#it was pretty tamed compared to anything i listed up there

[sophfandoms53]

Y’all remember in BB7 when Dr. Will stood up during a veto meeting and told his houseguests he hated all of them and to vote him out?

Or in BB10 when Dan played puppet master with 4 of the houseguests at the veto meeting to get his nomination roulette game into motion so he could put Michelle up and take some of the blame off himself?

Or in BB12 when Brendon won the veto and in his veto speech Andrew told the house he was going after Brendon and Rachel and then proceeded to still ask for Brendon to use the veto on him?

Or also in BB12 when Brendon called Britney, who had the veto, a spoiled brat during a veto meeting?

Or in BB16 when the second veto meeting became an entire house meeting to expose Devin’s game?

Or in BB3 when Marcellas’ dumbass decided to not use the veto and got himself sent home?

Or hell even LAST SEASON in BB24 when the Leftovers formed to protect each other, and especially Taylor, so they concocted a speech for Turner to use in the veto meeting where he called out the houses dogpiling and mistreatment in regards to Taylor and how he shouldn’t have to call out that kind of behavior to a group of people all older than him and he proceeded to blindside the other side of the house by putting up Ameerah and Terrance?

Hisam’s speech wasn’t even close to any of the chaoticness or hilarity or iconicness of any of these past veto meetings tbh.

[deconstructthesoup]

It's Black Friday, which means I'm, of course, thinking about Starkid... and I have a theory that the specific order that the LiB are always listed in (Pokotho, Bliklotep, T'noy Karaxis, Nibblephem, Wiggoth Y'Wrath) are, in fact, the order of how powerful they are, from least to greatest.

Let's start with Pokey. Now, on the surface, yeah, being able to completely take over people and turn them into hollow shells that speak your voice may be pretty damn powerful, but I think this actually works to the LiB's detriment. Think back to what Hidgens said, way back in TGWDLM---the existence of the hivemind would result in world peace, because if they're all under one mind, one "Singular Voice," there's nothing to fight about... but the LiB are all about sowing chaos, driving people to ruin. And if Pokey takes over everyone, there's nobody left to mess with. Even Webby outright compares Pokey to the rest of his brothers, which speaks a lot to how they see him---short-sighted, close-minded, and probably a little selfish. (I could also bring up the fact that unlike the others, he seems a lot more serious and even somber in his infliction, tying into his stone-face mask, but that's a whole other thing.) He's also, interestingly enough, one of two LiB who weren't introduced by way of Sniggles---even Nibbly got a little song from two of them after he did his Honey Queen munching---so maybe that means something? Idk.

Blinky definitely seems to have a good deal of power, if the horrors going on in Watcher World are anything to go by, but it also seems kinda... limited. From what we can see (heh), Blinky just operates out of this theme park, and unlike the others? He actually got defeated. Alice and Bill broke out of the effects, flooded Watcher World, and made it out with their bond strengthened rather than broken. Compare this with Pokey succeeding in taking over the world in TGWDLM---even if he failed later in Yellow Jacket---Tinky easily pulling the rug out from Ted's feet in Time Bastard, Nibbly snacking on Linda without so much as a second thought in Honey Queen, and Wiggly fucking starting a nuclear war in Black Friday despite his cult getting defeated and him not actually manifesting, you gotta wonder... what's up with Blinky failing? But I think his human look in NPMD speaks to that---it's a very laid-back look, and I saw someone suggest that he (or she, here, I guess) is trying to emulate the type of teen who's just there to chill, sit back, and watch TV. Maybe Blinky's whole deal is that he's fairly passive, and just wants to watch the chaos happen while he nudges some folks in the right direction. I could be completely wrong, of course.

Now, Tinky as the brother who's smack-dab in the middle actually makes a lot of sense. His domain is time itself---that's nothing to sneeze at! He's incredibly devious, and he always seems to get what he wants! His specialty is driving people insane! But when you look at the fact that he seems a little too chaotic, even for his brothers, and the fact that his eldritch form is, uh... kinda tame, since it's literally just a yellow goat, you have to wonder if Tinky suffers from middle-child syndrome. He's powerful, sure, but he's weird. Either he gets overlooked or he's just there to be along for the ride---I'm just guessing this based on the fact that he had, like two lines in The Summoning, even though he's probably the reason the messed-up timeline in Hatchetfield exists. He's just the crazy middle child, and honestly? That works. Good for him.

Nibbly, I think, is the only LiB (aside from our tentacle boi) who is explicitly stated to be considered "unique," with a power set that automatically puts him on a different level than a lot of his brothers. He's the only one who can regularly manifest in our reality, which makes him the only one who can physically affect the real world---and sure, that means eating pagent winners, but it could also mean a shitton of other things. It's kind of amazing that with his constant hunger and the power to manifest on Earth once a year, he only limits himself to one sacrifice... and maybe that's the point. Maybe the sacrifice only exists because Nibbly used to use that night to cause as much devastation as possible, and he's calmed down since then. Which, uh... yeah, scary thought.

And, yeah, Wiggly is obvious. He's in charge, he makes the decisions, he's always revered over the others---it's pretty clear that he's the most powerful brother, and though everything he does in Black Friday speaks to that, I have a feeling that we don't actually know the extent of Wiggly's true power... and maybe, that's the point. The other LiB get clear-cut domains---control, surveillance, time, and hunger, with not a lot of room for wiggle room, if you'll forgive the pun---but for Wiggly, it's not so obvious. We know that his line in The Summoning is "Wiggly wants his wrath," but it's not just wrath that he preys on. In Black Friday, he uses what people want to become strong, quite literally marketing himself as the solution to all of their problems. In NPMD, he asks Steph, Pete, and Grace for the thing they cherish. He's not just wrath, but greed and desire, and that adds a punch. Also, that extra bit of complexity makes him line up perfectly as a devil figure.

And considering all of this, you have to wonder---where does Webby fall in all of this? Is she stronger than her brothers, and it's just that they outnumber her, or is she weaker? Is she older or younger (this might've been answered, I'm not as caught up on livestream lore as some may be)? Is it just her in the White, or does she have sisters? She's described as "A Queen in White," not "The Queen in White," which points to there maybe being more, but why haven't we seen more? Why is it just Webby fighting against her brothers, and why can't she do more?

*pauses*

Wow. Okay. Jesus, that got away from me.

Anyways, the Hatchetfield saga has super cool horror worldbuilding

[bitbugbites-re]

𝚅𝚒𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 | 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰

headcanons on how different RE men would take your virginity !

tumblr exclusive!

characters: Albert Wesker, Carlos Oliveira, Chris Redfield, Ethan Winters, Leon S. Kennedy

gender: gn! reader

cw: NSFW, FLUFF // virginity // ktober

a/n: to everyone reading this, i hope you have/had a good day today! <3

𝕬𝖑𝖇𝖊𝖗𝖙 𝖂𝖊𝖘𝖐𝖊𝖗 (any rendition)

Do you need to be in a relationship first?

No, it wouldn't be important to Wesker if you were in a relationship or not first. He doesn't come off as the type of guy to believe the notion that first times are sacred

Who initiates?

Probably you. I can't see him being too pushy/eager to have sex, as he seems like he would have a fairly tame-to-low sex drive tbh

Although, that doesn't mean he's against it or other displays of affection. He's just not horny 24/7 (for some reason, despite all of the smut that i've written, i am utterly and completely intimidated by the word "horny." this word is my achilles heel. i fear that i will never escape it's incredible power to make me want to fall to the floor and sob at its horrific-ness. however, today, i have powered through it for you, with only a few tears and trembles involved).

What kind of foreplay?

I feel like his go-to foreplay in this situation would be kissing and fingering, honestly. Very basic foreplay, nothing too insane.

He'd probably make eye contact with you the entire time he fingered you, too.

How long does it last?

The entire ordeal, from foreplay to finishing, would probably last less than 30 mins. I feel like he'd be skilled at both foreplay and penetration itself, and would get straight to the point.

I also feel like he would be a little nicer and more sweet during your first as compared to any other time

I doubt he would drag things out/tease you too much for your first time, unless you wanted him to

Is it good?

Yeah, it'd be good sex. Although, if you're a romantic, it might be a little disappointing if you have an idealized "first time" in mind

Overall? Probably a 7/10. Somewhere between average to pretty decent sex

𝕮𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖔𝖘 𝕺𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖎𝖗𝖆 (re3r)

Do you need to be in a relationship first?

If he knows you're a virgin? Yeah. If he doesn't know? Nope!

Tbh I feel like he would forget to ask, and would just automatically assume you've done-the-deed before. Although, he'd probably figure out at some point building up to penetration, in which case, he'd most likely pull back and offer to get to know you better first

Who initiates?

Could go either way. I can see him respecting that first times are important, and thus not bringing it up until you mention it or get overly touchy. However, he likely would try to gently tip-toe around the topic -- he'd make a lot of jokes about it, get a little touchy, put himself out there more by dressing or smelling nice -- all to gauge where you're at or to put the idea in your head

What kind of foreplay?

Anything. Everything. Whatever you want -- getting oral, being fingered, sucking him off or fingering him (if you're into that) -- he'd do it.

HOWEVER. There would be some limits -- I don't think he'd do anything too crazy. He would try to keep it fairly vanilla for your first time. He'd tell you that he'd be willing to do whatever in the future (WITHIN BOUNDS...), but your first time should be like a 'trial period' or something like that

How long does it last?

I feel like out of every other character on this list, sex with Carlos would take the longest. And most of it would probably be foreplay

I'd also bet that he'd be able to last a good amount of time during penetration as well. He knows his limits, and if he starts getting close, he'll change positions or use some other method to prolong intercourse.

Is it good?

YES. I feel like if you like passionate, whirlwind-like displays of affection, then Carlos would be the best one for you out of all the other characters on this list. He knows what he's doing, and he knows where to touch in order to make you feel good

Overall? Around an 8 or 9/10. He would not fail to sweep you off your feet

𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕽𝖊𝖉𝖋𝖎𝖊𝖑𝖉 (re8)

Do you need to be in a relationship first?

For RE8 Chris? No, probably not. If you want to go, he's ready -- relationship or not.

Who initiates?

In a lot of scenarios, most likely Chris. I see it being a very, "Are you ready yet? How about now?" kind of thing (dude's got a high sex drive lmao)

What kind of foreplay?

He'd probably prefer having you give him oral. If you wanted something too, though, he'd be willing to do it -- fingering, oral, etc.

Not too into kissing -- he'd rather make eye contact with you while playing with you or touching you in general

I don't think he'd make a big deal out of it if you wanted to do kinkier stuff for your first time. He'd likely go along with it, thinking that since it's your first time, and you asked, it'd be fine (he'd also probably be impressed that you wanted to ramp it up lol)

How long does it last?

An average amount of time. Not too long, not too short.

Same goes for how long he lasts during penetration. He doesn't seem like he would try to hold his orgasm back, so when it comes, it comes. Although, again, it wouldn't be quick, either

Is it good?

Yeah, it's not bad. If you're looking for someone to be a little more rough with you for your first time (not recommended LOL) then Chris is your guy

Overall, it's a solid 6 or 7/10. Very average sex -- and if you do it again in the future, it's going to be fairly the same. Little to no special treatment for your first time :p

𝕰𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖓 𝖂𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 (re7, re8)

Do you need to be in a relationship first?

Yep -- partially because Ethan views first times as special, but also because he isn't the type to sleep around. He'd require a relationship first for both your and his sake

Who initiates?

Ethan, and it's planned. I doubt he'd spring it on you, either -- the two of you would talk it out first, plan a date beforehand, and then after the date...well, you know (yes, I would like to preorder one sex please!)

What kind of foreplay?

Very romantic, sensual foreplay. Kissing, soft touching, etc.

I feel like he'd be open to the basics -- oral for either person (although he'd ensure you it's about you and he doesn't need it), fingering, etc.

How long does it last?

Anywhere from a normal amount of time to slightly more than what's to be expected. I feel like he would really take his time with foreplay, as well as go slow during penetration

Is it good?

Yes! If you're a romantic at heart, Ethan's going to give you the best first time -- he's going to make sure he does everything right

Overall, probably an 8 or 9/10. This dude's got it DOWN for deflowering mfs

𝕷𝖊𝖔𝖓 𝕾. 𝕶𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖊𝖉𝖞 (re2r)

Do you need to be in a relationship first?

...maybe. I'm gonna say yeah, just because I feel like he'd be a virgin at this point of time too, LOL. He seems like he'd value romantics and wouldn't really sleep around outside of a relationship unless he had very strong feelings for you

Who initiates?

If you're in a relationship and it's been a decent amount of time since you started dating, probably him. He'd ask you about it and then...yeah.

However, if you're not in a relationship (and he likes you a lot), or you just recently started dating, it'll have to be you who initiates. He's a little reserved, so in either of these scenarios, he won't be the one to ask first

What kind of foreplay?

Lots of kissing, gentle touching, neck kissing

Would be fine with oral and fingering on either sides. Out of all the options, though, his preferred pick would be going down on you. Not just for you, but also because he seems like the kind of guy who gets off by seeing his partner get off

How long does it last?

...oh brother. Anywhere from short to long

Long because it'd probably take the two of you a while to figure out wtf you were both doing...

...and short because that man probably is not going to last long penetration-wise (LMAO im so sorry)

He'd offer to go another round to make up for it though??? Dw, one way or another, he'd make sure you still got off

Is it good?

...it would GET good. But at the beginning? It's gonna be awkward and clumsy (don't worry, he's a fast learner -- in fact, it likely wouldn't take long in your relationship for him to get the hang of it)

Overall...I'm going to have to give the man a 6/10. I'M SO SORRY. He gets an A for effort, but buddy 'ol pal, that man is not gonna know how to wield the friend in his pants right off the bat !!!

For the official and original Kinktober 23 prompts, check here. Credits to @kinktober2023 for the ideas!

[yanderes-galore]

Romantic Yandere Tavros Nitram with GN human reader please?

Yesss! I love Tavros even if he isn't a very intense yandere >:) If you have ideas to make him a worse yandere I'll hear it but it needs to be in character.

Yandere! Tavros Nitram with Human! Darling

Pairing: Matesprit ❤️

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Troll/Human pairing, Clingy yandere behavior, Manipulation, Guilt tripping, Delusional behavior, Brief jealousy mention, Dubious relationship.

Compared to other trolls I feel Tavros wouldn't mind a human darling from the start.

Sure, the concept of a human Matesprit is foreign at first...

But he doesn't find it repulsive.

Similar to how he was with Jade he probably invested himself in your journey relatively early on.

He just didn't kill off your guardian....

Tavros isn't very capable of malicious actions towards others like most of his friends.

This is actually what makes him a tame yandere.

There's a very low chance he'll hurt anyone.

Tavros and you will most likely get along as he doesn't try to degrade you in any way.

He's actually nervous to speak with you at first, worried you'll do weird advances like Dave or be scared of him.

Although chats between you are actually rather tame, often speaking to each other about your sessions and Dream Selves.

Tavros feels bery comfortable around you, he likes that you respect him and don't try to harm him or his self-esteem in anyway.

Even when he tells you he's a paraplegic you don't make fun of him or anything.

His bar for relationships is pretty low so it isn't hard to get him obsessed with you if you use kindness.

Tavros really feels like there could be a connection between you.

Admittedly it could just be some delusional thinking but he quickly wonders if you two could share red love between each other.

Even though you never met in person.

When he does meet you in person, via the Meteor or Dream Bubbles, he's ecstatic.

Vriska gave him issues for loving a human at first... then John came along so she doesn't bother him that much anymore-

Tavros would be so excited to tell you about everything he's went through since you last talked.

Regardless on if it's good or bad.

You'll probably be surprised to see he can walk, as he'll either have robotic legs or normal legs because ghost.

To Tavros it doesn't matter if he meets you alive or not, he just yearns to meet you!

Normally he'd be nervous and too shy to physically touch you or ask you about quadrants.

Although, with his new confidence boost due to his experiences, he's bolder with you.

He asks to hug you when you meet and starts to anxiously talk about various things with you.

He gives you time to get used to him before he tries to ask about quadrants.

By now you know what those are so the conversation won't be too hard.

Tavros already knows a ton more about you than you do him due to... time shenanigans?

Meanwhile you don't know much about him.

As a result, Tavros will confess to you rather quickly after he meets you.

He can't help it... he feels like he's known you forever!

When he asks you to date him as his red love he's nervous yet uses his confidence to tell you.

If you reject him, which is the most likely option, he understands and decides to wait longer before asking again.

If you accept he's happy!

He'll cling to you and mutter about how he's finally found someone!

He just hopes you don't find it too weird to date a troll... or even weirder to be dating a troll ghost-

I'd say Tavros is a patient yandere and is understanding that his darling may not like him right away as a human.

As a result he'll allow you to ask questions about him and get to know him before bringing up dating again.

Dating or not, Tavros is affectionate when he has the confidence.

He prefers his darling to give him affection yet loves to show you just how much he loves you with affectionate touches and words.

He likes to tell you how much you mean to him.

He likes to lay against you and list all the things he likes about you, hoping all the while you'll do the same-

He isn't the best at being Matesprits but he gets the hang of it.

If you're thinking Tavros would be a yandere who murders and harms others... no, he's not.

Tavros, even with the confidence boost, is the more manipulative and pathetic kind of yandere.

He's not malicious manipulative... he's guilt trip manipulative because you feel bad for him.

If he's jealous he doesn't lash out.

He silently suffers... up until you ask about it.

Then he'll tell you how he feels and asks you to limit contact with others...

He isn't forcing you... but he's hoping you'll listen to him as his Matesprit/Matesprit to be.

Although he isn't that bad to be with so you may not find him that much of a danger or issue.

Tavros has shown he doesn't care if his Matesprit is troll or human with Jade (although she found it weird and too sudden).

When it comes to a human darling he's treat you the same, nervous and anxious about his love yet showing he cares and will stand up for you.

If someone tried to take his human red love away he'll try his best to stand up for himself.

It's much easier to do with robot legs or as a ghost.

I will say he won't let Vriska hurt you.

A good Matesprit/Potential Matesprit must defend the one they love, right?

He'll try to be brave and defend you!

It would suck if you saw him weak like he was before....

All Tavros wants to do is live comfortably beside you, watching movies and being honest with each other.

Even if you reject him he is still pretty hopeful you'll love him at some point.

Maybe you just need more time?

He can't wrap his head around you not liking him the same way based on how you two interact so he's persistent.

Tavros knows about you and humans due to watching your journey.

He tries his best to tell you about himself, a bit oblivious to the fact some parts leave you astonished.

Like his entire situation with Vriska.

But there's no need to worry about the past!

The past is depressing!

Now he has you and you have him!

Things can be happy if you just choose to stay with him!

Why would you refuse?

He's adorable and great to be around...

He's... even scared you'll leave him because you won't think he's up to your standards...

Surely you'll agree to be his Matesprit at some point, forever...

You won't leave him, will you?

[dnickels]

I'm interested in Javert's list of demands (read: gentle suggestions). He is wracked by a crisis. The tenets of his life no longer mean anything. His life's work amounts to less than nothing-- it may have been carried out in error. Turning and turning in the widening gyre, the falcon cannot hear the falconer, things fall apart; the center cannot hold-- you get the idea.

But he still feels compelled the leave the scene of his final act to fire off "A Few Observations for the Good of the Service", which makes sense in light of his revelation, except compared to the internal monologue chronicling collapse of his faith and all the ideals he held sacred, the observations are pretty tame. Some of this is probably "man who has not expressed a single profound thought in his entire life isn't about to start right at the end", but if we grade the observations on a curve, given what we know about Javert's ideas of obedience and speaking up (PUNISH ME MR. MAYOR), it maybe reveals something about how that ideological rigidity was daily maintained.

To be sure, some of his observations are (or can be construed as) anti-prisoner: ensuring a woman working at the canteen can't reach out and touch their hands, a recommendation for more isolation and misery perhaps. Some are pointers on police efficiency, or scolding subordinates for lack of discipline. Some, though:

���Fourthly: it is inexplicable why the special regulation of the prison of the Madelonettes interdicts the prisoner from having a chair, even by paying for it.

Most of the points that would suggest some kind of reform for the prisoner's benefit are couched in terms of pure efficiency or rule-of-law (conditions that allow for illness to spread among prisoners costs the state money, letting some prisoners extort money from others is just more crime) but point number four seems almost purely altruistic. We have to imagine at one point Javert had the thought "well, why can't Prisoner 42069 have a chair?" and then immediately, ruthlessly squashed it down. Because those are the rules, that's why. And he put that thought away and didn't let it out until everything else that gave order and structure to the world collapsed from under him.

As statements go its meticulously worded (and perfectly grammatical, we are assured) but still slightly incoherent- the points are all over the place, not in any kind of order and with minimal rational, which I suppose speaks to his state of mind. I think you can read it as the actions of a short-circuiting machine, spitting out the last few processes as Daisy Bell winds down-- or perhaps just as a catalogue of doubts. Whoever opens it up probably won't get much out of it-- a quick "alright, duly noted" before tossing the not-quite-manifesto in the trash-- but I'm curious what we, the readers, are meant to take away from it. Tidying up loose ends? I don't think 'defiance' is quite right, but maybe something closer to a petition. What someone who has never in his life believed much in democracy might come up with when seized with the need to express dissatisfaction.

I don't know, I'm still chewing on it.

[chriscdcase95]

Terrifier 3 predictions

Edit: as of November of 2023, and Terrifier 3’a actual preview, this post is outdated.

————

Read the title. It may be a little early to make predications (edit: yup) on the third Terrifier, but it’s been on my mind for a while now.

I’ve been writing these down since the DVD release, but I’m just getting to editing and posting them now.

So I’m just gonna stop wasting time with introductions, and get to the list.

----

1. It'll be set on the same night as Terrifier 2.

Damien Leone said the third movie picks up right after 2, and seeing as it’s implied to be just after Sienna decapitates Art, I doubt there’ll be a time skip. It may even homage something like Halloween II or Halloween Kills.

With this in mind, Sienna and Jonathan wouldn’t have had time to recuperate after their fight with Art; and assuming Sienna gets any kind of “Angel” powers to counter Art’s she wouldn’t have enough time to master her them.

This would allow Sienna to learn to master these powers over the movie, and keep her from being this invincible OP hero.

2. Terrifier 3 will have a hospital setting.

Again, maybe as a homage to Halloween II, but a lot of my predictions have to do with characters going to a hospital or two.

Which kind, I don’t know. An emergency room would be most likely for Jonathan at least, but Art and the Possessed Vicky are in a psychiatric clinic. I can’t think of a believable reason they’d be in the same building. Maybe the staff are forced to take Vicky to the hospital, but wouldn’t the ward have its own medical wing ?

Maybe I’m overthinking it.

It should be noted that Damien Leone also wanted to make a feature film based off The 9th Circle short film (Art’s debut). Before that idea was scrapped, its story would have involved teenagers being trapped in an abandoned hospital, overrun by demons.

Leone already recycled some of his old ideas for Terrifier 2; Sienna herself was based on a character he wanted to write back in 2008, so I can see him reviving some of the scrapped film here.

It might even be dubbed something like “Terrifier: The 9th Circle”.

Which leads us too…

3. Art will be out of commission for much of the movie…I mean, he’s literally a head at this point. But this would lead to other threats taking the stand.

I’m talking about The 9th Circle demons. Art is practically backed up by the forces of Hell, and apparently he’s important enough to them that his resurrection is a must.

So what I’m picturing is these demons stepping into the fray. If they go the hospital route, and revise The 9th Circle, these demons would take over the hospital, killing in Art’s place while rebuilding his body.

For example, they would kill and mutilate staff and patients for body parts/organs, Frankenstien-ing a body for Art to reattach his head.

Plus it gives Sienna something to build her power on. She wouldn’t just be fighting Art himself, but numerous demons of different varieties and powers. Think Die Hard in a demon infested hospital.

4. If Art is out of commission, we may learn some of his backstory. Being a reanimated head, it’s not like Art can do much of anything besides think.

So to pass the time, we’d get flashbacks here and there about Art’s past with Art thinking about how he got here…but they will subvert the typical slasher villain sob story, and keep him unsympathetic.

Here’s some examples, off the top of my head.

Art was bullied as a child ? Well, who doesn’t get bullied ? Plus, it would turn out the bullying he suffered was mere teasing, or at least pretty tame compared to more severe examples of bullying. Carrie White, he is not.

If they build up an abusive parents backstory ? It turns out his parents were well meaning, if strict and disconnected, at worst. The examples of “abuse” Art apparently suffered consisted of having to do mundane chores around the house every now and then.

If Art had someone in his life who left him and broke his heart ? Art was an emotionally distant boyfriend (at best) especially when it was clear his partner was going through something that he was indifferent too.

Alternatively, whoever broke Art’s heart wasn’t romantically involved with him in the first place; Art just had a really bad case of “Nice Guy Syndrome”.

Again, these are just examples I’d think of; things that wouldn’t make Art tragic or sympathetic, or even explain why he such a raasclaat pulling this kind of buffoonery.

5. Going with the above, if - and that’s a Big IF - we get any kind of face/voice reveal for Art, they’re gonna pull the “They Look Just Like Everyone Else” card.

It'd revealed that underneath his clown getup, Art isn’t actually deformed; his silent clown gimmick is just that; his costume is just that. His pointy nose ? Prosthetics. His rotting teeth ? Dentures you could pick up at a Halloween store. 

If we ever see Art without his makeup (or prosthetics), it’s just David Howard Thorton’s normal face. Art may not even be a genuine mute; his silence would just be part of the shtick. If we hear Art’s speak, it’s just David Howard Thorton’s natural speaking voice.

The reason why no one was able to find Art over the years isn’t supernatural or that he just has a good hiding spot; he just has such a mundane and casual appearance and demeanor.

You wouldn’t think to question the guy minding his own business at the pancake house, or the grocery store, or hanging around the mall.

You could be sitting across the table from Art at a dinner date, remarking about the Miles County Massacre, and you wouldn’t be the wiser as he nods and smiles.

Think Machine’s face reveal from 8MM, and you’ll get a good idea of what I’m talking about.

undefined

Going with this, if they want to do an “Art gets away” cliffhanger…it would just be Art getting out of his costume and makeup dressing in mundane clothes and blending into a crowd.

6. If Allie’s alive...it’ll be a “Be Careful What You Wish For” twist.

Allie has become a popular supporting character, even with (and partially because) of her infamous “death” scene. So much so, a portion fanbase wants her to come back in the third movie.

And to be fair, we don’t see her expire…

But there’s a catch. In the first Terrifier, Vicky survives Art’s attack and is left mutilated and disfigured. In the original Terrifier short, Art purposefully keeps a victim alive and heavily mutilated for his amusement.

What I’m getting at is if Allie is still alive after all of that…we can only expect her to be in this miserable state, left heavily mutilated and disfigured from Art’s attack.

If this goes for the hospital route, Sienna may pay her a visit, and the scene may be played as a Tear Jerker; practically nudging at the audience saying “Well, you wanted her alive! Are you happy ?”

And that’s not counting the possibility of Art or one of his demonic partners tormenting a hospitalized Allie throughout.

One upside I can see is, if Sienna is gaining angelic powers…angels are often depicted as having this power to heal others.

Now, I’m not saying I see Sienna magically restoring Allie’s body and undoing her mutilation…but maybe a scene where she takes Allie’s physical pain away, and causes Allie to feel an uncontrollable rush of happiness/relief.

Not sure if I can see Damien Leone doing something this hopeful, but it’d be nice to see. I was listening to Robbie Williams’ “Angels” when I wrote this part down.

[hxuse-xf-black]

PowerPoint #3: Hadley Parkinson-Abbott (OC)

Louis: Oh god. Fred II: This is going to be a horror show.

Hadley (OC): I mean, it's pretty weird. James Sirius: Why do you even have them? Hadley (OC), sighing: Remember in third year with the gherkin- Lucy: Oh, yeah! That was fun. Louis: No, it was traumatizing.

Alice II: I know you said it's leftover from the time with the cactus, but why did we need it again? I can't remember. Louis: No talking about the cactus! Lucy: You're just bitter because we accidentally forgot you at the restaurant.

Fred II: What the fuck, Hads?! Hadley (OC): Quite frankly, I have no idea how it got in my bag, but I don't wanna touch it, so I'm not gonna take it out. Louis: I feel like we're all ignoring the concerning fact that 'racoon carcass' is only number eight. Hadley (OC): Trust me, compared to some of the other stuff I've got in there, this is pretty tame.

James Sirius: You don't even have a cat! Lucy: NINETEEN POUNDS?! Hadley (OC): It's for when Ali gets a cat. Alice II: Aw, thanks. Louis: Don't 'aw, thanks', this is weird! Hadley (OC): Well, yeah, it's literally in the title.

James Sirius: I mean, it's weird, yeah, but it doesn't really beat out racoon carcass. Hadley (OC): Yeah, well, I say it does, and it's my list, so what I say goes.

Lucy: 1985? You have a box of granola bars that expired before our parents were even in Hogwarts? Hadley (OC): It's for the opossums. Alice II: The what? Hadley (OC): Speaking of opossums....

Fred II: The longer this goes, the more scared I get. James Sirius: This is horrifying. I hope you know that. Louis, sarcastically: Are these ones live or did they die with the racoon carcass? Hadley (OC), defensively: Yes, they're live!

Hadley (OC): I've never read Shakespeare, but Ali does, so. Alice II: Aww. Louis: This is in no way weirder than the opossums. Hadley (OC): Shut up, Lou.

Fred II: Have- have you ever even been to Nevada? Hadley (OC): No. Alice II: Do you have plans- Hadley (OC): No. James Sirius: Then- then why-? \ Hadley (OC): No idea.

Hadley (OC): Before anyone says anything, it's because Nana Beth told me to put in the year book for 1977 and I figured with our luck, we're due for a time travel mishap, so I just put in all of the year books. Lucy: And you didn't think to ask her why 1977 specifically? Hadley (OC): I learned a long time ago not to ask questions when it comes to Nana Beth. Plausible deniability and all that. James Sirius, standing up: Well, this has been horrifying, but it's my turn now. Lucy, excitedly: Are you doing the usual presentation? James Sirius: You know it.

Masterlist Lucy< >James

[jedifarmerr]

50 Shades Of Marcus

Pairing: Marcus Pike x F!Reader(she/her pronouns but no name or physical descriptions)

Summary: The 50 Shades of Gray trailer leads to an interesting conversation which sets off an unexpected chain of events.

Word Count: over 10k (seriously this is mostly porn 70% at least)

Rating/Warnings: E for Explicit (18+ seriously). Smut, Dom!reader (Pretty soft dom), sub!Marcus, language, ambiguous age gap, lingerie (while SavagexFenty wasn't around I take most my inspiration from there since it is inclusive), yearning. Again don't wanna give too much away But this is decently tame for a Dom/sub and if you have any questions or want a full list, you can either message me or check this on AO3.

I'm still new to writing this dynamic so please let me know if I got anything wrong.

A/N: Thank you everyone for the support on the first part, seriously never expected it!

Read Part 1 - here

Part 2: A Darker Shade

Marcus stood outside her door, a Redbox movie tucked under his arm and a to-go bag of Thai in hand. Glancing at the golden knob, a rush of butterflies hit him. 

Would it feel different? 

Was everything going to change? 

Safe to say it was new territory for him. Always more of a relationship guy, the closest thing Marcus had to a friend with benefits – or whatever this was called – was in middle school when his neighbor Allie suggested they be the other’s first kiss. 

It was like comparing apples to oranges. Or in this case a peck to a mind-blowing…handjob. 

Obviously he’d talked to her in the past few days. A few texts here and there, mostly planning for tonight. 

But, seeing her? That was a different story. Aside from Saturday – for the half-hour breakfast/run down – he’d seen her once, the other morning on the landing but the smile and wave as a proclaimed art connoisseur barked in his ear which barely counted. 

Marcus wasn’t worried, per se, to see her, more anxious for the unknown. A tad nervous about how the new dynamic might bleed into what was already so great. 

Well, there was no time like the present to find out. 

Marcus took a deep breath then opened the door. At the sound of it, she jumped up from the couch. 

“There you are.” She smiled, wide and warm. His mouth opened but nothing came out, his brilliant mind was suddenly replaced by a blank piece of scratch paper. The little voice in his head called through the void, screaming to say something – a simple hi or maybe a how’s it going would do.

But no.

In a dash of panic, the room filling with the pad of her feet as she drew nearer, he slapped a dorky smile on his face and lifted the to-go bag like a proud fisherman showing off his prized catch. The forgotten DVD slid from his armpit, crashing at his feet and all he wanted was to reverse just twenty seconds, a real life Click moment. 

Marcus shook his head at himself and slung the sack on the table, before bending down to snatch up the case. “Sorry ‘bout that.” 

She dismissed the ordeal with a wave of her hand and a shrug. “No need to apologize, happens to the best of us,” she said nonchalantly and plucked the DVD from his hand. “Let’s see what ya got – the Equalizer, huh? Ya know, I’ve heard good things.” 

He let out a small breath of relief after spending ten minutes swiping through the movie selection; if not for the woman and her children waiting patiently, he probably would’ve been there all night. 

“Ya know, Eric actually recommended it so I wasn’t too sure, but just thought ya know - why not?” Marcus tugged at the knot on the bag a few times until it finally loosened. She glided past him into the kitchen while he pulled out two entrees and an order of her favorite, spring rolls to share. 

“Maybe Eric will be right this time.” He chuckled at her teasing of the co-worker he’d told her so much about. “Want anything to drink?” 

She stopped at the fridge, twirling to face him and he swore – for just a moment – her eyes flickered across his shoulders and slim waist, hugged by his tight t-shirt. If so she didn’t have any shame about it, settling back on his face with a waiting tilt of her head. 

“Water,” he croaked out, promptly clearing his throat while sinking down in the chair. “Please,” he politely added. 

The fridge groaned to life, ice crashing in the glass cup. “Thanks again, by the way,” she said as the water hissed against the cubes. “For picking this up for us. Got a receipt? I think mine’s usually 12 dollars?” 

He dismissed her offer like it was a gnat, but knew she had the persistency and stubbornness of a fly. She went to debate, but he beat her to it. “I insist.” Her lips pursed, studying him and he cocked his brow in defense. “Besides, I owe you for the pizza - and don’t forget Rocco’s.” 

“Please, that was nothing.” She shook her head, handing him the glass. 

“Yeah? Well, neither was this.” His voice and cocky grin left no room for argument. 

She huffed, sliding into the chair opposite of him. “Well I got dibs on next time.” 

“Hmmmm, I think I can live with that.” He smirked, plucking up a spring roll and taking a bite – a few pieces of cilantro falling from his lips to the container. 

She popped open the lid, “Oooof, now this looks amazing.” She stabbed the noodles, twirling them around her fork then blowing off the steam before taking a cautious bite. 

“Sorry it took so long. My meeting ran late and I wanted to chan-” His explanation trailed into silence as her finger shot up, swallowing. 

“I swear, I’m gonna kick you out if you apologize again.” Her laugh was light, an empty threat. 

“Sor - ah, won’t happen again,” he said, raising a hand in surrender. She nodded, giving her best serious face. The sound of chewing surrounded the table for just a few moments, Marcus sipped on his water. “Alright,” he set the glass down. “I gotta ask. How was that yoga class?” An annoyed, almost pissed off look flashed across her face. “That bad?” He asked. 

She patted the sides of her mouth with a napkin. “Worse.” 

Little did Marcus know he’d opened up a can of worms.

The yoga class she’d gone to with some co-workers for team bonding (not her idea) after breakfast on Saturday ended up being a fast-paced, hot yoga class instead of something calm and tranquil like advertised. By the end of the hour her mat was surrounded by a puddle and the coffee and croissant from earlier were dangerously close to making a reappearance. The only brightside seemed to be the prospect of a new friend. 

Once she was done ranting, she spent the rest of the dinner focused on him. Asking him about his caseload, listening intently to his stories and almost falling out of her chair laughing at Eric’s countless shenanigans. 

Both full and satisfied, Marcus popped in the movie and plopped on his end of the couch with her following soon after. Watching it with continuous commentary as if nothing had happened. 

“So,” she said, turning to him as the ending scene panned out, “Come on. Whaddya think?” 

“It was -” he shrugged, “Pretty good, yeah – entertaining, interesting enough.” 

“Oh, here we go,” she teased with a playful roll of her eyes. “What was it this time? No wait, let me guess. Was it the fact that it wasn’t made before you were born? No - no, because it wasn’t on the classics list on google? Wait - I got it, it wasn’t black and white?” 

He clicked his tongue, “I show you one black and white movie –” 

“Nononono – don’t even. Don’t down play it, we both know it’s more than that.” He smashed his lips together and twirled his head from side to side. “Alright, there was – It’s A Wonderful Life -” 

“Oh come on. That’s a holiday classic.” 

“Pfft. Doesn’t change the fact it’s black and white.” She snorted and a smile broke through his lips. He motioned his hand in a circle for her to continue. “Then there was…Citizen Kane and oh - Casablanca.” 

“Now, you liked Casablanca,” he said and she wagged her head back and forth. 

“You’re completely missing the point. Look. Just admit it, old movies you give a pass to, but new movies – suddenly you turn into the biggest critic.” 

Marcus crossed his arms against his chest. “What can I say? They don’t make ‘em like they used to.” Her laugh was soft, warm on her lips. 

Shaking her head, she bounced to her feet and twisted from side to side to pop her back. “You’re impossible,” she said, then sauntered over to the TV. 

Marcus cruised over her simple long-sleeve and black leggings. A nothing special outfit, yet it never failed to stop him short. 

Honestly, he didn’t know what she looked better in. Marcus found her stunning in everything.

He loved seeing her so casual, bare face and cozy, but damn if he didn’t lose his breath anytime he saw her in those satin blouses tucked into power pants. Then that leather outfit, don’t even get him started – that actually ruined him; all week he wondered what else she had hidden away. 

Always one to be respectful, he hated those guys who gawked and ogled women like fresh meat. But he found himself in a moment of weakness, unable to tear himself away as she bent over to hit the eject button. Those black leggings latching onto her thighs and the swell of her ass –  not for the first time, he found himself jealous of an inanimate object. 

Too distracted with the lower half, he missed that she was peering over her shoulder. “Like what you see?” She teased with a questioning brow. 

His guilt-wide eyes shot to her and she giggled at the pink of his cheeks. Marcus scrubbed a hand down his face, “Fuck,” he mumbled, dissapointed in his lapse and feeling a tad creepy. How long had she been watching him, watch her? 

“It’s alright.” Her words fell delicate, an innocent sounding whisper wrapped in a sultry coat.

She slinked back to him, and his gaze held to hers. He couldn’t believe this was happening, moments ago it was like nothing had changed but now, she was fitting herself between his thighs; his heart booming in his chest like a speaker blaring at a concert, loud enough he swore she could hear. 

“I like when you look.” It dripped from her lips like water through a colander. As if she had no clue that such a simple sentence made his mind spin like a windmill in a tornado. He gulped, surprised and innocent. 

Her hand reached into the space between, “Come on,” she said, tilting her head to the front door. Helped to his feet, a step behind as he  followed her, the sentence wisping through his mind like a hypnotic spell. 

Opening the door, she cradled the side of it as he stepped out into the landing. Inhaling the thin and untainted air in hopes to clear the fog threatening to take over his frontal lobe. 

She handed him the DVD, “Make sure you return that.” 

He slapped the case against his palm with a firm nod. “Will do,” he teetered back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Well, I had fun.” 

“Yeah? Me too.” She smiled and damn it made him never want to leave. “Marcus, I know it’s been a few days but I um - just wanted to check and see if you’re still feeling alright about everything? I would’ve asked earlier, but since it was our first time hanging out I kinda wanted to keep it separate, if that makes sense.” 

Marcus couldn’t help but wonder if she’d dealt with a situation like this in the past, but judging by the sound of her voice it seemed like this was relatively new territory and he wasn’t alone in feeling a tad anxious about tonight. However she did a much better job of hiding it or handling it. 

“I get it.” Honestly, he did and appreciated her want and effort to maintain the friendship. “And to answer your question - yes. Uh - I still feel good, uh - really good.” His voice was sincere – earnest to a fault. 

“Good,” she gave a single nod, then peered up through her lashes. “Then, are you still interested in –” 

“Yes,” he blurted, his jaw clamping together immediately as her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Sorry,” his head dipped to the side. Lucky for him, she appeared to enjoy his eagerness, as the shock faded and her lips upturned on the sides. 

“ ‘s okay,” she assured and to his surprise, inched closer. Brushing up against him, every hair on his body stood at attention as his breathing picked up into a steady pant in his ear. The effect she had on him was dizzying, nothing like he’d ever experienced with Teresa or – hell even Angela. “Do you have any plans on Friday?” 

His head shook back and forth with a squeaked out ‘no.’ In the moment he couldn’t care less about playing it cool or acting like he needed a second to think, just to make it seem he had a semblance of a personal life. 

“Alright, well.” Her finger brushed against his tummy, up his cotton-covered chest. “Would you wanna come over?” At her bare whisper, Marcus turned to putty in her hands – malleable. 

“Mh-hmm.” His head moved like a flicked bobblehead. 

“Good,” she said in a husky voice, eyes flickering to his lips while licking her own. “It’s getting late, I think it’s time we call it a night.” He whimpered as her finger trailed to his neck, across his bobbing Adam's apple. Making his body scream for more – of what, he wasn’t sure but knew he would’ve taken anything and everything she would’ve given, even the smallest crumb. 

When she stepped away and into her apartment, he choked down a whiny gasp of air. “Sweet dreams, Marcus. Oh – and you should probably take care of that.” 

His eyes dropped to the tent in his sweats. “Oh - shit - damn it.”  

She shot him a self-satisfied grin and winked. “I’ll text you,” and with that, she closed the door. 

Marcus stared at the dark wood for a solid minute, then muttered out a curse, palming his cock as he fumbled with his keys. 

He was in deep deep trouble.

---

Jovial laughter and easy conversations broke through the glass pane walls of the usually stoic and serious conference room. They were celebrating a major bust in a decades-long case. Marcus was basking in the high spirits of his fellow agents. Everyone had really let their hair down, hanging their blazers over the rolly chairs and bunching up their sleeves. 

Leaning against the wooden table, Marcus smiled at the agents coming over to check the empty pizza boxes and refill their cups from an array of two-liters. Turning back to politely nod along, using every bit of cognitive strength to focus on Shannon’s prattling. 

Twirling a strand of auburn hair around her finger, Marcus peaked over at the clock above the door – once again. The hand ticking closer and closer to the time she told him to be over. He still needed to shower and change, but every effort to leave the conversation was thwarted by her refusal or inability to catch his subtle and polite hints. 

“Hey guys.” Marcus’s eyes lit up at the Baltimore twang; Eric slung his arm around his shoulder. “How’s it goin’ over here?” Eric asked with a dopey wide grin. 

“Fine,” Shannon said with a tight smile, the red solo cup popping under her perfectly french manicured vice. 

Eric raised his brows, catching her hint. “Well, I won’t keep ya too long. Listen, most of us are gonna hit up Barney’s after this and from there, well. We’ll see where the night takes us. You down?” He pointed at Shannon first.

“I’m in.” Her bright green eyes stared hopefully at Marcus. 

“Boss?” Eric raised his brows and the conversation dwindled around them as the other agents listened for his answer. 

“Ahh, can’t tonight.” The group groaned in unison. “I swear another time and actually-” he flicked his wrist out, checking his watch. “Oooh, in fact - I need to get goin’ soon. It was great talking to you Shan, hope your cat gets to feelin better.” 

A ghost of a smile played on Shannon’s lips as she shuffled over to another group in the corner. Needing to clean up, Marcus stacked the unused red solo cups. “Anyone want a refill?” He pointed to the two-liters. 

Eric pounced into his line of sight, “What are you doing tonight?” Marcus glanced around the room and the agents prying eyes scattered to all four corners. 

“Nothin really,” he tilted his head with a nonchalant shrug, “Just hanging out with a - friend.” His nose wrinkled at the word like it wreaked of sour milk. 

“A friend, huh?” Eric twisted his lips to the side, hand flourishing in the air. “And how’d you meet this friend?” 

If Eric was trying to be sly it was a piss poor attempt and Marcus scoffed. “She’s my neighbor.” 

“Oooooh.” Marcus immediately realized his mistake. Eric leaned in, his voice low “That’s kinky.” He wiggled his brows and Marcus couldn’t help but chuckle, little did he know. “And is this neighbor, well - does she happen to be…attractive?” 

It wasn’t like Marcus was against sharing aspects of his personal life with his colleagues. Hell, his poor secretary had to listen to him pour over his whole life – or at least the trail of failed relationships – at lunch for the first two months. Don’t worry, he bought her something nice for Christmas. 

But with her it was…different. For one, he’d never talk about sex and especially not his kinks. Secondly, he didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea or more so…for him to feed into it. 

Ignoring the question, Marcus turned to the room. “Last call before it’s going in the fridge.” At the shake of heads, he gathered up as many bottles as he could carry and headed for the break room next door. Eric grabbed the rest and followed right on his heels. 

“You’re not very slick, I see what you did there.” 

Marcus shook his head, turning the corner. He knew he was a lousy liar and felt it best to not even attempt. 

“Ya know,” Eric opened the fridge for him, “Avoidance is a form of admittance,” he said with full, plumped out lips as he packed the bottles in. 

“Is that so?” Marcus nodded, then turned his lips down. Offering nothing further before heading back to the conference room. 

“Yeah, so you might as well just admit it,” Eric spit near his ear. “Come on. Ya know I’m not gonna give -” 

“Fine,” Marcus mumbled, cutting him off before he got a headache. Popping his hip, he smacked his jaw together as Eric beamed like an overexcited child, body jittering and eyes wide – full of hope. “Yes, she’s…attractive.” 

Eric let out a gleeful gasp, “Now, was that so hard?” Marcus chuckled at the young agent, the youngest on the team. While some found him exhausting, Marcus found his energy and hopeful attitude refreshing – unless he was the object of his badgering. 

“But don’t get too excited,” Marcus said, towering the empty boxes. “We’re just friends.” Marcus dreaded saying the words that acted as a pin, popping Eric’s boastful bubble and deflating him on the spot. Checking the time once more, Marcus went to grab his jacket. 

Eric placed his hand on his chest, stopping him. “Now, slow down. Just answer me this, if she’s just a friend. Why don’t you reschedule, huh? I mean, she’s your neighbor - come on, you gotta see her all the time.” 

Not nearly enough, Marcus thought but breathed out an easy laugh at Eric’s resilience. He quickly snatched his jacket and coat from the chair. 

“And I don’t see you lot enough?” Eric rolled his eyes as Marcus bundled up. “Look, give me a date and I’ll be there. Promise.” 

Eric cracked a smile, “Alright, but I’m gonna hold you to that.” 

“Trust me, I know.” Marcus slung his briefcase over his shoulder and patted Eric on the back. “Have a good time and don’t get too wild.” 

“I can’t make any promises there. Oh - don’t worry about those, we’ll get ‘em. Just go, don’t wanna keep your ‘friend’ waiting.” Marcus dropped the boxes back on the table, then said a quick goodbye to the other agents before rushing out the door. 

---

It was a good thing Marcus was such a planner, leaving with enough time to shower and change along with an added extra ten minutes just in case. Of course, like usual all his best laid plans fell apart when two blocks in a fender bender put him at a standstill. Only to be followed up by a detour full of red lights. 

By the time he threw his car into park, it was five minutes past and he bolted inside, up the stairs. Coming to an abrupt halt outside her door. 

Marcus messed with his hair then cupped a hand over his mouth to check his breath. Pizza and Sprite shot into his nostrils and he cursed, swinging his briefcase around to fumble out a thing of tic-tacs, shaking a few into his hand. 

Munching down on them like a beaver, he swallowed. A mint ice coated his throat, making him sputter out a cough as he headed inside. 

“I’m here.” His voice was strained, sounding like he just smoked four packs in the car. He cleared his throat, locking the door. “I’m here. Sorry I’m late, there was-” His briefcase thudded to the ground, echoing in the empty room. 

“In here,” she called from the bedroom. 

“I’m comin’, be right there.” He ripped off his coat and toed off his shoes. “I’m so sorry, it was insane getting here.” 

Balmed by the frenzy of traffic, a sudden spike of anticipation hit him along with the scent of vanilla as he walked down the hall. “Did you get all my tex-” The pointless ramblings fizzled on his tongue. “Wow.” He rubbed his hand across his mouth, down his jaw. 

There she was, waiting for him on the bed with legs crossed, a languid sway of her foot. 

His eyes ping ponged around her. From her thigh high stockings which clipped into a hidden clasp somewhere in the high cut, high neck faux leather leotard; a metal harness wrapped around her neck like a choker, then ran down the center of her slightly puffed out chest to outline her breasts and hide the easy access zippers there; the third zipper wasn’t so hidden, running from just below her navel to somewhere he couldn’t see just yet, but with his deductive reasoning skills had a pretty good idea. 

Pursing her glossy stained lips and tilting her head, she pushed up with her hands and the shiny black pumps clicked on the floor. “You were saying?” 

“I - uh - I.” The dreamy fog was already starting to creep from the back of his neck to the front of his cortex, he shook his head to try and clear it for just a moment. “Sorry.” 

She hummed, “I know you are. It’s a shame though, really.” Her fingers clasped to the zippers at her breasts, a teasing sliver of skin left exposed. “I had these unzipped for you. Just waiting, nothing covering here.” The zippers growled completely shut and he whimpered at the excruciating sound. “But I don’t like to be kept waiting.” 

His adrenal gland ignited at the sternness that trickled into her sultry tone. A tingle of suspension creeped across his spine, making his cock harden in his slacks. “Consider this, your first warning.” For some reason he found himself on the verge of willingly falling to his knees. 

“I promise,” he rushed out, “It’ll never happen again. I’m so -” 

She pressed a finger to his lips, “Oh baby, it’s alright. All is forgiven for now.” She worked at the knot of his red striped tie. “Do you remember the stop light system?” The tie slid from his neck, fast as a whip and the polyester glided around her hands, feeling it in her palms before dropping it on the dresser behind him. 

“Yes, I remember.” 

“Good.” She craned her neck back to take in his tailor-fit navy suit jacket with matching slacks, paired with a crisp white button up. “Mhmm, I’ve always liked seeing you dressed up like this. Look so handsome.” The compliment burned his cheeks. “So powerful,” she said while untucking his shirt and toying open the buttons. “So assertive. So…Dominant.” 

She ripped it wide open and he gasped, only to swallow it back in as her nails grazed his newly exposed chest. 

“But, we both know that’s not the case. Don’t we?” The look in her eyes from under her lashes and the power in her stature had his knees nearly buckling, hands shooting to steady himself on the dresser. “Tell me, Marcus. Who’s in charge?” 

He gulped down the air in the room, tasting his own desperation on his lips and letting the word, “You,” slip with the breath he took. “You’re in charge.” 

She hummed, low and pleasing and he inhaled it, like it was an aphrodisiac, smelling of dark chocolate and red wine. “That’s right. I’m in charge here.” Her knuckles glided along the sparse hairs at his navel and he keened. “But don’t worry, I’m gonna take such good care of you. That’s what you want, right?” 

“Please, yes. God, yes,” he said, the neediness of it gleaming in his wide-brown eyes. 

“That’s what I thought, now let’s get you out of these clothes.” 

Desperation thrummed in her fingers, pushing off his shirt and jacket into a pool at his feet. The idea that she was eager to see him naked, that she desired his body made his cock pulse, begging for attention that she avoided while undoing his belt and tossing it to the side. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere she was crouching (refusing to kneel) and his body went taut. She peered up at him, slowly licking her lips then eyeing his cock. Burying her nose at the apex of his clothed thigh, his knuckles burned as his palms dug into the wood, fighting the buck of his hips. 

With a taunting hum, she pulled back and flicked open the button, carefully unzipping his slacks. Tugging them down, joined by his black briefs soon after. His cock nearly whacked her in the face as it sprung free. 

“Much better.” She popped back up, and looked him up and down. “How ‘bout you get comfortable.” 

Marcus’s brows pulled tight when she stepped to the side. He hadn’t realized when coming in – obviously distracted by much more pressing things – but her beed had been transformed into a relatively flat surface, no pillows and only the comforter and fitted sheet remained. 

She motioned to the bed and he stepped out of his clothes, leaving them in a heap to sit at the edge. A box on the vanity caught the corner of his eyes – black velvet and no bigger than one for shoes. Following his line of sight, she smirked. “Oh, I see you found your present.” 

His smile betrayed him, “You got something for me?” 

“Mh-mmm.” A naughty grin quirked her lips as she tipped back the lid and pulled out a red rope that made him squirm. “You liked being tied up last time?” Aside from the small inflection and the waiting look in her eyes, her matter-of-fact tone hardly posed a question. 

“Yes,” he squeaked out and she gave a short nod. 

“Yeah? You looked so good tied up. Did so good for me. But I think you can handle a little more, don’t you?” 

Suspense wracked his body as she gingerly put the red rope to the side and pulled out two separate restraints. Similar to the ones she used last time, a cuff at one end and a belt enclosure on the other, but these were connected by a short silver chain. She glanced down at his feet and he realized they were meant for his ankles. 

His eyes shined at the idea, cock twitching for her to see. “I think - I think I can take it. I wanna try.” 

“Baby, I’m so proud of you. You’re doing so good using your words.” She beamed and his neck went flush like a teacher’s pet. “Okay, go on lay back for me.” He obeyed her order without conviction. Laying flat on his back and taking each directive as she positioned him exactly where she wanted. 

Her footboard looked like a golden halfpipe, a dip in the middle perfect for easy crawling access with a curve that led into a solid pole at each end – perfect for ankle restraints. It fit her needs to a tee and left him wondering just how long it took her to find it. 

Propping up on his elbow to watch, she secured his ankles to the bedpost, tugging at her request and assuring her it wasn’t too much. As she snatched up the red rope, Marcus laid back and stared up at the ceiling. The mattress dipped under her weight and the scent of her rich perfume wafted over. 

His breath hitched and he looked over, finding himself mere inches from the strip of satin running down the center of her thighs. His tongue darted out, imagining tracing it up the crease and further to her warm wet cunt. The memory of how she tasted tingled his tongue, and he groaned – ravenous for more. 

“Clasp your hands together.” Her voice knocked him from his thoughts and he followed her model. “Just like that, now above your head.” The rope was surprisingly soft, made of cotton with an easy slip ring that had his hands bound in seconds. 

His biceps flexed as she looped the rope over the headboard. Pulling, his muscles stung and he groaned at the feeling – but shockingly not in pain, but in pleasure. “Too tight?” She asked. 

He gnawed on his cheek, confused by how his cock throbbed at the dull discomfort and he shook his head. 

“Oh, did you like that?” She asked – a mix of shock and intrigue. A shy smile plumped his flush cheeks and she offered him another small tug – only a mere bit, but still had his head lulling back with a low moan; she rumbled out a sound of approval and slotted the information away for later. 

With him securely knotted to the headboard, she stepped back to appraise her work like an artist finally seeing her muse on display. Actually, how she examined him made him feel like he was art, studying all the tiny details: the subtle twitch of his strained muscles, beads of sweat just beginning to drip down his browline, the weight of each heavy draw of his chest. 

“So beautiful,” she said, as her eyes lingered particularly long on what being at her complete mercy inflicted upon him, cock red and pulsing for her. 

Gaining a wicked gratification from it, a grin teased her lips. “Tug,” she ordered. He complied and a thrill ran down his spine as the restraints had him basically nailed to the mattress. Grabbing a small pillow and a thin, folded up blanket from under the bed, she put one to support his lower back and the other under his neck for both comfort and watching purposes. 

He stared up at the ceiling, trying and failing to control his breathing as her heels clicked around the room. He’d expected her to crawl between his thighs but, instead she crawled in next to him. Pulling her legs up tight and stacking her knees, heels teetering off the edge. 

“You’re so handsome, Marcus.” The raw honesty in her voice and the vulnerability of the moment left a salty taste in the back of his throat. Which was momentarily forgotten as her focus zeroed in on the parts she previously neglected; fingertips dancing along the pulsing vein of his neck to his Adam’s apple. “Did you take care of your problem once you left the other night?” 

The realization of how utterly exposed he was stabbed at him like a splinter, a tinge of embarrassment crawling into his skin. He fought through his years of conditioning, of holding back. “Uh-huh,” his eyes rolled skyward. “I had to.” She frowned at the ounce of residual shame that wrapped itself around his hoarse voice like a cobra. 

She caressed his jaw, “Did it feel good?” 

“Yes,” he licked his dry lips. “Of course.” 

“Then there’s no shame about it.” He let out a single breathy laugh at how her easy response seemed to ease the worry between his brows. He knew she wasn’t being flippant, but instead trying to show him there was no shame or judgment here, in her room.  “Now tell me, did you think of me?” 

“Always,” he choked out, “I always think of you.” 

“Good,” she said, her hand went back and forth over his collarbone. “I want you to only think of me when you touch yourself.” The slight possessiveness in her comment made his cock twitch. “You wanna know a secret, Marcus?” 

“Yeah” he whimpered. 

She leaned in, a breath – then another against the shell of his ear. “I fucked myself thinking of you.” 

A jolt of arousal shot down his spine at the thought of her in this very bed with her fingers deep inside her and his name on her lips. A helpless whine escaped him as his hips tried to surge upwards. 

“I imagined you just like this,” her hand grazed up and down the center of his chest and the desire in the pit of his belly ignited in a blazing fire. “All tied up for me. With your cock buried inside of me as I barely rocked my hips, just keeping you right there. So hard and pulsing. God, it got me so wet, just thinking of you on edge, those sweet little sounds you make as you beg for release.”

The erotic words played like a porno in his mind and his eyes shut for just a moment to watch the fantasy. But suddenly her fingertips brushed his nipple and everything  – the rustle of the comforter, the faint traffic floating in and his pathetic mewl – turned to radio static in his ears. 

“Oh, you like that?” She repeated the motion on the other side and it shocked him how he keened, so sensitive. “Has no one ever touched you there?” 

She continued her teasing ministrations, every word that reached his slumped open mouth turned into a soft gasp. “No,” he finally got the word out, shaking his head. “More - please. More.” The plea seemed to tumble out, unexpecting and unsure of exactly what he even meant. 

Of course she did. With her fingers in a V-shape she teased around the colored flesh, every so often closing the gap to lightly pinch the skin – an uninhibited moan and a shameless bead of precum converging with each one. 

He gulped for air, catching his breath as she maneuvered around him for a better angle. Strong thighs caging in one of his, clothed mound hovering just above his bare skin. She made a show of plunging her fingers into her mouth, sucking them down like it was a popsicle on a hot day. With a lewd pop, a dribble of saliva clinging to the edge of her lips. Spit-soaked digits coming to circle the area, his head slammed against the pillow as she leaned in, blowing on it to bump the skin. 

“I bet that feels so good. Doesn’t it?” 

“Yes,” he gasped. 

“What about this?” She experimentally flicked her tongue across the flesh and his back arched for more. 

“Fu- yes. Yes.” 

She hummed into his heated skin, stroking it with her tongue over and over again. Switching sides, letting his broken off noises guide her. Her teeth grazed over the plumped flesh then sucked it into her mouth.

His body felt like it was vibrating, pleasure coursing through his veins. Gurgled noises clawed themselves from the depths of his chest, hips desperately bucking in a useless search for her barely out of reach thigh. 

As she lavished his tender skin with her tongue, her hand came to work on the other – pinching and teasing the puffing flesh. The nip of pain and simultaneous pleasure had his body zinging with sharp, raw desire. 

Desperately panting, gasping her name she kissed the purpled skin. Moving her tongue up into the divot of his neck. Licking the lines of sweat and across his collarbone  until he was just a puddle – all dewy skin and sticky belly. 

A need for her lips elsewhere bloomed in his chest like a weed. “Please,” he gasped. “Kiss me.” 

Blown-wide pupils, doused in lust, met him. Her hand brushed across his cheek, diving into his hair. “Since you asked so nicely,” she hushed a breath apart. Her spit-swollen lips met his, perfectly slotting together in a deep and slow kiss that made the ache in his cock momentarily subside. Only to climb to new heights as it turned more heated – passionate. 

Pliant under her, she tugged on his hair. A moan echoed around her mouth and her eager tongue swooped inside. Docile, his lips barely managed to move – hardly kissing her back as she ruined him for anyone else. 

The hand in his hair wandered to his taut and stretched biceps, caressing the pulled muscles before dipping down to his cheek, throat and further to the top of his abdomen. The hidden muscles there flexed. “Please,” he groaned into her mouth and she flicked her tongue against his. “Oh God! It feels – so much. Please.” 

“Always so polite,” she said, then nipped at his jaw and curled back into his side. The bedposts trembled as her fingernails scratched down his tummy. “Doing so well, baby,” she praised, hand stopping short of his cock to swirl her fingertips around the pearly mess. 

“Fuck, look at you.” She showed him her glistening fingers, and his cheeks went scarlet as she spread them, the light shining on the drips slipping through the dips and down to her knuckles. “I love how messy you get for me, it’s so fucking hot.”  

Honestly he had no idea his body was capable of making so much cum it actually bordered on concering. Where was it coming from? It was as if the years of repression had stored it all away in a bank, waiting until the day she finally came around. 

“I’ve - I’ve never,” his sentence faltered into a high-pitched whine as her slicked up fingertips curled the fat head of his cock. A cry, nearing a shout of her name echoed around the room as she toyed with his slit, dragging her thumb across it – spreading it open. 

“What were you saying?” She continued to tease the angry tip, somehow pulling more and more precum from him. “Come on baby. Tell me.” 

His glazed brown eyes blinked up at her. “It’s - it’s all for you.” A satisfyingly wicked grin broke through her lips and she rewarded him. 

Steady and slick, unhurried. Her fingertips dusted across his balls and skimmed the weeping tip with each long, drawn out stroke of her warm hand. “So pretty like this,” she said in a husky voice. Glancing at his pulsing cock in her loose fist and the wrecked expression on his face – lips broken apart, quivering and the lines of his forehead curled from his weighted brow. 

Marcus wanted to memorize this moment, savor it forever. Greed hazed eyes drinking in the inky black outfit, painted to every dip and curve of her skin; her chest heaved, tight puffs of air showing him she wasn’t unaffected by it all. 

The need to cum thrummed through him, balls drawing tighter and tighter as it threatened to swallow him whole. But the second he looked down at her tensing thighs and remembered her promise, a new desire roared to life. 

“Fuck - please. Let me - taste you.” She bit down on her lip to trap a small moan. “Please. Wanna make you - feel good. Oh - shit, like you make me - Mhm - so good.” 

Her hand slowed to a halt, “Is that what you want?” She asked, the piercing and primal look in her eyes sending a shiver down his spine. The loss of friction making him whine. Her hand traveling upwards. “You want me to sit right here?” She tapped his lips. 

His tongue darted out, tasting and licking her skin like a reflex. “Fuck - baby, look at you. So needy for it,” she said and he muttered a soft, please, into the pad of her fingers. He whimpered as she ripped her hand away, eying for a moment to check and make sure to which he eagerly nodded. 

“You did ask so nicely, baby,” her heels tumbled, one by one to the ground and his heart pounded in his chest like an animal trying to break free of its cage. Finally - so many nights spent fantasizing about this moment and here it was.

“You’ve been so very good so if that’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.” 

She propped up on her knees, “So patient,” she cooed while unzipping the track from her lower belly all the way to the top of her ass cheeks. “And so sweet.” She spread it open, tucking the track inward. 

Grabbing the headboard, she looped one leg around him so her pussy was inches away from his watering mouth. Just out of reach, but close enough to catch a whiff of her intoxicating musky scent. 

“Fuck,” He growled, “Smell so good.” Ready to devour her, he wet his lips. 

The groan he let out as her nails ran along his scalp, tugging to angle him right where she wanted, was sinfully deep, like it was siphoned through gravel. 

He was fully surrounded by her, thighs pressing into his stretched out triceps, glossy and swollen slit just waiting for his tongue – he could spend his life between her legs and be perfectly content. 

“Beautiful.” The rasp of breath hit her cunt and she shivered. “Prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.” 

Her lips twitched at his praise, “You gonna make me feel good?” 

“Mh-hmm, I promise. I will.” 

“Okay, hold on, be patient,” she said and he whined. He’d been patient, as patient as he could be – he was growing restless, throbbing and desperate for it. “If you need to stop, blink really really fast five times.” 

“Got it,” he rushed out. She held herself there for a moment, then with a single nod carefully descended. 

The moment her hot cunt dragged against his lips was indescribable. Tongue graced by her tangy arousal, he moaned, eyes fluttering shut for a moment to let it consume his senses. 

She braced her hands on the headboard and started to slowly rock her hips against his tongue. Delirious from it, like a drug that shot liquid lust into his veins, the world around him blurred until a soft gasp of his name brought him back to reality. 

Her heated gaze penetrated the mist in his eyes, he looked drunk – dopey eyed and tongue sticking out. There was a want to wrap his arms around her thighs, smash his face into her cunt until he was absolutely drowning in it. He’d fantasized about that very scenario, but being powerless – pinned down by her weight and the restraints was the most blissful torture he’d ever experienced and he basked in the small sounds she took for herself, lapping up the wetness of her already soaked cunt. 

“You like me using you?” The sharp intake of breath between her words made his chest swell with pride and cock stir, a fresh bead of precum dripping from the tip. He grunted with a helpless bob of his head – his nose bumping her clit. 

Her head dropped back with a moan and the sight of her in the throws of please was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. When she snapped back there was a glint of untamed want in her eyes. The pace started to pick up, extending the slide of her hips so her clit bumped the tip of his nose again and again. 

“Fuck - you take it so well. Mhmm - feels - oh. So good. Fuckin’ amazing. Marcus.”

If he was supposed to close his eyes, he didn’t care. There was no way he was tearing himself away from her. Transfixed on how she moved like she was dancing through water; babbling praise and pretty moans dripping from her smeared gloss lips. 

“More,” he groaned into her pussy. Her hooded eyes bore into him, waiting and watching for his signal as she took more and more – the bed squeaking as she fucked his face. 

The feeling of her wet pussy took over and his brain melted away; he could barely register his own name, let alone the growing ache in his balls nor the small rock of his hips as his cock seeked out a single touch. 

“Marcus, fuck. Fuck me with your tongue - yes! Just like that.” 

Not needing to be told twice, his tongue dove in and out with surprising dexterity and stamina. Clit grinding against his nose, the musky scent of her arousal enveloped him. A sheen of sweat coated her skin, tinging the taste of her on his tongue. 

Wetness dripped down his chin, shimmering just like his petal-pink lips. She was soaked, spit and slick and he knew he’d found heaven on earth and it was between her thighs with his wide, wet tongue sliding in and out of her pulsing walls.

The sounds of pleasure he pulled from her strained his flushed and angry cock, but he remained painfully oblivious. 

Grunting and groaning, feral noises vibrated against her folds and made her thighs tense and muscles constrict.

“That’s it baby. Make me cum, come on.” Her words fell out frantic and messy and he whined into her pussy then shook his head back and forth to stimulate her clit further. As she edged closer and closer, the knot in his only belly pulled tighter and tighter.

Her cunt clenched around his tongue. “Marcus!” 

A gush of slick hit his tongue and he gasped – the wind knocked from his lungs as his own climax smacked into him. His body curling along with hers. 

Piercing and sharp, like nothing he’d ever felt before. Jolts of pleasure were coursing through his body. Cock weeping for friction, desperate and searching as his hips undulate in the air. His eardrums rumbled from tightly clutching his eyes shut, blocking out her face as his cum shot onto his belly and her leather clad back. 

Once the waves of pleasure subsided and reality set in, his body burned in utter humiliation. A feeling of shame prickling the edges of his screwed shut eyes. 

“Marcus, baby. Marcus.” Her voice sounded like he was underwater. His head insistently shook, unconscious of the movement as she called for him again and again – a soft whisper wrapped with worry as she undid the knot. 

Still, he remained frozen, shocked and unmoving, hopeful it would all somehow go away. 

“Baby.” Her light caress of his cheek burned like a hot coal. 

Why? Why? Why? 

Why did that happen? How? He’d never cum untouched. It would’ve been one thing at 15, but at his age? He’d never felt so embarrassed. 

“Marcus, please look at me. Baby, look at me.” 

After a few seconds and the initial shocked waned, he peeked out. Peeling one eye open to check if the coast was clear before slowly opening the other. Her shoulders relaxed a hair, a soft smile coming to her lips with a gaze full of concern and a dash of regret? – no remorse. 

“I - I,” he couldn’t breathe. “I never - I didn’t mean to-” 

“No - hey. Marcus.”

“I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes with a deep sigh, wondering why it had to be him? 

“Marcus, look at me. Baby.” She gently coaxed his eyes away from the ceiling and to her. “There’s nothing to apologize for.” How could she say that when he could practically hear his cum dripping down her back? “Marcus, it’s okay. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” 

He shot her a look that said, you can’t be serious. 

She looped her leg back around to settle at his side like before. His elbows slackened, but his arms remained above his head, the rope loose around his wrists. Refusing to look down and see it, he instead looked at her and found some solace. “You might think it’s embarrassing.” He snorted, she could say that again. “But I think it’s sexy.” 

His brows shot to a cinch. “Really?” 

She bit her lip and nodded, “Marcus, I love how reactive you are to my touch. That you get so turned on by me – by bringing me pleasure.” Her eyes and fingers glided down his heaving chest, to the evidence of his untouched climax. 

“You have no idea what it does to me, hearing the noises you make. How you shiver at just the smallest touch. You’re so good for me and I haven’t had an orgasm like that in - fuck. I don’t even know.” His breathing came hard and fast and he whimpered as she wiped her finger though his cum then sucked it off with the most lewd moan. “Mh-mmm, taste so good.” 

“You do too,” he shyly admitted and she giggled, short and sweet. 

“Marcus.” This time, she said his name with a serious tone. “I’m sorry for pushing you too far.” He opened his mouth to protest but she stopped him by placing a finger to his lips. “I may’ve not meant to, but I did. And I never want you to feel embarrassed or anything like that. I just wanna make you feel good -” 

“You do,” he rushed out, then blushed. “Obviously.” 

“But - I also want you to feel comfortable - safe.” She nuzzled into his neck and he let out a dreamy sigh. “I’m still learning and for this to work, we gotta communicate. Just like we are now.” 

“Usually, I’m pretty good at that,” he said. Communication had always been a strong suit of Marcus’s – just not when it came to sex, but surely that would come in time. “I just - shit. I didn’t even realize. That’s never happened to me before.” She smiled against his neck then pulled back to look at him. 

“Well, did it feel good?” 

He let out an airy laugh and she couldn’t help but smile at the noise. “Yeah. Different, but good. Real good.” 

“Good.” She looked down at his soft cock and he could tell she was contemplating by the way her lips shifted from side to side. “Ya know, I had planned on you finishing in my mouth.” His breath caught at how relaxed she sounded, and she peered up at him with a sparkle of mischief. “If you’re interested. I think you could get hard again, what do you think?” 

“I am - but I don’t - I don’t know, I’ve never…” he trailed off and she looked shocked, and honestly a little offended. 

“Don’t tell me no one has ever made you cum twice in one night.” He nibbled on his bottom lip and shook his head. “One day?” He shook his head again, and she tsked. “Oh Marcus, we gotta change that, do you think you can get it up again? Do you want to? It’s okay if not, it’s entirely up to you.” 

“I’d like to try.” He nodded and her fingers swept across his chest, brushing his nipples and his mind and stomach swirled. 

“That’s all I ask, baby. And I’m gonna give you the choice if you wanna be tied up or not. However, if I undo you, you gotta be good and not touch without permission.” 

“I can’t promise that,” he said light-heartedly, clasping his hands together. 

She shuffled off the bed, “I promise, you’ll learn,” she said, closing the easy slip ring around his wrists and tying the rope into a loose knot over the headboard. Honestly, Marcus didn’t really care if he ever learned – he loved being tied up and at her mercy. 

After changing out the pillow for one with a little more cushion, making it easier for him to watch, she sauntered to the end of the bed and crawled between his thighs. His cock twitched, and his nose wrinkled from oversensitivity. 

“So good, baby,” she whispered and leaned in to clean the mess on his belly. His gasp turned into a moan as she licked across his heated skin. Mumbling praises into his tummy with each swipe of her tongue until all that was left was a glisten of her spit. 

She peered up through her lashes and licked her lips, then flicked her tongue over the tip of his cock. It was so precise – intense – an addicting edge that made him keen, unsure if he wanted more or for it to stop entirely. 

“More.” His mouth answered for him, and she swiped her tongue against his tip a few more times, each one met by an intense shudder of his body. 

Giving his cock a little more time to recover, she turned her attention to his thighs. “So pretty,” she cooed, kissing and brushing her lips along his sticky skin. Teeth grazing over the meaty flesh, sinking her teeth in and sucking a mark high on his thigh.

She repeated the action to the other, and a warmth bloomed in his chest at the secret marks of which only she and him would know of. 

By the time she was crawling her way up, lavishing his chest and neck in sweet kisses, his cock was almost fully hard again. “You’re so handsome,” she kissed his cheek, “So amazing,” she kissed the other, “so perfect.” She kissed the edge of his mouth, then lingered her lips above his. “I want you to remember that.” 

He shut his eyes – overloaded by emotions – and her lips met his in a tender kiss. Sinking into the feeling, he moaned at the flick of her tongue over the seam, parting to let her map his mouth in slow strokes. 

After what felt like a lifetime, but still too short she tugged his bottom lip between her teeth. He growled at the tinge of pain and she released it with a grin. Quick to soothe it with a light suck while reaching down to palm his cock. 

“See,” she said, “I knew you could do it.” He smiled through her chaste kiss. She moved downward with soft pecks, ravishing him in the attention he desired and adored. 

“Such a gorgeous cock,” she flashed him a lippy smile, “Do you want me to put my mouth on it?” 

He bobbed his head, “Please, need your mouth. Need to feel it.” Not wanting to make him beg too much, she licked from the base to tip, swirling her tongue then flattening it over the slit. 

“Fuck,” he muttered from his clenched jaw as she traced the thick vein all the way down. “Shitshitshit.” Eyes locked on his, she went lower and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as she took one of his balls into her mouth and sucked. 

The feeling was a foreign euphoria and his legs quivered at it. When she released it with a loud pop, he immediately missed it but luckily not for long as she took the other in her warm mouth. 

Most women Marcus dated weren’t into giving oral, and he wasn’t the kinda guy to ask for it or pressure it – he liked his partners willing and eager. So it wasn’t shocking that no one had ever sucked on his balls. Actually, he wasn’t sure anyone but himself had ever really touched them without it being a slip of their fingers. 

Her lips curled up at the side as she wiggled her tongue along his sack. A pearly blob of precum dribbled onto his belly as she mouthed her way back up, his hips grounding into the mattress as she licked it up, like it was precious and couldn’t be wasted. 

“So perfect and all mine,” she praised and he responded with a whimper. “Does it feel good?” She curled her lips inward and took him into her mouth. 

He moaned, a low rumble at the hot and wet feeling. Her eyes were magnetic, pooling with lust and his mind began to drift back into that place of blissful oblivion. “Feel - feels - oh so good. Fuh- fuck.” 

She sunk lower and lower, but didn’t suck. Going as far down as she could until her throat constricted, then pulled away to take a deep breath before slowly working her way back down. 

He’d never seen anything like it, she was working her throat open for him, repeating the action over and over again – each time going deeper than the last. By the time her nose brushed the coarse hairs at the base of his cock, he was a babbling mess. Singing her praise an octave higher, telling her how good it felt and how good she looked. 

He had no idea what he did to deserve this, but he wasn’t going to question it. 

As she took him fully in her mouth, his body trembled, using every bit of strength not to fuck up into it – not that he’d get very far but it was the principle of it. She sucked and his fingers and toes curled. “You’re amazing,” he groaned. “So - damn - talented.” Each word sounded as if it was punched from his gut. 

She choked on a laugh at the compliment. Pulling off his cock, a string of drool connecting her glossy lips to the fat head. “Oh baby, you haven’t seen nothing yet.” 

“God. I don’t know if I can handle it.” His smile was lopsided, dizzy with desire which turned to full on vertigo at her smug smirk. 

“I know you can baby,” she cooed, kissing the junction of his thigh. “I’ll show you.” 

He squeaked, “okay.” 

She wrapped her hands around his cock, a firm grip at his base while the other moved the velvety skin across her lips and cheeks, smearing his precum before bringing him into her eager and waiting mouth. Taking him to the hilt in one swoop. 

The air was punched from his lungs.

Her free hand came to rest on his hip, rubbing soothing circles as the other kept him from cumming. She swayed her head back and forth and his cock bounced around the back walls of her throat. Judging by the way her moans vibrated against him, she seemed to enjoy the heavy weight of him on her tongue, the salty taste steadily leaking from his purpling tip. 

As she bobbed up and down, slow to drag her tongue along his taut length, swirling at the tip before sinking down till her chin hit her hand. His skin was glazed, sweat dripping down his back and collecting in his mussed up hair. 

“Fuck, that - oh - feels so good,” he panted. The delicious pressure once again starting to build in his lower belly. 

She took him in hand, slowly stroking as she took a few deep breaths. “Baby, I want you to try not to cum. Okay? Just hold out as long as you can, can you do that?” 

“Mh-mmm,” he nodded. Both hands on his hips, she pressed to hold in place then wrapped her swollen slips around his cock. 

His body and mind disconnected as she began to fuck his cock with her mouth, switching between shallow and deep thrusts. Expertely taking him apart with the most lewd sucking and slurping noises, it was like a porno in real life. 

When she needed a breather, she slapped his cock against her tongue. He quivered, holding back. The bed shaking as he cried her name – like he was calling out for his savior which only spurred her on. 

Tears pricked his eyes, falling onto his cheeks. He’d just cum, what was it an hour ago? Thirty minutes? Even less? He had no idea, time was relative in her room. The climax seemed to build from the other and coupled with the delayed gratification, the knot in his belly was twisting, unbearably tight. 

“I’m - I’m close - I don’t think I can -” 

She responded with a moan, glassy eyes telling him it was alright as she continued her brutally divine pace. 

It was everything. Every cell and nerve in his body roused – electrified by the tight clasp of her warm mouth. White blobs spotted the blurry outline of her bobbing head, the hitch of her ass in the air. And finally, the tight wire in his belly snapped and utter ecstasy washed him as his vision went black. 

The feeling of his cock pulsing, rope after rope of his salty cum surging into the back of her mouth made him gasp. Whimpering her name as she drank it down, sucking every last drop from him until his body twitched, plopping into a satisfied heap. A delirious and lazy smile curled on his lips. 

“Oh baby, you did so good. So perfect, amazing.” She continued to praise him, quickly unfastening his ankles and releasing his hands. He couldn’t open his eyes and reached out for her and just like he hoped, she fell into his arms and on the bed. He immediately nuzzled into her chest, dragging his lips over her neck. 

“See, I knew you could handle it. You did so good, Marcus.” He hummed at her praise. “Always so good for me – so perfect.” She kissed his forehead and the top of his sweat soaked hair as her nails massaged into it, down to the back of his neck. 

The longer he laid there, listening to her praise, the heavier the blanket of sleep became. “You sleepy?” She finally asked and he hummed in response. 

“Can I sleep here?” He mumbled into her embrace. She slightly leaned back and lifted his chin to bring his mouth a breath away from hers. 

“You don’t ever have to ask.” 

She cupped his cheek then tilted her head, going in for a quick kiss – similar to the one he shared at 13, experimental, just testing the waters. Her eyes flickered to his then back to his lips and she kissed him again. 

It felt different, so unlike the previous kisses which were always shared in the heat of the moment. Even when those started soft, they always became desperate and filled his chest with something molten and needy.  

But this was somehow better. Her lips just lingering on his and the action felt intimate –

No. Stop.

He couldn’t go down that road, don’t read into it, he told himself, just enjoy. He pushed away the flutter in his stomach, ignoring the warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest and melted into her touch. 

The kiss was over much too soon and he fought the urge to touch his lips, feel where he missed her most since he’d been in this bed last. 

She kissed the tip of his nose and brought him back to burrow into her chest. 

He never wanted to leave.

[steveharrington]

hi sarah! if it’s not too much trouble can you give starter horror recommendations for a guy who feels some trepidation about the genre because i think it’s like, very cool and interesting and have been thinking about writing some horror stories but i’m also the easily frightened type so i was wondering if there’s a way i can ease myself in before working up to the super duper scary stuff?

yes!!! i will try to give you some variety of subgenres/subject matter but if you have like a specific type you’re looking for i can also add more recs based on that! but just in general:

•cloverfield (2008) is one of my all time favs and i think it walks the line of being scary but not like….disturbing. it’s not shield your eyes and grit your teeth type horror, it’s more like adrenaline and putting yourselves in the protagonists shoes and wondering what you would do in their situation. it’s found footage (it may or may not give you motion sickness so if you’re sensitive to rapidly moving camera work maybe watch it on a small screen or skip it) and i get full body chills when i watch it every single time because of how real it feels. despite all that, there’s very little up close shots of the monster and pretty minimal blood/gore.

•scream (1996) due to it being satirical and self-aware, a lot of the scary tense parts are cut by comedic moments and i think that helps a lot. i honestly think the scariest part is the opening sequence, so if you get past that feeling okay you’re probably gonna be fine throughout. there’s definitely injuries and blood but nothing i’d constitute as body horror, and again the movie likes to make little wink wink jokes which makes the tone pretty tame

•the cabin in the woods (2011) basically see above it’s also very self referential and subversive and also just like if you’re interested in horror such an amazing take on the genre, but it’s a little more intense than scream with the gore in certain parts

•poltergeist (1982) is considered a family friendly horror movie and i agree with that assessment <3 the silly little 80s practical effects make it hard to get scared despite the child actors absolutely slaying, and i think as far as horror creatures (villains?) go, ghosts and poltergeists and spirits are pretty chill

•the blair witch project (1999) is very iconic and like laid the groundwork for other found footage films, and luckily it is not very scary until the last like 2 minutes <3 and when it is scary, nothing gory/graphic is shown! for me the real horror of blair witch isnt even the witch, its the thought of being lost in the woods with no way out and the movie is just so realistic that i always start to panic a little on behalf of the characters. some people think its boring though! i dont i love it <3

coherence (2013) is not very well known but its (to me) the coolest fucking movie in the world. i think it has such a brilliant and original premise, and i’d categorize it as horror even though i consulted my mom and she thinks it’s more of a thriller. either way i highly recommend and there’s no blood or gore or anything like.....in your face scary? its more like a sense of dread that builds up over the course of the movie

they live (1988) is john carpenter <3333 and it’s pretty tame compared to other john carpenter movies. it’s horror but it’s also scathing social commentary and kinda action and again it has those 80s special effects so the scary little faces are less scary and more like...party city masks. its also referenced in a surprising number of other things (free guy feat. joe keery for one) and i think its a prime example of how horror can communicate such a wide variety of themes

and you probably already know about this but in case you dont: doesthedogdie.com has a comprehensive crowd-sourced list of potential triggers for every movie. the site does a great job including phobias/triggers that aren’t necessarily common and warning you if a movie has those, so it’s a great resource if you want to avoid certain subjects all together. happy horror watching <3

[blxxditout]

Day 10: What does your muse look like? Did anything inspire his looks? From your secret Santa

He has a description in his segment of my google doc, and I've drawn him a handful of times, but I've yet to make a full ref of him. I'll go ahead and lovingly describe him again since his appearance is something that I really like about him. Putting that under the cut though. For inspiration, I'd say that Robert Pattinson was definitely kept in mind. I really liked his face, but I couldn't see it for Sid, nor could I imagine him portraying my character. Face claims are hard, especially when your character looks a specific way that doesn't align with your mental image of the muse. In spite of that and what I've been told though, Simon Henriksson from Cry of Fear wasn't taken into account despite the comparisons that could be made about their characters.

I did want him to vaguely look like a hunter from Left 4 Dead though, since originally he was going to be a zombie.

He is a tall, pale man, as sickly as a corpse but life still persists through him somehow. It couldn't be fathomed with how dull his skin looked besides the norm of a healthy glow. His eyes are sunken are the results of sleepless nights, and days spent rotting away in the dark of his room, though there is something that is unsettling about them. They're nearly unnatural with how light they are, nearing a silver while retaining a hint of blue. They say he has his father's eyes, but they were never this light, a testament of the horrific act that was done unto him by his partner. Even so, it is rare of him to express such through the windows of his soul, as it is often that they are curtained by the black mop atop his head.

His hair is a mess, perpetual bedhead that never bothered to be tamed. It curls slightly, with bangs framing his face to try to draw attention away from his striking eyes. Sid doesn't bother with his hair much, unless it's a hot day or irritating him. What he tends to wear doesn't change often, unless the Entity or someone else has bestowed upon him a new choice of attire, anything would be better than the bland clothes he likes to default to. That being said, his usual choice happens to be: a grey hoodie, black t-shirt, khaki cargo pants, and worn black sneakers. He prefers to dress for comfort rather than to dress formally, there isn't anyone he's trying to impress anymore, or would care to... save for a small few.

General appearances aside, he has a few finer details to his character that is rarely ever brought up. He has a prominent scar over his heart, taking the shape of a half of a heart(ironically) from when he was stabbed by Selene. The hair on his chest has stopped growing around there. His nails are also permanently black since he's reanimated. Even while being brought to the Fog, he still died, and I thought that it'd be neat of him to have. While his abilities are essentially non-existent save for his premonitions of the supernatural(dark sense/spine chill, etc.), he still has Scythe buried in his heart. If a killer stabs him there, they have a chance of hitting it, but they won't ever be able to physically retrieve it(he's not a kinder egg.)

Everything that I've explained here doesn't differentiate much from what I already have listed in his sheet, which is already pretty descriptive enough. Plus I have some other body headcanons: like how his teeth were made sharper upon being revived, or how he has stretchmarks on his stomach and arms. The little changes about his person from when he was alive compared to when he died/got brought back were very subtle, but they're a joy to describe. Regardless, when designing him, I didn't want to do anything grand with his character because he's not meant to be stylized. His whole point is that he was a normal guy, and then his whole life got flipped on his head. As he develops, he's bound to change and have more added onto his character, but as I see him now he is a perfect representation of what I wanted him to be.

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

Intricate Rituals

Ao3

Summary: Every court case Phoenix works is like a dance, in a way, if it's the type of dance where both partners are constantly trying to take over leading the case and you ignore the fact that he can't dance. Most of them don't involve him actually dancing, however. Content: Unresolved (romantic) tension, dancing, parallels, minor character death/violence in relation to a case Ship: Narumitsu/wrightworth but in the pining way Notes: ‘Dan Surest’ is supposed to sound like ‘dancer-ous’, a pun on dancer + dangerous. I know, I’m a genius

~

    “Your Honor, it is the defense’s belief that the victim’s ex, Dan Surest, is the true killer!”

    “How do you propose he killed her, Mr. Wright? Multiple witnesses have testified that the two avoided each other the entire night.”

    “And as we previously established, the fatal wound was dealt directly.” Edgeworth added, looking as smug as he usually did in court. “In case you were planning to claim he threw the blade at her.”

    Phoenix ignored the quip. “The two may have evaded each other for the majority of the night, but they weren’t able to completely avoid each other. After all, even strangers ended up meeting… during the final dance of the night!”

    Noises of shock rose from the court around Phoenix at his declaration, the judge’s eyes wide as well as he banged his gavel and demanded order. Edgeworth seemed slightly thrown off, but not as much as Phoenix wanted (he was never as thrown off as Phoenix wanted him to be).

    “Mr. Wright, are you saying that Ms. Crow was killed while she was dancing?!” The judge asked incredulously. The list of things that would surprise the judge was longer than one of Larry’s every blunder, so Phoenix didn’t worry too much about sounding too unreasonable- compared to some of his other ideas, really, this one was pretty tame.

    Phoenix nodded once, pulling out his file sheet on Raven Crow’s ex. “Mr. Surest is a renowned dancer. It would have been easy for him to both perform the final dance of the night and stab the victim at the same time.”

    “Well, I do supp-”

    “Objection!” Edgeworth cut the judge off before he could finish his thought, which Phoenix didn’t appreciate. Didn’t Edgeworth appreciate that being the defense was hard? He deserved to actually hear whatever words of support he could get. “Your Honor, this claim of the defense just shows how few straws they have left to grasp at.”

    Especially if he was going to be so mean. Like usual.

    “It leaves far too many questions unanswered.” Edgeworth went on, mockingly shaking his head. “Even for you, Wright, this is a stretch.”

    Phoenix planted his hands on the bench. “If the prosecution would allow me to explain the idea-”

    The prosecution didn’t. “The difference between dance in theory and in reality is even larger than the empty space between Mr. Wright’s ears. With no video or other form of demonstration to check this ridiculous idea against, any explanation given is useless.”

    The judge closed his eyes, deliberating for a moment before he said, “Mr. Edgeworth raises a valid point. Mr. Wright, do you have a way to provide this court with an example or demonstration of the final dance?”

    Phoenix wasn’t sure if there was a point in stalling the answer to this particular question. He didn’t have anything that could be considered an ‘example or demonstration of the final dance’- the scene of the crime had no cameras, and it wasn’t as if he had thought he’d need to pick up any materials to teach the court how to dance.

    “If the judge wants a demonstration…” Phoenix glanced over when Maya started talking, looking thoughtful, “can’t you just give him one?”

    “What do you mean?”

    “Like, you know, do the dance for him.”

    “That… could work.” Phoenix admitted, before sighing. “If I knew how to dance.”

    Maya didn’t seem discouraged. “Maybe Edgeworth does. He looks like the type who knows how to dance.”

    “...I’m not going to ask Edgeworth to demonstrate a dance in front of the entire court. Especially one that is going to help our side.”

    “Fine then, I will.” Maya replied, and that was all the warning Phoenix got before she was yelling across the courtroom. “Hey, Edgeworth!”

    To his credit, Edgeworth merely raised an eyebrow at the sudden exclamation. “Yes?”

    “Can you dance?”

    That caught him more off guard. “Can I- is the defense attempting to request that I demonstrate the victim’s final dance?”

    “No!” Phoenix protested, pointing accusingly at Maya. “She is! Alone! Not the defense!”

    The judge shook his head. “Miss Fey is a part of the defense, Mr. Wright, and therefore she can speak for it.”

    Phoenix resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. Might as well go all in, right? “Then, yes. The defense requests that Miles Edgeworth, uh, take the floor and demonstrate the dance for the court!”

    The looks Phoenix got from both the judge and Edgeworth made him want to crawl into the ground. He was never letting Maya into court with him ever again.

    “Mr. Wright-”

    Not wanting to hear whatever remark the judge had for him, Phoenix interrupted him. “Your Honor, the prosecution is the one who made the point that the dance could not be properly considered without a visual demonstration. If Mr. Edgeworth can provide this demonstration, by his own logic, he should be required to do so!”

    “...The defense is right.” The judge conceded after a long moment, much to Edgeworth’s chagrin, if his murderous look was anything to go by. “Mr. Edgeworth, can you perform the dance?”

    The sound of Edgeworth grinding his teeth together echoed through the entire courthouse. “It is a… simple waltz mixer with an end alteration. I can do it easily, but not without a partner.”

    “In that case-”

    “Mr. Wright,” Edgeworth continued on, ignoring the judge, “shall we?”

    Should Phoenix have seen this coming? Yes. Yes he should have.

    “What?! But I- I can’t dance! Much less a waltz!”

    But Edgeworth was set on his revenge. “As I said, it’s a simple dance. I’ll lead.” When Phoenix remained silent, only staring in disbelief, Edgeworth smirked. “Unless, of course, you don’t want a chance to make your point?”

    Infuriatingly, unsurprisingly, Edgeworth had Phoenix cornered. This demonstration was his only chance to prove Surest not only could have been the killer but was, and therefore his only chance to make sure justice was served. If that meant he had to dance with Edgeworth in front of a courtroom full of people, then… Phoenix would do it. Begrudgingly.

    “Fine.” Phoenix forced himself to stay, stepping out from behind the bench. Still smirking, Edgeworth did the same. They each made their way across the courtroom floor until they were standing in front of each other at the center.

    “Put your arms out.” Edgeworth ordered, and Phoenix did so despite how silly it felt. He waited for the inevitable insult from his opposition, likely some sort of jab at his posture, but none came. Instead, Edgeworth just arranged Phoenix’s arms as necessary, touch gentle as he placed one of Phoenix’s hands on his own shoulder. The other hand he held, lifting them together until they were fully stretched out, his free hand coming to rest on Phoenix’s hip.

    “The majority of this waltz is just a matter of walking circles.” Edgeworth told him, voice low enough Phoenix wasn’t sure if even Maya could hear. It made the situation feel more like a private dance lesson than a public showing, and for some reason, that made it harder to breathe. 

    And then Edgeworth began to move, and Phoenix did his best to match him, stepping forward when he stepped back, tilting to the side when he tilted. The first few rotations were more squiggly ovals than circles, and more than once Phoenix stepped on Edgeworth’s toes, but he got the hang of it faster than he expected.

    “Most waltz mixers end there, with the partners separating and joining with someone else,” Edgeworth explained, voice still too quiet, the word ‘partners’ catching on Phoenix’s ears even as Edgeworth practically whispered it, “but since this dance was performed at an event largely attended by skilled dancers, they added an extra element: a dip at the end.”

    Phoenix barely had a chance to prepare himself before Edgeworth was moving their joined hands towards the back of his neck, leaving Phoenix’s hand to rest there as he braced his now-free hand against Phoenix’s back, leaning forward to dip Phoenix in one smooth motion.

    Phoenix wasn’t nearly as sleek, knees buckling to adjust to the new position and his feet sliding across the floor. The end result had Edgeworth supporting nearly all his weight, which he managed… without any clear hassle. Alright.

    They remained like that for a few seconds, at most, but the time seemed to stretch infinitely longer for Phoenix, as if he were suspended in more than just Edgeworth’s arms.

    And then it was over, Edgeworth helping to pull Phoenix back to his feet. He once more held Phoenix’s hand, stepping away from him as he did so, finally speaking loud enough for the court to hear. “The dip ends, the dancers part, and they swirl into dance with whomever else is next to them.”

    Edgeworth released Phoenix’s hand as he finished his sentence, and Phoenix curled his fingers around the empty air. The distance between them was shorter than it usually was in court, but somehow, after the dance, it felt too far. Phoenix was left staring at Edgeworth, mouth partly open as if he had something to say but didn’t know how to choose the words. In turn, all Edgeworth did was stare back, silent, no scathing comments about Phoenix catching flies gracing his lips.

    The judge clearing his throat- loudly, as if that wasn’t the first time he had- finally dragged Phoenix’s attention away from Edgeworth. “Thank you for that demonstration, Mr. Edgeworth, Mr. Wright. If the defense would now like to make their case against Mr. Surest, you two may return t-”

    Edgeworth, having dismissed himself from the center of the court before the judge began to, was halfway back to his bench when Phoenix called out, “Wait!”

    Incredibly, Edgeworth actually did stop, glancing back to see what Phoenix wanted. He didn’t look angry, or annoyed, just… tense.

    After a moment of staring too long, Phoenix turned towards the judge. “Your Honor, the defense requests a second demonstration, to properly highlight the exact moment and manner of the murder!”

    Looking away from him, Phoenix couldn’t tell what Edgeworth’s reaction was, but he could feel his eyes still on him, likely trying to kill him with a look. Phoenix didn’t really blame him.

    “I’ll allow it.” The judge decided after a moment. “But only once more! This is a court of law, not tomfoolery.” 

    Phoenix disagreed with that assessment of the court, personally, but he knew better than to voice it. Instead, he simply nodded, turning back towards Edgeworth and reaching out his hand. “Once more?”

    “It seems I have no choice.” Edgeworth replied sharply, though he didn’t offer any other form of protest as he once again approached Phoenix, accepting his hand and placing his other at Phoenix’s hip just as he had before. Phoenix put his on Edgeworth’s shoulder, and the dance began again.

    “Surest couldn’t have done it during the spinning,” Phoenix murmured, his usually internal monologue drawn out by the closeness in the dance, mirroring the way Edgeworth had spoken the first time, “the pain would have distracted Crow, thrown her off, drawn attention to the pair.”

    They completed their spinning in silence that didn’t feel quite that silent, Phoenix now following Edgeworth’s lead with ease, as if he had practiced a hundred times and not just once. Again, Phoenix’s hand was left to find support against the back of Edgeworth’s neck as they fell into a dip, Phoenix sliding more purposefully but still finding much of his weight held up solely by Edgeworth.

    “So he stabbed her during the dip?” Edgeworth prompted him, as if he wasn’t even trying to make sure the rest of the court could hear him, as if the only person he cared about hearing him was the only one close enough to do so.

    “She was stabbed in the side, just above the hip.” Phoenix replied, and Edgeworth’s hand tightened where he held Phoenix just there. It was barely anything, considering how many layers of clothing were between Phoenix and Edgeworth, but Phoenix could have sworn he felt the touch directly against his skin, burning. “It makes sense that’s when he would have acted.”

    “Wouldn’t she have noticed him reaching for the weapon?”

    “It was a razor removed from its handle, he could have hidden it down his sleeve until the right moment. He wouldn’t have needed to reach for it.”

    Edgeworth hummed in acknowledgement of Phoenix’s logic. “And the pain? Surely she wouldn’t have missed that?”

    “She didn’t. She just thought it was something else.” It’s a tacky way to phrase it, something he’s supposed to use against an entire courtroom, to get the laypeople listening and keep the judge awake, but the only audience he’s entertaining now is Edgeworth, who’s never been impressed any of his slick words in court, who’s never been impressed by anything of Phoenix, who Phoenix is always trying to impress. “That’s why she had scratch marks on her back- Surest made her think he was just digging his nails in, nothing else.”

    “She didn’t realize why the pain was lingering until it was too late.” Edgeworth helped finish for him, and Phoenix was reminded of the position they were in, in the deadly dip that had sealed Raven Crow’s fate, the final dance of her life, their mimicry of her death stretching on too long as Edgeworth showed no signs of letting Phoenix fall.

    “Miles…” Phoenix starts, and even he doesn’t know where he’s planning on going with it.

    “Phoenix.” Miles echoes, and Phoenix barely has a chance to react before he’s being pulled to his feet once more, face too close to Miles’s and then not nearly close enough as he completes their dance, fingers interlaced as he steps away.

    “Your Honor, in light of the defense’s argument, and further review of the circumstances of the night, the prosecution requests that Dan Surest be called back to the stand!” Miles says to the judge, eyes still on Phoenix.

    The judge seems confused by Miles’s request, and Phoenix has the strong suspicion that he has no idea what argument was just made, that the only one who had heard it at all was the one letting his hand linger in Phoenix’s.

    But he still nods, acquiescing. “Very well. Bailiff, fetch Dan Surest! Mr. Wright, Mr. Edgeworth, you may now both return to your benches.”

    Phoenix thinks the judge should ask them if they even want to go back at this point, because he wants to know what Miles would do. But he doesn’t, and Miles lets go of his hand so that they can both walk back to their usual spots, an entire courtroom and a case and verdict and pasts neither of them asked for stretching between them once again.

    But the distance between doesn’t erase the burn of Miles’s hand at his side, of the support against his back holding him up, of their fingers brushing even as they stepped away from each other. Maya looks at him funny as he presses the tips of his fingers to the spot just above his hip, like a mockery of the murder.

    Across the court, Miles studies the grain of the prosecutor’s bench as he squeezes the back of his neck.

[charmixpower]

Tbh in terms of rivusa and winx as a whole I refuse to acknowledge anything past season 5 like season 5 was crap but tbh the small rivusa moments like in ep 1 when they both made fun of skys awful hair or when she teased him Abt being a show off or like in that dragon taming episode where he was teasing her and she eventually managed to tame the dragon and he said “that’s my girl” (ok first of all If Anyone I was involved In romantically said that to me I wpuld fold immediately and secondly he said it in front of his professor😭😭😭 was gonna say he has balls of steel but honestly I’ll take it as he loves his gf a lot🗿) and of course the song writing a as cute and it’s the only time I’ll ever let a man getaway with public singing dedicated to his partner cause it’s so cringe for me but idk why for them i thought it was cute hahaha they honestly saved season 5 for me like I was eating up every crumb and interaction between them

OMG OMG OMG YEAHHHHHHH

Literally one of the saving graces of season 5 eat your fucking heart out season 4, and behold a season that actually understands Musa's personality

Tbh while I do like "getting together" stories, my favorite part of couples is seeing how they act when their together and established and s5 is FEEDING ME WELL WITH ALL THESE FUCKING ADORABLE RIVUSA MOMENTS

When Riven literally drove around to make sure that Musa could see that he saved the guy just like he asked her to do in the first episode, I'm still not over it. He was all like "!!!! Look I did the thing!!!" I am obsessed with him, and Musa teasing him for it by calling him a show off, I'll never recover

Riven just listing to Musa play the guitar with hearts in his eyes in s5 got me ok, and the way they snugly when up to each other and started flirting!!!!! Like yes their not suddenly going to super easily express their emotions over night, but their clearly TRYING and you have got me SOBBING ABOUT IT

Seeing Rivusa just getting to act like an established couple has reversed all the horrific damage s4 did to me mentally and emotionally with that horrible plot line. I genuinely want to know who in the writing room was stupid enough to think the girls would suddenly be super egotistical about their powers (interesting plot point when their mostly dating the nonmagical, but handled terribly) and Musa would mad at Riven for his actions. Not only would Musa and her actual standoffish personality never even give Andy the time of day, s3 confirmed that she isn't bothered by jealously just Riven not giving her attention/listening to her, and the way she was so mean about his gifts??? Like I can understand not liking or wanting them but she acted like Riven was giving her gifts to make her day worse, or was trying to intentionally make her upset, when it was clearly the opposite and I am quite annoyed. Musa would never. She go "awwww, you fucking idiot. He's allergic to those flowers, come here dumbass"

And the drama this season??? Makes SOOOOOO much more sense. Riven in s2 SENT people who had a crush on her to Musa. There's no way he couldn't of not known that Jared had a small crush on the Winx, and he intentionally sent him to Musa. Maybe because he thought he wouldn't be as good of a boyfriend to her, so he was trying to help in his own Riven way. And MUSA GOT PISSED!!!! Like she was so mad that Riven did that, and that combined with the fact that she smacked the shit out of Icy in s1 over a guy she wasn't even fucking dating, makes it pretty clear that Musa was originally the one more prone to jealously (until s3 when the writers begun falling on their one arc for Riven writing crutch and never got off of it) compared to Riven and I'm SO DELIGHTED TO SEE IT COME BACK

Usually it's the guys being the dumbasses and fucking up and it's just so lovely to see my favourite girl struggle with something I struggle with too!!! Like yeah!!!! Musa definitely has some major abandonment issues, if the way she pushes people away is any indication, some major trust issues in general, her bitey demeanor towards Stella and her tendency to expect people to read her mind makes me imagine she often thinks people know how she's feeling and are intentionally trying to hurt her when that's not the case. It's just so relatable!!!!!!

God I love seeing the girls fuck up and do stupid shit and make mistakes!!! Like YES, give me the GOOD SHIT!!!! Tecna's arc and Aisha's arc in s2 we're some of the best arcs in the show, watching them learn to be kinder and stuff 🥹🥹🥹 I am literally on the floor SOBBING this is why I love them so much, anyone who doesn't like them is WRONGGGF 😭😭😭

I love it when ANY character fucks up and makes mistakes, see: Riven is my favorite specialist, but there's been too much focus on the boys problems to the point where it just seems like they should break up and it's not mutual. But it is!!!! Sure Sky is over protective to a extreme, but Bloom is flighty and avoidant to an extreme. Riven and Musa have the same amount of abandonment issues, they both get jealous, they both struggle to communicate, they both can't control their emotions, ect (which is part of the reason they'd work so well together, and not so well with other people. Take it from someone with jealousy born of fear and very bad abandonment issues, there's NOTHING like seeing someone finally care about you the same amount you do when your expecting them to drop your ass at any moment. Like I know it's wrong but I can see where Musa is coming from in s3, the situation was extreme but pretending it wasn't, someone acting jealous over me immediately calms down my fears that they'll abandon me because they wouldn't do this if they were. Listen, I could write a whole essay about how well Musa and Riven's issues fit together from experience, but for now I'll let you know really well. Like they'll both have to put in the work to make their demons play nice but someone having the same issues as you, as they obviously do, is extremely comforting offering a level of understanding no one else can offer and they ABSOLUTELY PUT IN THE WORK!!! Musa would actually be the one more stubborn about it did you see Riven getting better in s2???? A TEAR TO MY EYE) Timmy has a cowardice problem and Tecna is way too aggressive and doesn't believe in silly things like "not sacrificing yourself for nothing", and they way s2 had them meeting in the middle 😭😭😭😭 how do more people not love s2??? Nabu and Aisha have NO FUCKING SOCIAL SKILLS, IN COMPLETELY OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. Nabu is way too friendly, while Aisha is standoffish, and they both try to prove themselves by acting independently and hoping it helps like idiots shut up I'm in LOVE

Stella working on her issues with Brandon, sobbing, crying, I love s3. Want to see more of Brandon's issues please, and not that bullshit from later seasons where he's also stupid for some reason. Brandon has the most emotional intelligence of the guys and he's using it to hide his emotions, change my mind. Not to mention the way neither Helia or Flora could express their feelings without Chatta getting involved 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

For all of its stupid S5 has SUCH AMAZING MOMENTS

Like I get to see my favourite ship in this show act as a established couple and see Musa struggle with something that's been established since s1???? I'm in hysterics this is amazing

The only thing I want to take from s4 is characters and their motivations, Harmonix > Believix, every couple of episodes I see something new in s5 that's an amazing concept I want to use NOW!!! S5 is just peppered with all these amazing moments and for what???? How do you make the worst age changer sub plot I've ever seen in my fucking LIFE, right after one the best quest plot line with the test of confidence, one of the best written songs in ruby reef, and the superior Stella and Aisha are fighting subplot (looking at YOU s4); And right before one of the worst but adorable episode with one of the hands down BEST Trix spells, getting to see the boys be useful again, and THE BEST S5 FIGHT IN THE RAVINE

Do you see that??? Do you see how for every like, two god awful episodes that make me wanna scream with one or two fun things in them, there's an episode that ruins my life with amazing and interesting concepts that I am legally required to scream about???? Do you see that??? Why is s5 like this omgg, I never know if I'm going to get amazing or terrible. It's like Russian roulette

Anyways I'm obsessed with how hit and miss this season is, I'll defend it till I die but also it's awful and terrible and if you don't acknowledge all of it's crimes it will never be forgiven for weee r going to have to fight. Complexities

[notfoundfootage]

Inspired by @saltylandland I'm gonna rank the characters in the lost boys based on how 🔥hot🔥 they are

In this list: David, Dwayne, Paul, Marko, Michael, Star, Lucy, Max

Paul: surprisingly, actually. Golden retriever high on 🍃 brownies energy. I used to not feel much about him but Tumblr made me fall in love with him. Feels like he's really sweet and hanging out with him could be lots of fun. Beautiful hair, probably likes to experiment a lot. That fishnet shirt is literally so cool.

Marko: Little shit. I love him. Again, beautiful hair. I love the general hc that he's the most sadistic/cruel out of the four of them, and the most artistic too. The most reckless between the boys, I feel like he also teases you a lot just to rile you up. Would let him take me to dangerous/risky dates.

Michael: he's so dense and stupid it's cute. Beautiful hair though. Toned, pretty, seems like a good son and older brother, has boyfriend material potential too. He's a bit reckless but compared to any of the boys, it's very tame. Would bring him home to meet my parents.

Dwayne: Big, mysterious, long luscious dark hair, that stare. Is my type of guy. Black cat energy, caters to my introverted side. I feel like he is the calmest, and more responsible out of the bunch, probably has a good singing voice. Reminds of my irl boyfriend.

David: Too intimidating, I wouldn't be able to talk properly around him and would look very dumb. I like his style though, and we could be good friends based on favours: I touch-up his roots, he makes sure I'm not gonna be robbed/murdered/assaulted on the streets. Good deal. I've read a hc that said he was gay and I can't see him as anything but.

Lucy: good hair attacks again. That pixie cut is literally SO CUTE. She seems like a good mom, very gentle and kindhearted. In the movie, she feels a bit too perfect, I wish we had more depth on her character.

Star: Smells like manic pixie dream girl to me. Doesn't have a lot of clear personality, but got extra points for having the prettiest hair out of the bunch. Seems artistic, and carefree, but I don't like the backstabbing part. Was joining the lost boys so bad? There's so much about her that make me confused so this is why homegirl is so low on the list.

Max: kill with fire.

[mysterypond]

Get to know your fic writer! 2, 18, 26, 31, 55, 58, 74

2. Do you plan each chapter ahead or write as you go?

Yes and no... A lot of my planning process is super vague because I'm a pantser, so I rely more on what I call "key events"

Like for the Pariging coffeeshop au my outline was honestly just

Chapter 1: problem customer

Chapter 2: chess

Chapter 3: date

Chapter 4: Pariston kidnaps Gon

Chapter 5: jail

And that was pretty much it, because I kind of come up with most of the stuff I write while I'm actually physically writing it. Sometimes I will spontaneously merge / create new chapters too. It just depends on the vibes.

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

So funny story, a lot of my fics have what I call "working titles" which is a silly thing I'll use as a placeholder that often times ends up becoming the actual title. For humor fics I like to have funnier titles, and for more serious fics I try to keep the titles more serious. It just depends on the vibes. I'm honestly not the best at titling things, however I feel like I have a lot of really good titles and then a bunch of mediocre ones.

Some of my favorite titles and their meanings

Five x Star x Service - the whole thing centers around Ging and Pariston's employee-customer food over Pariston rating the coffee shop poorly out of 5 stars, and what Ging does to bring the rating up. Pretty self explanatory but I like it.

From Me x To You - the whole fic is written in the form of letters, so it's a play off the writing on the envelopes.

Re x Do - A timeloop fic

Baked x Beans - this one is super stupid but Beans is high during the events of the fic so

Let x Go - It's a play off "allow to proceed" and "give up" based on how exactly you interpret the dynamics between Mito and Ging during the fic.

26. Which of your fics would you call your wildest ride?

Five x Star x Service - I know I talk about this fic a lot but it's pretty tame up until chapter 4, which turns the goofy stakes serious.

Double x Date - it's double fake dating where no one is satisfied (Ging/Beans + Pariston/Piyon where Pariston and Ging are trying to play mind games for each other)

when the world sleeps it dreams - honestly anything I say about this fic is a spoiler

Bringing x The x Milk x Myself - Mizai milk. Enough said.

Name x Game - dwun's payback for ging legally changing his name... it's short but the gag at the end is fun.

AITA for assuming the bounty hunter out to kill me was a woman? - the only AITA to make this list just bc it has chrollo as the narrator

I'd say pretty much all of these are "wild rides" in their own ways

31. Do you start with the characters or the plot when writing?

A bit of both. A lot of times it starts with a "what if X character did Y thing?" For original stories, I always start with plot first and then create a character to navigate it.

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

I would say my favorite character to write would have to be Ging but specifically because I've used him as a rp character for so long that I've delved into my headcanons for how he thinks and the justifications for his actions that I think I have a really strong grasp on how I write him. Which is kind of funny in that part of the way I characterize him is like "me, but if I were more of a jackass" especially since the way I have him swear in fics is a 1-1 ratio of the swearing style I use when I speak.

I don't actually know if people like the way I write Ging or not, I don't really get compliments on my characterization of him compared to other characters but also I don't really care. People have different ways they view the characters, and the way I write him is my personal interpretation so if people don't agree it's not my problem.

58. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc) 

Writing for sure!

74. You’ve posted a fic anonymously. How would someone be able to guess that you’d written it?

Haha this is pretty funny because there's a few surefire tells if you know me well enough.

a) There are certain words I misspell very frequently but also consistently without catching it. The most common giveaway is that i write "uhg" instead of "ugh" because phonetically "uhg" makes more sense for how I pronounce it.

b) sense of humor. I feel like the humor fics I write balance a fine line between "lol random xD crack" and "this has like, structured jokes". I like to write a lot of situational humor, and sometimes I'll choose certain funny words in the prose to deal extra psychic damage, so I think someone would have a hard time replicting my style of humor.

c) there's a few phrases that are similar to things I say irl which I feel are less common to use in fics, because a lot of times my prose is written in a similar way to how I speak. I've had friends who know me irl comment that my writing SOUNDS like I'm reading it to them in their heads, just because I have a very particular and unique cadence to my voice (I blame living in 3 different areas with 3 distinct regional accents for that one). I think people who have heard me speak either irl or over voice chat would have a much easier time if I gave them a passage from a few fics and asked them to identify which one is mine.

[authorautumnbanks]

How To Tame A Sorcerer (32)

Series master list

They say that the secret to a successful relationship is trusting your partner and clear communication. It's not that Satoru doesn't trust Kagome, and he thinks that their communication has been pretty direct. And yet, she completely ran past him and didn't even stop to see if he was able to follow her.

It's fine–really, everything is a-okay. He's not worried or anything. And it's not as if there's anyone around to call him out on his lie.

He pokes and prods at the veil. Whoever did this clearly knew that they needed to move fast. The appearance is sloppy, but he has to give them props for creating one that was made to keep him out. He would do the same if he was plotting against someone nearly as strong as he. Gojo leans back, rocks on the balls of his soles. There's a weak point somewhere and the longer he takes to find it, the longer his students and Gome-chan are in danger.

Drip.

Drip.

He snaps into action and rushes towards the sound. With everyone pretty much behind the veil, it must be a student or Gome-chan coming through. He might have some choice words if either Utahime or Gakuganji come out before any of the students. His hands work to untie the blindfold as his six eyes dare not blink at the sight. "G-gome-chan?" he calls out, the words scratch the back of his throat.

"Don't touch me!" She jerks back, her hand pressed against her abdomen. The blood seeps through the blouse and stains her hand. Gojo takes a step forward, one foot after the other, with his arms outstretched.

She's not thinking straight with all the blood loss. That has to be the only reason why she would ever reject him.

"We need to get you to Shoko." He tries again, but Kagome skirts around him–keeping him at a distance. He grips his hair and tugs. The slight pain is nothing compared to the way his chest constricts. He lets his hair go and digs his nails into his palms. Kagome's skin is so pale, and there are bags under her eyes. She sinks down to her knees, panting as though each breath takes all of her strength to muster. And he wants–needs–to get her to Shoko, because he can't lose another person, and in his mind, he knows he needs to calm down. He really needs to stay level-headed, no matter how much he wants to lash out and release some of the pent-up pain. Love is the most twisted curse of all, and the last thing they need is for him to manifest one.

"It's all your fault," she whispers, her eyes not quite looking at him. Her eyes hazed over, her mouth is slightly parted, and she just looks as though she's just staring at death and not seeing him anymore. "I was safe back at home. No curses, no more demons." She places another hand on top of her bloody one. "You did this to me."

Drip.

Drip.

Each droplet of blood that falls is like a blow to the face. He squats down and grips the sides of her face. His shoulders sag in relief that she isn't jerking back or screaming at him. He can take every emotional jab, he can weather through the accusations so long as she lives. She isn't lying, though. None of this would have happened if he hadn't been so selfish and actually helped her find a way back home. His arms shake. Kagome is so cold under his fingertips and they need to move.

"Just leave me."

"You know, I'm not going to do that." He lifts her, the metallic smell hits him more sharply. "Shoko will have you all fixed in no time."

"I just wanted to get back to InuYasha." She sags against him and suddenly it feels as though Gojo is carrying a boulder.

"Who are you?" Gojo tightens his grip, doesn't flinch when she gives him a pained expression. Even though this thing is wearing her face, the words that spew out of its mouth are not Kagome. Blood loss or not, she wouldn't throw what he's assuming to be an ex in his face. Not with how dedicated he's been, and not with how much affection she's showered him with.

"You're scaring me," she replies. Her eyes mist over, but nothing falls from them. Nor does the wound in her abdomen seem to give her any more trouble.

"So be it." There's no telling how much time he has wasted, agonizing over how to convince her to get medical help. His Kagome is still behind the veil–fighting, and he's here wasting time on some thing that thinks fucking with him was the best course of action.

"Wait, I can help you! I can help you keep her here."

Gojo closes his eyes as he sets the fake down. "You're really going to keep up the charade?"

"She's going to go back to him. You know if the opportunity arises, then she'd go back to where she belongs. I can help you prevent that." The fake holds its arms out as though pleading will help its cause. The once steady drip of blood is gone, and Gojo is slightly annoyed at how easily he was deceived.

He sighs, spikes a hand through his hair as laughter bubbles past his throat and he's full-on laughing at how wonderful it's going to be to end this thing. The fake takes a step back, as Gojo stops laughing and lowers his hand from his hair. He holds out a finger in front of him. "Cursed Technique Reversal: Red." It's over in a second as the red blast encompasses the fake Kagome and leaves nothing but a wooden figure behind. He picks it up, but it crumbles away in his hand, blowing away with the breeze.

A puppet? With all these shapeshifters around–maybe they need to come up with a safe word or code. He rolls his shoulders and takes flight. He's not gonna find the weak spot on foot. Nah, whoever did this wanted to make things difficult and prevent anyone from inside the veil from dispersing it. The gray veil shows none of its secrets except for how vast it is. Taking up the entire forest, this had to be an inside job. A pink light shines like a beacon in the thick haze. His heart leaps as he flexes his hands. That's his girl.

The first thing he notices is that there are a couple of scratches on her legs, but otherwise, she appears to be relatively unharmed. Todo and Yuji are with her, and there are carcasses of some giant insects–slightly disgusting, but whatever, littered across the ground. There's that freaky tree curse again. Kagome waves up at him and then gives him a thumbs up.

She really can hold her own. And Yuji's energy is much higher than before. So, his priority should be elsewhere. He teleports to where Gakuganji is–the old man seems to be struggling against his opponent. "You," he says, pointing at the bald man with raccoon eyes. The man runs at him with a butcher knife.

"Don't kill him!" Gakuganji screams out, as Gojo lets out a burst of raw cursed energy. The blast shreds the butcher's limbs as the man whines pathetically.

"Well, go on, treat him. You don't want him to die, right?" He turns his back to Gakuganji. There's another emergence of energy where Kagome and Yuji are. It's different, but that matters little to him. He'll take it and that cursed plant out–and show off just a smidge. "Hollow Purple." The purple void blast rips through the forest. Lightening and dust from the destruction follow its path. He puts his blindfold back on and gives Gakuganji a wide smile and a thumbs up.

He teleports to Kagome's side, memorizing the slack-jawed expression on her face at the destruction. "Yo!" he says, pulling her to his side.

"T-that was you?" she asks.

"Ah! Gojo-sensei, that was so cool!"

Gojo waves a hand in the air. "Eh, that was nothin." He leans down, breathing in the smell of Kagome and whispering in her ear, "As soon as we get home, I'm bending you over my knee." Her breath hitches as her face flushes pink.

Oh. He flicks his gaze at her lips and then back up to her eyes. There's a smudge of dirt on her cheek and a thin layer of sweat from battle.

"They always do this," Yuji complains loudly to Todo. "You just get used to it."

Gojo holds back his remark and ushers them back to the school. He briefly wonders if he and Gome-chan could take a detour somewhere.

[beardedhandstoadshark]

How did you like Genshin Impact, can you recommend it? I thought about starting it.

ONLY IF YOU PLAY THIS GAME AS AN F2P CASUAL AND IF FEAR OF MISSING OUT DOESNT AFFECT YOU.

DO NOT THINK TOO MUCH ABOUT GETTING A SPECIFIC CHARACTER VIA THE GACHA OR "BUILDING" YOUR CHARACTERS THE "CORRECT“ WAY. THERE IS NONE, AND THE CHARACTERS GET RERUNS. ONCE YOU START SINKING IN MONEY, ITS DIFFICULT TO GET OUT BECAUSE THE GAME IS DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU SPEND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, WILL SOUR YOUR EXPERIENCE, AND IS JUST NOT WORTH IT TO BEGIN WITH.

But aside from that, yea! The world building is genuinely amazing and gets better with each region, both in look and lore. You can play around with your team composition however you want, without being forced to pick certain characters or combos due to difficulty. And if it does happen to be to much, you can always lower the world level so enemies are easier. There’s lots of side-games like the serenitea pot (home-designer; think animal crossing new horizons but without villagers), a card game that can be played against NPC‘s and other players (and totally isn’t one big Yugioh reference), fishing, a Pokédex to fill, and probably more coming. The characters are pretty unique in both, well, character, and lots of detail in design (though they do tend to be a bit crowded personally, + there’s that whole thing going on with Candace being. Probably quite a few shades lighter in skintone than the person she‘s based on. Yeaaaa that one’s. Oof. The game‘s from China so not much to expect anyways; but still.) And the story, for the most part, is pretty engaging, with the things happening in said story having an actual, real impact on the gameplay and world, so that’s cool!

So in total, as a pro/con list:

Pros:

Amazing world building

SO. MUCH. WORLDBUILDING AND LORE. Everywhere

Generally engaging story with real impact on the world and gameplay

Unsolved mysteries, most of which are ongoing at this very moment

A lot of freedom when it comes to what characters you wanna fight with and how your team is built; basically everything goes and can be made to work well, even outside their intended purpose

No need or push to use any 5*s, 4*‘s are great on their own too; this goes for everything, but especially the characters. They’re not dumbed down to make the 5* ones look better.

Lots of stuff to do on the overworld, more with each region, like short and long m side-quests, or daily missions/weekly bosses

Option to turn down your world level if you’d rather chill (and increase it back after a while)

Card games and home builder side-games (serenitea pot my beloved)

Fishing and Pokédex

Mini-dungeons

You can feed the dogs

Overworld bosses and a challenge tower if you‘re really into combat

Play single-and multiplayer with up to 3 other people; both friends and by hopping into the worlds of strangers. Great way to get help with bosses, or you just wanna hang out with someone.

Events at every corner; with really big ones usually dropping at the start of a new major update + the big yearly lantern rite event for Chinese New Year (currently ending but the most interesting thing was the story that doesn’t make real sense without knowing the characters anyways)

Seriously there is so much lore at every corner. Lore In world details. Voice clips. Outfit details. Idle animations. Item descriptions. Weapon descriptions. The last two paragraphs in one of the many short stories you can collect in the form of books. Everywhere. (…unfortunately also events.)

The gacha system, while being predatory af, is. Kinda tame compared to other games? You get a decent amount of the currency needed from events and such, so if you only pull casually on every few banners, it’s possible to get a lot of characters you like without spending anything. There’s also this pity system where every pull increases your chance of getting a 5* and 90 will guarantee one, which is nice.

Cons:

THE GACHA SYSTEM. I know I just wrote it comparatively chill, but STILL. Maybe do a few pulls if you happen to have enough gems, but do NOT put money into this game. Gacha games are notorious for their gambling vibes for a reason. YOUR FAVES WITH COME BACK. YOU CAN PULL FOR ANOTHER FAVE. AND NEWERS WILL MOST LIKELY BE SLIGHTER STRONGER DUE TO POWER CREEP.

Again, that whole thing with Candace. All other characters can be argued upon but she‘s got specific origins to her design so it’s a bit oof.

The fandom. I‘m not even joking. It’s your classic ultra-toxic fandom you need to find a cozy corner in and then never leave from there. The shippers are especially vicious here, though a lot of the fandom outside of tumblr is weirdly obsessed with building characters as efficiently as possible, and putting this pressure on others to grind for all that stuff too.

Grinding for artifacts, the main way to "customize“/enhance a characters‘ stats, is horribly repetitive, grindy, and luck-based. So if you do care about building characters efficiently, you‘re forced to deal with that.

For some reason Mihoyo/Hoyoverse decided it would be a good idea to put a lot of their character-lore into events, a good chunk of which can be found outside of cutscenes and instead in the world during the event. So if you miss it, you have to check out the wiki, because you can’t replay the story. Following events will sometimes treat you like you did the previous missed events too, which can be a bit confusing. Especially since other times, those lines only trigger if you DID see said events.

You can’t pet the dogs

Havent played it, but if you care about combat more than the world, their other game Honkai Impact supposedly fits that niche a lot better

TLDR: Treat this game like a casual singleplayer open-world game, ignore the gacha/artifact system, and you should be good.