#Water Action Hub

[born-in-hell]

Hi!

As some of you might know, southern Brazil, specifically the state of Rio Grande do Sul, has been struck by heavy rains and a consequential flood. The rains started on monday (29/abr) and only stopped today (5/mai), in Porto Alegre ─ the state capital, and the city i live in ─ and in the other cities nearby.

The lake that borders PoA (named Guaíba) has reached more than 5m up its normal level. This is higher than on the historic 1941 flood. The city's center ─ a big residential and commercial hub, beyond being the host of most of our public services (such as the city hall and the state government) ─ is completely taken by the water. Many other neighbourhoods were also affected.

Smaller cities that also border Guaíba were even more heavily affected, such as Eldorado do Sul, whose territory was almost 100% flooded.

The state is, for a lack of a better word, abandoned by the people that were supposed to aid.

Our governor, Eduardo Leite, is more worried about his plitical campaign ─ making dramatic videos, changing his facebook pfp to one of him with a public defense vest, making streams with no useful information ─ than with the people's lives. This year, he destinated only R$50.000 (~ USD250.000) for the Civil Defense. For the entire year. He is now, delegating the responsibility of recuperating our state to the Federal Government, stating that "the rbuilding of the RS will demand a Marshall Project".

Porto Alegre's mayor, Sebastião Mello, has vanished. He sold our city out to big enterprises ─ Melnick, Zaffari and Panvel, mainly ─, and hasn't destined any public resources to maintaining the Mauá wall (a wall built after the 1941 flood with a system made to protect the city from other floods), which caused many points to fail and the water to invade the city.

This is the danger we all face with a neoliberal system.

Neoliberalism is an individualist ideology. All these people and companies I named did close to nothing to help us. Or even made it worse. The Civil Defense, for example, published a map of all the areas that would be affected, but had to take it back, since it didn't consider the topography.

Its the people for the people.

This situation is being aided by people using their own resources. Donations of various natures and volunteer work. It is very beautiful, in a way. It shows that colaboration and union can do great things. It shows, at least to me, that the world can reach, one day, a self sustaining way of living, contrary to the ultra-individualistic capitalism some preach. Humans can, and are, good.

But it also lays out how much the people that govern us failed us.

Human lives were lost because of their negligency.

This flood isn't normal. It is a product of the huge levels of degradation multi-billionaire companies are causing the world, supported by higher class and their representatives. Eduardo Leite changed almost 500 points of our state's Environmental Code, for the worst, when he was first elected in 2019. His actions, and the actions of all other neoliberal politicians, such as our ex-president Bolsonaro, are what created this situation. They are responsible for everything that is going on here.

This flood isnt the only environmental crisis this state has faced in the last 6 months. This isn't the last one that will happen.

This text is, beyond a personal vent, a warning. We need to keep fighting against a system that is actively trying to kill us. Please, do not support ideals and people ─ especially if said people will rule you ─ that go against the environment, that preach that the capital, the money, the posesions, are more important than lives. Of the people, of the animals, of the environment. Fight for a better world, i know there can be one.

Always be aware of the climate in your areas. Things like this won't happen only here. Please be safe.

Sorry for the long post.

If you're interested in donating, @decaf-lesbian made this post with some links for international and national donations.

-> If you're from Brasil, check this link, that has a copilation of maps of risk areas, shelters, places to donate to, etc, made by a UFRGS student.

[disease]

LIST: iOS SHORTCUTS

• Spotify to MP3 | "Download Spotify tracks to MP3." • All Media Downloader | "This shortcut helps you download content from social media apps." • Web Services | "Customise the internet for you." • Better GIF Maker | "Convert videos and live photos to GIFs at highest quality using ffmpeg" • Water Eject | "Powerful water ejection system." • Paywall and Cookie Bypass | "Bypass website paywalls and cookies." • iUtilities | "The only shortcut you’ll need" • Reverse Image Search | "Search by image instead of keywords" • Google Translate | "Quickly translate using the Google Translate API" • iTweak Final Version | "A Jailbreak Alternative With Multiple Features!"

...WHAT ARE SHORTCUTS?

for those unaware: the pre-installed Shortcuts app on iOS/macOS/iPadOS can potentially be a life-changing application in regards to digital productivity.

it's utilized as a hub for your collection of shortcuts and automations. shortcuts allow for just a single click—which many times is conveniently incorporated onto your "share" sheet option panel—to execute one or multiple actions; automations are chosen commands that run at specific/relative times of day without prompt.

people tend to overlook the Shortcuts app due to its available "gallery" of shortcuts being rather limited... with the only other option provided being to build these desired actions yourself, which requires the skill of digital coding. however! that's where RoutineHub comes in: it's a website allowing users to share their own complex shortcuts, free of charge, and has a large selection to choose from.

RoutineHub: Shortcuts {by Popularity}

[aegoniipascal]

WARMTH | Derek Danforth

You wanted to be closer with your boyfriend, Derek during the night

WARNING: smut plot, mentioning of death, oral sex, cock warming

words: 1k+

masterlist 💌

“Fuccckk.” Derek cursed under his breath, biting his lip as he was fucking you from behind.

You didn’t know how you got here. First, you guys were fighting because you had found out that one of his companies had stolen a poor old woman’s money and killed herself. Next, you guys were fucking in his room.

“Derek—umm. I’m going to cum.” You moan underneath her speech. You were at the urge to release all of your cum on his cock.

“Cum for me baby.” Derek replies to you when you hear him say that. You released on his cock.

You felt his cum squirted into your wet hole and you moaned out loud. Feeling each his liquid going into you. You flipped your head on the pillow finally done with having sex with your partner.

Derek’s cock softens and took it out of your warmth making a pout. You were upset that you couldn’t feel his warmth anymore, you wanted him still inside of you. He saw your face and chuckled at your action as he pulled up his boxer.

Derek went to the bathroom to grab a wet towel and bring it back to you. He helps sit up from the lying position. You were sore from your legs to your neck but you did not care. You loved it when he went ruff on you, it was the best thing. He wipes up all of your and his cum off your legs.

“Do you want a hot bubble bath?” Derek asked his girlfriend. You looked at him and nodded at your boyfriend.

“I would love that.”

Derek smiles. He hardly smiled for anyone but you weren’t anyone, you were the love of his life. He got up from the bed and went back to the bathroom to get your bath ready. You were waiting for him for a while.

You didn’t even realize that he was out of the bathroom. He walks over to you and picks you up by the legs gently. You wrapped your arm around his neck and carried you to the bathroom. You saw the bathtub filled with bubbles.

Your favorite aftercare is when Derek sets up a bubble bath. It was the best aftercare.

Derek puts you inside the hot bath hub. You hissed with relief from the pain of your sore body. Your boyfriend takes off his boxer and gets in the tub with you. You went over to him and sat on his naked lap not in a sexual way.

But that didn’t stop him from getting his cock hard. He wraps his arm around your sister and kisses you on the cheek. You lay your head on his chest and your head playing with his little chest hair.

“You know sex doesn’t solve our problem.” You muttered not making any eye contact. Derek groans at his girlfriend.

“Y/n, I did not know this old lady would fucking harm herself. Can we not talk about this please?” Derek stated to you rubbing his hand on his forehead.

You sighed and stayed quiet for the rest of the bathing time. After a while, you and him got out of the water. As you were drying yourself up, Derek went back to the room to change clothes for him and you.

You put on Derek’s plain oversized shirt with no pants or underwear. Derek loved it when you had no underwear on. You didn’t really care if he looked or not, it made you feel comfortable.

You and he walked out of the bathroom together and went to the back bed. You saw that sheets were changed, every time you guys had sex. Two maids came in and changed it while you and Derek were had the bathtub.

“I’m so fucking tired.” Derek flops on the bed with new sheets. You went ahead and flopped right next to him.

You guys get under the covers. Derek grabs the control on the side of his counter and presses the light button to dim the lights. You had Derek install that because you hated sleeping in the darkness.

“D, I want to sleep with you.” You told your boyfriend. He lifts up his head and stares at you with confusion.

“We are going to sleep together.” Derek said to you. You go closer to him and grab his face.

“I want you inside me while we sleep.” You elaborate with Derek. He was too stunned by what you said.

“You want me to dick you inside of me while we sleep?” Derek had to make sure he heard right. You shyly nodded at your boyfriend.

Derek was surprised at you by your actions, most of the time it was him who was horny but the table had turned and it was you.

“Of course you can.” Derek smirked at you and your cheeks flushed red.

Derek pulled down his boxers and threw them out to the side of the bed. He pulls the cover off them each, you see that his erection is already. He laid his back down to get in the right. You were excited getting to feel his warmth again.

You jumped excitingly and Derek saw you thrilled making him smile. You went over his body down to his cock and you felt his tip hovering above your wet cunt. Your boyfriend was waiting for you to take his cock inside of you.

You pushed your butt above Derek’s member making him jolt his hip. You moan out loud as you felt the tip of cock going inside. Derek guided your hip down to his V-line.

“It’s hasn’t been an hour since we have sex, you’re fucking tight.” Derek groaned and felt him stretching your cunt.

You moan out loudly and finally get to feel his warmth inside of you. You felt his cock twitch inside of you. You loved feeling his whole cock inside of you, you can even feel him in your stomach. He loved being inside of you.

You lay down on your boyfriend’s stomach and Derek needs to talk a minute to get used to being inside of her. Then after a little bit, he gets the covers and throws the blanket on top of you and him. Derek made sure you were comfortable on top of him.

“I love you, Derek.” You mumbled to him as you closed your eyes.

“I love you too, y/n.” You felt Derek kissed your forehead.

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reblog • like • comment • follow me for more content like this <3

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2023: Day 1 - Free Day

Preservation on Sodor:

Sodor must be one of the most interesting places to look at when it comes to railway preservation, if not also road, sea and air preservation. For starters, the island’s railways are all still primarily run by vintage steam traction – but there’s also Harold, who is in his 60s or 70s at this point, Bertie the bus (who is nearing 100), Trevor and Terrence and George – not to mention the fact that the island seems to continue to have antique ships within its waters, including steam ships and fishing trawlers.

But of course, I want to focus on the railways – and in particular how Sodor must be the British hub for heritage railways, museums and other attractions. For starters, Sodor has by far the largest heritage railway system in the world for its size, with over 80 miles of mainline, several branchlines, a narrow-gauge railway, a mountain railway and a miniature gauge railway. It also has a massive fleet of engines – 80 by the Reverend’s count on the NWR alone – making it possibly the single largest working heritage railway in the UK, if not Europe. This would instantly attract many preservationists wishing to run their locomotives, meaning that mainline excursions and visitors would be a frequent sight on the island. This in turn would bring in tourists, who would make money for the NWR and the railway the engines belong to, as well as helping the Fat Controller if one of his enignes is unable to work. It would also give us as railfans the chance to see unique motive power on a variety of trains - like a Coronation Class pulling a slow goods, or a Hughes Crab on a China Clay train - things we don't get to see anymore. 

Furthermore, Sodor is home to Crovan’s Gate Works, the largest steamworks of its kind in Britain. For its influence, I am going to turn to 60163 Tornado. When Tornado was built, her boiler had to be manufactured in Germany because there was just no one in the UK able to produce a boiler of the type, while the superheater header needed to be attempted by three foundries before it was assembled correctly. Crovan’s Gate Works, which is able to maintain a full fleet of engines including Gordon – who is also an A1 with many similarities – would have been able to do both in a far timelier manner. The same would go for all locomotive repair programs in the UK. Crovan’s Gate would either host locomotives or manufacture parts for them, becoming a hub for preservation across the country. Engines like Stepney or Green Arrow would be able to be overhauled at the Works, rather than be taken out of service. This would effect how many steam engines are in working order in Britain, if not Europe, as the refurbishment time would be significantly shortened - something that is compounded if said locomotive shares any components with a Sodor engine - like Talyllyn, Dolgoch, Flying Scotsman or any of the Black 5s, Panniers or Autotanks in preservation. 

This brings me on to the last point: International Tourism. Sodor must be one of the most visited locations in Britain in this universe. For starters, there’s all the fans of the book and TV series (which are both canon and referenced in the books). This means that Sodor would have tens of thousands of families coming to the island from around the world annually to see the ‘Eight Famous Engines’ or the ‘Steam Team’, bringing in a massive amount of revenue for hotels, local businesses and the railways themselves. But there would also be the railfans who come with the aforementioned railtours, as well as international railfans who want to see steam in action in a mainline setting – something nearly impossible anywhere on the planet. Sodor has at least one airport (and probably two, considering in real life there is an airport on Walney Island near the real-life Vickerstown), six ports connected to the NWR, and a rail and road link to the UK. The island has the infrastructure to handle the flocks of tourists, and this would in turn benefit much of the rest of Northern England. This would majorly benefit the preservation world by bringing in funding for Sodor, which is in turn able to fund things like track upgrades, or overhauls for engines beyond their own railway. It also gives other railways a good place to promote themselves, as Sodor has a guaranteed market for tourists who may travel to these other railways. 

You cannot understate how much these books have done for Sodor, and for railway preservation as a whole.

So, Sodor is at the very least a centre for preservation in the UK, with railtours, overhauls and masses of international tourists – but it’s also where a lot of engines were likely rescued from. We see it in Oliver and Douglas, but engines know of Sodor and its safety. I can imagine an alternate universe in which engines keep turning up throughout the 1960s, being brought to safety on Sodor and then sold to heritage railways, being overhauled at Crovan’s Gate before moving to their new homes. Sodor would act as an intermediate in this era, being able to do the paperwork to preserve engines due to its position in the national network while also being aligned with the cause of the heritage railways. Sodor is a safe haven for steam, and this would have a significant impact on its position as a preservation hub for the UK.

Back to the Master Post

[feverdreamjohnny]

Orbo's Odyssey - Post Mortem

My Feelings About The Game

It's an odd thing to try and pull together your thoughts about something so chaotic.

I guess it'd be easier to just catalogue how my emotions evolved as the project went on, and then wrap it up by trying to pull apart how I feel now, as arcane as that is.

I've been a part of a private developer community for a bit now, and during a majority of my time there I felt sort of like a fish out of water. I guess it was just weird seeing people at the top of their craft while my work sort of paled in comparison. A majority of them had a background in developing character action games or platformers with intricate movement systems, and that was absolutely outside the range of what I understood.

Late 2022 I decided to try and make a movement system with a really strong focus on momentum so I could feel "at home" with the other devs. So I made a small tech demo where most of Orbo's moveset was formed.

In the end it didn't really make me feel more confident in my work, but at least I proved to myself that I could tackle unfamiliar waters and make headway. Regardless, I left the tech demo where it was and continued to work on Nowhere, MI for the next few months.

I made a lot of progress on Nowhere, and around late November a publisher reached out to me to offer help. I was desperate, after all. I didn't have a lot of money to my name and this was the kind of lifeline I needed to secure so I could finish the game.

To cut a long story short, they kept delaying talks about the game over and over and it became increasingly clear to me that my dream of being funded wasn't going to happen.

I was sort of in a bad spot now. It was early 2023 at this point, and I was going to have to make a tough decision: delay Nowhere and get a retail job to make money (potentially losing sight of the project in the process), or find some other solution to secure funding. No other publishers were going to pick me up (and I really didn't trust a majority of them so I only had my sights set on a handful I felt I could trust), so I came to a new conclusion:

What if I just made something short, say in the span of a month or two, and sell it? Surely that would be easy.

Surely.

The Game

In March of 2023, I began working on the game. I wasn't sure what sort of format I wanted for the game at first, and I had initially considered a rogue-like arena combat game where you'd use the game's momentum mechanics to fight enemies, collect upgrades to improve your abilities, rinse and repeat.

The idea ended up feeling sort of strange when I began pre-production, so I ended up scrapping it.

I thought about the movement system some more and realized that it had a strange kinship to a game I had played just a month earlier: Super Kiwi 64.

Then I thought about Siactro's other games, how they were similarly small-scope platformers that seemed to perform well on Steam and Switch, and I realized that if there was something that would suit my own development style (focused around exploration and secrets), it was a 3D platformer.

The first month was fairly strong. I moved at lightning-speed, hammering systems into the game piece by piece. Collectables were done. Time trials (and their records) were done. Movement had been refined further and felt better than in the initial tech demo. There was also a lot of underlying structuring that I won't get into because it's boring (but important).

About a week in I even started working with my friend Tim (who's a professional environment artist), and we began working together on the hub environment (we brainstormed the layout, I designed the greybox, and he wrapped it up with the environment art).

It was going great, but as March was nearing its end I began to realize what I was dealing with.

"Oh, well yeah I mean I knew it wasn't going to be possible in a month! I'm sure if I grit my teeth it'll be done by the end of April!"

So April came along. Tim and I finished the hub area, I got the world portals set up, and eventually we moved to the first level of the game, Shlarp City.

Tim managed to get a decent chunk of the decorative props done, but circumstances were changing and he had a fulltime job in the industry to attend to, so he had to leave the project.

I reasoned "well, I sort of know how to do environment art and I guess I can just go on without help."

Shlarp's greybox was done, and I was sort of happy about the layout. Some friends playtested the game and liked the movement, so I felt a bit more optimistic about the project.

Despite the boost in optimism, I was starting to feel some kind of dread leaking in. My nights were becoming more frantic and troubled, more than they already had been.

I moved onto the next level, reasoning that it'd be best to get the greyboxes for all of the levels finished first, then return for an art pass afterwards. It was the sensible thing to do, after all.

So I began work on Dunbarrow Mines, and this time I was alone. I finished the greybox, and while I wasn't a huge fan of the level, at least it was done. I moved onto Sleepytime Manor and similarly got the greybox finished. Even since the beginning of the month, something was starting to grow inside of me. April was coming to a close, and I still had another level to greybox, a boss fight, secret areas to add, and an art pass on the entire thing. I hadn't really developed much of a game at that point, just 3 barren levels.

And so May came along.

And this was where it all went to hell.

I had been suffering from a lot of issues in my personal life for a while. The year prior had been particularly traumatic and the waves coming from it weren't done passing over yet. If anything the terror was that the major event from the last year hadn't even finished coming to fruition. The stress from everything had caused me to develop a disorder that made my blood acidic, melting away at my nerves. I fought hard and managed to improve my health, but the damage was done and the occasional return of the neuropathy was just a reminder that my life was spiraling downward.

I entered a period of intense stress and depression as waves of terrible memories came over me. I became neurotic. Started having trouble designing levels. It was already an issue for me, but as my mental state deteriorated I was hitting brick walls over and over.

I had my back against the wall. Game development was my only purpose in life, after all. I had been built for it, sacrificed so many hours to it, put everything else aside for it. The only thought going through my head was that I was dying, and that this stupid game was going to be my graveyard.

So roughly two months came by, with sparing work on the game. I finished Monolith station, but it had to be redesigned 3 times to reach the version you currently see in the game today.

The neurosis made me insane. Constantly seeing my peers succeeding while I flailed desperately in a pit was definitely not helping matters.

But something changed in June.

The Garden

I always had an on-and-off again relationship with plants. I had a sort of preternatural skill with growing things, but my interest waxed and waned a lot. The main thing that stuck through this on-and-off relationship were herbs, since they were easy to cultivate and they needed very little maintenance during the periods where I was losing interest.

As I began to take game development more seriously around halfway into 2021, I stopped gardening entirely.

But something very strange happened in the June of 2023. I was frantically compelled to return to it. I raked, toiled and weeded until I had a plot. Then I started buying seeds and began cultivating vegetables again for the first time in 2 years.

And for the first time in this nightmare I was finally happy about something. I don't know what compelled me to start cultivating plants again, but whatever it was, it rescued me from a very long, dark road.

After 2 weeks, I finally finished the final boss of Orbo's Odyssey.

The game needed a lot more work, but I was finally getting a foothold after months of misery.

Eventually my friend Ben was able to help me with the project, and we made a lot of headway. We brainstormed new ideas for how the player could get gear parts. He modeled a load of props. I scripted a load of systems. Finally, the game actually began to look like a game.

Ben was really important. He was optimistic about the project and wasn't suffering from burnout the way I did, and he helped me get out of my fugue. I can't thank him enough for his help.

After around half a year of hammering, we finished the game.

3 weeks after that, we released it to steam.

And about 2 weeks after the release, we're here now.

The Takeaway

Typically in post-mortems you talk about what you would've done differently, but I think this ending might be a bit different.

I'm not really proud of the level design. I think I also could've done better with my share of the environment art in some levels. I think there could've been more details. I think there could've been more content.

But there's no use kicking myself for what could've been. Of course the next game will be better. The mental state I was in during the development of this game was dire and it had a major impact on the quality of my work. I had to break out of a really bad mindset and try to find a better way of engaging with my life. That wasn't easy.

I think some gamers like to imagine that something that's fun to play was fun to make. It's true that sometimes there are moments where you get excited during game development, but at the end of the day the majority of it is just pure work and toil.

In the end, the reviews on Orbo were very kind. Even the negative reviews were at bare minimum sorta funny.

Hilariously the reviews that bothered me the most were actually positive. The perspective of these reviews was that the game was really the story of some little kid taking his thumb out of his mouth and naively making something he thought was fun. It mainly felt like a way for the reviewers to excuse the weaker elements of the game.

These are the reviews I hate the most. I don't care that they were positive. They're infantilizing. It makes it come across as though the shoddier elements of the game weren't a product of a person having a mental breakdown, but of a child smacking blocks together and making mistakes because he didn't know better.

If you really view art like that, I want you to lean in very closely and listen: Most of the time, people suffered to make something you could enjoy. You're welcome to praise or shun the art by itself, but don't patronize the creator for their effort. I didn't have fun making Orbo. I hated it. And even though I hated it I still tried to put passion into it, because I care about my work.

Anyway I'm glad it's over with. If I attempted to develop the game now it would probably be significantly better, but that's mostly because I've found better methods of managing my mental health.

I have to get back to work on Nowhere, and eventually I have to work on Peeb Adventures. For now, though, I'm taking a break. I'm tired.

Before I go I just want to thank some people.

Thank you Ben for being supportive and helping me make this game happen. I couldn't have done it without you, and I mean it.

Thank you Socpens and Grayfruit for streaming the game and for your kind words. It really means a lot to me, and it gave me a lot more confidence about Orbo's Odyssey post-release.

Thank you Tim for helping early on. I know it was a brief period between us, but I do appreciate the work you did.

Thank you (in no particular order) Bryce, Simone, Jett, Aaron, Quinn, Drew, Ian, and Cosme for being supportive of my work.

Thank you for the folks in the private dev server who were particularly supportive as well.

Thanks for reading.

[fiercynn]

palestinian poets: tariq luthun

tariq luthun is a detroit-born, dearborn-raised community organizer, data consultant, and emmy award-winning poet. the son of palestinian muslim immigrants from gaza, he is a kresge arts in detroit fellow that earned his MFA from the program for writers at warren wilson college. he has been recognized as a best of the net poet and has earned fellowships from kundiman, the watering hole, and the kresge foundation. his work has appeared in vinyl poetry, lit hub, mizna, winter tangerine, and button poetry, among others. luthun currently serves as a board member of the offing literary magazine. his first collection of poetry, How the Water Holds Me, was published by bull city press in 2020. the press named the book an editors' selection.

luthun spends most of his time hosting events, working with youth, and facilitating marginalized communities for growth through expression and action. he is a deep dish pizza evangelist, and can best be described as the end-result of a less problematic drake falsetto-rapping edward said's orientalism.

luthun was also recently interviewed by national public radio about the current escalation in genocidal violence by israel against palestine. as of ten days ago, his family in gaza was all okay.

IF YOU READ JUST ONE POEM BY TARIQ LUTHUN, MAKE IT THIS ONE

OTHER POEMS ONLINE THAT I LOVE BY TARIQ LUTHUN

We Already Know This at literary hub

Al-Bahr at tariq's website

Portrait of My Father Drowning, originally published at crab orchard review

Fruit at up the staircase

Dance at winter tangerine

The Summer My Cousin Went Missing (read aloud) at tariq's website

Whisp at the offing

Mismarked (live performance) recorded by button poetry

Museums at voicemail poems

New Rule at the offing

[bloodyshadow1]

So a reactor I like has just gotten to water 7, and it's such a great arc. But what I want to talk about is how perfectly Oda wrote the Franky and the Franky family. When we first meet them, they are a bunch of weak mooks who are bounty hunters and a nuisance for the city as a whole. We're told early on that the Frankies themselves are weak, but Franky himself is someone to watch out for.

Zoro gives them the mook treatment when they try to ambush him on the Going Merry and that's that. But then they attack Usopp and steal 200,000,000 berries from the strawhats. They beat him up several times, insult him, call him weak. We as an audience go from viewing these guys as a nuisances and start out right hating these guys for what they're doing to our boy. Unintentionally or not, they cause the rift between Luffy and Usopp that hangs over the arc, we hate them and we're supposed to.

We get some scenes in between where it looks like the Franky family is kind of just a bunch of goons, losers, and thugs like the mafia/Yakuza tends to be portrayed. Franky gives them a small cut of what they stole from Usopp as a reward but it feels like a boss giving his men the scraps so they're grateful to be doing all the work while Franky goes shopping with the Strawhats money.

However as time goes on and we're actually introduced to Franky as a character, instead of the masked man who hates ships and beat the crap out of Usopp, we see a more genuine side of Franky. He comes home to find his house destroyed and his underlings beaten and gets pissed. Sure at first seems like just petty revenge or to preserve his rep, but Franky still goes after Luffy and attacks him for hurting his underlings, his precious little bros.

and throughout water seven and Ennies Lobby we see that the Franky family is far more heroic than they first seemed. After Franky gets taken by CP9, they follow the strawhats into their war against the government. That's when we realize that the Franky family aren't just called that because they're playing gangster, but they actually are a family. They love Franky and he loves each of them.

We start to realize that while it was shitty how they treated Usopp, they didn't do it because he's Usopp, it was because he was a pirate. Most pirates, in real life and the One Piece world, aren't like the strawhats, they're malicious and greedy violent sociopaths who don't care about people, only themselves. Heck we see it early in the arc where a pirate crew tried to stiff the Galley Law, sure they get the crap beaten out of them by the shipwrights, but it doesn't change that it's something the people of Water 7 deal with all the time as the hub of the ship building world. When we find out that Franky made the family to protect Water 7 it's a eureka moment, not an attempt to show him as a good guy so that his actions become more acceptable for when he joins the crew. Franky loves Water 7 despite how he's treated, it is his home and Iceberg is his brother, he'll do whatever he can to defend it. Again, the strawhats were a wrong place at the wrong time, but to the Franky's they were just pirates, not the strawhats.

It's a masterful way of doing characters, to show that first impressions aren't always what they seem. What seems like a motley crew of losers that we're supposed to hate becomes one of the biggest allies for the strawhats that arc. Yeah they're a group of losers and outsiders who society abandoned, but they were taken in by Franky who treated them well, treated them like family and that's what they become. In a way, they're like the Whitebeard/red hair/strawhat pirates. people who individually aren't strong, but can find a family under one banner together.

[2kmps]

volte-face; noun; a sudden change from one set of beliefs or plan of action to the opposite.

vash x plant engineer!reader

story synopsis; plant engineers are a rarity in no man's land, let alone good ones. you stand as one of the best humanity has to offer, having worked alongside vash for two years to alleviate the suffering of humans and plants alike. you're immediately attracted to the rumors of plants dying in a metropolis built above a geoplant hub; an oasis in the desert. with no way to know whether the city actually exists, you and vash set out into the unforgiving wasteland, chasing myths, and unprepared for what's hidden at the end.

story warnings; gun-violence, vash and mc have a complicated relationship, explicit details, democide, mentions of human trafficking, religious themes, erotic details/sexual themes, issues of autonomy, heavily implied sa, co-dependency between vash and mc, suicide, weird spin on "childhood friends to lovers" trope. mdni.

chapter one; 6.7k; rumor has it...

It was the man with one eye and a top row of silver teeth hunkered over a bottle of jack who spoke of New Oregon; a city-oasis veiled by beige wasteland and tempestuous sandstorms. A heavy haze of gray smoke and booze made the air in the cramped space stagnant; hard to breathe, sending the man into a fit of dry sputters that he chased with the burn of whiskey down his throat.

He never offered his name once that evening; a drunk nobody like everyone else there. It didn't matter how they crowed about bounties and conquests, modified their bodies with gatling guns, metal, shiny gold or silver. They simply didn't matter, so their nights were spent suffocating on dirty air that dimmed the flickering amber light from metal lampshades overhead, and the smell of unwashed men.

Not many turned from their card games or glistening liquid in sticky cups to hear this prattling fool at the bar, though. He was a regular; morning, day, and night, in fact. A sad shape of a man desperately clinging to any lasting stares, or perhaps remnants of a better time in his life imitated through liquid courage.

Boisterous, nonsensical, slurring words through coughs that made his barrel-shaped chest flounce, he was extremely ignored by everyone--

All except for you and Vash.

In a nondescript little corner of the bar nearest to a brown-tinted window just slightly cracked, you swirled around the speckled ice cubes in your glass; loud enough to hear it, not loud enough to fade the man's adamant claims.

"Bah, no one here wants to hear it, but I'm tellin' y'all! It's a whole damn city! No, no, wait!" He forced more whiskey down his throat, wetting his mustache when he nearly missed. "It's bigger! It's like July, a metropolis! Except, it doesn't look like July, it- it- it looks like- like- shit, I don't know. It's nothin' like we've ever seen here on No Man's Land!

"It's all lush, lush, lush green! There are water fountains, and trees and flowers! Flowers! You've heard of 'em, right? They're all livin' in a real lap of luxury there. Been hearin', though, that it's goin' extinct like everywhere else; plants are dyin' off. Innit just shit? I haven't even had a chance to look for it yet."

Everyone in the bar knew that New Oregon was a fabled place, sort of like a eutopia; somewhere, if you found it, you could live out the rest of your days in comfort and bliss. Surviving human artifacts from the bygone millennia on earth told legends of similar places: El Dorado, Atlantis, Avalon, and Zerzura. All places humans wanted to venture, into yet have never found. And never would.

Vash nursed his drink, the alcohol here didn't leave a good taste in his mouth, and neither did the stifling air. He looked to you occasionally, perhaps watching you more closely than he did anyone else in the bar. You were oddly fixated on this man's story and for good reason--

You were a plant engineer; one of the few, one of the best humanity had to offer at this point. Staking out the saloons and unsavory spots in outposts and trading posts for information on towns falling into disrepair and death was your hobby; tracking down these places and their plants was your bread and butter.

"You ain't ever even been to New Oregon; who you getting your info from, brother?" called a newcomer to the bar, throwing down his losing hand in poker. "These rumors are starting to get around more now. You're the fifth person in two months I've heard talk about that damn place."

Elated, the drunk shouted back across the room with all the eagerness of a smart schoolboy, "Lambertonville! One-fifty iles southeast! Good watering hole, lots of hawkers. There's a guy named Jetson, said he used to sell in New Oregon a while back."

A couple of the men groaned, laying down their cards, slugging their absinthe, whiskeys, and beers. "It's all crock! All bullshit! New Oregon is just made up, we're tryin' to have a good night. Stop talkin' about it!"

"It ain't made up!" he thrust a fist onto the solid wood bar repeatedly. "It's a geoplant hub! Are you gonna say those don't exist, because they do!"

Vash took a finical sip, mainly trying to wrap his tongue around a chipped piece of ice. It crunched against his molars as he chewed slowly, gaze darting between the quarreling men, to the splendent look in your eye just as you hopped to your feet and made for the doors.

"I don't know if you're going to be able to convince Meryl to drive one-hundred fifty iles to this place," Vash admitted to you on the way back to the hotel, shaking his slight buzz off into the cold night air. "It sounds like a longshot to follow rumors from a random guy in a bar."

"Don't worry about it." You said, untying the white coat at your waist to slip your arms through it. "I've got an idea."

Vash was worried clear up until the point of the one-hundredth ile ticking on the van's dashboard several hours later. Meryl drove with an otherworldly determination now; skillfully weaving the vehicle around mountainous sand dunes, looming rib bones of ancient beasts long gone, and the frequent wild thomas attempting to cool their bodies in layers of dust.

"What did you say to her?" Vash tried to pry out of you more than once in that four-hour trip.

You had your jacket bunched up against his shoulder, a comfortable barrier between you and him until he tried flattening it down to whisper in your ear.

He was too close, so you swatted the air near his face. You stumbled through your words, letting your grogginess win over actually caring enough to explain. "Exclusive interview with magical hawkers saves humanity in the city."

It wasn't as obvious to decipher what you actually meant to say.

For a while, he left you alone to drift off into a mostly heat-induced nap, your thighs still housing a tremendous insulated tumbler. The water and ice cubes would slosh and chatter against metal walls, only briefly eclipsing the roaring engine pulling the vehicle your bodies through the sand. Roberto's snores from the passenger seat came closer to dwarfing either of those, though.

You slept more heavily during the day than any other time, he noticed. Often times spending your nights in town or rummaging your twin dufflebags of equipment to account for each and every piece; all components necessary to repair the reactors housing plants. You were meticulous and careful; clinical yet easily one of the more excitable people he'd ever met.

He only ever saw you wrapped up in a task or work, or sleeping, rarely anything in between. A byproduct of your upbringing in a pale, sterile, and technical environment more focused on progression and results, rather than personal development within.

Still, he could think of you fondly. A very rare, single constant he's had in his life for two years since you left that pristine environment with bright lights, holopads, and computers. You had told him once, fate decidedly pushing you to cross paths again in the desert, that progress couldn't happen by waiting like Luida chose to do with her glass dome and flora.

A faint smile touched his lips when he looked across the balled fabric at you, finally resting after a long night. You didn't stir when he shifted his arm, letting your head and body slump into a new crevice he made--hopefully more comfortable for you than having your neck bent at an odd angle.

He looked up when Wolfwood moved--switching one cramped, crossed leg for the other--not missing the meaningful, pointed stare he received through the other man's darkly tinted sunglasses. The bent cigarette bounced as it was pinched in a crooked, knowing smile and silent laughter that instantly sent Vash's gaze sweeping to the blurred, brown landscape out the window with a body-wide burn that he suppressed.

It stayed like that for the last hour or two of the trip; complete silence apart from Roberto's planet-shaking rumbles and the engine sputtering beneath oppression of the binary suns. They glowed white and hot, vaguely reminiscent of the searing fluorescent lights that plagued his youth; long hours simply lying and staring, unfocused and shackled by his own unwillingness to move.

Some days, it felt like nothing had changed at all.

Lambertonville appeared distantly just before dusk, while the pitched rooftops of houses and reaching steeples of sleepy churches were caressed by the faraway sky hued in wreaths of scarlet and orange. They were chased away by the sprawl of night, of a black blanket dappled by uncountable glittering stars observed only by a pair of moons slowly rising overhead.

The headlights on the van illuminated an old wood sign hanging above the entrance to town, all at once fading to dark when Meryl killed the ignition, slumping over the wheel while gripping it with both hands.

"We finally made it." She expelled a hard breath, almost as though she had been holding it for a long time. "It was starting to feel like we'd never get here. I'm so hungry and tired. I want to take a bath."

"No rest for the weary, rookie," Roberto said, unclipping his seatbelt to let it reel back into its slot near his head. "We still gotta check in somewhere and move our luggage. Don't forget to consolidate your notes for your article, too."

Meryl nearly triggered the horn when her forehead landed with a dull thunk on the steering wheel, her sighs of suffering growing. "Sure thing, boss."

"Must be hell to be a reporter." Wolfwood mused aloud, barely pushing the door ajar with his foot before his hands were cupping a quivering flame and he was puffing away on his cigarette. "Can't say I envy either of you. Oi, Spikey. Buttercup. You both awake?"

"With how loud you talk, it's impossible not to be." You groused, sorely tempted to send your tumbler rocketing at his head while collecting your things. "I have a name, Churchman."

He grinned. "Could've fooled me, Sweetcheeks."

"Oh, shut up."

Wolfwood sucked in a breath and shrugged, throwing the door shut when you chose to get out on Vash's side; a trivial act of petty vengeance, but certainly one that he would retaliate at some point, somewhere down the line.

When you finally had your bearings after the long car ride; hard stretches and bends, joints cracking as you flexed them out and wrung out your spine, everyone's belongings were laid out in the sand with exception to your white jacket. Vash approached you with it neatly folded, a few creases forming that he looked particularly doleful about, as though if were his responsibility to fix.

"It shouldn't be too hard to get them out," he was telling you, hiking the narrow strap on his knapsack higher onto his shoulder. It was then that you noticed your black duffle bags hanging off of his other one, managing the weight of all of your equipment with impressive ease.

He saw your eyes, offering a disarming smile as he tilted that side towards you. "You just woke up. I thought I'd just lend you a hand. I can't believe you carry these around everywhere, they're pretty heavy."

Once slipping into your coat, you took your bags from him and flattened the shoulder straps on your body. "I guess some people are just built differently."

Your back was to him then, starting after Meryl and Roberto to hunt down the cheapest inn that'd take your double-dollars. The look he fixed on you was one he didn't think was possible to show to your face; wistful and somber, a beautiful ache spurred by memories that gouged him whenever you were near. You were a working mechanism in his daily life; part of routine, part of a peaceful sameness he desperately sought out, yet eluded him and slipped through his fingers like water.

If you weren't there now, he wasn't sure if he could go back to how it used to be. Wandering. Wandering. Wandering aimlessly and all alone; lost amid the vastness of No Man Land's desolation, praying the next town would hold out longer than the rest.

And yet, he saw all the things in you that he didn't want to. He saw the suffering of humanity in you and what it meant to claw and struggle to survive; saw hope and depravity in the white coat you kept close, now lightly browned from age and elements. He saw his past when he looked at you, the very thing that kept him walking on and on and on...

"I'll be back later." You announced to the group a little later on, having antsily tossed aside your equipment in the room you planned to share with Meryl and Roberto. "I'll try to be quiet when I come back."

This was work time, everyone knew.

No one tried to stop you on your way out, Vash and Wolfwood keeping pace, flanking you on either side. It was easy enough for them to anticipate where you were going: the closest dirty, rowdy bar you could find to scrape out some information or buy it with a couple of shots of hard liquor.

Wolfwood was a simple man, he held as much interest in your investment with plants as he did knowing what Meryl's next article was about. What he did enjoy, though, was a lively crowd after half a bottle of whiskey. Besides, places with cheap booze always had the best food, for whatever reason.

You did a double-take towards Vash, catching the dull sheen across his eyes; a distracted, thousand-yard stare.

He nearly started, pulling at the cold arm you touched. "Hey, you doing okay? You should go back to the inn and sleep off today."

"Yeah," Wolfwood injected, flicking his lighter a few times until the bud of his new cigarette glowed hot. "Don't think I saw you sleep at all the entire ride. Besides, a bar in a trading town probably isn't the best place for you to be, Spikey."

When he gestured past you both, towards a nearby building with bullet holes pocking outmost layers of brick and limestone, you saw a row of wanted posters. It was everything you could do to keep yourself from yelling expletives as you rushed over, tore them down, shredded them in half, and let the breeze carry them far, far away.

"Nice work." Wolfwood clapped languidly, giving your shoulder a hard smack on his way by. "Just gotta do that with the hundreds of other ones hanging around."

You could kill him sometimes, you really could.

"Vash." He didn't look at you immediately. "Seriously, you should probably head back. These small towns are the worst places for us to be. All it takes is one person to recognize you."

He already knew that. He's already heard it all from you before. Many times over.

"What about you?" he said, at last, gesturing weakly with a hand to your mostly white uniform. "You stick out a lot more than most people. No one is going to see you and think you belong there."

You spaced your arms and legs out, looking down at yourself, frantically patting away dust on your pants. "Do you know how expensive clothes are? Besides, everything is heat resistant. I'd probably actually die of heat stroke if I wore anything else."

He was inclined to agree.

You yanked the coat zipper down when he spoke again. "What I'm saying is: I'm not letting you go alone."

"Mister sixty-million-double-dollar bounty, I think you need to worry more about yourself. Besides," you pulled away one side, the handle of a pistol peeking out from a brown holster. "I'm packing, too. If it came down to it, I'd be just fine."

"As if you know how to shoot!" Wolfwood yelled from somewhere, his voice carrying on the breeze and spearing through the back of your head with all the sting of an untuned instrument.

Tonight, you would kill him.

Wolfwood was right, Vash thought glumly. This was all talk; handling weapons much less firing them was nowhere within your scope of practice, nor expertise. In the two years he had traveled with you, that gun had never been set off once. He had been the one to force it into your hands following a particularly nasty scuffle, one where you almost didn't make it out with him.

You scared him that day, and you still manage to scare him most days in how you purposefully flaunted yourself around, brandishing the uniform-clad on your body in hopes it attracted the very attention he tried so hard to thwart.

"Can..." Vash had to sigh, shoulders rolling forward as he rubbed his nape. "Can we at least stick to the back corners or something? Out of the way?"

That's exactly what didn't happen.

Vash sat at the bar, fingers so tightly clenched around his bourbon he thought he felt the glass splinter against his skin. The insides of his cheeks were raw from how long his teeth had been gnawing on his skin. He had been sitting with the same drink for over an hour now, too tight in his shoulders and back to will himself to take a sip, too on edge to think he even could.

The bar met every expectation between the three of you; Wolfwood was having an adamant chess tournament, the long neck of a bottle of wild turkey closed in his fist while he and others hollered over every poor move and checkmate.

Fortunately, you stayed nearby to Vash despite having about three shots in you already. Just enough to loosen you up to socialize and pry for information; always work-related, never for pleasure. Vash kept his eyes on you whenever you roamed away, palms full and fingers splayed across multiple shooters that you passed around. The favorite candy of hapless, drunk men.

"Jetson?" echoed one man returning for a drink. You handed it to him, he thanked you, slammed it back, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Jetson. Jetson. Oh! That hawker guy. Yeah, he's been long gone for a few weeks. Who knows where he's at now."

Not what you were hoping to hear. "That sucks. Well, did he share anything about a place called New Oregon?"

"That mythical city or whatever?" came a new voice, this one belonging to a fairly young, lanky lad. He didn't look old enough for alcohol, though laws like that didn't really apply to towns sitting this far away from major cities. "I remember people talking about it. It's supposed to be some sort of oasis, right? Run by geoplants?"

The first man nodded. "S'posed to be a big hub for 'em, I guess."

"I've heard rumors about their plants dying." You said, leaning a hip into the nearest table while looking between them both. "Anyone mentioned that around here recently?"

"Well," the young guy started, pouting when you kept the drinks in your hand out of reach. "I don't know if it's related, but there were a couple of merchants here last week talkin' about how these really wild sandstorms keep picking up near Serpent's Tongue. And they're just too... weird to be natural."

The one man squeezed a whistle through his parched lips, kneading them together after downing another shot. "Serpent's Tongue is a ways out there. Didn't realize these guys were going that damn far."

"How far are we talking here?" you asked, skeptically.

"Let's put it like this," the drunkard stumbled closer to you, holding both his hands erect and a distance from each other. "You're gonna have an easier time getting to July; sand steemer, fed checkpoints, all of that stuff. That's almost two weeks. Serpent's Tongue is two huge rock faces with a passage between 'em. Real nasty area in certain parts. You're lookin' at almost a month just to get there, not countin' how many days you stop to build your strength back up."

You nearly let the liquor in your hand smash to the ground at the mention. The very notion of spending a month or more on the move to a city that may or may not exist was insane. It would mean a month of praying the elements didn't get you first, that bandits didn't find you, and that grand sandworms didn't plague those areas.

"Has anyone ever actually been to New Oregon?" you pressed, taking a shot for yourself to dull the panic beginning to twist in your gut. "Has anything ever been verified? Anything at all?"

The lad watched you pointedly, heard the glass clicking as your fingers curled into the makings of a fist. "You tryna go there? I don't think you'll have any luck, but something I'm remembering: Apparently there were some wind turbines in the area. They weren't old, either."

You felt your heart pinch in your chest and then lodge in your throat, this was the feeling you lived for. The sheer elation of a breakthrough, a sliver of light somewhere cast in darkness. The very small, very few straws you could grasp and hold onto with dear life.

This was justification enough.

With a splendid smile that pulled your lips taut over your teeth, you said, "Two things: A map, and where do you stable your thomases?"

Vash tried to gauge the bright look on your face as best he could. You had been that way since meandering back to his side, finally satisfied enough in your pursuit to sit down at the bar and order something a little more digestible. He watched your lips dance across the rim of your cup, teeth clicking into the glass a time or two, letting your mind hazily turn over the possibilities.

At that point, his shoulders were a little loose and he was on his third drink, having switched over to jack a while ago. He had questions he wanted to ask: Who did you talk to? What did they say? What are we going to do? What was that pamphlet they gave you?

He couldn't will himself to utter any of it; instead, he leaned forward on his arms, pads gripping the wide rim on his glass while observing you and your entire lightness. A side of you he rarely saw apart from a successful job; a glimmer of happiness often so easily stripped away.

It looked dazzling on you. He smiled tenderly.

"Alright, compadres!" Wolfwood was at both your ears suddenly, an arm over each neck as his weight bore down. "I can say that these hicks don't know shit about chess. I'm also fucked up. Time to go."

Your malicious edge had all but dissipated by now, giving way to someone far more malleable. Between the three of you, it was bottoms-up one more time, the hot liquid gaining purchase in your throats as it burned inside your nostrils and behind your eyes. A nice way to keep warm as you left the bar, the cold desert air still making your teeth clatter as it caressed your neck and jaw.

Far ahead of you, there were glints of orange and the smell of smoke. Wolfwood wasn't looking back at either of you, now grumbling on about the inbred hillbillies not knowing how to play chess, and resorting to cheating. You meant to take it that he lost a few too many games, and couldn't stand to sulk about it in the bar with everyone around.

"Better luck next time, Pastard*." You laughed.

He stuck a finger up at you, pocketing that hand afterward to keep it from getting numb. "You guys are too slow. Figure out your way back on your own."

Vash tilted towards you, whispering conspiratorially, "I think you struck a nerve."

"I think anything we say to him strikes a nerve." You rejoined.

"Yeah," he looked over his lenses, trying to scope out any lasting trace of Wolfwood, finding none. "Can we get back on our own? Was the inn along the main street, or the next one over? I think I drank too much."

You grunted at him, giving him a once over while sidling some paces away so he couldn't reach you even if he projectile vomited. His only response was to whine pitifully and apologize, once again closing that gap as you both swayed along the unpaved road, stirring up puffs of dust and sand that felt coarse in your throats when you'd laugh.

It wasn't as cold as it usually was at night, a simple thought that crossed your mind. You figured it was all because of your shift in good fortune for a change, the booze playing a secondary role in it. Maybe, you considered, it was also Vash's shoulder brushing against yours while you walked. For some reason, you noticed it so much more right now.

And so did he.

Trying to keep his mind elsewhere, on anything other than that slight pressure when you'd bump into him felt insurmountable in that moment. He let his eyes roam all around; noting the rusted street lamps with cloudy glass cages glowing a murky yellow, homes casting pillars of light into the streets through curtained windows, relishing how unaffected Lambertonville felt to everything outside of it.

It was the type of place he'd try to hang onto for as long as he could; days, a few weeks, a month at most with any luck. He would get to know names, the regulars at the bars, all of the local gossip and food. An impermanent haven where he could rest awhile and know you were safe.

Vash felt it then, yours and his knuckles touching, brief, but burning. The world spun around him a little too fast when he stepped away, opening the space between your bodies as much as he could, but managing to tangle his legs in a bucket that sent him staggering into the side of a building. He caught himself easily enough, the cold off the brick seeping through his skin and bone, straight to his nerves and spine.

He heard you call out. "Whoaaa, you okay?!"

"I'm good! I'm good!" he assured, raising a hand towards you as proof. It didn't stop you from trotting over anyway, nearly smacking into the wall yourself when your shin caught the very same bucket. "Are you good? I really think we overdid it tonight."

You edged along crumbling, ruddy brick with your shoulder, getting close enough to pluck one of the arms of his sunglasses from behind his ear and then the other. They were tucked away neatly in his coat pocket now, leaving you to fully see him bathed under a warm, faint glow from overhead.

"We're fine." You said, moving in until your chests just touched. "It was nice to have a few drinks with you."

Vash didn't know what to say, he didn't know what to do or think. All he knew is that he didn't want to move away, something kept his legs rooted there; waiting and anticipating, sending his heart into a frenzy against his ribs. And, when he felt your cold fingertips press into the sides of his face, guiding his head down to where your lips met his in fervor, everything went blank.

Your hands pushed divots into his skin, thumbs resting against the peaks of his cheekbones. The kiss was hard, leaving a searing imprint in his mind and on his lips. It was such an unfamiliar thing; the feeling, what he imagined a kiss was like, you so near in proximity he wanted to melt into the warmth shared between your bodies.

And, it was so quick. Just when he had gathered the nerve to reach for your shoulders, nursed the thought of kissing you back-- you pushed him away with a satisfied smile and gentle slap to both his cheeks.

He yelped, taking the chance to shield as much of the red blistering across his face as he could. "What- what was that for?!"

"That was for helping me out last night," you wagged a finger at him, stilling it midair. "For tonight too, actually. I just wanted to thank you for everything up until this point. I know following me around looking for plants isn't what you want to do. So, do me a favor and don't."

He wasn't processing what you were saying, troubled creases forming in his brow. "Where is this coming from?

"Oh," you scoffed, swiveling the balls of your feet, arms shooting out at your sides to catch your balance. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing. Let's make sure Wolfwood got back, and get some sleep. I have a feeling we're gonna have some nasty hangovers."

Three o'clock rolled around hours later and he was still thinking about what you said. Vash wasn't sure how much sleep he actually got before giving up, knowing he had spent most of the night thrashing on the mattress, making old boards underneath groan and squeal.

Wolfwood had made a point to hurl his wadded-up, dirty socks, and both loafers across the room, slurring out any expletive he could come up with when Vash moved around too much. After several minutes, things settled once again and Wolfwood's snores were a welcoming invitation for him to scoot his back upright against the headboard, eyes trained at the empty streets outside the window next to his bed.

Too much had happened in one day for him to be able to muddle through it all right now. More than anything else, he wanted to know what was going on with you; why you were so preoccupied with rumors of a place that may be conjured up by men on the verge of death-- a final deception from their brains to make the agony bearable.

'What did you figure out? Why won't you tell me?'

His eyes swept the moonlit streets. Unlike before where the street lamps faintly illuminated your paths to guide you back to the inn, the lights housed within walls of dingy glass had all extinguished, leaving just the pale glow from the binary moons to shine off of gabled, tin rooftops and the corners of metal signs swinging by rusty chains in the wind. Simultaneously an eerie, peaceful scene that did well to quiet his distress, until--

You came into view of the window, riding astride a fully saddled thomas with your duffle bags and belongings tied down behind your seat. A high-beam flashlight lit your way through town towards the looming archway leading out into the desert.

Vash came close to smashing his face against the window, his warm breath trembled and fogged over the glass. His mind started to race as he scrambled off of the bed, hobbling around creaky floorboards by the tips of his toes, slipping on socks and boots and his coat, cramming all his things into the tawny bag he had slung across his shoulder by the time he was closing the door behind him.

Why were you leaving without saying anything?

Why were you leaving without him?

Why were you being this way?

The thomas let out an agitated cry, stretching its long neck to peck at him as he tightened the girth around its undercarriage. He moved his fingers in time to avoid being bit, giving the large avian gentle shoves until it grew tired and relented to his weight soon settling on its back.

He ran the large beast for a long time, wondering just how far out you managed to get. A column of hot white light bounced across the dark ground, showing him tracks already being swallowed by sand and dust, carried by frigid southern currents. It wasn't until those same prints started to appear more vividly; newer until very fresh that the lines in his face smoothed with a wave of relief wracking his body.

You had finally slowed your thomas, giving it just enough rein so it could move its neck more freely. It stayed on path dutifully as you unfolded the map the drunk man in the bar had given you a short while ago. The paper opened more wide than tall, sprawling most of your arm span, and seemed to cover most of the explored territories on No Man's Land.

"So, next town is going to be Jukeblight." You spoke into the air, moving your wrist across the map, dulling your flashlight. "That's about three days. Yoke is--"

There was a sound. Rustling sand moving fast.

You whirled around in your seat, flashlight set to maximum and spinning around your body. It could've just been a bird, or a hive of worms that were startled by the noise, at worst a smaller sandworm looking for its dinner. It was all meant to keep your composure, though you immediately lost it when you flicked the light towards the right of you, snaring a flash of red in the glare.

Vash caught you by the side of your coat, keeping you in the saddle despite screaming and nearly falling off the other side. "Hey! It's me, it's just me!"

"Vash?!" you didn't know whether to be glad or throttle him. Either way, you slapped his hand off of you once he pulled you center in the saddle. "You're following me even though I told you not to?"

"It sounded more like a suggestion to me." He replied, gaze flicking towards the map now creased in the corners from your scare. You offered him a view with light, giving him time to study it. "How are we going to find New Oregon when it isn't even on the map?"

With the way he was already talking, you knew he would be in it for the long haul, dissuading him now would be impossible. "I'll catch you up to speed later. It's going to take us a month to get there."

Vash's jaw unhinged, emitting an airy groan in disbelief. "A month?! Seriously? You're- you're really being serious about this?"

"Of course," you said, tucking the map back into a satchel hanging off the side of your thomas' breastbone. "I've been serious about this since day one."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Vash never looked away from you. "We've got some really vague clues with no guarantee New Oregon is real. We could be just going around in circles."

Your eyes were fixed straight ahead stubbornly. "Then, wouldn't it be easier for you to go back?"

"I won't do that." He frowned. "I'm not going back without you."

This was a constant with him. No matter how hard you'd try to shake him off, turn him around, lose him-- he'd always find you, completely unperturbable regardless of your nastiest tactics and vitriolic comments. If anything you said to him left a lasting scar on his heart, he never showed it.

Still, it didn't stop you from trying time and time again.

"To be honest," you sighed, "I was hoping you would be drunk enough to just sleep through the night."

He gave you a reaction; mouth agape again, face twisted in despair, eyes gleaming in a way that nearly convinced you he would start to cry.

"That's the only reason you've been letting me drink with you?"

You tipped your chin down into the collar of your jacket, masking a smile trying to tug your lips. "Duh. I always forget how fast your body metabolizes everything under the suns, though. Being a plant has its benefits, I guess."

Vash turned away sharply, nose in the air, chest flouncing with one large puff of air. "That's a dirty move, even for you."

"Can you blame me?" he definitely thought he could, but bated his words, letting you finish first. Something shifted in your demeanor as your shoulders sunk a little deeper in the oversized coat, sweaty palms making the stiff reins squeal. "Will you be able to handle the pain of being there with me?"

His lips were forced thin and tight.

"A theoretical city that size doesn't run on just a handful of plants, Vash." You said quietly, voice above the distant howls of wind and skittering sand. "If we find it, there's no telling what we'll see."

It came back to these moments most days. They reminded him why you could be as elusive as you were towards him. One of his sisters in agony was hard enough, he didn't want to imagine dozens of them screaming at once; a cruel cacophony of suffering. And he would be the only one to bear it all.

"Vash?"

"I'm not sure." He was honest, a solemn gaze towards the horizon where dawn broke through the shroud of night, bringing with it a burning sky and the first warm breeze of the day. "I won't know until I'm standing there with them."

The conversation whittled away after that; you had nothing comforting you could say to him. It wasn't your thing, and it wasn't realistic given the nature of your work. He knew that just as well, perhaps it was the reason why the silence worked so well between you in these moments. It was amicable, calm, and easy; part of the reliable sameness that he sought out from you.

"So," he tried again after a while, venturing a curious look that you met with a tired one. "You didn't let anyone know you were leaving, did you?"

"Do you ever?"

He sputtered in embarrassment, hunching over his beast with a pout that made your nostrils flare when you laughed.

You grinned. "I left a note, actually."

"Really? A note?"

"Yeah." You said. "They have all the details they need to know. Maybe we'll cross paths with them again in the future."

Once again, the somewhat somber look returned to Vash's face. In some ways, it was bittersweet knowing that they wouldn't be able to follow you two anymore; their journeys would continue separate from your own. Your intention for leaving them behind was equal parts selfishness and love, something you would never freely acknowledge, but something he knew to be true.

He kept his thomas in stride alongside yours, flicking out the arms of his orange-tinted lenses as he set them on his nose and looked out towards the rising suns.

"Yeah, it'd be nice."

LATER...

The upstairs of the inn was steeped in chaos by eight in the morning. Heavy footfalls rattled the light fixtures in the downstairs dining room, frantic shouts traveled from individual rooms towards the main staircase as Meryl, Roberto, and Wolfwood stomped their way down with their things hardly in shape to travel.

"I- I can't believe they left us behind again!" Meryl didn't hide the flush of frustration on her face, fist overhand on her luggage as she yanked it through the front door towards the vehicle. "Why do they always do this?!"

Roberto didn't share the same urgency of the rookie, nor of Wolfwood's seething anger when he stormed past the front desk, thrusting down a brass room key for the terrified employee to take once he was out of the building entirely.

"Sorry about them," was all Roberto said, leaving his key behind as well, along with a few double-dollars in sympathy.

He climbed into the passenger seat a little later, tugging his seatbelt a few times to seal himself in. The flask tucked inside his worn, old blazer came out once Meryl put the van into drive and thrust her foot into the gas, making tires spin on sand before it lurched forward.

Roberto took his first sip of alcohol that day, swishing it around his gums a few times to let the burn dance in his mouth. "Ay, rookie, don't get so upset that you wreck."

"Just wait, just wait..." she chanted, her face screwed up in concentration.

Next, Roberto turned to look in the backseat at Wolfwood. The man continually fussed with his dark sunglasses slipping down his nose, teeth clenched around four crimped, unlit cigarettes.

"I knew that fuckin' brat was up to something." He spat his venom, foot tapping on the floor. "I'm gonna kill both of them when I get my hands on them. The fuck is their problem just bailing like that?"

Roberto faced forward in his seat, an arm hanging out the window as he took a larger swig this time.

He wasn't going to be the one to ask where they were going.

divider; @/anlian-aishang

this is a repeat from my deleted blog: cardeneiv.

please leave a comment and reblog if you enjoyed this! likes do not help spread the story around! id love to talk to y'all about this story 😭🥺

[hanayori89]

The Perfect Catch: OOT One-shot

~~~❤️~~~🎣~~~❤️~~~🎣~~~❤️~~~🎣~~~

The stench of decay swept across the vast land of Hyrule. On the distant horizon sat Death Mountain, stacked with donut-shaped ashen clouds, signaling an impending storm and your urgent need to leave Lon Lon Ranch. You hurried and placed your milk and eggs in your wagon, making your way over to the check-out.

"Another lovely day in the dying land of Hyrule." You handed your items to the ranch hand with the blazing tresses that singed the middle of her back. The gray bags tugging on the skin beneath her blue eyes almost looked like smudged makeup.

"Yes, I should get the cows and horses into their appropriate stables. This storm looks to be a wicked one." Malon huffed as she surveyed the ranch and all that had to be done. "It'll be 20 rupees."

"Twenty rupees? Wasn't it fourteen last week?"

A frown made her lips pucker with empathy. "Mr.Ingo raised the prices again. I'm so sorry." She focused her gaze back out to the pasture and the little sprinkles of rain spritzing from the sky.

You placed the rupees on the counter. "Well, this is Ganondorf's Hyrule; we just live in it. I'm just thankful you and Kakariko are still open to buy supplies from."

"I don't know for how much longer. Not with our property taxes being raised yet again."

Yes, the stench of decay lingering across Hyrule came from more than the ceaseless bloodshed of innocent lives. It also came from the annihilation of the citizens' livelihoods. Castle Town, which was Hyrule's major consumer hub, had been vanquished along with much of the commerce in Hyrule. If people weren't being killed by the many monsters that trampled Hyrule's fields, they would die of the starvation that now loomed over the land like the consistent storm clouds that plagued the sky.

You were one of the lucky ones.

But luck couldn't last forever.

:Read More:

You tried to offer Malon a comforting sentiment, but you couldn't feign the confidence you had hoped you possessed.

"Hey, you know, as long as I fish, you won't go hungry, right? Who knows, maybe someday I'll catch the Hylian Loach, and I can save the ranch."

Malon squeezed a laugh from her throat the same way she'd squeeze milk from an utter. "That's a mighty kind thought Y/N. That's all Hyrule can hope for anymore. Is what someday will bring."

Malon met your eyes with concern. "You fisherfolk do so much, and yet with Lake Hylia dried up, who knows how much we can even depend on that?"

You opened your mouth to contest her statement, yet you found that you couldn't. Malon was absolutely correct. Lake Hylia had dried up, along with another form of the people's sustenance.

Lightning ruptured through the dark, swollen clouds. You said your good-byes to Malon as you made your haste back home. From the looks of the vicious lightning piercing the sky, the weather forecast was promising to be almost as dismal as the current state of Hyrule.

Almost.

❤️~~~🎣~~~❤️

You couldn't believe your eyes. You cranked a double-fisted rub against them to make sure you were seeing clearly.

The sun was starting to sneak out from beyond the tightly woven storm clouds. The earthy scent of the grass being watered from the goddesses above tingled your nostrils. Maybe they would smudge a rainbow in the distance for you to see.

With the invigorating scent of fresh rain and the tepid attempt at action from the sun, you grabbed your fishing rod. Malon's conversation inspired you to try your hand at scoring the Hylian Loach yet again.

While it was true that Lake Hylia had dried up, there was a fishing hole that miraculously remained intact. You knew the passing storm most likely rendered the hole abandoned of its usual activity of bumbling fishermen. You made your way over, your eyes settling on the crevices slashed among the dried-up clay of the dehydrated lake's bottom.

You walked toward the stall where the familiar, apathetic eyes of the fishing teller sat. His arm hoisted over his head as he scratched his armpit and noshed on some straw that was slipping from his mouth.

Then you looked over at the fish tank that held this week's biggest catch to see that it held something even grander.

Its tail and head were smashed against the restricting size of the tank. Its scaley body wasn't exactly plump; it was its length that made you gasp at the sight.

"Is that-is that the..."

"Sure is. The Hylian Loach. A young feller caught it just the other day. I'm waiting on the tank to come in so I can give him a comfortable home."

You walked up toward the tank, gliding your fingertips down the glass as its pupil darted toward you, begging for independence.

"You're going to keep it in a tank?"

"Mmhmm, I reckon so. Depends on that young man. Gave him the prize for catching it."

You thought of your promise to Malon. The Hylian Loach had symbolized hope for you, and now your hope was constricted within the confines of glass walls. It was a pathetic sight, one that certainly evoked woe and utter despair. This fish was Hyrule, and you were Ganondorf, watching it in a sadistic display of power.

"Are you going to fish today, miss? I close in an hour."

You gave him your rupees and walked away deflated. All this time, you had wanted the Hylian Loach, and now you were penitent for seeing it caught. You looked out at the pond for the perfect spot to cast your line. You didn't necessarily want to catch any fish; you just wanted the serenity of the pond and a moment to reflect on your emotions.

Your line glided through the air and landed with a gentle plop. You watched your lore bob about the small ripples on the pond's surface. The sun had decided to disappear once more, teasing you with the illusion of peace after the storm.

You scowled. You wondered who the person was who caught the loach and if he would set it free. He got his award; why make it suffer for the hungry, glowering eyes of Hylian consumption?

You always caught your fish and released them. Even with the threat of food becoming scarce, the people in Hyrule had more in common with the fish of the pond than they realized. The rupees would have been nice, but at the end of the day, you wanted the loach and all the lure surrounding it hidden from the prying eyes of Hylians.

Or maybe you were just bitter; someone other than you caught your pathetic hope of being a hero and monetized it.

The sound of the grass rustling beside you disrupted the comfortable daze you sat in. A man fell to the ground next to you, sitting with an exaggerated huff.

"Whew. What a long day."

A glint from the young man's ear caught your eye. You looked over to see a rather handsome boy. His thick blonde bangs were angled around his forehead, bringing his strong blue eyes to the forefront. His eyes were shaded by lumbering, thick brows that seemed to be etched downward. This gave an unmoved air of stoicism to his face.  The blue tunic he wore was rather unfashionable, but something about the rings of silver dangling from his ears made him cool.

Under the glum skies, something about his eyes was reminiscent of the ensnared Hylian Loach. A sense of imprisonment seemed snagged in his glare much like a fish snagged on a lure.

You continued to gawk at him, unaware you were doing so. The boy turned toward you, and the heaviness slowly dissipated from his eyes as he released himself from whatever trouble was holding him captive.

"It seems like it may start to storm again. Even so, I needed to come here. Just for a little bit." A worm fought against the man's thick fingers, but it did no good. He pierced the worm with his hook and cast his line into the pond. The friendly smile he had just given you seemed to sink with it.

"It's relaxing to be here." You agreed. You both sat absent-mindedly watching your lines.

The boy spoke again. "I haven't seen many female fishers."

"What do you think women can't fish?" You made sure the defensiveness in your voice was transparent.

He chuckled. "Not at all; I think it's really cool to finally meet one."

You weren't sure why, but the sound of his cackle made your face feel flushed. "Oh, well, fishing is our livelihood. Although I can never bring myself to not release them, but with the current state of Hyrule..."

The man's expression dropped. "What's your opinion?"

"On what? The totalitarian land of Hyrule?"

The man cocked his head slightly and peered at you.

"What opinion is there to have? My opinion doesn't matter."

"That's not true. All of us carry this fate together."

You sighed. "You're right. Forgive me; I suppose I am just a little bit bitter today. My friend Malon-"

"Malon from Lon Lon Ranch?"

"Yes!" You exclaimed. "You know Malon?"

The man chuckled again, louder this time. Something about the eruption of his laughter and the way it created ruffles at the edge of the pond was therapeutic. "I know her father, Talon, also. Unfortunately, I also know Ingo, that fool who usurped the ranch and has expropriated all of the ranch's profits."

"Yes, he has raised their property taxes again. I'm convinced he works for Ganondorf, even if he swears he doesn't."

The boy snarled at the sound of Ganondorf's name.

"Say, Malon is single... I probably have no right to play matchmaker, but you seem like a great guy."

The man stared out at the water disinterestedly. You were suddenly seized by the feeling of foolishness for saying such a thing to a virtual stranger. Malon would die of embarrassment if she found out.

"A great guy, eh? I wish that were true. A man like me cannot be involved with love."

"Oh." You saw the heart wrenching captivity in his eyes once more. He looked at you. "But we also can't control when love finds us." His eyes held yours, and you felt your heart vibrate like the lapping pond in the breeze.

He continued, "What I'm saying is, I am working on fighting for Hyrule, and so I couldn't hurt someone knowing I must travel far and wide defending this land. It wouldn't be fair to their heart. Or my own."

"Are you a knight?"

He smirked. "You can call me a knight if you wish."

"I'd like to call you a name." You found your grin matching his in width.

"Link. And with whom do I have the pleasure of sharing this stormy evening with?"

"Y/N."

You both sat, smiling at each other and enjoying the brilliance of your silly banter. Until the teller yelled out, "Hey you two, I'm closing up here in ten minutes!"

Link turned and looked over his shoulder at him. The teller called out, "Say, feller, we are still waiting for that big tank for the loach. What are you going to do with it?"

You stopped smiling. "You are the man that caught the loach?"

Link turned toward you. "Indeed. I've been trying to decide what fate I'd like to give it. I want to release it, but should someone else catch it, surely it will become dinner. But living in a glass prison isn't much more promising. What would you do?"

"I'd release it. Let it live the rest of its life in freedom. Surely, you agree that being trapped is no way to live?"

Link gave you a soft, half-lidded smile. Link turned back to the teller. "Say, could you release the loach tonight?"

"What? It's just my opinion, I-"

"You need to stop depreciating your opinion. I understand captivity, and I wouldn't want to end my days that way. I hope I do not."

"What are you captive to?"

He frowned, his lips slightly parted, but no words came out. Just as he was about to speak, his line snagged. "Oh! You've caught one?"

"No, we did. Come here." He grabbed your hand and gently pulled you toward him. You put both hands on his fishing rod. Link stationed himself behind you and held your hands and the rod from behind.

You began to reel it in, the fish pulling against you with all its might. Link held your hands. The strength that emanated from them made you feel empowered. Together, you pulled.

"Ready? On the count of three... one... two... three!" You both pulled, hauling the gargantuan fish overhead. You tumbled backward and fell on top of Link.

He wrapped his arms around you, breaking your fall.

"Hylia! That fish is huge! Now that's a perfect catch!"

You looked down at Link, whose eyes were fixed on you. "I disagree. I think I caught the perfect catch."

❤️~~~🎣~~~ Edited 10/21/23~~~🎣~~~❤️

[bananaminbaby]

help! my tap is leaking!

pairing: Nanami x reader

cw: 18+ content - minors dni, penetrative, unprotected sex, degredation, creampie, cheating

note: part of jupiter's ( @luvjiro ) The Hub Collab. I just couldn't keep hot neighbour Nanami in my drafts for any longer.

New neighbourhood brings about new sounds, new scenery, new people and new... well, issues.

To be fair it started off innocent. Exchanging smiles as you're walking past, saying hellos and good mornings, the obligatory 'how was your week?'.

That turned to finding out a shared fondness to sweets and cakes that lead to giving home baked goods every now and then. Then, when trouble arrived and there was no one to save you, he came along naturally, fixing your taps and car.

Every meet was accompanied with lingering stares that seem to be doing more action than the shy and 'accidental' touches. You were well aware of the tension in the air and you think, so is he.

Everyday your actions get bolder and as expected, his reaction to it is as forward as you'd hope.

"Hey Nanami, thanks for coming over," you said as you opened the door for the man.

He easily slid in and already familiar with you house, he made his way to your kitchen unprompted. "No worries, I was free today, so anything to take my boredom away is welcomed," he sent you a charming smile.

Nanami settled his toolbox down next to him once he made it to your kitchen, "So, did this just happen?" He asked, gesturing to your leaking tap.

"Yes, oh my God. I turned it on this morning and it sprayed everywhere and now it won't stop dripping. It even got onto my favourite nightdress," you pouted.

"Oh no, you poor thing," he placed his hand on your shoulder apologetically. Then, he bent down to open the cabinet, "I bet all of that must've scared you and got you wet all over," Nanami glanced back at you, making your breath hitch. His eyes confidently met yours then his gaze slid down to your chest, and before he turned away, you didnt miss the little smirk that sat on his lips.

Oh okay, two can play this game.

Nanami was settling onto his knees when you replied, "Oh, it was horrible. Drenched everything- had to change out of my bra, and I didn't have any more of those everyday bras, so I had to go with my fancy bra."

"Oh really? Bet it suits you real well, doll," He winked. Nanami meant that wholeheartedly and you know that he does. That one comment made butterflies in your stomach and all of a sudden you were like a teenage girl blushing over something a boy said.

"Oh, stop it you," you nudged his shoulder, to which he only chuckled.

You figured that you'd be more useful preparing drinks and snacks for him rather than just standing there. You got the cups from the cabinet and was filling it out with ice water when he called you over, "Can you give me a hand for a sec?"

You walked back to where he was, finding Nanami on his back, fiddling on the pipes in the cabinet. "Yeah, what do you need?"

"I need a third hand- can you hold this bit for me?"

Nodding, you got down on your knees next to him and reached in. You couldn't really see where it was.

"Where is it?"

"It's deeper in," he said.

You tried to lean forward more, but your face was already smushed on the top of the cabinet.

"Hold on," You took your arm out and swung your legs across Nanami. "Can't see where it is," the position allowed you to sneak your head in to see what he was referring to.

What you didn't realise was that you were basically pasting your torso on Nanami's chest. He could feel your boobs fall on his chest and your crotch on his lower stomach. And when you tried to look into the cabinet, he was face to face with your cleavage, which was poorly covered by the shirt you were wearing. And it sure did show your fancy white bra that had pretty, dainty laces decorating it.

Nanami took a big gulp. This was the closest he's been to you. He could feel his dick react to what he was seeing and he's having a hard time peeling his gaze off of it.

"Is it here- Ah! There it is!" Your fingers brushed his, catching his attention, "I got it!" You looked down at him excitedly, only to find him already looking at you.

Once again, your breath hitched. He was close. Very close. And suddenly you were hyper aware of everything, what you're sitting on and what you're touching.

You watched as the side of his lips hitched up to a smirk. "You sure did, doll. Good girl." His comment made your pussy clench and he sure did felt that.

When you tried to shuffle back because of it, Nanami took a firm grasp of your hip. "Ah ah- I still need your hand, don't I?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"O-oh yeah, sorry."

Nanami went back to fixing and not long after he was done. "Okay, that should do it."

You got off him and stood up. And sure enough the tap wasn't dripping anymore. Nanami reached out from behind you and turned the tap on. "There you go, all fixed," you could feel him standing very close to you, but not quite touching you.

"Oh thank you so much, Nanami. I wouldn't know what to do with out your help," you said as you turned around.

Nanami placed his hands on your sides, caging you in. "No worries, doll. Always glad to help a neighbour in need."

"Well, I should thank you for your help, shouldn't I?" You look up to him with a teasing smile. You knew that he knew what you were talking about, judging by the step that he took towards you. "How about I grab my wallet from my bedroom?" You teased.

Nanami chuckled, "how about we do something else in your bedroom?" He placed his hands on your waist, pulling you flush against him.

You pretended to think about his suggestion. "Hmmm... I don't know.. What can we do there?"

And Nanami plays along saying, "Well, I was thinking of something like," he says as he inches closer, "me and you," he comes closer, "on the bed," and closer, "doing something," his nose touches yours, "like this", finally he pushes his lips onto yours.

You stood on your toes to deepen the kiss and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Mmph... Jump, doll." You jump and he easily holds you up by your thighs.

"Bedroom?" He asks. With you giving directions, Nanami made his way to your bedroom and as soon as he reached your bed, he slowly lowered you on it, his mouth not leaving yours.

But when it does, you chase it, a string of saliva still connecting your lips. His big hands cups the side of your face. Then it slides down. Down to your neck, where he gives it a light squeeze.

"You're sure with this, pretty? You're gonna let me ruin you and your pretty little pussy too?" He asks.

You grab a hold of his forearm and nodded, "I'm yours to use."

Nanami smiled at your answer. Its just what he wants to hear. He slots his mouth on yours again, and his hands make quick work to undress you and himself.

"That bra sure does look good on ya, doll," he snaps the band of the bra, making you giggle. "Surprise?"

"Mmm.. sure is a nice surprise. Though I think I like you without it."

Once his underwear comes off, you push him back by his shoulders. You tell him to settle on the pillows. So there he sits, leg spread open, his cock already hard, one hand stroking it and the other splayed to the side.

You made your way between his legs and gave him a quick peck before moving down to his neck where you leave another kiss. Your hand grabs a hold of his cock, stroking it following his hands.

You swipe the precum off his tip and dove down. Almost half of his cock is swallowed by you and everytime you bob down you make sure to look up to him.

Nanami's abs contracts at each sharp breath he takes in. His eyebrows furrowing and hus lips parted letting his groans and grunts escape.

His cock was twitching in your mouth. Everytime you dive in deeper, his hips bucks slightly. You don't mind. Rather, you reward him by flattening your tongue against the two veins that run along his length.

"F-fuck... That's it, God you're so good."

When his dick twitches again, you gave it one last suck before coming up. His eyes follow yours, waiting for your next move. But when you settle your legs on the sides of his, he pulls you closer by the waist.

His hands run down to your ass where he spreads it. His lips connects with your neck, he feels it vibrate as you moan. Thick fingers circle your clit before going past it to finally sink into your cunt.

You gasp at the feeling and he took this chance to push his tongue in your mouth.

"Mmhm.. you're soaked, angel. You hear that?" He pushes his fingers in, making a wet squelching noise, "mmm... My fingers must feel so good in this tight pussy of yours..."

Looking at how his fingers continue to disappear in you, makes you impatient to have his cock split you open. "P-please, Nanami... I need you," you beg him.

"Hmm... Should I give it to you?" He asks, smiling at your scrunched up face. "Should I give you what you want?"

Not able to form words together, you fervently nod.

"You promise you'll be a good girl for me?" You can feel Nanami aligning his cock as it brushes against your pussy.

"I promise."

He crashes his lips on yours as he lowers you down. His thick cock sheathing its way in and you moan against his lips. You feel full when his entire length sits in you. Tip to your cervix and you pant against his ear.

Nanami doesn't wait, he grabs a handful of your ass and drags it up and down his cock. The way your cunt squeezes his cock is just so delicious and your desperate moans just fuels him on.

He takes a look at you all whinny and already looking fucked out. It makes him want to ruin you more. So he grabs a hold of your thighs and lifts you up before pushing you on the bed.

You gasp at the sudden movement, but you don't get a lot of time to think when he pushes your thighs against your stomach and gave a hard thrust.

"Ah! Oh God! N-Nanami! Too m-much," you try to push him back by his stomach, but Nanami just looked at you and smirked.

"Too much? Aww.. can't take it?" He slows down his strokes to a shallow grind. "This pussy can't take my cock, huh?"

His shallow thrusts barely helps. Every grind against you clit felt so good. "Or maybe is it because you've never been fucked this good before?" His hand came up from your thighs to grab yours, entwining your fingers.

"Your husband doesn't fuck you like this hm?" He gave a particularly hard thrust as he lifts your entwined hand to kiss on the diamond ring that was resting on your ring finger.

All of a sudden the ring felt heavier than normal. It didn't help either when Nanami doesn't stop his hard thrusts when he started taunting you. "I bet he doesn't know that his wife is such a slut," he said as he pinched your nipple.

You were embarrassed but pleasure was clouding your conscience - couldn't even string words together, so all you could do was whine.

"I bet he asks you why you won't close the blinds everytime you have sex," his hand creeps up your chest, to your neck then to cup your chin. Then he turns your chin to the side and suddenly you were looking straight out of your window to the house next door - his.

"Yeah, I can see it everytime - I can see him fuck you everytime he comes home from his trips," he turns your head back.

"But I can tell that you weren't thinking about his dick. Right, slut?" He asks.

When you don't reply, too lost in the pleasure, he once again grabs you by your chin and slows down his pace.

"Answer me. Or are you already too fucked out to answer?" He lifts an eyebrow.

"Whose dick-" thrust, "were you thinking about-" thrust, "when your husband is on top of you-" thrust, "fucking you on this bed?"

Every push of his cock was making your brain turn to mush. But his strong grip on your jaw made you scramble for an answer.

"Nghh.. ah! Y-yours..." You rasped out.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Ah! Y-yours! Yours N-Nanami! I-I think about y-your cock.."

An odd sense of pride filled his chest and satisfied with the answer, Nanami took a hold of your hips. The snap of his hips fasten and he pulls your hips down to meet his.

"Such a good girl... Nghh, fuck your cunt feels so good..."

You gripped on his arm, trying to ground yourself from the intense pleasure that you were feeling.

"N-Nanami, ah! F-feels good.."

You could feel yourself approaching your climax, the pleasure ballooning and your cunt clenching on his dick harder.

"I-I'm gonna cum.. oh God, 'Namin..."

His thumb moved to circle your clit, "Cum for me, angel. Go on..."

He fastened the pace of both his dick and thumb, making you scream at the overwhelming stimulation.

You came as you moaned and blabbered his name, all you felt was the pleasure and his hard cock that was still hammering into you.

He was close too, his cock twitched in you. The clench of your cunt felt so good, it makes it harder for him to pull out.

"W-where do you want it?" He asks.

"In me - don't pull out," your hands finds his once more.

The thought of filling you up was what pushed him over the edge. He came inside you. You could feel it. His cum splurting out, painting your cunt white.

He softly pulls out of you, and lays down beside you. Both of you still panting when you moved to lay your head on his chest.

His hand finds your ring adorned ones as he pulls you closer to him. He decided that it was a conversation for later.

Check out more -> The Hub Collab

[lightwithinthedarknessu]

Bloom From The Depths🪷

Able to share my @kairizine fic where our KH girls get to go on a mini adventure! Thank you so much again for having me! Was a dream come true to write for Kairi again 🥺💖

Summary: Kairi is called by Leon and Co to investigate a locked file addressed to her within the main-hub of the cavern of remembrance. Namine and Aqua join Kairi on her journey to unlock her memories with a little help from some unexpected friends. While facing her fears Kairi is reunited with those she misses most.

A magical journey through the language of flowers and their deep connection to hearts connected by the dearest of memories.

Written for @kairizine2023 featuring gorgeous spot art by @mellekist!

From the depths of Radiant Garden, a blight remained, sprawling with cavernous pathways and crumbling cliffsides teeming with Heartless. Even the Restoration Committee’s valiant efforts were not enough to repair the scars left by the Dark Seeker’s reign. One of these blights, the Cavern of Remembrance, beckoned a new visitor: a Princess of Heart.

Kairi didn’t think she would return to her home world so soon. The past year she spent asleep had been long enough. Now was the time for action—Sora was still missing. The plan was to train hard until she could join Riku on his search. However, a message from Leon changed the tide.

Kairi, it’s been a while. Cid found something: a file addressed to you. It’s attached to a code we can’t crack, not without your help. Ansem says you’ll need to visit this place called the Cavern of Remembrance. It’s still swarming with Heartless, but I know you’ll be fine. 

You up for an adventure?

Excitement flooded her veins. It was the perfect vacation from training. Maybe there was more information locked within the garden’s depths that could help Sora!

Bits and pieces remained of the legend of the Cavern of Remembrance. As a child, someone had told Kairi that it was a place that twisted and formed to suit the purpose of the visitor. Memories, hearts, and wishes worked their magic to weave together a place of reminiscence for the denizens of times past. A part of Kairi felt this place housed more memories and fading emotions than met the eye. There was something there she had to find.

Two companions joined Kairi on this unexpected quest. Aqua had long been itching for some adventure, and Naminé was roped in due to her unique abilities and connection to Kairi’s memories. Breathless and hearts racing, the trio made short work of the darkness that clung to every pipe, cliffside, and waterway. Naminé acted as an excellent guide while Aqua and Kairi cleared the pathway ridden with Heartless in every nook and cranny.

The trio soon found themselves within the depths of the abyss. In between indigo crags of rock and pipes of searing hot steam was a long hallway, reminiscent of The World That Never Was. Kairi stood in the middle of the pure white hall, scattered with the remains of fading Nobodies and the glistening hearts of felled Heartless. A large set of white doors barred their path forward. Her Keyblade shimmered into the air, leaving bright stars in its wake as she walked through them. 

Thirteen doors teetered on the edge of nothing—floating above a circular pathway backed by rushing water. In the middle of the circle was a platform, glistening with the light of electrical wires that led up to a series of computer screens. A technological garden of memory and wonder. Its hollow nature, bereft of heart, sent a chill down Kairi’s spine just as the awe set in.

Kairi placed her hand on the terminal.

“It’s strange how similar it looks to The World That Never Was.” Naminé came to her side with an air of curiosity. A ghost of a memory tugged on Kairi’s heart. Once, she had been trapped in a room just like this one.

“Thanks, Naminé—for breaking me out back then.”

“You broke free all on your own. I just provided the door.” Naminé smiled, then set to work scouring the database. Kairi was delighted to see her thriving in her element.

“You’ve both been through a lot, and have come so far. I’m impressed how quickly you both took out all those Heartless!” Aqua said, bounding up behind Kairi and settling beside her. Her eyes shone as she looked expectantly at the computer screens. “What do we do next?”

Naminé drew in her shoulders. “It needs a connection—a memory from your past in Radiant Garden, Kairi. Then, I can use it to connect you to whatever data is inside that locked message.”

Kairi bit her lip. “I’m sorry. Those days are hazy for me.”

She recalled her connections, wishes, and dreams from childhood as snapshots. Glimpses of moments with her grandmother, a moment in a garden of flowers, and a whisper of a story late at night—that was all.  

“Maybe you could use my memories of when we met to bring them to the surface.” Aqua put a hand on her chest and looked to Naminé for confirmation.

“That could work! Then please, think back on that time!” Naminé gleefully touched the tips of her fingers together. She turned to Kairi. “Kairi, all you need to do is listen to the melody of Aqua’s heart. Find that resonating connection and focus on it. After that, just step through that door over there. I’ll use it to connect you.” Naminé pointed towards the door with a shimmering Kingdom Key on the front.

Kairi furrowed her brow. “Aqua, what about that memory tugs at you the most?”

“The flowers you gave me. One was a pansy, I think? I thought it was really cute.” Aqua stifled a chuckle. A familiar light shone in her eyes—it drew Kairi straight to the connection she sought. With the melody tugging on her heart, the princess stepped through the door and into the unknown.

****

The space rippled and filled with light, numbing her senses until the scent of dew and freshly cut flowers filled the air. Kairi’s eyes fluttered open to the memory of herself as a young girl, no older than four, with a small bouquet of flowers in her hands. Kneeling before her was Aqua, who hadn’t seemed to age a day since then. Her mentor smiled gently at little Kairi, and gingerly took the flowers with a word of thanks.

“Kairi!” A soft, melodious voice tugged at the edges of her heart. Who was it?

Little Kairi turned from Aqua to call out to the faded figure in the distance until Aqua gently coaxed the girl’s attention back to her. Gingerly, she tapped little Kairi’s necklace, leaving a burst of light in her wake.

“One day, when you’re in trouble—the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe.”

What a kind and warm memory, one that shone like sea glass on the shore. The chains in her memory relinked, twisting and twirling in joy as they nestled in her heart.

“The light has always found a way to guide me and keep me safe.” Kairi breathlessly clutched her necklace, sensing the lingering whisper of the wish. The world shifted in a veil of light, transporting her to another time, another place—one all too familiar.

****

A labyrinthic library formed. The musty scent of old and dusty tomes overwhelmed Kairi with a rush of nostalgia. It was the place from her memories, one that shone vividly in the depths of her heart.

A book will guide you to what you seek. A voice slipped into her mind like a beloved lullaby. Kairi glanced around, sensing no other presence. Curious, she continued to explore the space from her memories.

A soft glow flickered within a nook nearby, guiding her to a book embossed with a pansy flower. Delicate fingers cracked open the tome to see a lone pressed purple and yellow flower peeking out from its pages.

“A pansy, it means ‘thinking of you…’” Kairi mused.

The space shifted, transporting her again to another memory. This time, Sora and Riku’s young sun-kissed grins greeted her, their arms filled with pansy flowers.

“Back then I was homesick for a place I didn’t remember.”

“And we cheered you up.”

With a sharp intake of breath, she turned. Riku stood before her, looking the same as he did when he’d left. “Are you…real?”

“Just his leftover worries and thoughts. You’ve been worried, haven’t you? About being away from us. But you shouldn’t be. Your memories of us are so important that they keep you going when you’re lost, right? You know you’re never too far away. Our hearts are always connected.”

Kairi held back tears. “You always know what to say. Thank you, Riku.”

Riku’s smile faded into the abyss of the library. In her hands was a new book. Where gold once embossed the front, now only the outline of small flowers remained. Gingerly, Kairi cracked open its pages.

A single flower was neatly nestled between water-stained pages, pure white and so delicate she feared it would break. A diphylleia. Kairi couldn’t remember who taught her the name.

The meaning echoed across the chambers of her heart.

“Happiness.”

Kairi!

A soundless voice gripped her heart as a vast expanse of sea and sky spilled out before her. At her feet, lotus floated to the surface, their petals unfurling as if they were reaching for the sunlight. The visage of the final world shimmered into being, as did the fading form of a boy she dearly missed.

“Sora!”

The vibration of his heart resonated deep within her own. Neither data nor sleep was a barrier to an unbreakable connection. Sora placed something in her hands, smiling as he faded into the never-ending sky. In his wake, he left a reminder, an oath—her charm.

“I’m always with you. Right, Sora?” Kairi held the charm close, sensing her heart’s resonance with those she loved most.

So, you found your light.

Kairi turned, stumbling against the lotus dancing at her feet. Each white blossom radiated the warmth of pure light.

****

Standing in the midst of sea, flowers, and sky was an old woman, her cheeks round with a smile and dusted pink. She wore the same shawl Kairi remembered from days spent listening to her stories in the library. Kairi sought out a vibration, a melody resounding from the woman’s heart—but it was barely a whisper.

Data. A memory recorded long ago and leftover from a strong heart. Kairi stepped forward. “Grandma?”

“In a sense, but you know that.” Grandma beamed.

Kairi ran to envelop the woman in a warm embrace. Tears streamed down her face as memories rose to the surface against the darkness. Memories of loss, guilt, and the distinct fear of never returning “home.”

 “I miss you. I’m sorry that I forgot.” Kairi sniffled.

“But you didn’t forget, dear. Your heart remembers everything your mind forgot. Good memories are hard to find, and pain sometimes covers up what we want to treasure most. Try not to hold so dearly onto the past that it halts your future. Any memories you might have lost have allowed you to continue forward with renewed strength.” Grandma gently rubbed a tear from Kairi’s eye. Stars danced in the woman’s eyes as she admired how far the girl had come. 

“I want to find you! I want to bring you all home .”

“All in due time, my dear. I programmed the data to respond to what your heart needs most. To help you move forward. Now, what has been troubling you?”

A breath shakily escaped Kairi’s chest. “My memories—if I just remembered, then maybe we’d all be able to be together again.”

“Your memories are deep inside you, waiting for the right moment.” Kairi’s grandmother brushed a strand of hair away from the girl’s tear-stained face. The woman pressed her forehead to Kairi’s and closed her eyes to whisper a familiar oath. “Wherever you go, we’re always with you. Never forget, take heart, and move forward.”

Light swallowed the princess whole once again as the warmth of her grandmother faded. When Kairi awoke, two concerned faces greeted her.

“Kairi! I’m so glad you’re awake! You just came back in a daze and nothing I did would get through to you.” Naminé grasped Kairi’s hands and held back tears.

“Thank goodness.” Aqua breathed a sigh of relief as she bent down to help Kairi to her feet. She wore a bewildered expression as she gently plucked a purple flower from behind Kairi’s ear.

“An azalea?” Naminé said.

Kairi took the flower and rubbed its stem between her fingers. “‘Please take care of yourself.’ That’s what the message was. Though my heart may be estranged from those I love, they’re never too far. They’re all right here inside me—urging me to keep moving forward.”

You’ve faced your fate well.

A heart song echoed in her chest. The remnant of a memory tugged on her lingering connection. Kairi reached for it.

Like a lotus, stretch towards the light. Let your heart bloom even in the deepest darkness, beautiful and strong like I know you are.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! It was amazing being a part of Kairi Zine Vol 2 Destiny’s Embrace. Still pinching myself that I actually got to write for it and work with the wonderful @mellekist. You can find her gorgeous spot art for the zine here! And leftover sales are still open as of 10/6 so be sure to snag a digital copy if you’re wanting more Kairi goodness or merch! I hope you enjoyed this little story focusing on Kairi’s feelings about her memories and missing those she loves most. I loved writing it! Some notes about the chosen flowers below! I really had fun picking which flowers to focus on. These are notes I made during the planning phase and really are just fun extra notes on the themes I wanted to explore. Hope you enjoy this inside look! ***** Main themes I chose were estranged love (lotus), cherished memory (please take care of yourself for me/Azalea) connection (pansy/thinking of you), and overcoming guilt associated with Kairi being estranged from those she loves. The lotus while meaning estranged love-also refers to the loss of memory for “rebirth” and becoming stronger. Through multiple “rebirths” darkness is removed and the purest light is formed. Loss of memory, sharing of her heart with Sora and regaining connections (being closer with Naminé and Aqua) has resulted in many “rebiths” for Kairi. As she exits the data she has changed a bit and had another rebirth. She’s no longer feeling estranged from those she loves, she was reminded they’re always with her. For the flowe she sees when being “reunited” with Sora I played with the meaning of Show my true self for Diphylleia. The flower is called a skeleton flower for it becomes translucent in the rain. A nod at Sora’s fading form at the final world. For the last theme, Kairi reiterates that part of what makes her whole is her connections to her friends—her true self has been shaped by her connections and she is grateful to carry them with her always. I wanted to touch on how Kairi is missing those she’s estranged from and having guilt that she’s not with them—through memories or physically. Kairi also feels guilt for not fully remembering her days in Radiant Garden. She feels they must be important memories, there is an imprint on her heart. Kairi’s important connections remind her that she has nothing to feel guilty about. She is with them, always. Although she’s estranged from those she loves most, those cherished memories and connections (regardless of how strong) are what makes her whole, even if she doesn’t fully remember them. She’s become so strong and taken charge of her fate. There are things out of her control (losing Sora, Riku traveling alone, being separated from her grandma, not having access to all her memories) but what she does have control of is how she faces it—and she’s faced it well. Thank you so much for reading!

[knight-lautrec]

Finally got the platinum in this game after almost 140 hours. Review, maybe? Probably not but my thoughts.

Microtransactions: 21 unique mtx for things easily obtained in-game. Immediately left a bad taste in my mouth, but they'd already had my pre-order in by that point, sunken cost fallacy and all that. The game truly didn't need these mtx for any reason, and are hardly even worth an "early-game boost".

Anyway time for the actual game.

Combat is certainly more satisfying than the first game's, and all of the classes felt fun to play as. Even the Trickster, whose gimmick is pulling aggro and using illusions to distract enemies or cause them to hurt themselves, at the expense of dealing basically no damage directly. I do certainly wish the game had taken some inspiration from other popular action RPGs of the past decade, or even the Monster Hunter games. Sometimes in melee combat you might snap onto the wrong enemy and begin attacking them, and without a lock-on system, it seems that you just attack the closest target that you're next to.

The new and returning vocations are all pretty great, and I didn't dislike any of them besides my first few hours of using the Trickster class. I'd go more into what they do but I'm sure a quick reading of the in-game description could describe it better than I could.

Enemies in this game? Not really a huge improvement compared to the original game. The variety of enemies is artificially inflated by having different tiers of the same enemy. They might look or sound different, or they might have a specific gimmick or status ailment that they inflict. Dullahans are cool, though, until you encounter like 3 in one in-game night cycle.

Pawn AI? Not a massive improvement compared to the first game. They made them more helpful in terms of quests, for sure, but they'll also point out the same signs and ladders ad nauseam. There's not much you can do to really control what special moves they do, which can be an extreme annoyance when you want a Fighter or Warrior class pawn to launch you into the air outside of combat to reach something that is high up. They do this attack ALL THE TIME in combat, though. Nothing I love more than playing as a sorcerer or trickster and a pawn will decide to launch me into the air as I'm just trying to position myself. Just like the first game, they are hilariously bad with water hazards. Like, Lucatiel in the Sinner's Rise in Dark Souls II levels of tripping and drowning in the water. I've also had many close calls and deaths with pawns essentially shoving me out of the way when traversing a bridge or any narrow platform suspended above an abyss.

Traversing the world, once you get used to the oxcart system, is not nearly as bad as the original 2012 Dragon's Dogma release (before the game came bundled with the Eternal Ferrystone for infinite teleports). There's an oxcart travel network that essentially connects most of the major hub towns together, with a final area you reach much later in the game forcing you to travel by foot or by teleport. I guess they really wanted to double down on making fast travel a more premium thing in-universe, but fuck, why can't I even sprint forever out of combat to travel the world faster?

Story is, kinda just there. Probably about the same level as the first game, for better or worse. I don't really know what would work better in a game like this, but much of the main story is "guy tells you to go do this one task, you go do it, and return back to him". It very quickly feels like less of a grand adventure and more like I'm going through a list of chores. Because of this, I reached the end of the game before I realized it. I was quite shocked because I had spent an absurdly long time grinding to level up each vocation and also go on a 20 hour, 4 in-game day hunt of where I found my first collectable for a series of tasks in a sidequest.

Sidequests are okay, also about the same quality as the first one. A lot of varying ways to complete quests that often involve delivering items to one person rather than another, or delivering forged items to one person to keep the genuine article for yourself or another NPC. Vague spoilers below for both the end-game of Dragon's Dogma and Dragon's Dogma II. So, in the first game, there's a post-game after completing the final story mission that completely alters the game world. You can freely explore the world with much more powerful enemies and an entirely new area with enemies to fight and items to collect. In the original, there wasn't much of a story in this part, just enough to link the NG+ cycle to the gameplay loop, which imo was kinda neat.

In Dragon's Dogma II, there again is a post-game after completing the final story mission, but the method of reaching it is a bit vague and easily missed. Once you reach this post-game, the entire game world is changed in a more drastic way than the first game. You are now in an apocalyptic scenario with a time limit (think Majora's Mask but there's no loop or starting over while keeping some amount of progress). This section of the game is brutal if you haven't already read up on what to do or you've failed enough times to learn what to do. Basically, you cannot rest in-game, because that wastes precious time that could be used to stop the looming threat. Once you've stopped the threat, however, the time limit is removed and you are free to enjoy the endgame grind for the best gear and items, or you can end the cycle and start all over. Now that I've gotten the platinum, I'm happy to shelf this game for the foreseeable future. I might return to it someday, but I think I'm more like to revisit the first game before that. Taking everything into account, including the microtransactions and how few QoL improvements were made to an already kinda janky game from 12 years ago, it's really hard to recommend this to anyone unless you REALLY liked the first game and are dying for more.

I think I give the game a 3/5. It deserved a hell of a lot better, and so did the fans. Maybe they'll improve things with updates, but to be honest, I doubt it. Besides, the extra damage to Capcom's rep is already been done.

Rather than buy this for $70 USD, I say try the first game out. It's on most current platforms and it constantly goes on sale for like $5 to $10 USD, so wait for one of those to snag it. Otherwise, idk, play Elden Ring with some friends using the seamless co-op mod. Guarantee it'd be more fun than this.

I'm so fucking worried about Monster Hunter Wilds next year.

[dairy-farmer]

i'm sorry if this causes any misunderstanding, however are you a supporter of p0rnhub? it's known that it tracks children and such if i am not wrong. and that there are teens being abused by that platform.

answered out of order:

don't worry i think i understand the question!!

your statement is loaded and complex because of the depth of the issue and theres no way i can really touch on everything with the nuance it requires- shortly, i personally don't really watch 'porn media with actual people' and stuff because it's just generally uninteresting to me. there's not a single video or actor out there who can outdo or cater to my personal interests better than my imagination so it's just pretty much a waste of my time to even bother with it. so in general i'd say no, i'm not a supporter of something i don't even consume

as for the rest of your statement that's a pretty big claim and i absolutely believe it, i don't doubt there is a fair but if truth to it but the problem is not solely the porn sites.

recent legislation in the usa has been insisting that banning "pornography" is the only way to "save the children" which is a gross oversimplification of the issue and is mostly about being able to censor media and mine personal data under the guise of "protecting children and teens" because the usa does not give a shit about children and does not care about trafficking or teens getting abused on porn sites. but that sentence is also loaded and filled with a pretty big oversimplification of cause and effect 'porn hub traffics kids, so we should shut down porn hub' because that statement isn't fully true and shutting it or other porn sites down doesn't actually FIX or address the issue of children being abused.

so just to put things in perspective of generally how these things go: in 2011 reddit (a site not solely dedicated to pornography) got into hot water when CNN did a story on one of their most controversial subs called r/jailbait which was a subreddit filled entirely with pictures of exposed and naked underage girls/girls who LOOKED underage (but many were definitly underaged) reddit didn't see that and decide to shut it down themselves, no. they only did it AFTER pressure from the public and negative media attention.

why?

because websites/organizations/basically any institution you can think of from charities to universities and governments can be corrupt and prioritize money over doing the right thing and p0rnhub is not different.

they particularly have a history of corruption, it like all other porn sites, allowed revenge porn, and people's filmed sexual assaults to be posted and allowed to remain up, refusing to take both down because it was making them money despite victims pleading them to. its not until courts and legislation FORCED them into action that many changes were made to websites.

so yeah "support" for p0rnhub is not something i'd expect from anyone because of it's past actions and general lack of initiative to creating a platform where people who do consume porn are able to view it ethically. but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a place in the sex industry because for many sex workers it's how they make their money, how they make a living, which they DO have a right to do because it is legitimate work and they earn their pay as much as anyone. but the problem the online sex industry has are many.

(the sex industry in general is like a colander and things that shouldn't happen or be allowed to occur DO.)

filmed porn existed before the internet. actors and crews filmed elaborate adult films to be made into vhs tapes and dvds and i'm not saying exploitation didn't occur there as well. but the introduction of the internet meant there were no longer the safeguards in place for that work like age verification, consent forms, documentation, etc. but doing that with the internet is harder because if you enforce digital ID verification that kind of thing can FOLLOW sex workers and cause them problems like if they ever want to travel (there are plenty of accounts of sex workers being detained by very conservative countries and border agents when traveling). that plus the data issues of that personal data being collected and stored and what will happen to people if that data gets leaked or breached?

with the internet anyone anywhere can upload videos and that opens a lot of doors for things to happen and people to be hurt.

websites have a responsibility to ensure trafficking and abuse material is reported to authorities and removed from platforms so the victims can't be further victimized by people seeing them like that.

p0rnhub and porn sites have their problems but never forget that it is ultimately the fault of the people making those abuse videos and materials (them and all the contributing social factors that allow for people to be trafficked and exploited in the first place) . the people conducting the abuse are the source of the issue along with the people who form the demand for that material. pornhub or pornography sites are a method of distributing it whether voluntary on their part or not (and if pornhub makes money from those videos the process to be sued by victims should be significantly easier)

p0rnhub is the world's largest pornography website so they have much more of an obligation to addressing the issues faced within adult material and the internet than others and until they're willing to take that responsibility and do the right thing because its the right thing and not because it will make them money then i don't see much reason for why anyone can or should "support" them. (and since i've never seen a company fail to place profits over people i don't see that happening. just like reddit in 2011 they will drag their feet on everything until their arm is bent backwards and they're FORCED to make those changes)

even if they do improve they're not truly entitled to business or profit because of their failures in the past. if you are a frequent watcher there are other sites who have more of a dedication to being fully transparent and ethical like websites seen here.

[warningsine]

BALTIMORE (AP) — A container ship rammed into a major bridge in   early Tuesday, causing it to snap and plunge into the river below. Several vehicles fell into the chilly waters, and rescuers were searching for survivors.

Two people were rescued from the waters under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, one in serious condition, according to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace. He said authorities “may be looking for upwards of seven people” but said that number could change. It was not clear if the two rescued were included in the seven.

It was not immediately clear what caused the cargo ship to crash into the bridge long before the busy morning commute in what one official called a “developing mass casualty event” in a major American city just outside of Washington.

The ship crashed into one of the bridge’s supports, causing the structure to snap and buckle at several points and tumble into the water in a matter of seconds — a shocking spectacle that was captured on video and posted on social media. The vessel caught fire, and thick, black smoke billowed out of it.

“Never would you think that you would see, physically see, the Key Bridge tumble down like that. It looked like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, calling it “an unthinkable tragedy.”

Sonar has indicated that there are vehicles in the water, where the temperature was about 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8 degrees Celsius) in the early hours of Tuesday, according to a buoy that collects data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Earlier, Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, told The Associated Press that several vehicles were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, including one the size of a tractor-trailer truck. The bridge came down in the middle of night when traffic would be lighter than during the day when thousands of cars traverse the span.

Cartwright called the collapse a “developing mass casualty event,” though he didn’t know at the time how many people were affected.

He added that some cargo appeared to be dangling from the bridge, which spans the Patapsco River at the entrance to a busy harbor. The river leads to the Port of Baltimore, a major hub for shipping on the East Coast. Opened in 1977, the bridge is named for the writer of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and said he was working to get federal resources deployed. The FBI was also on the scene.

Synergy Marine Group — which owns and manages the ship called the Dali — confirmed the vessel hit a pillar of the bridge at about 1:30 a.m. while two pilots were in control. It said all crew members, including the pilots, were accounted for and there are no reports of any injuries.

The Dali was headed from Baltimore to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and flying under a Singapore flag, according to data from Marine Traffic. The container ship is about 985 feet (300 meters) long and about 157 feet (48 meters) wide, according to the website.

In 2001, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in a tunnel in downtown Baltimore and caught fire, spewing black smoke into surrounding neighborhoods and forcing officials to temporarily close all major roads into the city.

[sleepingdeath-light]

stardust + face sitting hcs ; 18+

requested by ; 🐜 anon (14/05/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | specific

character(s) ; stardust cookie

outline ; “hello yes hello yeah

can i get uhhhh... stardust.. facesitting.. smut headcanons.. 🤕

like he just, eat reader out like that, is that aloud

but like maybe stardust just randomly suggested it and is like super down for it and reader is kinda a little nervous

fem reader

i confirm that i am over 18

also can i be 🐜 anon?”

warning(s) ; sexually explicit content, oral (fem receiving), face sitting

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

he was the last person you expected to bring up a topic like this because of how generally inexperienced he is when it comes to sex — hell, you weren’t even sure where he could have learned about it from

so needless to say you were more than a bit startled when your boyfriend turned to you, straight-faced, whilst you were sat reading on the settee and asked if you’d like to try sitting on his face

the question threw you of for very obvious reasons, but stardust cookie took your silence for confusion and elaborated on his reasons for wanting to try it

he loves going down on you, he loves pleasuring you in general, and he’s more than strong enough to hold up your weight — and he wants to see how it would impact your experience as well as his

and you’re still nervous, because this is fully uncharted territory, but he’s insistent

of course he gives you an out, he’s not pressuring you, he’s just making it clear that you shouldn’t be nervous or anxious on his account because he wouldn’t suggest something he didn’t want to do

then, after some more back and forth and the establishing of a safe action (which stardust knew he wouldn’t need to use), you were on your bed, completely nude and hovering over your fully clothed boyfriend’s face

you felt a bit bad for not being able to pleasure him in return, but he brushed it off by assuring you that he didn’t want any pleasure for himself at the moment and he just wanted to eat you out

and then, finally, you lowered yourself down onto his face and tried to let go of your inhibitions as he delivered you to your climax

the first few stripes that he licked along your slit were faint and quick, testing the waters as he looked up at you with those beautiful eyes — gauging your reactions to see what felt best and what to avoid — before he settled into something much more confident and present

damn near pressing you against his face with how tight his grip was on your waist, only allowing you the room to squirm and roll your hips against his mouth as he licked and sucked and kissed his way along and inside of your pussy

licking thick stripes along the length of your sex with the flat of his tongue

thrusting his tongue into your dripping hole and somehow managing to find your g-spit with every penetration — seemingly going off of muscle memory

wrapping his lips around your clit and sucking hard

or, if his mouth was occupied lower down, bumping the bundle of nerves with his nose as he ate you out

eventually getting so into the moment that he closed his eyes and started to groan and moan against you as he devoured your cunt and greedily, eagerly, drank up all of your juices

one hand slowly migrating upwards from your hips to start playing with your naked breasts — groping, pinching and rolling your nipples and generally doing anything to get you to make more noise

revelling in the way you kept grinding down against his tongue and moaning and pleading for him

complying with your every wish as best he could because, at the end of the day, this was about you more than it was him

so he went faster, went as deep as he could, sucked harder on your clit and sloppily stimulated your sweet pussy until your hands were buried in his soft white hair, pulling it tight as you screamed his name and soaked his mouth and chin

even his eyelashes, just squirting and sobbing and whimpering and moaning like a whore as he tenderly guided you through your orgasm

with a skilful tongue and stunning eyes that drank in your expressions as you trembled and shook and sobbed your way through your overwhelming end

only stopping when you were starting to get too overstimulated — slowly pulling away and kissing each of your thighs before carefully, gingerly, lifting you off of his face and laying you down beside him

keeping an eye on you to ensure that you were recovering safely as he spoke, calm as he usually was, about wanting to do that again soon

and if you were lucid enough to understand him, you’d have agreed