#it was supposed to be for a palette challenge but you were the only one lol

[draconic-desire]

A Dance With the Dragon II — Mates

Yandere Neuvillette x Reader

[Part I] [Part II — You are here] [Part III]

Neuvillette brings you to your new “home”, which also comes with new challenges.

Warnings: Emotional manipulation, forced imprisonment, Neuvillette accidentally goes a little feral here, brief non-con at the end

One of the first things Neuvillette did was move you from the apartment at the Palais Mermonia (your prison for the past four centuries) to his personal residence. Securing his palms to your waist, he teleported you directly into the foyer of the massive home.

The interior was splashed with blues and whites that matched the Chief Justice’s own color palette. The upper walls were decorated with friezes depicting various marine creatures, from floating otters (how ironic) to bobbing seahorses. A grand spiral staircase led to the upper floor, while a set of double French doors connected the foyer to a massive living room adorned with plush love seats and armchairs, tasteful artwork of Fontainian landscapes, and enormous windows that overlooked the sea. It appeared the house was set into a cliffside, with the waves battering the rocks far beneath you.

You paced into the living room, running your hand along the blue silk couch cushions. To your left, a door led out to what appeared to be an inclosed courtyard with a miniature fountain. To the right was a closed door, a familiar dragon carved into its exterior. Your arm burned in resonance.

Though you were loathe to admit it, the place was beautiful.

“Do you like it?”

Shifting your gaze to him, it was clear that Neuvillette was desperate for your approval. Ever since he let you outside to discover the true length of your imprisonment, you had rarely spoken a word to him. Clearly, your silence had done a number on him, as the normally composed man was fidgeting nervously.

When you kept quiet, Neuvillette cleared his throat. “I admit, part of why things took so long was due to my insistence that everything be perfect for your arrival. I rearranged our bedroom perhaps a dozen times, and I couldn’t for the life of me decide what your personal room should entail.” When you glanced out towards the fountain, he coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ah, that was a…sentimental addition. It makes me think of how we met.”

You’d never forget that Archons-damned fountain. If only you hadn’t been so naive. Hydro Dragon, Hydro Dragon, go away.

Neuvillette extended his palm towards you in what appeared to be both a peace offering and an order. “Shall I give you a tour?”

Suddenly your feet appeared very interesting. What were you supposed to say? This technically was your home now, like it or not. You’d become painstakingly familiar with it with time. Although you weren’t imprisoned within the Palais as before, your new life still promised shackles nonetheless.

“Could you just show me my personal room?” You sighed. “I’d prefer to just rest after that.”

Neuvillette smiled softly, relishing the sound of your voice. “Of course.”

Twisting his fingers through your own, he led you towards the dragon door. Once again, your hidden tattoo pulsed with energy. It felt like a pull forward, a welcoming embrace. You realized then that there must be some sort of warding spell on this room, likely meaning only you and your captor could enter.

Marvelous.

Pushing the door open, Neuvillette swept his arm gracefully through the entrance. “After you, my love.”

You stepped in and immediately went still.

For in every direction around you was rows upon shelves upon stories of books.

Neuvillette had build you your own personal library.

And not just that. You noticed that entire sections pertained to your personal interests—marine biology, photography, even your personal favorite genres of novels. A separate door labeled Dark Room promised an avenue for you to pick up photography again. Similar couches and chairs as the living room were arranged around a huge coffee table, and a cracking hearth added to the cozy atmosphere.

Your throat bobbed. You had always dreamed of owning a room like this, a place where all your passions converged. But to have it under these circumstances…you didn’t know how to react, torn between frustration and a grateful little voice in the back of your head that you buried at once. No, I didn’t earn this. I don’t want this. It was forced on me.

All you could choke out was, “This is…mine?”

“Down to the last book.” You could hear the pride in his voice. “I spent the most time on this room. Over a century to get it right.”

You startled. A century? Your heart stumbled, but your hands fisted by your sides. So much given, yet what had it cost you?

Shaking your head, you simply said, “I’d like to be alone.” Connecting your eyes with his, you could see his hurt, the expectation of a grand reaction on your part that you refused to indulge.

However, the look was quickly wiped from his face, for he must have seen something broken in your facade. A muscle in his jaw feathered as he approached you, a gloved hand stroking your cheek. “I understand you must be overwhelmed. I’ll leave you to explore,” Neuvillette said, placing a kiss on your forehead before heading for the exit.

“Neuvillette?”

Said man turned back towards you, a hopeful look in his eyes.

“Why me?” You grabbed your arm where the shadow of your draconic tattoo hid. “Why…all this?”

His gaze immediately softened. “My dear, we have centuries for me to show you.”

~*~

It was times when Neuvillette was vulnerable that it was hardest to hate him.

He had returned home after a long day at court to find you sitting in the courtyard on the edge of the fountain, peering up at the night sky as if the stars held some answers. Moonlight bathed you in an ethereal glow, and if he didn’t already think you a goddess, he would have pledged himself to you then and there.

You hadn’t noticed him yet, too involved in your own thoughts. True to his word, Neuvillette had given you time and space to enjoy your new (cage) home. You had to admit, it was a major upgrade from the Palais, and you knew the Iudex would continue to let you explore Fontaine, if you tolerated his presence beside you. However, you knew this dance wouldn’t last—it was only a matter of time before Neuvillette expected something in return. It was abundantly clear that he desired your affections, but how far would he go in order to sway you? To fully make you his?

A sea breeze whipped around you, eliciting an involuntary shiver to rip up your spine.

A sudden warmth enveloping your form brought you back to reality. Blinking in surprise, you peered up to see the Chief Justice smiling softly at you, his purple irises sparking with longing and care. His elaborate attire was gone, leaving only his pale undershirt.

He’d given you this coat.

“I…thank you,” you mumbled, averting your eyes from the man.

“Do my ears deceive me? Did my dear (Y/n) actually acknowledge me?”

Your grip on his robes tightened. “Don’t mistake my words for kindness. I haven’t forgotten what you are.”

A sigh. “Despite what you may believe, I’m not a monster.”

You deadpanned. “You’re quite literally the Hydro dragon.”

“Archons above,” Neuvillette whispered, glancing up at the sky as if it held the key to winning your heart. “I was referring to a monster in the definition you humans use.”

“What? You mean like a man who would kidnap and imprison an innocent person—”

“Considering you are not in the Fortress of Meropide, I’d hardly consider this imprisonment.”

“What, have I offended you?” A scoff left escaped you. “If you want to play house, at least own up to your actions. Don’t pretend you’re some sort of gentleman.”

Neuvillette was silent for a beat, his mouth a thin line. Unexpectedly, his muscles relaxed as he released his tension. He lowered his large frame, taking a seat next to you. “You’re right.”

You sketched a brow in surprise.

Neuvillette trained his eyes on his palms, facing upwards in his lap. “I understand neither what it means to be human, nor what it means to be a god. I was given this duty to protect and uphold the laws of Fontaine, and yet I cannot save those who need it most.” His fingers formed fists, and his lids closed solemnly. “Carole, Vautrin…all of the others I have failed…”

You worried your lower lip. Although he had already informed you of his friends’ fate in your absence, it was still a raw wound for the both of you. Yet the anguish in Neuvillette’s eyes twisted your heart. How could a man be so duplicitous, so capable of both justice and blind obsession?

As if sensing your conflict, Neuvillette gently took your face in his hands, tilting your chin so that your eyes locked once again. His eyes danced with silver sparks of emotion, like cracks of lighting across a dark sea. A thumb brushed away a tear you hadn’t even realized had fallen.

“So if I can protect but one thing, one person, I will do it.”

~.~

You often noticed that Neuvillette’s horns got stuck in his robes.

Honestly, it was kind of humorous. In the beginning, watching him struggle gave you a sick sense of satisfaction. You’d take any circumstance that inconvenienced him, however petty that might be.

But today, seeing the Chief Justice pouring over a case regarding the protection of Fontaine’s sea life at an ungodly hour, head propped on a fist to keep him awake, you couldn’t help but feel sympathetic when he emitted a low hiss as his horns tangled into the ornamentation of his attire once again. “Damned human attire,” he cursed.

Neuvillette wasn’t an inherently bad man. In fact, your own case aside, he had invoked significant and positive change in Fontaine’s legal system. He judged cases fairly and prudently, working himself ragged each day to ensure the nation’s safety. It would have been admirable to you in any other circumstance.

You didn’t know what possessed you when you stepped behind him and carefully untangled his twin blue horns.

At your touch, Neuvillette immediately froze. His heart rate skyrocketed and his mind went blank because you were touching him.

And not just anywhere, but his horns. Unbeknownst to you, a dragon’s horns were the most sensitive part of its body, only to be handled by itself or its mate. One brush was akin to a lovers embrace, the whisper of a kiss, the hot breath shared between partners in the thralls of passion. Not only was the touch intensely intimate, it was also an acknowledgement—an acceptance of the male’s advances onto his partner.

Oh, if only you knew how many times he had fantasized about this, your acknowledgement of him and his love for you. Although his rational, human side knew your touch as unintentional, the dragon within Neuvillette reared and roared against his skin, demanding to be set free upon its mate.

“Your horns were caught,” was all you said as you settled back into the sofa, flipping to the marked page of your novel.

If you had looked up, you would have witnessed the Iudex gently touching his horns in awe. He swore he could still feel the brush of your palm against him, shivering delightfully at the mere memory of your touch.

Little did you know that your simple act of kindness would unleash the storm.

~*~

The one unfortunate deviation of your current accommodations from the Palais Mermonia was Neuvillette’s unyielding insistence on sharing a bed.

You had foolishly thought escaping him, even if just within the confines of your shared home, would be simple. You believed the library, what he even referred to as your room, would be your bedroom as well. Despite the lack of an actual bed, the plush couches and ever-lit fire provided more than enough comfort to lull you to sleep.

But when you had opened your eyes, you were mere inches away from Neuvillette’s shirtless, sleeping form.

You had assumed it was due to the draconic symbol guarding the room; perhaps it linked you to him more than you had thought. So, the next night, you decided to sleep in the parlor instead.

Only for your hopes to be shattered the next morning when you awoke not only in bed with your captor, but with your limbs entwined.

Anger, shame, and a touch of something you couldn’t quite place—something not entirely unpleasant—flooded you as you tore yourself out of his embrace. How was he doing this? Was it magic, or would he physically carry you to bed each night?

This pattern repeated itself. You would pick various places around the huge house to retire for the night. However, you would wake up in bed next to Neuvillette each morning without fail.

You had even reverted to your previous stubbornness and slept on the ground a few nights, but to no avail. It seemed you were bound to his bed.

Tonight, you decided to face the issue head-on. You stormed up the stairway and into the spacious bedroom, ignoring the pain in your lower back due to all the errant surfaces you had tried to sleep on. The downy pillows and lush, cream comforter practically begged you to surrender to the king-sized bed and its occupant.

Instead, you halted at the foot of the bed and crossed your arms. “You have to stop this.”

Neuvillette immediately looked up from the tome in his lap, his reading glasses slipping down his nose. He hadn’t yet changed out of his white dress shirt, and the buttons revealed a hint of his toned chest as he set the book down. “And what exactly are you demanding I stop?”

You huffed a laugh. “I wish I could say all of this,” you waved your hands around, as if that would convey the entirety of the situation, “but I mean putting me in your bed each morning.”

“Our bed,” he corrected, as if that were the issue.

“No, your bed. Are you really telling me that with all this space, you can’t just let me sleep alone?”

He removed his glasses with a sigh, setting them on the nightstand. “I could, but I don’t want to.”

You seethed. “Well, I do.”

Neuvillette’s violet gaze pinned you with something like hurt. “Have I truly done something to upset you? It seemed as if you were settling into our new home quite nicely. Our conversation and touches were…” His throat bobbed. “Pleasant.”

You narrowed your eyes and bit out, “Don’t take any of that as complacency. You’re still a monster.”

Neuvillette flinched in response and, for just a moment, you felt a piece your heart falter. That is, until he whispered, “Mates don’t sleep apart.”

The room went utterly still.

Your voice came out as a breath of air, but the words were clear: “I am not your mate.”

It was then that you noticed the claws emerging from his fingertips, piercing into the sheets under his form. His eyes flashed silver, dangerous as knives. You could have sworn you saw a pair of elongated canines as he grit his teeth. “You have no idea how difficult it has been,” he breathed, voice tight, desperate.

On instinct, you took a pace back. You suddenly felt like a cornered animal, unable to avert your gaze from those claws that looked ready to tear into you. Clearly you had misjudged the situation—the Hydro Dragon was a starved, deadly predator, and you were practically served on a silver platter as its next meal.

Icy panic raced through your veins. You’ve never seen him like this, so out of control and inhuman. Trying to mediate the situation, you put your hands up in surrender. “Neuvillette, listen to me. Just calm down.”

You had hoped that saying his name would do just that, but it seemed to only rile him up further. The Chief Justice of Fontaine actually growled in response. You couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a plea. “You deny your mate, and now you’re telling me to simply calm down?”

Another step back. Just put out the fire and deal with the consequences later. “I apologize for being confrontational. I think it’s best if I just go—”

Before you could react, Neuvillette pounced forward and grabbed you by the shoulders, pulling you onto the bed. You released a cry and tried to scramble away, but he spun you around and pinned your back against the mattress with his muscular frame. He loomed above you on all fours, his hands gripping your arms and applying just enough pressure to hold you still without hurting you. The glint in his eyes, however, promised pain that was yet to come. You were the prey about to get its throat torn out.

“Wh-what are you doing?” You struggled, heart skyrocketing at the feel of his arousal pressing against your core.

"Something I’ve needed to do for four hundred years," he growled huskily, his breath fanning your lips moments before they slammed against yours.

The kiss was hungry, predatory. Obsessive. You could feel the release of each year, each century, as his mouth devoured yours. You arched your back in an attempt to get away, but Neuvillette was quicker. He lifted your form easily and slammed your back against the bed once again. At your gasp of shock, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth.

You fumbled around for something, anything that you could take purchase of. Your arms were pinned, but you were just barely able to grab onto the first thing and tug: his horns.

Neuvillette moaned, a deep, throaty sound that sent heat flooding through you.

It was in that moment you realized your mistake. You recalled how some marine animals with horns had millions of nerves within them, making these appendages a source of sensory stimulation. When you had started adjusting his horns after they were getting stuck, it must have been like touching his—

Oh, fuck.

Neuvillette released you arms, grinding against your thigh. “Do that again,” he begged, though it came out as more of a growled order.

“Neuvillette, stop—” An involuntary whine escaped your lips.

Your lewd noises only instigated him. His movements became more erratic as he slid a clawed hand up your leg and to your core, which was protected by only a nightgown. You jerked as his finger pinched your clit, eliciting another whine.

Neuvillette’s eyes sparked with heat, dual purple flames that devoured your form. “That’s it, my dear. Let me take care of you.” He bit down on your neck, causing you to cry out. He was marking you before he took you fully.

“Tonight, you become more than my wife. You become my mate.”

~*~

You laid there limply in Neuvillette’s arms. He peppered you with kisses and whispered words of protecting you and lofty dreams of your future together, but it fell on deaf ears. None of it made you forget about the bites along your neck or your throbbing core.

You couldn’t believe you had let his kindness fool you for even a second.

You had to escape this prison.

[placeinthemiddleofnowhere]

I feel like you're the right person to talk to this about:

I wanna tie König down to the bed and spend all day kisses those ridiculous muscles while he shakes and moans and begs for more. Big teddy bear needs some lovin' before you ride him until he breaks

Honey, Honey

Pairing: König x reader

Content Warning: smut (18+), hints of m!sub to m!dom, hints of enemies to lovers, use of a knife to cut clothes, tying up, teasing, spanking, biting, established messy relationship, no use of y/n or mention of gender/race

This isn't exactly what you asked for, but also this is my house and I make the rules so... have this as a treat

-🍯-

“And how did you picture this working out for you, hm?” König crooned, eyes positively deadly over the honey sweet veneer of his smile. 

A little thrill of fear zipped through your belly, but you were resolute in ignoring it, unshaking as you chased off thoughts of abandoning your plan. Instead you straddled him and tested the tight bonds holding him in place, giving a little tug on each of the heavy ropes that held his hands in their strong red threads. You looked back at his squirming ankles for good measure too, satisfied when you could see he was powerless to do little else than writhe. He was all yours to do with as you pleased. 

“Well, exactly like this I suppose,” you shrugged. “I don’t think I have to worry about you getting your revenge anytime soon - not when I’m about to get sent away on a contract for three months after this. I’ll make sure to phone Horangi to come get you when I’m on the plane, of course. I’m nice like that.”

“How generous of you to plan to free me.”

“As fucked up as we are, I’d rather not have a poor maid find you.” 

“You don’t think I’d get myself out eventually?” he chuckled, tilting his chin at you. 

“Oh no, not out of these bindings. I learnt from the best after all,” you said with a wink. 

He rolled his eyes, damn well knowing he’d been the one to show you exactly how to tie someone else up like this. Clearly he’d never accounted for giving away his trade secrets to the enemy. However, he’d have to admit that he had started letting his guard down with you more and more recently. König always said that showing you his face was his ruin. 

That face. It looked at you now with a full palette with emotions, anger and admiration and lust all splattered onto the scarred and mottled exterior to create a picture straight out of your fantasies. His blue eyes were burning like oil on the surface of water and his lip curled at you, snarling in challenge. Tame me then.

You leant down, letting your eyelids droop with raw want and slipped your hands over his wide shoulders, admiring the bumpy flesh that so rarely got to receive such gentle caresses. Even that hint of affection seemed to have König’s face easing, the long scar on the side of his eye not seeming so stretched anymore. His conspicuous sigh of anticipation only confirmed it. 

A smile faintly burst onto your lips. Merely the idea of a kiss seemed to break his facade - how would he react when you delved further into your plans? You bit your lip at the thought then lowered your head, hovering your lips dangerously close to his. 

“Is all this just to tease me?” he whispered.

“Do you really think so little of me?”

“I don’t have to think anything,” he grunted. “You’re an infiltration expert for a reason, honey. You’re a professional tease.”

Honey. That’s what he called you ever since the first time he’d ever worked with you. It didn’t take long for him to reveal that it was short for Honey pot. When he bent you over a crappy hotel couch and chastised you for tempting him. 

“I'd only be teasing myself at this point, König. If you could see what I’m seeing right now, you’d know you’re in for a real treat,” you grinned.

His nostrils flared and you could feel his chest swelling up with his ragged breaths. He could probably feel your desire just the same, you thought, knowing exactly how worked up you were from the way you were sitting barenaked right on top of him.

You made sure to grind yourself into his body when you finally kissed him, letting him feel the full hot measure of how worked up you were. You’d done everything not to make a mess of yourself while you were tying him up, but now you were unashamed and even smiling into his mouth as you pulled him close and felt the tickle of his groan. 

His tongue worked its way over yours, perfectly warm and wet. You were happy granting him a little control while you threaded your hands into his hair. The gruff noises he made in the back of his throat were vibrating deep inside you. They were enough to send your senses into overdrive, almost enough for you to rip the ropes to shreds and let him have you. Though you remembered who was really in charge and smirked, drawing away from his mouth again and watching as his face fell. 

“Let me have you. Undo the ropes and we’ll forget about this stupid stunt of yours,” he said breathily, almost growling as he roved his eyes over your body. 

“What would be the fun in that?” you chastised, clicking your tongue at his arrogance. 

“You get my cock and I won’t have to waste time planning a way to make you pay.”

“But knowing that is fun for me, I need to have something to look forward to,” you grinned, soon lowering yourself again and bringing your lips to his ear. “And you know as well as I do, I’ll get to have your cock anyway unless you use our safeword…so?”

He shivered, his body trembling like a mountain in an earthquake. His throat was like the tumbling rocks. When you rose back up again you knew you had him beat, as much as he always liked to be in charge, it was undeniable that he was actually getting into this. He’d never admit it, but that didn’t matter. The twitching length underneath you told you everything you needed to know. 

“Do your worst, honey. I’ll get my revenge soon enough,” he huffed, lying back into the pillow in defeat. 

“That’s a good boy, König. I knew you’d see reason!”

“Don’t you dare,” he seethed.

“Don’t dare what?” you asked, getting to work kissing along the sensitive flesh of his thick neck. 

“I’m not anyone’s- don’t call me good boy,” he groaned, voice breaking just as you liked a featherlight stripe against his collarbone. 

So dramatic. You huffed out a warm breath against his goosebumped flesh and nuzzled along it, watching for every little twitch and withheld moan that dared show itself on his traitorous body. You knew for a fact his mind would be reeling from all the attention, but you didn’t care. Not as long as he wasn’t telling you to stop. 

“Ok, I won’t call you my good boy then…” you murmured, now focusing yourself at his left pec. “But don’t pretend like you aren’t shivering everytime I say it.”

He glared down at you, but it only made him look so much more stupid when he was tipping his head back right as you took his nipple into your mouth. You grazed it with your teeth and licked and sucked at it, revelling in the cacophony of little breaths that rushed out above you. Apparently it was too hard to admit he hated this anymore. 

It probably didn’t help that your hand had been roaming down between his navel and thighs for a little while now. If his whimper was any indication, you’d stroked the fight right out of him when you palmed his dick over his boxers. Those would have to go - they’d be off already if you hadn’t been afraid that he’d wake up before you could secure him. 

“You’re responding so well,” you praised, “Sure you’re not gonna want a repeat performance of this?”

“Oh honey, I’m gonna put a- ah-” he moaned, jerking as you played with his cock and slipped your hands over his balls at the same time. “Ah- fuck you.”

König was chuckling and moaning in equal measure, his body was a beautiful dichotomy of grunted protests and singing moans. You enjoyed getting to work him over, smiling like a born vixen as every movement drew out a new noise, filling the cheap hotel room with a lingering note of sex. It was a good thing neither of you had expensive tastes, you thought distantly, you’d have already been thrown out the night before and you’d have never have gotten to experience this.  

“You’re gonna do what exactly?” you asked, tilting your head as you looked down at the writhing mess below you.

König’s eyes opened hazily and he shook his head, grinding his hips up and seeking the pressure that he so obviously wanted.

“I’m going to put a collar around you and make sure you remember who’s in charge of who. I’m going to fuck you until your legs don’t work anymore and then I’ll scrape you off the floor and parade you in the street for everyone to see!”

“Really? You will?” you asked, watching on with glee when you took your hand away and drew out a disappointed low whine. “Is that a promise?” 

You leaned over and picked up one of your knives from the floor, curling your hand around the hilt tightly when you realised it was one of your own. The familiar weight felt right and when you readjusted yourself on top of him, you were happily able to drag the cold metal over the band of his underwear knowing for a fact that you wouldn’t hurt him with the angle you held it at. 

König went stiff as a board underneath you and glared at you again, teeth baring as he worked out what you meant to do to him. He looked wildly from your hands and to your face, eyes practically broadcasting his revenge plot from the dark depths of his blown out pupils. 

“Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “Just slide them down.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll make you regret it.”

“I hope so.”

The cotton fabric of his boxers was no match for your knife. It slashed through them in a few easy cuts, running through the material like butter, best of all not even grazing König’s already heavily scarred skin. You liked the drama of the knife, but you didn’t want to hurt him. 

Truth be told though, he was furious - he’d probably rather be hurt than have to bother to replace his underwear. If he were a cartoon character his ears would be steaming. However if the redness in his face was anything to go by, he was probably as close to it as he’d get, he certainly felt burning to the touch. He'd had every dignity taken from him now. Though still he didn’t say Austria, and so you didn’t stop.  

You tossed the knife onto the bedside table where it dropped with a thundering clatter and threw the black tatters of his boxers to the ground, revelling in the full straining length of his cock from underneath the shroud. It was enough to make you salivate. Your mouth filled and your heart thrummed in your chest, but still you held your composure and opted to ignore it for the moment. Instead returning to kissing around his body and only occasionally running your fingers gently over his dick and around the rough dark thatch of his pubic hair. 

“You’re a ah- fucking bitch,” he groaned, voice much higher pitched than you were used to.

His voice was ragged, he was getting pushed further and further toward madness. You’d been working him for only a few minutes, but clearly it was too much. He needed to feel your actual touch on him, a firm hand. He was desperate, voice all breathy even while he tried in vain to pretend like it wasn’t getting to him.

“Those. Aren’t. Very. Sweet words,” you murmured, taking a break through each to kiss his straining abs that were now far more visible through the fat of his tummy. 

“You’re supposed to be the sweet one, honey,” he sighed, arching again as you licked at the spot just underneath his navel. 

“I’m being rather sweet to you now, no? I could be fully taking advantage of this predicament you’re in and riding on top of you, taking whatever I want from you, but I’m choosing to use this as an opportunity to worship you instead,” you sighed, running your hands up and down his hairy thighs, gently scratching at him enough to have him clenching his teeth. 

“Worship? This isn’t worship - it’s torture. I want to feel you. I need you to give me more!”

Oh…he sounded hungry before, but now he was starving. There was an extra low growl in his voice and now it felt like the air was thick with the salt of him. His chest was working hard underneath you, heart palpitating while he cock bobbed in time, rutting against you and seeking every little sensation it could. 

You had to take pity on him. You had to give him more now. 

“Well you only had to ask for it,” you hummed, finally licking a stripe straight down the vein on the underside of his dick. 

He moaned out like a bull, the sound practically ricocheted off the walls. You giggled quietly to yourself and worked your tongue over him again, closing your eyes contentedly as you tuned into his deep siren’s call. 

You’d now moved down his body so that you could get better access to him, and now you took full advantage of his rock solid muscles, gently rutting yourself against his outstretched  leg while you licked at his shaft and balls. You delighted in every time his voice caught in his throat and his moans broke out like waves into the static of the room. 

You alternated between licking him and then breathing over the trails of saliva, taunting him when you reached his head,only giving him the gentlest of kitten licks there that would send him spasming and cursing. He wanted more and more, but you refused to give in right away. Teasing him was much too fun, and he was right, you were practically a professional at this. 

Eventually though, you couldn’t refuse him any longer and when you finally took him into your mouth, he hummed and relaxed so fully that it felt like he’d been paralysed beneath you. You were a venomous creature taking him in your mouth and he was your prey now, you thought, he was well and truly yours. 

At least that's what you had thought. 

You’d bobbed your head down only a few times, had just swallowed right down to his balls when you felt it. A hand working its way over your head and tightly locking you into place against the scratchy hairs at his base. It took you no time at all to realise your little plan had backfired. 

You’d been so focused on his cock that you hadn’t noticed he’d worked his hand free. You hadn’t heard the snicking of the knife as it had cut through the other binding. You hadn’t felt König’s upper half shifting until it was too late. Now the icy realisation was freezing your heart and sending your eyes watering. 

He was fully in control of you now, yanking you up and holding you fast against him while he cut his feet free and threw the knife over to the far side of the room. His arms locked around you and he twisted like a crocodile in a death roll, throwing you underneath him and locking himself over you, ready to mount you like the bitch he claimed you to be. 

“I wonder how hard I have to fuck you to make sure your legs can’t walk you onto that plane later, hm?” König sneered, breath hot as his voice acidly poured into your ears. “Lets see how long it takes for you to break.”

You yelped when he fastened his forearm around your throat and forced you both upward onto your knees, forcing you steady against him. You could still breathe fine, but nevertheless you fought him, trying to scrap back for control. It was useless. He hit your hands away without issue and still managed to get what he was looking for. Managing to lean over to the drawer and fetch the lube before he threw you uncaringly back into the mattress and repositioned his arm, constricting it around your middle instead. 

He spanked you a couple times, the jolt centering straight onto your crotch and reversing your roles straight away. Now you were the one turned into a whimpering little mess. You turned to him and begged him to be gentle, but he only offered you a crazed smile before shoving the lube bottle between his teeth and squeezing a generous amount onto his hand. 

“Gentle is for good little things that do as they’re told,” he growled, spitting the tube from his mouth. “Or those who use their safeword…so?”

He was mocking you now. The air hung dead between you, cold and unforgiving and sending you shivering under the weight of it. 

“Just as I thought,” he hissed. “You love it when I take control.” 

You sighed out in full defeat and looked down at the messy sheets, now resigned to your fate. You’d be little better than his fucktoy in only seconds. The realisation had you biting your lip, it sent your pulse roaring in both your chest and low in your body as you now anticipated, none too ashamedly, getting split in two. 

You gasped when he pressed his lubed up hand against you and began to rub at your entrance, coating it thickly with the cool liquid and working you up a little before pressing a finger in. Pumping it in and out to the rhythm of your dogged moans, twisting and stroking and not letting up for anything.

He spanked you every so often, alternating between preparing you and punishing you for what you put him through. Even while you protested and told him that you couldn’t come into a job covered in bruises, he didn’t care. He didn’t even deign to give your cries an answer. He just rocked you onto him, adding fingers and turning your ass into a tingling hot mess all while he kept his chest pushed into his back and held you tightly against his sweaty torso. 

“I- I that’s ah- I need”

“What? Are you finding it difficult to speak already? Imagine how difficult it’ll be once I’m inside you,” he taunted, nipping at the shell of your ear. “You want something, honey?”

You moaned out and bucked back against him, trying for a last ditch effort to get back on top, but he only laughed. There was no escape. The deep timbre of his chuckle worked through your back like nails, bringing home the fact that there wasn’t any way out of this beyond giving your safeword, and like hell did you want to do that. Not while every inch of your body was egging him on to continue. 

“I need it,” you whimpered, groaning deep when he massaged a particularly sensitive spot inside of you. “I need your cock, pleaseeee.”

“You need it, yeah? How bad? Tell me how bad you need me to fuck you,” König growled.

You could feel him in the depths of your body, could feel how deep your desire for him was rooted now. Your toes were curling, sweat was dripping from your brow with the effort it took just to stay in the moment. Everything felt so impossibly hot. It took every effort not to pant like a dog, show him you might become a complete animal in the face of his teasing and his ministrations. 

“Please, please, please, König!” you cried out. “Let me cum for you, I wanna make you feel good. I wanna clench around you. Let me feel you, I need it. I want you to fucking crush me, put your whole body over mine, please I need-”

He cut you off completely when he ploughed into you. Your words straggling away into nothingness. His hips clashed into your body and he jerked backwards just as he entered halfway, conscious of the fact that even with preparation he was still fucking huge. Though it didn’t stop him complying with your request, bending you harshly down into the mattress, almost squashing you in his effort to envelop you completely.

“Little brat, this is what you wanted all along. Well then…take it…take it all.”

Your arms and legs were folded underneath you now, just as useless as König’s had been when they were tied up. You had nowhere to go. Not that you wanted to go anywhere. König continued to work his way into your aching body, stretching you out and drawing the most salacious noises from your lips like a violin bow, stroking back and forth in perfect crescendoing song.

He wrapped a hand around your neck and kept his other arm around you, holding you tight and fucking into you like two animals in full heat. He knew just what you liked. Even while you tried to keep up the pretence of a struggle, scrabbling away at the wet sheets, you both knew that this was what you craved.

“There you go,” he said, ramming into you with his full length, voice straining even through his smugness. “Not so superior now that you’re all filled with cock, hm? You’re moaning like a little whore… my little whore. How’re you going to cope when I’m away, hm? You gonna touch yourself every night thinking about this? Maybe I should film you, make sure you have a reminder of your place.”

Your whole body tensed and you felt a growl of disapproval work itself from your throat. Even in your compromised position, even filled up to a point where you could feel your whole body coursing with need, you weren’t letting him get away with that.

You twisted your neck and bit his arm, not bothering to voice your protests. Your teeth sunk into flesh and released a pained grunt from him, but you were only rewarded with a particularly hard thrust for your efforts. It had you screaming underneath him, forcing him to reposition his hand from your neck and over your mouth. 

“I’ll have to get a gag for you if you’re going to start biting,” he hissed, only releasing your mouth when you forced his hand away.

“Don’t threaten…me with a good time,” you laughed, smiling all the more when you heard him laughing too. 

“Fucking hell,” he sighed.

He gave up holding you down and rose up like a bear, grasping your hips tightly with his roughened fingers before he really lost himself in you. He built up the fire within you until it was roaring, each slap of his body against yours sending you juddering forward and moaning out as his cock drew out brilliant sparks.

“Fuck, honey. You look so good like this… Look so good fighting to stay up. You’re my little plaything yeah? You’re mine to tease and fuck as I wish. Mine.”

Your vision was starting to white out, your head was growing fuzzy. The beat of your heart felt like it was building faster and faster and every little muscle in your body clenched at the impending orgasm that rocked through you. With only a few more thrusts you were spent, tearing at the sheets and lost in the pleasure, feeling positively drunk as your head swam with endorphins. 

You screamed out and let your body fall completely to König, allowing him to gather your jelly muscles up and quickly reposition you in his lap. Your nails dug into his back, your head fell into the crook of his neck. You whimpered when he slipped back into you again, shaking as the aftershocks of your orgasm punched through you all the harder. 

“Too much,” you whined, “too sensitive.”

“Come on now, honey. You’re not nearly there yet,” König murmured, kissing your temple. “Not till you say the safeword or till I say you’re done, alright?”

He repositioned himself and you dug your nails into the meat of his back, completely failing to discourage him from rocking you against his cock. You felt like you were going to cum again just from the jostling movements alone. The realisation had you moaning so pathetically. 

“C’mon, honey, I know you can keep going for me, can’t you? I know you can,” he encouraged, already starting to slowly thrust in and out of you again. “I’m only just getting started…” 

[buckysgrace]

17. Forever and Ever, Amen

He was thirteen when Nadine stumbled into his life.

He supposed that force was a better way to describe it. She had disrupted the delicate balance that was his home life, even if it wasn’t technically her fault. Still, he enjoyed having her company. It made him feel less lonely in his big house, even though he wasn’t allowed to play with her that much.

“Who are you?” Daphne peered up at Nadine, her dark eyebrows pulled together inquisitively like she was trying to decide if Nadine was kind or not. Her eyes were narrowed, like she was trying to decide if Nadine was friend or foe.

Nadine had only been at the ranch for a few days, but Gator’s parents had business with the ranch that had left the two of them swiftly dropped off at the Williams’ house. Ruby had spent some time outside on the porch, speaking to his mom in a hushed whisper.

“I told you,” Gator whined, “This is Nadine.” He reminded her again, although he had already told her over the phone the day that Nadine had arrived. Daphne parted her lips in a silent understanding, her big blue eyes locking onto Nadine like she was one of the new animals her father had purchased.

“Oh,” Daphne drew out slowly, “Where did you come from? How old are you? Do you like dollies? I have a pony, do you want to meet her?” She spit out all at once, nearly toppling over out of her seat from how close she had moved to Nadine.

Nadine’s eyes widened, clearly taken aback by Daphne’s attitude. Gator flushed, wishing that he would’ve warned Nadine about how Daphne could be. She was eleven now, but still acted a little too naive at times.

“Let the poor girl speak, Daphne.” Ruby walked around a second later, shaking her head before she waved her hand so that Daphne would sit up straight again.

“Sorry,” Daphne blushed as she settled back into her seat. It only lasted a second before she wiggled closer again, “We can play dress up too if you like that.” She smiled a little sweeter, looking excited at the aspect. Nadine seemed to relax as she nodded her head in agreement.

“Dress up sounds fun.” She said softly, her blue eyes locked tightly on the way Daphne’s features broke out into excitement.

“Cool,” Daphne grinned widely, showing off one of her little gap between her bottom front teeth, “You can wear some of Noelle’s stuff.” She said quickly as she hopped out of her seat. She tugged on Nadine’s hand, nudging her upstairs.

“Where are you going?” Gator protested, not wanting to be left alone. August wasn’t back yet, which meant that he might have to play nice with Oliver. He didn’t want to do that.

“Uh to my room,” Daphne said incredulously, “Are you coming or what?” She yelled over her shoulder as she walked upstairs. He stumbled out of his seat, not wanting to be left behind as he joined them.

Daphne had a steady hand as she applied color onto Nadine’s eyelids. He thought the q-tip like brushes were odd, along with the funny looking palettes. He wasn’t sure if it was even real makeup.

“Daphne can you-,” August stalled as he held the door open, “Whose this?” He paused, his eyebrows cocked wide as he stared at Nadine. He leaned against the doorway, his body relaxing as he watched her.

“I’m Nadine.” She gave a soft wave, smiling kindly before she looked away again. Gator felt his own eyes narrowing, quickly understanding the look in August’s eye. He’d had a girl problem recently.

“Go away, August,” Daphne grumbled, “She’s my friend not yours.” She said quickly before she began to dabble a glossy pink color on Nadine’s lips.

“She probably doesn’t want to play with a bunch of kids.” He challenged as he jerked his chin back towards her. Daphne’s cheeks heated up, looking frustrated at once again from being referred to as a kid.

“I don’t mind.” Nadine spoke softly, looking as relaxed as ever as she kept her eyes glued to the way Daphne was continuing her work.

“Ha,” Daphne replied as she stuck her tongue out towards him, “Now go away.” She demanded as she reached for one of the stuffed animals on the floor. She threw it, narrowly missing his head as it bounded down the hallway right before August slammed the door shut. There was a loud shriek of protest, sounding like Oliver had become a victim from the attack.

Daphne kept them busy as they played from game to game. Sometimes it was a struggle to keep up with her imagination, but Gator enjoyed it. Nadine was a lot quieter, a lot calmer than the two of them. She only seemed to calm down once they were all called in to get cleaned up for dinner.

“Sorry, the office was busier than usual,” Bruce grumbled as he strolled through the door. He gave Ruby a brief kiss on the lips before he kissed Noelle’s head and then Daphne’s. He ruffled Gator’s hair the same way he did to August and Oliver before he paused, “Uh hon, I don’t remember this child.”

“That’s Nadine!” Daphne replied in excitement, “She’s like Gator’s big sister now. And she likes horses too!” She said happily as she wiggled around in her chair again. Bruce raised an eyebrow as he glanced towards Nadine before he turned to his youngest daughter again.

“Can she speak for herself?” He challenged, but still looked amused as Ruby began to serve him his dinner. August snorted, looking a little pleased with himself before Ruby gave him a warning tap on his shoulder.

“Well yes,” Daphne replied back, too excited to listen to Bruce’s grumpy tone, “But I wanted to answer for her because we’re friends. See?” She held up the little beaded bracelet, waving it around wildly. Nadine raised her wrist in response, a shy smile on her lips as she showed off her matching one.

“She’s staying with the Tillman’s for a while,” Ruby answered softly as she sent Nadine another wave, “They’re picking up some cattle so I said we could watch them.” She finally sat down, looking a little tired as she gave Bruce a squeeze on his shoulder.

Dinner passed easily after that and Gator didn’t miss the confusion on Nadine’s features. Bruce was similar to Roy, but he was also very different. They didn’t sit in silence at dinner, Bruce made sure to ask them all the same amount of questions and seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say. He was always a little harder on August, but Gator figured that it had to do with him being the oldest.

`They all helped clean up after dinner. He scraped off the leftovers into a bowl then handed the dirty dishes to Daphne. She washed them, while Noelle dried them. August worked on scrubbing the table down while Oliver silently swept the floor. It was routine, it was nice. No one got yelled at for doing it wrong either.

“We could play monopoly,” Daphne suggested as she balanced on one leg that night, “Or Life. Or Twister. Or I could make August give up his Xbox.” She rambled as she listed off everything that came to her mind. They had made their way into the basement. There was more room, with an extra sofa, mattress and TV.

“What about Mario Kart on the Gamecube?” Gator asked instead, feeling like that sounded a lot more fun. He felt bad that Nadine was still quiet. He hoped that she understood that she did fit in. Daphne seemed to be a big fan of hers.

“That’s fine,” Nadine said in agreement, “I’m alright with whatever you guys usually do.” She agreed with them, looking quite content as Daphne rushed over to set up the Gamecube. She hummed to herself, filling the room with sound as he wondered what thoughts Nadine was hiding behind her stoic features.

////////////////////////////////

Gator woke up to the sound of the rain.

He rolled over, his feet cold from the lack of blankets. He groaned, trying to tug them back over himself but to no avail. Nadine and Daphne had cocooned themselves together underneath all the blankets. Each time he tried to grab at them, one of them shifted it closer to themselves.

He drifted upstairs, making plans to head into the spare closet that held all the extra pillows and quilts. He was sure he’d be left with the scratchy ones, but he supposed he couldn’t be a beggar.

“She could stay here,” Gator heard Ruby pleading with Bruce down the hall, speaking in hushed tones so that no one else could hear them, “Linda and Roy have so much going on right now. We’re already used to a full house, it wouldn’t be that different.” She protested, sounding more desperate than he had ever heard her.

“It’s none of our business who they take in.” Bruce whispered back in the same manner, but sounded frustrated as if they had been arguing about this for a while. Gator crept closer, doing his best to stay quiet even though he knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop.

“She could help me out,” Ruby tried again, “And she could share a room with Noelle or Daphne. We could make it work.” She sounded chipper, like she could somehow convince Bruce. Gator found himself frowning, not wanting to lose the one chance he had at gaining a sibling.

“She’s the same age as August,” Bruce dismissed her entirely, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He sounded serious this time as he spoke. Ruby sighed deeply, sounding like she was debating on her next choice of words.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to stay there,” Ruby said at last, “It just doesn’t feel right.” She breathed out harshly. Gator crept a little closer, curious as to what she was going to say.

“And why’s that?” Bruce sounded more stern this time around. Gator took a step back, not wanting to hear Bruce treat Ruby the same way Roy handled Linda. He winced as the floor creaked, stiffening as he knew that he had been caught. He pulled a sheepish smile to his lips as Ruby turned around the corner.

“Hey,” Ruby smiled brightly at him, all of the worried lines on her features disappearing as she stepped forward, “I didn’t wake you, did I?” She asked worriedly as she fumbled her fingers through his hair.

“No,” He lied, “I just couldn’t sleep.” He shrugged his shoulders softly, trying to keep as nonchalant as he could. She nodded her head, looking fine with that answer as Bruce rounded on them.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Bruce said dismissively as he gave Ruby a warning look, “Try and get some sleep.” He added towards Gator a second later. He gave his shoulder a soft squeeze, then added an even softer smile before he walked away.

“I was about to have a cup of tea, do you want some?” Gator loved his mom, but thought that she sometimes had a hard time loving him. Roy was always telling her that she was doing something wrong, that she was babying him. He never heard Bruce say that to Ruby. She was softer, sweeter.

When he was here, Roy couldn’t say that. Bruce never seemed to complain about it either. Ruby treated Gator in the same manner she treated her sons. She’d let him curl up against her side, rest his head on her lap and would kiss injuries the same way she did to the rest of her kids.

“Okay,” He nodded his head. He watched as she worked, thinking about how his mom never drank tea, “Why do you not want Nadine to stay with me?” He asked at last, furrowing his eyebrows together as he tried to come up with his own answer. Had he already done something wrong?

“Oh, it’s not about you,” She said softly as she pushed a teacup towards him, “It’s just a lot on your mom. And she’s only had a little boy to deal with, plus, I know how to handle girls.” She said with a sly smile, making him nod his head in agreement.

“Right,” Gator replied as he took a soft sip from the warm tea, “I want a sister though.” He told her seriously. He’d always wanted a sibling. He felt like he missed out some, especially when he watched the way Daphne interacted with her siblings. They fought, but they also loved each other a lot.

“You could still have one,” She nodded her head, “And my kids are like your siblings too.” She told him as she took a sip from her own cup. She looked deep in thought for a moment. He watched her, thinking that Daphne had her same eyes.

“Not Daphne though?” He asked a second later, unable to help himself as her name just came to his mind. She laughed as he spoke.

“Not Daphne,” She grinned as she watched him, “I still need grandkids from you two one day. A long time from now.” She winked, teasing him as he curled his nose up in disgust.

“Ew.” He said, feeling his face flush at the thought. Having kids with Daphne? There was no way.

Now

How are things?

He texted her the day of her appointment, still slightly worried about what had been wrong with her bloodwork. He hoped it was nothing bad. But then again, he supposed that Hugh could’ve given her some odd disease.

Good, maybe we can talk later?

Her message made his eyebrows raise. He supposed it was harmless, but there also seemed to be something hidden in there. He quickly answered her.

Is everything alright?

He stared at his open messages, praying and hoping for a quick response from her.

I hope so.

Her message was odd and did nothing to soothe the jitters in his veins. He paused, about to call her when Roy burst into his room. He looked at him unimpressed before he jerked his head down the hall.

“Get ready.” Was his simple statement, giving Gator no time to question him before he was back out the hallway. Gator stumbled out the door, trying to figure out exactly what he needed to get ready for. He couldn’t tell if this was personal or business.

“Where are we going?” He breathed out harshly, almost tripping down the ends of the stairs. He paused, taking in the way that Karen was getting the girls adjusted. Personal. This was something personal.

“We were invited over for dinner,” Roy huffed as he adjusted his hat, “Is there some issue?” He snapped, sounding a little more cranky than usual.

“No,” Gator said, slightly alarmed by his tone, “I was just curious is all.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep his cool as he quickly slid on a pair of his boots. He was still taken off guard, trying to figure out just where they were heading. He supposed that Ruby must’ve overcooked again.

“Do we get to throw flowers yet?” Jessica asked as she furrowed her eyebrow and tugged on Gator’s hand. He sighed, unsure of how to explain to her that she probably wouldn’t be one for a while.

“Probably soon,” He nodded his head, feeling a bit bad for lying to her as he helped her out the door. She pouted her lips out, seemingly disappointed before Karen took her and lifted her into the truck, “What did Ruby make?”

“It’s not there,” Roy dismissed him as he clambered into the front seat, “It’s at Daphne’s. Her husband invited us over.” He remarked, trying to make a subtle dig but it didn’t work this time. Gator knew something that he didn’t.

He stood there for a moment, wondering if he was walking into some sort of trap. He had heard stories of wives confronting their cheating husbands in front of large groups to humiliate them, but never the other way around. He didn’t think that Hugh could do that. Nor did he believe that anyone would really care.

“Are you coming?” Roy asked, looking annoyed at the way Gator lingered outside of the truck. He quickly cursed before he made his way inside, trying to sort out if there was some connection between Daphne’s messages and Hugh’s invitation.

The drive there wasn’t long but Gator was left in his nerves the entire way. He kept unlocking his phone, his thumbs brushing over his keyboard as he tried to think of some message to send Daphne. He doubted that she’d answer him.

He still thought it was a bit funny that Bruce had kicked them out of the house, so soon after their marriage. Daphne’s house was still being worked on, partially finished. He supposed it must be fairly loud when the workers were there.

“Is Daphne here?” He looked at Noelle in confusion, not seeing her anywhere nearby as he walked towards where Noelle was positioned on the sectional. She sighed deeply, like his presence was irritating.

“I haven’t seen her,” Noelle shrugged her shoulders as she continued to inspect her nails, “Hugh told daddy to get pizza and said they had big news.” He furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion, feeling like this was all odd.

“Hugh set this up?” He searched for clarity, wondering why he would do such a thing. It wasn’t like he’d received a very warm welcome from any of them.

“Yeah,” Noelle narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, “What do you know?” She asked as she leaned forward, like she was trying to read his expression. He remained stoic, not needing another one of her siblings to know of their affair.

“Nothing,” He responded as he backed away as if he could prove his innocence, “I don’t know anything.” He said at last, crossing his arms as if to make a point.

“I don’t believe you,” She said at last as she pointed a finger at him, “You’re hiding something too.” She told him seriously as she furrowed her eyebrows tightly together. He scoffed, even though he was hiding something. He wouldn’t tell Noelle. He didn’t trust her.

“What about your secret?” He challenged in response, not liking being so easily called out. Her eyes widened for just a fleeting second before she quickly rolled them and turned in the other direction.

There wasn’t much time for her to investigate him again before he heard footsteps gliding down the stairs. He walked around the sofa, already recognizing who it was before she stepped into the room. Her eyes widened in surprise, clearly taken aback by everyone in the room.

“Hugh,” Daphne’s smile was tight, her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she glanced around at everyone, “What’s going on?” Her hair was wrapped up in a bun on top of her head with loose strands in disarray. She looked a little green around the edges and her mascara was smeared around the corners of her eyes as if she’d wiped them for too long.

“I thought we should celebrate the big news,” He said as he ushered her forward, pushing her smaller body until she was on display. She didn’t look dressed for a celebration either. Her leggings had cat hair on them and her shirt was a few sizes too big, one that he suspected had been one of his old ones. The thought made him smirk.

“Wait, wait,” She tried to protest, “What are you-, what’s everyone doing here?” She peered around at everyone in surprise, looking a little horrified as she tried to gain control of the situation. He rubbed the back of his neck, a little worried at how stressed she looked. He really hoped that Hugh wasn’t going to spring something on them.

“To celebrate the baby!” The words tumbled free from Hugh’s tongue, making Gator take a few steps back until he hit the back of the couch. He blinked, almost positive that he had heard Hugh wrong. There was no way.

“You’re pregnant?” Ruby was the first one to speak, grinning as Daphne planted her feet and continued to look horrified, “Oh congrats. That’s amazing!” She wrapped her arms around Daphne, giving her a little squeeze as Daphne’s eyes remained wide.

“It’s great news, isn’t it?” Hugh grinned as he bent low to kiss the corner of Daphne’s mouth. She quickly tugged away, almost as if she had been slapped as she stared up at him. Gator couldn’t find any words of congratulations on his tongue. He felt angry, jealous. He’d been so determined that Daphne was his when she really wasn’t.

“So great,” Bruce responded dryly, only changing his tone when Ruby nudged him, “I’m so glad I’ll finally be a grandpa.” He tried again, but didn’t have the energy to humor anyone with his fake enthusiasm. Gator felt like the walls were slowly caving in and as if his lungs could no longer work. He hadn’t had an asthma attack in years, but he felt the similar dread forming in the base of his chest.

“I uh,” Daphne shook her head, looking lost and a little terrified as different forms of congratulations were thrown her way, “I didn’t want to announce it like this.” He turned his attention towards the floor, thinking that the wood looked far too clean as her eyes fell onto him. He didn’t want to look at her.

“It’s your family,” Hugh reminded her with a sweet tone, “There’s not a better way to do it.” Gator was sure that he was all up on her, parading her around and their unborn baby. He knew it wasn’t right to be so jealous, but he was. It should be him.

He stepped outside a few minutes later, taking his time so Roy couldn’t see the scene that he was trying to keep from creating. His hand shook as he brought his vape up to his lips, taking inhale after inhale as the warm setting sun burned the tops of his shoes.

The door opened but he didn’t need to look over to know who it was. He felt stupid as he stared off into the distance, wondering how he had ever thought that they’d had a chance.

“You’re pregnant.” He spoke bitterly as he stared ahead, his heart hammering as he held back a rush of nasty accusations on the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t look at her right now.

“Gator,” She breathed out roughly, “I was going to tell you. This was all ambushed on me. I didn’t want anyone else to know this early.” She said frantically, sounding like she was close to tears as she roughly gestured her hands around.

“Why would it be any of my business?” He snapped at her, feeling bitter as it settled around him. She tilted her head, looking at him in disbelief as she gently shook her head. She scoffed, then laughed to herself like it was funny. The realization washed over him next, like a cold dunk in the crick as he parted his lips in understanding.

Oh.

“So the baby is-?” His tongue rolled around awkwardly in his mouth as he spoke. He straightened up his form as he looked down at her, noticing the softness that formed around her features.

“Yes,” Daphne said, her skin a little green as she watched him, “What do you think?” She chewed on her bottom lip, cocking an eyebrow as she twisted her fingers together. He fell silent, noticing that she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring either. The anger rushed out of him, disappearing as a breeze hit them.

“I think that’s amazing,” He spat out truthfully, “Really great. That’s incredible. A baby, wow.” He rambled for a moment, shaking his head as he tried to think of the right thing to say. He was excited, truly. He was just unprepared.

“You’re nervous.” She said simply, her eyes crinkling as an amused smile tugged onto her lips. He watched her as he nodded his head in agreement, bringing the vape back to his lips so he could twist out the new nerves that had formed inside of his stomach.

“Yeah,” He nodded his head, still smiling as he resisted the urge to hold onto her, “How far along are you?” She walked forward until they were out of sight from the window, smiling as she took his hand in hers. He looked down at how tiny her hand seemed to be in comparison as he rubbed his fingertips across her open palm.

“About five weeks,” She chewed on her bottom lip as she looked at him, “Hugh had my phone. I think that’s how he knew.” She whispered softly, her eyes swimming with worry as he was sure they shared the same thought. He was sure that if Hugh had seen their messages that he would’ve said something.

“He doesn’t suspect anything then?” He asked her softly as he linked their fingers together, just for confirmation. She shook her head slowly. He almost wished that Hugh had looked. It would’ve made things a lot easier.

“Apparently not,” She breathed out, “I should’ve just told him. Now everyone thinks the baby is his.” She huffed in frustration as she glanced back towards the house. He didn’t want her to get too stressed out. He was sure her miscarriage had to do with her not wanting anyone else to know so soon.

“S’alright,” He mumbled as he rubbed his thumb into her palm gently, “We can work through this together.” He told her truthfully. It was a mess right now, but they’d be able to figure it out.

“It’s embarrassing.” She groaned as she leaned forward, fully hiding her face into the crook of his neck. She continued to whine, shuffling on her feet as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her in for the first real hug they’d shared in years. He soaked in her warmth, pulling her closer as she nuzzled her face deeper against his skin. He pressed his chin against the top of her head, suddenly feeling like everything was alright.

“On the bright side,” Gator drew out softly, “I don’t think Hugh will want to stick around after this.” He chuckled softly as he rocked them back and forth. She clung to him tightly, sighing deeply as her eyelashes fluttered against his neck.

“I’m scared.” She breathed out slowly, her voice barely above a whisper as he rubbed his fingertips down her spine. He wanted to pull her closer, then wondering how fast they could make it to his truck without anyone noticing. Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to leave.

“It’s going to be alright,” He promised as he kissed her temple, “Things will be easier this time. I’ll take care of you.” He promised her as he peppered a trail of kisses down to her lips. She giggled softly, the sound absorbed by the soft touch of their lips meeting.

“I know,” She whispered softly once he pulled away, “But what do we do now?” She looked at him worriedly as she flicked her eyes up towards him. He paused for a moment, but really didn’t know how to answer her.

“You need to end it with Hugh first,” He said at last, “Then everything else will fall into place.” He said at last, feeling like it would be better for them to start slowly than to announce it to everyone. He didn’t want to cause a scene, no matter how badly he wanted to be with her. It wasn’t worth doing it in that manner.

He snuck back in a few minutes after her, taking a bit longer to breathe in what had just happened. He was going to be a dad. He was going to have a baby. He was excited, but it also made him want to vomit.

“A baby will be so nice,” Ruby gushed out over the cheap pizza place Bruce had ordered from, “The two of you will have a cute baby.” She grinned as she watched them, looking like she was already planning on when she’d be able to hold the baby. Gator shifted in his chair, hoping she’d be just as excited when she found out the truth.

“I hope the baby has Gator’s eyes.” Daphne breathed out dreamily as she took another bite from her slice of pizza. She munched on it, closing her eyes as her statement waved through the air around them.

He stopped chewing, resisting the urge to spit out the crust of his pizza from how dry it suddenly felt in his mouth. The side conversations stopped as eyes darted back between the two of them. She stayed oblivious as she opened her eyes, a tiny smile on her lips until she realized everyone was staring. He swallowed hard, wincing at how roughly the food traveled down his throat.

“What?” She looked at them confused with a raised eyebrow, “Is something wrong with the food?” She asked in confusion, peeling her cheese back like there was something hidden underneath it. Gator shifted lower in his chair, completely aware of the look Roy was sending him.

“Daph,” August coughed to cover up his laugh, “You just said the wrong name.” He said in amusement, once again wearing that shit eating grin as he turned towards Gator.

“Name?” She looked at him confused, tilting her head before she glanced towards everyone else. Hugh stared ahead, blinking in confusion like he was hearing it all over for the first time.

“You just said you wanted the baby to have Gator’s eyes.” Oliver said this time, a little more agitated as he turned to fully face Daphne. She froze, her fingers tightening into fists on the table as she refused to look at anyone.

“Oh,” Daphne paused, her blue eyes widening in shock, “I said that?” She laughed nervously, her face burning like she’d been out in the sun too long as everyone continued to stare at her. Gator avoided the way Karen stuck her nose up, how she sent Roy a knowing look.

“You did.”

“Hm,” She stopped again, her face and neck burning as bright as a tomato, “I uh, I had this whole thing rehearsed and -,” She stopped herself quickly, covering her hand over her mouth before she stood and bolted down the hallway. Her chair nearly teetered backwards from how roughly she stood, but Oliver quickly grabbed it to balance it out as Hugh stared in disbelief.

Gator was all too aware as all the attention shifted towards him. He pulled a stiff smile to his lips, his face suddenly feeling hot, “I really like this pizza place.” He said simply, feeling like his insides were slowly curling up and sinking inside of him. His face felt too hot as he was thrown off from her sudden revelation.

“You bastard,” Oliver said suddenly, “You’re going to ruin her.” He snapped towards Gator, looking like he was second away from flipping the table. August only laughed, making Gator want to bury his face that much deeper into his hole.

“Oliver,” Ruby looked at him surprised, “Not now.” She brushed him off quickly, smiling stiffly as she glanced back towards Hugh, who was stony faced. This wasn’t how he wanted it to go, but maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with ripping the bandaid off. It would all be over with now.

“You and her,” Hugh looked up towards him, “You were with her the whole time?” His brown eyes locked in on Gator’s, looking determined as he searched for any cracks in Gator’s demeanor.

“Uh,” Gator wasn’t sure how to sit, where to place his hands or where to look, “Um, yes.” He said honestly, figuring that there was no other way around it. Everyone was going to find out, one way or another.

“Wow,” Bruce spoke suddenly, making Gator hide further into his chair, “You know you could’ve done this a few years ago. Or before she was married. Congrats.” He sounded a little amused towards the end, so amused that Gator swore he winked in his direction.

“Bruce!” Ruby shouted in shock, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe what he’d just said. Bruce shrugged his shoulders innocently.

“What?” He asked in disbelief, “Everyone congratulated Hugh, I was just being the first one to say it to Gator.” He gestured towards Hugh, then towards Gator as if to make a point.

“Well,” Roy drew out softly, “I sincerely apologize for how my son has acted.” He smiled tightly, but was clearly agitated by the look in his eyes. Suddenly, Gator felt like he was twelve again. Ruby opened her mouth again, looking like she was going to protest before a sound from the doorway tore their attention away.

“Hugh,” Daphne finally reappeared, looking quite small as she stood in the doorway, “Can we talk?” She nearly whispered, holding her gaze down as she shifted from foot to foot. He winced, wishing there was something he could do to make it easier on her. He suddenly wondered if he should join her, or if that would make it all worse.

“You’ve already humiliated me,” Hugh spoke raspily, making Gator turn his attention down to his plate to hide away from his glare, “Just say what you have to say.” He sat back in his chair and linked his fingers together, looking quite relaxed as he waited for her to speak.

“I think you should talk in private,” Ruby said quickly, “We don’t need to hear this.” She shook her head, desperately looking like she was trying to help Daphne take control of the situation.

“It’s fine,” Hugh said dryly, “Just go ahead. Get it off your chest.” He said plainly, looking rather interested as he held eye contact with her.

She paused, looking scared as she continued to fiddle with her fingers. Gator shifted in his seat, beginning to join her before Noelle shoved him back down. She shook her head, giving him a look before she reached over and grabbed her sister’s hand. She squeezed hard, looking like she gave Daphne the bit of confidence that she needed.

“I’m in love with Gator,” She said at last, breathing in shakily as she looked around, “And I think he loves me too. I’m, um, I’m sorry about what I did to you. I shouldn’t have dragged you through this mess and I’m, well, obviously ashamed of my actions but I don’t regret them. But I am sorry.” She glanced at Gator briefly, sending him a look that made his insides warm. She quickly looked away, nodding her head as she laid out the facts plainly.

“That was something, dear.” Ruby smiled tightly, looking more stressed than what Daphne did at this point. She kept glancing towards Hugh, like she was waiting for him to do something rash. He was quiet, far too quiet before he roughly rose and walked upstairs.

“It’s alright,” Noelle tapped Daphne’s hand softly, “You did good.” She reassured her, smiling softly in reassurance. Daphne nodded her head, looking a little green again as she glanced towards Gator. He took her free hand, engulfing her hand in his as he tugged her closer.

“I do love you,” He told her softly as he kissed her knuckles, “Very much.” He added gently, unsure if it was the right time to be so public with her. She sighed softly, looking relieved. He could tell that she needed this. Things would be okay.

“Enough to streak around the farm.” August snorted as he spoke up, making Gator shoot a glare his way.

“What?” Bruce looked up horrified, “You know what-, I don’t want to know actually.” He held up his hands and then quickly shook his head, like he had finally absorbed all of the information. Ruby exhaled deeply, patting his shoulder as she looked deep into her own thoughts.

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” Roy spoke up, rambling for a moment as the air turned tense again. Gator felt a knot forming between his shoulders.

“Thanks, dad,” Gator replied dryly, “Congrats. You’re going to be a grandfather.” He did his best to pull a smile to his lips, even though he knew that Roy wasn’t happy. Daphne squeezed at his hand softly, dragging his attention away as he glanced up towards her again.

Everyone was quiet and Gator was fairly certain because they all fit into one of those boxes. Daphne rested against him, wrapping an arm behind his shoulders as he rubbed his fingertips against her skin softly.

“A baby is still exciting,” Noelle said this time, “I hope you have a girl.” She replied joyfully, leaning over to poke and prod at Daphne’s tummy. It was still flat, hiding any proof away. Gator wondered if she had a developed tummy at all when they lost their first baby girl.

Gator lingered behind after everyone else had left, feigning an excuse so he didn’t have to face Roy. He wasn’t ready for the lecture he was about to receive. He didn’t really need to go back. He really wanted to stay with Daphne, to be there to support her.

“So,” Daphne teetered awkwardly from foot to foot, “Where should we stay tonight? Hugh is still upstairs.” She peeped her head over the corner before she shuffled back towards him, smiling sheepishly as she wrapped her arms around his waist again.

“Maybe we should check to make sure he didn’t, you know.” He made a concerned face, shaking his shoulders as he held onto her. He bent down and kissed the top of her head, glad that he had her back. Everything was definitely awkward, but he was happy that they could be together now.

“Gator,” Daphne laughed quickly, “That’s not funny.” She shoved at his shoulder gently, whispering like she was trying to make sure that Hugh couldn’t hear them. He bent over again, kissing her temple sweetly.

“It kinda was,” He mumbled, “Do you want me to check?” He asked as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She still looked a little frazzled, but that didn’t matter to him. He gripped her face, squeezing it softly before he pressed his lips against hers. She giggled in response, squealing against his lips before he pulled away.

“I’ll come with,” She said as wiped his spit away from her mouth as her blue eyes filled with amusement, “Or is that very smart? I really don’t know what to do.” She admitted as she gave his hand a soft squeeze.

“No need,” Hugh drew their attention away, making their eyes snap up towards the stairs as Gator quickly took a step back, “Can I take the spare room? Just until I get moved somewhere else.” He said stiffly, his eyes still fiery as he looked towards Gator.

“Sure,” Daphne spit out awkwardly, “Yeah that’s, that’s fine. Do you want to talk or-?” She looked at him briefly, looking like she wasn’t sure what else to say as Hugh pushed past them. He carried his bags on his shoulders and his art supplies in his hands as he ignored her question.

“I guess we can stay upstairs then?” He teased her softly, speaking only once he was sure Hugh could no longer hear them. She sighed as she leaned against him, hiding her face again as she nodded her head.

“Do you really want to do this?” She asked him softly, pulling away to look up at him with her bright eyes. He traced the curve of her cheek, glancing over the freckles that decorated her nose and soft cheeks. He nodded his head softly.

“There’s no one I’d rather do this with,” He told her truthfully, “Baby or not. I want to be with you.”

[mantisgodsart]

With the @bug-oc tournament still ongoing, Round 2 drawing to an end in favour of Round 3, another handful of bugs are knocked out of the competition, who will of course arrive home safe and...

Well, differently-shaped. Marigold's been busy! An unusually fast round, here, we got a decent burst of inspiration while procrastinating on packing chatting with some friends and - what? Other contestants? What other contestants? You must be mistaken, of course there were only seven bugs lost this round. It's not like we would lie about that, right? Clearly, if anyone else was transmuted, you'd see them right here. With the rest of Marigold's successful experiments. It's not like we've got any more to do... right?

(Names and owners of transmuted OCs below the cut, in order of pictures here - no group picture for this one, sadly, since we still have more to do here. Hopefully, we pass Round 3 - we really want to draw some transmutations for the other bugs in this round, and the narrowed competition means we can bring out some of the fancier paper we'e got rattling around! Vote for Marigold so we can do more of these - and, of course, for her many natural good qualities.)

First up is Fahris from @tetraterantula, as a Kingsmould! Though tampering with Void isn't precisely advisable, and going from a normal bug to an artificial one is jarring at the best of times, he at least has hands - better than most of this batch can say! This one was fun to do, and we tinkered with a lot of things - the side effects being, of course, that we're tinkering with things we don't already know how to do well. We did make some mistakes here - we are not, admittedly, an expert in humanoids, and long straight lines are the absolute bane of us, but we did our best!

The dark gray used here is starting to fray, which we can unfortunately do little about, as we're out of replacement nibs for our pens at the moment, but which might have caused some interesting texture. We defined the boundary between the lighter cape and the darker one with a white gel pen because our black and dark gray proved to be a bit too close in color to tell at a glance - the pains of traditional art, we suppose. Still turned out fairly well! We wonder if the color palette would interfere with his ability to stroll into the White Palace...

Next up is Cici from @mimicspider, as a Giraffe Weevil. Probably not doing anything for her clumsiness, and definitely not doing anything for her number of hands - the neck is a lot to get used to, even without getting into the whole set of bauplan changes going on here. At least she's probably faster like this? Once she gets used to the legs, at least.

Though we've technically already made her into a Lightseed, double transmutation is fair play... probably? Lightseed Cici was less than a centimeter of our paper, so obviously we had to do something bigger. We modelled this one in particular after the Grimm Troupe steeds - the clown theme fits, and we wanted to toy with the... cloak-looking bits? The polka-dots were a fun challenge, and we definitely think the abdomen came out well. One of the more successful transmutations here, we'd say!

Next are Willow and Lily from @razs-archetype, with Willow as a Moss Knight and Lily as a Belfly. Y'know when you take just a few seconds to yourself, take just a quick nap, and next thing you know you've woken up and the moss has grown over you and your hands have been turned to strange talons reminiscent of a god's dream? Yeah, happened to us too. Awful time. At least their partner's here to- ah, shit. At least this one comes with flight? Probably a damn hard sell of a consolation prize, but...

Not as much to say with the choices here - the Moss Knight felt like a natural choice, and the Belfly just... clicked? We had fun with Willow's moss - the highlights here actually use the same white gel pen as was used with Fahris, since it's got a nice semitransparent thing that we particularly like. We think the style conversion for Lily's face worked out particularly nicely, here. The piece as a whole turned out as one of the best of the batch, as far as we're concerned. Was nice to draw them!

Next, of course, are Drya and Tel from @enbeemerang, with Drya as a Tiktik and Tel as a Nosk - we predict strange waters ahead for them, relationship-wise. Two bugs, and not a single pair of opposable thumbs. The economy is clearly in shambles. At least they've still got each other?

Tel here specifically is actually inspired by a fic that Cog himself wrote - would it surprise you to know that we know them outside of this tournament? They've actually been handed over to us for transformation practice once before, in a sequence that we... might post as propaganda, later. Drya, we deliberated on a few options before settling on a Tiktik - it just seems to fit!

Last but not least, Sehra from @shiningnightstars as a Hive Soldier. It's probably better than it could be, here - at least bees are a bit familiar to Bugaria! This particular variant, admittedly, might not be. Again with the hands, and this time with the looking like an unawakened bee - it might mean a bit of trouble for her, but we're sure she can power through.

The wings here were particularly fun to do - again, we're doing blending tricks here, and we think that the purples turned out particularly well! Sehra's palette is quite pretty, and the gel pen on the eyes wound up looking amazing. Though "soldier" probably doesn't fit too much for what Sehra... is, it felt like the closest to her as far as aesthetics go. The Hive Guardian is a bit too big for a moth like her, the Hiveling feels a bit too far in the other direction, and the Hive Knight... we're actually avoiding bosses and more sapient-looking folk here when possible. Hopefully, it's to your liking!

[moonjxsung]

okay okay we're leaving annoying shit in the past year so i wanna start the new year by asking you *drum roll* what were your favorite fics you wrote last year? you can make a top 5 if you wish, pretend you're in top 5 breakdown by watcher (this reference will not make sense to most ppl probably but i had to make it)

also maybe some of your favorites or The™️ favorite quote you wrote? (maybe this one is impossible to answer bc you wrote like 500k words last year sorry)

can't believe my first ask when you're back is me being like fuckin oprah w you

so happy you're back bestie let's alllll have a good 2024 even if it's only in our silly blogs online

-🐟

Oh my goodness I love this QUESTIONNNN you had me scrolling through my own masterlist and reading my work again for this 🥹🫶

Okay my TOP 5 FAVORITE FICS……. This was simultaneously a hard and an easy question at the same time but:

1. When the Rain Stops

2. Where the Storm Looms

3. Seasons

4. Biker!Minho drabble

5. VOYIS + B&B

I know most people are going to wonder where Lost in Translation is and I LOVE that fic, but weirdly it took me a very short amount of time to write so it never quite stuck with me like the others did! WTRS/WTSL series was my favorite series by far, it was just supposed to be porn with a plot and I literally spun a wheel with some options to determine where the characters would have sex, AND to pick which member it was going to involve 🤫 I was so reluctant when I got Minho bc I really wasn’t familiar with writing him but I think it created a completely new version of him in my mind and the character and world building just wouldn’t stop once I started it. It was also my most highly requested fic for a part 2 considering part 1 had a severe lack of resolution and I just fell in love with the characters (I think I was extremely Minho biased for weeks after finishing it lmao). Seasons was a challenge for me but I always love writing about Felix and I think putting myself in the headspace of that little town was super healing and I was SO sad when I reached the end of it. Biker Minho smut was probably my most self-fulfilling one regarding ✨spiciness✨ and maybe my most requested drabble for a part 2 (highly considering it if you guys want it? 👀) he’s just so FINE….. and last but certainly not least was VOYIS, I actually researched a lot of art techniques and I listened to a lot of classical music while writing this one so it was just an experience! I was immediately intrigued at the request itself, which is why it’s tied with Begged and Borrowed as they were the two I was so interested in I wrote them at the same time, literally switching back and forth between documents 😅

And a few favorite quotes (in no particular order):

1. “How could a higher power accept the felicitations of the same man who’s been fucking you behind the groom’s back? Within the four walls of which transforms hate to love, and sin to virtue? What a waste, Minho concludes again. What a waste to have loved this deeply, and to pacify your fears only for another man to reap the benefits. Try as Jung might, he’ll never know you the way Minho does. And the vast trench that separates you from Jung, one which paints a clear divide of friendship and his superficial love for you- that will remain permanent, too.”

- Begged and Borrowed

2. “And if you were to climb out of your body and paint this exact moment, all you would see are an indistinguishable, amorphous set of limbs that seem to dissolve into each other like hues of paint on a palette. Two colors swirling around to make one, the two of you like primary colors that create endless possibilities when mixed together like this, offspring of a hundred different shades, painting the darkened studio around you with your yearning for one another.”

- Visions of You in Solitude

3. “Except maybe simple wasn’t the solution all along- for once, he’s determined to bask in all your complexities, even if it means sacrificing everything he left the city to pursue.”

- When the Rain Stops

4. “But he feels it- he feels you, in this city, at every corner he turns. He sees traces of you in the people who smile at him when he passes them by. He sees you in the people who hold doors open for him, the baristas who make foam hearts in his lattes every morning, even the businessmen when they catch themselves admiring the beauty of the buildings on a smoke break. He sees you in all things good, when he’s reminded momentarily that the world has more to offer than boxing him in the confines of a dark bar out in the suburbs. And while he’s not completely in love with life all over again, it’s a start.”

- Where the Storm Looms

5. “The phenomenon begs the question- had the fire ever really stopped? Were you ever in the process of mending if not wailing like this, your vulnerability on display for the world to see as your walls are finally let down? Is this what it means to feel?”

- Seasons

Thank you for these questions, it’s good to be back 🫶���� I love you! Let’s have an amazing 2024 🫶🩷💓

[bangtannies-stories]

Perfect

Summary: The one time Jin entrusts someone to watch over you while he is away, you dare not to act like his obidient housewife with some encouragement. However, Jin will let you know your place.

Warning: Yandere themes, Jin is emotionally abusive and manipulative, mentions of murder.

Broken. That's what you are. Completely broken inside. There's only a small, tiny amount of hope left in you, and you had to hide it. Or else your husband, Seokjin, would smash it too.

He loved you. You think. You really aren't sure anymore. He treated you like a disobediant teenager a lot, when in reality, you really weren't that rebellious or devious. You just wanted to live a normal life. But then your parents had to arrange the marriage with Jin, out to keep their own lives. Yeah, what great parents.

Why you? After six months of hope, trying your best to fight back, trying to escape, to keep that spark in you, Jin had taken it little by little each time and killed it. You were sure that it was completely gone at this point. Nobody could bring it back.

Until one day...

"Princess, I'm going to an important meeting. I'm having one of our men watch you. I know you'll be good and not try anything, yeah?" He whispered that last part against your ear, squeezing your hand tightly.

You chuckled. "Yes, dear, I understand."

So later on, the guard, named Johnny, arrived and took his place in the living room. Jin kissed you goodbye, but not before threatening you once again.

"Behave, or you'll face consequences, darling."

---

You were going on with your life as normal. Jin always had a schedule for you to follow, to be a proper housewife. From chores such as dishes, making the beds, laundry...

You were folding clothes and ironing Jin's shirts to prepare them to be hung, when Johnny approached you.

"So, this is what it's like to be married to Kim Seokjin, huh?" He remarked.

You couldn't believe it. None of the guards were supposed to converse with you. Jin believed that if they did, they'd corrupt you and break you out of your submission.

"I cannot speak to you without Jin's permission." You stated. It was something that Jin broke into you to say in case if the guards broke the rule.

"Oh come on, he's not even here. Surely you can dare not to act like a perfect housewife for once?" He challenged.

You winced in turn and repeated the statement from before.

"I cannot speak to you without Jin's permission."

The guard sighed.

You wish you could be able to speak to him though. He seemed like he wanted to talk to you. But if you broke that simple rule, Jin would hurt the poor man. You wanted to protect him from Jin's wrath.

"Hey, look what I found!" Johnny exclaimed after you put away the iron and finished hanging up Jin's shirts.

You turned around to see a box with your old art supplies.

Before Jin, you loved to paint and do art. It helped you relieve stress and have fun. But when Jin came around, he took all of your supplies and hid them so you could never use them again.

In his words... "They will make a mess. Housewives do not make messes, they clean messes."

You didn't want to go near them out of fear. What if Jin saw you with them? He'd be mad at you, you'd have broken the rules. And what about the guy? He'd suffer.

"I cannot use them. They make messes. I'm supposed to only clean messes." You said.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "So we can just clean it before he gets home. Let's have some fun!" He exclaimed.

He took out a large piece of paper.

"Watch, I'll go first!"

He poured some paint on his hand and smashed it onto the paper.

"See? Have some fun!" He exclaimed.

You thought to yourself. Maybe if you just play for a little and clean up before Jin gets back, he won't find out.

You sat down and joined Johnny. He was pouring some paint on one of your color palettes and dipped his fingers in it.

Placing your hand in the purple, you slammed your hand down on another piece of paper.

That felt, good!

Before you knew it, you were dipping your hands into all sorts of different paints, constantly slamming your hands against the page, swiping them along, splashing the page with color and life.

You were having so much fun, fun that you hadn't had since you met Jin. It felt good, you loved feeling like this. Careless, happy, like nothing else mattered. So what if you were making a mess in the process? Messes can always be cleaned. But the messes come with memories too.

You and Johnny continued to have fun, so much fun that you didn't hear the front door click open and Jin's belongings fall to the ground.

"Well, isn't this a sight to see?" He said softly, yet still with hints of aggression behind it.

You both looked up to see Jin staring at you, with paint all over your hands and the living room a mess.

You quickly stood up straight and hung your head, while Johnny panicked and stood up as well.

Jin slowly looked over at you, walking up to you, tucking your hair behind your ear.

"I expected better from you darling. I leave one afternoon and you're perfect, and I come back at night only to find you with paint all over you and my home a mess."

He then looked at Johnny.

"And you. Come with me." He growled.

Jin dragged Johnny by his arm and brought him to the basement door, pushing him down before slamming the door. Walking back over to you, he pushed you back onto the couch.

"I should've destroyed this shit a long time ago. But whatever, I get to do it now."

Walking into the closet, he finds a hammer, and tosses it onto the couch.

Dumping all of the supplies onto the floor, he then grabs the hammer and begins smashing it, creating a huge mess all over the living room. After he calms down, he walks over to you, takes you by the arm, and shoves you into the mess.

"You, clean this up. Perfect little housewives fix what they broke, and they clean messes."

He then went to the basement to deal with Johnny, as you sobbed to yourself.

Jin ruined what made you happy, again.

Jin took your last bit of hope, and crushed it.

Brokenly, you spent hours cleaning up the mess, knowing now that you were wrong to break out of your bubble.

You'd never stop being perfect as long as he had lived.

[herrlindemann]

Zillo - January 2004

thanks to ramjohn for the scans.

With big things casting their shadows far ahead, the new Rammstein album, which at the time of this writing didn't yet have a final title, is of truly gigantic proportions. The rumor mill has been churning for quite a while and as early as April the band's official website published the first results of the work on the successor to 'Mutter'. However, by the time the listening session started in front of a manageable number of journalists, quite a bit of water had flowed down the Rhine. In a noble ambience and under the highest security precautions, we too were able to convince ourselves that the hype about the ten pieces presented there was not just hot air.

The palette ranges from the insanely brutal 'Mein Teil', which is supposed to form the first single, to the simply knitted, but much softer and catchier 'Los'.

In between, Rammstein play with all sorts of proven elements, but always surprise with another new detail. From the socially critical number 'Amerika', whose refrain you can sing along to immediately, to the slightly sacral sounds ('Amore'), the band not only counts on quick success, but also dares to take risks. The electronic components, which often played a key role in earlier compositions, were somewhat reduced. Instead, even if that hardly seemed imaginable with Rammstein, real guitar thunderstorms, which are part of the kit for example in the pre-single or in 'Stein um Stein', got even more heaviness and brutality. At times one almost wishes that the ax had stayed at home so that one could better enjoy the beautiful melodies or other ideas. Basically, the boys are quite happy with their world, as Oliver and Paul confirm in an interview. Harshness or even violence is not part of their everyday life. And yet Paul sees no immediate challenges in the distance between artistic expression and the rest of their life. “Strangely, there is no discrepancy. It's also not difficult to chop up everything musically in the rehearsal room, but then put the guitar against the wall and go outside to pick up your child from kindergarten. This works perfectly. I think that's important too. The reverse path, or the reverse connection, is more difficult. When the child suddenly wants to know why Till has strapped on a huge plastic puller man, then it's a bit strange. But then again, it's not that bad. On the contrary, the more private life you have, the more fun it is to play in the band. Band and family is not really possible, but every day that you manage to balance it is wonderful.”

Apparently it's not necessary as a heavy band to always show an aggressive character. Which he also confirms, but also limits. “From our experience I can say that the hardest bands are often the nicest. In addition, however, a threatening, frightening or aggressive effect on stage may not be entirely theatrical. The roles that we show on stage are hidden somewhere within us. However, this site is not on all day. If everything were just fake, then people would notice and it would never go down well. You have to find that middle ground somehow. There's no such thing as 'off-duty creep', you have to have something of it in you, otherwise the fans would feel it.”

It's nice that even bands, whose possibilities on stage are very generous, are concerned about their fans. They should surely be very interested in what else Oliver and Paul had to tell. A continuation of the conversation can therefore be found in the next issue.

[bonesandthebees]

i loved starman SO much . you did an incredible job writing the atmosphere and rising tension for it and it's still my favorite horror fic in the fandom. what was the inspiration behind it? what're your tips for writing the atmosphere of your work? :0

aaaa thank you so much that makes me so happy to hear!! I'm so proud of starman so I'm so happy that there are people who still enjoy it :)

the inspiration behind starman was partly that it was originally posted as part of a challenge/prompt event we did in a discord server I'm in. it was supposed to be a horror fic and we used a randomizer to figure out which characters it had to focus on, and by sheer chance the randomizer spit out wilbur, tommy, and dreamXD. so I knew right off the bat I was doing an eldritch/cosmic horror kind of thing with dreamXD being involved.

along with that, a few years before I participated in this challenge I had taken a trip to visit family in oklahoma. now I'd been to oklahoma several times before, but it'd been many years and it was my first time going there as an adult. the first thing I noticed while I was there was how unsettling it was to be in such an endlessly flat landscape after having grown up surrounded by mountains and hills my entire life. it made me feel like i was being watched. since I was really into cosmic horror at the time, I ended up spending that trip writing an original horror story about a giant eye watching over a small oklahoma town. so then fast forward several years to the randomizer throwing out crimeboys + dreamXD as a prompt, and I immediately thought back to that original short horror story I'd written during my oklahoma trip and decided to rewrite it as a fic.

of course there's inspiration from annihilation with the colors and the weird blood and all that. also there's the obvious inspiration from house of leaves with the formatting towards the end. I got the idea while I was in the middle of writing the fic, and while my immediate reaction was "I don't think I can actually do that on ao3" I then thought about it some more I was like "wait holy shit I might be able to make that work" and I'm so happy I did.

so that's where I came up with the idea! as far as tips for the atmosphere, I tried to focus on making the town feel restrictive and small. even though we go to several locations (wilbur's house, the gas station he works at, the cow pasture, the field he and tommy lay down in) it all circles back to the church. and I had a very specific color palette in my head while I was writing it, with the town itself mostly being described in shades of green/yellow grass, blue and white skies, and brown dirt roads. this was to contrast with all the bright unnatural colors associated with the eye to make it feel even more jarring and wrong. but to be fair a tool like that would be far more effective in a visual format rather than written format lol

there was also the game of being very careful with where I chose to fuck up the formatting. the formatting itself helped a LOT with the atmosphere because a jarring format shift like that can really fuck with a readers head. I had silent rules for myself about how I would integrate it more and more as the fic went on, and what kinds of descriptions would lead to a format shift. I wanted it to be gradual to give the readers that sense of looming dread as it became more and more common, because then they knew the end was near

overall I just tried to describe things in a way that emphasized the isolation wilbur felt from everyone around him (besides tommy). he'd grown up being the only person who could see the eye, and that alienated him from everyone else. that was one of the major things I tried to focus on, although keep in mind I wrote this in february of 2022 so I barely remember what my thoughts were while I was writing it. I wish I could give more specific advice but yeah it's just been a long time. hope that helps though!

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Handmade

Day Twenty Two of WangXian Christmas Stories

A-Yuan admired the Christmas tree for what felt like the millionth time that day, marveling at how the lights and the colors came together in such a picture perfect way. Every ornament seemed to be placed exactly where it had been meant to, and the colorful lights shined off the baubles and tinsel almost magically. It was nearly impossible to look away, and quite unbelievable that he, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan had done it all by themselves. 

Wei Ying called A-Yuan’s name from the kitchen. “Come on, we’re ready!”

The boy all but skipped towards the kitchen, where his parents awaited him, the kitchen table now full of painting supplies and decorations, as well as several glass baubles safely balanced on little tripods. 

“Aren’t we supposed to paint only one?” A-Yuan asked as he climbed onto the chair designated for him, tall enough to tower over the whole table. “That’s what baba said, you two made one every year you were together before you got me.”

“Yeah, that’s true, I did say that and that’s how it was.” Wei Ying confirmed, mixing some colors on his painting palette. “But I thought we could try something new this time. We could each paint something that made us happy this year and write down the date so that we get a reminder of every good thing that happened to us along the years.”

“That sounds fun!” A-Yuan reached for his own palette and began enthusiastically mixing colors, picking some stickers in the process. “I’m going to make the best one!”

“Well, I don’t know about that, I’m a really good artist. I painted your room and everything, you know?” Wei Ying replied, playful and challenging. “And nobody draws a stick figure like Lan Zhan!”

The man shot a bit of a half hearted glare towards Wei Ying, “I draw decently.”

“Jingyi says decent is code word for bad.”

Wei Ying laughed, “He’s right, it is.”

“Stop ganging up on me.”

They both gasped dramatically. “We would never!”

“Do not lie either.”

Another synchronized gasp. 

Lan Zhan couldn’t help a rare smile, bordering laughter. His family was like no other, for sure. 

“So, what will you paint, A-Yuan?” he asked, carefully outlining what appeared to be a house.

“I bet there were a lot of moments to choose from.” Wei Ying added, carefully coloring into the shape of a ring. 

“Yeah! Like my birthday at that awesome playground, or when we went on vacation, or when you took me to the zoo, or when we got the bunnies! I want to draw all of them but I have to choose, so...” a thoughtful expression crosses his features. “I decided I’ll draw right now.”

Surprise crosses both his parents’ figures. “Right now?”

“Yeah! Like what we’re doing now! It’s a new tradition, right? We need to remember when it started!”

A-Yuan had definitely not expected the sudden, warm embrace that surrounded him after that, but he did not complain. It was always nice to be in his parents’ arms, even if he didn’t really know what came over them. Well, at least he didn’t drop his brush. 

(And he didn’t see his dads’ misty eyes either)

[aburruso-capstone-uhwoacm]

Progress Report #2

Quite a lot has happened since the last update, some good, some bad...

First of all, there’s the pre-production phase.  Last time, I mentioned that I had to do the color schemes for Sasha and the obstacles.  To be honest, that was much harder than I anticipated.  The first issue was that I switched to digital for the color scheme.  I am still not good at drawing on an iPad, so it took a while to finish the drawing.  Then, there was actually figuring out Sasha’s colors.  I had decided early on that her main color would be green.  Beyond that, though, everything was difficult.  I experimented with a lot of different colors schemes, but they were not working.  At one point, I figured out one reason why I was having trouble: Sasha’s boots were messing with the balance of colors.  So, I redesigned her to have longer pants and sneakers instead.  Not only did this make her palette work better, but I feel that this makes Sasha look more like a vigilante teenager (versus the boots, which I now think made her look more like a professional soldier).  The palette on the far right (not the transparent one :P) is the one I decided to stick with for the time being, though for reasons I’ll explain soon, I may change it again…

I also did the color schemes for the firewalls and servers, which was much easier.  Then, I worked on the UI.  This is where I encountered yet another issue with the color scheme.  I originally wanted the floor of the play area to be a light color with dark grid lines.  However, I found that the opposite (dark with light grid lines) works better.  The only problem is that now, the servers, firewalls, and even Sasha don’t stand out enough against the floor.  This is clear when you look at the grayscale version of the UI: Sasha and the obstacles are already dark, so they almost blend in with the floor.  Since I already decided that the floor needs to be dark, the only solution will be to change the color schemes of Sasha and the obstacles… hopefully, I can find some time to do this.

Okay, but enough of the bad news.  Let’s get to the good news.  Save for adding the concept art, I finished the game design document (or at least the first draft… I’ll explain pretty soon).  I also got started on the first build of the game!  I have included a video showcasing what I have so far:

That being said, I am not completely finished with this build yet.  As you can see in the video, Sasha (the blue square) moves and shoots at the same time.  However, I want to make it where she will only shoot once she has finished moving.  I think I will be able to figure this out rather easily, though.

Of course, making this build didn’t come with its challenges.  The first obstacle involved following a tutorial I probably didn’t need to follow; although it was useful for creating the grid, I realized that it also involved a movement system that my game would not use.  Once I realized this, I decided to stop following it. 

A bigger issue involved Sasha’s movement.  I encountered so many bugs when trying to program it, such as:

Sasha not being perfectly aligned to the grid when she stopped moving

Sasha shaking uncontrollably whenever she stopped moving (and even when I just booted up the game)

Sasha not even moving at all

Sasha respawning at the wrong area when she ran into an obstacle (she is supposed to respawn at her last position)

Fortunately, I was able to solve all of these issues.  Right now, besides making Sasha shoot after she finishes moving, my biggest issue involves the respawn mechanic.  I originally had it where Sasha immediately respawns.  However, my plan was for her to have a short “hurt” animation beforehand.  The only problem is that Sasha seems to get stuck inside the obstacle.  This means that the collision code keeps triggering, meaning that Sasha will never get a chance to respawn.  I think I can find a way around this, but it may involve changing the animation I had planned.

Speaking of changing plans, I have decided to remove the eviction bot from the game.  Considering all the trouble I’ve been having with the code so far, I do not feel too confident that I can properly implement this feature.  The main reason I had the eviction bot was to force the player to keep moving across the grid; now, I’m thinking that I can do this just by placing the servers and firewalls in a certain way so that the player cannot shoot all of the former down from a single position.  I’ll have to update the game design document to reflect this.

That’s everything that has happened up to this point.  In the next few weeks, I’ll finish the build and redo the color schemes (I’m also thinking of changing Sasha’s hair style… we’ll see…).  Then, it will be time for some playtesting.  Let’s see how things go from here…

[thevagabondexpress]

One might say it's cheating if I participate in this. But I would direct their attention to the additions on the post that also ask for a description even if I have seen their face. And you added a challenge. How was I supposed to not do it?

You're short. My height, in fact, or thereabouts. 5'1 give or take the inches and centimetres and millimetres and what-have-you, because technically I round up mathematically to measure up to that one inch and I doubt everyone has to. I think you may also have a habit of slouching, which makes you look smaller still at times.

Your skin is so pale and clear that you kind of glow if the lighting isn't right. It's giving vampirism. But I do believe you still have tan lines. I do know factually you have a few freckles and spots on your person though. Very few, but they're there.

I don't think you grow your nails out very long, but neither do you keep them as strictly short as musicians and others might do. When you paint them, it's probably in metallic shades and you do everything you can to avoid getting it on your skin because of irritation issues.

Short hair. Closer to a bronze colour. In fact, if I were describing you like I was any other character I write, I'd associate a lot of your appearance with metals and rock. Alabaster skin, shiny bronze hair, nails painted the colour of purple cordierite, eyes the steely grey-blue of a cliff-face against a stormy sea. Then again, I've never been good with eyes. I've probably forgotten the exact colour by now. I just know that from a distance, they look dark, but not so dark as colours like brown. It's a muted, soft dark that comes, usually, from grey or deep blue eyes. Anyway, back to your hair: somewhat thin, slippery, but there's a lot of it, and it always hangs straight.

Goofy smile. Rather broad shoulders. Would believe you were a swimmer if you ever said such a thing.

Fashion? Primary school art teacher. The long, peculiar novelty earrings, the interesting necklaces, cardigans, glasses (technically not fashion but a necessity, but hush), and generally loose clothes of varying colours that don't clash but are rather strange to behold in a world of aesthetically pleasing mild palettes. When not dressed as such, it's black clothes and hoodies to rival the emo kids in high school. Beanies in winter? Possibly? Caps otherwise. A weird obsession with caps.

Anyway, that's all I've got. I could be wrong on a few things.

this is. stunning. very accurate but also very beautifully poetic. the kind of description i wish i could steal but we've got enough worrying about that going on in the world already so i won't. you're wrong and right on the fashion sense: i tend not to wear clothes that are too loose, except for maybe one layer in an outfit, but i'm also not wearing entirely tight-fitting things either—it's a matter of weather and practicality. it's odd that you mention primary school art teachers b/c the first real fashion inspiration i remember was my elementary school music teacher, who came in every day dressed like she'd walked off a runway in new york city. i can't remember ever seeing her wear the same coat twice. expensive, but one can dream.

the one thing i don't do is slouch. i was a dancer when i was little and i'm paranoid about getting a back hunch (if you met my grandfather you would understand). in fact, i've had people be surprised i'm only 5'1, because of the way i stand.

also, if this were two hundred years ago when they only made one style of glasses, it would be different, but with all of the different styles of glasses we have, they can definitely be a fashion statement.

[crazy56u]

I had to force myself to wake up half an hour ago in order to catch the premiere; it's gonna be a challenge to do this for as long as they have the show scheduled at 8PM, but I'm ride or die, let's go.

Previously on Quantum Leap: The timeline almost got broke in half, and the main characters were unaware that they had gotten renewed (hence why Ben is still leaping).

I love how they included the fight in the Accelerator.

And Ben is in a broom closet. "This can't be happening." Welcome to Season 2, buddy.

"Maybe if I say all the names, I'll be allowed to leave."

"Somewhere over Russia. Fuck you if you want specifics. You're not even getting the full date, that carried over from Season 1."

I love how they are blatantly foreshadowing the Roswell episode that the season trailer teased.

I am half expecting this to turn into that one bit from Uncharted. Do they have the money to have the plane open mid-flight?

"It's a SAM!" Hey, Sam finally shows up in this, nice. (ba-dum-tish)

"I can save the plane!" Ben, that is what we in the business call "Tempting Fate".

Cut to Ben unconscious on the ground, looks like he saved the plane!

I love how this is blatantly the Arizona desert.

"Hey, help me move these giant wheels!" "Maybe physics will save the day."

Okay, he looks less like he's in pain, and more like he's trying to not laugh.

"Addison, this leap fucking sucks, I hope you can hear me say that."

Lady, choose your priorities, that crate is gonna get you killed.

The CGI explosion powerful enough to slow down time. Truly this is 1978.

Maybe kick the radio, that should fix it.

What kind of name is "Grier"?

"Should we say something about the captain?" "...well, uh... up until the plane crashed, he did good..."

Look, Iowa and Idaho are basically the same state, he gets points for trying.

Ah, yes, rob the corpse, that's classy- "His wife should have this." And I feel like a dick.

Meanwhile, in Timeline B.

Let me guess, Addison B is the person who showed up in the Accelerator at the end of last season.

"Look, Ben, trust me, it's for the best that Addison is leaping instead of you, you don't want to be in 1978, pretending Arizona is Russia."

[I only just now realized these are meant to be flashbacks.]

"How are you saying this is a metaphor?" "Well, fuck off, how about that, buddy?"

I will laugh if it turns out that crate secretly contains the Ark of the Covenant, or some shit like that.

"I AM NOT WASHED OUT, IT'S JUST THE COLOR PALETTE THEY CHOSE FOR THESE SCENES IN EDITING!"

"So, we're gonna die 'cause of feminism?" Can he die next, show?

What if it turns out Ben invents MacGuyver?

And this is the third time Ben is openly talking to himself out of stress, he is the most relatable character in the episode.

Plot twist: Ben has to save the crate, everyone else is expendable.

"I thought you were an atheist?" "Honestly, at this point, I might still be, today's still young."

Talking about the importance of memories to a swiss-cheesed man is the most unintentionally rude thing you could do.

"Buddy, did you secretly become a different person in the middle of the plane crash?"

The Russian Pickup Truck of Evil

Luckily, no one looks up, so Ben and friend are hidden.

[Can you tell that, outside of Grier, I don't know anyone else's name?]

And now they have hostages. Ben and friends are winning Russia.

Yep, just casually speak Russian, it's bad enough you forgot you were supposed to be a single-guy atheist, Ben...

At this point, Ben is just agreeing to whatever he wants in order to made the leap end sooner.

[Even if these are flashbacks, you can just tell that a certain person online is fuming over the Project subplots still being in Season 2.]

Hi, Ian, I'm from the future, fuck your math.

Maybe if they spent less time using Ziggy as a dating app and more time trying to fix the thing preventing her from talking out loud, a lot of the problems they had last season could've been avoided.

And the loot crate is bricks. They were set up for fucking failure with this flight, hot fucking damn.

I think they should each take one brick for themselves, as a treat.

I still say Puffy Jacket should die.

"I'm mad at myself for believing. ... ... ...like, in general."

"Put one foot in front of the other." Luckily, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town already came out by 1978, so everyone got that reference.

"You can do a lot in an hour!" You can also do a lot in five seconds. For example: Shoving you out the back of the truck.

"I believe in our country." In a post-Watergate world? Lady, even in 1978, that's bold.

Maybe Ben should start saying he has a concussion from the plane crash, that will excuse all the character inconsistencies he's creating.

At what point does Ben start to suspect he accidentally erased the Project from the timeline? After all of this talking to himself, you'd think he'd jump to that by now.

Guy accidentally walked onto a landmine? I too saw that episode of MASH / Legends of Tomorrow.

["The Exorcist Believer" is a shitty name for an Exorcist movie, hot damn.]

[What if 2022 Quantum Leap has the stones the original never had, and does a Magnum PI crossover?]

And Ben is now trying to Raiders of the Lost Ark this shit, I technically called this.

...is 2022 Quantum Leap about to blow up a gay man? ...survey says "Fuck that shit," good.

I love that Ben's new plan is "What if sandbags, but more?"

"Do you have a better plan?" "No!" I admire the honesty.

Okay, honestly, I didn't think that was gonna work.

[Firefox is starting to lag again, that's how you know we're back.]

FUCK YES, JUMPING JACK FLASH!

"Something doesn't feel right." That's just the blue filter.

"Look, just let me get onto the roof, nothing bad will happen."

"Wait, did they hear you?" "That would've been the ideal outcome; they noticed we left shit behind, we're walking ducks."

"We gotta blow up the base." "Well, not all of it."

Ben got his action skills from fucking GTA Online.

"Hey, Ben, why are you having another flashback?"

"Look, Ben, calm down, I'm gonna be the leaper, not you, okay? This is totally not tempting fate."

"Guys, I remembered Chinese food exists, we can totally blow up that panel."

"I HAVE FUCKING HAD IT WITH ALL OF YOU! GRIER MAD! GRIER SMASH!"

I love how they are showing how easily replicable this is.

Ben, if you don't floor it, the Russians will win.

I hope to God that wasn't CGI, that was metal as shit.

"Hey, Ben, we were trying to reach you all day, why did you blow up a base?"

...okay, sure, drop that random plot twist. "Hey, the reason you didn't see Addison all episode? It's actually 2026; the Project got shut down. Guess forgetting about that one senator bit us in the ass. Okay, bye, Ben!"

["There are no limits. We randomly included a three-year time skip, and Ben apparently leaps into an Alien. Welcome to fucking Season 2."]

["Oh, also, Addison married some random fuck instead of Ben, hopefully no one tells him, bye!"]

...okay, not gonna lie, now it makes sense that they announced they were adding two new regulars to the show...

[agoddamn]

Did I miss a gimmick on Micaiah's map by bumrushing her? What was the point of all the turrets

Whoever designed Camilla's map should explode

I actually had to bust out the Rescue staves when Mauvier and Veyle got cut off by reinforcements

There are fliers surviving arrows here! That's not supposed to happen!

On the plus side, when the wave of Sages came I just threw Hortensia at them and she took no damage lol

Does Camilla randomly destroy buildings, or is it in a pattern? I kinda suspect random because she spent a good while nailing ones on the corner of the map...

Thank God for that recreational update. I don't know if it's because he's got lategame fast support growth or it's that good, but it took one activity to get Mauvier's C and B with Amber.

...speaking of that, Fire Emblem make a game without a support about diarrhea challenge failed yet again

I didn't realize that Panette's gimmick was essentially being Charlotte; I like her a lot more after hearing her natural voice. She doesn't just speak formally (desuwa), she forces herself up a few notes. Her natural atai pronoun is the same one Mozume uses

Started trying to ease her off the bench since I heard crit builds were fun

...but I'm sorry girl, your style is rancid u_u why are all the clown makeup girls in this world from different countries? I thought at first that they were all from the same place...

Like, if she's so obsessed with looking prim and proper why is she dressing like Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas? You can't even use the excuse 'that's just the class look, it's not in-universe weird' because both of her outfits are custom and bear no resemblance to Axe Fighter or Berserker. She doesn't dress like any of the Solm royalty, either, or even anyone else from Solm. For all that people have had to say about Engage's vtuber designs, up until Solm the countries have had pretty consistent visual theming--palettes, styles, accessories. It goes off the rails with the Solm units

--While I'm here, Jesus is Fogado's promoted outfit ugly--

Panette/Timerra has Timerra being like "but I love the new (desuwa) you too! ^u^" which seems kind of...depressing? Since, you know, it's not her natural attitude and it's something she forces herself into for societal acceptance?

And while we're on THAT subject, how is Solm getting its rep for the freedom kingdom when Panette is so certain that her lower-class history and rowdy youth will never be accepted? Merrin also had to leave her home to escape societal pressures. So the only people who actually seem free here are...the royalty...?

Anyway hit me up with that Saphir/Panette shipping, that shit is gold

[consumare]

( LEMON ): LEMON'S GOOD AT READING PEOPLE. ITS WHY WHEN IT CAME TO JUDGEMENTS OF CHARACTER, HIS BROTHER ALWAYS LOOKED TO HIM. IT'S ALSO WHY HE HESITATES TO MOVE HIS EYES AWAY FROM THE OTHER MAN. HANNIBAL IS NONTHREATENING, AT LEAST UPON INITIAL LOOK. SOMETHING ABOUT HIM IS OFF, LINGERS MORE TOWARDS DANGER. LEMON'S BEEN TRYING NOT TO PRY INTO OTHERS LATELY, MUCH MORE SUITED TO QUIETLY NUDGING DIESELS OUT OF HIS LIFE, BUT THIS ITCH ABOUT IT ALL - THE WAY HE CANNOT QUITE PINPOINT WHY HANNIBAL'S SMILE FEELS LIKE THE OPEN JAWS OF A PREDATOR. IT'S WHY HE IS CAREFUL. TO STICK YOUR HAND INTO ANOTHER MOUTH IS JUST ASKING FOR TEETH TO BITE CLEAN THROUGH TO THE BONE. ' YOU'RE AN INTERESTING FELLOW, DR LECTER. BUT YOU STILL HAVEN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION; WHY A PSYCHIATRIST? WHY SIP YOUR COFFEE LIKE YOU EXPECT IT TO FIGHT YOU? ' HE LEANS BACK IN HIS SEAT, SLEEPY EYES NEVER DRAWING AWAY. AS IF THIS WERE ANYTHING BUT A DEFLECTION OF HIS OWN. ' NOT TO YOUR TASTES? YOU STRIKE ME AS SOMEONE WITH A REFINED PALETTE. EXPENSIVE. ' the coffee in his hands burns with distaste. hannibal lecter might throw it away, if such an act weren't rude. if the other man wasn't around to see him do so. instead, he holds it firmly in one hand, allowing the heat of the cup to warm his palm. had lemon not said a word about how hannibal may or may not have been acting toward the drink, doctor lecter would have nonchalantly placed the cup on the side table, and forget about it until he could properly dispose of the hot tar - so thick that hannibal had barely been able to get a mouthful past his refined tongue. but he had pointed it out, which was a problem - not neccessarily because hannibal now had to hold it and pretend it was to his tastes, but because the other man had noticed something about him. it was more of an inference, nothing that had been confirmed, but that was enough to tell hannibal that lemon was much more observant than the doctor would like him to be.

' i'm grateful you thought of me when ordering this morning. i suppose i've just had enough caffeine to satisfy me today, ' just like lemon, hannibal's eyes never leave the other's. like a challenge. whoever looks away first loses, and doctor lecter didn't like to lose. cup is set on his knee, fingers still wrapped around it, and hannibal's expression is almost amused. he is an interesting man. he knows as much, and has been told so before. many times, too many to really count. lemon, too, would be considered intriguing - if he wasn't staring at hannibal like he wanted to figure the man out. for that, he is slightly insufferable, instead. ' why does anyone choose the careers they do? why does a nurse decide to spend their days and nights with sick patients? why does a construction worker select the job that will ultimately wear down their bodies? ' answering a question with more questions. it's a specality ; it allowed people to form their own answers before hannibal had to give his own.

the truth: doctor lecter chose to be a psychatrist because he likes dissecting people. that's why he had become a surgeon first. when that career came to an end ( too much suspicion ; too many dead patients and missing organs ) he settled for the next best thing - picking apart people's minds ( and their bodies, on the side ). there was only so much information hannibal could give to lemon, however. cup is twisted one way, then the other, before movement ceases entirely. ' i long to help those who might not be able to help themselves, ' is his final answer, features falling into a look of practiced modesty. ' i'm under no illusion that i can fix all of my patient's problems. however, someone must be willing to try - don't you agree? ' @lemontart.

[thebitchbehindtheslaughter]

Scrying Mirror Inspired Character: Meskhenet

I made a Genshin OC ‘cuz I’m bored and wanted to 

Warning: Death mention (also less important but the list is very long and might take too long to scroll by on mobile, so only open if you’re interested in reading) 

Short adult female model (‘cuz scrying mirrors are typically rather small)

Hails from Sumeru (in the real world, she’d be Egyptian) but has very much taken on Fontaine’s styles (still has hints of her home throughout, of course)

Wears a hat like Mona Megistus does and like Alice is rumoured to (NEEDS to have three candles [small one purple, medium ones brown and orange respectively] on top with wax leaking off the sides instead of the suggested two used in scrying)

Since she wears a witch’s hat and she’s supposed to be in Genshin I guess she’s a catalyst (Ningguang now has competition in the rock-throwing challenges, oH NO—)

definitely lives in Fontaine,

obviously has a Geo Vision (as scrying mirrors were originally made of stone),

a member of the Hexenzirkel who gave up on the Academia to join (she was top of a decent few of her classes in Sumeru and was told by those around her that she’s destined for the Academia, but as soon as she was out of public school she hurried for Fontaine and ended up being taken in as an apprentice of one of the Hexenzirkel members who saw great potential within her),

obsessed with learning the future but only seems capable in literally any other form of magic,

BACKSTORY (death mention is only in this point): She lost her triplet sisters in a freak accident that left her an only child. She believes that if she only had properly honed her minor foresight capabilities her siblings would still be alive today

Gives off a definite air of mystery and knowledge (really just shy—is very knowledgable in both book-smarts and street-smarts, though)

Minorly receptive to the spirit world and thus, has visions (as in flashes of knowledge) when one day, she got a Vision (as in an acknowledgment from the gods)

Extremely good at focusing but only on one thing at a time, so she tends to become hyperfocused on given tasks

Stone of specific focus (because Geo) is obsidian

Has a scar over the bridge of her nose (right between her eyes) that she refers to as her “Third Eye” (“This scar? Ah, it is… my Third Eye. Unfortunately, as you can see, it is closed at this moment in time.”)

A stickler for the rules but she is not the rulemaker

Never quite meets peoples’ eyes

Always rather messy and tends to leave a (sometimes literal) paper trail in her wake

Purple, oranges, and browns are part of her colour palette (BURNT ORANGE IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND)

Has a hard time asking for help

Hates wood because of how easily she gets splinters

Muscles are always tense so she has a hard time physically relaxing

Basically all her naturally-given tendencies contradict what is needed to properly use a scrying mirror

Would probably become an older sister-type character to the Traveller and support them throughout the (possible) court trial where the Traveller and Paimon are inevitably labelled as criminals once again, but since she knows almost nothing about the justice system she can only be there emotionally

Has a habit of overcompensating which usually takes on the form and is depicted as a pattern of her needing to bring two things but arriving with three (wears three rings with the extra on top of one of the main two, has three candles on her hat when scrying mirror sessions [her whole thing] require only two, would most likely be sent off to get two materials for a fetch-quest in the Fontaine chapter but come back with an extra third, her parents expecting twins but then her arriving after her sisters, etc.)

[zydrateacademy]

Current Activities in Gaming #228

So there is in fact an extra enemies mod for Starfield, and the game's much harder. I haven't even bothered playing on "very hard" yet, just "hard". With leveled enemies and such, the game has some actual level of challenge now. I just got really tired of seeing level 5's and 10's. I don't feel like a pro stealth sniper at all when I can basically sneeze on most enemies without a problem. Stealth sniping is still kind of viable but mostly in the outdoor sections of encounters. Enemies will impotently fire in my general direction but if I'm far enough away they have trouble actually finding me. Interiors are much more difficult, but I imagine once I drop having a follower and utilizing void form more I can lose them as well.

Ultimately, I've barely died in this game at all until installing that mod and I'm okay with this. I have to actually rethink certain encounters and hallways and that's exciting.

Now my FO4 game I made super hard but I also had a modern firearms mod which has pretty crazy damage scaling. Enemies can kill me quickly but I can kill them just as fast. It's different in Starfield while I'm still dealing with vanilla weaponry, enemies are semi-spongey (I can usually 2-3 tap basic enemies but boss/veteran enemies with multiple health bars take a while to deal with) so enemies can kill me quickly but I can't in turn do the same to them. So now I'm outnumbered and outdamage'd, but again it just forces me to rethink encounters and I'm spamming my starborn abilities a lot more than I did before. Finally putting those essences to use when before I'd be collecting dozens. They're a real resource now.

So, so many of my problems with the game were fixed just by adding more enemies. As I knew it would, and usually does in Bethesda games. Stealth is a lot more fickle as usual but as long as my ranged capabilities stay to par, it's fine.

I also had to get a mod that allowed me to continually craft and upgrade the quality of my guns to keep them competitive. But the values are still fairly vanilla, it's not OP 2-shots-you're-dead like Modern Firearms, but it helps with the scaling issue of enemies staying at my level but my Beowulf being stuck at 200 damage for every NG+. As usual, mods fix everything.

I said in the comments of one of my previous posts that I'd report back to how I feel about Ryujin. I did it again and void form basically makes the more annoying bits of that final quest fairly trivial. I had much less problems and glitches with it the second time around. Seems odd to design a whole faction questline around the powers, which you can technically do before you discover them. I'll have to do a self-imposed challenge some day without void form but the problem is... I've already walked that road. It sucked ass. That said I only used it on the one or two problem spots from before, I still just classically sneaked through most of it, but it's still a bit beyond me how they expect me to do that last stretch to grab that prototype (schematics) without void form because there's shit all over that room and some of the guards don't patrol. I know we're supposed to use manipulation but that only works half the time because the interfacing with it is super fucky.

Interestingly I've discovered something else. I bought it a while back before I had computer upgrades because I just wanted it available, but was worried. Most screenshots make the game look like dogshit, but none of them really did it justice. There's weather conditions that can mute the colors but most towns and areas have their own palette, so it's not a homogeneous blur of grey and white as you play. I found places like Neon and Gregarin(sp?) to be fairly vibrant in its own right, while New Atlantis can seem a bit muted in comparison. Overall it's not too terrible looking game as you play it, but looking at static screenshots could give that impression.

Currently my main save file is on her +3. First was the normal, second playthrough I was making some different choices while recording it for youtube. Third was the speedrun MQ skip to see what it was like and how much exactly it skips. Turns out Sarah will literally just hand you like half of the artifacts (like seven of them or so, in truth) after a certain point because you just tell Constellation where they are. I had her as a follower even and she just had them on hand which was pretty funny. You have to gather the first five yourself but as one quest, not as a chain. Anyway the whole MQ can be done in about an hour, not counting the temple runaround for power upgrades and I also didn't do much prepwork. Basically ran around with a decent semi-auto Kodama I picked up from Constellation's basement and burned through it.

My current "fourth" playthrough is my "whatever I feel like doing". I have spent many many hours just doing surveying and was almost getting ASMR tingles from it. I say in my youtube recording that planet surveying is very much a "mood" thing and not something you should really go out and do on purpose, just something to vibe with. That said it can be fairly decent early-game experience or something to go do to eke out an extra level or two if you feel like you absolutely need something before you can progress. I understand how and why people might find it boring, but nothing about it is required.

I might honestly do a lot of surveying on a total new game, which I might have to do once mod tools come out and everything gets updated to a proper structure. I fear I might also have to reinstall and just burn-delete everything I have right now. But it's fine because I know the flow of the game better, now.

One point of order though, I've done both Ryujin and UC multiple times and it seems the factions aren't terribly rewarding on their own. Ryujin only gives this decent stealth outfit that gives 25% to your stealth which is decent, but you lose everything in Unity so everything factions reward is temporary. UC pays fairly well but their best reward comes from their very first quest. Complete it and you get access to one of the best ballistic ship weapons in the game. I don't know what else they give other than decent chunks of credits every now and then.

At some point soonish I'll actually try out the Crimson Fleet and Freestar Rangers. Gonna go google their rewards.