#could have defined it further but nah

[goldieclaws]

is hold 🦔🐉

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[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

(hi thank you for being understanding about my question and being cool with doing this!) can I ask for headcanons for somethin like movie night with the 501st? Gender neutral reader is fine

Of course babes. 🩷 We can do movie night any night with the 501st!

Warnings and Information: There’s nothing to do in the barracks tonight, and it’s been a long time since anyone’s seen a good movie. So, throw in like fifteen packets of popcorn in the microwave (one at a time, Hardcase) to get this popcorn poppin’, because the 501st + one good friend is having a movie night! (Once mostly everyone agrees on what to watch, of course…) Blankets, pillows, snacks, and cozy Clone cuddle-piles galore~ Who’s falling asleep first? 😴 2nd person POV with an undescribed reader who has a gender neutral nickname. Bullet point format. We’ll use a little Mando’a, as a treat. Fluff and good feelings all around. Everyone’s happy. Everyone’s safe. 💙

Word count: 1,652

The previews

There’s no paperwork to do, there’s no assignment they need to ship out for in the morning, and they’ve gone ahead and tidied up the bed racks for good measure. They could play some Sabbac to kill the time, but they’ve either lost or misplaced more than half the deck, and they don’t feel like the lights and thumping bass of the local drinking hole tonight. (It’s just not quite the same as 79’s…) Nobody really has the energy to do much of anything, but given their purpose and training as soldiers, they don’t often have nights like this where they simply do… nothing. Being idle leaves a gnawing feeling of discomfort for many in the 501st, so they’re trying to come up with a plan.

“Uh-oh. Hardcase has his thinking face on.” someone mumbles, growing slightly uneasy. 

“I got it. I’m gonna call someone.” Hardcase declares, punching in one of his favorite contacts on the comlink. This makes the ARC troopers slightly nervous. “Not the Captain, I hope-” Fives chimes in warningly. “With any luck he’s just gone to the mess.”

Hardcase shakes his head, grinning broadly before he punches ENTER on the device. “Nah, I’m not calling the Captain right now, I’m callin’ Ember!”

You’re a favorite of the 501st. At least, that’s your theory. 

And through one series of events after the other, you've become well acquainted with them and their antics.

Why else would you possibly need to be commed in the middle of a meal? “Don’t answer that.” Captain Rex advises you. You both barely started eating. It’s not an emergency tone. It can wait. But… maybe you should see who it is, first? “Umm… Hardcase is calling me.” you reply. That means one of two likely scenarios.

Boredom, or trouble.

Specifically future trouble.

(Or he’s in trouble.)

You’re at least going to see how urgently you need to scarf down your meal so the Captain has time to enjoy his for once in three blue moons. “Hello? What's going on Hardcase?” 

“Hey little flame, you wanna do something tonight? We’re bored!”

“Define bored…” You’re gonna regret asking that, you’re sure. “And who’s “we” exactly, Hardcase? How many others are listening?” The jumbled cacophony of names and voices tells you it’s mostly Torrent Company, which you pretty much expected. “... hi Echo and Fives… hello Dogma … hey there Tup, I’m doing okay, thanks… yup, just trying to eat a little dinner, Kix…” 

So why exactly did he call you, you ask Hardcase, exchanging wary glances with the cobalt captain. What's going on? "Do you know where we can find a lot of popcorn for a movie night? You and the Captain are invited too of course, little flame!"

Grab your snacks…

The bunkroom has been torn apart by the time you and Captain Rex make your way in from the mess hall, and it smells better than you imagined for military sleeping quarters. Lots of beds are missing mattresses, bedding, and pillows. Except for Dogma's. His is untouched, saved for a slight rumple in the sheets. "Boys, we're here! … Where'd all the stuff go?" You step further into the room, and find all the missing mattresses laid side-by-side on the floor near one end of the room, where everyone's either currently wrangling with the holo-projector, or taking down a few posters from the wall to clear the space that will serve as your "screen". Tup spots the pair of you first. "Oh, good. Captain and Ember are here!" 

Hardcase is grateful that you found some popcorn for movie night, and that you could come join in for the fun. "There ya are, burc'ya! Just in time to start deciding on a movie!" He offers to get a jump on getting all the popcorn bags popped too, with the promise it's not going to be like last time. Trying to pop more than one bag resulted in a small fire, last time, evidently. 

Jesse and Kix are scouring over the descent film selection together, sorting them by type or genre. Action. Horror. Family-oriented. There's- how'd this kids movie end up in here? Eh, no thanks on the war films, we see enough of that. "What about a comedy?" you suggest, rifling through the stack to see what your pickings are there. There's a couple you do and don't recognize, and some that are tied to fond memories from before the war. "This is a good one, I think most of you guys will like it. I used to watch this a lot whenever I needed a good laugh, or some cheering up." 

Everyone agrees to give it a shot at least if that's what you recommend. In any case, it'll be difficult to get everyone to agree on one holo, and more than half of men squeezed around you on this giant raft of mattresses, blankets and pillows will probably fall asleep partway through it anyhow. 

… and enjoy the show!

"C'mon Dogma, come join us!" you urge with a friendly smile, seeing him return to his neatly-made bunk. "There's plenty of room, I'm sure." Tup and Hardcase, slightly sprawled next to you on your left, would need to move a bit to make it happen. Echo and Fives are sitting nearest the projector, their shoulders brushing against one another with every little movement. Jesse has positioned himself nearest the Captain, who is also beside you on your right. "It's okay if you don't, either. Nobody's gonna force you." you add pointedly, just as you feel someone start to pull his legs under him to go drag his brother into the tangle of limbs and bedding. Maybe he's more comfortable on his bunk. Or perhaps he's not interested in a film right now.

The lights are dimmed, the snacks are passed around, and the film begins. 

You only make it fifteen minutes into the film before there's a casualty: Kix, diligent man that he is to make sure all his brothers are taken care of, falls asleep behind you. "Psst! Kix, can you pass me the- oh nevermind. Ember, could you grab the candy under his arm before it melts?" You carefully wiggle it free and pass it up to Jesse before tucking a loose blanket kicking around over Kix. Generally, once Kix is out, he's out, so the group doesn't have to worry about waking him for a while. 

Hardcase stays surprisingly still through most of the movie so long as he keeps his hands mostly occupied in some capacity, or has one of his brothers leaning on him in some way. He's a very tactile person, so it's no surprise that he's slowly migrating around the raft of mattresses as each of his brothers either allow Hardcase to fiddle around with stuff he finds in their pockets, or just hold him close in a brotherly embrace for a bit if he's getting too disruptive. (He eventually settles down around the midpoint of the movie, and is one of the few who stays awake through the whole thing.)

Tup pays attention to most of the comedy film, occasionally conversing in whispers with Fives and Echo about their opinions on the jokes until Echo nods off for a bit, and the hushed conversation continues back up again when he wakes up before movie's end. It's Jesse who's not paying much attention to the film, but he's not too disruptive. Jesse almost makes it to the end of the movie before he falls asleep in the middle of scrolling through something on a datapad that's made its way into the nest of pillows and blankets and limbs, his head resting on Captain Rex's knee. 

Dogma does eventually join everyone on the floor. You suspect he was starting to feel a little left out, or maybe he changed his mind about the offer you made earlier, growing bored of whatever he'd been reading on his datapad, or deciding he'd give the movie a try. He tentatively makes his way over, and asks if he can still sit by you. "Of course, Dogma. Here, I saved some popcorn for you!" You give him the rest of the bowl you'd set aside for him, unable to get up and give it to him yourself since you've got multiple people surrounding you. (You didn't want Dogma to miss out on the snacks just because he wasn't initially watching the movie with everyone.) "Thanks for saving me some, Ember." Captain Rex reaches behind you and gives Dogma a warm pat on the shoulder. "Glad you joined us, brother." There's an unspoken finally in his words, but he's just glad to see that Dogma didn't end up isolating himself for long. 

You and Captain Rex, being firmly in the middle of the mattress pile, end up being the ones who become the human pillows of the group. It's nice to see all your friends having fun tonight, and be a part of enjoying a movie together. No stiff, uncomfortable armor; everyone's either in their fatigues or their blacks, and draped over and across their friends and brothers. Everyone is content and full of maybe a little too much popcorn and other snacks. You'll have a heck of a mess on your hands to clean up, either in the morning, or when everyone returns their respective mattresses to their bunks tonight, too.

Nights like this are how it should be. Everyone's happy and there are signs of trust everywhere you look. Brothers let their sleeping siblings rest on their shoulders, against their backs, their legs, or under their arms without complaint. There are sleepy smiles and shared blankets. Those who stayed awake until the end are now joking happily with one another and their Captain, and you too. 

And for a moment, in this night that will become a cherished memory no matter which way this war winds up, everyone you care about is safe. 

And what could be better than that?

Don't have a fic taglist for the time being, but I'll likely start one soon if I can figure out how to make those forms some people have since I write a variety of stuff. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (for example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

[Masterlist] [Requests: OPEN]

[kpforpresident]

How are plant shop clexa enjoying summer?

"Ungf Lexa. Fuck. Please don't stop."

"I got you, baby."

"That feels so good-"

"What in the name of margaritas are you two little weirdos up to? Sounds like you're staging a porno in your living room."

Two surprised gazes, one blue, one green, turned from where they had been lovingly beaming at each other to meet Raven's inquisitive brown eyes in their doorway, spare key in hand with her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline.

"Rae, that key is for emergencies only!" An indignant, pink cheeked Clarke managed to squeak out from her face down position on the couch, wiggling slightly to adjust a lump in the terrycloth towel that covered the surface.

"This was an emergency!" Raven spluttered as she inched cautiously into the room, still unsure what her best friend and their partner were up to as Lexa wielded a clear bottle of goo while straddling a topless Clarke. "You weren't answering your phone, and you know I have to be there no later than 5:03 to get the best onion rings at that one happy hour. You promised."

Clarke blew forcefully upwards on an errant piece of hair that was stuck to her cheek, craning her neck best she could to make eye contact with Raven despite her position.

"I'm sorry, Rae- we were at the beach this morning and someone decided that cosmo's newest story of the 'science' behind a base tan was more important than their girlfriend's helpful suggestions to wear sunscreen- Clarke toasted herself today and I'm just easing her pain. Her phone is in the bedroom and we've been coating her in this shit for the past 45 minutes, neither of us heard the phone ring."

Lexa rolled her eyes slightly as she poured another heaping palmful of lube? hair gel? into her hands, warming it between her palms before reaching down to place her fingers gently on Clarke's back.

Raven walked further into the room to peer over the back of the couch, mouth dropping in abject horror when the usually porcelain expanse of Clarke's back came into view.

"Damn, C, it looks like you've been spit roasted over a barbeque."

"Thanks, Rae, I appreciate it. We're not all blessed with melanin and the ability to tan to a beautiful share of caramel, ok?" Clarke muttered darkly as she sat up slowly onto her knees, bringing the towel up to cover her front as Lexa scowled lightly, smoothing the last bits of aloe onto Clarke's angrily pink shoulders.

Raven hooted in disbelief as she surveyed the total expanse of Clarke's lobster red back, the clearly defined bikini link starkly white just under her shoulderblades.

"Nah, gringa, you're gonna peel. You're lucky Lexa loves you, since you'll be shedding like a snake the next few weeks." Raven shook her head while walking into Clarke and Lexa's shared room, rifling through their closet before walking out with a loose camisole in hand, nipple covers in the other.

"C'mon, dry your little aloe tears and let's go, this girl needs a frozen marg and I know you want those fried pickle chips things. The alcohol will dull the pain, I promise."

[raayllum]

I love how we are basically opposites on the whole theory thing :

You predict plot points by making jokes that end up coming true

meanwhile me and my overdramatic mind obssesses over dark scenarios that would never fit into 9 episodes and then I'm surprised when they don't happen XD

Listen as long as you're enjoying what you're doing, I say have all the fun you want in fanon and taking insp from canon! That's the best part sometimes! <3

Although I have some things that started out as jokes that ended up being canon (my absolute favourite of which being this joke I made about Ezran in 2x04 that was then an actual thing in the s2 novelization) the weirdest thing for me has been like... the ultra specific thing / things I thought would be more metaphorical that ended up being more literal

AKA a list in no particular order

Me assuming since Through the Moon came out that Callum would inevitably play into Aaravos's hands and that the struggle to not do so would be his main conflict in arc 2 (which looking back, the possession plot line seems so thematically obvious I am genuinely a little sheepish I didn't see it coming)

The game motif being my favourite motif and then s4 fucking Delivered it was beautiful

Viren's atonement arc because of his eye symbolism

That the rune cube placement could be trusted to foreshadow things, specifically the Ocean rune in finding the prison and in foreshadowing Callum's dark magic use

Me going "Hey wouldn't it be Fucked Up if whatever comes out of the cocoon is like a child version of Aaravos?" (hi Sir Sparklepuff my beloved)

For that matter: that Aaravos would ask one of the mage fam to kill Sir Sparklepuff for a deep magic spell, and that they'd refuse to do so

Callum's interplay with freedom being too tethered to Rayla that I banked on her eventually being taken hostage and Callum doing morally ambiguous shit to save her like 3+ years in advance

Seeing Callum's S4 design for the first time and noting that the circlets around his wrists invoke chain symbolism but thinking "Nah him and Rayla being in chains like tarot cards will just be metaphoric right". Haha, no!

Ezran as the embodiment of Justice / the series' Witness (hell yeah thank you 4x03 & TOX for making Justice his highest value)

Predicting Rayla's entire arc 2 arc thus far re: her paranoid and restless nature being what puts them on the path to finding Viren and her wanting a rematch, the coins, and her self worth issues, written March 2020 (months before TTM came out)

Callum and Viren as each other's primary foils (begun before this but started being highlighted further from Nov 2019 onwards with specifically thinking that S4, as opposed to s3, would crank it up to an 11)

Rayla and Callum's whole ass light-dark motif that I thought would be a fun consistency in the background rather than a whole ass arc defining Thing

Characterization wise but Ezran as an Enneagram Nine The Peacemaker personality wise (once again thank u 4x03)

Back in Aug 2021 I noticed that bloodbending had thematic similarities to dark magic (in terms of framing, notions of control & agency) but again, didn't think it'd amount to literal likewise puppeteering (Aaravos is/was even imprisoned like Hama too!)

Seeing parallels between dark magic and thematic/metaphorical cannibalism / positing Aaravos as a cannibal in a fic I wrote in 2019 but never ever thinking it'd be more than metaphorical bc kids show, am I right? (when I tell you I screamed)

Like 3 weeks post s3 I came up with Political Trio Theory in which Ezran and Rayla are at odds about something and Callum is caught in the middle, as he agrees more with Rayla but feels like he should side more with Ezran, which an Ezran / trio centric conflict along those lines seems to be what we're going to get personally with Runaan / the coins in future seasons

Which, not only is it mostly to keep my English major-y brain sharp and my enclosure enriched (parallels are my perpetual hamster wheel), but it's also like... obviously predicting from theme/motifs isn't perfect, but it does mean you have all the right pieces. Then it just comes from running through the options to assemble what the puzzle might look like, & also thinking through the constraints of structure and run time (ergo I wasn't surprised when Callum didn't figure out the mirror himself in early S4 cause I just didn't think the show would have time for that kind of slow build).

Like following S2 I never really thought Callum's journey with dark magic was precisely over, firstly because I saw him absolutely as someone who would do dark magic / things he morally is against again if put in the exact circumstances he was in S5 (hence the CHET predictions post up above), but also because as our primary mage character and with dark magic being the core ethical dilemma for mage characters in the show, it just didn't make sense to assume that it'd be entirely resolved with a neat little bow 2/6 (since at the time we thought it'd be 6 seasons) in. Like - what? So that's something from an analytical standpoint of characterization, theme, and structure, for example, and TDP gives us a decent amount of time to get used to all those things especially in the first three seasons and then we can kind of build our predictions neatly from there.

So what usually happens is that I'll have a passing thought / gut reaction, think "huh maybe it's something," and then actually think about it for like 2 days to 2 weeks and realize that it loops back in with a lot of other stray thoughts and that there's something Substantial there. It never stops being wild

Anyway this was definitely way too long a response so TLDR; I'm always pleasantly surprised / excited whenever I predict anything correctly and also adore when the show throws me a curve ball (hi Terry <3), and the fun of theorizing (and sometimes throwing spaghetti at the wall) for me comes down to the themes and parallels and fun (fanon if nothing else) possibilities I can find. I love writing meta, speculative or purely analytical, even if/when they're often time consuming. My instincts haven't steered me too 'wrong' with TDP thus far, and I don't think they ever will!

[avatar-saiki]

Greed's Possession

Mammon POV, 5.7k words

Warnings: ptsd, flashbacks, panic attack, spoilers for Nightbringer lessons 8-13 to 9-2 and information from the main Obey Me game

Summary: I just wanted to expand further on the premise of these lessons and information I learned from the main game. Seemed interesting to explore a defining moment in Mammon's life.

Ever since becoming one of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld, Mammon had taken a liking to wandering about the city nearest the House of Lamentation and checking out the shops along the street. There were so many things he’d never seen before, the Devildom was still a place he was getting used to, and with all the different gimmicks and gags it was like any day could be an adventure or opportunity to find something new. 

He wasn’t about to try any new snacks though, not without someone else at his side. Winning one prize was enough to put him off the idea entirely.

But.

“Oh hello,” he stopped at the shop’s window and peered in closer. This shop seemed to specialize in jewelry and other little trinkets, bracelets and necklaces modeled on a few busts while rings glittered in glass cases nearest the window. So many jewels sparkling in a myriad of colors, but there was something in particular that caught his eye.

“Welcome,” a demon greeted him with a warm smile and raised a hand to beckon him inside, “I see you’ve a fine eye, would you care to come inside and admire our other wares?”

“O-Oh, uh…” He took a half step back, then caught himself. “Nah, I was just lookin’.”

The demon’s gaze drifted over him, her eyes sparkling not too unlike the jewelry he’d admired. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before, are you new to the area?”

“Ah… sorta…” He looked down the street, unsure what to-

Wait a second.

He turned to her again with a coy grin, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of me already, I’m one of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld.”

“Oh… wow,” she mused, sufficiently impressed. “You mean you were among the demons that tamed the beast? I had no idea.”

“That’s right,” he said, placing a hand on his hip with pride. “I was the one who led the whole thing too, I’m known as the Great Mammon.”

“The Great Mammon,” she repeated in awe, clasping her hands together and gazing at him adoringly. “Wow~ it would be such an honor if you came in to admire some of my work. Would you please?”

“Ah…” He hesitated, but her eyes sparkled again. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to browse for a few minutes? “Yeah sure, I got time.”

“Oh thank you!” She said, stepping to his side and looping her arms around one of his. “Please do come in, I’d be happy to show you around. Do you have a preference in the jewelry you wear?”

“Not… really,” he said, following her inside and looking around at the pendants adorning the walls. Some of them felt… different. Some glittered, but others felt… darker.

“Whatever looks good,” he said, and she tittered.

“Understandable. Well~ come this way,” she said as she led him further in the back toward one of the display cases. Inside were a variety of smaller accessories: rings, arm bands, bracelets, and ear cuffs. “For those that prefer to adorn without being overly flashy, I recommend these.”

“Huh,” he leaned over the case, admiring the polished gold and silver. “Why’s this stuff in a case if it ain’t as fancy as the stuff out front?”

She giggled again and walked around to the other end, unlocking the back door and picking up the ring display to set it before him. 

“Simple, these are my most prized works,” she said, picking up a golden ring. “You see, I had to pay a pretty penny for a demon of greed to curse these for me.”

“Curse?” he repeated, straightening immediately. “Wait, why’re you tryin’ to sell me something cursed? I don’t want any of that.”

She laughed and leaned on the display case, rolling the ring between her fingers to catch a glint of light. “Are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

“But you don’t even know what the curse is~”

“And I don’t need to know,” he said stubbornly. Last time he got chased by a giant snake from an ice cream stick, he didn’t even want to think about what sort of curses could be attached to rings. “Thanks anyway, but I’m gonna—”

“It’s cursed to boost your luck,” she said just as he’d turned to go, “when you wear it, you have a higher chance at success.”

That didn’t sound like a curse. 

Skeptical, he said nothing but it hardly mattered, she was still admiring the ring as she spoke.

“But of course, as I’m sure you know nothing is free~ the luck has to come from somewhere.”

“So does it make me unlucky too?”

She laughed, “Oh of course not! The luck is stolen from those around you, isn’t that nice?”

He frowned, “No, not really.” 

Her smile turned to his direction and she set the ring down on the glass. “You former angels are so amusing, you know?” He tensed, but she didn’t seem to notice as she picked up a silver ring and placed it next to the gold, “But if you’re so concerned, you could counter the curse with a second.”

Counter a curse? He hadn’t even considered that.

“What’s that one do?”

She tapped a manicured nail on the silver, “This curse redirects any negative effects of curses onto the wearer, so,” she shrugged, “in theory, if you were to wear both, rather than stealing luck from around you, you’d be stealing your own.”

“But then how would that make me lucky?”

She smiled and leaned further onto the display case, lacing her fingers together and gazing up at him through her lashes. “Well~ there’s no way to know which you is stolen from. It could be the you before me now, or the you from yesterday, or the you from tomorrow.” She closed her eyes, “It’s a mystery, but doesn’t that sound exciting?”

“Not…” He looked down at the rings, silver and gold sitting side by side. 

“Not… really…”

“The curses only take effect when worn, and could be given to a foe if they don’t end up favoring you.”

But why would he want to give someone something cursed?

“I’d be happy to offer a deal if you want to purchase them together.”

Did he really need more luck? It wasn’t like… well… more luck could mean more good things happening in his future. Good things for him and his family.

“Can I take ‘em off if I don’t wanna wear them anymore?”

She seemed taken aback by the question, then nodded with an amused flick of her tail. “Of course~ I don’t enjoy the nasty curses others might, I prefer to use them like the accessories we already wear.”

Demons did have a lot of tricky ways of dealing with things… 

“How much would you want for them?”

Her eyes sparkled again and she picked up the rings, “Mm… well, individually I’d sell the gold for 80,000 and the silver for 65,000, but if you bought them together…” She closed her eyes to do some quick math, then smiled at him. “I’d be willing to part with them for 140,000 Grimm.”

“140— I don’t have that kinda money!”

She looked surprised, then pouted. “But I thought you said you were one of the Rulers of the Underworld. Surely you have some money, don’t you?”

He shook his head and shrugged, “Even if I did, 5,000 isn’t much of a discount. That’s barely three percent off.”

Her mood soured a bit, and she began to put the rings away. “I didn’t realize the Great Mammon was such a cheapskate.”

“Now wait a second-” He reached for the case but she snapped it shut. “I ain’t a cheapskate!”

She gave him a dismissive nod and returned the rings to their display, locking the glass door once more. “Well, if you ever change your mind you’re always welcome back.”

“Not likely, your stuff’s way too expensive,” he muttered and she sighed, but the sweet smile returned once more.

“I can show you some of our uncursed items, they’re made with the same quality but allow a purchaser to imbue them with their own curses and spells instead.” She said, already walking around to lead him to another display.

That sounded better, but…

His eyes lingered on silver and gold.

“Make it twenty.”

“Pardon?”

Silver and gold.

“Twenty percent off, and I’ll take ‘em.”

She laughed, “Are you mad? I’m not giving you twenty off.”

“How about fifteen?”

She raised a brow, “You can’t be serious.”

“Well…” he tore his gaze away, making his way toward the door. “With prices that high I can’t imagine those kinds of rings go fast, do they? I’d be interested, but only if you knock it down a little more.”

She pursed her lips again, eyes sizing him up and not appearing as sparkly as before.

“I’ll give you twelve,” she finally said.

“Yeah?” Something about gaining the upper hand in this negotiation made him feel… good. “Well alright~ I’ll be back to—”

“But,” She stepped up to him and held up a finger, “the deal only lasts until the end of the month. If you can’t pay by then, I’ll find a new buyer.”

Something about that felt strange, like he didn’t want to lose out.

“Sure, that sounds fair,” he said easily, “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Her eyebrow raised again, but she stepped back with a small nod. “I look forward to it, Great Mammon.”

And with that, he was freed. The captivation of her gaze left him and he stepped back out into the street, puzzled but… motivated too. If those rings really could help him, why not buy them? And if he couldn’t get enough money to buy them, it wouldn’t be a total loss. 

But…

“Twelve percent would save me…” He tapped on his fingers, counting in his head. He hadn’t seen a lot of cursed jewelry before, so it was hard to go off market rate but if what she was selling really was legit then twelve percent off was nothing to sneeze at. Even if he didn’t end up using the rings for himself, maybe they could be useful for something else. He could even sell them again. The House of Lamentation was all old and creaky, more money would mean he’d be able to buy—

“That was impressive.”

He stopped and turned around, another demon standing behind him cloaked in black. Were they… talking to him?

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen someone negotiate so easily with Cleo before,” they continued, “it was almost like her charms had no effect on you.”

“Charms? What charms?” 

They chuckled, “Wow, you didn’t even notice? Your power must be vast.”

“I…” He looked around the streets, but other than this new guest no one seemed to pay him any mind. “Well yeah, of course it is. I’m the Great Mammon.”

“The Great Mammon?” They repeated, stopping to stand beside him. “One of the Seven Rulers of the Underworld? That Great Mammon?”

“Yeah,” he grinned, “Sounds like you’ve heard of me?”

They nodded, “Indeed I have, you’re making quite a name for yourself, you know. Not many were brave enough to even search for the beast let alone seek to tame it.”

“Ah… well…” This demon was suspicious, but if they knew of him how bad could they be? He put his hands on his hips, deciding to play coy. “It wasn’t really that big of a deal.” 

“I disagree,” they said, “it takes great courage to face the ravenous beast of Cerberus. And to tame him so flawlessly? Remarkable.”

Okay, they definitely had their head on straight.

“Yeah? Well, y’know how it goes,” he flashed them a grin and pointed at himself with his thumb to his chest, “I gotta look out for my little brothers. Can’t let some overgrown pup mess with ‘em.”

They chuckled and nodded in agreement, “Indeed. I can’t help but wonder what the Devildom would be like with more demons like you around.”

That gave him pause.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh…” They shifted a bit, face still concealed within the cloak. “Well… you see, not many demons will go out of their way to aide another unless they benefit. It can be hard to find help if one isn’t strong enough to overcome a challenge on their own.”

Yeah, that was something he’d seen in the Celestial Realm too.

“S’there something you wanna ask me for?” He asked carefully.

They chuckled, “My, so shrewd. I can see why Cleo took a liking to you.”

“Wait,” He looked back toward the shop, “Cleo liked me?”

They laughed again, “Yes, of course she did.”

They’d said it so nonchalantly, like it was obvious, but why did it make him feel… good?

“It’s part of why I thought to approach you,” they continued, “I have a proposition for you.”

His guard went up, but he kept it cool. “Yeah? What do you have in mind?”

“Well…” They widened their stance a bit, “After striking such a deal, you’re in need of funds right? I have a job in mind that would be perfect for you.”

“A job huh?” he repeated, but his suspicion must’ve slipped out because they were quick to withdraw their D.D.D. from a hidden pocket.

“It’s not from me directly, but one I know will be difficult to fulfill,” they explained, showing him the listing on :D Jobs. “There’s been an evil spirit haunting the mausoleum in the graveyard just south of here, and the—”

“Wait, how much are they payin’ for that? What’s this thing?” He grabbed their D.D.D. to read. 100k Grimm just to go scare off some ghost? Easy! Easy money! He couldn’t help checking a few other listings, jobs lined up all offering Grimm for just about anything. He could make so much money so quick with this thing!

They cleared their throat and he realized his mistake. “Ah, my bad.” He handed them their D.D.D. with a sheepish smile. “Forgot myself there.”

“That’s alright,” they said, the device disappearing within their cloak. “I take it you’d be interested?”

“Yeah I’d be interested! Scarin’ off some ghost is nothin’ for me!”

They chuckled and nodded, “Yes, if you can tame Cerberus I imagine a mere spirit will be child’s play for you, Great Mammon.” They bowed their head and turned to depart. “If you’re truly interested, I suggest accepting the job on the app before another demon comes along to take it.”

Like hell he’d let that happen.

“Yeah, got it,” he said, already pulling out his own D.D.D. to download and accept the job. Easy money, and once he got a luck boost he could make even easier money. Then just imagine what sorts of things he could buy.

The little chime of a job accepted filled his heart with glee, and he turned on his heel to head back home. Casting out an evil spirit would be cake, but it might be good to prepare a bit before the job too seeing as how he didn’t know a whole lot about spirits to begin with.

------------------------

The graveyard was easy enough to find, and not even that far of a walk from the House of Lamentation. It was hard for him to consider that place a home yet, but it was… getting more familiar. Still not as fun as staying in the castle had been, but not ticking off Barbatos had its perks too.

“You guys comin’ or what?” he asked once he’d reached the gate, placing a hand on his hip as he turned to watch his younger brothers and the attendant hoof it up the path. “We haven’t even gotten in and you’re already calling it quits or what?”

Levi was the first to join him, tired and a little out of breath. “Shut… up… Mammon. Do you know how far we had to walk? Why didn’t you just drive us here?”

“Huh? How would I do that? Y’all wouldn’t even fit unless I stuffed you in the trunk.”

Levi scowled, “Why would I have to be in the trunk? Why not you?”

“Because it’s my car and I’m drivin’, genius.”

“Genius?” Levi scoffed, “Mocking my intelligence now? You sure you want to do that?”

“Yeah? What’s that supposed to mean?” He sneered back, “You think you—”

“Oh wow,” the attendant cut in, walking between them with their eyes fixed on the graveyard. “This place is huge.”

He shot a look at Levi, who flicked his tongue in return, then he turned on his heel to follow their gaze. They weren’t wrong, this place was massive. Tombstones stretched across the grounds as far as the eye could see, surrounded by a twisted iron fence that bordered the grounds. Trees long since dead sprouted in haphazard spaces between tombs, crows watching from their branches with dark eyes shining in the moonlight.

Another thing he’d noticed about this place with it always being night, everything looked so washed out and gray.

“Mm…” Asmo was the next to arrive, holding out a pamphlet and using the moon to read. “It says here we’re on the east side, and the mausoleum where all the past demon kings are laid to rest is…” he tilted his head slightly, reading more closely while the twins came up behind him. “Oh!” He pointed to a hill further in the distance, “Just on the other side of that hill over there.”

“What?” Levi slouched forward with a groan. “Hills? No one said anything about hiking up hills.”

“They’re not that steep, I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” the attendant said with a small smile his way, making his brother sputter a bit.

“Yeah see, this’ll be a piece of cake,” he said, reaching out to unlock the gate. “We’ll just go in, get rid of the spirit, and get out.”

Beel hummed and stepped around him to push the gate open further, “Do you think we could stop for some cake after we’re done? I’ve heard of a few cafes that sound really good.”

“Cake sounds fun,” Belphie said, skirting around them to enter the graveyard first, “But if you think I’m going to walk around this place all night, sorry to disappoint,” he stopped at the first raised grave and climbed on top of it. “You can have your fun, just wake me up when you’re ready to leave.”

“Belphie-!” 

His youngest brother curled up on the tomb with his tail draped over the side, crows cawing up above his head. 

“You can’t just- that’s the cover of a TOMB, Belphie!”

He’d started to make his way toward him, but the attendant looked up at him in surprise.

“You’re really not scared?”

“No?” What kind of question was that? “Why would I be?”

One of the crows took flight and swooped down, diving toward Levi before rising up and flying off into the night.

Of which, of course, Levi did not appreciate.

“Th-this place gives me the creeps,” he said, slinking closer to the group while his eyes darted around. “Wh-Why don’t you go on without me a-and I’ll stay here and play games instead?”

“Tch,” he strode into the graveyard, feeling a little smug. “You guys worry too much, but you can relax, your big brother’ll protect ya.” He flashed the attendant a grin, “Just watch, I’ll take out that evil spirit like it’s nothing.”

“Belphie, look at this,��� Beel hadn’t listened to anything he’d said, more focused on his twin who was dozing atop the tomb while he knelt below to inspect the carvings along the side. “I don’t recognize this writing… maybe it’s not a Devildom script?”

“Mm… sounds great,” Belphie murmured without opening up his eyes.

“Yeah, real great. Now can we get back to—”

“Wait!” Levi pushed passed him, suddenly excited. “I know this! It’s an ancient Devildom writing style! It’s not in use anymore.”

“What?” Asmo looked at him in disbelief. “Levi, that’s amazing! When did you learn to recognize ancient Devildom writing?”

“Impressed?” Levi puffed out his chest and struck it with his fist, proud. “I studied pretty much every writing style that’s likely to show up in games and stuff like this! You know, so I’d be prepared!”

“Ooh!” Asmo cupped a hand on his cheek, smiling bright. “Levi, we’re so lucky you’re here!”

“Yeah! Except…” He deflated a little and glanced away, “I… can’t actually read any of it.”

“What?! Ugh, Levi you’re useless!”

Mammon rolled his eyes, “Alright, we’re gettin’ a little off track. Why don’t we head further in?”

“But aren’t you curious about what it says?” Asmo asked and he sighed.

“Well, I guess it means the tombs in this area are from way, way back when…” He looked at his brothers, even Belphie’d opened his eyes again to watch him. So they were curious about this place. He glanced at the markers, but couldn’t read any of the script either. Then he remembered they had a demon with them. 

“Hey,” he looked to the attendant, “you should be able to read this, right?”

“Me?” They looked up at him in surprise.

“Right, yeah.” Beel stood up, “We’re new here, but you were born and raised in the Devildom. Surely you know what it says, right?”

“Yes… I’m so curious to know…” Belphie said, and if Mammon had to guess he almost sounded a little sarcastic.

“Um, well I can try…” they said, walking over to squat down near the tomb. “Some of it’s old and worn away, but…” They brushed away some debris, “Oh, I can read this!”

“Why do you sound surprised by that?” Belphie asked, and they gave him a sheepish smile.

“Just thought it’d be too worn down. Let’s see… it says…”

“Adam.”

Adam.

Adam.

Adam.

Adam.

Adam.

Adam.

A…dam…

When?

Who?

‘I won’t take too much of your time.’

Where?

‘I have to find my lost love.’

Who?

‘Please don’t struggle, it makes it harder for both of us.’

Where-

Where… was…

Where was he?

Nothing.

He could see nothing.

But.

But he wasn’t-

Where had he been?

Where?

Belphie’s tired smile slid across his mind and he reached out to grab it but-

No hands.

Arms can’t move.

But…

They are.

Without him.

His body… was…

Asmo’s expression crossed his mind, his face twisted with a look of regret.

Not again.

Please-

Visions faded to black and he reached for his chest with arms that wouldn’t move, inhaling with lungs that wouldn’t breathe.

His body…

Wouldn’t respond…

Not mine.

It moved of its own accord, nonphysical sensations of the breeze in his hair and an embrace he couldn’t feel. 

Were these… real?

Was he…?

Panic welled up in his chest, aching, crying, begging to be let out.

But there was no sound.

Please.

‘I can’t let you go, not until I’ve found my love.’

Please.

Love.

Lost… love…

Tears burned in eyes that could longer see, the darkness unyielding.

Lost…

Love…

Love.

Love?

She’d stood before them, so brave and unashamed.

For love, she’d said.

Nothing could be greater.

But…

Love hurt.

So much fighting.

So much anger.

So much regret.

He’d wanted… to help her.

To protect her.

Keep her safe.

Help her.

But he didn’t know, didn’t find out until it was too late.

He’d swooped in to protect her without fear, his regal white wings spread out to shield her. No fear, only protect.

Help.

His throat swelled and he cried out into the dark.

Scared.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t think.

Don’t take her.

This wasn’t what he wanted, why did Michael…?

Lucifer.

Help.

Terror seized his heart, squeezing tighter.

Take me with you.

This wasn’t right. Wasn’t what he wanted. What he wanted… 

What he wanted…

Lilith.

Don’t go without me.

‘Don’t panic, if you panic I won’t be able to let you go.’

Let go.

Vertigo set in and he heaved a sickness that didn’t exist, the tightness in his chest coiling tighter. Nothing. There was nothing here. Nothing.

Alone.

Was this… all that was left?

He tried to call out, wanting to find comfort in the reverberations of his own voice in his throat but.

Nothing.

Silence.

Just like…

Weak.

‘Just hold on, I can’t focus on you. Finding my love is what matters to me.’

That word again.

Love.

Love…

Finding… love…

Love… hurts.

Don’t want… love.

Love is… 

Pain.

Don’t want.

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

Lucifer.

Help.

Scared.

Lucifer.

Help.

Hurts.

Hurts.

It hurts.

Why does it hurt.

Lucifer.

Help.

Don’t want to lose…

But… did it even matter what he wanted? 

No one listened.

No one cared.

He couldn’t feel his body, wasn’t aware of if or when it moved. Head light, breath held he… followed… Lucifer…

Lucifer… would help… keep her safe…

Lucifer… would know… what to do…

It’d be okay, everything would be okay.

Lucifer knew. Just had to talk to Michael and Father, it’d be okay. Lilith, his family…

It’d be okay.

Okay.

Safe.

But… it-

Hurt.

Hurts.

Hurts.

Why does it hurt?

Can’t… breathe… hurts too… much.

Head… so dizzy…

Tired… so tired…

And… sad.

Grief plunged into his chest and gripped his heart, its subtle whispers tickling his ear, begging him to let go. Just let go… the pain would disappear… if he just…

Let…

Go…

He coughed, throat dry and tongue swollen. Thirsty. He was so thirsty. Someone… 

Need…

Water…

A cup was touched to his lips, a liquid hot and bitter poured into his mouth. It scalded his tongue, the acrid taste making him wish he could vomit if only his body would respond. But the pain… eased…

Voices… were… somewhere…

Can’t… understand…

Can’t… see…

Fuzzy…

Wings… not like before… swallowing light, feathers tattered and frayed.

But those eyes… so red.

Lucifer.

Still… Lucifer…

But… confusing too…

Red eyes were… wet.

Tears?

Why?

Why crying?

Can’t… move.

Can’t… hug back…

Don’t cry, Lucifer.

It doesn’t hurt.

Not scared.

“I’m sorry, Mammon.”

Sorry? Why?

Why so broken?

“It’s all my fault.”

How?

“I wasn’t… I… I couldn’t…”

Tongue too thick.

Can’t speak.

Don’t cry.

“I wasn’t strong enough.”

Lucifer.

Touch his face.

Red.

Sorry.

Red.

Tried to… help…

Don’t want… to see cry…

More red.

Lucifer’s face was all he could see, his brother… saying something to him. What?

“Mammon, don’t you die on me now! Stay with us!”

Stay.

What does… that mean?

To stay…

Stay.

It’s a nice word. Feels nice. 

Want to… stay.

Stay…

His heart seized again, jarring him. 

No. 

No no no.

Not again.

Losing feeling… again…

Don’t want to die.

Want to stay.

Lucifer.

Help.

Want to stay.

Don’t want to die.

But it’s dark.

So dark.

Can’t… feel…

Can’t… move…

Don’t want to die.

Want to stay.

Want to stay.

The ache in his chest broke in a silent wail, the agony of his lost family crying out into the void.

Want to stay.

Want to stay.

Please.

Stay.

Together.

Together.

Stay.

Want.

Together.

That’s all…

Please.

The air compressed further, squeezing every last breath from his lungs. 

Fading.

Everything felt… 

So far away…

Please.

Don’t want…

An abrupt rush of air filled his lungs and he doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees and gulping in a breath. His brothers voices filled his ears, only interrupted by the occasional caw of a distant crow. His shadow cast across the ground, stretched across the stony path with a menacing flair. The moonlight was… so bright…

“Wait… hold on… am I back to normal?” he said under his breath, too afraid to look at his hands and instead watching his arms move from his shadow. 

“Oh, Mammon, good morning,” Levi leered.

He scowled and stood up straighter, only wobbling a little as lightheadedness lingered while Asmo tittered.

“Aww, so you’re back to your old self? Too bad… you were so much cuter as Adam…”

“Tch,” He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts to clear. What… what was that? “that sad wimp of a human thinks he can take over MY body? Son of a…”

“Hey, how about that!” Asmo turned to the group, “He actually remembers what happened!”

“Are you okay?” The attendant asked, coming to his side. “Are you hurt?”

“Dammit!” He kicked a stone, sending it skittering down the path. Anger. Frustration. Those were easier to latch onto right now.

Can’t show weakness.

“It was like no matter how loud I yelled, no one could hear me.” He said a little quieter, a little glad everyone else had already moved on, mostly making fun of him but at least the attendant was there to listen. He relaxed a little and put a hand on his hip, finding stability in the sensation of his own touch. “It felt… horrible…”

“I can imagine… do you want to head back now?” They asked, stepping a little closer, “Or do you need to sit for a minute?”

“RIP, looks like this night’s been a waste anyway. Way to go getting possessed, Mammon.”

“Ugh, I know right? And whatever the attendant did was cool but I’m so drained now.”

“I know what you mean, I feel a little less solid now. I’d better eat something to make up for what I lost.”

“My head just hurts.”

Mammon watched them all start to wander down the path, but he… couldn’t move.

They were all walking away.

“You sure you’re okay?” they asked again.

Leaving him behind.

“Wh… hey, wait!” Panic set in and he trotted after them, “You can’t walk away and leave me in a place like this!”

Asmo glanced back, “What? I thought you weren’t afraid?”

He stopped. Crap. He was their older brother. He was supposed to be brave, to protect them.

Don’t show weakness.

“‘C-Course I ain’t afraid!” He said, feeling an uneasy chill crawl up his back at the memory of Adam’s touch on his soul.

“Uh huh,” Levi gave him a disapproving look. “You say that, but everyone can see you’re holding their hand for dear life. Let go… now.”

Holding hands? Since when?

He looked down to see he was in fact holding hands with the attendant, and they looked up at him with a… soft smile, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. 

“It’s okay,” they whispered, “I don’t mind.”

Asmo gasped and turned to skip down the path, “I can’t believe it! You, a demon, are actually afraid of a graveyard?”

“Sh-Shaddup!”

Belphie chuckled, meandering after him. “I guess being possessed must’ve changed him? Looks like I’ve found something I can use against him now…”

Beel followed suit, glancing down at his twin. “Belphie, why do you look so evil…?”

“Mm?”

They were all… so happy.

Laughing.

Walking together.

Together.

Another squeeze of his hand snapped him back to reality.

“Ready to go?” They asked with a slight tilt of their head.

“Y… yeah,” He looked up at the sky and took in a deep breath, wishing his eyes would stop stinging.

This demon…

This demon was able to stop the possession and send the spirit away. How was that even possible? He didn’t even know spirits could possess his body.

The realization made him feel uneasy, and he squeezed their hand tight, the walk home nothing but a blur.

No control.

Just like before.

He’d had no control.

Only this time it was different.

But… was it?

He hadn’t been strong enough to do something… anything in the Celestial Realm. Now here in the Devildom, no one knew what to expect. What to do, how things could be. Most of what Diavolo and Lucifer were planning was discussed between them, a lot of conversations happening without his input.

Was it… because he wasn’t…?

“Well it’s been fun, but it’s time for me to take a nice hot shower to get all this grave dirt off my skin.” Asmo said with a cheerful hum, already heading up the stairs once they’d made it inside.

“My head still hurts,” Belphie said, holding his temple. “I’m just going to go to bed early.”

“I’ll join you in a bit,” Beel said, parting ways to head toward the kitchen. “I need a snack first.”

“Yeah well what I need is for Mammon to quit acting all clingy with the attendant.” Levi grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and shooting a pointed look at the two of them.

“Why~?” Asmo stopped atop the stairs, “You jealous?”

“N-No!” Levi sputtered, “It’s just- It’s just weird okay?”

Hearing them all brought… comfort.

He felt himself slowly start to relax, the laughter and voices surrounding him making it easier to breathe. Making it feel… normal.

“I don’t mind holding his hand a little longer,” they said, looking up at him with eyes that… sparkled… so nice and pretty. “In fact… if you want, I do still have some free time if you want to hang out?”

He blinked, the warmth of the House of… home, finally settling in.

“Yeah…” he said a little dazedly, letting go of their hand to walk up the stairs. “Sure, I don’t mind. I know how much you enjoy hangin’ out with me.”

“Do you want to watch a movie or play a quick game of pool?”

“Whatever’s fine,” he said easily, so easily, his voice so level and calm. That, at least, was something he could do.

Until he was stronger.

Hide his weakness.

He turned on his heel and flashed them a grin, “You wanna play 8 ball or 9?”

“Either,” they said, meeting his smile with ease. “I’m not that good at either so you’ll probably win.”

“Ah, don’t say that,” he said, turning back to open the door to his room. “I’ll teach ya.”

“Really?” They sounded so excited, “Awesome! Thanks, Mammon!”

“Mm,” he hummed, shutting the door behind him and watching them set up the game without truly seeing.

This was… home now.

Home where-

Lilith.

He felt the tightness rise in his chest again, stealing his breath and making his knees weak. The attendant, either considerate or oblivious, busied themselves with racking the balls and putting the triangle away.

He could get stronger here.

He would get stronger here.

He couldn’t risk losing again.

Not again.

No matter what, he had to make sure. 

Do everything and anything he had to to keep them.

Keep them and make sure they stayed alive.

[aita-blorbos]

WIBTA for turning one guy down for another?

I'm in a really awkward situation right now. I have... Something? I don't know how to define with this one man. Like I'm attracted to this really intense, passionate guy who's kind of... Really insecure. See, this guy was my music tutor, and I recently got an opportunity to advance my career in music thanks to him.

Until now, none of my interactions with him have been face-to-face. A few weeks ago was the first time we ever met in person. He admitted he'd grown attracted to me, one thing led to another and I went back to his place. For the record, he's a bit older than me, but I'm an adult. I stayed the night, I don't remember everything that happened exactly but what I do recall was wonderful, at least until the morning after.

See, once I could get a good look at the guy's face, I realized he's kinda. Not the best looking man I ever met. He also kind of had a meltdown when I actually saw his face for the first time. It started with him screaming at me, calling me a lot of really cruel things, but then he just... Started crying. From what I could put together, he's been really harshly judged and isolated all his life because of his facial deformity and it's a hell of a trigger for someone to see his face when he isn't expecting it. I couldn't help but feel really sorry for him. At the same time, I'm kind of scared that if he has such a strong temper, he might hurt me in the future if I was to keep seeing him informally after he took me home.

As if that wasn't enough, I also found out recently that my ex-tutor has been up to some really shady shit to support himself, since my music lessons were pro bono. I'm not sure of every pie he's got his fingers in, but he's involved in blackmail and vandalism at least. I'm pretty sure that's how he facilitated that opportunity in my career, for instance.

Anyway, to further complicate things, I met someone else I've kind of always held a candle for since we were kids. See, I had this crush on a boy and I'm pretty sure he liked me back, but circumstances kept us apart and we only really got back in touch as adults. Funny enough, he actually asked me to dinner the same night I ended up going to see the first guy, but. Yeah. That happened.

Anyway, my childhood crush is still really sweet, and he's really into me too, and when I tried to tell other people that I was kidnapped by a deformed musical genius in a mask and whisked away to his lair under the opera house, he was the only person who believed me- at least once my ex-music tutor hanged a man from the roof of the stage.

So, WIBTA if I go out with my childhood friend?

[svartalfhild]

#2 of the prompts!

While they all rest up at an inn, Laudna walks by Ashton’s room as they are taking off their shirt after they just finished a [silly/could have avoided this-but some snobby idiot just HAD to provoke Chetney] battle and is curious about the gold-filled cracks along his body. She asks him his permission to touch them , and after a moment, Ashton carefully says okay.

Could be GraveStone, could be just a gruff, tough, and buff friend letting their sweet and spooky friend gently touch their scars out of concern + curiosity, could be both.

2. "Are you okay?"

It took some effort from Imogen and Orym, but at last, the bar fight was brought to an end. The place was a mess, and the staff looked rather put out by the whole thing, but thankfully Bells Hells' good standing with the owner prevented them from being thrown out along with the provokers. This was lucky, considering Chetney's refusal to give up his stream of colourful threats until the idiot who had provoked him was out of the building.

Ashton, who had received quite a beating in the midst of all this, grumbled about getting cleaned up and went up to their room. FCG went around checking if anyone needed help and healed a nasty bruise on Fearne's arm. Imogen and Orym dutifully helped clean up and prodded Chetney into properly apologizing to the owner for the big ruckus. Laudna was mostly alright and mended a couple chairs before heading up to her room, having had enough shenanigans for one night.

On her way down the hall, her eye caught movement in the gap of a slightly open door, and she stopped. She could see Ashton gritting his teeth as he unbuckled and pulled off his leather jacket, fully revealing the sprawling tapestry of golden scars across his muscular green torso. He was...captivating to look at, and she caught herself staring, but now was not the time for that. He was clearly in pain.

"Ashton? Are you okay?" she called out cautiously, slowly pushing the door further open. He looked over to her, seemingly unbothered by her presence, and held her gaze for a moment before answering.

"Define okay." Laudna came further into the room at this, rubbing her hands together in nervous awkwardness.

"You got kinda fucked up downstairs. Do you need FCG?"

"Nah, they've done plenty for me already. I'll be fine," Ashton answered with a shrug. A lot of the blood on them seemed to either not be theirs or was not coming from an open wound at this point, so Laudna was convinced, but she continued to stare. "Is there something else you wanted?"

"Sorry, I was just...your scars. They're very pretty."

"Oh." Clearly they hadn't expected that, as they raised their eyebrows and then furrowed them. "Thank you...I guess."

"Would it be alright if I...?" Laudna trailed off as she took a few steps closer and extended a hand to demonstrate her intent. There was another pause as Ashton considered this request, and eventually he gave his answer in a surprisingly soft tone.

"Yeah, go ahead." They stood still for her as she approached and began to carefully trace her spindly fingers over the golden pathways across their skin. They had a unique feeling to them, indented in some places and raised in others, but always very smooth.

"Do they ever hurt?" Laudna asked. She knew it had been several years since Ashton had acquired these scars, so they might feel like nothing, but she knew all too well the potential lasting effect of scars.

"Always."

"Always?" She withdrew her hand, wide-eyed at this news.

"You don't have to stop," Ashton assured her, gently taking her hand and returning it to his chest. She gave a small gasp and he smiled. "The cold is a little soothing actually." Well, that was certainly the most unexpected thing he'd said thus far, but she heeded him and cautiously continued to explore his scars, taking in their sad beauty.

"I'm sorry if I've ever hurt you with my tactile habits." She internally cringed at the memories of throwing her arms around Ashton and of smushing the side of her head against theirs.

"I don't mind if it's you. I like you."

"Oh." Laudna let out a relieved little laugh, which Ashton seemed to find endearing.

"And I get it. You want to feel something." She had never considered this before, but now that they said it, she knew they were right. She craved sensation, because she felt so little these days. That was the terrible irony of her curious nature. She was so eager to know, but had a muted ability to experience.

"Yes." She met Ashton's gaze, and he put his hand over hers once more, holding it against him. He was so pleasantly warm that she found herself wishing he'd pull her into his arms and envelope her.

"Then you can understand why I'd be willing to endure a lot more to feel something other than pain." He moved her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm, not breaking eye contact with her for even a second, and a shiver shot down her spine.

"Yes. I think...maybe we can help each other," she quietly, stepping closer, so that they were only a few inches apart now. He slid his arm around her, bringing her the rest of the way, and she settled into him, resting her head against his chest. After a moment, she placed a light kiss on one of his scars. "I'm sorry for your pain all the same," she murmured, and he held her tighter.

[annamillersthings]

TW : mention of sexual coercion, emotional abuse, SA

Literally came out of social media hibernation to say to some people: pls for the love of god don't say that prapai is romantic like what part did you see and thought "wow how romantic" cus if you did then we are seeing 2 completely different shows .

A) their first time was NOT a one night stand it was sexual coercion . And if there are people who don't understand then let me define it :

" one night stand: A one-night stand is a single sexual encounter in which there is an expectation that there shall be no further relations between the sexual participants and it happens with consent between the participants with no emotional pressure "

" sexual coercion: Sexual coercion is unwanted sexual activity that happens when you are pressured, tricked, threatened, or forced in a nonphysical way. Coercion can make you think you owe sex to someone. It might be from someone who has power over you. "

https://www.healthline.com/health/sexual-coercion

The above link will give you more insight and understanding where i am coming from .

I don't know how anyone thought that was okay i literally saw someone here say "sky totally enjoyed that even if he felt shitty later " LIKE HELLO excuse me it is a deeply upsetting scenario and traumatic, he was literally emotionally pressured and manipulated he was acting on instinct to save his life he did not enjoy it . He did not give consent, prapai literally made it very clear either sky has sex with him or be left alone to the guards in an unknown shady place so sky did the one thing that could save him and sorry no that's not consent.

B) the way prapai pursued sky : Don't even get me started on that like apart from the flowers all the other stuff prapai did was TRASH calling sky from an unknown number being creepy , saying sexually suggestive things even when sky has made it abundantly clear he is not enjoying it and then the worst of all coming to his college and pressuring him AGAIN by blackmail so that sky comes with him in his car like nah bro that's not romantic that's traumatising. And he called sky rude the audacity he is the one stalking and being creepy but sky is rude stfup.

Sky my darling sky just ... I feel so bad for him he breaks my heart i just want to hug him in a blanket and tell him he is amazing. Sky is a character that should've been in the world of Alice oseman but somehow with a twisted unfortunate luck of fate he ended up in the world of mame .

Listen i am not policing ( it's not my place anyone can enjoy whatever they want ) and saying you shouldn't enjoy love in the air hell i myself enjoy love in the air but don't try to justify your enjoyment with false narratives okay just tell it as it is . When some of you say prapai is romantic you are insulting victims who have been "sky" once in their lives and you are also insulting actual romantics who are doing it right ( eg : someone like Lee junho from eaw , sky , nuea and intouch from scoy the series, Nick Nelson from heart stopper and many more) . I am sick and tired of this trend of defending toxic characters , saw exact stuff happen during kinnporsche and now with lita . I love kinnporsche but am i gonna justify it hell no that was wrong and the series itself acknowledged it . Do i like and enjoy prapai×sky hell yes i do i watched lita only because of them cus the actors have chemistry and i am here for it . But that is not my fantasy of ideal romance i would not wish that to happen even to my worst enemy cus i have been in sky's position and it hurts and make you feel pathetic. My problem is how they are glossing over this atleast kinnporsche showed how the victims felt and it didn't gloss over it but lita my god it is literally portraying sky as just a person with insecurities and not an actual person who is a SA survivor ( i read the novel and it hurts more knowing ) and prapai as the love of his life whose gonna "fix him " which is sooo enraging cus sky don't need any fixing whatsoever the only person who needs fixing and repentance is prapai but i know for sure i won't get either . And yes this is mame i knew what i was getting myself into but some of y'all reactions are disgusting. The amount of posts i have seen gaslighting sky and rain and worshipping payu and prapai is INSANE ( no payu and rain are not dom and sub atleast not what happened in the bathroom stall that was sexual assault plain and clear but i don't have the patience for that argument all I'll say BDSM relationships happens with full consent from all the parties involved) . Enjoying problematic media is fine but don't gloss over the problematic part please 🙏 . I enjoy lita i like both the couples and their dynamics but i am fully aware that's trash and i am okay with it cus i can separate fact and fiction unlike some people here .

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

So, there have been interesting developments on the absolute mess that is X-Men Green, and I have no idea what to make of it.  This actually happened quite awhile back, but the issues only recently got uploaded in a way that I could read them or post images, so this is old news, really.

I have already been kind of baffled by Orlando’s continuation of X-Men Green, not that the story made much sense before that.  Duggan’s version gave us a really weird story about Nature Girl completely snapping and becoming an environmental terrorist, and she blatantly murders blue-collar workers rather than anyone in a position of power to change policies, but somehow she and Curse are treated as semi-sympathetic?  And Doug, Krakoa and Pyro sympathize enough to help them escape, with Krakoa even giving Nature Girl a special staff, and Doug offering at most a vague scolding about how they need to fight smarter? 

Orlando’s continuation basically says, “Nah, they’re actually monsters,” and really doubles down on Nature Girl, Curse and Sauron getting worse and worse, committing further atrocities while people try to talk them down.  Or, in the case of Hordeculture, egg them on.  Orlando even has one of the Hordeculture women call Nature Girl “a budding sociopath.” 

Most recently, after Nature Girl decided to free Armageddon Man to destroy the world, because that’s become part of her philosophy somehow, Curse revealed something that seemed like a perfect opportunity to reset all this nonsense and walk it all back.  Apparently, she used her poorly defined reality alteration “curse” powers to set Nature Girl down this violent path in the first place, by wishing for a friend.  So, this is Orlando’s attempt to explain Nature Girl’s completely abrupt, unearned and out-of-character turn towards violence.  Nature Girl isn’t interested in hearing it, though, and Curse attempts to undo what she’s done.

 I have to admit, this is the most sympathetic Curse I’ve read.  Duggan’s Curse was just gleefully nasty, but in this cute, quirky way that seemed to indicate we’re supposed to like her.  I find her annoying partially because she seems like one of Duggan’s “pet” characters that he lavishes a lot of story attention on. Orlando actually dug in deeper and shows Curse feeling regret.  She undoes her “curse” on Nature Girl, and winds up dead, because her powers will backfire and hurt her if she tries to do something good:

I can’t say I’m sorry to see this little gremlin go, but I think @iwillshipyouman is a fan, so sorry, buddy.  If it’s any consolation, the Council is already debating whether to resurrect Curse in the next X-Men Green segment, so there’s a chance that she’ll come back into the story, especially since Orlando wrote her more sympathetically.

However, after all that, Nature Girl is still on her environmental terrorist rampage, and seems more delusional than ever.  So what exactly was the point of all that?  Curse basically sacrifices herself to undo the curse she put on Nature Girl, and Nature Girl just denies that Curse is responsible and continues to be violent and horrible. 

So, what was this plot twist about?  It seemed like a way to undo the complete character assassination of Nature Girl that’s been happening throughout X-Men Green, but never mind, I guess?  Is Orlando trying to redeem Curse with this?  So, he’ll redeem the completely new character that’s been purely nasty for most of her appearances, but he won’t redeem the previously established character who has generally been kind and gentle until the nonsense of X-Men Green sent her spinning off the rails and turned her into a remorseless killer?  Okay......I ultimately don’t know where this is going, but despite giving an explanation for Lin’s rampage, and an easy fix for it, he’s not going in that direction right now.  Lin’s just getting worse. 

I have to say again, I’m so glad that Pyro’s “involvement” with this story was quickly dropped.  The only good thing that came out of it was Duggan establishing singing Pyro and animal-lover Pyro, and I’m happy with that.  But him helping NG and Curse seems to go against what little character development he had in Marauders, where he was reconsidering his violent terrorist ways.  And it hasn’t led to any kind of good or interesting story for Pyro.  Him slipping coded messages into his novels was clever, but not as clever as Orlando thinks it is.  Even with the fast turnaround for cheap romance novels, there’d still be no way for Pyro to write and traditionally publish an entire book in time for his info to still be relevant.  Duggan actually left Pyro in a decently good place at the end of Marauders, and I don’t want him dragged back into this shitshow, especially since Doug effectively lied his way out of consequences.  I guess Pyro being forced onto Kate’s clean-up crew as punishment for his involvement would be kind of fun, but I’d rather he just stay out of it.  Dude’s off teaching creative writing on Krakoa in New Mutants, let him be. 

[d03]

Kion's Journey chapter 3

A wip sci-fi action story about chasing the truth. Read chapter 1 and 2 for full context. Any feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 1

https://www.tumblr.com/d03/722127513704333312/revised-thief-with-azure-skin-an-action-sci-fi?source=share

Chapter 2

https://www.tumblr.com/d03/742101666018492416/kions-journey-a-wip-sci-fi-action-story?source=share

Chapter 3

Kion packed his things. He bought himself a magazine and book to stave of boredom through his long journey. Kion didn’t care for reading, but a book had caught his attention, the self biography of General Zyre. A real war hero who had fought in every conflict that his fledgeling birth nation was involved in and had gotten popular while doing it. 

Kion sped through the desert in his jeep. Psynov paid more than Disareta had promised, though the job had cost him something he could never buy back. However it did allow him to live comfortably for a couple of months. Beyond that he was glad to have the jeep through his desert journey, Psynov and his troupe had sold it to him since they were leaving the planet. In short Psynov wanted to know how “Babel” schematics had left his home planet. Kion for his part just wanted to interrogate the crooked man. Though first, he had to have a hazard suit, to protect him against the shredding winds of the hazard zone. His plan was simple, drive to the town of Aregai, buy a hazard suit, and then search for the research station. His plan would likely take several weeks to fulfil, but it was the best path foreward. 

When Kion reached Aregai, he found the city silent. The modern, refined streets and buildings seemed to harbour no life. “where is everybody?” Wondered Kion as he drove through the desolate streets. 

*Thud* A sudden noise that echoed through the empty streets, Kion looked at his back mirror and was met by the sight of a woman lying limp on the street. She wore a black crop-top and leather pants. Kion rushed out of his jeep. Her crimson skin marked with bruises and wounds. Kion kneeled down and lifted up her up. Her lithe body was modest in size, but you couldn’t mistake her for a young girl due to her defined muscles and battle scars. He placed her on a bench. Shortly after, Kion was horrified when he looked at his hand that had been on the back of her head. It was stained in her red blood.

“Doctor! Doctor! I NEED A DOCTOR” he screamed, his voice ringing through the desolate streets. Kion carried her to a convince store, hoping to find any medical supplies. Kion was shocked when he found every shelf was empty. To make matters worse, a siren blared, which was followed by the shrill voice of a woman delivered through speakers. 

“Land-lovers, forfeit yer belongings t' the great pirate xaptain Red or face death!”

The voice blared through the city. Kion docked underneath the counter with the woman. His breathing became heavy with anxiety and his mind raced with questions: Who were these Pirates? Why we're there pirates in the middle of a desert? Why am I so unlucky? Kion’s face went pale, as he heard the automatic door slid open, and the sound of two pairs of clanking boots entered the building. 

“I saw him come in here, I spotted him with the spyglass.”

“Yer eyes better nah 'ave betrayed ye. I don’t take kindly t' wastin' me time” It was the same female voice from before, though less distorted. Kion crept further into a corner, hoping against hope that he would disappear or become invisible. The sound of clicking boots came nearer and nearer, until the sight of two gruff looking boots met Kion. “peekaboo!” Said the pirate as he peered under the desk, though he didn’t manage to say much more, since kion punched him. The pirate was sent back, dropping his gun and curved sword. Kion leapt out from under the counter. He would escape! He would save this woman! All those hopeful thoughts disappeared as Kion heard a *click*, someone has turned their safety off. 

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t blow your head off”, the voice was shrill, Kion assumed this was the Captain Red. Kion turned around, trying to not alarm the captain. 

Catain Red lived up to her name, wearing a long gold lined maroon duster that reached her feet. Out of the jacket poked an imposing scabbard that held a large curved blade. On her head was a oversized tricorn hat, that casted a large shadow on her face, the only visible facial feature was her toothy grin. 

“She needs a doctor.”

The pirate didn’t look impressed.

“Do ‘ya expect me to cry”

Her plasmator, an illegal and volatile handgun, was charging up. Kions mind flooded with ways to somehow escape. Tackle her? Run away?

“Iknowwherefloodexists” said Kion, the words leaving his mouth like a freight train. Those jumble of words seem to interest the captain. Captain Reds grin grew wider, she took the intercom fastened to her duster, the cabel hanging limp. 

“Listen, scallywags, prepare fer flight. Ive found a clue t' the greatest loot o' all.”

He had been dragged to the pirates ship’s prison cell soon after, Kion was already regretting his confession. 

He had recognised the ship from the book about General Zyre, it was a Throne-class air ship which had disappeared several years prior. How did a wannabe pirate manage to steal one of the planets most dangerous air ship?

The holding cell was dingy, it was clear that it wasn’t common for these pirates to take prisoners. Moreover Kion could see out of his bars that a man was entering the room, alongside the clacking of a cane. The man seemed old, his face covered in wrinkles.

 “who are you?”

“Don’t worry I’m not some torturer, just an old guard.”

He threw Kions personal belongings into the cell, before slumping down on a chair. 

Kion rummaged in the bag with his belongings, trying to find his lockbreaker. 

“You won’t find that dohicky, in there, just your books and clothes” 

“So how long until I walk the plank?”

“heh, heh, my captain wants to talk to you first, before she makes any fatal decisions. If it gives you any peace of mind, she quite liked the little scene you caused at Fran Arx’s place.” 

Kion grabbed the General Zyre memoir, reading it to better his mood, though his mind still wandered about the fate of that women. 

“I never caught your name, oldie”

“The name is Veha, I know surprising isn’t it?”

Those words made Kion curious. 

“Were you a big-shot in your youth?”

“heh, heh ,you must be newcomer to this planet, heh, heh”

A familiar sound descended into the chamber, high-heeled boots sauntered down the stairs. 

Captain Red bend down to be in eye level with Kion, who was sitting down on the cold hard floor. Her face was smeared in a smug, self-satisfied attitude.

““so ready t' tell me about flood or must I go through yer lady-friend?”

Those words sent a bolt through Kion, he sprang up, and gripped onto the metal bars. His face was mere inches from hers, the metal bars inhibiting his violent intent. 

“What have you done with her?!”

“calm now, I’ve set her up in a nice galleon in the infirmary”

Kion calmed. 

“I jus' needs t' tell me all ye know about flood or else shell stay thar”

“All I know is some cyberhole with a mask has the flood schematics. I also know that hes hiding in the quarantine zone, probably researching how he can recreate flood.”

Her smile broadens, revealing a row of sharp teeth. 

“how fortuitous, we be already headin' towards the quarantine zone t' hide. Now jus' t' find that research base, that barnacle bastard be hidin' in. Those schematics will fetch a high price on the black market.”

She turned towards the exit, with an exaggerated swagger that sent her coat swooshing in the air. 

“Oh, besides, second mate Vahe, set 'im free, hes part o' the crew now. If 'tis a trap, then he be gonna be trapped wit' us”

Kions eyes went wide, when did he say yes to being part of this madness. Vahe opened the cell door with no care in the world, and handed kion a bandana. 

The red bandana had the white silhouette of a laying woman who was holding her head and crossing her legs (mimicking some saucy pose) emblazoned on it. By putting this bandanna he would join this misfit band of mischievous pirates.

“I’m not sure if I can wear something this dirty”

“What, don’t like the appearance of our dear captain?”

Kion blushed as he realised that the white in the silhouette was supposed to be the bare skin of his captor. 

“You should worry more about preparing for the raid”

“I can hold my own, I’m a former bodyguard”

“Former?”

“My.. ugh.. client disappeared..”

“Sounds like she needed a better bodyguard, heh, heh, heh”

Vahe lifted himself out of the chair, his limbs creaking as he took off his large poncho. What seemed to be a large metal wristband was fastened on one of his arms. Vahe fingers traced its surface before finding his target, a button. A large serrated blade sprang forth from the wristband, the blade extending out from his arm. 

“If you can make it past me, you’ll get a top spot in the cafeteria, where you’ll get all the prime bits. Got it?”

Kion was hesitant, he didn’t want to hurt this frail old man, but the rumbling of his stomach convinced him otherwise. Kion lunged forward, intending to tackle Vahe off his feet. Kion knew he was faster than any strike the geriatric could dish out, so it was all the more surprising when he saw the serrated blade mere inches from his eye. 

Kion inched away from Vahe, wondering how this feeble old man had thrusted the blade so fast. 

“Heh, heh, heh, still got it. Now I would hate to see your poor body get squashed, so why don’t we train a little?”

Kion nodded yes, still a bit embarrassed from his recent humbling. 

“i’ll just get a extra arm-blade from my room, you just stay here”

Kion was left to his own devices, he flipped through a cheap celebrity gossip magazine to calm his nerves. While Kion had bought the magazine for the trip, he hadn’t touched it before now. Kion flipped through it, before reaching “the list of high class disappearances”. It included the usual suspects, but one picture caught Kions attention. She was number 6, the owner of MEK industries. MEK was one of the largest weapons manufacturing companies on the planet, well until she disappeared out of the blue. What intrigued Kion was not the story but picture accompanying it. There was something familiar about the young female CEO, a shocking realisation set in Kion.

“that would certainly explain how she get ahold of a throne-class ship.” Mumbled Kion to himself

Kion put the gossip mag away when he heard Vahe coming down the stairs. 

“Well kiddo, are you ready for your training?”

Vahe tossed him a large clunky wrist guard. Though Kion found it primitive and rustic, he had learned from the old man not to judge from appearances. He would accept it, since it would carve his way towards Flood. Kions fingers hovered over the rough scrap metal surface, before finding the button. The wrist guard trembled, kion strikes it, in the hopes it would work faster. The blade sprang forth almost cutting Kions fingers off. Afterwards Kion ran his fingers down the blades surface, it was rough made more for function than form. Kion felt a little awkward since the wrist blade made his arms feel unbalanced. A satisfied smile broaden on Vahe’s face as Kion followed his instructions, moving into the required combat stance with slow precision. 

“Ive want you to take a few swings, to get ya used to the weight”

“When are we gonna spare again?”

“Heh, heh, heh, the raid is gonna be your sparing session! So we better start training techniques”

Kion jabbed with the bladed weapon, feeling it cut through the air. Kions arm felt tired because of the burden of the bulky wristguard. 

raised off the floor. 

“Now kid we will train what I have dubbed the “Blade cyclone” “

Vahe went to the other end of the room, before jumping forward with surprising swiftness. He managed to spin around while in mid air. The tip of his blade made contact with the wall, drilling into the wall. Vahe came to a stop and landed on the ground, he looked up at the crater he had created on the wall.

“Now you try”

“O-okay”

Kion leaped foreward, before falling on his face. The dinner bell rang out in the lower halls before Captain Reds voice broke through the intercom, her voice was latent with false confidence.

“Me mates I can sadly nah join this feast. Plannin' the raid takes priority, but I allow ye t' start the feast without me”

Kion and Vahe made their way to the eating hall, a long table had a basket filled with bread and cutlets. The table was lined up with occupied chairs, though a seat at the end where left empty. 

“Kiddo I’m gonna have to leave you to the riffraff since ya lost to me.”

Vahe shuffled to the long end, while Kion had to sit between two massive pirates where he was squished by their impressive bulk. 

A large pot filled with soup was placed on the table. Vahe was granted the first pick dipping his ladle deep into the pot, fishing out plenty of meatballs and soup.

“hey! Shouldn’t you leave some for the rest of us?”

One of the large men turned his head towards Kion. 

“Thats just how we do things around here, our captain says only the best get the best”

Kions eyes widened as he saw how the other pirates plundered the soup and basket until it was his turn. Nothing more than flavoured water could be found in the pot when it arrived to Kion. The baskets with cutlets and breads, had also been reduced to near nothing. What Kion could scrounge up almost didn’t fill his stomach. Kion left the table, intending to confront the Captain. The sounds of mirthful banter dissipated as Kion moved closer to the Captains quarters. A large plaque above a decorated door read “Great Captain Red!”, Kion had found his target. The door creaked open, Kion letting himself in. 

“Knock! I’m only in my underwear!”

Kion covered his eyes, only to realise he didn’t see anything lascivious. What he saw was captain Red in bright red long johns. The captain looked quite different then Kion was used to, her hair had become wild with knots. Furthermore a pair of reading glasses had found themselves on the bridge of her nose. She was getting up from her seat, moving past her desk where the battle plan were strewn across. 

“Talk about overreaction”

“Its just this damn raid” She said banging her fist against the hard wood table, making small figurines jump in the air. Kion noticed a half full bottle of liquor next to the desk. Another thing Kion noticed was that she had dropped her pirate accent, speaking now with a delicate dialect. 

“Isn’t it simple? Just point the ships weapons at the base and make them give you the schematics”

“No, no, no. I know those bastards, they probably have dozens of escape routes. We gotta hit them hard and fast”. Kions interest was piqued, how did she mean by them? It was time to ask his question, the reason he came in here. 

“What did you to the ceo of MEK industries and how do you know about Flood?”

Her hands moved to her waist, seeming to reach for her non existent weapons. Red sighed, looking up at Kion. She went back to her desk, settling in her chair.

“hihihi… I’m only gonna tell you because your already marked for death, since you know about Flood.”

“The ceo, her name Puroji, was once invited to a meeting with some other weapons manufacturing moguls. Thereafter two men came in, one with a crow mask the other with a blank mask. He spoke about creating the war and new war weapons to sell. Puroji couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and how many of her colleagues were agreeing with these mad men. Many were seduced by promises of money, not caring for the death toll, and others just saw it as speeding up the inevitable. Puroji was disgusted by the proposal and rushed out, but she knew they wouldn’t let her live with the knowledge of their plan. To stay safe she would need to disappear, but being powerless wasn’t her style. So she decided to steal one of the Throne-class ships her company was producing. It wasn’t hard t' find outcasts t' hire t' be in me pirate crew.”

“ ”Me”? ”

“excuse me fer spoilin' the twist. Me 'n Puroji are one 'n the same””, Reds grin grew wider. 

“So theres no damsel to rescue, just a wannabe pirate. Do you really trust your pirates won’t steal Flood for themselves?”

“Thats where ye come in” said captain Red and fiddled with some of the figurines, so that a red and blue one where in a white circle, “While my crewmates plunder the base, my elite cadre will find the schematics and destroy them. The elite cadre will include those I’m sure wouldn’t steal the schematics for themselves”

“Your gonna do something to that woman, if I decline to be apart of your “elite Cadre” ?”

“HAR, you know it”

“Where might the plans be hidden? Beside what are you gonna do about the fact they can hide in walls?”

Red looked more nervous now and shifted around several figurines. 

“well.. that part be still a work in progress”

“Good luck captain, I… trust you.”

“you can just call me Red.”

Kion went out.

Red looked up from her battle plan and figurines with a faint smile, making Kion stop at the doorframe. 

“Also I expected you to be taller, even without the boots”

When Kion returned to his cell, he was met by Vahe.

“Took ya long enough, now we will practice blade cyclone again”

Kion went into the combat stance, his right hand lowered to his waist, while his left hand was level with his neck. Kion raised his leg, his toes touching the floor while his heel was raised from the floor. He crashed again, nevertheless He pulled himself back and leapt forwards once again, managing to spin around before crashing to the ground. This sequence repeated 5 five times, Kion only making incremental progress. 

“Heh, buddy, Maybe its time to give it a rest?”

“No! If I can’t do this, then how will I save her?”

Kion stood upon shaky legs, Vahe looked solemn noting that this is sixth attempt at the “Blade Cyclone” Kion had made. Kion was bruised from the many falls. For a sixth time, Kion leapt and spun. To Vahe’s surprise Kions blade managed to make contact with the wall, making a small dent before he crashed to the floor. Kions legs had given out, unable to move even an inch. Vahe lifted him to his bed. 

“Rest up, tomorrow is show time”

 The next day was ushered in with Reds screeching voice echoing through the telecom system, instructing everyone to enter the dinning hall. The hall was filled with the entire crew of the ship. 

“Listen up, wimps! We’ll be conductin' a lightin' raid on a base filled wit' eggheads. Our scouts 'ave confirmed camps around the research base, likely containin' some serious muscle. The ship will blast holes into the east, west wing 'n the main body o' the base. Ye will use sky skimmers t' enter inside the wings while me group enter the main body. When ye’ve boarded take any weapons research ye can find 'n get out handsomely.…”

A large hairy hand had raised in the crowd. 

“Who will go with you?”

“ I was jus' about t' announce that. Me elite cadre will o' course include first mate Vahe, newly promoted third mate Maka, 'n the scallywag who tipped me off t' this booty Kion!”

Each name was met with roars.. well all except for Kions. Kion wondered who Maka was, he must have done something impressive to be promoted. Maka rose from the crowd, a large bandage stuck to his nose, he lifted his large curved sword. “ooohh, Maka was the guy I punched..that might cause trouble” Thought Kion. The pirates walked to their stations, some staying onboard the ship while others ran through crowded halls to reach their air-skimmer stations, anxious to take off. They all wore their protection suits, all fearing the coarse winds of the quarantine zone. 

A tall man in heavy dark armour went to kion, placing his armoured glove on his shoulder. Kion turned around to face the stranger.

“Heh, heh. Don’t recognise your teacher?” Said Vahe

“What?! Why do you get to have super suit?”

“It helps my joints, you don’t need any mobility help”

Kion was led with Reds other companions to where their sky skimmers awaited for them. Kion had never seen a sky skimmer before. They were rudimentary built, there were straps for the riders feet and handle to steer the wiry vehicle. There was small thrusters situated under the glider wings.

“How do you control one of these things?” Asked Kion looking for any way to start the engine.

“Its jus' a bigger version o' the gliders ye played wit' as a sprog” said Red

“As a kid?”

“Yarr, yer nah from this planet. Well don’t worry, its so simple even sprogs can control 'em”

The sky skimmers were a solid metal grey, exempt for Captain Red which had gold handle bars and whose edges were gilded with gold. Kion couldn’t help, but take a quick look Mako’s nose, a feeling of regret welling in him. Makas nose had swelled, the bandage struggling contain his damage. 

“Uhm… Sorry about that. No hard feelings?” Said Kion and extended his hand. 

“If I hadn’t spotted you and gotten socked in the face, I wouldn’t have gotten this promotion. Heck, I should be thanking you!” Said Maka and shook Kions hand, encasing Kions hand with his own. Red settled into her sky skimmer, before reaching for her telecommunication device. 

“Ready up proud beauties, we be descendin' in ten seconds!!!”

 Kion rushed to strap himself on the glider, he traced his hands around the handle searching for a throttle. 

“KION IF YOU WANT TO TURN IT ON YOU HAVE TO-“ Shouted Vahe before being drowned out by the sound of rushing wind, the hanger door having been opened. Kion fell, holding on to the handle for dear life, his knuckles turning white from the effort. Kion could feel the wind rushing past him as he saw missiles fly towards the research base making their entrance. He was hurtling at the research base in rapid speed, he needn’t to do something now! A panicked Kion pressed every surface on the handle looking for a way to run on the thrusters. The sky skimmer rolled in the air and soon out of control. The heavy winds pushing and shoving the small craft. Kion noticed that Red was leading the charge, right ahead of him. Kion shimmied his feet of the straps and let go of the handle, letting him free fall. Kion dove through the air towards Red like a meteor. Soon Kion crashed into Red’s back with a sudden *thud*. Afterwards Kions arms hooked under the surprised Reds arms, while clinging to her for dear life. 

“Shiver me timbers- Someone likes thar cap'n” said Red with a slight blush, Kion for his part was more focused on not plummeting to his death. They landed in the research station, rubble and panicking scientists strewn about. Maka grabbed a scientist with his burly hand.

“Good done, third mate. Now t' begin questionin'.” Red unsheathed her curved blade, which cackled with charged electricity. She pointed the tip at the scientists throat, illuminating his masked face.

“Can ye help be wit' directions t' yer boss?” Asked Red in a sing-song tune

“He’s.. he’s down the stairs, to the left”

“Ya know wha'? Let’s jus' take ye wit' us” a mad grin spread across her face as her cadre of miscreants rushed through hallways and down the steps. The stairs led down to a clear hallway. Their feet tapping against the glass floor as they made their way to the other end. Outside they were met by the sight of what seemed to be a half constructed cannon. Kion thought it looked familiar. 

“Sink me!  They 'ave already begun construction! They must 'ave been hoardin' materials..”

“At least it can’t cause trouble if its underground.”

“Thats the trick! They’ve likely made a false openin' above ground, so Flood can be lifted or elevated to the outside.”

“Hay, this door won’t budge. It needs a keycard” Maka was banging the door at the end of the hallway. All the pirates turned their gaze towards their hostage. 

“I.. I never had clearance, beyond here, I swear!” 

“Well looks like I have to give this back.” Said Red and tossed Kion’s lock breaker to him. Kion looked it over, searching for any damage to the device.

“Stand back, I need space to work.”

Kion knelt down, the lock breaker sending radio signals meant to disrupt the doors locking system. What Kion hadn’t noticed was Maka was getting nervous and had decided that whatever Kion was gonna do was gonna taking too long.

“Move aside!” Screamed Maka, as he charged towards the door. Kion was knocked aside by Maka’s impressive bulk, which brought down the thick door. Inside they found an immaculate, clean office space. The crooked masked man was sitting at his desk, which was lined with rows of screens and processors. Thereafter Maka grabbed the crooked man and pinned him against the wall. 

“Where is your boss!!” Roared Maka, though the crooked man seemed less than impressed by his attempt at intimidation. Red stepped beside Maka.

“I love your spirit, But let the professionals handle interrogations.” Red pulled out her plasmator, it was already humming with energy. 

“Won’t you be nice, and give us the schematics?” She said with a wicked smile.

“Its in my right desk draw, lowest department” said the crooked man, his voice calm as a sea breeze. Kion moved to the desk and opened the drawer where he found a data stick. Anxiousness was seeping into Kion, all of this was too easy. 

“Any copies?”

“The encryption prevented us, all we could do was move the digital schematics”

“Heh, we got lucky today.. Kion why are you sweating?”

Kion saw as a red figure crept out from above, sliding off a ceiling panel. Before any noise could escape Kion, a bullet flew out of the figures wrist. The bullet tore through Maka’s neck, his body slumping over, the crooked man slipping out of his now cold limp grip. 

Everyone was stunned as two crimson figures crawled out of the ceiling. They were clad in form fitting crimson outfits, their faces obscured by green plexiglass, only the silhouette of their pitiless eyes were visible. The two crimson clad bodyguards jumped on the desk. Standing still, they could be identified as man and a woman and that metallic wings were attached to their backs. The remaining cadre was paralysed in fear. 

“I remember MEK made those suits, but they be designed fer extraction nah combat”

A smug laugh left the crooked man.

“Puroji, My bodyguards requested some improvements”

Kion for his part could only stare at Maka’s corpse. 

“Snap out of it! If We wanna make it out of here, you’ll have to see two more” snapped Vahe

Much to the surprise of everyone the body guards began to play rock-paper-scissors. The female bodyguard won with the decisive use of scissors. 

“HAH I WON, now Angel provide support, while I slaughter them!” 

Katars humming with electricity slid out of her wrists. Her metallic wings unfurled as she leapt towards Vahe, aided by the thrusters on her wings. The crimson bodyguard collided into Vahe, but managed only to move him an inch. Cold black steel met electrified blades in an intense struggle. Vahe’s blade sprang from his armoured arm, before he swung it at his opponent. The bodyguard jumped away, leaving with only a scratch on her reinforced chest plate. 

“Its really you. The great Vahe, knight of valour, a founder of this very nation. Let it be known that Crimson Valkyrie ripped you into pieces!”

A flurry of blow bound towards Vahe, who deflected them with his arm blade. Each blow deflected heralded another viscous blow. Kion was overwhelmed by the speed of their attacks. Vahe was launched backwards by a burst of shots flying through his hip, launched from Angel. Red and Kion hauled Vahe into the corridor in a hasty retreat. 

“Good done Angel, but I reserve the kill”

“Captain, let go of me, you have to escape!”

Kion stepped between the bodyguards and Vahe, his blade springing forth from his arm blade. 

“You can kill this one, Angel”

Angel flew forth and launched a barrage of stabs, Kion unprepared to stop any of them. Each strike carved into Kion’s quarantine suit, before cutting away at his bare flesh. Nevertheless Kion’s mind was undeterred by the pain, focusing only on blocking and dodging of Angel’s assault, but many strikes slipped past his defence. Tired out, Angel stepped back, expecting Kion to keel over. On the contrary Kion stood, undaunted by his wounds, almost daring Angel to try again.

“You must admit… Blocking a quarter, ain’t bad for a first try” 

“KION RUN NOW” Screamed Red as she chucked her plasmator, the humming sound indicating that it was charging. The sound of scurrying feet was drowned out by a booming explosion as the plasmator overcharged, exploding into pieces. They had only reached halfway up the stairwell before they heard the bodyguards approaching. Blood spilled on the stairs as Vahe stood up, ichor dripping from deep wounds. The once stalwart knight was now standing on shaking legs, fighting against his own weight. 

“Heh, heh.. heh, your kindness is too great, but I’m slowing you down. My job is protecting the captain, not surviving.” There was no hint of sadness in his voice, he was unclouded by selfish needs. Red tipped her large pirate hat, her face taking an unusual solemn expression. Meanwhile tears flowed free down Kions face. Kion wanted to say something, anything that would make his teacher come with them, but no words were found. The building was crumbling into pieces, ravishing winds taking apart the sleek and modern architecture. However Kion and Red managed to reach her sky skimmer, KIon hanging on Red as they flew into the air. As Kion and Red flew towards the ship, they witnessed the sky populated with orange hues as missiles struck the airship. The shadowy forms of fighter planes whisked past them, too fast to comprehend.

“What are the military doing here, don’t they have a border to patrol?”

“Our radio scramblers should have cut off any calls of help. Unless this place was always under their protection.”

Kion was horrified when he saw behind himself, Angel and Valkyrie were right on their tails. The bodyguards looked ragged with chunks and pieces missing from their armour. Moreover Valkyrie was dripping with ichor, her katars coated in a thick layer of blood. Furthermore Valkyrie gaining on them. Valkyrie stretched out her hand and managed to dig into Kions helmet, a quick slash from Kion deterred her way, but left a large scar across his cheek. Blades clashed as they flew across tumultuous sky. Kion clung closer to Red as she dove the sky skimmer towards the ground. 

“Captain were moving away from the ship!”

“It be suicide to try to fly back, with all those fighter crafts and these guys behind os. Vahe was right if we wish to live, then they have to die.”

Kion had tried to ignore the pain of the whipping winds, but the violent winds was tearing away at his exposed skin. The sky skimmer crashed, sand spraying from their crash site. 

The winds were so thick here that it was only possible to see within arm reach. 

Even so Kion could make out the silhouettes of Valkyrie and Angel, which were circling them. Before Kion could react, he was knocked away with a crushing drop kick from Angel. However there was still a tingle of strength left in Kions body and despite his body feeling him otherwise, he rose. A scream rung out, Red’s scream as Valkyrie and Angel turned their attention to her. Kion limped foreword on shaky feet, following the sound of battle. His limping turned to running. Kion could now see his targets, they were stomping on Red in a sadistic display of might. Rage welled in Kion, animating his body, letting him leap towards Valkyrie, his body spun with renewed energy. Valkyrie spotted Kions approach, but found herself unable to move, Red using the last of her will to cling to her leg. Then as a last resort Valkyrie pushed Angel into Kions path. Pain seared through Ange as Kions blade punctured Angel, drilling into the bodyguards stomach. Angel fell, life leaving his mangled body, But Kions course kept its speed as he sped towards Valkyrie. Again Kion drove his blade inside his target, dirtying the himself and the ground with her ichor, gore spraying forth. Kion slumped to the ground when he was finished, his eyes wide as he stared in horror at his bloody hands. Afterwards Kion threw away the bloodied arm blade. Kion had never felt so sick, his stomach turning into a swirl of disgust. Meanwhile the last of his energy was leaving him, his eyes felt weary. Red crawled towards him, slumping beside him.

“Why did it have to end this way?”

“Kion don’t regret what happened, its part of your role”

“My role?”

“Your the truth seeker, knew it the second you went to my quarters. You couldn’t help yourself, it was always going to be like this”

“Heh, so you like dying in the middle of nowhere?”

“I’ve taken the role of a pirate captain, I wouldn’t have chosen any other. My only regret is not going down with the ship.”

Kion thought of her words. he had the truth in his grasp and he could now protect those cared for, even if it was just for a moment. Another path wouldn’t have satisfied kion, that he was now sure of now. Though Kion was unsure how longer he could keep his eyes open. 

“Don’t worry Kion, my coat has a tracking device, my crew just has to slip past those fighter crafts and retrieve us. They can even save Vahe. Theres no need to worry, really” Kion wasn’t sure if she was trying him or herself, though it also sounded like a plea to a higher power. Kions eyes shut, and he was unsure if it was for the last time. 

[matthewhillstudiovi]

Chat with Meighan

During studio 3.2 I had a bit of a creative crisis.

I felt completely disconnected from my topic and couldn’t really visualise what the purpose of my work was going to be / what impact it could have.

I started making but my work was looking trashy and unrefined. I was also focusing super hard on the end outcome and not allowing myself to build little assets and instead tried to visualise some end publication pages (similar to what I was visualising but really basic versions):

I had a chat with Meighan who helped me define some direction and qualities in my audience because my thought process was so scattered and it was stressing me out.

I left class feeling more doubt about my project than I have ever felt before.

I got home and started thinking of other project options to weave myself out of this one. I decided against that because we are almost in week four and also I am very passionate about this topic it's just quite hard to tackle and define when much of it is subjective.

I started thinking about my semester one project. I ran out of time last semester and did not fully integrate my idea of stoicism and ancient greek patterns. I was also thinking I should integrate gratitude somehow.

I was chatting to Grace in class and she said that's cool that I have a little gratitude list. And I was reflecting because that is something many people should do more is practice gratitude. I did an Outward Bound course where we practiced self reflection and gratitude to improve our mind, body and soul through a 21 day outdoor course.

But I was like nah a card game to practice gratitude is lame...

But then I thought what if I targetted New Zealand High School aged boys through a publication which helps them to reflect on how they embody their masculinity. What if I could help young men practice gratitude, self reflection and make them brainstorm how they could tackle misogyny, banter and locker room talk through a card set which is further deepened by a supporting publication.

The publication will be a piece to create a conversation around dangerous ideals that are portrayed in culture. Young men often interact with music and that is where they idolise toxic views towards women. I could use language and lyrics and use my design skill of type setting paired with distorted photography to create an emotive piece that allows young boys to reflect on the artists they look up to.

Internalised misogyny.

[wroteclassicaly]

Sending you a request from the hate prompts because they were just too good.

Eddie x reader with the prompt "take your time, darling. hell's happy to wait for you."

Love your writing by the way 💕

First off, thank you so much for sending something, because it’s cheered me up immensely! ^_^ Second, thank you for the compliment! Much ♥️

I’m not sure what this is, but it’s the scenario that wouldn’t leave my brain alone, lol. Does it make sense? I hope so! Hope you enjoy, anon? And everyone else, as well?! <3

Prompt is from here

Feel free to clutter my inbox, y’all! ;)

~*~

You watch him, eyes hazy with the anticipation of further observation. He is taller than you’d anticipated on the up close front, his long hair even more curly from the summer weather, one ankle crossed over the other, that bandana dangling from his back pocket, his silver chain resting against his thigh. He’s muttering to himself as he always does, laughing at his one man audience, fingers flipping through another set of cassette tapes you’d recently attempted to organize. A slight irritation brims you, causing you to outwardly sigh, moving from around the counter, stopping short. What exactly do you plan on doing that you haven’t already done before?

“You know that you can just come over here and approach me like an actual human being, Y/N.” He snarks, admiring your startle with a wide smirk, but still not sparing a glance your way. “Also, I’m not effecting your precious organizational skills here, I swear on my shriveled, dark heart.”

“Eddie, what the fuck…” It’s not the best comeback, doesn’t even make much sense, really, but it is all you’ve got, feet finally working to carry you to where he stands by the bins.

“What are we what-the-fucking, Y/N?” His fingers have a tape pinched between, those damned doe eyes finally meeting yours, cheesy little pursed smile pressing his defined features.

It would help if he wasn’t so otherworldly looking…

Hands planted on your hips, you force an eye roll. “You and this shit.” You yank a tape from his hand, noting, without surprise, that it’s Black Sabbath. “You’re forever coming in here and talking to yourself and fucking up my work. Besides, don’t you already have this one?”

He’s still grinning with those pearly whites, so hard that you fantasize about kicking him in the shin. Why is he so cocky sometimes?

“Not for me, it’s for a friend.” Uncrossing his ankle from the other, he steps closer, not invading your bubble, but enough that you can smell him. Weed, leather, rainwater, Marlboros, and some thick spice—Eddie Munson. He snatches the plastic casing back, gripping it in his palm, rings clattering noisily across it, lips parting to speak. “You remember my buyer’s history? I’m impressed.”

Is he chastising you? Nah, Eddie isn’t the crudely cruel kind. He may get under your skin (in more ways than one, if you’re being honest), but he isn’t nasty to you. Not really. You’re zoned out a bit too long, and he’s done walked away from you when you’re back in focus.

You turn around, arms crossed beneath your breasts, name tag scraping your skin, following him. “I’m supposed to know my customers, Munson. That’s what a good employee does.”

“Or an ass-kisser.” He sing-songs, still walking even further ahead of you.

“Mister-gets-his-dick-hard from anything Metallica related is really going to mock me for knowing what he likes?”

You wondered if his eyes could get any darker. Seeing those chocolate irises vanish into a cavern of black-blown pupils—you now have your answer. You’d gotten a rise from him. Good.

He strides until he’s towering over you, arms outstretching on either side of you, knuckles pressing into a metal rack. He licks his lips, voice considerably low for your ears and yours alone. “Oh, honey, you think you know what I like?”

Your jaw nearly drops. You snort, pushing him backwards. “Go to hell, Eddie. You know what I meant.”

“Only if you promise you’ll join me. S’ not a party without you, Y/N.”

You choose to ignore him, taking heavy steps back to the front counter, busying yourself with organizing bags. Eddie’s footfalls are easy to familiarize, his presence so damned infuriatingly daunting, that he doesn’t have to say anything—a gravitational pull pivoting you into his awaiting stare. His hair is frazzled, elbows propped onto the counter, cheeks resting on his palms.

“Jesus Christ, what?!” You snap, tossing the bags in exasperation.

He says nothing, briskly nodding to the tape he’s placed in front of you. You sigh, clicking your tongue, letting it slick against your teeth as you ring him up. When you’re handing him his change, he lets his fingers linger—waiting, nervously glancing for your reaction. You don’t pull away, curling your fingers into a fist after you drop the coins into his palm. He wraps his digits over yours, his rings pressing into your knuckles, a warm smile pattering his mouth.

His very delicious mouth…

“You need a ride after work? Supposed to rain the rest of the day.” He speaks in a sudden softness.

Flabbergasted, you’re unsure how to answer for a moment. Eddie shifts in, keeping your hand in his, awaiting your response, his voice honey-hot when he says, “Take your time, darling, hell’s happy to wait for you.”

[cocobeanncteez]

ATEEZ Wooyoung: All 'Cause of a Neck Kiss (oneshot)

Genre: fluff, smut, non idol au, bestfriends to lovers au.

Pairing: Wooyoung x Reader (fem)

Inspiration: Based on this reaction that I wrote.

Word count: 2.6k

Warnings: profanities, alcohol consumption.

"Okay, Y/N and Wooyoung get in the 3rd row," Yunho said after placing everyone's luggage in his car. You were going on a roadtrip to Boryeong with your bestfriend, Jung Wooyoung, his friends (who also became your friends) and some of their significant others.

You had to sit on Wooyoung's lap at the back of Yunho's 7-seater car as the seat beside you was occupied with some bags.

Wooyoung got into the car and sat down before you followed his actions, settling on his lap. "You good, Woo? Am I too heavy?" you asked, trying not to put all your weight on him.

"Nah, I'm all right," he answered and placed an arm around your waist, pulling you against his chest. "You can sit comfortably." You were glad you were facing away from him; you didn't want him to see how your cheeks heated up.

Once everyone was settled in both the cars, Yunho and Seonghwa began driving. Since it was really early in the morning, everyone decided to sleep during the two hour drive.

You weren't feeling sleepy, so you were scrolling through your Instagram, looking at various posts. Wooyoung couldn't sleep either; he pushed your hair to one side to see what you were looking at while resting his chin on your shoulder. You saw a post of a man kissing a woman's neck and the caption said, "neck kissing is like heaven, except it mainly makes you breathe really hard and want to commit a lot of sins right then."  You double tapped on your phone screen to like the post, causing Wooyoung to smirk; he couldn't help but want to test it out.

He placed a gentle kiss to your neck to see how'd you'd react. You stopped breathing for a second; did your bestfriend just kiss your neck? Did the man you were so in love with—but didn't have the guts to let him know as you were scared of ruining your friendship— just kiss your neck?

When you didn't push him away or ask about his actions, he began placing more kisses onto your neck. You titled your head to give him more access to your neck, gripping his arm that was around you, causing him to smile against your skin.

"I didn't know you like neck kisses this much," Wooyoung murmured in your ear, his voice dropping a little. You turned around to face him and without thinking, you crashed your lips onto his. You couldn't help but smile when he immediately kissed you back. You've dreamed of this very moment so many times, it felt unreal to you that it was actually happening. You moved your hand to his newly dyed black hair, tugging on the strands. His hold around you tightened and he pulled away. "That feels nice," he said, a little breathlessly. You ran your hand through his hair, your heart swelling with some kinda happiness that you've never experienced before.

Wooyoung pecked your cheek. "I'm going to take you on a date after the trip, okay?" he stated, making you smile.

---

"Wow, it's bigger than I expected," Hongjoong said while walking with you towards the beach where a party was taking place; there were around three hundred people here. Initially, the plan for tonight was having dinner at a fancy restaurant, but Mingi and Jongho insisted on going to the party when one of the resort staff told them about it.

Wooyoung and the rest came here before you and Hongjoong, so you couldn't see anyone. The two of you headed to the bar on the beach, deciding to drink something before searching for the others.

"What do you want, Y/N?" Hongjoong asked you.

You scanned through the various alcoholic beverages on the shelves.  "VS Hennessey, please," you replied; it was Wooyoung's favorite drink.

He snorted. "You're spending too much time with Wooyoung," he said and turned to the bartender. "One Martini and a VS Hennessey for the lady."

A while later, Wooyoung, San, Yeosang and his girlfriend, Taehee, found you and Hongjoong at the bar. Wooyoung's eyes darkened when he noticed the red bikini you were wearing. Your eyes were also on your bestfriend, taking in his swimming-shorts clad body. Wooyoung had been working out a lot, and you were in awe of the results: his arms were more muscular and his abs were more defined. His black hair was pulled into a small ponytail.

"Y/N!" Taehee squealed, running to hug you, already quite drunk. "The hottest guys in the country are all here!" she giggled.

Yeosang raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend's statement. "Repeat that, babe?"

"But you're the hottest of them all," she quickly replied, pecking his lips before turning back to you. "Go get some dick, girl!"

Hongjoong nearly choked on his martini. You only laughed, gulping the remaining of your drink before you got up from your seat. "Dance with me, Tae," you said, dragging her to the crowd where everyone was dancing, despite Yeosang's protests.

You moved your body to the beat, quickly getting lost to the music. You knew Wooyoung's eyes were on you the entire time, so you made sure to add a little sway to your moves in hopes of teasing him a little. You felt hands on your waist, making you turn around. Some random drunk guy was trying to dance with you; he was kinda cute, you had to admit. Wooyoung's jaw clenched when he saw you dancing with the guy.

"So when are you going to make a move on Y/N?" San asked, grabbing Wooyoung's attention.

"I already did," he answered with a smug smile. "We kissed today morning in the car."

"Finally," San said, putting a french fry in his mouth. All your friends could see that you and Wooyoung had a thing for each other; they were all waiting for you both to realize that.

You danced with the random guy for a while until you excused yourself to get a drink. You took two shots of Vodka before going back to the dancing crowd. The guy you were dancing with moved on to another woman. You found Yeosang and Taehee making out in the crowd, and Yunho was dancing with some random girl. The song changed and you squealed when you realized it was one of yours and Wooyoung's favorite songs. You glanced at where Wooyoung was seated, but he wasn't there.

You felt someone wrap their arms around your waist, pulling you against their chest. One glance at the man's arms was enough for you to know who he was.

"Let me hold you, girl caress my body, you got me going crazy, you turn me on, turn me on," Wooyoung sang the lyrics in your ear. You turned around, wrapping your arms around his neck while he sang the rest of the lyrics. You had a big smile on your face while you danced with him, admiring his beautiful face. Wooyoung leaned down to capture your lips with his own in a sweet, slow kiss; you could taste the Hennessey on his lips. He pulled away, placing a soft kiss on your temple. "Let's get out of here."

The two of you quickly made your way to your shared room at the resort, excitement running through your veins. Wooyoung unlocked the room door with the key before entering the room, pushing you against the door after locking it.

"You drive me crazy, baby," he mumbled, cupping your cheek, he leaned down, stopping an inch away from your lips before he pulled away and walked to the bathroom.

You snorted, unsurprised that Wooyoung was teasing you now. You followed him into the bathroom. You washed your hands and legs, getting all the sand off. You sat on the bathroom counter, watching Wooyoung dry his hands after doing the same.

You decided to tease him by stripping yourself out of the red bikini, causing his jaw to drop. His lustful eyes roamed all over your naked body. You wanted him right now.

You moved towards him, pushing him against the wall, connecting your lips to your his. Wooyoung kissed you back while his hand traveled down to your bare ass, giving it a squeeze. You pulled away to move your lips to his neck, knowing he loves neck kisses just as much as you. You sucked and gently nibbled on his skin, making sure to leave a mark. Once you were done, you trailed kisses from his neck to his sharp jawline.

Wooyoung placed his hands on your waist to turn you around so that your back was pressed against his chest, and you were facing the full-length mirror in the bathroom. You watched him kiss the skin between your neck and shoulder, making you suck in a breath. One of Wooyoung's hands moved to play with your tits while the other moved down to your heat. He ran his finger along your slit, collecting the wetness there. His eyes were on your reflection in the mirror while he placed his finger on your clit, rubbing it in up and down motions while his other hand massaged your breast.

"Fuck!" you moaned, throwing your head back against him, eyes closing in pleasure.

"You like that, baby?" he rubbed your nub faster in circular motions. "Open your eyes, sweetheart, look at what I'm doing to you."

You opened your eyes and glanced at your reflection, watching Wooyoung pleasure your clit. Your breathing increased while he moved his fingers faster. He placed open-mouthed kisses on your neck and shoulder, and his other hand toyed with your nipple. He slipped two fingers into your entrance, spreading them open like scissors to stretch you out, making you moan and clench around his fingers.

"Woo, gonna cum soon," you cried out when you felt the knot forming in your stomach. Wooyoung removed his fingers. You gasped, eyes going wide. "Why would you...?"

He kissed your shoulder, a smirk on his face. "Did you really think I would let you cum this easily after what you did? Hmm? Dancing with another man when you knew I was watching you."

You smirked. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Wooyoung snorted, taking your hand in his, dragging you to the bedroom. "I'm gonna show you who you belong to, baby," he said, pushing you onto the bed before hovering above you. He trailed kisses from your neck to the space between your breasts. He gave each nipple a kiss and a little suck before trailing kisses further down your body. He stops at your glistening heat, glancing up at you. "You're gorgeous," he stated, spreading your legs wider. He kept his eyes on you while his tongue flicked your nub. He ran his tongue along your slit, moaning at your sweet taste. He gently sucked on your clit. "W-Woo, oh fuck," you moaned, your hands moving down to grab his hair while he sucked harder. "I want you in me right now, Woo," you managed to say through heavy breaths; you really just wanted to feel him balls deep inside of you.

Wooyoung moved away from you, his eyes held slight worry. "Are you sure?" he asked, and you nodded in response. "Use your words, baby."

"Yes, Woo. Please, I want you in me right now," you begged.

Wooyoung gave you a kiss before getting off the bed. He took a box of condoms out from his bag, taking out one of the foiled squares before turning to you. He slowly took his shorts and briefs off, making sure to tease you. You took in the sight of him, gasping at the sight of his naked, toned body.

Wooyoung climbed back onto the bed, ripping open the foil covering. He rolled the condom onto his length before hovering above you.

"Are you really sure about this?" he couldn't help but ask; he knew you were conscious about who you slept with.

You propped yourself on your elbows, reaching up to kiss him. "I'm sure about this, I promise. I love you, Wooyoung," you finally confessed.

A bright, happy smile immediately appeared on his face. He kissed you passionately, heart swelling with happiness. "I love you too, Y/N. Fuck I've been in love with you for so so long," he said, kissing you all over your face, making you giggle. He kissed you for a few more seconds before he pulled away. He positioned himself at your entrance. He pushed in slowly, keeping his eyes on you while you adjusted to his size.

"You good, babe?" he asked once he was fully in.

You nodded. "You can move now."

Wooyoung thrusted in you slowly, sucking in a breath when he felt your walls clench around him. "So fucking tight," he remarked, rolling his hips against yours. He laced his hands with your own, leaning down to kiss you. "I love you so much," he murmured against your lips. You freed one of your hands to cup his cheek, pulling him back into the kiss. You swiped his lower lip with your tongue and he immediately gave you access to slither your tongue inside. Your tongues moved in a slow rhythm to match his slow thrusts, and your hand moved through Wooyoung's soft hair. You moaned and gently bit his bottom lip when you felt him hit your g-spot, making him smile and pull away. "I found your spot, didn't I?"

"Yeah..."

Wooyoung lifted one of your legs up, thrusting in faster and deeper. Your hands gripped the pillow beneath your head while you watched Wooyoung's cock move in and out of you.

Your back arched when he repeatedly hit your spot, and you felt the familiar knot forming in your lower area. "Woo..." you moaned, your walls wildly clenching around him, making him groan in pleasure. He reached down to rub your clit, making you squirm. "Cum for me, my love."

A few more thrusts and you screamed his name, eyes rolling back at the intense pleasure as you reached your high, your orgasm ripping through your body. Wooyoung came shortly after you, spilling his seed into the condom. He thrusted in a few more times before pulling out. He quickly disposed the used condom before moving back to the bed, pulling you into his arms. You stared up at him with loving eyes, making him kiss your forehead. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm just... happy," you stated, running your hand through his hair that was slightly damp with his sweat. "I didn't think you'd feel the same way."

He snorted. "I assumed that too. I've been in love with you for nearly three years now. I was scared to tell you cause of our friendship..."

"You'll always be my bestfriend, Woo," you said, burying your face into the crook of his neck. His face fell a little; he wanted to be more than bestfriends. "But you've got an extra title now," you continued.

He gently pushed you away from his body so that he could see your face. "Which is?"

You smirked, leaning in to kiss him. "My boyfriend."

[frogtanii]

I READ BLUEBERRY ANON’S ASK THE OTHER DAY AND IT’S SO BIG BRAIN I HAD TO WRITE IT.... i was really inspired so i got a bit out of hand and went above the word count i was aiming for oops

“Woahhh.” Your eyes sparkle with excitement as you rummage through Oikawa’s makeup bag - you had no idea such an average sized makeup bag could hold so much color and chaos. “This is so... boujee.”

Oikawa raises a brow. “Boujee?”

“Yeah,” you say with a shrug. “I bought three different lipstick shades for $10 the other day and I felt guilty afterwards... but these? These are so expensive.”

Guilty.

The brunette instantly deflates, because he’s played a role in that - in you not having enough money to splurge on as many lipstick shades as your heart desired. Quickly, he recounts the days where he ran his mouth about you right to Iwaizumi, Meiko, and your face... all because he so desperately wanted to feel important.

But look where that got him.

“You can have it,” he tells you, gesturing to his vast collection of cosmetics. “As much as you want. I don’t care.”

Your eyes flicker over to his face, and he’s uncharacteristically serious. Though you may not know Oikawa all that well as of right now, you know that that is his way of expressing sincerity - seriousness.

But you don’t like it - this tension that’s suddenly filling the air. In fact, you’re tired of it, because it’s all you’ve been having for the past few months or so.

“Nah, it’s alright,” you reply, voice light. “You’ve probably used up a lot, and I don’t want your cooties.”

Oikawa snorts, and to your relief, the heaviness is gone.

“Rude,” he mumbles, before landing his hands on his camera. “Then, let’s get started, okay?”

The camera starts rolling, and Oikawa is quick to get into character. He’s a natural at speaking to his audience, recalling stories from his past as he dabs makeup onto your face, and most of all, making you feel like you belong here, right next to him.

Whatever worries from beforehand about not being talkative enough, or not being lively enough to keep up with Oikawa’s grand makeup videos is long gone, and instead, you find yourself exchanging banter with him in such an... organic way.

He truly is amazing.

30 minutes in, you two are talking about your favorite clothing brands before you realize he’s complete with your look, and now, it’s your turn to make him look pretty.

(As if he wasn’t already beautiful.)

You didn’t have a plan for this, to be quite honest. But now that you’re here, right in front of a camera, you can’t help but regret not thinking this through beforehand.

Taking a deep breath, you analyze his features, all while recalling the makeup techniques you’ve learnt over the years. You may not be as skilled as he is, but you can at least try.

“Get in there,” he sings playfully, as if sensing your tension.

You roll your eyes. “Okayyy.”

Oikawa closes his eyes, mentally preparing for... whatever’s coming next. Again, he still has so much to learn about you - one of them being how you feel about his character.

Part of him still worries that inwardly, you’re taking him apart, scrutinizing his feminine nature. After all, that is all he’s known for months.

It’s always, ‘you’re too flashy’, ‘too extravagant’... ‘too much’.

But this is simply how he is as a person - flashy, extravagant, and a hell of a lot to put up with it.

He’s not harming anyone, so why should he try changing? Why did he try changing?

Before his thoughts pile further, he flinches in surprise at how gently your hand touches his jawline. Though his eyes are closed, he can reckon that your gaze is as soft as your touch.

“Y’know, I envy you,” you say quietly. “You have such a nice face for makeup.”

Oh, this was not what he was expecting. “... Do I?”

“Yeah. Defined cheeks, long lashes, nice lips... it pisses me off.”

... Is he dreaming?

Had it been long before he agreed to be part of the Hype(r) House, he would’ve laughed and cracked a flirty joke. But these past months have hardened him, took his glamour and life and replaced it with self image issues and broken friendships.

To you, it’s just mindless rambling.

But to him, it’s acceptance, appreciation, and reassurance all fitted into a few words.

To him, it’s a testament to how you simply don’t care that this is what Oikawa enjoys, and this is exactly what he’s been longing for for too long - for someone in the house to just... not care. To let him be himself.

Oikawa can’t feel anything for the next few minutes - not the feathery strokes across his eyebrow, and definitely not the tear that falls down his cheek.

Immediately, you drop your brush and wipe the tear away with your finger. “Crap... Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” he answers without wasting a second. “You never have...”

He opens his eyes, and they’re red and fresh with tears threatening to implode. They’re lonely, and marked by insecurity.

They’re nothing like what Oikawa Tooru presents himself to be.

The brunette does not know how you’ll react to him pulling you into an embrace, but he wants so badly to hold you in some sort of way. Instead, he settles for your gentle hands, intertwining his fingers with yours and squeezing.

One squeeze for ‘thank you’.

Two squeezes for ‘I’m sorry’.

Three for ‘I appreciate you’.

“You’re a good person, you know that?” He asks.

You frown, but in concern. “I try to be.”

Oikawa smiles, lifting both his and your hand up to his lips to give your knuckles a light kiss. “You don’t even have to try, honestly.”

After a few moments, he tears his gaze away from you, only to find the camera still blinking red from afar. He makes a mental note to stop the recording.

And then he makes another mental note - to say the rest off camera.

- chai

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

About the “I thought we would fight side by side forever” speech. Its meant to be seen as heartwarming, but it also could be seen as Thor having no clue and no desire to learn what Loki thought or wanted and simply dragging him along into his fantasy life. Because Loki in Thor 2011 doesn’t look like he even likes physical fighting, but of course Thor would fail to notice such a basic detail about his own brother.

Oh my, that damn elevator scene. I'll be honest, I used to think it was heartwarming and lovely too because I took it at face value but frankly that scene is horrendous, way too victim blamey and it puts Thor is such a terrible terrible light... I hate it.

THOR: "This place is perfect for you. It's savage, chaotic, lawless. Brother, you're going to do great here."

This makes for a rather weird characterization of Loki. Since Marvel have been insistent in trying to erase Thanos' involvement in the NYC invasion, it would seem that his character can only and will only be defined by it, devoid of context and retconned to the point where Loki all of a sudden becomes a genocidal maniac who finds enjoyment in absolute chaos and "hedonism" as they say in the series.

But when have we seen Loki truly engage in something like that? Because that description could fit someone who spends their days in Contraxia and I'm pretty sure Loki would hate that place.

You could argue that everything Thor is saying here is reverse psychology (and I'm sure that's what they were going for) but if you don't allow the other character the chance to define themselves this is just another instance where someone else is defining him without facing any resistance.

LOKI: "Do you truly think so little of me?"

THOR: "Loki, I thought the world of you. I thought we were gonna fight side by side forever. But, at the end of the day, you're you, I'm me... I don't know, maybe there's still good in you, but let's be honest, our paths diverged a long time ago."

How about we allow Loki to define himself? Nah, better have someone else do it as per freaking usual.

"Maybe there's still good"? I can understand Thor being angry about Svartalfheim but what of Loki protecting Jane, rushing to help him, teaming up with him... all that doesn't matter, it's not even part of the equation it seems and that's a constant in Loki's life: do as much good as you want but it all will go unnoticed and people will only see the bad.

And "our paths diverged", yeah but why? Is that Loki's fault, just his? No self-reflection of any kind there, wow. And what of Odin, he has no responsibility in this either? This quote makes it seem as if Loki had just chosen to abandon his family and do it on his own which couldn't be further from the truth.

Also, these guys are over a thousand years old. All this madness about Jotunheim, NYC, bla bla happened in the span of what, 4 years? That's nothing for these guys!

And then the "Get Help" prank that I suppose was an attempt to remember the good ol days to manipulate Loki into thinking they could have that again.

I can't get behind all this because why use manipulation tactics when he could have just... talked to him? This whole scenario is Thor talking about himself, his thoughts, his opinions, etc. It's so one-sided it's almost funny. He doesn't understand his brother and he doesn't want to, he stopped caring and he just wants him to follow him and do as told?

That's not Thor, not even close. Ragnarok not only ruined Loki, it ruined Thor too.

[aita-blorbos]

WIBTA for leaving my family?

My siblings and I are involved in a sort of… family business, you could say. We each have a specific job. These jobs are majorly influential— I don't think I can overstate the impact they have— but here's the thing I've figured out: they don't actually need to be done. That is, they need to be done, but they don't actually need someone to do them. If I just walk away, my job will do itself perfectly fine.

And I've been seriously thinking about walking away.

I've been doing this for my whole life, and by this point it's just too much. This isn't a good situation for me or any of my siblings. It's not a good situation for anyone. (Well. One of my sisters actually seems to have learned to cope pretty well, but the rest of us…) So… yeah, I don't think I can keep going like this. I need out. I've pretty much decided. I'm just worried about what it would do to my family.

I'd say goodbye, of course, but then I'd have to cut off all contact with them. I think my oldest brother (Y) will be okay. He already knows, though I don't know if he's come to terms with it. My older sister (H) will be upset, but she'll manage— like I said, good at coping. And she'll try to hold the family together, too. I'm just not sure how much she'll be able to do by herself. Two of my siblings (A and E) are always at odds with each other— I do my best to keep the peace between them, I don't know how far they might go if I'm not around to interfere anymore. And I'm especially worried about my little sisters (R and U). R needs someone to drag her out of the house every now and then, and if I leave, that person is probably pretty much always going to be E. Trust me when I say that would not be good. And U… honestly, if anyone will understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, she will, but she's the one I'm most worried about. She's still a kid, and she's less stable than the rest of us. I genuinely don't know how she'll react. The others will take care of her if it goes too badly, but… she's already been crushed under the weight of our reality. I don't think me leaving will be enough to break her again (or enough to break her further, at least not permanently), but I don't know for sure.

I don't want to leave them. (Frankly, it would be best if I could convince them all to leave this whole thing behind, but that's not going to happen any time soon. My sisters might be swayed eventually, but my brothers define themselves by their responsibilities so completely that I don't know if they could ever stop.) I just can't do this anymore.

So… WIBTA?