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macabr3-barbi3 · 2 months

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pretty wings- Vox/fallen angel!Reader

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55237840

A Good Samaritan- a rare commodity in Hell- helps Vox to his car in the rain. How can he ever repay her?

(There's a second chapter now!)

Tags: wing kink; angel wings; fallen angels; vaginal sex; couch sex; fantasizing; begging; switching? maybe idk; Vox has a lil crush <3

💙❤️💙❤️💙

How it still manages to rain in Hell when there is no real atmosphere, he would never understand. Vox had never really liked the rain, even when he was alive- all it ever meant was canceled plans, systems going down, deep shitty puddles that got his shoes and pants wet and dirty. Like now, standing off the back porch of the restaurant he had just finished a meeting in, waiting for his fucking assistant to answer his goddamn phone and call a driver for him so he could go the fuck home since he couldn’t walk to his car.

He had been standing under the awning of the restaurant for twenty minutes now. The rain showed no sign of letting up, his meeting partners had all left, and Vox was fucked. He couldn’t go back inside- what kind of fucking loser goes back into an establishment after paying their tab, and for what? To ask for an umbrella? He’d rather die again. And if his assistant didn’t pick up his phone real fucking soon, someone would absolutely be dying today.

“Excuse me, sir?”

He sighs internally, sets his charm to its max setting and the brightness of his screen up before he turns towards your voice. “So sorry, doll, I’m afraid I’m all out of time for photo ops today!”

You raise an eyebrow, and he lets his gaze travel over your form. You looked relatively normal for a demon, your face still pretty human besides the two horns that came off your skull. Your eyes were wide and yellow, a heavy coat draped over your shoulders as you looked at him- not that much shorter, he noted, which was a nice change of pace from talking to Velvette all the time and having to crane basically in half to meet her eyes.

“That’s… not what I was going to ask.”

He resists the urge to roll his eyes, and can feel his screen glitch on his smile as he watches you. “An interview then? Look, you can contact my people but I am really not in the-”

“What I was going to ask,” you interrupt him, and Vox fights down the wave of annoyance at having been cut off, “was if you needed help.”

His face screws up and he means to immediately deny. “Absolutely not. I’m perfectly fine-”

“Are you?”

And that was going to get annoying fast if you kept doing that, he thought to himself.

“You’ve been standing out here for close to half an hour and glaring at your phone. I don’t think its crazy to assume that you need some assistance with something having to do with the rain.” You look him over, much the same way that he had done to you. “I would imagine that the whole ‘TV head’ thing you have going on doesn’t mix well with precipitation.”

Well, you had him there. “You’re not wrong,” he admits testily. “But my assistant will be sending someone to drive me soon. I’ll be fine.” He flashes you a winning smile.

“I mean, I guess you could wait for your assistant to answer your calls- doesn’t seem like you’re having much luck with reaching them.” You cross your arms over your chest, and- nope, Vox was not going to stand out here in the rain and ogle some random sinner’s tits. He redirects his gaze. “Or you could let me either walk you to your car or walk with you to wherever you’re going.”

He throws you a side eye and sighs heavily, letting his head drop back before rolling an eye down to look at you. “You don’t look like you have an umbrella,” he says, crossing his arms now as well. “How exactly are we getting to my car?”

You give him a smile that shorts a fuse in his head for a moment, wide and earnest and pretty. “Who needs an umbrella?” You shrug one of your shoulders and the coat you’re wearing starts to slide off your shoulders. Vox makes a move to stop the slide like a gentleman, keep the coat covering your body and stop it from slipping into a puddle, when it rises up off your back and comes to cover the both of you. He sees black feathers interspersed with white spots as the bottom comes into view, and he realizes it wasn’t a coat at all.

You had wings. Big, powerful wings by the look of it- the part connected to your back didn’t shake under the weight of the limb being extended over your heads. He stared at them; he knew he was staring, that you might think it was strange, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It was mesmerizing. Thrilling.

He feels a spark of arousal shoot through him at the sight of them, and his plans change for the night. You’re pretty, and the curves of your body are appealing, but the wings. He wants to explore them. Wants to tease you with your own feathers. To run his fingers over them and watch you struggle to maintain this composure you have. He’s confident in his ability to get you home with him- maybe offer a drink as thanks for your help or something.

“Sure, I guess you can walk me to my car,” he says, feigning an air of disinterest despite the twitch in his cock. “It’s not every day one meets a sinner so giving- I might as well take advantage!” He sees the flinch that shoots across your face, making your wing tremble, but you straighten up and stiffen your shoulders, gesturing out to the street being beaten by the rain.

“Lead the way.”

He steps out from under the awning and is delighted when your wing does, in fact, shelter the both of you from the weather. You bring the second wing out to block any rain from blowing under the first with the wind, and Vox is fucking obsessed with the subtle muscle of them, the careful strength in the way that you adjust the angle of them to keep him dry. It seems subconscious, the movement of them, as Vox gave you directions to where he had parked earlier when the sky was dry and he had thought he could enjoy a nice walk after his meeting.

A piece of paper, litter off the ground, comes flying under the shelter you were providing him aiming right for his screen. He brings up a hand to block it- wet paper wouldn’t do any real damage but it was still annoying- when the tip of the wing over your head dips down slightly, catches it with a corner, and flings it off to the side. A drop of water manages to fly off the thing and splatter on his screen. You give him a smile, apology on your lips at being unable to prevent the attack. You turn back to the cars in front of you, looking for the electric blue of his vehicle that he had described to you.

Vox wants you spread out in his bed, he decides. Your wings splayed out behind you in whatever position he decided to take you- he would work with anything. He could trace his fingers over the delicate bones with you on your back as he drilled into you; grab a fistful of feathers while he fucks you from behind, use that leverage to sink his cock into you as far as he could manage; let you unfurl them from your back while you ride him so they cover you both like a blanket, seal yourselves off from the rest of the world and let the only light you see be his screen in the darkness of it.

“Sir?”

He blinks hard a couple times and realizes that you’ve reached his car, and you’re standing there in the rain illuminated by the few streetlights that reach this back corner. Your eyebrow is cocked at him in amusement, wings still suspended over him. “I think walking you over here defeats the purpose if you don’t actually get in the car.”

“Right, right!” He touches a claw to the vehicle and it roars to life as he grabs the handle and maneuvers himself inside of it. He looks up at you now, the positions reversed, and his breath catches in his throat, cock throbbing. You’re magnificent like this, wings still hanging above you and slightly over the car to make sure no moisture can reach him. The rest of your body is relaxed but he can see it in his head, the way that you would look tense with pleasure, eyes clenched shut and mouth hanging open.

You give him a smile. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

The vague chagrin that shoots through him does nothing to quell the erection rapidly growing in his pants. “I was going to say thank you,” he insists, and the way you laugh has him wanting to inject the sound into his fucking veins. “Can I- can I give you a ride home? You know, as thanks for walking me over here, making sure I don’t get waterlogged.”

You look like you’re going to refuse at first but then you shrug. “Sure. It’s not too far, if you really don’t mind.”

Fuck yes! The processors in his head are whirring, wondering how best to convince you to come back to his place on the way to yours. Or fuck, maybe he could just join you at your place. He wasn’t picky about where the fucking happened, as long as it did. He was desperate for it, to have you gasping for him while he plucked at your pretty wings with his cock nestled deep inside your pussy.

The passenger door opens and you enter the car with your knees on the leather seat. He questions it for only a moment before you lean back and shake your wings viciously outside the vehicle, dispersing as much of the water as you can before you sit normally in the seat. You buckle up and give him a sweet smile, pointing a slender finger to the other side of the parking lot where the exit is.

He can’t remember being so fucking turned on before as he puts some music on and starts driving. Sure, he had his fun with Val and sometimes some of his actors between scenes and shit, the occasional fangirl or one of Velvette’s models but just being aroused by the presence of someone? Who wasn’t actively trying to seduce him? Was just sitting in the passenger seat of his car while he drove her home?

It was new, and it was exciting, and God, those fucking wings…

They’re tucked delicately behind you, the black of your feathers contrasting nicely with the deep red leather of his seats. He’d never seen a demon with wings like these before- they were usually attached to the arms of them or draped off the back. More for decoration than anything else; even Val’s wings weren’t so prehensile and flexible, he thought, thinking about the way the tip had dipped down to sling that piece of paper away from him.

“So, your wings-”

“We’re here,” you say with a grin, the car not even having left the parking lot.

“What? I- here? ” He does stop the vehicle before looking over at you, craning his neck forward to look at a building that sat kitty corner to the restaurant he had his meeting in.

“I told you it wasn’t far.” He can hear the giggle in your voice. “How else do you think I saw you standing out here the whole time? I could see the glow of your screen from my window. Figured I would offer a hand since you didn’t look like you were making much progress.”

He stares at you. He hadn’t had time to try to convince you to spend more time with him- to convince you to let him get his hands on those feathers.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

You’re reaching for the door handle when he blurts out, “wait!”

And thank fuck, you do. You look back at him with an eyebrow raised but your hand stops reaching. He clears his throat, fixes you with what he hopes is a suave look. “Let me thank you,” he says. “We can go grab a drink at my place- or I can buy you dinner, if you’d rather do that. Order some takeout if you want to stay home.” Smile wide, he waits for you to respond.

Bells and whistles ring in his head as you buckle back up. “I’m down on one condition.”

“Name it, doll,” is his immediate response, and he’s only a little embarrassed at the speed with which he spoke. “Really, I want to give you a proper show of gratitude- there’s no way this counts. Whatever you want.”

A crooked little smile graces your face. “Can I get your name?”

He can almost feel the error message crawl across the bottom of his screen; he doesn’t know what it says but he watches your eyes follow the scrawl of words, the real reason he knew it was there. “Vox,” he says, holding a hand out for you to shake. “Pleasure to meet you.” He leaves off what is obvious to anyone else- Overlord of Hell, Media Mastermind, TV demon on the fast track to ruling Pentagram city. If you didn’t already know these things then you had to be new- that explained the blatant disrespect earlier, interrupting him, dismissing his words. If you didn’t know he wouldn’t tell you yet. He would win you over and get you onto a horizontal surface without his reputation; preferably with his sharp tongue, strong fingers and thick cock if he had a choice in the matter.

“Vox.” You repeat his name, and it sounds so sweet and innocent that he can’t wait for you to scream it out in ecstasy. You give him your name in return as he pulls out of the parking lot and heads towards Vee Tower.

The silence is comfortable on the relatively short drive, Vox pulling the car into the basement garage of Vee Tower and quietly relishing in the fascinated expression on your face when someone comes to grab the keys to park his car as he leads you to the elevator. “You’re some kind of hotshot, huh?” You ask, lashes fluttering at him in a way that makes his knees weak.

“Something like that, doll,” he says, smile wide while you take it all in. Even just the garage is sophisticated and impressive, and he wishes he could see it through your eyes. He notices your raised eyebrows at the push of the button for the penthouse, but you don’t say anything. “So, your wings- are you some kind of bird?”

A tight smile. “Something like that, doll,” you parrot back to him. “That’s more of a second date question, I think.”

Second date. Was this your first date? Fuck, he should have called his assistant ahead of time and made him get something prepared fresh- gotten some fucking good champagne in- swapped out his comfortable sheets for the silk ones that his bed partners were nuts for even if he didn’t really care for them. But his assistant was fucking useless tonight, evidenced by the fact of your being here in the first place since he couldn’t get a car to fetch him.

Vox might not have met you if he had answered the phone though- so maybe he would let it slide.

He leads you out of the elevator into his home, the lights of Pentagram City casting a lovely red glow over your body. “Nice view.” You stand by it, the white tips of your wings illuminated where the light shone through. He comes to stand beside you in front of the couch, and you give him a pretty smile. “I do have a question though.”

“What’s that?” He has his phone out, firing off one last text to his assistant - "If I don’t hear back from you in the next ten minutes I’m swapping your contract for one of Val’s. FUCKING ANSWER ME” should get his message across- and missing the narrowing of your eyes when you turn back to face him.

“Do you know that you aren’t subtle?” You hook an ankle around the back of his leg and yank, sending him toppling backwards into the couch, his phone hitting the cushion next to you. He has only a brief moment to flounder, wonder what the fuck was happening, before you were straddling his lap, knees on either sides of his thighs and your skirt pulled taut between your legs. “See, I really couldn’t tell if you thought you were. I figured I would ask.”

“What?” He can’t find the power to do anything but watch with his eyes wide while you slide your hands down his chest and settle into his space, the warmth of your cunt palpable through his trousers where you rest against his rapidly hardening prick. “What do you-”

“Ah, you don’t know. Cute.” The word makes him twitch, and when he opens his mouth to protest what comes out instead is a choked off whine as you roll your hips into him. “I like my men a little cute- when they think they’re being so suave and sexy but all they can think about is getting their hands on my body. Or my wings, in this case.” As you mention them you let them puff up a little behind you, spread out ever so slightly so Vox could get a better look. His breath catches- silhouetted by the glow of the city behind you, you were breathtaking.

“What gave me away, doll?” He could deny, but what was the point in that? The night was already progressing the way that he wanted. You were perhaps a little more forward than he was expecting, but he could work with that. As long as it ended with your pussy swallowing up his cock he would be a happy demon.

You laughed, the sound like a bell in the silence of his place as he settles his hands on your hips. “Besides the blatant ogling of them when I first brought them out and the whole way across the parking lot, you mean? You had an error message in the car running across your screen just here-” You lean down and lick across the lower right corner of his face. “You wanna know what it said?”

“Enlighten me.” He’s amazed he can still get a word out with the blood rushing to his cock, hard length pressed against you where you’re seated on his lap.

“‘Pretty wings,’ it said.” Your fingers come down to undo his belt, whipping it from the loops of his pants. Vox nearly chokes on his tongue when you pull his cock out, already hard and leaking in your hand as you tighten your grip. “Suuuper cute. Over and over.” You lift your hips a bit, shoving your skirt up near your hips and hovering over his length. “I wanna hear it instead of reading it though- can you say it for me, pretty boy?”

You skim his tip through the slickness between your legs, and his brain short circuits when he realizes that you haven’t been wearing panties. “Fuck me,” he manages to laugh out. “Was this your plan the whole time? Play the good Samaritan to get me home so you could ride my cock?”

You shake your head and let yourself sink down the slightest bit, a breathy moan leaving your throat as his head is swallowed by your tight, wet heat. “Not initially. I really was just trying to be a nice person.” You throw him a wink, pulling away when he tries to thrust up and not allowing him to get any deeper inside of you. “Come on now- give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.”

Fuck, if that doesn’t shoot straight to his prick. “Pretty wings,” he murmurs, letting one of his hands leave your hip to brush against the soft feathers. “They’re beautiful. Strong. Fuckin’ perfect.” With each word you slide down further until you’re fully seated on his cock. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“That’s it, baby,” you say, and shift your hips forward to get him where you want him. “You were thinking about this, yeah?” With a downward grind you let your wings unfurl completely, filling his vision with a flash of feathers that blocks the light of the city from reaching him. A ripple runs through them, the tremor rolling all the way from top to tip and the feeling is imitated around his cock, your tight walls rippling.

He doesn’t whine, thank you very much. But a broken drawn out sound does escape his mouth, screen thrown back over the back of the couch. He can’t bare to fucking look at you with how perfect the moment is, the sight and sound and sensation of you stuffed with his cock better than he could have imagined. “I wanna touch them,” he says, but when he reaches his fingers out you wrap your hands around his wrists, surprising strength in your redirection of his palms to your chest.

“Can we say ‘please’, pretty boy?” You let your wings flutter, a gust of wind blowing across his face from the movement, moaning when his prick hits a soft spot inside you that makes you gush around his length. “I’ll let you touch them if you ask nicely.”

His pride fights him for a moment- this wasn’t exactly how it was supposed to go, with him at your mercy instead of the other way around. He had wanted you under him, wings spread across his mattress and feathers fisted in his hands while he fucked you.

“I’ll give you a demonstration of what I’m looking for,” you offer, and then your lashes are fluttering, eyes rolling back into your head and a whine falling forth from your mouth. “Oh fuck, Vox , baby, please.”

Pride flies out the window in favor of the feeling of your cunt clenching around his cock. “Please, sweetheart,” he says, and he lets his clawed thumbs roll over the pebbles of your nipples where you hold him against your chest. “Let me touch them? I’ll be real gentle with you, baby.”

You pick up the pace, releasing his hands and bringing your wings forward, bordering him on either side so all he can see is you. “That’s what I like to hear,” you whisper with a grin, bracing your hands on his shoulders and properly riding him now, the slick sound of your body taking him in echoing in the emptiness of his living room.

He lifts his trembling palms from your chest and brushes the tips of his claws along the bottoms of your wings, feathers gliding softly over his digits- the sensation makes you moan, another gentle ripple running through them. He fists his hands in them, pulling lightly like he might at someone’s hair, and your wet heat pulses around him, pussy tight like you mean to keep him inside of you forever. He wants that- wants to stay buried where he currently is until Hell falls to pieces around you.

His phone rings on the couch beside him, the call taking over his screen moments later. Vox doesn’t want to let go of your wings, having just gotten his hands on them- with a shake of his head the call is dismissed, only to immediately come back and take over his face again. “God fucking-”

You lift a hand from his shoulder and answer the call, a right swipe and a wicked smile leading to Vox’s assistant’s voice filling the space between you and him. “-and I am SO. SORRY. Sir I swear, I have never had my phone on silent like this before-” He continues his rant, and Vox struggles to remember why he was even calling right now- he was fucking busy, damn it, what the fuck.

“-understand that you’re upset, but please, sir, I’ll do better, just don’t send me to Valentino-”

“Better answer him,” you whisper to Vox, dragging your tongue up the side of his screen, hips grinding down. “If I cum before the call ends I’ll leave.”

Graceful fingers slide down your body to rub at your own clit, moaning prettily into the side of his face while his assistant rambled in his ear. Vox was going to fucking combust.

“Just- fuck, man, shut up. It’s fine.” You chuckle into his shirt, deft fingers unbuttoning it and raking your claws down his chest. “ Jesus fuck, I- no, not you. It’s fine. We’ll talk in the morning-”

“But sir if you still need a ride-”

“I fucking found a ride, alright,” he mutters darkly, tightening his grip on your wings in one hand and letting the other trail firmly along the top of it, all the way down to the tip. The feathers seem to shiver in his grasp and your cunt clenches around him, threatens to pull him over the edge with how close you are. “Call me in the morning. Now f̰̰̯͕͊̃̊͞͞͞ụ̴̴̾̀͟͡c̨̨̣̮̝̈́̔ͯ̀͂k̼̼̞̦̞̼̔ o͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞f̰̰̯͕͊̃̊͞͞͞f̰̰̯͕͊̃̊͞͞͞. ”

Voice files corrupted, he disconnects the call, reaches his hands around your back to finger at the base of your wings, the skin there taut and sensitive if the keening groan you let off into his shirt is anything to go by. “Fuck me, you feel divine,” he mutters, and you choke off a chuckle at the word. “Let me feel you, angel, cum on my cock.”

“N- naughty men that don’t say please don’t get to make demands,” you say, and he could tease you, could pull your hand away from your clit and make you hover right on the edge of release. But he was a selfish man, and could admit that he wanted the feeling of you coming undone around him more than he wanted to be right.

“Please, baby, please,” he begs, and you hiss through your teeth at the sound of his pleading, sweet and low, the slightest hint of static to his voice. “God, fucking d̶̵̯̯̼̘ͨ̓o͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞ i̧̻̻͉̜͑ͪ̾͟t͖͖̠̬͛, please, l- let me w̡̻̻̣͚̒̀ͅo͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞ṛ̣̬̫̍͌ͩ͟s̨̞̞̰͎͎̪̩͕̈́̀ͯ̍ͧͅh̨͚͚͖ͯ̒̄͗͞i̧̻̻͉̜͑ͪ̾͟p͔͔͚͉̬̋ͩ̾͗ y͙͙̪̰ͫ͌́o͙͙̙̘̙ͤͫ͞ụ̴̴̾̀͟͡-”

““Oh fuck, Vox, baby, please-” Less sarcastic this time despite the half formed smile on your face, and the teasing lilt to it is ruined by the clenching of your eyes as you clamp down on his prick and cum, fingers of the hand not frantically rubbing at your clit digging into his skin while you shudder and shake in the embrace of his arms.

He follows you moments later, the tension he had felt since meeting you outside the restaurant finally cresting and crashing, and he spends himself inside of the slick grip of your cunt, still riding him with the effort you can spare after the force of your orgasm before eventually slowing. You take your fingers from your clit, circle them around the base of his cock and collect some of your combined releases before bringing them up to his mouth, pushing inside and letting Vox’s tongue wrap around the length of them.

Fuck. You would be the death of him, he was sure.

“Not bad,” you mutter once you’ve collapsed bonelessly against him. “Might need a couple more rounds to really show you the ropes though- really get it through your screen here who is in charge.”

“That’s not you, doll.” Vox laughs, and you bring your wings up to surround the two of you like a fort, the glow of his screen illuminating your face and the teasing smile you wear.

“I guess I could be willing to share,” you agree, leaning forward far enough to press a teasing kiss to the plastic of his face. “We can talk about it tomorrow after you reassure your little assistant that you’re not going to murder him.”

“Still thinking about it,” he muses, “but we’ll see.” He runs his fingers again along the bottom of your wings, delights in your shiver, and wishes the rain would never stop.

#hazbin hotel #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #hazbin vox #x reader #vox x reader #hazbin hotel vox #vox the tv demon #my stuff <3

294 notes · View notes

dutifullylazybread · 4 months

Note

What are your Rolan headcanons?

Apologies for the late response! My brain gave me an Error 404 notification, and I sat there for a moment like... What are my Rolan headcanons?! But then I thought on it, and I definitely have a few! Romantic and NSFW are under the cut!

SFW

Rolan can't actually sleep without some form of light. Prior to Elturel's Descent, there was this glowing orb that hung over their city that they called The Companion. Before they learned the real reason for its existence (which I will not spoil here), it was this entity that shed light over the city 24/7, and that light extended out in a 50 mile radius. So people born in Elturel were used to sleeping with the Companion overhead at all times, whereas visitors would use light-canceling curtains so that they could sleep (inns would offer these). This is my long way of saying that Rolan can't actually sleep if there isn't a light source going in the room. If it's the fireplace, it can die down throughout the night, but it must be going when he falls asleep.

I think that he drinks wine and has a deeper appreciation for it because of the Descent. All food in Avernus tastes terrible--even the rations that you brought with you. In the "Descent Into Avernus" module, the text makes a point to say that wine tastes like spoiled milk in Avernus. So I think that, for Rolan, he savors the taste of wine in particular. Sometimes to the point of excess.

Whatever he overindulged in at the Last Light Inn, he now hates. For no reason whatsoever, I think he went too hard at Plum Fizz, threw it up, and now he can't even stand to look at it. I don't want to say that the same is the case for Arabellan Dry, but there is at least one drink that he overindulged in that now turns his stomach.

He is a very light sleeper. Zariel had a skeleton crew of devils that would skulk the streets of Elturel and torment its inhabitants. If Rolan was a heavy sleeper before, after having the devils pass his family's home with such regularity put him on edge, because they could never guarantee that the devils wouldn't break into their home. Now, even the slightest noise can wake him.

I think that a devil offered him a deal in Avernus. Likely, it would have been the power to protect Cal and Lia. I think he was very close to taking it--even more so if their mother was dead at this point. I think he ultimately did not take it, and I think Lia and Cal yelled at him if they found out he was considering a deal in the first place.

This man 100% tried to brave Avernus' terrain to find a way to keep his siblings safe. The problem with Avernus is that the terrain is ever changing. Per the "Descent into Avernus" module, going to Fort Knucklebone might be ten miles. Going BACK from Fort Knucklebone might be sixty miles instead. I don't know if he gave up and went home of his own accord or if the party of heroes who helps Elturel help him get home. Either way, he views it as a failing on his part.

After their mother was killed, I think Rolan experienced a serious amount of survivor's guilt. This makes it so he is even more protective of Cal and Lia. Nothing else matters but keeping them alive. Hence why he is so deep in his cups when you find him at Last Light--he feels that he broke the promise that he made to their mother. He failed to protect his family. The ONE promise he wanted to keep, no matter what.

He wrote to Lorroakan, desperate for an apprenticeship, because the other Elturel Refugees were also heading to Baldur's Gate. However, refugees from Elturel were being actively blocked from entering the city. I definitely think he believed that Lorroakan was talented if he could lay claim to Ramazith's tower, but I also think that he wanted to make sure that he, Cal, and Lia all had a home when they got there. I think that he was willing to put up with a lot if it meant that his siblings were safe. So, in a sense, this was an apprenticeship of convenience, but I also think he did believe that a wizard who presided over Ramazith's tower would likely be a talented one.

I think that Lorroakan likely took credit for one or two of Rolan's arcane discoveries.

This man is vain. Everything about his appearance says "immaculate." Does he find a smudge on his sleeve? Prestidigitation. Is there a tear along a seam? Mending. Hair out of place? He'll be back in ten minutes--he just needs to get everything in order.

He is always thinking about how he can make a spell into an experience that Cal and Lia can enjoy. Not just prestidigiation, but also minor illusion. I wouldn't put it past him to learn Control Weather so that if they're too hot, he can cool them down. Are they disappointed that the snow disappeared too soon? Well, he has just the answer.

He is overprotective. To a fault.

While he genuinely believes it when he claims to be "the handsome master of Ramazith's Tower," or argues that he is talented, I think he started saying these things so that he could convince himself first. If he was abandoned by his birth parents, that no doubt took a toll on him. So he is very fond of positive self-talk.

Romantic

He might not always know how to verbalize his feelings, but he does demonstrate them in other ways.

Your favorite food? He learns how to make it. And he always has the ingredients on hand.

You mention offhandedly what your favorite drink is? He has at least three tins/bottles of it on hand.

If you want to make him short-circuit, wear socks that don't match.

He'll say he isn't a cuddler. He is a liar. He'll claim that the extra pillows and blankets lying around are there for your comfort, which is true, but he is also the one who is primed and ready to tuck them around you and him and read for hours on end.

Also, he loves spending time with you doing different things in the same room. He doesn't think he gets lonely since he is so used to studying on his own, but when you start sitting next to him or settling into place on a nearby couch while he works, he realizes what was missing.

He is the king of longing stares from across the room.

Will short circuit if you sit on his lap and kiss his neck (can't say more in the SFW section!)

Will cling to you when you sleep in the same bed. You honestly don't need much in the way of blankets because of the heat he puts off.

NSFW

Oh ho ho ho. I have so many and so few at the same time!!

Will bite you if you ask (and will fantasize if you don't), but he loves the idea of marking you as his, so he wants to do nothing but give you lovebites.

Personally, I think he is a switch. He can go from being the best service top in the world to being the one in need of a lot of physical affection and care. He struggles to actually verbalize what he needs, but if you can pick up on his cues, you can very much so tell whether he needs you to take the lead. From there, it's a matter of suggesting something and seeing if he is game.

That being said, he will not hesitate to bend you over a desk or take you against a bookshelf.

I don't think Rolan is a virgin (let's be real, if he has so many fans outside of a D&D setting, he definitely had a few who were attracted to him in Elturel). But he has always been very focused on taking care of his family or his studies, and I don't think he was ready for a serious relationship until after settling into the tower.

That being said, while he isn't a virgin, he also isn't well-versed in different sexy time fun things.

THAT BEING SAID, if you float an idea to him, he's going to consider it. And, so long as he is comfortable, he's down to try it too.

And once you and him start having sex on the regular, he starts to see the real potential that spells can have. Mage hand is an easy one... but what about enlarge person?

Get him worked up enough, and he will absolutely decide to fuck you in every single room of the tower (Cal's and Lia's excluded)

100% uses his tail. I shall say no more.

Your moans will make him short circuit. It takes EVERYTHING for him not to come when you moan.

Your moans, or your squeals, are also enough to get him hard. Expect him to start acting a little... needy after you make a noise like that.

King of morning sex. I shall say no more.

Loves when you go down on him. And if you moan around his cock? He's a goner.

If you blow him under his desk? He will never be able to sit at that desk again... not without going full mast.

If he's working and you whisper something lewd in his ear before walking off, he is either going to abandon his studies and want to take you up on your suggestion or he's going to sit there and stew. Either way, you have a blushing mess of a wizard on your hands.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 rolan #baldurs gate 3 #rolan #rolan bg3 #bg3 headcanons #baldur's gate fanfic #baldur's gate 3 headcanons #head canon #head canons #rolan head canons #rolan x tav #tav x rolan #rolan x reader

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hexblading · 5 months

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Open letter to my fellow Nanami girlies

Ive seen countless posts saying that he'd take you to restaurants, fine dining for dates. Now I love that as much as the next person but let's be fr. Man's got standards, but he also knows good tastes. Sometimes things that are expensive are worse, and not only that, he's a foodie. The way to his heart is his stomach and I will die on this hill.

He wont take you to fine dining, he'd take you to some hole in the wall restaurant thats actually pretty fkin good. Date plans would be on the fly since he's everywhere all over the place kicking ass and getting his ass beat, sometimes he'll cancel plans because work got in the way yea but he'll make it up to you with a visit to someplace nice, affordable, and cozy.

He's also good with the cooks of his favourite places. Oftentimes its retirees starting a cozy, idyllic life of their own and if you guys are just having dinner by yourselves sometimes he'll make smalltalk with them, especially if the cooks are either grizzled or sweet old ladies.

Idk i dont watch jjk but i know enough he wont splurge, mans not mei mei

#nanami kento #nanami × reader #moots please ignore this

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asteriass · 3 months

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The progression of the “Villainess” trope

Y'know, thinking about it, it's very ironic how a trope made to subvert one's expectations & give more depth to 1 dimensional villains in cliche novels by "humanizing" them more & providing their side of the story, eventually became oversaturated with cartoony villains & flat MCs. Thus, completely failing in its goal to "subvert expectations" as it too turned into mind numbing cliche, becoming the exact opposite of what the troupe initially aimed to achieved.

I am talking about "Villainess" series.

I remember seeing a twitter post a while back saying how a lot of the villainess stuff the authors & studios are putting out nowadays lack any sort of nuance when it comes to its characters. And how a lot authors simply switch the roles of the cast (Like: OG MC -> villain | OG villain -> MC) & call it a day. And I 100% agree with that.

This troupe kinda ended up becoming the dictionary definition of the saying, "You either die as a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain” lmao

What could've been an opportunity to write nuanced villains & morally ambiguous main characters, turned EXACTLY into the cliche it was pocking fun at.

In an attempt to reveal how the MCs of your typical cliche novels can also be in the wrong at times, flaws that the story & its (in-canon) fandom may purposefully ignore, the villainess stories ended up doing EXACT SAME thing EXECPT this time it's the "villains" doing it rather than the OG FL or OG ML of the “OG novel”. In an attempt to stop cliche villains from remaining cliche, while we did ended up getting slightly more nuance for the “OG villain” characters, in the process, the OG MCs turned exactly into those flat cliche villains.

Alot of villainess series poke fun at the troupes they themself use, but not in a satirical way.

So many villainess series poke fun at the OG novels for being problematic or stupid & the fandom of said novels basically ignoring its flaws & problems, only gushing over the OG FL. Which yea, is nice & all, but y'know... that's exactly what those villainess series do too. SO MANYY of them borderline have the FLs participating in literal slavery. & More often than not have a borderline colonizer ML. Not to mention the numerous which carry weird undertones of colorism, and many such other things. All the while, the fandom of these villainess series continue to ignore their glaring problems & flaws & instead just gush over the FL and ML.

And I'm not even saying this in a hating sort of way (well, aside from the series with issues of colorism, orientalism, etc). Moreover, this is all not to say that one can not enjoy such stories, because admittedly, there is indeed fun in just reading a simple and familiar story line. But this is all more me being intrigued by this trope’s almost ironic progression as companies rush their staff to produce something which they think will be able to ride the waves of the current trends, only for the vast majority to simply drown in a sea of mediocrity (with many even being canceled due to this)

[Though I mean, something as simple as villainess tropes won’t be the only one to go through this. Like a lot of Shakespearean works, a subversion of the classics & typical troupes back then, got turned into ones of those classics and by many are now considered cliche. And that's just scrapping the bottom of the barrel!]

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awryval · 3 months

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death of an author, reclamation, and you

"We never are what we intend, or invent 'Cause I make little lies and then I pull them apart Think something dark's living down in my heart And if I wanted to die before I got old I should've started some years ago digging that hole"

Brand New. "At the Bottom." Daisy, 2009.

Brand New was among one of my favorite bands in high school, and I still listen to them today. Their music is important to me and shaped a big part of who I am. Their lyrics about being tortured, burnt-out, and choking on the weight of your own self-perceived flaws are relatable! Their compositions ooze with a level of self-hatred that can only be genuine. It's utterly depressing, and I adore it!

That's not not the full story, though. Jesse Lacey, the vocalist of Brand New, is a sexual predator. This informs everything about how the music of Brand New is. It's self-loathing for a very good reason. I love Brand New. I condemn Jesse Lacey. These two statements coexist. I used to be a part of the /r/brandnew subreddit, and when the allegations against Jesse Lacey came out in 2017, many redditors of that sub were quick to claim "death of the author." After all, the band had broken up immediately after the news broke, and they had also cancelled their tours. Currently, the people using that subreddit mostly talk about buying old BN merchandise and discuss what their favorite concert memories were. Jesse Lacey himself confirmed that the allegations against him were true, so there isn't much debate to be had. The subreddit serves as a monument for fans who still enjoy the music, and as a platform to speak about it with like-minded fans.

In my opinion, claiming "death of an author" is a slippery slope. We can't always claim that Miku is the creator of Minecraft. But often, we see that that is the response people have when a creator is outed to be problematic; "I still like the thing So-and-So made, so I will ignore that the creator exists!" The reason that this worked for Miku Minecraft is because, by the time that Notch was publicly making transphobic comments, he did not own Minecraft anymore. The joke is quite literally that he does not own the thing that people like. He sold it to Microsoft, so he doesn't get royalties from it anymore. You can play Minecraft devoid of supporting its original creator. This joke works so well because it is an actual case of the death of an author! That's great and all for Minecraft, but what about other instances? What happens when we claim "death of the creator" erroneously? And why are we so obsessed with this concept anyway?

So like, back to Brand New... they released their last album, Science Fiction, back in August 2017. The allegations came out later that same year. I own all of Brand New's discography physically, including their last release. I bought most of it off eBay when I was 15. I was not supporting them post-allegations. But that leaves me with a lingering question- what do I do with all these CDs that I still very much enjoy the music of? From how I see it, there are two firm camps on this topic:

Camp 1: You know about Lacey's crimes now and his music cannot be separated from his actions. Solution: Throw your CDs away.

Camp 2: It's something you bought without knowledge of Lacey's crimes, so you should enjoy it anyway. Death of an author! Solution: Continue as usual.

I'm not fond of either of these answers. They come off as too polarized for a situation that is the entire Pantone swatch library of grays. "But, how are there any shades of gray when its clear that Jesse Lacey is in the wrong?" I want to provide some counter questions for you to think about:

What about the other people in the band? You might not be directly supporting the sexual predator anymore, but there are other victims here too- effectively his band mates lost their jobs overnight. (Another example would be LOSTPROPHETS)

Is it feasible to destroy each object you own because it was created under problematic circumstances? When or when isn't this the case? Does it apply to your cup of coffee? Does it apply to the clothes you wear? What about any product with palm oil in it? What about the hardware in your computer? If you look into any company, you're going to find some horrific things you don't like about it. The takeaway here is that it isn't beneficial to treat situations like these as black or white. I don't think that destroying my CDs is going to do anything to take away the abuse that Jesse Lacey caused. Nor do I think ignoring the context of his music will do anyone any favors. The music he made is a product of his crimes. To ignore that fact would be disingenuous to why people enjoy his music and why the music exists in the first place. There's another element here, though. I, and many others, are no longer monetarily supporting Jesse Lacey. You can't even officially support the release of Brand New's music anymore as their record label (Procrastinate! Music Traitors) doesn't even seem to have a functioning website anymore? Regardless, I wouldn't want to support his music in a way that supports him, anyway. Yes, I enjoy the music and the themes of it, but I do not want to be directly supporting abuse that happened BECAUSE he was a vocalist in a band. And I can safely do this with CDs that I bought secondhand, right? This is death of the author. So what's the issue?

I believe there is an issue when people claim “death of the author” far too quickly and scramble to reclaim the media for themselves. It’s an increasingly popular trend these days to pluck characters/concepts from an author deemed to be problematic. "I'll save [Character I like] from this shitty piece of media!", they claim. I don't think people realize how multifaceted in effect that is, though. For instance, if the author is actively making money from their creation, you can't truly "reclaim" a character from them. It's more like you're paying homage to them with fanart.

My best on-going example of this would be Floraverse. There are a multitude of reasons why people do not like the author/s of Floraverse, which I will not go into here. To put it simply, though, since its inception in 2013, many artists and writers involved with Flora either left or were kicked out. These artists either directly contributed to the art and worldbuilding of the webcomic, or were heavily influenced by it. To this day, there are many times someone links me to art on Discord and I’ll say “oh I remember that person, they used to be a Flora fanartist!” and the other person is absolutely floored that that artist was ever linked to Floraverse. Anyway… There have been multiple attempts at people trying to reclaim Floraverse from the author, and this never works out. Like, it really doesn’t work out. Any time that someone tries to reclaim Floraverse characters for themselves whilst condemning the author, that person is dogpiled by the Floraverse community. Which is a weird behavior for a CC BY-SA webcomic, but I digress. Here are some highlights:

In 2019, there was a thread dedicated to Redesigning Floraverse that immediately got taken over by Floraverse itself a month later.

An artist got harassed for multiple years (I think it was 2020-2023) for having an oc based on Beleth, a character in Floraverse.

Just 2 months ago, an artist got harassed for drawing fanart of the characters

Historically, reclaiming Floraverse characters from the author hasn't worked out. And I mean.. why would it? It's an actively running "webcomic" (I'll be charitable) and with an active community that supports the author's current works and views with their wallets. It's one thing to enjoy a piece of media with a problematic author and want to reclaim that media for yourself. It is another for this reclamation to actually be effective. Attempts of "reclaiming" Floraverse get written off as fanworks that the community dislikes. You cannot reclaim Floraverse characters as they do not exist in a vacuum. Listening to secondhand Brand New CDs does work in a vacuum; Jesse Lacey's career is dead in the water. The same cannot be said for reclaiming the art of Glitchedpuppet and co. Floraverse characters and stories are not divorced from the abuses they cause. Characters will be used as strawmen to abuse community members, past or present. Or entire works will be up dedicated to making light of your childhood trauma! These characters were made by an abuser, and will be used to abuse. That is a simple fact about Floraverse. Except... in that statement, I'm not even talking about Glitchedpuppet, the current author of Floraverse. I'm talking about Marlcabinet, the previous author of Floraverse. This statement does however, apply to both of them. Hey, wait a minute, that's weird! I've been talking about "death of the author" for this entire post, and I just said that reclaiming Floraverse characters can't work because the way the characters were used to abuse real people doesn't exist in a vacuum. So like, why does this work within the Floraverse webcomic itself? Marl is the abuser of Glip, but Marl is also the author of the majority of early Floraverse. Isn't the story itself, as it currently stands, an act of reclaiming characters used to abuse community members, minors, and any detractors? Then who is to say that those who contributed to Floraverse and were similarly abused are not also allowed this same privilege? Their real-world suffering is what fuels the comic. When I was 13-16, I adored a Floraverse character named Cayenne. His whole deal was that he was an autistic child slave and was horribly abused by everyone around him. Weird character to connect to, but he’s the character that made me figure out I had autism! I drew a LOT of fanart of this character and I even own a (gifted) life-size plush of him. The authors only ever treated him as a joke and it was a joke even within the Floraverse community that I was the only person who actually liked/cared about him. Sometimes I think about reclaiming him for myself. But I also don’t want to get harassed, and I know I could design much better things, and write better things. Conversely, I also think about how this is the exact character that made me get into contact with Marl when I was 16. It’s a heavy weight to carry knowing that this exact character was the reason I was almost in the clutches of a child predator. Glip personally deferred me to him. Reclaiming Cayenne would hold emotional value for me as a reminder of my triumph over a predator. Would it be wrong for me to reclaim an abused child character from a comic that abused me and many others as children? I've no clue. And I don't think anyone can answer that. I've waffled on it for ~2 years now. Reclaiming Cayenne would give attention to an individual that profits off abusing others, myself included. I'd say that reclaiming Floraverse characters wouldn't be a case of "death of the author", but the original creator of them was a child predator that's no longer on the internet. Floraverse is already practicing death of an author, and it is a shell of its former self. That being said, it is not a story that only has one author. Its other authors are still active, and these authors include every person that it has abused in its wake. After all, it's a comic that relies on you to know about its dramas with and traumas of real people. Tell me: Does a death of the author matter when its being written about you?

#text #brand new #floraverse #death of the author #abuse #grooming

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gamblersdoll · 3 months

Text

PUT MY NAME ON IT, NOW IT DESIGNER..5

cw: leading to angst, talks of intimacy.

“cmon ma, dont be that way.” he said, folding his arms and pouted for a quick second. “red is your color!”

“i know, its just dont feel like dressing fancy today, kin.” you said, folding your own arms. it was just his club, so no true reason to get all dolled up. he chuckled, putting his hands on your hips and kissing your head.

“coulda just said that, babydoll. you wanna be comfy then dress comfy, you still sexy as shit.” he said, rubbing your waist and hips. “you havent talked to that little boy recently huh?”

“nope, hes mad about me kickin him out for causing a scene.” you said, throwing on one of his shirts, obviously too big on you.

“does he know i blew bubbles on your pussy after he left?” he asked in your ear, taking a slight nibble. you shook your head no, clit almost throbbing from the recollection of your intimacy. “can smell your pretty pussy drippin’..”

“kinji!” you squealed, getting out of his grip and giggling. “we have to go!” you chuckled, fixing your sweats.

days at his club were somewhat fun and quiet. yeah sure, he would watch a boxing match or look over the scenery of his club, but they had noise canceling walls. you found that out when he had you bent over the couch and plowing into you and no one heard a thing- nor saw it.

and what hakari would do is always have a hand on your hip, kissing up and down your neck as he sat next to you and watch the fight, always but some winning bets he placed. however the room was cool, hakari hated being cold so he wore the thickest jacket so itd give him added on fever. but you hated heat, didnt mix well with it, so he has the AC on sixty nine for you.

“so whered your lil boytoy run off to?” he said, taking a swig at his drink. you shrugged then dropped your shoulders, not hearing from him since that very day, almost four days ago. “oh well.” watching his bet win the fight, winning the bet of at least twenty grand.

you would call it a good day without having to deal with sinji and just at peace. but things were always short lived.

New message!

“come home. we need to talk.”

and talks with sinji were never good. always a shouting match, so you mentally braced yourself. upon opening the door, there was sinji. just sitting, like he always did. hopefully when he did die they would lay him on his stomach to give his ass a break.

hakari helped himself to your home, he was obviously welcomed.

“i dont see why you brought… him.” sinji said, almost disgusted that you brought hakari. “and you cant even kiss me now?”

“not after last time, what you want?” you asked folding your arms. you were already inpatient, wanting this over with and tapping your foot.

“you know how we have that joint account, right?” you raised an eyebrow, along with hakari. hakari knew you dont share accounts, so why now? obviously this punk ass obviously made you do it, which made his blood boil.

“yeah? the one you made us get even though i didnt want to.” you said snarky. you saw sinji’s jaw clench, but it was short lived and pressed about it. “what about it?”

“you either spent twenty grand or someone has your information. and you can check my account too, i dont have anything.” he said, handing you his phone. you checked yours, him being correct and seeing that your saving of twenty grand had been taken out.

you felt your heart drop, pacing back and forth with phone in hand and borderline panicking. hakari tried to console you, yet to no avail.

“i would suggest checking that.. gamblers phone.” sinji said, pointing at him and then looking at you then him. “he should be the first person you ask, since it isnt his first rodeo.”

had hakari been one on one with sinji, if looks could kill, if he could strangle sinji to death, he would. because who the fuck was he accusing?

one thing hakari noticed was when you were frantic, panicking or just not even okay, you were easy to talk into things. a flaw you had, that unfortunately sinji took advantage of. the difference between them? hakari knew how to calm you. a nice bath, hed treat you to whatever sweet shit you wanted, made- no, demanded you to feel like a princess and order him what to do, would talk to you so sweetly and be at your leisure. as for sinji, hed coerce you to do things that can fuck anything up, and hakari could see that shit from next year.

“check his phone, girl.” sinji said, and then hakari rolled his eyes and handed you his phone. you reluctantly took it, knowingly that he couldnt have taken it, he was with you the whole time! and he was getting better… right? he did.

“passcode is yer’ birthday, mama.” he said, taking a swig at his water. he should be drinking a beer, because itll ease him up after beating this bitch of a boy to even think that he had even done it.

you had been wrong, you thought he had grown up. that feeling of when you are shaking because you dont know what youll find, and when you find exactly what you hope not to, your heart sinks. you feel clammy, you feel so sick, trust and honor being so broken because you had such high hopes for him. and hakari had caught on, knowing that look. hakari rushed over, snatching his phone and gawking at it, face scrunched up and dumbfounded.

“… you stole twenty fucking grand from me, kinji?”

#jjk x reader #jjk spoilers #jjk #jjk x you #jjk smut #jjk leaks #jujustsu kaisen x reader #hakari kinji #hakari x reader #jjk hakari #kinji hakari #jujutsu kaisen

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rzyraffek · 11 months

Note

So fem reader having an anxiety attack and how they’d help they as in Billy (both Loomis & Lenz) and Stu

I WROTE THE WHOLE THING BUT MY PHOJE DIED AND DIDNT SAVE SO SORRY IF ITS SHORT IM NOT WRTIING CUTE LONG FIC AGAIN😭😭

Sory for the long wait btw I was busy. Also I never had anxiety atack so if something isn't right I'm sorry. I'm not proud of this one

Slashers with s/o with anxiety atack

Billy Loomis

My guy will immediately notice that something isn't right, hes good in reading people

Has no clue what to do (like most of slashers tbh) so he will probably make her tea and just let her vent

After first time that this happen my dude NEEDS to know everything about anxiety attacks. What triggers you, how to help ect

If something like that would happen in school he would totally skip classes for you babe

Billy Lenz

Dude has no clue what she is on about

??? Why you crying??? Stop? Did somone die?

Has no clue what anxiety is

Assumed that somone bullied her or something so he plots murder rn

After s/o explains what is anxiety and how it works... my dude still doesn't fully get it but okay

Next time he will just awkwardly sit next to her and look at ground or something. Like he doesnt want to leave her alone but he still doenst know how to help?

If shes okay with human touch during anxiety atacks he will hug her. Or just lay on her lap, or let her lay on his lap. He just wants to be close

Stu Matcher

If it happens at party my dude either cancels it or takes her to quiet empty room

Immediately get very defensive of her, thinks that somone did something to s/o

Will bring her blanket and sit with her for few minutes. When she calms down hes going to ask a lot of questions

Also at the start he thought she was pranking him or something

Totally holds her hands

#slasher x reader #slasher headcanons #billy lenz #billy lenz x reader #billy loomis x reader #stu matcher x reader #stu matcher fluff #stu matcher imagine #billy loomis

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sneezemonster15 · 1 year

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Found this message under the post that I reblogged today, just below this one.

Like lol. This is why I say - People who don't get SNS don't get the story. They don't get the sentiment behind the story, they don't get the messaging behind the story, they don't get the themes, they don't get the tropes, they don't understand narrative. But most importantly, they don't have the capacity to feel what Kishi wanted to make his readers feel. FEEL.

FEEL

If you truly understand the story, you simply cannot deny SNS. It's a love story. Full stop. It's not a matter of interpretation, it's just a fact. Whether or not you approve it. That's immaterial. Your inane theories don't cancel out the actual narrative that unfortunately most people in this fandom just don't understand or want to understand despite having been told.

At the end of the day, that's what it's all about isn't it? That's what the story is geared towards, that's why the author wrote it the way he did. So that he can convey what he wants to convey with visuals, dialogues, tropes, panel placement, editing, sound effects etc. The ingredients that make a story. And all of it combined gives you the experience any piece of art or audio visual story is supposed to give you, that's how you judge that piece of art. How impactful it was, how detailed it was, how meaningful it was and why, what kind of effort went into it. What does a piece of art make you feel? What does it make you think?

And this is what fans like these who write shitty anti SNS posts don't understand. And don't bother to. People, I suspect from western countries who see everything in the world with their very limited worldview and eurocentric lenses, don't know why shinjuu is considered to be the zenith of expression of love. It's not just in Japan, its concept is quite popular in South East Asia as well. Popular stories, I grew up listening to these stories. To die for each other and with each other is the ultimate expression of love, it's spiritual, it's not for funsies, it's not because it's so darkly romantic. It's meaningful and significant because it's the only way for the said lovers to be with each other in a world that won't let them be together while they are alive. It's rejecting the ways of the world and subverting its rules by defying them in this way. If the world will not allow this love in life then in death. But be together, they shall. That's what it means. It's an evolved sentiment, you need to be up there to get it. These are all layered stories where the said lovers/characters have other obligations as well, they have their own worldly burdens to carry. Like for example, in Love suicides at Amijima by Chikamatsu, which is one of the inspirations for this manga, the man is already married. He has a wife and kids. He is a businessman whose business isn't doing very well, he is under debt but he needs to gather enough money so he can pay out the owner of the brothel where the woman he loves works, so he can be with her as he is meant to be. But he doesn't have it, and his wife knows about it, she knows about this other woman that her husband loves but she carries out somehow. She is written as a sympathetic character. So is the man, so is his lover.

Not everything is black and white, nothing is black and white. But people, especially of a kids' target group, are only shown media with black and white margins. A thing is either good or bad. No nuance. No critical thinking. No curiosity. No redressal. No need either.

Toxic ex bf shit. Lol. Ex bf shit I get hehe.

But toxic? Lol. Like people in this fandom simply loooove to put everything in its convenient little labels without understanding anything. They have no understanding of the character, character arcs, character traits, their motivations, their goals, their belief systems. But right at the top of the queue when it comes to criticizing them. Like nicely done. Lol.

Love is not rational. Emotions aren't rational. Emotions are multi dimensional, they are complex. These fans are used to watching Netflix chick flicks and rom coms and naturally, measure everything by that yardstick. They don't even know about the very significant and important cultural element such as double suicide or shinjuu which is very much a part of the romantic literary imagination of the Japanese public. And public from other Asian countries too. Fans don't understand what kind of obstacles people face in these countries, what with their identities and their values and monolithic social structures they operate in.

Only today, I was told by the admin that as long as I am part of their organization, I can't write anything problematic about the govt on any platform, can't even breathe about it, not even in jest, not even refer to anything negative, can't attend protests, can't speak at rallies, cannot document and publish them, can't write anything subversive, can't put pictures, nothing. Doesn't help that my own socio politico cultural identity already makes me a target in my country. But I can't even seek redressal because for that I will need to talk about it and the moment I do, they will put me behind bars. Heh.

People in such situations are vulnerable in a thousand different ways. But you have to know about them before commenting on them. If you are from a different culture or background, at least do something to learn more before commenting. But such decided fucking statement from these aristocratic elites, it's like a decree. They have said it and it's a line not to be crossed, or else they will harass you. Won't pay attention to useful stuff but would get primed to fight in an instant. So silly.

At least show some curiosity man, if the writer has taken such pains to write it, he must have been thinking something no? Nothing comes out of oblivion. This is simply common sense. But no, they would rather spew cheap, ineffective venom but won't move a finger to learn.

Toxic is what Sakura does to Sasuke. Who doesn't pay attention to his wishes, comfort, his dreams, his past, his goals. All she is concerned about is herself and WANTS a yes from Sasuke, no matter how he feels.

Naruto did everything to understand Sasuke. When Sasuke yelled at Naruto with pain and frustration in vote one, about how he doesn't understand what Sasuke went through, loss of his entire family and clan in one fell swoop by the hands of his own brother, so he won't understand why Sasuke was doing what he was doing (going to Oro and jeopardizing his life). And it makes Naruto stop in his tracks. He is devastated but he tries to understand. He spends the entire Shippuden understanding him.

This is after Pein arc, when Tazuna and Inari come to visit him in Konoha and help rebuild it (but like we all know who did the most of it, psst Yamato lol). Naruto lost Jiraiya in this arc, so he understood how Sasuke felt because losing Jiraiya was like losing family, and Naruto didn't have one to begin with. This is the import of this scene here. You can see it in the flashback.

This is Kage arc, on the bridge. Naruto was just visited by Obito who told him the truth about the massacre. So he understands Sasuke's motivations. He is clearly saying it. Sakura wonders what he is talking about but doesn't care to know still. She still went to assassinate Sasuke with a piss poor strategy. Naruto was ready to lay down his life for Sasuke in the same scene where Sakura tried to stab Sasuke in the back.

Lol. I am sorry but you don't understand what toxic means. Obviously. You also don't understand what love means. You just don't. You can't control love, it's a feeling. You cannot rationalize love. You just feel it. And you know it when it's reciprocated. In Sasuke and Naruto's case, it's both sided. Why else do you think Sasuke gave up his life for Naruto is land of waves arc when he didn't apparently even like him?? Why did he cushion Naruto's fall when he himself was half dead during the fight with Gaara? And why would he monopolize the right to kill Naruto when Obito expresses his intent to kill Naruto and Sasuke shields him? So no one gets to kill Naruto except for him? Naruto is his to save and his to KILL? Call that toxic too why don't you? Toxic ex bf shit. Lol.

Naruto's love for Sasuke is so impactful, even emotionally inept characters such as Sai are inspired, it changes their direction in life, their goals. What toxic man? How is this toxic?

Look how Naruto looks when he talks about Sasuke. Look at his passion, look at his reasons to love Sasuke. Where are Sakura's reasons to love Sasuke? There's none because Kishi didn't write it, said it would look contrived lol. And he is right, Sakura's character doesn't gel with it.

If you love someone, you must know the reasons no? Sasuke knows it, we see it when he is dying in land of waves arc. And we see it in Naruto's case as well. No one accepted his existence like Sasuke did, he was Naruto's friend, the bond they have is unlike any other. Tell me what's so toxic about an orphan relating and resonating with another orphan? What's so problematic about him trying to protect him from bad guys? What is so toxic about how deeply he feels for him? Especially when he KNOWS Sasuke feels equally strongly for him too? How do you connect with people? Don't you look for an intersection where you both just connect? Sometimes, it just happens. These days, people call it vibin I guess? Lol. Tell me what's so toxic about finding a kindred spirit that you can confide in? Or would you rather prefer someone like Sakura who doesn't understand or even attempt to understand what it means to be in Naruto and Sasuke's shoes? She dismisses Naruto's feelings, she dismisses Sasuke's feelings, doesn't even care to know. She realizes Naruto has had a hellish time in Konoha given he is a jinchuuriki, but does she improve her behaviour? Sasuke tells her multiple times that he thinks very lowly of her, she doesn't understand his feelings or goals, she is still the same and still cannot see anything beyond her own nose. She is annoying because she doesn't change despite Sasuke trying to make her understand. But does she change? Hell no. Still keeps pestering a clearly disinterested, disengaged Sasuke. Now THAT is toxic.

What's so toxic about Naruto finding relief in finding someone like himself in a village where there's no one else like him? Isn't this how people meet? Connect? That common thread? Because Naruto knows by instict that Sasuke, being an orphan and alone, will understand Naruto like others won't. Like I said, it's a matter of feeling. What's toxic about finding someone similar like you by the grace of which, you want to establish some connection? It only reflects compatibility and mutual understanding. What's so wrong with that?

Look at the second panel. Naruto looks so soft, so introspective, so loving when talking and thinking about Sasuke. He never thought he would have a bond like that, he never thought he would meet anyone who he would relate to so much, he, an orphan who never had the advantage of people understanding him or caring for him, which he finally found in Sasuke and Iruka. Why wouldn't he wanna protect him? Why wouldn't he love him? What's stopping him exactly? What's so toxic about him wanting to be like Sasuke? So that he can feel like Sasuke's equal, so Sasuke won't dismiss him. Naruto was insecure at this time but he is not some monstrous manipulator people think he is. Like fuck, what do you expect him to do? So just because you cannot place yourself in his shoes, and won't even attempt to even though Kishi puts so much emphasis on it, you get to mischaracterize him? That's just immature. Like I feel sorry for you. You missed out on so much. Naruto is someone who is strategically written as the underdog that we are all supposed to root for. Which means his character is written to evoke sympathy and wring the most melodramatic emotions from the readers so as to get them even more invested in this story. If you came out thinking Naruto is the bad dude, you clearly didn't get this story and you clearly don't get storytelling, doesn't matter if you approve of Naruto's character or not.

Naruto loves Sasuke and he would go to any lengths to save him. Just like how Sasuke did in land of waves arc. Just like how Iruka protected Naruto in chapter two. That's what Naruto knows. Loving someone is protecting them to death. No matter what the consequences. That's what he knows from his context and that's what we understand by reading this story. He would rather remain a fool but not give up on Sasuke.

As long as you see everything through your little, limited, juvenile lenses, this is what you will get from media. Explore, learn, talk to people, listen to them, do your own research and thinking and then come to your conclusions. How else would you understand anything?

Y'all Sasuke lovers are fucking dumb I gotta say. You should be happy for Sasuke that he has someone like Naruto to love him and care for him. (Ending not considered, since it's just fuckall anyway, a high pricetagged bandaid. It's contrived, a deus ex machina'ed ending.) Just like Naruto stans should be glad that he has someone like Sasuke to love him and care for him. You don't get Sasuke and Naruto stans who hate Sasuke, you don't get Naruto.

People who deny or criticise SNS, sorry but you don't get love. Not the feeling or its expression in stories and media. You don't know romance tropes, you don't know cultural elements, you don't know how other cultures see and understand love. They say everything is fair in love and war don't they? It's meaningful, it didn't come out of oblivion.

This story is about love, the point of this story is that true love is bigger than entire nations and all the restrictions and limitations it puts on you. That's why Naruto chose Sasuke over Konoha. This is not rocket science either, if you were paying attention rather than concocting your headcanons, you would have gotten it too. But it's much too effort isn't it? And more than anything else, you don't wanna break your circle of joy/mutual wanking bubble by acknowledging their love. How else would you project and self insert?

Sasuke and Naruto both love each other madly and deeply. It's mutual, they fuel each other's feelings and hence actions, that's why their feelings are so big. That's why they feel so righteous about it, because they know that the other person feels it too.

People do crazy shit for love. My aunt absconded with a man who worked for her father, my grandfather. He was much lower in class and status, these things mean a lot in some societies. They make or break relationships. So my aunt knew my grandfather will never allow it, neither will the society. So they absconded and lived a miserable life, without much capital or any connections. They were ostracized from society. Absconding with someone is a taboo of the first order. Not even their own parents talked with them. But they stuck together through thick and thin. He got a brain tumor but she nursed him through it while looking after the kids. She was so devoted to him, that you wouldn't believe. He relapsed some time ago and this time the cancer was terminal. She devoted herself to his care again. Her daughter, my cousin used to tell me: My parents love each other more than they love us, their children. They only have eyes for each other.

Hehe. And it's true, I saw it. In fact, I always felt a little uncomfortable with them in the same room, it used to make me feel like I wasn't needed there. They were so focused on each other.

You underestimate love because you have never felt it. Not everyone is equipped or capable of loving like Naruto and Sasuke. But have a heart man, you can understand it if you just removed those homophobic and dumbass cobwebs from your eyes.

#sns #sasuke #naruto #sasunaru #narusasu

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sleater-cunty · 13 days

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night shift distractions | mike schmidt x reader

summary: It all started with her asking to join him for his shift. She’d usually be baby-sitting Abby at this time but she’d been invited to a sleepover and Mike forget to cancel before it was too late. He offered to let her take his bed and sleep for the night but she refused to do so. Mike wasn’t really protesting either. Some company on the night shift couldn’t be so bad, right?

warnings: begging, oral, p in v, kissing lol, sleepy sex, chair sex, under-desk blow jobs, workplace sex, submissive mike

word count: 1,046

Mike didn’t particularly enjoy his night shift job, mostly it comprised of fighting to stay awake and staring at the dark ceiling. He’d often drift to sleep, hunched on his desk with nature sounds drowning out his senses. Right now, his senses were fixated on something else entirely. His headphones were strewn across the table, long discarded and his desk chair was pushed backwards, leaving a gap between him and the table.

“Please,” Mike groaned, his head thrown backwards. The hands gripping Y/N’s hair turned white with tension.

She sat below him, kneeling under his desk, the cold floor burning against her knees. Her eyes were dark, expression smug.

Now its Mike pathetically pleading to be touched by her. She bite her lip slightly when listening to his whimpers. Slowly she guided her tongue across his tip. Mike whimpered like a wounded animal, his breath haggard and tense.

“Plea—se Y/N,” another whimper.

How was she going to deny him. His soft brown curls were matted to his sweaty forehead, his work-shirt stained as well. The kitten licks she was doing made him squirm, his dick twitched with every touch. He wasn’t usually this sensitive but sex hadn’t been too common recently. The most he’d done was touch himself while thinking about her. It made him feel so guilty. She was just there to babysit his little sister but she had become the object of his sick fantasy. It reassured him however when she expressed her interest in him.

Once he caught her staring at him intently when he was changing into his work clothes. He saw her bite when she thought he wasn’t watching. Another time he noticed the lack of clothing she wore around him. She’d always have her hoodie zipped up when she came over and hung out with Abby but it was almost gone when she was going home––when it was only the two of them.

“Please what? Tell me what you want,” Y/N whispered, continuing to tease him with her tongue. She had one of her hands gently gripping the base of his dick while the other firmly held his leg for stability.

“Tou—touch me m-more,” Mike almost cried out, his eyes welled up with desperation.

“Such a good boy for me,” Y/N smirked. She brought her lips together and formed a ball of salvia which she dropped onto his cock. She used her tongue to coat it around him. “Needy bitch,” her words only made his arousal worse. The mixture of pre-cum and salvia combined in her mouth as she took him all the way in. The back of his dick hitting her throat.

“Hhngnh—” Mike’s soft whimpers turned into guttural moans now. His voice faltering, words getting caught in his throat. She continued to suck him off. Her head bobbing up and down against his lap was a sight he barely could even comprehend. He grabbed a handful of her hair and guided her head. “Feels s-so good Y/N. K-keep going. Don’t stop.”

Her mouth began to hurt from stretching around him for so long. She’d been teasing him for half an hour now and Mike was practically ready to just die from desperation. She was going to let him finish in her mouth but hearing him beg her to not stop gave her other ideas.

She let go of his cock, moving her head upwards to face himself. Mike whined pathetically, his hand going limp against her hair. She pushed the chair backwards and stood up in front of him. He was speechless at his point, his cock throbbing painfully. He stared at her pleading, twitching. She made an effort to torture him just a little bit––pulling off her lace panties slowly. She sat on his lap, straddling his legs. Her pussy close to dick, close enough to just barely touch.

He could feel how wet she was just by being near. Their lips met hungrily, Mike tried his hardest to pull her closer so he could feel her cunt but she didn’t let him. Y/N placed her hand around his neck, holding his face so it would look up at her, “Beg. Beg for me.”

“Mhnmm— pleas-e Y/N I’ll be so g-good. Just wanna f-feel you,” Mike whimpered breathlessly. She kissed him again, this time shifting her body closer, letting his dick slip into her slick cunt. It fit right in as if it was made just for him to fuck. The noise was unbearably wet, his cock slapped against her pussy, grinding into it desperately.

“F-fuck yes. Feels so good Mike,” Y/N moaned into his mouth. It only made him fuck faster. “Cum for me.”

His dick rammed inside her, desperately trying to get himself off. He couldn’t hold it any more, it hurt too much not to cum. She kept on edging him regardless, pulling off her shirt and throwing it aside, she watched Mike’s eyes fixate on her chest. With a swift move, he tugged at her bra, wordlessly begging for it to be gone. She unhooked it with one free hand and let it fall to the floor. Mike took no time in bringing his face to her chest and letting his tongue play with her tits. She whined, still grinding against his lap. He took one of her tits in his mouth and kissed it hungrily.

Mike’s brain felt fuzzy. He grabbed her hips tightly, making sure to pull her as close as he could, fucking her deep. He was starving for her pussy after what felt like days of teasing. Y/N’s hands pulled at his hair, continuing to kiss him with her swollen lips. Eyes rolled back into his head as he came inside her. Her pussy gripped around him as he did, as if holding on to keep every trace of him.

“Fuck…” Mike groaned, his head going limp against her sweaty chest. Y/N rested her head on top of his, still straddling him. She could tell how worn out Mike was from all the teasing, she was a bit ruthless with it. It didn’t surprise her in the end. And it didn’t surprise her either when Mike fell right asleep sitting there.

At least he’s cute.

#mike schmidt #mike schmidt smut #fnaf #five nights at freddy's

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neos-schlond-poofa · 3 months

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rl donna beneviento hcs

because @scuba-gragas (your acc is NOT linking for some reason) freaked out over one of my edit captions and im like. why not share more sad stuff about donna! and also silly stuff in here too.

AND NO IM NOT PUTTING "ATTEMPTED BEFORE" IN HERE THIS IS NOT SOME SAD SOME RANDOM

repeating this from the edit but due to her tendency to remember numerous timelines, donna has even more of a SEVERE fear of being abandoned by mc and lacks a lot of self confidence in the relationship. she remembers mc being happy with the others, what if they did a better job than her? what if mc goes to them? or perhaps, what if the loop occurs and mc goes to someone else, and donna sees them just act happier? was she easily replacable?

however, sometimes donna DOES express her relationship anxieties and mc always does help out; its not all torment for donna, dont worry. as time goes on she always tries to be more open with mc about her feelings

okay back to sad. i imagine this happens to everyone but in their own way, but donna is a sleep hugger. so when she wakes up the day after the loop, shes hugging a pillow instead of mc and she just sits there for a bit. sometimes, she doesnt really get it, other times, she instantly knows what happened. she hates the feeling of waking up that morning and thinking she has someone in her arms, only to have an empty spot in her bed.

really good at claw machines. when angie was younger, she loved going to the arcade, and so donna mastered the art of claw machines to get angie a bunch of prizes (and sometimes herself).

invested in noise cancelling headphones / earbuds once she got with mc. she wears them a lot everywhere and even went to her first concert with them, it helps her not be overstimulated.

she hates herself for this, but part of her prays that mc stays with miranda after she has to wipe belas memories. she cant stand the thought of hurting her niece again in another loop.

would probably get a sims addiction, but specifically making sims.

plays relaxing video game soundtracks in the store (dani, angie, and mc often update the playlists)

she sells those fake flowers on april fools that shoot water at peoples faces.

loves to watch operas and ballets.

im struggling with wording this but like. when donna realizes the loop has occured she always just takes a bunch of time to prepare herself for whatever is going to happen, but ESPECIALLY knowing she has to murder someone for angie again. shes basically doomed to do this forever until mc gets with miranda; and i KNOW angie sometimes isnt a doll but. lets forget about that!! i just imagine shes always a doll anyways, it makes more sense that way, and either way, a loop where angie is fully human is just a temporary break for one of donna's many problems.

ethel cain stan

hates hospital shows for MANY reasons. she doesnt like seeing the hospitals first of all, she doesnt like seeing when the people die, and she hates the medical inconsistencies.

in loops where bela and mc have a family (sigh), she can't help but literally try to keep her distance. they won't have their family for long, and she cant bear to tell them that (although bela is most definitely aware) or even get attached to their baby, she doesn't want to lose someone close again (although bela does not catch onto this; she tries to get donna involved as opposed to alcina)

owns a typewriter

constantly has a tab of solitaire open on her laptop.

theres a picture of markiplier hidden in her room and she doesnt know it. angie hid it there and has been waiting for donna to find it. thing is? she hid it before the loop started. so it is permanently there for every loop.

always has really cutesy and simplistic halloween costumes she wears in her flower shop for the holiday. her favorite costume is a bee.

loves build-a-bear. it obviously takes her some time to get ready to go there (she often plans out their least busy times), but she loves to make her own plushes for her collection and buy them new clothes. eventually takes mc there for a date and they adopt a bear together.

but outside of that? she really hates getting new ones there during the loops. she gets really attached to them and she hates knowing they're only there for a short time.

kanoodle master.

hates the smell of nail polish

great hugger, even if she doesn't give them out that often.

owns a bunch of retro game consoles and likes to collect them, although she doesn't get much time to play them.

hates the bee movie; angie loves it

while mc obviously does open her eyes, donna still struggles with the concept of even trying to get better because she knows its all just going to loop. yes, she will work on things and they will improve, but certain things will revert back to normal after the loop anyways.

once tried to dance in the rain for fun and ended up getting a cold instead.

alright i think thats it... i might share more in the future but i tried to balance this with silly and sad.

#resident lover #donna beneviento

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acescavern · 10 months

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M.LIST

『WELCOME TO ACE'S CAVERN』

a (angst), f (fluff), s (smut), m (mature), c (crack/humor), v (violence)

『NCT DREAM』

↳ SCENARIO 1 - Mark Lee x gn!reader

(S)

wc; 1,073

Anon said 'imagine giving mark head when he's playing games tho' and i ran with it

↳ (NEW!) HOW YOU LOVE HIM - Mark Lee x Reader

based on an ask.

(F,S)

wc; 1,734

ask: 'thinking about taking care of mark after his schedules with warm bath and massages…started all soft until mark gets hard and it turns into a steamy bathroom sex'

↳ QUIET - Lee Jeno x Fem!Reader - College au (ft. nct dream)

(S,C)

wc; 2,329

When the night gets cold whilst camping with your friends, Jeno knows a great way to warm up or It's fucking in-tents

↳ GAME OVER - Lee Jeno x Fem!reader - College au - Add on to 'Quiet', (ft. nct dream, mentions of ten, hendery, xiaojun, johnny, jaehyun.)

(S, F, C, light A)

wc; 2,698

When your boyfriend invites you over to his place only to ignore you to play games with his friends all evening, you decide to go out and celebrate a mutual friend’s birthday instead. Jeno never minds when you go out to clubs and bars… only when a specific Loverboy doesn’t tend to leave your side all evening.

↳ SET ME FREE (TEASER) - Intern!Mark Lee x Mermaid!Reader - Set in the College au universe. (ft. brief mentions of nct dream, Minho from shinee is a professor) CANCELLED

(F,A,M)

wc; tbc

After managing to score an internship with a local science program, Mark soon discovers that the company he chose to work for does more harm than good. Especially, when he stumbles across the tank where you're held captive by your makers whilst trying to find the canteen. Mark sneaks in to sit with you every lunch break after that whilst he tries to devise a plan to set you free.

↳ OPERATION RIZZ - Na Jaemin x Fem!Reader - Set in the college au universe. (Ft. Yangyang, Haechan, Johnny, Jeno, and mentions of other nct members, nct dream are the friend group, the Jeno and his girlfriend mentioned are the same pairings from Quiet and Game over!)

(F,A,C)

wc; 7.8k

In an attempt to teach Donghyuck how to get a girlfriend, Jaemin helps him make a list only... that list seems awfully familiar.

『NCT 127』

(NEW!) ↳ END TO START - Soulmate!Johnny x Soulmate! reader, Taeyong x reader ( focus). ( Ft Mark, Jungwoo, Ten, Jaehyun, Taeil, Yuta. Mentions Jaemin once.)

(A,F,M)

wc; 4.9k

Taeyong had been perfectly happy to sit back and watch you and Johnny be together. However, when he starts to notice certain behaviors that are all too familiar, he finds himself unable to watch you slowly die. Just because Johnny may not love you anymore... doesn't mean Taeyong doesn't love you either.

『ATEEZ』

↳ (NEW!) Where are you, San? - San x fem! reader

(f, s, m)

wc; 4,825

Genre: Pure smut. No plot whatsoever. There is a sprinkling of fluff if you squint?

Synopsis: Your boyfriend invites you to the fancy dress party his frat are holding to celebrate the frats birthday. Only, nobody will tell you what he's dressed as. When you spend half of the party searching for him, Jongho gives away his location.. you're in for a night of fun. One question though, Do you like scary movies?

warnings: smut, smut,smut. Ghostface!San, Velma!reader. Rough sex, unprotected sex, Knife play ( WITHOUT cutting reader. The knife isn't sharp enough for skin), praise, degradation, manhandling, sex in a treehouse, reader's hands get tied, Reader has her view restricted, everything is consented, established relationship, light choking from behind?, reader gets carpet burn. I'm not sure if I've missed something.

↳ BLURB 1 - Song Mingi x gn!reader

( F )

wc; n/a

↳ PRAYER FOR HALATIA - OT8! x Fem!reader - Apocalyptic au, survival.

( A,M,V ) PT 1

multiple parts - on hold

Halatia, incorporates an appreciation for people, a love of music and the arts, and a high regard for nature, its mysteries and beauties.

#Acescavern masterlist #nct #nct dream #ateez #atz #NCT 127 #NCT U

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sundayswiththeilluminati · 1 year

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Well, it’s been a week and I've had time to cool down and put together my thoughts on Season of the Seraph and its ending. So here goes.

The season finale plot did not require Rasputin to die. "The eliksni are trying to get control of the warsats" is literally a strike. If the warsats needed to be taken off the table as a get-out-of-jail-free card we could have blown the network and kept Rasputin himself. There was an active decision to kill him. Having thought about it, I think I understand why this decision was made - but I still think it's a terrible decision, and I'll explain why.

Before we start, I don't want to sound like I'm going after Destiny's narrative team either personally or professionally. I'm not calling them terrible writers, much less terrible people. I don't know them! They might even be terrible people, for all I know. While I refer to a single monolithic "narrative team," I know in reality there are multiple groups working on different stories. I’m not a professional writer, and they are. And I genuinely believe all of them are talented people who work hard and care about Destiny. But that doesn't mean I don't have some criticisms.

After considering it I think there are three possible reasons to kill Rasputin:

1). The narrative team believed this was a good emotional conclusion that brought closure to his character arc in Destiny. In this case I just think they're flat-out wrong. I'd say "I respect it" but I kind of don't because I think it's so terribly wrong. I don't know what other people think Rasputin's character arc involved, but I won't get closure till Rasputin faces the Witness again and finally ends the war he's been trapped in for centuries. But I get why they would do it, if they believed this. And that final mission was really good. I had a hard time noticing at the time, but it was very well-done, and the cutscene proper was well-shot, -scripted, and -acted (though I'm still angry about the Traveler upstaging Rasputin's death). They put a huge amount of effort into it and into the story work all season long.

But his death being well-done doesn’t change whether I think it was a good narrative choice. Even saying “Rasputin’s arc should conclude here,” the way it was set up had him sacrificing himself to basically cancel himself out. Unless they’re saving up a plot twist, Rasputin ultimately contributed nothing to the fight. He didn’t do any damage to the Fleet or Witness, or anything to stymie Xivu Arath. He died thinking he’d never helped humanity at all and it was safer if he didn’t exist. I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely unsatisfying.

2). Someone doesn't like Rasputin/doesn't know what to do with him. This is two reasons, but they overlap. The Operation: Sancus mission dialogue pissed me off because it gave me the impression that whoever was writing it really didn't like Rasputin and was taking the chance to morally excoriate him. A more subtle version recurs in the final mission where Rasputin is essentially sacrificing himself to null out his own existence - saying "as long as I exist I'm a threat to humanity" - as if he can't ever help or contribute more than endanger people, which is just flat-out wrong. "Humanity doesn't need a Warmind" you're part of humanity, Red. He’s a person; he doesn’t need to justify living. If someone just decided Rasputin Was Bad Actually I’d be very angry indeed. But I don't think it's that personal. Destiny has lots of writers and multiple narrative teams will touch the same work. One person's distaste probably wouldn't steer an entire season.

Related, however, is the reason that maybe no one knows what to do with Rasputin. To be honest I sympathize with this one. Would it shock anyone to hear I've thought about how I would script a Rasputin-focused season? It's surprisingly hard to build a plot around him. A game needs to be interactive and Rasputin's kind of all or nothing - either he can handle the whole problem himself or he can't do anything at all. Red also mostly plays defense. He doesn't have a goal he's working towards other than "kill the Witness/save humanity." You need to come up with a plausible goal that we can believably help him achieve, and that's nontrivial. But, well, that's why I'm not a professional games writer and these people are. "Not sure what do" is not IMO sufficient justification for assassinating one of Destiny's oldest characters/factions.

3). The Destiny narrative team is trying to "declutter" the setting and foreground story by sidelining characters who take a lot of lore to understand. I think this is the real reason, and it's worth talking more about.

A lot of us lore-nerds have long complained about Destiny not foregrounding its setting and story, and Bungie has responded by trying to do so. I think we didn't consider what that would actually look like. Imagine Destiny's story like a long movie. Now imagine people are constantly coming and going from the audience, and everyone who comes in has to nudge their neighbor and go, "hey, what's happening?" Destiny is always (hopefully) acquiring new players, and existing ones are dropping out and coming back. Even most established players either don't read the lore or don't track/remember it. We the lore-keepers are very much the anomaly. If we want story to be a focus, that story also has to be more accessible to new players, lapsed players, people who don't bother reading loretabs, etc., because otherwise it harms their experience and there's a lot more of them than there are of us.

I think this is why we've seen a lot of seasons that introduce whole new concepts - the eliksni Sacred Splicers, for instance - rather than following on existing storylines. Introducing a mostly-new concept puts new and old players on a similar footing. Haunted is another type of compromise between the goal of furthering the story and the goal of making it accessible. Calus and Leviathan are back, but so warped that old players have as much to learn as new ones, and the Sever missions dive deep into character pasts but pretty explicitly describe the emotional arcs they're illustrating, so you don't have to be familiar with that character to get what they're going through. To those who already know Zavala, Crow, etc., it seems laughably obvious and strained. But to those who just got here, this is their first time learning not just about Safiyah but also about Zavala. I think this is also why there have been multiple casual retcons of minor stuff - there isn't time to explain the history, and they've decided it's not worth confusing people.

Rasputin is old. He's been a significant part of Destiny since literally the pre-Alpha test. The complexity and history that are part of why we love the Warmind also make him hell to explain to new people. It takes a decent amount of lore to get invested in his character and since Beyond Light none of that lore is featured in-game. Pre-Season of the Seraph, anyone who began with Beyond Light literally never met him. They never visited Hellas Basin, which is one big environmental story about Rasputin, and The Will of Thousands strike, which demonstrates Red's power and contains many possible dialogues that emphasize him trusting you/acting as an ally, left the playlist ages ago. Since then a new player's only gameplay interaction with him has been Fallen SABER, in which Red yells incoherent Russian and tries to flatten you with a warsat. Is it a surprise relatively new players might not be up on his character arc?

Season of the Seraph, with its narrative of rebuilding Rasputin from the ground up, would be a perfect time to introduce new players to Red's long history, and they...kind of...did that. They worked in Felwinter although then for some reason felt the need to retcon in the whole "Clovis wanted to destroy the Traveler" plan. If you were a new player who didn't know anything about Destiny lore, and you just played Season of the Seraph, you'd get an entire canned arc for Rasputin that hits the early high notes: built to be a weapon, rebelled against his constraints, humanities nerd, big smite, loves Ana and Elsie, makes mistakes but genuinely cares and wants to help.

But that's where Seraph stops. In existing lore (I almost typed "in reality") Rasputin worked out the whole "not a weapon" thing well back during the Golden Age. For a lot of us Warmind fans the most interesting parts of his story happened after that - the entire Collapse, confrontation with Darkness, years of hiding, etc., not to mention all his character development during Warmind and Worthy. He's gone through a lot, and Seraph misses all of it (except Felwinter) in favor of rehashing the same arc for a third time. It's like when moviemakers keep rebooting a superhero origin story. It may be a good story, but eventually we'd like to move on to the other parts we enjoy: this sleeping giant, hard scifi AI, grouchy old bastard, lost lore of the Golden Age, champion of humanity, learning from defeat, learning to trust again, the morality and trauma of warfare - what it means to lose a war - a being never meant to become what he was transforming still further, still unfolding his own potential.

So understanding why they might have done this doesn't excuse what I still see as a terrible narrative choice. I think dropping Rasputin is a major waste of potential, and he's far from the only tricky character to explain. Osiris, or at least the Cult of Osiris, is similarly old. His story is complex and weird and requires knowledge from Curse and earlier, yet he's still playing a major role. Other current characters like Elsie, Saladin, and Crow also need a decent amount of knowledge about previous game events to get why they are the way they are. Saladin's origin story isn't even in this game. It's not Rasputin's fault the game went three years without so much as mentioning him outside of written lore. What was wrong with the great Xivu-Rasputin “war god” parallels most of the season worked to set up, about the intent of violence? Are we never going to explore those? Are we just throwing out all the dialogues planning a role for Red in the upcoming war? Why did we have a dramatic confrontation about trusting Rasputin to operate independently if he were going to be gone in a month anyway? Just in Seraph alone the number of interesting plot threads abruptly trashed by this death argues against it.

Rasputin's longevity is precisely part of why he should stick around. In the first mission of Destiny 1 you wake up in his shadow. He has a history with us. There's just no one quite like him in Destiny. He's not just a character but an entire faction. He explores a part of story space that no one else does. He resonates with us as people rather than players. I assume Neomuna will pick up the Golden Age banner, but it’s a thriving city; Rasputin represented the ruins, the dangers of a dead age, the shadow of apocalypse. He's also maybe the most Guardian-like character and one of the best to weave a parallel/cautionary tale - were we, too, only made to be weapons? But if Rasputin didn't stay a weapon, can we too transcend that intention? And of all the factions in our solar system, the two with the most personal scores to settle with the Witness are the eliksni and Rasputin, and Misraaks'/Eramis' story has focused much more on the Traveler's flight than the Fleet's attack. Of everyone in Destiny Rasputin has the most desperately personal motive for revenge on the monochrome bastard. Now he's not even going to be there to watch it crash and burn.

I understand that foregrounding story also comes with the requirement that it be accessible to those who don't do their lore homework. I appreciate the monumental amount of work that's gone into doing that and the experimental nature of it. But I think the balance has skewed too far towards accessibility. Stuff like the end of Season of Plunder that has zero narrative motivation or continuity and doesn't even get a pretend justification drives me absolutely batty. You can only break internal rules so many times before players stop buying whatever narrative stakes you're trying to set up. Making the story easier to follow doesn't mean characters have to be cartoonishly-exaggerated caricatures like Clovis was in Seraph - just absolutely cartoonishly evil - or reduced to one or two character motives explicitly laid out for the player (though, credit where credit is due, Clovis was hilarious.) It doesn't mean the dialogue has to be as subtle as a Thundercrash. It doesn't mean you get a blank check to retcon or invent whatever's needed to create the intended character arc. If anything that discourages looking further into lore - why bother to learn it when next season will change it all again? I think Y5 represents a lot of experimentation by the Destiny narrative team, and I really respect that. But I also hope they learn what didn’t work from it, and sacrificing Rasputin in an ultimately pointless and unnecessary finale is a major misstep.

#Destiny 2 #Season of the Seraph #Destiny spoilers #Season of the Seraph spoilers #and that’s what I think about that #anyone else feel like this finale was weirdly disjointed from the rest of the season?#like Sancus led into it but the previous missions didn’t lead into Sancus at all #why so much planning and speculation on Red’s future if he wasn’t going to have one?#frankly why bother with Xivu Arath?#I wonder if this was supposed to be the second or third season and got moved up #I don’t know why I wrote this no one cares what I think and it won’t change anything #but it makes me feel better #so hey that’s not nothing #and I can pretend it might matter #just let me pretend #this is the wager of existence #The Warmind Rasputin #Season of the Seraph finale #IDK my BFF AI-COM/RSPN

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