#on the bright side i don't think i'm giving them any money this time around bc .. they didn't give me the last person i wanted lmao

[mu1tiverse-arch]

i'm the only one complaining abt this but the fact that each member of a sw trio has a f.ortnite skin except p.oe d.ameron just makes me really bummed

[mcflymemes]

THE MUMMY (1999) PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the film, adjust as necessary

looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!

by the way... why did you kiss me?

it seemed like a good idea at the time.

that's called stealing, you know.

is it dangerous?

stop it! you'll kill them!

get me a glass of bourbon.

this just keeps getting better and better.

this door doesn't open.

who opened that chest?

i only want four!

the map! i forgot the map!

i think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. i don't like him one bit.

i guess we go home empty-handed... again.

look what i got.

i think you found something.

what exactly is this man in prison for?

you just got promoted.

you're with me on this one, right?

keep him busy.

we are in serious trouble.

this creature is the bringer of death.

you must not read from the book!

where are they taking him?

there's only one person i know that can possibly give us any answers.

can you look me in the eye and guarantee me that this isn't all some kind of flimflam?

i'm a very lonely man.

look at my library!

you're gonna get yours, [name]!

never did like camels.

what do you suppose killed him?

time to go.

take my hand, and i will spare your friends.

will you look at that?

do they know something we don't?

i need a new job.

have you no respect for the dead?

i've dreamt about this since i was a little girl.

you dream about dead guys?

patience is a virtue.

any last requests?

loosen the knot and let me go.

i don't think we need to know this.

ooh... that's gotta hurt.

you... i just don't get.

you probably won't live through it.

everybody else we've bumped into has died. why not you?

you're wondering... what is a place like me doing in a girl like this?

yeah, i was there.

can you swim?

of course we don't let him go!

you'll be dead when they do this.

i think i'll kill you.

think of my children.

i only gamble with my life, never my money.

i may not be an explorer or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker or a gunfighter, but i am proud of what i am.

give me frogs! flies! locusts! anything but you!

compared to you, the other plagues were a joy.

i am so very sorry. it was an accident.

you are a catastrophe.

oh my god, i hate it when these things do that.

is he supposed to look like that?

of course i can swim, if the occasion calls for it.

now, because of you, we have failed.

you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?

what did you say?

i don't want to tell you.

let me get this straight.

you don't have any children.

you lied to me.

i lie to everybody.

what makes you so special?

sorry. didn't mean to scare you.

the only thing that scares me are your manners.

have you got any bright ideas?

i'm thinking. i'm thinking!

you'd better think of something fast.

what are we going to do?

wait here! i'll go get help!

i thought you said you didn't believe in all this fairy tales and hokum stuff.

forget it! we're out the door, we're down the hall, and we're gone!

i told you not to play around with that thing.

you heard the man. no mortal weeapons can kill this guy.

listen! we've got to do something!

is that my problem?

i appreciate you saving my life and all, but when i signed on, i agreed to take you out there and bring you back. end of job, end of story, contract terminated.

that's all i am to you? a contract?

you can either tag along with me or stay here and try to save the world.

do something!

you know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance.

what's the challenge then?

rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, and save the world.

death is only the beginning.

why are you going back?

i'm going downstairs to get me a drink. you want something?

[the-faceless-bride]

In need of 'Correction'...

Summary -> You were working for the other side, and while trying to plant bugs to gather information you end up getting caught, and while you thought you would end up dead... It somehow leads to something else... It seems the ones who caught you deem you in need of correction... A sweet doe-eyed thing like you wouldn't have done something like this on your own, you've clearly been manipulated... Don't worry, they'll help you.

⚠️warnings: porn w/ little to no plot, Non-con/Dub-con, forced orgasms, squirting, double penetration, anal (reader receiving), manipulation, mind break (?), yandere behavior (if you squint), ooc task force 141, I tried my best to keep reader GN! Read is called Pretty and has a vigina, reader is smaller than tf 141, readers codename is "Bandit", smut, slapping, being held against will, forced kissing, forced touching, forced oral (giving and receiving), interrogation, threats, dark content, violence against reader, might make a part 2 if you really like it, let me know if I missed anything!!!⚠️

Characters include: John Price, Johnny Soap, Simon Ghost, Kyle Gaz, Alejandro

A/n: I'm not the best at writing in Spanish, correct me if I write something wrong or incorrect, also I've been gone for a while so I'm a little rusty, please forgive me if it's shitty, ESPECIALLY the smut. If you have any tips I appreciate it, likes and reblogs are welcome!

You woke up with a throbbing in your head, your vision slightly blurred and your skin felt gross with the amount of dried blood that had been caked onto your face under your mask. You looked around, you were tied to a wooden chair and pushed into a small table, a single bright light illuminating the small room. an investigation room?.where were you? You don't remember much but you do remember being sent to plant bugs where the information is sent and getting information on some files...

You held onto the rafters crawling across as quickly and quietly as you could. Trying to reach the vents to crawl through and get right into the main office, you needed to plant a few bugs to get important information about some files and documents.

When you got into the vents you crawled around for a while trying to remember the layout you saw on the map. But you stopped when you heard voices. "-not sure, but whoever they are, they're smart. We gotta find them. They could be useful." another voice. "Maybe they can be persuaded to join our side? Money?" another voice. "tsk- shouldn't give money to a waste of air. How the hell sells out for money?! A disgrace if you ask me." they were talking about you. they wanted to get you on their side? Why? What for? Information? Skill? Or- oh shit.

The vent creaked.

All hell broke loose. Everyone in that room from what you heard got up and scattered to block off your only exits. You had to move fast.

You thought for a moment and chose to take the long way. You kicked open the grate beneath you and drop to the floor below. You ran out of the room. Taking turns. Trying to remember the way out.

Left.

Right.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Then your luck ran out and you slammed into someone's chest. You might know all their names, but you would be an idiot to not know him.

Ghost.

Then after a moment, he held you tightly the mask over your face becoming suffocating. And your vision began to blur.

He let you go and your head hit the wall, and you finally blacked out.

You didn't have more time to think before the door slammed open and a group of men walked through. They were all eyeing you. A dark hunger in their eyes.

One takes a step forward. You assume he is Captain Price. You try not to flinch as he rips the mask from your head. You still flinched. Some parts of your hair stick to your face. You fight the urge to try and wipe it off. Not wanting to risk taking your eyes off of the group of men that stood in front of you.

"hm-" a man huffed looking at you "When I pictured you, I didn't think you'd be so... Pretty?" a man with a Scottish accent thought out loud, the man next to him chuckled. "Soap, Gaz. Please. Keep it in your pants... For now." Ghost sighed.

Soap. And Gaz. That was their names...

You looked back to Price, he pouts in mock sympathy. Before pulling over a chai and sitting across from you.

"what's your name." he wasn't asking. He was giving you a command. His voice was deep and dripped with authority. In other circumstances, you would've felt flustered. But at this moment you were just scared. You weren't an idiot. These men were all bigger than you. You were a good fighter. But you knew if you tried to fight you would lose. And you didn't want to die here.

You looked up, making eye contact with Price. "I... I'm Bandit." you tried to hold eye contact but it was difficult. It felt like he was looking into the depths of your soul. You looked at your feet. Only to jump when his hand slammed on the table.

A faint, "aw" could be heard. You felt pathetic. "well. Bandit. You don't seem cut out for this kind of work. Too soft. Too jumpy. I don't wanna have to hurt that pretty face. So why don't you just tell me what you know? Confirm who you work for, and why you are on their side. And I might think about letting you go without a scare on you."

You look from him to the men behind him, back to your feet. You couldn't tell them anything. Even if they let you go after this you'll be tracked down. From where you sit. Both end in death. You didn't know these men well. But you knew the men you worked with. They were cruel, and unforgiving, and would skin you alive and leave you for the rats to pick at. You chose to take your chances with these men.

"oh? No longer interested in talking? Fine. But you asked for it. Alejandro. If you wouldn't mind?" Price stood from his chair. And the man Alejandro walked towards you. Your heart rate picked up.

You didn't get a moment to think as a hard smack was sent to the side of your face, fuck did it hurt. You tried to hold in the tears as a whimper escaped you. Blow after blow to your ribs, cheek, legs, and hands. All dealt with the same amount of unforgiving force. Ten minutes in you were a whimpering tear-stained mess. Small gasps of "stop." and "please." you were never cut out for this pain. You had always stayed in the shadows away from the fire. Now you curse yourself for not training your body and pain tolerance.

The strikes stopped and the man named Gaz took a step forward, his hand coming up to your face and you flinch away. He coos at you. Mocking you.

"you poor thing. You just want this to stop." you lightly nod your head as he takes a rag that he dipped in a bucket of freezing water - was that bucket always there? - he softly runs the rag over your face cleaning you of the blood and sweat. Using a hand to move hair from your face. The softness makes you mean into his touch. No longer wanting the painful touch.

"If you want this to stop, all you have to do is tell us what you know. What they know and why. Okay?" your lip trembles, "I can't." you whisper. "It was just meant to be a quick cash grab. I needed to help pay off a debt and this money was meant to help. If I tell you I either end up dead or tracked down and beaten to death later." Gaz looks into your eyes for a moment before they shift to the other men. They all seem to nod their heads, having a secret conversation with themselves. "we can protect you. As long as you work for us instead."

"b-but I don't know anything important about the people who hired me. I-" he and the rest of the men let out low chuckles, "no, we don't mean that kind of work. Just, allow us to show you how you've been wrong and do some... Physical work for us."

"physical work? But I'm not as strong as you guys and I don't have that much pain tolerance when it comes to this stuff and-" you were cut off, "don't worry, you'll get more of a tolerance and you being weaker is just how we like it." you were so focused on trying to put the pieces together to notice the rest of the men closing in on you, "I can see in your pretty eyes that your confused, allow as to make it nice and easy for you to understand."

The ropes around your hands and legs were snapped and you were lifted onto the table. Soap and Alejandro held down your legs, as Ghost and Price help your arms, Gaz worked on unbuckling your belt. After a moment of shock, the pieces finally fell into their place.

You began to struggle. "wait! I- you can't! Let go! Let me go!" Alejandro laughs at your cries, "More vocal now, aren't you pequeña? Just enjoy it. It's better than the pain before isn't it?"

Your pants are now around your knees, you wish you could close your legs or cover them but you can't. "don't worry love, I'll be nice. I'll prepare you a little." Gaz smiles at you as he lowers his head. Pressing a kiss to your clit before taking a long and slow lick up your cunt. "no please!" you struggle to keep yourself composed.

He kisses and sucks lightly on your clit, coaxing more sweet slick to drip from you. You don't wanna like it. You've never felt such pleasure in this way before. You didn't have sex a lot with your job but when you did it was rushed and didn't focus solely on you. But at this moment that was the only thing happening.

You felt him push a finger in, searching for that sweet spot that would make you cry out. And after a moment a gasp from you told Gaz that he had found it. He then pushed in another finger, both pushing against that spongy spot within you, sucking your clit at the same time. Your back arches. Stop it! You don't want this. You don't want to like this. This was wrong. Gross. So why did your body respond so willingly to him?

"she's fighting it." Ghost groans out. Clearly enjoying your sounds of struggle and strangled whimpers.

"awe, com'on hen. Let go. Enjoy it."

You gasp as you feel the knot start to tighten more and more. Don't. Don't you dare. If you do they'll win! You can't! Don't!-

You gasp. you feel a gush of liquid as the knot pulls tight and snaps. You look up, your vision around you blurring as you look into the one light above you. After a beat, you look down between your legs. Gaz's lips, chin, and even his nose were covered in your slick. You felt your face go warm with embarrassment, you had never done that before.

"oh fuck yeah-" Soap groans out and the others make a sound of agreement, all of them now all over you. Your body feels numb and you don't know if you have it in you to struggle. Soap kissed his way up to your chest playing with your chest, Alejandro kissed and left marks on your hips, Price and Ghost kissed your neck and collarbone.

You heard the sound of a belt buckle before feeling something warm, soft, and round rubbing against your entrance. You whimper knowing what's coming.

"oh lovie don't whine like that, you'll almost make me feel bad." Gaz teased slowly pushing in with a soft sigh as you clench around him. He leans over careful of the others and kisses you. The kiss is sickeningly sweet and soft. The soft whine he makes also does no favors in helping you keep your composer.

Soap pulls away with a light, "fuck it" as he makes his way over to the other side undoing his belt, "Hen, mind given me a hand?" you don't really get to respond as he takes your hand and wraps it around his cock, using your hand as a fucktoy the precum oozing and making your hand slick and sticky. "oh, yeah hen~ such a good little pet~" he sighs Alejandro soon joining his making you use both hands, both men grinning as they chase their pleasure.

Gaz thrusts a few times testing to see if you've relaxed a bit more so he could slide in and out easier. Once he was satisfied he pulled away making a motion towards the other men, they all move to the side. Soap and Alejandro stroking their girths, Price and Ghost finally undoing their belts.

You were now laid onto of Gaz as he pushed himself back into your dripping pussy, Soap and Alejandro taking your hands to stroke their cocks again, Price and Ghost finally picking their spots.

Ghost pushes his angry red tip against your plush lips, his eyes giving you a warning to dare and disobey the Silent order. And Price made his way behind you with Gaz, he wasn't as kind as Gaz was he simply spreads your ass apart before spitting and letting his tip do the work of spreading the makeshift lube.

You lick your lips nervously as you slowly open your mouth for the man looming over you. He wastes no time pushing his way into your mouth and thrusting his hips making sure to touch the back of your throat each time. And Price simply pushed in, no warning, no stretch, the burn was painful. It made you whine and sputter around Ghost who was starting up an unforgiving rhythm that would surely leave your throat raw.

The mix of Pain from Price, the pleasure from Gaz and his perfectly arched cock hitting the most sensitive part inside of you, and the lack of oxygen due to Ghost's unforgiving thrusts and the dirty words in your ears from Alejandro and Soap was overwhelming. But fuck was it good.

All these feelings, the fear inside of you, the lust. You just couldn't take it anymore. Fighting would be useless at this point.

You start pumping Soap and Alejandro faster, they both let out a surprised sigh but quickly allow themselves to be taken care of.

"that's it hen, be a good little toy for us~ fuck your so hot hen~"

"Sí, así como así mi amor. Esa es una buena chica, sigue acariciándome así."

Ghost groans with a smirk, you can't see it behind his mask but if you could you'd melt.

"That's it dear, focus on sucking that cock. You like taking my cock, don't you? You'll swallow it all right baby?"

Gaz and Price fucking into you.

"Fucking Slut, you like taking cock huh? you like the way I fuck you? Fuck your tight, never taking it in the ass before huh? Well, you're gonna have to get used to it my little slut."

"Fuck lovie, you're so good for us. You'll be good, right? You'll stay and be our little cock slut? You'll play nice right? Can't wait for the others to see you like this. Such a perfect little pet for us~"

You whimper and moan, Fuck you're gonna cum again. And from the sounds around you, so are they.

In a few moments, Soap lets out a sweet moan and paints the left side of your face white with his cum. The sight made Alejandro groan, you looked so pretty, covering the right side of your face with His cum too. They pull away admiring their work.

Ghost's hips pick up in spread before he slams down holding your head in place, your nose against the ash-blonde happy trail. Cum flowed down your throat, swallowing all you could. He pulls back as you cough and suck in as much air as you could.

Your hands shoot down to hold onto Gaz's shoulders, your moans now free for all to hear. You moan as you feel yourself squirt again all over Gaz's thighs, a moment later feeling both men fill you with their cum. Price was the first to pull out with a low chuckle.

"so what do you say Lovie? Wanna stay with us? I promise we'll give you lots of orgasms~"

Part 2 ->

[canirove]

Friends, lovers… and an orange | Chapter 16

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Masterlist

"Do you think anyone heard us?" Mason asked, kissing Adele's forehead.

"I don't know. But they think we are already doing it, so" she shrugged.

"That's true" he chuckled. "What will we tell them if they ask, tho?"

"We'll... say that we were working out."

"What?" he laughed.

"Sometimes, when people work out, it sounds as if they are having sex."

"Do you moan my name when you work out?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

"All the time. I'm doing burpees and saying oh, Mase" Adele said, imitating what had left her mouth not that long ago.

"Say it again."

"Mase" she faked moaned, not being able to hide a smile.

"That has turned me on so much..."

"Oh, I can tell. Or feel if we are being accurate."

"Round two?" Mason said, already moving to be on top of her. 

"Round two" she giggled.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Wait, how do I look?"

"Gorgeous" Mason smiled.

"That's... That's not what I meant, but thank you" Adele replied with a shy smile.

"Then?"

"Do I... Do I look like... Like we..."

"You mean if you look like someone who has been having amazing sex?"

"Mason!" she said, rolling her eyes.

"It is the truth, tho. That was amazing, Addie. I would have never imagined that you were so… passionate" he smirked. "Though after what you told me about your naughty side with your ex, I should have expected it."

"Yeah, well" she said, clearing her throat. "Do I look any different or not?"

"No, you don't. Do I?"

"Your hair is a bit messy, but other than that, nothing is different. Though if someone asks where we went or what we did..."

"You were crying, I comforted you and you fell asleep in my arms."

"And the comforting was a hug. You know my brother."

"Just a hug… or two" Mason winked, making Adele roll her eyes again. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Where is everyone?" Mason asked when he and Adele walked into the living room.

"They went into town to buy some things for tonight's birthday party" Toni said.

"And you?"

"Another of my migraines."

"Do you want us to leave? We just came to pick something to eat."

"No, no. I actually am hungry too, and who knows how long it'll take them to come back " she said, getting up from the sofa and walking with them to the kitchen. "How are you, Addie?"

"Better" she said.

"I can tell" Toni replied, trying not to smile. She knew. She definitely knew. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

"Now that it is just the three of us…" Toni said while they ate. "Are you sure there is nothing you would like to share with me?"

"Mum, Adele isn't pregnant" Mason said.

"I know, I know. I was talking about something else."

"We aren't dating."

"That isn't it either. It is something else."

"Something like what?" he asked.

"I'm not sure… But I know you, Mason. You are my son. And there is something bothering you, something important."

"There is nothing" he shrugged.

"Mase…" Adele whispered.

"There is nothing" he repeated.

"Tell her, Mase. She's your mum" Adele said, holding his hand and giving it an encouraging squeeze.

"Mason, you are starting to scare me."

"Mum, they... They..." Mason said, nervously running a hand through his hair. 

"His agency is blackmailing him."

"Adele!"

"What? It is the truth, isn't it?" she shrugged, looking at him.

"What do you mean by blackmailing you?" Toni asked.

"They... They have something and are threatening me to publish it if we don't keep faking our relationship because it is making them earn a lot of money. They said they would ruin my career if we don't do as they say."

"That's... That's..." Toni said, getting up from the table and starting to pace around the room. "What do they have on you?"

"Tell her, Mase" Adele encouraged him again.

"It's from my 21st birthday in Los Angeles. There are photos of me very drunk, and a video with... A video with a girl."

"A sex tape?" Toni asked, raising her voice.

"Yes" Mason whispered, his face bright red.

"But he didn't know he was being filmed. The girl had planned it all to earn some easy money" Adele explained. "She tried to sell the photos first but they stopped her, so then she tried with the video. Mase's agency stopped her again, but they had to spend a lot of money to do it and now they believe he owes them and are threatening him to publish it and ruin his career if we don't do as they say."

"When does your contract with them end?"

"December."

"December..." Toni repeated. "You can keep faking for a few more months, right? It seems to be getting easier" she smirked.

"I guess..." Mason said.

"Good. Then keep doing as they ask, and if they want to sit down and negotiate a new contract, try to avoid it. Meanwhile, I'll make some calls and get everything ready to sue their asses the moment the contract is over. No one hurts my baby. No one" Toni said.

"Thank you, mum" Mason whispered, trying very hard not to cry.

"Oh, come here" she said, hugging him. "It's ok, my boy. It's ok. We'll fix this."

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

After the chat Mason and Adele had with his mum, she suggested that they should go for a walk, have some fresh air while they got everything ready for the party.

"I'll also try to talk with your mum, Adele. You can't spend your birthday angry at each other, can you?" Toni had said.

They decided to take the Vespa and go to the beach, have a swim and lay in the sun for a while, maybe get some gelato too.  

"Mase, are you checking me out?" Adele teased him as she took off her dress, ready to jump in the water.

"Can't help it now that I've seen everything that is to see" he shrugged. "But I've been checking you out since the moment we set foot in this country. Italy suits you, Addie."

"Does it?"

"It does" he said, moving to where she was standing and grabbing her by the waist, the way his thumbs were moving over her skin making her shudder.

"It also suits you. I can't remember the last time I saw you this happy."

"That's because I'm with you. Because you make me happy. I love you, Addie" he said, meeting her eyes. 

"Mason…"

"It's ok if you don't love me the way I do. I get it, I'm used to it" he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Adele asked as she closed the space between them a bit more, her hands moving up and down his arms.

"When I kissed you under that orange tree when we were sixteen, I didn't just realize that I liked you. I realized that I was in love with you."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you didn't feel the same."

"Maybe I did."

"You didn't, Addie" Mason chuckled. "But it's ok, I didn't mind. And I don't mind if you still don't feel the same way I do."

"Mason… Mase" she said, cupping his face and making him look at her. "Do you really think that if I didn't have feelings for you, I would have done what we did this morning?" 

"I…"

"Remember when you confessed to me everything about what your agency was doing? About the video and the blackmailing?" 

"I do."

"That day you said that you loved me, and I said it back. And I meant it. It wasn't like when you say I love you to your mum or someone from your family. It was like when you say it to the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Your person. And that's what you are to me, Mason. My person. I love you."

"Can you repeat it again?" he asked.

"All of it?" Adele laughed.

"Just the last three words."

"I love you."

"I love you too" he smiled before kissing her in a way she had never been kissed before. There was passion like in all the kisses they had shared that morning, but there was also something else. Something she had never felt before with anyone else.

True love.

[mushies-stories]

To sweet

honestly just a fluff of Denji trying to be a boyfriend for the first time to a kind of overly 'sweet' reader.

warnings: none really, female reader, swearing, like... once?

word count: 1113

Denji really was a great boyfriend. He always shared his food and snacks with you, He was caring and sweet and was always nice to you. However, that doesn't mean he’s perfect. Other than his hunt for the gun devil and most of your ‘together’ time being spent at Aki’s apartment with Power, you were also his first girlfriend. He’s never done the dating thing before but he wanted to show you that he could do things boyfriends normally do. He wanted to show you he knew how to really be your boyfriend. So he decided today he was taking you out. Whatever it takes to show you what a great and loving boyfriend he is. 

To start the day Denji had brought you flowers that he clearly picked from houses along the way. You didnt live that far from Aki’s apartment so the journey didn’t really give him time to make a whole bouquet but it had one of every flower he must have passed so it really was a cute little bouquet of different flowers. 

With a small smile Denji held the gift out for you. “Ready?” he asked.

You took the flowers and smiled at how cute he was. “Yep! Where too?” you asked after setting the flowers down inside. 

A wide grin spread across Denji’s face. “An amusement park!” he says with excitement. 

Denji’s plan was to go on a few rides, win you a big ass stuffed animal then get one of your sweet kisses, The plan was perfect. That was until he actually entered the amusement park. As soon as his eyes saw the roller coasters he grabbed your hand and pulled right to the biggest one. “C’mon Y/N! Let’s ride that one!” You couldn't help but laugh at how excited he was, he was like a little kid. 

It was Denji on the ferris wheel that had gotten you both kicked out of the park. Instead of doing something normal like kissing you he was busy looking over the edge and trying to see if he could spit on some poor soul's head. After a few good shots and the rest of the way down you were asked to leave the park and After Denji tried basically fighting a guard you ended up banned. 

“Well i fucked that up big time.” Denji pouted. He was thinking of something else, how can he make up for that mess? “Hey, do you like fish?” he asks, looking at you with a blank face. 

You tilted your head to the side with one raised brow. “Fish?” you questioned. 

That bright smile was back on Denji’s face. “Fish.” He nods.

The aquarium was what he ment. All the fun colored fish swimming around and so many different sea creatures. Sea horses? Denji thinks they are ugly as hell but super cool. He was so immersed in the fish passing by and wanting to follow them that he often knocked over kids without noticing. You had a hard time keeping up with him as he ran from one tank to the other. 

It didn't take long for the staff to ask you two to leave, this time Denji took it better and you weren't banned but he was still super bummed that he got you kicked out of another place. He just wasn't used to all of these new things. He didn’t have the money to go to an amusement park or an aquarium growing up after all. 

Denji let out a defeated sigh. “I'm sorry, I ruined the aquarium too.”  He gave you a sad smile. 

You shook your head. “It’s okay! Really Denji, you just don’t always have great spatial awareness when you're in public.” you reason with him, taking his hand in yours you learn head on his shoulder.

He didn’t want to leave the day on like that though, with being kicked out two places? Hell no, some place where he can’t make any problems. 

A movie was the simplest answer. You sit in one spot for an hour or so and don't get up. You could share snacks and a drink, he would throw his arm over your shoulders and your head would lay on his. 

With some cheesy romance, a large popcorn and a drink with two bendy straws you sat right in the middle of a pretty packed theater. Everything was going perfectly fine, Denji was mostly just giggling at some of the things the leads would say or do. When the cheesy romance got worse so did Denji’s laugh, then he started straight out trashing the movie, causing everyone around you to shush him. With a half hour still left, you were asked to leave the theater. 

That was it Denji thought, you would never talk to him again. There was no way you didn’t think he was a total loser now. He walked you home in silence, unable to even apologize out of embarrassment by now. Once you reached your front door he hung his head down and stared at his shoes, waiting for you to go inside and shut the door on him. He wouldn't even blame you. 

After a moment he noticed you haven't even moved from your spot in front of him. He slowly raised his eyes to meet yours. You had a gentle smile on your face and soft eyes looked into his sad ones. “Don't I get a kiss goodnight? ” you asked with a light tease. 

Denji stared at you in disbelief, you didn't hate him? “You mean you don’t hate me? After everything today you'd still want to kiss me?” he asked, still not fully believing you.

You took a small step closer, causing Denji to straighten up a bit and look down at you. “Denji i'm just so happy you tried today. I had fun even though we got kicked out because I got to see you happy.” you confessed, a blush creeping its way onto your cheeks. 

“Y/N” Denji didn’t know what to say. His heart was pounding, you were just too sweet, too perfect. One moment he was staring at you with pure affection and the next you were getting closer, leaning up on your toes and kissing him. Your soft lips were a dream and you tasted like cherries too. Yeah you’ve done plenty before but being near you always makes him feel so warm and happy. 

When you pulled away Denji had a dopey smile. “Thank you for today, Denji.” you say and pull him into a hug. Arms around his middle as he slid his around your shoulders, holding you tight and kissed the top of your head.

[pendragon-of-chaos]

If requests are open can i request NNT Arthur and a vigilante (I believe is the word not sure) s/o who helps protect the town people secretly and maybe one night they randomly bump into each other on the way home and Arthur’s starts getting suspicious on what’s going on thank you and have a nice day!

I started this as a small scenario but it ended up being a little longer than the usual ones. I also thought I wouldn't be able to write something that pleased me, but I think it ended being better than what I thought. Hope you like it!

Small scenario: Arthur Pendragon with a fem!secret vigilante S/O:

"Have you heard the rumours about that one vigilante??? Who do you think they are? I wish I could talk to them some day, they seem soooo cool! Maybe I should be a vigilante too... Well, I am already a knight, but having a secret identity sounds fun too! What do you think??"

It was a sunny morning. Arthur and Y/N were enjoying a break eating some sweets, sitting on a table while talking about the latest news.

"I've heard about it. Seems like they are already quite popular within Camelot, aren't they?"

"Indeed! Specially within the knights. I've heard they are placing bets on who is the one behind that mask"

"Really? And who do they think is the responsible of all this?"

"There are different opinions, no one seems to agree with just one, so I can't really speak for them." Arthur shrugged his shoulders while taking one of the freshly baked buns on the table in front of him. "As for me, I don't agree with them either. I don't know, but my instinct says that the responsible isn't one of the knights... It's just a feeling". He took a bite and smiled at (Y/N) "If you ever have any clue you must tell me, ok?"

"Of course, I'll do my best to help you discover the secret identity of that vigilante, don't worry"

----

"His instincts sure are good" - (Y/N) sighed deeply, looking at the dark streets from the top of a poorly illuminated roof, making sure no one could see her - "I'm careful enough to not leave behind any sort of information that could uncover me and he still reaches that conclusion; guess I'll need to be even more cautious just in case..."

She looked back to the streets for a couple minutes, until a suspicious acting shadow figure entered an alley in between some houses. It emerged from time to time, looking to both sides of the street, and hiding again; until a pair of drunk men made their way past the entrance

"What a good night huh?" - The shadow appeared behind them. It looked like a big strong man by his silhouette. Not that his strength mattered versus those two people which weren't even able to mantain their balance, even less when he pulled out of his coat a bright dagger - "Now, give me all you got in your pockets if you don't want to end up worse than you already are"

Overcome by panic, the two men leaned on each other trying to not fall down, clumsily looking for their pockets and throwing everything their hands touched in them

"Y-Yeah sir, just leave us alone damn it! We didn't do anything"

"Just make sure to shut your mouth about this. You went home with no money because you spent it all on drinking, right?" Laughing, the robber walked towards them in an intimidating way - "Get out of my sight, scumb-AGH"

He turned around quickly, hand in his nape, rubbing to ease the pain of the sudden hit which came out of nowhere. In front of him, another figure covered in black stood still

"Going for the easy targets I see. Such a shame that you wasted your time waiting for them to pass by, I've seen it all". A pair of hands appeared under the cloack, ready to take care of the criminal in front of them

He wasted no time and, knife in hand, lunged towards (Y/N), who didn't move an inch. She was ready to counter attack, until a few feet away from her he appeared, behind the criminal, in less than the blink of an eye.

"I got him!"

A familiar orange-haired boy stopped the attack by skillfully positioning his sword blade near the criminal's neck in one second, and then disarmed him in the next one, sheathing his sword and laying him on the ground

"Arthur! I can-!!!" (Y/N) shut her mouth while everything happened. If she talked more than neccesary Arthur would discover her. She was also impressed with his abilities. She had seen him training but never using his skills in a real situation. The king looked back at her, still restraining his hands behind his back

"We'll take him to the castle's dungeons for the night and tomorrow morning the knights will take care of him. I'll gladly accept yor help with this task"

(Y/N) nodded in afirmation, and with a simple hand movement a pair of handcuffs appeared on the criminal's wrists.

"Much better!" - Smiling, Arthur got up from him, helping him to stand up - "Now let's head to the castle"

He looked back to were (Y/N) was standing, inviting her to come with him, but there was nobody to be seen there.

----

It was morning once again. (Y/N) was sitting at the table as she always does, having breakfast, when she heard the doors opening

"Hey hey, I've got something to tell you!"

Arthur took a sit next to her quickly, smiling excited to talk with her.

"Hmm? What is it Arthur?"

"I crossed paths yesterday night with the vigilante!"

"Oh really?" - (Y/N) put on her best confused face to not arouse any more suspicions - "How did you even manage to find them? What did exactly happen?"

"I went outside the kingdom yesterday, searching for some materials that Merlin asked me to find. It was more difficult than what I thought so I returned to Camelot late at night. While I was walking down the street I saw how a man tried to rob other two, and then the vigilante appeared to help them. But as a King I can't stand idly by when something like this happens, that's why I went to help them too! It was pretty easy, and I hoped I could talk to them after having the situation controlled, but they disappeared when I wasn't looking"

"Wow... I'm happy for you, but it sounds like in the end you didn't get to know who was behind the mask"

"I guess so, but at least now I have new clues. Listen, I think that the secret vigilante must be near our age judging by its appearance and movements, and they also know how to use magic. That reduces the number of potential people by a lot... Oh! And by their voice I think it might be a woman? But everything happened so fast, I'm not even sure. If I had a few more minutes I'm sure I could have gotten more information"

"Just a few seconds and he got all of that from me" (Y/N) thought to herself - "That's a lot considering you said everything happened fast"

"Right..." - Arthur looked directly at (Y/N) for a few seconds - "one more thing, didn't Merlin show you some time ago those magical spheres that makes you disappear if you use them?"

"...Are you insinuating that I am the vigilante?"

"Just a possibility, my instinct tells me you might know more than you tell me"

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

I love your analysis SO much!!!! You're so smart (Dani too obviously). I never thought about the friendship of Vincent and August but now I can't get them out of my head. Well and now I'm wondering if you could do a similar analysis for Nils and Vincent 👉👈 no pressure tho

HELLO! We would love to give you our thoughts about Nils and Vincent. As avid Nilcent shippers, we have thought about this a lot. And by that I mean that I, Zee, am a Nilcent shipper and I have dragged Dani down to the pits of hell by my side. ANYWAY:

Nils and Vincent are so interesting as a dynamic. Like we're not kidding, there is so much to dissect with this one.

On a surface level, they act in the opposite way you would think they should. Nils is very much the cookie cutter, stereotypical image of wealth, and Vincent is more loose with it. But the more you dive into it, the more it makes sense.

Nils is careful because he is comparatively nouveau riche. He can't break any rules. His entire reputation hangs in the balance, and reputation is all you have when you're on the status level of Nils. That's why he stays pretty quiet, that's why he stays in the closet, that's why he's seemingly a follower.

Vincent, by comparison, is far less careful. He knows the rules. He has memorized every single one so well that they just play in the back of his mind, warped and kind of bended from how much they have been drilled in. He isn't actively thinking about them because he doesn't have to.

And this key difference between the two of them reflects in everything down to the way they dress. Nils is always dressed up. He always looks nice. He's always ready to be seen and observed. Vincent experiments. He plays more with bright colors and jewelry (like his chunky necklaces) and he isn't always read to be seen (like in s1e2 when he's in a bathrobe).

Dani's point: As far as dress and conduct go, they seem like the opposite of what they are and it is kind of exactly what happens the longer someone stays around money.

But then when we get down into the nitty gritty of their dynamic, it get's stranger. Because this relationships is fundamentally unequal based on status alone, and yet they don't seem to be using each other all that much.

Vincent uses Nils in the August-take down and throughout season two as has right hand, but Nils seems a ready and willing participant. There isn't much that feels forced about their positions in season two.

However, this doesn't come without a caveat. We do actively see Vincent look down on Nils.

Zee's observation: something something the actor being shorter was an interesting and important choice because he's being looked down on both physically and metaphorically something something.

In season one, Vincent talks about how he and The Society are allowed to be in the club, but Nils isn't because he is nouveau riche. And then in season two, when Nils asks to be co-captain of the rowing team, Vincent tells him no.

But Nils is far more qualified for that position. In fact, Vincent isn't even on the rowing team in the first season. Nils is. Vincent gained his new position based on status, even though Nils is in every sense the better option.

It's the Wizard of Oz: don't look behind the curtain. Vincent is the big talking head and Nils is the man talking into the microphone.

Despite all of this, they do actually just like each other. It is an active choice for them to hang out with each other. It is an active choice for them to go on that vacation together in between seasons, and to overthrow August together, and to just hang out whenever they can. No one is forcing them to do that.

If this was a status thing, Nils would be looking for higher conquests, and Vincent would not be wasting his time "slumming it" with nouveau riche boys. They choose each other.

They repeatedly prove that they trust each other too. And, in Vincent's case, he repeatedly shows Nils that he can be trusted. It isn't blind faith, Vincent actively demonstrates that he is worthy of Nils' trust.

In season two, Nils says he thinks Vincent knows about him being gay, but it’s not something they really talk about. One would think that would freak him out, but it doesn’t. Because he trusts Vincent to keep that secret safe.

It’s proven time and time again that Vincent is trustworthy with that secret. Not only Nils’ sexuality, but also Wille’s. He shows Nils that he’s trustworthy by not talking about other people like that. When the video comes out, Vincent’s only thought/comment is about who made the video, not who is in it, and he consistently looks past Wilmon being around each other in favor of minding his own business. That all proves to Nils that Vincent can be trusted with his sexuality.

But chicken or the egg: which came first?

Did Vincent figure out Nils’ sexuality and then become nonchalant about those things? Or was he already nonchalant about it and then figure out Nils? Is Vincent fruity too?

In comparison to August and Vincent, who have the worst kind of friendship, Vincent and Nils might just have the best kind of friendship. It isn't simply blind faith and a business transaction. August blindly trusts Vincent with all of his secrets, but Nils knows his secrets are safe.

Beyond the Nilcent ship, Nils and Vincent are just in this, like, near-perfect friendship. It's really very strange.

Y'all literally ask us more. We'll do it. We'll analyze the shit out of this show.

@the-navistar-carol

[areyoudreaminof]

To Hell With a Reputation: A Mor Playlist

Not who you were expecting? Neither was I! Mor caught me by surprise the first time I read ACOMAF. This bright, fearless, and loyal lady was the first female friend Feyre had ever had, giving her the guidance that the males in her new fae life weren't quite able to give. "Don't Let The Hard Days Win" is probably a mantra for most of us now. Beneath that bubbly exterior, you have this complex individual who has survived terrible trauma and hides a lot of herself, to her own detriment. I think she deserves more in story. Like Cassian's playlist, I gave myself a lot more leeway with the music. Much more colorful sounds, but some darker lyrics. Listen Here! And meet me behind the cut!

PYNK-Janelle Monáe. Grimes)

Pynk like the paradise found Pynk when you're blushing inside, baby Pynk is the truth you can't hide, maybe Pynk like the folds of your brain, crazy Pynk as we all go insane

'Cause, boy, it's cool if you got blue We got the pynk

Raspberry Swirl-Tori Amos

I am not your señorita I am not from your tribe If you want inside her well Boy, you better make her raspberry swirl Things are getting desperate When all the boys can't be men Everybody knows I'm her friend Everybody knows I'm her man

Jesca Hoop-Free of the Feeling

When the ringing bell falls deaf, we go look for dark Where no flag is waving red, we look for dark Out where there's no whites of eyes, out where there's no stars Casting far and watching night, we go look for dark

To get free of the feeling Free of the feeling

Uninvited-Alanis Morissette

Like anyone would be I am flattered by your fascination with me Like any hot blooded woman I have simply wanted an object to crave But you, you're not allowed You're uninvited An unfortunate slight Must be strangely exciting To watch the stoic squirm

Same Ol' Mistakes-Rihanna

I can just hear them now "How could you let us down?" But they don't know what I found Or see it from this way around Feeling it overtake All that I used to hate Worried 'bout every trait I tried but it's way too late All the signs I don't read Two sides of me can't agree When I breathe in too deep Going with what I always longed for

Birch Tree-Foals

Come meet me by the river See how time it flows I'll meet you by the river See how time it flows And when we age Shed our skin and grow We shed our layers Spread our wings and go

Some things Cosmic-Angel Olsen

Before we draw, my dear dear friend I promise you my word If we should part, my dear dear love You know you’re in my heart And though I may be getting older Know that I'm going with you Know that I'm hanging on to the things that you said The things that you said

Laura Palmer-Bastille

Walking out into the dark, cutting out a different path Lead by a beating heart All the people of the town cast their eyes right to the ground In matters of the heart The night was all you had You ran into the night from all you had Found yourself a path up on the ground You ran into the night; you can't be found But this is your heart Can you feel it? Can you feel it?

Ocean Drive-Duke Dumont

As the sirens fill the lonely air Oh, how did we get here now, now, now, babe We see a storm is closing in Pretending we ain't scared

Don't say a word while we dance with the devil You brought a fire to a world so cold We're out of time on the highway to never Hold on (Hold on), hold on (Hold on)

Silent Machine-Cat Power

I walk on through woods and its streets every night Walk through people who walk too close Into each other they're hanging I am told there's a mother you may remember

In the name of the father but never the ghost Me I use the money for those just as hard Who hung his head for the ladies or pretended he did

The Lion's Roar-First Aid Kit

But don't you come here and say I didn't warn you About the way your world can alter And oh how you try to command it all still Every single time it all shifts one way or the other And I'm a goddamn coward, but then again so are you And the lion's roar, the lion's roar Has me evading and hollering for you And I never really knew what to do

Leave a Trace-CHVRCHES

I will show restraint Just like we said we should You think I'll apologise for things I left behind But you got it wrong And I'm as sane as I ever was You talk far too much For someone so unkind I will wipe the salt off of my skin And I'll admit that I got it wrong And there is grey between the lines

Birth in Reverse-St. Vincent

Like a birth in reverse What I saw through the blinds You could say that I'm saying Phenomenal lies On the cosmic eternity Party line

This tune will haunt me through the war Ha, ha, ha, ha ha Laugh all you want but I want more 'Cause what I'm swearing, I've never sworn before

Woman King-Iron & Wine

Blackbird claw, raven wing Under the red sunlight Long clothesline, two shirtsleeves Waving as we go by

Hundred years, hundred more Someday we may see a Woman king, wristwatch time Slowing as she goes to sleep

Rainbow-Kacey Musgraves

When it rains, it pours But you didn't even notice It ain't rainin' anymore It's hard to breathe when all you know is The struggle of stayin' above the risin' water line Well, the sky has finally opened The rain and wind stopped blowin' But you're stuck out in the same ol' storm again You hold tight to your umbrella Well, darlin', I'm just tryin' to tell ya That there's always been a rainbow Hangin' over your head

taglist: @highqueenmorrigan, @foreverinelysian, @octobers-veryown, @melting-houses-of-gold, @velidewrites, @reverie-tales, @thesistersarcheron@ultadverb, @c-e-d-dreamer, @andrigyn, @foundress0fnothing, @vulpes-fennec ,@asnowfern, @mossytrashcan , @thelovelymadone, @the-lonelybarricade, @shadowriel, @separatist-apologist , @fieldofdaisiies, @stickyelectrons, @vanserrass, @panicatthenightcourt, @krem-does-stuff, @iftheshoef1tz, @damedechance, @headcanonheadcase, @cursebrkr, @andrigyn, @mossytrashcan, @thelovelymadone, @wilde-knight, @moonpatroclus, @stickyelectrons, @kataravimes-of-the-shire, @mossytrashcan, @sunshinebingo, @filthyglamdoll, @ablogofbipanic, @corcracrow, @morweekofficial

[nervouscloudtheorist]

April 9th 2024

Dear Diary,

I did it! I paid off my house!

Well...apparently just the first part of my house. Tom Nook agrees that my house is pretty small and that I should probably get it bigger but that just means that I would have to take out another loan. I don't know if I want to do that but it's nice I guess just to know that I can.

Anyways, I woke up pretty late today at like 7:40pm. I spent so much time fishing last night that I didn't realize how tired I was. I have to not do that again because everything was about to close by the time I woke up so I needed to rush to do my shopping and talk to Tom Nook.

On the bright side though, I don't think as mayor Isabelle cares what time I wake up because she is always at Town Hall. I mean like ALWAYS. I don't think she ever leaves except to see me at my house.

When I woke up today I had three letters. One from the Happy Home Association, one from Pascal at the RV park delivering my table and one from my mom.

Mom's letter was really nice and she also sent a table to go with it. She's so proud of me for moving out and living on my own. I miss her a lot still so it was really nice of her to send me that letter. I immediately set up the table in my house. It was too precious to me to not set up.

After that was all done, I checked with Isabelle who still didn't have anything for me to do so I just wandered around town again to show that I am the people's mayor.

OH! I found out that Ribbot is a robot frog so I guess wisp didn't lie! He moved in next to Keaton which was unfortunate because Keaton saw me walking by to talk to the new person and decided that was the best time to talk about Trains.

Now I don't have anything against trains or Keaton but there is a time and place for that kind of talk. Like in the comfort of a house or cafe drinking coffee.

When I was talking to Ribbot he said that he knew me and that he was happy we got to meet again. I was really confused because I had never seen this man in my life. I didn't know if he just made up a story in his head where we were previously friends but I didn't want to correct him either because I didn't want another situation where they forgot my name.

Chrissy, I learned, is very sweet but not very observant. She ran up to me today and asked me to deliver something to T-bone for her as she wasn't able to find him and thought that I would be more likely to come across him. She was right, but that's only because he was 10 steps away from her.

Thankfully it was close enough that I didn't have time to ruin his present so I was able to deliver it without having any issues. T-bone was super happy about it and gave me a shirt as a reward which is great because the Sable sisters sell their clothes anywhere from 10 – 5,000 bells from what I can see and I do not have that kind of money if I am going to be giving it all to Tom Nook.

I mean, I did buy a shirt for 800 bells today but I also bought a bookshelf from Tommy today at Nookling Junction from 2,400 bells. So I guess it's not just Tom Nook who is taking my money.

OH!! Also I met Digby, Isabelle's brother. He is in charge of the Happy Home Showcase. What is that you ask? I guess when people are ridding on the train, he goes and asks them for a floor plan of their house (Not weird at all) and then they rebuild a scale model of it so when I am on Main Street I can look at them and get ideas for my own house. He did mention that this is only done when people are passing by my town so it wont be like a TON of houses at the start. Honestly, I'm not sure how many people will pass by my town, since the train I was on to get here was pretty empty but that's a cool idea!

I also checked in on the town bulletin by the train station and learned that there will be a fishing tournament this Saturday! I don't want to brag but I think I have first place in the bag if they allow mayors to enter. Why? Because I caught an Oarfish today and it was SO BIG. I had a lot of trouble getting it to Blathers but that is okay because now the museum looks a lot less sad with that swimming around!

I also checked in on the RV park like I said I was going to yesterday and there was a new RV but it was filled with bugs. Nat, the owner, really likes bugs I guess. I did manage to barter with him for some pretty cool items but just like Pascal he will only mail them to me. Like sir, I am right here I can carry the items home! I guess it doesn't matter though, I just really wanted that new bed. I am a little tired of sleeping on the floor...

After everything was all said and done, I went back to town hall determined that Isabelle was going to give me some actual mayor stuff to do but when I talked to her she said I had finally gotten 100% on my rating and that she would be turning in the permit tonight so that at the soonest my development permit would be done is tomorrow so I should rest for day.

So I guess my job as mayor isn't exactly to run the town but to just be nice to the people? I dunno anyways I'm still tired so I guess I will see what tomorrow brings. I didn't see any new plots of land for people so I think the moving in period is over which means I have more time for the people who have moved in.

Anyways, I can't wait to update you when my town permit is finally accepted. If it is accepted anyways.

Good night!

-Finn

[astarab1aze]

✾ We Need to Talk About Senkei

i've mentioned him a few times in private and a few other times on the dash, so i figure it's a good time to talk about this absolute piece of shit. unfairly hot as he is, he's an utterly vile man - so warning for partner abuse, s. assault, manipulation, things like that. nothing graphic. i don't condone any of this and think people like senkei can die repeatedly unto eternity.

Senkei was 27 when they met. Handsome, unbearably so. His hair a strawberry blond with a bright orange tint, medium in length and layered choppily; Bangs hanging in his eyes a little but mostly fly away, disheveled. He appears unkempt, giving him an outwardly childish - and, therefore, approachable - air. His eyes are painfully cold and unbearably blue, framed by shorter, darker lashes than his hair and a nearly invisible hint of irritation. He gives off the impression he can see right through you. He has very few scars, with the most notable one being on the left side of his face, a gash stretching from his hairline toward the corner of his mouth. He has no other markings or tattoos.

When Kaede was about 17, he met a man named Senkei Shinekawa.

He treated him kindly, sweetly, as though he were a person with thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs. So attentive, so comfortable to be around, Kaede was able to come out of his shell, enough to find the courage to sneak around with Senkei, fall in love with him, dream of a life with him. Senkei had him wrapped so tightly around his finger, he never once thought he could do anything untoward, never thought Senkei was capable of cruelty, brutality, or sadism, believing him to be a generous and loving - if inappropriately older - man.

There were no warning signs Kaede could pick up on - he didn't know Senkei was manipulating him, building rapport with him and flirting as though he were any other boy when the truth was the opposite. He was a con man, an opportunist, and a bastard, lying through his teeth about who he was to gain Kaede's affections so he could take a crack at the Shikabane fortune. Many times, he asked for money, whining about his bills in the hopes that Kaede might fork over enough to cover them - but he pocketed it, over time squeezing more and more and more out of him. Tens of thousands of dollars were given to him in the name of, "We're partners, of course I'll help you, Senkei." Oh, and he just kept going, draining him of as much money as he possibly could.

But, one day, Kaede got suspicious, got to asking too many questions. Of course, Senkei blew them off, giving all the same 'I just need help' excuses. 'I haven't been paid yet and rent's due tomorrow,' 'My dog needs surgery, could ya throw me a hundred to make up the difference?' 'I'll pay you back as soon as I can, I promise,' 'I'm so sorry, I know this seems bad, baby, but you came into my life at a rough time for me :(' and so on. So many lies, so many Kaede was willing to let slide because Senkei had been so good to him otherwise - but Senkei wasn't going to let Kaede get away with questioning his authority this time, wasn't going to let him stop the cash flow. He needed more, he needed all of it, and Kaede was going to give it to him if he had to take it by force.

The moment everything really started to change starts below. Skip past both red lines if you wish not to see anything but the rest of the headcanon.

     And, then, he remembered a morning run, years later, when dawn had only just broken and streams of orange light stretched across the skyline. He remembered the chill of winter’s air cooling him down just as his natural heat began to teeter on the edge of too high, even for him, and how he sank into a park bench, Senkei laughing as he tried to catch his breath, each one a puff of condensation. He looked at him fondly, those bright, endlessly blue eyes screwed shut as Senkei's chest heaved and his hands clapped to his knees. He sputtered and chuckled, slid into his place beside him on the park bench a little too close and yet, not close enough. Mere inches apart, Kaede was nervous and bashful, fidgeting with the pocket in his sweatpants and avoiding looking at Senkei for too long lest he be too honest, too obvious about how he felt toward him. He liked Senkei, and, at the time, they were dating in secret, slinking around in the shadows away from prying eyes. The media would’ve had a field day, if they knew, and the scandal alone would tarnish both their careers, as abysmally limited and new as Kaede's was given that he was only seventeen. 

     Senkei was kind and generous, a sweet offering of placidity to temporarily replace the pitiable truth of his life or the grief that so viciously clung to every inch of him, and he was grateful for his company, grateful for the comfort he provided, grateful for the opportunity to at least pretend he was a normal, average person with normal, average problems. In the frigid morning where none at all had stirred just yet, he hazarded an inch closer, his knee bumping against Senkei's, blush darkening his flecked skin, and Senkei himself had done something of his own, throwing an arm around his shoulders and playfully complaining along the way. 

     “How do you do this every morning? Ahhh, and so early, too!” Then, he leaned his head against Kaede's, sighing a ragged sigh, and a grin would peel across his face, bright, wide, and sickeningly sweet. “Proud o’ ya, though. All this work to be the best hero ya can be…”

     Kaede could only sheepishly nod his head, too flustered by the feel of Senkei's proximity, by the warm breath fanning against his cheek.

     “Ya know whatcha deserve? A reward!” Senkei announced, his free hand easing over Kaede's thigh and oh-so gently squeezing.

     But that so-called reward wasn’t…wasn’t anything anyone deserved.

     He remembered Senkei guiding him into a playground. Red slide, blue metal frames, a yellow dome in the shape of a spaceship with only an exit and an entrance and bubble windows. He remembered crossing too many boundaries, kissing in the dark little hovel where no children would play so early in the morning, and the unsettling sneer tweaking Senkei's lips. Hands pushing, pulling, pinching, gripping until tiny bruises would surface and the confusion of pleasure and pain overwhelmed his senses. Senkei mumbled his praises, each compliment becoming less and less complimentary than before until they morphed into raw insults, pure degradation. Kisses from head to toe, tender swipes of his fingers, and then he got on top of Kaede, straddling him, groin to groin, rolling his hips against him. The stimulation made him shiver and moan, but he didn’t rightly understand what was happening, couldn’t fathom the sudden sexual direction their decidedly plain, boring, and sweet relationship had been going.

     But those hands wrapped around his throat, fingering fresh bandages, a seemingly sorrowful look on Senkei's face. Alarm bells sounded off in Kaede's head and he quickly took hold of Senkei's wrists, softly begging him not to touch him there, going so far as to try and pull his hands away– But Senkei shook his head and smiled, muttering that he’d nothing at all to fear, that he was hard. Then, much to Kaede's horrified dismay, a steady pressure began to build and build until the air in his lungs had been siphoned off and he could breathe no more, thumbs and fingers digging into his windpipe, his arteries. 

     “You’re gonna do me a few favors,” and the image of Senkei shattered completely.

     He couldn’t do anything more than cry, struggling against Senkei's unyielding grip as his eyes rolled back into his head and–

----

He forced himself to forget all those years ago. He swallowed down his tears and soldiered on through everything just to find an ounce of peace, safety from hands too large, calloused, and filthy for his already battered body to handle. Every moment with Senkei after their second month together was terrifying, confusing, and more sinister than the last. Every morning was spent walking on eggshells, fear that Senkei might pull his hair and strangle him for any perceived sleight no matter how small. Every night was spent praying his neck wouldn’t be littered with hickies and finger-shaped bruises, fear that his body would be bound for hours and left at the mercy of the glint of a knife. Every waking moment was spent praying his blood wouldn’t be splattered across the floor, praying the knife wouldn’t sink into his skin, that he wouldn’t be beaten for failing to follow every order to the letter, that he wouldn’t be folded and tied down in impossible positions and summarily tortured for Senkei's sick amusement–

Senkei did irreparable damage to Kaede, inside and out, mentally and physically. He kept him in a two-year relationship that got progressively worse and worse. He would savagely beat Kaede and use makeup to cover the bruises when he'd send him back to his family estate. He would take advantage of him sexually, performing cruel, even violent sex acts on him without any prior prep or warning, ignoring any pleas for him to stop and taking what he wanted no matter how many times Kaede explicitly revoked consent and cried no. He'd torture him for hours, too. He was exceedingly possessive with him in public and in private, going so far as to take and go through his phone each and every time he saw him. He'd force him to clean to exact specifications and lie about whether he'd met them, then strangle him on the floor for the hell of it -- knowing Kaede was too young and too frightened of him to do anything about it. His family wouldn't have cared, they did all the same things to him after all.

One night, however, the beatings got so bat, Kaede...completely checked out. Receded into the depths of his mind to some illusory safe place, where nothing could harm him, where Senkei couldn't harm him. A bit of delusion to protect himself from the onslaught of abuse he was suffering. When the beating stopped, Senkei had dumped him in a park somewhere in Tokyo, believing to be dead or near death ona ccount of his unresponsiveness and fading heartbeat. A jogger found him and called an ambulance and he was whisked away to a hospital to be treated.

Due to various injuries, trauma, and all, he flushed all memory of Senkei from his mind, but remembered the bits and pieces about his schooling, family, and work life mixed in between. He believed his injuries were caused by his experiences in combat, connecting different dots to fill in the gaps in his memory - and accepting these twistes memories as fact. A year's worth of memory gone, and all he could think to explain it as was, "Well, I've been hurt a lot. Makes sense I've had some head injuries and lost some memory. Oh well, job-related hazard, I guess."

And that was sort of it, the very end of their relationship. Senkei never came around again and Kaede could never again remember him.

The lasting effects, in spite of a lack of memory, are noticeable. He has scars he can't really explain, associating them all with combat despite them being caused by human hands. Sensitivities to judgment, raised hands, rejection, certain insults, certain smells and noises, a dislike for any man with orange hair and a scar on their face for reasons unknown to him, irrational fear of muzzles, water, the dark, playgrounds, and sudden noises or displays of aggression, the hypervigilance, automatic distrust of 90% of everyone he meets-- The propensity toward rough, painful sex, even hypersexuality at times (not just increased libido), the panic attacks, the blackouts, the irrational urge to run away, always and ever trying his best to please anyone he's in a relationship with by any means necessary and the fear they'll hurt and abandon him if he fails even once over something small. His reactive aggression, somewhat unstable emotions, the nightmares, night terrors, and inability to make his wants and needs properly known. His communication skills have suffered immensely, too.

All this in tandem with continued familial abuse.

[wistfulsummernight]

A Lonely Soul - Chapter one

SUMMER

I sat under the tree's shade, pressing my head against the gate as I watched all the other kids run around. I'm a caged bird inside of a house. The bird everyone sees locked up and abandoned in its tight space, but no one caring to free it. In this case, the bird is facing the window, seeing all the other birds fly freely and carelessly as I sit watching in envy as they take the blue skies and sunny light for granted. Though, it's better staying here in this cage.

I curled myself up into a tight ball, my gaze now upon the yellow grass. It's dead like the dreams I had about escaping this cage. After all, it's impossible. Cages are made of metal and steel, not plastic or paper. Though, unlike this cold cage, the grass is warm. The sun gives life, even to the dead; but when you're stuck inside of a cage the only thing you know is the midnight. The yellow tip color of the grass reminds me of honey tea my mother made for me. It's comforting, remembering the boiling sweet smell as I sat with my mother at the table, the sun basking through the windows as she told me stories of her youth. She was much different than me. She was stray and wild and free like her hair back in the 90s. She had warm brown eyes and warm brown skin. Her smile was beautiful, she was beautiful. I thought I'd inherit the warm trait from my mother but I ended up with my fathers coldness; his pale brown eyes and gray-brown skin. A stern ugly face that doesn't dare bare its teeth to anyone.

I plucked at the dead grass until I had a fistful of it in my palms. I extended my hand out into the sunlight, admiring the small sparkle it has now that the sun graced itself upon it.

"Hello!" a warm voice said to me.

No one speaks to me unless it's time to go back into the cabins or they want something from me. I clenched the grass in my hands and looked up before me.

Even though I've never spoken to him before, his face was already familiar. He had this glow that attracts everyone to him like moths to a flame. When he runs around chasing his friends he always shines just as bright as the summer sun.

I pulled my hand back, letting the grass fall to the ground.

"Do I know you?" I spoke coldly, almost sternly if it wasn't for the slight shakiness in my voice

"I don't think you do." he replied with a big smile, his pearly whites on display, "My name's August."

I glanced back down to the ground, my fist clenching the grass "Well then, what do you want from me, August?"

I looked to the side of me to see the once empty space now had him sitting next to me. He wasn't sitting obnoxiously close like those people who begged me for my money a week ago. They sat so close I felt their sweat pressed against my cold skin; with him, there was still room to breathe.

"I want to be your friend." he turned his head towards me and smiled.

I want to be your friend. Those were words I heard before, words that made me hopeful I wouldn't be this lonely bird forever, not knowing that they were lies disguised under that same sweet voice.

I stood, towering over him, and straightening my posture as I met his gaze and glared at him, trying to hide any sign of fear,

"You and your shitty friends can fuck off!" I spat. My hands began to tremble from that simple sentence, but I would never let them see that fear.

He widened his eyes, and I wasn't sure if it's from the cussing or from my rudeness; it was probably a mix of both. I knew what would happen next and that courage I had for a moment dissolved. I ran back to those cabins with my scrawny little legs as fast as I could, my breathing fast and unsteady

I ran away. Like a coward.

The sight of big and towering oak trees vanished, and now the very same oak trees transformed into humbly small cabins. The cabins, weathered by time, were chipped and their doors on the verge of falling apart.

I stood in the center right alongside the pile of logs, woods and sticks. I calmed my beating heart that felt as though it could burst through my throat any minute. I glanced around me, behind me, hell I'm paranoid enough that I even glanced up at the pale blue skies.

He didn't chase me.

I walked towards the cabin and sat down on the wooden steps, staring blankly at the ground trying to process what had just happened. I cussed out some guy because he was friendly to me.

I narrowed my eyes and kicked the small rock beside my feet, seeing it slide far away from me.

No, I had a reason. I know people like him well. They hide behind their charming looks and their friendly words to get what they want out of people. I'm not a fool, I don't fall for the same thing thrice. Okay, maybe I am a bit of a fool.

I leaned in and rested my head on my knees. The air, crisp, and carrying the subtle smell of pine carried a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. The birds were singing a soft song, I couldn't understand it but their voices were gentle and in sync, their chirps intertwining with the soft breeze of the wind. Now, in this moment, any other moment didn't matter. It's just me, myself, and the warm embrace of summer.

There's times I wonder why my mother would send me here to this hellish camp. But moments like these reminds me that I am alive with a pulsating heart, even if I am cold and bitter. It reminds me that I'm meant to be here. I could do without the other kids, without those counselors that couldn't give a shit about a kid like me. But, there's always going to be something that you hate amidst the things you love.

✺

I sat on the rough-hewn log, my body sinking into its weathered grooves. Before me, the fire crackled, shining its orange and golden colors before each flickering spark dissolved into the night. It's fascinating how humans are able to create something gorgeous and alive with old, dirty sticks, and wood.

I looked up from the fire, everyone's settled down now. Instead of running around and playing tag they sat close to the fire talking and laughing and smiling. Though the crickets chirp the same beautiful song the birds did, the loneliness still manages to creep up on me.

My eyes caught a glimpse of him. His brown hair shines in the warm glow of the fire as he laughs with his friends. My eyebrows furrowed the more I looked at him.

August, won't you tell me what it's like to be the sun? Despite it being midnight you're still a sickeningly bright red hue. Meanwhile, I'm the dim star in the midnight sky people only see if they're looking for it, but no one does. The moon is plenty.

August's eyes looked from the boy to me, and he gave me a small smile.

He smiles far too much.

I got up from my seat and began walking. I don't know where I'm going this time, all I know is that I'm heading into a big vast forest. Maybe it's all that I need to know.

The trees cast long shadows that danced with the sway of the midnight breeze. I walked for an hour, and there's a soft pulsing ache in my legs. My eyes couldn't break off of the radiant moon and something in me knows that the moon is leading me somewhere, illuminating the long path before me. After walking a bit further, two big bushes stood in the way, and as I pushed past them I stumbled across a serene lake nestled within the heart of the forest. The moon highlighted the lake and it was sparkling, like a magical lake in a children book, one that's meant to rid me of all my troubles. I took off my shoes and sat at the edge of the lake letting the cold water embrace my tired feet, my eyes shut close as I let nature soothe me once more.

"There you are!" A voice pierced through the silence, jolting my eyes awake. I turned my head to find August walking over to me. I narrowed my eyes and looked back down at the water.

He sat down next to me, not caring about the nasty glare I just gave him and submerged his bare feet into the water. Despite knowing him for barely a day I already find him annoying. He always wants to intrude this solitude I've grown comfortable with.

"You run away a lot." he chuckled.

"Didn't I tell you to go away?" I spat.

"You did."

I looked at him "How did you even know I was here?"

He met my gaze with a smile, his brown eyes shining brightly in the pale moonlight. "I followed you." he confessed. Before I could open my mouth to say anything he continued, his voice softening "You ran off after looking at me. I was a bit hurt. Curious too."

I averted my gaze back to the water muttering under my breath, "It's 'cause you look stupid."

He let out a soft chuckle and a small smile unconsciously spread across my cheeks. His laugh, even though so subtle, is so infectious.

"Do you like video games?" He asked.

"Yeah." I looked at him.

"I got some in my cabin. My friends and I always play it at night." He said, with a hint of excitement in his voice "It's nothing fancy, all of 'em are just cheap games, but it's still fun." He shrugged.

"How'd you snuggle games in?" I asked, "I tried snuggling in a chocolate bar, and they took it."

A mischievous grin spread across August's face as he leaned in as if sharing a classified secret "Benefits of being the camp owner's son. They don't give a crap what 'ya do." and pulled back.

"You're the camp owner's son?' I asked, "Is that why you're so popular?"

"That, and my amazing good looks." He laughed as he splashed his feet in the water.

I chuckled, "What's it like being you?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he spoke "I don't like it. You gotta pretend you like people you hate." he looked at me and smiled "I actually like you, though. You're cool."

My cheeks heated up, and I plastered on a straight face to try and hide it as I said "You don't know me."

"You think celebrities are cool and you don't know them. It's the same thing." he shrugged "At least with you, I can get to know you."

His words lingered in the air. There's this part of me that believes him now when he told me hours earlier that he wanted to be my friend.

"My feet are getting wrinkly." He said, breaking the short silence as he slipped his feet out of the water and began putting his shoes back on.

"Hey, wanna play video games at my cabin? I promise the people I bring over are actually my friends," he puts on the other shoe "which means they are pretty cool."

I got out of the water and began to put my shoes on too "Maybe." I replied

"That's better than a no."

As we walked back towards the forest he asked me "What's your name?"

For the first time in a long while a smile crossed my face. I turned my head to show it as I told him.

"Dana."

Thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, please don't forget to follow and interact with this post. This work is part of Wattpad's open novella contest; if you can interact with the book itself on Wattpad it would be greatly appreciated!!

[fereldanwench]

1 and 4 for the couple questions! Really curious about these! 👀

If they have been asked, choose any other questions you might like.♥️♥️

Oooh, I love these ones! 💙 You've unlocked The Rambling, haha. It's gonna be a long one:

1. What do they think of each other’s family? And how does the family feel?

Goro doesn't really have to worry too much about assimilating into a new family because most of Valerie's biological family is either dead or estranged by the time they meet. 😅 She's an only child, her father died in 2058, and her mother died in 2063. Valerie does have some aunts, uncles, and cousins on her mother's side, but they live on the east coast of NUSA, and she hasn't seen them since she was about 11.

The only two blood relatives she has in Night City are her uncle, Ed, who is her father's oldest brother, and his adult daughter, who I'm still working on and doesn't have an official name yet. 😅 Ed is kind of a piece of shit--He runs with the 6th Street, but he's basically a low-level goon who deals drugs to kids. The last time he saw Valerie was around 2075 when he got wind that she was doing very well for herself and tried to get money from her.

I have been thinking about a way for Valerie and Goro to meet him for some reason during the in-game timeline, but I don't have anything solid at the moment. Goro and Ed would not get along at all, but Valerie isn't fond of him either, so no love lost there. (Nameless cousin is still a total mystery to me--Currently leaning towards a journalist, but I have no idea.)

And of course there's Mama Welles. Valerie's relationship with Mama Welles was always just a little tense--Valerie was just not used to having a mother figure that involved in her life and personal business, and even though Mama Welles always meant well, it could be a little smothering to Valerie. But they do stay in touch even after Jackie dies, and Valerie does bring Goro over for at least one good homecooked meal when they're in Night City.

Mama Welles is a little wary of Goro's allegiances at first, but Goro puts on the gentlemanly charm and wins her over pretty quickly. She sees he cares very deeply for Valerie, and she's glad her pseudo-surrogate daughter has someone in her life that makes her happy.

As for Valerie with Goro's family... I'm holding off on anything solid about Goro's family until Phantom Liberty. If CDPR gives us nothing here, I'll headcanon Goro a whole ass family tree, but I'll give Sir Weber a little more time to share his official backstory before I make up my own. 😅

However! @lizzy--wizzy gave me an absolutely adorable idea about Valerie meeting Goro's father for the first time, and I would love to make something like this a part of their canon: Basically, Goro comes back to Japan after several years living in NUSA with this gorgeous, tall, bright blue-haired woman at his side, and his father looks up at her and then at Goro and is like "You just disappeared to another country for 10 years and then you come back home married to a supermodel???? Explain."

4. How do they compare to each other’s exes? Are they the same “type” or an upgrade/something different?

Man, I'm overflowing with thoughts on this one--I don't even know where to start, haha.

I guess I'll start with their romantic/sexual pasts for some context:

Valerie slept around a lot in her early-to-mid 20s, and she was not particularly discerning about who she shared a bed with during that time. It was very much a maladaptive coping mechanism from dealing with feeling abandoned and isolated after losing her parents, losing her job, losing her status, losing her (admittedly shitty and fair-weather) friends as a result of losing her status--Basically after losing any sense of direction in her life. She was very lonely but also didn't want to really let anyone in emotionally. The majority were just one-night stands with anyone she thought was hot and into her.

She didn't even really consider pursuing a long-term relationship until she was in her late 20s/early 30s, but by then she was also working for Arasaka which demanded a lot of her time. Most of those relationships were with other corpos who understood the grind and tended to all be emotionally unavailable one way or another, and they usually only lasted a few months, tops. Valerie did often gravitate towards people who could be a little prickly on the outside--She loves the little victory of getting a smile out of a sarcastic grump.

Then when Valerie decided to go sober, dating became even harder since going out for drinks or doing ~*luxury drugs*~ were such a huge part of the corporate dating scene. She was almost completely celibate for about two years.

Valerie and Viktor did briefly have a thing after she was fired from Arasaka, but between his own intimacy issues and her kind of using him for a sense of comfort after her life got thrown upside down again, that one also didn't last more than a few months.

As for Goro: much like with his family, I'm holding off a little long until I commit to anything concrete for Goro's romantic past, but I've indulged here a little more:

I absolutely love the idea of Goro being a wild playboy during his youth, so I think he probably had his fair share of indiscriminate flings as well until he found that 'Saka discipline. I could see him also having, like, one fairly serious relationship when he was young but starting to settle down a bit, but it fell through for whatever reason: Goro had to commit fully to Arasaka, that partner got married off to someone else, etc. Pick your tragedy.

I don't think he was ever married, though, and I think once he became Saburo's bodyguard, Goro didn't even entertain the idea of having a long-term romantic relationship. I think it would have been highly discouraged if not outright banned.

I do think he would occasionally enjoy the company of others, though, with the explicit understanding that it couldn't be more than sex (maybe dinner if he really liked them). Probably with other high-level Arasaka employees who were in a similar position but still craved physical companionship from time to time. I think he'd be drawn to people who were at least like him on the outside--Reserved with refined taste and a clear understanding of their purpose in the organization--But deep down he craves connection with someone more spirited who could challenge him.

So, to finally answer the actual question, lmao: How do they compare to each other's exes?

In both cases they're mostly something different, but that's also mostly because they never really let themselves have relationships with someone who they could deeply connect with. They are each other's type--They just tried to deny it to themselves for most of their lives.

(Goro is more oblivious and then surprised by his attraction to Valerie than vice versa, though. 😅 Valerie is like "Of course I fall in love with the most unattainable man in the world while I'm actually dying. This is exactly why I don't want to have any feelings." And Goro is more like "It is not love. I just trust her with my entire life, and often my stomach feels weird when she smiles at me, but it is just something I ate in this shithole of a city. Probably.")

[couple questions]

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

"appreciate the view, honey."

For Arthur & Peter about whom I am currently experiencing emotions?

You and me both!

This is for my human Arthur au, and it's gonna be cute!

On with the fic!

--

Arthur looked up at the large, flashy hotel in front of him. He didn't look for too long, the bright lights of too many bulbs were a bit blinding. He had no idea how Peter could stand being around them all the time, but maybe it was something you got used to when you actually lived on the Vegas Strip.

Squaring his shoulders, Arthur made his way through the doors of the entrance to the Hard Rock Hotel, and was instantly greeted by the typical schmaltz of tourist delights and loud noises and lights. It was always so overwhelming to be in places like this, even if he had been living in the area for over a decade.

His lovely, little bar was nearby, but far enough away that it wasn't overshadowed by the glitz and glamour of the tourist trap part of the city. Still, Peter invited him to his penthouse, and by God, he was going to survive getting to the elevator, even with all the people and noises.

He carefully made his way through the crowds of people, seeing a lot of people who seemed to dress like Peter walking about. Right, he had a show this evening, was Peter done with it already? Was he upstairs?

Arthur eventually found the lifts, where a security officer was seated behind a desk. He looked over at the bartender, giving a little smile. "Are you Mr. Vincent's guest?" He asked.

"Uh, yes, is he upstairs?"

"He will be, I think he's doing signings right now. He said you can go up if you got here early. Did he give you the door code?"

Arthur nodded and the guard let him go. He got on the lift and looked at the panel, putting in a number code that seemed like it had to be a reference to something, before it started to rise.

When the doors opened, Arthur was greeted by a curious sight of display cases and an assortment of weapons and oddities. Right, he had said he was world-famous expert in vampires and monsters. Arthur looked at a few of the displays, wondering if they were all real or if the poor man had been swindled out of his money.

He was peering into a case that had what looked like a mummified hand inside of it when the lift's doors opened and he shot up straight, turning to see a partially-dressed Peter, pulling a fake sideburn off the side of his face.

Peter flicked it off somewhere into the room before noticing Arthur. He brightened instantly from the scowl that had been there and quickly approached. "You came! Have any trouble getting here?"

"The ride was fine, but, uhh... goodness, is it normally this busy here?"

"It's Saturday! Big night for shows and clubs, and lots and lots of gamblin'!" Peter smirked and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Just the typical Vegas experience."

"Ah, yes, quite."

Peter seemed to notice his tone and frowned. "You okay?"

"I'm not one for crowds, Peter. I typically don't deal with them at my bar, nor in the area I live in. It's always overwhelming to come to this part of the city."

"Ah, oh, shit, sorry! I had no idea!"

Arthur shook his head. "It's alright, I'm fine. It just catches me off-guard sometimes, I'll be alright."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Peter looked at him, then patted him on the back. "Right, cool. Uhhh, you want a drink 'r somethin'? I'm not as talented as you, but I can make a few things just fine. Usually, I just drink straight from the bottle."

"Thank you, I'll have whatever you think would be best." Arthur smiled and that seemed to put Peter at ease. They walked quietly together into the flat, where Arthur could see that Peter's taste in decor matched his taste in fashion as well.

He felt it was wise not to comment on this.

He watched as Peter went behind the counter of the home bar after turning on some of the overhead lights, illuminating the apartment in a mix of soft mood lighting, and what Arthur assumed to be black lights as well.

Peter fumbled a bit with making drinks, chatting about the show he had just done, how it went when Arthur asked, before holding out a glass of what looked to be something mixed with rum.

Arthur thanked him, took a sip, and had to take a moment to register that the taste was a bit... strong.

Peter grinned at him, taking a long drink from his own glass. He glanced towards the windows before looking back at Arthur. "Ya know, one of the reasons I brought you here is because you had commented to me once about how you wondered what the city looked like from above."

"I had?"

"Yeah, when I told you lived on the top floor of a hotel, how I had a hell of a look over Sin City, and I remember you said 'I bet it is quite a view. I'd love to see.'"

He took another drink before putting more rum in the glass. "So?"

"So?"

"Ya wanna look over the city?"

Arthur blinked and looked towards the tall windows. He could see a few lights outside of it, from the higher buildings, illuminating the darkness of the desert night. "I would like to, yes."

Peter grinned and moved from behind the bar, leading Arthur over with a hand to his back. Arthur stared out the window and down at the city. He could see thousands of flashing lights of dozens of colors. There were hotels, businesses, cars, homes, that stupid pyramid and its beam of light.

It was Las Vegas, but something about it from this height made it look like something from a dream. It was a beautiful sight, much better than experiencing it from below.

"Appreciate the view, honey."

Arthur turned to look at Peter, who was looking at him, relaxed. He still had some of his costume jewelry on his face, and his make up was smudged. His hair was a mess from being under that wig Arthur had seen in the ads, and he was shirtless and sweaty, and he looked so lovely in the lights inside and outside.

He looked a mess but he was Peter, in his element.

"I am." Arthur said, though he wasn't sure if he meant the city or not.

--

I... I now want Peter's pet name for Arthur to be honey. >.>

Also, totally projecting on Arthur my feelings towards crowds and busy cities. :)

[more-than-a-princess]

Tsubasa: 🐸New friends 💋 good/bad influence (COOL INFLUENCE) ♝ Found family (at least on Tsubasa's part - if you're a friend, you're family to them)

Anzu: 🐸New friends ▲ Besties (eventually, as far as she's concerned) 💃Partners in Crime (the crime is 'bothering shinobu')

Shinobu: ♫ Reluctant friends (from Shinobu, at least) 💋 good/bad influence (bad influence? good influence? who is to say really) ➣ One-sided crush (from Shinobu, she's gonna be very unhappy with herself about it) perhaps into € Mutual unknown longing (perhaps maybe maybe)

Relationship dynamics meme - Accepting. So very much accepting. Please send this in if you'd like to write with me/already are writing with me so we can plot!

Ooh so many great ideas! I'll respond to this by muse:

Tsubasa: Yes PLEASE have Tsubasa be Sonia's cool influence! I could see them becoming friends very quickly and easily, and Tsubasa teaches Sonia cool slang and not to sound like a 40 year old trapped in an 18 year old's body. Take Sonia to skating competitions! Or concerts! Or other cool teenage things! Let Sonia put temporary bright streaks or extensions in her hair and neon makeup! Give her a digital pet (that she will suck at taking care of but it's the thought that counts)!

She will be totally poggers in no time do people even say poggers or vibe or mood anymore but yeah Sonia still will because it's Sonia and no matter how hard someone tries, she's a dork. She's a dork around regular people because she's so sheltered. She's a dork in the upper classes because she's obsessed with horror/occult/serial killers/anime/dramas/gothic and romantic literature.

In Sonia's case, she can teach Tsubasa all about etiquette, or public speaking, or languages. Or horror movies. Is Tsubasa easily scared? For their sake, I hope they aren't.

Don't let Sonia cook for them either but that goes for any and all muses!

Anzu: Sonia will have no choice but to become besties with Anzu. One, she's just so nice and friendly and energetic! And two, Anzu will hear about how her bestest friend ever Shinobu met the Princess of Novoselic and didn't outright hate her and, if I'm right about this, that's good enough for Anzu.

These two tag each other in new IG filters and swoon over dramas, I bet. Anzu tries to take Sonia to do young, cool and hip teenage girl things, like meeting her favorite hosts at the host club, but Sonia is uncomfortable by the prospect of paying someone to talk to her/be her friend. If just for the fact her family has already done that in the past, or people tend to befriend her because they want what she represents or something she has, instead of who she is.

Anzu is also the Queen of the Stairs. That is: Sonia will learn to think twice about taking the stairs at Hope's Peak Academy - she'll never know who's lying at the bottom, clearly in pain from a certain gremlin who has pushed them and made it look like an accident (my money is on Hiyoko ending up there sooner rather than later).

But still, very good and agreeable friends, though Anzu always seems to be laser focused on...

Shinobu: Oh yes, if there's any reluctance in this friendship, it's on Shinobu's end. Sonia is already plenty entertained by their morbid outlook on their attire and the ball in general, so she'll be more than happy to befriend them. Despite all the rumors floating around Hope's Peak about how cruel Shinobu Yaguchi is towards...well, everyone. But especially girls who get too close to them and then get disappointed when they're rejected.

Fortunately for Shinobu, dating them isn't at the forefront of Sonia's mind, at least not at first. She's just happy to make a new friend! One that happens to be thoughtful, introspective, brooding, bitter but kind to at least one person/Anzu, tends to need a hug and a smile more than most...well, you can see where I'm going with this:

mutual/known longing is likely to happen in this case. I can see Sonia feeling at ease in their company, as they likely won't care about her title and is far more interested in Sonia's personality, or at least the concerning parts of it: her obsession with the disturbing and the fact she's not breaking out in tears every time Shinobu glares at her, or tells her she's annoying, or some other tactic that usually makes other girls crumble.

Sonia's not like other girls: she's got concerning hobbies, believes the best in everyone, and is an absolute idiot when it comes to recognizing someone is in love with her (Kazuichi aside).

They need all the help they can get, but don't tell Anzu that. She'll only be more determined to resolve this one-sided crush that could turn into mutual pining. They can both be the good/bad influence!

Also: can we say a prayer for Sonia's windows (from Shinobu) and Sonia's general privacy (from Anzu)? RIP to both. She won't see them intact again: not for long, at least.

[vanosslirious]

BBS Dialogue Prompts #205

BBS Dialogue & Sentence Starter Prompts: [ 10 ]

SMII7y

I knew you were going to say something about it.

Okay, do it!

We are trying to do this as quick as possible cuz this place is a death trap and at any point, someone could throw a C4 and ruin our content.

No, they just shot a rocket.

Get out of there, please!

There's like nowhere safe to do this.

Watch out, there's going to be a roadblock.

The government's trying to stop us!

They're going to be fucking tracking us!

We're trying to do something for experiments here…

We can still make it work.

Oh God, what's happening.

Drop me your money.

Oh shit, this is not good.

It's probably going to break.

Stop the man from shooting!

There's people here just looking at us.

We literally can't move.

Frick off, fricker!

Just kidding, they had parachutes, nothing happened.

FL0M

That was not my stomach.

They eat us, we eat them.

Some things are better left alone, this is one of those things.

He's in a mood today.

I'm a person with feelings, guys.

I got it in my mouth!

He just killed me in cold fucking blood.

This union is falling apart.

This was a workplace accident, don't tell anyone.

You guys need some assistance?

ELILIKESRICE

They don't use bullets.

Cleaning is cool.

How do we leave?

That's the same guy who knocked over my buckets, let's get 'em.

You can say whatever and you'll get a reaction.

You look like a Canadian.

Where are we right now?

Oh shit, they're amassing an army.

I don't know what that meant.

Is that what they're doing?

JERICHO

I'm covered in blood!

I hope so, so you can stop complaining.

I know same team, we're both trying to get him killed.

I just made a bomb!

Now you grab something.

Why are you putting heads in the bucket?

Does it even fit?

I think we're done in here.

No, I'm using that!

They're making love.

GRIZZY

On the bright side, I’ll make it blue.

Damn, leave some cards for us to pick up too.

Do you want to play ring-around-the-rosy?

I fucking hope not.

Sometimes, you have to trust the process.

These are worse than mine.

I'm gonna go out and say it, I hate you.

I don't love that, I don't love you.

I saw a shiny button.

Yeah, I want to go…back to bed.

BLARG

You guys…that was his kidney you ripped out.

How do I fly?

Hey, you can’t do that!

Bro, you were using me?

And I’ll do it again, bitch.

I was thinking of this kind of sacrifice.

Why do I deserve that?

Give me your fucking shit or I'll rip your head off.

I didn't cheat, I didn't manipulate him.

This one’s so stupid.

PUFFER

We're never going to finish.

Stop looking at me while you're going backwards.

What a perfect time to get back.

I got timed out.

Way to go.

I can’t catch up, slow down!

I’m fine with waiting.

You’re blowing us up!

Oh no, I’m so slow.

Don't worry, I'm here now.

KRYOZ

Do you not see this?

Spit on me.

I’m trying not to let you down.

To be honest, I’m not looking at you right now, so I’m not too sure.

I felt like I started floating.

Is there anything I care about?

Looks like I got it, bitch.

I bet they’re on your side.

Once again, that’s probably going to be a you problem cause I can’t afford the wood cleaner…

It's going good…

BIGJIGGLYPANDA

Someone else figure this shit out, I don’t fucking care.

Yes, I’m giving you the answer.

Right, but now I may not ever want to play it again.

Oh, that one is just nothing.

Aw, that’s unfortunate.

I think mine is perfect, to be honest with you.

I don't know what I'm looking at.

Adding anything else will make this masterpiece worse.

I don't even want to look at it anymore.

Oh, I forgot I had to do that.

BYZE

There is no way you're on a loop.

I'm on the spooky one again.

How does this happen to you?

It’s me, who do you think’s behind you?

See if we can make a train.

Did I get you off too?

Are you going to lock in, bro?

Yeah, that's a good idea.

You guys fucking suck at this now.

This game is so shit.

[sosimsofmaddi]

Moonwood Mill Hierarchies

Reese caught sight of a bright flash through the living room window. It was there and gone just as fast, but her heart sped up until she could feel it beating in her chest. She leaned forward on the couch and glanced into the kitchen where her sister sat at the island counter.

The house still needed a lot of work. The kitchen needed the most. It would suck up time and money that they didn't have. The floors were in surprisingly good shape throughout all of the house, but the kitchen cabinets were loose and discolored, the counter tops chipped and stained, and the appliances outdated. The oven was unreliable at best, so they mainly relied on the air frier that the sisters pitched in for.

Roxie sat at the small island on a rickety, backless stool with her laptop in front of her and her cell phone on speaker. She was on the phone with a client, discussing a logo revamp she was working on for them.

She made most of her money doing graphic design work for small businesses. It was flexible enough that she was able to pack up and move out to Moonwood Mill on a whim. It also allowed her to stay indefinitely.

Satisfied that Roxanna was occupied -- and that the kitchen window was angled in a way that didn't show the rundown shed -- Reese quietly crept up from the couch and snuck through the front door. Barefoot, she hurried around the right side of the house to the dilapidated shed.

Gunnar leaned against the back wall.

Reese shut the door behind her. "You're back."

Gunnar nodded. "I said I would be." He glanced around the shed. "You fixed it up for me and all - figured I should come see the work."

Reese lifted a brow. "I fixed it up for you?"

He straightened up, offering her a smile. "Are you free?"

"For what?" she asked, scooting the green coil of hose under one of the shelves with her foot.

"I need to explain something to you. It's dangerous for you to continue hunting for the wolves, especially when you know nothing about the hierarchies. You'll get yourself in trouble, Reese."

"I knew the dangers when I moved here," she countered, folding her arms. She didn't need to be scolded by a werewolf. "I didn't have any options. I need to know what's going to happen to my son."

"The same thing that happened to you," Gunnar answered as though she already knew that. "You don't need someone to walk you through it. You lived it. I don't think that's why you're here, Reese, not completely."

She pulled in a breath, simply staring while she tamped down her agitation. She'd always been quick to anger, but she'd learned early on to control it. She spent her childhood terrified that she'd set herself off and shift around others, hurt someone like her father did. For just a moment she thought maybe Gunnar could take her anger, could handle it and understand it if it ripped through her, forcing her body to contort into the animal inside.

"I told you that wolves crave a pack," he said gently. "Even without knowing it, your instincts are to find others like you. I can't think of what it was like for you to be alone. I don't think you want that for your son."

Her eyes narrowed then. "Don't tell me what I want," she stated. "Especially when it comes to Kelley. I don't want him around wolves. It's too dangerous."

Gunnar frowned. "We're not dangerous, Reese. Not if you're one of us. The Wildfangs are a family; we look after our own."

"We're not part of you," she held. "We won't be. I'm here for answers, not because there's some empty place inside of me that's longing for anything. I raised myself, and I can raise my son."

Gunnar was silent for a moment, contemplative. Finally, he nodded. "At least let me teach you what you need to know about Moonwood. It'll help you keep Kelley safe."

It didn't take more than a deep breath for Reese to calm down and agree. She'd come for answers, and he was willing to give them. She couldn't pass that up. She settled into one of the raggedy folding chairs she'd unearthed in here a couple weeks ago. Gunnar took another, facing her directly.

"The town is divided by two different packs," he said, watching the surprise flitter over her expression. "The Wildfangs and The Collective. The Wildfangs are my pack, my family. We're very different than The Collective. They demand order, control. They reject anything they believe is impure and anyone they consider outsiders.

"They don't have any leniency when it comes to breaking their rules. They consider themselves superior to all others; humans, witches, even other werewolves. They hate the Wildfangs because we don't hold the same beliefs. Sure, the Wildfangs prefer to keep separate from humans, but we acknowledges that the witches are powerful. We work with them sometimes even."

"And humans?" Reese questioned, innately considering herself one of them. Or at least adjacent.

Gunnar nodded like he was getting to that. "We don't hate humans," he said. "Not inherently. We hate that they don't appreciate the land they walk on. They're a nuisance more than anything, but also dangerous to us. The Wildfangs just want to live our lives on our land and be left alone. The Collective are more severe when it comes to other species."

He shifted, leaning his elbows onto his knees. His bottle-green eyes met her own. "I don't know how they would treat a wolf who's half-human. Likely not well, Reese. They value lycanthrope blood above all else. Collective blood."

"You hate each other then?"

"It's not unfounded, at least not on our end. The Collective has never accepted that the Wildfangs have a right to this town and this land, maybe even more than they do. We've been here as long as anyone can remember. The Collective has only been in Moonwood a few generations."

"Where did they come from?"

"There are wolves everywhere," Gunnar answered. "But it's easier in towns like Moonwood. The third-largest pack is in Evergreen Harbor, but it's becoming so industrialized in the last few years that many of them have moved here or to the Henford-on-Bagley pack. The Wildfangs have a good relationship with the Grims from Evergreen Harbor, but Henford-on-Bagley is more reclusive.

"Sometimes wolves from other packs come to Moonwood hoping to join the Collective. It's a difficult process, especially coming from the Grims Quarry pack in Evergreen Harbor. But The Collective likes to collect strays, unknown faces who are just as prejudiced as they are."

Reese felt like a child learning of a whole world she didn't understand, had never imagined. Wolves were such an abstract concept, a single entity she'd been taught to fear and hate. The idea that they were everywhere, in their own societies, own families, was overwhelming.

"The Collective was founded by Ezekiel Muir a few generations ago. He was one of us, but he disagreed with the Wildfangs's leniency toward other species. We have no relationships with the vampires, but we don't seek them out. Ezekiel wanted to change that. He hated the other species, and he created his own pack to flaunt his superiority over other, more lenient wolves."

Reese's mouth was set in a heavy frown. She knew of witches. They were more of a mainstream secret, buffered by humans doing petty parlor tricks and beseeching the moon for luck. They could claim witchcraft and be taken for quirky, campy. Witch-core gave them a trend to hide beneath.

Vampires, however, were a scary story, a Halloween costume rather than an adopted identity or hobby. If someone started claiming they were a vampire, they were ridiculed or laughed off. There was no "Vampire-Lite" like witchcraft. Reese wasn't sure they even existed until Gunnar solidified it.

"Vampires?" she repeated.

Gunnar's attention snagged on that, the realization that she wasn't completely aware of the truth. "Yes," he confirmed.

"Where are they, then? If they exist, how are they remaining hidden?"

"They work with the witches a lot, if you can believe it. There's a sect of witches that don't mind performing darker magic and sharing it with the vampires. Just like the witches, though, it's not entirely black and white with the vampires. They're dangerous no matter what, but most of them are reasonable. They don't want to truly harm people more than what's necessary for their survival."

"What does that mean?" Reese asked quickly. "Why would they need to harm people at all? Can't they take donated blood like in the movies? Can they control themselves?"

Gunnar shook his head. "Stealing from blood banks isn't a victimless crime, Reese. That blood is directly used for saving people's lives. It's more socially-conscious to take directly from humans. If they can control themselves, they can take just enough. The humans sometimes volunteer, or they never know the difference."

"What do you mean?"

"Vampires have compulsion," he admitted, speaking as though he knew it sounded like a trumped up movie plot. "It doesn't work on witches or werewolves, but they can compel humans to give their blood and make them forget after. They go on with their lives - a little light-headed, but ultimately fine."

"You said most of them do this," she pointed out. "What about the rest?"

"There will always be bad people. No matter the race, species, or religion. It doesn't color the whole lot. The Wildfangs are the enforcers, really. We make sure that the other species aren't harming humans to devastating degrees. We're dispatched to investigate vampire killings and overzealous witch rituals, sometimes even a rogue werewolf from another pack."

"You're an oversight committee?" she said with a mix of disbelief and humor.

He smiled back. "Kind of. That's why the Wildfangs and the Collective don't get along. They feel we're too lenient toward the other species, but they pretend it's some visceral concern for humans that fuels their hatred. But of everyone, they dislike humans, any outsiders, the most.

"That's why you need to be careful here, Reese. You'd be safer if you left, went to the Grim Quarry pack in Evergreen Harbor, or better yet, to Henford-on-Bagley. They'd be more willing to accept you and Kelley, and you'd be safe from the Collective."

Reese frowned. "I told you that I don't want to join any pack. I don't want Kelley around wolves like that. We just... need answers."

Gunnar looked at her through his lashes, his head hung with a sort of concerned exasperation. "You stay here, you won't be safe on your own, Reese. The Collective will want to know what you are. If they believe that you're trying to join us, it'll only make them more concerned. Of all the species and packs, they hate us the most."

He pulled in a deep breath and continued. "They believe that bitten wolves are an abomination, too human. They don't allow wolves to mate with other species."

Reese's head popped up, eyebrows raising. "Like witches and vampires? That's possible?"

"Witches are human in a way, so yes," he said. "And I've never heard of a vampire-werewolf coupling, but like us, vampires are bitten and born. It might be possible to crossbreed. Especially if the wolf only has the recessive gene." He smirked a little at the idea. "I don't know anyone who'd want to get that close to a vampire, but to each their own, I guess."

"Why would the Collective care about me and Kelley? We're not bitten wolves, we don't want anything from them."

Gunnar ran his fingers through his choppy hair. "I don't know for sure that they would want anything to do with you," he said, "but worst-case scenario, they take an interest in two wolves born from a human and a bitten wolf. Especially a pack-less wolf who rejected everything about lycanthropy. They might see you as too much of an outsider, too close to being human, and they might take an interest in Kelley. He's young, pack-less, and impressionable."

Reese's insides lurched. "They'd what? Want to brainwash him?"

Gunnar shrugged, but his eyes stayed on hers, serious. "I wouldn't put it past them. The Collective doesn't allow many wolves to join them, especially if they've been affiliated with more lenient packs, but a child with no ties? They might think they can raise him right. They might think they have to get to him, to you, before you join the Wildfangs."

Reese couldn't speak anymore about her son. She could read between the lines. The only way they would ever get to Kelley was if she was dead.

"How do you know so much about how they think?"

Gunnar straightened up in his chair, glancing off to something behind her rather than answer. She held her gaze until he finally met her eyes again. "Well?"

"I guess you can say that I'm sort of a half-breed," he admitted. "Not half-human like you. I'm all wolf, but the truth of my paternity is a bit murky."

Reese pulled in a surprise breath. In the same way that she often didn't think of wolves as children, she hadn't even considered that Gunnar had parents, a biological family within the pack.

Gunnar continued without waiting for her questions. "My mother, Helena, was Wildfang. Her family was an old Wildfang family, fairly prominent, but not one of the council. Both of my grandparents were enforcers. They travelled a lot, investigating cross-species violence. From what I've been told in the pack, Helena's mother was killed on a routine trip to Del Sol Valley. She was shot in a mugging."

Reese's mouth parted. "She was killed for something like that?"

"Back then, it was a huge dishonor to get killed in such a mundane way. They were two of the best enforcers, and she was killed by inner-city crime." "And your grandpa?"

"William threw himself into his work. My mother was a toddler when her mother died. Her father left her in the hands of the pack and spent most of his time hunting down rogue vampires, werewolves, and witches. He disappeared when my mother was twelve."

"He died?"

"Everyone thinks so. He wasn't the kind of man to walk away from his job, even if he could walk away from his daughter. The pack likes to tell stories, so from what I've heard, my mother looked just like her mother. They say it was hard for William to look at her after what happened."

Reese paused for a moment, considering how to ask the question brimming at the edge of her mind. Having lost both of her own parents, the question was easier to ask. She wasn't a stranger to death, talking about it didn't scare her in the way it did for most others. When you were used to it, you knew that discussing it gave it no extra power.

"You said you learned all this through stories from your pack. You parents weren't alive to tell you?"

The corners of his mouth lifted, almost as though he was unsurprised that she'd asked. Almost as though he thought she would and she proved him right. "Helena was fifteen when she had me," he admitted. "She loved the Wildfangs, but I guess she always felt a little untethered after her mother died and William left her to the pack.

"It's not uncommon for wolves to mate and have children early, but even that was too young for the Wildfangs. The other problem was that no male stepped up to say that it was his child, and Helena wouldn't tell them the truth. Paternity is rarely an issue in a wolf pack - children are sacred in a much more spiritual way than many other cultures. Even if a wolf never truly mates or finds a partner, most have children."

He scratched a hand through his hair and got up. He offered a small smile to say he wasn't leaving, and simply wandered to the corner of the shed. He fiddled with something.

"Everyone came to the belief that my father must've been from another pack. That's allowed, but uncommon. The more they pushed for answers, the less Helena would say. She became sick when she was pregnant with me. The begged her to tell who my father was so that I could be claimed when she died, but she refused."

"Why would she do that?" Reese demanded, finally picturing the child Gunnar must've been. Alone with a history of dead and missing family.

"My father was part of the Moonwood Collective," he said finally, watching Reese's expression for any hint of surprise. If she was, she hid it well. "At least that's what everyone believes. There were rumors that didn't come out until after I was born. Stories from people who saw her returning from the north woods multiple times. Teenagers who'd heard her talk about a guy in passing, hinting almost that their relationship was taboo."

"Were you adopted?"

Gunnar shook his head. "No, I was raised by the pack. Some of the wolves resented that decision, believing that my mother had chosen the Collective over her own and that meant that I was somehow a traitor too, even as an infant. Others didn't think I was guilty, but no parents wanted to raise the child of a Collective member, afraid that someone might come looking for me."

"So you were what? Passed around like some burden?" Reese wasn't oblivious to the similarity of her own upbringing. The difference was that Gunnar talked about the pack as though they were a family, each there for the others, almost cult-like in their devotion to each other. Yet he was still pushed aside, as though his blood made him less. Reese knew that feeling other people hid, the idea that your parents didn't want to live for you, so you must not be worth much.

"Being raised by the pack is like being raised by a huge extended family," he explained. "It wasn't bad. I lived in the pack's bunk with many of the other wolves. When I was a child, Rufus and a couple other guys took on the burden of actually making sure I was fed and clothed, educated and cared for. They lived in the bunk house too, so I was always there under their feet."

"That's not the same as being raised by a family."

"Pack is family."