#and to be clear the US isn’t innocent in this considering that we could have easily taken them in

[randomnoteforfuturereference]

Nothing like the Pakistani gov expelling Afghan refugees en masse back to a despotic country in the wake of a devastating earthquake and on the eve of an upcoming winter. All because of attacks on Pakistan from groups linked to said despotic regime that had been at the very least tacitly supported by the Pakistani gov.

Oh.. and a potential update to this (which has been coming as there are tensions between Iran and Afghanistan):

If you're wondering how to help Afghans, and discouraged by the fact that it'd be near impossible to convince these countries otherwise, International Rescue Foundation is probably the most practical source.

Otherwise, if you're American and in a blue/swing district, pressure your rep to push for the Afghan Adjustment Act and similar measures to help refugees get here and be supported. And even if you're in an area where appeals will fall on deaf ears due to racism/nativism/Islamophobia, there are refugee orgs nearby you can get involved with.

If you're not American, there are probably equivalent things that could be done.

[atomicami]

vengeance.

roommate!abby anderson x fem!reader

- summary: you’re tired of dealing with your boyfriend’s awful habits. when he ends up crossing the line with you one day, you decide to get back at him, and your not-so-innocent roommate has the perfect way to do it.

- content: smut MDNI, no outbreak/modern au, reader and abby are roommates, reader has a shitty boyfriend, slight mentions of alcohol consumption and partying, infidelity/cheating, sex tape/amateur porn, kinda roughdom!abby, strap usage (r!receiving), abby referring to the strap as her cock, slight choking, daddy kink, abby hits it from the back, oral & fingering (r!receiving), pussy slapping, squirting, aftercare at the end ofc

- author’s note: hi everyone!! so i decided to do my very first collab with none other than the amazingly talented @whore4abby, i’m so grateful to have done this with you!!

also, consider this fic as our 1k special from us to you. thank you so much for all the love and support you’ve given to the both of us 🤍 we hope you enjoy it!!

you don’t really know how you got yourself to this point.

well, you do, actually…but you didn’t know how this could have possibly escalated so fast.

it was just a silly little conversation at first. you were simply venting to your roommate, abby about your boyfriend for what was probably the millionth time now.

“ugh, i just can’t believe him!” you exclaimed to her as you frantically paced around your room. “i told him to make the best impression to meet my parents last weekend and what does he do?! he shows up to the restaurant thirty minutes late smelling like alcohol. how can he be so…so inconsiderate?!”

you’ve been in an on-again, off-again relationship with your boyfriend for about a year now. everything went fine with the two of you at first, but now it somehow just progressed to where you both can’t even make it a week without breaking up.

abby is sat at the foot of your bed, nodding in acknowledgement as you continued to ramble to her about your asshole boyfriend. you truly couldn’t ask for a better friend like her to listen to all of your problems about this, because unlike abby, you knew that anyone else you might know couldn’t withstand having to hear about the same person every damn day of the week.

“i seriously think i’m gonna break up with him now, for good this time.” you tell her with confidence.

abby lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes at your statement. “isn’t that what you said the last fifteen times though?” she asked, further manspreading on your bed before pulling her phone out of her pocket to scroll through it.

“i know, i know,” you said, continuing to pace around your room. “he’s done so much stupid shit lately, but this is honestly the final straw for me. who knows how much worse he could get if i—“

“hey, um…you might wanna see this.” abby says, showing you her phone screen. “isn’t that him?”

“what? what are you—“ your words drift off for a moment. you take a step towards her to take a closer look at her phone. it was an instagram story that her friend manny had posted, containing a video of some frat party happening right now and you could visibly see a girl grinding and making out with your boyfriend, clear as day.

now that was really the last straw for you.

“that asshole…” you mutter quietly to yourself as you watched the story again.

to be honest, you weren’t even that upset about it. well, you were, but not to where you’d be in tears crying over him. but rather, you had an urge to try to get back at him somehow. you wanted to retaliate against him. you wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.

you wanted to give him vengeance.

“i seriously can’t believe him right now,” you tell abby again as you hand the phone back to her. “you know, i’m not even upset that he cheated on me, i just…” you pause for a moment to take a deep breath. “i just wish i could get back at him, give him some sort of payback you know?”

“yeah, i get you.” abby replies before looking back down at her phone. “you know…i think i might have an idea to get back at him…show that asshole what he’s missing…” she said, flipping her phone around to eye at the camera for a moment before looking back up at you.

“really?” you asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as you took another step towards her. “i’m down for whatever, what did you have in mind?”

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and that’s how you got to where you were now, as if it had happened in a matter of seconds.

“c’mon, baby… look at the camera for me.” abby murmured to you from behind.

you laid at the center of your bed, bare body sprawled out with your ass up and abby’s thick, black strap nestled deep inside your wet cunt.

you didn’t want to admit it, but the stretch that abby’s cock had in you was overbearing. you really thought you’d take it, you told her so yourself. but now that you were feeling every single inch inside you, from base to tip—you were very, very wrong. you’re trying as best as you can to follow abby’s commands, but the immense length and girth of her strap has you feeling dizzy.

one of her hands reaches down under your stomach and makes its way up to your neck. “you really want me to repeat myself right now, princess?” she says in a firm tone, keeping her grip on your neck. “i said, look at the camera for me.”

“oh, fuck—“ you whimper to yourself as chills start to go through your spine. your whole body is fucking trembling and abby still has yet to move her cock inside you.

you try to lift your head up, looking straight into the camera on abby’s phone that was currently propped up in front of the two of you, the most dumbfounded expression was stricken on your face at the moment. you were already so cockdrunk and it clearly shows.

“atta girl…would you look at that?” abby says, looking into the camera with you as well. “see how pretty your girlfriend looks on my cock? she’s already drunk and i haven’t even started moving yet…not so bad for a girl if i do say so myself.” she continues narrating into the camera. “i’ll show you how it’s really done, yeah?”

and with that she began to start moving, painfully slow to say the least. you felt her hand let go of its grip on your neck and move to your hip, gripping it tightly as she kept slowly thrusting her cock inside you.

“you like that, princess? like how my cock feels inside you?” she asks in between her thrusts.

you end up mumbling something into the sheets, and abby could’ve sworn that you were calling her a name. her hand quickly returns back to your neck, lifting you up and pulling you back towards her as she kept her cock inside you. “what did you just call me? tell me what you just said.” she says in a stern tone, slowly tightening her grip on your neck.

“f-feels so good, d-daddy…” you slur out to her, eyes rolling to the back of your head as the tip of the strap gently presses against your g spot.

the smirk on abby’s face grew wider as she heard you call her that name. it was like music to her ears, and she couldn’t help but play along with it. “yeah? does it feel good, princess? does daddy’s cock feel good inside that little pussy of yours?” she asks, receiving a whiny nod from you in response.

abby looks into the camera and lets out a quiet groan at the sight of the two of you on her phone screen. “oh fuck, you’re not wrong…let’s take a closer look there, shall we?” she says, keeping your body up against hers with one hand as she moves forward and grabs her phone with the other. you look down as she brings the front camera down to both of your lower bodies where the strap was connecting it. now keeping her bicep firm on your upper body, she snakes her hand down to your gushing pussy, spreading its puffy lips open with two fingers in front of the camera.

“would you look at that…” she murmurs, bringing the camera closer. “that pussy’s practically crying all over my cock. does he ever get you this wet, princess?”

“n-no…” you whine out, shaking your head. “he doesn’t…”

“oh, poor thing…” she murmurs from behind, reaching down to rub your throbbing clit. “seems like you need daddy to take care of you, yeah?”

“y-yes, daddy, please…n-need you to fuck me…”

abby gently lowers you back down onto your bed before setting her phone back to its original spot, screen still fixed on the both of you. she places a hand onto each of your hips, gripping them tightly as she begins to slowly thrust her cock into your pussy.

as abby began to fuck you, you were now buried into the sheets again, releasing muffled moans and whines with every thrust of abby’s hips. in that moment, your boyfriend, and all of the fights and encounters you’ve had with him were the last things on your mind. you didn’t care about him. you didn’t even care about the video, knowing that he’ll be watching it soon. all that was on your mind now was abby and the large piece of black silicone stretching you open.

“does that feel good, baby?” she asks, slowly speeding up her pace. “c’mon baby, why don’t you tell him how it feels?”

you muster up the energy to at least turn your head to the side to respond. “f-feels amazing, daddy…b-best cock i’ve ever had…” you slur back to her, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure as you fist the sheets tightly.

“you hear that?” she says into the camera. “it’s not even real, yet it’s the best cock she’s ever had…bet it’s bigger than whatever you have going on down there too…”

you continue to whine into the sheets, weakly pushing your hips back against abby’s cock as a sign for her to speed it up. “f-faster daddy…p-please…” you whine out to her.

abby looks back down to what was below her, that same smirk growing onto her freckled face once again. “would you look at that, she’s already so eager for more…” she murmurs to herself, tightening her grip onto your hips as she began to thrust into you faster than before.

“oh f-f-fuck—“ you moan out, turning your head back to see her and watching her smirk get bigger again as she admires your drunk, fucked out expression. “don’t look at me now…” she tells you before pointing at her phone. “look at the camera. look at him. tell him how good i’m fucking you.”

despite how heavy your eyelids were getting, you try to keep your vision straight, looking into the camera for as long as you could. “s-s-she’s fucking me s-so good…b-better than y-you…” you slur out into the camera before letting your head drop back down into the sheets.

“you hear that? i’m a better fuck to her than you’ll ever be.” she narrates to the camera, still continuing her fast thrusts inside you. “can’t believe you’re letting a girl beat you at your own game, man.”

it didn’t take long for that feeling to build up inside you. abby had only been fucking you for less than five minutes, and you were already about to cum now.

“a-abby, fuck—g-gonna cum n-now…” you whimper out to her, bringing a trembling hand to hold hers from behind. abby instantly swats your hand away and brings her hand down to your ass to slap it, the sting causing you to flinch a bit. “that’s not my name, princess. you wanna try that again?” she asks you, still not stopping her fast pace.

“fuck, daddy!” you exclaimed, tightening your grip on the sheets to stabilize yourself. “p-please daddy…n-need to cum so bad…”

“there we go, that sounds better now…” she replies, looking back to the camera before back down at you. “go ahead, babygirl…cum for daddy.”

your grip gets even tighter on the sheets, and your cunt begins to clench down hard on the strap before cumming with a loud muffled moan, completely coating abby’s black strap with your release.

“holy fuck…” abby groans out from behind, now slowing down her pace. without pulling out just yet, she leans over to grab her phone, stopping the video and flipping the camera to the back to record a new one. “would you look at that…” she murmurs, zooming in on your lower body, particularly on the white ring that was being formed on her strap.

she then points the camera to the very back of you where your pussy was before slowly pulling her strap out of your fucked out cunt. abby lets out another groan as she watches your pussy clench and spill out your thick release, quickly running two of her fingers over it to pick it up. you whimper and whine due to the sensitivity from her thick fingertips, but you still oblige and let her do it.

“look how fucking good this pussy looks…” abby murmurs to the camera. “you know, i heard her tell me that you refuse to eat her out…” she says, pausing for a moment to suck her fingers clean before continuing. “you’re definitely a fucking idiot, to say the least. who wouldn’t want to get a taste of this sweet girl?”

you hear abby stop the recording on her phone, letting out a breath of relief as you set the rest of your body back down onto the bed. you’re already fucked out as is, and you feel the slumber slowly starting to take over you.

however, you didn’t get to have much of it now that abby has shaken you awake again. “lie back on the bed, i’m not done with you just yet.”

“w-what?” you say weakly, fully blinking your eyes open. “i-isn’t that one enough already?” you ask, pointing to her phone.

abby shakes her head in response. “nope, we still have one more video to make…and you’re holding the camera this time.”

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you take the phone into your shaky hands, almost dropping it in the process before steadying it, abby's eyes practically burning through the camera lens as you angle your phone to film her between your legs, she slaps her hand against your folds and you whine out her name, "keep it fuckin’ steady, you hear me?"

your grip tightens on the phone and you try to keep it as steady as possible as she connects her warm mouth onto your clit, flicking her tongue up and down it a couple times, before drawing back and looking into the camera. "you see what you're missing out on, huh?" she tsks and shakes her head slightly. you draw your bottom lip between your teeth as she sinks back between your legs.

she presses her tongue to your sensitive folds as she messily kisses and licks at your pussy, groaning as she tastes you. her fingertips find your clit, rubbing circles over it as she slurps up your juices. the phone starts to slip from your grasp and abby shakes her head mockingly, slapping her hand straight down onto your pussy, fingertips smacking at your clit cruelly. "i'm not telling you again, keep that camera on me or imma keep slapping this pussy." she drawls, voice low and demanding as her gaze shifts from the camera lens to look straight into your half-lidded eyes. her stern tone has you nodding your head immediately in fear of another sharp slap.

her fingers start to slide into your entrance, slick squelching around them as she thrusts them in and out. her lips move up to suck at your swollen clit, with more purpose this time around as she feels you clenching around her fingers. "lemme hear you baby. c'mon, let it out. let him hear how good i'm making you feel." she whispers, thrusting her fingers in and out faster. she lifts her head and smirks up at you, clearly waiting for you to cum for her.

your back arches up into her and her free hand slides between your legs, roughly rubbing your wet folds as her tongue flutters over your clit, bringing you over the edge. your thighs tremble as they clamp around her blonde head which gives her no other option than to keep her head buried between your legs, sucking on your clit as you ride out your high and start to cum on her face.

her fingers continue to plunge in and out of you at practically record speed, fingertips curling against every inch of your g-spot and without warning, a stream of juices spurts from your pussy to soak her fingers and her face. she slides her fingers from your entrance, holding them up for you to see that they're covered in your juices, glistening in the light.

"look at the mess you made." she chuckles as she looks up and notices the look of absolute shock on your face as you realise what just happened.

"never done that before, huh?" she raises an eyebrow. "nuh uh." you pant out, feeling the need to pinch yourself as there is absolutely no way in hell she just made you squirt. "he's never made me do that....like ever." you giggle.

your head is still reeling as she lays you comfortably up against the pillows before she quickly fetches a washcloth from the en-suite bathroom. she returns less than a minute later, warm washcloth in hand, and starts to clean you up between your legs doting to your every need and want so soothingly, kissing at your thighs and stomach sporadically whilst doing so.

she eventually lends you one of her t-shirts to wear, gently holding your arms above your head, the soft material grazing against your skin. she climbs into bed beside you, the two of you bundled up under the thick sheets, snuggled up into her arms as your scroll through the footage taken on your phone. abby rubs her hand up your spine softly before pulling you tightly against her as she smirks at you, "gimme his number, i wanna send the footage to him."

you giggle and hand her your phone as she quickly copies down his phone number from your contacts into her own with a couple taps of her screen before opening up a text conversation with the new contact. she attaches the videos and starts to type out a message which reads:

"took care of your girl for you tonight...looks like she likes me better, don't you think?"

you shake your head and give her a little amused smile as you see the sheer look of smugness filling her flushed face, "that'll fuckin’ teach him." before pressing send and placing her phone face down on the bed in front of you.

it’s safe to say that thanks to abby’s bright idea, you were successfully able to give your boyfriend the vengeance that he deserved after all. as abby pulls you in closer to her chest, you get the feeling that this won’t be the last time you’ll do this with her.

and by the looks of it, you’ve found a new habit of your own to enjoy too.

2024 © atomicami & whore4abby | all rights reserved. do not copy, modify, or translate any of our works.

[rachetmath]

Jaune the Strategist

Jaune: Um… General Ironwood? I have a question.

Ironwood: What is it Mr. Arc?

Jaune: Why not release the video footage of Tyrian killing a bunch of people?

Clover: Are you crazy? If we release such a video it cause panic in Mantle.

Jaune: I hear you. But... isn’t the Atlas military already being framed for countless murders?

Ironwood: Yes.

Jaune: And no one in Mantle is willing to follow protocol because they don’t trust us right?

Ironwood: Well... yes.

Jaune: Okay. So why not use this to our advantage?

Ruby: Explain.

Jaune: I mean come on. Seriously? We have proof. We have video display. And if this has been happening for a while then we have dead bodies that can hold our case.

Ironwood: Mr. Arc, I’m going to need you to further elaboration.

Jaune: What’s there to- Look, Tyrian has been killing people for a while, right?

Qrow: Yeah.

Jaune: We have video proof that he committed the massacre at Robin’s party. We could just report this and clear Penny’s name.

Ironwood: That is true.

Jaune: Plus with the few bodies Tyrian left behind, which I’m hoping your Atlas soldiers investigated completely. Like the time and location of death. As well as how they died. Basically if Tyrian left multiple victims, can’t we compare them to the other corpses from the party.

Ironwood: Huh.

Jaune: Not only that but Tyrian has a poisonous tail. Didn’t some of them have a hint poison consumed or at least small pick to their bodies.

Ironwood: Oh. That is something to consider.

Clover: Okay, but still doesn’t change the fact if we tell the people a killer is on the loose it will cause panic.

Jaune: True. But it could also make people listen. Think about it, they’re already being invaded by grimm everyday. And now they have killer amongest them. Wouldn’t that force them to reconsider they’re options?

Clover: … My… My Oum he could right.

Marrow: Okay but what about Robyn?

Jaune: Mantle’s Champion? Happy Huntresses? Are you serious? Do you honestly think she would not make a killer her top priority?

Marrow: Huh.

Jaune: I’m just saying, why are we keeping this under raps and quickly turning to Martial law?

Ironwood: Wow… anything else Mr.Arc

Jaune: Why frame Penny?

Ruby: She’s the Protector of Mantle.

Jaune: She also a robot. With a human soul. Who recorded everything! Who so far never got hacked? So why her specifically? If anything I would have got Penny out the way and framed one of the Ace-ops. Specifically Marrow. Hell why not frame Robyn herself?

Marrow: Whoa why me?

Jaune: You know why.

Blake: But tell us why.

Ironwood: Damn he’s right. That absolutely makes sense considering he’s a Faunus and recent member of the Ace ops.

Jaune: Exactly.

Blake: Are you two serious?!

Jaune: Blake think about how much conflict that would cause. A faunus in the Atlas military. An Ace operative killed and injured a bunch of innocent people. Humans and faunuses mind you. Not only would that cause division amongest the people of Mantle but the school and the soldiers.

Ironwood: He’s right. We have faunases who attend this school and are apart our units.

Jaune: It’ll be chaos. Racism and Hatred in the air. And with that much negativity the grimm attacks would be sky rocketing to the masses. Screw trying to get Amity Arena up we might as well have focused our time on containment. Hell that would been a better reason to initiate Martial law. Something I think Robyn would agree to. Considering Fiona is a faunus and her teammate.

Ironwood: So basically framing Penny was-

Jaune: A stupid idea? ABSO-FREAKEN-LUTLY!! Who ever made this plan had to be dumb as bricks.

Watts: *sneezes*

Jaune: I’m mean now I might as well ask this question. Has anyone ever disagreed with Penny’s creation?

Ironwood: I mean-… ... actually... yes we had a few people who disagreed.

Jaune: Also if you have a file for Tyrian, then what about Cinder, Emerald, Mercury or Hazel?

Ironwood: Why yes we---- Hold up. You all saw Hazel?

Jaune: Yeah.

Ironwood: And you survived?

Nora: Yes. Though with our tails between our legs. How do you know him?

Ironwood: How do you think I lost half of my body?

Jaune: Damn. And I thought Ren and Qrow had it worse. How powerful is he?

Ironwood: He crippled Ozpin.

Oscar: (And he said he stood a chance. He could’ve killed us both.)

Jaune: (We’ll most definitely need to jump him.) An-anyways, back on topic. So, who out all the other people were against the Penny project? Simply put who hates Pietro the most?

Ironwood: Well… there was Professor Watts.

Jaune: Professor Watts?

Ironwood: He was an inventor as well. He was even to soul creator of the Atlas robots you’re associated with. However he died in accident.

Jaune: How long ago?

Ironwood: Months ago?

Jaune: Okay now that’s weird.

Weiss: So what Jaune? He died.

Winter: Yes but I understand why Mr.Arc is suspicious. In Cinder’s file, after committing four first degree murders she disappeared.

Jaune: Then she suddenly appears back at Beacon with a way to hack the military.

Clover: Tyrian was captured but then escaped and he disappeared as well.

Qrow: Then he came out nowhere and tried to capture Ruby.

Ironwood: Hazel disappeared once too.

Oscar: And then I saw him on my way to Mistral.

Jaune: Is any of this making sense?

Ironwood: Yes. Clover I need you to follow up on some the victims of the previous crimes. And Winter I need you look into Watt’s case. Lets make sure he’s dead. If not we need evidence.

Winter: Yes sir.

Ironwood: Well, Mr. Arc it seem I underestimated your intelligence. I will not call in Martial law.

Jaune: No-no. Keep it in mind.

Nora: SAY WHAT?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE TRYING TO AVOID IT!!

Jaune: I am. But Robyn could still cause trouble for us down the road. We need to be ready when she could take things too far.

Nora: But-

Ironwood: It’s only if she continues to be an obstacle.

Nora: *silent*

Ironwood: Alright. Everyone back to work. Keep an eye out for Tyrian. And if you learn anything you report to me immediately.

Ace-ops: Yes sir.

Ren: Yes sir.

*JNPR Dorm Room*

Nora: Jaune, I can’t believe you sided with Ironwood.

Ren: Nora, it is a constitutions plan. It’s not going to happen.

Nora: I’m just saying the people of Mantle are already having a hard time.

Ren: I understand but-

Nora: But what? That getting Amity Arena up is more important than helping the people.

Ren: What about the world? What about all of Remnant?

Nora: How can help the world if we can’t help a country?!

Ren: We can’t always focus on the small things Nora. We need to consider the bigger picture.

Nora: So after all we’ve been through before you want to throw that away?

Ren That not what I’m saying. I-

Jaune: ENOUGH!!

Jaune: Please. Stop arguing.

Ren: Jaune, look I want to say-

Jaune: Stop. Sit. Both of you.

Nara and Ren: *sit separately from each other*

Jaune: Look, Nora, I understand. I know Mantle going through hard times. Due to the trading routes and transportation being limited, people are starting to struggle to get in and out of city. Stores and companies are closed so people are having trouble finding work. And without work, they can’t make money. And without money they can’t pay rent nor provide for their families. Basically majority of those people might as well not have homes soon.

Nora: Then you know why Martial law can’t happen. It will make things worse.

Jaune: Yes. That is why I would rather keep it as a last resort. However, with Mantle’s lack of funding and resources, I almost can’t blame Robyn for what’s she’s doing. However, two wrongs don’t make a right.

Nora: Hmm.

Ren: Well said Jaune.

Jaune: And you. Don’t think I’m openly siding with Ironwood. I only did that because I need everyone on the same page.

Ren: Jaune.

Jaune: At Beacon, Amber, Ozpin and Pyrrha died. Then the world got divide. Mistral, we almost died.

Nora: We survived.

Jaune: Through the skin of our teeth Nora! We got lucky! And Hazel, Emerald and Mercury stilled escaped!

Nora: *hates when he’s right*

Jaune: Now Tyrian is here. And even if my theory on Watts is correct, we still don’t know what they’re up to. Not to mention, we’re keeping secrets too. Especially, about Salem., who may have sent them here to retrieve the lamp. And worse, kill Oscar.

Nora and Ren: … … …

Jaune: Look… … Basically what I’m saying we need to be careful. We are no longer students. We are hunters. Every move we make could jeopardize what we are trying to accomplish. Even the people we trust could be a problem if we’re not careful.

Nora: So you don’t trust Ruby?

Jaune: Yeah. But keeping these secrets could get us in trouble, or most likely, have a gun to our heads. And Ironwood has plenty of them compared to us.

Ren: So what should we do?

Jaune: We do what we started this journey for. We search for answers.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I don't know if this has been addressed, but what is Floyd's "squeezing"? I assumed he dragged students away to beat them up since the victims always reacted with fear. However, if Floyd's tsum copies his behavior, is he literally just squeezing students with all his might? It seems a little anticlimactic to elicit such a response because of a tight hug, don't you think? I mean, it will obviously hurt to be crushed, but it's better that getting beat up, right? 🤔

Interpreting Floyd's squeezing as only a "tight hug" is... well, it's sort of downplaying the harm he's causing to other people 😅 Depending on the context in which the phrase "squeezing" is used, I do believe it's a euphemism that can either mean beating people up (in a general sense) or actually squeezing them (because he is shown to do both). EDIT: In some contexts, “squeezing” can also mean playful hugs. It’s just that most of the time when Floyd’s threatening to squeeze mob students or other characters in the main cast, it’s meant in a more malicious way.

One thing you should keep in mind is that the size difference between regular Floyd and tsum Floyd is significant. Tsum Floyd does not have the arm or body length to completely wrap around someone, but regular Floyd definitely does (especially if we consider his merform). Therefore, even though they carry out the same action, the results are not necessarily 1:1. LOOK AT TSUM FLOYD'S NUBS, YOU THINK YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO A PROPER FULL BODY SQUEEZE WITH THOSE????? At most, it can handle someone's arm. Given Floyd's larger stature and longer limbs (to completely ensnare others), he'd be able to deal much more damage. There's a very clear example of Floyd "squeezing" someone so hard that they pass out early in episode 3 of the main story. He's strong enough to make them lose consciousness with physical strength alone, and (if we really want to go into darker fandom interpretations), this may even imply strangulation 💦 Floyd also has a number of voice lines in which he promises to "wring" people out, meaning he knowingly applies as much pressure as possible to deprive his victims of air. It isn’t some accident or an “oppise”, it’s intentional. Consider his merfom as well; he could easily coil around his enemies and squeeze them until they go blue in the face and their eyes pop. Just because Floyd squeezes people on land without the tail doesn't mean the matter is any less serious. Restricting someone's movements in general and/or cutting off their air supply will naturally elicit a panic of fear response. There's also the possibility of Floyd squeezing someone so hard that it damages their internal structures (ie like how even helpful movements like CPR compressions can break the ribs). "Crushing" someone in this manner is something that I would consider the same as "being beat up", not "better than" or "worse than". It's still damage, it's still legitimate fear and trauma. It's cruel, period, and the other characters' apprehensive reactions are 100% valid.

Again, tsum Floyd is presented much differently than regular Floyd. They don't match in size, and there is much more of an overall innocent, playful energy to the Tsumtsums. Them being a part of an event also says a lot about their presentation; TWST events are much more lighthearted than how the characters are typically portrayed in the main story. Mismatched anatomy aside, of course TWST won't show tsum Floyd squeezing students so hard they pass out. That's not the vibe the event is going for, so when tsum Floyd squeezes, it’s meant to be playful/cute and not at “full power” capacity.

(Side note: this is NOT to say that Floyd isn't capable of just normal behavior or genuine tight hugs/playful squeezes as well. He can do those too!! I'm just saying when he does threaten to "squeeze" others, there is always the potential for very real damage to be involved.)

[certifiedjaeger]

↳ Tamaki Amajiki x Reader

↳ Word count: 900 words

↳ Notes: Tiniest lil piece I wrote for our sweet baby boy Amajiki 🥺 this is part of a little series I’m doing about public sex with the BNHA guys, so here is Amajiki’s <3 (nothing super explicit is included, it’s mostly just Amajiki being a shy and embarrassed cutie 💕)

“We really shouldn’t,” he whispers through a shaky breath, “somebody might see.”

The sun feels warm against his skin, but the blush scattered across his cheeks feels even warmer, his only solace being the light breeze that flows throughout the small meadow. The tree you both sit under provides some semblance of privacy and yet, he knows it isn’t enough. Not when anybody could walk into the clearing in an instant and find the both of you like this.

The day had started off so sweet. A simple picnic with his sweetheart, the one person he considered his safe haven, the only person he could ever truly be himself around. It had been a quiet afternoon full of sweets, soft laughter, and even a kiss or two. However, with one light brush against his upper thigh, the soft innocence in the air had evaporated almost instantly, turning your innocent date into anything but.

He thinks back to how this day had started and can’t help but blush even deeper at the predicament he now finds himself in. You’re his safe haven, yes, but you are also much more adventurous than he is. Which is why he sometimes finds himself on the receiving end of your teasing, wandering hands while out in public. Not that he’s exactly complaining…

~~~

Amajiki spares a quick glance down at you between his thighs, his half-lidded eyes revealing the insincerity behind his initial words. We really shouldn’t. He really wants to though. He just wishes that you were both in the privacy of his bedroom and not in such a public area. But regardless of the words that have slipped from his mouth, he raises a shaky hand and cups your cheek, needing to feel you closer to him. Your eyes instantly glance up at him and the intimacy behind your stare causes him to suck in a quiet breath.

“Nobody’s here, Tamaki,” you reassure him with a small smile. “It’ll be okay, I promise.” You emphasize your words with a light squeeze from your hand that’s wrapped around his already hard cock, moving it slowly upward and watching as a small bead of precum appears at his tip. A noise escapes his lips, one resembling a shy whimper, as he lowers his head and closes his eyes, clearly trying to hide behind the small curtain of indigo hair covering his face.

He figures that if you can’t see him, he won’t have to worry so much about the reactions he’s sure you’re about to pull out of him. It’s always like this, he knows, with you touching his body in such heavenly ways and with him, not being able to control the noises that come out of his mouth, nor the expressions that overtake his face.

“O-okay,” his breath catches in his throat, shutting his eyes even tighter at the sensation of your warm tongue licking at the stray bead of precum now dribbling down his length. “Just– please go fast,” he replies in his all-too-familiar shy tone, albeit a hint of frenzy now accompanying his quiet words as his hips slightly buck up into your hand.

“Oh. So you want me that bad, huh?” You tease and watch as his eyes immediately shoot open.

“No! That’s not what I meant,” his blush travels to the tips of his pointed ears, the pink shade immediately standing out against his dark strands. “I-I mean I do,” he admits, “but I just don’t want us to get caught.” He glances around once more, feeling more on edge now from your teasing remarks accompanying the anxiety he had felt previously at possibly getting caught.

“Don’t worry, baby,” you smile sweetly at him again, feeling a warm sensation spread throughout your chest at his adorable, timid nature. “I won’t tease or stall anymore, I just want to make you feel good. You planned this entire picnic for us and I just wanted to say my thanks,” you look up at him with a playful twinkle in your eye.

“You know you don’t have to do that this way. Or… Or right now, you know,” he breathes out, whimpering and throwing his head back slightly as you squeeze the base of his cock, making sure to give his tip a little kitten lick.

“I know, but what can I say? I guess I just can’t get enough of you,” you quietly laugh.

And with that small compliment, he seems to lose all ability to speak. He seems to lose himself entirely, actually. All he can manage right now is giving himself over to you and letting you pleasure him the way he always loves, the way he always thinks about in secret whenever you aren’t around and he has only his hand to satiate his needs. No amount of worrying or anxiety in the back of his mind can make him stop you now. No– Now, he needs you.

With eyes shut tight and hands fisting the blanket underneath him, Amajiki’s soft moans drift off into the lush meadow, the intoxicating, shy noises sounding perfect against the beauty of this new special place he has found for you both.

You figure he’ll have to take you here more often. That way you can properly thank him all over again.

[teecupangel]

Thoughts ond the new web comic for ac black flag?

Someone in the Kenway bloodline is a whore and I hope the plot twist is it isn’t Edward but Haytham. XD

Okay, so in all seriousness, Edward Kenway is like the 2nd poster boy of Assassin’s Creed and it shows. Before this webtoon, there was also a manga called Assassin’s Creed Black Flag: Kakusei (usually translated as ‘Awakening’) and it is considered as noncanon (where the descendant is a half-Japanese student that's Edward's descendant from his mother's side) while the webtoon seemed to be considered to be canon.

So for the webtoon, I have dipped my feet in the high seas and all I could find was the Indonesian version for the 1st chapter so I can’t be sure of what’s happening but the main character is a descendant of Edward Kenway and this is set after Black Flag.

Which is a bit weird as the ending of Black Flag made it clear that Edward was returning to England with Jenny but it’s highly possible that Edward is in that time period where he’s looking for Isu related artifacts and temples for the Brotherhood (which included the temple in Alamut).

I always assumed that Edward had that adventure after Haytham was born as noted in AC wiki though but, because this webtoon is supposed to be canon and set after Black Flag, it's highly possible it must have taken the genetic memory of Edward Kenway from the main character and one of the plot points is that Edward would have a love interest in this one and the main character is a descendant of Edward and that love interest.

Because if they were using Desmond Miles' genetic memory, the Edward Kenway portions of the webtoon must happen between late 1722 - early 1725 (at most 8~10 months before December). In other words, before Haytham is conceived.

If they were using the main character's genes though, it's free game 'cause I won't be surprised if Edward cheated on someone like Tessa Kenway. (cheating is bad though so please don't)

Now, one could argue, “maybe they’re using Edward’s remains like what Layla did?” and yes, that’s a possibility. Just because the main character is a descendant does not mean Abstergo is using his actual genetic memory to access Edward’s memories. For all we know, he’s being used to get a high synchronization rating using the DNA from Edward's remains.

So I guess we’ll just have to see where this goes.

But the most important thing:

The fuck is this? Is that supposed to be Altaïr and Ezio???

Are you guys telling us he’s also the descendant of Altaïr and Ezio?! Because I call bullshit on that. This would mean that this dude would have had to have a similar genetic makeup to Desmond unless you’re going to say “oh, the Altaïr genes came from Darim not Sef, don’t worry”. One of the main points in AC is that Desmond is the only known descendant of Auditore AND Ibn-La'Ahad blood (until Elijah). If the main character has the same bloodline as Desmond, then dear god, Minerva’s gonna grab this innocent bystander and drag him to the Grand Temple to be sacrificed instead of Desmond.

Or is this another case of “we thought that Ezio was Altaïr’s descendant, oops!” that I’ve seen in two different official Japanese AC booklet???

Although...

So wild wild theory...

Absolutely not gonna happen...

The age of the main character is a bit of a mystery but if this is set in 2023 and he's around mid teens to at most 19, he could be another one of Desmond's kids. 20 is pushing it and anything beyond that though would be, uuuhhh, possible but you don't wanna think about that.

[glitchy-npc]

Smooth As Silk

Series: Fallen Hero Pairing: @ladyshivs's Salvatore Anzetti (he/him) / Tegan Wells (he/him. Tegan's POV. Warnings: none Word count: 1054

It tastes too much like what I used to do back at the Farm not to leave a bad taste in my mouth but I can put the mask on all the same. Be confident, charming, respectable.

Play nice.

Allying with Mafioso wasn’t my first choice but the rumors coming out of San Francisco make me nervous and along with our mutual – well, friend seems too strong a word – Hollow Ground, the partnership makes sense. Even if it's just a facade, a unified front of the gangs of Los Diablos should be more than enough to give Lord Ember pause. 

If we can keep from killing each other. 

Navigating the city's underworld has always felt like wading into shark infested waters and hoping they don’t smell blood. It's the nature of this business, I just need to make sure I’m not the one bleeding. 

One look around Mafioso’s base tells me he’s a shark that feeds well.  It’s lavish, to the point of being gaudy, Salvatore Anzetti is a man that likes to flaunt and spend his money. 

Which means he probably doesn’t skimp on his security and defense measures either. How much of an idiot am I to have agreed to meet on his turf? How much trust am I willing to balance on this alliance? My strongest consolation is that if he wanted to take me out he wouldn’t have invited me to his home to do it. The furniture in here is too nice for bloodstains. 

And I can’t knock his hospitality. 

He doesn’t seem to have any concerns about turning his back to me to open a bottle of champagne. Real champagne, imported, expensive. He offers me a glass and I’m glad we decided to meet out of armor, the delicate crystal stems never would have stood a chance otherwise. 

“To our partnership, though temporary, may it be a fruitful one.” He toasts as our glasses clink together. There’s a flash of memory from past missions that's enough to make my teeth ache.  He wears the recognizable smile of an actor and a liar but it fits his face well.

Poison is a possibility, wouldn’t even notice it under the taste of alcohol and bubbles and it's less messy than a bullet, depending. 

He holds the glass to his lips, but doesn’t drink. He must know I’m considering the poison angle, daring me to take the first sip.

So I do. Hell, if I die at least it was good champagne. 

It's not as if I didn’t expect him to try and intimidate me, make me sweat a little. He takes a sip as well.

“So, Mafi-” I don’t even get the name out before he interrupts me. 

“Please, I’m not Hollow Ground, we can use names…Tegan.”

I hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t expected to like the way my name sounded on his lips either, not an insult, it sounded more like…no, that's ridiculous. 

“Very well.” I’ll save his name. No need to play every card yet. 

He plays with the stem of his champagne flute. “May I ask you a personal question?”

“How personal?”

“It's an innocent one, I promise.” His smile isn’t. I doubt there's anything innocent about a man like Salvatore. But now I’m curious and let him continue.

“Why all black?” He gestures to my suit.

“Matches the armor.” I shrug but it's the truth. I want to be seen as Retribution both in and out of the armor. 

“You look like you're dressed for a funeral.” His tone is light for a man talking about death. 

“That sends a message in itself, don’t you think?” 

He makes a small noise in agreement. Looking at his elaborate suit it's clear he knows how clothing can make a statement. The one he seems to be going for is ‘look at me’. 

“Still…” He steps closer. Too close. Close enough to catch his cologne, warm and earthy. He reaches out to the lapel of my jacket, testing the fabric between his fingers and thumb. “You could use a little color.” He drops his hand as he turns his back to me again, meandering to the other side of the room and I slowly let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. 

I’m proud of myself, I didn’t deck him, didn’t even flinch. After all, I’m here to play nice. 

He reaches the far wall, hand gliding over a panel I didn’t even see and when the door slides open automatically I can’t help my hand reach for my gun. Maybe I’ve lost my cool but If he’s going for a weapon he’s in for a surprise.

But it's not an armory, it's…a closet? He chuckles a little over his shoulder at my reaction and I cross my arms over my chest, forced to swallow my pride like a bad pill. 

He searches for something and I can't tell if he's genuinely looking or just wasting my time. He seems to find what he was looking for with a triumphant grin. He turns to display his discovery. 

It's a tie.

As he closes the distance between us again I can make out the details. It's a black silk tie but embroidered in the center is a single peacock feather in metallic blues, greens and what I can only assume is real gold thread. I won’t deny it's beautiful. 

“Consider it a gift.” He holds it out between long ringed fingers, gesturing to my lack of tie. “May I?”

I hadn’t worn one for a reason, no need to give him any extra leverage if it turned into a fight, but I surprise myself with a nod, I’m not sure I trust my words. 

What made me dodge the poison and the bullet only to gladly accept the noose? It's only as he slips it around my neck I realize it's not a noose but a snare, pulling me into a kiss I had half a million chances to stop.

I just didn’t want to. 

His lips are soft and warm and sweet from the champagne. He doesn't even tense when I slip my hand around the back of his neck pulling him closer. His tongue slides into my mouth like an open invitation and maybe he has the upper hand but…

I sure don't feel like I’m losing.

[kidsnextdoor-doodles]

Prob know the answer to this but: opinions on either fanny or rachel? Just as characters in General, what couldve been done better abt them, or what shouldve been explored more?

Goes insane

I was waiting to be asked this. I’ve been incredibly attached to Fanny and Rachel since day one cause they were the first KND characters I saw other than Sector V and what got me interested in the show (mostly because I was thinking “the hell is that blonde kid wearing??”)

Fanny is my all-time favourite KND character and one of my top five favourite characters from any media ever. So I kinda like her. Idk how to describe why I like her so much but I think she’s generally written well. I wish that they’d at least attempted to give her an actual Irish accent cause hearing her voice for the first time physically pained me as an Irish person. Also, why did they name her that it’s SO awkward talking about her to people I know irl and it’s worse because she is Irish herself, the gag is so much cruder over here than in the us. Also, they needed to stop trying to give her male crushes it isn’t fooling anyone, numbuh 19th century barely exists in my head. There are a few things I would’ve liked to see explored, like her relationship with her family since I feel like we only got tidbits of it, and I wanted to see her and Kuki actually being friends after op Slumber. And I wanted to see her and Abby interacting more but that’s purely because I like both of them a lot. Also backstory on why she went from being a nurse to a Decom soldier!! What happened she looks so innocent in the op Maurice flashback. When I first watched I expected at least something being implied but we basically got nothing. I just wish we got to see more of the Decom squad and how they work. I have a lot of thoughts about Fanny that I cannot put into words right now or ever and I also do not want this to be too long but just know there’s more! That I could say!

Rachel is my 2nd favourite KND character (who would’ve guessed) and, as I said before, her garish outfit is what compelled me to get into KND. Op IT is one of my favourite episodes because I like how it portrays Rachel. It’s what set KND apart from other shows cause I don’t think a lot of kids' shows at the time would’ve acknowledged how, realistically, stressful the job of being supreme leader would be, especially for a kid. I wish we could’ve seen more of her, especially from before she became supreme leader. I know it’s a small moment in hindsight but the end scene of op fugitive gives me the idea that she acted really differently before she became supreme leader. Maybe it’s just me but compare how she scolded Fanny to how she scolded Nigel in op Zero, the one in op Fugitive just seems more personal and rude. And the fact she wanted to be the supreme leader when Chad left even though it’s established that no knd operative wants to be makes me think she was a bit arrogant before she became supreme leader. I also wish we could’ve seen her interacting with other moonbase operatives like 65.3 and 35. Also her and Chad!! They definitely were close in some way why didn’t we get to see it?!

Unsurprisingly I wish we could’ve gotten more of Fanny and Rachel’s relationship. Obviously, Fanny has a lot of respect and admiration for Rachel, which isn’t connected to Rachel’s status as supreme leader since she felt the same way before Rachel became supreme leader. Honestly, the most compelling part of their relationship to me is that there’s a bit of a disconnect between how they each view it. Fanny admires Rachel but she doesn’t consider Rachel a friend since she claims she doesn’t have any in op Slumber. But Rachel openly calls Fanny by her name which the show itself establishes is for really close friends so it’s clear that Rachel considers Fanny a friend. I’d have to guess that Fanny’s self-doubt and how much she respects Rachel makes it so that Fanny can’t imagine that Rachel would be her friend. These girls need to communicate. Also, they’ve known each other for a long time since they’re both in the op Maurice flashback. And the fact they could’ve been in the same sector cause both their brothers are in sector w. God! There’s just so much potential and I wish the show explored just a little bit of it! At least I wanted there to be a moment where it’s said out loud they’re friends cause I’m sick of people trying to claim Rachel dislikes Fanny it isn’t true (is incredibly biased)

[1296-very-good-year]

Just for fun, here are some excerpts from the last wow novel that explored Anduin's mental state (Shadow's Rising) immediately PRIOR to his kidnapping, torture, mind control, and however many years wandering around alone with crippling ptsd:

1) They had reached the fences. Anduin grasped one of the crossbeams and squeezed, the old, battered wood creaking. He wanted to break it. He wanted it to snap. A surge of anger made him close his eyes, as if he were afraid of what Alleria might see there.

The hunt would continue, and he, as king, would find a way to keep faith in their odds of victory. That was his duty. A man had to know his limits, but he could not reach that limit, not yet; too many depended on him now.

The fence beam snapped. Just another thing to fix.

Another in a long, long line of things to mend.

2) He strangely wanted to stay in the crypt, to sit there among the dead and know their pain, their stories. It seemed easier than facing another day of frustration and failure.

3) Jaina: “Alleria and Turalyon tortured that smuggler in front of me. She used the Void to infiltrate his mind while he held him prisoner with chains made from the Light. It looked unspeakably painful.” She rounded the table, searching his face. “My king…I worry that their tactics represent you poorly. Every one of us, every soldier, is in service to your crown. We stand under your banner, and if their actions are sanctioned by your rule, what does that say about us?”

Anduin did not speak for a long while, though his smile diminished. He shook his head, turning away from her, pacing back and forth across the lush green carpet beneath their feet. Finally, he crossed to a large brazier in the corner belching healthy flames. Flattening his hand, he passed it back and forth just above the reach of the fire.

“What does it say?” he echoed. He sounded almost offended that she had to ask. “It says we will do whatever we must to bring murderers to justice. It says we will not forget those lost in war. It says we will not forget Teldrassil, or Lordaeron. It says we will not forget the mak’gora. It says that we will not forget the flames blazing over the Veiled Sea, or the fires reflected in the eyes of a thousand mourning children.”

4) His skin looked worn and blue around the eyes, exhausted smudges painted beneath.

Thrall knew that look well, had experienced it himself many times —the sleepless, sallow ravages of leadership. It had been mere months since he had last clapped eyes on the king of Stormwind, yet he seemed to have aged a full year.

5) Anduin found himself before the great carved fireplace in his bedroom on the floor, legs tucked up to chest, catatonic, eyes unable to close, mind unable to clear, the flames just inches before him searing into his vision until tears poured down his cheeks.

6) Anduin after meeting some young alliance soldiers in a bar while in disguise: They lapsed into song, forgetting all about their new “friend.” But Anduin wouldn’t soon forget them. He looked at each of their faces in turn, memorizing them, wondering how long it would take until they too turned up on a freezing slab beneath the Cathedral of Light, innocent lambs before the slaughter.

7) Anduin to Jaina: "Sometimes I need to be a boy again. I think about all the soldiers giving their life to serve the Alliance, and I think: How? How can they be so young? Those three brave souls inside, they think they’re ready to die. Ready to die for me. It isn’t fair. It…it should make everything stop. The whole world should stop and point at that, but it doesn’t. Everything just rolls on, the world forgets, and I have to pretend like their sacrifice isn’t a cruel, heartbreaking joke.”

8) Anduin made a soft sound of disgust and stood, hovering over her, considering her for a long and tense spell. A wisp of purple energy traveled down his arm, gathering in his palm. It happened in a blink, coming and going, dissipating before Mathias could see for certain what the king had done.

It startled Anduin enough to make him stumble backward. Shaw felt Jaina’s eyes upon him, and he glanced her way. If he was rattled before, the fear etched upon Jaina’s brow shook him to the core. Anduin winced, breathing hard, shaking out his hand before leaning back against the wall. Shaw knew better than to be staring when the king’s eyes began to roam their faces for a reaction.

So.. you know... He hasn't been great for a while.

Also, just considering it now, when Anduin winces and shakes out his hand after calling on the void, is that implying that the Light/Divine Bell hurt him for it? Cuz that's what it reads like to me 🤔

And if the Light has left him, does the Bell still bother him? Or is that gone too? Questions questions.

[elina-sakura]

I’m just going say it although the book of death/Shinigami’s powers is cool also the big idea of the gameplay;in a way is kinda useless mostly on the fact the culprit dies,i mean HOW ARE YOU GONNA GET A CLEAR TRUTH WITHOUT A CLEAR CONFESSION!!!,also it just made it worse now that there now a person mysteriously dies out of nowhere,but they managed to put it in storyline sooooooo

Yeah something to think about

I think maybe it has to do with since Shinigami is the God of Death, her power is going to have a connection over on death. But you bring up a good point that it isn’t exactly useful considering it makes exposing the criminals harder.

Until I remember in Chapter 0 after the first Mystery Labyrinth from a YouTube gameplay I watched, where Shinigami comments how Yuma is now free since the culprit is dead, which the YouTuber comments that wasn’t going to work because Zilch was meant to be dead from the start and they only ended up reaffirming that narrative the Peacekeepers were painting to begin with. And I was thinking to myself, ‘didn’t they already figured out that the Peacekeepers were in on the plan in the Mystery Labyrinth? So why did she think the Peacekeepers would let him go if they were planning to frame him anyway?’ And that led me to think really hard about this.

We know Shinigami has the flaws of lacking empathy and not understanding humans at times, since she is an immortal god. I think in her mind, since the culprit is gone, there would be no reason for the Peacekeepers to keep framing him. Plus, again thinking into Shinigami’s mind, I think she believed since the culprit was a murderer would mean they would probably kill more people in the future, so the real goal was to stop a growing threat from claiming more victims like before.

And the killing thing? I think it’s a way to deal the justice in the holder’s own hands, to off the culprits so they don’t keep harming people from the mysteries they made, or claiming anymore victims from their deeds. In Chapter 1, one of the culprit was a serial killer, who would have gone off to kill more people. And the other culprit could have technically become a serial killer himself since he admired the Nail Man so much. Plus, an innocent man was going to get framed and executed for the Nail Man’s crimes to keep up appearances, and seeing how the Priest was going along with the lie, basically implied he was okay letting an actual, innocent man die in his place. Then in Chapter 2, Kurumi gets framed for the crime, and since execution seems to be a thing, she could have been executed herself, all so the Peacekeepers can keep their lies and appearance in place.

Plus, we have seen that the Peacekeepers don’t necessarily care about justice unless it serves them (or the higher-ups like Yomi in this case). They are willing to cover up the mysteries to convenient themselves and get what they want. And considering they are the police force, therefore the handlers of justice in Kanai Ward, they are the only ones in power that can lock away the criminals in hand and bring justice. But because they are so corrupt and self-indulgent, they are more willing to let criminals go or turn a blind eye or fail to solve the case thoroughly. So the Book of Death is the only way to ensure not only are the criminals are properly dealt with, but also cut away the Mystery Labyrinths as well. Since Shinigami has noted that if the Mystery Labyrinth grew and remain, they would influence other people into becoming murderers or criminals that would create more Mystery Labyrinths as well. As it was theorized by Yakool-Foolio that Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret’s own Mystery Labyrinth is what most likely led to the city becoming more crime-filled and creating their own Mystery Labyrinths as well.

It’s also important to note that there are other corrupt officials out in the world like the Unified Government who wants to keep their own secrets hidden away to keep up appearances. So it wouldn’t be far-fetched if there were other corrupt forces like the Unified Government and the Peacekeepers who would keep things secrets for their own benefits. Plus, we learned in chapter five that Number One of the World Detective Organization that he is actually in charge of issuing criminals to be sent to the death penalties, as noted here by Shiut, so I think executions and death penalties are uncommon in the Master Detective Archives world. So it wouldn’t be such a big deal for criminals to just die, even if it is inhumane and cruel.

In conclusion, I think the Book of Death is really a tool used in order to bring about the end of the criminals that threatens peace for everybody and could potentially hurt people (people getting framed, the killers killing future victims, exploiting people, etc). Since there is the chance of corrupt police forces not willing to indulge justice as they should and will let the mysteries remain and therefore the criminals free, the Book of Death is a mean to make sure the criminals and mysteries are gone. It’s a morally grey story where it may not be morally right, but it is not morally wrong either with the circumstances at hand. I think that’s what the Book of Death’s intention are, and why Shinigami thinks the way she thinks.

[starrywho]

MY MORAL OREL “GROUNDED” ANALYSIS! SIT BACK AND RELAX, BECAUSE WE GOT A LOT OF OVER ANALYSING TO DO!

“Checkmate” Clay feels as if he’s in a battle with his own son. He feels like he is against the ones he calls his family which proves how little he cares for them/ trusts them

Bloberta and clay being friendly to one another and talking about being excited for church show how the two bring out the worst in each other. They will put aside their differences to put on this overly positive and excited facade as a way to almost torture their own son by rubbing church in his face. It also shows how easily they can pretend to be entirely different people towards each other and to other people.

“Change is only for hippies and underwear” pretty self explanatory. Shows how clay doesn’t even remotely consider changing himself as an option, and proves the fact that he never will change.

Soul insurance is an obvious way to make Orel feel worse than he already feels. This shows that his punishment from Clay is more for Clay’s own sadistic enjoyment, as he goes out of his way to put a pin in any of Orel’s rationalisations of the situation at hand. Why he enjoys Orel’s struggle is something I’m not too sure of. My personal theory is that he sees Orel as a mini version of himself, and we know that blood relation is the only thing clay cares about when it comes to taking care of children as we see him refer to Orel as “real son of mine” as if he is most proud of that fact and that fact alone. It is also very obvious he does not care for his two other sons, albeit illegitimate, and neglects them in a storage room. So when Orel messes up clay could see it as his own reputation and image being hurt. This means that clay would take offence and see this as Orel trying to sabotage him and his life.

Orel sees church as his one place of sanction. At this point in the show Orel sees his family a little more clearer than he did in season 1 and most of season 2, as the cracks are starting to become more apparent. But I feel that Orel sees church as a way to stay true to what is right, and is more so a safe space for him to feel good about his life. Ever since the start of the series it has been Orel’s mission to learn right from wrong, and church is the only way he thinks he can do that. We also constantly see how Orel is almost ecstatic to enter church, and so tearing it away from him is something shown to very clearly devastate Orel. I think it is also important to mention that Orel goes through clear signs of withdrawal from being away from church, which shows an addiction to his religion.

all the writing on the wall next to the church that I could make out: (reminder that I haven’t read the bible so these interpretations are lacking in biblical context)

Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness - rationalising his dads punishment reasons as a way to cope with no church.

You shall not eat - a reminder for him to not visit the church. Eat means a way to fulfil his desires.

Whitewashed tombs - something that looks beautiful and clean on the outside, but has a more sinister, more devastating inside. Kind of like the way Clay and Bloberta present their family.

Couldn’t make sense of / read the other scriptures.

“Tell god I’m here” orel is either begging god for help as a last ditch attempt at escaping this nightmare. Or he is asking for god to see him even though he isn’t in church, as this may help him prevent going to hell, or so he thinks.

Orel makes a pretty good model of church. Clay takes it away from him to torment Orel even further. It is important to note how clay plays the innocent party in this episode, putting on the faux voice of what a good father should sound like. This is probably used as a way to lie to himself further, and convince himself that he doesn’t have to change. I also believe he does this to act as if Orel is in the wrong here, for the soul purpose of making Orel feel even worse, however the smugness of Clay’s voice also leads me to believe he is just rubbing his own “success” in Orel’s face.

The cardboard church is also shown to have taken five whole days. And if we presume that clay checks on Orel as regularly as he did in this scene, we can presume that he waited for the church to be made, before tearing it down. This shows that he is playing with Orel’s emotions, and giving him a false hope of having a church to pray in. However, when he enters he says “Whatcha making?” which suggests that he has yet to see the church. He doesn’t seem to care about the scripture on the wall however, so whether he is asking with faux ignorance or not is up to you.

Orel grabs at his father in an almost animalistic fashion. This is very out of character for Orel which shows that his need for church outweighs his instincts to behave well. It also shows that he is going through some form of mental anguish, and resorts to wild movements such as this in an effort to protect something he treasures so much.

“I guess you’re really learning something this time” again a way to mock and rub in Orel’s face that he is being punished and there is nothing he can do about it. Orel’s utter face of despair is so brilliantly done in this frame and I think it says it all as to how Orel takes this. It also gives us a grasp on how much this withdrawal from church is getting to him, and taking something that even resembles the church away from him for seemingly no reason could definitely break down the rest of his sanity. And it does.

Halfway through his punishment we now see that Orel has begun to twitch and by the looks of him has lost a lot of sleep. In this scene one of the two is happening. Orel is beginning to hallucinate in terms of hearing mostly the word church in other people’s sentences. This could be to show how church is constantly at the front of his mind as another way to show how affected he is by being banned from it. We also see Block saying church, which is odd as he is known to only know a choice amount of words. I see this as more evidence pointing to Orel imagining things, but we’ll talk about the alternative later.

The shot in this scene is also slightly different to the rest, ignoring of course the very obvious difference in mental states. We see this shot from Orel’s eye level. This suggests that we are seeing things from Orel’s perspective, which could suggest that we are hearing things with his ears. I feel this very much proves that what we are hearing may not be what is actually being said.

However, upon first watch I saw it as his parents are purposefully including church into their sentences as much as possible as another way to torment their son. We see previously that they put aside their hatred for each other to create a faux impression of love towards them as a way to get at Orel, so it would make sense for them to tire of this and up their game so to speak. What you take this scene as, I’ll leave up to you, however the angsty side of me prefers seeing it as this interpretation.

We see Orel run out of the door once the rest of the family leaves, his movements frantic and chaotic as he chases the already disappearing car. He spots his home made church and jumps into it. The animation shows his way of movement to be as if he cannot control his own body, and it definitely reminds me of how some kind of wild animal would move, relating back to his animalistic acts from the last scenes. The way he falls into the trash looks to me like a puppet on strings being thrown into something. This could relate to how Orel is not in control of his situation, but rather the puppet master, his father is.

Once colliding with his church he wears it like a costume and mimicked the sound of church bells whilst hopping down the street. The thunder in this scene is pathetic fallacy for the climax of Orel’s decline into insanity.

Everything else that happens up til Orel being electrocuted is pretty out rightly said. We see Orel’s emotional attachment to church, and both the joy he feels when saying aloud that he is a church, and the horror he feels when he finds out he doesn’t have a cross atop his head, meaning he doesn’t count as a church. This shows us that the comfort of being a church is the only thing keeping Orel afloat currently.

The background of Orel’s dream looks to me like how your eyelids look when you close them, the centre of them being a bright red from the light projecting into them. This could be seen as subtle foreshadowing that Orel is asleep, and not dead. It also looks a lot like blood in the transition scene. This is a bit of a stretch, but blood in dreams can often represent sacrifices that have to be made. We could relate this to Orel’s view on sacrificing his sanity to keep his father happy, which in this case means not going to church. But that’s just my thoughts.

Whilst we’re on the topic of dreams. Being naked in a dream can symbolise vulnerability. Which makes sense since we see Orel in a vulnerable state upon believing that he is not going to heaven. It could also symbolise how after 15 days of no church could have broken him down to a more vulnerable state.

“Is this it? Is this really it?” Says it quite excitedly. Could show that Orel is rather at peace with dying, or it just in fact curious to figure out what actually happens after death.

“You’ve gotta be around here somewhere, I mean- I mean, you’re everywhere!” Says it in a clear manic state. Could show that the only reason he feels at peace with death is that he finally gets to see God, something that he hasn’t been able to do in a while since he was banned from church, and church is a place he feels he can be with God in.

Orel wakes up covered in bandages hearing the applaud of doctor Potterswheel, Clay and Doughy. Clay seems very unfazed by Orel’s accident, and continues the punishment as it was. This shows that Clay does not back down from an already unfair choice, even if it threatened his son’s life. He is even willing to place him back in the same predicament that very obviously tarnished his mental health. It also shows how Clay it totally unable to admit his own mistakes, or when he is at fault.

Orel electrocutes himself via an empty lightbulb socket. He wakes up unsurprisingly in a church. Rather fittingly, being inside a church in dreams represent a connection to God, and can symbolise something that you consider sacred. In this case, the think Orel considers sacred is the very church that symbolises such things. Also he is naked again.

As the door of the church flies open, filling the shot with a bright light, we hear the barks of Bartholomew. This shows us that subconsciously, Orel longs very much for his dog to be alive, and whilst he only mentions his dog once in the show after his death, his dog still lingers in the back of his mind.

When Orel awakes again, Clay is only slightly irritated at the possibility of signing another one of Orel’s death certificates. This cements in place how little he cares for Orel, and more about how his son affects his reputation.

Orel tells doughy he has to die again. Doughy, in his naivety, uses the defibrillators on Orel, killing him once more.

WELP that’s all I did, hope ya liked my interpretation! Gimme your thoughts on what you thought of the episode, and also my writing because there were some things I couldn’t make heads or tails of like the bible quotes. Mostly because I am not Christian so I’ve never read any bible stories. I’ll finish it at 100 followers however :) cya!

also regular art stuff will happen tmrw, so don’t worry about that



[nythowl]

Don’t ever play with me

Pairing: Thomas Shelby x OC

TW: i don’t think of any, maybe some angst and swearing, and kind of sexual stuffs?

Words account: 2744

Note: Well this is my first fanfic with Thomas, and english isn’t my first language, feel free to correct my mistakes!

I feel into a deep obsession with Peaky Blinders lately, and I absolutely had to write something bc i’m going crazy. Also I haven’t watched anything after the 2nd season, so no spoilers

edit: i might turn this into a longer fanfic rather than an one shot, i have a lot of inspiration ;)

Enjoy !

As soon as Thomas entered the room, he saw her. She was standing right next to the bar, surrounded by a few men in black costume, and of course one of her brothers, standing in her shadow. He must have been looking a bit too hard, because she noticed that the three Shelby’s brothers were here. She excused herself, grabbed the glass of wine from the counter and made her way towards the boys. 

She was all smile and pretty eyes, her earrings catching the light and her dress making flowy movement as she rolled her hips. Tommy thought she was pretty confident walking towards a group of criminals men, knowing she just sold them a cargo full of shitty merchandise. 

“Hello sirs, it’s a pleasure to see you here.” she said when she arrived at their level. 

“Pleasure’s all ours.” replied John with a coy smile.

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, before his brothers could make any comments. If eyes could kill, he’d be dead on the spot. Tommy had his hands in his pockets, jaw locked and scowling at his brother, rightly pissed by the naive behavior of John. 

Arthur looked grumpy as always, but more about the fact that he didn’t have the easiness of his brother to be so outfront with such a beautiful creature. John backed away and pretended to watch something else, feeling the cold anger of his brother.

But despite the evident tension even her brothers could feel from across the room full of people, Gabrielle didn’t flinch and kept smiling softly.

“I assume that if all three of you are here and looking so serious, this has something to do with business?” she asked brightly. 

“Right.” replied Tommy.

“Of course it is, I admire your dedication to work!” A little laugh escaped her throat, crystal clear. 

He asked himself how such an angel could be so devilish, selling drugs and all sorts of other illegal things for the account of the family business, while maintaining a perfect and innocent facade.

“Unfortunately I fear we can not talk right now for many reasons. If you want to stay here, I should be able to get some time for you later in the evening. Otherwise we can schedule a meeting dur-

“I’m here because you tried to sell us shit thinking I wouldn’t notice. I don’t like people taking me for a moron. You could either take us to a more private place where we can discuss this calmly, or…” 

Tommy let a little silence hang in the air while giving Gabrielle a discreet look at the cross of his gun. Her whole body language changed, and her brothers around the room became alert, giving clear signs to the Shelby’s that she was well protected.

“I think there is a misunderstanding, I provided you exactly what you asked for. Now is not the place nor the moment to talk about that. I suggest you wait, as it seems to be a rather urgent matter. “

Her honey-like voice and doe eyes were gone. She was standing straighter, her chin held high and looking right at Tommy. She didn’t seem to be fazed by his gaze or his threat. 

Actually, it looked like the more Tommy was trying to intimidate her, the less she was actually impressed. She never backed once, always stood her grounds through the danger. 

Tommy evaluated the situation. He didn’t manage to scare her, and it was not worth pulling a scene right now considering the number of people. A part of him also knew his business with Gabrielle’s family was quite important, and it would benefit him to keep it as it was, rather than starting a war. Even if the girl was seriously getting on his nerves.

He put his hands in the air, surrendering.

“We’ll wait.”

The woman relaxed, and smiled again.

“Perfect then, I’m glad we could find an arrangement.”

The polite and professional mask was back on, as if she just wasn’t threatened to death, a threat which was only pushed back for later by the way.

“Everything you order is on me, as a way to apologize for making you wait.” she walked past them, putting her hand on John’s shoulder as she did so. “Please make sure to enjoy your time here.”

She gave them a last and languid look and left. John watched her walk away, dumbfounded, his eyes fixed on her hips. Tommy slapped him on the back of the head, startling him. He muttered something about his brother being an idiot, and made a beeline to the bar. 

If he was going to deal with this fucking woman, he might as well be drunk. 

Despite the party around and the cheery atmosphere, no one dared getting close to the three brothers. Arthur was getting ridiculously drunk, and John was sulking in his corner, feeling like a punished child. Thomas was as serious as always, keeping a steady eye on Gabrielle.

She was a social butterfly, keeping conversations to everyone. It was now pretty late, and the party had slowed down. Soft music was playing in the background, and people were talking around tables, still drinking and talking about serious matters such as politics and business. 

Gabrielle now had a glass of whisky, and she was talking to an old man and one of her brothers. 

Tommy was starting to get more and more angry, and even his brothers were slowly getting away from him, fearing he might explode. He wasn’t even trying to be patient or subtle anymore, and was pointedly staring at her. She didn’t seem to care or even notice. 

He turned his eyes away for a few seconds to check on his brothers, who had managed to leave him, and were talking to some girls a bit further at the bar. 

When he went back to the woman, she had disappeared. Tommy stood up abruptly, and started scanning the room. 

She was climbing some stairs, trying to get away from people for a moment. The man she was talking to seconds ago was dismissing her, and was clearly more interested in talking business with Lucas, her oldest brother. She tried to slide into the conversation a few times, but was rejected as a child who asks too many questions. 

Anyway, she was going to have to talk to Thomas Shelby, so she decided to leave for a moment before talking to him and his brothers. 

She liked to be prepared when she saw him, at least mentally. She knew she had to take a moment for herself before talking to Thomas, at least to get a hold of herself. This man took every opportunity to try to intimidate or provoke her. Gabrielle was convinced it had nothing to do with her being a woman, it was more about pride and control.

First time she saw them, it was actually Arthur who brought her down and refused to talk business with her. But Thomas didn’t seem to give a fuck, and so they signed a pact to work together. 

The problem came later when she refused to be scared of him. She made it clear that she was working with him, and not for him, and therefore she had no order or bullshit to take from him. 

And Thomas couldn't do anything against her or he would break an important business, and mostly declare war. So he just had to wait for her to make a mistake by trying to break her patience, provoke her and bring her down anytime he could. He always kept her on her nerves, always wanting to scare her.

She couldn’t allow him to have control over her. At first it was a question of business, but then it became personal. 

Those fuckers really ruined her night, especially Tommy. They had the audacity to barge at the party she hosted, where she invited them, and to accuse her of god knows what. 

They didn’t seem to care talking about private and illegal affairs in a public place. Why should they? They were known criminals.

She didn’t even know what happened with what she provided. She even went to check everything was in order herself, because she knew not to mess up with the Shelbys, especially as a woman in business. 

Fucking hell. She could feel herself getting reckless and losing her temper. She was now in the bathroom, drinking water and splashing some in her neck. She cleared her throat and spat in the sink.

“Not exactly what I expected from a lady.”

Gabrielle raised her head in surprise, catching Thomas's reflection in the mirror in front of her. She laughed slightly, but it sounded tired. She looked in his eyes through the mirror.

“Can you expect anything ladylike from a woman selling anything illegal?”

“Yes. I expect that she will respect her word and honor our contract.”

Gabrielle sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry but I truly don’t know what you’re talking about. I was here when the merchandise left and I had just checked it. If you can explain to me further what happened, I’m sure we can find a solution.”

She was still looking at him through the mirror, as he was standing in the back of the room. She was leaning forward, her hands on the bathroom counter. She saw him cross his arms, and his jaw tightening. 

“Stop trying to fuck with me, and tell me the truth.”

Gabrielle let her head fall to avoid having to watch him in the eyes. She let out a nervous laugh and before she could think of what she was saying, drunk words were spilled.

“Darling, if I wanted to fuck you, that’s not how I would do it.”

 She winced just after saying the words. This was going to be the end of her, she knew it. She could already hear him approach, but she did not dare look up.

Suddenly, his chest pushed against her back, her hips were pinned between his and the counter, where he put his hands next to hers. She could feel his breath on her neck, and she heard his slow voice against her skin.

“Oh yeah? And how would you do it?” 

She felt herself trembling slightly, and a warm ball forming in her stomach. In the mirror, she could see him resting against her, and watching intently her reflection with his head tilted, his lips inches away from her ear. 

She couldn’t form any words, let alone a coherent sentence. 

He laughed sarcastically, and she felt the rumble coming from his chest travel through her own body.

“You sure got a big mouth, but you won’t do a thing." he teased again.

Enough with the provocation, she wanted to make him shut up. She actually wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. She had run out of patience, and wanted to finally get back at him for every time he had looked down on her. 

She swiftly turned around, now facing his chest. She pushed herself to sit on the bathroom countertop, and she saw him instinctively reaching for her waist, before she put a hand on his torso. 

He stopped mid-track and noticed he wasn’t actually thinking of what he was doing. Gabrielle looked very pleased with herself, her cheeks were pink, her eyes were a bit glassy and devilish. But she hadn’t finished just yet.

The hand that was resting on his torso grabbed his tie. She slowly wrapped it around her finger while dragging Thomas closer to her. 

She opened her legs and tucked a bit harder to bring him. His hips crashed against hers, riding up her dress almost to the top of her thighs. 

She was still holding his tie, looking up at him, their foreheads nearly touching.

Now his hands were on her waist, she could feel his finger digging in her flesh, she could feel the heat of his body around her, and she could feel his lips inching closer, longing for more.

Shivers were roaming her body, she could barely hide the fact that she was shaking like a leaf. 

It had been years since a man touched her like this. Right now, she was living for his attention, for his desire she could feel burning. 

Thomas was breathing with some difficulties, not really understanding how he ended up in this situation, and why he liked it. Their hips were connected, and the sight of her bare legs drove him crazy. In the desperate need of feeling more, he grabbed her thigh and lifted it up a bit to get them even closer. Now their chests were smashed against each other, and Tommy’s hand had slipped under her thigh, grabbing the soft skin inside her leg. 

Gabrielle drew what was left of her confidence and strength to say a full sentence.

“See? That’s how I would fuck you, if I wanted.”

If she wanted. Of course, if she wanted, she could tear him apart right now, and Tommy would gladly let her. He realized she had him wrapped around her finger. In fact, she had them all. He saw how John fell to his knees every time he saw her, and how Arthur didn’t muster the courage to look her in the eyes. Hell, even Aunt Polly seemed to like her, and that was something in itself. 

Fucking hell. A few minutes ago, he was the one in control, pushing her into a corner.

Now she had him by the balls, quite literally. And she was still looking at him, waiting for his reaction.

“Stop looking at me with those fucking eyes” his voice was clearly threatening.

“What eyes?” she asked innocently, watching him through her eyelashes, raising slightly her eyebrows. 

Talking back was way more fun than answering politely. She was tiptoeing between his wrath and his lust, playing around the edges, and she loved the danger, the rush of it.

He leaned back a bit, taking all his time to watch her, letting his gaze linger on her exposed legs, his hands wrapped around it. One of her straps had fallen, and let an open view to the beginning of her breasts. He took a look at her lips, before meeting her eyes.

“Don’t ever play with me” there was no appeal, what he said was definitive. He didn’t seem to be angry, but his voice was so calm and cold, and she could actually see his rage behind his eyes. 

“Or what.”

Gabrielle feared it was the last words she would ever say. But the alcohol had finally kicked in, and she never felt more alive. She was letting go of months of tension and hatred towards the man, in a rather strange fashion that seemed to work.

Before she knew it, the hand that was on her waist was at the back of her neck, pulling her hair. She let her head fall back as he leaned towards her, supporting her head and firmly gripping her thigh.  

Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist, and she knew that if he were to look down, he would see her panties. Fortunately for her, he was too occupied biting her neck.

Fucking hell, he was biting her neck! She let out a pained noise and panicked a bit about marks that he may leave. 

“Not so eager now, uh? Worried I might leave some bruises?”

He leaned back again so she could sit normally, but he didn’t let go of his hold on her.

“Or I could leave them somewhere only I could see.” he offered while running his rough fingers inside her thigh. 

The seriousness of the situation suddenly hit her like a brick. Was she really going to fuck with him? She didn’t realize what she was doing and what she implied. Actually, a little part of herself knew, and was begging for her to fuck him like an animal, right here, right now. But that was the little part of herself who usually wanted to down a whole bottle of whisky, or jump in the water fully clothed. So not such a good idea. 

But before she could actually decide what happened next, Thomas cut her.

“Don't get worked up over nothing, darling” he insisted on the last word on purpose. “We can be both to play this game”

And with that, he stepped back, totally detaching his body from her. 

[britcision]

Okay this thought has been percolating for a while so let’s piss off people who can’t read

Beau and Fjord were the closest things to villains in Jester’s story

Because Laura very specifically did not create a villain

Lord Sharpe was an afterthought if they happened to be passing through town that Jester hid from for 30 seconds then locked on a second balcony, and he was the closest she ever had

Jester’s story was about growth and reconnecting, neither of which actually came from a beat down fight the way traditional dnd does

So what the fuck does that have to do with Beau and Fjord? Well, that comes back to how each of they interpreted Jester’s arc

Cuz both Marisha and Travis did a good bit of pushing to have Jester go down one of their storylines, even if for the players it was all pre-negotiated fun

Because who were the two potential villains of Jester’s arc, if Laura had wanted to go that way?

Artagan, her cleric patron

The Gentleman, her dad

I believe y’all may now see the two storylines of which I speak?

The Gentleman’s storyline pretty much slipped under the radar until the Nein went back to Zadash and didn’t bother to visit him

After that, Jester admitted she’d been lying about her Sendings to the party, he wasn’t welcoming her with open arms, and he told her he wasn’t her father

Beau, who has Personal Experience with shitty fathers who need to be thoroughly rejected and maybe a beat down, gave Jester some beautiful gentle cuddles and consolation and “well if he doesn’t want you (like my dad didn’t want me) he can go fuck himself he doesn’t deserve you”

But that was not the story Laura wanted to tell

So that’s not the story we got

And oh boy that made the next part where we went back to meet BEAU’S dad extra fucking spicy because she just got to see for the first time that some bad dads really do care

And then Thoreau was still Thoreau and gaslighting ensued but Beau remembered what she’d told Jester, even if Jester didn’t need it

Basically no pushing there cuz Matt didn’t much hesitate to make it clear that the Gentleman was not going to be Thoreau. He was a deadbeat, awkward, and negligent, but not for the same reasons

ARTAGAN THOUGH

Well

Fjord has Opinions and Personal Experience around accepting magical powers from entities you don’t know or trust

And Beau has Opinions and Personal Experience with shady people in positions of power using them against innocent young souls

And neither of them spent 30 seconds to consider Jester might know her childhood bestie better than they do because they were right that he wasn’t a god

So as soon as Matt began dropping archfey hints we got like 40 episodes of “the Traveler’s shady and isn’t a proper god” and “hey Jester we can just kill him for you”

Because they can’t just go kill Uk’otoa, they’re not levelled enough and he’s pretty inconvenient to get to all locked up

But Fjord burned his pact weapon and walked straight into the Wildmother’s arms, and oh boy a lot of people who don’t think about personality types wanted Jester to do just that on the ol’ bird app

(Even Laura agreed Jester’d be more likely to go to the Moonweaver in Talks, either because of the Travelercon thing or the trickery/Mollymauk aspect)

But Laura didn’t want to tell that story either, even if Travis did make off with her warlock class

So Artagan made it explicitly clear, in every interaction, that he knew Jester was incredible without him (that’s why he chose her at all), that he valued far more than just what she could do, that he never even told her he was a god, he just never corrected the assumption

Cuz he’s an archfey and he also has a minor personal history of starting cults (not to himself the first time but bad habits escalate)

Artagan was the one who talked Jester down from just tossing people into the volcano

He was the only one who never joked about her being a bad cleric, but the Nein ain’t ready for that

And he explicitly chose her safety over his own, which for the uninitiated is A Big Fucking Deal for an archfey

Like, the Moonweaver’s response was entirely proportional, because as Fearne has shown, fey aren’t great at the “some things belong to other people and that is okay”, including personal health and wellness

(Laura also mentioned in Talks that if Fjord hadn’t grabbed her while she was holding Artagan Jester wouldn’t have hesitated to go with him but Matt knew exactly what she wanted and they were Never going to go down the “evil Artie” track)

So since we know The Gentleman was never going to be Jester’s villain, and Artagan was never going to be Jester’s villain, what’s left?

Well, just about all you’ve got is the two people who repeatedly challenged her faith and tried to force her into conflict with her first and oldest friend

And maybe “antagonist” is a better word than villain, but I did say I wanted to piss off people who can’t read

Cuz unlike with the Gentleman, the Artagan question wasn’t dropped until the night after Travelercon, where Jester very gently told them to go fuck themselves of course Artagan was there to stay

And of course if Laura wasn’t down with it, none of the pushing woulda happened

But until that point literally all of Jester’s conflict was internal, and nobody really talked to her about it

And Beau and Fjord’s responses make perfect sense for the characters, just like it makes perfect sense that Jester wasn’t gonna willingly confide in people who kept pushing for murder

Jester needed to be pushed enough to break the happy facade and let some of her struggles and thoughts be external, because some people still somehow refuse to believe there’s any depth behind a bubbly smile and dick jokes

For Jester’s growth to be evident and external in the story, she needed something to fight against, and in this case?

It was her new friends hating her old friend

The friend who gave her the power to save their lives

Two of the people she was the closest to whose opinions meant the most

Her original two road companions vs her original friend

And boy did that make for some compelling conflict when Artagan blatantly refused to get involved even in his own defence

In a way Jester kinda did follow Beau’s story; I’ve made the link between Artagan and Dairon before as older, more powerful mentors with unknown intentions

Beau chose to trust Dairon and follow in their footsteps and let Dairon make her more powerful

Jester sort of wound up leading Artagan as much as he led her, which is a fun callback to Beau calling out Dairon’s anti-Krynn racism in Xhorhas

But yeah, tl;dr?

Beau and Fjord were the closest thing Jester got to an antagonist because Laura explicitly refused to make her own and Matt let her have the story she wanted

[aeide-thea]

[cw for discussion of abortion, fictional depictions of underage sex, and CSAM]

people are inevitably going to use whatever language about a topic reflects their own framing and priorities, and i don’t necessarily see that as being inherently disingenuous. like, people who support abortion access typically self-describe as ‘pro-choice,’ not pro-abortion, and that’s not because they aren’t, in many cases, pro abortions for those who need or want them, but because they fundamentally frame the issue in terms of bodily autonomy, and prioritize pregnant persons’ right to self-determination. people who don’t support abortion access, on the other hand, typically self-describe as ‘pro-life,’ despite the body count historically and currently associated with abortion bans, because they frame the issue in terms of babies’ lives and prioritize their preservation, no matter the overall human cost.

i’m personally strongly pro-choice, and while i’d frankly be fully willing to self-describe as pro-abortion, it’s not the first language i’d use: because the fundamental goal as i see it isn’t necessarily to increase the number of abortions performed, it’s to increase people’s ability to determine the course of their own lives, and to parent as and when they choose, rather than by default or coercion. i could, and have, gotten mad about the anti-abortion camp’s refusal to admit it’s anti-choice, but frankly, i think plenty of them would admit they were anti-choice if pressed—they’d say, yeah, sorry, i do think an innocent life is more important—and i don’t ultimately see that fight as being all that useful, really, because i don’t think the language either side uses conceals the fundamental conflict for any meaningful length of time.

similarly, i don’t think it’s fair to say ‘why won’t the anti-AO3-censorship camp just admit they’re pro-CP’—it’s because fundamentally, the organizing principle of the anti-censorship position is, wait for it, anti-censorship. you don’t have to love fiction that depicts underage characters in sexual situations to be concerned about the implications of saying you can’t produce/host/consume fiction that fits that description. (also, ‘fiction that depicts underage characters in sexual situations’ is not the same as CSAM; to elide that distinction is to ignore the extremely relevant question of ‘were real, non-fictional children abused to produce this material,’ and to activate hearers’ disgust in an attempt to forestall a more considered response.) taking a hardline anti-censorship position unavoidably entails defending even commonly-reviled vectors of, again, fictional exploration, but i don’t think it’s therefore disingenuous of the anti-censorship camp not to self-identify as ‘pro-grossness’: on the contrary, it’s a clear, forthright declaration of what they (we) see as the central issue.

[disappointingyet]

Fallen Angel

Director Otto Preminger Stars Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell USA 1946 Language English 1hr 38mins Black & white 

Well-textured small-town noir

It’s late night on a long-distance bus up the California coast. In a nowhere town called Walton, the driver bounces a passenger who doesn’t have the fare to get to San Francisco but was hoping to stay unnoticed. 

This is Eric (Dana Andrews), and it’s soon clear he’s a grifter. He fetches up at a small diner where the owner and the regulars are worried about the waitress, who has gone missing. When she does turn up, it seems that their concern isn’t purely innocent as Stella (Linda Darnell) is, as they used to say, a knockout and a little too much for Walton. Eric falls just as hard as the rest. Pretty soon he’s trying to figure out out how to hustle up enough cash to make him a serious contender for her attention…

And that’s as far as I want to describe the plot, even though we haven’t yet introduced top-billed Alice Faye, who plays June. 

While there is one ingredient in the story that felt obvious pretty early, the rest surprised me. As I have written before, there’s a game you can play with classic film noirs of guessing what – considering the production code – they will let the characters get away with. This one had me stumped. 

The year before, Andrews had starred in Laura, a great film directed, like this one, by Otto Preminger. In Laura, he plays a tough detective investigating a murder in fashionable society, sometimes feeling he’s bossing these fops around, at others a bit out of his depth. 

Fallen Angel has him in a very different situation, as a man with no power living on his wits. I never think, ‘Ah, I’m looking forward to seeing what Dana Andrews does in this movie’, but he was the male lead in a bunch of excellent noirs. He looked like he could take a punch, land a punch and has a rough charm. He’s clearly not on a level with Bogart or Robert Mitchum or Robert Ryan, but I guess he fits alongside Alan Ladd and above, say, Victor Mature. Preminger certainly seems to have valued him – this is one of four they made together but he’s also in Fritz Lang, Elia Kazan and Howard Hawks movies.

One thing I found interesting here is the portrayal of the travelling psychic who Eric teams up with briefly. The movies, by and large, want to believe in the supernatural (and magic, and aliens). But here the ‘psychic’, in the manly safe space of the diner, is happy to discuss the tools of the con. 

Fallen Angel is a film that deftly uses elements that could in other hands be clanging: the contrast between seedy waterfront and prissy suburbs (and the women from these places), the sense that the big city is geographically so near yet still unreachable…

I like a lot of the films Preminger made in the 1950s and ‘60s, but they got very, very, very long. Under the constraints of the ‘40s, he showed he could tell a full story in an admirable 100 minutes. And that’s a great thing.

[sneezemonster15]

Hi i just wanted to correct, I have seen you mention about Naruto’s nosebleed at Kurama’s mention of his kiss with Sasuke multiple times, but that isn’t actually a nosebleed, it’s a snot. It looks like a nosebleed because I’m pretty sure the image of that panel you have is in low quality therefore it looks like a black line, making it look like a nosebleed. In other versions with a better quality, you can see that there is a thin clear space between the lines, instead of one black line, and it is a snot.

It's possible. Because this coloured version shows it as a snot.

However, why I find this panel still very curious is due to this whole scene. This little breakdown of Naruto basically works as a breather, a comedic relief in the midst of the intensity of war. But it's so very out of place. Kishi could have found a dozen different ways to create a comedy breather here, given we have goofy Naruto, tsundere Kurama and bunch of other jinchuurikis and tailed beasts. But out of nowhere, the kiss is brought up by Kurama. Naruto has already been shown to say he doesn't get this interest in women, before this in Shippuden, we know that he would be daydreaming about Sasuke but when asked by Sakura about it, he would get very guilty and lie about it. He certainly finds Sasuke very good looking, and not Sakura (whose looks he doesn't even notice despite her nudge in the chapter 'homecoming'), we have witnessed him feeling fluttery and excited in his lower abdomen at the thought of sparring with Sasuke before, and in the meantime he has been working on his reverse harem jutsu in secret, where he evidently uses Sasuke's looks as his muse, which basically shows that's the kind of men he finds sexy looking.

Considering all of that, what could be the reason for Kishi to write this out of the blue scene here if he didn't want to say something with it? We already know that Kishi consistently layers Naruto's sexuality with layers so as to obfuscate it with a comedic cover/facade. And have we seen a character snot up his face which really shows sexual arousal? Yep.

With the King of Perversion Jiraiya himself. We know that Jiraiaya is a pervert and Naruto's transformation has obviously 'affected' him a certain way, but it is a snot. The last panel is a nosebleed. And that's how it has been shown in the anime as well.

Now why would Naruto be shown snotting at a randomly orchestrated scene which seems very out of place in the midst of a very serious situation? Kishi wanted to remind us of Sasuke and his effect on Naruto, and he layered it with a comedic situation, but why do it with the accidental kiss? Lol. And why show Naruto having such a super silly exaggerated reaction to it? Even if it is meant for comedy, I am almost sure Kishi is not an innocent party here. Lol. There are too many suspicious things about this scene for me to ignore it.

It possibly is a snot, I agree, however it certainly gives one food for thought, doesn't it?