#When does fable 4 come out

[huttrust]

When does fable 4 come out

When does fable 4 come out plus#

The Sword of Aeons' appearance in this trailer is an obvious signifier that they're rebooting the franchise in the model of the first game. In that period magical heroes still roamed the land and attended heroes guilds, whereas by the time-period of the 2nd game, Albion has been somewhat modernized and magic is far rarer. It's symbolic of the more divine and fantastical nature of the first game. If you didn't play Fable 1, this is basically the mightiest sword in the realm, and it was bloodforged long before the Old Kingdom. And our main reasoning for this is based on the sword you first see: This is the Sword of Aeons from Fable 1, which suggests we're returning to that older time-period, and that Albion. We're actually thinking that it's more likely we return to the mythical times of the 1st game rather than the second. The city in the background and the surrounding landscape effectively confirm that we're getting an Albion set around the Fable 2 period at the very latest. And our reasoning for this comes from the reveal trailer, which seems to give away the setting of Fable 4. Our money is on an RPG reboot in the style of the first game that takes place after the rise of Jake of Blades but before the events of the second game. Although stranger projects have been commissioned, so it’s possible. It wouldn't suit the franchise, and it would seem like a stretch for the developers. But his claim that it will be an MMO is honestly quite unlikely. This was tweeted before the reveal, and so we're quite sure that this leaker has some inside knowledge. Rough translation: "A game in the world of FABLE. Mais en MMO (desole, pas FABLE 4).- Crono Trigger July 23, 2020

When does fable 4 come out plus#

Here's that leak:Įt pour le plus grand bonheur de : un jeu dans l'univers de FABLE. Will Fable 4 be an RPG or an MMO?Īlthough it will likely be an RPG, one leaker claimed that the game from Playground Games will be an MMO. There's a very small chance that the game is released in 2022, but we don't want anyone to get too excited ahead of time. 2023 is also most likely, given that the reveal took place in mid 2020. Fable wouldn't compete with the big multiplayer releases that we expect each year in the fall, so a spring or summer release make the most sense. Fable 4 will most likely be released in early 2023, but it could be delayed into the late summer of 2023.

[cressidagrey]

Lightning in a Bottle - Chapter 1

Summary: 

Eira Archeron was neither a Valkyrie, nor a Seer, nor the High Lady of the Night Court. She was actually pretty much useless. The only thing she wanted was to be somebody's first choice for once in her life.

Also known as: Azriel's shadows decide that if he doesn't treat his mate right... they'll just do it for him.

Warnings: 

Elain Bashing, Low Self Esteem, Magical Orthodontry...

(I should probably mention that my thoughts about plastic surgery/any kind of cosmetic enhancement are pretty much that as long as the person who has it done likes the result, it does not matter if anybody else thinks they needed it.

It’s their body, their choice and if they think they look prettier with a new nose/straighter teeth/fuller lips, good for them.

For myself, I love what braces did for my teeth and what one of those heatless curler things currently does for my hair lol)

(super pretty dividers by @tsunami-of-tears)

It was bad. 

Eira shouldn’t have expected any differently. 

Maybe it had been the promise of mail-order catalogues that had made her think that maybe this time she wasn’t going to want to die halfway through her biannual week of torture…

But there was nothing the shadows could do, short of giving her pain potions that rendered her unconscious and plying her with soup. 

She let them. 

She was too weak to protest, in too much pain…feeling like a baby bird that needed them to slowly spoon broth in her mouth so that she only needed to swallow. 

But at least they were there. They didn’t leave her alone. Regardless of when she woke up…at what time of day or night…they were there. 

Ready with pain potions and armed with soup, and when she just needed something to get her mind off the pain, they told her stories. 

Little fables of Illyria and Prythian…children’s stories. 

Maybe one day she could tell the same stories to Nyx. 

It took 4 days… halfway through that week, when there was a knock at her door. 

Elain, the shadows whispered into her ear and she held back a groan. 

She didn’t want to deal with her sister. 

“Come in!” she called nonetheless and only then realised that she still had the key in the lock. The shadows swarmed out to turn it and then disappeared, scurrying underneath her desk. 

She forced herself to sit up, wondering how much of a mess she looked…probably like death warmed over twice, but to be completely honest…she wasn’t pretty on a good day, so what did it matter? 

Becoming Fae had somehow perfected the faces of her sisters. They still looked like themselves, but the cauldron had seemingly made them much more symmetrical, their limbs longer, their ears pointed…and for Elain, the cauldron…it had turned her from beautiful into otherworldly gorgeousness. 

For Eira…it had made her ears pointy. 

No, wait that wasn’t true…Her hair was seemingly even more unmanageable than it ever had been as a human…and her teeth…the less was said about that was better. 

She had already been self-conscious about them as a human. As a fae, surrounded by ridiculously attractive people every day, it was…something else entirely. 

“Good Morning,” Eira said quietly. Elain stared at her, surprise etched on her face. 

“Have you really spent the few days moping in your bed?” she asked, judgment clear in her voice. Eira wanted to bristle. Hadn’t Elain done the exact same thing when she had first been made? And Elain hadn’t had the excuse of a cycle for it. 

“Yes, Elain,” she said back quietly. “It’s….It’s that time of the year,” she mumbled, looking at everything but her sister. If Elain couldn’t even smell the thick cloying scent of blood that was clinging to Eira, she couldn’t help her. 

Elain just harrumphed.  “Look, I do realise that I may have been needlessly harsh,” she said, crossing her arms. Somehow managing to sound gracious even now.“But you do need to realise, Eira, that that is never going to go anywhere.” 

Eira blinked. Twice. 

Somebody put her heart into a vice and crushed it. 

Of all the things she had expected Elain to say…this wasn’t it. 

“Azriel is completely disinterested,” Elain continued. “And it would be better for you if you finally realised that.” 

“What does it matter to you?” Eira finally managed to bring out, her voice thankfully not shaking…And still….she sounded…weak. That’s what she sounded like. 

“I want you to be happy. And thirsting after a male that will never return your affections you won’t do that,” Elain said with a roll of her eyes. “He’s not going to change his mind, Eira.”

Eira flinched at Elain’s words. She couldn’t help it. 

Even when she knew…she knew her sister was right. She knew that…

“You should just stop your pathetic attempts of flirting with him. All you manage is to make him uncomfortable,” Elain continued with a roll of her eyes. 

Pathetic attempts of flirting? What did Elain even mean? Her nervous ramblings? Her stolen glances? The way her heart skipped a beat when she got to see him? 

She had never asked him out…on a date or anything else…she had never even mentioned courting in his near vicinity. She had done nothing, said nothing to Azriel that made her feelings obvious to him. 

It was all just…

“There are plenty of fish in the sea…” Elain said with a sigh. “You’ll find somebody else one day,” Elain told her, sounding some mixture between pitying and bored, as she turned to go. “Do you want me to ask Feyre to send Madja?”

“No, thank you. I have pain potions,”  Eira whispered, and Elain turned on her heel, marching back out of her room. 

Eira listened to her sister leave…she buried her face in her pillows.  

“Would you lock the door, please?” She whispered. 

Nobody else. Just her.

Why shouldn’t Elain once again stab her in the same wound…why not?  Why…

And then…somehow it was like somebody flipped a switch. 

She turned angry. Angry at Elain, at her twin sister. Who hid behind this veil of sisterly worry and only used it to hurt Eira?

She was so…she was so…She was so angry. 

She never was angry.  But right now it was swelling beneath her skin and she wanted…she wanted… Not revenge. Not really. 

She made Azriel uncomfortable with what? With nervous ramblings and stolen glances? 

Fine. She would stop that. She would stop all of that. 

She wouldn’t even talk to him again, so he wouldn’t be uncomfortable. She would ignore him. She would be icily polite and that was that. 

And she would find herself a husband and have all the babies she wanted and that would be that. She would find herself…somebody else. Somebody who wanted her.  Somebody for whom she wasn’t annoying…who she didn’t make uncomfortable.

Somebody for herself. 

Something for herself. 

She would fill her room with stupid trinkets she bought herself because nobody else would do it for her. She would buy pretty dresses that tried to mask that she wasn’t as pretty as her sisters. She would do all of that. 

And what her sisters thought about any of that…well, she didn’t fucking care. Not anymore. 

She wasn’t the only one angry. The shadows were hissing, spitting, swirling menacingly, nearly filling the whole room…and she wasn’t scared. That didn’t even cross her mind.

How dares she? The shadows hissed. She owed you an apology, not…not this.

Maybe for the first time in her life, Eira Archeron wanted to be utterly and completely selfish. 

Nobody was going to put her first. Not if she didn’t do it herself. 

“I’ll be buying myself something horribly expensive,” she finally said, her voice shaking. 

Do it, the shadows said, amusement bleeding into their voice, still angrily swirling, coming to wrap around her wrists. Buy whatever you want.

They dropped a catalogue next to her hands, and Eira reached out to take it with shaky hands. 

Whatever she wanted. 

The problem was only, she had no idea what she wanted. 

Maybe a new dress? Maybe some jewellery…like a necklace? Or a bracelet? 

A ring?

Like the rings her sisters had? Given to them by their mates, who loved them? 

Feyre’s Sapphire? The Ruby that encircled Nesta’s finger since her mating ceremony? 

Or maybe Elain’s ring…gold and diamond, looking like the rays of the sun, so fitting for the future wife of the heir to the Day Court. 

No. No jewellery. 

These godforsaken pearl earrings had been enough. 

Something Eira wanted. Something Eira needed. 

Eira could use a new pair of shoes. She already had brought her old ones to the cobbler thrice. Maybe…that wasn’t a ridiculous request after all…

She opened the catalogue, paging through it until she found the shoe section. She stared at the little pictures accompanying them. Humans hadn’t yet figured out how to do print in full colour, but the drawings on this page were brightly colourful. Clearly not a problem here in Prythian. 

She quickly slipped over the pages that had silk slippers and pretty heels on them. That wasn’t practical to run after Nyx with, right? Then she found a page with practical leather shoes… decisively female, a small heel…they weren’t that dissimilar to human fashion. 

She examined them closer. “Laces or Buckle? What do you think?” she asked the shadows. The ones with shoelaces were cheaper…but if she bought one with the buckles, she could also change them out, buy extra buckles…swap them with a crystal-embellished buckle or silver for gold…

All of that was possible. 

The ones with the buckles! The shadows said quickly. 

“They are pretty, aren’t they?” Eira commented and marked the page by folding down one corner as she turned the page. 

Definitely one contender. 

She couldn’t remember ever having done anything similar before. 

When she had still been human, as a child her mother had reigned over her wardrobe with an iron fist. They had never been allowed to pick out anything. 

And then later…after they had lost their fortune…well, picking out anything involved turning around every clipped copper coin. 

She had never been able to just…leisurely look at things and find the pretty and think about buying them…without even really looking at the price tag attached to them. 

Eira flipped back to the shoes, the tip of her finger tracing the writing…she had always been atrocious at reading. The letter tended to change their position, and it hadn’t changed as a Fae either. and she could never tell that to anybody, because the one time she had, her finger had been violently rapped by a wooden ruler and that had been that. 

If she just took her time…carefully…it worked. Just took her longer. She found the price attached to the shoes, knowing that even without the shadows, she could afford them. 

She had stashed away money in the chest at the foot of her bed after all. Not a lot but…enough for the shoes. 

Eira paged through more of the catalogue…oohing and awwing over dresses, where the shadows tried to talk her into buying herself a ballgown much to her amusement, though in the end, they agreed on a pretty blue-grey dress with billowing sleeves cuffed at her wrist…

Eira would never feel comfortable in the Night Court fashion of cropped tops and pants…she would much rather be covered up completely. But that dress…that looked quite pretty. 

She turned to the next page, and the next after that, trawling her way through skirts and cardigans and shirt waists…

And then Eira found the fabric section, biting her lip. Any time she had gone to a fabric shop in Velaris, it had been to buy fabric for a gift for her sisters. Never for herself. She didn’t need anything. 

That’s pretty, the shadows whispered in her ear, seemingly solidifying to point out a specific cotton print on that page. 

She wondered how they even saw anything. They didn’t have eyes. But then magic seemed to be the answer to nearly everything in Prythian. 

It was pretty. A ditsy little floral print…white ground, green leaves…It was pretty. So was a white cotton gauze with little dots…that was the one that she considered seriously. The price was good…she could use a new dress for her birthday…

She marked that page as well, flipping over to the next…and there it was. 

It was an advertisement that caught her eye, and she was nearly flicking to the next page as she caught the word teeth. 

“Faes can fix teeth?“ she asked weakly, as she read that advertisement, a promise about cosmetic procedures…like full lashes and eyebrows and…perfect teeth. 

Perfect teeth. 

“Could they fix mine?” she asked, desperation bleeding into her voice. 

Her teeth were…well, her greatest insecurity on a good day. They were…fine. It wasn’t painful at least. It was just that her two front teeth were too big for her face…which made her look like…

What’s wrong with your teeth? Do they hurt you? You’ll need a healer for that, the shadows said immediately, worriedly. 

“They are too big. Just the two front teeth. I look like a rabbit,”  she admitted in a whisper. Or a mole rat. Her mother had preferred the latter. 

Everything else could be fixed one way or another…but nothing could be fixed for her teeth. 

When she had been a child she had still hoped that she would grow into them, but that had never happened. 

And not even the cauldron had thought it would be prudent to fix them. Leaving her with them…still standing out starkly. 

They were the reason why she never smiled widely, why she made sure to talk with her lips pulled over them…why she didn’t wear bright lipstick. 

A few dozen things that she didn’t do because of them. 

You do not look like a rabbit, the shadows disagreed with a snort…and then after a moment:  Do they bother you?

They asked that like it was a near foreign thing…like…

“My mother used to…She used to tell me that…” She tried to bring the words over her lips but she choked on them. She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t…

Once you feel better, you can go and have them changed to however you want to look, the shadows told her softly. Do they truly bother you that much?

“I know that I won’t ever be the beautiful one. But…if…If I could just feel…just feel pretty…just once,” she whispered, staring at that advertisement. 

If they could just fix her teeth… 

As soon as you feel better, the shadows promised her. But that’s not ridiculously expensive. Neither is one single pair of shoes, that dress….or a few yards of that fabric. Nearly teasing. 

But it was nice teasing. Sweet teasing. Teasing that did nothing but make a small smile appear on her face. 

“I could always buy more fabric,” she gave back, biting her lip and the shadows tugged at her fingers in response. 

But if magic could fix her teeth…maybe it could also fix her hair. 

A light brown mess on her head that never did what she wanted it to do… 

“Is there something for my hair as well?” she asked hesitantly, and the shadows flipped through her catalogue until it brought her to a page with hair care supplies. 

There are potions you can use…enchanted brushes too, they told her. You’ll want something for naturally curly hair.  

They didn’t need to tell Eira that twice. 

The morning she stopped bleeding she was out on the streets of Velaris as soon as the sun rose…dropping off the dresses she had hemmed, and picking up her newest commissions and then walking to that shop that promised her perfect teeth. 

It was a woman, a female, her age who looked up from the magazine she was reading, took one look at her, asked for a handful of gold coins…gave her a mirror in her hand and then drily said: “Just say stop when they have the size you want.”

And that was that. 

Eira could have wept with her gratitude. 

Her teeth looked perfect. Just like she had so often hoped they would look. 

The same could be said about her hair after one bath with her new potions and a run-through with her enchanted brush. 

Unmanageable frizzy hair that never looked like she wanted it to look? 

With magic no more. Thick, perfect, glossy curls fell over her shoulders in fat ringlets. 

To say that she was in a good mood after that…It was the understatement of a dozen centuries at least. 

Eira was ecstatic. 

She loved it. She felt…she felt so pretty. For once. 

“Good Morning!” she chirped as she entered the dining room. Not even the sight of Elain pouring over her wedding binders could put a dent in her happiness that morning. 

“Good Morning,” Elain responded, staring at her like she had gone mad but Eira didn’t care, as she poured herself a cup of tea, took a slice of toast, smeared jam all over it... 

“It’s a beautiful day outside, isn’t it?” she asked brightly, as she took a bite, chewed, swallowed…

Elain stared at her. 

“Eira…what did you do with your teeth?” her sister asked her, staring at her. 

“I got them fixed! Isn’t that great? Magic can do that!” she enthused. They were perfect! They looked just like she wanted them to look!

It was like thunder pulled over Elain’s expression. “You can’t be serious!” she snapped. “What were you thinking?!”

“That I got my teeth fixed?”  Eira gave back questioningly. What did it even matter to Elain? Couldn’t she just be happy? Eira was so fucking happy about her choice. 

“This doesn’t change things, Eira!” Elain said harshly. “It’s still never going to go anywhere!”

She opened her mouth to respond, but she was beaten to it. 

“What is never going to go anywhere?” Feyre’s voice came from the doorway as she entered, Nyx on her hips, staring around the room…waving chubby little arms in Eira’s direction that made her smile at him brightly. 

“Eira’s little crush on Azriel,” Elain said evenly. “He’s completely disinterested. and she has gone and gotten her teeth fixed in some hare-brained attempt to…”

“What does it matter to you?” Eira interrupted her. This had nothing to do with…him. This had been for her. Because she was the one her teeth bothered, long before she had ever even met him.  “They aren’t your teeth.” 

Feyre stared at her and Eira smiled brightly, showing all her teeth…something she would have never done before. But now she did. 

“Your teeth were fine before,” Feyre told her, staring at her like she couldn’t quite believe that Eira had gone and done this.  

“My teeth were too big for my mouth,” Eira disagreed. And really, she didn’t understand why she even needed to defend herself on this. “The last time I checked I was allowed to do with my body whatever I wanted,” she murmured under her breath. 

And this…this was harmless. This was just fixing her teeth. It didn’t hurt anybody. Not her, not anybody else…

Feyre didn’t seem convinced. “How much money did you spend on this?” her sister asked her, a sharpness sinking into her voice and Eira crossed her arms. 

“Not a single coin that belongs to you or your mate,” she gave back, her voice cold. “I spend my money, money I earned, on something that I wanted.” 

She was allowed to want things. Whatever she wanted, the shadows had promised her and they had kept that promise. 

“Did you do this because of Azriel?” Feyre asked, softening slightly. “Eira, that’s not going to work.”

She knew that. 

“My whole life does not revolve around other people,” Eira said calmly, meeting her sister's gaze. “I wanted it.”

“He’s still not going to be interested in you,” Elain snorted. 

Once again. Hitting that one weak spot her sister had sussed out. 

People always thought that Elain was oh-so-sweet. What they forgot was that even the most beautiful, most fragrant rose had its thorns. 

She said nothing. Didn’t flinch away. Didn’t say anything. 

“It’s true,” Feyre said with a sigh, actually agreeing with Elain. “I have wanted to talk to you about that, Eira…” her sister said, visibly uncomfortable. “Could you at least try to get over him? It’s…it would be better for…this court.”

Of course, it would be. This court. 

Because that’s what mattered, right? That’s what mattered to the High Lady. 

That the court was functional. That the spymaster wasn’t uncomfortable…that her sister wasn’t having a ridiculous puppy crush on another member of this court.  

And what was Eira supposed to say to this? 

What was she supposed to say to that? 

Eira’s feelings didn’t really matter anyway. They were nothing but an inconvenience. 

“I am sorry,” she said, her voice quiet, staring at her hands so that she didn’t need to look at two of her sisters…so they wouldn’t see the tears gathering in her eyes. “I’ll make sure that my feelings won’t inconvenience anybody else ever again.”

“That’s not…” Feyre started, but Eira shook her head.

“I understand,” she said, the words tasting like ash in her mouth, all her appetite gone, as she stood to go back to her room. 

[theladyofbloodshed]

@nerisweek Day 4 - NSFW

Rain pounded against the glass. It was made worse from the height. The House of Wind always did experience extreme forms of weather. It was a house made for storms. The steady rumble of thunder seemed to rattle the glass in the window panes.

‘He’s doing it on purpose,’ said Feyre, her arms crossed.

Rhys gave a low chuckle in response. ‘Do you think Eris Vanserra does anything without a purpose?’

Nesta had thought little of the Vanserra heir in recent months. Communication had been quiet for other reasons; Feyre had survived her son’s birth at the price of Nesta’s magic. She’d come through the Blood Rite relatively unscathed physically, but it had left marks elsewhere. Cassian bearing down on her with a weapon – even if he was controlled by the Crown – was a vision she struggled to shake off. They had not been intimate since before that day. Her body was repelled by him despite his attempts to find his way into her room at night. She could not picture his hands without imagining them around her neck. They hardly spoke at all.

‘You shouldn’t let him make demands,’ Mor said, scowling from her chair near the window where she sat with her ankles crossed upon the windowsill. ‘He’ll think he has power if he you give him wiggle room.’

‘If he wants to hunt down a suspected Made object then he can take Elain to sniff it out,’ added Cassian.

That rankled her. Elain wasn’t going anywhere near Eris, Lucien’s brother or not.

‘My sister is not a hound. Nor am I.’

‘I can go,’ Feyre suggested. ‘Nyx is feeding every few hours so I can winnow there and back in between.’

Rhysand trailed his fingers down her bare, tattooed arm. ‘How generous you are, Feyre darling, but Eris has been very insistent that Nesta should be the one to assist him.’

‘Eris can get fucked,’ declared Cassian.

Whether they liked it or not, Eris had the upper hand. Somehow, he had Keir eating out of the palm of his hand and they needed that sway to influence the steward of the Hewn City. He wanted only Nesta with him, claiming her brand of magic was what was needed. They had been reluctant to tell him that the fabled magic was gone. They had tried to bargain that Azriel would go as an escort but Eris claimed that any others would not be shielded and he was reluctant to allow more eyes into his father’s fortress.

‘Let us be done with this,’ muttered Nesta. ‘I am tired of hearing of it.’

Maybe one day she wouldn’t be used as a pawn.

***

The meeting was arranged quickly. A summons to Eris courtesy of Azriel and his power so that within moments he was in the Hewn City awaiting them. Nesta had not bothered to change into leathers or arm herself, much to Cassian’s frustration. She had not trained since returning from the Blood Rite; the idea of picking up a weapon made her sick to her stomach. The absence of her magic was a relief, despite what Cassian proclaimed. A lack of magic hadn’t mattered when she was dragged from her bed a second time and forced into the Blood Rite.

Eris had been insistent with his letters that no harm would come to her, she was merely needed to sense if a Made object was close in his father’s trove of treasures.

A tendril of Rhysand’s magic scratched its claw against the walls of her mind. She hated when he forced his way there. Hated knowing he was in her head, left to rifle through her thoughts and memories at his pleasure.

Take in as much as you can of the Forest House, he said. I want to know exactly what is in Beron’s treasure vaults.

Nesta was a tool to be used when Rhysand felt like it – and now, apparently, when Eris wanted her.

‘No harm is to come to her,’ warned Cassian, a hot, heavy hand clinging to her shoulder. It took every effort not to throw it off.

Eris, dressed in a suit the colour of scorched earth, gave a lazy grin. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it. On my honour as a Vanserra, Nesta will come to no harm.’

There were another four or five warnings thrown his way which he took in good faith, smiling blandly and picking the sleeve of his jacket as though he was bored. It amused Nesta to a degree to see how unmoved he was in the face of threats from the Night Court. If anything, Eris seemed quite amused by it too.

A pale hand was extended to her. She remembered how it had felt on the Winter Solstice – like a glove that fit perfectly to hers.

Before she could say a goodbye, Eris had tugged her closer and winnowed. Magic swirled around them, the red flame of his power enough to scorch if she didn’t move closer to him.

There was no rain in the Autumn Court. A blustery wind blew through the thick woods, sending gold and amber leaves spiralling to the ground, but the temperature was mild. The sun shone in the sky as it began its slow descent for the evening.

Behind a set of gilded gates, the Forest House sat. It reminded her of the many manor houses that she’d visited as a child whilst travelling with Mother once she was of the age to join her pinched-face friends for tea.

‘The Forest House is smaller than I expected,’ she said bluntly.

Eris kept a grip on her hand as if she might disappear.

‘This is not the Forest House. This is my private residence.’

The gates opened for him as Eris tugged her through before they slammed shut again. She felt the seal of magic trapping them there, the wards fortifying and old.

‘You said you would take me to the Forest House.’

A smirk crept onto his face. ‘I lied.’ 

This male did not care. Lies spilt freely from his tongue. There was not a single soul in the world he cared for except his own.

‘Take me back,’ demanded Nesta, relinquishing her hand from his grasp. ‘Now.’

‘Are you so eager to return to the Night Court?’

Nesta could not give him an answer. She felt like an imposter amongst them. The court wasn’t home, merely a place she resided in because there was nowhere else for her.

‘You are wrong for this,’ she warned him, hurrying her steps to match his long strides. ‘When we return, I will ensure they know what you’ve done.’

Eris gave an unworried laugh. ‘Who said I will return you?’

When her expression slipped into confusion, Eris laughed again – this one different. It was warm and he’d tossed his head back briefly, before touching a hand to the small of her back to sweep her ahead of him.

‘I will,’ he promised, mouth tipped near the point of her ear. ‘When I’ve had my fun, I will return you.’

Rich wood panelled much of what Nesta could see inside Eris’ private residence. It was coupled with opulent paintings and thick rugs woven with red and gold threads. Yet it was quiet. A manor of this size should have been bustling with servants who’d suddenly go silent in the presence of their master. Eris kicked off his shoes, leaving them where they fell, then tossed his jacket onto a hook. He peered through the front window then remarked, ‘The dogs are outside. Should I let them in?’

 Nesta was so taken aback by the sudden carelessness he displayed that she was momentarily silenced – and when she could speak, all Nesta could manage was a single utterance of, ‘Dogs?’

There were many of them – more than she could count. All of them dashed across the lawn or sniffed at the grass tracing Eris’s scent.

‘Come,’ he beckoned, curling his fingers.

As if compelled, Nesta stepped towards him. What was his game? Why bring her here?

‘I thought I was to sniff out Made items for you.’

‘Are you a hound?’

Nesta tried not to scowl.

An arm went around her shoulders, the touch too familiar from him. But he was warm. So delightfully warm that Nesta paused from throwing him off. Even as he tucked himself closer to her, Nesta did not fight him off.

‘Your shoes. Are they comfortable? You can be barefoot.’

Nesta felt as though she’d missed a step upon the stairs or that a conversation had happened without her knowledge as they walked through the long, central corridor of his home towards a room near the back of the house.

‘Are we going to your father’s vault?’

‘No. My father would never let me near it, much less you.’

‘Then why am I here, Eris?’

He pushed open a set of doors that led to a ballroom. It wasn’t as large as the one in the Hewn City; it was more suited to the sorts of balls that they had once hosted when her parents were wealthy where daughters were offered up like meat.

‘Our dance was interrupted.’

‘That was months ago,’ she said, dumbfounded.

The floor had been polished well enough to see part of her reflection and a great, glass chandelier hung in the centre of the ceiling. The waning evening sun streamed through the tall windows that lined one wall, catching on the dangling prisms, coating the room in scattered light.

‘I have not stopped thinking of that night,’ he admitted, voice cautious. ‘It was the first time I ever saw you smile.’

Nesta could not muster a response. It was likely the last time she had smiled without restraint, lost in the music and led by Eris.

‘I ask for a single dance,’ he said. ‘That’s all. Then I can return you.’

‘What’s the trick?’

‘No trick,’ Eris replied. ‘One dance.’

‘You made up a story to the Night Court, wrote to them for weeks, and offered all manner of incentives for my assistance. You lied and lied for a single dance.’

Eris didn’t have the decency to look at least slightly embarrassed. No, if anything, he seemed proud of the lies he’d spun. It would keep the Night Court wondering about what Beron could possibly have in his troves.

‘In fairness, it is difficult to find a good dance partner.’

The male had to be possessed. Normal males did not go to such lengths for a dance. And Nesta should have been repulsed by his schemes, but instead she found it oddly flattering that they were the lengths he’d go to for a single dance.

‘There is no music,’ she said, raising her chin indignantly.

Eris swept his hand outwards. A spiralling flame followed its path then the hairs on her arm stood on end. Sweeping notes of beautiful music filtered through the room as if the instruments were being played just beyond the doors.

‘You have music and a dance partner. I shall ask again: are your shoes comfortable to dance in?’

To match Eris, Nesta removed her shoes too and she suddenly felt so much smaller than him. His hand slid into hers, a second going to her waist as she settled a hand upon his shoulder. They moved to the music with little thought, their bodies reacting to each other intuitively. There was no awkward fumbling, no mistimed steps. They flowed together as easily as twin flames.

It was easy. Nesta did not need to think. Did not need to prepare a defence or hold a shield to protect herself. Eris was silent, leading her through song after song as their bodies moved across the floor, a muted, closed-lipped smile upon his pale face. When he lifted her, Nesta knew he’d hold her safely. On each spin, he was careful and restrained until they moved back into hold. And when their steps slowed, and her hand slipped down his back, and his moved lower, Nesta didn’t fight it.

A reasonable part of her warned her off of this. No good would come of dancing with Eris. They shouldn’t press their bodies so close. She never should have agreed to be alone with him in his court. But how could it be wrong when every part of her ached for him?

Their feet remained still as Nesta tilted her head up. Eris’ lips were a balm that soothed, but she didn’t want softness. She wanted desire. Wanted to be the match that set them both on fire.

Their kissing grew frantic. The fingers that grappled with his clothing were desperate. Eris took a knife to her bodice, carving it open with a sudden slash so her dress pooled around her on the floor.

The press of his lips was urgent and all-consuming like a fire that would never be sated. Nesta let herself be burnt by it. Let the flames of desire engulf her. The hands on her body were soft, reverent. Every pound of her heart was answered by his own. Eris kissed the new expanse of bare skin, treasuring each inch exposed to him.

His waistcoat fell to the floor then his shirt soon followed. The sunset bathed him in golden light. He was so warm and beautiful that Nesta stopped their kissing to press herself against him. She wanted to feel him. His body was rakish, not the well-built muscles of her mate, but more comfortable - softer and easier to fold herself into. Eris kept his hands covering her shoulder blades; a thumb tracing back and forth over the skin.

This momentary pause in their lust gave Nesta a moment to gather herself. What was she doing? Another attempt at self-sabotage? Nesta had a mate waiting for her in the Night Court. A mate who loved her. A mate who she hadn’t touched since he’d been under the Crown’s thrall. A mate who she couldn’t think of without imagining his hands around her neck squeezing the life from her.

How exquisite it was that Nesta could take something good and let her rotten core ruin it. Only she could find a mate and instead of the rare, unending love it offered, want to see it spoiled to give her a reason to run.

‘Nesta?’

‘I shouldn’t do this.’

But she made no move to pull away from the wicked heir of the Autumn Court. Her face remained tucked into the crook of Eris’ neck. It felt safer to stay there. Her soul was as broken as his.

His hand forced her head to raise so that Nesta could see her reflection in his eyes.

‘I will be burned by you,’ she whispered.

Eris pressed his lips to her forehead and inhaled. ‘Then let the flames consume the both of us.’

Her hand slipped down his body to the hardening length within his trousers. She pressed her palm to it, rubbing once, twice, until a hiss of air escaped from between Eris’ pursed lips. He tipped forwards, lips coming to her forehead.

‘I truly only wanted a dance.’

But Nesta was too far gone to reel herself back in.

They went to the ground together, his body covering hers as the music still played from a distant room. The last remnants of their clothing – her chemise and his undergarments – were discarded hurriedly until there was only skin between them. Eris kissed his way down her body, stopping between her legs.

‘If I told you that I’ve dreamed of this, would you believe me?’

Nesta pushed his head downwards. Her head rocked back as his tongue traced up her core.

This was what she did. Mindless sex to make herself forget. A deep-rooted need to sabotage herself. The Night Court was her home. Her mate was there. The mate that hadn’t come for her in the Blood Rite. The mate that had been so easily swayed by the Crown. A mate who’d have killed her.

She spread her legs wide, damning the consequences. Eris gripped her thighs, his fingers digging deep into the flesh as he licked a circle around her clit. Nesta got lost in it. Her eyes closed as Eris pushed his fingers into her sex. His techniques alternated based on the different moans that he elicited from her.

Breathless and flushed, Nesta curled into herself on one side upon their abandoned clothes. Eris’ steps faded as he departed. That was familiar to Nesta, to be used and discarded. Even her own mate couldn’t be bothered to spend a night beside her once he’d got what he wanted. She waited for shame to crawl up her throat from what she’d done yet none came.

Surprising her, light steps sounded upon the ballroom floor. Nesta braced herself for a servant who’d tell her to leave.

A full skin of water was settled by her head then a blanket tucked around her bare body. Eris knelt near her, still as bare as the day he came into the world. He flattened her disarrayed hair gently, face giving nothing away.

‘You are a very good dancer.’

‘I can say the same,’ she said, sitting up with the blanket pressed to her body. Nesta uncorked the skin of water and drank deeply, aware of Eris’ amber gaze on her scorched cheeks.  

‘Call me greedy for not waiting until the Winter Solstice for another dance,’ he said.

Nesta could not muster a reply. The solstice felt so far away. When she reflected on the last one, dancing with Eris had been the highlight because she’d felt like herself again after so long. They told stories of his cruelty and schemes so what did it say of Nesta if her only joy was found in his arms?

‘I am not the villain you believe I am,’ he stated, as if he’d heard her thoughts. For once, he looked innocent as if a mask had been stripped away. A young male was beneath it, soft-eyed and curious as he waited for her reaction.

‘You do yourself no favours.’

‘And they do? Have you never wondered why Illyrian females still have their wings clipped? Or why Morrigan is the only dreamer in a city of nightmares?’ Eris laughed callously, the mask slipping back on. ‘I told you not to believe the lies they say about me. Perhaps I’d have been better off warning you about the lies they spin about themselves. Could the most powerful high lord in history really not enforce an anti-clipping law – or perhaps he values an army over the lives of females.’

Nesta forced down her emotions. She couldn’t say it was anger, because when she looked to Emerie’s ruined wings, she had wondered similar. Why weren’t Illyrian females offered a safe place in Velaris to heal and grow like Gwyn was?

‘You showed your heart in the Dawn Court – and it was enough to make my father pay attention, Nesta. You are wasted in the Night Court.’

‘Enough talking,’ she said, unwilling to face the truths she’d been running from. Too often those same questions had bubbled on her tongue. Once or twice Nesta had pressed Cassian on it and instead of being met with a calm discussion, he flew to the defensive and claimed she didn’t understand ruling or life in Illyria. ‘I didn’t come here to talk.’

‘Why did you come here?’ Eris smirked from the side of his mouth. ‘You can’t have believed I truly would take you to my father’s vaults?’

‘A release,’ she admitted. ‘A release from that court. I hate to be there. I cannot breathe when I’m there.’

The words rushed out of her before she could take them back and bury them.

‘Then let me be your release, Nesta.’ Eris kissed against the column of her neck. ‘How would you like it?’

His lips were tender making pleasure skitter over her skin.

‘Soft,’ she declared, to see if he could. See if he could resist the urge to pound in a frenzy until his own release took him. ‘Slow.’

Nesta had never been with a male who could put her needs first, who could put aside his own wants.

He lay her back down with the thick blanket beneath her to soften the floor then his body covered hers. It wasn’t suffocating, wasn’t heavy and imprisoning.

‘You are so beautiful,’ he murmured. ‘When you are in the room, I can see no other. You are the flame that guides me.’

She opened her legs to fit him better between her thighs. ‘You hardly know me.’

‘I want to,’ he said, a hand gripping hers and pressing it above her head. ‘I dreamt of ways to meet with you. Not for this. Just to look upon you. To speak with you. To hear you.’

It couldn’t be wrong when her body was begging for him. The slick heat between her thighs made Nesta squirm upwards to feel his length. It made Eris press his sharp teeth into his lip.

‘Slow, you said.’

‘Slow,’ she agreed, but for every moment that Eris lay upon her, it was a moment that she’d have to explain away to the Night Court. The longer she was away, the more implausible her reason.

Eris took his length and stroked it between her folds.

‘Inside,’ breathed Nesta.

Their lips met in an urgent press and Nesta forced her tongue into his mouth. If she was going to burn, she wanted to be nothing but ashes. Let it consume all of her.

When Eris finally pushed the crown of his cock inside, she moaned into his mouth. It had been a long time since she’d been with a male who didn’t stretch her and sting on his entry – and she’d forgotten how pleasurable that first thrust could be instead of one that made her grit her teeth and wince through the pain. He was a careful lover with hands that canvassed her body and lips that only left hers to ask over her wellbeing. When he moved in her, Eris never hurried. Every thrust was slow and deep enough to have her body rising from the floor to press closer to him.

At the increase in his breathing, Nesta wrapped her legs around his hips, drawing him in close. With a final thrust, Eris spilled himself inside of her.

They lay together, bodies tangles and soaked with sweat. The last light of the evening was fading, leaving a bruised sky in its wake.

She waited for Eris to run. To laugh at her for being so foolish. To mock her that she’d fallen for his trap.

It didn’t come.

Eris remained holding her tightly, kissing her face from time to time.

‘I can take you back,’ he murmured. His nose nuzzled against her neck.

‘You ripped my dress. I can hardly return naked.’

‘It was a very pretty dress too. I apologise,’ he said.

‘What am I to wear?’

Nesta was led upstairs to a tidy bedroom with little in the way of personal artefacts. In the large wardrobe, Eris held up a few dresses to examine the cloth against her complexion.

‘Your lovers’ dresses?’

A brief frown flashed upon his face. ‘My mother’s. She used to come here. They’re plain gowns, but should fit well enough to return you.’

Plain was an understatement. They were well-made from expensive fabrics with simple patterns that suited Nesta. The colours were those of the Autumn Court; rich golds overlayed with burnt orange and umber. Nesta had never even looked at such a colour, much less wear it.

‘You will need to wash,’ Eris reminded her. ‘Illyrians have noses like smokehounds when it comes to arousal.’

He led her to another room, a silent figure walking a few paces ahead. She wondered if he regretted it. Nesta couldn’t say that she did. The inevitable regret hadn’t come. Was unlikely to. There was nothing for her to regret. She had an immortal life ahead of her with a male who Nesta wasn’t sure truly liked her company. There was still so much of life that she hadn’t experienced – wouldn’t now.

This bedroom was neat in a way – the curtains tied back from windows, the surfaces clean – but it was littered with piles of books and stacks of letters that gave it a chaotic sense of disarray. A large map of Prythian had been pinned on the wall with notes written around markings on it.

‘Take as much time as you need,’ he said, opening another door that led to a bathroom.

For a while, Nesta stood stunned in the luxurious bathroom, not quite sure which Eris would greet her when she exited. He had seemed almost shy. She washed quickly, well aware of the darkness that had encroached. The dress, which she had been fearing to wear, fit like a glove. It brought a lightness back to her silvery eyes. She’d lost a couple of hair pins so abandoned her coronet in favour of leaving it down, the ghost of the braids leaving her hair in waves. She pinned back the strands from her temples to hide her ears.

‘This is an exquisite sort of torture,’ Eris mused as she exited the bathroom. ‘If I touch you again then my scent will be upon your skin. Then again, maybe art is there to be worshipped with the eyes rather than hands.’

With that, he entered the bathroom to wash her from his skin while Nesta stood bereft in the centre of the room.

Eris’ home reminded her of her life back in the mortal lands. It felt so familiar. She ran a finger across the top of a leather-bound book; a compendium of mosses across Prythian. She wrinkled her nose at it. Eris, it seemed, was full of surprises.

They waited until his hair had dried, sat by the silent fire in his rooms while they exchanged hesitant conversation. Nesta was meeting a different male. A quieter one who shared parts of himself with nervous reluctance. They spoke of the books he’d gathered and the map upon the wall, each minute had him shedding another layer of skin until she could see the person he was beneath. There was less cocky arrogance or cold calculation. Instead, Eris was clever and sensitive, listening to her few remarks about the similarity of his home to her old one with attentiveness.

‘We should go,’ he said, holding out a hand.

Hand in hand, he led the way back through the grounds of the manor – after warning the dogs away with their muddy paws – then winnowed back to the Hewn City. The Night Court’s leaders awaited them with nervous expressions. Cassian practically flew from his chair to scan her from head to toe.

‘Why is she in different clothes?’ Feyre demanded.

When Eris released his grip from her hand, she felt hollow.

He bared his palms to them, an irritating smirk on his lips. For a moment, her heart plummeted, believing it all to be another act to ruin her. She’d helped to ruin herself. Then, Eris said, ‘It turns out my father has more defences than I first thought. I am not such a bastard that I’d return Nesta to you covered in Middengarm wyrm innards.’

They looked to Nesta in confirmation. ‘I could not breathe without retching.’

‘I trust it was worth Nesta’s time,’ said Rhysand, violet eyes dancing between the pair of them.

Before Eris could speak, Nesta cut in. ‘I sensed something, but there was not enough time to trace it. I will need to return.’

Something sparked in Eris’ eyes. ‘I will collect Nesta in a couple of days. Who knows? Maybe she’ll take a liking to the Autumn Court.’ He gave a short, wicked laugh. ‘She wouldn’t even need to officially defect, since she isn’t aligned to any court.’

Cassian pressed a hand to her shoulder. ‘Nesta will join your court over my dead body.’

‘Do not tempt me,’ he replied. ‘Two days. Farewell.’

[ludinusdaleth]

bouncing off of this wonderful post mentioning how zathuda expects to be the main character because he would be in many current stories, as well as my own thoughts about fearne & her family ive had for a while: i think it is interesting how fearne is representative of the different ways folk portray fae in modern media.

first off, id like to note how many fae in cr feel like they are an homage to fae stories embedded in our cultural consciousness. for example, artagan was most definitely based off of jareth in labyrinth, and his moniker of the traveler may be an homage to the fable of the satyr & the traveller. so, what is fearne?

one of the first 4-sided dives featured ashley & matt discussing how they based fearne's story off of a guillermo del toro flick - and this definitely clicked to me. morrigan, ira, & all her bizarre animal friends at morri's mansion would fit so easily into a del toro film you wouldn't even blink at them. in del toro's work (namely pan's labyrinth & hellboy 2: the golden army) faeries are fundamentally strange, offputting, & wonderfully weird. they are goblins with wagons as legs, and trolls with talking tumors, and terrifyingly skinny entities with eyes in their hands that eat children. you can practically see doug jones in an intricate suit & makeup to play ira like he did the pale man or the faun (i swear matt's hand usage as ira is an homage to jones's iconic hands in costume), see the puppet of morrigan that weighs over a ton controlled by five folk at once. del toro's work as well as matt & ashley's plays into a fae that is more complicated than a human imagines at face value, something you must work to imagine & understand (& create). something playful, integrally bound to oaths, ancient, mischievous. it is happy & natural to be gross & incomprehensible and that is part of what makes these films (as well as other bizarre puppeteered dreamscapes like the dark crystal, labyrinth) almost comforting even when sad. pan's labyrinth also features a young girl as a protagonist, ofelia, who sees these creatures as respite & destiny, who is a fae princess amidst mortal war. fearne couldn't be more ofelia if she tried. (side note - god does the scene of the pale man eating the pixies in front of ofelia feel like fearne learning what lud does to her people. someone even made a meme of it.)

on the other hand, zathuda & birdie's story is obviously based on a fae romance novel that populates shelves today - sarah j maas's or holly black's work comes to mind. zathuda is (or was - he seems a ghost of it) clearly a looker, a fierce & sexy hunter, a handsome & strong unseelie royal who somehow takes in & courts a random nobody girl, birdie. but cr notably frames the love story narrative as a classist manipulation, that leaves birdie running for the rest of her life, falling for a weirdo nobody like her over zathuda, and leaves fearne without parents that would show her this incredibly popular kind of romance as an answer. she cannot fall back on a family of kisses drawing blood, of hunter & hunted as a beautiful meet-cute, of a throne & power. she can only fall back on the strange, the grotesque, the raw. they are ugly compared to a promise of a masquerade ball or leading a wild hunt, what folk expect of fae in a barnes & noble book haul - but they promise a safety in the outcast. because a guillermo del toro film will always fundamentally be about the human condition. "monsters are the patron saints of our blissful imperfections." every monster in his stories is a person as much as you or me is.

fearne was born of a fae romance novel but raised in a puppeteer-and-vfx fairytale film. she holds not only exandria's fate in her hands, but the feywild's, too. fae see themselves as higher beings while squabbling in courts as much as mortals do. they refuse to accept their chaos and try to maintain order & royalty with courts and bloodlines against each other. try to keep fae out of exandria because they cant know they are alike to their mortal counterparts. they cant be wild like a party of puppets at the end of labyrinth dancing with the human girl sarah. they wish to be as mysterious as if they lived in a ya dystopia. and it is clearly leaving them worse. fearne is the literal unity of all the ways fae are potrayed in a modern landscape. what will that mean for her and her home in the end?

[viviennevermillion]

Theory about Fellow's backstory:

Some things I'd like to bring to your attention:

Fellow states that he wasted a few more years than the NRC students and slid non-committally through life until he was over 20 and became "employed"

Playful Land has recently become a trend and a fabled place everyone wants to go to. So far we have no information on what the amusement park was like before it became popular, so it might not have existed for that long

Fellow, while being the manager of Playful Land, clearly has a boss who threatens to cut his and Gidel's salary and he doesn't seem to get along very well with his superiors, even seems to hate them as he implies they are the rich people he appears to despise.

Gidel seems interested in going to a school

Now, I haven't personally seen Pinocchio except during my very early childhood, but I have looked up Honest John and apparently he has a boss called the Coachman and according to the wikia Honest John even sympathizes with Pinocchio and reacts with horror to the Coachman's plans to enslave the children

Fellow seems enraged when the topic of money is brought up and Yuu asks him if he does all this "just" for money and he talks about the students going to school as though they are very privileged etc.

This is still a Disney game and Fellow will likely get a card next year the same way Rollo did, which means he needs to be marketable. He's already marketed as the pretty new villain. They could still surprise me but for now I find it rather unlikely that they'll make Fellow a full-on human trafficker out of his own free will for the sake of evilling or some petty revenge / self-hatred reason

So my take so far is that Fellow is going to be the villain we deal with in this event just how Rollo has been but he is NOT the big bad of this amusement park scam. Taking all of this into consideration, I think Fellow is very much complicit in the crimes committed in this event but likely not of his own free will. So far, from what we know about him and assuming Disney won't go as far as make him an irredeemable human trafficker (they might but I still find it unlikely), he reads like someone who is trapped in what we call a "Knebelvertrag" (literal translation: 'gag contract') in my language; i.e. an unequal and unfair contract aiming to (1) create a power imbalance between the victim and the party that benefits from the contract, (2) restrict the victim in their autonomy to make free decisions, (3) make it difficult for the victim to refuse entering the contract, (4) make it even more difficult for them to exit the contract and often (5) make them dependent on the contract.

My theory is that Fellow was one of the first people they trafficked and he is likely useful enough for his superiors to employ him rather than to give him the puppet treatment. He might have had to choose between working for them or being turned into a puppet and sold. He might be responsible for them sparing Gidel from the puppet treatment as well.

Fellow was likely poor and apparently never went to a school from the looks of it. He might have been an orphan or from a bad home and in general the prime victim for human trafficking: someone very few people would look for if he went missing. I suspect that the fact that they can now pull this shit with students from a prestigious school and famous people is due to Fellow's magic and is a development that only happened AFTER he started working there, which explains the recent spike in popularity of Playful Land and that no one investigated them despite all this.

I can imagine there being a lot of brainwashing from the superiors involved such as:

making him feel like he can't survive without this job

making him hate the children who come to Playful Land because they're these privileged people who have what Fellow could never have had growing up

making him believe he can't cut ties with Playful Land without like, the superiors finding him and taking him out of the picture

making him feel like no one would believe him if he asked for help

Again, this is all based on the assumption that he's gonna get a sad backstory like Rollo. The other option would be to make him our first irredeemable villain.

The topic of this event is way heavier and more serious than stripping people of their magic power; it's human trafficking, a horrifying crime that actually exists in our world and if they want to make Fellow someone we can sympathize with they're gonna have to give him one hell of a backstory. "He suffered a loss and is full of self-hatred or jealousy" isn't going to cut it this time. Having him suffer with the guilt about his actions isn't going to cut it this time. Because this is not a mentally ill 18-year-old who's taking people's magic away, this is a fully grown adult man working for a human trafficking scam.

THIS on the other hand is realistic. These circumstances are tied to the topic of human trafficking and this would make more sense as a backstory for Fellow than anything else I can come up with for now. Sure you have the kids who are being held hostage and sold but that's just one facet of the whole thing. Not every case of trafficking is a prisoner in a shady cellar. Some of them are people who are in exploitative contracts and coerced and feel like they can't leave without severely endangering their lives.

Not saying Fellow is a victim or a poor little meow meow because at this point we still have no idea where they'll go with the rest of the story, they might just make him petty and evil. But if they'll take the sympathetic route, this is what makes sense for me as his backstory without making it feel like he got off too easily or like the story excuses his behavior.

For all I know he could just turn out to be complicit in human trafficking because he never got any chances and thinks the privileged kids deserve this and we could just beat him up and throw him in prison but that'd be a first for this game.

Anyway, what do you guys think Fellow's backstory will be?

[bestworstcase]

in re: oz understanding what salem meant i do not have the brainpower to go through the whole thing rn but it sort of comes down to,

#1, an “all just a big misunderstanding!” resolution feels pretty cheap and to my mind makes ozma seem just completely pathetic; earlier in the same episode we see him ask salem flat out “what are you saying?” when he doesn’t follow and salem clarifies without the slightest hesitation. the notion that after a decade or more married to this woman, ozma heard her say something this out of pocket, out of fucking nowhere, and didn’t AT LEAST go “…what are you saying?” to confirm that no yeah she really did just abruptly go mask-off on wanting to do genocide, is… pathetic. world’s most pathetic man. i do not believe that ozma has at any point in his lives been the kind of person who wouldn’t blink hard and go “excuse me??” in this scenario.

#2, the only person present during the lost fable who knows the full context of that conversation, aside from jinn, is oz. the only character on team good who has the requisite information to know what she meant. if there’s going to be any proactive motion on the heroes side toward correcting their own misperceptions of salem, ozma is going to have to be the one to provide more information. regardless of what salem herself does to surprise them, i don’t think these kids will be able to get to “let’s try talking to her?” until they have a reason to believe that she doesn’t like. want to massacre humankind.

#3, it makes a ton of sense for there to be a miscommunication on this specific point between ozma and the kids, because a) after the shock of the lost fable nobody was asking follow-up questions aside from “how could you hide all that?” and “what the fuck is your plan to beat her?” and then oz got punched in the face and screamed at and locked himself away for months to reflect on all this. meanwhile the kids focused on the immediate problem of how to beat salem secure in the assumption that they now have all the facts. the question of salem’s motivation never comes up at all until ozpin brings it up with hazel, explicitly in a bid to scare hazel into turning against her, and he misrepresents the nature of salem’s curse in order to make his case. which is to say, ozpin is lying about one thing when he claims salem wants to end the world – it isn’t unlikely that he’s lying about the rest too.

and that’s a recipe for misunderstanding, if ozma knows what salem meant but no one on his side is asking questions about or discussing her intentions – how is he to know they misunderstood something she said until they voice their misconception?

#4, it’s a lot more compelling for the conflict between salem and ozma to be genuinely about what it seems—she believes the gods are fallible tyrants who can be defeated and should be rejected and replaced, he believes that they are absolute cosmic authorities who can only be obeyed and that her defiance is tantamount to a death-wish. they are on the same page about this and before ozpin’s lifetime, both resolutely believed that the other was a) wrong and b) beyond reason, and thus the immovable detente. then ozma experienced the first shattering crisis of faith during the great war (salem was right about what it takes to unite the world) and ozpin spends his whole lifetime reeling while he treads water; and meanwhile salem acts on the presumption that he has not changed, seeming to confirm ozpin’s worst fears (that she despises him, that she will never forgive him, that she’ll burn the world down with her for the sake of defying the gods one last time, and so he is still fated to be her eternal enemy). and there’s the storm.

layered over top of that is all the fairytale propaganda ozma has spent lifetimes meticulously weaving to obscure the true conflict (because he fears she’ll rally people against the gods again if he doesn’t poison the well) – so long that he half-believes it himself, until jinn causes him to relive all of that; the story salem told him that he desperately didn’t want to believe, his lies, her trust, his choice to plug his ears and blame her for the cruelty of his god. not for nothing does he crawl out of this hole with the wistful yearning for reconciliation song playing underneath in the very moment salem arrives in atlas! shattering though it was – it also reminds him of what’s really true, what’s important to him. what he wants.

(#5, it really doesn’t make sense to me for that ^ to happen if ozma is under the impression that salem just wants to kill everybody and/or do grotesque magical eugenics – “the enemy was right” is an odd thought to insinuate that he’s having if he isn’t clear on what salem was right about.)

and #6, i think it makes the reconciliation easier for the conflict to not be predicated on a misunderstanding. consider how salem might feel in the event she asked why ozma did all of this and his answer boiled down to “i assumed you wanted to commit genocide and use our daughters to breed a new race of magically empowered humans and it didn’t occur to me to question that assumption EVEN A LITTLE BIT at any point in our history. forgive me?” like – jesus christ. whereas “i remembered what you told me the gods had done to you and to the world the last time you rebelled against them and i got scared” is so much less awful, and so much more natural to forgive. she’s scared of the gods too. and if there’s any inkling in there of ozma having been scared for her, scared of what the gods might do to her if she failed, all the more so. it just… fits together better with the set up so clearly leading toward a romantic reconciliation.

[who-knew-a-sheep-can-write]

Get Some: Bigby Wolf x Fem!Reader (NSFW)

Chapter 4

Contains: Spanking (with a blast from the past >:) ), dirty talk, light degradation, vaginal fingering

You knew you were on thin ice from that stunt you pulled. Thinner than Bluebeard’s patience, thinner than Fabletown’s dwindling budget, thinner than the threshold Bigby teeters on when it comes to primal need and humanity. You knew he was going to get you back one way or another, he always does. He always waits until your guard is lowered and the thought is somewhere off in the back of your mind on vacation- and that’s where he strikes. He did it the last time, you could still feel his big, rough hand squeezing down on your little neck. You craved to feel it again, your body yearned for his brutal touch that bordered loving.

You love it when he gets wild.

It only made you think even harder, retreating deep into your mind to just imagine what he could possibly do. You’re expecting him to be in your apartment again, lingering in the looming darkness with the lights off again. Maybe even waiting in your bedroom right behind the door, anticipating on you entering and starting to undress when he would slam the door shut and approach you as though you were prey. Just the thought made you wet, but you knew Bigby better than that. He wouldn’t do the same thing twice, not when you were expecting it.

You couldn’t help the sinister little thoughts that clouded your vision as you shifted the bag full of groceries around in your arms. Your cheeks heated and you shivered at the even hotter feeling brewing right in your core behind your belly button.

The elevator halting to a complete stop jostled you out of your daydreams, opening to reveal a few other Fables you didn’t care to place waiting to get on. You nodded at them, ducking your head down to avoid their questioning gazes and stepped lively down the hall to your apartment, only stopping when you saw that there was light under the door.

You left your apartment dark when you left a few hours ago.

Your lips curled into a devious smirk. You could smell him even through your front door: Faint cigarettes and his crisp cologne and something else, something deep and woody.

Fumbling with your keys and turning the knob, you opened the door to see Bigby nursing a glass of whiskey. He had dragged a chair from your dining table over and had sat it next to your couch, facing the door for your arrival. He looked like something out ripped from the deep trenches of your mind.

His black tie had been loosened and draped down his brawny chest. His button-up was slightly undone, the top three popped open to reveal his rippled pectorals and the dark chocolate chest hair gleaming with a thin layer of balmy sweat kissing his tanned skin. His belt was missing from his dark slacks, the material hung loose around his trim waist but hugged tightly against his tented erection he didn’t dare hide. His legs were spread wide, one knee bouncing while he held the other one down with his elbow. He was looking at you with golden eyes, his pupils were so small they barely existed against the liquid gold of his irises. A few locks of his chocolate hair fell in front of his gaze, it looked a little wet, like he had showered a little while ago and towel dried his hair. The locks that liked to curl at the back of his neck still clung to his thick neck right where you like to sink your nails in.

The look he gave you when you closed the door had your knees quaking.

“Bigby,” you scolded yourself for your voice being so breathless, “how long have you been here?”

“Long enough,” his voice was dark and gravely. He eyed you up and down, sipping his whiskey as his knee kept bouncing- anxiously or in anticipation, you couldn’t place. “Long enough to think about what I’m gonna do to you.”

You put your bag of groceries down on the side table by your door. You knew he could hear your heart pounding away inside of you, how he could smell the dripping honey from between your legs. Usually, he would’ve struck like a cobra by now, so what was he playing at? Your mind was running millions of miles per minute.

You didn’t hear him get up, the chair scraping against the floor.

His shadow casts broad against the wall and door, drowning you in a bit of darkness with his big and very broad shoulders. You looked back at him with wide eyes, throat bobbing when he downed the rest of the whiskey before placing the glass on a coaster and started to step towards you.

“What are you going to me?” you whispered.

“For handcuffing me with enchanted cuffs?” He took a lumbering step closer. “For teasing me all night long? After I had to beg you to let me cum?”

You had to swallow your evil little laugh that almost bubbled to the surface.

“But I did let you out in the end, didn’t I?”

He backed you up to the door, bringing his hands up to cage you against the strong wood. Deja vu coursed through your mind yet it all felt so new to you. He wasn’t being rough, just dominant enough to get you to obey him. His scent was intoxicating, his warmth was driving you nuts. You could feel his hard cock brushing up against your lower abdomen.

“Suppose so,” he growled. You brought your hands up to ghost at Bigby’s open collar, fingers curling around the open split as he pressed himself even closer. “Guess I should find a way to thank you.”

“And how would you do that?” you purred back.

Bigby nodded his head in the direction of your bedroom. He brought his hands down to your shoulders, firmly grabbing ahold of you before he guided you away from the door. He connected your lips with his in a short kiss that had you chasing after him when he pulled away. A keen whine escaped your lips and Bigby smirked, his eyes hungry and on the cusp of turning feral.

Your bedroom door was already opened and the bedside lamp had been turned on. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place. Your bed was made and the pillows fluffed, the curtains were drawn tight, your robe was still draped over the chair that sat at your vanity, your perfume bottle was still out of its place where you had left it this morning.

You saw it resting against the wall.

In all of its polished glory, the wood gleamed and shined in the lighting of your bedroom. The black letters had been taken care of well and the white gauze wrapping had to changed from their original soiled state to pure white cotton. How the hell did he get ‘Crowd Control’ out of the Business Office was beyond you. How he managed to squirrel it in here was an even bigger question you didn’t mind not knowing the answer to.

Bigby kicked your bedroom closed behind him, the lock clicking closed added an extra tang of danger into the bedroom. Especially when you turned around to look at him. Fuck, those lycan eyes struck right through you.

“I thought you were gonna thank me?” you feigned innocence.

You knew he loved it when you did. It drove him mad, it struck all of the right chords.

“Thank you?” Bigby snickered. He brought a big, calloused hand out to grasp at Crowd Control’s handle, lifting it as though she weighed nothing in his strong mitts. He caressed her smooth edges, you wished he would touch you gently like that. “You think I’d actually thank you for pulling a stunt like that?” He took a lumbering step forward and you took two back. “I’ve been thinking about this all week- waiting for you to be gone long enough to get in and all.”

You both took steps in the same direction again.

“What are you gonna do to me?” you repeated.

“I think you have a pretty good idea.”

You did.

You did and you fucking loved it.

You could already feel the burn on your ass. You could already feel the shocks of pleasure crackling at your nerves. You could feel your orgasm tearing through you.

He had backed you into the wall. He pawed at the cricket paddle, his hand on the handle squeezed it tightly to the point the wood creaked eerily.

He snatched you from the wall with one hand, spinning you both around before he turned you to face the bed. He swatted at your ass, pain tingling at the cheek as you stumbled forward.

“Strip,” he ordered.

You shivered in delight. You shucked off your coat you had yet to take off and allowed it to pool on the floor behind you. Your hands were trembling with excitement as you brought them up to fumble with the buttons of your blouse. Bigby watched intently, hands never leaving the cricket bat as he studied your every move, watching for any sign of fear or uncertainty so he would slam on the breaks. But you didn’t. You instead popped the buttons apart and pulled the blouse out from where you had tucked it into your pencil skirt and let it fall to the floor with your coat. You went to undo your skirt when Bigby stopped you with another swift crack of his hand against your ass.

“Skirt stays on,” he snarled, “for now.” His hand lingered on your ass to grab at the curve of it before he leaned in so his lips brushed at the shell of your ear. “Get on the bed. Ass in the air.”

You did as you were told, crawling on your plush bed until only your feet hung lazily off the edge. You were on your hands and knees and you even curved your nude back just a bit so your ass would stick out more. You knew Bigby could smell just how wet you were. If he had ordered for you to take off your panties, your sweet slick arousal would be dripping from your folds and running down your legs like warm honey.

Bigby ran a hand up the back of your thigh and under your skirt, gripping at your soft skin until he grabbed at your panties. He knotted his fingers into the band of your thigh before he suddenly let go.

“Bigby,” you whispered pitifully.

He carefully caressed the curve of your ass and you shamelessly pushed against his touch. He stilled his hand for a second, asking you one more time if you were ready, giving you one more out to take if you needed it, but you stayed silent.

Bigby peeled the bottom hem of your skirt up your parted thighs until it bunched under your belly and above the curve of your ass. You felt the flat edge of the wood suddenly kiss lightly at your panties, the wood ghosting your clothed skin before it suddenly went absent. Your toes curled, your fingers sank into the comforter, your back arched and your eyes winced.

He brought the paddle against your ass.

The crack of the wood against your behind was electric. You let out a sharp cry, back arching as you couldn’t help but lean close to the pillows for support. It was like your whole world was rocked to the core. The knot inside of you suddenly burned a thousand degrees hotter as your mind went nearly blank.

He gave you a minute, bringing his gentle hand up to your behind once again to caress your throbbing ass. You were panting like a wild animal, head dipping below your shoulders as you felt sweat start to bead at your hairline.

“Look at you,” he purred, “bent over and you’re already soaking wet just from one spank.” His nails bit into your panties. “I can already imagine the mess you made in your panties. I can already taste how sweet you are, can already hear how needy you are-”

“B-Bigby, please,” you whimpered as tears stung at your eyes.

“Please, what? Spank you even harder? You’d like that, wouldn’t you, slut?”

You made to nod only to suddenly scream as he brought the cricket paddle against both cheeks again. The crack sounded off like a whip and you could feel it vibrate every fiber of your being. It rocked you to the core. Your head fell forward, forehead pressing firmly against your bed as tears streamed down your cheeks and stained at your comforter.

“Ah! Big-Bigby!” you sobbed into the sheets.

You brought your knees together, bending them just a bit lower as your entire body quaked.

“Look at this ass,” Bigby hummed contently. You winced and sobbed softly when he caressed you just a bit harder than the last time. “All mine. All stuck up in the air and ready for me to spank it until it’s bright red and throbbing and you’re begging for me to fuck you even harder. Is that what you want? Do you want me to fuck you after this? Stick my dick right into your sweet cunt that cries only for me?”

“Yes,” you moaned into the bed.

“Who’s ass is this?”

“Yours.”

“Who’s little slut are you?”

“Yours, B-Bigby,” you hiccuped.

He spanked you again, the paddle cracking down harder against your rear end than the last. You screamed into the sheets, fingers locking into them even harder to the point you thought your nails would split. You needed your skirt off, you needed him to rip your panties in half and bury himself up to the root inside of you and fill your womb full of his hot seed. Your body almost buckled under your weight at the next crack of the paddle when Bigby decided you had enough. Crowd Control clattered to the bedroom floor with a loud thud before Bigby kicked it away into the corner to be forgotten about until the morning.

He brought both of his hands up to your poor, quivering asscheeks. He loved how they flinched at the light brush of contact before pushing against his roughened palms. Bigby crooned deep from his throat, a pleasurable growl emitted as he carefully tugged down your panties until they were stretching between your very parted thighs. Slowly, Bigby brought one of his fingers to your dripping folds as his unoccupied hand massaged at the very raised skin that would soon form welts he would quickly dote upon when the night’s activities would end.

You mewled and sobbed when you felt his finger part your folds, the roughened pad of his index finger scratched lightly at your cunt as he easily inserted it between your velvet walls. They fluttered around his digit, greedily clamping down and fluttering, practically begging for him to add in another to stretch your poor cunt so you could easily take his thick cock. He obliged, bringing his middle finger in as he pumped his digits inside of you, drawing out the sweetest of cries from your lips. You tried to rock your hips to his pace only to stop when the throbbing of your ass became too much to ignore.

Bigby shushed you softly as you wept, his massaging hand coming up to your nude waist and back where he urged you to turn your head to breathe better. When you finally did, he locked eyes with your one that wasn’t hidden in the blotted comforter. You twitched and shivered, mouth hung open as you moaned and begged for him softly.

He swirled his fingers inside of you, fingers spreading apart just enough to draw out even more lustrous sounds from you. He curled his fingers in attempt to reach that special little spot inside of you, quickly slipping in his ring finger just to hear you scream as your orgasm rocked your entire body. Bigby kept pumping his fingers inside of you, rubbing in tight motions as your cum coated his fingers and dripped onto the bed.

He withdrew his fingers after some time and watched at your sweet slick rolled down his fingers as though he were hypnotized as you collapsed to the bed. Bigby made to lick the sticky fluids from his fingers, cleaning off his index before he turned his attention back to you. He caressed your hip, turning you fully onto your side as you sobbed silently and did your best to control your breathing.

“B-Bigby,” you whimpered.

“I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here.” Bigby’s hand ghosted over your throbbing ass, watching intently as your cheeks flinched away from even the slightest of touch. “Did I go too far?” he worried.

“No- No, I just,” you swallowed thickly, doing your best to stifle a hiccup as you kept trying to catch your breath. “I just need a minute. Please?”

“Of course.”

[rarastmblr]

The Night Sky Reminds Me Of You (When You Cry, The Night Sky Cries With You)

#Pairing ? Nine-Tailed Fox Sage Garam x FEM!Reader

#Sypnosis. Dallae’s personality reminded Garam of a certain someone. Unfortunately, that someone doesn't act like that around him anymore, atleast not to him.

#Notes. Well hello hello my fellow guardian tales players 🥰 anyone simp for Garam here too? No? Just me? okay.. 😢😢😢 anyway, this was actually meant to be a Garam x OC but I decided to change it into a reader insert instead. The OC version can still be read in ao3 though, was too lazy to change it there

(1) (2) (3) (4)

You wonder how Dallae got into this situation? Well..

“This town will be a perfect target, I've already raided them before. They definitely have some new pair of golds 'n jewelries hiding in their home.” A man said, his dark brown eyes glancing at the said town. He was already making up a plan in his head.

He planned to just barge in and threat everyone living there. Some of colleagues knows thinks it’s a stupid idea, while some who followed every single thing the leader says without question didn't bother to say anything.

“You're tough and all—” The new rookie said but then gave out an opinion that contradicted his plan. “But aren't those so-called ‘‘Sage's’’ built somewhere near this place? I wouldn't want to mess with those two..” 

The rookie who he had high expectations on, now deduced into a little minion in his head, was basically saying that he'd rather die than to be cursed by the Sage's. Not like the result of his life would be any different.

“Seriously?” The man, lets call him Mr. Tough Guy for now, scoffed at the little minion's statement. For believing in those silly folktales about Sage's and for saying discreetly that his plan is stupid.

Mr. Tough Guy was more annoyed at the latter reason.

While the ‘little minion’ gave out more of his passive aggressive and condenscending opinions about everything and anything that came out of Mr. Tough Guy's mouth, they didn't notice another person listening in on their conversation.

Dallae had been listening to them ever since their conversation started. Now that she knew that she was going after the village she lived in, she planned to warn the people in her said village, especially the chief.

Why does a twig have to ruin everything?

“Stop right there!” Mr. tough Guy and and another colleague of his shout out in unison, making Dallae trip and fall on the ground because of fright.

Her knee is hurt, it aches when she tries to stand up, so the child crawls towards the statues. She thought it was a good hiding spot, at least until the men go away.

Before the two men could get close, Dallae quickly crawls towards the statue of one of the Sages and hides behind it. Specifically the taller one. No offense to the other..

“Where's the darn kid?!” One of the two men exclaim as they reach the area of the two statues. “Come out right now!” The other man ordered, he felt like the child was playing hide and seek with them. So childish!

“Those bad bad men..” The child mutters out from behind the statue as she looks at the two men, silently bad-mouthing them inside of her head.

“I know you're hiding behind that rock, you rascal!” One of the men says as they both turn to look towards the statue of one of the Sage's.

Knowing that the two men already knew where she was and she had nowhere else to run to, the small child walked out of her hiding spot and shouted the only thing that came to her mind. 

“T-The Sages will teach you bad men a lesson!”

“Hahaha! A Sage? don't make me laugh!” The man lets out a laugh, obviously not believing the words that were said by the small child.

“A Sage will protect me if I have a good heart!” The child protested against the man's words.

“Then why don't you tell the Sage to help you now?” Mr. tough Guy taunted, thinking that the child might as well be stupid for thinking that the Sage's are actually real. Like he said, those were just fables made by the old grannies — they believed in it so much to the point they made statues? Ridiculous.

The Sages were nothing but mere statues.

Unexpectedly, the ground begins to shake.

“An earthquake?” One of the man spoke, questioning himself if the sudden shake was actually real or if it was just him hallucinating.

The two men and the child turn to look at the figure of the statue the child used as a hiding spot earlier as it begins to glow a bright light, the two men staring in shock as the child does the same — before quickly shutting her eyes. 

“I told you Sage's were real! Curse you—!” Dallae could hear Mr. Tough Guy's words. “What the hell are you talking about?!” That was the last sentence the child heard, accompanies by more mean words she’d rather not remember. As the world around her turned quiet, she saw it as the chance to open her eyes.

The child slowly blinks her eyes open again to see that the two previous men from earlier no longer able to be seen. Instead, standing there, a Nine-Tailed Fox man that resembles the statue from earlier was staring at her. Recovering from her shock, Dallae introduces herself to the mister infront of her.

“Thank you for saving me, mister! I'm Dallae.” She introduces herself, with a bright smile on her face as she walks closer towards the nine-tailed fox, walking around him as if she was admiring him. She didn't get to admire his statue earlier because of the bad guys.

“Mister.. Are you really a Sage?” Dallae asked as she tilted her head to the side.

“Yes. I am a Sage. I'm Garam.” The nine-tailed fox, who Dallae now knows as Garam, says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Wow! You're a Sage!” Dallae exclaims as her eyes shine brightly in admiration and she begins to jump up in excitement.

"Mister Sage! You're so cool!" She continues as she does some fighting stances.

Because of the protective and strong aura the fox? man? was giving off, Dallae didn't show any sign of hostility whatsoever. Garam doesn't know what to feel about that, maybe he should teach her how to be more hostile to strangers.

“Why were they chasing you?” Garam asks as he looks at Dallae with a concerned expression on his face but the edges of his lips are curved slightly upward. He thought that the human child's behavior was endearing, she acted a bit like a certain little fox he knew. Unfortunately, that someone has grown and doesn't act like this anymore not to him atleast.

“Those bad men keep harassing our town!” Dallae grumbles out as she furrowed her eyebrows in anger. "So I watch them everyday! I was going to town to alert people but they caught me.."

"But it's okay! You saved me!" Dallae cheers as a cheerful expression returns to her face.

"I'm off to town! Thank you!" Dallae says as she waves goodbye and cheerfully skips towards the path to her town. Leaving the Sage alone, the said sage gazes at the statues of his eight-tailed friend, wondering when she will also wake up from her hibernation.

Garam feels one of his fox ears twitch, as if sensing that there was still trouble going on nearby.

Without any hesitation, Garam quickly follows the path Dallae went, defeating some of the bad men Dallae was talking about along the way.

Nearing the town Dallae was talking about, Garam notices an unconscious body of a woman and a man together with a crying child mourning for them.

Were they the poor child's parents? How unfortunate.. Garam prays that the family will meet again and live a happily in another life, as an exchange for their loss today.

Finally arriving at the town square, Garam sees Dallae standing beside an older man, most likely the village chief, with an almost unconscious woman on the ground below him. There are also many townspeople standing behind the senior.

Garam furrows his eyebrows as he sees three men that looked the same as the other bad men from before. Just how many of them are there?

"Take everything! Treasures, food, anything worth money!" The bad man in the middle exclaims, full of greed and want.

"P-Please.. We'll starve.." The village chief beside Dallae pleads, clasping his hands together for mercy.

"Stop bothering!" The bad man says as he punches the senior to the ground. "That's none of my business."

"Stop!" Dallae exclaims before walking towards the chief as he started to groan in pain. "Wake up, chief.." Dallae says in a worried tone.

Dallae then walks towards the woman who was laying on the ground beside the chief. "Ma'am.." Dallae calls out to her before she bursts out in tears.

"Listen, you fools! If you don't want to end up like him, give me everything you've got!" The bad man in the middle starts to speak out as he pointed at the chief kneeling on the ground in pain.

"You ugly bad man! Stop harassing our town!" Dallae shouts as she throws a rock at the bad man in the middle, she turns to see if she has any other solid to throw at them, only to be disappointed and facing the men again, trying to give off an intimidating font.

"This girl has gone crazy.." The bad man in the middle says before continuing, "I'll knock some senses into you."

Before the man could land a hit on Dallae, Garam quickly jumps out and lands in front of the child, protecting her and knocking back the three men a few distances away.

"Huh? Who're you?" The bad man questions as he recovers from being knocked back. "Everyone! Attack!" The bad man shouts out as all three of them lunge forward to attack Garam.

Before they could even land a hit on Garam, the sage shoots out a powerful attack from his Sage bead, quickly defeating two of the three men in a quick and swift motion.

The one man left undefeated hurriedly runs away, realizing how powerless he is now. "We..We'll be back!" he shouts out before he is no longer able to be seen.

The town's chief recovers from the attack he received from the bad man from earlier, standing up slowly as he gives Garam a grateful smile.

"T-Thank you! But.. who're you?" The chief asks, wanting to know the identity of the man, who weirdly has two animal ears on his head and very visible tails on his back, but none-the-less, the said men was still the man who saved the town.

"He's a sage!!" Before Garam could introduce himself formally, Dallae beat him to it and introduced him in an delighted tone.

Many voices of shock and amazement erupt from the crowd as they start to walk closely towards Garam. All of the townspeople happily cheer, a series of “Hip Hip Hooray”’s spread through the crowds, they were all happy as they had gotten help from a Sage.

The rest of the day, the townspeople had gone out of their way to introduce themselves to Garam and get to know their saviour. The moon was close to setting — Dallae decided to have Garam live with her, at least for the time being until the sage decides that he will go and explore what had happened to the world while he was stuck in hibernation.

Some days later, Garam had made up his mind and decided that he was going to explore the place; and by that he means the other surrounding villages that the townspeople were talking about.

With Dallae constantly persuading him to let her join him, the white-haired sage decided to bring the child with him. This will be the first adventure they will be going on, together.

While Garam was busy saying taking care of something else, Dallae decided to chase some butterflies around to keep herself entertained as she waited for him. Seriously? How could butterflies be so pretty yet so hard to catch? When she thought more about it, she thought these butterflies were similar to the two pretty women in the village — They were both pretty, but they did not seem to want a man with them.

Dallae chased the butterflies around, jumping up heigher above them when she was close enough to catch them, only to end up stumbling on the ground. But Dallae was a stubborn child, she kept going and chasing the beautiful butterflies, even though she had already fell two times before.

“Uggh—!” Dallae made a noise as she fell to the ground again, not giving up, she then rose to sit up. She then searched around for the butterflies, but this time they were quicker and made an escape.

“Didn't I tell you not to run around?” Hearing the familiar voice, Dallae shut down the thought of standing up. She instead waited for the Sage to walk closer to her, because she knew he was planning to heal her.

“Hehehe..” Thanks to the Sage, Dallae felt that any of the pain or bruises that she got from the falls earlier had instantly disappeared. Dallae planned to apologize, but Garam spoke first, immediately making the apology letter Dallae made in her head crumble into pieces.

“We've got a long way to go. Let's get going.” Garam told her, if Dallae was close enough to the man (If she was taller) she could swear it seemed like he was excited to go and travel to the first village they decided to go to.

When the two had finally arrived to the first designated village, they were met with many people half-unconcious and laying on the ground.

“Everyone has collapsed..” Garam said the obvious of what he saw infront of him. “Let's ask what's going on.” Garam said as he signaled Dallae to go to who seemed to like like the chief of the village, while Garam decided to ask another person instead.

Dallae walked close to the chief to ask him a question, but the chief was fast. “Stay away! There is a plague in our town..!” Is this a habit people obtain when they grow older? Cutting people off? Okay. At least he told her the information she needed from him.

“You should leave before it affects you!” The chief said, worried that the child would also be sick — Dallae, as a child, still had many years in her life.

“Mr. Sage! Mr. Sage!” Dallae called out to Garam, just in time as he also finished speaking to the person he was talking to about the situation that happened here.

“The people here have fallen sick! Can you help?” Dallae urged, worried for the people. What a heroic trait for a child that doesn't even know any person here instead of the man infront of her.

“How should I do this..?” Garam asked to himself and the child, as if asking her for any advise. Dallae gave him time to think.

“!” Eyeing the well infront of them, Garam seemed to have gotten an idea and stood infront of the well. He then pulled out his Sage bead and did, what Dallae would call, a dance of some sort..? Garam kept swinging the bead up and down four times.

After Garam was done, he turned to Dallae and said; “Drinking the well water and it'll make any sickness go away!” Garam commanded. Dallae, as if getting the memo, obeyed enthusiastically. The little child was like a sidekick.

She then used the bucket to get water from the well and went to each and every person that were laying half-unconcious, while Garam was busy most likely healing the women he was conversing to earlier.

After she was done helping people, Dallae went to go to Garam to check on how he was doing. Garam had just finished healing the woman infront of him and faced Dallae, as he noticed that she was observing him.

“They all recovered!” Dallae said and jumped up as celebration for the healed people. Garam smiled at her, affected by how brightly she smiled due to pride and happiness.

“Haha. A river won't flow for a reason!” Garam said with a big smile. Dallae, not understanding the idiom that Garam said, gave him a face that a confused child would make when they couldn't understand their math homework.

“..” Garam, who wanted to have someone laugh at his joke, decided to just explain it. “Just meant that I did what I had to do. That's all.”

“Well.. I do know you're very cool! I wanna be like you when I grow up!” Dallae said, and the awkward atmosphere from when she could get what Garam meant instantly disappeared, or maybe Garam just decided to forget it.

“Yes, yes Dallae.” Garam said as he pat the child's head. “Let's move on to the next village.” Garam, without wasting any time, immediately went to go to the next village in mind, and Dallae followed.

While Garam and Dallae's walk to the next village was nothing short of dissatisfying, the moment they finally arrived to Tiger Village made Dallae cover her ears with her hands, not liking the amount of noise caused by the many screams.

“Tiger! Tiger!” A man shouted, and another series of screams “Run!” A woman said as she ran as fast as she could, with a child holding her hand tightly to not separate from her. Garam and Dallae, worried for the strangers’ lives and warning them to run away for safety.

“I'll find out what's going on.” Dallae, hearing that, also prepared to go. But before Dallae, could even take one step forward, Garam had already made up his mind and told her; “It could be dangerous. Wait here.”

Dallae nodded, knowing that Garam didn't want her to come is only because he wanted to keep her safe. She turned around and waited, even closing her eyes and counting inside of her head, as if she was playing a game of hide and seek.

‘Six..’ “Somebody help!!” Dallae, frightened by the shout, turned around only to find no one. She had long forgotten Garam's words. When someone needed help, it's as if every little common sense in her body left — All she wants is to protect those in danger.

As she was planning to go and run to where she thinks the shout came from, she was met by the figure of a tiger walking back and forth. She didn't know what to do, but thankfully, there were some objects that could help Dallae hide from the carnivore. Dallae's small child-like structure only helped her more.

“Please.. Somebody help..” Walking pass the tiger like a pro, Dallae was able to reach where the voice came from. She saw a man, crawling out of fright and a tiger looking at the said man as if it was looking at it's prey.

Dallae shrieked as the tiger let out a loud roar, as if he knew that she had been watching.

“No! Don't hurt him!” Dallae said, throwing out her life and shielding the man by standing infront of him. The Tiger acted fast and pounced. Unfortunately for the carnivore, his action did not succeed as the ivory-haired sage showed up infront of Dallae.

“Are you alright, Dallae? Are you hurt?” Garam asked without looking at the child behind him, being cautious of every move of the animal infront of them. Garam's question was left unanswered as with a roar from the tiger, a battle started.

“Tigers are usually gentle and don't hurt people..” Garam said, and pulled out his sage bead. He wanted to communicate with the animal to ask about it's reasons for attacking the village. The tiger had turned into a boy, the only tiger-like features left of him being his hair color and animal ears and tail.

“You! Why are you hurting people?” Garam asked the tiger-now-turned-boy laying on the ground.

“I'm.. so sorry.” The tiger-boy apologized, full of guilt in his tone. “There was nothing to eat because of a big fire.”

“But hurting humans?!” Garam questioned, finding the tigers’ reason ridiculous. Before anyone could speak, two cubs came and surrounded the tiger-boy, as if protecting him from the danger that is Garam, at least, in the cubs eyes. Yet it also seemed like the two were apologizing in their own way.

“I'm sorry.. My cubs were starving to death and I..” The tiger-boy spoke again, almost with tears in his eyes. Tiger-boy didn't finish his sentence, he already told the sage what the reason was anyway.

“Mr. Sage!” Dallae, with her kind heart, called out to Garam for his attention, and she got it. Garam turned to her with a brow raised, waiting for what she was going to say.

“I feel bad for them. Can't you help?” It's true. The tigers were in a bad situation and being a natural carnivore, their only thought of another source of food would be any living thing that had meat. They were made to be predators right from the moment they were brought into this world: Made to sink their sharp teeth into their prey — be it another animal or human. Dallae doesn't know if Garam felt bad too.

“I should be punishing you. But I'll forgive you this once.” Garam decided to give them a chance, and the tiger-boy wiped the tears off his eyes. “Take this magic sack.” Garam threw it to the tiger-boy.

The tiger had natural skills so it was able to swiftly catch the sack. The tiger and cubs stared at the sack, confused about what it would be able to do to help their situation.

“Food will come out from it.” Garam explained the sack's purpose. “So don't ever make this mistake again!” Garam said, talking about the events that had happened in this village.

“Thank you! Thank you sir!”

“..So many people are suffering.” Garam said, turning to face Dallae who is behind him. “Let's go to the next village.” Said Garam, and if you were close enough to him, you'd hear the small sigh he let out. It was almost as if he already knew that there was just going to be another chaos going on in the next village.

“Mister Sage.. Didn’t the people say this village was full of prosperity and nature..?” Dallae questioned, only for Garam to sigh.

“I've gotten used to the differences between what the locals told us and what the state villages are now.. Don't worry, this is the last village.” He said, patting the little girl's hair as a way to comfort her from the many bad instances that had just happened all in one day.

Arriving at this village, Dallae got Deja Vu and flashbacks from the first village they visited. A large sum of people are laying on the ground. Without a word, Garam seemed to have already have connected the dots on what was happening here.

“It seems everything has dried up..” Garam guessed. If the dehydrated faces of the villagers laying on the ground wasn't already an obvious hint.

“Sir! Please help us!” One of the dehydrated women pleaded, crawling closer to Garam desperately. “We haven't had a drops of water since two days ago!”

“Let's look for some water for them.” Garam advised Dallae, then quickly walked away to find water, or at least some safe, healthy, drinkable liquid to satisfy their thirst.

Dallae followed along, but she wasn't quite able to catch up to Garam because she had tiny legs. The people crawled — following behind the brown-haired child as she passed by them.

They arrived infront of a well only to be left disappointed. It was dried to crisp!

“Let's look at other places..” Garam said, turning around and walking towards what seemed to be a pond — but it also had no water.

“This..” Dallae looked at the pond that was also dried to crisp.

“The small pond has dried out from months of drought. ” One of the two ladies said, followed by a man “They'll all die unless..”

Garam pulled out what seemed to be a gem that has the shape of a drop of water. He then used his sage bead to do the ‘dancing thing’ or so Dallae called it.

After that — not one, not two, but three beautiful women dressed in beautiful matching dresses appeared out of nowhere and descended to the ground gracefully.

“Sir! Sisters at arms!” Two of the girls; one left and one of the right, said as the three of them saluted the Sage infront of them. “Under Sage Garam's orders, reporting to duty as of today!” The sister in the middle said, ending the three sisters’ introduction.

“Create a lake using the water stone. Now!” Garam commanded them. ‘So that gem is called a water stone..’ Dallae thought it was a good name — could've been better though, like, maybe Lapis?

“Yes Sir!” The three sisters obeyed, turning around and flying close to the gem — by using their magic, they made a beautiful lake with many beautiful Lily pads. Dallae would like to protest that the lake wasn't as beautiful as the fairies though.

“Wow!” Dallae, along with the people, erupted into a fit of cheers. “A lake just appeared! The fairy sisters are really awesome” Dallae said, and turned to look at them once again to take in their beauty, she made eye contact with the sister in the middle — and Dallae swore she saw her smile at her, but it slowly disappeared as soon as Garam had said something.

“Fairies! protect the water stone and this village!” Garam spoke aloud, the sisters nodded. “This lake will make all creatures thrive!” Garam continued, saying his words like he was making a promise.

“Hooray to the Sage! Hooray!” Many people from many different villages celebrated, for themselves and for their new saviour.

──────────

“Whoahh, it feels nice breathing the fresh air! Especially when we're so close to the water!” Danyi said with a big smile on her face as she plopped down on the mat she set up.

It was night time, and Sage Garam was generous enough to give the three sisters some items so they can be comfortable while they protect the water gem.

They searched for an area to put the said items, and perhaps, maybe get some sleep. And they ended up here. Fortunately, the water gem was close to this place, making the whole “protect the water gem” job easier.

“Are you saying that the boot camp was a bad place?” Yunju, the one with wispy bangs, asked her younger sister. Yunju's tone made it seem like she had thought of Danyi's sentence as slander towards the Sage's.

“?!” Danyi immediately sat up, “That isn't what I meant, Sister!” Danyi tried explaining herself, but seeing that her words weren't going through Yunju in any way, she looked at the eldest sister — (Y/N) who could only chuckled in amusement at the misunderstanding between the two.

There was never a boring time when the three of them were together.

(Y/N) walked towards Yunju. Danyi was ecstatic! Her sister is helping her get out of a lecture from Yunju—!

“Yunju, I'm going out for a bit.” (Y/N) said, and then walked off to go outside. Yunju looked at her older sister as she walked away, feeling a bit worried since it's already late at night. “Cut her some slack..” Bambi whispered.

“Sister..!” Danyi, not hearing the words (Y/N) whispered to Yunju, felt betrayed as her eldest sister's figure left and went outside. The individuals inside this little dorm of theirs are just her and Yunju now. Danyi, slowly but surely, turns to Yunju — only to see her already looking at her and opening her mouth to speak.

Nothing happened, Yunju just told Danyi to help her make some tea while they wait for (Y/N) to come back.

The night had already set. By now, it would be the perfect time to get sleep — to ensure that she would be refreshed for tomorrow. But (Y/N) couldn't help but be drawn to how the stars and moon looked in this particular night.

Boot camp gave the three sisters a specific schedule to follow and they'd already be in their dorms in the evening. They three had never been able to look at the night sky this way, in the open world.

(Y/N) knows that the her sisters in the dorm could also see the night sky too, but she felt that her view was much more mystical in comparison to theirs. Many animals were still awake at this time, taking in the moon's beauty before they go to sleep.

The calm white soothing ball shows it's face when the night falls, guiding those in the darkness, promising to send the light. (Y/N) saw three butterflies flying around, then another one following shortly behind them. She guessed it must be a newly hatched butterfly, flying around with its new friends.

Opting to not be distracted by the sight of the beautiful insects, (Y/N) walked off and went back to their dorm. She was greeted by the sight of Danyi sleeping on Yunju's shoulder, who looked like she was fighting her urge to sleep. 

Yunju, upon seeing her older sister, immediately straightened up and positioned Danyi into a more comfortable sleeping position on the mat the both of them were sitting on. Bambi walked up to Yunju, asking why she hasn't already fallen to sleep yet.

“I..” Yes, Yunju could have slept any time now as she didn't have any reason not to. Danyi herself even fell asleep on her own. “I wanted to wait for you, but Danyi was already starting to get sleepy in the evening.”

Ah, The boot camp's schedule had already affected Danyi and her brain seemed to automatically think of the evening as time to sleep. Danyi must've really been trying to stay awake huh?

“Danyi wanted to stay awake too, she asked me to splash water on her face if her eyes dared to close.” (Y/N) smiled at that, Yunju let out a chuckle. “What were you doing outside anyway?” Yunju questioned, finding it weird since (Y/N) was never really the adventurous type. Well, compared to Yunju, (Y/N) is much more outgoing than her, but..

“I wanted to observe the place better. The night sky is beautiful.” (Y/N) said as she sat on her own mat, in the middle of Danyi and Yunju's.

“But our little ‘dorm’ is open to the night sky? you didn't really need to go outside to see it.” (Y/N) chuckled, Yunju had a point. That was also what (Y/N) thought as she was looking at the animals in the forest, who were also admiring the moon.

“I thought the view in the forest would be much more mystical to look at. After all, many animals out there often come out at night.” (Y/N) said, mentioning the butterflies she also saw.

“You both should join me next time.” (Y/N) suggested. Yunju nodded at her, thinking that it would be a good idea; a great opportunity for the three sisters to bond while they also get used to the new environment.

“Maybe tomorrow..” Yunju said. She then laid down on her mat, ready to go to sleep. “Goodnight.”

(Y/N) laid down too, but didn't go to sleep immediately. She took her time to observe the night sky until she herself succumbed into a deep sleep.

──────────

[mrsackermannx]

FABLE’S MASTERLIST

series started (06-08-21) wc: 113.5k chapters: 19/24

back to main masterlist AO3 VERSION

commission by @catyypss

"People worship old buildings, and people love to explore them. Nothing and no one stays the same. If you think I'd have the younger you. The less scarred you, the you that hadn't lived and loved as fiercely as you have now…”

Pairing: Levi Ackerman/Reader

Description: Chapter 139/ Season 4 Part 3 Spoilers. There's no other place you saw yourself after the Battle of Heaven and Earth, than his side.

Content Warnings/ Tags: Mental Health (Depression, PTSD),

Trauma, Major Character Death Mentions, Grief, Comfort, Minor Canon Divergences, Slice of Life, Fluff, Blissful Domesticity, Angst, Mutual Pining + Longing, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, Sexual Tension, Post-war Levi, Soulmates, Established Relationship, Canon-Typical Violence, Idiots in Love, Drunken Shenanigans, Doting on Levi, Switch Levi, Switch Reader, Romantic Soulmates, Possessive Behaviour, Doting on Levi, Soft Dom Levi, Loss of Virginity.

Chapter 0: Prelude (06/08/21)

As the battle ends, you and Levi are now faced with the rest of your lives.

Chapter 1: The Letter (06/08/21)

Your peace with Levi is disrupted when an old wound is reopened, forcing you to think about not just the past but the future as well.

Chapter 2: To you (13/08/21)

You have a bittersweet epiphany.

Chapter 3: Care (13/08/21)

Levi helps you practise some self care, with a treat in mind to help uplift your mood.

Chapter 4: 'This is why you shouldn't have wine.' (20/08/2021)

Levi takes you to dinner, and after countless sips of wine, you both loosen up...

Chapter 5: 'Hard boiled?' (27/08/2021)

You're gifted something you cannot wait to share with Levi... maybe dreams can come true after all.

Chapter 6: Highs and lows. (03/09/2021)

You and Levi go out on an adventurous day trip before the weekend ends, and the real planning begins.

Chapter 7: The mysterious Ackerman man (11/09/2021)

A glimpse into Levi's 'inner world'?

Chapter 8: The power of jealousy. (21/09/2021)

How powerful is jealousy?

Chapter 9: Husband. (05/10/2021)

How long will you wait?

Chapter 10: Where are you? (17/10/2021)

Levi's all at once, left alone. But what about you? Where are you? Are you alone too?

Chapter 11: I'm military trained! (24/10/2021)

Levi is finally coming to terms with his feelings.

Chapter 12: White Paws. (1/11/2021)

The beauty of change.

Chapter 13: That was chaos. (14/11/2021)

The cadets navigate through some issues, while you and Levi move forwards, with no intentions of turning back.

Chapter 14: Almost. (26/11/2021)

You're both ready, almost ready?

Chapter 15: Massage man. (26/12/2021)

There's definitely something you and Levi are forgetting? But you're more in tune than you've ever been.

Chapter 16: Finally... (23/01/2022)

What is love? What is sex? What does it all mean?

Chapter 17: We're making love. (23/09/2022)

You and Levi spend the night physically affirming your love.

Chapter 18: Sweet, sweet ‘filthy’ love. (27/01/2023) NEW

Amongst struggling to keep your hands off one another, you and Levi organise a leaving party for the ex-cadets.

mrsackermanx2023© all writing works are my own, do not repost, steal or translate my work.

[alexissara]

Upcoming Sapphic Games "Goddess List" Part 2.

I’m back with a new Sapphic Games Goddess List this list will mostly not be touching on any game I mentioned on the previous list so do check that out for even more upcoming sapphic games. A lot of the games from the previous list have now been released but plenty are yet to see their day in the sun yet so do give it some love, I am giving a forecast of what I see in the horizon for 2024 and beyond. I will likely make a new one of these lists when I think I have enough games to talk about. If you know about any games coming with any significant Sapphic parts of their narrative or gameplay please let me know and I will happily include them in the next list. 

I am just making these lists because for me, at this point I mostly want to play games I feel represented by so I am doing this research anyway, I may as well share with you all. That said this research is hard and long, I play every demo I can for games labeled LGBT that have a shot of being sapphic, I try asking devs if their game has sapphic content, I try to find every single place the games been spoken about, not to mention actually hunting down these games. It is a big process and if you would like to support me doing this research over on Pateron or Ko-fi that would be amazing, plus you’d be helping me make more sapphic art like my work  in the TTRPG space but also I am low key working very slowly on a video game because it’s something I always wanted to do. Could be 25 years for now but every dollar makes it more possible for me to make more polished art from comics to games but anyway, let’s move on from asking for cash to tempting you with things to spend cash on with the list. 

Non VNs

Sunnyside

Sunnyside is boasting a large as hell roster of romanceable characters with 24 characters being boasted to be on release. Like most farming sims you pick from the fabled three pronouns She/He/They and customize their character. You pick your gender on a slider from Female to Male so you describe your gender through the place in the slider you picked and characters have a preference inside of that. They said on a live stream that the minimum options you should have is 4 which I took to mean maybe if your gay or a lesbian you might only have 4 of those 24 options to romance which is not great really to know the game has so few options for you out of all the options in the game but we'll have to wait and see on how it plays out. There is also no polyamory in the game, you can be dating a few characters at a time but there is a lock in point where you must be monogamous. It's one I am keeping my eyes on but has it's ups and downs in it's approach to gender and sexuality. I do really appreciate it boldly moving outside of the norm though and actually standing out in the crowd of dating sims.

Witch and Lillies 

A dungeon crawler all about forming relationships between women and killing monsters in a dungeon. Characters form relationships and can even have stumbles in them similar to a game like Miitopia but a bigger focus is put on romance and all the characters you can generate are women. This game does not seem to have a focus on narrative even below the degrees of something like Etrian Odyssey but if you just want the story to be the mechanics that are in play and the building relationships of these women you create then it’s gonna be a really perfect game.  

Keylocker 

A tactical RPG with a cyberpunk flare and a built in relationship system. This game is a really flavourful game that just has an art direction that just totally captures the kind grim but with a sliver of hope cyberpunk it wants to capture. 

Dustborn

Dustborn labels itself as LGBT on steam, it says you can shape relationships, the main girl looks gay, I am gonna put it here and not in speculation despite it technically being speculation. Some people say this game looks cringe but honestly, I am cringe and I am free, I think it looks stupid in a fun way but we’ll see how it is when it comes out. 

Izrand allure

Izrand Allure is a game set in the world of one of the creators previous games Luxarane Allure, like that game this game will feature an all WLW cast giving us plenty of good sapphics, lesbians, yuri, etc. This game will be a complete standalone RPG with no need to have played the previous game and promises some evolved mechanics job system and a much larger cast too with 7 party members. If you were ever like I wish there was a game like Final Fantasy but lesbians were in it then I suggest you keep your eye on this one [and go download Luxarane Allure, it’s free and if you like it you could give the dev money].

Rouge Labyrinth

Rouge Labyrinth will contain romantic epilogues with characters including a poly option. There will be sapphic romance included within these although idk if the poly option is multiple women + Non Binary people or if it is as it is in the majority of poly representation in games one man and one woman. Time will tell on that but what I can say is this Rougelike game looks really fucking cool, fighting colonisim is an all time hobby and this is a game I am really keeping my eye on. The game has a demo so I for sure recommend you check it out and see how it feels for you. 

Narrative Games 

Living the Dream

While the game failed it’s kickstarter goal the developer hasn’t given up in fact the game’s scope is being increased. The game is a very queer game in general but when talking to the developer I did get it confirmed that this body swap adventure has sapphic romances inside of it and the designs are super cute. 

Renai Bakudan

Can love bloom in a love hotel, probably, ya, almost certainly.  Coming from the developers of Good Lucky Baby! and LOVE BAKUDAN comes Renai Bakudan an 18+ Yuri game all about lesbians [and probably other sapphics] lesbianing it up in a love hotel. Inside of this game is even more gayness with unlockable gay erotic written by sapphic erotica writers. You play as Ex-yakuza Juri Kido who know is a cleric at a Love Hotel and ends up meeting lots of hot women. There is 7 whole romance routes with one that’s going to be voted for because it hit the stretch goal. It’s an impressive piece of sexy accomplishment and one you should keep your eyes in. 

Lock and Key

A married couple of magical girls are having a pretty nice life. Only issue is magical girls lose their power at 30 and a murder mystery is brewing. Can they figure out what the hells going on while they still have their powers? While I don’t love the lose your powers when you turn 30 plot point I do think murder mystery and magical girls and lesbians is like a ton of good shit all backed into one good package. The demo is really solid and I think it’s a game you really should check out.

Our Home, My Keeper 

A writer goes to the countryside and finds love, a classic. That writer falls for a fairy in a really sweet little lesbian romance game. It’s not a dating sim where you're going to be picking between love interests but it’s a narrative adventure where you’ll learn about these characters and their world.

Summer At The Edge Of The Universe

A solar punk game with a bigger edge towards the scifi then the majority of Solar Punk. The game has two romances one with a non binary character and one with a woman. In addition there is an aro woman who you can make out with but is not interested in a romantic relationship, just friendship. 

The Phantom of the Black Rose Revue

Capturing a clearly classic manga style, The Phantom of the Black Rose Revue is the most aesthetically unique VN I’ve seen in a long time with a bold black and white take. You play as Chihiro Sato who has a dream of being famous for her acting in her all female theater troupe. She starts getting obsessive letters and mystery, romance, and more begin to take this story in all sorts of fun directions. Act 1 is all up for playing but there is more to come in the future. 

Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER

Midboss are one of the biggest people in Gayming. A sequel to Read Only Memories, a very classic VN in the indie scene, brings us more gay adventures with our sapphic lead who was a character from the previous game elevated to main character. This game gives a stunning cyber punk vibe that is a visual treat and delight. 

Call Me Cera

I got like a tiny bias in this in that they have made a little spinoff game and in it the characters play Thirsty Sword Lesbians which I worked on but they didn’t even mention any of the stuff I made for TSL in it and I also do not make royalties on TSL but I wanted to mention that the creator has great taste I guess. The game is focused on making meaningful connections and an attempt to move these games into a place where you make healthy decisions for you not just the right options to win someone's affection.

Skate & Date

Roller Derby is for the sapphic, we know this to be true and yet there is such a lack of Roller Derby sapphic romance games but what’s this on the horizon a derby filled game about girls who are gonna do a kiss. This game sounds really cute and it’s one I have had my eyes on for a while. 

Decent Gay Potential 

Project L

While project L does not currently have any of the many canon queer characters in the LoL universe as playable it is very likely that at least one of the canon sapphic characters are included in the roster of the game just given their popularity and that they are compatible with this kind of fighting game. If the roster leak is accurate we’ll have Vi in the game, which makes sense, big fists, in Arcane, one of the most popular characters, and just so happens to be a lesbian. Even if the leak was totally wrong, Vi feels fairly likely even with the already existing inclusion of Jinx and Ekko just because Piltover and Zaun in the Runeterra universe are probably the most popular region. 

Outside of Vi at present Nekko, Diana, Leona, Caitlyn and Nidalee are all canon sapphic women who could end up in the game as playable characters. Riot likes to reveal about 3 gays a year as has been the pattern since 2021, 2 at pride and 1 randomly in the year so it is possible 3 more women are added to this list before Project L’s release if it came out in 2024 and 6 are possible if it comes out in 2025.There will probably be some queer men, maybe they’ll finally say the one obvious trans woman is trans, we can’t know for sure but of the many characters in the their world I do think at least one of these women have a shot at making it in the starting roster. 

SaGa Emerald Beyond

There is a pair of bonnie and clyde styled cops and while ewww pigs they do seem kinda gay so I gotta mention it here it’s possible is all I am saying. The Saga series way back in the day had a Lesbian main character, it really wouldn’t be out of the blue for the game to include a new set of sapphic women. Especially given in the gacha game it is very clear that the sapphic women are two of the most popular characters given they have been given many alts and they would only get alts if those alts sold. 

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes 

This game is called 100 heroes, if they are gonna have 100 characters there should at least be one lesbian and 1 bi woman and they should get together. I think it could happen.  There is nothing to say for sure but I believe.

Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club

It’s listed under LGBT games and their previous game Chroma Squad had optional sapphic romance depending on what characters of what gender you put in what role in the game. There was no real way to know you were gonna end up with that but since then they know that they have a decent queer fan base so I think it is very possible to get some sapphic fun even if it’s chose your own gay style. 

Double Shake  Loam and Dinx seem to be intended to get together and the game is listed as LGBT+ so I am gonna go out on a limb here and say, probably sapphic. It could be that idk Loam is trans or Dinx is Ace/Aro idk for sure but I think sapphic. 

HellMall

It’s a gay furry game, these things tend to lean towards men but it is possible that this is a gay fury game with some goodies for the Lesbians. 

Spirit City: Lo-fi Sessions

This game probably doesn’t include proper sapphic representation but it’s kinda just a playlist and screen filter idling game to have on as you do work. What it does promise is some pride flags and maybe there will be some other queer things inside of it.

[mrabubu]

Does Syanna deserves redemption, and why she doesn't?

Ok, so by this moment some of you might know that I'm a huge fan of The Witcher 3, and for some time "Blood and Wine" DLC and it's endings been a huge dilemma for me. When I played it the first time about 3-4 years ago, I didn't really though much about my own choice, and went for "the best ending", because everyone considered it to be the best, but after all this time I started to think, is it really the best, and does Syanna really deserves redemption and to be forgiven? So, to finally summarise, I've decided to make this post, with my own analysis, facts and lines from the game itself... Because I just need to get it out of my system, so yeah... Let's start.

So my main problem in all this is Syanna herself, her motives, past and all... Yeah, ok, she was traumatized, treated awfully by her family, but after some analysis, I don't feel any sympathy towards her.

People use her childhood as an argument to her actions, but has anyone though about if she even tried to act differently? From what we learn from the game, and from Anarietta herself, Syanna never even tried to change. Syanna had many chances to stop this all or to start over, but she didn't care, because she didn't want to change. She admits herself that even if she had a chance (and she did had) to start over, she wouldn't change anything, and if people see her as a monster, she will be one.

Even Anarietts herself admits and never hides that Syanna was cruel, selfish and possessive.

Not to mention unquestionably terrible things she did and didn't feel any remorse or even laughed at, like the story with Cedric and his brother whom he killed because of Syanna's "prank". Torturing fairy tale creatures in the land of a thousand fables to the point when they feel terrified when she approaches. Or even that story which led to her exile: why didn't Syanna stop Anarietts from setting those balloons on fire which they then threw at that envoy? I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure this didn't went without any consequences for him.

After some thinking, I can't even be sure that Anarietta is to blame. Anarietta was the youngest in the family, and as most youngest, she looked up to her older sibling. In some way, Syanna was the one who raised Anarietta to be the way she was and to be like her older sister. Even Syanna admits so, by saying that Anarietta wanted to impress her. Syanna had to take responsibility for her actions, or at least understand that when time will come to find a culprit, she will be the one to blame. I will also remind that Syanna spent most of her life as a bandit, even became a leader of the gang, which means she probably did a lot of more terrible things, stealing, blackmailng, hurting or even killing people for her own gain. I'm pretty sure she wasn't a female version of Robin Hood.

Syanna's "motivation" lies in resentment toward a child, and even after decades, Syanna never understood that her 12-13 year old sister couldn't do much to change what was coming. Even Geralt understood all this after knowing her for a couple of days.

She never wanted to try and contact Anarietta, talk to her about all that happened then. A grown up, probably about 30-40 years old woman, holding a grudge towards a child, whom Anarietta was back then. She was fine to just kill her younger sister without even trying to solve this peacefully, just ask "why?", even though Anarietta herself tried to find Syanna, but she "didn't wish to be found", to which Syanna never argued, meaning she willingly avoided any chances to talk this out, while Anarietta was the only one who actually held love towards her sibling throughout all these years and tried to do something.

And Syanna saying that she's angry with Anarietta not because she didn't stood up for her, but because "she forgot", I'm sorry, sounds like total b u l l s h i t, because we know and she knows this isn't true. After all this I'm not even sure Syanna really loved Anarietta, if she so easily convinced herself that her little sister is a traitor, forgot about all that they been through, and after at least two decades the only way for her to solve this is to just get rid of Anarietta by somebody else's hands and make an entire scene of this like it was a perfomance. Irony of all this is that Syanna accused Anarietta that she didn't stood up for her because she wanted to take the throne to herself, but a lot of things points to that it is Syanna who just uses her "trauma" and knight's "dishonesty" as an excuse to kill her sister and take the throne. After all this, this was her point at the "court".

The difference between Syanna and Dettlaff is that Dettlaf doesn't kill for fun or joy, while Syanna does. Make Cedric kill his brother was a joke to her. Setting a person on fire made her laugh, "Never laughed so hard in my life", as she said.

Using and blackmailing a person who loved her meant nothing to her and never made her feel guilty or shame, even to the point of blaming him for being too trusting.

Even Geralt was used by her, which she admits at some point by telling she was nice to him only to "get him to sleep with her", which makes this whole thing even more disgusting for me as in all this situation one of the few thing Syanna could think of was s e x. People to her is nothing but toys or tools, even those who love her and saw in her more than she is.

Another difference between those two is that Dettlaff actually tried for many years, if not decades, to live peacefully among humans, helping them, and that is a fact backed up by words or others, and not only by Regis's words, while the only person who tried to defend Syanna was Anarietta, only because they were siblings and Anarietta felt guilty.

And another only person who could tell something about Syanna was her another simple victim she used and manipulated for her own gain.

Even her decision to help to stop Dettlaff doesn't feel like something she decided to do willingly, but something she did under pressure, because she had no choice. She admitted herself that she would prefer just to run away rather than face Dettlaff, but I guess it's hard to do so when another higher vampire and a witcher standing in front of you.

And do you remember that moment when we first got to the land of a thousand fables, and Syanna asks us what are we doing here, and if we choose the sarcastic line, she genuinely doesn't understand why are we ended up here, meaning she either forgot about Dettlaff's threat and her "promise" to help, or just didn't care from the start.

And, honestly, right after Dettlaff fled and Syanna met Anarietta, why didn't she try to stop Anarietta from taking her away? Didn't she just told us that Dettlaff means no joke and meeting with him is "the least she could do"? Why didn't she try to argue, saying that Bauclair is in danger now, and that Syanna has to go and meet Dettlaff. From what we got, it more looked like Syanna wanted to be taken away to sneak out later and just run away.

If we would've gotten a scene where we see that Syanna had a chance to run away but in the end decided to keep her word, that would've been one thing, but all that we see is that she either goes willingly, or Geralt and Regis will probably drag her to Tesham Mutna with broken legs.

But you know what could actually fix this whole situation for me? If in the game we were told that Syanna actually tried to change. If in this accident, that led to her exile, it would've been established that Syanna tried to stop Anarietta, and when she tried to explain what actually happened no one believed her, and Anarietta didn't tell the truth, all this would've actually worked. But no.

And after all this, in the end, she never admits her fault. Everyone, in her opinion, was to blame, while she's the one and only saint and innocent, who did nothing wrong. She never apologises for what she was doing to people, never thinks that maybe some part of her life was the cause of her own actions and not wanting to at least try and not provoke others. We have, as an example, second DLC, Hearts of stone, where we have Olgierd, who was also a terrible man, but the main difference between Syanna and him, that he admits he himself caused what he got, that he caused so much pain to those he loved,

and in the ending where he survives, we at least see him wanting to start a new life, even tho he lost everything he had and loved.

We don't see anything remotely like this from Syanna. While Olgierd regects his past and decides to start a new life, "take faith in his own hands", Syanna keeps blaming the world for everything wrong in her life, her parents, her sister, the knights, never considering that maybe she also did something wrong.

And in this "best ending" everyone just forgave her and forgot about all these sick things she did across her life, while our/Geralt's best friend, who we know for a long time, if you consider books, helped Geralt many times, once already died fighting for us in the battle agains Vilgefortz, basically tortured himself to find out why Dtttlaff is doing what he's doing, in this ending became "anathema", is chased by his own kind, and had to kill a person who saved his life and was the one who actually tried to change.

And so, in the end we have a sadistic, self-centered psychopath, who used, hurt, manipulated and lied to those who trusted her, never expressed any kind of remorse towards those she hurt, never reflected on her life and never even tried to change to prove that she's a better person from who people though she was.

If to choose, I would choose to safe Dettlaff, because unlike Syanna, he tried to change, and I do believe that this character could be redeemed and never wanted any of this from the start, and the fact is a fact that if not for Syanna, nothing of this would've happened. After learning more about Vampire's lore, talking to Regis about how hard it is for them to live among humans, I actually feel sorry for him and Dettlaff. Yes, Dettlaff did terrible thing, he's impulsive and because of that many people died, but that's why the game give us an option to kill him too. I, myself, would never choose to save Syanna and give her a happy ending after all she did and whi she is. For me, she's unquestionably unredeemable.

[hyenahunt]

Obbligato: In Praise of Folly - 4

Writer: Akira

Season: Spring, two years ago

Characters: Ibara, Nagisa, Hiyori

Proofreading: Remi + 310mc (JP) & Skyress (ENG)

Translation: Peace & hyenahunt

Nagisa: … He guided the others to Heaven, on the condition that he is the only one who falls into the depths of Hell.

[Read on my blog for the best viewing experience with Oi~ssu ♪]

Ibara: Allow me to explain a little more thoroughly. The "idol association" Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya set out to establish was quite successful at first.

As it became more recognized by the industry as a whole, it seemed to spiral positively upward with new jobs coming in one after the other.

Those who had difficulty finding work, whether they were Non-Special Students or their Special counterparts, or even alumni of Reimei Academy and the like, heard of its reputation and fell into it...

And, once enfolded, the association grew to become a powerful influence in Reimei Academy itself. Almost abnormally so, one could say.

However, as the two of you both know, the idol industry is, at the moment, at a decline — we've fallen into a recession.

Nagisa: ... Right. That's why a revolution was necessary.

... I suppose the growing sentiment of revolution at both Yumenosaki and Reimei Academy was necessitated by the times themselves.

Hiyori: It feels like the end of an era, doesn't it? [1]

Ibara: Fufu. Since the industry is on its last legs, the availability of idol work has been decreasing.

As such, while there's been a gradual stream of it flowing into the association itself... There are simply too many idols desiring the same jobs.

However, Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya believes wholeheartedly in "equality" and "fairness" despite this state of affairs...

... And has refused to compromise on his beliefs, which isn't all that surprising given his unyielding faith and ideology.

What do you think such stubbornness resulted in?

Ibara: A hellish situation, of course!

To put it simply, the man began to handle every bit of work that rolled in himself.

Not a single other person in that association works "fairly". Not a single one of them works at all, in fact.

Everyone else except Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya lives “fairly” without lifting a single finger.

Nagisa: ... I see. In that case, it certainly does seem that all but Tatsumi Kazehaya are being treated "fairly", then.

Ibara: Indeed. And after Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya works hard to the bone, all those rewards are “equally” distributed to everyone but him.

Hiyori: Ahahahahaha!

Whatever on Earth? This is reality you speak of, and not a fairy tale nor fable, yes? How can someone like that truly exist?

Ibara: He very much does. Though I found it difficult to believe myself, Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya is "The Happy Prince" personified. [2]

He took on an overwhelming amount of work all on his own — despite it being unfathomable for one person to manage on their own — and then shared the results of that work with everyone else, leaving no reward for himself.

Nagisa: ... How amazing. There truly is a guarantee of "fairness" and "equality" in that case.

... Every person is treated "fairly" by not having a job to work, save for Tatsumi Kazehaya who works for all.

... While at the same time, every person is "equal" in being given the same reward as the next, save for Tatsumi Kazehaya who asks for naught.

... By taking on every bit of "inequality" and "unfairness" that others would face, he has limited each quality to only his own existence and become the necessary "exception" in order to make his ideal a reality.

... I understand clearly now. How awe-inspiring. To think that such a person could truly exist.

… He guided the others to Heaven, on the condition that he is the only one who falls into the depths of Hell.

Ibara: Precisely so. Well, when I first heard about it myself and sought to confirm such a thing, I really had a laugh about it!

I nearly cried then, thinking "There's no way, right? Is he an idiot? He must be out of his mind!" ♪

Hiyori: That's in terrible taste, I must say. Personally, I think this boy is truly remarkable.

At the very least, he differs vastly from Eichi-kun, or rather, from all of us in fine... He sacrificed himself for the sake of those ideals he so deeply believed in.

This Tatsumi Kazehaya truly wanted to make everyone happy, didn't he?

Ibara: Yes, haha, it truly is most interesting! ♪ In a way, he's the very antithesis of a "money-maddened" manager like myself—

And so, I do not understand nor sympathize with that ideology of his.

Religion truly is an amazing thing, isn't it? Through it, anyone at all can imitate such outrageous ideas.

If we could put it to better use, then there's little we wouldn't be able to do.

Well, putting that aside... Due to Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya's saintly behavior, there's unfortunately not a soul in the world who could hope to understand him.

Nagisa: ... That's true, isn't it?

... I have been told by others that they don't understand what I'm thinking as well. Perhaps society felt the same about him.

Ibara: I'm sure. To make matters worse, he's someone who won't change the way he lives no matter who asks it of him.

For example, let's say that someone who loves Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya offers to help share the burden because it's far too much for one person to handle.

Or perhaps that person wishes Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya would take on some of the reward himself, and rather than accept his share, he would give it up to that saint instead...

Hiyori: In all practicality, I'm sure there were many such cases. After all, no one would feel good about only ever being on the receiving end of such dedication and generosity.

There's no way one could feel nothing when witnessing the unwavering form of Tatsumi Kazehaya, working himself to the bone for their sake.

Ibara: Indeed. But that Mr. Tatsumi Kazehaya rejected their offers altogether.

Ibara: "That wouldn't be equal," he'd say, or maybe even "That wouldn't be fair to you" — Ahahahaha! ☆

[ ☆ ]

✦✦✦✦✦

1. Akira references Japanese history in the original line: "It feels like the final days of the Tokugawa shogunate."

2. The Happy Prince is a short story by American author Oscar Wildes. In it, a man who was unable to be sorrowful was dubbed the titular name and died being only known for that. Once becoming a statue, he began to see the misery of his city and sought to sacrifice pieces of himself to ensure their happiness with help from a Swallow. After giving away all he could, however, the town tore the statue down due to his now shabby appearance. Swallow, who had put off migrating to Egypt for the winter, died after assisting the Happy Prince with all his good deeds. Read it here.

← prev ✦ all ✦ next →

[daitranscripts]

What Pride had Wrought Pt. 5

The Arbor Wilds

What Pride had Wrought Masterpost First: Speaking With Morrigan First: Meeting Kieran Previous: Plan of Attack

The PC walks through the Inquisition’s camp in the Arbor wilds.

Captain: Inquisitor!

PC: How goes the battle, Captain?

Captain (sided templars): The red templars fall beneath our blades, Your Worship. Commander Cullen says they’re nearly finished. Captain (sided mages): We’re holding, barely. The red templars are fighting harder than ever with their master nearby.

Captain: Our scouts saw Corypheus traveling toward an elven ruin to the north. We can clear you a path through his armies.

Dialogue options:

General: Take care, Captain. [1]

General: As simple as that? [2]

General: Hold nothing back. [3]

1 - General: Take care, Captain. PC: Do only what you must. We need enough people for a celebration when we get back to Skyhold. Captain: We will not fail you, my [lord/lady]. No matter what comes. [4]

2 - General: As simple as that? PC: So all you have to do is fend off Corypheus’s worst zealots until I’ve returned. Captain: We shall not flinch, Your Worship! Not a one of us. [4]

3 - General: Hold nothing back. PC: Make the monsters pay, Captain. Leave none standing. Captain: We shall not flinch, Your Worship! Not a one of us. [4]

4 - Scene continues.

Captain: Andraste guide you, Inquisitor.

Morrigan approaches as the soldier leaves.

Morrigan: I wonder: is it Andraste your soldiers invoke during battle, or does a more immediate name come to their lips?

Dialogue options:

General: I’m not the Maker. [5]

General: I can’t even think about it. [6]

General: Let’s get on with it. [7]

5 - General: I’m not the Maker. PC: They show me respect, Morrigan. No one mistakes me for the Maker. Morrigan: True. You are far more likely to come to their aid than a Chantry fable… but I digress. [8]

6 - General: I can’t even think about it. PC: Another way to let people down if I falter. Thank you for the reminder. Morrigan: ‘Twas not I who raised an army of faithful to storm this land, Inquisitor… but I digress. [8]

7 - General: Let’s get on with it. PC: We’re in the middle of a war, Morrigan. Time is short. [8]

8 - Scene continues.

Morrigan: If your scouts report accurately, I believe these ruins to be the Temple of Mythal.

PC: Which is?

Morrigan: A place of worship out of elven legend. If Corypheus seeks it, then the eluvian he covets lies within. Let us hope we reach this temple before the entire forest is reduced to ash.

The scene ends, and the PC is left to traverse the camp.

Next: Base Camp

[vixen525noms]

Defying Certain Death Part 4

Copied from my DeviantArt account, a non-sexual G/T vore story featuring adults along the lines of the lion and the thorn fable. There will be tons of hurt/comfort aspects, lots of safe vore. That is the primary focus in this.

Barrett is and adult giant standing 85ft tall and Hope is an adult human at 5ft 6. Barrett does not eat children at any point.

Warnings: Fatal Mention; Characters in Distress

Future: While this part is relatively tame, future parts include fatal vore and violence. Barrett, the giant, is not a good guy, so will be doing some occasional bad things.

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-----

She was so scared... so scared that she would die. He knew that fear of death, knew what it was to think the end was close at hand. Not by the same method, but fear of death none-the-less. But her scent... her taste... Over the weeks he had thought frequently of this moment, of the moment he got free, of having this opportunity. He had thought often of when he would be able to get a good taste of her. He could hear a soft whimper of fear as he lowered her into his waiting maw.

-----1 week ago-----

He could tell this was hard on her, staying here with him to care for him as she worked to free him. She looked a little pale compared to when he first saw her, and had noticeably lost weight. He had no doubt he had lost a significant amount of weight, but her hard work was preventing it from reaching a dangerous point. He was sure that after she retrieved the cart she hadn’t left the mountain again. She had found a water source, and had brought him some on several occasions as well as keeping herself and her outfit washed. 

It was obvious that despite his resisting each opportunity to take her, she was still afraid of him. She slept on the cart rather than risk leaning against him, and even when she conversed with him she stayed just out of reach. It baffled him that she would work so hard to help free him when it was clear she was concerned that he would eat her. He had tried asking her a few times about why she helped him, but her answer was always vague. He was beginning to think she couldn’t explain it, that perhaps she wasn’t even entirely sure herself.

It had started to rain again, more heavily this time. He saw her laying in the cart, the heavy rain hammering down on her unsheltered form. He could even see her starting to shiver... His kind wasn’t too bothered by temperature changes, but it obviously had an effect on her. He considered inviting her nearer, offering to keep her covered. He doubted she would accept the offer, especially now that he was starting to have a bit more freedom of movement. She knew he had enough hand movement now to be capable of moving something to his mouth.

He blinked as he watched her flinch when the hail began, the ice chunks steadily growing in size. After hesitating briefly, he tilted his hand and angled slightly towards her, “Why don’t you come rest over here? I can keep you close so you’ll be warm and dry. If the hail gets any worse, you could be injured. I’m not going to eat you. I won’t hurt you at all. I need you to get out of here, and I’m not so stupid as to ruin my only hope of survival.”

After a few moments, the hail pounding relentlessly on her, she nodded. She approached him, and once she was near enough, he raised his hand slightly to angle and cup over her, providing a temporary shelter. He watched her pause briefly before finally coming all the way over, to where both his hands were now able to reach. He slowly moved the hand now, carefully scooping her onto it before positioning the other over her like a shelter.

He was quick to let her out first thing in the morning, not wanting to risk making her uncomfortable with helping him further. He was getting closer to freedom, but he still needed her. He was glad to see that while she had woken, she wasn’t tense. She gave a faint smile, still obviously drowsy, but made no effort to hurry away from his hold. He suspected she still needed some rest, and that this current sleeping spot was more comfortable than laying in the cart. “Still tired?” He watched her nod as she yawned, “That’s alright. You’ve been working hard... I can wait a while longer for breakfast.” He didn’t exactly want to wait; he was still starving, but he also knew it wouldn’t do any good to have his rescuer’s health deteriorate. She needed rest; her wariness of him had made sleep difficult. She was having trouble hunting as much large game for him, and working to move the rocks. Her getting a little extra sleep would do them both more good than if she continually pushed herself to provide for him.

He watched her nod and close her eyes again, causing him to give a faint smile before resting his other hand over her again, to provide warmth and shelter for her. While she caught up on rest, he examined the situation, figuring out how much had been cleared and how much was left. Depending on if they got lucky and figured out which rocks were supporting others up, perhaps he could be free soon. He looked at the sleeping girl in his hand. She smelled excellent... once he was free he would have to find out just how she tasted when not mixed with the various meals provided. Definitely the first thing he wanted to do once free. 

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[flutishly]

GGF rewatch, part 4 - Interlude

I was about to start my Green Gables Fables season 2 rewatch and at the end of the first ("episode 0") video - beyond realizing that I'd fully misremembered the show's timeline! - I noticed that there was a disconnected video: "Anne and Gil React...". This video isn't included in either the seasons 1 or 2 playlists and since the show has been unlisted, it was harder to find it. (I ended up scrolling through Anne's Tumblr feed, which also helped remind me what took place when and how excellent the transmedia was on this show.)

I'll linger on the video for a moment before I continue my actual season 2 rewatch, because it occurs to me that this is the mental image I have of Green Gable Fable's versions of Anne and Gilbert. Specifically, I always remember them as that final moment, when Gilbert side-hugs Anne and she pushes his face away. They're both so clearly comfortable and friends in this video that it's easy to forget that their friendship came about at the very end of season 1 (as in Anne of Green Gables). As I've mentioned before, I have a very strange relationship with GGF, in that I feel like I forgot about the show oddly quickly, despite liking it so very much. Going into season 2, I'm especially aware of that fact, since I realize that I actually remember fairly little. There are a few plot points and major scenes that are fresh in my memory and I'm excited to re-experience, but I don't have many expectations of the season as a whole, which is kind of exciting.

And that makes me think about how I wouldn't have remembered "Anne and Gil React..." without the little thumbnail at the end of season 2's "teaser" episode, "Goodbye, Avonlea" (which, sadly, does not directly link to the video). And that makes me think about how contemporary literary webseries were, whether in the context of their use of specific social media platforms for the purposes of transmedia or in how rooted to a particular slice of time they are or, as is now emerging, how hard it is to replicate the original viewing experience almost a decade later. (Sidebar: This makes the forthcoming Nothing Much to Do rewatch project all of the more interesting, but naturally I'll be writing about that separately when the time comes.) This one little out-of-place video - which actually perfectly captures what I best remember from GGF - seems to represent something about this rewatching project on the whole, about the way these webseries blazed to life and have faded from collective memory, about art as a whole, and about what it means to rework a classic story.

Onto season 2!

[leam1983]

Polyamory - FAQ

I'll probably append that to the pinned post some day but for now, I'm just dumping a few tidbits here.

1. What's Polyamory?

It's the wholesome, fuzzy, wistful-sigh-triggering distant cousin to polygamy, if you're looking for a hacky and borderline-insulting comparison. Polyamory is what you get when three or more people agree to form a working system together out of love and mutual respect and support. And yes sexual attraction tends to factor between all parties involved - even if polyamory doesn't exclude aro or ace types in any way whatsoever.

In effect, it's very much like your average monogamous arrangement - except there's a third head poking out of a tee-shirt's hole, somewhere. Or a fourth. Or a fifth. In my case, it's just three of us: myself, Sarah and Walt.

2. Is it true that poly people have a Top and a Bottom?

No. We might have preferred positions in bed, but the relationship in and of itself is egalitarian. Walt leads the business we run together and he tends to run our kitchen on Friday and Saturday nights, but Sarah and I take the lead on most other weekdays. We've figured out how to conjoin our aesthetic preferences into a workable mid-point and decorate the condo accordingly.

Like in any relationship, skillsets and inclinations tend to put some of us on top of the pile for certain things. I lead for most of everything Tech-related, and Sarah is the throuple's Face, as it were. If someone needs to be put on Hold for twenty minutes so one of us renews a presciption, she's the one for it. Not out of some Prescriptivist notion, but because I'm sarcastic by nature and can't keep my mouth shut, and because Walt, despite being a Canadian Anglophone, is incapable of truly channelling that fabled Canadian Niceness that gets us out of most binds.

3. But I met this guy in the Leather scene, and-

Ah. You're referring to BDSM, which is a form of playtime between consenting adults. Having a well-contained degradation kink within the confines of an otherwise loving and fair poly space does not make you a Bottom. Bottoms do not exist outside of the exact moment of intercourse. Even then, they only feature as part of similar kinks. Bottoms. Do not. Naturally Exist. Love is love.

4. You sometimes describe Walt as being able to fake Douchebag status. Doesn't that make him top d-

Stop expressing your relationships as a hierarchy. It's toxic as fuck. Stop projecting a guesstimated hierarchy on my loved ones. It's gross. Next question.

5. Can you cheat on each other?

No, of course not. I can disappoint a partner if I leave them out of the loop for too long, but Walt, Sarah and I are currently in a healthy state that allows us to keep tabs on one another efficiently. All three of us get our daily recommended quota of affection, support, love and care. And yes, we also get in plenty of shenanigans. Great loves are always built on solid friendships first, IMHO.

6. Your boyfriend is in his sixties?! Eww!

Guess what: you'll be in your sixties too, some day, assuming no unfortunate events unfold. Walt is just a few steps ahead of me, metaphorically speaking, but we plan on getting the most out of the time we'll have together. For now, he's incontrovertibly and immutably one of us - the one who turned the couple into a throuple.

7. "Throuple"? That'll never catch on...

Not that I asked for your opinion, Random Person, but it fits our needs pretty neatly. We have the dynamics of a couple, but there's three of us. Simple and elegant.

8. Is Walt still gay?

It's irrelevant, honestly. Walt likes the both of us - that's all. He has a slight preference for me when it comes to bedroom stuff, but what began as base fondness for Sarah turned into pseudo-paternal protectiveness, then to cadging a few kisses, and to slowly figuring out what it feels like to kiss a girl when your last hetero experiences date back to when Ontario's Catholic schools were in full swing. Things more or less unfolded from there.

9. So, Walt's bi now, right?

Again, that's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I'll leave the Pride Flag anxiety to people who really do want to make sure they fit in their exact little niche and represent it specifically; I just fly the basic Inclusive Pride design, myself - and I like to keep things discreet. Walt carried the older Pride flag design as a lapel pin for several years, but typically disguised it as a featureless lapel button.

10. You've been poly for how long?

Including my two years spent waffling about and being unsure; about nine years. I met Sarah at my previous job, moved in with her in 2015. I also technically met Walt in 2015, but we didn't become flirtatious with each other or openly attracted to one another until 2019.

11. Did you spend a while thinking you'd gone gay?

Nope. I headed home after Walt first kissed me, gathered my wits and told Sarah. It some getting-used-to on her part, but she knew Walt as a coworker and knew he wasn't the stereotypical Gay Rake. She figured if he'd confessed to me, it had to be serious.

12. Was Walt sad that you wouldn't break up with Sarah for his sake?

Maybe, but for something like a minute or two. We'd discussed Walt earlier, and I figured there was a chance for us to either go from a couple to an at least open relationship, but I was pleasantly surprised when Sarah admitted that she also felt things for Walt.

Everything was cleared up in the span of a single conversation, over dinner.

13. None of this can last, can't it?

Of course it can't last. I'll die, Sarah's also going to croak, Walt's going to shuffle off his mortal coil - leaves fall, the seasons change, atoms shift their positions and constantly unmake and remake the Universe as we know it, quantum entanglement is this ever-changing morass none of us will ever fully tame, and-

Oh, you meant the relationship? Well, that's just none of your business now, isn't it?