#couldn't find credits for the second one unfortunately

[resssistance]

Uno Shoma / FS Air on the G String; Mea tormenta, properate! Grand Prix Final 2022 / photo by Raniero Corbelletti   

[strawberryshortcake0413]

Last hope (part 1)

Characters:yandere Leon S Kennedy (older version) x reader

Disclaimer: This fanfic contains dark-themed topics, such as kidnapping, depression, suicidal thoughts, non-consent, unwanted pregnancy,etc

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. MDNI

Warning: yandere Leon Kennedy, kidnapping, non-consent, depressed reader, manipulation, Stockholm syndrome, unwanted pregnancy, emotional & mental abuse, out of character leon etc

@dollywons credits for the divider, thank you :))

The pictures used does not belong to me!!!

Chapters: pt2 pt3

“Fuck off” you muttered to your Alex. Today was already as hard as it was. You didn't need him giving you unnecessary advice on how to grief a patient.

Who does he think he is?? You thought to yourself. Listening to a bratty egotistical younger resident telling you what to do when your patient dies during surgery? No. At least you will not tolerate his behavior.

Growing up with a careless single mother in poverty may have made you like this. Always numb and cold. That's just what people think of you.

You weren't always this unattending. In the first year of medical school, you were the nicest and the most helpful student there is. Things changed as your career proceeded within the years. You saw how ugly people can be. They took you as weak and something they can use to get what they want.

Not again. Never again

The loud alarm went off in the hospital wing. You quickly got up as your pager rang. In-room 303, there was a little girl. 10 years old, had a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. When you were working the night shift and doing regular rounding checkups, she talked about her birthday plan to you.

“I want Princess Jasmine to attend my birthday party. Her hair is so long and shiny and pretty and, and she's pretty. She's also so smart. Mommy promised me she would come” the girl suddenly stopped. After a few seconds she opened her mouth again.

“She said she… she will come if I live… will I live? Doctor?”

You thought about the past as the attending announced her time of death. 23:44. 12th of May, 2015.

Two patients. Two patients. In one day.

Hiding from people, you hugged your knees in the corner of an empty hallway as you sobbed. God. People thought you were heartless. What other choice do you have when you have no choice but to leave your toxic mother who had no other motivation in life other than drinking, to build a better future for yourself. What other choice do you have when you were the best student in the school but had no money for college? Would you rather stay with your mom to take care of her all your life, doing everything that drives you insane or follow your dreams?

Unfortunately for you, your dream was not something you imagined. Burden, depression, exhaustion were the main 3 words you could use for this job.

Not to mention the creepy, flirty attendings. Always being underestimated by the men in the field.

After the long hard 24 hours and arguing with your mentor about your recent research about brain cancer, you took a box with your belongings.

Bitch

The old fat man fired you for standing up for yourself. Why would you allow anyone to take ideas from your paper? Especially if they were your teacher.

Fine. I'll find a better job in a better hospital.

After putting on your comfortable black coat and causing your boss to fire you for no actual good reason, you walked to your car with the box in your hand.

“Fuck” you yelled as you struggled to open the car door with the damn box in hand. In the reflection of the car window at midnight you saw a face behind you. Just as you were going to turn away, something was put around your nose and mouth and everything went black.

Leon grinned to himself as he carefully put the young woman in his jeep. Tonight was the new moon. There was almost no light in the parking lot and he was sure the cameras couldn't catch the glimpse of his face.

He observed her for a few weeks. First he got a little headache and decided to go to the hospital, only to find a little angel for himself.

Leon noticed she was quite unique compared to the women he met before. Even though he wouldn't say she's rude, she wasn't exactly nice either. He was sure he could fix her up nicely to become a sweet little wife for him.

His baby just needed some guidance in life. What would he be if he let go of this girl to become a rude old bitch. Instead she could help the community by giving Leon a family he wanted for the last few months too much.

Staring at his sweet pumpkin through the rear view window, he was planning what to do next. For the last week he had already planned what to do. But his bunny was in a worse condition than he thought. Overworked herself, dressed in sad gloomy clothes. He would strip her out of these and put her in comfortable , cotton pajamas.

And feed her. He knows what she eats in a day. Sad cold dark coffee with a tuna sandwich for breakfast. No lunch. Leftover pizza or burger for dinner. Leon will make sure she eats plenty of vegetables and homemade food that will nurture her.

During the night he changed her clothes to what he had bought for her.

“Just perfect” he muttered as the t-shirt he got fit her perfectly. Hugging her waist, making her breast more prominent. He held himself back from touching her cunt as he pulled down her pants, along with her underwear.

He sniffed her and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. “I’ll show you how much I love you when you wake up honey. Not yet… Leon… gotta wait” he muttered to himself.

He put a little underwear on her and undressed himself. Crawling next to the love of his life, Leon put an alarm at 4am on his phone.

“The drug should be out by then,” Leon thought as he cuddled her.

After a few hours Leon was woken by clicking on the doorknob. His angel had woken up and was trying to open the door. Leon sneakily grabbed his phone and looked at the time. 3am.

The blonde signed and got up, causing his angel to scream and throw a vase on the shelf nearby at him.

“Get away from me, you freak!” you yelled, almost on the verge of crying making Leon's heart beat faster. He hated seeing you in pain.

“It's okay. It's okay, baby. Everything will be alright.” Leon cooed, getting up from the bed to her.

“Step away!” You screamed, throwing the left souvenirs on the shelf to him.

Leon walked in a few short big steps, in hurry and stopping you before you hurt yourself.

“It's okay my baby. Daddys here to take care of you. It's okay. Calm down. Everything will be okay.. no more work, no more ignoring yourself. It's okay..” Leon muttered trying to calm you down. He gripped your arms tightly above your head while kissing your head.

You squirm while sobbing, trying to kick him.

“What did I do to you?? Let me go.” You demanded squirming more, causing Leon to tighten his grip. Leon kept muttering to you his reassuring words while kissing your face all over when you managed to kick him in the crotch.

He let go of you and inhaled deeply, trying not to lash out on his dove on their 1st day as a couple.

“Y/n…. Honey… calm down…” he breathed out.

After a while of trying, Leon gave up. The constant cursing and screaming were giving him an awful headache, same as the ones he gets after missions.

“SHUT UP BITCH” he yelled at you, shaking your arms. Your eyes widened as you shut down, the room was quite apart from your sniffling and leons hard breathing.

“Please… just… let me go…” you sniffed out. You haven't felt this humiliated and weak since you were a little girl. Since your mother used to beat you after not cooking for her. Since you went against her words. Your childhood wasn't something you liked talking about, nor getting pity from strangers. You wanted nothing to do with the alcoholic bitch. When you were near her, you were a prisoner.

Ironic, now I'm a real prisoner

Leon breathed out and stared intensely. Suddenly he grabbed your waist, pulling you towards him before jumping on the bed. You protested, tried to bite his arm, kick him, scream, call for help, every way. Leon almost tore the piece of garments he put on her before.

“What are you doing?? Stop. No. Stop-” you protested, only for him to shut you up with a kiss.

After the first night, Leon felt guilty. Not because he made love to his lover when she was throwing a tantrum. But because of the way he lashed out on her. For the last few days she was avoiding him, sitting in corners, not eating or making any noise. After a while being a gentleman as he is, Leon decided to surprise his bunny.

“Honey. I'm home” Leon smiled, locking the doors securely. He hid a small box behind his back.

You crawled away from him, to the edge of the bed. Leon reached out his hand to pull your hair back.

“My beautiful baby. Did you miss me?” He grinned stupidly. You wanted to cry. But you didn't want to show him your weakness, especially after that night. Leon frowned as you pulled your head back.

“Look what daddy got you sweet girl. I know you overworked yourself so daddy got you vitamins.” He grinned as he showed the box.

You frowned seeing it. The multi vitamins that had fruit flavors.

“Don't you like it? Daddy got you this one specifically because the pharmacist told me a lot of trying women get it” Leon smiled, placing his hand on your thigh.

You snatched the vitamin to see what it has.

Vitamin D, B6, B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, B9

What the actual fuck

“Are you insane??” You yelled. Leon's eyebrows raised. You finally said a word to him after the event, but yelling at him? He can't be having his wife yelling at the breadwinner.

“Dove. Watch your mouth” Leon said calmly, but his grip tightened.

“All I ever wanted for you is happiness honey. We will have many children. Look around the bedroom honey. The outside. Can't you see we are more than available to raise children? You're young and beautiful. We can have children. For now, I'm worried you're short on essential vitamins. And I heard it could affect fertility” Soon his eyes narrowed as he understood it was necessary to take another way.

“I know what I did was… wrong… Maybe you would have wanted me to approach it in a traditional way. But I just couldn't wait for you. Plus… you already know you would have rejected my offer. You were too deep in hurting yourself. I'm helping you. I'm helping us. We're building a future. Together”

“You should go to therapy”

Leon narrowed his eyes again. “Sleep well angel. You're not clearly thinking well” he said, kissing the forehead before lying beside you.

During the night you tossed around. What if you could overdose on vitamins and just end this suffering? There was no one to look out for you. You got fired, the only family you have is an alcoholic that you cut contact with, and no real friends. You were alone in this.

[maxislvt]

helloo, first off i love your work ! second, this may or may not be a request but- imagine dark!wanda x spidey!reader, post no way home where r is one of the avengers sent to stop wanda on her rampage. r gets captured by wanda though and turns out wanda remembers r’s identity. she had a crush on r since civil war and now that she has r all to herself…😳

“i’m going to ruin you”

warnings: womb tattoos, coercion, manipulation, spiderperson typical quips in really bad situations, no smut

got a little carried away, whoops!

The last few months of your life have been awful.

Life had been pretty stable for the most part. Trying to balance college, being a superhero duo with your adoptive brother, and the newfound freedom of adulthood was a lot to say the least. Then some big alien freak came along and ruined everything. You and Peter left Aunt May behind for five years.

For better or for worse, you and Peter didn't age. Peter still had his senior year ahead of him and you were only 24. So you both tried to make the most of that.

You were supposed to chaperone your little brother's senior trip through Europe. All you wanted to do was help Peter enjoy the last few months of youth he had before being shipped off to college. Of course, fate had other plans and the trip was interrupted by another cataclysmic event. One unpredictable turn after another. Then suddenly everyone knew your secret identity.

Quentin Beck was a hero and you were half of the duo that killed him.

One edited video and suddenly the whole world was against you and your brother. It was a target on your back you had no way of getting off your back. The magical escape you thought you'd found was nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing. Universes nearly collided. Three versions of your brother. Two other versions of you. Villains the two of you tried and failed to rehabilitate. A moment of complete darkness for your brother A dead aunt. So much fighting. So much pain. All of it for nothing. At the end of it all, everyone was forced to forget about you and Peter. No more full rides to dream colleges and no more "Amazing Spider Kids". It was just the two of you in a shitty Downton apartment at a community college neither of you really wanted to attend, but that didn't stop you two from trying to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

That need to protect everything and everyone seemed to get you in bigger trouble.

America Chavez. Barely 15 years old, alone in the multiverse, and no one to trust. Her powers and life experience were beyond you — you couldn't even take credit for defeating whatever monster that was chasing her — but you wanted her safe. You foolishly thought that it'd be as simple as finding a hero that could mentor her. Magic wasn't your strong suit. Yet, you still helped America try to escape the claws of the Scarlet Witch along with Doctor Strange.

In the midst of a heated chase, the witch's focus seemed to have shifted. Your mask was ripped by a piece of metal and you could feel the witch's eyes on you. Since you were more focused on protecting America, you decided to send The Scarlet Witch on a goose chase. You and a magical body double of the girl. Unfortunately, you could only run for so long. You didn't bother fighting when you were captured. All you could do was put on a brave face as you were somehow teleported back to your universe. You assumed the witch had gotten a decent portion of America's powers. That worried you, but unfortunately you had to prioritize your personal safety for a moment.

The witch must've known you were too weak to run away because she didn't even bother tying you down. She just stood over you and examined your face. You were nervous and confused to say the least. "So, uh, do you always stand over sacrificial young adults in such a compromising way or am I special?" You quipped. It was a real misfortune your mouth tended to run more when you were nervous. Your heart almost exploded when she reached out for your mask. "Hey, hey! Have some respect for a man's secret identity, will you?" You shouted, trying to push her hands away.

Automatic reflexes were nothing against magic and you were unmasked and it sent your spider senses spiraling.

"You remember me."

"Of course,I remember you. Do you not remember me?"

The airport. Tony had you and Peter flown out for a top secret field mission, that's what he told you at least. You weren't sure what you were fighting for, but you remember the battle clearly. Some guy had grown to a hundred feet tall. You fought some guy with a metal arm. Then someone suddenly started throwing cars. They had all missed you and went straight for Tony, but it was still scary. After the battle, you learned the name of all the people you fought. The weird one, as Tony described her, was named Wanda Maximoff. It's scary how your life had become so eventful that you'd forgotten that whole experience. Well, you couldn't blame yourself for not recognizing her considering the drastic change in her appearance.

"Yeah," You said bitterly, "you threw a car garage at my mentor."

"Your mentor made the bombs that destroyed my home country and had me jailed for powers I didn't ask for."

That was the first time a villain had left you truly speechless. Tony wasn't like that. Was he?It was a lot to process and that wasn't made any easier with the icy cold hand caressing your cheeks. "If you're going to drop an information bomb, can you at least give me a second to —" Your sentence was cut short by her thumb slipping into your mouth. Wanda had managed to slip past your spider senses. It was odd considering you were definitely not calm nor did you trust her.

"I figured he didn't bother telling you the whole truth," Wanda's voice had gotten low and seductive. Her thumb pressed down on your tongue as she continued to monologue. Your squirming didn't phase her at all. "I could hear your thoughts the moment you stepped foot in the airport. So loud and frantic, but nothing but innocence and desire for approval. It's a shame I wasn't able to see you again after that. I was lost in a hex of my own deepest desires and do you know what was there?" A smile spread across her lips as she felt you relax out of curiosity. "The two of us, happily married with two children, and living in New Jersey."

The statement made you jump and start fighting again. Married with kids was definitely not on your list of goals in the next few months, living in New Jersey just sounded dreadful. You managed to get her thumb out of your mouth just long enough to speak. "I'm sorry to hear about your crazy magic thing, I'm not ready to settle down yet. Maybe come back in six years once I've graduated, yeah?"

Wanda binded your wrists with magic. Her hand came down on your cheek with all the strength she had. Despite her frustration, she was happy to see you were still as witty and innocent as the day you two met. "I think I have a plan you'll like." She smirked as she summoned the darkhold. It opened on its own. The book turned towards you and translated itself so you could understand it. "Your innocence," she said before ripping you suit, "and your body in exchange for the girl's safety."

Your eyes nearly popped out of your head. It certainly wasn't a fair deal, even more unfair once you looked over the spell presented to you. A womb tattoo magically etched into your skin that would give Wanda complete control over your libido, orgasms, and a bunch of other depraved things you hadn't even heard of before. Wanda definitely wasn't the woman you imagined would take your virginity, but it wasn't an offer you could refuse. Strange wasn't strong enough to defeat Wanda and letting America die wasn't an option in your mind.

You put on as brave a face as you could before speaking, "If you so much as lay a finger on that girl, the deal is off." Your voice faltered at the feeling of Wanda's lips pressed against your neck. A moan nearly escaped your lips when Wanda's hands began exploring your body. The skin of your lower stomach began to tingle. This was it. This was how you lost your virginity.

Wanda's lips curled into a smile. A real one that showed off her perfectly white bunny teeth. She was no longer concerned with America. You were all she needed now.

"I'm going to ruin you," She whispered, "and you're going to enjoy every moment of it."

You wanted her to be wrong. You wanted so badly to hate the way her hands felt against your bruised skin and the softness of her lips on your neck, but you couldn't. Months without affection left your body desperate for any form of human touch. It is shameful and almost disgusting.

"Shh, I'll treat you right. Just be good for me."

[dazed-and-confused23]

Dear Hearts and Gentle People 8

Summary: Cooper and his wandering trader come across a dangerous wasteland baby, and it's a good thing they're both a little crazy or he didn't think they could pull this off.

Pairings: The Ghoul | Cooper Howard x Female Reader

Warnings. Mhm. None this time? Just a fun Lil chapter

Masterlist

It's the sound of soft chirping that grabs your attention. You've been listening to it for the past ten minutes, and it's only grown louder the further you walk east. You look over your shoulder at Cooper, who rolls his eyes and catches up to you. He thinks that you're too curious for your own good. Shit would get you killed one of the days.

"We ain't gotta check out every sound we hear, smoothskin," He grumbles, but you won't be budged. You unfortunately had a bit of a bleeding heart when it came to animals, and you wouldn't leave this one without help either.

"Just a quick look. If it's fine, then we can go," She assures her ghoulish companion, and Cooper curses the sky, but follows after his smoothskin nonetheless.

You wind around some burnt out buildings and come to a sudden halt when you spot what's been making all the noise. Fear chokes you for half a second as you take in the carcass of a massive deathclaw. It's dark horns curving back and away from its long face, and you recognize it as a female. A dead one.

Cooper grabs you by the collar when you take a step forward, his dark eyes furious as he halts you, "The hell do you think you're doin', girl?"

"It's dead, Cooper," she snapped right back and shrugged out of her jacket, leaving it dangling from the ghoul's hand. You inch forward and peak over the bead body, only to come face to face with the cuties little wasteland baby you'd ever see. Your heart melts at the sight, and you round the carcass to crouch by the baby deathclaw.

"Cooper, it's horns haven't even grown in yet," you coo and watch the sandy colored baby chirp and cry. Its stubby legs waddling closer and closer to where you're crouched. You want to scoop it up and cuddle it close, but you aren't that irresponsible.

The ghoul shuts his eyes and prays to any deity that would listen to give him strength and patience to deal with you today. He closes the distance and squats beside you, eyes narrowed in on the dumb beast that takes two steps before tripping on its tail and falling face first into the sand.

"We should kill it. It won't survive out here without its momma," Cooper says and stands up to draw his side arm, pointing the barrel at the little ones head. The deathclaw is saved by his smoothskin, placing a hand in the weapon and lowering it, and he looks over to see a calculating, shit eating grin playing across your lips.

He knows what you're thinking with just a glance, and a great sigh explodes out of his lungs, "This is a terrible idea, Sweetheart."

You scoff and dig in your backpack, retrieving some wrapped chunks of meat that you toss to the baby. The deathclaw coos and chops or up, and they get a good look at the dangerous teeth inside its tiny mouth. Still hungry, the baby chirps and toddles over to sit in front of you, its reptilian eyes begging for more.

You grin and toss it the rest of the meat, glancing back up to Cooper to see him shaking his head.

"I think it's a wonderful idea," you say and then reach out to carefully pat the baby deatbclaw on the head, "Welcome to the club, Dusty."

*notes.* this was inspired by some lovely fanart by a couple of artists here on Tumblr. I couldn't find their named but I wanted to give credit where credit is due! ❤️*

P.s. I was rereading the Dusty parts of this series and realized that I was also inspired by an old fo3 fic back on fanfic.net. I'm not sure if it's still there, but it was fantastic! Credit if the creator ever sees this!

[toastyrobos]

Never again (Rex X female reader one shot)

Word count: 2478

((You and Rex met early during the clone wars. Soon things turned romantic between the two of you. You were off world when order 66 happened. Panicking to find Rex, clone force 99 finds you, and having grown close to Echo, you went with them. When Rex unexpectedly shows up at Cid bar you nearly break at seeing him))

   "Twenty cases of those mantell mix things?! How long have those two been doing that?" Echo's loud voice carried as the four of us filed out of Cid's office into the narrow hall way.

   "I have surmised they have been partaking in this recreational activity for several rotations now". Tech configured, eyes never leaving his datapad.

You shrugged. "It's become a thing they do together after every mission".

Echo grumbled. "A costly one". He did have a point. Hunter wasn't too happy about it either from his narrowed brows and slightly clenched jaw. It was bad enough we owed Cid for basic rations, but now we owed her for this? You sighed.

Wrecker was just treating Omega to a harmless and delicious treat, but unfortunately that treat was racking up credits on your tab. That was exactly what you were trying to avoid.

Hunter let out a deep sigh. "I'll talk to them".

You knew how much he didn't enjoy seeing Omega upset, but maybe he could compromise with her. A way for her to still have the after mission snack while owing Cid a bit less. Frankly though, would you ever owe Cid less?

At this rate, it was doubtful.

Sounds of blaster fire and some sort of crash coming from the bar had your immediate attention. Hunter was the first of you to race ahead to the noises. You and Echo were not far behind, riding his heels. Reaching the bar all of you watched as the remaining species fled from the scene. Only individual left was a hooded figure, gripping on tightly to a singular blaster. The source of said blaster shots.

Something about his demeanor and cloaked face felt known to you. But you couldn't place it. Until your scanning gaze fell to his forearm armor.

White and and blue.

Your breathing paused. Unable to register what you were truly seeing.

It couldn't be.

It was not possible.

But it all became real when the hidden figure reached up and pulled back his hood. Revealing his familiar face to you.

You were stunned at the sight before you. At the person standing mere feet from you.

    "Rex". Hunter said surprised. He was just as shocked to see him here as the rest of you were.

You on the other hand forgot how to breath. Your eyes froze on his figure. Eyes roaming him up and down repeatedly to make sure that he was not a hallucination. A well of emotions came rushing into you. Like someone had punched you in the gut.

He was alive.

Rex was actually alive. Tears were beginning to swell in the corners of your eyes as you racked your brain for anything. But nothing.

Everything had left your head at just seeing him standing here. At the way he was looking at you. Surprised was not how he felt. No. If anything he was beyond thrilled to see you.

The second your name and where to find you left the sisters lips he plotted his course. He had to see you. Take you in his arms and never let you go. His chest rose and fell in rapidly succession at your presence.

It was as if everything and everyone around you two had faded into the backyard and you were the only two in existence. Just you and Rex. Your beating heart picked up speed the longer you stared at one another. The way he was looking at you. That smile painted across his lips, maker that smile. If not for the shock, you were certain your knees would buckle and give out from under you.

Even the way his essence was calling out to you. Beckoning you towards him.

You were hesitant, however.

Tech's earlier statements about the inhibitor chips coming to the front of your thoughts. Bracing yourself and taking a deep breath you pushed past Hunter.

Inch by inch you moved closer. Searching his face for proof that he wasn't here to hurt you, any of you. For any indication that he hadn't turned. All the while he continued to stare at you with that look that made your heart flutter and ache so desperately.

Being this close to him, even on edge, force, was he still himself. Still your Rex.

   "Starglow". The unshed tears filling your eyes, broke open. You instantly knew.

This was him.

Your Rex.

He wasn't going to hurt you. Not now. Not ever. Because of this you leapt into his awaiting arms. Crashing your body against his and tightly securing your arms around his neck. His arms found your waist and pulled you close. Orange blossoms. Oh how he had missed that smell of yours. How he had missed the feel of you.

    "Rex". Your voice cracked as you spoke his name for the first time out loud, in several rotations. "Y-your here".

   "I am mesh'la". He choked back his own sob. "And maker I've missed you". So had you. So much that it had ached like a festering wound. Neither of you dared nor wanted to pull away, but you did, reluctantly so.

You grasped his face between your hands, studying it closely. His piercing brown eyes staring into your green ones. How the came alive underneath the dim gray and blue lights of the bar.

The texture of his dirty blonde stubble underneath your fingers. The scratchy nature of how it felt. The barely visuals scars etched into his skin. The way his lips framed his face so beautifully. You had missed him. And you didn't know just how much until he was mere inches from your face. From your lips.

Both of you were aware of it. How you both longed to touch one another. Close the distance the feel the warmth of the others lips. Rex's eyes were the ones to make the first move. Gliding over how lush they appeared. Parted just so. And with the simple action of your tongue running over them in anticipation that's all it took for him to break.

Lips collided with yours in a desperate plea. Fighting to feel, to touch the other after thinking one another dead. The mere sensation of his lips molding into yours sent your body into overdrive. You always lost yourself in his kiss. In his embrace. No one else made you feel as alive as Rex did.

That smile of his, you knew the one, that gave you butterflies. And when it would change into a smirk, may the force have mercy on you. You heart couldn't take it. His infectious laughter that would echo off the walls of whatever environment he was in. Usually caused by one of his fellow 501st members telling a dreadful joke. Who would have thought you'd lose all of that in the blink of an eye. Only for it turn up weeks later. Safe and sound.

Thankful you were that those memories didn't have to become mournful ones. Instead they could continue to exist as they were. Ones that held promises for the future.

It had been a grueling time not knowing. Waiting and waiting for any signs, but now it was over.

You Practically slumped into his chest as he just held you close to his heart. The steady beating of it the only sound that could kept you grounded in this instant. The cold surface of his armored platting on your cheek was a welcomed sensation.

You needed this. To feel his heartbeat. To know that he was real. That he was right here, in this moment. Nearly losing him almost destroyed you.

You let out a shaky breath. "I though I lost you, Rex". Tears slid down your cheeks. "I though my —you—" you couldn't even finish that sentence. Rex knowing the pain you went through, as it was the same pain he experienced. He tightened his arms around you, nestling his head in the crock of your neck.

Feeling his arms around you, like a warm protective blanket you started to relax. The muscles in your body becoming less tense, Knowing that he was safe. That he was right in front of you.

His own muscles started to calm. Like a fleeting flame. He didn't have to worry or fret over searching for you anymore. He had found you.

As crazy as it sounded he would have gotten on his knees and physically thanked the force, to the stars and back again that he had you back.

He let out his own unsteady exhale. "I know".

He did not want to pull away from you, but like you he had the overwhelming urge to see your face. See all the marks and impressions he hadn't seen it what felt like a lifetime.

Needing something to anchor him, he sought out the one thing that could. You.

It was always you.

Bringing you closer, he touched his forehead to yours. Kissing you was so very intimate, but this. This was too. At least between the two of you.

"I'm here now, riduuar and I don't plan on going anywhere". He promised.

You shook your head, confused. "I don't understand. How—wh-what happened?"

Thousands of questions twisted around inside your head. How did this all happen? Why did it happen? Could no one have seen what had transpired? It was encompassing. Paired with Rex bring here. By the maker you were finally feeling the affects of todays mission catching up with you.

"I'll explain everything". He promised, seeing how exhausted you were becoming. "But right now, I just want to hold you". You simple nodded.

You wanted answers and you were certain that he'd tell you everything later, but right now his request, you could and would fulfill-it. As easy as breathing.

"Thank the f-force your safe". You whispered against his chest plate.

He ran his gloved fingers through your hair. Committing every moment he'd done this before to memory.

Kissing you was absolutely his favorite thing, without a doubt. But this. This was a close second. Something about it soothed him. Made any tense or stressful situation better.

Too engrossed in one another aura's, basking in it, you had forgotten that you had an audience. An audience that was rendered speechless by the affections exchanged between you and the now ex captain of the 501st Battalion.

All expect the ex arc trooper standing off to the side. Who had known the full extent and lengths of Rex's and yours relationship. He was present there that day. One of only a few who were witnesses to the pledge you both proclaimed.

It was undeniable, the love you two shared with each other. No doubt in Echo's mind that the both of you were meant to be together.

Wrecker was the first of the group to speak. "W-what...did I miss something?!"

Tech was the next one to speak, offering up an explanation, "Technically no. By my calculations Rex and Y/N have been in a committed romantic relationship for a standard 368 days".

His much larger brother simply stared at him in confusion.

"A standard year, Wrecker". Echo quickly explained. Understanding he formed an 'O' shape with his lips.

You and Rex both shook your heads. "Longer". Tech blinked. "It's actually been 2 standard years since we told one another how we felt". You locked eyes with Rex, your continued smile everything to him in that moment.

The Captain nodded. "It's been one since we said I do". That had their full attention.

Hunter took a step towards you. "Y-your married?"

You nodded. "Yes. Off record though. Only a few were able to know". You gestured to the former arc trooper. "Echo being one of them".

The Sergeant turned his eyes to the newest member of the group. "You were there?"

"Me and a few others were the only ones". He replied to which Hunter nodded. Satisfied. Knowing the full extent of the reprimand the Captain would receive if the Council found out the truth. That he was married to a princess.

The consequences for such an act could have cost him his position. Or worse. His life. Thus a secret their relationship needed to be. Unfortunately.

"Well then uhh congratulations to you both". Hunter replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

You nodded in acknowledgment to Hunter. When you thought you had lost Rex, he was the one to step up and comfort you. Reassuring you that you'd be okay. Even if in that moment you didn't feel as though you would.

All of them really made you feel welcomed. After all they were the ones who stumbled across you. Ushering you to come with them. Saying that they could protect you and guarantee your safety. You accepted. Thank the maker you had. If not, then maybe you would have never seen Rex again. And that left a bitter taste on your tongue.

"Thank you". You said at the same time as Rex slipped his hand into yours.

Love was a concept that Rex never thought was possible for him. He never dreamed of having it because it was instilled in him early on that clones were bred with one singular purpose. To fight for the Galactic Army of the Republic. Never had the thought nor idea of finding someone, in that regard, crossed his mind.

Until you came into his life. Changing everything for the better.

"Your here". You whispered into him. You were still in disbelief. Tears streaming down your cheeks like an endless river. Rex lifted his gloved fingers to swipe away your tears, that affectionate grin warming your body. "Your really here".

He was real, yet you still couldn't wrap your head around it, but that wasn't important. All that mattered was him. What this meant for you. For the life you promised to build together that day overlooking the lake when you swore an oath through vows. When you both said 'I do'.

"I am". He replied again. This time the power in which he uttered it, caused your body to shake. The weight those two words held. What they signified.

"I love you". Was your quick response. Even if Rex knew it deep down in his soul, to hear it again from your lips made him so beyond happy.

Another kiss found it's way to your lips. "I love you too".

Smiling, you pressed in closer to his chest. Wanting to be close to him for as long as physically possible. Rex was your everything. Your best friend. Your lifeline. To him, you were his entire world. All roads led you back to one another.

Determined he was that the force weld it so. And as far as the Captain was certain he wouldn't allow you to be parted from him ever again. Not while there was still blood flowing through his veins.

[fictionadventurer]

Top ten fairytale retelling novels/novellas you've read.

I've already answered my top 10, so here's my shot at listing 11-20.

11. A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan: Would probably be higher on the list if I'd remembered it in time. Sci-fi story that's a very loose retelling of "Sleeping Beauty", but so rich and emotionally devastating.

12. Maid and Minstrel and The Beggar Prince by Kate Stradling: Putting both of her short "King Thrushbeard" retellings in one entry. The first is more of a "Beauty and the Beast" tale that makes both leads decent people caught up in a misunderstanding, but I appreciated how it (probably accidentally) made me see the Christ-imagery inherent in the original. The second gives King Thrushbeard some character flaws and a good arc, and has an excellent explanation for why the princess didn't want to marry any of her suitors.

13. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine: Snow White retelling set in the world of Ella Enchanted, and retains that book's creativity in adapting the fairy tale elements. Has an excellent full-cast audiobook.

14. The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: Georgette-Heyer-esque Cinderella retelling. Very rushed ending, and not the kind of romance I'd advise anyone to pursue in real life, but very fun.

15. Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Cinderella retelling with an excellent twist, adorable characters, and a convoluted ending.

16. Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: Short and basic Cinderella retelling that gets on the list because I have extremely fond autumnal associations with this book.

17. Unseen Beauty by Amity Thompson: A "Beauty and the Beast" retelling from the point-of-view of one of the invisible servants. Since I'd had that idea for years before finding this, I was thrilled to find that this story does a pretty good job with it.

18. Exile by Loren G. Warnemuende: The first book in a trilogy that retells "Maid Maleen". I haven't finished the series yet, so maybe it's unfair to put it on here, but I loved the section of the story that takes place in the tower, so I couldn't leave it off the list.

19. The Seventh Raven by David Elliot: A retelling of "The Seven Ravens" that does a decent job of retelling the fairy tale, but I mostly love it as a very well-structured novel-in-verse that structures each POV character's poems with their own poetic form.

20. The Tales of Ambia by Allison Tebo: Fun, slightly Wodehouse-ish retellings that are a breath of fresh air in the romantasy-dominated world of indie retellings

Honorable Mentions:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: Objectively as stories, these should be pretty high up on the list. It had great characters and adapted the fairy tale elements in some amazing ways. But I'm not a fan of a lot of the worldbuilding elements here, so I couldn't bring myself to rank it above some of my beloved, but more-flawed indie retellings.

With Blossoms Gold by Hayden Wand and Sweet Remembrance by Emily Ann Putzke: Both contained in Once: Six Historical Fairy Tale Retellings. The first is "Rapunzel" set in Renaissance Italy with an agoraphobic Rapunzel, and the second is a beautifully devastating retelling of "The Little Match Girl" set during WWII. I haven't read these in a long time, but I remember them both being very good.

Masque by W.R. Gingell: An excellent "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with a very lively Beauty, a Beast who works as a police detective instead of brooding in a castle, and some clever adaptations of the fairy tale elements. Unfortunately, I've decided a couple elements of the magic go beyond what I'm comfortable with, so I couldn't put it on the list, but I had to give it credit.

[madraynesims]

The Sims 2 PSP Cut Content: Part 2

This is a follow up to my first cut content post, mostly talking about the cut Kine Dairy content there.

Missing Division 47 Scientists

Catelyn Lancaster

Catelyn is one of four Division 47 research assistants that are in The Sims 2 PSP. The two research assistants that still show up are Red Sands and Cristian Allard. All four scientists originally spawned inside the Laboratory along with the Curious brothers. Red and Cristian were later moved outside the lab to roam with the guards, leaving the other two scientists behind. This was likely due to performance issues in the lab. The schedule file indicates that Catelyn Lancaster would have spawned in the Laboratory only during the night.

This screenshot shows Red Sands when he used to spawn inside Division 47's lab. (Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures showing Catelyn)

As mentioned in part 1: Gender: 0 = female, 1 = male. The eye color is only specified if they're not the default brown. (I'll be using the Sims 2 PC to recreate them, as it shares a lot of assets with the PSP version)

Catelyn Lancaster's Details

Bio: "A research assistant at Division 47." social = 15, intimidation = 3, personality = 1, Her social score is higher compared to other Division 47 locals, and her intimidation score is at the max of 3, which would have made her one of the difficult Sims to do social games with. She has the Air personality type and she uses the serious idle set of animations instead of neutral. Her topic sets (interests) are dresses, makeup, medicine2, school2, politics2, spacesuit, travel2, money1, and the solar system. A visual of these:

Catelyn Lancaster's Secrets

 (Personal): "Does all of the work at the lab and gets none of the credit."

 (Intimate): "You were her first kiss … and after that experience, probably her last."

 (Dark): "Persists in enumerating common domestic fowl prior to emergence from their pre-natal habitats."

Terri Tortuga

As said above, Terri is one of four Division 47 research assistants that are in the game. The schedule file indicates that Terri would have spawned in the Laboratory only during the day.

Terri Tortuga's Details

Bio: "A research assistant at Division 47." social = 13, intimidation = 2, personality = 0, Her social and intimidation scores are average for Division 47 locals, so social games aren't too bad. She has the Fire personality type and she uses the serious idle set of animations instead of neutral. Her topic sets (interests) are dresses, makeup, classical, school1, alien, aliens, and birdbee. A visual of these:

Terri Tortuga's Secrets

 (Personal): "Has a HUGE crush on Pollination Tech #9."

 (Intimate): "Sometimes turns the radio telescope towards the city and pretends it's a laser."

 (Dark): "Tests new chemicals on herself, just for kicks. Once grew a second head."

Since we're talking about Division 47, I can add one more thing about TA7 (go see p6tgel's post to learn more about who TA7 is) The devs left notes here and there in the files.

don't worry, he's just (sleeping :P)

Random fact time: When you collect Roberta Rossum's parts, you can check your inventory and read the descriptions for them, but I don't believe you get a chance to read the description of Roberta's head before you give it to Isaac Rossum? But here it is.

There's also a toy horse story item that I can't seem to find any other information for.

[aphroditelovesu]

Hey, can you do a Yan!Visenya and Yan!Rhaenys Targaryen prompt where the reader is Rhaenys' twin and is very innocent. Both sisters are romantic yanderes for him (Aegon aswell but only platonic for him). Where reader wants to take a lover/mistress and Visenya and Rhaenys protests against it.

[8] "Nobody else can love you the way I love you. I would do anything to prove that to you."

[20] "I would do anything for you, even cross the abyss of death and return just to hold you again."

[28] "Every part of me belongs to you, and I will do anything to have every part of you with me."

(You can put it in any order you want.)

Prompt [8] - "Nobody else can love you the way I love you. I would do anything to prove that to you." Prompt [20] - "I would do anything for you, even cross the abyss of death and return just to hold you again." Prompt [28] - "Every part of me belongs to you, and I will do anything to have every part of you with me."

❝🔥 tw: typical Targaryen incest and perhaps a little suggestive.

❝🔥 word count: 1,552.

— note: the image/art does not belong to me and all credits to its creator. Unfortunately, I couldn't find its creator, but if you're reading this and want your credits or it removed, contact me.

''I want a lover.''

Visenya choked on the wine she was drinking, Rhaenys froze, and Aegon frowned.

''How so?'' Visenya demanded after she managed to swallow the wine. You looked at her who looked at you like you were crazy.

''I want a lover.'' You repeated, sipping some wine.

''Why?'' The words that came out of your older sister's mouth were like poison.

You shrugged and sighed loudly, ''Because I want one and wish to have some fun. Why does anyone else have a lover?'' You replied as if it were obvious, but Visenya's violet eyes flashed with fury.

''You won't do such thing.'' She ordered, looking to the others for support.

''You don't give me orders.'' You said sharply, getting up from the table where you were having dinner with your sisters and brother.

''Where are you going?'' Rhaenys wanted to know. You looked at your twin, who crossed her arms.

''Fly with my dragon.'' You replied and without waiting for answers, you left the dining room.

Visenya looked at her younger sibilings who looked unsure what to do. At least Aegon didn't know what to do, Rhaenys was strangely silent.

''So?'' She asked no one in particular. She looked at Aegon who raised his hands in surrender.

''What?'' He muttered, taking a piece of bread.

Visenya took a deep breath.

''We can't let (Y/N) have a lover.'' Rhaenys replied, her pretty face twisted into a grimace.

Aegon rolled his eyes, ''And why not? It's not like he's going to get married and leave Dragonstone. It's just a little fun.''

His sisters looked at him like he was insane. This angered Aegon, who just got up from the table.

''Where do you think you're going?'' Visenya questioned. ''We're not done talking.''

Aegon smirked, ''It's over for me. And if you want to know, I'm going to join our brother. It's been a while since Balerion and I have flown.'' With that said, Aegon withdrew from the dining room, leaving Visenya and Rhaenys alone.

''Our brother will not take a lover.'' Visenya decreed and Rhaenys agreed. ''He's very innocent and, I'm sorry to say, naive at times. Who knows what this lover could do to him?''

Rhaenys nodded and drank a glass of water, ''Agreed. Besides, he doesn't need one, not when he has me.''

Visenya thought for a while. You didn't need a lover, not when you already had her and, apparently, Rhaenys. It's nothing new that she had feelings for you, although you didn't know it. She wanted to become your wife, following your family's customs, but she feared that would not happen.

She was the eldest and Aegon was second. Traditionally, she would marry Aegon and Rhaenys would marry with you. She didn't like that, though. She liked Aegon, but she didn't love him the way she loved you.

She couldn't help but feel jealous of Rhaenys.

''What are we going to do?'' Rhaenys asked, snapping her older sister out of her reverie.

Visenya arched an eyebrow, and Rhaenys sighed.

''I will not and cannot allow my brother, my twin I might add, to get involved with anyone. He's mine.'' Rhaenys spoke sharply and that surprised her sister. Rhaenys's voice was always so sweet and gentle and the tone she used was nothing like her usual self.

''Yours?'' Visenya asked, amused.

Rhaenys stared at her sister with an icy glare, ''Yes. Mine. He is my future husband and my twin brother, so I believe I am entitled to claim him as mine.''

Visenya's face formed a frown.

''But,'' Rhaenys began, ''I know you're in love with him and I don't want there to be a fight between us, sister. So I propose a deal.''

''What kind of deal?'' Visenya asked suspiciously.

Rhaenys smirked, "One where we'll both get what we want."

Your flight had been pleasant. You loved flying and you loved your dragon, two perfect combinations.

''Are you really going to take a lover?'' You turned your head to your brother who now walked beside you back to Dragonstone.

''I think so.'' You shrugged, ''Is it that bad?''

Now it was Aegon's turn to shrug, ''I wouldn't say bad, just... Unusual.''

''Why? You have a mistress, brother.''

''Yes, but that's different.''

''Oh? And why?''

''Because I don't have Visenya and Rhaenys in love with me.''

You froze, stopping in your tracks instantly. You turned to Aegon like a bolt of lightning.

''What?!''

Aegon chuckled, "Didn't you notice? Seriously?''

You shook your head, too shocked to speak.

''You are very innocent, brother. How do you intend to have a lover when our sisters are so in love with you? And, dare I say, possessive.''

''I...'' You didn't know what to say. You cleared your throat, ''Doesn't that bother you? You should marry Visenya.''

''No, it doesn't bother me.'' Aegon replied, starting to walk again. You took a deep breath, trying to organize your thoughts, and ran to catch up.

''What should I do?''

''Whatever you think is best.'' Aegon simply replied and when you entered the castle where you lived, he turned to you and said, ''I'm going to go get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow.''

You stood still for a few minutes, watching your brother turn his back on you. When he disappeared from your field of vision, you decided to go bath and go to sleep. You could think about what to do tomorrow.

Knowing what you wanted, you made your way to your room and when you entered, you were surprised to see your sisters in it.

Visenya sitting in a chair and Rhaenys lying on your bed.

Both dressed in a thin nightgown that showed more than needed to be seen.

''Welcome back, brother.'' Rhaenys smiled at you.

You crossed your arms and took a few steps back as Visenya rose from her chair and walked over to you.

She chuckled when you pulled away and cocked her head to the side, ''Scared?''

''I would say worried.'' You replied, not knowing what to do. ''What are you doing here?''

Rhaenys has decided to get out of bed and approach you. Soon you found yourself cornered by your sisters.

''We've come to make sure you don't take a lover.'' She replied and smiled, ''Because nobody else can love you the way I love you,'' Rhaenys put her soft hands on your face, forcing you to looking at her, ''and I would do anything to prove that to you.''

''We.'' Visenya corrected and you swallowed hard when you saw the determined look on her face. ''Can't you see how much I love you?''

''We.'' This time it was Rhaenys who corrected.

Visenya gave her an irritated look, but then focused on you. Your hands were sweating when she pushed you against the door.

''Can't you see that we belong to each other?'' She whispered against your lips, ''Can't you see that every part of me belongs to you?'' Visenya's breath against your lips was hot and you felt an involuntary desire rise within yourself. ''And I will do anything to have every part of you with me.''

She finally broke the distance and forced hers lips on yours.

You groaned in surprise but didn't pull away. You allowed her to kiss you. Visenya wrapped her arms around your neck, bringing her body closer to you and you blushed when you felt her breasts against your chest. You placed your hands on her waist, squeezing lightly.

''I don't know whether to be happy or jealous.'' Rhaenys commented after you and Visenya parted.

''How about both?'' Visenya muttered breathlessly. She pulled back a little and licked her lips slightly swollen from the kiss.

Rhaenys rolled her eyes and pushed her sister aside, standing in front of you.

''You know, (Y/N), it's unfair that she's the one who tasted you first. After all, you and I share the same womb at the same time.'' She grumbled and touched your cheek lovingly.

You can't help but to close your eye at the affection.

''Do you know I would do anything for you?'' Rhaenys whispered, ''You are my twin brother, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I would do anything for you, even cross the abyss of death and return just to hold you again.'' She declared and closed her eyes, waiting for you to kiss her.

Against your better judgment, you kissed her.

Rhaenys blushed and returned the kiss passionately and softly. Her lips were soft and you found yourself enjoying all the love she had to give you. Your hands went to her face and you deepened the kiss, your tongues touching Rhaenys hugged you, touching your bodies and you could feel how hot her body was.

You found yourself enjoying all the love your sisters had to give you. Maybe it wasn't bad after all.

You loved them and they loved you. And you were a Targaryen, there's nothing wrong with that.

[nahoney22]

Beyond the Fall***

Tech X F!Reader

word count: 6.8k

*gif is mine so please credit if used.*

warnings: Spoilers for TBB Episode 9. Enemies to Lovers NSFW. Explicit Sexual Content, sex pollen, dub-con in both parties but also somewhat pretty aware, solo masturbation (reader), begging, swearing, slight mention of breeding kink, several positions, p in v, rough sex, creampie but reader mentions that she is protected. accidental confessions of true feelings I suppose. comfort at the end. Arguing at the start. Not proofread ngl.

When you take a tumble down a deep hole, you did not think for a second that Tech would dive in straight after you. With tensions on the high anyway, what fares when you both experience a certain aphrodisiac within the water.

“Tell me, how exactly did you and Wrecker miss our ship being compromised?”

You watched in shocked awe as the Marauder, your home for going on the last eight months flying away without a crew member on board. Luckily, Wrecker answered Tech’s irritating question for you.

“Maybe if you hadn’t docked it out of view, we would have seen someone approaching.”

“Well, there was no other suitable landing zone, Wrecker.” Tech scolds.

“Yes there was,” you snapped at the goggled clone, eyes fuming with anger, “I suggested landing just on the ledge above and you said no.”

“The terrain was not suitable so I suggest you do not tell me where to dock my ship.”

You laughed mockingly at him, scoffing. “Your ship? How about next time you be the lookout then!”

“Perhaps I will.” He retorted, posture tense, “Although, the likelihood of getting the ship back is very slim.” His brown eyes are frowning at you from behind his helmet. His eyes always had that judging look when he looked your way which was enough to make your blood boil. 

But when you looked at Omega, your heart sank. The others may not have noticed but you didn’t miss the glistening of unshed tears in her eyes as the bunch of you argue. 

“Don’t worry Omega, it will be fine.” You reassure her softly, placing a hand to her shoulder.

Ever since Echo departed with Rex, the atmosphere had been tense. There was something about the man that had managed to keep the squad together, and with his departure, the cracks were starting to show. Nonetheless, this did not have a significant effect on your relationship with Tech, which had always been a bit unsteady.

“Other than the fact we have barely any food, shelter and mode of transportation, sure.” Tech interjects shortly before strutting off. You shot him an annoyed look before rolling your eyes. 

“Ignore him.” You tell her before the lot of you venture off to find any signs of life.

————

“What is your issue?”

With the Ipsium now gone, a rare and expensive mineral that you all came to this damned planet for, you find yourself trapped inside one of the vaults after the mineral exploded. So clearly, the mishap of the ship going missing was the start of the downfall.

His words were somewhat callous and lacked sympathy as he spoke down to Omega who was very frustrated and emotional, her young self looking to each and every one of you. Unfortunately, it was Tech who had to open his mouth.

You watched Omega leave, Hunter trying to get her to stay but after she insisted she wanted to be alone. As the team turned to Tech, you could sense their agitation and annoyance with his lack of empathy. You couldn't help but add your own thoughts to the mix, clapping slowly with a hint of sarcasm in your voice.

"Good job, Tech," you said, trying to make him understand the gravity of his words.

Tech, who had taken a seat on a boulder, was confused and looked over at you, frowning. "What did I say wrong?"

"You were stating the obvious," you voice with a grunt, grabbing your water canister and taking a gulp before saying, "but maybe you could've been a bit more empathetic."

“Would you rather me lie to her?” He counters, raising his brow as if to challenge you.

"It's not about lying, Tech. It's about understanding, especially in times like these." 

"I was simply using logic," Tech defended himself. "Telling her the truth is the best way to handle the situation."

You took a deep breath, trying to control your rising frustration. "It's not about just telling her the truth, Tech. It's about how you say it.” 

Although you did not particularly like Tech, nor did he seem to like you it seems, you felt a little bad that you had to discuss with him his lack of social skills and emotional response to certain situations. He had always been this way, down to his genetic programming but for someone so smart, he can’t see the bigger picture sometimes. “Can’t you see she is upset?”

“I am aware that Omega is frustrated at the present moment but that has nothing to do with me. Omega needs to be aware that these situations happen and one of us has to be the voice of reason and therefore, logical conversation is the best approach.” He holds his finger in the air, “I understand if this goes over your head.”

You gritted your teeth, trying to contain your anger but to no avail. "Will you stop being an arse to me? We're all in the same boat here, and I will not have you speak to me like that!" Your raised voice strained as you spoke. Never had you been so bitter towards someone in your life as of right now. Not only has he made matters worse with an already sensitive Omega, he blamed you for not seeing the ship being taken, he basically called you stupid to your face… you’re surprised steam was not coming out of your ears at this point.

You storm off for a few minutes to collect yourself and in the meantime, Hunter folds his arms and glares across at his brother. “Well that’s one way of telling her you like her.” 

Tech went to speak but no words came out, a little aghast at Hunter's insinuation. “I do not know what you’re talking about.” He mumbled a tad.

“Sure you don’t.” He unfolds his arms and begins to push away at some of the rocks. “Get back to work.”

Tech spots you from the corner of his eyes, your hands running over your face in presumed stress and just for a mere second, he is conflicting with his emotions.

———

The second you heard that Tech was off to find Omega, you don’t really know why Hunter and Wrecker suggested you go with him. Albeit, something in your gut was telling you to go along anyway, so you did.

Your heart was thumping with every step you took alongside him, the eeriness of the mine only adding to the palpable tension.

“Question, why do you think they wanted you to come with me?”

You’re surprised he’s making conversation but that wasn’t exactly unlikely of him. 

“I don’t know.” You grunt, not interested in talking to him at all at the moment. You also had a feeling it was so he didn’t upset Omega even more and to smooth things out but Hunter could sense how irate you got around Tech so this little mission together will be enlightening. 

When you nudged Tech and pointed towards Omega’s gear on the floor, you’re a little precarious to see her extracting the mineral that got them in this mess in the first place.

“Hey love, you doing alright?” You ask softly, peering through the small hole she had made to crawl through. When your heart landed on the large gaping hole beside her feet however you grew hot under your collar. 

“Fine.” She muttered, extracting the last bit from the section she was at. “What are you two doing here?”

"We came to see where you were, of course," you say softly, hoping to bring some comfort to her. That is until Tech decides to interject.

"And to find some Ipsium," he blurts out, causing you to shoot him a disapproving look. He quickly gets the message and coughs, trying to rectify the situation. "Which you are already cleverly extracting for us. Great job."

“No,” Omega mutters, pulling the drill away and finally looking up at you both, “why are you two here? Together? You hate one another.”

The pair of you froze. Even though it was clear that there was some kind of tension between the two of you, always bickering, hate was certainly a strong word. In fact, you knew what it was like to hate someone and you never felt it with Tech. You felt something, though you could not pinpoint what it was exactly.

Tech looks at you, gauging your reaction but he did not understand the look on your face. 

“Hate is not the word I would use.” You finally speak up, voice a little timid as Tech stood next to you. You didn’t want to add fuel to the already blazing fire between the pair of you, nor did you want to upset Omega any further. “We just have different thoughts about things.”

She blinks at you both before subtly rolling her eyes. “Whatever you say.”

You sighed, head slumped before moving out of the way to let Tech speak with her. 

Thankfully, Tech quickly changes the topic. “How much have you extracted?”

“Just this vial. Figured we could use it to blow ourselves out of here.” She holds it up to him, a little irritated that he didn’t take it from her grasp.

You stood back and watched the exchange and you can tell he is definitely trying to make it up to her. Although he is not apologising upfront nor discussing it, you figured his best approach is to forget it and move on.

When they both come up with an agreement, the tension slowly fading away between them, there’s one vial left but the extraction point looks just a little bit out of Omega’s reach.

“I’ll get that one if you want?” You suggest, not liking the way she was almost creeping over the edge of a large black hole.

Omega wants to finish the job herself but knows that you were probably better suited as you were taller. “Okay, I’m going to go back to the others then.” She wipes some sweat off her brow before swapping places with you.

Tech peers through the hole you just crawled in, tapping away at his datapad. “Are you aware of how this procedure goes?” He asks once Omega vacates the area. 

You reach down and grab the drill, looking to the final piece that was in a very precarious place. “Yep.” You reply shortly, trying not to get distracted.

“Do we really need this last one?” You mutter more to yourself but Tech had a keen ear.

“If we are to have extra, then not only can we escape this place but we will also be compensated for it.” He pushes his goggles up his nose. “So yes.”

“Great.”

It was no easy feat and several times you had to alter your position, crouching, leaning and every other position to make sure you’re safe but it didn't help at all when you had someone breathing down your neck.

“Are you nearly done?” You jump a little, turning around to see Tech staring at you with a bored expression. 

“I’m trying my best, Tech.” You sneer, turning back to the task at hand.

“You need to lean closer.” 

You groan in frustration and enthusiastically point to the gaping abyss. “Do you need your goggles cleaned or can you not see this hole? I’ll be done, when I’m done!” 

In a moment of weakness, you had reached across as prodded by Tech but just a tad overstepped, sending you over the edge.

“Tech!” You squeak, clawing onto the jagged rocks to hold yourself up, panic shooting through you as your feet scrambled to cling onto anything.

His eyes widen in horror and in a blink he is by your side, reaching across to you. “Take my hand.”

You take a breath and let go with one hand, reaching for him. But as your fingers brush against his, you’re not strong enough to hold on and fall into the abyss.

He screams your name, standing up and with no second thought, he jumps down after you. 

The water was tumultuous as you struggled to keep your head above the water. Your arms and legs are kicking, the energy you had slowly fading as you struggle against the current.

Then you heard your name.

“Tech!” You called out with a sob as the water thrashed over your face and partially down your throat.

He swam towards you as fast as he could, shouting your name as you cried out for help while your body crashed against the jagged rocks, your lungs filling with water.

But Tech soon caught up to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly as you both rode the current into the unknown. When you were suddenly confronted by a waterfall, you both cascaded over it, splashing into a peaceful pool.

You emerged from the water, gasping for air but began to panic when you didn't see your savior; Tech.

“Tech! Where are you?” You gasp, searching the water to see if he had been swept under 

but relief washes through you as he quickly emerged from the water moments later, gasping for breath and searching for you.

You both lock eyes, panting heavily before you start to swim for an embankment, crawling onto land. You’re coughing violently, some water pumping out of you as Tech collapsed onto his back, pulling his goggles back to wipe away the water droplets.

You lay staring at the rocky yet blue illuminated ceiling, catching back your breath as your wet clothes hung to your body. You sit up eventually, looking at the bright pool of blue you and Tech just got submerged in before glancing around. 

“It appears we have entered an underground aqueduct surrounded by plenty of Ipsium.” Tech acknowledges, sitting up and looking around too. “Not the best place for you to lure us into but not the worst.”

You processed his words and even now, he had the nerve to put the blame on you. “Are you saying this is my fault?” 

“Partly, yes.” He replies nonchalantly.

You scoff, standing up and moving away from him. “I can’t believe you. Are you really doing this? Now?”

He watches you move and stands too but remains where he was. “Simply stating facts.”

You look at him in disbelief, running a hand through your sopping wet hair. “Did I ask you to jump down with me?”

He shifts, suddenly feeling a little warm under the collar. “Well no but-.”

“And was I the one to initially upset Omega?”

“It can be argued we all had a part in that-.”

“Was it you who allowed me to get the last bit of Ipsium?” You bombard him with questions, all of it leading up to now. “Was it you who told me to lean in closer?”

His jaw clenched, fists tightening. “If you and Wrecker had not let our ship get stolen, we wouldn’t be here at all.”

“I told you to dock it somewhere else! In view!” You shout, voice booming around the small hidden cave. 

“And why would I rely on anything you have to say to me? You have not an ounce of my intelligence nor knowledge of planets. You do not know how to drive a ship, let alone instruct the pilot where it should land.” He rants, eyes trained on you, both of your breathing hard and heavy, tension so thick it felt like nothing could cut it. “Know your place in this squad.” 

His words hurt. A lot. No matter how much you bickered he had never said anything so belittling to you. Stress is evident on both of your faces given the situation but to hear how he supposedly felt about you was difficult to swallow. “I… you’re impossible.” You whisper but he still hears it. 

The second he heard you sniffle, he wanted to instantly narrow it down that you instantly got a cold from the water but as you aggressively wiped away a tear and stormed off, he knew he took it too far. Does he chase after you? No. He figured you wanted to be left alone just like he learnt with Omega. So in the meantime, he tried to contact the others.

You sat on the other side of the cave, your knees hugged to your chest as you just sat and hoped that Tech could summon a message to the others. In the meantime as you sat, you tried to ignore the odd pulse circulating under the skin of your palms. But, it started getting progressive and a wave of scorching heat flushed your body.

A whimper parts your lips and you begin to quickly strip the gear from your body and throw it around you carelessly. “Why’s it so fucking hot in here?” You gasp to yourself, tugging on the high collar of your body glove.

“I too am suddenly feeling quite feverish.” Tech’s voice sounded next to you making you jolt. As you look up at him, your eyes drank in his tall, slender figure. You swallow the saliva that started to pool in your throat, pushing the clouded thoughts to the back of your mind. 

“Did you get contact with the others?” You rasp, moving yourself onto your knees, staring down at the water as you try and steady your breathing that suddenly becomes ragged and scratched at your throat. 

Tech shakes his head and quietly sits beside you, unconsciously tugging at his now soaked clothes as he feels as though he’s been dipped in lava. “No, I can’t get a clear signal.” He says steadily, blinking quickly as sweat starts to seep into his goggles and blur his vision. 

You could almost moan in despair but the only whimper that parted through your lips was one of searing pleasure.

“T-Tech, do you feel… different?” You whisper, looking up at him through hooded eyes.

Tech looks back down at you, pulling his goggles up onto his head to swipe the dripping of sweat from his eyes and he almost gasps at the sight of you. 

Your lips looked full, parted and wanting. Your skin glowed with a distinctive hue that he couldn’t quite put his finger on but as he stands above you, seeing you on your knees a wave of pleasure shoots straight to his cock. He closes his eyes, tight. Mentally trying to snap him out of this precarious situation and then an idea popped into his head. 

His hands, now shaking and pulsing under his gloves reach to one of his many sections of his utility belt before pulling out a single vial, and swiping up the water the pair of you plummeted in. 

You chew on the inside of your cheek. Hard. So hard you think you think you could have drawn blood but it’s nothing compared to the bite at the center of your core as your heart races with nothing but desire. You needed to touch yourself. 

“Oh dear,” he finally says.

“What is it?”

Tech slumps against one of the boulders that surrounded the cave, a mixture of different emotions flushing through him. Confusion, worry and a whole lot of desire. “The water… it appears to be polluted which is why we are reacting to it.”

“You want to narrow that down?” You groan, falling onto your back as your fingers deep into the rough texture of sand beneath your body to refrain yourself from reaching down and begin to relieve this brewing sensation. 

Tech's eyes that were trying so hard to stare at the datapad in his hand only start to move to longing gaze at you, watching you physically writhe on the floor as a mixture of whines and moans erupt from your mouth. “It’s polluted with,” he gulps, trying to now ignore how physically aching it was to feel his length pressed against his pants, “aphrodisiacs.”

The word itself made you mewl and although you should feel panicked and alarmed, the burning feeling between your legs followed by the throbbing pulse all over your body was taking over instead. “W-what do we do?” 

Not knowing what he was doing, his hand lowers to his crotch and stars to slowly palm himself at the sight of you tugging and tearing at your bodysuit to rip it from your body. The moment of weakness stops and he quickly snaps out of what he’s doing and diverts his gaze and body away from you. “To erase the side effects you will need to masturbate in order to form the release. An o-orgasm,” he grunts, gripping onto the boulder as the word makes his cock twitch, “is the only way to stimulate. I will leave you alone to engage in this process.” 

The second Tech moves away to the other side of the cave to take care of himself, you have pulled yourself out of your body glove and began the impulse of pleasuring yourself.

Your hand flushed down your thigh and then to your bare sex, pressing two fingers harshly down against your clit that had you wailing out in ecstasy. “Oh f-f-fuck!” Your whole body arches in response to the touch to your bud, circling motions rapidly as you beg for the quick release that is brewing. 

Your moans and swears echo around the cave, deafening out the noise of the waterfall that poured down. But it’s not enough.

Frantically, your fingers move to your sopping  wet entrance, curling inside of you and rubbing back and forth as your opposite hand now rubs furiously at your clit. Although your body spasms, the burning that felt like your body was aflame with sexual desire would not fade. Moans become erratic, it isn’t long until you’re begging for your own release as you writhe pathetically on the ground. 

Then, you said his name. The one person who you knew could push you over the edge. “Teeeeeech,” you call his name. Wanting. Needing.

Within the space of maybe ten seconds, a shadow looms over your sweating and spasming body and as your eyes open, you melt to see Tech in the nude, pumping his cock that was glistening in precum.

“You look so wonderful like that,” he purrs, licking his lips as he stands over you and strokes his cock in frantic motions. “I knew it wouldn’t be long until you would be begging for me.”

“P-please Tech,” you grit, fingers going completely numb with the constant strumming against your clit, “it’s too much, I need you.”

The second your back arches, Tech falls to his knees beside you and slings an arm around your back. He’s swift in his movements and he’s uttering the most indiscreet filth he could before diving his fingers straight into your core without a second thought.

His fingers hook inside you, pulsing all the while expertly have his thumb rubbing at your bud. 

“Oh my stars! Tech, please don’t stop, please make this burning go away.” You beg him, writhing under his touch as his hand rocks against you, sending you into a flurry of loud groans. 

“That’s it darling, take my fingers. Maker, you’re sublime and a little begging mess for me. Glorious.” Tech grunts as his hand starts to spasm, his pace relentless and despite wanting you to cum all over his fingers so he could taste you, he didn’t expect for a second for your hand to come down and grab at his cock and balls.

Your hands look small in comparison to his length, his skin hot to the touch that felt like silk. With your touch alone, it has him bucking his hips as you both mutually pleasure one another. “You’ve got such a pretty cock, Tech,” you whimper, looking down at his member that twitched in your hands both somewhat aware and non aware of the lewd words that pour from your lips. 

“And you’ve got the most perfect little pussy that needs pleasuring. And am I doing that?” Tech locks eyes with you, dark and filled with an unspoken need. “Am I pleasuring you enough?”

“Yes! Fuck yes, you are. I think I’m going to cum soon.” You tremble and in your heart, you didn’t want him to stop the incessant rampage of his fingers against your cunt. 

As you pump along his throbbing cock, Tech feels himself start to edge closer and close to his release. He’s whimpering, a sound you never thought you’d be blessed of hearing but there’s something about him that makes you tingle. His eyes trail down from your face to your breast, mouth salivating at the thought of ramming his cock between the perfect mounds.

“Kiss them, please.” You had caught his leering and without a second thought he bends down and latches his lips to your stiff peaks, tongue licking aggressively against the sensitive skin. 

Your legs begin to shake, the touch of his hands agaisnt you, the feeling of his tongue licking feverishly against you followed by the gesture of you wanking caused your body to shoot, making you wail as you hit your climax. 

Tech follows soon after, his hot ribbon seeping over your fist as he his hips stutter.

You let out a longing gasp, elbows shaking as you prop yourself up to see Tech’s glistening fingers pull out of your body lewdly. 

The silence was ringing and for a moment, you didn’t dare look to Tech. Your heart race is the realisation of what just took place began to hit but not as quick as another jolt of pulsations straight to your clit once again.

“Tech,” you rasp out and consciously grip onto his wrist, shaking, “I’m sorry but-.”

“I’m aware.” Tech whispers and as you finally meet his gaze, you look down and see that his cock was already hard and twitching for your touch. 

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” you manage out before the aphrodisiac overpowers you once again.

Tech nods quickly in understanding and in the faintest of touches, he cups your cheek, “I know.” 

Quicker than before, the wave of desire washed over you both and simultaneously you both lean in, lips slanting over one another as his tongue plunged straight into your mouth. Both of you fought against each other, thick muscles that spent so much time bickering at another now dancing in a fiery passion. 

He’s crawling on top of you now, his cock sliding against your thigh and stomach as you maintain this intense make out session but it was going on for too long. You just couldn’t bear another second without his cock inside of you.

 “Fuck me,” you plead, “I need you to fuck me so hard I can’t walk for a week. I want you to ram your cock so deep inside me, please.” You moan against his lips, words of filth that were almost unholy to hear that made Tech let out a guttural snarl as he pulled away from your lips and quickly positioned himself between your now spread legs.

His tip presses to his entrance but he’s not shy in letting his hands roam your body, tweaking your nipples before resting them on your hips. “Maker, you do look breedable.”

In one quick motion, he’s breached your entrance in a swift motion, buried inside you.

“STARS! TECH!” Your cries in delight boom around the cave, your body beautifully glowing from the pool of water beside you both as he almost bottoms out ontop of you. 

“K-Kriff,” he stutters, feeling your walls clench around him like a vice, the burning through his veins temporarily subsiding before absolutely rocking his cock in and out of you like a man desperate for air.

His hands clasp at your waist, fingers biting down into your flesh as your body shoves down against the ground with every resounding thrust he gives you. “Could fuck this little pussy all night if I have to,” he grunts through gritted teeth, eyes dark.

If you weren’t intoxicated by this sensation you would be in complete shock at his words, but instead you let his words carve into your mind as his hips rock back and forth all the while your gazes are locked on another. 

In a moment of weakness, his hand moved from your hip and over your breast, caressing the soft mound with his fingers as a devilish smirk plasters his face. “I’ve always imagined your breasts to be divine to touch. So wonderful to know I was correct.” He sings, admiring you from above.

“They’re all yours Tech,” you submit to him, eyes heavy, “you can have me whenever, wherever. Just please don’t stop.”

A noise emits from him and you gasp as he manages to flip you so you're now on your front, forced to your hands and knees before he starts to take you from behind, spanking your cheeks with his thighs with every hard thrust. “You shouldn’t have said that mesh’la, can you not understand that I have wanted to fuck you for so, so long? Having to, ugh fuck-.” He pauses his unfiltered words, in awe of how pretty you looked arched downwards as he seethes his aching cock into you, “having to watch you all day everyday and never being able to express my desires.”

Again, your mind is too boggled to completely comprehend the seriousness of his words. Your cries of pleasure strain in your throat and your eyes burn with desire as Tech’s hands grip to your lower back, pushing you down to the ground as he hits you with wanting thrusts. 

“You’re fucking me so good Tech. Why haven’t we done this sooner?” 

Tech’s low chuckle does something to you as your words did to him, “Next time instead of fighting, we should just fuck. Or maybe, if you want me to submit,” Tech breathes through each thrust, seeing himself pull his cock out that’s now glistening with your juices, “be a whore and suck my cock. You obviously like it, don’t you?”

“Y-yes! Yes I love your cock! It feels so good in my pussy. Bet it’s even better between my lips.” You entice, looking over your shoulder at him which sparked something wild in him.

He pulls out despite being spurred on, leaving you almost begging for him. But this time you’re being pulled into his lap, tongues already dancing against each other the moment your lips meet as you seethe onto his thick length. 

“You may think my cock would be better between your lips, but I have never felt anything better than it being inside you.” He whispers to your lips, almost a glimmer of reality snapping back to you both as his words weren’t exactly driven by the intoxins - rather something else.

You’re smirking against his mouth and that’s when the desperation of needing to be fucked hard again, boils. As you begin to move your hips, frantically back and forth and rocking against his cock, his eyes shoot wide open and he’s whimpering tirelessly in front of you.

“That’s it, that’s my girl! What an edacious creature you are. Riding my cock like a good slut. Can’t get enough, can you?” He is holding onto your waist, fingers biting against the flesh once more as you tilt your head back, rhythm changing from back and forth to up and down. Your tits are bouncing in his face that he wasted no time in burying his face into the mounds, kissing and sucking against your skin.

 He had lost his sense of self completely now and was driving in pure instinct alone that when his tongue slid over one of your nipples, you gasped in approval. With your hands coming up and wrapping around his neck, your breathing is ragged and exacerbated whilst he uses you.

“You like it when I ride your cock, Tech? Huh? You love my pussy don’t you? Maker, could sit on your cock all day and never get enough.” Words of filth ooze out your mouth ease, making Tech react to your words with wanton moans.

Tech’s lips glaze over your beasts, leaving marks of today's antics as a reminder all the while claiming you. “Don’t stop darling, don’t you dare stop until you have milked every last drop of my seed until it seeps out of your little hole.”

You’re wet, warm, and velvet soft around Tech’s cock, taking him to the base with greed. He picks up a rhythm, matching yours as rocking his hips up and into you steadily as the blue shine of the cave reflects on your naked and sweating bodies. 

Minutes that felt like both hours and seconds passed, Tech pounding you at such a rapid pace that you were confident your pussy was getting warmer. Skin prickling with tingles, you knew you were about to cum. 

“Tech! Oh fuck, Tech I think I’m close to cumming! Make me cum! Please make me yours with your cum.” As you finished your thoughts, you cried out with joy, your entire body feeling like it was lighter than air while simultaneously being filled with every possible positive sensation it could possibly handle. Your mind lost all semblance of where you were, what had happened to you and what had gotten you to this point, instead focusing solely on Tech beneath you, still diligently pounding himself into you like he was sex starved. 

As your mind slowly returns to reality and your breathing catches up with your body's senses, you’re aware of what was happening. Especially as you felt him still pounding into you. Tech was whining, grunting and groaning as he maintained smashing into you rapidly, and you could tell by the way he breathed and his determination that he must be close to climax. 

Suddenly, he groans out your name. Shouting it so loud that it wouldn’t surprise you if the others had heard his cries from above. You could feel him driving himself as deep as he could go. A gasp emits from your lips as the burning that once was scorching your body from the water was replaced with the warm feeling of him filling you up with more cum than before.

Your lips part, words strangled in your throat as you felt his warm cum stuffing you while you guiltily enjoy the sensation. In fact, you could have sworn he was filling you to the point that you thought you may have had a second, smaller orgasm as he began his. Tech grunts with exertion as he finally finishes, his head flopping forward to rest against your shoulder, tiredly.

“Tech,” you whisper after what seemed like forever, hand gently resting on his shoulder to bring his head back to meet his gaze.

As the pair of you locked eyes, it clicked instantly what just happened. How one second you were arguing and then the next… Similar to you, his lips parts but this time he is speechless. 

A wave of new emotions flooded over him, none of which he understood or could process. Though the more you looked into his eyes, the more you understood that jittering feeling in your stomach. But now was probably not the time to look into it.

Eventually, Tech carefully removed you from his lap and you had to hold your breath about how lewd it was feeling his now softening length pulling out of you. 

He is silent when he collects his gear, slipping the damp clothing back on his body meanwhile you do the same. 

He glances over his shoulder at you and a wave of worry hits him when he notices grazing over your back. 

“Did I hurt you?”

Pausing, you quietly turn to look at him and see him gesture to your back. Awkwardly you glance down and audibly wince at the markings. But, from what you were aware, he wasn’t the cause of it. “No. It would’ve been from when I fell.”

“I see. When we head back to the ship I will gather supplies to help you clean it up.” He is fumbling around with his belongings, trying everything in his power to ignore what just happened but a pressing matter infiltrated his mind. “Speaking of supplies, we will need to head into the nearest village to locate any means of contraceptive-.”

“I’m on the pill, Tech.” You sigh, running a hand through your damp hair as you finish getting dressed before plopping yourself back on the sand, pulling your knees to your chest. 

Tech looks down from over his datapad at you, unsure how to approach this. But after taking a deep breath, he silently sits beside you, both of you gazing into the water that did unspeakable things to you both.

“I am unsure what to say to set your mind at ease.” He starts, trepidation on his words. “Though I can imagine it is hard for you to also summarize how you’re feeling about his moment.”

You close your eyes, hoping that burning behind your eyes would subside because although he had seen you, all of you, you weren’t ready to let him see your tears. “You don’t have to say anything,”

Tech looks in your direction, eyes drinking in your features. “I… I am sorry.”

“What for? You did what you had to to help me.” 

“I’m aware, but I am not apologising for that.” Your eyes open and a flurry of confusion crosses your face. 

You turn your head to look at him, shocked a little to see him already looking back. “Then, what are you sorry for?”

A sigh parts his lips. “I am sorry for all the times I have been hard on you. I am also apologising for what I said previously about you having to know ‘your place in this squad’.” Your mind is reeling and all you can do is let him continue. “It has come to my attention, for a long time now, that you are a valuable asset. My behavior towards you is unwarranted.”

“But,” you lick your lower lip idly, not quite processing what he was saying, “I thought you hated me?”

“Hate is a strong word. And as we discussed with Omega before, I do not hate you. Differing ideologies is all.” He breathes out shakily, feeling a minimal weight leave his shoulders. 

“So why are you hard on me?”

He rubs the back of his neck, a little unsure on how to answer. So often he had been judged for his blunt responses and now, he was finding it difficult to be honest. But, if the two of you were to never make it out of here - he may as well lay it all on the line.

“There is no denying that I struggle with emotions and how I reciprocate certain feelings from others. Truthfully, there is something about you that I find both irritating yet fascinating.”

He sneaks a glance at you as he speaks and he expected you to appear annoyed but instead, you appeared quite intrigued. Subtly, you nod your head to continue. “What I am trying to say is that I have a rooted attraction to you and feel as though pushing you away would help. But, it does not seem to be working.”

As you try to let his words sink in, you couldn’t help the feeling of your heart seeming to somewhat flutter at his admittance. All this time… he liked you? Truthfully your mind was still a little hazy to take it all in but there was now a burning question in the back of your mind. “Did you mean anything you said?”

“Indicating to what?” Tech asked gently though he had an inkling as to what you were referring to.

“You know…” you say shyly, cheeks emitting a certain heat.

He chews on the inside of his cheek, fully aware of what filth had poured from his lips only minutes ago. “From what I gather from aphrodisiacs is that it sends even the most sane people wild. All in all, a lot of truths are or have been told when under the influence.”

With a shaken breath, you close your eyes. “So it’s true that you’ve always wanted to fuck me? That’s what you said.”

“Yes. Yes, that is true.” 

Oddly enough, you’re okay with this information. Although you can’t say you have felt the same but in the back of your mind, you still remember the sight of him above you and remembered word for word everything he said. 

“I hope you do not think I have taken advantage of you - that would never, ever be the case. If I could have thought of a different solution then of course, I would have. There could be many anecdotes but-.”

“Tech.” You cut him off softly, clearly your silence was playing on his mind. You tilt your head to hom and offer him the softest smile he had ever been blessed to receive from you. “Thank you for saving me.” 

A gasp echoes through the cave as you gently lace your fingers through his, a gentle squeeze that speaks a thousand words. 

You weren’t too sure what was going to happen from now on. Would the others ever find you? What was to become of yours and Tech’s relationship? All you know is that if you were to fall into a cave filled with water with dangerous toxins with anybody - you’re somewhat glad it was Tech. 

Masterlist

Tags and those who wanted to be tagged will be tagged in a sep post because tag limit and shite: @nunanuggets @andyoufollowyourheart t @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @cwarssimp @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka @oohyesplease @megafrost4 @theroguesully @equalityforcats @mustluvecho @misogirl828 @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @chxpsi @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @either-madness-or-brilliance @whore4rex @imperialclaw801 @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @autumnleaves1991-blog @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @tinyreadersmur @rintheemolion @seriowan @agenteliix @kaminocasey @the-good-shittt @photogirl894 @imalovernotahater @swiftiexstarwarssimp

[accirax]

Fourth Anniversary Art Analysis

(Credits to DRDTdev for the art, obviously. Please support the original post.)

Yeah guys, this is definitely Charles, trust me. (/j)

In all seriousness, the reveal of what Teruko's brother (more or less) looks like got me thinking about a couple of things. I'd like to ramble about them in a space less directly linked to the public fourth anniversary art!

The first is that we've (basically) confirmed that Teruko's brother is older than her, something that I don't think we actually technically knew until now! I always got those kind of vibes, but it's nice to know for sure.

The second is something that most people have picked up on-- his white hair color. Between DRDT and altDRDT, the only people who we've seen with white hair up to this point are XF and Dandelion (I think those are the names people agreed upon???). Both of those seem... unlikely to be Teruko's brother, although, for what it's worth, they do both use he/him pronouns. That's not to say that Teruko's brother couldn't have dyed his hair after he and Teruko last parted, and still be someone else we know, like Teacher. However, I could also easily believe that DRDTdev may have wanted to draw this art as a soft disconfirmation of the "Teacher is Teruko's brother" theory before people got in too deep. It's too bad, though, I did like that one.

One of the reasons why I liked it was because of the synergy with Teruko's favorite color being red due to "association." However, even if Teruko's brother still is Teacher, it seems like he has no red in his design as of the last time Teruko saw him. I suppose red could still be his eye color, but I'm going to take this mean that Teruko's positive association with red is due to somebody else-- likely either Xander or Mai, or possibly still Teacher, but without him being her brother.

Lastly, and most importantly, I find it highly interesting that, at this point in time, Teruko's brother is shown with several scrapes and bandages, while Teruko has absolutely none. It got me thinking about the nature of Teruko's luck.

I wonder if Teruko's bad luck operates in a way where it will hurt whoever is around her until she's the only one left, at which point it has no one to attack but herself. (The only comparison I can think of is to the Death card in the card game Fluxx, so shout out if you know what I'm talking about.)

As long as Teruko is the "protagonist," her luck will go after the "side characters". But, if Teruko isolates herself, then the luck will go after the hero.

Now, there is a bit of contradictory evidence going on here, because Teruko has had unfortunate things happen to her since entering the killing game and being around other people. Most notably, the time that she slipped and fell while holding the cake, and when Xander tried to kill her. That's why I'm wondering if there's also an element of how much Teruko cares about these people involved. Like, if Teruko cares less about someone, they don't pop up as a "side character" punching bag as much. Or, if Teruko caring about someone is the inciting incident to turning an entire group of people into "side characters"-- that way, if she had no friends at any of the schools she attended, she could have avoided dooming them all.

Teruko cared a lot about Xander, so his betrayal was the tipping point. After she took one last blow, the scales tipped and more bad things started happening to the other students than to Teruko. Teruko falling down transformed into the much worse luck of Min dying. And, from then on, the "side characters" started taking the brunt of the bad luck (J's secret being revealed, Eden being bullied and threatened, Ace nearly dying, etc), while Teruko remained mostly fine.

If there is an element of how much Teruko cares about people involved, it would give her a lot of incentive to be a loner and actively make people dislike her.

Anyways, just a thought. This one is pretty off the cuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm missing something or overstepping here.

Happy fourth anniversary DRDT, happy ???th birthday Mai, and a happy day to all of you!

[perpetualexistence]

Specter of Obsession: A g/t Alenoaheather AU

So, I recently read a fic by @kijosakka called breathe you in my lungs and make you mine. It has codependent and obsessive Alenoaheather in a way that's just peak writing and I'll recommend it to anyone who loves exploring the darker side of their blorbos:

It gave me so much brainrot that I managed to come up with my own spin on obsessive Alenoaheather. That involves giant/tiny. Because I couldn't help myself. I'm putting it under a read more for those who don't want to see more psychological fics/aus. But yeah, enjoy reading about Noah getting the attention of a much larger Heather and Alejandro, and having to deal with that!

So this AU's got the equivalent of wolfwalkers. Except instead of having a wolf that comes out of you while you sleep, you get a giant ghost. While in that ghost form they can't be seen by anyone except for others also in their ghost form. They can also be intangible at will. Let's call them specters.

How does one become/gain a specter?

There are three requirements:

Having an obsession

Acknowledging it as obsession

Choosing to pursue it rather than make peace with it

After that last point, one's obsession becomes simply too large for their human body to hold. So they manifest a specter that contains all of their most obsessive and possessive tendencies so their human body can be more at peace.

In the beginning, Heather and Alejandro only meet the first requirement. They're both obsessed with status, but thanks to their upbringing they just thought it was a part of life rather than an obsession they were pursuing.

When they meet and see each other as equals, they become obsessed with each other. As they're obsessed each of them was restless/felt like something was wrong/missing.

All they knew was that the only solution seemed to be growing even more obsessed, so they kept letting themselves do that.

The moment that solidifies their transformation is when they do confess that they're in love with each other.

For the average person, that might have been enough to satisfy their obsession since now they can be at peace with their love.

But not these two. They've fallen in just as much love with the chase, with their rivalry, as they have with each other. They're too ambitious and stubborn to let that obsession go. And now that they know for a fact that the other feels the same way?

It creates this positive feedback loop of obsession. That's the night each of them wakes up massive outside of their bodies the second they go to sleep. They're large enough to grab a person in wrap their hand around their entire body with little effort. They only have one instinct driving them that prevents them from completely freaking out at this new situation.

Find your love, and be with them always.

They're both keeping this hidden because specters are usually 'kill on sight' for humans due to how dangerous they can be. Which means they can't do anything too obvious…buuuuut that doesn't mean they can't find ways to cause havoc/ruin lives while keeping their size hidden. The two are drunk on power and very addicted to it and each other.

Along comes Noah, who they fully intended on just having him be another one of their victims to discard once they were bored of him. They start messing with him when they get back home from school and rest…but he's a lot more perceptive than they give him credit for. They see that he's not attributing a shattered lightbulb or an unfortunate incident of 'bad luck' as weird accidents. He starts looking around everywhere when it happens. He's looking up.

And that's absolutely exhilarating that someone is growing wise to their tricks. To have someone search desperately for them. They stop their other nightly schemes and immediately pour all of their focus onto toying with Noah. He constantly has large shadows looming over him but can never see their source. When he's inside, there's loud tapping at the windows, strong enough to shake the window frames. Noah can feel two separate gazes on him: one icy, one hot enough to make him sweat.

It's exhilarating, to know how much power they hold over him and yet don't use against him. They could do so much worse, and part of him wants to see them try. He can handle anything they have to throw at him.

Noah doesn't tell anyone about the two specters he suspects are stalking him. Instead he decides to investigate to figure out who they truly are. It leads Alejandro and Heather to follow him even when they're just human to see how close he's getting to them. He's not going to any authorities about this, and that's so very telling. He eventually gets to a point where he's bold enough to quip at them while they're invisible and large. He wants to know what they're after, and at this point he's run out of other ideas. Besides, the temptation to poke the sleeping lions to see what they'll do is too strong for him to resist forever

Everything stops. He's worried that acknowledging their existence might have been a step too far. This only gets confirmed when he feels something suddenly holding his arms and legs to his sides and is lifted high off the ground. The fear overtakes him as he desperately tries to struggle out of this iron grip.

Only to feel a large, soft wall suddenly press against his face. Hard. It feels like someone is attempting to suffocate him with the largest, warmest pillow they could find. Trying to breathe only invites the wall to press further against him.

He's suddenly freed of the wall, only to feel himself jostle as the other ghostwalker has now stolen him away to do the same thing. They do it for just as long before allowing him the chance to breathe.

He gets to take in a single gulp of air before suddenly he's being pressed from both sides. It's like two weighted blankets have decided to cocoon him in their embrace. He's given a chance to breathe before he's enveloped in their warmth again. And again. And again. The two specters only seem to get more violent, more desperate in their assault each time.

Until Noah lets out a genuine yelp of pain. The assault stops immediately. Only to return, much gentler this time.

It feels like it lasts an eternity. It feels like it's only been a few moments. Until finally, he's slowly lowered to the ground. The iron grip on him releases as he swears he can hear giggling and chuckling. He can feel the ground quake as the two of them decide to let their footsteps be felt, though neither is to be seen. Their footsteps fade away. Noah is left disheveled and shaking.

His only regret is that he'd been so shocked he hadn't even thought to kiss them back.

The pattern continues day after day. He never had to wait too long after school had ended before he'd be picked up and carried off somewhere more private. They always waited for him to be alone. He started intentionally seeking out places without people to lure them out faster. They'd tease him, bat him around, and kiss him.

Oh, how they'd always kiss him. Once one of them got started, it always turned into an aggressive assault until they were satisfied. Any attempt at struggle only encouraged them to kiss harder and faster. They loved feeling him squirm. They were spoiling him rotten with affection.

Oh how it made him crave more. He struggled on purpose to rile them up. Once their kisses got aggressive enough, he would sneak his own kisses back. There was no way to tell who he was kissing, or if they could even feel it. It encouraged him all the more.

They would always release him. Eventually. He'd return home and get some actual studying in before turning to bed.

Sometimes they would be cruel enough to drag him out of bed and out the window. They'd go for round two before allowing him to sleep.

They would even go for at least one more round. His only evidence of this would be dreams of pillows and waking up to an open window and things strewn about his room.

Those nights were the best sleep he could ever remember. He was desperate to hunt down his secret admirers. If only to satisfy his own curiosity. He was sure he was getting close, and he did have his suspicions about Alejandro and Heather. But he still didn't have anything concrete.

He couldn't let them know if he ever did find them out. There was no telling what they would do if they knew he was aware of their identity. He didn't want to risk them stopping.

Until the day the routine broke. He waited in an alley after school. Nothing. He went home, constantly checking for signs of them on his trip. Nothing. He studied, he went to bed, he faked being asleep. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

This could just be a one night event. They could just be drawing this out to make it all the more passionate the next night. Or maybe they could have just decided they were bored with him and would move on to the next person. It was the most ideal scenario. He'd finally have peace.

Except he didn't want them to stop. He wanted them to keep going.

No. He needed them to keep going.

My god.

He needed them.

Heather and Alejandro came back to school the next day exhausted. Neither had been able to get any rest thanks to their families. They'd pulled all-nighters, and worse, they hadn't been able to spend a moment of time with the ones they loved most.

When they saw each other during school, the first thing they did was run to a secluded part of the school to make out. Once they'd satisfied their pent up frustration, they went to go check in on Noah.

He wasn't in his regular spot. They went to ask Noah's friends, but none of them had seen or heard anything from Noah since yesterday.

Had they pushed Noah too far? Was he furious? Was he merely sick, or was something else at play? Was he taking their one day of reprieve to run, or try to get rid of them? He better not dare. He was THEIRS and they'd do whatever necessary to prove it.

A sense of foreboding washed over the two. They felt as if someone were observing their every move as if they were under a microscope. They went through the rest of the school day, though they could barely concentrate.

They practically burst out of school the second it was done. They gathered next to Alejandro's car. He'd made a habit of parking it farther away from the school in a secluded alley. It also meant he could get away with taking a quick nap in the car. He hated waiting to drive back home to mess with Noah. For now, it served the benefit of talking away from others.

They would go to sleep, grow, and separate so they could hunt Noah down as efficiently as possible. Alejandro put his key into the door while Heather began to turn away.

A sharp, warm breeze hit their faces the moment they exchanged their goodbyes. It was enough to cause pause. It was February.

Alejandro's car began to move away from him. The wheels were unmoving. It slid 10 feet away, almost gliding along the asphalt, before stopping.

Just as they were putting the puzzle pieces together, the two were suddenly shoved into each other. Hard. Their faces were pushed together for a forced kiss. The grip was so tight it was as if something were trying to force them to meld into each other as one.

Someone didn't like them separated.

Someone didn't like breaks in routine.

Someone was starving for the affection he'd been denied.

Noah didn't bother with starting off gentle. He kissed them both at the same time with the same intensity they usually reserved for the end of their sessions. He kept going over and over. It wasn't as if they couldn't handle it.

He slowed only when his misplaced fury was quelled. His kisses grew softer. It was the closest thing to an apology they'd get from him.

At the final kiss, he gently set them down next to Alejandro's car. He'd had his fun making them squirm both with his absence and under his gaze the entire day. It was well worth the blemish in his attendance record.

Though they couldn't see it, his manic grin matched their own as they looked up to where they suspected him to be.

"I expect you to return the favor tonight."

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

The Strange Disappearance and Death of David Glenn Lewis

David Glenn Lewis was born on December 11th, 1953, in Borger, Texas. David married a woman named Karen Garret in 1982 and the couple had their only child together—a daughter named Lauren—a year later.

On Thursday, January 28th, 1993, David left work at the Buckner, Lara & Swindell law practice, stating that he wasn’t feeling well. However, his credit card revealed a charge made at a gas station later that afternoon. David also reportedly taught his class that night, which ended at 10 p.m.

The following day, Karen and Lauren left to spend the weekend shopping in Dallas. Although they didn’t see David before leaving, they didn’t find that especially concerning. They already knew he wanted to stay home that weekend, because his favorite football team—the Dallas Cowboys—would be playing in the Super Bowl and David was eager to watch the game.

It was during this weekend that David’s behavior took a turn for the strange. First, he was spotted by a friend from church frantically rushing through a Southwest Airlines terminal. David didn’t appear to have any luggage with him.

On Sunday, David’s red Ford Explorer was seen parked outside of the Potter County courthouse and a deputy sheriff witnessed a man matching David’s description photographing the vehicle. David returned home at some point, evidently, because the neighbors reported seeing his vehicle parked in the driveway that weekend.

However, when Karen and Lauren arrived home on Sunday, they found David’s wedding ring and watch on the counter and a load of laundry in the dryer. The lights and television were on and the VCR was still recording the football game. There were also two turkey sandwiches in the refrigerator, presumably prepared by David. The thing that was notably absent from the home, however, was David himself.

Nevertheless, Karen assumed that he had simply gone to watch the game at a friend’s house and that he’d be back soon. But when she learned the following day that David had missed two appointments—very out of character for him—she became worried and notified the police that he was missing.

Early in the investigation into David Glenn Lewis’s disappearance, police learned that someone using his name had purchased two plane tickets before he went missing. The first ticket was bought on January 31st and was from Dallas to Amarillo. The second ticket was purchased the next day and this one would take him from Los Angeles to Dallas. No one could explain what might have compelled David to buy these tickets, and since U.S. airports didn’t require a person to show their ID before boarding a plane in 1993, it couldn’t be verified that he was really the person who purchased the tickets.

Another unexplained detail that came out during the investigation was that $5,000 had been deposited into the Lewis family's bank account on January 30th. Unfortunately, it couldn't be determined who made the deposit. David’s Ford Explorer was soon discovered parked by the courthouse. His keys were under the floor mat and his driver’s license, credit cards, and checkbook were all found inside as well.

Later, a cab driver came forward to say that he had picked up a man strongly resembling David on February 1st and drove him to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The man in question appeared nervous and paid in cash from a wad of hundred-dollar bills he had with him. There were no further sightings of David reported in the Amarillo area after this.

David’s family didn’t believe that he had left voluntarily; they believed he was abducted. Karen said that he had received death threats in the past while working as a judge and that he’d begun to receive death threats once again just before he vanished.

At the time he went missing, David had been a defendant in a conflict-of-interest lawsuit that had been brought against him and several other attorneys, as well as a former client.

Ultimately, the authorities believed that David left Amarillo of his own free will and couldn’t find any evidence of foul play. They eventually closed his case in 2002.

However, on the night of February 1st, 1993, motorists witnessed a man walking down the middle of State Route 24 in Moxee, Washington, east of Yakima. The man was wearing military fatigues and boots. He didn’t appear to have anything else with him. A concerned driver turned around and attempted to warn the other motorists that someone was walking on the road. Sadly, they were too late to help this man, because, by the time they got back, he was lying dead by the side of the road, the victim of an apparent hit-and-run accident. The autopsy report concluded that he had died of injuries consistent with having been struck by a vehicle. Additionally, there were no drugs or alcohol in his system. The deceased, who had no ID, would be classified as a “John Doe” and remained unidentified for 11 years.

Washington State Patrol detective in Yakima, Washington, Pat Ditter, read the series of reports and started to look into a number of local missing persons cases, as well as John and Jane Doe cases, hoping to solve at least some of them. He noted that David looked very much like the John Doe in question, but a notable difference was that David wore glasses and the John Doe hadn’t been wearing any when he was found.

However, they still had the clothing he’d been wearing at the time of the accident and Ditter discovered a pair of glasses in one of the pockets. These glasses looked identical to the distinctive pair that David himself wore. Ditter was now convinced that they were the same person. A DNA test in 2004 would confirm that he was correct: the Moxee John Doe was in fact, David Glenn Lewis.

But how and why did he end up over 1,600 miles away from his home in Amarillo, Texas? Why was David, said to have very poor eyesight, not wearing his glasses that night? Why was he walking down the middle of a road at all? Many aspects of this case remain a mystery.

It’s also unclear why he was wearing military fatigues, as Karen was adamant that he didn’t own anything like that.

[yandereinc]

Isekai - Yandere!ShalnarkxFem!Reader 01

Prologue Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Synopsis: You have an unfortunate encounter with Truck-kun which leads you to wake up in the HXH universe.

Out of all the anime you have watched you had to be isekaid into this one. The one where a group of merciless criminals, creepy clown, and mutant ants were running loose. You took a deep breath to ground yourself. This was your new life now after all. If you learned anything from watching anime is that you knew that going back to your home universe wasn't an option. You had to make the most of it.

Since you knew you could activate cheats as if this were a video game you decided to focus on that. It seemed that any cheat from any game worked. So after spamming the rosebud cheat you now were the proud owner of 100 thousand Jenny. That should be enough to keep you alive for a while.

Unfortunately, you couldn't remember any other video game cheats. And without a phone, you were out of luck. But since it was late anyways you decided to find a place to stay. Luckily you weren't in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for you though you were in York New. You really hoped you wouldn't run into the Phantom Troupe.

Before you knew it you arrived at a street filled with people. Deciding to find a place to stay you were looking for a hotel. For a second you thought you were screwed as the hunter x hunter universe had a different writing system than the one you were used to. But then you noticed something peculiar.

When you got up close to a sign you noticed that in small letters underneath each word stood the translation. Turns out that turning on subtitles in the menu worked for more than just speech. Feeling relieved that you weren't completely illiterate now you found yourself a hotel.

You were about to walk up to the front desk of the hotel when you realized you weren't holding your credit card. You looked through your pockets but quickly found they weren't there. So you opened the menu again when the receptionist wasn't looking. Pressing the inventory option you selected the credit card again. But this time you held your hand there until suddenly it materialized in your hand.

That's when you noticed a new option appear. It was a plus symbol. You moved the hand that was holding the credit card toward the symbol and in a blink of an eye the credit card disappeared. Happy with your new discovery you took out your credit card again.

Unfortunately for you the receptionist was now looking straight at you. With a sheepish smile, you walked towards the front desk. Quickly booking a room so you wouldn't have to suffer her judgemental gaze.

Since you had the cash to burn you decided to book the room for a month. You weren't going anywhere after all and even if you did you wouldn't miss the money anyways. So after a good night's rest, you went back into town to look for some necessities.

You started your day by eating breakfast at a café. Turns out that because you turned on the subtitles whenever people spoke their words appeared as if you were watching television. But not just the words they were saying, as long as you were looking directly at them and they weren't talking their thoughts appeared. The only thing differentiating spoken subtitles between thoughts was the fact that thoughts showed up in cursive.

You wondered how you didn't notice that until now but since last night you only met the receptionist you brushed it off. Part of you felt a bit wrong intruding on their privacy like that but you kept the subtitles on. You needed it to read after all.

After breakfast, you were planning to find a place to buy a phone. But on the way there you noticed a video game store. Feeling intrigued you made your way inside. Shocked to see that they still sold game guides. You picked one up and thumbed through the pages. Gasping when you saw an entire chapter dedicated to cheat codes. While it would be easier to just buy a phone or laptop and look everything up online you were curious about how your inventory worked and wanted to test it out.

"Wow, I thought I was the only one who still bought those," a cheery and familiar voice came from behind you.

Not thinking anything of it you turned around to face the man. But the moment you got a good look at him your eyes widened and your breath hitched. As you were now face to face with one of the people you specifically didn't want to meet.

Shalnark Ryuseih. Fuck.

You did your best to put on a neutral expression but the damage was already done. He saw your scared, terrified look. He didn't comment on it, however. Not out loud at least. As single cursive word popped up.

Cute.

Realizing he thought that while he was looking at you made your face heat up from embarrassment. It didn't help that he hasn't said anything else. Realizing he was waiting for you to say something you cleared your throat.

"To be honest I haven't bought one of these since I was a child. I was pretty surprised to see that they still sold these," you chuckled. Doing your best to calm down, but that was easier said than done when you were standing in front of a mass murderer.

"My friend keeps telling me that I'm the sole reason the industry is still going. Now I can say that I'm one of two reasons!" the blonde smiled. If you weren't aware of his heinous crimes you might've giggled.

You wanted to end this conversation as quickly as possible but Shalnark seemed to have different plans. "So what do you think of Fortress watch?"

Not expecting him to continue this conversation and also never having heard of that you tilt your head at him.

"Fortress watch?"

The look he gave you could only be described as incredulous. "You know? The most acclaimed multiplayer game of the year! Also, the game that game guide belongs to." His ever-present smile turned amused and all you could do was smile sheepishly.

"Ah, that game… Well, I don't usually play multiplayer games. More of a single-player games kind of gal," you say, feeling more uncomfortable with the second. You even said the word gal that's how uncomfortable you were.

Unfortunately, Shalnark either doesn't seem to notice or flat-out doesn't care. From what you know about him you assume it's the latter.

"Really? What kind of games do you usually play?"

"The sims! You should try it, It's right up your alley, Shalnark." Your mouth betrayed you and when you realized what you said your body froze up like a deer in headlights. The game was right up his alley, but you just met him. Barely talked to him. There was no way you should know about that.

If Shalnark was surprised he didn't show it. Or at least not as clearly as you were showing your distress right now. All he did was mimic your head tilt. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean it's very versatile. Everyone can play it. I meant it like that," you chuckle. Trying your best to make him forget your wording.

"I never heard about it. What's it about?"

"Never heard? This is one of the biggest game franchises in the world!" Now it was your turn to be incredulous. How could he have never heard of the sims? It was EAs cash cow!

Then it struck you. You were in a different universe. One where blimps were the primary air vehicles instead of planes. One where they paid with Jenny instead of dollars. Of course, Shalnark never heard of The Sims. It was never made here. Realizing that made you panic in an attempt to fix this.

"And with the world I mean my heart of course," you grin. Laughing at your own joke, he luckily joins him. But you doubt it was because he thought your little joke was funny. His smile was polite and sweet but you knew his character well enough to know the actual reason he was smiling.

"Well, if you love it so much I would love to try it out one day."

"I wouldn't bet on that… It's pretty rare. Greed Island is easier to get." You weren't sure if this was the right thing to say but maybe this would prevent him from getting suspicious of you once he couldn't find it.

"I'm not one to back down from a challenge." The look he shot your way made you question if he was still talking about video games.

The silence that followed was quickly interrupted by someone's ringtone going off. You watched as he read a text he received. Feeling a bit squeamish knowing what that phone was capable of.

When he looked up at you his smile was still present but there was a sad quality to it.

"I have to go, duty calls. But I would love to continue this conversation another time. May I have your number?" His smile brightened again. And once more you couldn't help but think how you would've fallen for it if you didn't know him any better.

"Ah, sorry. I don't have a phone."

The silence that kicked in was immensely uncomfortable. His big eyes blinking as he tried to find the right words.

"No phone?"

"Yeah, no phone."

"Huh, that's new." Despite the clear disappointment in his voice, you could swear his smile widened. You could tell that he was about to say something again but his ringtone cut him off. This time his text made him laugh.

"Sorry, I really have to leave right now. But I'll see you around," he quickly put whatever it was he was holding back before leaving the store. Waving at you until he was out of sight.

Once you were sure he was gone you let out a deep breath. Looks like you couldn't stay here after all. You didn't want to toot your own horn but the spider seemed more than interested in you. But hopefully, he wasn't too intrigued. Hopefully, he was just looking to kill time before the troupe needed him.

But you couldn't help that nervous feeling. So you went over what you told him. Anything you did that could make him interested in you.

For starters, you didn't know what Fortress Watch was despite it being the biggest multiplayer game of the year. You followed that up by mentioning a game franchise that didn't exist. And you didn't own a phone.

On top of that, he thought you were cute. And you called him by his first name despite him never introducing himself to you.

Your eyes widened when you remembered that. Perhaps that's why he didn't call you out. He was wondering if you guys have met before.

While you didn't want to jump to conclusions you did want to play it safe. York New was a massive town and you somehow managed to run into one of the few people you really didn't want to meet. While there was no guarantee he would hunt you down there was no guarantee he would leave you alone either.

So you made up your mind. You would leave York New. Find a place where he wouldn't follow.

And maybe get a phone.

[perseidlion]

Down Low - Movie Review

Last night, I watched Down Low, a queer dark comedy starring Lukas Gage and Zachary Quinto. The movie was written by Lukas himself and Phoebe Fisher and directed by Rightor Doyle.

Is this movie good? Well...no, not really, but it does have some redeeming qualities and overall I'm glad it exists. I watched it because I find Lukas to be a very compelling young actor. I've also been a fan of Zachary for years, so the two of them together in an unapologetically gay, wacky, horny, raunchy dark comedy was right up my alley.

LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD, THEN A BIGGER SPOILER AT THE VERY END.

There are several legitimately funny moments in this movie. Unfortunately, there are just as many, if not more moments where the jokes fell flat. The kinetic, comedic chemistry between Zachary and Lukas does a lot of heavy lifting. Their dynamic is very unique, especially in the comedy genre, which brings a freshness to the story.

Lukas plays Cameron, a delightfully chaotic and unapologetically gay sex worker who takes it upon himself to be Gary's (Zachary Quinto) gay life coach when he finds out that his opening act handjob is the first time he's ever been touched by another man after a lifetime of being in the closet. Cameron lures a man to Gary's house for a hookup. Things take a dark turn when the hookup arrives and subsequently dies in a slapstick sequence.

This is the kind of movie where instead of the characters being racked with guilt over accidentally killing a man, things turn into a madcap comedy of errors in an attempt to dispose of the body. I love a good dark comedy, so I was on board with this premise and ready to suspend my disbelief.

The problem is that the script, frankly, could have used a few more rounds of editing. For one, the characters say each others' names with alarming frequency, especially in the first act. I don't know if that was written into the script or if the actors weren't reading the lines as written, but the absurd number of times Cameron says Gary's name quickly became very distracting. It's hard to imagine they couldn't see this was a problem simply by counting the number of Garys in the script, but somehow this went unnoticed. It does get better in the second half, but it took me out of some delightful comedic moments in the first half.

There is a lot of potential in the bones of the script, however. The dialogue could have used some polish, and the tone was a bit uneven in parts - which is a shame because there was a chance to make a true classic of dark comedy from a queer perspective. This is Lukas' first writing credit, and I see a lot of potential in his style and comedic instincts.

The best part about this movie is that it doesn't cater to straight audiences. There is no over-explaining anything, and no sanding off the rough edges of hookup culture. Everyone can enjoy this film, but it's clearly not compromising anything about the story or its characters to make straight audiences more comfortable.

The story has heart as well. The friendship between Cameron and Gary is unorthodox but earned and well-developed. Cameron feels pity for Gary, but also genuinely cares about him. Gary in turn, finds his first real friend in this random twink he hired for a happy ending.

The foundations of the movie are solid, but some of the key scenes and setpieces, were they executed better with a more solid script underneath, could turn it into a true cult classic. It still might find a spot in cult queer films, precisely because the character dynamics are so unique and the whole thing is very much a gay male story without all the sappy trappings of a Hollywood narrative.

One of Down Low's biggest flaws is that the movie doesn't know what to do with Lukas and Zachary's chemistry. On paper, the two were probably supposed to be into each other, but their chemistry was that of unlikely friends rather than sexual. So when they...

REAL SPOILER

...do have sex, it isn't very sexy. I never expected a movie starring two queer men, written by a queer man to not deliver in the sex scene department. I don't think it was a problem with how the scene was shot, but rather Zachary and Lukas didn't convincingly feel into each other in that way.

I hope this movie represents only the first we see Lukas Gage writing. He's got an interesting vision and a talent for madcap comedy. Seeing him play a chaotic gay man he wrote for himself was a treat. Just...maybe keep the script in the editing cycle a little longer next time?

Rating: 3/5 Garys.

(I counted 6 mentions of Gary in this post, which is about 1/5 of the times his name is said in the first 30 minutes of the movie.)

[usa-manors-library]

Toledo: Prologue

Wattpad Link for your convenience!

"Pout, pout, pout," Rhode Island mused, retrieving the discarded pillow off of the room's green carpet-decorated floor, "...That seems to be all you want to do today, eh?"

The victim of Rhode Island's comments continued to— you'll never guess what— pout, face buried behind his hair and in his pillows.

Rhode fluffed the cushion thoughtfully, taking a seat on the edge of the sulky boy's bed. He glanced down at his younger brother, wondering how on earth he was saddled with the responsibility of comforting him on this brisk afternoon. It was December for crying out loud. Shouldn't the kid be frolicking in a winter wonderland? Eating ice off the ground? Chucking snow at everything, inanimate or not? Contracting hypothermia? Whatever it was, he knew damn well that there were better candidates than him for the job of convincing the boy.

Alas, it would be admitting defeat if he left to find one right now. Especially if the only other soul he could discover was New York. Ew. Disgusting. Repulsive. If Rhode had a thesaurus on hand, he'd keep going for the rest of the chapter's word count. I can't allow that. I'm not that desperate yet. Besides, it's 1816. The first official thesaurus wouldn't be published for another 36 years.

"...Michigan, you shan't be carrying on like this at the old age of eleven if I can help it," Rhode Island joked light-heartedly, "Look at you. Lying here like a sack of flour. You should have a wife and children by now, if you had a shred of respect for yourself."

Curiously, the territory peered up from his bedding, "...Where are yours, then?"

"I gambled away my dignity years ago in a game of—" Rhode Island paused, having a small flashback sequence to a series of Virginia's threats regarding stories she saw unfit to tell the younger siblings. Traumatizing, "...None of your business. Now. That does it. Get off of the damned bed."

Michigan plopped his head right back into the pillow cave he made for himself, "...No."

Shoot. That was a convincing argument.

Rhode Island started to drag the child off the bed. Unfortunately, little Michigan had a grip of steel to the frame. Which was very disheartening yet impressive for Rhode Island, who (like many of his siblings) couldn't help but notice Michigan's serious lack of right arm since the War of 1812. He had to give the kid credit, losing a limb didn't make him any weaker. Or less stubborn.

What the fresh hell had Georgia been feeding this kid...? He'll never know. It might be crack. Actually, he's met Kentucky. It's definitely crack.

Rhode Island stood, grumbling a few not-so-Virginia-approved words to himself before huffing and turning back to Michigan, "You're being an addle-plot."

A very muffled voice responded with a little; "Your mother's an addle-plot."

"And your father's a whore."

"We have the same father."

"Well, you see, that's funny because—" Rhode Island raced over to the room's door and poked his head out, "OHIO!"

Listen, listen, listen. Calling someone in to take over the second he recognized their footsteps in the hallway wasn't quitting. No. He wasn't bested by a tween. It was calling in reinforcements. That's nothing to be ashamed of. He lasted about one minute and thirty-two seconds longer than he usually did, and he didn't think about smacking a child. He's a warrior. He's a leader. He's—

"Are you beefing with the 11-year-old again?"

He's moving out. He needs his own place. He doesn't need to get disrespected like this. How could they do this to him. It's not like he helped raise them or anything. It's not like he was the one to teach them certain rude hand gestures at the age of six. He knows he already has a spot in his state he could go to. It's a humble little mansion. He can move there permanently instead of using it exclusively for business. He can throw parties and not invite any of his siblings. He can—

Ohio whooshed past Rhode Island as the older continued plotting his escape to freedom. Taking Rhode Island's former seat on the edge of the bed, Ohio patted Michigan's back. Michigan responded by kicking his legs into the mattress.

"...You know you can't talk to him like that," The Buckeye State sighed, "He's little."

With that comment as a sharp slap of reality Rhode Island swerved around and squawked indignantly, "I—!"

Ohio blinked and glanced over his shoulder, "I don't believe I was talking to you."

A small, muffled giggle escaped from the pillows. This was just bleak. He was 0-4 right now. 

"I don't need this," The oldest grumbled, retrieving a book of his off of Michigan's small desk, "I have people to spite. Grudges to carry."

"Shelves to not reach?" Michigan's muffled voice suggested.

One day.

One. Day.

May the good Lord give him an abundance of patience, because if He gave him strength there would be lawsuits.

With Rhode Island gone, Michigan flopped from his stomach to his back and offered Ohio a nod, "Morning."

"Morning," Ohio greeted casually, "What's today's tragedy?"

Michigan lifted his head up ever so slightly, "Can't a territory around here act overdramatic and on the cusp of a devastation for fun...?"

Silence. The answer was definitely 'yes'— it's been done many times before by territories, states, and the country himself alike— but saying that wouldn't improve the situation at hand.

Michigan's head flopped back down, "I'm short."

"Devastating," Ohio deadpanned, wondering how he'd break it to his little brother that he was, in fact, a child, "What else?"

"No," Michigan rolled his eyes, "I'm shorter."

Ohio blinked, blank expression on his face. As of right now, Michigan was shorter than a lot of things. Not quite as short as South Carolina's attention span, but still, a lot of things. "...Than who?"

"Than ME."

"You're you. Who's this 'me'?"

"You're Ohio."

"Then who's you?"

"Me? I'm Michigan," Michigan offered a handshake, "Your favorite sibling. Nice to make your acquaintance—"

"That's not— No. Who's shorter?"

"I'm shorter."

"Than who?"

"Than me!"

"Who's taller?"

"Me!"

"You're you!"

"Right!"

Ohio took a deep breath, trying to channel his inner Virginia, "Territory of Michigan, I swear on the grave of New Jersey's hopes and dreams—"

Michigan wailed, quickly getting up to his feet. He grabbed Ohio by the left shoulder and shook him to the best of his ability, "Look at me! Just look at me!"

"Before— before you give me whiplash," Ohio managed to get out, somewhat playing along with Michigan as he pretended to be incapable of pushing back the shakes, "What- What am I looking at?"

"Brace yourself," Michigan released him and looked at him gravely, "Are you ready?"

Ohio nodded, attempting to smooth the wrinkles the territory's grip had left in his shirt, "As I'll ever be."

"I," Michigan solemnly confessed, "Have lost a whole ten miles."

Ohio paused. He glanced around on the room. He looked left. Right. Up. Down. And, if I may be so bold; all around.

"...Where'd you put them, then?" He joked lightly, pretending to check under one of the many pillows.

Michigan threw his left hand up, nearly hysterical, "This is a grave matter, Oheeo!"

"Gesundheit."

"I woke up shorter! I am a VICTIM of ROBBERY!" The younger declared, slapping his thigh for emphasis on each over-pronounced word.

Ohio raised his eyebrows incredulously. Michigan looked perfectly healthy, with his room in perfect order. Nothing seemed out of place, except... "The only thing you're a victim of is that haircut."

Don't judge him. It was his brotherly duty to bully the child. He was doing his job as an upstanding American citizen. All in a day's work.

Michigan guffawed indignantly, trying not to be obvious as he glanced in the mirror beside Ohio. Smoothing down his unkempt mess of waves and curls nonchalantly, the territory resumed his sulking, "Don't you realize what this means for me?"

"You need to hire a new barber?"

"YoU nEeD tO hIrE a NeW bArbEr?" Michigan mocked, scrunching his nose, "Shove over a couple of steps, I need to fling myself dramatically onto my bed again."

Ohio obliged, letting Michigan partake in his moment. A mere handful of seconds passed before Michigan scrambled off of the bed in a hasty movement.

"I didn't like that one," The younger one said quite decidedly, storming past Ohio, "Let me try that again!"

Ohio shrugged, remaining in his spot as Michigan backed up to the door of his room to get a running start this time. Bolting with the grace and agility of a diseased yet well-meaning gazelle, Michigan flopped back onto his bed. Ohio made a mental note to ask where his father got the set of furniture for this room over dinner. Obviously, it was high-quality and sturdy if it survived the little Mitten this long.

Michigan, after surveying how many pillows the force of his landing knocked off, deemed the fall acceptable. He knew his theatrics well, given his familial connections. I cannot conjure up a single name in this family who isn't some variation of a theatric mess. That could be the curse of personifications. Or humans. Or any of the subjects of my writing, for that matter.

Oh no.

I may be the problem.

"O.H.," The child continued, ignoring whichever sister echoed 'I.O.' in the hallway as she passed, "You don't seem a quarter as invested in this as I imagined you'd be."

Ohio shrugged, "You seem far more invested than I imagined you'd be. Weren't you in the room when everyone was talking about this?"

"So we are in another war?"

The state stared at the wide-eyed, disheveled territory. He'll take that as a 'no.' To the misfortune of Michigan's vocal cords, Ohio wasn't able to correct him before the kid screamed into his mattress with the force of a thousand dying seals.

"I knew it!" Michigan groaned, "Oh, Canada! It hasn't even been two years since the last one!"

"That's not—"

"Pack your bags, we're going north," The child grumbled, trudging over to his wardrobe and throwing it open with gusto. He took random articles of clothing, piling them up on the floor, "We're going to kidnap him this time. Perhaps our hands will slip and he'll lose an arm. Maybe both. A leg, perchance. Who knows? I'm can be clumsy—"

Choosing to ignore how concerning that thinly veiled threat was, Ohio grabbed the bunched up mess of clothes from Michigan's hands before he can put them in his growing pile, "We're not at war, Mitten."

"Don't call me that, it's undignified."

"Apologies, Mr. Mitten."

"Thank you. However, it's Mr. Dr. Rev. Mitten to you."

"Right, Mr. Dr. Rev.— Since when were you ordained?"

Michigan stared at him blankly.

"...No matter," Ohio decided to pick and choose his battles today, "As you know, Indiana became a state rather recently."

"Rather off topic, but good for her. I'm very proud," Michigan feigned a sniffle, "They grow up so fast... I hope she remembers to write me every couple of month..."

"...She was given a smidge of your land on her way out—"

──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────

"I imagined I was getting KIDNAPPED!" Michigan screeched, slamming his hands on the table, "Again!"

Massachusetts patted the kid, who couldn't quite pinpoint if he was shaking from relief or the fear he finally processed from this morning, on the back. He had no idea what was going on, but, to put it bluntly; the small homeboy looked traumatized.

With a slight hint of sympathy, Indiana apologetically patted the territory on the head, "My sincerest apologies, Mr. Dr. Rev. Mitten."

Michigan shot a deadpan stare at Ohio for half a second. Ohio pretended to not notice it, staring off into the existential void. AKA the window that overlooked the backyard. AKA the joys of the great outdoors. AKA Florida— who was the only adult among the outside crowd and shouldn't technically be condoning that kind of behavior— dangling from a tree while 15-year-old Louisiana was preparing the hit him with a sizable branch as 7-year-old Illinois held 4-year-old Missouri's hand and watched. AKA another unavoidable doctor's bill to America, from his feral offspring, with love. Love, and a little spite. Deserved or undeserved, who knows?

"Ten miles isn't quite much," Indiana continued, ignoring the very loud *THWACK* followed by a Floridian with way too much confidence in the resilience of the human body insisting 'AGAIN!' from outside, "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to reclaim—"

"The land? The land...?" The territory scoffed, "Are you kidding me? I'm happy it turned out to be you. Keep it. I don't care, I haven't the slightest need for it. Happy statehood. But Indie, I had so many revenge plans! Tomfooleries! Shenanigans! Now I can't execute them against the British! My justification is out to sea...!"

Michigan buried his face in his hands, entirely devastated. It was a bit of a shoddy excuse— he will most definitely try to carry out his schemes anyway—, yet he refused to be thought of as a coward. Especially in front of the older siblings. Ew. Yuck. Disgusting. Blegh.

Cowardliness is reserved for the weak. The weak, and when his father gets home from work. In which Michigan will be clinging to him like a stubborn koala and claiming he had something in his eyes. America wouldn't believe him, primarily after getting the day's synopsis from Ohio, but he would make a comment about allergy season and pretend he did nonetheless.

"Michigan," Massachusetts gently reassured, "Connecticut still exists. You still have people to torment. And for good cause."

Michigan sniffled, "...What cause?"

"He exists," The eldest brother tilted his head, "And that's very, very sad."

Michigan slowly took his face from his hands, meeting Massachusetts's genuine, earnest expression.

"...Very well," The territory sighed heavily, shoving his chair back, "I'm going to go bury his shoes in the snow out back. If I'm not back by sunset, assume I moved a single garden pebble and New Jersey is preserving my remains to fertilize the plants come spring."

Indiana's eyebrows climbed up, "Just like that?"

"Consider the matter forgiven," Michigan shrugged as he stood, doing his best to sound like an adult. A Virginia impression, to be exact. It was thoroughly believed among her younger siblings— for better or worse— that she feared nothing on this piddly mortal plane of existence.

As if he were going off to work a regular nine to five, the child sauntered to the doorway of the almost vacant dining room. Looking back at the small assembly, his facade wavered as he pouted— Er. Made an expression that conveyed a serious complaint. "Not forgotten, though. Next person to move my borders without telling me is experiencing bodily harm."

Amused, Ohio watched as his little buddy went off to cause havoc and turmoil.

The issue of Michigan's land was solved, and will never come up again.

...

Yep. No reason to continue following this novel. I told you it was short. That's it. Nothing else happens. 

...

Click off of this story. Go read some of NewLostIslands's instead. Shoo, now, shoo.

...

You can go. The show's over. Thank you for your time and— Why is this chapter titled 'Prologue'?

...

Oh, Heckerberry Finn. I have to commit now, don't I?

[twitchylittlelamb]

There's so many people on the fandom who say Will and Hannibal died in the fall, or that it's ambiguous whether they lived os died and I genuinely don't understand. To me it's so clear that they survived and Will decided to stick with Hannibal, and is not my shipper heart speaking, it's just interpretation of the show.

First, Fueller knew they didn't want to renew the show, but he said himself he made an ending that would work if it eventually got more seasons.

Second, the post credits scene. There's as amazing tumblr post - that I unfortunately can't find rn - that explains the pararels between Bedelia and Gideon's death. Stealing identity is a reoccurring theme in Hannibal, and most importantly, something that is shown of deserving punishment. Gideon had his leg cut off because he stole the Ripper's identity, while Bedelia had her leg cut for living with Hannibal on Will's place. Also, pack you bags, meat's back on the menu??? He literally said they were going to eat her because he wanted to????

Seriously, there's two empty seats as the table. Nothing in this show is accidental, everything has a meaning, every scene pararels another scene. That's probably the mais reason why this show has such a huge following 8 years after ending, with every rewatch you spot something knew. Do you really think they would show Bedelia's leg cooked just like Gideon's, with two empty seats at the table? After Bedelia said Hannibal only wants to see her dead if by his own hands and only if he could eat her?? After Will said she should pack her bags??? Are you really so dense to think it's not blatantly obvious that they're alive and together????

Will knew they couldn't survive without each other, especially after the pack hunting they shared. If one of them died or got incarcerated, the other would be miserable. He had two options: die together or live together, and Will was ready to accept both. The fall was a leap of faith.

If interpretation of the show isn't enough, them take it from the creators. They literally confirmed they're alive and thriving. God I'm exhausted.