#sin city trailer

[farfromstrange]

“What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?” | Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Masterlist

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Warnings: SMUT! (18+), shower setting, oral f!receiving, masturbation, fantasizing, beard appreciation (kink?), dirty talk, mentioned unprotected p in v, slight Dom!Matt, DDBA!Matt, improper thoughts about a certain crucifix necklace, (kind of) religious symbolism, mentions of choking, praise kink, pet names, “good girl”, not perfectly edited (shocker)

Summary: Fantasies about your late-working boyfriend take over your much needed self-care shower—until he’s suddenly (and unexpectedly) right in front of you when you are about to take care of the problem yourself.

A/n: So, the Born Again trailer brought me back from the dead and made me so fucking needy for this man. I thought this would be the best opportunity to rewatch Daredevil and practice writing Matt again because I’ve been a bit out of practice lately. Let’s just say the experiment was successful, but I definitely owe it to my hormone levels. The gif below inspired this fic (as it probably has done to many writers in the fandom these past two days). Anyway. If you want to listen to the song I was listening to while writing, it’s “Guilty As Sin?” By Taylor Swift, hence the title. Other than they, enjoy, and feedback is always appreciated!

Read Me On AO3!

The warm water from the shower head above runs down your clammy skin, seeping into your pores and aching muscles. You have been dreaming about this ever since you got home from work. 

The apartment is quiet, save for the little noise you make in the bathroom. Matt called you earlier, telling you he would be late and that you shouldn’t wait up for him; you expected as much after he and Foggy caught a high-profile case a couple of weeks ago. 

When he isn’t busy at work, he tries to fulfill his duty to protect the city. You’re not mad; you knew what you were signing up for when you fell in love with him, but that doesn’t change the fact that you miss him sometimes. Or rather, all the time. It doesn’t matter if he’s at work or wandering around in red leather, searching for a fight—you always miss him. 

There’s not a day that goes by that you’re not worried he might not come back to you. You can only hold on to the thought of him coming home in the middle of the night, crawling into bed beside you because he’s too tired to shower, wrapping his arms around you as though you are the only thing anchoring him to reality. It makes you appreciate what you have in him. 

The thing about Matt is that he feels he has to do penance for every little thing he has ever done, whether his actions hurt people or not; he loathes himself for who he is, which is absurd to you but to him, it makes sense. Perhaps it’s the catholic in him, or all those years of losing soulmates, or maybe it’s both.

His shampoo smells faintly of sandalwood and the rainforest, but only if you focus closely. You like that it makes your skin soft, and when you wrap yourself in his silk sheets at night, it’s almost like he’s all over you before he physically can be. 

You close your eyes and you focus on the feel of him, imagining your hands are his. You imagine his calloused fingers trailing over your heated skin, exploring every dip and every curve, even though he already knows the wonderland of your body inside and out. His lips on yours, traveling down your neck to your shoulder to your chest… a shiver runs down your spine, pooling in your core. You’re on fire, and he isn’t even with you. 

He’s at the office, sleeves probably rolled up, the first two buttons of his dress shirt undone, loosening his tie with that strained look he gets when he’s stressed. Or maybe he’s on his way to Fogwell’s Gym so he won’t disturb you before he puts the suit on, fists raining down on a sandbag as sweat drips down his body, and he grunts whenever he lands a hit. 

You were just trying to have a nice shower, but Matt always manages to invade your every thought like a burglar on a mission. 

It’s just not fair how he always looks so sinful when he’s at his wit’s end. Oh, you love that look he gets when he’s feral. And you suddenly remember how long it has been since you got to touch each other. Since he let the devil out on you. Since he came home in the middle of the night and fucked you into the mattress because he was still so full of adrenaline. 

It has been so long since you two got to have a nice dinner together and you last rode him on his leather couch until you were both sticking to it, not even thinking about stopping; since he devoured you for hours and hours and hours until you were almost severely dehydrated and overstimulated from the orgasms he tore from you. 

You bite your lip so you won’t moan into the void of the bathroom. If you touch yourself now, he will know when he comes home. For a moment, you consider it. You slide your hand from your chest down your stomach. The water is slowly starting to grow cold. You just need to take the edge off.  Lower, lower, and lower, and—

“Don’t,” Matt’s voice reverberates in your ear. His hand slides over yours, calloused fingers on the back of your hand. 

The veil of fantasy burns to the ground. Your heart stops, then picks up the pace at a million miles an hour. In an instant, you turn around to face him, a gasp dying on your lips.

He’s right there, clothes discarded on the floor before the shower, no doubt. The golden crucifix around his neck offers a sinful contrast to his milky skin. You have always wondered if he was made out of marble rather than skin and bone. How can one person be this beautiful—this close to perfection and still be human? 

Matt is close enough for you to feel his heartbeat against your own. His hands slide to your forearms to make sure you don’t slip. You can see your wrecked reflection in his hazel irises. 

His unfocused gaze is right on you, boring through your skull into your soul. Only he can read you like an open book, listen to your body, and know exactly what you want, what you crave. He thinks of himself as the devil, but all you see is an angel. He’s the sun. To you, at least, he’s everything. The moon, the sun, the stars, and the entire fucking universe.

He caught you when you were about to touch yourself, and he’s naked. Really fucking naked. This is not how you imagined tonight to go. 

His chest heaves with a deep inhale of your scent, forehead coming to rest against yours. 

“You’re home,” you whisper. 

His lips curl into a smile—not a smirk but a genuine smile. “Yeah.”

“But you said you guys had that case, and then you were gonna go out…”

Matt cuts you off, “I missed you,” he says. “Couldn’t go out without seeing you.”

He chose you over the city. You never doubted Daredevil meant more to him than you, but hearing it out loud almost brings tears to your eyes.

“I missed you too,” you answer. So much. Days, weeks, seconds, all the fucking time. 

He’s so smug about it, too, when he tells you, “I know.”

The water keeps falling around you, drowning out the noise of the city and pearling off his necklace. He should have taken it off. If he wanted to shower with you, he should have taken it off because the need for him that makes your cunt pulse in desperation feeds off of the mere thought of taking the cold metal into your mouth while he pounds into you like a madman. 

He doesn’t look agitated, not at all, but there is a dark shadow falling over Matt’s bearded face. It’s a calculated shadow rooted in a need for control, and who are you to deny him the only thing he can control?  

“Hey,” he grabs your chin, “Tell me. What were you doing in there, hm?” 

You bite your lip. “Just… showering.”

“Just showering?” He brushes his nose against yours. “You know I can hear your heartbeat…”

You nod. Your lips brush, but he doesn’t kiss you. Not yet. You can taste the remnants of his last coffee, the familiar warmth of his mouth on yours, but he refuses to give you the satisfaction. You crave him so much that fireworks have started erupting on your skin wherever his fingers dare to travel; it isn’t fair. He isn’t fair. 

Matt studied the science of driving you crazy, and now you are bordering on the edge of madness. Alone. 

“Mhm. So, I know you’re lying…” He moves to your cheek, his breath hot when he speaks, “And I know when you’re touching yourself. ‘Cause I can smell how fucking wet you are, sweetheart.” 

There he is. The relentless, feral animal you fantasized about before. The man driven by primal need and the sheer power of his senses rather than rational thought, and yet he knows exactly what he is doing. He’s a musician playing you like a delicate violin, pushing her to the breaking point but never fully destroying.

“Like I said,” you breathe, “I missed you.”

He presses his lips to your cheek, almost like a reward. “I know,” he says. “Probably been thinking about me, too, with your hand on your pussy…” 

You swallow a needy moan that would have been too embarrassing. It’s been a long few weeks. Neither of you will be able to resist for long, you know that, so you decide you have to be bold tonight. “And what’re you gonna do about it?” you ask.

Though stunned for a moment, the smirk on Matt’s face isn’t far out of reach. “That’s my girl.”

Your back hits the now warm tiles of the shower wall before you can string together another remark, and then, finally—fucking finally—his lips are on yours. Kissing you. Devouring you. Breathing air into your aching lungs. He tastes like paradise, the Garden of Eden, and the six circles of hell all at once. It’s all the same to you, anyway. 

As long as you’re with him, you don’t care where you end up. No amount of torture could take away the love you feel for him, and you know that with Matt, even weathering the stormy seas of hell would be worthwhile. It’s sick and twisted how far you would go for this man, but you can’t find a single bone in your body that cares.  

His tongue forces its way into your mouth, tasting you, and inhaling you like his sole source of life support. You don’t bother fighting for dominance; you’re all his. Your body is telling him to command you. Your mind is screaming for him to touch you in any way he pleases, so help him God, and the chain around his neck keeps sinfully dangling against his toned chest. You want to bite it. You’re going to bite it. But not yet. 

When it is time for you to swim to the surface for air, he pulls away. His lips move from yours to the corner of your mouth. He kisses there, taking his time to explore what he has explored many times before. But Matt Murdock is an addict, and you are his drug of choice, so why would he ever stop? 

He kisses your cheek, your eyes, and the bridge of your nose. That’s how he sees you. Either with his fingers or his mouth or both. Touching you. Listening to you. He wants to see you in his own way. In a way that is far more intimate than you admiring his objective beauty could ever be.

“So beautiful,” he whispers between kisses. When he says it, you know it has to be true, even when you don’t see yourself in the same light as him.

His beard is rough where he kisses you. He has grown it out quite a bit, not having the time to bother shaving. The specks of gray that have started appearing as he got older should be illegal, you think, staring at him through hazy eyes. It should be illegal to look this good.

You caress his face, palm covering the entirety of his cheek. So beautiful, you want to say, but you don’t have the words.

The confession of love tumbles against your skin, softly, breathlessly, and he dips his head into the crook of your neck. He seeks your pulse point to press his lips against the beat of your heart. Your head falls back against the tiles. He’s a fucking menace, but he’s gentle about it. So, so gentle.

The hands-on your hips pull you closer, as close as you can get. Your nipples brush his chest, and you can feel him growing hard against you. He’s hot, red, and flushed, and with his lips against your neck, sucking and biting and licking some more, the shower water isn’t the only thing running down your thighs. You’ve been wet just thinking about him; Matt is here now, and he has no intention of stopping until you’re screaming his name.

Your skin is raw from the way he’s moving his face against you, suctioning his lips right where he can feel your pulse reaching for him. Reacting to him.

“Matthew,” you moan, breathless. “Please.” 

He hums, fingers digging into your flesh to keep his composure. The sound of his name from your lips in such ecstasy makes his cock swell to the point all he wants is to sink into you and fuck you against the wet shower wall until you can’t walk anymore. He wants to wrap his hand around your throat, just holding you there as you take it like the good girl you are. God, he wants to do so many things to you. 

He wants to push all of your buttons and reward you for it. He wants to feel your nails running down his back until he’s bleeding. He wants to eat your pussy until you forget your name, and when he’s done with that, he wants to do even more because that is the kind of animal you turn him into. That is what you do to him. You consume him with your mere existence and your love you keep pouring into him like a glass about to overflow, a glass so full yet so fucking empty at the same time, and he has been neglecting you for far too long to hold back now—yes, the water bill be damned!

“I love it when you beg,” he growls, feeling his voice vibrate through your skin. Like he’s in your veins.

You whimper. Oh, that sound. That sweet, sweet sound. It seems to do him in. Matt sinks to his knees like he would in front of God in church—like Mary knelt in front of Jesus after he got crucified. But there are no stained windows, no crosses, and no confessional booth in sight; you’re his place of worship, and your body is the altar. You are the only constant in his world on fire. You always want him to set you on fire, too. 

Once on his knees in front of you, his cock straining high and mighty against his stomach, he grabs your thigh and places it over his shoulder. No rush. You can barely catch your breath. 

Burning along the inside of your thigh, Matt kisses his way toward where you need him most. Your core yearns for him. Your hand slips from his face, searching the tiles behind you for something to hold onto. 

He’s quick to bring your hands back to his hair. “Don’t let go,” he says. 

It’s almost embarrassing that the only sound you can make is a grunt, and when your brain finally catches up, it’s too late. He’s impatient. Desperate. And he places his lips in a gentle kiss against your clit. The sudden contact makes you jolt, but that is not nearly all of it. 

He tests the waters. Once, twice, even a third time, gently kissing along your slick folds. You instinctively tug at his hair, but that doesn’t deter him. Matt inhales your scent, tasting your essence on his tongue; he would bathe in it if he could. 

You cry out when he dives in. He parts your folds with his tongue, sucking and licking until his face is covered. The obscene noise of lips smacking against wet skin goes straight to your head. He can hear the wetness gushing out of you, every twitch of your muscles and hitch of your breath, and he sucks a little harder on your sensitive clit. You’re scared you might fall. 

“Fuck!” Your moans are as obscene as the sound of him eating you out. You grind against him, at first involuntarily, but then he moans against you, and you can’t help it; the vibrations he sends through you continue to pool in your cunt, tightening the coil that is waiting to snap. 

Matt prods your entrance with his tongue, the tip of his nose digging just right into that sensitive bundle of nerves he lost when your hips first jerked. He’s completely out of it, hooded eyes rolled back into his skull while you are almost splitting yours open on the dark tiles. The cross necklace is sticky with his saliva as he drinks from you like you are the spring fueling his ocean. He’s thrusting into his hand, pre-cum leaking from his cock, but his mouth never wavers. He has a job to do. 

Your walls clench around what little of his tongue is inside of you. There is nothing more arousing than the sight of him touching himself because the taste of you is bringing him to the brink of an inevitable orgasm. Because he wants to come with you. Because he’s desperate and he can only imagine being inside of you as he licks away at you. It’s a kind of dedication that makes you feral. No one has ever loved you quite like he has, and no one will ever eat your pussy as only he can. 

“Matt,” you choke out. “Fuck, I’m gonna—’m gonna come. Don’t stop. Don’t…”

As if he could. He flicks his tongue from left to right, painting shapes you have never felt before over every last of your nerve endings. You’re quivering. You’re shaking. You are turning the bathroom into a concert hall for the symphony of your pleasure. 

He doesn’t stop to tell you to come, that would be futile. You couldn’t possibly stop the wave headed for your shore. You can’t warn him. You can’t do anything other than let it happen. The coil snaps and your orgasm crashes into you at full force, shattering you into a million pieces. You grind against him until you’re sure he is branded into your skin forever. 

Matt holds you through it, working his tongue against you to prolong the electricity running through your veins. He gets lost in the echo of his name, stroking his cock harder and faster, and within seconds of you, he’s coming, too. He spurts into his hand and on your thigh, moaning deliciously into your pussy. For a moment, he’s stiff, though as you are starting to come back to him, he’s starting to come back to you. 

The aftermath of your orgasm is quiet. His lips slip from your swollen folds eventually, and he pulls away to rest his cheek against your inner thigh, the one resting over his shoulder. He’s still catching his breath, cock softening in his hands, but when you look down at him, he’s a wreck. For you. 

Slowly, he rises back to his feet. You look at him, unsteady now on both of your feet. He wraps his arms around you. “You okay?” he asks softly. 

You lean into his hand when he places it on your cheek. “Yeah,” you nod. “I’m…perfect.”

“You were so good for me. So good.” 

The distance between you dissipates, foreheads falling together in absolute exhaustion. He smells and tastes of you. You kiss him softer than you ever have. “I love you,” you whisper, and he smiles because he knows.

You don’t count the minutes you stay like that, kissing. It might have been an hour, not nearly enough. Matt reaches for the water when it starts getting cold, and he lifts you to wrap your legs around his waist. 

You frown. “Aren’t you going out tonight?” 

He shakes his head. “No, sweetheart,” he says, “I’m not done with you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Gotta make sure you know how much I missed you.”

The giddy smile on your face when you kiss him again is involuntary, but not unnecessary. He giggles, too, before you finally shut him up.

Hell’s Kitchen can live without him for one night, that much is for sure. And when he finally thrusts into you and you bite down on the golden metal of that godforsaken crucifix to stifle your scream as he fucks you to hell and back in a way that is gentle yet possessive, you know this is the only place Matt needs to be tonight—for both of you.

[extra-vertebrae]

General interpretation of the overall sequence of events for ER and SOTE after completing the DLC and ruminating over the lore and flavour texts, plus thoughts on the ending itself:

Marika is born in what will become the Lands of Shadow, potentially underground as a budding Swordhand of Night. She has a predisposition for violence / war.

Marika receives communion from the Greater Will at some point, she enacts some kind of "original sin" under its guidance, creating Order where there was previously none (an item flavour text suggests this but I can't find the item in my inventory to double check - I don't recall what item it is) by sheering the land in two. Violence of some level is implied from the story trailer and Marika's role as a God of Death (her Rune is the Rune of Death). It is implied that her basal / original sin is the desire to do harm / creation of a tiered, forced "order" where none was needed. She ascends to the Divinity Gate and becomes the Greater Will's vessel.

The Crucible and the land itself is split apart, creating the Erdtree and Scadutree (full speculation on this, I'm guessing whole cloth), and the Lands Between and Lands of Shadow.

The Lands of Shadow become a realm of the dead / the shoreline for all things that die in the Lands Between. Everything that dies a true death will eventually go there. (Speculation, based on crypts and Godwyn's presence)

Some Swordhands of Night follow Marika to the Lands Between, they become the Numen. They conspire to make their own Lord, and are punished by the Greater Will via the destruction of their silver city by Astel. This breeds resentment within the Numen.

Marika meets Godfrey and wages war across the Lands Between.

At some point Marika starts having children.

Taking Great Rune placement as an indicator, Morgott and Mohg are born first, they are "cursed" by the Crucible, a sign of Marika's hornsent blood and / or Godfrey's own proximity to the Crucible. They are thrown away as symbols / reminders of what Marika has done / under rule of law of the Greater Will that she helped create. Godwyn is likely born second.

Messmer is born before Radagon's brood (Gaius's Remembrance claims both himself and Messmer were "as elder brothers" to Radahn). He is also cursed, the "base serpent" lives within him, the serpent may be a manifestation / representation of Marika's violence / destructive nature. He has visions of the ultimate end of Marika's reign: destruction of everything she has built. RE: a God of Death cannot create and maintain creation, it can only forestall the inevitable conclusion of its own existence: death.

It could very well be that Marika's sin is the attempt to control the natural way of the world - forcing order and sealing death.

Marika sends Messmer on a crusade into the Lands of Shadow to both hide him and the base serpent, and to maybe wipe the remnants of her past and evidence of the sin she enacted from history entirely.

From here shit gets muddy (moreso than it already is). It's clear that all of the fucked up customs seen in the Lands Between originate from the Land of Shadow. Marika brought with her to the Lands Between the customs of creating warrior jars, the use of barbs in denoting sin / blasphemy, and the translation of that barb into the Arc seen in crucifixion throughout the main game, as well as other things.

The presence of Metyr suggests that the original form of the Lands Between / Land of Shadow was already abandoned by the Greater Will in some capacity until it, presumably, saw a tool worth using in Marika. Mariks splits the original world into what it is, the Greater Will hopes to mould the Lands Between into what it divines as order and sends multiple Two Fingers to help guide this moulding to its desires, creating a new faith in a new world. This splitting could be considered as the "mistake" the Greater Will made as referred to by the Frenzied Three Fingers - the Greater Will divided and distinguished.

I would argue that the Greater Will is a "god" only in the sense of its powers are beyond human comprehension, and is therefor interpreted as divine. The Greater Will meddled in the lives of creatures inferior to it for its own gains - it desires a specific fate. It, like Astel and Metyr, is a creature "of the stars".

For Ranni, my overall interpretation is that her upbringing as a member of the Academy / a watcher of the stars is what nurtures what becomes resentment in becoming an Empyrean. It probably doesn't help that her brother, Radahn, seizes the stars in the night sky, preventing those who follow the stars to divine their own fate from them. To this end, Radahn is likely considered her enemy. The imposing of the Greater Will spurs Ranni to conspire with the spurned Numen, and she orchestrates the Night of the Black Knives.

Afterwards, the Elden Ring is shattered by Marika and given to her present surviving children (Messmer has no Great Rune, he is hidden away in the Lands of Shadow at this time, he has been abandoned by Marika). None can establish order.

Miquella is a madman in the same vein as his mother. Where he specifically fits in this in terms of a timeline I'm not sure, but regardless, he is not what he believes or presents himself as to others. Miquella is a manipulator as Marika was, his aims are merely "different". In order to achieve what he wants, he bewitches those around him to do his bidding without consideration for their individuality / who they really are or what they want. His entire operation is doomed to fail from the start, because Miquella is stuck within his own head, and he is surrounded by enablers (that he creates).

Personally, I find the choice of Radahn as his King Consort to be ???. There is nothing in the base game that suggests this as a thing in the barest sense. Out of anyone else in the family, I would have assumed Godwyn, because it is suggested via the Eclipse Shotel and Castle Sol that Miquella tries to "right" Godwyn's death, and Godwyn's corpse is all over the Lands of Shadow already - he has an established presence, Radahn does not. Godwyn and Miquella were evidently close and why he wouldn't choose Godwyn as King Consort is honestly a mystery to me. I did, however, break all of the NPC quests thanks to doing the Shadow Keep backwards - RE: I lost track of Ansbach entirely and that scuttled my entire playthrough. If there is some kind of additional context for why this "vow" is made with Radahn, I haven't seen it yet.

Anyway - those are my thoughts so far. SOTE's ending was... shit, honestly, worse than the basic bitch endings base ER has. That "memory" as a reward for getting through the DLC feels awful, legitimately, very "that's it? For all of that?" I don't like this new precedent that FromSoft is setting with these low effort, unfulfilling endings after massive player undertakings. None of the earlier games had this issue. The reward does not compensate the effort. The final boss and ending soured what was otherwise a really, really, really good buildup. The final boss has a lot of bullshit going on, primarily in being utterly unable to see what the fuck is happening. I lost more times to being blinded and unable to see what the boss was doing moreso than anything else. I have other thoughts regarding the boss, but overall, I hated that fight. It wasn't fun, and it was made all the worse with the ending being so feeble and slapdash, and the reward item being... fucking nothing, essentially. Neither were worth the effort. This might be a boss I never fight again out of sheer lack of enjoyment.

[drmaddict]

Her Wolf

Summary: (Y/n) and Jason are a couple in secret. Everything is perfect. But (Y/n)s brother Eddie had to find out sometime.

Word count: 1.678

How the two had come together was easy to answer.

Jason and (Y/n) had bumped into each other absolutely drunk at a party. Before (Y/n) knew it, she was in an empty bedroom with Jason over her and she was having the best night of her life. Jason was no saint by God. He had taken her like a wild animal and she had surrendered to it all too willingly.

In fact, it should have stayed that way. Jason Carver and (y/n) Munson. It wasn't going to work out anyway.

It's just that it didn't stay that way.

(Y/n) held back, though she couldn't get that night out of her mind. Secretly, she watched him. Tried to sense the beast that was hidden deep within this golden boy.

She didn't see it again until it pulled her into a cubbyhole. He was the wolf and she was Little Red Riding Hood.

Their meetings happend more often.

And if it had remained that way. If they met only because of Sex and lust, both would have understood it.

But at some point, the nature of the relationship changed. At some point, they went out to have coffee in a larger city. At some point, the wolf pulled his Little Red Riding Hood into the closet just to kiss her, suck in her scent, and be wished good luck for the game.

At some point, they slipped notes to each other. At some point, she was in his arms in the back seat of his Jeep, enjoying the warmth of togetherness.

It remained a secret. They both wanted it. What they had was untainted by the outside world. It was supposed to stay that way. But unfortunately, everything had an end at some point.

(Y/n) was lying on the sofa in the trailer. Wayne was at work and Eddie would be busy enough with Hellfire for a long time.

Jason, her wolf, was lying over her. He wasn't kissing her neck. He was biting it. She wasn't holding onto his back. She was scratching him open.

Pleasurable and hard, they gave themselves over to lust. Bathed in sin. Let themselves be devoured and devoured each other.

Jason's skillful didacticism was long gone. He moaned. He grunted. He growled.

She came. Tightened around him, draining even the last of his humanity.

Hard and rough, he bit the crook of her neck. Growled possessively and poured himself inside her.

Breathing heavily, they lay there. Slowly he withdrew his teeth and carefully kissed the bruised area. The imprint was deep. A whimper escaped him. Immediately he felt gentle fingers running through his hair. He pulled her protectively against him. Neither of them said anything.

She let him hold her. He let himself be caressed.

Jason firmly believed that he was wrong. That he shouldn't feel this way. Beating someone in a fight was one thing, but taking a woman so.... To take her so animalistically. He was no better than an animal, no matter how hard he tried to pull himself together in the rest of his life. No matter how perfect he tried to be. In the end, he was just an animal. But (Y/n) accept the animal. Her wolf, she called it. She took him as he was. Full of flaws. His little angel.

It was one of those days when it was hard for him to form words after the act. (Y/n) put him back together again. Gently and sweetly.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

Jason nodded, still shaken. "Yes." he whispered back. His voice was hoarse and still a little too low. "I'm sorry." He gently stroked the bite marks. He looked up into her smiling face. She shook her head. "I like it."

He grinned with tired eyes. "Freak." He said it with affection, not hate.

She nudged him in the shoulder with an equal grin. "Says the right guy."

"We should shower," she suggested, but he immediately wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Not yet." He buried his face against the crook of her neck and took a deep breath. "How long do we have?"

"I don't know. These games can last hours."

And normaly (Y/n) would have been right about that. Except in normal circumstances, Dustin didn't fell over because of an allergic shock.

Jason was just scraping back together the last of his humanity, listening to (Y/n)s hum when a dull bang sounded. Jason turned around in surprise. (Y/n) immediately frantically pulled the small wool blanket over them.

Standing in front of them was a dim-witted Eddie Munson. His metal box lay forgotten beside him.

No one said anything until Eddie snapped out of his stupor. "You son of a-"

He had not been able to taken a step toward them, when (Y/n) stood up, the blanket wrapped around her.

"Take it easy." she determined.

"He - You... What?"

She turned him by the shoulder and pushed him toward the front door. "I'll get dressed now, and you practice how to speek."

With that, she slammed the front door and turned to Jason. He was still staring at her in shock.

"Jason?" she asked, when she realized he was lying there stiff as a board. He was shaking slightly.

"Jason. It's all right. He's not going to do anything."

Jason shook his head. He buried his face in his hands. "He'll tell everyone," he said, upset.

She stroked his silky strands. "Would it be so bad?"

He took a deep breath. "They'll be all over you. The rumors will get worse and worse, and eventually you'll leave me."

"Jason. Jason look at me." The blue eyes looked up at her sadly. "I'm not leaving because of any rumors or high school jokes." She took his face in her hands. "But your reputation might-"

He shook his head. "It's not real anyway." He stroked her neck. "Look at what I always do to you."

She sighed. "Let's get dressed and then I'll beat him into keeping his mouth shut." She kissed him on the forehead. Jason nodded and fished his gym pants off the floor.

(Y/n) came back in a shirt and shorts and yanked open the door. Immediately Eddie came into the room. "I'm against this! This stops right now!" he shouted and ran into the trailer like a startled chicken.

"Self-determination is not happening here?" asked (Y/n) sarcastically.

"No! You're my little sister!"

She slapped her hand to her forehead. "Eddie!" she ripened, annoyed.

"If you're just playing with her to-"

"Get a grip, Freak." Jason immediately spat.

"I've got better things to do, than pick girls based solely on how much it bothers you."

Eddie looked at him venomously. "If you hurt her, and I swear by all the gods I've ever heard of, you'll spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair."

Jason looked at him, unimpressed. They both crossed their arms in front of their chests.

"WE decide when this comes out! Got that Freak?!"

Eddie stretched out his hand to Jason. Jason gripped it exaggeratedly tight.

"Good."

"Good."

Eddie turned to her. "There's no fucking in the trailer and - What the hell did you do to her neck? What are you? An octopus?"

Jason turned away from him, annoyed, and reached for his shirt. The fresh, still slightly bloody scratches beamed at Eddie.

He looked back and forth between the two of them with gigantic eyes.

"I'm going to go bleach the images out of my brain," he said monotonously, and walked into his room.

They both looked after him. (Y/n) rolling her eyes. Jason amused. Annoying the freak like that was fun, too.

"That went pretty well, didn't it?" shrugged (Y/n).

Jason looked at her intently. "Is that my shirt?"

"No."

"I've been looking for that for weeks!"

"You're welcome to wear it."

"How generous."

Eddie, as usual, gathered his sheep to go to school. The first was Gareth. He dropped into his seat, exhausted. He whimpered out.

"What's wrong Gareth?" asked Eddie cheerfully as he drove on.

Gareth just gave him a telling look. "What's wrong Gareth?" he mimicked him. He grunted something into his non-existent beard.

(Y/n) smirked. Eddie still thought she knew nothing about the two. After Jason left the night before, Eddie had taken off and did not come back until after midnight. She did not want to know what he had done to Gareth.

"Have you guys ever noticed that Jason's really been leaving us alone lately," Gareth muttered.

Eddie clung tighter to his steering wheel. "No. Why?"

Gareth shrugged. "I'm just saying. Last time he smacked me was probably three months ago or so."

He mused. "Right. At Bowers' party."

Eddie looked stubbornly down the street. She smirked a little to herself. He'd even left them alone when they were just having sex.

Gareth shrugged. "Probably just finally getting laid."

Eddie made a full stop, sending Gareth flying forward. Eddie catched him with one arm.

"DUDE!"

Eddie looked at (Y/n) nervously. She rolled her eyes. "Just Gareth.", she said firmly.

"She's fucking Carver!" shouted Eddie at Gareth, as if he were a kid telling Mom that the little sister had just stolen his toy.

Gareth turned to her in surprise.

"You guys were the ones in the bedroom at the party? Right? We had to turn the music up to drown your sounds out."

"That's the point you were holding on to now?" asked Eddie, upset.

"You didn't hear that. They were like two wild animals!"

"Lalalalalala!" sang Eddie loudly, and took off again.

Gareth turned back to (Y/n). "Thank you for your service to the community." She nodded, waving it of.

"I won't say anything, if you don't." She held out her hand to him. He took it.

"You don't sound any better.", she muttered. "Just so you know." Eddie looked at her, startled.

"Eyes on the road!" yelled Gareth, grabbing the steering wheel that Eddie had let go in shock.

[gretavangroupie]

Vigilance (Chapter 19 Part 1)

Word count: 15.2k

Pairings: I'll just let you see for yourself...

Warnings: Alcohol, Gambling, Smoking, Marijuana, Cursing, Dramatic Themes. Smut Including: Kissing, Touching, Making Out, Light Degradation, Dirty Talk, Praise Kink, Fingering, Name Calling, Edging, Mentions of Sub/Dom Themes, Voyeurism, Orgasm Denial, Unprotected Sex, Digital Penetration, Pet Names, Spanking. Angst Including: Jealousy, Possessiveness, Toxic Themes. Fluff.

If I missed any please let me know.

This story is a collaboration with my best pal @gretavanmoon.

Teaser Trailer

LATE FEBRUARY 2022

HER POV

“What’s taking so fucking long?” Sam urges, watching the baggage carousel spin round and round with no signs of your luggage.

“That’s what happens when you’re the last ones on the plane. Your luggage comes off last too.” Danny quips, tilting his head to the side in frustration.

“I… don’t think that’s how that works Danny…” you mumble to yourself with a laugh.

“It’s not my fault that traffic was bad Daniel! The Nashville airport is fucked on a good day!” he replies, tossing his hands into the air.

Elle stands to the side shaking her head at Sam’s annoyance and stares off at the small aircraft hanging from the ceiling. “How do you think they got that through the doors?” she asks, still staring at it.

“Isn’t it obvious? They took it apart piece by piece, walked it through the door and then put it back together.” Jake says sarcastically, tipping his sunglasses down.

Elle turns to face him, stepping closer to the both of you “You’re kind of a smart ass Jacob…” she replies. 

“If you want to talk about my ass, you’re better off on twitter, sweetheart.” he winks, and turns away smiling to himself.

“Jake!” you scoff, elbowing him in the side. He turns to you with a devilish grin and shrugs his shoulders. 

“Finally!” Sam exclaims, drawing your attention to the new luggage added to the belt. 

Jake steps forward grabbing your suitcase and his own. He insisted on new luggage before the trip, stating you would be doing a lot of traveling the next few months and good sturdy luggage was important. Why it had to match his, you weren’t sure, but it did make spotting it a whole lot easier. 

One by one you all grabbed your bags and made your way to the pick up area. You followed behind Richard, the bands new day to day manager appointed by the label, out to the pick up location, ready to load your things into the van to take you to the hotel.

You hadn’t spoken to Richard much. You weren’t even sure if he knew that he was your replacement. Did he know what happened with Jake? With Collective? You’d get to the bottom of that later, right now you were just along for the ride until one of the guys needed something. 

With stop and go traffic it took about ten minutes to get from the airport to the hotel. But it wasn’t a hotel at all, it was a resort. A massive one. “My god this place is huge!” you whisper, reading the sign that says ‘Mandalay Bay Resort’.

“Have you never been to Vegas, baby?” Jake asks, sliding his hand over your thigh.

“No…I haven’t. Not like this!” you reply.

Elle leans forward and whispers between the two of you, “It’s called sin city for a reason…”

—

After a quick check in, Jake presses the keycard to the door, and you hear the electronic lock open. A rush of cold air hits you as he pushes the hotel room door open. The afternoon sun is shining in a perfect yellow onto the large white bed linens. 

The curtains on the window are wide open revealing a perfect view of the strip, all flashing lights and streams of color, even in the light of the day. Plush chairs, a small desk and a mini bar line the walls. You kick your shoes off and collapse onto the fluffy king sized bed, letting out a sigh as your body sinks into the cloud of pillowy fabric.

Jake slides his boots off, and places his hat on the desk, before resting his knee on the edge of the bed and crawling over top of you. You let your arms rest behind your head as his mouth presses a kiss to your exposed neck. 

“Remember the last time we were in a hotel room together?” he asks.

“Mmm…In LA?” you ask.

“Not LA…” he says, sliding the sleeve of your shirt down your shoulder. “Try again.”

“Oh. Atlanta…the balcony…” you say, letting your mind fill with the memory.

“There you go…” he croons, kissing the now exposed skin on your shoulder.

“Looks like we don't have a balcony this time…” you say, turning your head to the window.

“Nope. I’m gonna have to get creative.”  he says, pulling your shirt back up over your shoulder and standing from the bed. 

“What are you doing?” you ask, desperate for his touch.

He adjusts himself in his pants, before offering you a hand up from the bed. “Figured we would go see the place before dinner. Do a little shopping. Explore a little…” he said.

“You’re a tease.” you state.

He raises his eyebrows and smiles, “Something about Vegas…”

—

With shopping bags scattered around the room, you take one last look at yourself in the mirror, pulling up the zipper on your new dress. Seeing it in the shop window you insisted you didn’t need it, but after Jake practically forced you into the dressing room with it, you were walking out of the store with the dress in hand. 

“Fuck it looks better on you now than it did in the store.” he says, stepping up behind you, placing his hands on your bare shoulders. 

He wasn’t wrong, the navy blue satin sat perfectly on your body, the low neckline had a matching plunge in the back, leaving very little to the imagination. 

Sweeping your hair out of the way, he presses a kiss to your spine, sending chills down your back.

“Stop or we aren’t going to make it to dinner. Josh was really excited about this place.”

“Would skipping dinner really be such a bad thing? We could order room service instead…” he says, sliding his hand up the back of your thigh, and under the hem of your dress.

“Yes Jake. We came all the way to Vegas and you want to stay in the room? Imagine what we might miss out on? Plus I’m starving.” you say, shooing his hand away.

“Mmm…me too.” he growls.

Jake!” you scold.

“Alright, alright… Let’s go before I change my mind.” he says grumbling, tucking his wallet into his pocket.

—

It took three elevator changes to find the restaurant, tucked away in the furthest corner of the resort. Josh was practically buzzing with excitement, stating he watched reviews of every restaurant in the resort and this one was the best one. 

As the host led your group to the table, you took a seat with Jake in the middle of you and Elle. Sam sat across from you with Josh and Danny. The rest of the team opted for a night at the casino, leaving just your core group to wine and dine tonight.

After a few minutes the drinks began flowing, you and Elle selecting the specialty cocktail as the rest of the guys ordered their usual mixed drinks. Jake threw his arm around the back of your chair as he chatted with Sam, the pre-show anxiety beginning to set in for all of them. 

You rested your elbow on the table and placed your chin on your fist as you watched the two of them go back and forth for a few minutes. Sam’s hair had grown a touch longer, a sprinkling of a mustache beginning to grow in, transforming his face from the baby face you knew and loved into a much more striking and angular man's face. 

You bit your lips together, as you watched him speak, moving his hands in the way he so typically did when he had a bit to drink, and as his eyes flashed over to yours, he paused for just a touch longer than he should have before looking away. 

You swallowed nervously and turned to Jake, who was now caught up in conversation with Elle. Your eyes flashed back to Sam, his eyes trained on you. Neither of you said anything, but you kept your eyes locked on him as you rubbed your lips together to redistribute the gloss adorning them. His mouth parted slightly and you watched his tongue dart out over his lips, as if the phantom taste of you still lingered there. 

You broke your eyes away and noticed the waiter coming with the tray of steaming food. You tossed back the rest of your drink and ordered another as your plate was set in front of you. 

You felt Jake’s hand slide up your leg and settle there, his fingers giving you a quick pat on your inner thigh as he continued talking to Elle. Turning to look at him, you were met with the back of his head and turned back to your food, catching Sam’s eyes once again. 

He raised an eyebrow to you, before dramatically tossing his napkin into his lap. The waiter arrived with your drink, and you sipped half of it down, before grabbing your utensils and cutting into your dinner. 

A few minutes later you felt Jake’s hand move from your leg and pick up his drink, throwing back the rest of it with an exhale. 

“How is it my love?” he asks, picking up his own utensils.

“Delicious, but mine was hot when I ate it.” you say, making a subtle jab at his long winded conversation with Elle.

You hear Sam chuckle from across the table, and both of you look over at him.

“Something funny Sammy boy?” Jake asks.

“No, no. Nothing at all. He says, swirling his straw in his drink. 

Jake scoffs and places a kiss on your cheek before beginning to eat his meal. 

You let your hand rest on his thigh, as you enter into conversation with Josh, letting your hand slide further and further in as the minutes tick by. You feel his hand reach for yours, holding you steady before reaching the place you’re searching for. 

“Careful darlin’ or I’ll have to take you back to the room right now.” he growls into your ear.

You remove your hand and place it on your lap, laughing at the story Josh has been telling for the last twenty minutes. 

When the check is paid you are eager to get Jake back to your room, anxious for him to finish what he started earlier in the day. 

“We hitting the tables? The machines? What are we doing?” Danny asks.

“Slot machines baby!” Josh yells, the alcohol clearly working overtime in his system.

“I think I’m gonna go see about this hidden speakeasy.” Sam says, raising his eyebrows. “Any takers?”

“A hidden speakeasy you say?” Jake says, rubbing his chin.

You give him your best ‘No…back to the room’ eyes, but he doesn’t bite.

“Yeah, supposedly it’s tucked away and you have to know just where to go to find it. I did a little reconnaissance earlier today. I think I found it.” he says.

“You know I can’t turn down a little mystery…” Jake says, rubbing his thumb over your shoulder.

You turn to look at him, eyes pleading to take you back to the room once again, but still, he doesn’t fold.

“Eleanor?” Sam says, raising his eyebrow.

“Samuel…” she says, pushing away from the table.

“That’s what I thought.” he says, walking around to meet her.

You and Jake both push away from the table, and you grab your clutch from the chair.

“Just one drink. Then I’ll take you back…” he says, placing a kiss to the top of your hand. Your cheeks already flamed red from the alcohol,  grew three shades darker. 

—

Sam taps on the bookshelf three times and steps back. Tucked back in a dark corner of the resort corridor sat the bar he spoke of. ‘1923 Prohibition Bar’. The bookshelf swung open revealing a small lounge with dim lighting, a small bar and soft piano music. You all stepped inside and felt instantly transported to another time. 

“Okay this is fucking sick!” Sam said, making his way further inside, Elle trailing behind him.

You and Jake followed behind them, his hand resting on the small bare expanse of your lower back.

Making your way to the bar you each ordered a drink and settled yourself on the plush velvet couch and chairs near the piano. Jake sat next to you, and Elle next to him. Sam sat in the chair across from the three of you, crossing his legs at the knee as his foot bounced in time with the music. 

The drinks are suddenly hitting the four of you pretty hard, inhibitions lowered and guards down. You’re all laughing louder than you should be, and before you know it another round of drinks has been ordered.

You find yourself turning your body to rest into Jake’s side as you all continue to talk, sipping away at your gin fizz. 

“Let’s order a bottle of champagne!” Sam suggests.

“Oh yeah, good idea baby!” Elle encourages. “You like champagne, right Jake?” she says, dusting her fingers across his leg.

His eyes snap to her hand as his breath catches, “Oh, uh, yeah I like champagne.” he says.

Your eyes travel over to Sam who is smiling to himself as he speaks to the waitress, ordering the said bottle. 

Minutes later she is returning with a bucket of ice, a bottle of Veuve, and four champagne flutes. 

Sam pours up the glasses, distributing them to each of you before making a toast. “Here’s to the girls who do, and here’s to the girls who don’t. And here’s to the girls who say they will, but when the time comes, won’t.…”

Suddenly Jake speaks up, holding his glass out towards Sam, voice thick with desire, “But here’s to the girls most of all, who say they never will. I can’t, I won’t, I shan’t, I don’t… but just for you, I will.”

He turns to you, tapping your glass to his with a wink, as you sip the bubbles down. 

A silent look is exchanged between Sam and Jake in that moment. One you can’t quite decipher, despite how well you know both of them. You cast a glance at Elle, who is staring straight at you. 

“Come with me, Y/N. I have to pee.” she says, lifting her hand to yours.

She grabs your hand, lacing her fingers with yours as she pulls you towards the tiny bathroom, drinks in hand. 

Opening the small bathroom she locks the door behind you, and places her drink on the bathroom counter. Reaching behind her head she unclasps the halter top of her romper, letting it fall to the floor beneath her. 

Your eyes immediately flick to her chest, bare as they come, before you turn away to give her privacy. 

You hear her giggle, as she pees. “You don’t have to look away Y/N. It’s fine… I don’t mind you looking.” she pauses, standing up and flushing the toilet. “In fact, I’d be lying if I said I haven't had my eye on you all night, wondering what you look like under that dress.”

You turn to look at her, eyes filled with lust, “Oh…” you reply, feeling a blush creep up your face.

She steps closer to you, her top still hanging around her waist, “What, don’t be shy Y/N. We’re just having fun. I’ve always thought you were so pretty. So jealous of the way you looked. Your curves...” she said, running her finger down the strap of your dress, pressing her bare chest against your side. A tingle runs up your spine as her hardened nipple grazes your skin. 

“I can definitely see why Sam was so intoxicated by you, you’re a fuckin’ thrill, babe. Such a treat. I wouldn’t want to quit you either.” she finishes, refastening her top, and stepping over to the sink. 

Your cheeks are painted crimson at her confession, and your drunken mind is positively buzzing with the unknown. Your eyes lock with hers in the mirror, a familiar sensation thrumming in your stomach. 

“I can’t wait to see where this bottle of champagne takes us, it always was one of my favorites to get loose on.” she says, drying her hands. 

You lean against the wall, tossing back the rest of your glass, “Mine, too. It always makes me…so carefree…” you say, adding emphasis to your words. 

“Hmm. Did Sam know that? Must’ve ordered it on purpose…Carefree sounds like a good theme for the night, don’t you think?” she asks, twisting the lock on the door, and turning towards you. 

She brushes the hair off of your shoulder as her eyes drift up your body, “Let’s go get another drink hmm?”

She grabs your fingers and leads you back to the boys, still sitting in the place you left them. 

“Look at that, they ordered for us…” she says, bending over to grab the drinks from the table. She hands you yours, and clinks her glass to yours, “...now let’s have some fun...” she giggles, taking a place next to Jake. 

Sam is sitting watching Elle as she flits around the table, and your eyes catch sight of the piano across the way. 

“You think that thing is tuned correctly, Sammy?” you ask, motioning with your drink towards the old upright. 

“Shall we find out?” he says, standing and offering you his arm. 

You turn to look at Jake, eyes heavy and posture relaxed, as he gives you a lazy nod. 

You link arms with Sam and make your way over to the piano, positioning yourself on the small wooden bench. Sam sets his drink on top, and stretches his fingers over the keys. 

“What are you gonna play for me, Sammy?” you ask.

“What do you wanna hear babe?” he asks, pressing a few keys. 

“Mmm…something prohibition-y.” you giggle.

“What does that even mean? How about something bluesy instead. That is in my inebriated wheelhouse.” he laughs.

“Whatever you want, as long as it’s for me.” He turns to you, locking eyes like he wants to say something, but instead bites his lips together. 

The notes begin to ring out in the small bar, everyone's head turning at the sound of his perfect playing. The piano was, in fact, in tune. 

You lean into his side and whisper into his ear, “What is this? I recognize it.”

“It’s called Rhapsody in Blue…it’s Gershwin. One of the ones I play late at night if I can’t sleep. Probably why you recognize it.” he says.

“I like it. It’s pretty.” you say.

“You’re pretty.” he says, nuzzling his face into your ear. “And look at that… you’re in blue.”

You glance down to your dress, “Oh, yeah I am…” you blush.

“Told you it’s for you. Pretty song for my pretty girl.” he breathes into your ear.

You let your hand slide onto his lap, far closer than it should, but as you look behind you, you see Jake and Elle in quite a similar state. Her hand on his arm as she talks closely. You feel a flame of heat rise in your chest, but quickly stifle it back down. 

“You know… Elle told me the same thing in the bathroom.” you say.

“I bet she did. She is…quite fond of you. Can’t say I blame her.” he replies.

“So she said. Flirty little thing. Said she knew why you were intoxicated by me…” you whisper.

“Mmm…Intoxicated…beguiled…completely bewitched… If only she knew, huh, babe…” he said, looking behind his shoulder. “In fact…C'mere…” he said, pulling you into his lap. “Put your hands on mine, like we used to.”

As you went to look over your shoulder he stopped you, “They’re in their own little world…Let’s stay in ours for a little while longer...Let me play you another, lover.”

His soft words pierced you right through the heart and you knew nothing could drag you away from him and this moment. You placed your hands on his as he began to move them across the keys, a deep hum of whispered lyrics filling your ear as he sang along to the tune his fingers were producing, in a song meant only for your ears.

‘My funny valentine…

Sweet comic, valentine…

You make me smile with my heart…’

Your heart constricted when you realized exactly what he was singing, and even worse, why. He rested his cheek on your arm as his voice continued to croon the sweet sentimental tune, a low deep grumble of poetic words sang straight from the heart.

‘Your looks are laughable…

Unphotographable…

Yet you’re my favorite work of art…’

You let your fingertips run the length of his skilled fingers, taking in the feeling of his skin on yours.

He bounced his leg softly in time to the music, causing your breath to catch in your throat. 

“Sam…” you said, the friction against your center causing your head to spin.

“Just feel it baby, we don’t have much longer.” he said, pressing his cheek to your shoulder once more as he continued to glide across the keys. You felt his eyelashes flutter closed against your arm, and you did the same, fully taking in the moment here with him, unsure if something like this could or would ever happen again. As the song draws to a close, he sings the final words, directly into your ear, causing a shiver to run the length of your spine.

‘Stay little valentine, stay…

Each day is valentines day…’

Letting the song resonate with you, you reopened your eyes and you looked again, seeing Jake talking to Elle, closer now than even a few minutes ago and bit your cheek. You pulled your hand away from Sam’s bringing his with yours to settle at the top of your thigh.

“Mmm…” he groans, feeling the heat radiating between your legs. “The most tempting sin, but I can’t finish the song one handed without drawing attention.” he said, pulling his hand back to the keys as his fingers swiped quickly over your center.

“Sammy…” you breathe, rolling your hips just a touch as he continues the slow crooning piano notes. 

“Fuck…Don’t. We can’t…” he whines. 

“What was it Jake said earlier…I can’t, I won’t, I shan’t, I don’t…” you tease.

“Fuck, Y/N…” he breathes, as you attempt to stand from his lap but his arm wraps around your waist pulling you back down onto his now hardening bulge.

“I feel you…” you say.

“You’re not shocked are you, baby? Give me a minute. Let me have you, if only like this.” he says, playing another short nameless tune with his free hand.

His hand drops and moves to rest on your thigh, sliding up your leg as his finger tips barely dust the place where the hem of your panties should be.

“No panties with this dress? And he gets you all to himself…” he teases, pulling his hand back.

“Maybe it wasn’t for him…” you say, standing up and adjusting your dress.

He stands after you, placing his arm around your waist and pulling you close to let his lips meet your ear one last time, “Stay, little valentine…” 

You swallow heavily as you meet his eyes, a silent conversation starting and finishing as you make your way to the bar. 

JAKE POV 

“What do you think he’s gonna play?” Elle asks you, sitting down on the couch next to you.

“If I had to guess… he will play something he knows by heart, because he’s three sheets to the wind.” you laugh. “So that gives us about five options.”

“Is that true for you too? Can you still play when you’re drinking?” she asks, turning more to face you. 

You smirk, “I only play when I’ve been drinking...” 

“Of course.” she smirks back. 

You both turn to look towards the piano as Sam starts playing, “Ah, Rhapsody. Should have known.” you say, gesturing towards him. “Always plays that. Swear it was the only thing he would play for months after he learned it.” 

You turn your attention back to Elle, her dark curls framing her face in the dim light of the bar. “Do you need another drink?” you ask, shaking your glass.

“I’ll have what you’re having, and don’t go easy on me.” she says. 

You click your tongue on your teeth, “I never go easy.”

A few minutes later you are returning to the couch, Sam and Y/N still laughing away at the piano. You hand Elle her glass and raise yours to hers, tapping them together.

“Whiskey, huh?” she says, drinking it down with ease. You watch her throat swallow down the liquid, sending a chill through your body.

“Familiar with it?” you ask, tilting your head.

“Raised on it.” she quips.

“Good woman.” you offer.

“Your brother seems to think so.” she smiles, raising her eyebrows.

“My brother has good taste.” you quip.

“Maybe she’s the one with good taste.” she says, looking over to Y/N and sipping the amber liquid.

“I’d have to agree.” you say sipping your drink.

“You may be the rockstar but she’s the smoke show.” she says.

“I’ve loved that woman since I was sixteen years old, before I was ever a rockstar. But she has always been a smoke show. Somehow she loves me back.” you reply.

“How could she not?” she says placing her hand on your arm, causing you to turn your head. “Quiet, mysterious, alluring… what’s not to like?”

A rush travels through your body, something exciting and familiar.

“It’s okay to feel Jake. Feelings are free. It’s when you act on them that there’s a price to pay.” she says, letting her hand fall to your leg.

You feel the blood start to rush to your groin and you look over at Y/N, now sitting on Sam’s lap as he plays a song you know all too well.

A pang of jealousy shoots through you and you let out a strangled breath, torn between tearing Y/N away from Sam, and staying here with Elle trying to regain control of your dick. 

“You two are cute, you know. So innocent. At least, she is…For some reason you don’t quite strike me as innocent. Are you? Innocent, Jake?” she asks.

You swallow, “In what way?” you answer.

“Don’t play coy with me Jake... I’ve seen you on stage. You know what way…The only way that counts.” she says, letting her hand slide up your thigh, turning closer to your face. 

“Oh, you’re sparkly… come here.” she says, pulling you towards her. 

Her thumb swipes over your cheek, and as you breathe in, your senses are flooded by the smell of her perfume. So smokey, so different from Y/N’s. You let your eyes roll back in your head as her chest presses against you. Images of her body flash through your head, and the way her tits are pressed against you has you positively reeling. 

Fuck. Pull it together Jake. 

She sits back down holding her thumb out, “Just glitter…” she says, flicking it into the air and locking eyes with you. Suddenly you felt something you hadn’t ever felt for Elle. 

The blood is rushing and there is nothing you can do to stop it. It’s too late, and now Y/N and Sam are walking towards you. You cross your legs in an attempt to conceal your growing boner, but you’re sure it’s no use. 

“Baby!” Elle says, jumping up to wrap her arms around Sam. 

“You almost ready babe? I can’t wait on you all night!” he jokes.

“Yeah, let me just say bye to Y/N and Jake, and we can go.”

You watch as Elle grabs Y/N’s hand and pulls her into a hug. A far more intimate hug than you expected to witness, and as Elle whispers something into Y/N’s ear, you watch her cheeks grow pink and you feel your dick beginning to throb once again. 

Elle steps away, and walks towards you with a smirk. She kneels on the couch next to you and leans into your ear,  “Bye Jake... Take care of my girl tonight…and if you can’t… call me and I’ll do it.” 

You let out a huff, and look at Sam who shrugs his shoulders and laughs. He presses a kiss to Y/N’s cheek and tells her he will see her tomorrow and just like that the two of them disappear through the hidden door. 

You try to regain your composure as you toss back the rest of your drink. 

“You good Jake? You look flushed.” she says, stepping in front of you. 

You wrap your hand around the back of her thigh and pull her close to you. “Tell me you’re mine.”

Her eyes are dark as they connect with yours, “Take me upstairs and I’ll show you.”

—

Hand in hand you whisked her through the never ending corridors of the resort, searching for the elevator that would deposit you at your room. Your blood was rushing through your body like a roaring rapid, your dick pounding so hard you could hear it in your head. You made no effort to conceal it, it was no use.

Finally tapping the key card to the door you barrel through pulling her in behind you. The door barely slams shut before you’re grabbing her neck and pulling her lips to yours as you press her to the door. Her hands wind into your hair as your tongue swipes across her lips, begging for entry. 

As her lips part you bring your hands to the straps of her dress gently sliding the silky fabric over her shoulders to reveal her bare chest. Swiping your fingers across her chest you slap at her hardened nipples causing a moan to leave her lips. 

“Beautiful.” you breathe.

Your hands make their way to her side pulling down the zipper and watching as the dress falls from her body and cascades to the floor. You pull away from her, taking in the sight of her, “What do we have here? No panties…tsk tsk…” you say, swiping a finger through her core. 

“All for you baby…” she coos. 

“Is it? All for me…” you ask, spinning her around and tossing her to the bed. 

You grab her foot, gently unbuckling her shoe and tossing it to the floor. “You seemed all too pleased to leave me there on the couch…”

You drop her leg and grab the other, repeating the action of removing her shoe. 

She sits up on her elbows, “I don’t know love, you seemed pretty happy on that couch from the looks of it.” 

You drop her foot to the floor as you unbuckle your belt, sliding it through the loops of your pants. 

“Hmmm… Is that what you think?” you say, tossing the belt on the bed. 

She turns to look at it laying next to her, then back up to you. 

You raise your eyebrow in acknowledgement, “Answer carefully.”

“Or what?” she challenges.

You shake your head as you unbutton your slacks, letting them drop to the floor, as you pull your shirt over your head. 

“I’m waiting…” you say.

“She’s pretty Jake. I don’t blame you.” she says, parting her legs.

“That she is…but she’ll never be you.” you say, crawling between her spread legs. 

You lean over her, taking her nipple between your lips, and biting softly as you pull away. Her back arches up off of the bed, a clear sign she is almost where you want her.

“She wanted to take you home tonight…” you continue.

“I know she did.” she says, pressing a kiss to your throat.

“Yeah? She tell you what she told me?” you growl.

“I don’t know, what did she tell you?” she asks, reaching between you and fisting your length.

A fire ignites in your chest, and suddenly all coherent thoughts are gone. “You first...”

You run a finger through her slit, collecting the wetness as you circled her clit. “Go on. Tell me.” A whimper leaves her lips as you circle her bud.

“In the bathroom…she– she said she wanted to know what I looked like under my dress. Said she was– was jealous of my curves…Thinks I’m pretty…” she whined.

“Yeah but you didn’t show her…Did you. You didn’t show her because you know this is mine.” you say, pressing a kiss to her chest. 

“She was naked. In the bathroom…I tried not to look…” she confessed.

“But you wanted to, didn’t you baby?” you say, coaxing the truth from her. 

“Yeah. I did…” she pauses. “Then as we were leaving…” she whines as you slip a finger inside of her.

“Fuck Jake…” she groans, “She said she could make me feel good… if I would let her…”

Fuck me…

“Yeah? She say that? Make your pussy nice and wet?” you growl.

She didn’t answer, but you could see it written on her face. “I watched you blush. I wondered what she said. I know you want to let her, too.” you said, working another finger into her. 

“You wanna know what she said to me?” you ask.

“Yes…” she breathes.

“Told me that if I couldn’t take care of you, she would…Now, where would she get the idea that I can’t take care of you? What would make her think that? Any idea, sugar?” you quip, curling your fingers up into her.

“No! No, I never said that!” she says through a strangled moan. 

“You sure? You need a refresher on who takes care of you?” you ask, working her sweet spot. 

“Fuck Jake…” she cries. 

“A reminder of who fucking owns you?” you seethe. 

“Yes! Yes, please Jake! You own me...” she begs.

You pull your fingers from her abruptly, placing them on her tongue, pressing down into the back of her throat. “That’s fucking right. I do. You’re mine. Suck.” 

She closes her lips around your fingers sucking her arousal from your fingertips, causing your dick to grow impossibly harder. 

You pull your fingers from her mouth and bring them to rest around her throat. “Now, you weren’t a very good girl tonight, were you?” you ask.

Her eyes water, sparkling in the lamp light. She shakes her head and a sly smile crosses her lips. 

“How should we correct that? Make sure you don’t slip up and find yourself on my brothers’ lap again?” you ask.

She slowly licks her tongue over her lips, “I don’t know but make it hurt.” she says, voice filled with want.

“Make it hurt, she says… Careful what you wish for my love.” you say, grabbing her waist and spinning her to her front. 

“All fours.” you say, slapping her ass. 

She quickly manages to find herself on all fours, waiting patiently for you to make your next move. You're practically vibrating with anticipation, this side of you not coming out too often.

You drag a finger through her wetness, circling her clit again as you press your tip to her center. 

“No panties… No panties… and to think you sat like that, hot and wanting on Sam’s lap. Do you think he knew you were wet for his girlfriend?” you ask, pushing inside of her. 

A moan filled the space of the room as you felt her constrict around you. “You like that? You like talking about Elle as I fuck you?” you say, beginning to snap your hips into her. 

“I don’t know Jake, do you like talking about Elle while you fuck me?” she quips. 

Your hand comes down across her ass with a searing sting, causing a moan to ripple out of her. 

“Watch your mouth or I’ll find a better use for it.” you warn. 

You press your hand into her back, forcing her to rest her chest on the bed, giving your deeper access inside of her. “Fuck me… you feel so fucking good. You’re so fucking wet for me, goddamn…” you groan.

“How do you know it’s all for you?” she says. 

“What did I just tell you?” you snap.

You begin to fuck into her harder, sweat dripping from your chest. 

“Do something about it.” she coaxes.

You snap your hand across her ass once again, “I told you to watch your mouth. Clearly this isn’t getting the point across.”

She reaches out to her side, hand searching for the belt you tossed earlier. Her hand finally finds purchase and grasps it in her fist. 

“This.” she breathes. 

“This, she says. She begs for the belt, does she? Want me to take you over my knee and help you remember who’s in charge here?” you ask.

“Yes. Please, please!” she begs.

“And she thought you were innocent…” you mumble.

“I’m not. I never was.” she urges.

You pull out of her with a hiss, flipping her over and pulling her up to meet you. 

“You sure baby? Once I start there’s no going back.” you warn, looking into her lust filled eyes..

“I’m sure.” she says, pressing her lips to yours. 

You grab the belt in your fist, flipping her back to her stomach, and pulling her down the bed. You step off the bed, positioning yourself behind her, rubbing your hand over her already pink ass, before swinging the belt down with a hard crash. 

“Fuck…” she cries out, the red welt already forming across her pebbled skin. 

Your dick is throbbing to be back inside of her, but part of you knows she wants this. Needs this. To feel completely owned by you.

“Tell me to keep going Y/N.” you say.

“Please Jake…” she begs.

“Say it. Say the words.” you demand.

“Keep going Jake. Do it again.” she whines.

With a deep breath you rear back and let the leather whip against her red skin in another harsh crack. You toss the belt to the floor, spinning her to her back and pressing forward into her. “Fuck. You’re so tight Y/N. So gorgeous. Tell me you’re mine. Tell me you only want me.” you beg.

“I’m yours! I’m yours Jake! I– I’m sorry I– didn’t mean to make you jealous I just…” she stammers.

“I’m not jealous. I just…I fucking love you Y/N. Need you.” you say, feeling her tighten against you. “Cum for me. Show me you’re mine. Show me who makes you feel this good. Who takes care of you!” 

She pulls your neck down and crashes her lips to yours as she lets go, warmth washing over you as her body tightens around you. As you lean into her neck you're transported back to the bar, the smell of Elle’s perfume swirling through your brain. Y/N’s description of her in the bathroom. The advances you watched her make. It all had you crumbling towards your release. 

You pull out of her constricting grip before pounding into her one last time as you spill yourself inside of her. “Oh fuck…” you groan, feeling her continuing to pulse around you. “Fuck Y/N… Anything you want…Anything. Just say the word.” you pant. 

You collapse on top of her, pulling her close to you. Both of you struggling to catch your breath as you soften inside of her. 

You roll off of her, watching your release spill from between her legs, sending your mind reeling. Did you really just think of Elle as you came? What the fuck was that about?

You walk into the bathroom and start the shower, Y/N joining you a few minutes later. You take special care to soothe the tender skin you laid into earlier, never knowing that was something she wanted. As you wrap her in the fluffy hotel towel and send her into the bedroom, you let your mind travel far away wondering what else she may want, but won't tell you.

—

Pulling the blankets over your shower warmed bodies, you bring her into your side, letting her wet hair cascade across the pillow.

“I love you Jake, more than anything. Anyone in the world.” She says. 

“I love you Y/N. Forever, I swear. Nothing could take me away from you.” You reply.

“I hope I wasn't too…rough with you. I know we’ve never done that before.” you whisper. 

“You weren’t. It was perfect.” she replied.

“I just… don’t know what you’re comfortable with sometimes.” you admit. “I never want to do anything you’re not completely comfortable doing.”

“I would tell you if I didn’t want to, baby. I swear. Plus, I kind of liked that side of you.” she grins.

“Yeah?” you ask.

“Yeah. You’re hot and you’re all mine.” she says, kissing your collarbone.

“That I am. I meant what I said though. If there’s…anything you want…You just have to tell me okay?” you say.

“Same for you, you know…” she replies, rolling to turn off her lamp. She settles back into your side, throwing her leg over yours. 

You run your fingers over her ribs, circling your favorite spot as you exhale. “As long as you’re there, nothing is off the table.”

—

SAM POV

“Sammy babe…wake up…” the sound of Elle’s slightly scratchy voice startled you from an intense dream. “Time to get going, lover…” she cooed in your ear, pushing fallen hair from your face. 

“My head…it’s pounding…help me Elle I need an IV…” you blubbered, refusing to open your eyes. She scoffed and laughed. “Did we drink champagne and liquor last night?” You mumbled. 

She popped up from the bedside, flitting about the room as you slowly peeped your eyes open. She was fingering through her suitcase, in nothing but a crisp white towel, her hair piled up in a towel on her head. 

“Yes, we did. That was your idea, Einstein. Knowing you have a show tonight. Come on, Sam.” She said, not turning her attention to you. 

“Why did you let me do that? I feel like shit.” You said, sitting up on your elbows. She rejoined you on the bed, letting her damp towel fall to the floor before she snuck back under the covers beside you. 

She pushed your shoulder back down to hit the pillow, the motion making your head spin a little. “Well, Y/N told me it was always her favorite thing to get drunk on…said it made her feel carefree…” she went on, trailing her fingertip up and down your chest, not helping the fact that your morning wood was already raging just from seeing her naked body. 

“My guess is you remembered that fact about her…decided to give her no choice but to have some…let her guard down a bit…” her finger dipped down under the sheets, lightly tracing your dick that was already at full attention. “Am I right, Sammy?” 

You swallowed hard, your head and your dick pounding. You ran over the thought in your head. “I was just, trying to celebrate. Y’know, being in Vegas, and stuff…” her hand began more intense movement, gripping with a bit more force now. 

“Mmm, I think you’re lying to me, baby. Tell me the truth.” She whispered, mouth ghosting your ear. 

“I might have…remembered that fact, from a long time ago…” you managed, falling apart at her soft but firm touch. Her hand began moving steadily up and down now, slowly but surely. 

Elle giggled in your ear. “Well, I think it worked. I saw you two having fun on the piano over there…looked very carefree…”

Shit. 

“We didn’t, it was nothing, Elle..I prom-”

Her hand left your length, and instead her fingertip found your lips, effectively hushing you. You felt a groan leave your chest at the loss of contact. “Shh, Sam. It’s okay. I told you it’s okay, remember? I like watching you flirt with her…” 

Her hand returned under the sheets as you arched back into her grip, finding her momentum again as she palmed you. 

“Mmm, do you, baby? Like to watch me talk to her, touch her, make her get all flustered?” You went on, turning slightly to pull her up to sit on you. Your hands found her hips, squeezing them in the place you knew she liked. 

“I still remember all the ways to turn her on…made some of them up myself, you know. Learned what she likes and doesn’t…what made her go insane for me…” 

She leaned down to tower over you, your hands now finding her breasts as she rolled her hips over you. “Tell me, Sammy. Tell me what turns her on, makes her excited.”

Your headache was fading away, as all the blood had now rushed to another part of your body. Elle reached up and took her hair free from the towel, letting the long wet strands fall across her shoulders and back. Fucking gorgeous. Her hand snaked up your stomach and cupped around your throat, squeezing lightly as her eyes bored into yours. Your head flew back into the pillow at the contact. 

“She likes that. She likes that a lot.” You huffed out. “She loved it when I wrapped my hand around her throat, made her eyes water…made her beg…” 

“Mmhmm, go on…” Elle said, continuing to grind on you. 

“She liked being talked to, adored, told how good she was doing…always did so well for me…” you breathed, your heart pounding in your ears. “She liked when I would control her, take over the reins, give her no choice but go with it. Drove her wild.”

Just then Elle sat up, letting you enter her all the way to the hilt on the first thrust. “God, fuck me, Elle…” you strangled out as she began to bring herself up and down on you. She brought her mouth down to your neck, lightly nipping at the skin. 

“So she liked for you to fuck her just how I like you to, hmm? That’s really sweet…” she said. 

“Ha, there was nothing sweet about it, baby. Only sweet sometimes…fuck you’re killing me…” she began to pick up her pace as your hands dug into the bedsheets. “You’re so perfect, Elle, I swear to God.” 

“Oh, so she liked it slow and sweet, too, then? Like this?” She steadied her movements, right as you were about to topple over the edge. “She didn’t like it rough all the time, did she? Liked for you to go slow, let her feel you…did you make love to her Sammy?”

Her words hit you in the guts. How the hell can you answer that? You decided to change up the question. 

“She did…like it slow sometimes, yeah.” You flipped Elle over on her side as you parted her legs, sliding one underneath you and one over your hip as you faced each other, lying on your sides. You reentered her, hitting a whole new angle and giving you more access to be in control. 

“She liked for me to move her hips for her…hit her impossibly deep…” you groaned as you drove yourself into Elle, keeping eye contact as you spoke. You lifted her leg into the crook of your elbow and held it there, spreading her wide. 

“Sammy, shit, you’re so deep...” her face was absolutely wrought with bliss, her mouth hanging open as she hung onto your every word. 

You stayed there, letting her feel you brush against her cervix as you began to feel her muscles contracting around you. 

“That’s all I’ve got, baby. Right there. Can you feel me there?” You asked as your hand left her leg for a second and felt her stomach, matching your palm to where you lay deep inside her. 

“Yeah, yes I feel you there…god baby…” she breathed. 

You returned to holding her leg for her. “If I keep going like this, you won’t like me later. You’ll be able to feel it for days, Elle.” You warned, knowing that hitting her that deep in this position might make her incredibly sore. 

“I don’t care, just do it, I need you there, fuck, just keep going.” She was gasping for air as you started your movements again, trying to hold back slightly and not hurt her. “I wanna feel you for days, Sammy…watch you up on stage knowing you destroyed me, make it hurt to walk…please…” 

Goddamn, this woman…

You followed her instruction, rolling in and out of her, staying buried deep and hitting her as far as you could go. Her sounds became more strangled as you felt her drawing closer to her release, pulling your hair and whimpering into your mouth as she let the white hot heat rush over her, sending her entire body into a fit of shakes and seizes. Her cries could probably be heard from the hallway of the hotel, but you didn’t care. 

You were following close behind, your release shuddering through your body, low and blinding, as her hand reached between you to squeeze your balls, making your orgasm all the more intense. 

The two of you stayed in the position while you regained composure, a mess of sweat and limbs as you peered into each other's eyes. 

“You know I love the hell out of you, right baby?” You said, still out of breath. 

She placed a sweet kiss to your lips. “Yes I do. And you know I’m always coming home to you. I’m yours. I swear to it, babe.” 

You smiled as you disconnected from her, standing to wipe your face with your hands. You glanced back to her satisfied body, still wrapped up in the sheets, hair damp and tangled. 

“You’re a damn angel, Eleanor. I’m getting in the shower. Gotta go play music for some band called Metallica.” 

——

“Win anything last night, Daniel?” You asked as you approached him backstage, the four of you gathering to reconvene for soundcheck at the stadium. 

“Hell no! Got my ass handed to me on the slots. Josh won $600, though.” He responded, walking toward the stage. 

“I sure as shit did! Hit big on the poker table, too. But I put it right back in. Ha ha!” He rubbed his hands together. 

“Sounds like you guys had a good time then. I for one am extremely hungover.” Jake went on, rubbing his eyes underneath his sunglasses. 

“Same. I feel rough. I drank like 4 coffees and three bottles of water today, nothing has helped. I’m about to hair-of-the-dog it.” You admitted, feeling better than you did this morning, but still not up to par. “I think I need a nap. A back massage, and a nap.”

“Well hell, what did you two get into last night? Stay at the speakeasy all night? A few too many?” Josh asked, fluffing his hair with his fingers. 

You glanced to Jake more quickly than you’d ever glanced before, being met with him doing the same. 

“Yeah, we…drank too damn much. Then Sam had the bright idea to order champagne. We were…having a good time…” Jake said, letting his voice trail off. 

“Ohh, is that right. A good time. Were Elle and Y/N with you all night too?” Daniel inquired, bringing his knowing eyes to yours, licking below his bottom teeth. 

“Yep.” You responded, popping the ‘p’. 

Daniel raised his eyebrows and walked closer to you. “Hmm. Maybe I’ll hang out with you guys, tonight, huh Sam?” He elbowed you in the ribs. 

You began soundcheck, and pushed through your hangover with ease. All you could think about was getting some food, heading back to the room, cranking the AC, and sleeping for a couple of hours before you had to come back. 

After wrapping up and placing your bass back in the case, you were standing talking to the guys, making plans for the evening after the show. The plan was to hit the casino again, mingle around the hotel and celebrate. 

“What time is it?” You asked. 

“10:22.” Jake responded, pulling out his phone. 

“Perfect. I can sleep for a little bit.” 

You pulled Daniel to the side, away from your brothers. “Listen, I know you said you want to hang out with us tonight, but. If…things actually go where I think they were headed last night, I…you might maybe want to stay with Josh. Maybe.” You stammered out. 

Daniel grinned from ear to ear. “Hah! I knew it. I put a bug in your brain the other day, didn’t I?”

“Shut up. Maybe. It was kind of…already presenting itself. Anyway. I hate you for not ever telling me about your wild past with Heidi. But now, I don’t know. Maybe I need your help. Maybe not. I don’t know.” You truly were swimming in uncharted waters. 

“Don’t worry about it, Sam. There’s nothing that can go wrong, just. Respect boundaries. Talk, listen. You know. Communicate.” He went on, lying a hand to your shoulder. Suddenly reality hit him in the face. “Holy shit Sam, is this really happening though?! Is…Jake…going too?”

“I said I don’t know, Daniel! Fuck! The way things were last night, and the way Elle talked…I…it could? Things got, extremely flirty. Between…” you gestured your head toward Jake. 

“What? Him and Elle?” He asked, whispering. 

“They were in awfully close quarters, man. And Y/N, god, she was. Definitely in my realm. This is just. I can’t fucking wrap my head around it.” You said, pulling your sunglasses back down over your eyes, the sun beating down a little too hard. 

“Ok, I’ll force Josh to go do other things, as soon as you give me the word. I’ll drag him to a comedy show or some shit.” Daniel said. 

You sighed, thankful. “Thank you, Daniel. I love you. This is weird.”

“Love you too. Sure is.” He laughed as you walked back to meet with Jake and Josh. 

The four of you hurriedly started to head back to the hotel, and you were already queueing up a doordash order. Suddenly, Richard was by your sides, clipboard and laptop in hand. 

“Ok guys, so now we’re going to head to side stage to do a radio interview. We’ll be set up at that table, there, and it’ll be all four of you. See you in ten.” He said. 

“Wait, what? What radio interview?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, I don’t…remember hearing anything about an interview…” Josh followed up. 

“It was added to your schedules last minute. I sent you all an email this morning.” Richard said flatly. 

“Email? You’re joking right? We don’t check that shit!” You added, maybe a little too nonchalantly. 

“Well, maybe you should start. It’s going to be our main port of communication from now on.” Richard stated. 

“Why can’t you just, I don’t know, text us?” Jake said with heavy sarcasm. “That’s what our last coordinator did. Made things really easy.”

Richard walked toward Jake, cutting him off before he could make another suggestion. “Yes and your last coordinator was fired, wasn’t she, Mr. Kiszka? For inappropriate behavior with a band member, if I remember correctly. And texting isn’t appropriate behavior. We’ll talk through email, just like corporate asks. I suggest you turn on your notifications.” And with that, he was gone. 

Uh oh, that was definitely not the right thing to say to Jake right now. 

You were all stunned into silence as you collectively looked to Jake, his fists balled and his lips pursed. You could feel the negative energy flowing off of him. 

“Okay, well he’s a fucking asshole!” Danny piped up. 

“Yeah, a real peach.” Was all Jake could manage, quietly. 

Josh rubbed the bridge of his nose. “God, I wish we had some say in who the hell they hire for us. Anyway, let’s just get through this interview. Hopefully it will be a short one.”

“It better be. Or I’m changing the entire setlist to only songs with keys because I don’t feel like standing up.” You whined, semi-serious. 

“Maybe you should have played the drums, then.” Danny laughed, punching you in the gut. “Suck it up.”

—

Luckily, the interview only lasted about twenty minutes, and you were happy to be on your way back to the hotel, ready to fight your hangover. You ordered your food for delivery, got to your room, stripped down to your boxers, and cranked the air conditioning to arctic. 

You

11:15am: Hey babe, hope you’re having fun with Y/N. I’m gonna eat and take a giant nap. I have an alarm set. See you in a few hours. I love you! 

You turned your alarm up loud, and set your phone to do not disturb. You ate your food in under five minutes, and curled up into the plush and cozy sheets to let dreamland take over. 

Your sleep was dreamless, and when you were finally awoken by a knock on the door, you found yourself in the exact same position you’d fallen asleep in. Good sleep. You heard the knock again, and drug yourself from the bed to look through the peephole. You opened the door quickly. It was Elle. 

“Hey baby, you okay?” You asked, eyes still adjusting to the hallway light. 

“Yes, just forgot my keycard in here. How was your nap?” She asked, lying a quick kiss to your cheek. 

“It was perfect. I feel a ton better.” You glanced to the clock on the table; you’d slept for two and a half hours. Just enough to get you through the rest of the night. 

“Good baby, I’m glad. I’m still pretty hungover, myself but. I’m making it.” Elle laughed. She sat down hard on the bed, removing her shoes and clothes. “My turn to nap, now.” She hopped to the top of the bed where you had just been, covering herself up. 

“Y/N is busy backstage helping the crew. She still feels a little bit weird being around everybody after she technically got fired, but. They’re treating her normally, thank god. I think they missed how she ran things, to be honest.”

“Well, that’s good. Hopefully she will still get to keep doing some of that, now that we know about Richard.” You said, standing to stretch and clean up your food trash from earlier. 

“What about Richard?” She asked. 

“Oh, just that we learned he’s a power-hungry corporate dickwad in the first two minutes we were with him today. I hope he treats Y/N well. He already pissed Jake off once, would hate to see that happen again.”

No, you wouldn't, actually. 

“Well fuck, that sucks! You’ll have to tell Y/N to watch out for him.” Elle responded, yawning. 

“I think Jake already did, or he was going to maybe after tonight when he could talk in private. Honestly, the whole crew would go to bat for her if something were to be said, anyway.” You said. 

“Good.” Elle said, cuddling her face in her pillow. “You ready for tonight?” She asked. 

Your brain went on autopilot for a second. You climbed back over to the bed, brushing Elle’s pretty waves from her face. “For the show? Or for after…” you insinuated. 

“Hmm…both…” she purred. 

“The show? Yes. The after party? Absolutely…” you went on, bending down to touch your lips to hers. “And what are the plans, exactly?”

She turned to her side, facing the wall away from you. “Mmm, I guess we’ll just have to see where the night takes us, won’t we baby?”

��—

HER POV

“Y/N, you’re still going to check out our stage fits, right?” Danny said as he spun quickly across the floor, posing to show off his brand new outfit. 

Well, you hadn’t thought about it much, if you were being honest. 

You stood from your place on the couch. “Yeah, I guess I’ll have to! I don’t think Richard would want to fix your cuffs and tuck your sleeves, would he?” You joked, brushing across his broad shoulders. 

He smiled. “I don’t think he would do half the things you used to do for us, actually.” 

“I think you’re right. I haven’t been around him much yet, but he seems like he sucks.” You responded as you turned Danny around to inspect the back of his outfit. 

“He does. I hope you step all over his toes. Nothing he can do to you. You belong to us now.” He went on in a joking growl that made you giggle. 

“Oh, I belong to you now, huh?” You stepped back, laughing. 

“Yep. You’re not going anywhere, babe.” He answered with a wink. 

“You look perfect, Daniel.” You said, admiring his outfit. 

“You look perfect!” He spun away again, heading straight for the drink cart. Oh. That was, sweet. 

Just then Josh bounded into the space, filling the area with a radiant energy. “I would say it’s my turn to be checked out, but you’ve probably already done that without my knowledge.” He looked to you in question. 

“Ah, guilty. You have been dressed and ready for like three hours, Josh.” You admitted. “You look extremely handsome. I really love that suit.” 

Black with shiny gold embellishments, and he had it unzipped just enough to show some skin.  

“Thank you, gorgeous.” He said as he kissed your cheek. “I’m really happy you’re back with us. So is Jake. Seriously, you’re still making things so much easier for us.” 

“I’m glad to be here Josh. I’m not going anywhere.” You said, parroting Danny’s words. 

“Hey, where’s Elle? I need her to finish putting my rhinestones on like, quickly.” He asked, looking around. He found her seated in the corner, adorning her own face with stones and sparkles. 

“Hey! Can you finish me up? You watched as he sat cross-legged in front of her, patiently waiting to get the rest of his signature look completed. Her hands worked quickly but diligently, using extreme concentration as she glued and stuck the rhinestones exactly where he had mapped them out for her. 

You watched as she smiled at his candid talk, goofed with him while she stayed transfixed on the task at hand. Her long hair falling over her shoulder as she leaned into him, making sure the rhinestones fell exactly where they needed to. She sat back and examined her work, comparing each of his cheeks to see that they mirrored one another, then went right back in to her work. You watched as her eyes flitted from side to side, and she stuck out the tip of her tongue ever so slightly when she’d need the extra bit of concentration. Her hand balanced on his cheekbone, and the other on his knee.

“Damn, you’d think Elle was the famous one in the room, not us.” You heard Sam’s sardonic voice break you from your daydream. You felt his mouth come close to the back of your ear. “I know she’s gorgeous, but you might wanna pick your jaw up off the floor before someone notices you staring at her…” he mumbled before stepping away to make a drink with Danny. 

Fuck, Sam. 

You regained your composure, unaware how on earth you got so flustered just by watching Elle. The next thing you knew, Jake was by your side, scooping you and dipping you low to the ground, laying a wet kiss to your lips. The disorientation from watching Elle, to having Sam in your ear, to Jake turning you upside down and kissing you with more passion than was necessary in company was enough to make your head spin. 

When he brought you back up, you caught Elle’s eyes, a devious grin creeping to her face. “You look gorgeous today, baby.” Jake purred quietly in your ear as you held eye contact with Elle. “You excited for tonight?” 

You ripped your eyes from Elle’s bringing them to meet Jake’s. “Yeah, I am. Are you?” You answered quietly. 

“Mmhmm…more than ready…” he said again, making sure you had balanced back on your feet. Jake walked over to join the guys for a drink, pouring something over his handful of crushed ice. 

“I’m starting off a little lighter tonight, guys. Still detoxing from last night.” Sam said loudly. 

“Oh, don’t be a wuss, Sam. You took a freaking nap today.” Danny quipped. 

Just then, your radio signaled. “Greta Van Fleet- ten minutes to stage, repeat, ten minutes to stage.” You fiddled with the volume and raised your eyebrows to the guys, then joined Elle on the couch. 

You watched as they grabbed their drinks, and gathered in their tiny circle, hugging the backs of each other. “Are we ready to head into the ether, brothers?”

—

The Metallica shows were always so wild. The energy at these shows was different; obviously the fan base and crowd were mixed in a way that was brand new, but for some reason, mostly always ended up with everyone completely jamming. 

You and Elle stood side stage like you always did, basking in the sounds of your favorite people on the planet doing what they love. She took your hand about halfway through the set, intermingling your fingers with hers as she leaned her head on your shoulder. 

You watched as she made eyes to Sam, grabbing his attention and holding it. He raised his pointer finger to wave, and the two of you copied his action, raising your fingers to wave back at him. You quickly realized that he was most likely gesturing to just her, so you brought your hand down in embarrassment. Maybe not, though…the smile that plastered itself across Sam’s face was straight from hell, as he didn’t take his eye contact away from either of you for a solid 20 seconds. 

You knew that look. You knew his look…the one you’d seem a million times, the one that said ‘I want you. Now.’ and he was giving it to you both. 

Elle squeezed your hand in hers, definitely noticing the same thing at the same time as you. Her body heat was radiating, you could feel all your nerve endings on fire just from her innocent touch. What is this? You were certain you’d never felt this…way before…positive that after last night, you could feel this way a million more times, and it would never get old. 

Staring into Sam’s eyes from across the stage transported you back to last night, sitting on his lap at the piano as your hands sat on top of his, effortlessly moving across the keys as the sound filled the air. His knee bouncing up and down between your legs, his hand gently dusting your upper thigh…close but not close enough. Why were you still so starved for his touch? Could tonight be the night you get to feel it again?

Just then, Jake backed up, cutting between the line of vision, his eyes meeting Elle’s. He smirked, tossing his head back as he yelled at his guitar as the music swelled. 

“God, he really fucking plays that thing, doesn’t he?” Elle shouted in your ear. “Y/N, he’s got to be a freak, pardon my french.” 

“Oh, he is, believe me.” You shyly answered, remembering the welts that had now turned to red bruises on your backside. 

“Is he?” She pressed. 

You nodded, looking to her. “Not all the time, but…sometimes that Jake comes out to play.”

You could see her satisfied and inquisitive face light up, looking to watch him again. “Now that’s a story I’d like to hear, sometime.” You felt her free hand brush up and down your arm, sending a shiver through your body. Maybe you’d tell her. 

The guys played perfectly, zooming through their set without the slightest hiccup. As they kissed the crowd goodbye and exited the stage, you watched as Richard went to meet them, barking some type of strange order that made Josh throw his hands in the air after they separated. You and Elle shared a concerned glance, making your way over to them. 

“Fucking rest…? The fuck I will…He can’t tell us what we can and can not do. Haven’t even been off the stage 45 seconds, goddamnit.” Josh howled through the back hallways as you all bustled through to backstage. 

When you all gathered in the green room, you slammed the door shut behind you. “What the hell did he say, Josh?” 

He threw himself onto the couch while the other three started undressing. “The first thing he fucking said to me was ‘You four should go ahead and head back to your rooms to rest, big day tomorrow.’ No good show, no sounded good, no fuck you, anything. We’re getting on a god damn plane tomorrow to go home. I’m going to watch Metallica, and then go spend all my money on the slots. Fuckin’ go get rest. It’s 9:00, you moron!”

He yelled the last part to the closed door. The rest of you fought back laughter. Josh hardly ever got up in arms over things like this.

He sighed. “I’m sorry. He just, has really gotten under my skin. And quickly, too. I need some tea.” 

“Ya know Josh, that explosion just now wasn’t very champagne, caviar of you.” Sam said through a high laugh.

“Fuck you, Sam! In fact, you know what? That sounds good. Y/N, can you radio to crafts to get us some champagne? Sounds wonderful. Let’s celebrate.” He said, his hands flailing wildly. 

“Uhh, sure. Yeah, if that’s what you want Joshy.” You responded, reaching for your radio. 

“Oh no! More champagne?! I’m gonna be hungover again!” Sam whined, hanging his jacket across a hanger. He looked directly to you and Elle, a childlike smirk finding his lips as he winked and clicked his tongue to you. He knew exactly what that meant. 

You radioed for the few bottles of champagne as you heard Metallica take the stage, the deep bass sound booming and filling the stadium. 

“Here we go again, hm?” Elle said as she turned back to you, raising her brows. Your stomach flipped with nerves. Just get through the show. 

——

Standing side stage, the six of you had begun drinking heavily again, already forgetting about your still residual hangovers. Jake’s arms always found themselves wrapped around you, even after he’d disappear every few minutes to visit with others. Joints were being passed, beers being tossed, a true party happening once again. You felt your vision beginning to slack, your fingers and extremities tingling with every beat of your heart. 

Your ears were ringing by the time 'Nothing Else Matters' played; the encore drawing near a close. You and Elle were standing and swaying, the slow acoustic music filling your heavily blurred minds. Suddenly you felt Sam’s arm around your neck between you and Elle, pulling the two of you in to touch his cheeks as he sang. 

‘Never opened myself this way,

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words, I don’t just say

And nothing else matters…’

He swayed the three of you even harder, his tipsy state showing through in his actions as the song went on. You shared a laugh with Elle at his expense as Jake joined your other side. 

‘Never cared for what they do!

Never cared for what they know!’

The four of you were screaming to the band, hot and heavy in your embraces as you sang and laughed. The song came to a close, and you felt Sam lean in close to Jake. 

“Let’s get out of here before Sandman?” He asked, and Jake nodded. 

“You ready, baby?” Jake asked you, and you felt your stomach fall again, the nerves coming back. Why did tonight feel so ominous?

——

JAKE POV

​​"Yeah, you can tell ol’dick, we are heading back…" you laugh, shaking hands with your guitar tech. 

“Yeah you’re heading back alright…” he laughs knowingly.

“See you next go ‘round?” you ask, raising your eyebrows.

“Can’t get rid of me fucker…” he laughs.

“Good man.” you say, lifting two fingers to wave as you rejoin your brothers and the girls.

You watch as Elle leans on Y/N, her arm around her waist as she whispers something in her ear. 

She really is trying to steal my damn woman.

As you join the group at the loading dock door Y/N spots you and instantly breaks free from Elle and throws herself into your arms, “Where did you go baby? I turned around and you were gone!” she asks, a touch of slur in her words. Ah, the champagne…

“Just went to tell my tech we were leaving, and I’d see him in a few days.” you answer, placing your arm around her shoulder as you all make your way out to the van. 

“What are we gonna do when we get back?” she asks.

“What would you like to do when we get back?” you reply.

“I’m feelin’ lucky. Gonna play a slot machine!” she says, rosy cheeks and full of smiles.

You pull your wallet from your pocket, and grab a crisp hundred from inside, handing it to her. “Play to your heart's desire…”

“Do you always carry around big bills like that?” she giggles.

“Not all the time, but we are in Vegas…”

—

The van deposits you at the hotel entrance, and you all file out one by one in a wave of shaky legs and loud voices. 

“To the bar!” Josh yells, throwing his pointer finger into the air.

Y/N laughs and follows after him, twisting your fingers with hers as she pulls you behind her. 

The six of you make your way to the bar, ordering various drinks and beers and everything you should never drink after a few bottles of champagne, and with the way Y/N was glued to your side you knew it would only take a few drinks until she was past her limit.

“Jakeeeee are you gonna come play with me?” she whines, sipping her drink.

“Play with you? Darlin’, right here?” you laugh, knowing full well what she actually meant.

“Nooo….I mean, yes. Maybe? Wait no…the slot machines…” she laughs.

“I know baby, and yeah, lead the way.” you say, waving a hand at Sam and the guys.

You watch her struggle to feed her bill into the token machine, the two of you laughing as the alcohol starts to enter your bloodstream. Finally the machine begins to spit out her tokens and she collects them all into your pockets with a giggle.

“What machine you want?” you ask, placing your hand on her waist as you spin the two of you around. 

“Oh! That one!” she says, pointing to the bright flashing machine in the corner.

You lead the way, pulling her behind you wondering what lady luck has in store for you tonight.

—

It had to have been close to an hour before you found Sam and Elle approaching you where you sat, bringing fresh drinks. You looked to the small table on your left seeing the empty glasses you and Y/N managed to collect over the past hour and cringed. You were definitely going to feel this in the morning. 

“Thanks brother…” you said, accepting the drinks from his hands. 

“Are you guys almost done? We want to go play at one of the card tables.” he says, placing his hands on hips.

You turn to Y/N, who is watching you, “What do you think babe, ready to go whoop their ass at poker?” you laugh.

“Yeah but let’s make it interesting.” she says deviously.

“How so?” Elle asks.

You raise your eyebrows to Y/N as she answers. “I don’t know, let’s make a bet or something.” she says.

“Let’s go. I’ll think.” Elle says, pulling Y/N up and walking hand in hand as she whispers to her.

You toss a look to Sam, who raises his eyebrows with a smirk.

It seemed the night was only just getting started.

—

Two short warm up rounds were played before the alcohol really started to kick into everyone's decision making. You had won both rounds as predicted, Sam never really having the best poker face. Elle however was giving you a run for your money.

“Okay, let’s play for real!” Sam said.

“Did you think of a good bet?” Y/N asks.

“Yeah Elle, what did you come up with?” Sam asks her. 

“We could do money, but that’s too predictable.  Where's the fun in that? I thought of something just a little more…enticing.” she finishes, locking eyes with Y/N.

“And what would that be?” you ask, voice low.

“Well… I was thinking, if I win, I get to take Y/N back to my room for the night…” she says, leaving all of your jaws positively on the floor.

Y/N leans over closer to Elle from across the table, “Deal.”

“Woah, hold on a damn second.” you say throwing your hands up looking across the table at Sam. “Sam why the fuck are you smiling. You have nothing to smile about.”

“No. No. I like that bet Jake. It sounds like a good bet…If you know you’ll win there shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Y/N says, running her hand up your leg. 

You lean into her ear, cupping her jaw with your right hand, “You know what she’s insinuating right, love?” you ask, hoping to clarify for her. 

She turns her head to your ear, letting her lips graze your earlobe, “Oh I am fully aware of what she’s insinuating Jacob…But you haven’t lost a game yet…Will I end the night in your bed or hers?”

You felt your dick grow hard at the possibility of either of those things happening.

“Mine. Always mine. You can fucking count on that.” you say, pushing the hair back from her neck.

“So do it. Win the game.” she says, settling back in her chair.

You were ready to roll the dice. Let the chips fall where they may. What’s the worst that could happen after all?

You lock eyes with Elle, and with a deep breath you extend your hand to shake, “Deal.”

—

An hour later it was down to just you and Elle as the waitress dropped off the third round of drinks. Your brain had grown fuzzy and your eyes blurry. But your mind was still firmly rooted in its one task. Winning this game. 

“What’s it gonna be Kiszka?” Elle asks, tapping her fingers on the blue felt table.

You could tell by the sly grin on her face that she thought she had this game in the bag, but you were positive you had the winning hand. Y/N leaned on your shoulder as she raked her hand up and down your leg, grazing your dick on more than one occasion. 

“Ladies first…” you quip, raising your eyebrow in her direction. 

She looks over to Sam, with a glint in her eye, before laying her cards out on the table.

“A full house…” she smiles cockily. 

Fuck. You fucking did it.

“Ahh…” you say, turning to Y/N. “It’s just too bad really. You could have had a lot of fun…I’m sure she’s good… Just not good enough.” you say, flashing your cards across the table.

“A straight flush. Game over, Eleanor.” you smirk.

“Shit!” she says, slamming her fist down onto the table.

Sam laughs a defeated laugh and as you turn back to Y/N you catch the look of disappointment in her eye. 

“Sorry to disappoint you sweetheart…” you say smugly. 

She swallows back her words as she shakes her head, “No, it’s fine. I knew you were going to win anyways.” she lies.

Damn, she really did want to go back with Elle. Maybe you should have folded?

“Whatever money bags, next round of drinks is on you.” Elle says, standing up from the table.

—

HER POV

“Just get me a water for now, I think I need to hydrate some.” You said as you all approached the tiny and dark-lit bar, club music pounding through the speakers. This wasn’t their normal type of scene…

“Okay, baby.” Jake said as he laid a kiss to your temple, and you drifted off to the bathroom. Elle didn’t see you slip away, so you took a second to rush off and regain your composure. After relieving yourself, you went to the sink to wash your hands and dab some cold water on your face. 

Had you really just agreed to go back to Elle’s room if Jake lost? Your best friend…to do…god knows what?

You had, but it didn’t feel wrong. In fact, you were a  bit disappointed that he’d won. Where the hell is this coming from? 

You looked at yourself in the mirror, pulling out some powder from your bag and freshening your already flushed face. You dried your hands well, and spritzed yourself with a little bit of perfume before heading back out to the bar. 

You found the crew sharing the very corner ‘L’ of the bar, an empty seat saved for you between Elle and Jake. You hopped up on the high barstool, your high heels resting gently on the metal rung. 

“Damn, you smell fuckin good…” Jake said, bringing his arm around your waist as he leaned to breathe you in. He nipped at your neck, sending a shot of pleasure directly between your legs. You tilted your head to give him more access, then lifted the glass of ice water, sipping slowly from the straw. 

“Thank you baby, you should love it. You got it for me.” He looked at you, puzzled. 

The colorful lights were bouncing off his face, accentuating his features. “Mmm, wasn’t me. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten you perfume.”

“That was me, babe. Last year, remember? And yes, you do smell phenomenal.” Sam said, leaning behind Elle to solve the mystery. He’d pulled his hair back, letting strands fall freely around his face. 

Oh yes. Oops. Wrong brother. 

You chugged the water down, desperately hoping that it would help you out tomorrow morning. But you didn’t want to lose your buzz for the night, so you switched back to your regular drink. 

The conversation was picking up, and Sam and Jake had moved their barstools closer to you and Elle, forcing you to sit almost shoulder to shoulder. Jake’s hand had found your thigh, rubbing little circles as he occasionally squeezed, each time going higher and higher above the hem of your dress. 

“So Jacob.” Elle began as a loud, bass heavy club song began. “Y/N told me something about you tonight. Something I wasn’t aware of.”

Oh fuck, Elle. No. Your face grew hot. 

“Oh yeah? And what was that?” Jake followed, swallowing his drink. 

“She said that you sometimes aren’t as nice as you seem to be…can sometimes have a little rudeness to you…”

You felt Jake’s body stiffen at her words. 

“Remember last night when I asked you if you were…innocent?” She leaned in closer. “Asked you if you ever acted the way you do when you play guitar, off stage?” 

Jake cleared his throat as Elle leaned past you. You glanced to Sam. He was chewing on his straw, awaiting an answer from Jake, just as anticipatory as you were. 

“Uh, yeah. I remember you…saying something like that…” he answered, losing all of his normal foxy composure. 

“Well, you never answered me.” She sat back against her chair, eyebrows raised. 

He stayed blank, unsure of what to say.

After a few seconds, he raised his pointer finger to her, motioning for her to lean back into him as their faces met right in front of yours. 

“I guess you’ll have to continue to use your imagination, baby.” He sat back, placing his arm across your shoulders again. “Isn’t that right, Sam?”

Sam held his hands up in surrender. 

“Or, I guess you could just ask Y/N, she could probably give you every detail you’ve ever wondered about me…hm? Right babe? Funny you wonder those things about me, Elle. Really hyping up my ego here.” You could tell he was trying to get under her skin a bit. Piss her off. 

Elle shot back the rest of her drink while Sam resituated himself in his chair, clearly interested in where this conversation was going. 

“Of course she could tell me, Jacob. And I’m sure she will. Just like she told me everything about the kind of lover your brother was, too.” Elle spat. 

Oh fuck! 

Wait, you hadn’t told her many details about you and Sam’s sex life…she’s just trying to get under Jake’s skin now. Hilarious. 

Your hand flew up to your mouth, stifling a laugh. Their faces were close to touching now, as you leaned back in your chair and let them bicker. You rested your elbow on the back of your chair, letting your arm hang behind it.  Sam was watching from behind Elle, loving the competitive discourse. 

Elle spoke again. “It’s funny, from what I’ve heard and experienced, you two are very similar, in those matters. Sorry to you both if that was something you never wanted to learn about each other, but. Here we are. Sharing our truths.”

“So, hm. Did she ever tell you why she came back to me then? And left Sam?” Jake pressed, cocking his head to the side. 

“She went back to you because of me, stupid. I came back into Sam’s life. She didn’t leave him.” Elle answered coolly. 

Fuck. 

“Interesting. So, did she ever tell you which one of us was better then? Give you a little rating system?” He asked. 

You knew this was all fun and games, but it was so entertaining that you couldn’t look away. They were going for each other’s throats. Sam turned in his chair, and leaned in closer. 

“No, she didn’t. Not sure she ever will. That’s something that’s probably left up for interpretation, don’t you think Jake?” She answered, so close to his face that their noses were almost touching. 

Jake’s hand was still on your thigh, squeezing and burying his fingertips into your skin. You looked to his eyes, fluttering back and forth between Elle’s lips and eyes. He wanted to kiss her. Right here. 

“Why don’t you guys just scrap out in the parking lot? God…” Sam said, breaking the tension. 

They never separated, though. In fact, you could feel Jake’s breathing begin to pick up, see his jaw slide from side to side. Suddenly you felt Sam’s hand grab yours behind Elle, threading his fingers with yours. You squeezed it hard, showing him that you were turned on, too. His thumb massaged your palm, always his signal that he understood your feelings without you having to say anything at all. 

You turned your head slightly to meet Sam’s eyes, blown out with anticipation as the skinny straw hung from between his teeth. You were both awaiting their next move. 

Jake took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. “I’ll tell you what, Elle. I’ll make this interesting. I’ll let you take Y/N upstairs with you on one condition.” 

She sat back. “Ok, and what is that?” She asked. 

Jake looked to you, upping the stakes. “Y/N, kiss her. Right here.” 

You almost threw up. What?

“What?” You asked, watching as Elle smiled a devious grin. 

“Yeah Jake, what?” Elle repeated. 

“She’s got to show me that she wants to go back with you. I need to trust that’s what she wants. So, if we’re up here sharing all our secrets, kiss her, Y/N.” Jake went on, sitting back. 

Your face flushed, you felt hot. Very hot. And drunk. And excited. You wanted to hear Jake talk to you like that to the end of your days. But most of all, you wanted to kiss Elle. Right here at the bar. 

Sam’s fingers were still wrapped up with yours, and you saw Jake glance and see your hands together, before he looked right back to you. “Go on, if it’s what you want. If you don’t, you don’t have to. Elle will understand.”

You swallowed. Sam’s hand squeezed yours again, giving you confidence. 

You turned to Elle, who sat pretty to herself in the chair beside you, giving you a look that said ‘you don’t have to, but please do…”

You turned to her, took her chin in your hand, and lightly pulled her toward you, planting a sweet and longing kiss to her lips, leaving yourself there for just a few beats. Your eyes flitted closed as you let yourself enjoy the moment…soft and gentle and easy. You squeezed Sam’s hand, and he returned it. Jake’s hand tightened on your thigh. 

Just like that, it was over as quickly as it started. You didn’t feel embarrassed, nervous, or anxious much anymore, instead you felt extremely excited. 

“Well, I’ll be damned.” Jake said blankly as you separated from Elle, the two of you breaking into laughter. 

You released Sam’s hand as you picked up your drink, feeling Jake’s hand rub roughly. “That’s my girl…” he growled into your ear. “Not so bad, huh?” 

“He’s just kidding, Y/N. You don’t have to come upstairs with me. But, I’m glad you did that. That was very nice…” Elle cooed as she sipped her drink. You smiled, letting her know that you were glad you did, too. 

You cleared your throat as everyone came back to earth. “I never said I didn’t want to go upstairs…” you said almost quietly. Jake shot his head to you, eyes wide, then to Sam. You could tell they were speaking to each other with a look, so you decided not to say anything more. 

Jake ordered another round of drinks, and you were feeling sufficiently drunk now, as was everyone else. The music was loud and booming, making you want to move. You didn’t care how, you just wanted to move. You and Jake had split into your own conversation for a few minutes, mostly him whispering sweet nothings into your ear, telling you how beautiful you looked. 

Suddenly you felt something hit your elbow that was resting against the bar, something flat and soft. You looked down, finding a small white napkin on the bar. You glanced up to Sam and Elle, who had stood from their seats and were pushing their stools in. 

“Tab’s paid.” Elle said, shooting you a wink, and blowing you a kiss. They walked behind you toward the exit, Sam grabbing onto the back of Jake’s neck as they left. 

“See ya…” you trailed off, watching them walk hand in hand out the door. You looked down to the napkin again, letting your eyes adjust to it in the dark and flashing lights as you read the messy scrawl. 

Holy shit. 

You weren’t sure what to do with this. Was this an invitation? 

You slid the napkin over to Jake, not saying a word. You tipped back the rest of your drink, letting the ice hit your lips, as you took a little inside your mouth. 

His head slowly turned to yours, his eyes wide. “Did they…”

You nodded, crunching hard on the ice. 

Jake cleared his throat again. “Uh, okay. Well. What do you, uh... Do you want to…go up? With them? Or. We can go to our room…”

“I wanna go. To their room. If you do.” You answered confidently. 

Jake finished his drink, setting the glass back onto the bar top, and grinning as he turned to you, “Okay then. Let’s go.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

Part 2

@gretavansara@jordie-gvf-admin@starshine-wagner @eyelinerjake@gretavanfvckface@gretavanmoon@misshunnybeebee@fretaganvleet@gvfpal@joshkiszkas@ascendingtostardust@raviolilegs@sammysprincess@gvfpal@objectsinspvce@lallisonl@gvfpal@raviolilegs@jaketlover@ascendingtostardust @indigostreakmorgan@jakemarrymeibeg@fakeplastiqtree@radmads-gvf @fwzco @katelynn-gvf @writingcold @jakesgrapejuice @jakekiszkasbabymama @emsfallingsky @gretavanbear @ejoygvf @beebloopbleep @mackalah @weneedsomehealing123 @reesetrippingthelight @lightmylove-gvf @wetkleenex-gvf@fulltimecynical@ageofbajabule@ageofsinners@indigostreakslut @profitofthedune @katelynn-gvf @ohgodthefeeling-gvf @joshskittytickler21 @mp0801@starcatcherry @samsbirks @darianh07 @cassiesgreta @becinabubblegvf @hanntisocial @demonrat444 @mrbrownstne @gretabyss @bizzielisteningtogreta

If you'd like to be added to my taglist, please send in an ask!

[spiegelgestalt]

Timebomb feelings because of the Arcane trailer for season 2

So I just saw the arcane trailer for season 2. It's great. I'm so excited. (so sad that Victor and Jayce died in the explosion quite an apprupt ending for them i guess... /s)

but what i really want to talk about is these two pictures:

Because it got me thinking. One of the interesting aspects of the Jinx/Ekko relationship is that they are able to communicate through other means than direct words. And that they are able to create a different image for each other.

Long and rambly explanation under the cut, which got away from me and can be summarized with: Jinx makes Ekko more violent and Ekko makes Jinx more heroic and they love each other your honor and i want to see a team up in season 2:

Song:

Jinx has a few songs (Guns for hire, goodbye, What could have been) but they are usually solos. They are usually melodic rock. And they usually concentrate on how much Jinx was wronged.

And than there is Dynasties and Dystopia. On first watch i thought it was an Ekko song. It's after all in his style (both in animation as in genre) but some words don't quite fit:

"I might just might kick your butt Go run amok then paint my nails Never learned to raise my hand Was too busy raising hell Everything I know I am You should go and save yourself Thought you had my number, huh Congratulations, you played yourself"

this just screams jinx to me. Ekko has yet to run amok. Jinx does it all the time. I don't even know what Ekko's nails look like, but we have several distinct shots of Jinxs' blue and pink nails; Ekko doesn't raise hell, if he's raising something it's paradise. And the line "you should go and save yourself" is a good continuation/rejection of the one thing Jinx says in this fight: Look who it is - the boy savior -> go save yourself! And it forshadows the way jinx will be able to get just a loss instead of a total defeat (look she was defeated- in the aftermath Ekko had a hurt leg, while Jinx needed to be revived with terrible magic drugs there is a clear winner here). Ekko thinks he has jinx figured out but he hasn't and thats why he will hesitate in the end.

But i would also argue that not all of the song is jinx:

Ooh, yeah, he mad I'm racking up white diamonds Throw me in the sky You would swear the sun shining Ooh, yeah, he mad I'm racking up white diamonds Throw me in the sky You would swear the sun shining

this verse is both of them: Basically they are saying: Look how great i'm doing (lie) Aren't you mad about it? (They will never beat the allegation that they are bitter exes.)

And I'd argue that this is Ekkos verse:

In this gothic underground city We all sin If I bring a couple rounds with me Then we all win I came back and brought the crown with me The king's den Break your nexus and your neck 'cause Everybody's on your head

and interestingly enough it's an offer. This makes sense with the visual. Encouraged through Vi who insists that Powder is still in there somewhere Ekko conjures a situation wich is similar to their old games. And it works: It's the only time Powder appears as her young self on screen. And so Ekko makes an offer he probably made before: Trust me, back down, i can help:

He starts with: We all make mistakes - one of the things that bind Powder to the Jinx personality is her guilt over having killed her entire family. But Ekko doesn't blame Jinx he blames their circumstances (something he also does in his Zaun-duet misfit toys)

If i bring a couple rounds with me, then we all win -> this foreshadows his timetravel ability. And even if he doesn't has it at this point this whole scene breaks down time itself so it still works in my head. Ekko brings the crown with him (the hextech-crystal) and he warns Jinx that everyone is going after her.

And the second refrain which I'd argue both sing once again:

Hold still while I bag that, uh Talk bad 'til I snap back, uh This ain't brown, this that dark black This that pitch black, jet black Snap yo' ex watch me give him flashbacks

Meaning: keep still, i've got this, just trust me dude!

This song shows that Ekkos and Jinx's disagreement is far more similar to the disagreement between Vander and Silco than to the disagreement between Vi and Jinx. Vi and Jinx' disagreement is personal. Vi rejects everything jinx has become and just wants her "sweet" little sister back - Ekkos and Jinx's disagreement is political. They disagree about the question what is best for Zaun. AND I'd also argue the Ekko is far less surprised by the jinx personality. He knew Powder was a bit of a shithead. He's just pissed that she's working for Silco.

Well let's finally get to these two pictures:

We see Ekko and we see Jinx drawn as hero of the resistance in Ekkos style* (compare the mural to the video of misfit toys) We know that Jinx gave Ekko a definition that didn't suit him by creating the firefly bombs and recasting him as a terrorist. And know we see Ekko who maybe drew this picture of jinx recreating her from a terrorist into a hero of Zaun.

(see me get proven wrong in the first episode of arcane season 2...)

[bellepeppergirl]

Random Crack Theory

The cardinal sin of the Golden Order is to burn the Erdtree, snakes are considered traitors to the Erdtree, The Flame of the Fell God is seen as a threat to the Erdtree, and Messmer the Impaler was sealed away despite seemingly being loyal to his mother.

In the SOTE story trailer, we see a mass burning of the Shadow Lands. Massive furnace golems march through burning cities while Messmer, commanding the power of fire, oversees it all. When we reach the Shadow Lands, many villages are burned and in ruins, the Shadow Keep seems to be burned, and the Scadutree itself is blackened with chunks of black falling off.

Is it possible that the reason burning the Erdtree is a sin, why the Age of Plenty is gone, why snakes are seen as traitors, why Messmer is a secret, is because during the war in what would become the Shadow Lands, the Scadutree, which is likely the original Erdtree, was burned?

Because of this, the Shadow Lands and all in it were sealed away, Messmer was kept hush hush, anything relating to him was considered a sin, and the Scadutree was replaced with the giant, golden and seemingly incorporeal tree that didn't produce sap, thus ending the Age of Plenty.

[sillovn]

Some Messmer thoughts

Followup on the original post, now about Messmer.

Messmer's power and aims seem difficult to reconcile with Marika's at a glance (assuming Marika is his mother in the first place).

Power wise, he is the 'omni-sinner' and appears to always have been. As of new trailer, we can discount the idea his current appearance is due to collecting 'heretical powers' post exile.

His purge comes as a response to Marika assembling the corpse mountain/Erdtree (and presumably separating the Land of Shadow?).

Its interesting that Messmer's purge targeted an "Old Tree Capital" whose society seems aligned with 'Gold'. This act was seen as so sinful, later history chooses to omit it. Here's a few quite mundane ideas that could explain this.

You could make an argument that Messmer served a purpose to Marika at some point - but either outlived his purpose or became too fanatical/uncontrollable. Messmer being a 'single-minded weapon' that Marika lost control of is a fine idea.

Alternatively, destroying the original 'Golden Capital' was a "necessary evil" to create a perfect separation between Gold/Shadow lands. Just as how Marika used Maliketh seal away death in The Lands Between - Messmer is used to purge the remnants of gold in the Lands of Shadow.

Going with the idea that Marika stole gold from a pre-Erdtree Goddess - Messmer's war could be very simple act of vengeance. The 'pre-Erdtree Culture' attacks to avenge Marika killing their god - then Messmer attacks in return. Here, the historical suppression is unrelated to Messmer's actions - but rather Marika's godhood being a stolen power.

These are all fairly sane ideas. So here's the part where I just start saying insane shit, because that's half the fun of souls lore theories.

Child of the Two Worlds

I stated in the earlier post that the whole Radagon-Rennala affair may be a recurring scheme that Marika pulls. When Messmer was 1st shown, he was assumed to be a child of the Marika x Radagon era (sibling to Malenia etc.). Fair idea, given his appearance - but its quite clear now that he predates all of that.

So, what if Messmer's parentage is actually Radagon x pre-Erdtree Goddess? It neatly explains his appearance and demigod status (running with the idea that Marika is neither a god nor married to Godfrey at this point).

We don't have a time frame from when 'Marika separates Gold from Shadow' to 'Messmer burns the 'Old Tree Capital'.' But, if Messmer is the child from long standing marriage - it explains him being an adult at the time of the war (assuming it happens directly after). Hell, you can just assume a repeat of the Rennala situation; where Radagon leaves with the adult demigod children in tow.

Alternatively, if there's large time span between 'Gold and Shadow separation' and 'Messmer burns the capital' - then what if the burning city *is* Marika's original capital of 'age of plenty' fame?

The golden sap dripping from the tree(s) forms the image of her great rune. The architecture also seems to be built for golden sap collection in a way that Leyndell isn't.

The 'Lion Dancers' have metal portions similar material to Crucible Knight armour. That faction is aligned with Marika in the present (though indirectly via. Godfrey).

In this scenario; Marika separates gold and shadow, creates the Erdtree (and city for her followers), which is then burned by Messmer, which forces the Erdtree faith to migrate to the Lands Between.

Thus, Messmer's purge is vengeance against Marika for killing his (other) mom.

Also perhaps why "serpent is traitor to the Erdtree".

The Lands of Shadow being separated could be related to trying to confine Messmer.

main caveat is that what little dialogue we have from Messmer makes it seem he still holds Marika in some regard and his mission is to burn those without grace. But its so context free, who even knows?

One last bit. Ive not named the pre-Erdtree Goddess (not convinced she is the Gloam Eyed Queen), but 1 thing that could be in favour of the GEQ identification is how twin demigods embody the physical aspects of each parent (eg. Malenia and Miquella). So if Messmer is from Radagon x GEQ, is Melina is his twin?

To be fair, this pattern doesn't hold well for the other demigods. so eh?

[showtoonzfan]

Another episode goes by and yet Viv’s worldbuilding of hell is still as shallow and nonexistent as ever. I really wish Viv would put the effort into writing and creating her world rather than just slapping an aesthetic onto each location and calling it a day, because that’s all she does for each damn ring.

For example we finally get introduced to what the rest of the Greed ring looks like outside of Loo Loo Land, and it’s…toxic wasteland-ish, but….that’s it. You could say this seems to be the shadiest location of hell where there’s a lot of crime, this is definitely the place where there are mobsters and crime lords, but it’s kinda no different from the stuff we’ve seen in the Pride ring minus the toxic atmosphere. The species for this ring are definitely shark demons, and of course imps (though they seem to reside in every ring, this is why I wish there were different kinds of imps so we could tell the difference) and there’s also Mammon, he’s one of the Seven Deadly Sins who rules this ring, we know that he’s on money?? But that’s it. We’re going to meet him in a later episode, and judging by the trailer he seems to be a rock and roll star with imps loving him, so I don’t know how that connects to what we see here, this worn down, shady town. Despite it looking dangerous, it’s still a civilization with houses and everything, but other than that, that’s pretty much all we know, and I really don’t know how YouTubers like Cartoon Universe can make so many videos on these things when there’s so LITTLE to go off and so little we know about how the ring works and how these demons live here, but don’t worry, I’m sure Vivziepop will give some half assed explanation in her next patreon call or livestream that won’t come up in the actual show at all. I just wish Viv would actually write the world around these characters instead of just saying “Yes, this is country themed, this is New York City themed, this is toxic wasteland themed”- like you need more than that.

[bloodmoon24]

Asmodeus Movie Trailer

(Making Asmodeus as an action movie trailer. For what reason? I’ve been watching Netflix trailers recently, and this came to mind)

Scene shows a city on Earth as the sun rises into the horizon. Everyone getting ready for the day

Oswald: *narrating* My name is Oswald Mode…

Scene shows Oswald woke out of bed and start gets ready for the day. Started up with putting on a blue vest with red sleeves, dark blue pants, and black and red boots. And then he brushes his dark blue dyed hair and combs his goatee and stache and winks at his reflection

Oswald: *narrating* I’m an owner for a club for all lovers to come and enjoy

Oswald walked through the streets of his hometown, waving at everyone as they waved back as they say good morning

Oswald: *narrating* I’ve known everyone here for years. I’ve known every nook and cranny of my hometown

Oswald was at his club, welcoming his guests as show dancers are dancing on the stage. Everyone was having a good time where they all laugh and enjoy their time at the club

Oswald: *narrating* ……Or that I thought I knew…

At night, Oswald was closing his club until he say blue glowing smoke coming out of an alleyway

Oswald: ??? Uhh…Hello? *goes up to the alleyway* Anybody there?

He walked into the alleyway as more smoke poured out

Oswald: …This isn’t funny…

He then sees a lighter blue glowing symbol on the wall. He goes and touches the sigil as he squint his eyes

Oswald: What is this…? *he tried to pull his hand away, but it didn’t move* Wh-What the-? Why won’t I? *grunts as he tries to pull his hand away. Then put his foot on it to get extra strength, but that got stuck too* What the hell?!

The sigil glowed brighter and it starts pulling him into the wall. He starts yelling for help, but he got fully pulled in. He screams as he flew around in a blue to red portal and his body starts to change into something different

Scene went black before he opened his eyes and sees a red sky with the sun shining down on him. He covered his face but sees his arm completely different. It had a white glove on, he pulled down his sleeve and sees his whole arm being dark blue. He sat up and sees he’s wearing thigh high jagged boots and his legs being rooster like, and sees he has tail feathers in black, white, and red

(Song that plays during the rest of the story)

Asmodeus: ?!? *got up and checked the rest of himself out in a panic* What the fuck?! What happened to me?! *touched his face and it felt like feathers* W-What?! Am I some kind of bird?! A very muscular bird??

Scene changed to the rest of the other world, aka Hell

Asmodeus: Where am I?

Ozzie sees other demons (the other Sins)

Asmodeus: Who are you?

Beelzebub: Wait, you seriously don’t know us? C’mon, Ozzie, we’ve known each other forever. Literally. As in “the start of Hell” forever

Asmodeus: …Am I high? I feel like I’m high, because I’m seeing a dog lady with four arms and hair that looks like lemonade

Beelzebub: I’m a fox and bee hybrid

Asmodeus: And what do you mean “the start of Hell”?

Scene shows a flashback of Ozzie with other succubi demons until he fell through a portal and ended up unconscious on Earth

Beelzebub: You really don’t remember? You were trapped on Earth for twenty-five years

Asmodeus: I what…?

Scene changes to Beelzebub showing Ozzie all of Hell with him looking amazed but still confused

Beelzebub: Since you lost your memory of what happened, I am Beelzebub. The Queen Bee/Sin of Gluttony. And you are Asmodeus, the King/Sin of Lust

Asmodeus: Wait, a Sin? And am I king??

Beelzebub: Yeah, man. You and I are a part of the Seven Deadly Sins. There’s Belphagor of Sloth, Leviathan of Envy, Mammon with Greed, Satan with Wrath, and the big man himself, Lucifer of Pride and all of Hell

Asmodeus: Huh. I think I knew about demons, just never thought I was one, let alone a demon King of Sin. What happened to me?

Scene changes to Bee leading Ozzie to Lucifer’s castle, where the other Sins are with Mammon looking displeased

Lucifer: Your disappearance was always a mystery to us. This never happened before

Asmodeus: So all this time I’ve been a Sin, and can’t remember anything?

Leviathan: Exactly. And now the Seven Sins became whole again after twenty-five years. Still trying to figure out who or what caused you to be stranded on Earth

Scene changes to Mammon talking to Ozzie alone

Mammon: And here I thought you would stay on Earth, mate

Ozzie looking like he’s been threatened as Mammon’s shadow hovered over him

Mammon: Should’ve gotten rid of ya for good this time. You’re a fuckin’ disgrace and an embarrassment to all of Hell

Next scene to Ozzie at his tower looking scared as he pants and sweats as he looked at his hands, shaking. He leaned his head back and slid down to sit on the floor and hugged his knees. Next scene shows a rainstorm scene with Asmodeus on top of a cliff side, looking mad as he lowly growled and clenched his fist as thunder and lightning struck behind him as the scene went black

Asmodeus: *narrating* …I’m not a disgrace

Scene shows Ozzie and Mammon fighting in full demon forms in the rainstorm

Mammon: *demonic voice* You think you’re a Sin of Lust?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!

Scene shows Asmodeus standing there as parts of his body became fire

Asmodeus: I am…Asmodeus

He looked up with his eyes lit fire

Mammon and Ozzie roared at each other before they started to brawl

Asmodeus

Coming soon…

Asmodeus: *looking himself in the mirror* Huh. Never thought I had two other faces in my hair

Beelzebub: Everyone has a different body. Like you have two extra heads and a huge ass cock

Asmodeus: *blushes and turned over to her* Wait, what?

Get ready to let your inner demon out

[odysseyghost38]

I’d like to share some thoughts on the upcoming Fallout TV show.

I’m a big fan of Fallout, and have spent hours researching its lore, probably days researching it, haha. I have a…mixed opinion on the trailer. I’ll start with the positives

1. Visually on point. Very reminiscent of Fallout 4 visually.

2. Walton Goggins ghoul looks and sounds spectacular. I like his line in the trailer, “You look out at the wasteland, and it just looks like chaos, but there’s always a hand behind the wheel”. The concept of a movie star becoming an actual warrior intrigues me.

3. I’m looking forwards to seeing the main character Lucy’s arc. Looks compelling.

4. Power Armour looks on point.

5. Jonathan Nolan will be executive producing, and he is a highly competent writer (I hope his brother Chris brings home that Oscar tomorrow!)

The negatives

1. Why is the NCR a small ragtag force seemingly? This would establish a canon ending to New Vegas, a cardinal sin for any game adaptation.

2. Why is shady sands nuked? Maybe this is a pre war city also named Shady Sands….very confusing.

3. The brotherhood are being portrayed as a police force. This is inaccurate. The Brotherhood are a militaristic faction only concerned with the hoarding of technology and isolationism.

4. Los Angeles being nuked…that’s the boneyard. One of the 5 NCR states. C’mon.

I’ll watch the show in it’s entirety when it comes out just over a month from now. I’m keeping my hopes up, and putting my faith in Jonathan and Todd.

[brokehorrorfan]

RoboCop 2 will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on June 18 via Scream Factory. The 1990 sci-fi action sequel was the final film directed by Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back).

Comic book legend Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City) and Walon Green (Eraser) wrote the script. Peter Weller returns to star with Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Belinda Bauer, and Gabriel Damon.

RoboCop 2 has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon

Audio commentary with RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop documentarians Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths, and Eastwood Allen

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary with author/CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon

Audio commentary with RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop documentarians Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths, and Eastwood Allen

Corporate Wars: The Making of RoboCop 2 – Interviews with director Irvin Kershner, producer Jon Davidson, actors Tom Noonan, Nancy Allen, Galyn Görg, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin, and author/CG supervision Paul M. Sammon

Machine Parts: The FX of RoboCop 2 – Interviews with Phil Tippett, Peter Kuran, Craig Hayes, Jim Aupperle, Kirk Thatcher, Paul Gentry, Don Waller, Justin Kohn, Randal Dutra, and Kevin Kutchaver

Interview with RoboCop armor fabricator James Belohovek

Interview with comic book writer Steven Grant

OCP Declassified – Archival production and behind-the-scenes videos including interviews with director Irvin Kershner and actors Peter Weller and Dan O’Herlihy, and a look at the filming of some deleted scene

Theatrical trailer

Teaser trailers

TV spots

Still Galleries – deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes photos, stills, posters and lobby cards

When Detroit's descent into chaos is further compounded by a police department strike and a new designer drug called "Nuke," only RoboCop (Peter Weller) can stop the mayhem. But in his way are a sinister corporation and a bigger and tougher cyborg with a deadly directive: take RoboCop off the streets … permanently.

Pre-order RoboCop 2.

[blaiddfailcam]

Marika's involvement in the Land of Shadow

In interview with Hidetaka Miyazaki, he posits that while the player arrives in the Land of Shadow in Miquella's footsteps, another aspect of the story will pertain to Marika, and the mystery of her actions in this world apart. Knowing her to have been a ruthless conqueror of the Lands Between, might the Land of Shadow been another battleground on which she tested her faith?

To bring Order to chaos

"They were never saints. They just happened to be on the losing side of a war."

This particular quote from the trailer, spoken by a yet unknown character, stuck out to me. It isn't clear to whom the speaker is referring, but thematically, it resonates with a theme throughout Elden Ring of the enduring power of faith and fragility. Clearly, the Land of Shadow is a deeply hostile world, and with Messmer the Impaler seemingly at the heart of this suffering, it's certainly not a welcome world for the Erdtree faithful.

Given the heavy focus on fire—in particular, "the embrace of Messmer's flame"—I'm reminded of another quote from the base game, included in the Erdtree's Protection incantation:

"In the beginning, everything was in opposition to the Erdtree. But through countless victories in war, it became the embodiment of Order."

Prior to the establishment of the Age of the Erdtree, two battles were fought: first with the Gloam-Eyed Queen and her Blackflame, and the second against the Fire Giants to seal the Flame of Ruin. Fire is naturally regarded a sin in the Erdtree faith, so it's no wonder Marika was challenged with disposing of these two volatile forces before her age could truly flourish. Might Messmer's flame have been another beast in need of taming?

While Marika eventually won her war, a key component of the Golden Order is its adaptability. Marika never truly defeated the Godskins, as we find several Apostles and Nobles wandering the world, possibly even in service to Maliketh in Farum Azula; though Godfrey slaughtered countless Fire Giants, Marika realized she could never truly eliminate the Fell God, and so cursed the last of their race to protect the secret for eternity. The Golden Order is powerful, but it cannot erase an ideology. It conquers through absorption and appropriation, enslaving all unto its will. This is once again illustrated through Radagon's marriage to Rennala after failing to defeat her in battle, a union that ultimately fettered the fate of the stars to that of the Golden Order.

Curiously, this concept arises yet again with Miquella.

"Pure and radiant, he wields love to shrive clean the hearts of men. There is nothing more terrifying."

Similarly to Malenia's quote in her gear descriptions, Miquella is described paradoxically as both loving and terrifying, wielding power over all with his ability to manipulate those who adore him. As the Bewitching Branch illustrates, he even possesses an eerie ability to inspire love in enemies to compel them to his aid. I suppose the apple didn't fall far from the tree... uh, no pun intended.

To search the depths

At the Minor Erdtree Church in the Capital Outskirts, Melina recites spoken echoes of Queen Marika:

"I declare mine intent, to search the depths of the Golden Order. Through understanding of the proper way, our faith, our grace, is increased. Those blissful early days of blind belief are long past. My comrades, why must ye faulter?"

Originally, I assumed this quote was literally referring to the region beneath the Erdtree, Deeproot Depths. After all, it is there that the heart of the Greattree resides, and where the golden star that would become the Elden Beast first landed, drawing matter from the Crucible to form the sapling that would in time become the Erdtree. However, it never quite sat right with me, as there would likely be no reason to explore the ruins of an Eternal City to better comprehend the Golden Order.

With the new knowledge that Marika also set foot in the Land of Shadow, I now wonder if this other realm is actually what she was referring to? She designates a shift from "blind belief" toward an era of reason, which almost sounds as if she sought to test her faith, as well as that of her comrades, through yet another war. It's not at all clear when she set her heart upon this introspection, but given that it's never quite explained why she divested Godfrey and his warriors of their grace, might some discovery during her exploration of the Land of Shadow have inspired this unusual plot...?

This could even mark the first instance in which Marika failed to achieve victory, even through absorption. It appears that whatever road carries us to the Land of Shadow, Messmer retains much of his power, possibly explaining why this region was somehow cloven from the Lands Between. In any case, it seems as though Messmer recognizes the Tarnished as Marika's true chosen successors, not just mere outcasts. (Might then she and her Erdtree faithful have been the alleged "saints" on the losing side of the war...?)

• • •

There's plenty left to ponder, and perhaps none of this is even close to hitting the mark, but it'll be fun to mull over and see what surprises are left in store for us. I'm not even going to begin attempting to decipher Messmer's alleged relationship to Marika, lol.

Just a few months... We can do this.

[12romy]

Chewis and vegas wedding

Oh anon, you are making me SO happy with this ask!! Forget about the 5-paragraph, I got overboard with this one but it was worth it XD

Enjoy ;)

*****

Whoever decided to make Las Vegas the third to last race is an idiot and should be fired. It is so irresponsible. It's Vegas, the worst can happen.

Sure, there is no better place to celebrate a championship win, and Lewis just so happens to snatch the title that night. He doesn’t win the race, Charles does. He comes second, and it’s enough, it’s great, even, because his boyfriend is happy and celebrating, and so is he. The Vegas atmosphere is quick to get to them.

Daniel is the one in charge of organising the party, after, something big with all the drivers and all the teams because it’s Vegas and rivalry doesn’t matter in the city of Sins. Getting drunk and high and laid is probably everyone’s priority right now. Even Alonso doesn’t look too bumped to have lost the championship to Lewis.

There’s no time for debrief, Lewis barely has any time to hop back to his trailer – he shares it with Charles, has been for the beginning of the season – and change his clothes. He still has champagne in his hair, and he doesn’t care.

The party is insane. You can count on Daniel to organise something amazing.

Lewis is handed a glass, two, he shakes hands, gets a hug from Toto, two from Bono, and even one from Angela who came just to watch the race. He doesn’t see Charles for the first two hours or so. He’s drunk and horny and sad when he finds him because, hey, he just won his 8th title and he can’t celebrate it with the love of his life?

He hates it.

So, when he spots Charles, he has very little inhibition even if he's not that drunk, and has no remorse rudely pulling him out of the conversation he was having with some sponsors and dragging him to the dancefloor.

“L-Lewis!” he yelps, and it’s so cute Lewis wants to kiss him. Something tells him he shouldn’t, but he can’t remember what. He’s a bit of a mess, alright, but Charles sure doesn’t seem to mind, when Lewis finally kisses him.

He hears a few gasps around them. Ah. Right. People. People who didn't know.

Charles doesn’t seem to mind. He’s still kissing Lewis passionately, letting out little moans. When they pull apart, Lewis just feels overwhelmed with love. Charles looks beautiful, his hair is a mess, and his lips are wet, and Lewis wants to-

“Marry me,” he blurts out, and finds out that he means it. Charles widens his eyes, smiles-

“Yes, yes, I want to,” he cries out, and Lewis feels too many things to name them.

“Fuck, I don’t even have a ring,” he curses, and Charles pulls something from his pocket. A little box.

“I do,” he says shyly. “I had planned to ask you but you were quicker in this one… as always.”

“My god, I love you,” Lewis sighs in happiness. “Let’s get married now.”

“Now?”

“It’s Vegas, baby!” he smiles, he can't stop smiling.

“Oh, hell with it, why not!”

Daniel somehow saw the whole thing and is absolutely delighted with the idea of organising a wedding right now. Everyone in the paddock is probably too drunk to realise it’s something serious. They’re all just happy to have an excuse to get even more wasted.

Valtteri and Angela agree to be Lewis’ best man, and Pierre cries when Charles asks him to be his.

It’s only after the wedding, after exchanging vows and rings, after hours of dancing and a few more of fucking, that Lewis realises what happened.

He was married.

“God, Mom is going to kill me,” he groans. Charles is wrapped around him, head on his chest.

“Don’t worry, Maman won’t let me live if we don’t get married again with the family. We’ll have time to organise something this winter,” his boyfrie- his husband says with a yawn.

Lewis is exhausted, but he’s got a stupid grin on his face just thinking about the word.

Nevermind, whoever decided to put Las Vegas at the end of the calendar deserves a raise.

[satoshi-mochida]

Hand-painted Japanese-inspired RPG Lost Hellden announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC

From Gematsu

Astria Ascending and Super Neptunia RPG developer Artisan Studios has announced Lost Hellden, a hand-painted Japanese-inspired RPG featuring music and audio direction by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy XII, Tactics Ogre, etc.) and illustrations by Takeshi Oga (Gravity Rush, Siren, etc.). It will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG in 2025.

Here is an overview of the game, via Artisan Studios:

About

Lost Hellden is a unique hand-painted JRPG from Artisan Studios, enhanced by dynamic lighting and weather effects. Take control of eight unique highly customizable characters through an epic mature story where the 7 Deadly Sins guide your fate. Witness a new Deep 2D technology allowing you to play in 3D in hand painted artworks with dynamic lighting and weather. On a planet called Era, people are bound to one of the Seven Deadly Sins before their first birthday via a religious ceremony called the Nexus Ritual. All their life, the inhabitants of Era have to fight against their urges. Should they fail and succumb, they transform into mindless and aggressive beasts. The Unio religion representatives – the Arkhons – ensure that everyone follows the rules and put down any monsters that appear in the cities. One day, a woman gives birth to twins, something that never happened before. The Prime Arkhon, supreme leader of Era, conducts the Nexus Ritual himself. However, something goes wrong, and one baby is bound to all seven sins, while the other receives none. The twins are taken to the capital, Avilah, where they are brought up as Arkhon apprentices. They are never allowed to leave the walls of the sanctuary… But one day, Leht, the twin bound to the seven sins, manages to leave the city. His brother Cyphel is sent on a mission to find and bring him back. He is accompanied by two seasoned Arkhons, Gram and Enki. The journey of Cyphel and Leht is one of self-discovery, one that will allow them to grow and become the people they were destined to be.

Characters

Cyphel Fyrbrand – Since Cyphel was not bound to any Sin during the Nexus Ritual, his childhood was significantly easier than his brother’s. He grew up to be a kindhearted, yet naive young man. Cyphel is usually obedient but he willingly follows Leht when he is up to some mischief.

Gram Stoneheim – This strong woman taught the art of fighting to the twins. She can be harsh sometimes, especially with Leht, because she sees great potential in him. She is an Arkhon and works closely with Enki.

Enki Taillevent – Enki is an Arkhon and a teacher to the twins. He is less strict than Gram, sometimes he can even be seen as lax. His kind demeanor and his sense of humor make him a great person to be around.

More to be announced.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery. Visit the official website here.

Announce Trailer

[uniquegamerecs]

Favorite Trailers from "Not E3" 2023

When I played The Bookwalker's demo a few years ago, it was one of the rare ones that I turned off early because I was already sold. This new trailer is purely cinematic and doesn't reflect the isometric, CRPG vibe of the game, but I'm excited to see a small game get a cool trailer - and that the release date is so soon.

Not much more than a teaser here, but the art style is so strong that it made a big impact.

I was grabbed by the insanely nice pixel art and only got more excited as the trailer went on. The blending of Mexican and Japanese influences is intriguing. I'm sure it won't be out till 2024 or 2025, especially since it seems that the team is still working on their previously released game. Still, I'm looking forward to it!

What can I say? Just my type. I love the gnarly pixel graphics and creepy theme.

I'm already so ready to play Baldurs Gate 3 after loving Divinity Original Sin 2, but this video got me even more excited. I can't wait to explore this city!

[sirenjose]

Call of the Abyss 5

This is a repost of my COA 5 Analysis.

Trailers:

COA 5 Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jYQazp7NfM

COA 5 Call of the Neon Colors Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV-SJ-oSlo0

COA 5 Playoff Stage animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg58rAbXIuc

COA 5 non-China Qualifier animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJIhD4qpSuc

COA 5 Funny animations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbq05bsXthg

The setting for COA 5 is Metropolis City, a “city of excess and eternal night, where lavish feasts, elegant balls, and uproarious performances reign supreme”. The “one in charge controls all the media and entertainment in the city, inducing the citizens to get drunk in it” and lose themselves in pleasure. Unknown to the people is the fact that an alien entity, the Color Out of Space, is hidden in the city’s neon lights, causing the people to mutate and fuse with machines and become part of the city.

COA 5 Background

The splendid and prosperous Metropolis is full of endless feasting. The one in charge controls all the media and entertainment in the city, inducing the citizens to get drunk in it and indulge in an absurd and extravagant debauchery. In the colorful neon lights of the city, there is also a mysterious "Color Out of Space" hidden. The end of all people sinking into pleasure and losing themselves is to be attracted by the "Color Out Of Space", a form of alienation entity and their bodies are gradually merging with machinery and tools to become part of the Metropolis. But, there are still people who are not willing to degenerate, and they gather together to launch a "media war" against the mouthpiece of the controller, revealing the secrets behind the prosperity of the Metropolis, and alerting the citizens who are addicted to it.

 “Metropolis” and thus COA 5 is a reference to a 1927 film also called “Metropolis”.

In the city of Metropolis, the working class live underground, while the upper class live in skyscrapers. The city is governed by Joh Fredersen, who doesn’t care about the needs of the working class. His son, Freder, an idealist, meets and falls in love with Maria, a woman from the workers’ city, who’s talking to a group of children about them being connected to the people in the high rises. He goes to the workers’ city and is appalled by their conditions, but when he questions his father about the conditions, he dismisses them. Freder enlists the help of Josaphat, who his father had fired on the spot for “incompetence”, and switches places with a worker to go into the workers’ city. There, he finds Maria leading a peaceful revolution and is looking for someone who can connect the ruling and working classes. Freder declares he is the mediator they need. Maria also tells the story of the Tower of Babel and warns against sin and indulgence.

Fredersen visits Rotwang, an eccentric inventor who loved the same woman Fredersen did, but she married Fredersen instead, and is building a robot to immortalize her. Fredersen spied on Maria’s meeting and wants Rotwang to help undermine the revolution, but Rotwang secretly plans to undermine Fredersen’s plan too and destroy the whole city. He finishes his robot and makes her the image of Maria (after kidnapping the real Maria)

The robot version of Maria is seductive and amoral, and spends most of her time dancing at a nightclub. She convinces the working class to wage a destructive revolution against the whole city, shutting down the machines and flooding the workers’ city, but leaving behind their children. The real Maria, Freder, and Josaphat help the children escape the city. The workers charge the Heart machine, which keeps the whole city running. The operator tells them not to, and that Maria is a witch that must be burned. They think their children are dead, and so capture the false Maria and burn her at the stake. Freder and Rotwang end up fighting, with Rotwang falling to his death, and Freder is successful in bringing the 2 classes together.

As for the Color Out of Space, it was a story written by Lovecraft, also coincidentally in 1927.

An unnamed land surveyor comes to the town of Arkham, Massachusetts to investigate the area of a new reservoir. He notes the town’s population is slowly dwindling and hears about a strange area of the town called the “blasted heath” where the land is covered in ash and nothing grows. He talks to Ammi Pierce, a local who lives near the heath. Ammi is the only person who still remembers what happened there and of the fate of a local family.

A meteorite crashed into the farm of Nahum Gardner and his family. Professors at a local university tried to take samples, but any they collected soon vanished. They did discover that the samples emitted colors outside the normal spectrum. The sample shrunk and disappeared the next morning along with the glass beaker it had been stored in. When they go back to the meteorite, they discover the meteorite had shrunk. As they dug out a 2nd sample, they find a glassy bubble, which they break to see what was in it. The bubble disappeared and appeared empty, though Ammi thought he felt something pass by him when the bubble broke. That night, the meteorite is struck by lightning and disappeared.

The farm appears to thrive over the summer, as the crops grew particularly fast and large, but at harvest they find them to be inedible and have a rotten aftertaste. Nahum concludes the color leaked into the ground after the storm and poisoned the soil. Over the following year, the color spreads to the surrounding area, mutating the plans and animals in grotesque ways. The trees sway without wind and all the vegetation became bioluminescent. As the summer goes on, the plant life turned gray and brittle.

1 by 1, the Gardner family goes mad, and Nahum is forced to either lock them away or bury their remains. Ammi realized their state of mind was caused by the color contaminating their well water. Those that went mad also had the same bioluminescence as the plant life.

Later, Ammi goes to the Gardner farm and finds Nahum had gone mad. His wife and 1 son were locked in the attic, while another son was living in the well. Nahum says the light from the well sucked your will to escape. Ammi finds the 2 in the attic alive but decaying into dust like everything else and leaking the mysterious color from their body. Nahum says the color was behind everything and was siphoning the life from the surrounding area. He soon dies himself. Ammi gets the authorities, and they find the bodies in the attic and well. As it gets late, they see a ray of light emerging from the mouth of the well. The land glows with the color before the well erupted, shooting the color into the sky. The erupting color eradicated the farm and remaining mutated life before disappearing completely. The area was reduced to nothing but grey dust and inorganic matter. Some of the color that was too weak to fly remained in the well.

The story of COA 5 takes place around the same time as COA 4. This is confirmed by Traffic Flag, whose description talks about “rumors of a racing rally”, which is referring to the Great Race from COA 4. This is the race we know Highway Cavalier wins and defeats Molten Hound based on Cruiser’s description.

Traffic Flag: There's not much entertainment or news from outside of Metropolis, yet the rumors of a racing rally have been surfacing on a regular basis. This wasn't requested by the one in power but forces even further behind the scene.

Cruiser: Hiding in the snowy streets, the cruiser monitoring the schedule witnessed the final result: the knight has finally gone home!

Traffic Flag states news of the race was being requested on a “regular basis” not by the “one in power” but by “forces even further behind the scene”.

The “one in power” and the “mouthpiece of the controller” refer to Eternal Aurora, who we see in her design notes and on the Abyssal Whisper pages that she is stated to be the one in control of all the media channels in Metropolis City. Regarding the “forces even further behind the scene”, this is referring to the Energy Corporation. We know this as the Animated Jukebox states they are the ones funding Metropolis’ “enormous expenditure in exchange for researching human materialization and object revitalization”.

Animated Jukebox: To the eyes of the Energy Corporation, humans are merely vessels of energy. This organization supports the Metropolis' enormous expenditure in exchange for researching human materialization and object revitalization.

The Energy Corporation are 1 of the 3 corporations introduced during COA 4. The other 2 were the Transportation Corporation and the Pharmaceutical Corporation. From COA 4’s extended backstory, we learn that these 3 companies studied “abyssal creations” and held “underground racing events to experiment with their respective Cthulhu technologies”. The Transportation corporation was the event organizer, vehicle provider, and “researched the combination of machinery and Cthulhu”. The Energy Corporation provided energy and “researched the energy use of Cthulhu substances”. Finally, the Pharmaceutical Corporation transformed riders and studied the “combination of Cthulhu and the human body”. The real controller of the race was Yidhra (Broadcaster), who’d reward the winner of the race with a “powerful life force and a huge benefit to the corporation”. This reward is likely the reason the Energy Corporation is regularly requesting news on the race.

COA 4 Extended Backstory:

There are three mysterious giant corporations that study abyssal creations. They periodically hold underground racing events to experiment with their respective Cthulhu technologies:

--Transportation giant (COA1 Pirate Ship), as the event organizer, provides vehicles and researches the combination of machinery and Cthulhu

--Energy giant (COA2 Snow Energy) provides energy and researches the energy use of Cthulhu substances

--Pharmaceutical giant (COA3 statue activation and manipulation) transforms riders and studies the combination of Cthulhu and the human body

The real controller of the underground race is the Dream Witch. The three major corporations send their riders to hold races in the Dreamlands she owns. The winning rider in the 24-hour race is rewarded by the Dream Witch: a powerful life force and a huge benefit to the corporations.

Gamekeeper is an artificial sculpture of the pharmaceutical giant (COA3 Pickman + puppeteer's technique) who broke out of control and became a monster after winning the previous race. He continued to absorb the lifeforce of other riders. Those who are devoured by him, once they leave the game, will age rapidly. Unless you win.

Prospector, Priestess, Acrobat, and others have also been participating in the race in order to defeat Gamekeeper. They often fought separately for their own interests, and they have established a bond of both enemies and friends. Until this time, many people united to delay Gamekeeper and help the Prospector defeat Gamekeeper. The others, when they leave the race, will take their aging bodies and wait in reality for the result that may not be known when they will appear. Their young souls died unwillingly in their withered bodies, and even the results of their efforts were unknown.

Ending: One day, the Prospector with a smirk will come to them with a young face. At that time, without words, seeing his face, they could understand that they had finally won. The young Prospector, in the end, could only watch his teammates grow old and die one by one. With the life they gave him, living alone.

Broadcaster: Being the broadcaster is just her way of staying informed of the races. If those playthings roam blindly in her nightmare, they won't be able to get near her at all.

The research the Energy Corporation is performing is what we see happening in Metropolis City. People are mutating and fusing with machines and tools (human materialization), the Scavenger Bot is evidence of their research into bringing tools to life, and the Color Out of Space being in the neon lights relates to their research into the “energy use of Cthulhu substances”. Though it seems they’ve had problems researching bringing objects to life, as the “only one” that became “sentient” (autonomous, able to feel, have an identity, etc…) was born from junk. This seems notable as in the other translations of the COA 5 backstory it mentions people sank into the pleasures of life and end up losing “themselves”, as in their ego, independence, individuality, sense of self, etc…

COA 5 Backstory (translated)

A bright and prosperous metropolis with endless extravagance and bustling nightlife is everywhere. The rulers control all media and entertainment in the city, inducing its citizens to indulge in a life of intoxicating and ridiculous extravagant debauchery. The mysterious "colors out of space" also seem to be hidden in the city's glamorous and colorful neon lights. Everyone sinks into the pleasures of life and ends up losing their ego. They are fascinated by the "colors out of space," and their mutated bodies gradually fuse with machines and tools, becoming part of the metropolis. However, some people who do not approve of the corruption gather together and bring the "media wars" to the throats of the rulers. They revealed the secrets behind the metropolis' prosperity and awakened the citizens from their dreams.

Scavenger Bot: In a city that symbolizes the culmination of desires, all mechanical creations are merely tools. To everyone's surprise, the only one that became sentient was born from a landfill.

Back in COA 4, it was mentioned that the Energy Corporation had “infiltrated into each of the logistics departments”, meaning they have likely been spying on the other corporations (Transportation and Pharmaceutical) and potentially stealing their research. That could explain why in COA 5 the Energy Corporation is researching people turning into machines, which connects to the Pharmaceutical Corporation studying the “combination of Cthulhu and the human body”, and bringing machines to life, which connects to the Transportation Corporation researching the “combination of machinery and Cthulhu”.

Racing Mechanic: The Energy Corporation has taken resources from the snowy ruins and has infiltrated into each of the logistics departments. Yet he's one of the few exceptions.

The reason they were spying on the other companies and the goal of their research in COA 5, as in why the Energy Corporation want to research people turning into machines and why they want to bring objects to life, beyond simply wanting to win, I think is because they want to find out how the Pharmaceutical Corporation created Molten Hound and brought it to life. That or they’re trying to find another way to create something similar.

From the 3rd Anniversary package, it says Molten Hound was developed with a “technique to bring inorganic substances to life, and produced a body from which the ‘Great Race’ descends”. There’s also the Jammed Gear, which implies Molten Hound (aka the “container”) was created using “Pickman and the Puppeteer’s recovered techniques – with only a tiny flaw in its design”.

Jammed Gear: The Pharmaceutical Corporation and the Bureau of Investigation created an almost-flawless container that combines Pickman and the Puppeteer's recovered techniques - with only a tiny flaw in its design.

3rd Anniversary Package – Molten Hound: The Pharmaceutical company developed a technique to bring inorganic substances to life, and produced a body from which the “Great Race” descends. It’s first work was Gamekeeper – a racer made of paper and plastic. He attacked others on the circuit and hunted the life force of other races to sustain his own eternal life. Eventually, he was defeated by the Prospector and was expelled from the race.

Jammed Gear’s description only references the Pharmaceutical Corporation and the Bureau of Investigation being there, with other versions adding that the Pharmaceutical Corporation assisted the Bureau with their cleanup after the events of COA 3. This is likely why the Energy Corporation wouldn’t know how they were able to make Molten Hound. If these Corporations are mainly only interested in studying “abyssal creations” and experimenting with their “respective Cthulhu technologies”, that would explain why the Energy Corporation might be interested in learning about Molten Hound. Either they were unable to discover the secret, or if they did, they were attempting to do something similar but a different way. But from Scavenger Bot we know they weren’t quite successful.

I think it’s possible the reason it was the only one to become “sentient” could relate to why Highway Cavalier won the race and was the kind of person the Pharmaceutical Corporation was looking for. From Fueling Agent, who secretly worked for them, we hear they needed the right “kind of spirit” which “can only be identified through tragic and fierce competitions”. This comes up again with Hysterical Fans, who says “No matter how tragic and fierce the competition is, racers who never give up will always be given a second chance”. Wheelchair Racer says she’s attending the races waiting for something (to “welcome something new” or a “new birth”), potentially a more flawless replacement for Molten Hound. Highway Cavalier wins due to how he kept pushing on despite the pain and failure and difficulty he encountered. The Scavenger Bot, as it was born from “junk”/“landfill”, could be described as having gone through something similar (struggle, rejection, etc…), which may be why it was able to become “sentient”.

Going back to Racing Mechanic’s description, it also stated the Energy Corporation was taking resources from the snowy ruins. These “snowy ruins” should be the “snow land” or “snow kingdom” referenced back during COA 3. From various accessories, like Snow Lotus, Ice Crystal, and Edelweiss, we learn they had “craftsmen” and gave out various items they had to others. These items were all likely from or connected to the abyss, as the Snow Lotus for example was actually a Nether Flower. Either way, the Snow Kingdom was likely what became of Steam City after the events of COA 2.

Teleoperator: Only the Abyss can confront the Abyss - when the dispute from the far away snow land came over, she finally realized this is all but another pipe dream. "The Surveyor will be devoured by his own creation." She sent numerous messages to her companions, yet she couldn't foresee this ending.

Snowfear: The Snow Kingdom has a legend that at the height of the storm, two huge figures will appear in the plains. People call them the Snow Monsters, but Snowfear does not buy it.

Snow Lotus: Legend has it that this flower can only grow in the holy land of Snow Kingdom. It was given as a gift to the Dancer, and although it was taken out of Snow Kingdom, it continued to bloom miraculously.

Ice Crystal: The work of the craftsman from Snow Kingdom exudes a strong chill every moment.

Edelweiss: Who will put this ornament from the Snow Kingdom on Geisha?

Nether Flower: A single blossom of flower native to the nether dimension. It brings an otherworldly beauty to this ordinary world.

Locomotive: The train he vowed to protect never reached the station. When the world is frozen still, the interminable engine he carries shall power the last train that has no terminus.

Therefore, the “resources” the Energy Corporation took were items salvaged from the ruins of the Snow Kingdom aka Steam City, which may have actually been items tied to or from the abyss. They likely used these “resources” as part of their research they were performing in Metropolis.

I actually wonder if it’s possible if the Color Out of Space was 1 of the “resources” they acquired from the snowy ruins, especially considering they’re interest in “energy” and they’re using the Color Out of Space as the “energy” for the neon lights. In the original story for the Color Out of Space, it was said to have arrived on a meteorite. Maybe that could be where the meteorite landed? Maybe that’s why the Snow Kingdom is now only “ruins”?

Considering they take the resources “away” from the “snowy ruins”, and these ruins were likely those of Steam City, not to mention Metropolis isn’t “severely cold”, which was the defining characteristic of Steam City (to the point the city used heat as currency), we know Metropolis isn’t actually Steam City. Therefore, Metropolis is somewhere else, somewhere new.

I do have a theory that Metropolis may actually be in the Dreamlands.

A big part of this comes from the fact it is emphasized that there is no sun. It is always “eternally” night. Pirate Radio in the COA 5 trailer even asks everyone “Can you even recall the last time you saw the Sun?”.

COA 5 Trailer

Good Evening. This is Pirate Radio. Headlines after headlines, musicals after musicals. Can you even recall the last time you saw the Sun? The media fills you with cheap thrills and mindless entertainment. Eventually, we’ll all “amuse ourselves to death”. I was once like you, waking up on the red carpet of Metropolis. But now? Look at what we’ve become. A cog in this entertainment machine. Wake up. This city is eating you alive. We’re nothing but pets and livestock. Trapped in captivity in this city forever. Let’s continue the carnival tonight. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see the Sun. Tonight, we celebrate the prosperity and beauty of Metropolis.

If Metropolis City were in the real world, how would there be no sun at all for that long? We know it’s not cold, so it can’t be that they’re in the north or south poles. And no hint is given for it being some method they may have devised to make it that way.

There are places in the Dreamlands though that have no sun, like the “Underworld”, which lies beneath the Dreamlands and is dimly lit by “death fire”. Regarding further evidence, other versions of the COA 5 backstory say people were “awakened… from their dreams” (and people enter the Dreamlands via dreams). Not to mention Orpheus at the start of the COA 5 event says he wrote this story based on a “dream” he had. There’s also the pages Pirate Radio and his group hand out which have the words “WAKE UP!!!” and “They Live, We Sleep”. Then there’s how we see the COA 4 cast in the city during the COA 5 pre-registration event as well as how in the Metropolis film the workers’ city was underground. Not to mention both Metropolis and the races being in the Dreamlands would make it easier for them to get news of the races. One other addition to this list is how Housepainter says the city “never sleeps”. This could relate to them being in the Dreamlands as usually people get there in Lovecraft’s universe by falling asleep, and Lovecraft never really talked about sleeping or dreaming in the Dreamlands, which could explain why the city “never sleeps”.

Let’s go back to the setting of COA 5: Metropolis City. In the city, Eternal Aurora is a celebrity, the Queen of Metropolis, and the one controlling all of the media and entertainment in the city. She’s helped by her publicist, Military Band, who arranges “all journalism, advertisements, and public opinion” to support her, improve her influence, and increase the number of people following her. Due to how Eternal Aurora holds all the power, there is no need for a Sheriff or “opposition by force” as power now comes from “public opinion and influence”. Part of this influence comes from the neon signs all over the city that advertise all the entertainment and everything else. As a result, regular people like Housepainter have their skills “confined in the billboards… below the neon signs”.

Military Band: As the publicist for the ‘celebrity’, he considered all journalism, advertisements, and public opinion to be weapons in a media war, all of which should be arranged with precision and efficiency just as each verse is in a military song.

Sheriff: With the ‘celebrity’ holding all the power, there's no need for the sheriff to eliminate oppositions by force. In a seemingly "genteel" media war, the real power comes from public opinion and influence.

Housepainter: The Metropolis never sleeps. His painting skills were confined in the billboards, manifesting only below the neon signs all over the city.

The neon lights though are where the Color Out of Space hides, as we know from Neon Vanguard’s description. As is hinted at from the pre-registration page and the pages handed out by Paperboy, who as the founder of the newspaper Have Fun was likely the one to create that page, the people of the city are “livestock” for the Color Out of Space. The Color Out of Space is feeding on the energy (aka lifeforce) of the citizens. Those that are completely drained end up like Easter Egg Carriage, who “transformed from an entertainer to a tool of entertainment – captured by the splendor of neon lights and ultimately swallowed by the city”. It says Easter Egg Carriage was drained of all his “heat”. This is what Eternal Aurora’s description was referencing when she said she wanted to be “the aurora in this city of excess and eternal night—a beautiful sight for the victims to behold before they die of cold”. She’s basically referencing people being completely drained by the Color Out of Space and becoming fully robotic.

Neon Vanguard: “As he took down the neon lights in the most melodramatic effort to resist temptations, he accidentally discovered colorful creatures lurking inside.”

Paperboy: The founder of Have Fun. He used his newspaper to raise the voices of opposition as he couldn't stand the monotonous, hollow, and gaudy reporting and advertising in all forms of media.

Easter Egg Carriage: As the last bit of heat drained from it, it transformed from an entertainer to a tool of entertainment-captured by the splendor of neon lights and ultimately swallowed by the city.

Eternal Aurora: The true intentions of the one in power are little known, just how only a few know who puppets the city behind the scene. She wishes to become the aurora in this city of excess and eternal night—a beautiful sight for the victims to behold before they die of cold.

According to reversed audio from the pre-registration event, the government says this is happening as a result of a “virus”, yet the city though has no hospitals, as “Metropolis never needs one”. This was likely a purposeful decision the Energy Corporation had the city’s government do for them in exchange for funding for the city, as the Energy Corporation wouldn’t want anyone to stop their research by being “cured”. As a result, those who have begun to transform but haven’t become fully robotic yet, go to the make-up artist to hide their mutations.

Reversed Audio

“Still no word on a cure for the virus. Government officials report the virus is not airborne”

“reporting suspicious activity and call 911 for immediate response. Expect d-“

Make-up Artist: When those enthralled by the Metropolis could no longer stand their mutated bodies, they could only seek help from the makeup artist to conceal their flaws. There are no hospitals here, for the Metropolis never needs one.

This last part is of note for the next idea I want to bring up, which is in regards to Eternal Aurora. Her design notes state she’s “being controlled by a mysterious being – the Color Out of Space”. What I find interesting is how it also states that she has “traces of mechanical transformation on her body and face”. From this, I think Eternal Aurora isn’t just a robot the Energy Corporation created for their experiment. I think she used to be human, just like the other people in the city.

This would support the idea the Energy Corporation wanted to discover how the Pharmaceutical Corporation created Molten Hound and/or are trying to find another way to create something similar. This is likely in part to help them win the race for the reward at the end, especially as 1 of their racers, Repairman, lost the will to race, while the other, Fueling Agent, secretly works for the Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Repairman: An agent of the Energy Corporation. He used to be a racer, but he was forced to join the support team once he lost his will to race. He constantly regrets the lost time he spent on the racetrack.

Fueling Agent: An agent of the Energy Corporation. She secretly works as an experimenter for the Pharmaceutical Corporation. She understands that just like fueling agents can be applied to engines, enhancers can be used on racers, but the kind of spirit they're looking for can only be identified through tragic and fierce competitions.

To help back this idea up, on the 4th page of the Abyssal Whisper rewards, 3 of the words connected to Eternal Aurora are “Media Queen”, “Musical Celebrity”, and “Extinguished Guest”. The 3rd is what I want to focus on. At first I thought this was referencing citizens of the city in general and what happens to them when they are completely drained, but the first 2 words are definitely specifically descriptors for Eternal Aurora. In which case, it must follow that the 3rd word is also a descriptor for her. Thus, Eternal Aurora is also an “extinguished guest”, meaning she’s someone who has likely been fully drained or died because of the Colors Out of Space. It probably happened due to the importance of her role as a celebrity and the one with power over the media and entertainment, the Color Out of Space focuses on controlling her to influence the rest of the city.

It would also fit with the Metropolis film. Based on that film, Eternal Aurora would definitely parallel the Robot Maria character, but the Robot Maria was a robot made in the likeness of the real Maria. Unlike the film though, we’ve never seen another Eternal Aurora. From the trailer and backstory, we’ve only known her to be controlled by the Color Out of Space. But if she used to be human before being “extinguished” and then becoming a robot, that could fit the film better.

I actually have a follow-up theory connected to this that Pirate Radio was meant to play a similar role and become a host the Color Out of Space would directly control like it does with Eternal Aurora.

The idea begins with how in the trailer Pirate Radio says “I was once like you, waking up on the red carpet of Metropolis”. The “red carpet”, as in the kind where celebrities gather and walk on before participating or taking their seats at a big event. Similar to how we see Eternal Aurora walking in the image for the 1st stage of COA 5 “The City of Lights”. Based on Stage 2 being Neon Corridor and Stage 3 being Ethereal Theater, she should also be walking on a “red carpet”, likely before attending the event in the theater we see in the COA 5 trailer.

Continuing from here, we have Pirate Radio’s design notes, which describe him as being “fashionable” and having what may be translated as “mature charm” or “adult sex appeal” to “attract people’s attention”. Similar to what Eternal Aurora would have as a celebrity. It also mentions all this being “key to expanding his influence in the media wars”, and we’ve been told by now “influence” rather than “force” is the real power in the city. Then there’s his role with the Pirate Radio channel and his voice, which we hear in the trailer, and see during the pre-registration event. Eternal Aurora also uses her voice to influence people’s opinion, and notably we see her singing in the COA 5 trailer as well as in the official COA 5 song.

If Eternal Aurora used to be human but the Color Out of Space uses her to control the rest of the city once she’d been “extinguished”, that may mean that Pirate Radio would have fallen to the same fate if he hadn’t rebelled.

This also fits considering Pirate Radio is the captain of the COA 5 team, and being the captain of a COA group seems to mean a higher chance at being corrupted (Steam Teen had the evil eye, Whiplash saved Puppeteer by transferring her corruption to himself, Highway Cavalier was likely the new Molten Hound Wheelchair Racer was looking for).

Pirate Radio even has “Color Out of Space” written on the disc on his chest.

The idea that Pirate Radio is the captain, beyond how he acts and is shown in the trailer, as well as his role in the pre-registration event, is backed up by the Abyssal Whispers pages, as according to the story laid out there, the events of COA 5 starts with him. He was apparently the 1st to become “sickened” and disillusioned by the city. As a result, he decided to leave the city and “wander” until he came to an “abandoned port”. It is here that he discovers they are living on an “isolated island”. The fact the port is “abandoned” means there are no people around, and also that there may be no “ships” either. This would explain why in the trailer he says they are “Trapped in captivity in this city forever”, as well as the word “trapped” on the last Abyssal Whisper page. If the Energy Corporation ensured there were no hospitals, they also likely didn’t want any ships or other method for people to easily leave the city.

Pirate Radio: In a deserted port, he strived to keep the Pirate Radio in operation so that he could take over the broadcasting channels-to warn everyone in this city that beneath the extravagant facade lies nothing but an embellished island in isolation.

It’s possible the ships were “dismantled” by Dismantler from COA 4. He says he used to salvage shipwrecks and currently dismantles vehicles to “improve the technologies of the 3 giant corporations”, so maybe he also dismantled ships as well.

Dismantler: Scrapped cars can be used to improve the technologies of the three giant corporations. Yet as he's busy dismantling, he begins to reminisce the time when he salvaged shipwrecks for a living at the Transportation Corporation.

In any case, this means that Pirate Radio has gone to the city’s outskirts. He’s as far from the city as possible. This seems similar to Ammi Pierce from the Colors Out of Space story, which is a reminder how being far from the Color Out of Space (the neon lights) means having a better chance to keep your sanity and avoid corruption. I also find it a bit interesting that he’s the only person who’s that far from the city. He’s the only one in that deserted port. It’s possible it’s because he’s the person most wanted by the authorities, as that 2nd reversed audio line does reference “reporting suspicious activity” which likely is referring to Pirate Radio and his rebel group. (Maybe it’s also because the Color Out of Space wants to finish corrupting him so it can use him as a host it can control like Eternal Aurora?).

It's at this point Pirate Radio learns the “truth”. This could be in regards to the truth regarding Eternal Aurora, the city, and the Color Out of Space, as nothing says Neon Vanguard was the only one to discover the colorful creatures, not to mention he does have “Colors Out of Space” written on the disc on his chest. It’s also possible he learned somehow that they’re in the Dreamlands, especially considering all his references to everyone dreaming or being asleep and why he says they are on an “isolated island”.

From here, he decides to “disseminate” the truth to the people of the city via his Pirate Radio channel. It’s at this point he begins gathering allies, 1 of which is Tabloid, who uses her position as a reporter for the Metropolis Star (the city’s official newspaper) to gather gossip and look into the “secrets and scandals” of the city. Around this time, they must’ve been able to learn that the Energy Corporation are the ones working behind the scenes and responsible for what’s happening in the city. They collaborate with Paperboy, the founder of Have Fun, to expose the city’s secrets as part of their media war against Eternal Aurora and Metropolis City.

Tabloid: In the name of gathering gossips, she looked into the secrets and scandals of this pompous Metropolis. Her homemade polygraph and sharp questioning finally caused a stir among the desensitized inhabitants.

Around then is when the events of the trailer takes place.

From how the room looks, with the windows, material, and what looks like the reflection of water on the ceiling, this should be the abandoned port he’s been living in.

(Also, from the picture on the wall above him, I wonder if he helped design Neon Vanguard’s prosthetic legs, with the wheels on his feet and everything?)

We also see on the wall of Pirate Radio’s room that he had been the one to come up with the plan that’s carried out in the trailer, as we see an image of the train, with 1 section circled with where the “key” is, another circled with where the film reel they need is, and a section in the middle for where the “gate” is that the key is for.

This matches up with what happens during the rest of the trailer. We see what seems like Neon Vanguard and Paperboy serving as a distraction in the train (we know it’s a train from the movement through the windows), with Neon Vanguard messing with some machine before being chased by the guards, while Paperboy is spreading his newspaper pages around. This allows Auditorium to get the “key” and access the “gate”.

Auditorium is then able to make it into the room where the film reel they need is located. This room we know is Eternal Aurora’s, as we see her sitting in this same room in her funny video animation.

Once in the room, Auditorium looks at a glass case with pink in it and an oval shaped indent that looks vaguely reminiscent of an eye. As the evil eye isn’t mentioned at all anywhere in the lore of COA 5, I’m leaning more towards it being for the Color Out of Space, as the original story mentions the Color in the story not falling within the range of anything known in the visible spectrum, not to mention the samples and meteorite eventually disappear in the story (there was also that glassy bubble that they broke that Ammi mentions thinking he felt something pass by him but he didn’t see anything).

He eventually turns away, and we next see him walking out with a film reel under his arm. This fits as we did see plenty of film reels in that room, not to mention it makes sense for the film reel they need to be in there, which reveals Eternal Aurora’s secret and her real form as that is actually her room.

From the Abyssal Whispers pages, we know this was “The Crux” of their plan: to have Auditorium edit in this “key footage” for them to play in the “Ethereal Theater” to the people while Eternal Aurora was there, to serve as “propaganda” in their media war and act as a “wake-up call” for the people of the city.

Auditorium: Cinemas in the Metropolis have no place for pain, sorrow, or criticism. Yet with his secret splicing, some of the classic scenes found their way into the meaningless films—albeit for a split second.

This may be around when the scene where we see them in prison takes place. They likely wanted that to happen as, again, this isn’t a war fought by force, but instead via opinion and influence, and their statement probably had a stronger impact if they let themselves get imprisoned. This fits considering we see Pirate Radio swinging a key around his finger, meaning he probably had all this planned out (again) and never intended to stay locked up for long.

This may be where the final battle takes place. Once they’ve won the people’s opinion in the media war and have left Eternal Aurora no other choice, now that they’ve revealed her secret and true form and have gotten the people on their side. In the last trailer, we see them defeating some of her guards on the train, before having another encounter with her.

This idea is also backed up by 1 of the posters for COA 5, where we see them engaged against those in the city that were fully mutated (and we actually see these fully robotic people during the trailer).

We know the group was successful in defeating Eternal Aurora, the city, and the Color Out of Space from Hairdresser’s description, which says “The hairdresser knew about the Metropolis' biggest secret. She also witnessed the dark void when it was stripped of its glory after the secret was exposed”. In other versions, it mentions the colors had faded and a dark stillness had set in. This matches up with the end of the Color Out of Space story when it eventually flew off, leaving behind the gray and lifelessness of the blasted heath. It also fits with the end of the Metropolis film, as the workers learn the truth about Robot Maria and burn her at the stake, with Freder successfully serving as a mediator between the ruling and working classes.

We know that just because the Color Out of Space left doesn’t mean they all died, as in the story, Ammi and the authorities were right there when it flew up into the sky. The only thing that crumbled and died was the land and anywhere the Color Out of Space had infected.

Considering they are in the Dreamlands, and Pirate Radio and his group had been trying to tell people to “wake up” so maybe they would see the sun again, it’s possible they were able to “wake up” and return to the real world, similar to what happened to Highway Cavalier and his group, as Highway Cavalier was the only one who didn’t quickly grow old and die as he’d received the reward for winning, while the others had their life forces drained. If Pirate Radio and the others were able to “wake up”, it’s possible that means the mutations and corruption had left them (likely similar to how when Highway Cavalier returned to the real world, he likely didn’t have the same scars he’d had while going through the time loops). If Pirate Radio says their goal was to see the “sun” again, it’d make sense for them to return to the real world at the end.