#i think option 2. for. um. the plot :]

[canon-gabriel-quotes]

Transcript:

No... How can this be?

Daddy’s favorite wine sippy cup...

Now I’m going to have to drink it out of the box like a fucking animal!

You’ve taken everything from me, Machine.

And now we’re going to get drunk together.

That’s right, the only way to repay me for your sins and the breaking of my favorite wine glass, is to finish off this box of wine with me!

And we’re going to have conversations that we think are deep only because we're drunk off our asses.

And by dawn's light, who knows, maybe enemies will be turned into…

EVEN STRONGER FUCKING ENEMIES I’M GOING TO KILL YOU.

Audio source

[danielnelsen]

huh i remember grymforge being really hard to navigate and really frustrating but it’s literally fine lmao. did everything except the actual forge today and that’s all i have left of act 1

[inkedells]

look at me a little more | dbf!joel miller x f!reader

A/N: first of all, SMUTTT so much smut up ahead. holy crap this is the longest thing i've ever written (pathetic, i know, blame the commitment issues) enjoy lovies!! also lmk if you want a part 2 maybe possibly!?

m!dni | requests open.

summary: dbf!neighbor!joel accidentally drenches you (virgin!reader) while washing his car and you can’t help but notice the way he eyes you up. it’s only once he’s in your bedroom, fixing your closet door as an apology, that you realize the best person to rid you of your virginity and teach you precisely how to please yourself and others had been right in front of you the whole time; it's getting joel on board with the whole idea that's the hard part.

word count: 5.5k

tags/warnings: SMUTTTT, virgin!reader, dbf!neighbor!joel faces moral conflicts (to fuck or not to fuck!?!?), porn with plot, sooo much tension, dirty talk, use of pet names, blowjobs, handjobs, cumplay, reader eats joel's cum, grinding, making out, oral sex, no!outbreak au, reader's innocent in the sense that she doesn't really know how to do a lot of things when it comes to sex but still has a ton of desires

masterlist

There was a certain shame that came with being infatuated with your dad’s best friend.

You were sitting around on the porch on a hot summer afternoon, wearing your shortest cotton shorts as you sipped the juice box brand you had loved since you were a little girl. Legs crossed, foot tapping the air, and most importantly, eyes absolutely trained on the ripple of Joel Miller’s biceps as he washed his car.

You didn’t know why you liked to stare at him so much. But you did know it was wrong. Immoral. Eyeing up someone in their forties? What was wrong with you? That was your dad’s best f—

“Hey, Mr. Miller!” You called over, shutting down every ounce of doubt in your mind.

He turned around without hesitation, and when he did, you waved. The first time you’d done that, he had to work a little harder to figure out the source of the voice, eyes searching in random directions before finally settling on you. But now, it was like he knew exactly where to look—And, well, that was all it took for you to decide you would be spending the next hour washing a car if it meant spending time with Joel.

So you settled your juice box down on the wooden floor of the porch and skipped over to his house. He must not have heard your footsteps behind him over the sound of the hose, so your simple tap on his shoulder resulted in him whipping around, hose in hand, as he consequently drenched you.

You yelped, breaking out into nervous laughter both from shock and how cold the water was. Joel fumbled to turn off the hose as he began profusely apologizing. “Jesus Christ, I’m so sorry—”

Then he properly saw you. From Joel’s perspective, your clothes were reduced to translucency, practically melting into your skin.

But you didn’t know that. You never fully grasped just how vulnerable you had become from his accident, so when you caught him averting his gaze as quickly as he could, you were a little confused.

“You—Uh—I,” Joel stumbled before clearing his throat, “There’s clothes. Inside. Sarah’s. You can, um, you can go and… y’know. Change into them. Walkin’ all the way back to your house doesn’t seem like a… viable… option.”

By then, a blush had already risen to your cheeks just from how delicately Joel was treating you. As if you were something he had to be careful with, like if he didn’t think long and hard about every word coming out of his mouth, there would be consequences. 

“Lead the way.”

Joel gave you a firm smile before swallowing the lump in his throat and motioning for you to follow him as he walked. Once he had the front door open, he let you go in first. Even as you carefully walked past him, you could feel his eyes staring at you.

“Up there,” Joel gestured, “Um, first door on the left. I’ll… be outside.”

As he explained, you subconsciously scanned over the planes of his body—probably a habit you picked up from the multiple weeks of watching him work. But then he was turning to leave, and you could tell he was still really tense. You didn’t know why a simple accident had him so tripped up, but you had the urge to alleviate his worry.

“Hey,” You called, arms wrapped around yourself in an effort to stave off the cold. He turned around, concerned until he saw your soft smile and relaxed a little, “On a scale of one to ten, how sick and tired are you of washing that truck?”

There was only one way to break Joel out of his nervous state; you had to make the situation lighthearted; you learned that from years of watching him hang out with your dad.

He searched your eyes for a beat, eyes completely unwavering, before muttering, “Like a fifty.”

You both breathed a laugh at that. For the briefest moment, you thought you noticed Joel’s gaze flitting to your chest. Your breath caught in your throat, but before you could do a double take, his eyes were glued to yours again.

“So then,” You started, regathering yourself and pushing away whatever your brain was conjuring up, “How do you feel about replacing one lousy chore with another?”

“What kinda chore we talkin’?”

“Well, my closet door’s all screwed up. And you know, instead of apologizing for soaking me by way of expensive concert tickets and a brand new car, like how I know you were planning on doing—”

“—Oh, of course,” Joel sarcastically remarked, playing along as you quickly noticed the worry on his face faded into a crooked grin.

“Well, I really think I can just settle for the closet door fix. Go ahead and save the brand new car for when you break my toaster.”

“Okay, okay,” Joel laughed, “I get it. Go change, then you can lead me to this broken closet door.”

-

Sarah’s clothes definitely belonged to a fourteen-year-old. Not your taste, but then again, if you were fourteen like her, you probably would’ve dressed like that too.

You couldn’t settle on a top, all of them were either too small or bore a graphic design too childish for you. You did find a pair of stretchier shorts that fit alright though, so you decided you’d just pick up one of Joel’s shirts from the pile of clean laundry you saw sitting atop the washing machine downstairs.

When you made it out the front door, the hose was away and his toolbox was resting on the ground by his feet. Joel was drying up his car with a cloth, and when he heard you hop down the steps and subsequently turned your way, you weren’t exactly expecting him to completely stumble at the sight of you in his shirt.

“Oh—You, uh, I thought you were gettin’ Sarah’s clothes?”

“I was, none of her tops fit so I grabbed one of yours from the laundry downstairs.” You absorbed Joel’s cryptic reaction and began to worry. “I’m sorry, Mr. Miller, I really should’ve asked—”

“—No, no, it’s fine. Really. Doesn't matter.”

Joel picked up his toolbox, then the both of you began walking over to your house. It wasn’t that far away at all, probably a couple of hundred feet at most, but he opted into small talk anyway.

“Um,” Joel began, “What’d you come over for in the first place? Didn’t really get a chance to ask ‘cause of this whole… debacle.”

You giggled at his old man vocabulary. Debacle.

“I wanted to help with your car, but looks like those plans got derailed.”

He breathed a polite laugh. “Yeah, well. Guess it turned out that way.”

Before an awkward silence could fall upon the both of you, your brain settled on something to bring up.

“Hey, my dad’s having that July 4th barbecue the day after tomorrow. You’re coming right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it, honey.”

Honey? Honey. Honey honey honey honey—

He cleared his throat. “Where is your dad, anyway?”

You were both standing on your porch now, Joel’s eyes raking you over as you fumbled with the front door.

“Um, I think he’s out working.”

“Great.”

Great?

Before you could ask him what he meant, Joel realized what he had said. “Wait, no, not great. I don’t—I don’t know why I said that. Sorry. I’m sorry.”

You pushed the door open. “Hey,” You brought a hand up to his chest and patted it, “You’ll give yourself a heart attack if you keep assuming all your mistakes are colossal and worthy of that much panic.”

His shoulders seemed to relax a little at that—you weren’t sure if it was your hand or your words that did it.

Eventually, you both found yourselves in your bedroom. You were sitting on the edge of your bed as you watched Joel work. Kneeling on one knee with a screwdriver in hand, he fumbled with one of the closet door’s hinges as he muttered little things to himself under his breath.

“Thanks for this, Mr. Miller.”

He turned to you, nodding as he seemed to process that he was in your bedroom. Your bedroom.

“So,” Joel began, as he dug through his toolbox, “Is your boyfriend visiting too? Or, y’know, girlfriend. Three months is a long ti—”

You softly smiled. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend.”

He turned to look at you again as he turned a screwdriver, this time scanning you over. “Hm, I don’t believe you. Sweet thing like you? Single?”

“Oh, stop,” You blushed, shooing him off.

Joel stood to his feet, dusting his hands off on his thighs. “All fixed. Next time you ne—”

“—I’ve never been in a relationship before. Actually.”

Joel stared at you for a moment before diverting his gaze to the ground. “I, um…”

“Sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. You don’t wanna know about my completely nonexistent dating history,” You lightly smacked your forehead, “Wait, it’s existent if we count the boy I dated for a week in fourth grade.”

Joel laughed, sitting down next to you on your bed. “It’s okay. I haven’t really dated anybody since Sarah’s mom, either. Long-term, anyways.”

“Yeah, well at least you’re not a virgin.”

Joel seemed to tense at that, and you immediately regretted saying it.

“Oh gosh,” You cringed, hands gripping your head, “I really just say anything, don’t I?”

Joel chuckled, head hung between his shoulders with his eyes squinted shut. You eventually laughed, too, simply because—and you realized it sounded stupid—Joel’s laughter was contagious.

“Alright, alright,” Joel beckoned, “Lemme be serious for a second. C’mere.”

You slumped down next to him, staring up at the ceiling before turning to make eye contact.

“That’s not something you have to worry about. You got time, honey, you’re in college. All that crap about late blooming isn’t real. It’s about whenever you’re ready, and whenever you find the right person to do it with.”

You smiled up at him softly. “Thanks, Mr. Miller.”

“Joel. Just Joel.”

You couldn’t bring yourself to look away from him. So you stayed like that, searching his eyes for something you didn’t have the courage to say out loud.

“Joel,” You echoed, repeating his name back to him, bottom lip caught between your teeth.

“I, uh…” Joel trailed off, his gaze flitting down to your lips. “I…” He tried again, but it went nowhere.

You exhaled, and almost immediately, his hands cupped your face as he leaned forward and pressed a soft, fleeting kiss to your lips.

It was warm, and gentle, and amazing, and you didn’t know if you could ever let him stop kissing you with how delightful the scruff of his beard felt against your skin.

He did break the kiss after a few seconds, though, and it left you breathless. “Joel…”

His muscles seemed to visibly tense as he mistook your speechless state for confusion. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why—”

“—No. No, I liked it,” You smiled softly at him, “I, um, you know. Wouldn’t mind if you kissed me… again.”

With reassurance that you weren’t absolutely appalled, his limbs relaxed. He leaned forward again until he was kissing you. Slow at first, languid. But then it turned fervent and desperate, breaths being exchanged into one another's mouths as lips slotted together like fingers intertwined—so perfect, as if they were biologically designed to do so.

It wasn’t long until he had your back flat against your bed, and you felt his growing hardness dig into your hip.

“Y’know what that is, don’t you?”

You nodded hesitantly.

“You know why it’s there?”

You shrugged.

He gripped the fabric of your—no, his—shirt as his voice rumbled, “You prancin’ around in my shirt did that.”

Without a second thought, you clumsily palmed him there through the thick fabric of his jeans and reveled in the consequential shuddering moan he let out

“Joel, I don’t… I don’t think I know what I’m doing.”

“That’s okay, honey, I’ll teach you.”

Propping himself up with his elbow, he placed his hand atop your own and guided the movements of your open palm. Things like pressing your hand further into him so as to increase the pressure between his legs, and encouraging back-and-forth motions that had his hips rutting and his breath hitching.

Once you got the hang of it, he removed his hand from your own. You felt his hand snake down your neck, then the side of your torso. 

“I trust you,” You whispered, fingers playing with the happy trail peaking Joel’s pants, hoping to absolve him of any guilt or doubt.

But the second Joel’s fingertips grazed the waistband of your shorts, he froze. He was staring off somewhere to the right, so you followed his gaze until you found what he was so disturbed by.

A framed photo on your nightstand, one of you standing next to your dad on vacation in Maui.

You understood immediately; that picture was an astute reminder of exactly who’s daughter Joel was about to debauch.

Your hand fell away from his crotch as he leaned back on his haunches and ran his hands through his hair with worried eyes.

“Joel?” You whispered, but then he was completely backing off of you as he muttered curses under his breath. “Hey, no, come back. What’s wrong?”

It was a dumb question. You knew what was wrong. Even though you were well beyond legal, it seemed to mean little in the situation—the facts were, if he touched you, it was betrayal.

“This is…” Joel panted, standing to his feet and raking his hands through his hair, “I shouldn’t have… Fuck. Fuck. I have to go.”

And just like that, he was gone.

-

That night, your lights stayed on and you didn’t close your curtains.

You stripped yourself of Joel’s shirt first, going excruciatingly slow in case Joel happened to be watching through his neighboring window. You occasionally shot glances at his window on the off chance that the window illuminated, but you quickly realized if the two of you made eye contact that wouldn’t be good either. You’d gotten all the way down to your underwear before you spotted his light flick on from the corner of your eye.

So you did the first thing that came to mind; You turned your back to your window. Panties halfway down your legs, torso bent with your knees straightened as you slowly shed your clothing. Hoping. Hoping for him to avert his attention ever so slightly and accidentally catch you like this. Hoping he would think of it every time he talked to you.

Without ever making eye contact, you would never know if Joel actually saw anything, and he would never know you hadn’t actually “forgotten” to close your curtains.

No pressure on either of you.

You went to sleep with a hand shoved down the front of your panties as you thought of all the things you wanted Joel to do to you.

-

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Jesus. What time was it? You stretched until sleep left you and opened your eyes as wide as you could (not very wide at all). From what you could gather, the sun was definitely up. You, however, did not have the willpower required to read off of your phone screen 5 seconds after waking up, so you answered the phone without reading the contact.

“Hello?” You groaned, voice gruff from sleep.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

You knew that voice anywhere. Almost immediately, you shot upright and cleared your throat as you rubbed your eyes. “Oh, hey Mr. Mill—uh, I mean, Joel,” You breathed a nervous laugh before remembering his question, “No. No, it’s okay I was like, basically awake already, um, so… what’s up? Why’d you—Why’d you call?”

“Right, so just to preface, I understand things are not... ideal... between us right now. But to be honest, you’re the only person available who I trust with this, and… let me just explain. I got called into work unexpectedly and Sarah’s gonna be home alone. Lately, she’s been getting into these rebellious fits, and I just don’t want to risk another situation where she sneaks out at night to meet up with her boyfriend again.”

“Sarah and rebellious fits? Really?”

“Yes, believe it or not. So do you think you could just hang around my place for, to be honest, a long while? It’s looking like I’m gonna be home really late tonight. Oh, and I can pay you.”

“Oh, shut up, you’re not paying me.”

Joel exhaled appreciatively through the phone. “Okay, well I’m home right now if you wanna come by and eat some breakfast. Least I could do. I gotta leave in like thirty minutes by the way, so. Take your time but also don’t take your time?”

You smiled, hoping he could hear it in your voice. “Yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

“Thanks, honey.”

Oh god. There it was again. You thought you might actually pass out, but you quickly turned off your racing brain enough to mutter a small “mhm” before abruptly hanging up.

Okay. Joel Miller. Your dad’s best friend, who was this close to absolving you of every ounce of innocence in your body… just asked you to watch his daughter. What could go wrong?

When you got to his house, he had left already (you definitely took too long in the shower). He did leave out a plate of food, though, along with the message, “Thanks again. Enjoy the pancakes,” scratched out on a post-it note.

And boy did it turn out to be a long day. Sarah wasn’t that much of a handful, she mostly took care of herself. The hard part was lunch.

You attempted to cook something for the two of you, but it only ended in disaster when you left the quiches in the oven for too long. Then you decided Penne a la Vodka couldn’t be that hard, and you couldn't be more wrong. A whole box of pasta was ruined because Sarah didn’t realize the pasta went in after the water boiled, not before. Eventually, you both just accepted defeat and ordered Panera Bread.

Later, Sarah popped into the living room to let you know she was going up to her room to take a nap, and you figured you’d do the same on the couch.

The last thing you read was the time on the cable box; 7:37.

-

Metal clanking. The turn of a key. The creaking of a door. The blaring siren of an alarm system.

“Jesus—Fuck. I thought I told her to turn off the alarm at 8.”

And Joel’s voice.

You jolted awake, blinking wide as you moved to sit upright on the couch. The time on the cable box was 11:50.

Soon, the alarm stopped, and not long after, Joel’s figure came into view. He was wearing a denim button-up with work pants and work boots.

“Hey,” Joel called, setting his things down next to the kitchen island.

“Hi,” You replied, “How was work?”

Joel gave you a polite smile before pulling open the refrigerator door to retrieve a beer. With his head still poked inside the fridge, he replied, “The usual.”

“Well, what was the usual li—”

“—Were you asleep?”

“Uh…" You cleared your throat in an effort to stall as you debated whether or not you would lie. "Yeah, I was. Sorry.”

Joel took a swig of his beer, staring at you from across the room for a minute before blurting out, “The usual is busy. Extremely busy and tedious. But, um, how was Sarah? Hope you weren’t asleep too long.”

“Nope,” You lied, “I Wasn’t asleep long at all. Sarah was great. We had a bit of trouble with lunch, but everything ended up fine.”

“Good. Good. Well you can head out now, thanks for taking care of her.”

No. You did not want to "head out." You rose to your feet. “Joel?”

He looked around as he swallowed his beer. “Uh, yeah?”

“I actually wanted to talk to you. About yesterday.”

He peered down at the ground, swishing around the bottle in his hand. “That’s—That’s okay, honey. I think it’s best we forget that happened.”

“What? But why?”

Joel crossed the room and sat down next to you, leaning back against the couch while you sat back down on the edge with your elbows resting on your knees.

“Come on,” He started, “Don’t act like you don’t know exactly why we’re… this… is impossible.”

“Joel, I—”

“—I’m sorry. You should get home now.”

You turned around to face him. “Joel. No one has to know.” 

“As I said, I’m sorry. I handled yesterday… terribly. There were a million different ways to go about that, and I somehow chose the worst one. But we don't work. We can't work.”

You felt your eyes begin to water, but you tried to push the feeling down.

“Hey, hey,” He lulled, the hardness of his attitude falling away as he noticed the sad shine in your eyes, “Don’t cry.” He pulled you against him, rubbing your shoulder firmly.

“Joel,” You mumbled in a small voice, sniffling against his denim shirt with a frown.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to justify what he was quickly realizing was inevitable. You were an adult, somebody else independent of your father. It was your choice who to get involved with, just like it was his. This was mutual.

He knew he would regret it later, but your innocence and desperation allured him to the point of no return.

“It’s late,” Joel began, voice gentle as he offered you one last out, “You should go home. You need sleep, you’re not thinking straight. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“No,” You replied, removing yourself from his body so you could look him in the eye. “I don’t want to leave. I want you to… I want you to do what you said you’d do.”

Knowing exactly what you were talking about, he redundantly asked in a whisper, “And what’s that?”

You wiped a stray tear as you clumsily moved to straddle his lap. Almost automatically, his hands found their way to your hips, his thumbs rubbing circles into the slivers of skin peeking between your cami tank top and the waistband of your shorts. But it seemed at some point his consciousness realized what he was doing because his hands suddenly dropped to his sides. And, well, you just wouldn’t have that, so you grabbed hold of his wrists and returned them to where they were settled on your hips before you rested your own hands on Joel’s chest.

“You remember, don’t you?” You shifted in his lap, “You said you’d teach me.”

“How to have sex.” He said it more like a confirmation rather than a question.

You blushed at his blatant use of the word. It was like every fifth thing coming out of his mouth was sending your brain spiraling. You cleared your throat. “Yeah. Yeah, sex. Blowjobs, orgasms, literal sex. All of it.”

Silence for a beat. “I have one condition,” Joel warned.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“The second I suspect your dad is onto us, that’s it. It’s over. No more messing around, none of it. I can’t lose my best friend.”

You nodded. You probably shouldn’t have agreed so easily, but you didn’t actually think you and Joel would ever get caught.

“Okay, then,” Joel whispered. “Good. What do you wanna do first? Start off easy.”

You looked around the room nervously, careful not to make eye contact as you spoke. “Like. I dunno. Maybe for right now, I could just… touch you. Touch it, I mean.”

Joel nodded, and when your breathing began to grow the slightest bit uneven from nervousness, he noticed and rubbed your upper arm reassuringly. “Hey. Relax. Climb down and sit right there on the ground between my legs, and I’ll show you where to start.”

And so you did. Joel peered down at you with heavy lids as he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, and thus began your first lesson.

“Unbuckle my pants.”

With shaky hands, you removed his belt and undid his fly. You couldn’t explain why, but as soon as you caught sight of the bulge in his boxers, your mouth watered.

“What…” You began, “What now?”

“Whatever feels comfortable.”

With a light, feathery touch, you delicately traced a singular finger along the outline of his cock. Joel shivered at the contact, hands shooting to grip the sofa. Touching it felt different this time, more intense because you could feel every ridge and vein; you blamed it on the much thinner fabric dividing your fingers and his cock.

Your breath shuddered before speaking, “Can I take it ou—”

“—Yes, God, yes.”

You hooked your fingers into the waistband of his boxers, pulling downwards until his cock sprang free. It was thick, long, and wet at the tip, and you found yourself instinctively leaning further into it.

“Okay,” Joel sighed shakily, “Now just form a circle with your fingers and stroke it.”

You did as Joel said, and when your fingers finally made contact with his cock, you sighed at how velvety the skin was there. Soft and smooth, except for the trimmed hair surrounding the base. You stroked him steadily, biting your lip as you watched the wetness leaking from his tip spread down his shaft.

“Twist at the tip, honey, twist at the—Yeah, just like that. So good, you’re doing so good.” You couldn’t help but smile when Joel tilted his head back from the pleasure of it all.

With Joel still reeling from the contact of your hand, you took his momentary refusal to look down at you as an opportunity to surprise him a little.

You leaned forward and kitten-licked his tip, and it had him finally making eye contact with you as he whispered, “Oh, do that again.”

And so you did, adoring the look of pleasure strewn across Joel’s face.

Joel offered you a quick, crooked grin. “How’s it feel?” He asked, brushing his thumb along your bottom lip as your tongue played with his tip.

You pulled away for a moment to respond, “How’s what feel?”

“Licking a man’s cock.”

You let the spit that had gathered in your mouth drip down onto his length. “I have the urge to do more with it.”

“Like what?”

“Like put it all the way in my mouth.”

And so kitten licks turned into long stripes up his shift, which turned into eager suckling on his tip, which turned into forcing his cock down as far as it could go without making you gag.

Joel’s hand gripped the back of your head, but he never pushed you down. Whenever you did accidentally end up gagging, he petted your hair, mumbling encouragements as best he could through the blinding pleasure. Things like, “Yeah, honey, doing so good. That’s it. Just a little more. Mhm.” And his affectionate nature, his gentleness, his reassuring words—he was exactly how you hoped he would be like. Not to mention, the general hotness of it all had your hips canting down against nothing, in desperate search of relief.

“M’close, sweetheart. Take it—Take it out.”

“I don’t wanna,” You replied in a hoarse voice as you jacked him off.

“You’re not ready for that, honey, just take it out. Take it out.”

You reluctantly complied, removing him from the tight heat of your mouth, drool dripping down your chin as you stroked him rapidly.

“Joel, I… I think I’m wet.”

He moaned a curse at that, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths as his orgasm approached him. “Jesus f-fuckin’… Tell me more.”

“I need you to touch it for me next time. Please. Maybe you could… Maybe you could put your mouth on it like how I put my mouth on you.”

“Yes, yes, oh fuck, I’m cumming, don’t stop stroking it,” Joel moaned, hot white spurts shooting up and all over your hand as you stroked him through it.

With his breathing still labored, he panted out in a high voice, “You’re lying. You’re f-fucking lying. Tell me the truth.”

“About what?”

“This isn’t—You’ve done this before. No way you made me cum this hard and it’s your first time.”

“Well,” You breathed a nervous laugh, “That’s flattering. But you’re my first. Trust me.”

When his orgasm fully subsided, Joel lay slumped against the sofa with his legs spread wide. You remained between them with your head resting on his thigh as you just stared at his cock. Took it all in, every curve, every vein, and inevitably, the cum that spurted itself over the surrounding area.

“What are you doing?” Joel chuckled, petting your hair as you smiled.

“I’m… I don’t know really. I just can’t stop looking at it.”

But then curiosity got the best of you, and you began to drag your fingers through the mess at his base. It caught Joel off-guard, his entire body stiffening as he watched you.

“What does it taste like?” You asked quietly as you examined the cum on your fingers. 

“Oh my god,” Joel groaned through his labored breathing, “I swear, if you do what I think you’re about to do, I’ll be hard again in five seconds.”

“I’ll take my chances,” You joked, bringing your finger to your mouth and licking it clean, ultimately wincing at the taste. “It’s like, bitter. And salty. And kinda sweet. But mostly bitter and salty. To be honest, it’s kinda nasty but I can see myself getting used to it.”

“Wow,” Joel sighed, “You just really know how to set the mood. Make things real romantic.”

“Oh, shut it,” You huffed, playfully swatting his thigh before getting up and plopping down next to him on the sofa as he got to work stuffing himself back into his pants despite the mess he made—that was a problem for future Joel. 

“Gonna miss you, little Joel,” You joked to his crotch.

“Oh my god, you’re the worst,” Joel chuckled painfully with his fists in his eyes. “I’m never letting you near ‘little Joel’ again.”

“Mm, no, because I just made you cum so hard you thought I was lying about being a virgin.”

He sighed at that. “You got me there.”

“I did, didn’t I?”

You both laughed at that; In fact, you both were laughing a lot. And at everything. In your head, you blamed it on the ecstatic high of being in each other’s presence this way.

When the mutual laughter died down, Joel looked at you for a moment, admiring you. Then, slow and hesitant as ever, he leaned in to kiss you.

“Do you taste it?” You whispered, breaking the kiss as you fought another giggle.

“Yes, actually. Wait, don’t say it please, this is actually a nice moment—”

“—Your cum!” You loud-whispered.

Another sigh. “My cum.”

You eagerly kissed him back after that, swearing off mood-breaking jokes for the rest of the night. Eventually, you even became too tired to kiss, simply letting your forehead rest against his. Your eyes fluttered shut as his hand snaked up your leg and inched under the leg of your shorts, using force to push your legs open wider.

“Need me to take care of this?” He asked into your mouth before letting his kisses travel down to your neck.

“Joel,” You breathed, breaths beginning to come out in rapid succession as your hips gyrated in response to how dangerously close Joel’s hand was to your pussy. “I… I’m tired.”

“Sweetheart, you don’t have to do a thing,” Joel breathed, removing his hand from beneath your shorts in order to pull down the waistband. “It’s a yes or no question. Just give me a yes or a no.”

Your breath hitched as you opened your eyes and stared at the little bit of empty space left between you and Joel. The throbbing between your legs was bad, but it was something about the delayed gratification of saving things for later that stopped you from saying yes. “No, I… I think that’s it for tonight.”

Joel withdrew his hand, reassuringly cracking a brief smile. “Hey, uh, spend the night. It’s way too late, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

You shrugged. “Yeah, but what about Sarah?” 

“I came home super late, you fell asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

You thought about it for a second before agreeing. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Thank you. But I’m taking the couch.”

“What? No—”

“—Joel. I’m taking the couch.”

He looked at you skeptically but then agreed. “If you change your mind just let me know.”

“I will. Goodnight.”

Joel squeezed your leg before getting up and making his way to the stairs. “Goodnight.”

masterlist

A/N: strikethrough means i can't tag you, check your settings

taglist:

@basicoccult @myhusband2cool @fleuraimer @chunguk @xkyxkyxxlylcylulucufifluclu @pintsizedsunshine @s1eepy-bear @daddysuperduperlonglegs @worhols @evyiione @criesside @saph-cyare

@gswizzsstuff @baloobalee @gessmiller05 @trynasurvivelol @yazsos @marchai @pompii @alyssa1216 @daddy-din @msmagix4 @blooming-bubs @huffle-punk @whorrorain @iliketoeatstrawberrypocky @onlineplant @totallynotastanacc @hiddenbabynyc @thedoctorofpoop @kamcrazy123 @afterglowsb-tch13

@redplaidedandcladed @simping-soldat @martyluvsu @mingiast @teddybonkers1960 @brittmb15 @ellswilliams @laurasunsole @senaar-ika @whore4ellie @harrysbitvh123 @atremises @silkiers @bbyanarchist @pawnshopbluess222 @https-hann @cassiesolos @xanqels @jawgrinder

@daylighthrry @victoriamay1357 @jeezkiddo @its-spooky-these-days @pedro-luvr @chibimosa @sagethephantom @loathsome-gargoyle @alejaa-a @greenclues @june-julie @spenciesprincess @donttamethebeasts @alec0 @djarinsimp 

[simpshaaaa]

Modern au where otaku Cale has to uno-taku himself and get a job so his siblings can take after him but unknowingly created a huge misunderstanding

So it started with kindergarten Cale, tiny little Cale looking up to Deruth with innocent eyes and empty brain

Deruth: You must study hard, so you can play hard later, ok?

Cale eyes twinkled: Ok dad

Cale studies hard and attends a lot of activities:

Deruth: You must get into good uni, ok?

Cale: Ok dad

Cale gets into good uni:

Deruth: Graduated with honours, ok?

Cale: Ok dad

Cale graduated with honours:

Deruth: Live your life to the fullest, ok?

Cale fisting the air: Ok dad

And so after graduated, he becomes an otaku. Finally, after working so hard he can finally do whatever he wants

And for 2 years he lives with his parents and siblings, stays in his room and plays video games, reads a lot of novels and slacks a lot, Cale felt like he has finally accomplished what his father wanted. And heck his siblings even inspired to become like him

Cale felt proud

However.

Bassen: When are you getting a job?

Cale: Hum???

Bassen worried for Cale: You always stay in your room..

Cale: Ermmm.. (what is this mood? Could it be due to my lack of activities causing Bassen to be uninspired???)

Bassen worried if his brother has become depressed:

Cale: I'll talk to dad (I HAVE TO WORK)

However after years of living in complete laziness, Cale opted for an easier solution to get a job

Cale: I want to work in your company dad

Deruth: ??? (DOES THAT MEAN HE WANTS TO BE THE HEAD OF THE COMPANY?! 🧐😱)

So Cale starts working as an office worker, making his way up as the assistant manager

Cale thinking to himself: ( Yes, now Bassen will be inspired to be like me and be the head of the company)

Bassen thinking to himself: (I didn't know Hyung wanted to be the head of the company. I'm so proud of him, he's working so hard and becoming like himself again :'D)

Everyone thinks because Cale works so hard, he enjoys working hard. But actually he works hard so he can play hard later

Anyway plot thickened with Alver rolling in as the manager

Alver taking one look at Cale and goes: Yeah this guy's an otaku

Cale: Holy fuuuu

So they become somewhat close???? And Cale then poured out his life plans to Alver because no one understands him like Alver understands him

Cale: I want to retire after my baby brother becomes the head of the company and then buys a house, and lives my fullest life as an otaku!

Alver nodding: Uh huh.. *looking behind Cale, co-workers staring at Cale with approving looks and whispering to each other ("He's going to be a great head company!" "He will flourish our company to its brilliance!" "Deruth's oldest son is so competent!") ...Uh huh, I see.......

At the family dinner, Alver was invited to dine with the Henituses

Deruth proudly compliments Cale's achievemens:

Bassen nodding with excitement:

Cale: Just an exaggeration, don't mind it Ver

Alver sweating inside: (No Cale, Deruth is about to retire and you won't Cale.....)

Later

Alver: Hey, um.. I think your dad is planning to put you as the company head..

Cale: Whaaa?? Why would he do that? Bassen is the much better option to pick than me

Alver: What??? No-

Cale: Aishh, don't joke around

Alver:

Anyway months later, unexpectedly (or was it???) Cale was appointed to be the head of the company

Cale: ALVER MY SLACKER PLAN IS RUINED!!! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!!!

Alver smiling at Cale: Just do what you usually do, Cale^^ Work hard

Cale: NOOOOOOO YOU JINXED IT AHHHHHH

[sunatsubu]

White Lotus theories!

Having a blast watching White Lotus season 3, especially as this is the first time I'm able to watch without knowing the ending. The first 2 seasons I was spoiled on pretty much everything before watching, so it's been fun having the chance to get to form my own theories this time. Here's just a few I'll ramble about, as I excitedly wait for today's new ep. Would love to hear others' thoughts/theories! Obviously spoiler warning for season 3.

This might just be wishful thinking, but I don't think the body is Belinda. Strongest evidence is that Zion's immediate reaction is to run away from it. With how determined he was to get to his mother, even going towards the gunshots instead of away from them, if it was her he'd instinctively want to check if she might still be alive. Also this is more speculative because of how out of focus the body is, but it kind of looks like a short-haired man in a white dress shirt.

Going off this first assumption that Belinda lives, I think Greg will get his comeuppance. If he survived, there's no way he'd let Belinda live since its clear he knows she knows who he is. I think he'll either die, or be exposed for his role in Tanya's death and arrested. I know White Lotus tends to not give justice to those who deserve it, but I do think it could make sense this time. Saxon however, being the douchiest douche and the one character I hate the most, I expect to survive, both physically and ego still fully intact. He'll be season 3's Shane.

Addressing the popular theory that the shooter might be Mook: Definitely not a fan of this theory, I don't think it's her. So far I haven't seen any actual evidence of her having any motive, and the main foundation for this theory seems to be, 'character seems super innocent, surely it must be a misdirect' which isn't much to go on. Especially since I feel like Mike White's been good about laying foundations for his plot twists, and never has them just for the sake of shock value.

It's going to be an interesting, possibly ironic fate for Piper if her dad ends up needing to stay in Thailand to avoid getting arrested, and his family stays with him, maybe because they might be implicated by association if they return to the US. This might seem like a silver lining for Piper since she wanted to stay anyway for her religious studies, but it would totally be in line with the irony of White Lotus themes that she ends up missing her privileged life, now that she doesn't have the option to go back to it. Almost the opposite of Quin from season 1 where we got to see the rich white kid have a happy ending staying with the locals, but the implication off screen is that he has the luxury to return to his privileged life once he'd done with his little paradise adventure.

More on the Ratliff kids - um. VERY incest-y vibes going on there lmao.

I think something huge is going to happen with Lochlan. He's going to have to make a choice that will have major consequences - if only because so far, we are shown constantly about his waffling between who to please. Switching between his brother and sister, being pressured to choose which parent's alma mater for college. We're even told straight up that he's a people pleaser during his posture correction session. I've seen the theory that the kids represent the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' monkeys, and this definitely seems to line up. Lochlan will witness or even be an active participant in some really crazy, evil act and have to make the choice whether to speak up about it or not. And he'll choose not to. I think because we've been shown so far how relatively harmless and innocent he is, that's going to change dramatically, and he's going to make that choice that will make the audience judge him. Based on his current trend of following Saxon's influence more, maybe he'll witness or be pressured into taking part in some pretty sketchy stuff with his brother. Knowing Saxon, it'll probably involve a woman getting hurt or killed, and Saxon will ask Lochlan to help cover it up.

I don't think the dad is the shooter, only because it's too obvious. The fact that we see him steal the gun at only the halfway point in the season right after that phone call about prison is too straightforward a motive too soon, which wouldn't follow the previous seasons' patterns at all.

The friend trio are probably the most interesting dynamic to me, and the most unpredictable. Probably because they are constantly switching 'alliances,' the power dynamic always seems to be shifting. I honestly have the least idea of what their ending is going to be like, though I don't think any of them will die. I think they will have some huge explosively dramatic event/confrontation like Ethan/Cameron (maybe not a physical fight, but at least a screaming match), but they will all survive the trip to have to deal with the social consequences post-series, knowing their friendship is forever changed with true feelings having been laid out into the open.

Some more minor observations: There's been a recurring thing in previous seasons with dissatisfied hotel managers, and them losing something because of it. Armond feuding with Shane, spurred on by his growing distaste in being expected to cater to guests' every whim. He ends up losing his life. Valentina is super repressed, then has her whirlwind night with Mia. But then kinda gets her heart broken a bit, thinking there might've been something more between them, only for Mia to imply it was just a fling. So in keeping with that trend, if Fabian gets a chance to perform I expect he's going to end up losing something soon after.

Probably an obvious thing, but pretty sure Valentin and his friends are the jewelry robbers. Absolutely felt intentional that he stopped under the gate so Gaitok couldn't close it. Even before that scene I thought there definitely seemed something off about him, tho I'm not sure why? Maybe I'm reading into it too much but his friendly demeanor and almost vacant-like stare felt like even more of a mask than the other hotel workers. Was also weird that he sent the friend trio to the retiree pool. I have a feeling maybe he and his friends plan to rob them. One of his friends even says 'let's make fun', which iirc season 2's Lucia had a very similar line. So that made me think they are the equivalent to Lucia and Mia, in that they are locals intending to scam the rich white tourists.

It stood out to me on my first rewatch, the contrasting reactions during Zion and Amrita's session, when they first hear the gunshots. The therapist is almost willfully oblivious to acknowledging there might be danger, trying to include Zion in it by telling him to ignore all outside sounds. But he's much more situationally aware of his surroundings, which he doesn't turn off even during a meditation session, despite the therapist urging him to ignore the outside world. He's the one who has to pull the therapist back to reality. And when that reality hits - gunshots shattering the window - she panics and flees whereas Zion keeps his cool. I dunno what exactly I mean to say with all this, but it just reminded me of some recent issues I've had with my last therapist. I'd express certain concerns, and her advice on how I deal with them felt really out of touch with reality, amounting to stuff like, just 'meditate it away' or something, as if real life problems can just be willed away so easily.

Chloe and Rick are...unexpectedly sweet. I hope nothing bad happens to them 🥲

[claryshifts]

Making American Horror Story DRs "Safe"

I'll update this with each season I watch! Most of this will focus on one of the "Evans" bc I know a lot of yall horny bastards wanna hop on him (real) Each section will have an "ultra safe" paragraph and a "safe as possible?" paragraph. idk -Murder House: Option One: The house isn't possessed or whatever you want to call it. Hell, you don't even have to live in it. Though Tate has problems with his mom (that adds a lot to his character, so I'd still 'keep that'), he's never had terrible thoughts of doing what he did at that school or any other gross things. I personally would still 'script out' the self-harm. Wouldn't want my partner to suffer that Option Two: If you still want that ghostly experience, then sure, by all means, live in the haunted house. but maybe cut out the satan part... Also script the ghosts don't have shitty timing (they don't bother you in the bathroom or when you're sleeping, for ex). If you want Tate as a ghost and not alive, still, don't date a ghost mass yknow what  😭  😭  BONUS: instead of tate, date violet 🥰🥰 -Asylum: Option One: You can live a nice quiet life with Kit. it's the 60s though, so if you're fem/poc/lgbt/etc, keep that in mind. whenever I go to a reality in the past I script I don't get bored without technology lol Option Two: have fun at the asylum, ig, boo. If you want some edgy lore, pls don't script you're a psycho killer or something omg 😭. Script none of the people in charge inflect punishments on you. If you really wanna get freaky in that musty place, script you don't get caught... and that its not all musty... -Coven: I got a lot to say bc I think Imma make a script for this too haha Option One: no scary demon devils or whatever. Uh, Kyle isn't treated like a sex object???? Nothing bad happens to Nan (she deserves better). If Kyle has to die (that sounds so weird to say) for your lore or whatever, don't purposely give him a traumatizing experience. this isn't a fan fic,, that's your REALITY. Honestly you could just script you're a silly little witch hanging out in New Orleans and call it a day. Madison isn't annoying af. No Axe Man. LaLaurie being Queenie's "slave" was deserved but maybe just script her 'out' altogether... Option Two: Okay, so you want the drama. Have the drama! Still no demon devils though cuz that does NOT sound fun. Script you and the people you care about are all safe from harm. If Kyle HAS to go through that terrible experience (I'm his biggest defender as you can tell), at least keep Madison and Zoe away or at bay bc seeing them fight over a guy who can't even say "food" and OBVIOUSLY can't verbally consent was so uncomfy, for me at least. -Freak Show: Option One: no scary clowns. The "freaks" aren't treated like shit. Neal Patrick Harris doesn't show up with his puppet??? No one is trying to make money off of the freaks. None of them are murdered or harmed. Option Two: Ig if you still want the plot they still have to be treated pretty shitty. Still would apply everything else though, as well as the fact nothing happens to you.

-Hotel: Option One: Ok look James March. Wonderful man. Make him NOT a serial killer omg. If you get with him I'm convinced a relationship with him would be straight up Morticia and Gomez uishfuihfjsf I want him so bad. Anyway, if he's your man keep the countess off your back, if you keep her there at all. I wouldn't recommend making yourself a ghost bc idk WTFFF that would mean for you spiritually. You could be sexy March's sexy human partner. Or the countess' partner. Anyone's partner. but alive. Um no 10 commandment killings of any sort, and no vampire children???

Option Two: ngl idk how else to put this?? idk if there should be an option 2 ;-;

Currently on Roanoke! this season is so boring I might not write anything for it

[greatwyrmgold]

are you gonna watch the Gnosia anime when it comes out?

Yes.

I feel like I shouldn't make a post that's just me saying "yes," so, um...I wonder how they're going to structure the anime.

For those who don't play Gnosia and have to infer its mechanics from the dozen-ish posts I've posted, it's basically a virtual game of Mafia/Werewolf with an overarching time-loop narrative.

In theory, you're trying to learn as much as you can about the other crew members by encountering them in a variety of situations created by the loops. In practice, you're really here because a virtual social deduction game sounds fun, and the snippets of lore and characterization are basically just icing on the cake.

But an anime where the main character does the same dance of trying to figure out who's Gnosia and who's a Bug and who's human without looking to suspicious, every single episode, with the story and character stuff layered on top? Would probably be boring and repetitive.

So the Gnosia anime needs to focus on the characters and overarching plot, find a way to put them at the center. But it still needs to preserve the time-loop social-deduction angle, both because that's core to the game's identity and because the plot doesn't really work without it. Removing the time loop element would mean not just removing the heart of the gameplay loop, but also destroying the whole conceit of the investigation and making its canon resolution impossible. I don't think I need to explain why that's not a real option.

And beyond the big-picture stuff, I'm also curious about the nuts and bolts. For instance, how many loops will they do per episode?

If we assume a typical one-cour season length, that's one episode for the tutorial loops and assorted introductions, then cram the entire story into eleven or twelve loops. By contrast, people trying to beat Gnosia in as few loops as possible usually take around a hundred, and the lowest I could find was seventy. Granted, it's unlikely that all of those loops had plot-critical events, and some of those events can be cut, but there are 82 notes to collect and it's hard to combine many of them, so I struggle to imagine how you'd cram all of that plus the endings into just a dozen loops.

If there are 2-3 loops per episode (after the first), then that's more reasonable; something like 35-50 loops total. But also, that would leave each loop with something like 7-12 minutes of screentime, and that's just absurdly fast, especially if you're trying to cram multiple events into each loop.

There are a few ways to resolve this problem, and none of them seem likely.

One would be completely reworking the plot, which invalidates some of my key assumptions, but I think I've explained why that seems unlikely.

Another option would be to trim down the cast; for all they add to the game, characters like Shigemichi and Comet and Chipie can be cut from the story without fundamentally changing it. But the anime key visuals imply the whole cast is going to be there, at least in the background, so we can rule that out.

Or they could simply make a bigger anime, with more or longer episodes. But they didn't do that for Medalist, which AFAICT is a much more popular IP.

One way they could sneak in a "bigger anime" plan would be to resolve part of the plot in season 1 and angle for another season or two to finish up the plot. The problem with that is that Gnosia's story lacks any mid-level structure.

There's structure to individual loops and events, and there's an overarching narrative and goal, but there's not much that needs to be analyzed in any specific order. Big spoiler-worthy reveals aren't uncovered through multiple loops of trial and error; they're discovered through being at the right place in the right timeline.

Moreover, while some of those reveals are more significant than others, it's hard to say that there's any Big Secrets worth building a mystery-box around. Maaaybe Manan? But that's not a status-quo-shaking Everything Is Different Now secret. It's more of an "Oh, that's why they're like this" secret.

Whatever they settle on will probably be interesting. Unless it's stupid.

[heyiwrotesomethings]

hiii i came across your page a few months ago, and i really love the way you write these characters!

i was thinking, maybe a part 2 of “scholarships, mary saotome x she/her reader” where it basically goes into the plot of kakegurui twin and the beginning of the canon-verse?

i could imagine the reader and mary becoming friends, though a slight slow burn romance that forms along the way.

Scholarships Prt II

Mary Saotome x She/Her Reader

A/N: PrtI It’s finally done! You’d think revisiting five chapters of manga wouldn’t be that draining, but it took quite a bit of back and forth to get the important bits. Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy : ) Word Count: 3,371

“What the hell is this?” Mary deadpanned, looking around the heavily crowded room.

From day one of getting into this school it felt like she slipped out of the frying pan and right into the fire. It took everything she had just to stay out of owing someone an insane amount of money. From gambling Kokoro, to joining the Literary Club, and now being mixed up in Student Council and Full Bloom Society affairs. It felt like they could never catch a break, and if they did, it certainly never lasted. Which was what brought them to where they were now, a speed dating, coupling party gamble.

“Coupling…?” Tsuzura placed a hand over her mouth.

“You got to be kidding me!” Yukimi gawked, “How can you go out with a guy you don’t even know?!”

“Right? Is it too late to back out?” (Y/n) asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“Of course we can’t back out.” Mary groaned. “What the hell did Aoi get us into?”

“Hello.”

“Gah!”

Mary put a hand to her heart, (Y/n) put a hand on her back to help steady her.

“Mikura? What are you doing here?” Mary asked.

“Looking for a boyfriend?” (Y/n) guessed.

“Ugh, no. Gross.” Mikura shuddered, “I’m here on school business. This is Juraku-sama’s event.”

“Of course it is,” (Y/n) sighed, “Can’t escape the council for a minute.”

“Anyway,” Mikura looked down at her clipboard, “there are only four of you, correct? I’ll have to introduce you to a fifth. It looks like Chitose would be an easy addition.”

“Hi, that would be me!”

The Literary Club peered around Mikura to the new addition to their group, a girl with a pin-straight bob. She looked friendly enough at least.

“I’ll leave you to get acquainted. The game will begin shortly.” Mikura took her leave and Chitose took the floor.

“Is this all your first time at this event?”

“Yeah, how does this work exactly?” Yukimi asked.

Chitose explained the premise excitedly. Basically, if they matched with a boy, they would have to pay out. If they didn’t match, the boys would have to pay out. Seemed simple enough.

“So, are you guys playing for love, or money?” Chitose asked excitedly.

“The money.” All four girls replied in near perfect unison, causing Chitose’s shoulders to slump.

“Fine…” she sighed, “Let’s get this over with.”

Chitose lead them to the group of boys they had been paired with for the game and the MC for the event a announced the start of the chat period.

Kuonji, Sera, Kochi, Musubi and Kibashira introduced themselves, soon giving the floor to the girls to do the same. Chitose really hammed up her introduction, so much so it was hard to tell if she was acting or not.

Mary decided to talk about running the Literary Club’s gambling den, a safe option, she figured.

“That’s gotta be tough,” Kibashiba acknowledged with a low whistle, “You must like quick-witted guys then, huh?”

“No, not really…”

“Oh, then what kind of guy do you like?”

“Um…” Mary was going to bullshit the boy, say something shallow, but she happened to notice (Y/n) move in her periphery, sifting her position a little, probably in an attempt to be a bit more comfortable during this awkward game. As her thoughts were drawn to (Y/n), her answer morphed.

“Maybe someone honest?” Her face warmed. Why did I tell him the truth?! She fretted internally as Musubi jumped in to ask Tsuzura questions, swooning over the girl’s ability to cook and sew.

“And what about you, (Y/n)-san?” Kochi piped in, “What do you like in a guy?”

Mary’s ears perked and she glanced at (Y/n) through her periphery.

“Well,” (Y/n) rubbed the back of her neck, “I guess I’d like someone who doesn’t leave the people that care about them behind. Someone loyal.”

Mary wasn’t completely aware of it, but her heart skipped a beat. A small, almost victorious-looking smile appeared on her face.

The chat session wrapped up soon after Yukimi’s introduction and the two groups parted ways momentarily for the group discussion period.

“So, about the rules…” Mary began once they were in their own little corner of the room, “A wager wasn’t mentioned, so how does that work exactly?”

“It was on the entry form, didn’t you read it?” Chitose asked.

“We got a separate invite.” Mary explained.

“Ah, well, it’s a million yen per bet.”

The group stiffened. A million yen?! For speed dating?! Aoi was throwing them out to the deep end with this gamble.

“We’ll have to use the dine out discount.” Yukimi said after doing a bit of quick mental math. “It’ll be just enough to cover the cost.”

“What if we just went straight for the sleepover?” Tsuzura asked much too casually.

“Huh?!?!”

“Tsuzura?!”

“What?!”

“It’ll help us save money, right? And if we’re all in the same room, won’t that be super fun?” She gushed, “I haven’t had a sleepover since elementary school!”

“Are you for real right now?” Mary sighed, resting her face against her open palm.

“Oh my sweet summer child…” (Y/n) said sympathetically, not really wanting to burst Tsuzura’s bubble.

Yukimi couldn’t sit by and let the poor girl live in ignorance and whispered what the wager would really mean. (Y/n) and Mary watched in real time as Tsuzura’s face morph from cheerful to frazzled embarrassment in a matter of seconds.

“She really had no idea, huh?” Mary shook her head.

“Poor girl.” (Y/n) concurred.

“Anyway…” Mary cleared her throat, “I think it’ll be in our best interest to avoid making couples in order to make the most money we can. So that means we should all pick different guys to keep the matches down to a minimum. We can do a random draw to decide who “confesses” to who, but I think it’ll be best to make sure Tsuzura doesn’t get matched with Musubi.”

“Yeah, he definitely has a thing for her.” Yukimi chuckled awkwardly while (Y/n) was still trying to calm the girl down after the whole “sleepover” misunderstanding.

“Any other ideas?” Mary asked.

Chitose eagerly rose her hand, hoping to be paired with Kuonji and getting all blush and lovestruck just thinking about the prospect.

Mary shared a look with (Y/n) who shrugged her shoulders.

“Uh… yeah, sure.” Mary jolted the note down and then turned the paper around, showing how the “confessions” should work out. “Anyone got a problem with this set-up?”

“Nope.” The rest agreed.

As they began walking back to their table, Mary pinched the fabric of (Y/n)‘s jacket to keep her back.

“(Y/n),” she spoke in a low tone, “the two of us will switch confession targets.”

“Huh, why?”

“There is one flaw with this plan, that being spreading out like this could lead to trouble if there is a mole in our group.”

“A mole?” (Y/n) repeated in a harsh whisper. “You think someone could be working with the guys?”

“Exactly.”

“Then it would clearly be Chitose, wouldn’t it? Shouldn’t we let Tsuzura and Yuikimi-senpai in on the plan too?”

Mary shook her head, “I don’t trust Yuikimi-san yet and I don’t want to stress Tsuzura out.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary to exclude her. She can handle it.“ (Y/n) tried to dissuade.

“We can’t hesitate now. If we want to win, we have to consider every possibility.” Mary stuck to her guns, getting closer and resting a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “We’re going to come out on top, we’re going to be the winners! We’re going to show these rich bastards what for, right?” She gave her a confident smile that made (Y/n)’s heart speed up.

“Right!” (Y/n) nodded resolutely, matching Mary’s competitive smile.

“Then let’s win this so we can rub it in Aoi’s face.”

The duo rejoined their group and all circled their agreed upon targets on the submission forms, except for Mary and (Y/n) of course who switched their targets, making Mary’s target Kibashira and (Y/n)’s Sera. After everything was squared away, they all sat across the table from the boys, each offering up a dinning out bonus to meet the betting requirements. They each confessed to their targets and there was a bit of an upset when Yuikimi and Tsuzura heard that Mary and (Y/n) switched targets, but that was nothing compared to the upset that occurred when it was the boys’ turn to reciprocate or reject… that’s when things started to get messy.

One after the other, instead of falling through, the couplings were perfect matches. Though unfortunate, it was exactly what Mary had anticipated. What she hadn’t anticipated however, was for her and (Y/n)’s targets to match them as well.

“No…” (Y/n) sunk in her chair, joining Yuikimi and Tsuzura’s anxious expressions. “It’s impossible. Everyone?”

“Congratulations.” Mikura drawled, “Five couples have been formed.”

“Bullshit!” Mary stood, slamming her palms against the table, “This is all a fraud! We couldn’t have all coupled by chance! Even if one of us was tipping the guys off, (Y/n) and I switched to avoid just this scenario!” She yelled at Miruka. “You rigged it! Wouldn’t be the first time—“

“Is there a problem, Mary?”

Juraku Sachiko sidled up to the table, compelling Mary to grind her teeth together, eyes blazing with fury.

“Of course there is! You rigged this game!”

“Such baseless accusations.” Sachiko smirked. “We aren’t rigging anything. I can guarantee you that.”

“Do you really think I’d believe that!” Mary sneered.

In a second, Sachiko was looking over her with a devilish smile.

“Oh Mary, there is a far more simpler possibility, don’t you think? Surely you aren’t that incompetent?”

Another… possibility… Mary’s mind whirred with possibilities. The student council, Aoi and the Full Bloom Society… but then her eye caught (Y/n) helping Tsuzura dry her tears and her chest tightened.

No… was (Y/n) the traitor? Couldn’t be… they were fellow scholarship students united in their second class status to the high society high rollers, more than that, they were friends. They had triumphed and lost together time after time they always had each other’s backs. They had made plans to be winners, to be respected… but had those boys offered (Y/n) something better? Something so good that she would send Mary and the others floating down the river without blinking?

Her heart physically hurt, she had pegged (Y/n) as a honest person, someone to confide in. She was the only person she had trusted with this plan so logically… it had to be her. Mary clenched her fists. (Y/n) was the mole!

Meanwhile, (Y/n) was having her own similar crisis, believing that Mary had cut her own deal. Mary had left her behind… she wasn’t loyal at all! She could feel angry and disappointed tears stung at her own eyes, but she kept them at bay and continued tending to Tsuzura.

“Round two is fast approaching ladies, what will you do?” Sachiko smirked, tapping her chin. “You already blew the money Aoi gave you. If you don’t think of something quick, you’ll all be house pets.”

Mary paled. “But 2 million yen…” They didn’t have that kind of money just laying around… suddenly they were approached by someone in the crowd who introduced herself as Kurumi.

“I don’t mind spotting you all 200,000 yen, but as for the rest… if you bet on the sleepover that should cover it.” She smirked.

“That should work just fine.” Sachiko purred.

“Mary?” Tsuzura sniffled. “What should we do?”

(Y/n) looked a Mary with an impassive expression that further irked and pained Mary. Likewise, the hot fury Mary aimed (Y/n)’s way made her feel even more numb. Though divided, they shared the exact same thought.

Who were they supposed to believe in?

“Mary?” Tsuzura pulled Mary from her thoughts with a cautious calling of her name, “We’re doing round two, right? Applications are closing soon, so we should hurry.”

“I need a minute to think.” Mary murmured distantly.

“But we’re out of money, so we’ll have to join, right? I’ll sign us both up—“

“I told you to wait!” Mary yelled, causing Tsuzura to flinch.

“Hey, you can’t talk to her like that!” (Y/n) yelled back.

“As if you care about any of our feelings!” Mary hissed, striding closer to (Y/n) with a sneer, “how about you do me a favor and stop pretending that you’re on my side!”

“Oh, that’s really rich coming from you! You’re really going to keep up this charade until you believe it too? I hope your guilty conscious eats you alive!”

“Guys… what’s going on?” Tsuzura whimpered, not sure who to go to.

“I’m not joining the second round.” Mary coldly informed. “Don’t try to rely on me anymore.” She started to walk away, but (Y/n) called after her.

“That’s it? Now that we’re all in danger of being house pets, you’re going to walk away?” (Y/n) felt even more convinced of Mary’s betrayal now.

“I thought we were all going to be winners together.” Tsuzura said softly, clutching her hands to her chest.

“What will happen to our gambling room?” Yukimi added.

“Figure it out yourselves.”

“I can’t believe you!” (Y/n) spoke through gritted teeth.

“The Mary I know wouldn’t give up just because she thought a friend betrayed her.” Tsuzura sniffled. “You’re strong and dedicated and never give up. You always win in the end, so please, don’t give up!”

“Don’t waste your breath, Tsuzura.” (Y/n) wrapped an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her whilst glaring at Mary. “We can figure it out on our own. It’ll be easier without her betraying us.”

Something about the dead serious delivery and the pure disgust in (Y/n)’s eyes caused Mary to have an epiphany. Another possibility… she wasn’t committed to trusting them again just yet. As far as she was concerned, the only person she could trust was herself. That didn’t mean she couldn’t manipulate them to play the roles she needed them to play.

“Fine, I’ll play.”

“Mary!” Tsuzura looked relieved until Mary stared them down.

“I won’t lose just because one of you stabbed me in the back. I’ll teach you all a lesson you’ll never forget.”

“Right back at you!” (Y/n) shot back.

Mary ended up taking the lead of the group and left (Y/n) on the outs, though it didn’t seem she was letting anyone else in on everything she was planning either. As mad as (Y/n) was at Mary however, it still hurt when she lead the group away from her to discuss turn order and confession targets.

(Y/n) motioned Yuikimi and Tsuzura to join Mary and Chitose, assuring them that she’d be fine on her own. She trusted them to find a way to tell her if something went awry. She took a deep breath, and brainstormed her own course of action.

Before long, they were all seated at the table again, each offering up the sleepover option to cover their lost wagers. (Y/n) and Mary studiously ignored each other as the set up occurred, but when the last person was seated, Mary spoke up, leaning over so she could look at (Y/n) who sat on the other side of Tsuzura and Yukimi.

“Hey,” she said gruffly, “I just want to say, I don’t care what you do. Just know that we are going to be the winners, got it?”

(Y/n) wanted to say something snarky in return, but something about the way Mary’s inflection changed slightly when she said ‘we’ gave (Y/n) pause.

“Only one way to find out.” She grumbled. “Let’s get this over with.”

Chitose confessed first, matching with Sera. Then it was (Y/n)’s turn. Really it was a one in five shot that she picked wrong. She assumed Mary still wanted everyone to stick to one target to minimize matches. So if there was a mole, she shouldn’t have to worry about multiple guys targeting her.

“Here goes nothing,” she audibly exhaled, “I’ll confess to Musubi-san.”

The boys looked disappointed, but didn’t seem too heartbroken, like they expected it wouldn’t be likely that they would have a match with her, but then it was Yukimi’s turn and when she said she would be confessing to Kibashira, it caused an uproar as if they expected a different answer. Then Tsuzura upset the boy’s expectations even further by also confessing to Musubi. Then finally, it was Mary’s turn.

“Musubi-san,” she smirked, “you’re getting rather popular, huh? That makes me a little jealous because,” she presented her paper for all to see, “I picked you too.”

“There is only one successful coupling.” Miruka observed. “Congratulations, Sera-san and Inui-san.”

(Y/n) took a breath of relief and after a moment, Mary started snickering.

“You guys are so dumb, you know that?” She asked pointedly to the boys and Chitose. “I knew you were the mole, Inui-san. Once I took the time to actually think about it, it was the only thing that made sense.”

Sh got up from her seat and walked over to (Y/n), placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I should have realized right away. (Y/n) wouldn’t betray me like that and I owe her a big apology. I was being a narrow-minded idiot.”

“Mary…” (Y/n)’s hand moved to rest atop Mary’s, “I’m sorry too. You’ve never turned your back on us before, so why start now? We were both being dumb.”

“We were… but we managed to course correct and it’s thanks to these idiots,” she sweeps her hand over to the boys and Chitose still looking angry and shocked, “that we just made a damn fortune! Thanks sooo much!” She teased.

“Enough jeering.” Miruka sighed, “The second round has concluded. All arrangements of wagers will be dealt with promptly.”

Once everything was squared away, the four friends left the event hall, exhausted but satisfied that they had won out in the end.

“Hey guys…” Mary stopped walking, making the other three turn around, “I just wanted to apologize for how I acted today. I suspected you all in one way or another even though you guys have never given me a reason to doubt you in the past.” She bowed at the waist, “I’m really sorry.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I probably would have though the same thing.” Yukimi said.

“Mary!” Tsuzura hugged her, “I was so afraid! I thought you had given up on us!”

“It was pretty rough, but I think we’re a much stronger team now.” (Y/n) simpered.

“I promise I’ll never doubt you guys again.”

“Alright, give me some room, Tsuzura. I want in on this too.” (Y/n) worked her way into the hug, making Mary blush.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“You never give out hugs. Have to take advantage when I can!” (Y/n) teased, hugging Mary tighter and enjoying every second of it. “Right, Tsuzura?”

“Mhm! Yukimi, come join!”

“Alright!” Yukimi joined in on the hug, making Mary more exasperated.

“Hey! You guys! Come on!” Mary flustered, “You guys?!”

***

The only sound was the clatter and clink of silverware.

Though they had won when it mattered most, they still owed the boys a dinner date. No one was particularly excited, but free food was free food to Mary and (Y/n).

“Alright, well, I’m full.” Mary stood once she finished her plate.

“Me too, thanks for the meal.” (Y/n) stood as well, followed shortly by Yukimi and Tsuzura.

Tired from the intense gamble the day before, it was pretty much a given that they would all go to their respective homes to rest and enjoy the rest of their weekend without any other obligations. (Y/n) and Mary waved goodbye to the others as their bus pulled away from the curb.

“Hey,” Mary spoke once the bus started rolling down the street, “want to see a movie or something?”

(Y/n) felt her heart flutter a bit. “Sounds fun. We should have asked Yukimi-senpai and Tsuzura if they wanted to come.”

“They can tag along another time. We don’t have to do everything together all the time.” She rolled her eyes and looked out the window. “So, what movie do you want to see?” She mumbled.

(Y/n) leaned her shoulder against Mary’s. “I don’t know,” she smiled, “we’ll have to see what’s playing when we get there.”

[vigilskeep]

do you think that removing the option to play a certain race-class combo (dwarven mage) has any negative effects? i'm pretty indifferent to both of those things as options for the MC so i don't really care for this restriction, but maybe you have some input

yeah, i mean, i think dwarves already are less likely to be selected because they’re considered less conventionally attractive, and when they are depicted in fantasy they tend to be side characters who are basic archetypes or comic relief, rather than the heroes of grand stories or prominent romantic partners. it’s for similar reasons that bioware hasn’t written a dwarf romance. frankly that’s a cultural failure of imagination i’m super uncomfortable with! and i would suggest people um think really hard about why they find fantasy dwarves difficult to take seriously

not having access to one of only three classes, and the Special Unique One at that, for sure doesn’t help. neither does the franchise moving away from dwarf lore: we’ve only ever had 3 dwarf companions, nearly as few as qunari, despite being widely present in the south; we haven’t had a new dwarf companion since 2; the dwarf companion we have had for the last two games is explicitly uninterested in dwarven culture; human and elven religion have become the primary driving forces of the plot meanwhile orzammar is relegated to a war table mission or two and belief in the stone is barely explored; playing a dwarf inquisitor the game fails to take into account incredibly basic obvious aspects of the lore like having no dreams or not being believed to have been created by the maker. which is honestly pretty disappointing just from a fan perspective when dwarf lore is like... really cool! where is it!

idk it makes me sad that so few people are willing to give dwarves a shot and that there’s so much less fan content to explore this really fun part of the world. they’re absolutely the best written dao origins, without a doubt.

[darkspellmaster]

I also think Aladdin would've been greatly improved if he had more competition for her hand. The only source of conflict in that whole movie, outside of Aladdin's self esteem issues, is Jafar, who wants to use him to get into the Cave of Wonders and then only wants him out of the way when he's disguised as a prince. By adding in another good option like a version of Jafar who's the same age as her, it would add more personal conflict for Aladdin and make him need to actually prove himself to win her over. As is, it does seem like Jasmine picked the best option out of the shitty hand that was dealt to her and Aladdin just needs to go to therapy instead of trying to get another partner. Again, that's just me.

Well the series did allow for a few. The most well known was, of course, Mozenrath, (favorite of mine, not gonna lie, Rip Johnathan Brandis), who sometimes flirted with her and clearly had a thing for her, but also lusted after power, so there was that. And then there was Daru Tavelevil, who was this conman like dude who came off as cultured and impressed Jasmine a bit with it, turned out to be selling iron to one of the other villains. Prince Wazoo was a snooty guy who tried to win her over, but, um...he was more of a joke character, and some people have shipped her with Arbutus, who was a kind of cross between Beast in personality, and Poison Ivy.

In the original Arabian Night's story there was a small conflict in the form of Aladdin, using his Jinn to beat the son of the Vizier who was an option for the Princess to marry, though, depending on the retelling if she was into the guy or not. Some versions have him a clown, some have him a threat, others just have him as like, parents wanted them to marry because. From what I've read and seen of the making of Aladdin, there was going to be more to it. Aladdin's mom was going to be in the movie, being the moral voice to her son with the Genie, helping him to see that he had to make it up to the princess, and be better for her. Basically, what you're saying is Mozenrath should have been in the original movie. XD I mean, given what Iago said about how strong he was in magic, and then later we see what he does when he brain washes here, I can see where people would want that to happen. I do really wish they would have kept his mom involved somehow, it could have helped with some plotting beats, but at the time, most animated movies were between 89 and 93 minutes long. You didn't have the 2 hour plus run time some of them get now to expand on dynamics, so the songs had to do the heavy lifting. Could it have made for more drama, yes. But I'm not totally sure it would be as needed in this case, as the romance, while important to the story, was more about the growth and bonding between Genie and Aladdin. Showing how their friendship allows him to become more honest and true to who he is. And while I'm all for the romance in the story, I'm okay with it being the B plot of the relationship dynamic. Opposed to Beauty and the Beast, where the Romance is A plot, and everything else is B plot. Aladdin was a shift from that formula at the time.

Same kinda with Hercules, Mulan, and Hunchback. Family and Friendships took the mainstage, and romance moved to the back. Aladdin kinda was a bit of a start of that.

It's fun discussing these sorts of things. Ps. if you ever get the chance, and you can find it (since Disney still doesn't have it up on Disney Plus) look up the Aladdin series episode The Secret of Dagger Rock. It's the one where Jasmine fights Mozenrath to free Aladdin. (Additionally for Evil Jasmine, look up Forget Me Not, where she gets tricked into thinking she's a famous villain and totally leads the hell out of a team of baddies, forcing Abis Mal to ask for help to stop her from Aladdin. It's where her black outfit first shows up)

Hope the answer is good for you.

[straying-further-from-gods-grace]

New fic idea 💡👉👈🥺

So um

Human!AU Trans!Alastor raised by Husk and Rosie to be strong and independent

Gets pregnant.

Whether from consensual or non consensual sex idk yet.

I'm currently a trans author who's ovulating and I don't EVER in a million years plan to have children. But ummm. Alastor can!

The main plot will be Valentino stepping up.

Because I want this to be Valastor, cause I want it! *stomps foot*

The real question is why does he wanna step up 🤔ᴴᴹ

I have 3 options hwre

1) the baby is his and his parents would fucking kill him (in this case the sex is consensual) (OR the baby is Vox and Vox is like "Fuck that shit" and Valentino steps up attempting to make Vox jelly, and it works! But oops he's fallen in love!)

2) Alastor, a semi famous singer or dancer or something, being publicly shamed outside of a planned Parenthood after going there for a test. And Valentino whose mama did NOT raise him to stand back during an injustice, and is also famous but for his Casanova stage image in lots of sexy hot movies (both X rated and theatre approved. I'm making him an actor ;p), steps in and rescues him, maybe even punches a protestor or reporter or something. And um. They're all over the news about their apparent "affair" and how Alastor is another of Valentinos flings and Alastor is apparently such a whore now (even though this is his first scandal), and Valentino is like shit. I made it a looot worse than if I did nothing... So he vows to stay by Alastors side, at least until the birth, to try and make it smoother for him, like, shield the rumors (maybe the real baby daddy is some low level shit who took advantage of Al, and is tryna get popularity by being the one to get Al pregnant) and they ya know. Fall in love UwU

3) Alastor gets drugged, and left used in Valentinos bedroom at his college dorm/frat. And Valentino stumbles in drunk, gets in bed with him, and they wake up, naked, with hints of sex having happened. And so Valentino steps up when Alastor finds out he's pregnant- thinking it's his. UwU

SO

Any OTHER suggestions ARE SOOO WELCOMED!

And I'd just like to know which of these y'all would prefer to see!!!

Thank youuu

Other things involved but the main plot I'd also love ideas!!!!

In this I'm gonna keep my Rosie/Velvet and Husk/Angel ships where they're half their age and is their younger sugar babies but in this they're not seperate they're happily in an open marriage UwU

Ummm. That's non negotiable. UwU

[pheonix-inside]

um excuse me I have an order here for *checks tags* an explanation of the relationships in Roman Pryce: Teenage Superhero and two questions

does anyone ever call Virgil "gay-le"

have you posted this anywhere I could read or is its existence confined to one specific corner of your brain and I will consequently have to continuously bother you about it if I want more details? (or a secret third option idk)

(i lied the amount of questions has grown) exactly how many crises does Roman have?

how does Janus fit into this?

so. Virgil is Not Okay, right? and Remus (and presumably Janus) are part of his Tragic Backstory. I don’t actually know how to phrase this as a question, but it is one. see below.

how much are you willing to say about this AU?

:D

ok ok oKAY WOO

so 1. I did not think of that but now somebody definitely called him "gay-le."

2. It currently just resides in my brain, I came up with the idea less than 48 hours ago and within an hour of existing it already had a fully fledged plot and character development and all that, but i plan to write it as soon as i wrangle my adhd to work with me.

3. counting them all, i think Roman has 3 romantic crises, 2 familial crises, 2 moral crises, and 1 identity crisis. So he has a total of 8 crises. Oof.

4. Janus is another villain, working alongside Remus. And also is Remus' best friend, handler, and moral compass. I'm completely abnormal about them.

5. Virgil's tragic backstory is mostly separate from Jan and Remus, but they Know About It, and are tied to a less tragic, more shameful (at least for Virgil) part of his backstory. Gale wasn't always viewed as purely a force of good :) (But yeah, Virgil is Not Okay, though he gets better once the gang finds out the details about his Tragic Backstory)

6. Other than spoilers for like Big Moments in the plot or Big Reveals, I'm willing to say a lot, because this thing already takes up so much space in my brain and the more hyped i get about it the more motivated I am to write, so pls ask me more about it, it sparks So Much Joy

[allykakamatsu]

Part 2 of my brain being unhinged.

As I said last time, this is the basic lore run down for my KH X GI au because I have a problem.

Basics: Like I said last time, the basic run down is that Sora ended up in Teyvat instead of Quadratum, so now Riku and Kairi are going there to try find him, however the power that sent them there also dragged a good few of the others along for the ride. What I didn't mention last time is that Teyvat is like Quadratum in the sense that is very difficult to get into, so as an 'entry fee' to get in they're not allowed to leave until 'peace has been restored', aka until the plot is over.

Visions: The interesting part, I know the whole group is Descenders and realistically couldn't get a Vision, but it's my au so I'm gonna twist the rules and say for a reason the gang isn't aware of they can get them. Everyone can still use their regular powers though, and a good few characters won't even have a Vision by the time the main team catches up with them. Because of this, Vision's don't have to match the characters associated element and are instead given based on a trait they show when they unlock their ambition, for example Elrena is going to have an Anemo Vision alongside her usual lightning powers. I'm mostly basing my decisions off of this post as it gives a good case for a unifying trait of all the elements.

Keyblades: Every nation is going to be treated as it's own world basically, so after completing the Archon Quest every Keyblade wielder who was present get's a new Keyblade to play around with. Part of this was for rule of cool, the other was because drawing Destiny's Embrace made it very clear I had to get people more options so I don't have to murder my hand drawing some of these things. Also, not gonna say who or when yet, but certain Genshin characters are gonna get Keyblades as well, some intentionally, a lot by accident-

Princesses of Heart: Like I said, every nation is gonna be treated like it's own world, so every nation is gonna have one of Teyvat's Seven Princesses of Heart, though in this case Princess is more of a gender neutral term as a girl, guy or anything in between can be one of the Princesses.

Is the main plot gonna have any changes: Not gonna spoil what specifically is gonna change, but the KH gang being in the plot is gonna spawn a lot of changes, some out of necessity so the KH crew don't steamroll the plot, other things I changed because I think they would be neat, and some changes were purely because the plot desperately needed some ironing out in areas (spoilers but not really, Inazuma is gonna be changed the most-)

Characters: Gonna have some character focused posts later but for now I’ll just go over the basics of where everyone starts out.

Riku and Kairi start in Mondstat, with Ienzo also being along for the ride.

Naminé is assisting Albedo up in Dragonspine

Lea/Axel is working for Beidou so she can get him and Roxas to Inazuma, meanwhile Roxas is more or less just Vibing with the Liyue kids.

Isa is working for Yae at the Shrine to help him and Xion, meanwhile Xion herself is pretending to just be a helpful random girl but is actually with the resistance.

Repliku is vibing in the Saberuz theatre with Nilou cause he as nothing else to do, and Vanitas is making questionable life choices yet again (he’ll get better I swear-)

Sora um… he’s complicated, but let’s just say he isn’t tied to any one nation and he’s having a not great time-

Laurium and Elrena are both members of Spina di Rosula, however the former is also the part time tea party planner to Furina and the latter spends her free time helping the twins with their act.

There’s still more but I wanna leave them a surprise so I’ll get back to them later.

That's about everything I can thing of for now, I'll be posting more art and tidbit's about this au soon, so hope you all enjoy, and here's some concept art just so this post doesn't look too boring.

[ainsellshadewalker]

Minor update to the X-Men Evolution Wings of Fire-fied AU: I am scrapping (for now) making it the Dark AU version. I have ideas, but I really want to fledge out with a different story first, then maybe work my way back around to a WoF version of the Dark AU.

So, um, is it okay if I info dump a few ideas + minor story plots + scenes I really really want in my fic/au at some point? I shall assume yes, but don't worry, you don't need to understand the book plots at all! You can look up a picture of the dragon tribes, but seeing as the mutants are hybrids, well, they'll be a bit different. Let's dive in-

Plot and AU Ideas:

#1 • There is the One of Us AU, or regular gradual platonic yandere X-Men Evolution au, centered around the background tension and dread, but with no extra add-ons, just a pretty standard au or plot, I guess, with Reader (Bee) being a new mutant, but who appears as a HiveWing and seems to initially have no powers at all...

#2 • There is the Propehcy AU, where the teen are part of some vision and prophecy that can either save the world or end it, but it woukd be hard to fit everyone in, but I do like small prophecies...

#3 • A Secret Animus AU, where Reader (Bee) has not an animus-like ability, but full animus magic, the most rare mutation of all... in this Reader is more nervous, fidgety, and avoidant, but it is a bit more stressful and tense than the other options...

#4 • A Neglect au, where Reader (Bee), due to appearing seemingly normal and average, is shunned by the mutants, or at best forgotten about, and Reader eventually ends up hurt or captured, and possibly almost dies... but is saved at the last minute, and now the others have to try and take care of them and make up for lost time, while Reader wants to act like nothing happened and go back to the regular status quo...

Story Plots:

• possibly stopping or freeing Dragon! Apocalypse or using his animus scroll (magic scroll of limitless potential spells)

• Reader finding out they're related to someone

• Reader possibly having a darker past than everyone thinks (such as Reader used to work for a villain/evil dragon; or Reader was rejected by their family for being a mutant, despite not appearing like one; Reader almost dying when they were really young; or maybe all three, who knows)

• Reader trying to find perfect gifts or make perfect gifts for everyone, and the teens and adults do the same thing (a seasonal story, possibly as an extra or it's own stand-alone oneshot) (this one woukd be very sweet, with a bit of silliness)

• Prinicpal/Headmaster Kelly (he's going to be a SeaWing named Kelp), slowly realizing that he's wrong to hate mutants, and that groups like the Weapon X Program (called Wing X Program) and the MRD aren't good for everyone, and kinda has a talk and understanding with Xavier (because I know he's a squishy jerk, but I want to use 97's character growth on this version of him, so at least one normal dragons doesn't stay a jerk)

• Dragonets! Jean and Scott gradually getting together, and it's sappy and sweet and has a touch of hurt/comfort (they deserve better, let these two be happy)

Small Scenes (I just want these to be canon!):

• Reader hunting like a heron, then teaching Todd or Lance how to do it, too (they use their wings to create shadows, then stab the fish when they swim below it)

• The teens (dragonets) trying to cook, but most of then have never used fire, let alone a pan or pot or seasoning

• Reader finding one of the teens sleeping with them because of a nightmare, so they just let them stay, putting a blanket over them, then going back to sleep

• A beach day (the kids and adults just play in the sand and lazily swim around and catch some crabs and seagulls and laugh together) (they need to be found family)

• Reader crying, and someone comforting them

Well. This is all i have so far. I need more sleep. I hope you are doing well, ainsell! Please get some rest, drink some water, and have a snack.

Those are all wonderful ideas! Something you can do to tie in multiple points, Apocalypse sending visions to Bee to release him. They're not demanding though and he seems to actually care and acts very fatherly and protective over them. Something bee doesn't have from the others because they're just not as special as their pack. Except, the reason for apocalypse to be so doting is the fact that Bee is his child who's mutation is reincarnation. He doesn't know why they don't remember as much as when they used to reincarnate he sees that there are some memories but blames the xmen and brotherhood for causing so much distress in Bee that they've forgotten they were ever loved. And maybe when Bee finally gives in they've grown cold and uncaring to the world, so instead of immediately causing the end of humankind, his main goal because he knows no other way to save mutantkind, Apocalypse bonds with Bee and teaches them that there is still something to love in the world. Seeing that the person who's supposed to know only destruction and violence according to myth treat his young so carefully truly wanting them to heal and be as they are causes the xmen and brotherhood to rethink their behavior. Which leads to them somehow separating Bee from Apocalypse to talk but Bee doesn't want to talk and tries to leave. Cue Stryker seeing an opportunity taking Bee and setting up for an end where you decide who gets custody!

I rambled a bit sorry but you have so many good ideas to bounce off that something always grows

[ritzcrackee]

september tbr yayyyyy

rereads are marked by a ✩, new reads are marked by a ♡, library reads are italicized and new acquisitions are bolded

physical tbr: 8

dune messiah - frank herbert - ♡

oedipus rex - sophocles - ♡

antigone - sophocles - ♡

medea - euripides - ♡

the way of kings - brandon sanderson - ♡

wuthering heights - emily bronte - ♡

circe - madeline miller - ☆

the immortalists - chloe benjamin - ☆

digital tbr: 2

the hundred years war on palestine - rashid khalidi - ♡

in the shadow of the sun - em castellan - ♡

last months books: 8

a dowry of blood - s. t. gibson - 5/5

this was a rereaddddddd and it held up! i'll always feel mildly conflicted about alexi's age but its not enough of a hang-up for me to lower my rating. i like this book a lottttt yippee

dune - frank herbert - 1.5/5

guys. i fuckinf. ifucghinh. i did it. i rwad dune. slamsmy head againsy the wall.

i haven't talked about this yet (i think), but i kind of read dune twice? i realized very early on that the physical book wasn't the way to go for me. something about trying to absorb complex information when there's pretty lights and sounds and tiny tiny text on a weirdly shaped object was truly? impossible for me. BUT!! my good friend (hiii king) had given me his special annotated copy so i really wanted to read his thoughts on everything?

anyways, the way i solved this problem was to just... read everything twice. once, physically, as more of a vibes catching heavy skim, and then again, digitally, really trying to understand the minutiae of it.

this approach maybe worked? i still couldn't tell you very much of the plot, but knowing what was coming helped me enjoy it more? idfk

my favorite part wasssss the annex at the end and the chapter where the ecologist dies ❤

(franz please don't be offended by my rating and come to my house and kill me IM SORRY IM BAD AT SCI-FI I STILL LIKED IT)

in at the deep end - kate davies - 2.5/5

meh. writing style was fast paced and interesting, but a little too #qUirKy for me. the author said she was a big fan pf pheobe waller-bridge, and like... yeah you did kind of write knock-off lesbian fleabag didn't you? (to be clear i did enjoy this somewhat, just a perfectly average amount lol.

done deal - skrifores on ao3 - 4/5

woo hoo this was a 50k word modern au gentlebeard fic :3 i feel like 50k is enough to count as a novella? i guess we r tracking long fics too now. um yeah this was very sweeeet and very cuteeeeee

turn on the light - smallest church on ao3 - 5/5

THIS MADE ME TEAR UPPPPPP my babies.... (also a gentlebeard modern au fic but THIS one was 55k. so. yay)

divorce towers - ellen meister - 1/5

yeah idk what i expected. i got a free trial of amazon prime and this looked like the most interesting of the free book options? wish i had dnfed it halfway through but yk. i'm sure its for someone out there.

beastars vol 1 - paru itagaki - 5/5

yayyyy beastars ❤ fun fact i absolutely hated the anime on my first watch but like,,, in that obsessed way yk? rewatched it recently and LOVEDDDD it so i'm making my way through the manga :3

beastars vol 2 - paru itagaki - 5/5

i love to love animal cannibals....

last months goal: find a tbr system that fits my current goals better lmao

i just added a library marker lol. i was gifted a couple books, so my physical tbr got a lil longer. alsoo i keep reading novella/novel length fanfics so i'm tracking those as well heart emoji.

this months goal: read some stuff off of my fall tbr

gang i'm tired. the reading slump has been so real and i KNOW the fall weather is gonna kick my ass. i'd also love to finish a hard book this month but realistically i will read six fanfics and a romance. fml.

[tanatola]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Oh um! Thank you for the question, I do love that kind of thing, love writing it out... Honestly I think I can track almost a lot of my fav characters to just yaoi but whatever, I'm valid!! Also there might be some spoilers here since it's difficult to write 'why' without them. Sorry for long text, I like rambling about my favs. 1) Currently as is obvious it's Geto Suguru from JJK, I think he just combined a lot of the things I like in a way that really works for him and for the story... The inherent romance in being dead before the main plot even starts, ahh. Also the complexity behind his fall into villainy is sooo well-written, having so many reasons and chains of consequences that lead him to it, a slow and easily preventable descent into tragedy, it's so appealing... I truly believe he could have been saved and dissuaded at any point in his life, even during the events of jjk0, but people who cared about him didn't understand him, while people who did understand him didn't care enough (or actively planned to take advantage).

2) Kaeya from Genshin, similarly because he's a very contradictory character with a lot of inner demons and a tendency towards self-destructive behavior. Also back then the kaeluc of it all forced me deep into researching chinese terminology and similar examples in fiction which made playing Genshin a much more educational experience than one would expect lmao... Honestly I didn't love what the game did with him in the last few years, mostly ignoring the more serious and cunning aspects of his personality and story and focusing on the cute and insecure little trickster persona, it's very ehh to me. But in my heart I still love the version of him that made me obsess for over a year.

3) Jimmy McGill from Better Call Saul. Again, something about preventable tragedy and how difficult it is to tell where his actions can be traced back to his childhood and family relations, where he was forced and where he chose to make bad decisions himself, he is my poor meow meow 100%. Also has the benefit of being in a well-written show.

4) Princess Carolyn from Bojack, honestly it should have been Diane but Diane struck too close to home for me, while PC is a 'safer' to love option. Highly competent in professional areas, utterly delulu in others, one of the most caring characters in the cast... <З I also just liked her VA a lot, plus she's like a power fantasy in a lot of ways... Super great at her career, loving partner, realising her dream of having a baby, I mean yeah. Not that I want a baby, just that she got everything she wanted by the end, nice.

5) Wei Wuxian from MDZS, same with being dead before the story starts djkgdkjg, also a necromancer and a disaster, need I say more. I think for me a big factor of why I like him is that despite being a talented genius with a steady moral compass he absolutely failed at... everything? Lost everything he held dear or wanted to protect, when revived he doesn't even have any specific goals in the new life he was given. But his endless positivity means that he didn't mind taking that second chance anyway, and as a reward at least learned in detail why his first life fell apart, and also gained a devoted husband in the process, good for him. A rare happy end among things I like actually,, I mean I actually have words to say about the 'happy' part of it but well, as happy as it could have been for him.

6) Grantaire from Les Mis, this one is just very personal I think, a cynical drunk who never accomplished anything in his life, am I right dfjgnkdfg...,, Him being a typical asshole but well-educated and sentimental, loving Enjolras and all of his friends but giving 0 effort to actually supporting their cause, still managing to do the right thing in the end, it's ahh т_т Also I'm still obsessed with him mentioning studying under Antoine-Jean Gros in one sentence which led me down the rabbit hole of researching what real life Gros was like, spoilers he drowned himself in Seine after his artistic career went into decline. You can really see why looking at his works but that makes it all the more upsetting... Like not because of some 1 specific failure but just a lack of artistic progress overall, which his mentor, peers and students couldn't help but comment on... Anyway this isn't about Grantaire anymore but also kind of still is! 7) Vriska, I named my second cat after her!! Honestly one of the better written characters in Homestuck I think (im thinking the first five acts), just everything about her is perfect to me. A huge bitch of course, but at her core just a teenager with pure ambition and insecurities born from consequences of her actions, always trying to prove herself no matter how much she hurts people around her. And yeah like always with characters I like, so many opportunities for her to go off the doomed course, but either herself or manipulative adults always redirected her back, and that was always supposed to be the 'main' timeline, doomed by the narrative etc. The tragic nature of her friends-to-rivals-to-enemies with Terezi was also just sooo... And that Terezi didn't even care about that rivalry as much as Vriska did, or at least pretended that she didn't... Sighh....

8) Granny Weatherwax from Discworld, my favorite old woman. What's so great about her to me is that she's like all those other characters I like, an asshole who wants to solve everyone's problems, always tempted to react emotionally, do the wrong thing,... But she just doesn't, and she's been choosing to be good ever since she was young. The appeal of a powerful witch holding herself in check, mmm, she's just so much more introspective, complex and relatable than say Gandalf in LOTR who had the same issues. Iconic role model honestly.

9) Harry Du Bois from Disco Elysium, or at least specifically the communist well-natured version of him you can play as djkfgdfkfg, not that it erases his complexities and masculine asshole ways but... I mean yeah, he's a cop and an asshole no matter what, but the sheer potential he holds... No matter how low he's fallen, his sentimentality and his empathy, being so in-tune with people and the city, it all leads to a blooming hope for humanity I suppose. That you can get better, always, and not only a-la Grantaire by dying. Of course, you can also always get worse, too, but that's the other inevitable side of the coin (I still haven't played the fascist route since it makes me too sad).

10) Leo from Pandora Hearts! Again I didn't really love how he ended up, but ahhh :^) His unlikely friendship with Elliot, agreeing to becoming his servant to stay by his side more, not realising that he's dooming his friend by doing so, yandere-ish personality plus secret pretty eyes, I mean. Classic flavor.