#i can't even give details yet because i just want you all hanging on every word

[cr1mson5returns]

Not to brag or anything but this new AU @afewnovelideas has been helping me develop is gonna rock your shit

[nirvanawrites111]

Set My Wings On Fire Part 2 (Sub!Christian Yu x Fem!dom Reader)

Pairing: Christian Yu/DPR Ian x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1717

Summary: It's been 30 days since you last saw him and he needs to make up for the lost time. You're still delulu af for him, but tonight is all about your pleasure.

Warning: Smut, fem!dom, slight humiliation kink, degradation for Christian calling him bitch and slut, oral sex (fem rec), face strap, face riding, mentions of killing, handcuffing, you're called goddess, fem reader implied but no pronouns used.

Part 1

minors and ageless blogs do not interact. Just put some indication of your age if you're going to engage, please.

"Control me, please. I need you," Christian whimpers for you. His hair is a mess, his eyes are full of darkness, and he's in front of you, begging to be dominated. His hands are restrained.

He's never had a problem relinquishing power over to you. In fact, it was his idea that he wanted to be dommed by you.

Normally, this is all it would take for you to give in to his pleading. He's in your favorite position, on his knees, willing and able to please.

But, for a particular reason, it isn't enough to sway you.

Your lover is desperate for your touch. He needs to feel your fingertips run against his skin more than he requires his next breath.

Yes, he was on the run, but this wasn't his first rodeo, and for knowing him so well, it won't be the last.

Today, was supposed to be a celebration of being able to reunite with each other. Because your man has somehow outsmarted the FBI and the police, and his name is magically no longer on the most wanted list.

You don't ask questions, because these are incriminating details that you can't afford at the moment.

You stand before him and glance down at the man below you. His beautiful dark brown hair is in messy wavy curls, and his knees are on the cold marble floor.

He's shirtless, but he has on sweats. Even through those pants, you can see that he is excited to see you. He is happy to be able to be in your presence.

Yes, you want nothing more than to pounce on your sweet lover, but this is just one problem.

He went completely radio silent on you during this "run."

Which triggered your anxiety more than usual. Every single time your phone rang, you were hoping that it was him to let you know he's safe.

"No," You finally speak after a little bit of time has passed.

It's hard for you not to give in to his wants because you love this man so much. You have blindly decided to meet him at this location in a random ass city, because of your undying loyalty to him. 

You don't even think you could exist without him, which is why those thirty days were harder than expected. Also, because you never knew when they were going to end.

"Goddess," Christian whines in such a deep tone, and his accented plea is so sexy to you. "Please. I need you. All I want to do is serve you. I've had dreams about tasting you and being fucked by you. Please."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." Christian sounds so desperate, but truth be told, you liked being desired in this way. "Use me as you will. I know I've been bad."

His whines seem sincere, but you're not convinced yet. He's going to have to prove to you how sorry he is.

"Tell me.. say it. How have you been bad?" You fold your arms, demanding an answer so that you both know why he needs to be punished.

"I neglected you. It wasn't my intention, angel. I just wanted to protect you."

"Protect me? By ignoring me." You scoff. Tell that to your many sleepless nights wondering if something happened to you.

You walk around the spacious bedroom. Your heels click against the marble floor. Somehow, he's managed to pull off getting a mansion in the middle of nowhere. As you explore the bedroom, your eyes are drawn to the exquisite chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, casting a warm glow across the room. The luxurious furnishings and tasteful decor reflect his understanding of your appreciation for elegance.

However, deep down, you hope this grand gesture isn't his way of compensating for past mistakes, longing for genuine forgiveness and understanding instead.

You turn to face him again and lift his chin to meet his eyes as he explains his reasoning.

"I had to be extra careful, because I didn't want anything getting tied to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened. I'm madly in love with you, Y/n."

You want to cuss him out, but the truth is your feelings for him are mutual. So, you feel a bit conflicted because no one understands you the way he does. No one can make you feel the way he does.

No one can dominate you like him. No one can submit the way he does. The perks of being with him outweigh all the bullshit of what he does when he's not with you.

For some, the fear is their partners being unfaithful. For you, it's pondering if any of your disloyal exes ever faced Christian's wrath.

"Christian, I'm going to have to punish you."

"I know, goddess. I deserve it and will take whatever you give me."

"Normally, I would just spank you. But, I have something better planned. Now get over here and eat my pussy, bitch."

You sit down on the comfy bed and spread your legs. You watch as he eagerly falls between your legs. He takes his handcuff hands and pushes your dress up one side at a time. You're already not wearing panties for easy access.

Christian laps all your center. He licks across your clit and swirls around until you gush a little. His tongue trails down to catch all your juices.

You moan in pleasure as Christian's expert tongue explores every inch of your sensitive folds.

"Thank you, goddess, for letting me taste you. All I want to be is serve you."

"Yeah, yeah.. talk is cheap. Keep licking until I cum. No more talking until I do."

You're a bit harsh with him, but you know that he loves to be degraded. His mission is to make you orgasm, which you both know he has no problem doing.

Christian savors at your essence. He whimpers as he licks away at your pussy. The taste of you is something that he's been craving for the last thirty days. Every day he's spent without you left him lost in thoughts of fulfilling your desires.

He would have gladly taken the spanking from you. He loves the way you can take charge of the situation. Your ability to switch is something he admires so much.

You continue to enjoy the satisfaction of him practically worshipping you because you're literally a goddess in his eyes.

Christian isn't playing with you. His tongue is working overtime to make sure his goddess cums.

One thing about your man is he knows how to please you. He knows how you like it when he goes fast. He giving you faster licks to the point you have to grab the back of his head because you're approaching your peak.

"Fuck, I'm so close... baby. Just like that!" You cry out.

Before you can utter another word, Christian continues his reluctance pace, bringing you closer to your peak. As you tiptoe closer to your climax, your legs tremble, and you close your eyes to enjoy that final moment before you release.

The intensity of your orgasm rips through you, and you ride the familiar wave that you crave so much. Christian isn't letting up, either. He continues to suck your juices out of your pussy.

He's addicted to the way that you taste. He licks you clean until you push him away from you.

"God, I've missed you, goddess," Christian says, crawling back between your legs to give your pussy a final french kiss because he's so in love with pleasing you.

Christian is the type that you could lock him in a room with you and make him eat you for hours and hours. He would enjoy it more than you, because that's how addicted he is to you. He just wants to please you in any way he can.

Christian lays his head on your thigh, waiting for your next instruction.

"Christian," you call his name.

"Yes, goddess?"

You could see the light in his eyes and his eagerness when he was with you. This is the man that no one else gets to see. This is the side he hides from the world.

"You know... you did a great job giving me head. Which I would expect from a slut like yourself. But, you're not cumming tonight. I am. But, I'll let you fuck me."

"Really, goddess?"

"Yes, with a strap-on. You don't deserve to feel my pussy just yet."

You know that Christian was expecting to get pegged. Maybe he thought he would get a rough pegging session, and you would deny him release. But, you have a point to prove.

"Goddess, I really can't get fucked? I was really waiting for this."

"And I was really waiting to hear from you. Maybe you could earn a chance to get fucked, but until then, get on the bed."

You grab the face strap on and put it on his face so that you can ride his face this time.

"You ready?" you ask him.

"Yes, goddess."

You're still wet from when he ate your pussy, so you position yourself over his face while you ease down onto the strap. You quickly find a rhythm as he pumps from underneath you.

Although you would rather have Christian hard dick inside of you, the strap feels good inside of you. You stroke your clit as you enjoy Christian pleasuring you. 

"You're so eager to make me cum again, huh slut.. you're that desperate to get fucked in the ass?" You degrade him.

"Mmmhm.. yes, goddess. But, my priority right now is just pleasing you. I can't wait to feel your juices drip down my face."

You hold onto the headboard as you ride his face strap-on. Sure, it might be punishment, but Christian is enjoying very moment.

For the second time tonight, you feel the familiar feeling.  Your body tenses up, and a wave of pleasure washes over you as you reach your climax. Your juices coat his face, and now he's glistening with your cum all over his face.

You remove the strap from his face and slip your tongue into his mouth. "You did a great job pleasing me... maybe we could talk about you riding my strap." "I'd like that goddess."

Please reblog if you enjoyed my work! It helps my work get discovered by other readers. I would GREATLY appreciate it!!!

[fillinforlater]

It’s that time of the year again. What are some of your favorite smuts released in 2023?

Monday of Appreciation: Part 104

Hello everyone, Smite here!

2023 is coming to a close and it's been quite the year, a mixture of "this is a bridge year for greater things to come" and "WE LIVIN' NOW MF!" What is a bit different this year is that the highs weren't as high and the lows weren't as low compared to previous years---maybe that is just me getting older, maybe it's hindsight. Either way, I'm good and this year was good.

But some things are more than just good. I'm of course talking about these writers and their stories that I have featured today. All of them deserve special mention, but I want to focus on two of them specifically.

In a year of great, fantastic and already legendary fics, these two stand out.

Without further ado, let's dive into the final MoA of this year:

-1-

@fanfiction4sooya: Can't Save You Now ft. Chaewon, Kazuha, Sakura

I- I- I just read the damn tags and new I one day had to give this a shot. ff4sooya has crazy ideas, futa galore, different dynamics and kinks, which is SO MY THING. This has Mommy and Daddy involved in an absurd (and absurdly hot) threesome that I couldn't take my eyes off.

Now I definitely need to read more and you should too because I bet there are a bunch of Masterpieces in that long Masterlist!

-2-

@iznsfw: Drunken ft. Olivia Hye

Is it really a Monday of Appreciation post without IZ?

Seriously, what this genius is able to cook up in a commission or in the currently ongoing (HYPE) IZ DAYS OF CHRISTMAS is absolutely incredible. We have long stories with in depth characters and love drama that ends not only smuttily but sweetly. Who the fuck needs books, when you can just binge IZ?

With "Drunken", they have once again hit it out of the FUCKIING park. There is never enough Daddy kink fics, yes, but mine seem like nonsensical cringe porn compared to this beauty of a piece. I love how it plays with my heart, no I'm not crying---okay, now that is hot.

Let me change that: there is three very fucking special stories today!

(I think this might even be better than Levi's Hyeju, wtf)

-3-

@cataboliac: Enkindle ft. Wendy

Firstly: I LOVE YOU CATA, BIG QT!

Secondly: "Enkindle" feels a bit like coming home, like a day in Paradise, like the one person that shines so bright in your life that you don't want it to go. And you know, that is the great thing: this might be Cata's final fic, the farewell, but not only is his life gonna be great and he'll be super happy - we also get to read this again and again, and I'm sure I will one day.

Thank you, Cata, for hanging around!

Thirdly: I'M GONNA KISS YOU, CATA!

-4-

@writerpeach: Delectation ft. Wonyoung, Yujin

1.000 Notes, and it's still not enough for what is my pick for fic of the year (FOTY? FOOTY? There is a scene like that, yep). IZ*ONE truly never dies, but it is IVE and these absolute super stars, bomb shells with flawless faces and different, yet irresistible bodies that have us in a frenzy.

Talking about frenzy, all those 30,699 words are a frenzy. I thought Peach would set it up with a long and painful tease that has us edging the entire time BUT NOPE this has so much fucking smut, so many lines of neediness and horniness, it is impossible to finish in one try or two tries or... I dunno, seven-hundred tries?

It's detailed, it's straight forward, it's sex from every fucking angle, I can never get tired of this. I will go so far and say this is Peach's magnum opus, the GOAT fic by the GOAT writer. At least for that day, I can say this without a doubt.

Peach, you are crazy and thank you for that <3

#PeachPavedTheWay #AnnyeongzForDaddy

[agrymonia]

aw good luck with your blog!! happy to see a new face ^__^ can i request cozmez anne and hajun finding our their s/o has been hiding the fact they have a phantometal/trap reactions? thank you lovie!

notes:

- kanata, nayuta, hajun, anne

- warnings: kanata's part turned out a bit angsty (sorry)

- hope u like it<3 and thank u for the message 🥺

Hiding your phantometal/trap reactions

Kanata

• Your phantometal was a bracelet that you used to take off every time you got home

• But after one busy day, you forgot to take it off, and by the time you remembered, it was already too late

• Due to the nature of his old job Kanata has seen plenty of phantometals in all shapes and forms, it didn't take him more than one quick glance to recognize the object wrapped around your wrist

• "What's that?" You expected anger, but by the tone of his voice you could sense that some part of him was actually hurting

• Even though Kanata really struggles with trusting others, and small inconveniences can waver the trust he has to offer, he wasn't upset at the fact that you possessed a phantometal. Instead, he was worried that you hid it from him. What if he failed to protect you too? He has seen the consequences of phantometals with his own two eyes, he has already lost everything that was dear to him once thanks to them, he can't afford to lose you too. He's upset because he can't even have the chance to protect you if you don't tell him anything about it in the first place.

• Seeing his reaction was enough to make you make up your mind. You don't want to make him worry so you decided to not hide these kind of things from him again

Nayuta

• He found your phantometal by accident while doing housework

• It was a long silver necklace, too cold to the touch

• Just like his brother, Nayuta had the opportunity to be in contact with lots of phantometals before. He could tell what was in his hand even with his eyes closed

• He didn't know why you haven't told him anything about it yet, but he had been in the same exact situation before and understood that you might have your own reasons to keep it hidden

• Still, as your partner, he wants to be able to communicate properly with you. He knows better than anyone else how messy things can get when important things stay hidden

• He wasn't mad but after thinking for a while he decided to confront you about it next time he sees you. He would appreciate if you talked to him about it, if there's a complicated reson behind the fact that you decided to keep it a secret he will encourage you to work it out together

Hajun

• You were good at hiding your trap reactions but you weren't as careful with the remnants of it

• Sometimes you would come back home with an evident lingering uneasiness

• And details like that couldn't escape Hajun's sharp eyes

• Having suffered himself some of the worst consequences of the phantometal, he could tell apart the symptoms of a trap reaction from an usual panic attack

• Once he started to suspect you might be dealing with trap reactions he pulled some strings from behind to confirm that you were participating in small-scale battles with your metal

• He decided to keep that information to himself and bring it up only if it's necessary He would rather wait to see if he can hear it coming from yourself even if he already knows the truth

Anne

• Anne found about your phantometal due to bad timing. Your trap reaction started way earlier than usual and it didn't give you enough time to go back home, unfortunately you were still hanging out with your partner when it abruptly started

• Anne got extremely worried at your sudden distress but when they tried to hold your hands to comfort you, they noticed a small silver ring with an intricate pattern that you've never worn in front of them before

• In that instant, Anne managed to put the pieces together

• First it was surprise and then a bit of sadness mixed with it. They never thought you were dealing with trap reactions. Anne understood it probably was a hard topic for you to talk about and they didn't want to be too intrusive

• But they still decided to have that conversation later when your head feels clearer, for you to know you could rely on them and for them to know how to comfort you

• Right now, they kept their thoughts about the topic to themselves and held your hands gently, waiting for the trap reaction to wear off so they could take you home and take care of you while you recover

[ambrosiagourmet]

I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.

[midgardian-witch]

Blame It On The Moon

Jack has been distantly lately. A dangerous encounter in the woods shows you how much affection Jack and his wolf side really have for you.

tags: pining | monsterfucking | dub-con (everyone is into it but the circumstances are a bit iffy) | cunnilingus | afab!reader (no pronouns used) | penetration (p in v) | friends to lovers | body horror (werewolf transformation is described but not too detailed) | bad Spanish (because I am too shy to ask people for help)

ships: Jack Russell/afab!Reader

word count: 5.9k

AO3

Jack had been distant as of late. You had blamed it on the moon at first. Time had slowly creeped toward the dreaded full moon. The few days surrounding it always had him a bit cagey. You'd been traveling with Jack and Ted for so long identifying their moods had become second nature. Ted's humming and grunts got easier to interpret day by day. Even reading Jack had become easier, even though he hides his wolfish traits rather well. At this point you could figure out the current moon phase just by watching your werewolf companion for a while. 

So while you had blamed his strange behavior on the moon at first something is gnawing at the back of your mind. The way Jack hastily excused himself from your presence whenever you joined him and Ted for coffee or how when you'd wake up in the middle of the night - startled by the sound of an animal stepping on a particularly loud twig - you'd find neither hide nor hair of the werewolf. It all started to feel more and more like Jack was actively avoiding you. The why eluded you though. You had become good friends with the werewolf since you had joined him and Ted. Or so you thought at least. Had you done something to upset him? You'd talk to him and ask but every time you tried he'd made a quick exit. 

You slump down on a tree stump with a sigh. The rustling of foliage and a worried sounding grumbling alerts you to Ted's presence. You shake your head and wave him off. 

"Don't worry about it, Ted. I'm just overreacting." Or so you hope. 

The creature sits down next to you, raising an arm and offering a hug. You smile at him, grateful for his empathy and lean into the embrace. You take a deep breath and mumble a quiet thanks as he gives your body a soft squeeze. Even though Ted could look terrifying at first glance you know what a gentle being he truly is. Especially in times like this when emotions run high he’s like a calming balm for your soul. 

A few moments pass before you lean back from the embrace. Ted's big red eyes look at you in his very own version of the puppy dog eyes. A small laugh escapes you and you nod. 

"Yes, that helped. I feel a lot better already. Thank you, Ted."

Ted answers you with a pleased hum. His gaze drifts from your face to something behind you. You turn around to see what caught your friend's attention when you see Jack standing a few paces away, frozen in place. His mouth hangs open slightly as if he tried to say something but forgot what he wanted to say immediately after. He looks at you and for the first time since your very first meeting you can't pinpoint what emotion is going through his head. 

The look on his face is something you hadn't seen before. He almost looks angry? Disappointed? You're not quite sure and yet whatever this emotion is it's making you even more worried given his latest tendency to flee the scene whenever you were present. You take a step closer, unsure whether your presence is wanted or not. 

"Jack, are you alright? I haven't seen you around much lately. Did something happen?" 

Better to be blunt than struggle with subtlety and unnecessary niceties if you want to get behind what is going on with your friend. With every step you take, Jack's posture seems to stiffen even more, shoulders tense and jaw locked. You stop a few paces away from Jack, tilting your head quizzically. The man in front of you just stares at you, seemingly not having heard a thing you said while at the same time seeming keenly aware of your movements. 

"Jack?" 

You take another tentative step and like a scared rabbit he suddenly bolts. At the spot in which mere seconds ago your friend and companion stood is not even a Jack-shaped dust cloud left. You see him vanish back into the woods as you let out a frustrated sigh. So much for talking things over. 

You turn back to Ted who looks at you with his red glowing eyes and you suddenly feel pitied. Ted humms mournfully, his gaze drifting back to where Jack fled into the forest. 

"I don't know what I did for him to run from me like I have the plague", you mumble under your breath as you kick a defenseless stone in front of your feet. You only get a thoughtful grunt from Ted this time. 

"Or am I just overreacting? Is it just some new werewolf quirk he gets when the moon is getting fuller?"

Your thoughts tumble around like each one is a loose item in a desk drawer. Why would he react like this now? He'd been nervous or a bit jumpy in earlier moon cycles but never like this. Or at least not since you had joined the small group that was Ted and Jack. 

Ted's thoughtful rumble doesn't give you any more insight on Jack's strange behavior. You sit back down next to him and bury your face in your hands, letting out another frustrated sigh. 

"So you think it's just because there is a full moon tonight and he doesn't want to be close and potentially hurt me?" 

You don't turn to Ted as you question his reasoning, instead you look up and watch as the sun is starting to slowly set over the horizon. This whole situation, the worrying and uncertainty, made your head spin. You're rubbing the bridge of your nose to stave off the beginnings of a headache. 

Ted hums in affirmation and you choose to trust his judgment. He knew Jack longer than you did after all. And yet that answer did nothing to stop the nervous flutter in your stomach. Maybe you really were overthinking things. Jack was a kind and thoughtful man, it made sense for him to want to keep you safe, however strange it may seem. His protectiveness was one of the traits you admired in him. More than admired even. 

It's been a few weeks since you realized that your feelings towards Jack were more than just those one would have for a platonic friend. He made you feel safe and cared for regardless of the circumstances. You were in the woods in the middle of nowhere and yet you had never felt safer. Ted had a big part in that too but with Jack things were different. While Ted had become a great friend you didn't wake up from dreams of you two kissing tenderly under a starlit sky. But with Jack? You'd lost count of how often you wake up from dreaming about your lips pressing against his, hands combing through his unruly hair. 

All of this makes the distance he has inadvertently put between the two of you hurt even more. Did he know? Could werewolves sense things like that? Crushes? They say wolves can smell fear, was it the same for other emotions? Could he hear the way your heart beat faster whenever you got too close? Is that why Jack is staying away? Maybe he just wants to let you down easy but is too nice to tell you to your face that he is not interested in you. Not in that way. Just as a friend.

You shake your head as you let out another groan of frustration. No, you would not let yourself go down that train of thought. Your crush on Jack was bad enough but you would not put words in his mouth like that. You'd have to just ask him, talk to him about it. Somehow. When he doesn't just run away again. 

You look back at Ted, his red eyes studying you carefully. "I'll talk to him about that after the full moon. I've been safe before without him avoiding me for days on end. There needs to be a better solution."

You stand up and walk over to the small tent you and Jack used for shelter when the three of you were traveling - though at this point it hadn't been used by Jack in a while. A part of you is grateful for that especially since you've developed more than platonic feelings for the werewolf. Sleeping in the same tent as the man you have a crush on was dangerous territory. 

You enter the tent with one goal in mind: finding a distraction. Jack wouldn't be back before the morning at this rate and you'd rather not be alone with your thoughts at this time. You remember that there was a deck of cards around here somewhere. Roping Ted into playing a few rounds with you before it was time to retire for the night should keep your mind off of Jack for the time being. 

Digging around your belongings you come across something you hadn't seen in a while. From between Jack's things you recognize a soft piece of fabric - a scarf you had lent Jack early on when you decided to travel with the strange duo. Another security measure, or so the werewolf had explained, something to remember you by - to remember your scent - should you ever come across the wolf. Next to it you find sturdy iron chains, a bit on the older side but still functional. They were the chains Jack used to keep himself locked up and tied down at a full moon. 

Wait. 

What were the chains doing here when it was already starting to get dark and Jack was who-knows-where alone in the woods? A shiver runs down your spine. Jack wouldn't be this careless, not if there wasn't something bigger at play. 

You gather up your scarf and the iron chains, the card deck you came here for completely forgotten, and leave the tent. The chains rattle in your arms as you return to Ted's side. He gives you a questioning groan, head tilted to the side, as you stuff the heavy chains into your backpack and tie your scarf around your neck. 

"Jack left these and it's already getting dark. I have no idea how he could forget them but I have to get them to him before we have a werewolf wandering the woods. What if there are people camping? What if some hiker decided to go out at night for whatever-the-fuck. What if-"

What if he hurts someone innocent? Jack would never be able to live with himself after that. 

You close your bag with shaking hands, heart racing like you just ran a marathon. Putting on your backpack you take one last look at Ted. 

"I have to find him. I'll be fine. Just stay here in case he comes back before I find him."

Ted just nods, knowing once you had made up your mind he couldn't do much to dissuade you. With a soft hum he asks you to be safe and you give him a smile that you hope comes across as confident before you make your way into the woods. 

You're nervous, walking through the thick foliage, tall, sturdy trees obscuring most of the last rays of sunlight that fight their way over the horizon. You try to focus your senses on finding Jack, the sound of careful footsteps, the sight of a figure moving through the bushes or just the eerie feeling of someone being nearby, anything. But all you feel is your heart threatening to beat out of your chest, all you hear is your own quickened breath. What if you're too late? 

In desperation you start calling his name, your voice getting more and more panicked each time. After what feels like hours of walking but could have only been a few minutes of almost screaming yourself hoarse you finally hear the answering call of your own name. You stop in your tracks, eyes frantically searching for the source of the voice, Jack's voice. At a distance you see a figure move towards you. You call out his name again and the figure moves faster. Finally you see him fully, Jack closing in on you, his face a mirror of your own panic. 

"What are you doing here? The sun is almost down! You can't be here, it's too dangerous!"

You nod, completely agreeing, as you take off your backpack and open it, showing him the thick iron chains inside. 

"I am aware of that, thank you. But I couldn't let you be out here alone without these."

You pull the chains out of the bag and hold them out towards him. His face lights up in recognition before his brows furrow. He looks guilty. 

"I- I completely forgot. Dios mio, thank you. I just-" 

He takes the chains and looks around as if he suddenly realized he was lost. His eyes find the thick trunk of a tree nearby and he walks towards it. Jack takes a few rounds around the tree, inspecting it and giving it a small nod when he deems it suitable. He turns back to you, still a guilty look on his face as he asks: "Would you-? Could you- uh. Help me with this?" 

He must have done this so many times before and yet he stands before you like a lost child. Your heart squeezes uncomfortably in your chest as you nod and follow him to the tree. Carefully you wrap the iron chains around the tree and Jack, securing him to it like a hostage in one of those countless Robin Hood movies. You worry about hurting Jack but he guides you through the motions, telling you how tight the chains should be in order to hold him back. 

Your hands feel like they are burning after you are done - from the cold or the strain to them you don't know. You take a step back and look at the man in front of you. A quiet part in the back of your mind suggests that now is the time to make Jack talk, now that he can't run away again, but you push that voice back. By the thickness of the tree crowns you can't say how much daylight you have left and the wolf would certainly not be able to answer your questions. 

"You should leave."

You can tell he is trying to sound stern and yet his eyes betray him, pleading for you to heed his words. You take a moment to just look at him. You won't lie and say you aren't curious about the other him, the wolf. But that curiosity is overshadowed by a very different emotion. 

You don't want him to be alone. 

It's silly maybe. Staying here would be dangerous for you. No one can predict if Jack will still recognize you when he turns or if the chains, old as they are, would even hold tonight. But you have seen the aftermath enough to know that whatever happens on the full moon it drains Jack. Hurts him in ways that no blade nor bullet can. And you don't want him to go through that alone. 

Your pondering is disturbed by groans of pain. Jack is writhing against the chains, body shaking violently. Your eyes widen as you look up and only see a bit of silvery light shining through the leaves. 

The full moon had risen. 

Jack's groans of pain turn into inhuman growling. You watch as his limbs shift, claws and fur growing. It's hard to avert your gaze from this gruesome sight, your eyes linger while your mind tells you to run. And yet you are frozen in place, by shock or by fear is unclear and irrelevant. Time slows down as you watch the figure in front of you strain against the chains, growling like a cornered animal. He doesn't even seem to notice you anymore. 

"J-Jack?" 

Immediately his eyes are on yours. 

Oh. 

You'd have thought his eyes would look different but they are still Jack's. Still the same beautiful brown-green. Time slows down as the two of you just stare into each other's eyes and you feel like you can't breathe. 

Getting closer would be a horrible idea. Terrible. Absolutely stupid. 

As you try and talk yourself out of doing something that could get you seriously hurt or worse killed the wolfman starts to sniff the air around himself. A soft whine takes you by surprise. His eyes had become impossibly large, pupils dilated to leave nothing but black. He keeps panting and sniffing and whining, looking at you with the one thing you would have expected from Jack but not the wolf: puppy dog eyes. 

You blink as if it would change the scene in front of you. Maybe you hit your head on your way here or maybe you stumbled and this is a dream or hallucination. 

The surrealism of the situation gives you the courage to step forward, closer to the werewolf tied to a tree. You are only a few paces away before Jack starts to struggle against the chains again, growling and snarling angrily. You flinch and step back again. As you leave his proximity the wolf starts to whine again, looking at you with big, round eyes, pleading. Your first thought is that he wants to be free from those chains. Who wouldn't be after all? Nobody wants to be held against their will. 

You take another careful step forward, repeating this strange dance of two steps forward, one step back - all the time never breaking eye contact with the wolf. Each time you come closer Jack fights harder against his restraints. Each time you step back he starts whining and whimpering like a dog begging for treats. 

You just hope he doesn't see you as the treat. 

Repeating this song and dance multiple times you are now about an arm's length away from Jack. He is still straining and fighting against the chains but it doesn't scare you as much as it did but a few minutes ago. Slowly, carefully you raise your hand. Jack's eyes look away from yours for the first time - eager to watch your hand, head tilted towards it, eagerly taking in your scent. You swallow hard hoping against hope that if anyone saw you they would blame the heat in your cheeks on the cold. Your fingers softly brush against Jack's cheek and you feel his fur for the first time. You're in awe, your hand hovering next to his face. You'd never thought his fur would feel this soft. 

A rumbling startles you out of your thoughts and it takes you a moment to figure out the source of the sound. You can feel Jack rubbing his face against your hand, softly growling, almost like a purr, as he eagerly chases your touch. You can't quite stop the nervous laugh that forces its way out of your lungs. You resume your petting and the content rumbling sound gets louder, echoing in the empty forest. 

"Is that it? You want to be petted?" 

You don't really expect an answer but you feel like you can't just stay quiet around Jack, even if he isn't the best conversationalist at the moment. His mouth is hanging open, panting loudly, allowing you a closer look at his sharp fangs. The werewolf gives another whine, not content with just rubbing his cheek against the palm of your hand anymore. He drags his tongue along the inside of your wrist leaving a damp stripe of saliva in its wake. You gasp, embarrassed by the unbidden thoughts of how that tongue would feel in other places. 

Hesitantly you take a step back, needing the physical distance to compose yourself. You ignore the disgruntled growling of the werewolf and close your eyes, taking a deep breath. This was a bad idea. Jack isn't in his right mind and you shouldn't take advantage of that. Not to mention that the wolf in front of you may seem somewhat harmless now but that could change any second. You should leave and find Jack again in the morning to untie him. Or tell Ted where to find him. 

A metallic groan disrupts your thoughts and when you open your eyes again you see Jack pulling at his chains. You take another startled step back as the werewolf breaks his restraints, metal bending and breaking under his inhuman strength. 

In a flash he is on you, your body crashing into the ground. Your back hits the earth and you gasp, pain shooting up your spine. As you look up you see right into those stunning eyes that held you captivated only moments ago. Jack kneels over you, his whole body trapping you underneath him. He bends over, nuzzling into your neck. You hear nothing but his hot breath and your own heart pounding in your ears. You keep completely still, afraid that any small move could be the wrong one and thus your last. You were never afraid of Jack but the wolf had you terrified. You flinch involuntarily as you feel his wicked tongue against your neck, sharp canines dragging softly against your skin. Heat curls in your abdomen as you gasp out his name. The rumble in his chest vibrates through you as his body crowds yours. There is no space, no air left between the two of you as Jack rubs his face against your neck, claws against your sides and his hips sliding against your legs. 

It feels like your mind is made out of static as you feel the drag of his sizable erection against your thighs. You were afraid the wolf was seeing you as a treat to devour - you didn't know how right and wrong you were before now. 

"J-Jack! Oh God", you gasp as the werewolf keeps grinding down on you frantically. You wrap your arms around his broad shoulders, fingers digging into the dark fur, pulling him even closer. With a pleased rumble he paws at your clothes, eager to get them off, to expose more and more of your skin. His claws rip through your clothes, the fabric tearing apart like tissue paper. You shiver at the contrast between the heat radiating off of Jack and the cool night breeze, goosebumps prickling over your skin. Jack drags his tongue from your neck over your collarbone to the swell of your chest. Your nipples stiffen with Jack's proximity and the low temperature of everything but yourself and the werewolf currently bent over you. 

He huffs against your bare skin, his tongue swirling around your peaked nipples. With a choked off moan you squirm beneath Jack. He holds you down with his sheer mass, his hips still grinding against you. You can feel the heat of his hard cock through the fabric of your pants. 

"F-fuck! Jack please-" 

You don't even know if he understands you, how much Jack there is left in this creature but you can't help yourself. Desperate for more, you tighten your grip on his fur and try to guide his head lower. The werewolf offers no resistance, only a questioning hum as he traces the path downward with his tongue. Once his face is right above your clothed pussy he inhales deeply, taking in the scent of your arousal that is evident to him even through your clothing. His whole body shudders and all air leaves his lungs with a dark growl. 

You flinch at the sound, your sex-addled mind clearing as you are once again aware of who and especially what you are currently laying under. This was dangerous. What are you even doing? You can't just have sex with Jack while he is under the influence of the full moon. This was a glaring consent issue. What if he doesn't want you like that? What if the wolf would actually try to eat you? What if-

You are violently pulled out of your thoughts by your pants being ripped apart by two clawed hands and dragged off of your body. With a surprised yelp you try and scramble backwards but the wolf is faster. His claws dig into the soft flesh of your thighs much more gently than you could have anticipated. Once again you feel like you are pinned down like a butterfly in a display case. 

Jack spreads your legs apart, his face so close to your core with only the thin fabric of your underwear covering you. You watch him and try your best to stay still. His tongue runs along the already soaked fabric of your panties. You gasp and your hips involuntarily cant upwards, desperately seeking more friction. Jack repeats the motion with a satisfied growl before you feel his fangs against your skin. 

Your heart is pounding in your ears, both terrified and aroused by the sharp glide of his canines so close to your sensitive cunt. With one sharp tug on the flimsy fabric the wolf tears your underwear apart with his teeth. You can feel the cold air against your wet folds and instinctively try to cross your legs but you are stopped by Jack still hunched between your thighs. 

Quickly the freezing forest breeze is replaced by the hot panting of the werewolf, his face hovering over your glistening cunt. Another satisfied rumble vibrates through his chest before his flexible tongue slides between your wet folds in long, firm strokes. Your whole body shudders as his tongue circles your sensitive clit, a choked off moan falling from your lips. You tighten your grip on his fur, desperately clinging to him for support. 

Slowly, like rolling waves, you feel your orgasm approaching. At once it rushes over you, your whole body shaking with its intensity. Your breath shudders as the last waves of your orgasm ripple through your body and your arms fall weakly to your sides. For a moment you forget the surreal situation you are in and just enjoy the afterglow of such an intense climax. 

You can feel Jack’s hot breath against your sensitive sex. He climbs over you once more, caging you in under his broad form, his throbbing cock lying heavy against your abdomen. Jack slowly drags his cock down between your legs, rubbing teasingly between your folds. You gasp at the feeling and look up. His dark eyes seem to devour you, like the feast he just made of your pussy wasn't enough to sate him.

Mind still buzzing with the afterglow of your orgasm you blearily watch Jack’s canine face. It takes you a moment to recognize the question in the wolf's eyes. You're stunned for a second with the realization that even when turned into this beast that he so fears, Jack would never force himself on you. Not trusting yourself to get the words out you nod instead. The wolf's pleased rumble fills your ears and you feel the blunt pressure of his cock against your entrance soon after. 

Even with how wet you are, especially after your recent orgasm, you can feel the stretch of Jack's impressive girth entering you. He pushes inside you slowly, much slower than you'd expect from the werewolf. You gasp, his size more than you'd ever felt. Jack halts his movements and lets out a soft, almost worried sounding whine. You take deep breaths, squeezing your eyes closed and try to relax around his uncomfortable size. 

“I’m alright. Just- just give me a moment,” you force the words out between your lips. Your face is twisted in pain, not too much to overwhelm you but enough to make your breath shudder. Suddenly you feel Jack's nose and cheek rub against yours, his apologetic whimpers filling your ears. He's trying to soothe you or maybe apologize - you're not sure. Your eyes blink open and with shaky hands you reach out to grasp his face gently. 

It's difficult to read Jack's facial expressions like this, his wolfish features distorting the soft smiles or raised eyebrows you're so used to from Jack. The only thing unchanged by his transformation are his eyes, still so expressive even under the influence of the full moon. You take deep breaths, trying to calm your mind and relax. Jack rubs his cheek against yours, whimpering softly in your ear. “It’s ok. I know you don’t want to hurt me,” you try to soothe him, your fingers playing with his fur. 

It takes you a few moments until you feel ready to continue. “You can move now. But slowly,” you tell him softly, your hands still buried in his fur, “Please.” He nods in understanding and the werewolf slowly starts moving his hips. You feel his massive cock drag against your slick walls, the pain his size and girth had caused you turning gradually into pleasure. Jack trembles over you, the need to just mindlessly plow into you slowly growing stronger than his restraint. As he bottoms out you shudder, your drawn out moan echoing through the forest. Jack stays unmoving inside you, his head buried in your neck, panting heavily into your ear. You can feel his cock pulse inside your pussy and you instinctively clench around him. With a deep growl his hips stutter and you gasp. 

“Move oh god please move,” you beg. Jack doesn’t leave you waiting and at once he starts really fucking into you. His clawed hands hold your hips tightly and leave you unable to move as he buries his cock in you again and again. It’s maddening feeling him so deep inside of you, feeling him everywhere. The werewolf responds to every flutter of your cunt, to every sound spilling from your lips, growling and fucking you faster and harder. The last thought you have is that you won’t be able to walk in the morning and then he hits that spot inside of you that makes your mind go blank. Your eyes roll into the back of your head and you let out an ungodly moan. You can’t think, all you know is the feeling of his massive cock splitting you open and the inhuman wolfman using fucking you like a human-sized fleshlight. It’s absolute bliss and you let yourself fall into the pleasure he gives you. You’re babbling something; you can hear your voice but you don’t know what you’re saying but he seems to understand, huffing and puffing in response. He lifts your hips and the angle makes you cry out even louder. The slick sound of his cock plowing into you is obscene but you don’t care. You’re getting closer and closer to your second orgasm, your fingers digging almost painfully into his fur, urging him on until a particularly hard thrust makes you see stars and pushes you over the edge. It’s too much, the pleasure overwhelming you as everything goes dark and you lose consciousness.  

The first thing you notice when you come to yourself is the hard ground under you and the heavy weight on top of you. You open your eyes and the sunlight spilling through the leaves makes you squint. How long were you out? If the sun was already out then-

The weight on top of you shifts and you hear Jack grumble. Not the wolf but Jack. A very human, very naked Jack lays on you, his head on your chest. You freeze when you feel him slowly rouse from his sleep. Panic rises in your chest. What would you tell him? Did he remember what happened last night? Your spiraling thoughts grind to a halt when Jack’s eyes, heavy with sleep, find yours. His brow furrows as he mumbles your name. Realization dawns on his face and you can’t do anything but watch, anything you could say to him stuck in your throat. But where you expect embarrassment or disgust you only find terror. “Oh no, what did I do?” he whispers to himself. “Jack, I-” He sits up and the missing weight on you feels wrong. His eyes scan your body, taking in your ripped clothing. “Did I hurt you? Ay Dios, what did I do?” “Jack,” you try to pull his attention towards you, voice raised, “You did nothing wrong. You didn’t hurt me.” His eyes find yours trying to catch you in a lie but he finds only the truth. His shoulders slump with a deep sigh. 

You stay quiet before Jack breaks the silence. “Why did you stay with me? You could have died!” He is still frowning but you can hear the anger in his voice. “I wanted to help! I-,” you explain as you sit up and try to cover yourself with the bits and pieces of clothing you are left with, “The wolf, he wanted me to stay. He didn’t attack me.” Jack swallows around the lump in his throat, pointedly not looking at you when you cover up to give you some privacy. “It’s a beast. You should have run. You should have-” “He didn’t attack me, Jack. He likes me.” A faint blush creeps on his face. “Likes you? I don’t think that describes quite what happened here,” he mumbles sheepishly. 

Jack carefully sneaks a peek at you, not so subtly checking for injuries again. “Are you sure you aren’t hurt?” He sounds so worried and it breaks your heart. “I’m alright. A bit sore maybe but no injuries.” Jack clears his throat awkwardly, “Sore? Oh dear. I am so sorry. I didn’t- I mean, I wasn’t-” Gently you put your hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok. You weren’t in control. I know you don’t like me like that,” you reassure him, the words leaving a bittersweet taste in your mouth. He looks at you like you’re speaking in tongues. “You don’t…mi vida, I thought I was pretty obvious,” he says, embarrassment clear in his voice. You blink at him in confusion. “What do you mean?” Jack swallows hard and turns towards you fully. “I like you. Very much. I mean, I am attracted to you,” he sighs, rubbing his face, “The closer the full moon gets the harder it is to hide my feelings. I was close to ripping Ted apart yesterday just because he gave you a hug. It’s maddening.” 

Your heart races, heat spreading through your cheeks. “You- You mean that you-” “I’m in love with you. And I know this is the worst timing and I really didn’t want our first time to be like this,” he motions around him. Your heart feels heavy and light at the same time. “I love you too, Jack.” He smiles at you, a big toothy grin that makes you smile too. “I’m glad. I didn’t think you did. That’s why I tried to hide it.” You nod in understanding given that you did pretty much the same. You tell him as much as you lean in closer, resting your head on his shoulder. 

You don’t know how long you stay like this, the sun rising further and the forest waking around you. It’s only when you gather your things and make your way back to camp, careful of any hikers catching you in the nude that you turn to Jack and ask: “How do we tell Ted?” Jack laughs, shaking his head. “I have a feeling he already knows, mi vida.”

[helplessautomaton]

Hello! May I request Yan!Poe?

Yan!Poe HCS

WC 767

Ohoho hehe when i saw this in my inbox my mind just clicked and formed a smile, while it wasn't specific, i’ll settle with headcanons for now. i may or may not have gotten carried away so have all of this word vomit.

also thank you anon for being my first request! <3

masterlist

-

However you meet this man, just know behind his hair covering up his eyes, those pretty violet eyes are shining with stars in awe. He’d be tensed up, hands with a tremble to them, oh how could he get so lucky? His reaction would probably be brushed off as his shyness reacting to someone new, but just know it's so much more and the cogs in his head are working on every possible future with you. Even though all you did was give Karl back to him or apologize for bumping into him, you’ve won his heart. 

Please do expect for a special raccoon to hunt you down with a letter from poe, going on about how he’d love to know you more or just something to meet you again. Blissfully unaware of all the other unsent letters showing Poe’s fast in obsessed love downfall. Every possible date idea, every way he could win you over, or even kidnap you and never let you go like a pretty doll. It's all scrambling in a way that sends him over the edge of obsession in a void he can't get out of because every other thought is you.

Also, don't mind if you feel as if you're always being watched, it's just a safety precaution i'm sure! Oh right, back to the mention of kidnapping, it can go two ways. One where you delay the kidnapping or you get kidnapped early on, there is no preventing this. First scenario, you’re actively hanging out with him, also be aware you’re gonna get a lot of stuff that he’ll just buy for you, it won't be as strong for the first few outings but the rest you’re gonna come home with a lot. Poe’s definitely the gift giver when it comes to trying to make you fall for him, he knows what he's doing. However I do feel as though it would be kind of impulsive when he buys you something, because really, he knows he can't give back what you’re so willing to give to him with your presence. Happily smiling when your eyes linger for too long on all the stuff bought. I feel like it would take him a good while to realize that, you are in fact, not dating yet, but at the same time i’d think he would be somewhat aware in the back of his mind. The epiphany jolting back everytime the day is over, the urge to keep you forever in one of his books or his mansion gets really convincing overtime. 

Scenario two, it will happen so much faster than the previous scenario, as much as i want to give it, “oh don't trust any books that happen to be left on your porch!” I think that's just too simple. But at the same time I'm aware that if I do go into detail it will just be how you’re being watched and how you’ve gained a friendship with Karl. So really, it's just a matter of simple stalking by an emo and his raccoon, along with at any moment a book could show up at your steps while you're blissfully unaware. However, I feel like this is the worst option because I don't think he’ll ever let you out of that book, while in the first scenario you could have more freedom in that mansion of his.

Apart from the possibility of never getting out of a book, I do think he would try to make you two live a normal life even if the light in your eyes is fading. This will most likely lead to several breakdowns on Poe’s part with some doubts but he’ll keep on trying to make you love him back. I remember someone suggested in their headcanons that this man is likely to send Karl away if you interact with the raccoon more than him. Honestly I see it, trying to get closer to an animal who likes you but not as obsessively as his owner. So you take that to try to gain some normality back then the poor thing is sent off on a playdate because Poe got overly jealous. I do think Poe would be aware that what he's doing is wrong but he thinks that he can make it up with buying you what you want, spending even more time with you, just doing his best to make you happy overall. 

[prof-ramses]

A Mammon Analysis Written By A Mammon Kinnie! :8D

It's time to make y'all love this magnificent bastard even more than you already do so we can finally have something just happen in this fandom!

First off, the analysis.

A lot of people seem to think of Mammon as "dumb" or "oblivious", when he's far from either. Mammon is actually a very intelligent and attentive person, but just like most subtle things about him, it can be hard to notice because of his eccentricities.

As far as I see it, Mammon views everything he does as an investment to some extent, whether it be a literal monetary one or one of time, effort and/or attention. This is also one of the big things that make him so relatable to me. It's also worth noting that as a flipside to this, he also sees any option he's presented with in terms of physical or emotional value and trying to maximize said value as much as possible.

Mam doesn't interrupt "Two Minutes Notice" not because he's stupid, but because insults don't truly detract from the value of him or anything he has, not to mention the fact that he could tell that a lot of people would be willing to buy the song, just look how many are hanging of Fizz's every word when he describes having a crappy boss.

Likewise, criticizing Fizz's weight is something Mam solely does because it helps profits and has no genuine personal issue with Fizz potentially getting chunkier.

This shows something else interesting about Mammon, he doesn't really want to do destructive things, people just keep giving him every reason to do so, he's not dangerous on his own.

Every action Mam takes that makes Fizz uncomfortable is a direct result of him catering to what the consumers want, whether it be religiously watching his spokesman's weight for the sake of keeping the skinny sex-bots accurate, or forcing a mentally unstable person to spend a lot of time socializing to get people to pay admission for a meet-&-greet.

There's also the fact that he runs Greed in such a way that benefits Hell as a whole way more than Ozzie and Bee do. Admittedly, he over charges for his products, but said products are up to snuff, you'd expect him to peddle cheap junk that falls apart almost instantly, but no, he makes quality products and just charges extra. He really is a shrewd businessman when you get down to it, and that's something a lot of people have sadly overlooked when discussing our favorite spider.

Which brings me to my next point, Mammon being a spider is actually really clever, assuming what I'm about to describe was intended and not just me reading too much into a cheap Australia joke. Spiders are often shown as eerie and a way of reminding the viewer of a piece of media that nature can be scary, and though they do some really weird and freaky stuff, that's also the beauty of spiders. They have some of the most innovative and distinct hunting patterns in nature, they're more of a neutral presence, just like greed itself.

I've seen many people claim in their analysis of Mammon that "greed can't be good" which is just demonstrably untrue, greed is really just any action that prioritizes bettering oneself, it's only destructive if you are willing to be destructive, but even then it can lead to innovation and broad positive change, even if someone is worse off because of it.

Lastly, I want to discuss Mammon's obvious need for personal affection, the big guy is blatantly touch starved and craves a close connection, I have a rather headcanon-y idea about the origin of this behavior and I plan to link to it once I post about it in detail, but that can wait. However, this does reflect that idea of value and investment, Mam has yet to find someone who is both pleasant for him to be around and whose company has a reasonable "price". I see many possibilities for exploring this facet of his characterization and look forward to seeing the discussion about it grow.

Stay tuned for my HCs and theories about his Stinginess! ALL HAIL MAMMON!

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC’s Lucien Reunion Date English Translation

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for a date that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

Lucien’s 2023 CN Birthday Event (The New World)✧ Birthday Story | Birthday Prologue | Birthday Date (You're here!) | ASMR | Birthday Party

It turns out that on a day like this, I'm allowed to have both loneliness and warmth at the same time.

Translation under the cut~

Special thanks to @/ivioivioivi for helping me translate some sentences. I am really thankful that you replied to my messages even in odd hours :"D.

[T/N: I don't want to break the flow, so I'll say it now. You need to at least read Lucien's 3rd birthday date and phone call (Looking Back Date+ Saplings of Love Phone Call) first to understand half of the date. It's even better if you've read all of his birthday dates and birthday R&S/stories. YEARS worth of build-up pays off wonderfully and painfully on this date :". Some non-birthday dates that get referenced/I think are important to understand his growth are:

Standstill date (I forgot the official EN localization of this date, so here is the fan translation ver of it. The 'old game' in this Reunion Date is a reference to this date).

Wild Luxury Date (not a direct reference, but MC's idea to book a B&B for his birthday can be traced back to them going to a wild luxury hotel LOL. Because of the 'memorable things' that happened here, they've been exploring many kinds of hotels ever since then.

Tidying-up date (The date dives deep into how Lucien dealt with his pain and grief- that is, by trying to abandon them because he didn't know any better, there's no time to slow down and properly deal with it :". But because of the 'complex feeling' (that he FINALLY got to understand in Reunion Date) he's unable to do so.

Also, a casual reminder that his birthday is also his parents' death anniversary since they got into a car accident during his 7th birthday- it'll come into play on this date ;).

ANYWAY, this date is such a TREAT for ppl who have been liking him for years and watching him grow slowly.

[Subtitled Video Ver - TURN ON CC]

VERY recommended to follow along with the voice acting for a more complete experience! It's just that he never sounded this vulnerable before :"". And BGM choice is really superb hhhh. I don't expect them to use that angsty BGM from last anniv.

[Transcript Ver]

I'm looking at the phone screen with one minute left on the countdown and placing the candle into the cupcake I secretly baked in the evening.

MC: 51, 52, 53......

I silently count the time, and at the last second, I push Lucien's study door open and turn off the lights.

MC: Happy birthday to you~

MC: Happy birthday to Professor Lucien, the smartest professor in the world~

The dim candlelight gently illuminates Lucien, who is sitting at the desk. He seems stunned for a moment, but soon, a joyful smile fills his eyes.

Lucien: So, the idea of celebrating my birthday at a B&B was just part of your surprise.

MC: I can't have you guessing everything. I still need to prepare some unexpected surprises for the birthday boy.

It's rare that Lucien doesn't have to go on a business trip this year, and there are no additional work assignments at the institute.

So, I booked a B&B in advance, taking two days off together. We'll celebrate his birthday while enjoying a brief vacation.

I smile and place the cupcake on the table, brushing away the strands of hair that hang in front of his eyes.

MC: And since we're both on vacation, every second from now on is worth celebrating.

MC: So, it's now a special midnight blessing time~

Lucien: [chuckles] And what blessing are you going to give me?

He wraps his arm around my waist, allowing me to sit on his lap.

His deep pupils dive into the depths of my eyes along our pressed foreheads, and even our breaths become intimate.

MC: Hmm... Midnight blessings mark the beginning of your birthday, so I'll start by wishing you... to be yourself on this day.

His pupils briefly contract, and it seems like even his breath has slowed down a bit.

MC: Usually, we often do things we don't particularly like for various reasons.

MC: Whether it's playing a role or fulfilling responsibilities, life is often filled with many “have to's”.

MC: But the privilege of a birthday means that today, you are the most important person in the world.

MC: So, on this day, do everything you want to do and be as comfortable as you can be.

MC: That's my midnight blessing.

The candlelight light is long, silently enveloping both of us and turning this small space into the whole world.

Lucien: (whispers hoarsely) Then I'll accept it.

His warm breath touches my lips, lingering into the first long trailing note of a wish.

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

After he blows out the candle and finishes the cake, I follow his wish and nestle into Lucien's embrace.

I occasionally use my gaze to trace his face. Although I don't know what he's busy with, I'm happy to spend every moment with him.

Spending it in silence is fine too.

Lucien: Several student papers that I was helping to mentor were sent over just in time. I'll finish them quickly.

MC: Take your time reading them~ This way, I'm also absorbing the essence of wisdom.

He arches his eyebrows, leans against my head, and then shifts his gaze back to the screen.

The mouse wheel sound bears witness to the continuously flipped text, and suddenly, I detect a brief moment of silence.

Lucien appears to have no reaction. His gaze is lingering and seems to have also frozen in this moment.

Did he encounter any problems?

I tilt my head and find the cursor paused beside a cited reference, flickering silently.

An obscure and minuscule string of English appears in the lower corner, with only "1996.98~99" discernible.

Lucien: MC.

MC: Lucien?

Our simultaneous saying left me momentarily stunned, and he seemed to be surprised as well. The hold around my waist tightened imperceptibly.

MC: What's wrong?

Lucien: (tenderly) Nothing, I just wanted to call your name.

Lucien: In order to give you my undivided time for the next two days, I just need a little more time.

Lucien: (softly) You go ahead and sleep.

MC: (smiles) Don't stay up too late then.

With a familiar warmth beside me, I don't say much. I simply raise my head and lightly peck his lips, only to realize that he hasn't let go of my hand.

Lucien: Just stay by my side, I'll take care of getting you back into bed with me.

—-------------------------------------------------------

When the alarm clock goes off, I sleepily roll over and discover that the other side of the bed is empty.

The hour hand has just pointed to six o'clock, and I shake off my drowsiness, getting up to search for Lucien's figure.

MC: Did he leave this early? There isn't anything urgent at the research institute, is there…

I'm contemplating whether to send him a message when the door is pushed open.

Lucien is uncharacteristically dressed formally, and I wonder how long he's been outside as he's covered in the chilly air of early autumn.

He probably doesn't expect me to wake up so early, but he just stands there indifferently.

It's as if he's stripped away all emotions and turned into a blank slate in human form.

Somehow, I don't ask him where he went. Instead, I walk over and instinctively take hold of his somewhat stiff and cold hand, placing it against my own face.

MC: Why didn't you wear a scarf? Come here quickly-

Before I can finish speaking, he envelops me in his embrace.

It's an incredibly tight embrace.

Lucien doesn't say anything, yet it's as if he's telling me something.

I simply tighten my hug, letting this silence continue.

The chill fades away as if bidding farewell, and the person in my embrace slowly opens his mouth.

Lucien: (quietly) MC, I went to do something very important.

Lucien: It feels like I'm years late, but fortunately, nothing has changed.

I can't see Lucien's face at this moment, but I can only feel his voice, soft as if not wanting to disturb a certain tranquility.

Lucien: But because of this, I seem to have some new questions.

Lucien: Can you help me with these things I haven't quite figured out yet?

He speaks vaguely, yet there's a genuine sincerity in his words.

A vague idea forms in my mind, something that I can't pin down, but I don't want to put off either.

I gently brushed his bangs with my fingers and looked at him calmly.

MC: Of course, I'm willing to help. How do you want me to help you?

This question seems to have stumped Lucien. He ponders for a while and then smiles helplessly.

Lucien: I don't know either.

MC: Well, it's wonderful. The world has left you with a special puzzle on your birthday~

Lucien that's somewhat at a loss makes me unable to suppress my laugh.

MC: It's okay. After all, growing up doesn't necessarily mean always moving forward. I'll help you find the answers.

—-------------------------------------------------------

I lead him into the living room, where the golden sunlight streams over the horizon, casting its glow upon us.

MC: But since student Lucien doesn't have a direction, I'll have to guide you in my own way, so you better cooperate with me.

Lucien: I'm more than willing, Teacher MC.

MC: Very well. First... let's start by filling our bellies!

—--------------------------------------------------------

After eating, as Lucien places the suitcase in the trunk, I suddenly recall something and retrieve the car cooler from the storage room.

Lucien: It seems that Teacher MC is indeed well-prepared.

MC: Hehe, I must protect my main course well~

And this way, you can go wherever you want.

I don't want to impose any pressure on him, so I simply think to myself and smoothly take the driver's seat.

MC: Today, let me be the escort for the birthday star.

Lucien: What if I also wish for MC to enjoy herself?

MC: You can't use the blessings I gave you against me!

I laugh and pinch his nose. Before starting the car, I come up with a great idea.

MC: Let's play an old game.

Lucien: Aren't we supposed to go to the B&B you booked?

MC: We have plenty of time, so we can have some fun before heading to our destination.

MC: No need to rush, taking it slow is also good. It's also the birthday star's privilege.

Lucien: [chuckle] I can't help but want to be this willful birthday star every day now.

MC: In that case, I'm fully on board!

I grip the steering wheel with both hands, waiting for his response.

MC: So, what's the number in your mind?

Lucien: How about... 389?

MC: Got it!

I enter the number into the map app and, without any reservations, start the car towards the unfamiliar location 18 kilometers away.

I don't drive too fast along the way. Rather than rushing to the destination, it's more about enjoying the scenery along the route. I ask him for the next random number when we encounter red lights.

MC: When did they start repairing the bridge here?

Lucien: It seems they started construction last year, and judging by the progress, it should be completed within the next six months.

Lucien: I hadn't noticed that park over there before.

MC: I remember that this place used to be a lake?

Lucien: Mm, they probably redesigned the walkway, and it seems like cars aren't allowed in anymore.

With Lucien's various choices, we leisurely travel the road, watching this extremely familiar city give birth to new branches in unfamiliar corners.

Time has always been silent, seeping into every crevice, every building, every plant, and every person's face.

The city also seems to be growing up with us, shedding a certain part of itself and transforming into something more fresh and new.

And as Lucien and I walk through these changes together, it's hard to say whether I feel more nostalgia or anticipation.

Until the red light appears, I have no idea where I've driven us to.

In the unfamiliar scenery, warm light falls upon Lucien's face.

MC: Now, do you have any places you'd like to go or things you'd like to do?

This time, I didn't ask him for a random number but instead posed a question during this brief moment of silence.

Perhaps it's only after walking many paths that you'll discover the one you want to take.

The red light flickers and the countdown numbers slowly extend into his field of vision.

Lucien: I want to... look at the flowers.

—-------------------------------------------------------

Under Lucien's guidance, we continued to drive for a while.

The unknown world gradually added familiar sights, and the road ahead also widened.

The road of the old street is wider than it was three years ago, as if it had been freshly paved with asphalt, shining brightly in the sunlight.

Heading uphill all the way, not far ahead, I can vaguely see a massive white building.

Unlike the last time, Lucien confidently directs the way this time—until we park in the parking lot next to the white building.

In the distance, the hills and fields are vibrant, and osmanthus flowers dance silently in the wind like tiny specks of light.

They complement this massive white building, radiating splendid beauty, which makes my eyes well up with emotion.

It turns out that something new has already bloomed on that empty lot.

MC: So, this hospital has already been built…

Lucien: Um, it will officially open to the public in a few months.

Lucien shows no intention of getting out of the car and calmly gazes ahead.

I also follow his gaze. The hospital is surrounded by hills and forests, and we listen to the distant chirping of insects, telling the secrets of the wilderness.

The wind rustles through the leaves, and the lush greenery and deep red hues cast beautiful light and shadow under the sunlight.

MC: Were these trees here before?

Lucien: I believe they were also transplanted here in the past two years.

I lean against the steering wheel, looking at the scenery in front of me that is entirely different from what I remember, and I can't help but not know how to describe my feelings.

MC: Can a hospital be built so quickly?

Lucien: Of course, it's even faster since this hospital is a crucial project for expanding clinical teaching bases in Loveland City.

He said it naturally, causing my gaze to unconsciously shift back at him.

Perhaps my gaze is too probing, so Lucien casually slumps down on the right side of the dashboard.

Lucien: Actually, I've been here a few times before due to work reasons.

Lucien: While their primary research focus is orthopedics, they also want to incorporate related studies in neuroscience to treat more complex and critical diseases.

Lucien: That's why the hospital director approached me for a collaboration.

MC: You surely agreed, right?

Lucien: Do I appear so easy to persuade?

MC: You're far from being easy to persuade.

I reach out and gently caress his cheek that's nestled between his arms.

MC: (smiles softly) It's clear to me that you've always known what you want to do.

In the sunlight, Lucien seems to smile more comfortably. He nuzzles my palm, bringing himself closer to me.

Lucien: Although they are still lacking in clinical expertise in neuroscience, Lucien's Bioscience Research Center has already signed an agreement with this hospital.

Lucien: I will provide them with the necessary research theoretical support.

Lucien: However, to bridge some gaps, I recommended one of my former classmates from my doctoral program to them. Whether they can persuade him to join depends on the efforts of the hospital director.

Lucien appears nonchalant, but I can hear so much sentiment in his words.

It's Lucien's own research institute that concluded the collaboration, and even though he's aware of the shortcomings on the other side, he still chose to cooperate.

He probably unconsciously hopes that the things that are growing anew on that land will turn into something even more beautiful.

Perhaps because I've been staring at him, Lucien seems to have also understood the unspoken words I haven't uttered.

Lucien: The reason I agreed may be because, at some moment, I felt like I had touched upon a coincidence called fate.

MC: Should scientists believe in these things?

Lucien: [chuckle] It's needed once in a while.

We can't help but laugh together.

MC: How about we get down and go for a walk?

MC: Perhaps fate has other words to speak within this coincidence.

While that's what I'm saying, I actually don't know what else fate might have to say.

We don't enter the hospital; instead, we aimlessly stroll around.

That empty lot is no longer just a distant memory, nor does it remain stagnant in its place.

We walk up the hill and see a slightly small but uniquely looking shop by the side of the side road.

It quietly nestled amidst the woods directly facing the hospital, the rich aroma of coffee blending gently with the scent of fresh grass.

MC: This shop is also new, right?

Lucien: Indeed, I didn't expect a new coffee shop to open here.

Our gazes collide, and in each other's eyes, we see the same expectation.

MC: Let's go check it out then!

The simple and elegant decor made the whole café look clean and bright.

There's only one owner in the store, even though it's not yet opening time, she warmly welcomed us.

Owner: I didn't expect to have customers at this time.

Owner: The sunshine is lovely today. Why don't you two sit over here and enjoy the beautiful scenery?

She says as she leads us to a floor-to-ceiling window on the south side. Looking at the scene in front of me, I unconsciously hold my breath.

Emerald green, golden yellow, and crimson red – time unfolds the colors it has painted to depict life in front of this window.

It's as if the four seasons silently cycle, but at this moment, it kindly extends all of its vistas, leaving the shadow of time here.

Owner: Not far away, they've built a new hospital, and it seems the director is very environmentally conscious as they've planted many trees in the vicinity.

Owner: Looking out of this window, there are two very special trees, and I observe that only during this season of the year is there such a unique view.

MC: ...It's really beautiful, thank you for your recommendation!

After thanking the boss, we're sitting in front of that window.

Lucien gazes out of the window, slightly lost in thought. The colorful light and shadows fall delicately on him, as if embracing him, sinking him into the shade of the trees.

MC: I wonder if this place is directly facing the window where the little boy used to be.

He pauses for a moment and looks at me amidst the gorgeous display.

MC: At this moment, can we also see the four seasons in his eyes when he looks outside the window?

Lucien: (smiles while looking away) Probably so.

Lucien: After all, it's what has grown anew on this land.

His voice is heavy and resolute.

MC: That's wonderful.

Lucien: Hmm?

MC: They are so beautiful, it's truly wonderful.

Memories are now distant and unattainable, but they still remain here. And in such a birthplace, all the beauty that has grown is so delightful.

MC: Perhaps this painting-like scenery is also a gift from fate to you.

Beneath the play of light and shadow, the girl's face is filled with the colors of sunshine, and she smiles warmly.

Lucien always feels that the emotions that he couldn't figure out the answer to seem to open a small crack, allowing even more indescribable feelings to pour out.

When discussing the collaboration compensation, he proposed donating two trees in the name of the research institute as a partial substitute for the hiring fee.

At every moment when he came here alone, he could clearly feel the spreading branches and twigs.

Perhaps, the meaning of time lies in the fact that nothing stays in one place, and this is also a form of trace and continuity.

It's just that, some changes would be better if they happened slower.

He always selfishly thinks this way.

Lucien: Probably... it really is a gift, isn't it?

Lucien: However, there may be more to it than just fate.

The colorful world is distant yet clear, all frozen in the eyes.

Because of you, I can see the traces of time so clearly.

It turns out that everything has passed for so long, long enough that I'm almost forgetting the name of this feeling.

It turns out that on a day like this, I'm allowed to have both loneliness and warmth at the same time.

It turns out that what I felt was sadness.

—--------------------------------------------------------

=Flashback Start=

The cemetery in the early morning is dark and solemn, with only a few stars twinkling in the sky.

The streets at four o'clock were too deserted, so Lucien bought a particularly simple bouquet of flowers from a newly opened stall at the door.

He passed through the freshly painted iron gate and walked slowly along the gravel path.

The paper's reference seemed to pull him into the light and shadow of time that he couldn't speak or think of yet also couldn't forget.

There were always two busy figures, always smiling with their eyes forever gazing into the distance.

These long-ago scenes that feel more like yesterday are strangling his breath and cutting open his wound today.

The time devoured by enduring anxieties of emptiness returns in its entirety today, as it does on all other 'todays'.

Some kind of longing dug into the wound, causing him to suddenly pause before tucking the girl in his arms into the quilt.

He pondered for a long time, and in the end, he decided to put on a suit.

That period of time was like this road, neither long nor short, but he spent many years on it.

Lucien stopped before the graves, gazing at the familiar names on it, and heaved a long sigh.

What should he say? He didn't know.

He simply gently placed the flowers down and reached out to touch the name on the tombstone.

The dust had settled in the gaps, and he cleaned it meticulously, even those stubborn stains were carefully wiped away.

He silently gazed at those two clean names, looking at them again and again.

Lucien: I seem to... miss both of you.

Today belongs to both of you, yet it also feels like it belongs to me.

When I abandon my name, I can treat it as a day that only belongs to me.

Now that I stand before you, does it mean that the distant past has slowly arrived at my side?

When I leave, the time left for you both will come to an end, and the time ahead should be reserved for her, or maybe for the me who's blessed by you.

Is that okay?

Lucien knew that no one would provide him with an answer. He simply sat there, no longer dwelling on anything.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, until the slowly approaching light from the distance began to illuminate him.

=Flashback End=

—--------------------------------------------------------

MC: You can open your eyes now!

Lucien opens his eyes under my guidance, and I happen to collect the last decoration.

Lucien: The issues troubling me seem to have somewhat disrupted your preparations.

MC: That's not entirely true.

Noticing that Lucien has picked up on some clues, I place the cake on the small couch and pull him down to sit.

MC: No matter how grand the birthday celebration is or how it is celebrated, the focus should be on the person who is celebrating it.

MC: You are the most important.

MC: Everything I've done is simply in the hope that they can appear more fittingly before you.

The warm light falls on the small arched couch, enclosing our figures leaning against the glass within it.

Outside, it started raining at some point, the raindrops hitting gently against the window. Much like the indescribable feelings, the world was shrouded in a misty haze.

Lucien: It feels like we're inside an egg here.

MC: Right? I think so too.

MC: So, let's just imagine we've briefly returned to the state before venturing into the human world and taking a rest here.

Lucien: Hmm, what's outside the window then?

MC: Outside the window is the place we'll go to.

MC: It might rain today, it might be clear tomorrow, or there might be a sandstorm.

MC: Every day, the weather will be different, there will be many sad things, and there will also be many happy moments.

Lucien: Can sadness and happiness... exist at the same time?

MC: Of course they can.

MC: Because they are both important to you.

I gently stroke his brow and gaze deeper into him through those eyes filled with emotions.

Lucien: (in the most fragile tone you ever hear-) ….Then, can you hug me?

I don't speak; instead, I answer him with my actions.

Perhaps I had also waited for a long time, waiting for him to come to me, letting me accompany him and giving me the right to comfort him.

Lucien: I went to meet some very important people today.

MC: Um.

Lucien: I miss them very much.

MC: Mm.

Lucien: But I feel happy again because of you.

I bite my lower lip hard and feel my eyes slightly welling up.

Lucien: I don't know how to handle these emotions, but I also feel a bit childish like this.

MC: I don't think so. I really like you just the way you are now.

MC: Being candid and clumsy, like a child without any worries. It's a kind of growth for you too.

Lucien: But today is obviously my birthday, isn't?

MC: It's precisely because today is your birthday that you can be like this.

I can't help but hug him even tighter.

MC: Sometimes, I feel as if we're growing up like layers of an onion, with each year wrapped around the last.

MC: Even though you're growing older, you still have all the previous ages you've been.

MC: You are also the 26-year-old Lucien, the 20-year-old Lucien, the 18-year-old Lucien, the 14-year-old Lucien – you are every version of yourself from different time periods.

MC: So, you can think rationally, but you can also be indifferent; you can be passionate, yet feel discouraged at times.

MC: When we grow up, we don't abandon ourselves. Every version of you from the past is still within your heart.

MC: You will see them, comfort them, and accept them.

Behind me, Lucien is silent, but the slightly tightened arms seem to quietly reveal something.

MC: What did the ten-year-old Lucien do today?

Lucien: Mm... I read a very special book.

MC: And what about the fourteen-year-old Lucien?

Lucien: I went to Venice, took photos at the Bridge of Sighs, and accidentally dropped my camera.

MC: Hmm, and what about when you were seventeen?

Lucien: Spent an entire night in my own independent laboratory.

MC: Wow, you! You didn't pull an all-nighter at twenty as well, did you?

Lucien: When I was twenty… I was given a graduation ceremony that I think is a bit special now.

MC: And what about you today?

He slowly lifts his head, his soft fingertips caressing my cheek.

Lucien: I went to meet important people

Lucien: And returned to your side.

MC: So you see, today may be your birthday, but it's also a special book day and a day for a bit of luck to escape.

MC: It can be an all-nighter day or a day for sleep. It's your graduation ceremony, and it's also the day of your important people.

MC: It doesn't just belong to happiness, it simply belongs to you.

MC: Happy birthday, Lucien. You don't have to be just happy.

The droplet on the glass window reflects the candlelight, resembling burning osmanthus petals as if time itself has paused by our side.

Lucien finally smiles, his eyes sparkling.

Lucien: I think, I know what wish to make now.

He wraps my hands together in his and looks at the candlelight.

It seems like he's saying a lot of wishes, and only after a while does he rest his forehead against mine.

MC: I hope all your wishes come true.

Lucien: Well, this Miss will have to work hard because it's not just from the present me.

Lucien: I just took the opportunity to make up for all those days I forgot to make wishes.

MC: Right now, I feel like I'm accompanying the past you.

MC: Would you call me silly for feeling this way?

Lucien: (whispers softly) Of course not.

His warm lips gently cover mine, devout and solemn.

Lucien: Furthermore, for the future me, the present is my past.

At the moment the candles were blown out, the sound of fireworks bursting in the distance could be heard. Colorful fireworks exploded outside the window, decorating the night sky.

It turns out that the rain had silently stopped at some point.

Lucien: It looks like there will be fireworks outside the window.

MC: It's welcoming you.

At this moment, there are less than 10 minutes left until the end of Lucien's birthday.

I grab his hand and run out of the B&B, running onto the street.

The street scene is incredibly lively, and for some reason, the celebratory fireworks keep lighting up the night sky, leaving colorful streaks in their wake.

Pedestrians pause for a moment, and I hold Lucien's hand. We walk through the crowd and I excitedly turn back to him.

MC: Lucien, it's wonderful that you came into this world.

MC: Thank you for coming into this world, thank you for coming to my side.

Another burst of fireworks soars into the sky, and the world is so beautiful, as if gathering all the colors of this moment into his eyes.

All the accumulated emotions are like the fireworks at this moment, making him vibrant and alive.

I see him take my hand and wrap his other arm around my waist.

Perhaps this isn't even a dance, we're just embracing each other and spinning around while laughing.

It seems like only the two of us exist in the world.

Lucien: MC.

I hear him calling my name.

Lucien: Thank you, for giving me this beautiful world as a present.

MC: Then I hope even more that whether I participate in your world or not, you will have the beauty of the whole world.

Lucien: Don't worry.

Lucien's eyes are filled with a smile, and the lamp's warm glow makes him look incredibly bright.

Lucien: All my time is as dazzling as you.

-

[Phone Call- coming soon]

-

[Lux's small rambling corner]

Dying rn after two sleepless nights, so I'll say a little for now and will add more after resting for some days orz. But really, I think what makes this date good can be felt with heart. Every single sentence is golden and worth to be screaming about hnghhh.

Where should I start??? Everything about this date feels perfect. I don't even know where to begin🥹 I genuinely think this one is his best birthday date. The pay of years' worth of build-up and the metaphors are perfect, and GOD, how this date consists of everything that makes them unique and lovable to me.

I didn't anticipate that the writers would skillfully weave together past birthday dates on this occasion. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if this marks the final instance centered around the theme of the past self. Embracing every version of your past self that makes up 'you' is truly a fitting conclusion.

It's INSANE how his writers are able to build up the whole thing over the span of 6 YEARS like??? The way his change and growth happen little by little as we accompany him in those years, watching him now just being himself, frankly expressing his emotions and longing, and taking the initiative to be vulnerable for the first time, I can't help but feel emotional sob sob. Trust me, I CRIED the first time I read that part when he asked for a hug. We've seen him being vulnerable before, but him being the one who takes the initiative is an entirely different matter. I mean, Lucien????? the same guy that says he's okay when he got heatstroke???/hj.

Anyway, with each birthday, Lucien seems to discover something new. Like last year when he finally found a place that can be called home, this year, what he found was the loneliness and sadness from the past that he hid so deeply because he just didn't understand and had no time to deal with it. After his parents' death he give himself a new name and abandoned his old one. Like cutting off his past memories, put them in small box, locking them and hid them. Back then, he probably thought that he would never open that 'box' again and he would eventually forget its existence. But every time he get reminded of them, like in this date when he saw their names in reference he'd see the key of that 'box', reminding him of its existence.

Now, because of his encounter with her, he is gradually able to slow down, slowly understand his feelings and emotions. And so, he finally opened that 'box', went to the cemetery to see his parents and clumsily told them what he unconsciously always wanted to say, letting years of sadness and missing from losing them filled him. With this, he also slowly accept his every past self.

Like the fireworks after the long rain, his present self is alive and vibrant. Be it sadness or happiness, Lucien, I'm glad that now you can experience and accept both.

[afyrian]

no. 3 - a cosmic twist masterlist

    the cold metallic feel of the cabin door handle is familiar, in a distant kind of way. like a third cousin who you see every five years, familiar and yet unknown to you. even so, you twist the handle slowly, wondering what you'd find on the other side. bunk beds that have the same musty scent as they did years ago, or soft mattresses that are newly bought for the year. 

  upon finally opening the door, you can see just how different mr. kurosu made the cabins. the bunk beds have considerably thicker mattresses, spiders no where to be found. even little sockets are in the walls like some kind of hotel experience. all in all, it's leaning a little far on unfamiliar for you, chills running up your arms.

  as you set down your bag on one of the top bunks, you can really see just how much care he's put into the updates. like the wood is severely updated, no longer splintering in certain spots. however, some kids have already etched their initials into the wood, just like you did. the sharp lines and large letters really iterate the feeling of camp lockheart. the one you knew.

  you smile to yourself upon seeing the small details, finger running along the initials as you continue looking around the room. although, this inspection doesn't seem to last long as someone shows up outside your cabin door. the knock is softer than normal, a specific rhythm playing.

  you let out a sigh and open the door.. only to find osamu on the other side. truthfully, it had been forever since you'd seen him. and even now, with the baseball cap he dons, he looks eerily similar to atsumu. for a moment, part of you wondered if it was atsumu, hoping that he'd let up the act and apologize. however, the silver tuft of hair escaping his hat brought you back to reality. 

  "hey, long time no see..." osamu tries to give you a quick smile, "we're having karaage as the main dish but i remember you had some food sensitivities, so there are other options. just telling everyone who may not be able to eat it."

  internally, as soon as the words 'i remember' leave his lips, you want to scream. because for some reason, osamu miya, a man you barely knew, could remember your dietary restrictions. yet atsumu had messed with you every summer at camp and he suddenly forgets who you are. "uh- thanks miya. i really appreciate you and the other cooks taking care of dietary matters. which by the way, i can't wait to taste your cooking," you give him a smile, heel lightly tapping the ground. 

  "you can just call me osamu, easier when it comes to siblings.. speaking of which, i also have an itinerary for more specific events. as you and atsumu are caring for the older campers, you'll be having most of your events together. like tomorrow being a scary bonfire night," osamu dishes through the binder he was holding, grabbing out a piece of paper and handing it over to you.

  you quickly search over the whole page, looking at every time that had both yours and atsumu's names. which seems to be most of them, seemingly cursing you into a week of uncomfortable situations, "thanks.. again osamu. i'm sure the kids will love it. well, i believe i need to get down to the front of the camp for seeing them in, but it was nice to see you again."

  "you too, i'm sure you guys will have lots of fun this summer," osamu gives you a little nod, turning around to find the next person he needed to talk to. 

  a sigh escapes you as he walks away, realizing that when you applied for this camp, it wasn't necessarily for a hang out with your mortal enemy. however, the schedule that mr. kurosu set up doesn’t give you much time to fully grasp the sheer amount you’ll be seeing him.

  instead, you take in a deep breath and close the door to your cabin, walking down the path to meet your campers. the wooded areas still seem so beautiful. the way it helps separate the sections while still making sure that everyone can see each other. most of the understory is gone to help achieve this look, a few bits of moss and flowers still there. 

  as you make your way further down the path, you can see every cabin that you loved growing up in. each cabin, although similar on the outside, all had their own unique parts on the inside. however, atsumu’s was always right by yours, chucking rocks at the window. another thing that atsumu seemed to have ruined for you, something in him always wanting to mess with you-

  “woah, sorry there!”

  someone bumps into you, his voice all too familiar, “i was checking the schedule and wasn’t looking..”

  his voice trails off as he looks over at you, lips closed into a thin line. of course, even walking down a path will be another cosmic force will bring the two of you together.

taglist: @lemurzsquad a/n: wrote half of this half asleep so hope it doesn’t read weirdly

[tetrakys]

Hey Tetra, so how is the beta? What do you think of the game so far?

Sorry anon, I know I've been silent here, every time I think I want to make a post I never have enough time to make it as detailed as I used to, but never mind I'm going to give my quick opinion and then write something more in depth later.

So, first of all, I agree with everyone that the way the AP system is at the moment is too expensive. We pay 2AP for line of dialogue and many APs for choices. We get more free APs than in the past with the daily login, so that's a plus, but the choices are way too costly, especially the very basic ones (here called neutral choices), I shouldn't have to spend 40 APs to say I want a cup of tea! All that being said, I'm not too worried about it because I know that Chino has already reported this issue to management, and while these decisions are not up to her I know she sees the player's perspective and will do everything she can to make our voices heard.

Now, AP system aside, there are some things I really love!

Firstly, the website looks amazing, in the end it was worth the wait. It works super smoothly, and it's very pretty to look at.

And the closet/shop part is really easy to navigate, it's pretty much like the Sims so I'm used to it.

Also, the millennial in me who can't afford to buy her own home is really into the room decoration feature

I also enjoy the minigames. One is just like the explorations in Eldarya, but with no pet to feed, so it's a win to me. The other is outfit contests, we receive a theme and we can dress up our Candy and enrol in it. I am TERRIBLE at it, but even if you don't make it top3 you still win some APs and diamonds just for participating. You can also win stuff just by voting in the contest.

Now, to the story. The first episode was mostly an introduction so nothing much really happens, we just meet 4 of the LIs. It was cute, the mechanic is a bit tricky because we can't see immediately if the LoM increases or not, we find out at the end of the episode, but it's not nearly as bad as in ML, so I can deal with it. It's also possible to understand if the LI liked the interaction from their reactions. I think I'm starting to understand their personalities so I hope I'll get the hang of it when the game releases. I'm going to make a separate post about my impressions on the LIs, but I'm quite happy so far.

Something else I want to mention before ending this is a final pro and cons.

Cons, I don't like the "fairy". It's MC's godfather which is a cool character, apparently he is Agatha's cousin, that's nice. But he only brings gifts to Taki which I really don't care about, my duck will remain naked as nature intended. Or, anyway, I won't spend APs on it. I'm gonna try hard to avoid this guy, also because we have a choice to make with him and we can't skip it once we run into him.

The pro is instead the VIP system. From what I've seen, it looks very convenient. We get extra APs and diamonds every day, especially the diamonds it's a really good amount, which we can then exchange for more APs or cumulate to buy extra scenes (which are longer scenes with the LI). We also get some extra perks like an outfit, skip button for the replays, and extra jokers, which are little useful features that can be used in game. We don't know yet how much the VIP subscription costs, but if they stuck to the same prices as other game companies, it shouldn't be more than 10-15$.

And you anon, did you play the beta? Let me guys know what you think. People seem to be happy about most things except the AP system.

[snootlestheangel]

SoapGhost Playlist Ft. My Autism

@thorougly-melted-brains @midnight193 *edit: just realized I should have put links for all the songs, but um... I did not so good luck cause I don't feel like it*

3 Things

This is entirely composed of Imagine Dragons. That's kinda the whole point of this. If you have nothing kind to say about my band of choice, say nothing at all. *Yes, I will still put 'by Imagine Dragons' after every song*

In order of which ones I believe are Most SoapGhost to least. Some songs are entirely because of vibes. I'll explain the best I can for some of them.

There will be mentions of some MW3 spoilers but I don't go into detail. It's more like the reason one of the songs is SoapGhost coded to me is because of MW3 but not like explicitly... That makes no sense, but you'll see (and NO I do not want to discuss MW3 or my opinion on it. My only opinion is it was cheap and who needs canon anyways)

West Coast by Imagine Dragons

Where do I even begin on this one??? The actual instrumental element to it reminds me heavily of like their time in Las Almas for some reason? Which kind of doesn't make sense, but oh well.

"One more day, we'll spend together/Lay your eyes, look upon me for the better/Oh I know, I'm worse for weather/But my love I won't give up/Spend my days, cursing my soul/Wishing I could paint my scars to make me whole/Oh I know, I could be better/But my love, I won't give up"

Like tell me this isn't Ghost addressing Soap upon realizing his love for him. Like tell me this isn't Ghost realizing how far he's fallen for Soap after everything that happened during and after the "Alone" mission!! And actually listening to the song helps so much cause like the melody and the way the words are sung is just so desperate yet so devoted and just *dies*.

"I ain't no superman/I ain't no holy ghost/I'm just the one that keeps you up at night, you love the most/I'll be your strong man/I'll be your west coast/I'll be the sun, I'll be the waves, I'll be the one that loves you most"

The refrain itself gives me goosebumps in like a happy upbeat way. The actual verses are so mellow and almost sorrowful but the refrain is something so upbeat, almost. It's like it's actually Ghost realizing how far he's willing to go for Soap and he's just confessing it with such confidence because he needs to. He loves Soap and Soap deserves something strong.

"I'll change my ways, if you would stay/And all your tears that you have cried will go away/Oh just grant me one more day/Oh, my love, please don't give up"

Soap addressing Ghost this time. Soap believing he's too confident, too cocky, too bold, too much for Ghost. "I'll change my ways if you would stay" literally screams Soap with confidence issues wanting nothing more than to be with Ghost, but so afraid Ghost doesn't want him. Soap seeing all the pain Ghost has been through in his life and just wanting to heal it, wanting to make Ghost whole again, and wanting to help Simon find reasons to smile. Soap begging for time to prove to Ghost he's worth it (either Soap proving himself to Ghost or proving to Ghost that Ghost is worthy)

"See the devil at my door/I see the future of the ones that I've ignored/I guess I was born to be at war/But my love, I won't give up"

Once again back to Ghost addressing Soap. This is such a strong Ghost verse I cannot explain it to you. "I guess I was born to be at war" literally Ghost-coded?? Like literally grew up with an abusive father and struggled with all sorts of shit in his life, even without the military??? But now he's got Soap so he can't give up.

"So my love please don't give up"

Literally both of them, just desperately begging the other to hang on, to keep fighting and loving each other to the ends of the earth.

Just one of the most SoapGhost coded songs I have in any of my playlists, literally listened to it on repeat after hearing it for the first time cause the first time i heard it was back in February when I first fell victim to the COD brainrot. It just immediately struck me as SoapGhost (was definitely influenced by the fact I was thinking of them but still)

Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons

"I'm bleeding out/So if the last thing that I do / is bring you down, I'll bleed out for you/So I bare my skin and I count my sins and I close my eyes and I take it in/I'm bleeding out/I'm bleeding out for you."

BRUH literally so Ghost-coded it isn't even funny. Like, Ghost being made up of so many scars, some of which still feel like open wounds in his mind, finding this thing of perfection that is Johnny "Soap" MacTavish and suddenly realizing that if he's gonna die it might as well be for Johnny. Ghost not wanting to drag Johnny down into the mess that he is and that comes with 'Ghost' and being like "I'd rather bleed out on the ground than bring you to ruin"

"When the day has come/That I've lost my way around/And the seasons stop, and hide beneath the ground/When the sky turns grey, and everything is screaming/I will reach inside, just to find my heart is beating"

This section is a lot more about vibes and the idea I've been playing around with making a SoapGhost fic where it's based on this song. This segment is so "Ghost falling deep into the dark side of this persona he's created but then remembering the life Johnny gave back to him"

"Oh you tell me to hold on/Oh you tell me to hold on/But innocence is gone/And what was right is wrong"

Um... just realizing this is very much the "Alone" mission after Graves's betrayal and honestly? Kind of MW3 coded ngl...

"When the hour is nigh/And hopelessness is sinking in/When the wolves all cry, to fill the night with hollering/When your eyes are red, and emptiness is all you know/With the darkness fed, I will be your scarecrow"

Tell me this isn't SoapGhost!!!! Just this whole song is actually secretly the way Ghost reveals he's an amateur poet cause he writes this as his declaration of love rather than be fucking normal.

Follow You by Imagine Dragons

More or less about vibes. Some of the lyrics definitely Soap addressing Ghost coded.

"I'm always on your team/I got your back, all right"

Like tell me this isn't Johnny "You know it, Lt." MacTavish addressing Simon "You with me, Johnny?" Riley.

"If the world would only know what you've been holding back/Heart attacks every night/Oh you know it's not right"

Somehow very much the two of them but I can't tell who is addressing whom here... Somehow kind of feel like Ghost being like "I get to fuck John "Soap" MacTavish everyone else go home". I genuinely don't know how to describe the feeling behind this particular line but it's so SoapGhost coded.

"I will follow you way down, wherever you may go/I'll follow you way down to your deepest lows/I'll always be around, wherever life takes you/You know I'll follow you"

Guys... Like this is so SoapGhost. Just both being like "I'd follow you to hell and back" but in a much less cliche way.

"You're only disappointed in yourself, all right"

This is someone, maybe not necessarily Ghost, addressing Soap and his chronic self-esteem issues.

"I wish that I could fix it, I could fix it for you"

Soap to Ghost talking about Ghost's shitty life. Tell me I'm wrong I dare you.

Walking the Wire by Imagine Dragons

"Do you feel the same when I'm away from you?/Do you know the line that I'd walk for you?/We could turn around or we could give it up/But we'll take what comes, take what comes/Oh the storm is raging against us now/If you're afraid of falling then don't look down/But we took the step or we took the leap/And we'll take what comes, take what comes/Feel the wind in your hair/Feel the rush way up here"

*strangled noises* I know this is by far their most like "love song" song but like!!!!!!! "Do you know the line that I'd walk for you?" Um Ghost and Soap both risking their careers cause it's a Sergeant and a Lieutenant (at least Soap cause let's be honest, with Ghost being legally dead it'd probably be pretty hard to actually do something to his career without un-killing him).

"We could turn around or we could give it up" screams the two just being like "well if we don't wanna risk it we could just...not?"

"but we'll take what comes" literally kills me because they're so in love and Soap especially doesn't give a shit about what that does to his career, he just wants to love Simon :')

"Oh the storm is raging against us now" Could be the aftermath of getting caught fraternizing OR the two during the "Alone" mission and anything afterwards.

"If you're afraid of falling then don't look down" so many interpretations here but also the quite literal one which is Ghost sniping Hassan and saving Soap :)

"We're walking the wire, love"

Ghost to Soap during times they could easily get caught

"And there's tears we'll cry but those tears will fade/It's the price we pay when it comes to love"

So strongly believe this is just them being like "we'll go through so much together, but that doesn't matter cause we've got each other" Literally just such a beautiful line in my opinion and yeah

The River by Imagine Dragons

Have no argument for this one other than Vibes and the fact I (somehow) first listened to this song the day I learned about the MW3 spoilers so uh yeah. If you know, you know and uh good luck!

I might do a part 2 someday. I don't feel like going through any more songs tonight but this was definitely fun being able to put down my thoughts behind these songs in particular. I need to spread the brain rot!!!

[chaifootsteps]

I have so many conflicting ideas about Hazbin/Helluva, where I can't ever join the hate watching crowd because I still, to an extent, enjoy the show if only for its potential. The most recent music video kind of cemented this for me, because... I really liked it. I don't want to feel bad for liking it, because that's silly and separating art from the artist is indeed a thing, but knowing what goes on behind the scenes... it's a bit tricky to reconcile with.

Stolas' songs (You'll be Okay, Owl in a Cage, Look my Way - even though that last one wasn't written by Sam Haft) have always been my favourites, and if I'm being frank, the only ones I've liked. I really like his character design too. Even now I'm uncertain about admitting that because so many people who send in asks to you rag on about how ugly Viv's character designs are, and while I do think they're confusing and impractical I have never considered them "ugly". Maybe I'm writing this so if anyone else feels this way they don't feel so alone? Not being a part of any sort of crowd is a bit of a terrifying place, even if it is ultimately a good thing.

I have ideas for possible Helluva and Hazbin fanworks but I'm scared to do anything about them because, with the creepy adolesent mob mentality the fandom seems to have, I'm afraid I would look as though I'm promoting the show, when I really just got inspired by, again, the potential. I don't want to write out a whole long explanation (that no-one will read) detailing my thoughts on the series and Viv because I might get taken the wrong way, and saying zilch and staying silent seems like the best option and yet also just as poor of a choice.

On a final note, and this is just whishful thinking of a better universe, but I think Hazbin and Helluva would have been a lot more successful and potentially less controversial if it had done the same thing as Daria Cohen, where each "episode" was a music video (because I honestly got more whole enjoyment out of the Look My Way animation than I have out of like, the whole of Season 2), and the whole entire thing could have been told through song (allowing for the more abstract imagery that Viv seems to have a better grasp of while also keeping the projects possibly more manageable). Obviously this would demote it purely to a passion project because she wouldn't be making nearly as much money off of it... which, when you think about it, is probably a good thing anyway.

Sorry for the length!

You don't have to apologize for a thing, Anon! As long as you're not giving her money or making weird excuses for Vivzie herself or named DaniDraws, there's no wrong way to love HH/HB. It's why for every ask I get trashing the designs, two more want to hug these characters close and steal them. We've got people here who hate it all and think it's always been a port-o-toilet fire full of ugly characters, but plenty who genuinely love it -- and I think as more of the fandom sadly hang their heads and come over to the critical side, that number's only going to increase.

Seconding the Daria Cohen bit. I don't know that it would have saved the show in the long run from its biggest problem, which is Viv's cruelty and ego, but a more Vampair or Mystery Skulls Animated-esque setup where each episode is a music video would have played to Viv's strengths and masked her weaknesses.

[lpsluvblr]

I know I said I would send in those Hazbinverse stuff but now I am in wild Vinnie x Esteban (uhhh Estennie?) mood so I want to talk about them a bit.

I said it a few times but I don't think I ever went into detail how exactly I see their dynamic and it's very unique for my Vinnie because Esteban is the only one he has a sorta enemies-to-lovers dynamic and you probably remember that I hate this dynamic normally. Not here though, but honestly it's not even exactly enemies to lovers or rather it's only that from Vinnie's perspective.

The way I think of them in human au is everything happened like it happened in the episode: they all met Esteban and he told a bunch of lies about himself to be praised and adored, Vinnie was the only one who thought of checking if it was true since his legend apparently went viral (I don't know in what world Vinnie of all people would be the only one to think to check that but that's what happened in the episode so that is also what happens here), he got pissed when he realized that Esteban lied to his friends (that damn hypocrite) but then Esteban did something that helped his friends and so Vinnie decided not to reveal the truth (but I'll be honest, I have no idea what that something could be in human au, I mean they couldn't get trampled by humans cause well, they are humans etc).

So from then they went like that for a while but then at one point Vinnie realized that no, actually he was not fine with Esteban lying to his friends at all, how dare he! But... he had already promised he wouldn't say anything and we both know how seriously he takes keeping promises/secrets. So now we have Vinnie that with every day gets more and more pissed at Esteban but can't say anything and Esteban who thinks they are cool and even more cause holy crap it was so nice of Vinnie to spare his pride so he has even bigger fondness for him. Because of that he starts hanging out and talking with all of them, especially with Vinnie, more and more often.

The result is that Vinnie is super passive-agressive, grumpy, sarcastic and uses a lot of irony with him. On one hand he genuinely likes Esteban and wants to keep up this image but on the other he is still angry at him. It's even funnier if we give them a crush on each other cause Esteban I imagine would remain the same yet trying out some flirting and being more touchy here and there. While Vinnie is just >>>>:( cause he kinda likes it and he hates it. As for everyone else? They are just really confused cause Vinnie does not act like that around anyone else, sure he can get a bit mad or grumpy sometimes, but this is connected to his mood, not to a specific person. Well, normally it is because in this and only this case it is connected to Esteban and they're even more confused since as I said Vinnie used to be completely normal and even really friendly with him but then suddenly started getting all riled up as soon as Esteban as little as shows up.

Bonus though: at one point Esteban just casually drops that whole bomb of his heroic stories being a lie because he started feeling really guilty and has known them all long enough that he believes they will still like him even with knowing the truth and Vinnie thought he was gonna explode once that happened. Before anyone else could even say anything Vinnie snapped his neck towards him and yellled "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME???! i HAVE BEEN FIGTING DEMONS FOR MONTHS NOT TO REVEAL YOUR DAMN LIES AND NOW YOU'RE JUST SAYING IT ALL SO CASUALLY? THE FUCK WAS ALL MY EFFORT FOR THEN?!" and queue everyone else being even more confused while Vinnie is still screaming away at Esteban and shaking him like

Yipee!

That ending made me laugh so hard and now he’s dead and Vinnie can know peace.. just kidding lol

I love the fact that Vinnie still keeps his word to not say anything because he’d rather let his friends believe this guy and make a new friend than rob him of that chance In general.

Also I feel like the only reason Vinnie checked was because he was the only one who thought this guy was too much and Russell got him into the habit of double checking his facts after being wrong about so many things so he’s just like “fine I will” I also think maybe it could be Vinnie just being nosey and trying to figure out more about this guy and what he’s really like and when some people meet someone new they tend to search for their internet profiles and such so maybe something like that?

In conclusion for now Vinnie is a great friend and Esteban is fine.

I also would like to imagine that Esteban is working hard on not lying or stretching the truth so when Vinnie catches him doing it he hits him in the back of the head.

[guccifloralsuits]

You can't leave us hanging after mentioning the insane work drama thing. Tell me the details 😭 I am nosy af

Buckle up!

The long of it is I roomed with one of our senior leadership members—let’s call her Katie—during DNC who told me our boss has a running list of who she wants to keep on the job after the election vs who our boss wants to leave (including where everyone falls on that list).

Note: Katie does NOT tell me that my boss & her #2 drink on the job, but Katie does tell a different co-worker this on Monday.

Both are old rumors at this point that were started by Katie and that no one takes seriously. The drinking one is straight up a lie and we all know it, but Katie is #3 in the office & our superior so we just kinda roll our eyes and get on with our day. The only new ‘information’ I got was the specifics of where every co-worker apparently falls on that list.

Another one of my coworkers (let’s call her Erin) asks me during the last day of DNC what Katie gossiped to me about, and I tell her. She asks me where Katie says Erin is on our boss’s ‘list’ and I tell her the truth—that Katie said she’s one of the people our boss wants to let go of. I tell her I’m sorry, and that Katie could just be lying (as she’s known to do).

Turns out: Erin hates Katie and was looking for amo to go to our boss to that isn’t just her-word-against-Erin’s. She goes to our boss (giving me no heads up she’s about to list me as the Capitol S Source of information) about what Katie said but embellishing her words to make it seem even worse. I get blindsided by my boss calling me in for a meeting, asking if what Erin said is true (that Katie told me about a list & that she + #2 “drink vodka from a flask at work”). I say yes, because details aside it ultimately it is.

I’m pissed off Erin used me for her vendetta against Katie and didn’t have the decency to give me a semblance of a heads up about what was about to happen. Especially when literally everyone in the office has been exposed to Katie’s gossip/rumors—and the drinking on the job thing WASN’T told to me over DNC (though Katie has said a watered down version of it to me a long time ago, which is why I backed Erin despite this). My other coworker—the one who Katie said the drinking thing to Monday—is also mad bc she’s now prob going to get pulled into this, and Katie is her direct-report.

My boss calls a full team meeting addressing both rumors and calling bullshit—which, good for her.

Katie is on PTO for next week, and my boss has to figure out what to do by the Monday she gets back. I genuinely feel awful for my boss—bc Katie has been with the firm for YEARS, and was her #3, and to learn she’s been saying these things behind her back must be devastating (and I will say: we’re not even scratching the surface yet of other lies/toxic gossip Katie has said). To complicate further: Katie works with most of the highest-paying and highest profile clients at our office, who love her and might leave if she left.

While I do think Katie made her own bed, I also fucking hate work drama and have never been involved in it. So I’m not exactly thrilled I’ve been forced into a being a Key Witness™️ against my will for this shit show.

We’ll see how it turns out when Katie gets back next Monday.

[goldentigerfestival]

Since I'd been talking a lot about JP Vesperia (primarily Yuri and Flynn and the heavy changes that surround them, and because I'm highly passionate about them in their original context), I wanted to compile some more jarring if not outright glaring mistakes in the localization (or what were likely intentional changes, because I can't look at some of these and just call them "mistakes"). I'm not going to mention every little change throughout the game, so smaller things I'll mostly be leaving out (namely things that don't really affect characters or context). I primarily just wanted to give some insight on some of the bigger parts.

Some of the changes seem to have been mistakes in translation itself (not just localization, but misunderstanding what was being said in general; such as, there's an instance I mention of that between Patty and Don), so I've got some mentions hanging around for clarity purposes as some scenes didn't make much sense, likely because of this.

Vocal tone with Yuri was the most prominent issue that got me making this, and the context that was changed being right after if not equally next to that (most often also with Yuri but also Flynn).

This is something that has been bothering me for a while and I've been wanting to share this stuff with people interested in seeing the game with its original context. Generally speaking, the plot and story themselves are on point. The majority of the differences surround Yuri and Flynn respectively, so there's going to be a lot of mention of them throughout.

I've also posted video clips of my favorite scenes and the heavy changes, so consider those a supplement to this and vice versa.

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

(Other) GTF Favorites.

I'd like to preface this by mentioning the chief director and producer of the game itself has also spoken about localization inaccuracy issues, so that's something to keep in mind (it's in Japanese, but you should be able to use the offered post translator).

I'd also like to preface this by mentioning that in the original, Yuri is more playful and relaxed/casual (generally but including with Flynn, which the dub pretty much entirely changed until arc 3), but also gentler and softer. He has a very large variety of tonal behaviors/tonal "moods" that were pretty much nuked from the dub.

Basically, to get the full experience for Yuri, I can only really recommend playing the game in JP audio. Obviously you won't get the actual context because all you'll have is the dub context, but that's also partly why I'm making these posts - to cover the contextual changes while the video clips cover some of the tonal changes (because lbh I don't expect anyone to actually go watch the entire game in JP with subtitles unless you're as insanely dedicated as I am, and I'm largely doing it out of my love for the original Yuri and Flynn and my disdain for how the localization treated them).

As a heads up, there won't be many skits in here because I'm going through a specific YT playthrough for these screenshots. Specific skits won't always come up in the playthrough in question, and I can't find a whole list of skits in JP anywhere online. I don't have all skits unlocked in my own save either yet (you can unlock all skits with Grade which I have yet to do in the DE), so I can't use that to compare all skits right now.

There are plenty of small changes here and there that I won't be including in these posts because there are some sentence changes that aren't impactful but do exist. I just don't want to be here for a year covering the random changes that don't matter much. I'm also not going to include details of a lot of honorifics because I'd be here all day, but there is one one major instance that I mention later on.

For reference if anything wants to actually watch the game in JP with the subs (it goes until just after Hypionia), most of the references come from here. Since in some cases the subber just reused localized text even when the context wasn't the same, I did bring some of those up in these posts too. These were subbed before the DE version came out. I used screenshots with subs where possible to make it easier to follow along.

I have a lot of passion for JP Yuri and I hope I can pass on some of that passion to others. 🙏

Apologies in advance if some of these sound cranky. If I sound cranky about some specific changes, it's probably because I am.

---

Since I talked about the whole, Raven being shady and Yuri therefore not being grateful to him incident that the localization for some reason butchered and made Yuri sound like a generally ungrateful or just outright dumb person who doesn't understand gratitude, I'll summarize that one again here:

Yuri has a skit with Estelle originally talking about how he can't find himself being grateful to someone like Raven for showing him how to sneak out of the castle. Basically, Raven is shady and he's not sure he should be grateful to someone like that, and is confused as to why Estelle would be so grateful when she doesn't even know him (because in his mind, he isn't sure he wants to trust a guy with those vibes). The dub just kinda... makes him sound like an ungrateful jerk and not so much because he's not sure he wants to trust Raven. It doesn't really sound like it's an issue of his with Raven specifically but more that he just generally doesn't feel grateful for the aid (and that in general one shouldn't feel grateful for aid like this), which gives off a really wrong impression of him that doesn't hold up throughout the game. Yuri wasn't wholly ungrateful for the gesture itself, but because of who it came from (and I imagine a weird peppy guy in jail is good cause to be skeptical).

We start off we a classic "Yuri, you idiot!" that was changed to "come on already!".

Yuri's response to Estelle mentioning he'd been in the knights doesn't actually give a time frame for how long he'd been there (the dub made up three months, but there was never originally even a time frame given).

Here when Yuri asks Estelle why she can't just leave, her response indicates she actually does know why. The dub made it more ambiguous, which could be easily misinterpreted as she really doesn't know, so I'm dropping this one here.

For some reason the localization seemed to have Estelle responding to Karol directly about the ace always performing their attack last ("I don't think so"). What she was referring to was the tiny monster that walked by, asking for confirmation that that monster was not the eggbear they were looking for (I wasn't gonna fight with the video to get a better screenshot without the annoying YT red bar in the way so the monster is in the corner mid-movement lol). Not sure if that was a genuine mistake, but it was an odd one.

(Also, side note and not putting an image here because it's more general, but Yuri refers to Karol as "Karol-sensei" which was translated in the localization to "Captain Karol". Basically, Yuri calls him "sensei" because that's a teacher/professor, and he's making a play on Karol's knowledge and being their "teacher" about monsters/maps/etc.)

I'd say this is more along the lines of overexaggerating and not overreacting, but this line was literally changed to "haha" in the dub. The whole point wasn't that Yuri just brushed her comment off or found it funny. At this point he still literally thinks she's exaggerating about her lack of knowledge out in the world, her excitement, etc.

Not the only instance you'll find of the dub just changing entire sentences to something meaningless as if they ??? didn't know what it meant (they actually changed Patty saying an entire sentence to "aye"). In some cases they added entire sentences that weren't even there...

Even though I can kind of see where they went with the dub here, the point was supposed to be that Flynn actively thought he would be happy for Yuri to go outside the barrier and see the world.

The dub changed this to Flynn saying that he, in the now, is happy that Yuri is outside the barrier, but then says he got a little less happy when he saw the wanted poster, indicating he was previously happy but got less happy, yet says in that moment that he is happy.

It's a weird case of (past/present) tense usage for the most part, but they also removed the fact that Flynn is literally saying "I thought I would be happy" (thus expressing he'd been wanting Yuri to see the world outside the barrier and would've been happy to find out he did). The reason he's not finding himself happy is because of the wanted poster and the crimes listed on it, following up that his honest happiness for Yuri (ultimately because of the poster) was a lie.

This also means they removed Flynn expressing the honesty of his happiness for a positive concept for Yuri, which, given all the changes toward Flynn in the dub, already now takes away from the fact that he'd been actively hoping for good things for someone and we're left with this more sarcastic take on him being "happy".

Obviously his happiness wasn't really a lie because most of the crimes were falsified (primarily the ones that would make him actually mad, because Flynn has had to have been aware this whole time that Yuri has committed small time crimes for the past few years now), but at the time, the focus on this conversation is that Flynn thought he'd be happy at a time that Yuri left the barrier; meaning he'd been hoping for it prior to it happening.

I'm also mentioning it because it's the very first in a whole line of changes the dub made to their relationship (and it's their first in game interaction ffs) and to Flynn himself as he's perceived as a character. The original is much more expressive of how important they are to each other in a lot of various ways.

Inserting the JP audio version of the following scene with Flynn here.

And... the following one from there.

This was changed to "damn, we if lose our balance...". I know they did it because Yuri had just fallen over, but I'm including this one because the context isn't... really the same thing?

This dub change is a bit odd to me. They had him saying something along the lines of "she is a princess after all" in the dub, regarding the council backing her.

The original context is more like, the council is backing her and he's hearing it directly from Ioder and he probably doubts Ioder would lie like that or about that, cementing that yes, she truly is, like he suspected, a princess, but it's almost still a bit odd to know. It's sort of like, he knew/had suspicions but hearing it directly from Ioder just confirms it for certain.

The dub just made it sound like well yeah, it's obvious they'd want to back her, she's a princess... but Ioder is a prince, so that doesn't explain why they're not backing him. She is a princess after all, so of course they'd back her... but what's stopping them from backing the prince?

Another weird one for me. In the dub Yuri says that "even the Commandant was a little in over his head", when he actually... really wasn't? All he did was step in. Things got bad enough that he had to, but he wasn't in over his head. Not sure how or why the dub ended up with that.

An example of the dub having a habit of just adding in random lines that didn't actually exist (and in this case the one added didn't even contextually make sense. This was no thank you from him, this was literally him making Yuri do something for him because he was going to ask Flynn for a favor and ended up with Yuri in the cell instead).

Another super weird one in the dub. They had Yuri saying Flynn was "too" late, implying he hadn't made it in time, but he did. He made it just before the battle started, but the original context only says he's late, not too late (which makes sense given that they were ready to fight but hadn't started yet).

This was changed to Yuri just mentioning there was one way they could get out of there without actually saying what it was, and Judith saying if he thinks it might work what's the harm in trying it out. Not sure why they changed Yuri literally telling her his plan, so... again, a super weird change that I don't get why they didn't just keep the context the way it was.

Third image was changed to "someone get me away from this psycho", which... I also don't get why they put that there unless they just wanted so much flavor text that they wanted to change the whole "they're in a fight and he's telling her not to come over here because he's pissed at her because they're fighting" part of the fake fight they had going on.

Not one I have a huge problem with, but definitely good examples of them going out of their way to change just... perfectly normal stuff that literally has no reason to be changed? Some of it is flavor text and some of it feels over the top for me. Stuff that makes me like... why would you change that when there was no reason to? Could be more of a personal pet peeve of mine, but I just don't like unnecessary changes when there was nothing wrong or odd about the original text and doesn't at all come off odd in English. Unfortunately Vesperia got littered with those.

I didn't feel like getting a whole video for this, but basically Judith gives a little laugh instead of just the more upset/distressed(?) sound she made in the dub. Feels more fitting imo to keep up the "lie" Yuri started for her. The dub makes it seem more like she feels guilty, versus here she's giving a little forced giggle to go along with it. Again, a change I'm not sure why they put in.

Ngl I get completely different vibes from these. The JP comes across more as concern, rather than... treating them like they're some mob on the loose...?

Once again, this gives off negative vibes toward Flynn as a character imo.

Here Judith gives more of a reason for coming with them, which they changed in the dub to "with the circumstances being what they are, this is just how things turned out". Reasonably, she didn't have to stick around after they ran from Dahngrest, but here she gives a quick "reason".

The dub changed this to "I'll bet he is". They were just told he's the current magistrate in Heliord, and all Yuri says here expresses he's letting it sink in and realizing exactly why all this is happening here. It's not a huge story beat or anything that gets changed, but it's an example of changing things that don't need to be changed as if trying to play things up in a way that... doesn't feel necessary to me? In this case the situation is kind of dawning on Yuri as he realizes how bad this situation could be/why it's like it is, but in the dub it comes across as more just unimpressed and "of course he'd do that".

An unfortunate, classic moment of them changing how much Yuri believes in and trusts Flynn. They changed this to "gotta run, Flynn!" and he just... leaves. I'm sorry but in what universe does "leave the rest to you" equal "gotta run"???

This one is one of those cases where the localization text was super awkward and wonky, and worse, they actually voiced it that way (like "we have guild's job to deal with". Yes, they actually voiced it that way too on top of everything else grammatically wonky with the entire conversation that they didn't bother fixing when the DE came out).

Also here, they changed what Yuri says about Cumore and Flynn. "I don't know how I could explain this to Flynn" doesn't, at least to me, carry the same weight as Yuri actually feeling ashamed (in the dub he says "what a shame", but does not express shame, versus him saying "how pathetic" and expressing shame in feeling pathetic) and saying he can't even face Flynn because Cumore got away. The thing is, Yuri does tend to posture, so when he fails at something, it hits him pretty hard.

And let's be honest, this just hits way harder than "he will get what he deserves".

Interestingly, Yuri could also fall into the category of viewing himself as sinful later on, which I talk about in my favorites post and the usage of "crime" and "sin" within the JP context.

Not particularly important, but just another (more mild) case and example of how the dub just randomly changed tone/mood/wording for no reason.

Another case of Yuri being more aggressive in the dub than he actually was. Here, all he says is just a plain statement. In the dub, he has an attitude about it and says it in a tone that's more insulting that Ioder didn't know about Heracles.

This isn't the only case of dub Yuri acting aggressively toward Ioder when he wasn't supposed to be and we'll get to that, but Ioder is another similar case of the dub making Yuri unnecessarily vocally rude (despite that Ioder is very polite toward Yuri).

(I left out the subtitles because all they did was copy the dub's localization, which kinda defeats the point of this post LOL. This will be the case going forward for any same circumstances.)

This one's a more interesting tidbit to me and less of a harmful change (i.e. I find that a lot of if not most changes relative to Flynn do more harm than good when compared with the original context). Basically it's saying "sweet mask and sharp eyes", implying Flynn's sweet face is a mask and saying it contrasts with his sharp eyes. I could get into a whole rant about why I love that in relation to some side material, but even in the game itself, there's the knight Flynn with his sweet, polite side and his real side that only shows when he's around Yuri (basically, who Flynn has to be for his job and who he actually is as a person, which he only gets to be around someone who knows the real him).

I'd guess this got changed in the dub because they weren't sure how to word it, though there's no mention of "heartthrob" here at all and instead actually says "sweet mask" as if, again, to say his sweetness is just a mask. It's actually a very interestingly accurate representation of his character - how he tends to not be himself when he's being "knight Flynn", and how that sweet face is contrasted by the look in his eyes (which they say, you know, eyes are the windows to the soul, so this would imply the sweet face is the mask and the eyes are the real Flynn. And of course, this Flynn is implied to show himself in his sparring with Yuri in Aurnion, where sword fighting is the best way to express himself. This isn't to say Flynn being a nice person in and of itself is a lie, but that his overly polite, respectful, kind knight side is a sweet mask contrasted to the man who loves to fight and has a sharp look in his eyes)

For now, we'll be back at Mantaic in the next post (due to image per post limit).