyone back for his previous con (so long as it's still true), that sort of thing. It doesn't mean people should tell him he should go die for real or, I don't know, try to get him fired if he gets a job at Tim Horton's or Target or something else that's not fraud. That would be wrong regardless of whether he's actually in danger or not. The point is to avoid being cruel without negotiating with terrorists.

Video sources and links under the cut:

Links:

It's like Breaking Bad, but backwards: a brief history of how Somerton successfully screwed himself Dan Olson's Twitter thread about the financial fraud My Year With James: Todd's post explaining the backstory of his video (Patreon-locked) DJSO#: Dan Olson's breakdown of James' second apology (Patreon-locked) Lady Emily's Twitter threads revealing James' alt accounts, part 1 and part 2

[conjectureand-gloom]

i wanna start a tag game so: let your spotify predict your 2024!

shuffle your on repeat playlist, and the first twelve songs represent your 2024

january- guns and ships- hamilton (idek what this could represent but okay)

february- we fell in love in october- girl in red (PLEASE)

march- say no to this- hamilton (…i have nothing to say about this)

april- castles crumbling- taylor swift ft hayley williams (damnit sad month then?)

may- you’re losing me- taylor swift (FUCK TWO SAD MONTHS?? breakup songs are even worse now that im actually in a relationship. please. better not be accurate)

june- astronomy- conan gray (please stop why am i having so many sad songs)

july- stoned- ed sheeran (oh fuck this)

august- new year’s day- taylor swift (hm okay. idk what to say about this)

september- heather- conan gray (i consider heather to be a happy song AND it’s mine and my partners song so i’m taking this as a good one)

october- 18- one direction (yessss we’re going okay now)

november- king of my heart- taylor swift (YESSS)

december- all too well (ten minute version)- taylor swift (i take it back ugh)

no pressure tags!!- @autumnleavesforwinter @weeping-in-the-willows @swiftieannah @felizusnavidad @jittyjames @anixknowsnothin (please help me get this off the ground, but also if this flops you saw nothing)

[aaagustd]

holi-blaze || jeon jungkook (m)

title: holi-blaze

pairing: dealer!jeon jungkook x (f)reader

genre/rating: f*ckbuddies/unestablished relationship, smut, mature/explicit, 18+

summary: it's your first time spending the holidays together, and jungkook isn't in the mood. but... you think you can change his mind.

warnings: listen…..“that’s OUR man, thank you to OUR man!!!”, swearing, mentions w**d, mentions Christmas/holidays, protected s*x but mentions unprotected s*x, spanking, reader wears lingerie, a** worshipping, back shots, missionary, b*ndage/restraints, f*ngering, teasing/foreplay, a touch of roleplay (Jungkook might have a little crush on Martha May Whovier), back scratching, praise, squ*rting, tongue kissing, make up s*x, Dom/sub themes, n*pple sucking, biting, begging, some aftercare, mistletoe… or not??, idk why i’m smiling but i love them lol

wc: 2.5k

release date: december 30th, 2023; 11:33pm est

note: it’s been about 4 months since i posted. this is embarrassing. anyway, i didn’t edit this bc i didn’t have a computer. this’ll be the last update for this series for a while so i hope this holds you. i have a bigger project i’m working on currently so… i hope to see you in 2024. love you !!

series masterlist | main masterlist | ao3 version | inbox | join the taglist

“Aye, I’m home! Where are…”

Jungkook finds you standing in his living room when he enters his apartment. He probably expected to find you bundled up on the couch watching a holiday marathon, and that’s exactly what you plan on doing.  

That was until you walked in and discovered everything he’s been hiding from you. Now you know why he hasn’t invited you over in two weeks.

All month he’s been complaining about the holidays and pissing on your parade whenever you get excited about the TikTok holiday DIYs. Only for him to decorate his entire living room like it’s a Holiday Cheermeister. He definitely has outdone himself with this surprise. Now, it’s time to return the favor.

His keys fall on the floor, and you can only imagine what’s going through his mind.

“Oh…” He takes a long pause, processing the image before him. “Damn, love.”

You hope that’s a good sign. This is your first time wearing lingerie, and you aren’t even sure if Jungkook is into it.

“Um… Your keys?”

“Come here,” he beckons.

Your marabou heels move across the floor, feathers tickling your oiled skin with each step. Your matching robe—thin and sheer—barely conceals your lack of clothing underneath it. You can feel the fabric dragging behind you as it's carried by a gentle breeze.

Jungkook’s brown eyes never look away as you strut in his direction. When you approach him, you’re nearly swept off your feet by how good he smells. 

His finger motions for you to spin and show him the entire outfit.

“Twirl, baby.”

You purposefully take your time and give him the 360 view, letting your robe fall once your back is facing him. You’re starting to feel a bit more confident now that you’ve gotten the big reveal out of the way. Jungkook biting his bottom lip tells you that he likes what he sees so far.

“Sexy. Like Martha May.”

You whisper to yourself as you take a step closer. “Martha May, huh?”

Jungkook nods.

“ Yeah… I’m high key fucking with it, though.”

Now, that’s good to hear because he’s given you an idea.

“Well, thank you… Mr. Grinch.”

Jungkook tilts his head, pretending to be confused. Eventually, he reveals a mischievous grin.

“I’ve been that bad, huh?”

“The worst,” you reply.

You don’t pull away when he reaches for your hand. It’s been almost two weeks since you’ve had any contact. You’re deprived; desperate. 

Even if you were still mad at him, your pride is long gone. So, instead of pouncing on him, you allow him to guide you to the bedroom.

“It only gets worse, love.”

Well, damn.

“How much worse?” you quiz, already knowing the answer to the question. He looks over his shoulder as he opens his bedroom door.

“You’re gonna fuck around and find out if you keep playing with me.”

As Jungkook guides you into his room, you try to hold back your smile. You always find thrill in testing his patience. Whatever it takes for him to pound you into his mattress, you’ll try it.

Once inside, he walks over to the bed and sits on his bed. You grip onto his green bomber jacket while he caresses and gently kneads your thighs, making you melt into his hands. You push out your chest, so he can have a better look at the red lace that barely covers your tits.

He can’t stop himself from staring. His mouth waters as the sinful thoughts run through his mind. During his journey all over your body, his hand accidentally touches something you’re clutching in your right hand.

He frowns. “What are those for?”

You hold up the cordless lights that you snatched from your little desk tree at work with a smirk.

“Dunno,” you shrug. “They’re yours. Get creative.”

Jungkook stands up, and you place the cord in his hand. He gestures towards the bed, and tells you to get on it.

“Alright, go,” he orders.

“Okay.”

You climb on the bed, positioning yourself on your hands and knees. He didn’t tell you to lie down, but you figured he’d appreciate seeing your outfit from this angle.

“Like this?”

“Just like that,” he approves.

It isn’t long before you feel the palms of his hands touching your ass. They’re still a little cold, but eventually heat up due to the warmth of your flesh. You know that he could do this for hours, just admiring the way it jiggles and how soft it feels in his hands. 

However, tonight he wastes no time giving your pussy attention, the opening in the center of your panties giving him easy access to your slit.

“Fuck.” 

His reaction makes you want to turn around and see his reaction, but you’re afraid you might ruin the foreplay and beg him to fuck you now. So, with clenched teeth, you try to suppress your eagerness to have him inside of you; but you’re already close to failing.

“One of these days I’m just gonna say fuck it and raw dog you.”

You lose control of your outbursts when he pushes his thumb into your pussy. You beg him for more, but he just pulls out, leaving you disappointed.

“Jungkook!”

He chuckles. “Alright, alright. Give me your hands, love.”

At Jungkook’s request, you move your hands behind you. 

He’s so close that his breath tickles the tiny hair on the back of your neck. Your body shivers as his fingers gently touch your skin, sliding down your arm until he reaches your hands.

When he speaks, the sound of his voice makes you weak. No matter how hard you clench your knees are nothing but jelly, making it nearly impossible to support your weight.

“You still like to be tied up and shit, right?”

Oh unholy fucking night.

“I do.”

“That’s my girl,” he boasts.

Your heart begins to race with excitement when you feel the cord tightening around your wrists. It doesn’t take Jungkook a long time to secure a few knots. 

“Is this okay? Not too tight?”

Despite your position once he bends you over again, your body is still relaxed. You know you’re in safe hands. He’s earned your trust when it comes to your body, so you don’t mind if he takes control. You actually enjoy it more than he does.

“No, I’m fine,” you answer. “I’m excited.”

“Hm. I can tell.” 

It is then you realize that your thighs are rubbing together, smearing a mess of your sticky juices between them. The sound of Jungkook spreading your legs has you burying your face in his sheets.

“No hiding.”

You lift your head and nod. “Sorry.”

“It’s all good. Do you remember we play?”

“You call the shots. I’m in control.”

Jungkook hums his approval, but before he can ask you anything else.

“...And I remember how to free myself,” you add. “Just in case.”

“You’re so perfect,” he praises. 

A bit of pride swells in your chest when he says this. He tells you this almost every day, but it still makes you smile from ear to ear.

The next thing you hear is Jungkook fishing for condoms in his nightstand drawer. Once he finds them, he returns and removes his clothes. You catch a glimpse of his figure behind you, and it’s that image you’ll hold on to when he’s taking you from behind. 

When Jungkook spreads your globes, a small moan escapes your lips despite your attempt to bite it back.

“Ready?”

“So, so…ready,” you reply.

You whimper as the tip of his dick probes gently at your entrance. Your body is shaking from the adrenaline pumping through your veins. It feels like it's been months since you’ve felt his thick cock stretching you open. 

“I know,” he coos. “Just relax, sweetheart.”

You take a deep breath to calm yourself; and eventually, your muscles relax. Jungkook steals this moment to slowly slide into you.

“Fuck!”

“Gotta fuck you now, love,” Jungkook groans. 

He starts fucking you slowly, but fast enough to have an orgasm brewing deep within your core. 

You can hear him panting as he digs his nails into your skin. Your shoes drop to the floor because your toes are curling from the pleasure you’re receiving. If Jungkook weren’t gripping your waist, you’d be lying on your belly because you’re trembling too much to keep yourself up.

“You feel like a fucking glove.”

You know he can feel your walls squeezing and hugging his cock, desperately trying to keep him inside. Your moans become louder which each slap Jungkook delivers to your ass. The pain ripples down your globes, traveling straight to your dripping pussy—leaking onto his throbbing dick.

“So deep…”

It’s not long before you’re squirting all over him. He laughs, not caring about his ruined sheets.

“There she goes.”

Jungkook then starts loosening your restraints, leaving you confused. You’re afraid you messed up, but he assures you that’s not the case.

“I need to see you,” he utters.

Jungkook frees your hands and flips you over swiftly, leaving your head spinning. He allows your eyes to focus before he lowers himself and aligns with your entrance once more. You wrap your limbs around him, bringing him closer so you can feel his warm skin pressed against yours.

Your wetness allows him to enter you smoothly. The intrusion isn’t as intense as before, but it leaves you breathless due to your sensitivity. 

You accept the kisses he leaves down your neck. He drags his hot tongue across your skin agonizingly slow while he’s buried inside you, not moving an inch until you’re begging him to.

“Baby, please fuck me. I can’t—”

“Just give me a second, love,” he whispers.

Jungkook’s mouth finds your breasts, and he takes his time giving each of them attention. Your back arches off the bed when he wraps his lips around your nipple. 

You try to be patient, but your body can’t handle any more teasing. Your hips begin to move on their own, immediately grabbing Jungkook’s attention.

“So eager,” he teases, gripping your hips to stop you.

“Jungkook, I need to cum.”

“Yeah?... Wanna make another mess?”

“Please.”

He pulls out and then with a snap of his hips, he slams into you. He does it again, and again—making you scream his name. You drag your nails down his back, making him hiss from the stinging pain traveling across his skin. 

“Do it,” he grunts, fucking you deeper. “Cum.”

“Oh, fuck.”

You stop holding it in, and finally allow the tightened coil to snap. Pleasure ripples through your body, and everything goes silent except for the familiar ringing in your ears. Your eyes roll back and your body stiffens in Jungkook’s arms. 

“Fuck! You’re squeezing so tight.”

“I’m cumming!” you scream.

He keeps fucking you, talking you through it until you finally calm down enough to relax your limbs. Jungkook’s soothing voice brings you back to reality.

“Good, baby. That’s good.”

You lie on your back, tears in your eyes as you watch him above you. His body trembles as he tries to hold on, but you know he’s close. You can tell by the way he twitches inside of you.

“This is my shit, understand? My pussy,” he claims. “Okay?”

You nod weakly, still feeling the bliss of your release.

“Yeah, it’s yours. Only yours.”

“And you’re mine too, right?”

He doesn’t even have to ask. Of course, you are.

“Always.”

You pull him closer and kiss his lips, but both of you become greedy for more. His strokes are gentle but you still gasp, allowing him to slip his tongue into your mouth. Your muffled cries of pleasure start to fill the room as you deepen the kiss. 

You’re dizzy by the time he pulls away, unable to focus on anything but the lingering taste of him on your lips. Once again, his voice brings you back. 

“Damn it,” he growls.

After two more uncoordinated thrusts, he reaches his peak and spills his warm cum into the condom. Panting and breathless, he falls on top of you, and you start running your fingers through his hair.

You stay in this position for only a few minutes, before he’s climbing out of bed.

“Wait—”

You try to grab his arm, but he grabs his sweats and slips away, leaving a small pout on your face.

“I’ll be right back, love.”

You sigh. “Okay.”

You wait a few minutes before you let your curiosity run wild. You begin to wonder what he’s doing, so you decide to go look for him. 

Just as you enter the living room, Jungkook appears from the kitchen with an ice pack and a bottle of water.

“How are you?” he asks, handing you the little blue compress. “It’s for your wrists.”

“I’m okay, you?”

Jungkook nods. “Still seeing stars, but I’ve never felt better.”

Silence follows, but it’s peaceful. You use the moment to take in everything once again.

“Thank you,” you say eventually.

“For?”

“All this!”

You point around the room at all of the decor he must have spent hours putting up. It could honestly have been a little stocking and you still would have appreciated his effort. You know he only did it for you, even though he wasn’t in the mood.

“I was just trying to make it up to you,” he shrugs.

“You didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to.”

You smile. “Well, thanks Grinchy. But I didn’t want to force you.”

He promises that he didn’t feel obligated, and you take his word for it. It’s been a challenge but you’ve learned to accept when he offers to do something nice for you. So if it involves spending time with him, you’ll accept every gift he gives you. 

Placing the ice pack on the coffee table, you step forward and wrap your arms around him. 

“I’m trying, love,” he sighs.

“You’re doing great,” you assure.

“No, I mean… It’s been two weeks, and you’re still wearing that and…”

You realize he’s lowkey asking for round two. All you need is some water and you’ll be good to go.

“I’m on top this time,” you call out over your shoulder. You’re almost halfway across the room when he stops you.

“Hold on…”

You turn around only to find him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

“Hm?”

Jungkook lifts one of his hands and pulls out a tiny sealed bag. It doesn’t take you but a second to figure out what it is. But what leaves you puzzled is the way he’s holding it over his head.

“I don’t know much about this shit but, I think you’re still supposed to kiss me.”

Wow. He can be cute when he wants to. Of course, you return to leave a kiss on his cheek.

“That’s cute, Jungkook. But I think you got it wrong.”

“Oh, yeah?”

This time you grab his hand, and he doesn’t resist when you start dragging him towards the bedroom.

“I think I’m supposed to put my pussy on your face, then you kiss me,” you propose.

“Okay, maybe this holiday shit isn’t so bad.”

Shaking your head, you make your way through the dark hallway until you reach Jungkook’s room. 

“Wait until you see the chain I bought you,” you mumble.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, baby. Come on.”

You take him to bed, and his apartment is anything but silent for the rest of the night. This was your first Christmas together; but best believe, a lot of traditions were made.

[prokopetz]

what would say is the most popular crowdfunded metroidvania that took a decade plus to fufill

It depends on how we're defining "popular", for a start.

For example, one might be tempted to say Hollow Knight, since Silksong is technically still a stretch goal from the original Hollow Knight Kickstarter, which concluded in December of 2014, and one can hardly say that Hollow Knight isn't popular! However, Hollow Knight's campaign wasn't hugely successful as indie metroidvanias go, having raised just a little under $38 000 USD from ~2000 backers; for comparison, a really successful crowdfunded Metroidvania will easily bring in five to ten times that total.

The question, then, is: do we mean "popular" as in popular now, or do we mean "popular" as in popular at the time it was crowdfunded?

Other potential candidates run into similar questions. Take Hearth Forth, Alicia, for example; it had a pretty good run on Kickstarter, taking in roughly $230 000 USD from ~7500 backers. However, in spite of famously having one of the longest development periods of any indie game on record, having been in the works since December of 2006, its actual crowdfunding campaign didn't happen until 2016, so strictly speaking its fulfillment time – as distinct from its development time – hasn't yet hit the decade-plus mark.

Then, of course, there's Radio the Universe, which had a middling Kickstarter campaign way back in 2013, and so arguably meets our criteria for both popularity and fulfillment time – but it's a Zelda-like, so now we have to quibble over the definition of "metroidvania"!

At this point we've litigated the definitions of "popular", "ten years", and "metroidvania", so it seems only appropriate to round things out and bring up the fact that the current version of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is still missing features which were promised in its crowdfunding pitch. We thus have another potential candidate depending on how we define "fulfilled" – i.e., does a campaign count as fulfilled upon delivery of any playable product, or only when it delivers the product that was actually promised?

So I guess there are a few games which might be the answer to your question, depending on how pedantic we're feeling today. How pedantic are we feeling today?

[dalishious]

A BioWare Guide on How to Murder a Fanbase

I have been a Dragon Age super-fan for almost fourteen years, now. I have played every game, with every DLC. I have read every novel, lore book, and every comic — yes, even the terrible ones that are better off forgotten. I have seen the anime film, the animated series, and the web mini-series. I have enjoyed all of these pieces of the franchise over and over, more times than I can count. So, make no mistake: the negativity you’re about to hear comes from a place of love for this fantasy world, developed by many creative people over the years. I would love nothing more than to see the resurrection of passion in the Dragon Age fandom again. But the unfortunate truth is, that resurrection is only needed because BioWare took the fandom out back and shot it in the first place.

In December 2018, three years after the release of Dragon Age: Inquisition’s Trespasser epilogue DLC, BioWare first announced the then-untitled next Dragon Age game with a teaser trailer. At this point, most fans were anticipating this would mean within the next couple years, we would see the game. This assumption was based on the fact that Dragon Age: Inquisition was first announced in 2012, and released in 2014, with an extra year of development added last minute.

There have been dribbles of extra content since then, adding to the franchise. This was enough to keep some fans still breathing and interested. 2020’s Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights was a lovely anthology. 2020’s Dragon Age: Blue Wraith and 2021’s Dark Fortress were wonderful comics tying up the story started in Knight Errant. And 2022’s Dragon Age: Absolution was a well-animated series with an interesting cast of characters and story. But all these still left the fandom with a major question: What was going on with the next game? It was untypical of BioWare to be so secretive, in comparison to how they handled sharing information of the past games in the franchise. The only form of updates fans still have to go on is mostly just concept art and short stories, hinting that something must be in production. But why was the wait so long?

In 2015, the first version of the next Dragon Age began with a clear vision, clear scope of practice, and a reportedly happy developer team. Most gloriously in my book, there was no multi-player… but this did not align with the Electronic Arts typical money-mad schemes. EA’s push for “games as a service” meant they wanted to monetize all their games as much as possible, and therefore, they wanted them to be a live service — as Anthem demonstrated, that meant sacrificing things that are staples of good RPGs, like narrative and character choice. So in 2017, version one of the next Dragon Age was scrapped and replaced. This new version would have, in total or to at least some degree, an online portion of play.

There is one part of Schreier’s article, “The Past and Present of Dragon Age 4,” that really sticks out to me, regarding this:

“One person close to the game told me this week that Morrison’s critical path, or main story, would be designed for single-player and that goal of the multiplayer elements would be to keep people engaged so that they would actually stick with post-launch content.”

The idea of splitting up components of a game into single-player and multi-player is a terrible idea, because it means that there would be a large bulk of content only accessible through online gaming; something many fans, like myself, are repulsed by. Even if I did enjoy it, I spent most of my life growing up with either no internet or shoddy internet incapable of playing online games. I know many rural people who are still in that position, losing more and more of their favourite gaming pastimes because they are locked out of the ability to play them. It is a disservice to hide content behind a wall like this, especially in a world that is so lore-heavy like Dragon Age. The news of multi-player in Dragon Age understandably upset many, and this is when I first noticed a large drop off in excitement over the next game.

However, in 2021, the failure of Anthem (multi-player) and success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (single-player) led the executives at EA to bend to the wishes of BioWare leadership and allow them to go back to the drawing board yet again on the next Dragon Age. This meant removing all multi-player content!

While I am very happy that there will reportedly be no multi-player in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, I can’t help but feel bitter and a little disgusted over the ridiculous development time spent on something no one but EA wanted in the first place. If it weren’t for this foolishness, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf would be in our hands right now. Instead, it’s been in development hell for nearly nine years and counting. Nine years is a long time to expect fans to carry a torch for you through radio silence, but it’s no wonder BioWare has shared barely anything about the next game; it’s been in flux for so long, they likely haven’t had anything concrete to show.

BioWare hurt its reputation even more when the news broke that the studio very suddenly laid off 50 people who were working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. This is pretty damning on its own, but BioWare took it a step further. Former developer Jon Renish shared a statement revealing that the studio was only willing to offer laid-off employees two weeks of severance per year of service, and denied health benefits. The denial of health benefits in particular is a pretty wild move for a studio with a reputation for “stress casualties”. The latest news on this is that BioWare has still so far refused to negotiate better severance packages, leading to a lawsuit. The lawsuit originally had 15 former employees, but this dropped due to the fear of not being able to afford to pay their bills. So now, while EA sits on $400 million net income, the laid-off employees are struggling to buy holiday presents for their children. These horrid business practices are not to be ignored when accounting for a lack of faith in a studio. What kind of monsters reward workers who make your games special with vaguely reasoned lay-offs?

The latest news on the Dragon Age: Dreadwolf front from BioWare came early this month, December 2023, with a trailer… announcing a trailer that will come next summer… that will announce the release of the game. Supposedly. Maybe. We’ll see. But by this time, BioWare is something of a laughing stock of their own fandom. Reactions to the video released with a pretty map graphic and a few rendered locations were, from what I personally observed, mostly sardonic in nature. People have commented on the vapourware nature of the game, and like all vapourware, that leads to disintegrating trust.

Despite all this, people like Mary Kirby, (one of the veteran Dragon Age writers who was a victim of the layoffs,) said, “it’s bittersweet that Dreadwolf is my last DA game, but I still hope you all love it as much as I do,” encouraging fans to still support the game when it eventually is released. But after every misstep BioWare has taken, that’s a tough sell now. Fans are finicky, RPG fans more so than others, one could argue. We have our favourites, and many of us stick to those favourites for life over our appreciation for the artistry — but that relationship between studio and fan should go both ways. EA and BioWare has betrayed that relationship, and it will take a hell of a lot to build it back up again, now.

[This piece is also available on Medium!]

[flowersandbigteeth]

Your orc husband comes to fetch you

A little thing to start 2024. I've gotten lots of requests for more orcs ^_^

General Plot: Your husband finds out you've been injured in battle and comes to fetch you.

Orc (Reven) x GN reader

Word count: 1K-ish

More SFW fics

TW: Mention of amputation, mention of break up, hurt comfort, sfw fluff, size difference

“Heard the news?” Reven’s client asked, a brave move considering the razor at his throat. 

Skilled fingers never wavering as he drew the blade across his client's chin, he let out a bored grunt, focused on his task.

“There’s rarely any news that hasn't made it through the shop.” 

His client’s eyes twinkled, eager to share some gossip. 

“They say the Dragon Slayer is retiring.” 

Reven’s graceful stroke paused, and he pulled his hand back before he sliced the man's cheek. 

“Oh? I thought they’d never give up their crusade.”  

“Word is the crusade is over. The dragons pillaging Walker’s Keep are dead. The slayer killed them all.” 

Reven took a deep breath before asking his next question. 

“Will they be returning to their homeland?” 

The client snorted. 

“If they ever leave the hospital. They were gravely wounded in the final battle. Thank the Goddess the dragon’s gone, they won't be doing much-” 

The razor clattered to the floor with a metallic clang, and Reven’s feet carried him out the front door of his barbershop without a word to the half-shaved client sitting in his chair. 

He left his crinkled apron in the dirt as he mounted his horse and steered her towards the road to Walker’s Keep. 

–

“Come on hero, eat a little,” one of the nurses at the clinic urged you, holding up a spoon of oatmeal. 

You waved it away with your remaining hand, your face a miserable, twisted version of itself. 

She huffed, getting annoyed. 

“You haven't eaten in three days! It's only a hand. Some of the people here have lost brain matter, their genitals…You've already killed the dragons. You don't need-” 

A clamor outside the door of your hospital room cut off her little tirade. 

An orderly’s deep voice drifted through the door. 

“Sir! Only family can-” 

“I am family, dammit. I'm their husband!” 

Reven’s familiar baritone made your heart flutter. Still, you were afraid. It had been so long since you'd seen one another. Three years and you hadn't parted on a happy note. 

The door flew open, and there he was, his massive shoulders filling the frame, emerald green skin as rich as you remembered it. He’d changed his hair, no longer cropped around his ears, but long hanging in a thick ponytail over his shoulders. 

He tipped his head to enter the room, dark eyes on you, and his lips twisted around his tusks in an expression you remembered as annoyance. 

“Get out,” he barked at the nurse, and she shuffled past him without question. 

Your voice was only a murmur.

“You came.” 

“Of course, I came. I would have come sooner, but someone failed to send their spouse a note mentioning they’d lost their hand!” 

Your eyes dipped, full of shame. 

You'd left Reven on a cold December night. He'd begged you not to go, cried, yelled, and made you a million promises if you'd just let someone else handle the mission. But no, you had to be a hero, and look what that brought you. You were broken and useless, alone in a hospital bed. 

“Stop thinking so hard,” he muttered, chestnut eyes roving over you, ever analytical. 

He crossed the room and plopped down on the bed, holding his hand out. 

“What?” you asked. 

“Let me see it.”

You stretched your bandaged stump to him, and he fingered it gingerly. For an Orc he had nimble fingers honed by years as a barber. 

“Bah…Just a scratch.” 

He gently placed it in his lap, twisting his body so the two of you were face to face. 

“It's my sword hand. I'll never kill another dragon.” 

His head tipped to the side. 

“I've heard the dragons are dead.” 

“They are, but-” 

“But nothing. You accomplished your mission…sacrificed for the kingdom…It's time to come home.” 

You blinked at him, tears burning the backs of your eyes. 

“You want me to come home? I'm…I'm useless.” 

He chuckled. 

“Nothing's changed without your hand. You've never been good at anything but killing.” 

“Swordsmanship was my only skill.” 

“A stupid one.” 

His lips twisted around his tusks again, but this time with amusement. Large fingers slipped over your cheek, and he pulled your head to him, brushing his lips over yours. His scent and taste were so familiar. It was as if you'd been holding your breath the three years you'd been gone and could finally get some oxygen. When he pulled back, he looked down at you, expression solemn. 

“I wrote you letters. You never wrote back. Did you toss them all out?” 

You shook your head, trying to hold the tears back. The Dragon Slayer crying was embarrassing. You nodded to the small chest where the nurses had placed your belongings. 

Reven crossed the room, opening the box and pulling out a stack of letters tied with a green ribbon you’d come across. 

“I didn’t know what to say. I felt…guilty…I guess.” 

He tossed them on your lap, narrowing his eyes at you.

“Hello. I love you, would have sufficed.” 

“I’m sorry, Reven. I left and ruined myself when I could have been home with you. I could have been happy.” 

“You killed the dragons, accomplished your goal…You aren’t happy?” 

“It feels emptier than I thought it would. I left you alone. Anything could have happened to you, and I would have lost my chance to see you again.” 

He chuckled. 

“I’m not helpless.” 

“I left you alone. It’s unforgivable.” 

“That’s for me to decide.” 

You looked up at him, searching his eyes. 

“You’d forgive me? I don’t deserve it. I got hurt. You told me this would happen, and I didn’t listen. Now I’m just a burden and a fool.” 

He sighed and pushed you to the side, sliding into bed with you before pulling you back into his lap. His nose grazed the column of your neck, and you felt him breathe in your scent.

“Maybe a fool, but never a burden, and being foolish doesn’t make you unlovable. I missed you (Y/N).” 

“I missed you, too.” 

“You weren’t the only fool.” 

“You started dating another bloodthirsty idiot while I was away?” 

“I should have come with you. I was angry at you, but that didn’t last long. Then I was bitter you hadn’t asked me to join you, and I didn’t insist.” 

“Kharma caught up to me.” 

“If you hadn’t lost your hand, would you still be gallivanting over the countryside fighting monsters?” 

“Probably.” 

He buried his face in your neck, and you felt the slight wetness of tears against your skin. 

“I don’t think it was Kharma…I think it was Fate.”

“Fate?”

“Fate spared two idiots unwilling to budge.” 

You sat on those words for a few minutes, the heat of Reven’s body seeping into your bones. You could never quite get warm the entire time you’d been gone, no matter how many furs you donned. You always felt cold, even with the heat of the dragon’s flame singing the tips of your eyelashes. 

“Don’t leave again,” he whispered.

“It wasn’t worth it. I’d read and reread your letters all those lonely nights, wishing I had the strength to abandon my quest and return. I was afraid…I’ve never been afraid before. I’ve killed monsters my whole life and never felt fear, but the thought that you might reject me if I walked through those doors…that I’d come home to find some other lover warming your bed…our home…” 

You felt Reven smile into your skin. 

“There aren’t too many half-feral sword-wielding jocks roaming around Elderoak. That’s what I go for.” 

“Thank you for coming to get me, Reven.” 

“I should have come sooner.” 

“I wouldn’t have listened.” 

“I’m bigger than you. I should have thrown you over my shoulder and taken you home.” 

“And now…?” 

“You could walk…or I could throw you over my shoulder anyway if you like that sort of thing.” 

You twisted your body to snuggle deeper into Reven’s arms. You finally felt warm for the first time in three years. 

“Did the doctor clear you to leave?” 

“They’ve done all they can…they were waiting on me to eat.” 

You felt his chest shudder as he chuckled. 

“You don’t want cold hospital gruel? Spoiled.” 

“Not spoiled enough. I miss your cooking. I want to go home.” 

He hopped to his feet, making you jump as he hoisted you princess-style into his arms. 

“I’ll come back for your things,” he promised as he carried you out the door. 

“Forget about it…It’s just armor and weapons I don’t need anymore. The letters are the only things I want to keep.” 

“Are you sure? They’re a little sad. I missed you so badly…I whined more than anything.” 

“I want them to…remember how unfair it was…everything I put you through to stroke my own pride.” 

He lifted you up to his lips to press a heavy kiss into your forehead. 

“Even if you forget, I’ll make you remember. You left, but I let you go. I’m sorry for that (Y/N).” 

“Then we’re both sorry.” 

Your stomach grumbled loudly, and Reven laughed again. 

“Sorry and hungry. Think you can get down some tavern food? It’s not my cooking, but you can’t wait to eat until we get back to Elderoak.” 

You looked up at him, cupping his thick jaw with your remaining hand.

“In your company, it’s just as good.” 

[ur-local-anti-hero]

Speak now (Marauders' version) Masterlist

Hi! this is the first time I'm posting in the Marauders fandom, and as my formal application I decided to write a series of different one-shots and drabbles based on Speak now :)

Therefore I present to you: Speak now (Marauders' version), in which each song has its own piece of writing for a diffent marauders era character.

Here is the masterlist, I'll be uploading it weekly, (at least once a week). First piece of writing will be up tomorrow.

Some clarifications: reader is fem! unless stated differently. English is not my first lenguage, so some mistakes are bound to happen, if you spot any don't hesitate to politely reach out.

If you want to be added to the taglist send me a message or ask!

Mine - Remus x reader

Remus swears he's never been more in love. "Flash forwards and we're takin' on the word together, and there's a drawer of my thing at your place" "You are the best thing, That's ever been mine" Domestic fluff

Sparks fly - Sirius x Pure blood Slytherin!reader + What happened after.

Dating a Black was not the problem, the problem was that is Sirius, a known bloodtraitor. “I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild. Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, it's just wrong enough to make it feel right” Hurt/comfort

Back to december - Remus x reader

Remus feels like he will regret that night the rest of his life, the marauders convince him to do something about it. “So this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you, Saying I'm sorry for that night" It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you. Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine” Hurt comfort, second chance romance

Speak now - James x Malfoy!reader

If the marauders are against something, its agaisnt pureblood families ideologies. Sometimes that implies to wreak havoc on a white veil occasion. “So don't say yes, run away now, I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door. Don't wait, or say a single vow, You need to hear me out” Hurt/comfort, Fluff, arranged marriage

Maybe you should have listened to your best friend's warning about Regulus, you didn't. Now you just have to deal with the consequences. “Maybe it's you and your sick need To give love then take it away. And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors, Who don't understand" "And I'll look back and regret. I ignored when they said, "Run as fast as you can" Angst

Dear John - Regulus x reader

Mean - Lily x reader

You had some words you'd like to say to Snape after he insulted the kindest girl you've ever met "All you are is mean. And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life" Hurt/comfort

The story of us - Sirius x reader

Sometimes your relationship with Sirius looked like a contest of who could be more prideful, but this time it's gone too far and all you want is to have him back. "This is looking like a contest, of who can act like they care less. But I liked it more when you were on my side, the battle's in your hands now." Angst, fluff

Never grow up - Wolfstar x daughther!reader (No voldy au)

Remus and Sirius watch their daughter grow up and wish she could stay as their little girl forever. “Don't you ever grow up, it could stay this simple. I won't let nobody hurt you, won't let no one break your heart. And no one will desert you, Just try to never grow up, never grow up”  Fluff

Enchanted - Remus x reader (Soulmate au)

As soon as you saw him walking through the door you knew you'd love him forever. His first words only verified it. Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?". Across the room, your silhouette, Starts to make its way to me The playful conversation starts, Counter all your quick remarks Like passing notes in secrecy. And it was enchanting to meet you” Fluff

Better than revenge - James Potter x reader

Maybe fake dating your ex's best friend wasn't the best way of getting revenge "The story starts when it was hot and it was summer, and I had it all, I had him right there where I wanted him She came along, got him alone, and let's hear the applause She took him faster than you can say"Sabotage"" Fake dating

Innocent - Regulus x reader

After he realized what his parents have done Regulus can't help but breakdown, good thing you are there for him. “Did some things you can't speak of, But at night you live it all again. You wouldn't be shattered on the floor now, If only you had seen what you know now then" Hurt/comfort

Haunted - Remus x reader

Remus' worlds shifts entirely when his worst nightmare becomes true and he isn't sure if he is ever going to be able to look at you again when he is sure he has destroyed your life. “Something's gone terribly wrong, You're all I wanted.Come on, come on, don't leave me like this, I thought I had you figured out Can't breathe whenever you're gone, Can't turn back now, I'm haunted” angst hurt/comfort

Last Kiss - Sirius x reader

Breaking up with sirius was the hardest thing you've ever done. You can't help but miss the way his lips felt against yours. "I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets. How you'd kiss me when I was in the middle of saying something, There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions”  Angst

Long live - poly!Marauders x reader (Band!Au)

All your hard work as a band has led you and the boys to this moment, nominated as the best new artist and attending one of the most prestigius galas in the music industry. “I passed the pictures around, Of all the years that we stood there, On the sidelines wishing for right now When they gave us our trophies, And we held them up for our town, and The Cynics were outragedScreaming, "This is absurd!"” Fluff

Ours - James x reader (Band!Au)

When people start to comment on James' personality is your job to make sure he knows how much he means to everyone, but specifically how much he means to you. “So don't you worry your pretty, little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard, The stakes are high, the water's rough. But this love is ours”  Hurt/comfort

Superman - Remus x reader (Spiderman!Au)

Remus worries that his girlfriend will leave him when she learns the truth. You worry he is too oblivious to realize you already know. "I'll be right here on the ground, When you come back down. Tall, dark and beautiful. He's complicated, he's irrational, But I hope someday he'll take me away, And save the day fluff

From the vault tracks

Electric touch - Sirius x reader (College!Au)

Your friends are tired of telling you that he is going to break your heart. You'd let Sirius gamble with your heart as long as the chance of hapiness is there. “All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life. Got a feelin' your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life And I want you now, wanna need you forever. In the heat of your electric touch”

When Emma falls in love - James x reader

You navigate what's like to be in love with James 'Cause when Emma falls in love, she's in it for keeps She won't walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave” fluff Hurt/comfort

I can see you - Remus x reader

As much as you hated him, you couldn't deny his natural charm and the way he seemed to have a magnetic field around him that made you gravitate towards him, once and once again. “Passed me a note sayin’, "Meet me tonight", Then we kiss and you know I won't ever tell. And I could see you being my addiction, You can see me as a secret mission. Hide away and I will start behaving myself" Rivals to lover

Castles crumbling - Regulus x reader (Royal Au)

You loved him more than anything, you were the best thing that ever happened to him. But your love is impossible and forbidden. When he doesn't have anything left he runs to you, wondering if you'll love him now. “And I feel like my castle's crumbling down And I watch all my bridges burn to the ground And you don't want to know me, I will just let you down You don't wanna know me now” Hurt/comfort, forbidden romace, fluff

Foolish one - Peter x reader

Peter is used to being the second chance, but he can't help but feel betrayed when his bestfriend and crush starts to get closer to Sirius. "Foolish one, Stop checking your mailbox for confessions of love That ain't never gonna come You will learn the hard way instead of just walkin' out" Hurt/comfort

Timeless - James x reader (Soulmate!Au)

James and you are fated to find each other in every life you live. "Cause I believe that we were supposed to find this, So even in a different life You still would've been mine. We would've been timeless" Fluff

[zwedexx]

AWFC x English-Italian Reader - Introduction

Summary: Reader is playing in a champions league game and get severely injured

TW: Injury?

WC: 645

A/N: Injury won the polls so injury it is. Nothing is proof read. The angsty and more serious stuff starts with the Chapters. Also this is my version of the Arsenal-Lyon game (December 15, 2022). I think the 1 or 2 next chapter will go from December 2022 to ~December 2023. Anyways, share your opinions and suggestions. Also requests are open and I'd really love to try my hand at requests so please submit some.

You joined Arsenal at a young age, 17 years old. You were a bombshell when you landed in the WSL. You might have grown up in England but you were Italian by birth and ancestry. You brought 3 Italian things with you, your defensive style, hand gestures and a last name no commentator could pronounce properly.

You quickly gained a reputation for being fearless LB, you weren’t necessarily a dirty player but you had being compared to Katie a few times. You were willing to make a risky tackle or sacrifice your body if it meant you’d stop a goal. You were never the tallest on the team, that distinction going to the Swedes and you weren’t the biggest but you had heart and stupidity. 

Now here you were a full year, 4 goals, 5 yellows and 1 red later standing in the tunnel of a group stage champions league match against Lyon. 

You felt this odd sense of nervousness, this was your first start in a champions league game but it was unusual for you. You were taken out of your thoughts when you felt Viv’s arms on your shoulders as she guided you out of the tunnel. 

The match was quite uneventful for the majority of the first half, Lyon had some good chances and so did Arsenal. Your nerves had calmed down, you were focused. You had even stopped a breakaway from Malard. 

Lyon’s best chance was in 45’+1. Bacha had a free kick from right before the halfway line. She passed it to Morroni then it came back to Bacha who launched the ball over the crowd. You had been tracking Gilles, the Lyon centerback, you knew she was excellent with her head and if it touched the ball it was sure to be a goal. You saw the ball fly over, hit Horan and go back up into the air. You jumped high, trying to reach the ball before Gilles can get a head to it and you succeeded. You felt the ball hit your head and you loosed up a bit, forgetting that the opposing player head was still in motion. Instead of heading the ball, Gilles collided with the side of your head. You feel a sharp excruciating pain, something you’d never experienced before then nothing. You were out. 

“Y/N.” You could hear a faint sound of someones voice shouting your name. 

“Y/N can you hear me.”

You tried to move, tried to open your eyes but you felt trapped in your own body. Nothing wanted to work. It’d take a few moments before you’d gotten some control back and you were able to open your eyes. 

You were completely surrounded by medical staff, it was sort of overwhelming but you were able to spot the voice calling you, Leah. You could see the worry and panic in her face, you wanted to give her a smile or a sign that you’d be okay but it was hard enough to keep your eyes open. The medics were attempting to speak to you but their words were just faded noises and before they were able to finish you felt your eyes roll to the back of your head and you were out once more.

The next you remembered was machines beeping. This incessant beeping that made your head hurt each time it went off. Waking up this time was far easier, you had more control and you felt a little more awake. 

“Y/N, for the love of god please tell me something. “ Leah had notice you’d woken up, Jordan had also been in the room but was asleep on the couch next to 4 other bags likely from other teammates that had stepped out.

“Y/N, can you understand me.” Leah asked again, hoping, praying for any response. 

“Leah… What- What happened” you croaked out.

Leah face lit up from your response but there was pain behind eyes. You could see tears begin to well up.

“Too much, Y/N/N, too much.” 

[melodymunson]

Steddie x fem reader Halloween oneshot

Steve Harrington, Eddie and you spend an amazing night at Steve's place after a Halloween party and make it a Halloween to remember forever. Halloween of '86. Reader, Steve, and Eddie are all in their young 20s—friends to lovers.

4K words

warnings: very nsfw, creampies, MFM threesome, dirty filth, sex. College-aged reader and Steddie. Guys kissing. Rough sex.

An alternate version of this (A Christmas fic I published back in December of 2022.)

You and the gang were all gathered at Steve's for a Halloween party and you were dressed as none other than Elvira aka the Mistress of the Dark. The best part about the party was that you were looking smoking hot in your outfit the long slinky black dress with the slit up the side, your high heels, black tight, and Elvira's signature black wig. Robin helped you do the makeup mainly the eyeliner and pink and purple eye shadows. Steve was dressed as a werewolf and Eddie was dressed up as a vampire. The cape he wore was stunning and he had fake fangs to complete his look with red eyeshadow. Robin was Spider-Woman and her red and yellow outfit complete with cape and mask looked stunning on her.

Dustin, Eleven, Eddie, Steve, Mike, Max, Lucas, and Will were also in attendance. You, Eddie, and Steve had been friends for a while and you secretly had feelings for both of them. The party was a great idea as any to get to know them better. The younger kids were dressed so well. Max was Jason Voorhees, Dustin was Michael Myers, Lucas was a wizard, Will was a pirate, and Mike was Luke Skywalker.

There was trick or treating first and the younger kids loved that you, Eddie, Steve, and Robin took them. Everyone brought a pillow case or pumpkin pail to get the candy. Rich neighborhoods were hit up first since they always gave the best candy. After trick or treating you all ate some candies and bobbed for apples. A bonfire was started and marshmallows were roasted for s'mores before watching the movie Fright Night and eating pizza, popcorn, junk food, and apple cider.

When the movie was over everyone took group pictures of everyone's costumes and said their goodbyes. Even Robin left because she promised to spend the rest of the night with Vickie. Only you, Eddie, and Steve were left to clean up. Eddie worked on gathering cups and plates, you were packing up the food leftovers, and Steve was sweeping up and throwing leftover wrappers away.

"Well, that party sure was one to remember," you remarked as you smiled at Steve.

"How about we have some drinks?" Steve suggested wanting to get a good buzz and then smoke a joint.

He was all smiles as he watched you walk to the kitchen to make the spiked apple cider. Once you added the vodka you poured three cups and soon after that, they joined you in the kitchen.

"Let's toast to being good friends for many years to come," you told them hoping secretly it would turn into something at least a bit more.

"To being friends," Eddie and Steve echoed almost simultaneously as they clinked their glasses with yours. You took a big swig and they did too. It was pretty good.

"Love your outfit by the way," Steve praised you.

"Me too it's really hot. You look beautiful," Eddie added as he blushed slightly.

Eddie then turned his attention to Steve. "So you think we could go in your hot tub?" He asked Steve with a raise of his brows. Even though it was only the end of October it was chilly weather already.

"Of course. If that's what you and Y/N want to do."

"Let me finish my drink first then I'll be ready," you told them.

Everyone enjoyed the cider and got tipsy. It was just so great being able to have a night all alone with the two guys who mattered the most to you. Steve finished first and excused himself to go to the hot tub.

"Can't wait to see what you are going to wear in the hot tub," Ed's mentioned with wide eyes. He had the most beautiful chocolate button eyes which you loved.

"Oh really? I have some ideas. Guess you will just have to find out."

Eddie moved closer to you and ran his fingers through your hair. It was spontaneous and you wanted to kiss him. Before you could say anything or do anything else he moved in closer his lips meeting yours and pressed a sweet kiss on your lips. You kissed him back and he moved his hands to your hips pulling you close to him so you could practically feel his crotch rubbing up against you as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

"We should continue this later. Wouldn't want to make Steve jealous." He pulled away then finished his drink and wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

"Yeah wouldn't want that."

You finished your drink and then walked out with Eddie. Steve was already soaking in the hot tub and noticed you both sensing a spark between the two of you. He had his boxers on and Eddie stripped down to his and got in the tub. You took off your clothes leaving only your bra and underwear on. They both watched you tentatively with smiles on their faces once they noticed the Elvira wig was still on as you stripped and then got in with them.

After moments of silence, you decided to speak up.

"This is great. Just what I needed. I must say I loved the costumes, especially yours Eddie you make the perfect vampire. And Steve you are perfect as a werewolf."

"Thank you gorgeous," Steve responded as he closed his eyes.

"Why thank you sweet thing," Eddie added as he touched your shoulder.

Both Eddie and Steve were being the perfect gentlemen but someone had to break the ice and the alcohol was making you feel super buzzed now. Eddie lit up a joint with his skull lighter and blew out the smoke then passed it to Steve who took a deep drag of it and handed it to you.

"I don't want this night to end," you remarked sighing.

"Who says it has to end?" Eddie mused with raised brows.

"After this, we could go to Steve's room and have some fun," you suggested with a shrug of your shoulders before inhaling the joint.

His parents were gone for the week and he did have the place to himself the whole weekend so what better way to spend the time than with you and Eddie?

A smile formed on Steve's face as he thought carefully about your proposal.

"Sounds perfect. What do you mean by fun though exactly?" He asked sheepishly.

"I mean that we can do whatever we feel like. But for starters how about this?"

You leaned over towards Steve and kissed him. Eddie watched you both kiss tentatively as he hit the joint again. You made sure to kiss him too so he wouldn't feel left out.

"Let's make this more interesting. I'll take off my bra if you two kiss," you dared them.

"In that case why not if Eddie wants to…"

'Not like we haven't before' Eddie thought to himself suddenly remembering the time that he and Steve had kissed on a drunken dare.

Eddie just shook his head yes and leaned forward kissing Steve making it look really convincing and passionate.

They both looked at you after the kiss expecting you to keep your promise. The kiss was so hot and they deserved to get rewarded for it. You undid the clasp of your bra and removed it putting it on the side of the tub as Steve blew out a ring of smoke and then handed it to you. They looked at you with wide eyes of approval and you thought you even saw Steve lick his lips slightly and bite them.

"If you want more of this then come upstairs in ten minutes. Meet me in Steve's room."

"Definitely. I have no objection to that," Steve said affirmatively.

"Sure why not," was Eddie's reply.

You took one more drag then passed it to Eddie before you left them with your bra behind and took one of the towels Steve had brought and wrapped it around your body. Once inside the house, you went to shower and put on a silky gown Steve had bought you for your last birthday and then a gifted Corroded Coffin tank top From Eddie. Eddie was front and center on the shirt playing his guitar and he had his skull bandanna on along with his Hellfire club tee shirt and ripped jeans. Completing your look you put the Elvira wig back on and re-applied your dark red lipstick while also doing some touches on the eyeliner and pink and blue eyeshadows. The Halloween nightgown with pumpkins and black trim was gorgeous and fit you perfectly. So did the matching panties and you added a few spritzes of the perfume as well as some pumpkin lotion. Soon after you got comfortable Eddie and Steve came into his room wearing white cotton robes.

"So what do we have here? You look pretty in that silk gown I bought you," Steve remarked as Eddie stood next to him with a big grin.

"Well, I did get that shirt for her. You do look beautiful though."

"I want both of you on the bed with me," you remarked firmly.

"A bit demanding aren't we, sweetheart?" Steve boldly stated as he walked up to you cupping your chin.

"I need you here with me. To keep me entertained."

"Oh is that right? Well, it depends on what you are offering," Eddie adds as he takes a few steps closer to the bed.

They wanted you so much but needed you to say the words first. To make them come to you. As Eddie played with his rings he thought about how good you would look with your mouth wrapped around his fingers. Steve wanted to put you in your place and was feeling in a dominant mood that night. What you wanted was simple- to surrender to both men and to be theirs for the taking. You were willing and eager to do just about anything to please them.

"I want to fuck you both. I've wanted this for a while now. Tonight is as good a night as any. I want anything you guys want." You spread your legs and began to move your fingers toward your clothed cunt rubbing gently and in slow circles. They watched in eager interest as Steve knelt on the bed and Eddie stood next to you on the other side of the bed. You grabbed a unicorn rainbow lollipop and unwrapped it with your teeth then began to suck on it mimicking fellatio.

"We should make her feel good Eddie. Don't you think so?"

"Definitely. Let's get her more comfortable first."

Eddie got closer to you and sat on the bed then moved his hand towards your face cradling it as Steve caressed your legs and inner thighs. You put the lollipop on the bedside table, then turned your attention to Eddie.

"I want to suck on your fingers."

He smirked as you took his hand and began to suck each finger taking them into your mouth.

"That's a good girl. Isn't she Steve? Sucking on my fingers so desperately."

"I think she needs something more than that though."

Eddie pulled his fingers out of your mouth and then wiped them off.

"I need you boys to get back into the Halloween spirit with your signature vampire and werewolf looks," you suggested.

Eddie's brows raised upon hearing you say this and he had no obligations to this request. Neither did Steve. Luckily their costumes were nearby and Steve put on his wolf mask as Eddie donned his cape. Eddie still had his fake vampire fangs in.

"Tell us what you think you deserve, princess," Steve suggested as he massaged your thighs.

"I think I need both of your cocks in my mouth."

Both of them were fully erect and more than happy with this plan. You wanted them and they wanted you and that's what mattered.

"Get on your knees and suck us off then," Eddie growled in a husky tone as he undid his robe revealing his erection.

Steve tossed his robe to the side and stood there next to Eddie. You kissed each of them with desire and passion as they breathed in your scent. The smell of your perfume was incredible and you hoped it made them want you even more. You wanted them to be addicted to you in every way.

You looked at both of their cocks admiring the lengths and the girth of their prowess. You got up and kneeled on his shag carpet looking up at both of them as you began to caress and stroke their cocks simultaneously at a nice and steady pace.

"Good girl. So eager for our cocks. Our own Lady Elvira. What a needy little thing," Steve grunted as he stood there with his hands on his hips.

You loved the encouragement and as you stroked their cocks from the head to the base you began to take Steve into your mouth. You took just the tip at first then more of him into your mouth as you cupped Eddie's balls and stroked him and they took turns holding back your hair.

"Her hands feel so good. How about her mouth though, Steve?"

"Fucking fantastic. She's good at sucking cock. Just wait until you get a turn."

You sucked him a little deeper as he bucked his hips then moved over to Eddie's cock with a bit of slickness already forming on your lips from sucking off Steve. As you sucked Eddie's cock taking him slow at first then hollowing out your cheeks to take much more of him into your mouth. You caressed Steve harder and listened to both of their pretty groans.

"Fuck yes, what a good little girl. So good you have to share my little Mistress of the Dark," Eddie grunted and desperately whined as he wrapped his fingers around your hair.

You felt wet already and ached wanting so much more from them. You switched back to Steve and rubbed Eddie as you moaned around his length. They were both so into it and loved to fuck your pretty mouth as it glistened with their precum. So badly you wanted to touch yourself so you did but Steve protested.

"Not yet sweetheart. Only touch yourself when one of us says."

You alternated between sucking Eddie's cock and then Steve's as saliva pooled around your mouth and ran down your chin until Steve stopped you.

"Okay now it's time to please you, princess," Steve proclaimed as he helped you up and onto the bed laying you down on your back.

As Steve helped you with your shirt and removed it followed by your silky nightie, Eddie removed your thong and spread your legs wide noticing your wet pussy, and licked his fingers before inserting two of them into your wet hot slick heat. He pumped them in and out of you at a steady rhythm as Steve worked on sucking your nipples and lightly biting them.

"She's so tight, Steve. Fuck."

"Good. I can't wait to feel for myself."

Soon Eddie replaces his fingers with his mouth licking a thin stripe over your pussy, spreading your lips as Steve began to kiss you from your chest up to your collarbone and then your lips. As he pleased your clit with his tongue and fingers, you moaned against Steve's kisses eagerly kissing him back fully surrendering yourself to the both of them. For a long time, it was all that you wanted and you needed them so much. No one before them had ever pleased you this good and you were willing to let them do whatever they wanted to you. Just as you were getting close to your release, Eddie stopped licking and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I know you were close darling but you can't cum until we let you alright. It will be okay," Eddie assured you as he stroked his cock.

"Just let us fuck you first. Who should it be though?" Steve asked you with a cocky grin.

You looked at both of them wondering who should be the first one to fuck you contemplating it for a bit.

"Steve should fuck me first."

"Lucky you, Harrington."

As Steve switched places with Eddie and lined himself up at your entrance, you looked up into Steve's eyes and wrapped your legs around his waist as he slid into you easily.

"You were so right Eddie she's fuckin tight. It's perfect."

He wrapped his hands around your waist and began to pound into you quickly. He showed no mercy as he left crescent-shaped marks on your skin Eddie was next to you feeling so turned on as he watched his good friend fuck the girl of his dreams.

"That's a girl letting me fuck her little tight pussy like a good slut," Steve boasted as he picked up his pace slamming into you with a look full of lust on his face his mask now long gone. As he fucked you, Eddie pinched your nipples and harshly slapped them. Your moans grew even louder as he fucked you hard and rough not even trying to be the slightest bit gentle but he would prove to provide the best aftercare.

"I love when you fuck me hard Steve. Fuck me as hard as you want and as rough as you want to," you cried out as he had his way with you slapping your pussy as Eddie's fingers worked magic on your breasts and pleased you to your liking.

His thrusts were getting so rough he was shaking his bed but it felt so amazing and everyone was enraptured in the ecstasy of it all. He was getting close to cumming and you were too.

"Does my dirty little girl want to cum for me? Cum for me then," he demanded as he fucked you and teased you with his cock pulling it out just to slam back in.

"So close. So fuckin close," you groaned as Eddie licked your nipples and Steve slapped your pussy with his cock.

As he thrust into you with more passion you felt your release and came all over his cock crying out his name. You wanted to feel his cum so badly inside and hoped he would find his release soon.

"Where do you want my cum princess?" He growled as sweat formed on his brow.

"Inside of me fill me up," you pleaded. A huge smirk formed on his face as he thrust into you and he soon felt his release. He filled you up so completely, his cum practically dripping out of your pussy. As he pulled out Eddie left sweet kisses on your face.

"Munson, you have to get some of this. She feels so good."

His cock was so hard and his dick was aching to fuck you but he didn't want to overstimulate you.

"Are you ready for me, doll?" He asked as Eddie stood up and switched places with Steve.

"I'm ready. I want you to fuck me."

He nodded and flipped you over so he could take you from behind while his cape stayed on as Steve watched what was happening intently feeling so turned on still. It wasn't every day he had the chance to fuck a girl together with one of his best friends. You were so much more than just some girl to him. With you, both the guys felt like they had found someone who was the right fit for them. Someone who could make them smile genuinely and feel like they could be themselves.

As he pulled your hair with a firm grip, Eddie began to slide his cock into you slowly and gently wanting you to feel every single inch as he filled you up to the hilt. Once he was adjusted inside of you he firmly gripped your waist letting you adjust to his size. He was big even bigger than Steve but they both felt just perfect inside of you.

"Are you good, sweetheart?"

"Yes, Eddie. Fuck me as you please," you told him not being able to help how needy you sounded.

You gripped his cock so well as he moved inside of your already wet pussy still filled with Steve's cum. The wet sounds your pussy made as he dug his fingernails into your ass had him throwing his head back in ecstasy. Steve looked longingly at you both with lust in his eyes and a grimace on his face as he stroked himself slowly meeting Eddies gaze on occasion.

"Please let me touch myself, Eddie," you pleaded with him.

"Oh yeah? Just don't cum before me. If you do I'll stop fucking you." He turned your head to look at him cupping your jaw.

"I promise."

He bucked his hips faster as you began to touch yourself with three fingers craving and loving the feeling of your fingers and his cock together.

As his thrusting became more intense, you cried out in so much pleasure screaming slightly but they were screams of intense pleasure. Even Eddies groans were more vocal as he slapped your ass and groped it. As sweat beaded on his brow and he fucked you even quicker wanting to reach his high, you felt like you would cum at any moment but didn't want to disobey him.

"Is my dirty girl close to her release? Don't cum without my permission. Got that? Don't fucking cum," he scolded you as your moans intensified and his grunts became louder and more frequent.

You nodded yes in response feeling so close to finding your orgasm again especially with your fingers moving in tandem with the strokes of his cock and you wanted to only cum on his command because pleading with Eddie was so satisfying. As Steve was stroking himself to his satisfaction, you watched him and edged yourself closer than ever to your release. Eddie was so close to bottoming out as he made red imprints on your ass with his squeezing and slapping.

"You're gonna cum when I say, babe. Almost there," he raspily told you. With just a few more thrusts his gasping became louder and as his balls slapped against your ass he felt like he was just about to cover you with his cum.

"Please let me cum," you whined which made Eddie let out a soft chuckle.

His rapid thrusts started to become almost erratic and he almost came right on the spot. He was able to control himself though but not for much longer.

"Cum now for me. I'm going to fill you up so fucking good."

With a few more thrusts and his words of encouragement, you found your release and came hard all over his cock and your fingers. A few gasps and groans escaped his lips as he began to come undone filling you up and pulling out to finish on your ass.

"That's a good little whore. You did so well for me. So good."

He cleaned you up with some tissues and held you in his arms as Steve got up to pepper sweet kisses on your face.

While everyone relaxed and began to come down from their high you laid in the middle of them. It was so calming and peaceful to listen to the sounds of their breathing after everything that had just happened. The moment felt perfect and you were pleased with the outcome of the whole night. They both held onto you giving you comfort and reassuring touches and caresses as you rested your head on Eddie's arm with Steve's hand holding your hand tenderly and giving you soft kisses. The Halloween season was so much better now that you had them. Something told you that you would be doing this again with them soon and you wouldn't have it any other way. This was turning out to be a Halloween night to remember forever.

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