#i was playing the game alongside while drawing all these

[leggerefiore]

Can I request sfw and nsfw romantic hcs for giovanni?? He gives off sugar daddy vibessss 😩

I'll do NSFW later💕 someone else requested it, too, and I want to keep the posts separated so it's easier for those uninterested in that part to avoid lol

cw: interesting dynamics at play here, fluff

🚀Giovanni General Romance HCs🐈

🟥 The Rocket Boss may allow himself many leisures, but a romantic partner had not been one. The idea of risking something like that seemed like too much of a gamble that he simply did not wish to account for in his goings-on. Few people could even catch his eye in such a meaningful way. Whatever small affair he may have had with his executive had never been done with any intention of actually initiating something more seriously. The child that resulted was simply to be his heir, even if said child seemed to only want to reject the offer. Yet, when some overly defiant trainer was apparently keen to attempt to interfere with his plans. Well, they certainly had his attention whether they wanted it or not.

🟥 You seemed to want to mock him. The small bruise to his ego might as well have been a brutal, bleeding claw mark to him, however. It starts off as some strange game of cat and mouse. The roles could vary between you both, but he truly respected your strength and confidence. Which is how you ended up baited into a nice dinner with Giovanni. Things naturally only built from there… Why keep opposing him – Justice? Perhaps morality? He could provide much better things than that. You seemed more than tempted by the offer, which he simply enjoyed. He was more than happy to have you at his side.

🟥 PDA depends on the situation with him. During a meeting? If he can use it as an intimidation tactic, absolutely? You can sit on his lap while he has an arm wrapped around your waist. You are free to do whatever as long as it does not distract him too much. Giovanni will not be so into it if it is a time he wishes to appear more menacing, though. Basically, just read the room and find out what he is doing first. In the general public, he does like to keep a hand on you in some way. His line of work has made him many enemies, and he would hate to see you pay for it. An arm seems to find its way around your shoulder or a hand grasps at your wrist tightly. Kissing is more limited, though.

🟥 In private, Giovanni still varies quite a bit. There is time he needs to focus on his planning and thoughts. In those moments, he would prefer to be left alone. Yet, the opposite is true. There are times he wants nothing more than to have you close to him. Arms will pull you into his lap as he buries his face in your nape. He finds it strange that your presence alone draws out such positive feelings. He almost finds it addicting. When he returns home, you usually get greeted with a kiss as well. There is something foreign about the domestic sentiment that is thoroughly enjoyable. Sporadically, he seems to scratch at your head like he does his Persian's own. The action is quickly stopped after he realises what he is doing. A chuckle is all you get in response to your question of why.

🟥 Naturally, you are free to do whatever to him, too. In fact, he laps up your affections. It is a bit of an ego trip to him. Every kiss you lay upon his skin and every embrace that you lock him into. The way you cuddle with him in bed… He finds it different from the nuisance that he used to find you as. The feeling of your body close to his is a rare comfort that he almost wishes that he allowed himself sooner. It was so different from the pleasures of the body that he had accustomed himself to.

🟥 Dates are lavish outings that come most often when he has a successful affair in his work. Fancy dinners are preferred alongside outings to certain lounges around Kanto. Though, he would be happy to indulge your wishes, too. As long as it was not directly to a police station, you can drag him to the most garish places in the region. There is a certain preference to stick to cities, yet there are a few times he has enjoyed a nature walk with you. A certain trip to Viridian forest showed a strange side to him when stopped to gaze at a passing Nidoran. He ultimately shook his head and continued on with you, though.

🟥 There is some sort of faux domesticity shared between you both. He is not anywhere near a traditional lover, nor is there any expectation for you to align yourself with any role. Coming home to you is a nice change from the empty home he was more than used to. Being greeted by you after a long day completely breaks the annoyance that would otherwise flood his mind, his feels something prideful when his arms lock around your waist. It also shows up in how you both understand the other's preferences. A nostalgic meal waiting for him at home meshes well with the gift he saw got you while he was out and knew you would enjoy. Though, these moments are exceedingly rare with how busy he can get.

🟥 He does have a jealous streak, surprisingly. As confident and sure of himself he is, his business does not make him an easy man to love. It would be far too simple for him to be gone away for work and return to you in the arms of a much more loving person. Any attempts by others in flirting with you in public gets met with his savage glare and possibly even a very subtle threat. Many around him know better than to try anything like that with you. The longer your relationship with him goes on; however, he cools off from it. There is no need for such behaviour when it is clear that you are not going anywhere.

🟥 Some strange part of him desires for you to meet his son. The logical part of his brain knows that it would not be received well, yet there is some urge to reconnect with the boy and show him that he has made changes to himself. Silver would likely despise you, though. His feelings towards Giovanni were plain to observe. It is mostly a fantasy, he knows.

🟥 A relationship with Giovanni has many ups and downs, mixed with highs and lows. His work will always be his main focus, but it is obvious that he does care for you. He almost treats you like a pet cat at times, though. There are many risks involved with a relationship to a man like him, too, and the looming threat that he may just vanish one day if something goes to awry. But, perhaps, in the situation that he does disappear from his position, he will bring you along with him. It is impossible to tell with him. At least, it is fun while it lasts.

[socksandbuttons]

rereading my pokemay au stuff and just

i love this au so much

[angelsrcute]

SEX OBSESSION. 𝜗𝜚

(´∀｀*)ε｀　) ౨ৎ N–sfw content !! ; Dom!Fyodor and Nikolai + Angel!Sub!Fem!Reader ➜cws: unprotected sex, use of lube, crying, praising, biting, corruption, creampie, double penetration, multiple rounds, fingering, nipple play, blowjob, hair pulling. ᡴꪫ‎

‎ ꒰ † ੭‎ For the event! + Fyodor calls you MIlaya(darling) n Nikolai calls you Myla moya(my dear) ヽ(´▽`)ノ

Curious. You were a very curious angel, oblivious too probably, believing that the world is just so good. For some reason, you met them, Fyodor and Nikolai, apparently from some group called ‘Decay of Angels’, what's that? No clue, but they seem quite nice.

And what were you doing right now? no clue either but you know that whatever they do makes you feel all warm and fuzzy. A sensation you've never felt, it feels so good that you're ready to do it anytime, anywhere. They tell you that it's something very close friends do. Angelic mind all corrupted, well can you blame them? you're just so cute when you beg for them to fuck you stupid!

All you remember is that fyodor was pent up and wanted to get some relief, Nikolai nodded away while giggling. I mean you were living here free of cost so it's only fair that you help your best friend relieve some stress, right? Maybe a movie night, or a game night–

So here you were, sucking Fyodor off while Nikolai worked on your pussy, thrusting two fingers inside you as he whispered sweet praises to your ears, “Such a good angel you are, Myla moya!” Nikolai purred while he was twisting and pinching your nipples, taking them in his mouth as he bit on them gently. Giving each bud equal attention.

Soft muffled gasps and moans left your lips, causing Fyodor to chuckle as he wiped the tears from your eyes, looking prettily at him through your lashes.

“Really, how sinful are you myshka? Aren't you supposed to be a divine being, hm?” He cooed, “God would definitely punish you for such sinful acts.” Earning a whine from you, he knows how devoted you are to the so-called God. More fun to tease you.

You could feel you were close, making your tummy all weird and hot. Fyodor grabs your hair, making you take more of him as he chases his own high, eyes closed as he mumbled something you couldn't focus on. You feel his cock twitch as he climaxes in your mouth, cursing, your eyes rolling back.

“You did a good job, MIlaya, now it's only fair that we return the favour, right?”

Your pussy coming around Nikolai's fingers. He pulled them out, licking up your juices, you were laying your head on Fyodor's thighs, all tired.

You could feel yourself being carried by Fyodor as he put you on the bed. Nikolai in front of your legs while Fyodor was behind you.

“Wait n-no, m’ too tired–” You managed to breathe out.

Well how did it feel being fucked by two cocks? you were absolutely disheveled. Sweat glistening from your forehead, arms wrapped around Nikolai as you bit down on his shoulder. You were so sensitive at this point, you don't remember what round this was but the only thing you could focus on is how good their cocks feel. Shoulders littered with love bites, fyodor played with your hardened nipples.

You were so sensitive, gasping at every movement. They both let out a grunt when they feels your gummy walls clench around them. You can't even let words out, just whimpers and moans.

“Shit, Myla moya, you're hurting me.” Nikolai whines, drawing slow circles on your puffy clit to soothe you. Your eyes all glossy, nail marks visible on Nikolai's shoulder alongside the bite marks you gave him to calm down.

After some time you feel both of them coming inside your holes, filling you up to the brim with their hot n sticky cum. Your stomach bulging a bit. The scent was so intoxicating as you three caught your breaths.

“MIlaya, let me run you a warm bath, you must be tired.” Fyodor let's out a chuckle at how sleepy you were, he caressed your cheeks.

He picked you up as he heard Nikolai pouting about how he also deserves to have that type of treatment too! “Not fairrr! Fedya, run me a bath too..”

Fyodor's lips curl into a smile as he nods and takes you to the bathroom, putting you in the bathtub, Nikolai joins soon after.

[bones4thecats]

When Their S/O Meets Their Sibling(s)

Type of Writing: Random Idea Name: When Their S/O Meets Their Sibling(s) Characters: Trey Clover, Jack Howl, Jamil Viper, and Rook Hunt Idea-Giver: Random Ideas

A/N: I named Rook's siblings after the pieces of a chess-game as a headcanon! (btw they’re french names)

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🧁 Trey loves his family so much, and he really wanted you to love them just as much as he did, as they’re basically his whole world

🧁 So, when he received a message from his mother stating that they would be dropping by for a couple days for a small break from the family business, much to both his joy and nervousness

🧁 He was nervous that maybe his family wouldn’t like you or you wouldn’t like his family. And if it was the latter, he really didn’t want to break your heart…

🧁 You stood beside him outside of Heartslabyul as he put his phone away, he had read a message from his father saying they had just arrived and were coming to his dorm

🧁 Gripping his hand tightly, your smile made him sigh and kiss the hand holding his with such care and devotion. You really were perfect. How could they not like you?

🧁 As he spoke to his parents as you played with his younger siblings, his sister smiling as you gave her a small rose-spun flower crown as his brother messed around with a little set of toy vehicles you had gotten for Grim to mess with while Yuu busied himself

" I must admit, Trey. I’m surprised how amazing your S/O is handling those two. " " I agree with your mother. They seem so… content with them around. Unlike their last babysitter. I’ve never seen someone so happy to leave. "

🧁 Trey stared at you with his parents and smiled gently, he even had to admit, it was surprising how good you were holding them together. Normally the person watching them would be on the couch rethinking their life-choices, but not you…

🧁 And before his family left after the two days of vacation with their son, hearing his siblings ramble about how amazing you were as they held tiny gifts you had made them, he knew you were the one

🧁 He can’t wait to see your reaction after graduation day

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🐺 He really wanted you to meet his family. To a beastman of his kind, family is everything. They raised you and gave you a chance at life for crying out loud!

🐺 His family and his are very close, and that is shown multiple times throughout your relationship. The way he would smile gently when looking at the photos on his camera roll that contained his grandparents, parents, and younger siblings made your heart swoon

🐺 Because of how close he was with you and how close he was with his family, he was very happy when the ‘Family Day’ was announced to happen

🐺 He immediately had sent an email to his parents with the note that he wanted them to meet you, who was his new S/O, and hopefully his only one

🐺 When they had arrived, their tails all wagged as they hugged, you just smiled as your family walked away to speak to another one of your close friend’s parents, who were visiting him for the next few days to help with P.E. classes while Vargas was away

🐺 His siblings had gotten bored and pulled you away from their older family members, asking you if you had anything fun to do, much to your enjoyment

" Y/N! Lookie what I made! It’s a drawing of you, grandma, grandpa, papa, mama, and big brother! " " Oh, that looks so cute, sweetie. "

🐺 Jack smiled as you gently held the drawings that his younger sister and brother made of you and his family, and once his mother and grandmother caught a glace, they couldn’t stop complimenting how good you looked alongside their son, much to his embarrassment

" You know, your son did a good job picking an S/O. " " I know. Honestly, I figured he’d go for a meat-head. Oh, how wrong was I? "

🐺 His tail wagged slightly as he overheard his grandfather and father speaking to one another, they really liked you? Now he knew for certain that you were a keeper

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✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🐍 Jamil did not want to deal with his sister coming to Night Raven College, since she was known to be quite hard for him to handle, especially with Kalim there

🐍 When his sister did shoot him a text saying that she was just a couple minutes from school grounds and was planning on coming over after the day was over to see her brother, he groaned and asked her not too

🐍 Unfortunately, she was very stubborn, much like her brother. Not that he admits it

🐍 She did send him a small message saying that she wanted to meet his supposed S/O as well, but he had gotten busy keeping Kalim from jumping from his balcony and onto his magic carpet, so he had no chance to actually read the message

" Y/N! It’s so good to finally meet you. Let me just say my brother doesn’t stop talking about you over summer, it’s gotten annoying. "

🐍 Jamil watched with wide eyes and flushed cheeks as his sister and Kalim began discussing how much Jamil talked about you after your first year’s summer, revealing just how much he admired you back then until current day

" Okay! Let’s not keep this going, it seems that Jamil is flustered~ " " Shut up… "

🐍 Najma smiled and pat her brother’s shoulder with a laugh as she grabbed your hand and dragged you around Scarabia as Jamil followed you, her, and Kalim

🐍 He watched as you would smile and try keeping the two energetic people calmer than usual, thank goodness you had just as much patience as him when it comes to this kind of thing

" My older brother always raves about your eyes, saying they looked like the night and day’s sky, comparing the sun to the sparkles your eyes contain. He’s so cheesy! " " Right? I heard him talk about their selflessness with so much happiness that I thought he was another person! " " Alrighty then! Let’s calm ourselves, I don’t want Jamil erupting like a volcano… " " Aw! They care so much about you, brother! How sweet. "

🐍 The blush on his cheeks erupted at how calm you acted with him, you cared about him that much? Normally whoever discusses with his sister just agree that he’s an oddball

🐍 You really are an amazing person, huh?

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✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆��⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋆⋄✧⋄⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅

🏹 Rook adores his siblings, both older and younger, very much

🏹 They are fairly similar to him when it comes to personalities, but they are quite different in their own unique ways, his oldest sibling, Leroy (King), for example loves to take photos instead of watch for a while like Rook

🏹 When he received a letter from one of his oldest younger sibling, Chevalier (Knight), saying that they were going to come by and visit him, he smiled and told you immediately, asking if you would care to meet his family

🏹 You just smiled and nodded at his enthusiasm, you knew he cared for his siblings and you very much, so you understood why he wanted you guys to meet badly

🏹 Hugging you from behind as he pressed his hat on your head to protect you from the sun’s strong rays, Rook’s signature smile seemingly was twice as large as he awaited the arrival of his multiple family members

" Rook! "

🏹 Turning around from the bench, Rook laughed with a booming sound as his three younger siblings, Chevalier, Évêque (Bishop), and Pionne (Pawn), jumped into his arms as his older ones, Leroy and Reine (Queen), stood and chuckled

🏹 Reine looked at you and pushed her hair behind her ear as he embraced you. This didn't surprise you, you predicted that all of the Hunt siblings were very affectionate and bold with their actions

" It is a delight to meet you, Y/N! Our brother sends us letters about you constantly! I must admit, it’s sweet to read how kind you are with our unique brother. "

🏹 Hearing that made your heart swoon as Rook nodded and smiled sweetly at his younger siblings, patting their heads as they showed him photos of things they had either caught or had made during the past few days

🏹 He is unique like they say, but he’s your kind of unique, and you wouldn’t change him for the world… despite Grim’s many protests while Yuu holds him back…

🏹 That cat was gonna be the death of you…

[perlelune]

Training Wheels | Coriolanus Snow | v.

Your mother's macabre work never appealed to you as you always preferred the comfort of your books, but when her apprentice takes a special interest in you, your safe, quiet world is flipped upside down.

Warnings: DUB-CON, NON-CON, Gaul!Reader, Shy Reader, Manipulation, Parental Neglect, Drinking, Peer Pressure, Hazing, University set, Loss of Virginity, Dumbification, Insecurities, Abusive Relationship, Degradation, Suicide Attempt

This is a dark story. Heed warnings before reading under the cut.

𝖘𝖊𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙

You flinch as you enter Livia Cardew’s house, the attention drifting towards you causing your stomach to knot. 

You suck in a lungful of bravery. 

What a strange sight you must make, strolling in with Clemensia Dovecote and Coriolanus Snow of all people, her arm twined with yours while his hand rests on the small of your back. Your heart pounds in your chest, the urge to retreat and run outside radiating from every cell in your body.

You don’t belong here.

They will laugh at you.

Silly girl playing dress-up.

Tendrils of doubt creep alongside the walls of your fretful brain. You feel assessed, and perhaps found to be lacking, with every step you take. 

“Don’t look down, angel.”

A sharp exhale flies from your lips as your chin is tilted upwards. You drown in the ocean beneath Coriolanus’ furrowed brow. His intense focus tugs you back to the present. 

“Sorry,” you mumble. 

“It’ll be fine. You look stunning,” Clemmie assures, bumping your shoulder with hers. 

You give a shaky nod. It’s true. After all, Clemmie put so much effort into your appearance. You should at least hold your head high and act normal.

Livia comes up to you. The dim candlelight reflects in her bouncy golden curls. Her bright red lips stretch in a wide smile as she gauges you.

“You guys came together?” 

Despite her perky inflection, you don’t miss the slight narrowing of her eyes, or how they track the position of Coriolanus’ hand on your back.

“I drove them,” Coriolanus informs.

“Oh,” she says, nodding. She opens her arms. “You guys should get a drink, make yourselves comfortable.”

“I actually don’t…”

Clemmie flashes you a reassuring smile. 

“It’s fine. We’ll get you something else.”

They both bring you to a table where an intense game of cards is in progress. You hear Festus curse and bang his fists over the table after seemingly getting a bad hand. The others around him laugh, one of them reshuffling the cards.

Some faces you recognize from the University and others you don’t. You feel their intrigued gazes when Coriolanus pulls a chair for you. As you take a seat, he and Clemmie do the same. Your eyes roam over the table. Piles of chips, row of cards and red dices. Clemensia mentioned games. You supposed she meant card games. And from the looks of it, money appears to be on the line. You suppose when they are not betting on the lives of children, these are the kind of things Capitol kids are up to.

With money and time to spare, it makes sense you suppose. Your head has always been buried so far in your books, you have never stopped to wonder what the future leaders of Panem are up to.

A sliver of fascination flutters through you as you soak in the scene at the table. 

“Snow. Clemmie. Took you long enough,” Ivy says.

“You cannot rush perfection,” Clemmie replies, flicking her glossy raven locks above her shoulder. 

Ivy rolls her eyes while Coriolanus grabs a set of cards from the draw pile. He frowns at them, a look of displeasure spreading on his face. A King, a queen and two aces. You don’t know how this particular game is played but you gather from his expression that he must hold a bad hand. 

Dices are thrown. Despite not understanding the rules, you try to follow along. When someone offers you a set of cards, you politely decline.

The dark-haired stranger cocks his head as he scrutinizes you. 

“So, you’re her daughter, right?”

Confused, you cast him a puzzled look.

“Gaul,” he specifies. 

You shrink. Wherever you are, you cannot escape the overwhelming reach of your mother’s shadow. Twisting your fingers in your lap, you give a mumbled reply.

“Yeah, she’s my mother.”

He shifts in his chair, letting out a quiet whistle.

“Wow. She always gave me the heebie-jeebies.”

Clemmie groans before scolding him. 

“Well, she’s nothing like her mother so shut up and play, Octavius.”

Another girl sitting across from him pipes up.

“All those snakes in the arena, just crawling around and climbing over that girl.” She shudders. “I still get nightmares about it.”

The boy turns to Coriolanus.

“What happened to her anyway, that songbird of yours?”A smirk blooms on Octavius’ lips, his eyes locking with the blond’s. “She was yours, wasn’t she, Snow?”

An eerie quiet falls over the table. Even the soft piano notes playing in the background dwindle as every eye travels to Coriolanus. You shift in your chair, curiosity driving your gaze towards him as well. 

A tight-lipped smile decorates his handsome features, his icy blue eyes zeroing on Octavius. 

Your blood chills as his cool baritone rises.

“It’s your turn to play,” Coriolanus says, completely ignoring the question. 

You swallow the lump in your throat. Everyone knows Lucy Gray Baird, the beautiful, sharp-tongued tribute who belonged to Coriolanus Snow, is a subject that should never be brought up in his presence. No one exactly knows what happened between the two. Perhaps they reunited during his time in District 12. Perhaps they did not. Coriolanus wouldn’t speak of it. And the rare times you witnessed him being asked about it, there was a coldness in his blue eyes that unsettled you. Like now. 

Whatever happened between him and the singing girl would remain a mystery. The only certainty is that he came back to the Capitol changed, with an aura around him that made everyone wary. 

You can only assume he and that Lucy girl did not last. So the subject must still be a sore spot. 

Octavius flinches under the blond’s stare, showing his cards for the entire table to see. 

The blond’s brow arches. Scoffing, he displays his own hand. 

Octavius curses under his breath as laughs erupt. He begrudgingly slides his entire stack of chips towards Coriolanus. 

Victory glints in the blond’s cobalt orbs.

“Perhaps you should focus on your game,” he says. “Instead of blathering about ghosts and district rats.”

Slack-jawed, you stare at Coriolanus. His expression before had you believe he drew a terrible set of cards. Obviously it wasn't the case. He somehow fooled you and everyone else at the table. 

The game continues. More chips are exchanged. Coriolanus’ pile keeps getting higher. It’s clear he’s an expert at the game. Everyone at the table tries to read him but his collected demeanor concedes very little.

“You must be my good luck charm, angel,” he says, sending you a smile that has your stomach fluttering. 

Luck…as you note the staggering amounts of chips he’s collected thus far, you wonder if that’s what this is. If there isn’t more to it. Coriolanus seems terrifyingly adept at luring his opponents with a false sense of comfort. He’ll make a bad hand look like a good one, and a good hand look like a bad one. Set a trap and watch as others confidently walk into it. 

Growing overwhelmed, you rise from your chair. The clamor of your heart fills your ears, the weight of others’ attention making your head spin.

Coriolanus’ head slants.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

The words leave your mouth in a breathless heap. “I just need a minute.”

“Is everything alright?” Clemmie inquires, concern scrunching her pretty features.

You shift and scratch your arm.

“I’m just gonna get a drink.”

“I could get you one,” he suggests.

“No, you guys stay and play,” you say, shaking your head. “I’m fine on my own.”

You ignore the way his eyes linger as you walk away, that itchy prickle over your nape that ripples down to your spine.

Swallowing thickly, you shuffle across Livia’s living room. An Avox maid offers you a glass on the way but you turn her down. 

You ask for an alcohol-free drink and the maid tosses you an apologetic look. Your shoulders slump. 

You peer around and find a spot at the bottom of the stairs. You sit, relieved to finally have a moment of peace. Being around so many people at once is still a novelty. You lean against the wooden railings. Was coming here a mistake? You can’t help but wonder. You noted someone pulling a bottle of morphling earlier and Ivy swallowing a handful of pills. At this point, everyone has imbibed, indulged, or both.

The thrall of oblivion is often strong in the Capitol. Too many things need forgetting. Too many sins. Too many horrors.

In that moment, as laughter from the living room rings inside your ears, you feel acutely out of place. 

“Sorry. I only have posca, wine or whiskey.”

You lift your head. Your eyes widen when you realize Livia Cardew’s standing in front of you. “Well. I swiped that last one from my dad’s stash,” she adds with a small giggle.

You shrug. “It’s fine.”

You’ve probably overstayed your welcome anyway. This isn’t your crowd. But Clemmie insisted and you had no idea how to refuse. How do you even refuse something you have painfully yearned for all these years? 

Livia scrutinizes you for what seems an eternity before speaking again. 

“He’ll throw you away once he’s done with you, you know?”

You blink, dismayed by her abrupt statement. “I’m sorry?”

She lets out a weary sigh, a look grazing sympathy flickering on her face. It vanishes quickly. Her mouth tightens. 

“Snow,” she groans, frustration evident in her tone. “He doesn't care about anyone or anything but himself.” Your brows knit. “I’m just trying to warn you.” She chews on her bottom lip, seeming to hesitate before bending closer to whisper, “Just…watch out, okay?”

Stumped by her sudden display of concern, no word leaves your tongue. You fold your arms, shifting on the stairs. Can you even trust any word coming from Livia’s mouth? Without Clemmie’s interjection, you’re fairly sure you wouldn't have been allowed into her home. Ever since she met you, she’s considered you with such blatant disdain. As if you were a stain that won’t let itself be erased.

You struggle picturing her delivering helpful advice.

“Liv, I hope you’re not giving her a hard time again.”

You let your body sag, grateful for Clemmie’s impromptu appearance. You get to your feet. Livia whirls towards the brunette, feigning innocence. “I’m being a gracious host,” she chimes.

Clemmie’s gaze narrows. 

All smiles again, she turns to you as Livia stomps away.

“Don’t worry about her.”

You nibble your bottom lip.

“Maybe it’s best if I head out.”

She frowns. “But you just got here.”

“I suppose…” Your mind scrambles for an excuse. You blurt out the first thing that springs inside your head. “I need to go feed Walter anyway.”

Curiosity fills her onyx stare.

“Walter? Who’s Walter?”

“My cat.”

Silence stretches for a long minute before she bursts out in uncontrollable laughter. 

Hand draping over her mouth, the brunette says, “Is that your excuse? You need to go feed your cat?”

Heat rushes to your face. Said aloud, you concede it sounds silly. Akin to a lame, hasty excuse. While there are bits of truth in your response, you can’t deny you’re craving for a way out. 

Clemmie cradles your face.

“The first time is always a bit awkward. You’ve got no idea what you’re doing, what is even going on…” She beams at you. “But you can’t back out. Not when you’re already here.”

You mull it over.

After all, wasn’t it what you wished for? Being seen, included. For years, longing twisted inside your chest while you watched your classmates form bonds and forge lifelong friendships. Meanwhile, you withered in a corner, making yourself smaller and smaller everyday. Clemmie has been nothing but kind. And Coriolanus…while his presence plucks at your nerves, you have to admit he’s been a gentleman so far. Offering to drive you home, carrying your books, and berating every guy who said something mean to you or brushed you off. No one’s ever stood up for you like that before.

Maybe you ought to try harder to fit in, be normal.

Giving a slow nod, you surrender.

“Alright. I guess I can stay a little longer.”

“You know what you need?” Her eyes twinkle. “Liquid courage.” She grabs two glasses of wine from the Avox maid’s tray. “Let’s just drink. To your first party. One of many, I hope.”

She tries to place one in your hand but you resist. 

“Clemmie, I told you I don’t-”

“I know. I know…but don’t you want to mark the occasion?” She tilts her head sideways, sympathy etched on her pretty face. “Come on, do you want to be that girl who finishes Uni and hasn’t tried anything new? The girl who’s never taken a chance?” She holds your gaze, pressing the drink between your fingers. “Sad, alone, not a single experience to reminisce…Is this really  what you want?”

“No, it’s not. You’re right,” you mutter, your fingers tightening around the glass. 

“You came here to be someone else. So be someone else.”

Her words embolden you to take a large swig of the drink. When there’s still some of it left, she encourages you to finish it. Then, she nudges you to have another glass, sliding a tiny yellow pill inside your other hand.

You scowl down at your palm.

“What’s this?”

“Morphling extract. It’ll help you relax.”

You look at Clemmie. Excitement sways in her eyes.

You toss your head back and gulp down the pill. She congratulates you. It catches in your throat and you wash it down with more alcohol. 

The effect is near instantaneous. 

Your muscles uncoil, your fear melting away. Soft, fluffy clouds replace the foggy cluster of your thoughts. A pleasant buzz spreads through your veins. 

“Come on, let’s join the others,” she says, seizing your hand and tugging you along. 

You end up on the sofa, wedged between her and Coriolanus. 

He drinks you in, a subtle smile blooming on his lips.

“You seem happy.”

“I am happy.”

Your sharp, immediate answer broadens his smile.

“What are you guys doing?” Clemmie asks. 

Livia sighs. “It’s a stupid game we haven’t played since the Academy.”

“Hey, it’s not stupid. I like it,” Ivy protests. She grabs a bottle of posca and begins to pour some in everyone’s glass. “You take a drink when there’s something you haven’t done. Simple right?”

The game is indeed easy. It also makes you want to crawl inside a hole and never come out as the night gets further along. A myriad of questions is flung at the group. Each of them grows the well of embarrassment pitting in your stomach. 

You’re forced to take a drink when Ivy asks who’s had sex, who has done it with more than one person, who has kissed a boy or girl. 

Many times, you are the only one grabbing your glass, exposing your lack of experience to the entire group. You hear a stifled laugh somewhere besides you. Your face ignites. 

You bolt upwards, shooting the group an apologetic look. 

“I’m gonna get some air,” you say. 

You stumble away. However after just a few wobbly steps toward the exit, you keel over and almost collide with the marbled tiles. 

A pair of strong arms slither around your waist, preventing your collapse. 

“Are you alright, angel?” Coriolanus whispers against your temple. 

You raise shaky fingers to your face, or what you think is your face. Your fingertips are like cotton, nothing beneath them feeling as it should. 

Your brows crumple.

“I can’t feel my legs. I-I can’t feel my face.” Your mind swirls as you look up. The room bends off its axis around you. Panic rushes through you. “I have to go home.”

“I’ll take you then,” he says.

You shake your head. Even that tiny motion makes you want to puke. 

You swallow the surge of bile in your throat. 

“No. You should return to the party. I couldn’t, I can’t…”

Coriolanus’ brows furrow. 

“I’m not letting you go home by yourself at this hour and in this state,” he says, practically carrying you out of Livia’s house as you slump against him. 

“What about Clemmie?” 

He smiles at you as you hobble alongside him. 

“She can find her own way home.”

[ghostbite0]

how do the 21 trio babies interact w each other… both in and out of baby mode. also what do they think of each other’s baby modes

anon i absolutely love this question. im sorry this took forever to answer, i wanted to draw something with it!!!

long answer under the cut :D feel free to ask more about this subject or anything with this au, im happy to do so!

Giyuu: hes the first to go baby mode bc hes also just the most chill. obanai & sanemi immediately realize somethings wrong when the avoidant water hashira is suddenly smiling and snuggling up in shinobu’s arms. obanai gets pissy with giyuu because giyuu tends to look out for him (since obanai is the smallest and weakest baby). if he loses his paci giyuu crawls away to retrieve it. obanai’s not eating? he’s sharing his food. sanemi can’t help but tease the hell out of the two until he is also met with giyuu’s friendship and finds himself being patted on the cheek and having a blue stuffed fox forced into his hands.

giyuu isnt really embarrassed when he snaps out of it— he’s just looking out for his friends so why would he be? if anything he just gets flustered when he remembers he fell asleep while shinobu sang to him. mention a bottle and he’ll short-circuit

Sanemi: obanai & giyuu temporarily united in their panic at seeing sanemi go from a super angry and stubborn person to a giggly baby being entertained by tengen. they watched on in shock as he willingly let tengen pick him up and kiss his little head and immediately turned to each other like what the Hell. sanemi proceeds to try and play with the other babies. shinobu checks on them later to find sanemi forcibly snuggling the two— giyuu is very conflicted and tired and obanai looks ready to jump off a cliff.

sanemi wakes up later and remembers what happened and angrily accuses the two of doing something (he knows they didnt. hes just embarrassed and pissed) and throws things and essentially just has a baby tantrum until gyomei can calm him down. the cycle continues

Obanai: cold and judgmental and sensitive guy is suddenly a little shy sweetheart who is still very very sensitive. sanemi & giyuu are fearing for their lives when obanai is suddenly bawling his eyes out because he woke up and mitsuri and/or muichiro weren’t anywhere to be found, so surely this means they want to get rid of him. sanemi ends up screaming with him so one of the two can put an end to the chaos, and hes mostly just unnerved by how different obanai is acting. giyuu finds it pretty endearing, especially because baby mode obanai actually likes him!

hes very snuggly and always has to be in someone’s arms, especially when he’s doing something as scary as eating. he also tends to be more touchy; he loves petting muichiro’s nose or playing with mitsuri or rengoku’s hair. obanai is always sucking on a pacifier or needing to put his mitten in his mouth and if he doesn't have either hes rlly weepy. cue sanemi and giyuu crawling around trying to find something to help. obanai tends to snap out of baby mode after waking up from a nap, and he’s extremely flustered and defensive. he apologizes profusely to mitsuri/rengoku/muichiro for inconveniencing them, and threatens sanemi and giyuu before hiding under a blanket until he recovers from how embarrassed he is

when they are all baby mode they are inseparable. sanemi basically drags them around and forces them to hang out with him. giyuu likes to look out for them (particularly obanai) and play patty cake with sanemi when they arent cuddled up to each other. obanai shyly observes their games and cheers them both on (alongside kaburamaru) by clapping his mittened hands. when its time for them to nap, they stay close together and cuddle. gyomei is in hysterics at this, and the other hashira must console him before he wakes up the babies with his crying. when they are out of baby mode the following morning they lose their minds and try to avoid each other as long as possible out of embarrassment and frustration

giyuu secretly wishes they will be friends by the end of this transformation, but he doesnt think he deserves it. it always makes him feel better when sanemi is dragging him into games or obanai is cooing in greeting and petting his head. 

sanemi has trouble accepting that he enjoys being with them. he cant help but think about his fallen comrades and his siblings, and its easier to push them all away then accept their care. besides, he’s supposed to be the strongest hashira! how can he outrank gyomei when he’s a baby? 

obanai hates being the smallest of the bunch, but he can’t deny how nice it is to be looked after for once. hes weaker, so he needs more special attention as well. his trust issues prevent him from accepting their kindness. what are their intentions? are they trying to mock him? he isnt used to being loved, and he is scared of loving them back)

sorry for the giant tangent hello. the demons

[mysticfalls01]

The Draw

(Williamson!reader)

The Wonder Twins Universe

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

During your international break you talked with Leah about your feelings for certain Catalonian captain. She couldn’t help but to smile while she listened how you talked about Alexia. She confirmed that moving to Barcelona was the perfect move.

Also, during the third day of the break Mapi called you. She hated how everything was going with Vilda, how he and his staff treated the girls and how they made them train extra hours. You let Mapi to vent out all her frustrations, all her feelings at that moment it was everything you could do for her. You were worried for Mapi and the girls. 

After the international break Lucy, Keira and you returned to Barcelona.

Playing with the Lionesses gave you that energy boost that you needed, you guys had two out of two possible victories. While playing in Barcelona has been amazing nothing could compare to the feeling of playing alongside your twin.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You were over the moon, since Liga F started Barcelona hadn’t lost a single game. You had won a spot in the starting 11 and you couldn’t have been happier, with each game you only get better. Barcelona was really your home, your dream team.

Two weeks after the international break you and the girls found yourselves sitting down in the media room watching the Champions League draw for the group stages.

Until that moment the group was the next: FC Barcelona, Sporting de Lisboa, and Bayern München. There was only one team left to complete the group. Everyone turned their heads towards the TV to learn who would be their final rival.

“Joining in group D is going to be…”

The suspense was killing everyone in the room, that was until a team was mentioned.

“Arsenal”

As soon as that word left the mouth of the presenter you stood up and left the room. You couldn’t support the pity looks that your teammates were giving you.

You couldn’t believe it, of all the possible teams it had to be Arsenal, you were going to be playing against your previous team. Against some of your best friends and most importantly against Leah.

You had always played with Leah, never against her.

You couldn’t hear it but as soon as you left Mapi stood up and followed you. You ran towards the training ground as you needed fresh air, you were having a panic attack.

You felt a hand rubbing your back and that person said “y/n! Breath, follow my breath. One, two, three. Again y/nn one, two, three. You are doing amazing y/nn”

As soon as you kinda calmed down you realized that the person helping you was Mapi.

She gave you a few more minutes to calm down.

“Gracias por tu ayuda Mapi” (Thank you for helping me Mapi) you whispered and hugged her

“What is going on your head y/nn? Please talk to me.” She could imagine what was going on however she wanted to hear it from you.

“I’m not necessarily worried about playing against Arsenal itself. I’m worried about playing against Leah. All I’ve ever known is playing with her not against her, I knew that it could happen, but I expected it to happen later on”

Mapi knew that she would never understand what it meant to play against a sister, nerveless twin against twin. She knew that the only thing she could do was to help you to accept what just had happened.

“y/n I will never be able understand what you are feeling but I feel as if I have known Leah for ages because of everything you’ve told me. She would be proud of you if you give your everything against them. I know that nothing can break the bond that you have with her and if there is something that could do it wouldn’t be something as simple as a result from a match”

You needed to hear those words; your feelings were all over the place.

“y/nn why don’t you go back to your apartment and call her. I’ll explain everything to Jonatan so go back home and rest. If you miss one day of training nothing will happen. I’m sure that he will understand”

At that moment you couldn’t have been more grateful for Mapi.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

After your call with Leah you realized that Mapi was right. While it would be difficult to play against Leah you guys promised to give your best versions of yourselves against each other.

You were sitting in your living room still thinking about the draw when the sound of someone knocking on your door interrupted your thoughts.

You stood up and opened your door. It was Alexia.

“Hola y/n. Puedo pasar?” (Hi y/n may I come in?) She said with a soft voice.

As soon as she said those words you let her in.

“I don’t want to sound rude but what are you doing here Ale?”

“Well y/nn I just went to the store, and I brought popcorn and some ice cream. I was thinking that we could watch a movie to distract you for a while. What do you say y/nn?”

If after almost three months in Barcelona you hadn’t fallen in love with her, you just did. Usually, you were the one cheering up everyone else and not the other way around so, Alexia doing that for you just made your feelings for her grow even stronger.

“Let’s do it Ale”

While the movie was on you could help but to look down towards the Spaniard who was cuddling you. She felt you looking at her and then it finally happened.

You kissed her and she kissed back. You guys separated to breathe some air. You joined your foreheads and whispered “Let me take you out on a date Ale”

“Si, y/n” she whispered and gave you a kiss again.

You guys separated when you heard someone knocking on your door. You quickly fixed yourself and opened the door.

You couldn’t believe it, it was some of your teammates with Mapi at the front.

“y/n! We are having bonding time in your apartment so let us in”

She walked through your door and let herself and the team in.

You knew why Mapi was doing this. You couldn’t believe how lucky you were to call someone as her your best friend.

“y/n is there something you want to tell us about Ale already being here?” She couldn’t help but to tease you while rising her eyebrow.

You never answered and just told them to sit down.

Barca was really your second family.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Arsenal vs Barcelona

How lucky were you. Your second Champions League game with Barcelona was going to be in the Emirates Stadium.

The team arrived to the stadium and everywhere you looked you couldn’t help but to remember everything you went through with Arsenal.

Before you knew it was time to line up in the tunnel. You greeted every single person of your former team. Finally, you reached the person next to Marta Torrejón and hugged her.

“Sis no matter the result nothing will affect our relationship. You are my sister, my best friend, and my twin. I love you y/n” Leah whispered

“Thanks Lee, I needed to hear those words sis. I love you sis”

You went back to your place and the teams walked out.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You heard the final whistle and finally you could breathe.

Barcelona won 0-4 with you assisting Aitana and scoring the last goal in the 88th minute, taking home the player of the match award. Even if you assisted and scored you didn’t celebrate them, you couldn’t do it. You had too much respect and you were grateful towards Arsenal and the gunners for everything they did for you and your sister.

You walked towards Leah, you knew that losing was difficult for her so, you hugged her.

“Can we swap jerseys Lee?”

“Of course y/nn”

You took off your Barcelona’s jersey and she took off hers. She hugged you and whispered “I’m so proud of you sis, you are on the way of becoming one of the greatest to ever play this game.”

You guys decided to sit down in the middle of the pitch looking how fans were leaving and how both teams greeted each other. You couldn’t help but to rest your head on Leah’s shoulder taking everything in. You guys stayed there until Katie gave Leah a sign to stand up while Patri gave you a sign indicating that Barcelona was going back to their hotel.

While hugging for a final time that day Leah whispered “Next time you guys won’t be so lucky”

You laughed at her words as you knew that it was her competitive nature talking.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[nobody-nexus]

Obsession AU: UPDATED

I promise I didn't forget about this AU- In fact I've been updating it behind the scenes ever since episode 2 released! And now, with proper reference sheets, you now have a better idea of what they look like, and who they are! Alongside the new members!

(5 Facts About Pomni)

-She will never feed human meat to any person. It is THEIR hunt, and therefore if she eats it, it's ALL THEIRS. She'd never give it to others for that very reason

-Their hands are heavily damaged, having MANY scars. Due to this, she will wear as much hand covering as possible, refusing to give any more details on their appearance due to her record

-As if their stalker like obsession with Amanda isn't enough of an issue, she also has a mannequin in their home that she practices dancing with to old songs they like

-She has Hematolagnia- AKA a blood fetish. YES, she has issues if that wasn't already clear enough

-The scars that are on their body are from self-defense attempts from three different victims

(5 Facts About Amanda)

-Her damaged eye is from an incident where a kid hit her with a meat cleaver. Although she thankfully didn't lose her eye, she's 1/3rd blind and legally isn't allowed to drive because of it

-She knows how to cook! Although she does more baking than cooking, she loves to collect cookbooks and learn new recipes of various kinds! Especially ones from outside the United States

-She has scented candles in her home, and her home never smells like the same thing twice

-While she was away from her hometown, the only one that she kept in contact with was her brother, Jackson via text

-Her vitiligo started to pop up when she was 19

(5 Facts About Jackson)

-He is Zoey's roommate

-Jackson was an accidental child unlike his older sister

-He plays violent video games of all kinds. He loves being able to cause blood, death, and chaos without having to go to jail for it

-He likes sour candy a bit too much. Like it's a borderline issue with how much he's willing to pay just for sour candy and the feeling of it numbing his mouth

-Has a habit of stealing and shoplifting, being a bit TOO good at the action. He's gotten in trouble a few times before, but nowadays no one really seems to notice or care

(5 Facts About Grace)

-Grace was born an albino, having the palest skin out of most people in the town along with red eyes and white hair. It's unknown if her being albino was why she was so sickly as a child

-She loves to draw and will constantly have drawing/writing tools with her alongside notebooks or loose paper

-She's in the middle of quite the complicated situation between Amanda and Pomni

-Her most eaten food is soup, stew, and ramen

-She sees Ceaser as a father figure, being the most to visit him and keep him company ever since Quinn went missing. She'll occasionally even sing for him to make him feel better

(5 Facts About Zoey)

-They're very talented on the drums and are willing to be a temporary drummer for a price

-Zoey has a bit of an anger problem, quick to snap and easy to piss off given the topic of discussion. However, they are going to anger management classes to help with it

-Strangling is a common attack it does

-They decorate their prosthetic leg commonly

-VERY much smokes weed and makes edibles. Once tricked Amanda into eating some- and it likes the memory

(5 Facts About Kinger)

-He has a bit of a staring problem, however no one knows why

-He refuses to touch knives of any kind. This was a more recent thing about him, so most people just help him cut things in case he needs any help with it

-Still loves insects, and you can get him to ramble about bugs depending on his mood. He can't help but love em

-He has a nurse help him in his home, however it's not uncommon for Grace, Amanda, or even some of the new outbackers to come back and help him

-Has a daughter, but she moved out of state years ago. They talk occasionally

(5 Facts About Caine)

-He wears a top hat to not only stick to his brand, but also because he's kind of compensating for his height

-He has a small limp to his walk, thus why he constantly has a cane

-Caine's pet is a white pug named Bubble

-Pomni is his favorite customer! He constantly attempts small talk whenever she buys from him because he's always so curious as to why his pigs love her so much

-Although it's undiagnosed, he very much has ADHD and is on the spectrum to some degree

(5 Facts About Marina)

-She was a detective before she even moved into town, however her skills were finally noticed more so thanks to moving there

-She straightens out her hair

-Marina HAS to work in silence or she'll 100% get distracted. Caine's not allowed in her office for that very reason (but he knows)

-She is usually the one to come home late at night and snuggle in with her partner at like 2 in the morning

-Her favorite activity to do is stargazing, finding the night sky to be absolutly beautiful

(5 Facts About Summer)

-She is LOUD. You can and WILL know when she's talking and what she's talking about

-Constantly will ask her sister Marina about Caine. She is VERY wary of him even if Marina keeps telling her to stop

-Never share secrets with her because she IS a gossip girl. She adores to overshare about others and spread rumors just because she finds it fun

-Summer's seen to be a lot better around kids then people closer to her age. Thus why she's a teacher

-Can NOT let go of grudges no matter what

(5 Facts About Gabriela)

-She was the one who came up with the idea of the stripper outfits for her club. It somehow works

-She calls herself the 'Gloink Queen' as a bit of a joke whenever she's on the floor

-Can, will, and HAS flirted with at least half of the adult residence in the town just for the fun of it

-Although she claims to be married, no one has ever met her husband before, and probably never will

-Gabriela is the reason Pomni sees adult based activities as more of a transaction than anything else

(5 Facts About Gareth)

-He has a picture of his mom in his wallet. His mom nicknamed him Gummi at some point, but it's not known why

-He seems bossy, but only around his friends OR when he's upset. He's a lot more chill when one on one

-He has a manual truck that he drives around, but no one is ever impressed by it

-The reason he's good with skinning and cutting up meat is because he helped his dad since his father was a hunter

-His favorite music is country music

(5 Facts About Max)

-He's the one who came up with the idea that him, Gareth, and Chad all wore hats. He somehow convinced them to do so

-He bickers with Jackston a lot because they're both working at the same diner

-Out of the three friends, he's the most likely to flirt with someone, but if they reject him he will respect the fuck out of that

-Constantly forgets how NOT flexible he is as a person, will and has gotten stuck in multiple locations

-Always calls things that almost killed him 'the reaper'. He has also almost died WAY too many times

(5 Facts About Chad)

-He has a super high metabolism, thus why he's so skinny

-Usually carried medication in his fanny pack alongside trail mix and breath mints for some reason

-He's trying SO hard to grow facial hair, but it never cooperates with him like ever

-Chad has a habit of slumping/crouching constantly, and he has back pain as a result

-Is the most likely out of the friend group to be VERY confidently incorrect

(5 Facts About Loo)

-She was born in Britain but moved to the United States for an easier start. Who know it'd lead to being the mayor of a town?

-She's been the mayor for about 5 years by the time Amanda moves back to the town

-She dyes her hair cause she doesn't like the grays that have started to pop up

-She's painfully oblivious to how unhinged the town can be sometimes

-Loo hates being called Penelope unless it's by close friends or family

(5 Facts About Ivy)

-Although she DOES shower, just speaking to them makes you think it doesn't actually shower

-She never thinks before they speak, leading in incredibly horrid things leaving its mouth in common conversation

-Ivy is the only one who actually knows Pomni is a killer, however she finds it very attractive (this is NOT a good thing)

-Their diet consists of purely junk food and as a result it has basically a beer belly

-She has a dark/deep web fanbase, and they simply refer to itself as 'The Influencer' on the web

================================================

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

If you want to make your own OC for this AU, here's the blank sheet for it!

[zexapher]

A Fond Farewell

With Rooster Teeth beginning its draw down, an era has truly passed. The company has lasted more than two decades. 18 (soon 19) seasons, five mini-series, and cameos and references in Halo itself for Red vs Blue. 9 volumes alongside two movies, a chibi series, Ice Queendom, and its own games for RWBY. And so much more beyond that, RT Shorts, podcasts, Achievement Hunter, The Slow Mo Guys, and on and on. That’s a lot, especially for a little startup launching off a web series. I was listening to “This Isn’t Goodbye, It’s See You Later” by Richie Branson while I was making this little memorial post. It’s a song made for another Rooster Teeth show, Camp Camp, and I have to say it’s some very appropriate music for this moment.

The day the news dropped, I wrote up a little comment in response to Rooster Teeth beginning its closing down, and I thought I’d share some of it here. I grew up with Rooster Teeth, a bit of a cheesy line I know, but it’s true for a lot of us. I was just a little kid way back in the early 2000’s, a kid that liked Halo (a game I didn’t even own for a long time, but played at a friend’s house), and was just getting curious about what I could find about it on YouTube. And that brought me into the world of music videos and skits and montages made for that little game I liked.

From there, I discovered a small web series called Red vs. Blue. I’d sneak onto my folk’s computer to watch it since they didn’t appreciate the language, and in doing so I dipped my toes into the wide world of the internet for the first time. As I got older, I eventually hopped onto Reddit for its discussion threads of Rooster Teeth’s latest show, RWBY. I began my first in-depth fandom interactions, speculating about the show, enjoying the flood of fanart, even got into fanfics about RWBY (those fics have had their own amazing evolution alongside the show) and to this day it’s the fandom I’ve followed and bookmarked the most fics from. All the while I was making friends and bonding with people through the community this company and its shows have created.

Watching the shows and people grow over time was, looking back on it, just like watching myself grow. I was never really a social media/internet kind of guy, until it came to Rooster Teeth. The shows, shorts, podcasts, it all opened up a whole new world for me. It’s sad to see it coming to a close, and I hope it gets picked up in the future. But I’m happy, too, that it’s left so much behind, and had such an impact on me. It’s left me with so many good memories. Rooster Teeth, its shows, those that created and worked on it, and above all the community around it will always have a special place in my heart.

So, I bid a fond farewell to Rooster Teeth and its crew, and anyone who may drift away from the fandom in time. I wish you all the best.

[amerricanartwork]

Hi! I just wondered if you've played Hollow Knight based off how much you like Rain World. I'd be interested in any thoughts you had on it. :)

Thanks for the ask! No, I have not yet played Hollow Knight, BUT my interest in the game has been piqued! However I still have to see if the gameplay itself seems up my alley, or get invested enough in the characters that I want to discover more than I've already found out (and I have spoiled quite a lot for myself) before I actually decide to buy the game.

Regardless, from what I do know it does seem like an interesting story, albeit one far more tragic than Rain World's in my opinion. The characters I've seen are also pretty cool, both in design and personality. In fact, it was some ship fanart I found a few weeks ago that got me interested in diving deeper into the game once I realized it was where the featured characters were from, especially since one of the characters I had remembered hearing about before.

Here's a little sketch of some characters I was thinking about and whom I've been meaning to draw for a bit! Hornet because she's very Shaped™, Quirrel because from what I've seen he's quite wholesome, and Tiso because he was the first character I heard about and I think he's kinda silly!

Also, some more comparing/contrasting thoughts about the game below:

Firstly, I like how the premise of Kollow Knight involves anthropomorphic insects! It's something I never realized until recently despite being aware of HK for at least a few years, but I usually tend to take interest in stories starring non-humanoid creatures, so it's a plus! I also enjoy the more gothic/Victorian-looking magical high fantasy aesthetic, though it's pretty different from Rain World, which I'd consider far more sci-fi and specbio-esque in its aesthetic.

Now to get into themes, so far Hollow Knight seems to share Rain World's theme of lost/dead civilizations, which is also a very interesting premise to me! However, HK seems to have a greater focus on interacting with the people of its dying civilization and as such you get far more definitive knowledge about what happened to cause it to collapse. The player character seems to take on more of a classic epic hero role, because from what I've heard about the lore and endings, they end up directly influencing the fate of Hallownest, even potentially destroying or defeating the force that caused its ruin. The visuals have this very dark, cool tint overall to sell that gloomy, mournful vibe, and the structures, while presumably old, are still mostly smooth, ornate, and not super deteriorated, with these castle or manor-like appearances more similar to real-life buildings or things in other high fantasy works. Then, the orchestral music I've heard alongside all of these elements really creates this impression in me that it's aesthetic and overall concept is more akin to a high fantasy epic tale, albeit a rather tragic one.

Meanwhile, Rain World seem to have the player take more of an anthropologist role, observing and trying to piece together the story of vast remnants of its dead civilization, which seem alien and impossibly complex because so much of the history they're from has been lost to time. One of the core themes is being very small compared to these long abandoned structures, to really sell the idea that this history is so much older and more intricate than you'll ever know. The colors of Rain World are often warmer, which can be associated with old things, and the structures are far more weathered and broken down, with the only living survivors of the people who made them being the iterators, whom we only get to hear directly from two of. Combined with the focus on simulating an ecosystem, the more directly religious ideas within, the themes of natural cycles and an entire civilization evolving, changing, and ultimately disappearing over deep time, and the overall alien, sci-fi industrial designs of the architexture and strange creature designs that look like things out of "Of Rust and Humus" or some other alien speculative biology worldbuilding project make RW fit well in with that genre of fiction in my opinion.

Sorry if I seem like I kinda took a sudden shift there, but I wanted to talk about this contrast in artistic aesthetics and story genres for a moment because the "lasting impression" an art piece creates something I've recently concluded is pretty important overall in works of art, at least for mine!

But anyway, I hope these thoughts were satisfying for now! Thanks again for the ask!

[haddonfieldwhore]

hands to myself - matthew tkachuk

matthew tkachuk x reader

summary: you love watching your best friend play hockey, and he loves that it brings out your overprotective side

warnings: mentions of blood, language, one use of y/n, i think this one is gender neutral? idk it’s 3am

word count: 2.1k

you knew from the start that this game was going to get messy; maybe not tkachuk brawl messy, but close. the panthers were playing the flames, matthews former team, which always made for an interesting event. while you loved supporting your best friend, and tried to go see as many of his games as you could, it stressed you out beyond belief, only made worse by the fact that he had gotten injured at the end of last season. you knew he was a big boy, and could handle himself, but watching him have his sternum broken - and then play a game after - made you cringe a little harder everytime he got hit from then on.

if matthew had thought the lecture from his mother about playing while injured was bad, it was nothing compared to the hell you had unleashed when you found out; but he knew it came from a place of love. you had been by his side through his entire recovery, and it had made the two of you even more inseparable than you already had been.

it was still early in the first period when things started to get rough between the two teams, and you watched as matt was hit alongside the boards, and he stood up covering his mouth with his hand. to your surprise, no whistle blew, even as matthew shouted at the ref that there was blood, the contrast of the red dripping onto the white ice making it hard to miss. so it’s going to be that kind of night, you thought. the game was in calgary, and you were disappointed to see the linesmen showing favour to the flames so quickly into the game. matthew skated off to the bench, still catching blood in his hand as it fell from his lips, which you could read as he spat a ‘fuck off’ at one of the calgary players as he chirped him on his way past the florida bench. his eyes scanned the crowd and met yours, laughing despite the pain it caused his lip as you mouthed “what the fuck” at him. you knew damn well if matty had been the one to draw blood, there would have been a penalty, and he probably would’ve got the extra two minute minor as well.

as the game went on, you tuned out the sound of calgary fans cheering as one of their players slammed matt against the boards, and your body tensed instinctively as you heard the crash. he stood up with no visible damage, not hesitating to chirp the guy who had hit him. you knew getting hit was part of the game, but the amount of comments you saw online constantly celebrating when matt got hurt - or wishing worse injuries upon him - angered you beyond belief.

yeah, matthew was known to be a bit of a jerk on the ice, even you could admit that. but you couldn’t believe just how nasty and cruel some of the things people said were, which is why you had learned to stay out of comment sections, to protect your peace as much as possible. protecting your peace however, did not extend to you deciding to wear a tkachuk jersey into an arena of calgary fans, and you had been feeling the dirty looks from the surrounding population all night. you paid them no attention, keeping your focus on the game, growing more frustrated with each penalty the refs didn’t call on calgary.

after being tied for most of the game, the flames pulled ahead in the third, and you yelled in frustration as the officials awarded them a goal, despite their player missing the empty net thanks to floridas player, deciding that it was a trip and it would have gone in if not for the interference. you saw matthew swearing on the bench in frustration, and then watched him lead the team to the locker room as the time ran out in the clock, calgary securing the victory.

you met up with him outside the locker room a little while later, and your eyes landed quickly on the split in his bottom lip, the wound seemingly having opened up again in the shower.

“hey,” you said, as he pulled you into a hug, his body still warm from the game.

“hey,” he sighed. “are you ready to go? i can’t wait to get out of this place.”

“that makes two of us,” you laughed. matthew was very competitive, and you were sure the fact that his team hadn’t beat calgary since he was traded to florida was weighing heavy on his mind right now.

•

you walked into your hotel room, matty following close behind you, as you had invited him over to hang out for a bit. you were travelling with the team for a few days on this road trip, and while you were sharing a room with nina, nicks wife, you were sure she would be spending the night in his room with him. as you suspected, the room was empty, a note on the dresser confirming your suspicions. matt watched as you pulled the jersey with his number on the back over your head, leaving you in a tank top as you folded the jersey and tossed it on top of your suitcase.

“anyone give you shit for cheering for us?” he joked.

“i’m sure they did, but i was too busy watching to make sure the refs didn’t let anyone kill you out there,” you said, half joking.

“i’m fine, you worry too much,” he shrugged it off, but you could tell he was still a little pissed about the game.

“stop giving me reasons to worry about you,” you countered, walking over to where he was sat on the end of the bed. matthew began to reach for your hips as you stood between his legs, before he let his hands drop beside him, rethinking the action. “hang on- your lip split open again.” you walked into the bathroom, his eyes following you the whole time.

something about the way you always got so worried about him during games made his heart skip a beat. he thought back to one time you looked like you were ready to get onto the ice and fight someone for hitting him particularly hard into the boards, and there was still a lingering smile on his face when you walked back to him with a damp washcloth in your hand. you stood between his legs again, tilting his chin upwards slightly with your hand as you softly wiped the blood from his lip. this time, he allowed himself to rest his hands on your hips, and you didn’t think anything of the gesture; you were always clingy with eachother and often cuddling or touching in someway.

“sorry-“ you said as he pulled back, wincing slightly as you dabbed at the blood that had begun to dry on his mouth. “i can’t believe they didn’t call anything for this-“

“yeah,” he mumbled, not fully paying attention as he was too busy admiring you as you focused so intently on cleaning the injury.

“we both know damn well they would have called a penalty on you for the same thing.”

“maybe i have my reputation to blame for that.”

“or the linesmen were playing favourites. you know, maybe if you wore your mouth guard properly-“

he dug his fingertips softly into your sides, interrupting you and causing you to finally notice that his hands were on you.

“don’t start with that,” he laughed. “thank you.”

“anytime. but try not to make a habit of getting bloody, okay? even if it’s kinda hot,” you teased, and he raised an eyebrow.

“is it?” he asked, pulling you closer until you straddled his lap, and you froze; you hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“i- uh…,” you stuttered as he took the washcloth from your hand and tossed it onto the floor, before his arms wrapped around you again making sure you didn’t fall. “matty-“

“you know, it’s kinda cute when you get all over-protective?”

“i’m not overprotective-“ you argued. “i just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“is that why you look like you wanna kill anyone who checks me into the boards? i can take a hit, you don’t have to worry about me so much,” he insisted for the thousandth time. you placed your hands on either side of his face, looking at the bruise that was beginning to form around his lip. you pushed the curls at his forehead back with your fingers.

“is it that noticeable?” you laughed, and he smiled, falling back onto the bed and pulling you with him. you laid next to eachother, looking up at the ceiling.

“no, i mean, only a few of the guys tease me about you being my personal security detail-“ he teased, and you whacked his chest with one of the pillows.

“matt! that’s not funny!”

“okay okay, only verhaeghe does-“

“matthew!” you pleaded, and he laughed.

“i’m joking. i appreciate how much you care about me,” he said honestly.

“i just hate that there’s nothing i can do to stop you from getting hurt. and that there’s people who would celebrate it if you did.” you sighed, and he rolled into his side to look at you, a puzzled look on his face.

“why does that matter? i mean, who cares what they think?”

“i don’t know, i just-“ you sighed, not sure of what to say. “i love you matty, and i don’t want anything to happen to you.” matt’s blue eyes met yours before he pulled you into his arms, tucking your head under his chin as he held you tight.

“i love you, too. try not to worry about me so much, okay? and maybe i’ll try not to piss so many people off so you don’t have to.”

“okay, let’s not be unrealistic here-“ you teased.

“hey,” he cautioned, and you both laughed. “get some sleep, okay? and seriously, i’m okay.”

“okay,” you sighed, snuggling into his chest as he pulled the blankets over your tangled legs. “goodnight matty. i love you,” you mumbled sleepily. you felt him press a kiss to the top of your head, and he winced as it stung the cut on his lip, but he smiled anyway.

“goodnight, i love you too,” he replied, and he meant it even more than you knew.

•

in a room down the hall, sam bennett woke up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. he looked across the room to see the other double bed still neatly made, the blankets untouched. he ran a hand over his face, cursing as he wondered where his roommate was, because he clearly had not slept here. he scrolled through his phone and sent a text to matthew, asking where he was, before he got dressed and went out in the hallway and nearly ran into nick.

“morning. do you know where chucky is?” he asked, thinking maybe nick had seen his missing roommate, but he shook his head. nina appeared behind her husband, the two of them on their way to the lobby for breakfast, when she pulled a room key out of her purse.

“i have a feeling i know where we’ll find him.”

sure enough, after hearing no response to a few knocks on the door and a handful of text messages, the trio entered your room to find you and matt still curled up in bed together, both fast asleep. it wasn’t an unusual sight, and nina smiled at the two of you before dragging to two men out of the room and back into the hallway.

“see, he’s safe,” she laughed, as the three of them made their way to grab breakfast.

“should’ve known they’d be together,” sam shook his head. “do you think they realize they’re in love with eachother?”

“you’ve known them longer than i have, what do you think?” nick replied.

“maybe,” he shrugged.

“what if they’re already dating and just haven’t told anyone?” nina suggested.

“while that would explain the death stares y/n was throwing at the ref last night, i don’t think chucky’s that good of a liar.” sam decided. they all agreed, laughing as they came to the conclusion that if you were in fact together, matthew would never shut up about you; more than he already didn’t.

oblivious to the discussion going on downstairs, matt stirred softly, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at you in his arms. if he could wake up to this everyday, he would, the sound of your soft snores and the warmth of your arms as you clung to him making his heart rate speed up. while it was clear to everyone else, it was anyone’s guess how long it would take the two of you two realize you were in love with eachother. until then, matt was content with being the guy you were overprotective of, and that wasn’t gonna stop anytime soon.

disclaimer: all screenshots, events, and/or interactions depicted in this are a work of fiction. i have no association with any parties mentioned

[fanaticsnail]

Left Behind - Snails Rambling Fic Thoughts

Tag list: @mfreedomstuff @since-im-already-here @feral-artistry @sordidmusings @writingmysanity

Notes: I think I like writing fanfic and rambling about this so much because I really got into playing mermaids, fae and princesses as a child 💀.

Also, considering the last thoughts I had on this concept was on Kid's side, I wanted to know how it would look from the other perspective.

Not a fic, just purely a concept - but a long one.

Okay, okay, okay.

But imagine being a Kid-Pirate who was left behind by your captain after he declared he was going to take on Red-Haired Shanks. He left you behind, specifically, because you were the only one who opposed him.

“That is the stupidest fucking idea you've ever had,” you'd voice your reprimand alongside your concern, “He is one of the emporers. He has a crew far stronger than we are. He has an Armada he could call for backup. His Haki is-.”

And after you've aired your opposition, Eustass Kid brushes them aside; convincing you that he'd given up on the idea. He sends you away to gather inventory, casting off and weighing anchor the minute you're out of sight.

And then the chaos, the havok, the injury, the mayhem.

Suddenly your captain is missing an arm, his skin is scorched and mutilated. There's crewmen missing, there's so much blood.

After you regroup with your troop, you rush to your captain and embrace him as he falls to his knees. He whispers between sobs, clutching at your shirt with his remaining fist.

“You were right,” he attempts to embrace you completely, his phantom limb joining behind your back as he attempts to join his wrists together, “You were right. I should have listened. I should have never left you behind.”

He expects your scolding, he expects your wrath, he expects, awaits and anticipates the screams of fury erupting from your lungs.

In it's stead, all you do is lower your tone and elevate his face with your two hands caressing his scarred skin. His cheeks were streaked with tears, his eyes full of glossy sorrow. You’d glare down at him through half-hooded lashes, your lip curling up as your silent rage begins in a low whisper.

“I will destroy them,” you'd confess in a tone darker than the dead of night, “They will bend until they break, their blood will ignite beneath the flames of my wrath.”

Eustass Kid would never see a rage akin to this for as long as he lives. A rage that fuelled your retribution enough to have you break away from your crew and live in solitude while you trained and readied your body to weaponize your grief .

He had left you behind, after all. Why should you continue to claim him as captain as he so easily was able to cast you aside? Although now he is no longer captain to you, he will always be mentioned in the same breath as ‘friend,' or even 'lover.'

Names, faces and titles would be committed to memory. Your persona as an assassin to invoke your revenge would have you take new names and titles of your own. You would practice by taking out some lesser captain's and their crews, claiming bounties and training against Haki-users to develop one of your own.

When you finally feel ready enough to begin picking off members of the Red-Hair pirates, Shanks immediately would sense a game is afoot. He would start off by having his sharp-shooter constantly be on guard and ready for you. That would be fine, you'd trained your body to work tirelessly. Had Yasopp? The closure of his eyes and the slow rise and fall of his chest would state otherwise.

Although it would be far easier to take out their Doctor or their Chef first, your eyes would immediately draw their focus to the first mate. What is a pinky toe to the whole body of a crew? Why should you devote your time to such digits, when you had a window to take out Shanks’ right hand first?

As you'd disguise yourself beneath the shroud of Beckman's shadow, your shock would be adamant when a slow chuckle rattled in his smoke-riddled lungs. As you’d elevated your dagger, readying your blade to strike him in the back, he'd speak up.

“So this is the one that was left behind?” he'd sigh drawing up the filter end of his cigarette, placing it in his lips, “The Kid-Pirate that stood up to their Captain. Left behind for showcasing nothing but loyalty.”

You'd halt your plunge, feeling Beckman’s Haki begin to ignite and compel your body to bend to his will. You'd shake it off, readying yourself to dive forward and take out the larger man once again.

“You took his arm,” your dark, venomous confession would ignite a small amount of fear in the base of his spine, “You mutilated my crew.”

“Aye, that I did,” Beckman would confess, a man of honor amongst invoking such violence, “But you were left behind. Are they really your crew if they left you so easily?”

“They loved me,” your reflection would cause your heart to flutter, and lip to quiver.

“Or did they think you too weak to carry out the task?” his ignition of the flint-lock lighter would break you from your trance, eyes narrowed and glaring at him as he would turn to meet you.

“I don't think you're weak,” Beckman’s confession would have you stumble more, not anticipating praise as your blade now met against his wide chest.

“And why should I care what you think?” you'd spit at him, drawing your body closer as the threat of your blade made its steel kiss the pectoral above his heart, “You're the enemy. You hurt him, my crew, and you deserve death.”

“That may be true,” he'd confess, leaning against your blade to test the resolve of your threat, “But you deserve so much more than abandonment in response to your loyalty.”

“You deserve a crew that would have you'd back,” he'd continue, “A crew that would seek to train you up, uplift you, and never forsake you.”

“I suppose you mean ‘your crew,’ Beckman?” you'd snarl, your resolve beginning to crack and scatter, “I would rather die.”

“Join us. Learn from us, then leave us,” he'd suggest, “Return to your former captain," he'd exhale a long breath of smoke away from your face, "See if they're worthy of having you as their family, or if you'd rather stay with a new, more respectful, one."

Tldr: Eustass Kid abandoned you, returning only when he was defeated and asking for your forgiveness. You didn't grant him forgiveness, but offered him retribution instead. Training for 3 long years, you had finally readied yourself to destroy the red-hair pirates. As you were about to invoke it, you were offered a place amongst the crew you swore you'd defeat. They want to train you to be better than them, a wildcard in a world of piracy.

[sleepyorchidmonster]

After Chapter 7, Malleus and by extension Briar Valley had to deal with plenty of backlash.

In an attempt to appease the public (and control Malleus), the Senate organized a press conference with world leaders and NRC parents (there's A LOT of overlap between those two groups).

The main idea was to show the Senate as capable advisors that would guide the young Draconia, cementing their status in Briar Valley while also "protecting" and isolating Malleus.

What really happened was that Mrs. Rosehearts yelled at them for ten hours straight.

You see, Riddle was worried about how his mother would react to the entire Chapter 7 situation, so he made sure to explain everything to her, casting Malleus and Lillia in a more favourable light.

And it acually worked! You see, despite all her failures as a parent, she is still a mother at the end of the day, and the idea that a son would go to such great lenghts, overblotting and almost dooming the entire world, just to keep his parental figure safe, was quite touching.

She also has a newfound respect for Lillia, how he spent all those years looking for ways to get Malleus to hatch, how he went above and beyond to care for the Prince, even while banished, how he adopted and raised Silver (who is the only student she actually respects). HOW HE LITERALLY SACRIFICED PART OF HIS LIFEFORCE FOR MALLEUS TO HATCH!

On the other hand, she HATES the Senate. Mostly because she put herself in Meleanor's shoes: imagine you're about to die and decide to entrust your unborn son to your friend, only for said friend to be unjustly banished, leaving your kid in the hands of a bunch of entitled senators that completely DISREGARDED YOUR LAST WISH (Mrs. Rosehearts hates it when people don't do what she says, so she feels personally offended by that last bit, the fact that Malleus almost died also doesn't help).

Anyway, she's angry and, since the Senate IS encouraging people to air their grievances with Briar Valley, might as well seize this opportunity!

Malleus, Silver, Sebek, Lillia, Baul and Maleficia feel vindicated. Since only the housewardens and Diasomnia were invited for the event, the group chat was crazy.

The housewardens were all sitting together near the back of the room, alongside Silver and Sebek (they DON'T want to draw attention to themselves, especially since most of them are overblot survivors), so they could easily chat or sleep. Meanwhile the students back on campus were watching everything at Ramshackle.

As a small bonus, a few ways to avoid panic attacks, by Riddle and Trey:

*Mrs. Rosehearts starts talking*

Trey: Hey Rook!

Rook: Oui?

Trey: What is the meaning of beauty?

Rook: :D

*Rook starts monologuing and nobody can hear the TV anymore*

Meanwhile Riddle:

*School chat*

Epel: So, how long until she stops yelling at people? It ain't funny anymore...

Riddle: Since she yelled at Trey's parents for five hours because they gave me a tart, maybe ten or fifteen hours?

Ruggie: Wtf

Deuce: Are you doing okay, dormhead?

Riddle: I have a fully charged phone with a crosswords app, headphones playing all the Queen's rules on loop, and an entire bottle filled with the strongest calming tea I could find.

Riddle: Moreover, I'm currently seated beside the sleepiest students in this school (Leona and Silver). Their calm disposition creates a peaceful environment.

Riddle: Therefore I shall be able to keep panic attacks AND overblots at bay!

Ace: Just say yes or no...

*15 minutes later*

Riddle: I beat the game, there are no more crosswords

Vil: Chess.com

Vil: NOW

Vil: Wake Leona up, we're having a TOURNAMENT!

Idia: Congrats, u just got a World Record

Idia: Also I'm sending you a list of games later...

They left a bit after the seventh hour mark.

[yamayuandadu]

Consulting the convoluted history of supernatural foxes, or why is Tsukasa like that

I know I said you should only expect one long Touhou-themed research article per month, and that the next one will be focused on Ten Desires, but due to unforeseen circumstances a bonus one jumped into the queue. For this reason, you will unexpectedly have the opportunity to learn more about the historical and religious context of the belief in kuda-gitsune, or “tube foxes”, as well as their various forerunners. Tsukasa is clearly topical thanks to Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost, and I basically skipped covering Unconnected Marketeers in 2021 save for pointing out some banal tidbits, so I hope this is a welcome surprise. The post contains spoilers for the new game, obviously.

Obviously, in order to properly cover the kuda-gitsune, it is necessary to start with a short history of foxes in Japanese culture through history, especially in esoteric Buddhism. Early history: the Chinese background Early Japanese sources pertaining to foxes show strong Chinese influence. There was an extensive preexisting system of fox beliefs to draw from in continental literature, dating back at least to the Han dynasty (note that while the well known story of Daji is set much earlier, its modern form only really goes back to the Song dynasty). This is way too complex of a topic to discuss here in full, sadly, so I will limit myself to the particularly interesting tidbits.

A multi-tailed fox in the classic Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng (wikimedia commons)

It will suffice to say that historically the fox was perceived in China as a liminal being, and could be associated with pursuits regarded as ethically dubious, ranging from theft and banditry to instigating rebellions and promoting divisive religious views (so, for example during the reigns of firmly pro-Taoist emperors, Buddhist monks could be associated with foxes). Literary texts focused on supernatural foxes emphasized their shapeshifting abilities. In contrast with some of the other well attested supernatural beings in Chinese tradition, they could take a range of human forms, appearing as men and women of virtually any age. Often they favored mimicking people who lived on the margins of society, like bandits, courtesans or migrant laborers. It was also emphasized that they displayed a considerable degree of disregard for authority. The fact these animals lived essentially alongside humans without being domesticated definitely played a role in the formation of this image.

A contemporary statue of Bixia, a deity in the past associated with fox beliefs (wikimedia commons)

At the same time, foxes enjoyed a degree of popularity as objects of semi-official cult, still practiced here and there in China in modern times, for example in Boluo in Shaanxi. The religious role of foxes was reflected in, among other things, the development of terms like hushen (狐神) “fox deity”, or huxian (狐仙), “fox immortal”. The belief in such “celestial foxes” (tianhu, 天狐) was relatively common, and there is even a legend according to which there was a formalized way for the animals to transcend to higher states of existence, with the goddess Bixia making them undergo the supernatural fox version of the well known imperial examinations. If they failed they were condemned to live as “wild foxes” (yehu, 野狐) with no hope of transcendence. There are also accounts of foxes pursuing the status of a xian through illicit means, through a combination of praying to the Big Dipper and draining people’s energy, as documented by He Xiu in the 1700s. Note foxes were already portrayed as worshiping the Big Dipper during the reign of the Tang dynasty, but back then it was only believed this let them transform into humans.

The ambiguity of foxes is evident in the Japanese perception of these animals too. Supernatural foxes are probably among the best known youkai, and especially considering this is a post about Touhou I do not think the basics need to be discussed in much detail. They were believed to shapeshift and to steal vital energy, much like in China. Their positive role as messengers of Inari, a kami associated with agriculture, is generally well known too. The earliest sources documenting encounters with supernatural foxes are obviously, as expected, the earliest chronicles like the Nihon Shoki, where they mostly appear as omens. By the Heian period these animals are well established in the written record. For instance, Nakatomi Harae Kunge includes “evil magic due to heavenly and earthly foxes” among phenomena which require ritual purification. In addition to the tales imported from China being in circulation, some setsuwa written in Japan involved shape shifting foxes. However, supernatural foxes only gained greater prominence in the Japanese middle ages due to the growth of relevance of two deities they were associated with, Inari and Dakiniten. The latter is more relevant to the topic of this article.

Foxes, Dakiniten and tengu

Part of a hanging scroll depicting Dakiniten riding on a fox (wikimedia commons, via MET; cropped for the ease of viewing)

The connection between foxes and Dakiniten reflected their associations with the dakinis, a class of demons in Buddhism. Originally the dakinis were associated with jackals instead, but Chinese Buddhist authors presumed that the animal mentioned in this context is basically identicial with more familiar foxes, and that belief reached Japan as well. It was strong enough for Dakinite, the dakini par excellence, to be regularly depicted riding on the back of a fox. Dakiniten was originally a regular dakini, according to Bernard Faure specifically one who appears in Heian period Enmaten mandalas (Enmaten is related to but not quite the same as the better known king Enma, for the development of two distinct reflections of Yama in Buddhism see here). However, she eventually developed into a full blown deva in her own right, and her prominence was so great that it basically resulted in the decline of references to the generic dakinis in Buddhist literature in Japan. She was particularly popular in the Shingon school of Buddhism, and at the peak of her relevance played a role in royal ascension rituals, developing a connection with Amaterasu in the process (Amaterasu acquired many peculiar connections through the Japanese middle ages, it was par the course). A Tendai treatise equates her with Matarajin instead, though. An interesting phenomenon related to Dakiniten is the occasional fusion of beliefs pertaining to foxes and tengu, which might have originated in the similarity of the terms tengu and the Japanese term for the already mentioned “heavenly foxes”, tenko. Its best attested examples include the inclusion of tengu in mandalas focused on Dakiniten as her acolytes. However, a different deity ultimately exemplifies this even better. Iizuna Gongen and "iizuna magic"

Iizuna Gongen riding on the back of a fox (Museum of Fine Arts Boston; link to the source is temporarily dead, the image is reproduced here for educational purposes only)

The indisputable center of the network of connections between foxes and tengu is Iizuna Gongen (飯綱権現), depicted as a tengu riding on a fox. As you can probably guess, he was a (vague) basis for Megumu, as evidenced by the similarity of the names. While many other aspects of his character aren’t really touched upon in the game, I’d hazard a guess he’s also the reason why ZUN decided to include a kuda-gitsune in the same game as Megumu - the evidence lines up exceptionally well, as you’ll see.

Originally Iizuna Gongen was simply the deity of Mount Iizuna (飯綱山), located in the modern Nagano prefecture. Near the end of the Japanese middle ages he spread to other areas, likely thanks to traveling shugenja (also known as yamabushi), mountain ascetics belonging to a religious tradition known as Shugendō. Two aspects of his character are particularly pronounced, his role as a martial deity and his association with foxes.

I was unable to determine when Iizuna Gongen’s connection to foxes originally developed, but it was strong enough to lead to the use of the alternate name Chira Tenko (智羅天狐; “Chira the heavenly fox”) to refer to him. Foxes also appear in a legend describing his origin. It states that he was one of the eighteen children of an Indian king, and arrived in Japan alongside nine of his siblings on the back of a white fox during the reign of emperor Kinmei (the remaining eight went to China and became monks on Mount Tiantai). His connection to foxes is also reaffirmed in an Edo period treatise, Reflections on Inari Shrine (稲荷神社考, Inari jinja kō), which declares that names such as Iizuna Gongen and Matarajin (sic!) are used in the worship of wild foxes to hide the true nature of the invoked entities. The author further states that the true form of “these matarajin (plural) and wild foxes” is that of a three-faced and six-armed deity, which curiously has more to do with early Matarajin tradition than with Iizuna Gongen as far as I can tell. The two were not really closely associated otherwise, but it’s worth noting that apparently shugenja perceived them both as similar tengu-like deities. 

The key feature of conventional iconography of Iizuna Gongen, the fox mount, has nothing to do with Matarajin strictly speaking, and likely reflects the influence of Dakiniten. However, the animal in this context developed its own unique identity thanks to the presence of foxes in a type of ritual focused on Iizuna Gongen, which could itself be referred to as iizuna. The shugenja community centered on the worship of Iizuna Gongen was not very formalized, which led to poor understanding of their practice among outsiders, with the term iizuna basically acquiring the vague meaning along the lines of “magic”. and rather poor reputation. These rites are where the kuda-gitsune comes into play. Kuda-gitsune in iizuna magic and beyond

The kuda-gitsune, as depicted in Shōzan Chomon Kishū by Miyoshi Shōzan (Waseda University History Museum; reproduced here for educational purposes only)

At first glance, kuda-gitsune is just one of many local variants of the standard supernatural fox, similarly to the likes of ninko, osaki-gitsune or nogitsune. The etymology of its name is straightforward. I’m sure you can guess what the second half means, while kuda (管) in this context refers to a bamboo tube. You’d think the name would basically guarantee it was universally accepted that’s how one could carry such a critter undetected, but apparently there was an alternate explanation, namely that it was invisible. I have not seen any further discussion of this in literature, but I assume this might be connected to shikigami beliefs, as these quite often are described as invisible. Do not quote me on that, though. Even more bizarrely, there is no consensus that the animal meant was always a fox. According to Bernard Faure it is distinctly possible the term referred to a weasel. Kuda-gitsune could be described as a type of shikigami, but note that this term had a much broader meaning in real life than in Touhou, and referred to basically any supernatural being which acted as an extension of the powers attributed to “ritual specialists” (祈祷師) such as onmyōji, shugenja or Buddhist monks. In Buddhist context, the analogous term could be gohō dōji (護法童子; “Dharma-protecting lads”), though there are also cases where gohō and shikigami are contrasted with each other. The shikigami category didn’t just consist of animated papercraft and animal spirits typically designated as such in popculture. Even the twelve heavenly generals defending the “medicine Buddha” Yakushi could be labeled as shikigami. Obviously, kuda-gitsune is closer to the familiar meaning of this term than to Buddhist deities, though. People relying on kuda-gitsune were referred to as kitsune-tsukai (狐使い), which can be loosely translated as “fox tamer”, and it is said they were often shugenja. Given the popularity of the associated deity among them this shouldn’t really be a surprise. Various supernatural abilities were ascribed to the kuda-gitsune. The ability to possess people attributed to other supernatural foxes was the domain of kuda-gitsune too. Apparently people afflicted by it were compelled to eat nothing but raw miso. Purportedly they were bringers of wealth - but said wealth did not necessarily come from legitimate sources. That, in turn, could lead to distrust or outright ostracism of people allegedly relying on foxes to acquire wealth. They also provided aid in divination, and could supposedly reveal past, present and future alike this way. However, they could look into the soul of anyone using them this way and learn their secrets. Bernard Faure notes that occasionally it was said that they even could even be utilized to kill enemies who attempted casting spells on their owner.  Shigeru Mizuki's kuda-gitsune

Kuda-gitsune, as depicted by Shigeru Mizuki (reproduced here for educational purposes only)

While there isn’t much information about kuda-gitsune in scholarship, especially scholarship available online in English, they received extensive coverage in various books about youkai written by Shigeru Mizuki, famous for arguably canonizing the modern concept of youkai. Note that while I am a fan of Mizuki's works, his encyclopedias are best understood as something closer to Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings, complete with some dubious sourcing and possible fabrications. However, ultimately modern media about youkai, including Touhou, owes much to him, and arguably he continued the tradition of night parade scrolls which often invented new creatures wholesale, so it strikes me as entirely fair game to summarize what he has to say too. Shigeru Mizuki cited the Edo period writer Matsura Seizan as an authority on kuda-gitsune. He states ccording to the latter, certain ascetics (yamabushi) were provided with these critters upon finishing their training on Mount Kinpu and Mount Ōmine. In his account cited by Mizuki there are a lot of details I haven’t seen elsewhere. The storage tubes after which kuda-gitsune are named apparently had to be inscribed with a certain sanskrit phrase (left unspecified, tragically) so that the animals didn’t have to be fed. However, releasing them and giving it food was necessary to gain their help in divination. There was a downside to this - kuda-gitsune were apparently hard to place back in containment once released without the help of a seasoned specialist. Also, they refused to provide anything of value unless fed well, and they had quite the appetite. Mizuki cites the particularly disastrous case of an ascetic who kept multiple kuda-gitsune in a single tube, and eventually couldn’t pay for enough food for his collection since the animals kept multiplying inside. According to Mizuki  it was believed that a kuda-gitsune could be gifted by its owner to another person, but the creature would come back if it was not satisfied with the food provided by the latter. If the original “fox tamer” dies before passing their kuda-gitsune to someone else, it will instead go to the Ōji Inari shrine located in what is now the the Kita ward of Tokyo.

Conclusion: Tsukasa and her forerunners

In theory I could’ve kept pointing out “see, it’s just like Tsukasa!” in virtually every single paragraph of this article. To answer the question from the title, evidently she is like that because that's how foxes have been in folklore both Japan and China for centuries. It is not really hard to see that ZUN is genuinely great at research when he wants to be, and Tsukasa's character is remarkably accurate to her real life forerunners, both as an adaptation of kuda-gitsune specifically and as a representation of the broader tradition which lead to the portrayal of foxes as supernatural creatures of questionable moral character. She engages in morally dubious “get rich quick schemes”, she definitely provides advice (of variable quality), and her self-declared ability from her omake bio pretty clearly reflects skills actually ascribed to the kuda-gitsune in folklore. In the newest game the ability to provide information is clearly in the spotlight - Tsukasa seems to be reasonably knowledgeable (she brings up Kojiki in a line aimed at Hisami, among other things), and other characters generally agree she’d be more useful doing something else than fighting. I do not think there’s any real reason to doubt this is what is meant. I think it can even be safely assumed that Zanmu’s decision to pressure Tsukasa to partake in her assassination bluff is rooted in genuine tradition. I’m obviously not going to say that Tsukasa reaches the platonic ideal of Okina, the quintessential character aimed at fans who like research, who largely seems to exist to get people to dig deeper for sources explaining the dozens of religious allusions in her dialogue, spell cards and design, but I do think it’s worth appreciating that the series reached a stage where even the minor animal youkai can be enjoyed as multilayered representation of centuries worth of genuine folklore and mythology. Bibliography -Bernard Faure, Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 1-3 -Michael Daniel Foster, The Book of Yokai. Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore  -Berthe Jansen and Nobumi Iyanaga, Dākini (Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism) -Xiaofei Kang, The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China -Shigeru Mizuki’s assorted writings on kuda-gitsune (collected online here)

[honeeslust]

Suguru…

Suguru who is insatiable …

18+ Only

Suguru who is greedy for the energy he consumes from you. All it took was just one taste and thus began the twisted game you both would continue to play. For every bit of power you relinquished to him, he returned to you in pleasure tenfold.

Suguru, whom you fucked because you hated him so much. It was gritty. It was scary, and it was exciting. It was the realest fucking thing you’d ever felt.

Suguru who would taunt you, “Pathetic human can't keep her fucking legs closed long enough to have a decent conversation.” He’d bend his knee forcing himself deeper until he bottomed out.

…“Theres nothing fucking decent about you, shut up and keep fucking me.” You snide struggling to keep your face from twisting as he found his rhythm and fucked you deeper..

Suguru who would look at your sweet face as you were rendered fucked stupid and struggled to answer when he asked you why you insisted on hating him when clearly you didn’t hate his dick.

Suguru who would caress your mouth and drag your lower lip down with his thumb.

…You’d welcome it — lewdly sucking it into your mouth...

Suguru who just can’t help teasing you, “Hmm… look at that, all that bravado for what? Look at how indecent you're being.”

Suguru who loves seeing the way your face scrunches as he taunts you. —all while thrusting into you and massaging that sweet spot with the plump head of his cock with such ease.

Suguru who sits up and closes your legs together and turns you on your side to go even deeper than he already was. The new angle would be exquisite . His hips would move in slutty- tantric- deep- purposeful- thrusts that would ultimately be your undoing.

Suguru who would give you more so he could finally absorb the familiar lustful-arduous residuals that only your soul could provide. “It’s funny really.” He would say cramming you so full of himself that your eyes crossed and your dumb fucked mind went blank.

…“All that effort you put into hating me doesn’t amount to anything more than you being a touch-starved horny little brat with a foul mouth and a bad attitude.” He’d tease you again, just as drunk off the way he broke you “…lucky for you you pretty little fuckin’ brat.., I can drink this up all fucking day.” He’d say effortlessly manipulating the frosty glow from his palms.

…You’d roll your eyes at him but mostly out of the pleasurable l feeling from the heavy cock buried deep in your walls drawing out your mouthwatering energy. Greedily taking every bit for himself as he made a mess of your needy little pussy.

Suguru who would push climax after climax through your body until it until you went limp.

Suguru who would come back again, sliding right up alongside you and jutting his thickness right back into you.

…“ I— I can't come anymore” you’d cry only to be met with his hand encompassing your own and he threads his fingers intimately through yours.

Suguru who heard the frail plea fall from your pretty lips as he struggled to go slow “Yes you can.” He would breath kissing down your neck making the quivering sensation start at your center all over again…

[dailyadventureprompts]

What’s fasinating about the d&d movie is that it is all the fun of d&d removed from the rigid restraints of the the clunky game system: Thrills and laughs and hairbrained schemes minus the minutia of needless rolls or waiting for your turn in initiative to circle around. Part of this is idealization, but as someone who’s obsessed with making my favorite game system the most fun possible I can’t help but draw some comparisons.

Combat: Holga’s fight scenes were a highlight of the film for me, displaying a huge amount of kinetic creativity as she pinballed between different combatants swapping out weapons, bouncing off the surrounding terrain . This is a far, far cry from how being a fighter plays out at the table, as most martial characters are focused into doing just one type of attack as good as they can because it’s their only reliable contribution to combat. Try to model Holga’s fights in game and you’d be caught in a boring slog of dealing 1d4+STR damage to a bunch of guards whittling away at their hitpoint pools, a far cry from the lighting quick flury of smashing, bashing, and flips that make her the film’s action setpiece.  

What d&d needs is a system for combat that exists alongside the traditional damage/HP paradigm: an additional layer of complexity for martial characters that encourages tactical thinking and lets those who do their damage up close feel just as cool and as clutch as casters. My mind’s already whirling thinking up something that revolves around stuns, suckerpunches, and positioning, so expect it later this week. 

Powercreep: This might be subjective but I find it fascinating that the official stats put out for the party has them hovering around level 16, a point in character progression  a)that  most characters never get to b) by which the game’s difficulty systems have begun to break down. I suspect this was done in order to keep their on-screen abilities in line with how they are in the base rules, but I can’t help but feel like its odd for the “idedalized” dnd experiance to be playing around with toys that most groups will never get their hands on. 

In my experience d&d is on a sliding scale of stakes V Shenanigans, with the exact ballance evolving over the course of a campaign:  Your group starts out as a bunch of dumbfucks and at some point while you’re making  making absolute fools out of yourselves you become a found family just in time for the consequences of your actions to circle back around and threaten the realm. First the characters start caring about eachother, then they care about the world, then they have to save that world. Level 16 is, for me, distinctly in “save the world” territory, despite the fact that the HaT crew are clearly still figuring out who they are and what they care about.  It makes me wish D&D was more free with its shenanigan enabling magic/items/class features at lower levels to help fuel these kinds of antics.  

Attunement: Perhaps the best “ oh I’m totally going to steal this” moment came from Simon’s attempt to attune to the helm of disjunction. Turning what was otherwise a rote game mechanic into an oppertunity for character growth was genius on behalf of the writers, though one I’d only really employ with items that were as necessary for my plots as the helm was for the heist. Just like Simon’s major flaw was self doubt, I could easily see delicious storytelling potential in throwing up other emotional hurdles depending on the situation: A hero’s sword refusing to attune to the haunted survivor until they’ve come to terms with what they’ve done, an otherwise altruistic character being forced to admit their sin and self interest by an evil-aligned artifact. 

Over all, I really enjoyed the movie, though paradoxically It didn’t hook me as much because for me one of the biggest charms of fantasy is the feeling of discoverying a new world, and I’ve been living the d&d world for the past 20 years so it didn’t come of as wild and magical as it could have been, having hewn so close to established d&d material.