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thebigbiwolf · 7 months

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Spittle - Part 1/2

Summary: The chocolate seems innocent enough - if you look past the Infernal writing on the wrapper, and with so few pleasures in the wilderness, you all but jump at the chance to sneak yourself a small treat.

Unbeknownst to you, the bar is infused with succubus spittle. Just one square is rumored to contain enough potency to send a mortal into the throes of ecstasy.

This is what happens when you eat half the bar.

Fic Tags: Sex Pollen (kinda), aphrodisiacs, succubus magic, a bit of dom!Astarion, unprotected piv, overstimulation, he talks you through it (iykyk), more tags will be added later.

Fic Warnings: Explicit Smut (18+ MDNI), Dubcon (if you squint), Language, No use of Y/N, magical influence

Read on AO3: Here

A/N: Remember the dead spider? I remember the dead spider. Anyways, the reception I've been getting on Starvin', Darlin' has me wanting to thank everyone with a one-shot. This got away from me so I went ahead and split it into two parts.

I've never written anything like this and it was significantly more difficult than a multi-chapter fic. I hope everything comes across the way its supposed to! And a huge thank you to my beta @imaginarydromedary for...you know... encouraging me to post this, despite everything.

From what you could tell, there wasn’t much to the apothecary.

As you push open the dilapidated doors, your first thought is to search for supplies - anything that could help if things went south on your way to the goblin camp.

Dried herbs hang from the rafters beneath a thin veil of cobwebs, filling your lungs with a pungent clash of scents. Empty bottles lined the shelves along the wall, caked in several months worth of dust. Large chunks of the building were missing where stone met splintered wood, some areas almost entirely overtaken by greenery.

You step over broken shards of pottery, scanning over the floor and countertops for something - anything that may be of use, but to your disappointment, it seems like the shop was entirely ransacked long before your arrival.

You sigh deeply, knowing you’ll likely never hear the end of this from your companions. It was your idea to search the village. You were the one who suggested taking out the goblin scouts, exerting everyones’ energy, and now you’re afraid you’ll have very little to show for it.

You catch a glint of gold, an object reflecting the sun's rays beneath a pile of rubble. You kneel down to brush away the surrounding debris, thankful for even the smallest promise of coin before your hands catch on… some sort of serrated edge?

You pull at it, and it easily comes loose. It's a thin, rectangular block, just barely larger than the length of your hand. You wipe away some of the dirt with your sleeve, revealing an intricately designed foil wrapping underneath.

As you speculate what this might be, you hear footsteps approaching from behind, light and familiar. You turn to face the elf with a smirk.

“You’re supposed to be the stealthy one.” You chide at him, playfully, “Or has my blood put a little skip in your step?”

Astarion scoffs. “I’ve been here the entire time, watching you fumble around in the dirt.”

Crimson eyes study you, then the object you’re holding. He places his hands on his hips, head cocked to the side with a raised brow. “Is that what you’ve dragged us all the way here for?”

“First of all,” you waggle a finger at him, “You’re especially grumpy when you’re tired. I’ll have to make a note to prioritize your beauty rest. Second, I haven’t finished looking around, but check this out.”

You hand the bar to him as you stand. The cool skin of his fingers brush against your own, and you’re irritated with the way your heart skips at the brief contact. Why did the one man you found attractive in your camp have to be such a primadonna? And such a huge pain in the ass?

Astarion’s eyes scan over the textured paper with suspicion, angling it towards the light to get a better look. The golden wrapping is stamped with an image of red lips On the back, letters twist and curve in a language you don't recognize, following a single circular pattern where they meet in the center. You’ve never seen anything like this, neither in your travels, nor within the city walls of Baldur’s Gate.

“Where did you find this?”

You shrug, then point to the pile next to you. “It was buried right there.”

He silently stares at the foil, mouth pursed, until your patience begins to wear thin.

“Well, can you read it or not?”

His nose scrunches. “Of course I can’t read it. It’s written in Infernal.”

That’s… odd. Why would an ordinary apothecary sell goods made by devils? Or, worse, for devils. Unless, of course, it was some sort of marketing trick, perhaps a play on the phrase ‘sinfully sweet’, or some other cringeworthy branding.

You take it back, turning it over in your hands before tearing at the corner of the wrapping. It's sectioned into dark, rich squares, and smells indisputably like chocolate.

“It looks like candy.”

“An excellent observation.” he says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now, can we go? We’ve spent more than enough time here already.”

You roll your eyes and stuff it into your bag, setting off for camp, vampire in tow.

–

During dinner, you decide not to tell the others about what you found, knowing Astarion’s likely already forgotten the event. You set down your empty plate, thanking Gale for tonight’s meal. He smiles at you and bids you goodnight as you excuse yourself to your tent.

You pick up your rucksack, thinking fondly of the dessert that awaits you inside. Having lived at the beck and call of your companions for weeks on end, you can’t help but smile at the idea of selfishly indulging in a small treat like this.

You tear open the rest of the wrapping and snap off one of the squares, immediately popping one into your mouth. It melts - buttery in texture, with a smokey, slightly bitter flavor. You can’t remember the last time you’ve eaten something so rich. Maybe weeks of the same rations have made you easier to impress, but this felt especially notable.

As you break off a second piece, a strange tingling sensation begins to spread across your lips - a pleasant buzzing that starts at your neck and spreads down through your chest.

Strange, but not entirely unwelcome. You’ve heard of such inebriating chocolates, ones laced with alcohol or species of flowers that numb one’s senses for a short while. All harmless, of course, and you don’t have watch tonight. You may as well enjoy yourself. If worst comes to worst, Shadowheart is just outside with an assortment of spells and potions. Always better to ask for forgiveness.

It only takes you minutes to finish half the bar. You set the rest next to your bedroll for later and turn to blow out your candles, enjoying the lingering physical effects of the chocolate. Your skin feels flushed and delightfully warm as you settle down for the night.

When sleep finally takes you, it's dreamless, at first. Your consciousness sways, floating in an empty abyss, until colors begin to bleed onto the blank canvas of your mind.

A trickle of red morphs into the shape of familiar eyes, piercing you with their intensity..

Droplets of white spatter over a dark background, diffusing, blending into whisps. They curl and twist before settling into soft, coiffed fibers.

Hair , you recognize immediately, his hair . His eyes.

Astarion.

His image fully takes form, as if it had been waiting for you to make the connection before entirely revealing itself.

He reaches out and seizes you, grabbing painfully at your hips as you crash into his body, hands exploring you - tight, possessive, squeezing at every inch of exposed skin before settling on the curve of your ass. He digs into your flesh with the blunt edge of his nails.

His lips press hot, wet kisses to your throat, mouthing just below the ear, before dragging his tongue along your nape and sucking, hard . You whine at the pressure, eliciting a grin from the elf, so characteristically pleased with the pathetic little noise he’s managed to pull from you.

“You thought sleeping would allow you to escape this - to escape me , unscathed?” He growls against your skin, his voice almost unrecognizable - as if it’s layered beneath a lighter, somehow more arrogant, feminine one.

“No, no, no. Wake up, darling. You’re in for a very long night.”

–

You startle awake, gasping - loud, labored breaths struggling to make use of the unbearably thin air. The edges of your tent bleed in and out of focus, spinning at a nauseating pace as you attempt to recollect yourself.

You wipe at the sweat collecting on your brow, the muscles of your arm heavy and aching, and find that your skin is absolutely drenched.

Hot. Why is everything so hot?

It's as if you're being cooked alive beneath your blankets, strangled beneath the furs. You throw them off; normally soft to the touch, the fibers now only worsen the prickling beneath your skin.

Could this be some sort of illness? A fever?

No, this doesn’t make sense. Everything feels off.

Fleeting thoughts of Astarion cross your mind - quick flashes of a sinful smile that was not his own.

It didn’t quite match the one you’d silently come to admire, and now that you think of it, the hunger in his gaze was much too intense for the reserved elf.

His hands, his mouth, the way he touched you -

Your abdomen cramps, bringing your thoughts to a screeching halt.

A stabbing, visceral pain; a knife plunging into your organs. It overwhelms you, forces your body to curl into itself. You hold your pelvis, grunting, and grasp at your sheets. Tears sting the corner of your eyes.

This is - well, you have no idea what this is.

You can’t think past the pounding in your head, the throbbing in your midsection. You're compulsively twisting, writhing, begging the gods for some sort of reprieve, but it's then when you make the most mortifying discovery of the night.

You’re soaked .

N ot just your smallclothes, which may have been understandable given your strange dreams, but through your damned pants. Not even the sheets were spared.

“What in the hells…?”

You run your fingers over yourself, only intending to confirm the horrifying reality of your situation - that this is not, in fact, some sick, perverted nightmare, but the lightest touch sets off every nerve.

You wail at the sensation: one massive wave of bliss giving way to several small jolts of pain.

Pleasure to the point of agony.

The shock of the sudden orgasm courses from your sex through every limb, clenching and releasing pitiful, warm slick. It leaks freely out of you into your already thoroughly ruined underwear.

Your heart pounds. You stay like that for what feels like a lifetime, toes curled, limbs twitching, waiting for your body to settle.

After a minute or so, your breathing evens, and the thick haze surrounding your thoughts begins to lift just slightly, along with the suffocating heat.

But something within you knows this isn’t the end - knows this isn’t enough . A desperation lurks beneath the surface that you can’t quite name. It screams at you. You need more.

‘Aw…’ A familiar, feminine voice prods at your mind. You quickly recognize her, the woman from your dreams who wore Astarion’s image.

‘All alone, are we? Empty and needing to be filled? Doesn’t that hurt?’

It does. It aches unlike anything you’ve ever known. The lingering buzz of your orgasm just barely quells the worsening cramps, and they’re beginning to rear their ugly head again not minutes later.

You choke out a sob. “Wh- why are you doing this? What do you want?”

Sharp, wicked laughter fills your head, echoing off the walls of your skull. ‘I’m not doing anything, dear. Just enjoying the show.’ She hisses, ‘I told you, it’s going to be a very long night.’

You must be hallucinating. This fever - whatever this is, is simply cauterizing your senses, or possibly interacting with the tadpole? But the tadpole doesn’t speak, not like this. Never so clearly. Not with words.

Think, please. There has to be a reason this -

“Is everything alright?” Shadowheart raps on the canvas of your tent. “I heard a yelp. Are you hurt?”

Shit.

‘Ooh, this one might do!’ You feel an unwelcome… eagerness flood you.

No. No. Absolutely not.

You try not to panic.

Under no circumstances should she or anyone else come in here.

The best strategy may be to ignore her - pretend you’re still sleeping. It seems like a good plan, but before you have a chance to follow through with it, another sharp contraction hits. This one is somehow even worse than the ones before.

You pull your sheets up to your mouth to stifle your whine, but the half elf’s ears are sharper than most. “I’m coming in.”

She opens the flap to your tent and gasps when she sees you there - skin flushed pink, doubled over and covered in sweat.

“Gods, what’s wrong? What’s happened?” Her hand reaches out towards you.

Without thinking, you swat it away with your own. Your skin tingles at the contact, and the essence of a smile crosses over the threshold into your mind. The intruder giggles with satisfaction.

“Don’t,” you plead, “Don’t touch me.”

She scans over you, taking in your humiliating state. Her face twists with concern. “I need to know if you’re feverish. Please. You look awful.”

‘Well, I think you look delectable.’

You groan.

At this point, you know it’s no use fighting this thing on your own. You go back and forth on whether you want to tell her the whole truth, about the voice in your head and its influence on your body, but the idea mortifies you into silence.

Regardless, a cleric is likely your best chance of fixing this literal mess, so you nod, close your eyes, and brace yourself.

Shadowheart’s palm meets your forehead. It’s somehow worse than you anticipated. Even the simple, chaste touch sends you reeling, as if her soft hands are caressing your entire body. Flashes of heat wash over you, burning your skin, threatening to pull you back under another wave of ecstasy.

It’s too much. You try your hardest to suppress a moan, but the muffled sound manages to escape from between your tightened lips, pitiful and broken.

The disembodied voice squeals with delight.

She quickly retracts her hand, clearing her throat. “Apologies. I can confirm your temperature is… elevated, but the rest…” She shakes her head. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

You want to scream, cry - anything to release your frustration, but you keep your mouth shut, not wanting to risk making any more unsavory noises.

“I believe I can give you some relief by treating the fever, but I’ll have to consult the others on the rest. This doesn’t look like any ordinary sickness.”

Consult the others? No. Gods, no. Nobody can know about this. Is she mad?

You intend to protest, beg her not to share this with anyone, tell her whatever death awaits you on the other side of this would be preferable, but she’s speaking an incantation before you have the chance.

A bright, green aura envelopes you, cooling your skin and ever so slightly easing the cramps. With the pain dulled, it's as though you can finally think again.

You want to laugh. This situation is so utterly ridiculous that you’d find it hilarious, were it anyone else, but with the modicum of relief comes exhaustion - eyelids heavy, vision blurring with weariness.

“Get some rest. We’ll figure this out.”

Her reassuring words are the last thing you hear before you’re overcome by darkness.

#bg3 #bg3 astarion #astarion #astarion fanfic #astarion x reader #astarion x you #baldur's gate 3 #astarion acunin #posting this was like pulling teeth im gonna disappear for a while #my fics #spittle

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ddejavvu · 9 months

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for mvm can you do fratboy anakin ? i know he's horny absolutely all the time and i need him so bad 😭 maybe just hanging out with him and he can't keep his hands off of you ? thank you !

today is multiverse monday, send me any au you can think of! :)

lmk if anyone wants a full fic/part two to this where they actually get the dice in the mail and use them !! thank you for changing the wiring of my brain fratboy!ani is now all i think about every day - please send more anakin requests especially if they're fratboy!ani!!!!!

this post is 18+, minors dni.

It's not uncommon for Anakin to have his hand down your pants. One of them is there now, while you lay in the small twin bed of his dorm room, still where it rests sandwiched between your thighs. It's not wandering, though you're sure he'd like it to be, it's merely resting against your skin. The lace on the hem of your panties must be itching against his wrist where he's snuck his hand through both your pants and your underwear, but it never seems to matter enough for him to withdraw his hand.

He's spooning you from behind, his arm stretched over your hip to slot itself between your legs while you decompress from your day. You're online shopping, or rather, online window shopping, browsing through countless products you know you'll never buy and scoffing at the more ridiculous ones to Anakin.

His face is resting against the back of your neck where he's planting soft, sticky kisses to the skin there, and you've got your phone propped up on a pillow so that he can see the screen over your own head. You're scrolling lazily while he pampers you with affection just the same, but a glowing green picture catches both of your droopy eyes.

"Look at those," He murmurs, his breath coming in hot against your neck, "Sex dice."

They are, in fact, sex dice.

They're glow-in-the-dark cubes stamped with words like 'lick', 'suck', and 'bite' on one die, body parts listed on the other: 'tits', 'thighs', 'neck'.

You can't see all six faces of either die, but you're sure they're equally filthy. You snort as you feel his hand squeeze into the pliant flesh of your inner thigh, his lips still pressing sloppy kisses to the back of your neck.

"Ani, we don't need those. You already do all that shit, you don't need dice to tell you to do it."

"Look," He gestures to the screen again as the picture of the dice changes, displaying a shot of them in action.

"'Suck navel,'" Anakin reads in a snicker, "Babe, I've never sucked your navel before."

"Do it." You challenge him, but when he immediately pushes himself off of the mattress to dive for your stomach, you roll over onto it, "No, don't do it!"

"Come on!" He laughs, collapsing atop you where you lay on your belly on the mattress, "You told me to do it!"

"I was kidding!" You shout, muffled into the pillow, crushed by his weight, "Anakin, you're not allowed to suck my navel."

"Aw, you're no fun." He chuckles, prodding at your cheek and slipping his hand beneath it as he turns your head, offering him access to the side of your face that isn't still pressed against your pillow. He puckers your lips by squeezing at your jaw and he kisses the side of your mouth, slightly sloppy and uncoordinated.

"What about that other stuff, hm?" He asks, your face still held in his grasp while you lay beneath him on the bed. "Can I do that other stuff?"

"What other stuff?"

"'Lick thighs'," He reads off of the picture, now changed once more to show different faces of the dice, "Can I lick your thighs?"

"You can lick my thighs," You hum bashfully, hyper aware of the slight tingling beneath your stomach at the mere thought of Anakin's tongue dragging wet stripes up your legs. He grins devilishly at you, pressing one more sideways kiss to your mouth before releasing his hold on you and pushing his weight off of the mattress. He pries at your side and you turn over at his command, neck craned to watch as he slinks down to the end of the bed.

"Come here," He seems to be talking more to your lower half than to you as he drags your stretchy pajama pants down, leaving your lace-lined underwear on. He hums dramatically, stuffing his face between your pillowy thighs to muffle the sound.

"Fuck yeah," He groans, the words morphing into an open-mouthed groan as he licks a thick, sloppy stripe up your inner thigh. The tip of his tongue ghosts dangerously close to the hem of your panties around your legs, and he hears the way your breath hitches in your throat at the feeling.

"Thanks, babe." He mumbles, licking another line of saliva this time towards your hip. He hoists himself up with his arms to reach for your navel and you recoil slightly, but he catches your sides to lean down and press a firm kiss to your belly button.

"Buy those dice," He instructs you, sinking back down between your thighs to jam his tongue between them, "Use my card, I don't care. Just get them."

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itwasthereaminuteago · 1 year

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Frank Castle x female reader

Tags/Warnings: first kiss, first time, doubts and hangups, Frank being too damn soft.

For the #Bernthirstpalooza challenge, Missionary Monday.

He holds you safe in his warm honey brown eyes and you forget what you were going to say as you start to get lost in them again.

His fingers tuck a stray hair back behind your ear and then brush down your cheek to your jaw, pausing there. You sigh, lashes fluttering at his touch, so tender before he leans in, his own gaze flicking up to meet yours and then back to your slightly parted lips.

"I've uh… been wantin' to do this for a long time."

You smile but it barely lasts a second because his lips are on yours and he's kissing you, his hand lightly holding you, guiding you against his lips in a way that has you suddenly craving him touching you like that everywhere. Restraint evaporates quickly as he slips his tongue against yours and you throw your arms around his neck as he deepens the kiss, going with him as he maneuvers you onto his lap. He has a taste you are already addicted to, and the way he's being so tender in contrast to all you know about him has your head spinning. He's kissing you utterly breathless but you never want to come up for air, and in the end it's him that stops it all and pulls away. He's gasping, eyes dark and hair wild from your fingers raking through it.

"Frank, why…" your breath is shallow as you frantically search for the reason why he's no longer making you feel like the only other person in the world.

"Shit, I'm sorry, s'ok. I just think we need to-" you can tell how much he's struggling with what he's trying to say, past hangups and current feelings battling it out within him. "-need to slow down."

You place a hand on his chest to ground him and yourself. "Uhuh, yeah. Y-you're probably right." you sigh deeply, trying your very best to stamp down the urge to dive back in and swim forever in the feel of him.

"Just don't wanna ruin this, y'know? We got time."

You cradle his face, pressing a light kiss to his lips before you swing your leg around and sit back on the couch beside him. "I know, me neither."

He shifts turning towards you, eyes flicking up and down your body like he's a hair's breadth away from eating you whole, and you sense there's a second where it could go either way.

"Fuck it."

Then the decision is made.

He suddenly slides over you and you can feel the heat from him again as he cages you underneath his body. Your hands slip around his broad shoulders and thick neck bringing him down to meet your eager mouth with a passion that burns hotter and more furiously than before. There is no way you are taking this slow, you had yearned for weeks while on the road with him, every small look or accidental touch sending your gut exploding into butterflies wondering if he wanted this, wanted you too. Now you knew and it seemed neither if you would stop until you had become utterly consumed by each other. Even in this urgency he was still being gentle, careful with you like you would break under his rough hands but you urged him, showing him that you didn't want him to hold back for you, you wanted all of him as he really was.

You tug and pull at his clothes, desperate to feel his skin against yours, confessing your long tended thoughts as your fingertips trace over his scars. He gives you every opportunity to say you've changed your mind, to give you an out so you could say no, that you'd made a mistake, that he was a mistake. But you never do, you focus on making it clear as day to him that you want him. When you find yourself poised naked above him, his lips and hands caressing you closer to bliss, you run your fingers through his hair, looking right into his eyes as you lower yourself down and take him, filling you inch by glorious inch, the two of you moaning in unison when you're finally locked together in such intimacy.

"Sweetheart, are you s-"

You cut him off with a long and tender kiss that you hope will dispel any possible remaining doubt.

"Listen, of course I'm sure. Make love to me, Frank."

Frank tags:

@divinearchangel @saintmurd0ck @castlesnchurches @mindidjarin @hellskitchenswhore @pedrito-friskito @sweetieswiftie @shedaresthedevil @freshabogados

@father4giveme @stress--relief @e-dubbc11 @whistle1whistle @tea-and-wine @emiemiemiii @imherefordeanandbones @phoebe-danvers @munsonownsmyass

#bernthirstpalooza #frank castle smut #frank castle x female reader #frank castle fluff #the punisher fanfiction #the punisher x female reader

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number1villainstan · 2 months

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Adolescence of Utena: First Time Watcher Reactions

Finding the movie and figuring out a way to get the file to play was an Educational Experience, to be sure, but I have it now! I've already watched through the series (reactions in this thread) so that should be helpful in understanding the movie. Real-time reactions below the cut:

how many times have i seen those bells now? things kept Not Working

the cock tower got ripped off at the base. lmao get rekt akio

wait is that utena and dios as shadows? with utena kneeling before kid-looking dios too

yo this intro music is fire

all the little stamp-sized pictures look like they're exploding/going up in flames. memories maybe? getting sacrificed? my first thought is nemuro hall from the series

wait wait this one picture. taller than the others, the biggest of them all even if it's not as wide. castle in the background. a small-looking boat, i can see the planks, getting tossed on huge waves in the stormy night. and right in the middle, the shadow of utena (i think) in the doorway--ready to jump out? god the boat seems like a noah's ark reference but idk if the creators would like. already know the noah's ark story? given cultural differences and all. and it's the only picture that moves (sliding backwards) AND the only picture that doesn't go up in flames. oh god. oh my god. is utena okay???

those blackboards are funky

WAKABA! she already knows utena's name but this is the first time they're meeting??

oh this is a dub. hm. well it's better than no movie at all lmao. and it doesn't seem like a bad dub either don't look a gift horse in the mouth after all

this entire school is on some escher shit. escher if he lived to make animations instead of still images

E-ko and F-ko, huh? no D-ko? (or is it linked to superstitions about 4 being unlucky in Japan cuz it can be pronounced like "death") that is assuming, of course, that the corresponding Shadow Girls from the series are A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko

lmao at that broadcast though

"it's the prince!" and the fighters are orange and blue. is juri the prince? miki?

nvm the dub is not actually that good

oh JURI'S the prince here! instead of wakaba! and she seems to be pretty close with miki--does that mean she has a better relationship with shiori here? (or at least a better relationship with her memories of shiori?)

oh damn touga showed up--black and gold uniform, a lot like utena's uniform in the show actually, but without the red on her uniform cuz his hair's already red--

damn there even looks like there's blood on the base of the cock tower where it got ripped off lmao

touga showing up as a ghost, with a dark red rose on his lapel--and the dark red roses piled up in the middle of that inaccessible(?) courtyard, like a grave

"our promise in the planetarium" akio's planetarium??? from the series??? i don't remember them ever meeting there, unless the dueling arena counts--

idk what they're supposed to be saying there. "we have yet to go" ???

that picture again--that's not utena in the doorway though

so touga's the one with the ring this time, instead of utena. "you must be engaged to someone" "this ring led me to this academy" calling back the "perhaps the ring was an engagement ring" part of the storybook intro and utena's "i came to this academy to find my prince" thing from the series

the rain stops and touga is gone. and that single white rose wasn't opened yet, was still just a bud until Utena came along, one white rose among a thousand red ones (and all the red rose petals falling), and that rose gives her the ring like dios did--standing out from the crowd of course, but is it utena or dios? or perhaps simply the ideal of a prince?

"what is that?" utena says about the floating duel arena, which is high up, unlike all of the other floating islands and parts of Ohtori

oh the stairs! unconnected to anything solid aside from their end points, like the spiral stairs in the series, but it's straight up unlike the spiral staircase, and there's no elevator that i see. like it's lost its central support

practically a carpet of red roses. so that's where the petals were falling from? that's gotta hurt to walk through though, so many thorns. plus like--flowers in general don't grow that densely? they're nutrient and energy intensive, just like fruit, cuz they're reproductive organs. Something Fishy Is Going On

anthy is holding a pink rose. pink for utena this time for sure

"i'm the headmaster's sister, so i get special treatment." idk if i can trust the dub's voice acting (doesn't sound like it) but she does not sound happy about that 'special treatment'

"I'm the only one captive to the roses" a) are you sure you're the only one? b) is captive to the roses referring to Rose Bride bullshit or just being trapped in Ohtori in general

damn saionji sounds super rough in the dub. which makes sense ofc it's saionji lol

and there's anthy's mask again. shows up around saionji, but she dropped it for utena

is saionji eating anthy's hair >.>

the sounds of machines that come as utena puts on the ring. of course. of course. the machinery of ohtori is starting up once again to claim another cog

oh wait huh. saionji's wearing the same outfit as touga, so it's not special to him after all

"this is your chance to take it off" it's like the "good luck" in the first duel in the series, but instead anthy's actively warning utena away from the duels--because utena is new, instead of a recurring student? because anthy remembers utena from before and feels guilty from trapping utena in the game? because anthy herself has gained a taste of independence and desperately wants to reclaim it? it's fascinating how anthy is acting as her own person, actively utilizing her agency in a very visible way despite being in the role of Rose Bride, as opposed to the series where she very much sticks to being passive at first (at least when the camera is on her)

the bells again, but they start the duel instead of mark its ending like in the series

aaaand there's the slap. specifically after anthy actively attempts to interfere with the duel, rather than saionji just slapping her for wishing good luck to utena. i honestly really like this new anthy

"my possession?" oh so it's said even more out loud here than in the series

saionji looks downright insane here

the series is transmasc utena the movie is transfem utena and they're both butches

"I'll never lose to anyone who hits a girl!" still that prince mindset. still that association of femininity with weakness and masculinity with abuse. in this specific case it holds true, but in the general--what about people who hit boys?

saionji looked normal for half a second there

anthy is actively taking charge of her own destiny here, kissing utena to give her the sword of (dios? anthy? just A Sword?)

and it's with the sword that utena finally wins (and gets hair extensions). in the series utena won even with a broken practice sword

oh my god they LITERALLY put saionji on the other side of a dividing line. goddamn

underwater moment? we sunk down to the new dorm? so utena isn't living with anthy this time around. it's just normal unpacking stuff

utena and touga were childhood friends...

okay so utena wants here there. which maybe anthy anticipated cuz she really just walked right in lmao

"i'm not gonna let you go home tonight" that was unexpectedly sinister

damn, anthy really just went "hey order me to fuck you utena :)"

shiori and touga are conspiring...don't like that

touga was under a white sheet. don't they usually put white sheets on the dead?

"the prince was killed" juri? touga? ruka? THE BOY FROM JURI'S STORY. which she said happened to her older sister--

"i'll make her be the prince for the rest of her life" ...damn, shiori, tf are you doing to juri

the shattered frame with the picture of utena

wait was that a show that just floated by? a lot of underwater motifs here with scene transitions

wakaba trying to swordfight lmao

utena don't leave the water on even if you're talking to your childhood friend

ah, swimmers. I see, oh it's in the pool. an empty pool. and anthy's flirting with touga. ah yes, the hypersexuality, i remember reading a meta about this

different frames in the pictures--pink roses, then candy, and baby anthy's wearing utena's yellow dress from the storybook scene--and dios being exhausted, but they're in a castle, not a barn like in the series--and the guy talking on the phone to touga, that has to be akio/dios, cuz his story is being told in the painting

oh, witch, not wish--and dios was the the lord of the flies first, akio (evil) first rather than starting as dios (good) (for all that evil and good don't really mean anything in this world)

kozue and miki are. really different in this cycle. i think kozue's hair color is different, and so is miki's hair? miki looks older, more wild, much less like the "girl-shaped boy" from the show. and the dialogue suggests that he's let go of his need for the Sunlit Garden, like how he was introduced fencing with Juri rather than playing piano

also i forgot to say this way earlier but like man, anthy and utena both look way different. i think it's their face shapes being different. rounder cheeks and points for chins. maybe it's cuz they both left last time?

"i was sold to [my father] when i was young" OH YES THE PROMISED TOUGA BACKSTORY I'VE HEARD ABOUT THIS

"the customer" too, like jesus fuck touga are you saying you were prostituted around to pedos??? the touga-anthy parallels are painful

and shiori calling juri disgusting :/ for what, having a gay crush? being a lesbian? liking shiori? the pendant? just a rumor?

the bugs on the cabbage. shiori being a bug? and growing wings from the white cloth (death cloth?) of the room--oh no, moths. white moths. with black spots. (the defilement of purity? the ugly evil on a canvas of nothing?) landing on touga. somehow i feel like even if they had sex that touga wasn't properly into it. that it was just a bargaining chip.

juri and miki's outfits are red and blue, not black like touga and saionji's--

the mirage of dios--and just half an hour in we get the Revolution foreshadowing

the name kozue behind miki as juri's asking about his motivations. and the (blue? purple?) bath duck and water splashes in the red light. this feels like machinery.

"my wish is always to obtain more power" miki doesn't just have ruka's hair, he's acting like ruka. i don't like this

"that's so male" and yet again the gender roles

miki says he wants to simply gain more power. juri says she wants to gain power to free herself from Everything. and then--"unromantic things" are they dating?? is this just something weird about the dub or was it intentional on Be-Papas' part???

they are not, in fact, alone

oh fuck

(and shiori's flirting with juri--shiori's manipulating both touga AND juri. but miki seems to see right through it)

"those things" you mean sex? like cmon utena sex isn't something shameful

"touga started to act strange because of you" and then we cut to the moths over the lamp. oh no. it was shiori made touga "act strange"

"i thought he would only be beside only me" possessive much?

stars--"there is no prince"--callbacks to the show again

she cut the water line! not utena's neck thank god

utena mentions the stars so anthy gives her the stars oh my god

the long haired utena with the red trim that short-hair utena doesn't have, and anthy's reflection has the rose bride dress--which is white instead of red like the series--is the long-haired utena supposed to represent her "true self?" transfem utena fr

wakaba also looks a bit different, so maybe it's just all the girls ("girls") who look different, cuz the boys don't look very different

"capture your partner's essence" what? oh this is art class

anthy always above utena during the walking scene

"i want to be your friend": the "i don't like this engaged business" part in the series came early, during the student council arc--the "if you have any problems come to me, okay" part came much later, during the akio arc. the movie be speedrunning their relationship. but anthy's not cooperating, cuz she interrupted utena to ask to switch

"let's keep no secrets" used to get utena naked. damn. a bit of anthy's manipulativeness coming in

THAT PAINTING AGAIN

is that the sound of a car? and the paintings from the intro--

no that's an airplane taking off

oh god, there's a hole in her chest. the swords of hate?

the shadow girl broadcast! and a 'scandalascious tape'

the nanami cow! and chu-chu, and the triplets as elephants too lmao

i'm surprised they didn't use actual cow sounds. it's just a dub of someone saying "moo" over and over again :/

chu-chu got ate?

wrong tape lmao

Akio! "I lost the key to my car. Oh well!" lmao. and is that girl with him, is that nanami? looks like her. but it's probably meant to be kanae instead. and all the obvious performativeness, even as E-ko and F-ko call him a "textbook example of a prince", yeah that fits him

oh, did he just use the police as an escort? i thought he was getting arrested for half a second (sadly no)

the skip with the "starts, starts, starts...starts here!" huh.

and now the record is skipping--and then the tape skipping--

and now juri and utena are dueling. utena of course pulls a sword from anthy, and shiori gives juri a sword--i'm reminded of the akio and apocalypse arc duels, but the motivation is similar to juri's stuco arc duel

miki standing with touga... except he can't see him. i also think maybe ruka got folded into miki's character

"eternity, miracles, everything that glows" eternity, the power of miracles, and the shining thing. of course.

oh so utena actually properly wins against juri in the movie, by calling on the power of dios subconsciously. naturally.

and then the revelation that Akio is dead? and kanae crying over here. anthy doesn't seem to like her very much this cycle either

oh my god, anthy killed akio? or at least buried his body--no wonder she's so much more active this time around mwahahaha

oh now akio's car key is much more important

oh. no. akio killed anthy. damn. in a drunken stupor it seems. cuz he was taking advantage of her when he thought she was asleep? yay, more sexual trauma /sarcasm

chair with a sign on it, turn for the elevator--black rose arc callback?

OH SHIT IT REALLY IS THE BLACK ROSE ARC! evil elevator time??? but different cuz no mikage i bet

ahhhh this makes shiori's "i'll make her be the prince forever" make so much more sense

the boat from the picture!

dividing line between touga and utena

"the end of the world" name drop!

ah, touga was the one who drowned. their relationship is way different this cycle

the lighting used to be yellow in the elevator, now it's pink instead. and huh, the elevator wasn't evil this time around

"you really were my prince" Your Honor I Would Like To Object

and now utena's the prince--as long as she stays in this world. is this anthy's world then? but utena still wants to go to the outside world

ZETTAI UNMEI MOKUSHIROKU!

utena's getting turned into a car let's gooooooooo

these scenes are where all the implied machinery comes to light fr isn't it

utena nearly went to rust before anthy took up her offer

the road from the show! is it staying stop i can't read japanese

the shadow girls now all have pink hair lol

oh my god it's shiori! that's not black, that's purple though, and the insides are pink with frilly lace on the edges, hm

"the only one who deserves to escape is me" and then she takes herself out

oh no, more cars. actually black this time, sounding like bots--creepy bots? compared to bugs--and a swarm--but the radio girls implied that they've seen them before--

is that shiori again? nope

she got help! from the student council of all people! but how did they know what they were trying to do, and what made them decide to help them--this movie requires so much prior knowledge of the series to make any sense. like when did they become friends this cycle even? when utena defeated saionji and miki??

"high goals attract good people" okay but do they? we only have the one instance, and we have a counterexample in touga and shiori don't we?

"i will be there to seduce you" saionji you're like the worst seducer on the planet lmaoooooo

i don't think the magical looking castle is the landmark for the exit somehow

i was right

rondo revolution! and car makeover!

anthy's got some serious dodging skills to get through those tires

oh no, not the treads--and there's dios/akio.

damn does utena feel pain as a car? cuz she must be hurting right now

"a living corpse" huh? a closed world where death and life are conflated--

ohhhhh being a living corpse is how you be a princess....does that mean dios was a princess? lmao

end of the world and "grant me the power to revolutionize the world" name drops

oh my god all the radio girls are literal strawmen. strawwomen? strawpeople? no wonder their faces/skin were blacked out

oh, those are the ruins of the black cars--and the castle too, probably

"a world without roads" huh?

wakaba is still trapped in ohtori :( with what looks like onion prince dude lol

"the world will get bigger by that much" ah, so that's what "end of the world" means here--it's not a literal world, it's their experience that's the world. living at the edge of their experience

and that's the end of the movie! Overall Impressions: I'm...honestly not impressed by it. I do like the touga backstory, cuz we didn't get that in the series, but it felt like it took on too much and ended up cutting vital things cuz nothing fit. Maybe my experience was colored by the lackluster dub voice acting, but it seriously felt like the characterization was lacking, and not just because of the dub--there were important scenes missing that give context to character changes. Most specifically I'm thinking of the heel-face turn of the Student Council. Why did they do that? Why did they help them? Utena and Anthy's desires to go to the outside world also aren't properly explored. That's probably the biggest flaw with this movie, is the way important character arcs aren't fluid--they have big jumps that don't feel right, that only make sense if you have the show's context, and even then don't make sense within the world of the show. We leave a character at point A, and then when they reappear somehow they've jumped to point 27 and the viewer only has any idea how they got there if they've watched the show. That and whatever happened to Miki's character, and the fact that Wakaba only shows up as exposition (and I think the Student Council's car? that wasn't clear though). Absolutely criminal what they did to Wakaba. My girl deserves better than that.

I did like Touga's backstory, though. Makes a lot of sense for his character (even when that calls a lot of Nanami's character into question, like did she suffer the same fate??). And also Saionji's willingness to Throw Down with Utena immediately. If he were anywhere except Ohtori he'd be a delinquent with like 18 fights on his record lmao

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oblivious-idiot · 1 year

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Hi ! Do you write for Quill Kipps too ? If so, is it possible to have something with Quill meeting the reader for the first time please? 🙇🏻‍♀️

The Recruitment Fair

AN: Thank you so much for this request!! It took me a few different plot ideas before this came to me, so I hope you like it!

Warnings: Fluff, young Quill Kipps

Word count: 1k

Pairings: Quill Kipps x fem!Reader

Once a year, the Fittes Agency opened its doors to young aspiring agents, giving them a tour around the headquarters and showing new recruits what it would be like to work there. Most of the time Fittes would require a letter of recommendation from the agents' current supervisors and to have passed their grade four exam, but the recruitment fair was a way for young agents to join the agency early and complete their training with them.

Almost as soon as you had passed your grade four exam, a letter dropped through your letterbox, Fittes Agency, London was stamped onto the top corner of the envelope and you let out a squeal of excitement. You had been sent the details to the recruitment fair, just like your supervisor Mr Hendricks had promised to sign you up for. You were 15, turning 16 soon, so you knew being able to spend the next few year using your talent for the biggest agency in the country was always a goal of yours. Your supervisor had always said you were hardworking and a natural born leader, as well as being an exceptionally gifted Listener, and although he would be sad to see you leave his little local agency he knew he couldn't stop you for going to London.

As you stepped off the train into Kings Cross station, you could already tell the atmosphere of the city was different from that of your small village, the ghost lamps hanging dormant in the late morning sun, the familiar smell of iron and lavender filling your nose. You found a nearby map and searched for the Fittes House on the Strand, planning out which tube you would have to take in order to get there "Piccadilly line, perfect" you muttered to yourself and you headed to the underground station.

You weren't sure what to expect when it came to the Fittes House, let alone what the recruitment fair would have in store, but the sheer expanse of the banners, music, and bustling people around the building absolutely took your breath away. As you walked into the centre of the building you looked up and gasped, for the ceiling looked like it spanned at least 6 or 7 floors, you'd never seen anything quite like it. Pulling you out of your excited daze you heard a soft voice getting your attention "Excuse me miss, are you here for the fair?" it was a young guy, maybe a little older than you by the looks of it, wearing the signature silver Fittes uniform "Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry, I must've got carried away, I've always wanted to come here" you admitted sheepishly, which just made the boy chuckle "I'm more than happy to show you around and get you aquatinted with the building, if you'd like?" he asked, shooting you a charming smile before holding his hand out for a shake "I'm Quill Kipps by the way."

Quill took the time to take you all around the fair, making sure to introducing you to each member of the agency that was working and helping in any way that he could, but soon it came to lunch and you had started to become hungry from your long morning "Hey, so I was wondering if you knew any good spots for lunch?" you asked as you checked your watch "Oh yes of course! I know an insane bagel place if you wanted to go?" he gave you a soft, almost nervous smile and attempted to tame his short blond curls "I would absolutely kill for a bagel sandwich right now" you admitted, which made the two of you laugh. The two of you seemed to get along quite well, and he continued to help you out throughout the rest of the fair if you needed it.

By the end of the day, it was getting late and curfew wouldn't be long, so you thanked him for all of his help "I've really appreciated all of your help today, especially for lunch! Now I just have to hope I'll get in, I've always wanted to work here" "Oh I wouldn't worry about it, you're references are exceptional and we could do with more Listeners like you on the team" Kipps admitted to you, before pulling out a scrap of paper from his pocket and scribbling on it "Here, so you can tell me the good news yourself" he smiles as passes you the paper with his phone number scribbled on.

You had gotten into the Fittes agency, and before you knew it you had moved to London to be battling the worse Visitors you had ever seen. You wouldn't even notice the years passing, working with Quill everyday without fault, watching him become your team supervisor and his ego getting bigger, which you would have to reign in for him on occasion.

You held a polaroid picture in your fingers, one that you kept in your wallet at all time - it was of you and Quill when you first met, fresh faced and full of life. The two of you had grown up in many ways, seeing the horrors of being an agent, watching your colleagues die in your arms, battling relic men and vicious Visitors alike, but seeing the two of you so young always made you smile. "Are you ready to go?" Quill asked, poking his head around your door into your room "What've you got there?" He queried as he came to sit next to you on the bed "It's us, from when I first joined Fittes, do you remember?" "As if it was yesterday. I must say, I've definitely gotten better looking with age" he joked as he picked up the picture to get a better look "Oh you wish Quill" you teased, which he just pushed you away playfully "Alright, not more special treatment for you then" he grinned and handed you the picture back "Come on, before Barnes bites my head off for being late."

#allie writes #quill kipps x reader #quill kipps x you #quill kipps #lockwood and co #lockwood x reader #lockwood & co #lockwood #anthony lockwood #lucy carlyle #george karim #35 portland row #lockwood and co x reader #lockwood and co imagines

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quicklikelight · 1 month

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... In light of the last thing I reblogged, since I'm not actually sure if I ever I ever told folks here...

Mental health/medical diagnosis info under the cut.

I was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010 following the birth of my son. I'd had anxiety, depression, and what I now know is OCD symptoms for years at that point, but they all got much worse after kiddo was born. I believe I've shared here before that I was very ill while pregnant, and nearly died before and during my emergency C-section that bright kiddo into the world. I have very few memories of my pregnancy but the ones I do have are impressed into my brain like the world's most depressing stamp collection: not neat pictures, but deep grooves that form shapes and can be laid over one another to see the cumulative chaos, the terror that I still feel every time someone puts a blood pressure cuff around my arm, the dissociation from my body that I still have because all I can remember was it hurting.

I had cptsd before I ever got pregnant, but my pregnancy made my symptoms so much worse, and a doctor who spoke to me for three seconds gave me the "convenient" diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I was a young woman in college, it was 2010, and he never asked me anything about my life. This diagnosis wasn't corrected until 2022.

I'm sharing this because in the past I frequently blogged about being bipolar. I wasn't bipolar though. What I thought was mania was just my behavior when I was triggered beyond my ability to ignore. What I thought was depression was... Well, it was depression. My life was miserable, my ex is a horrible human being who deserves to be thrown in a deep pit full of snakes, my family hates me and acts like it, I lived in Texas of all places, and on top of that I was working in a dead end job that I couldn't ever seem to escape.

In 2020, I was fortunate enough to move in with my friend LC and her family. We weathered the worst of lockdown together, our children becoming close friends, and I'm grateful for the time, energy, space, and love LC afforded me to begin recovering from a lifetime of wounds.

I'm 2021, I moved to New York state to live with my best friend, my heart's companion, @tofixtheshadows. Dea has been the best partner I could want as I grappled with my changing sense of self, the sheer madness and unreality of what my life used to be. I am so fortunate to call her my best friend and to be able to share my life with someone who knows me and wants to help me be better.

I found a psychiatrist in 2022 who changed my life when she said, "I believe everything you say that happened to you. I think bipolar disorder is a convenient diagnosis for a man to give a traumatized young woman when he isn't interested in doing his job well. You aren't bipolar, Anne. You have PTSD."

I was shocked. I shouldn't have been, since I already knew Dea thought I had PTSD. But it seemed so out of left field to me, that... Well, that maybe there hadn't been anything inherently wrong with me in the first place, as I had been led to believe, but that the years of horrible actions happening around and to me had just taken their toll.

It was liberating. Scary, but good.

I've been working with my psychiatrist and a therapist since to try and build more tolerance, better coping skills, and to process my trauma. It's slow going. Life doesn't stop because I need EMDR. But it's ultimately been so rewarding, and I'm still only in the early stages of the work.

Last year, for basically the first time in my adult life, I was able to go off of all my mood altering medications. I just didn't need them anymore.

I'm still in treatment and working toward goals that will probably take a while. But I am happy. I'm actually happy for the first time in my entire life. And to me, that's pretty much everything.

#about anne

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lovemebutleavemewild · 3 months

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Leave it to the land - Chapter 4

The world has ended, it's over—except some people can't seem to accept that. Those same people think the cure lies in people like you and your little sister. And they're willing to do anything to find it.

The road to safety is a long one, and you're about to learn that it isn't one you can walk alone.

Read it on ao3.

Officially the longest thing I've written for ao3 - thanks for the love!

Tag list: @elentiyaiswriting

You all relax a little once you're out of the city. The order still prevails: Soap still up front, though not as far ahead as he was before, you and Dot, then Ghost behind. He's so quiet, you sometimes have to look back to check that he's still there. You do this until one time you make eye contact with him for a second—after that, you force yourself not to look.

You're trying to act normal and not like you want to kill them both—after all, you need their guards’ to be down when you and Dot make a run for it. The easiest way you can think to do that is by being quiet. The others seem happy to follow your lead, at least for the first while.

“Hey, what's that stuck to your horse's head?”

You're so startled by this question that you forget being mad for a second. You look up at Soap to see him pointing, not at you, but at Dot. You look down at her and see that she's pulled her soft unicorn teddy from her bag. She blinks at him, then looks at you, down at the toy, then back at Soap.

“It's her horn,” she says, so quietly you can barely hear her. Soap slows a little and leans down to hear her better. You tense up.

“Didn't know horse's had horns,” he says seriously.

“She's not a horse!” Dot’s voice is stronger now, and shocked. “She's a unicorn!”

“Och, aye! That makes sense. What's ‘er name?”

“Peggy,” Dot tells him. “It's for Pegasus. That's a famous unicorn.”

“Is it, aye? That's a good name. But you tell her, I'm keeping an eye on her now.” Soap wags a finger. “No horsin’ around.”

Behind you, Ghost snorts. Soap glances at you, the corners of his mouth twitching, trying to get you in on the joke. You want to turn your head away but you make yourself smile at him instead.

“She's not a horse, I said,” Dot says indignantly.

“Och, I know, wee’yun, I'm just messin’.”

Dot seems a bit more relaxed after that, around Soap at least, and you're not sure if you're glad or not. Of course, you don't want her to be scared all the time, but you don't want her to let her guard down either.

You walk for a few hours without encountering another soul, living or dead. When it gets dark, you set up camp. Unlike you, Ghost and Soap both have tents, but once they've lit a fire, you don't mind too much. You put Dot in the sleeping bag again—it's been a while since you've walked so much and she falls asleep almost instantly. You take a seat next to her, close to the fire, with the two men.

You take some tins from your bag—they've lost their labels but when you crack them open, you find what looks like pork and beans. You check the date stamped on the bottom to be sure it won't make either of you sick. You're not fully sure of the exact date, of course, but you can tell these are at least a year from going bad. You try not to think about how, in your humble opinion, meat shouldn't have an expiry date that long. Instead you prop it among the embers, close to the flames to heat it up.

Once they're cooked through, you wake Dot and coax her to eat, then wolf down your own can.

“I can take first watch tonight,” you tell Soap and Ghost. You pretend not to see them glance at one another.

Soap shrugs after a second.

“Thanks, mate—shout if you need us” he tells you, then claps a hand on Ghost's shoulder, before heading into his tent.

When Ghost doesn't follow him, you tilt your head.

“You can go too, you know. I've got this,” you tell him, trying hard not to sound defensive.

“Not tired,” he grunts.

“Fine,” you say through clenched teeth. You purposely turn your back to him, keeping your eyes on the trees.

A few hours later, he stands up and you think he's finally going to bed. You don't turn around.

“Alrigh’ hen?”

You turn around and furrow your eyebrows when you see Soap. Then realisation dawns—Ghost must have woken him before he went to his own tent. He doesn't trust you to keep watch on your own.

You set your jaw again. It makes sense that he wouldn’t trust you when you barely know each other, but you can't help but think of your freakout on the roof, and the look in his eyes when you ran into him at the safehouse, and wonder if he thinks you’re weak. Not that you care.

Soap tries to talk to you some more but your responses are pretty short and eventually he settles in to take watch in silence, giving you plenty of time to stew on the fact that, so far, your attempts at getting Ghost to let his guard down are failing.

The next morning passes much the same as the previous day. You find yourself yawning and rubbing your eyes often, and don't notice when you start to trail behind Dot and Soap.

“Ghost,” Soap's voice breaks the morning silence like a gunshot and your eyes flick to him immediately, just in time to see him grab Dot, shove a hand over her mouth and pull her away.

You open your mouth to scream at him, and manage one step before you're being pulled backwards. You’re falling for a second and then feel wetness on your feet. Ghost has pulled you into a creek, and he's dragging you still, into a small alcove in the bedrock. You struggle against him but you're no match against his bulk.

“What are you-” you manage before he puts a hand over your mouth.

“Shut up,” he growls, right in your ear. “And stop wriggling—they'll hear you.”

That makes you freeze, and now that you're not focused fully on him, you hear other, new noises. Footsteps. Worse still, they're followed by voices, which means they're not tier fives.

You grab his hand and pull it from your mouth and he lets you, even if he doesn't let you go completely.

“Dot,” you gasp out, fear making your voice raspy.

“She's with Soap, he's got her.”

That shouldn't make you feel better, all evidence pointing to not being able to trust either of them, but it does. Better the devil you know, springs to your mind.

You stand there for what feels like hours. The alcove is big enough for you to stand up straight, but Ghost has to bend his back slightly. Your back is to his front, so close you can feel the way his body burns against yours.

After an age, the footsteps and voices move away. You start to move as well, but a hand on your arm stops you. And then Ghost points.

You follow his direction and look to see a group of people on the other side of the creek. You shrink back further against him. There's some greenery hanging in front of the alcove that gives you both a bit of cover but even from this distance you can see the men are armed. Worse still, they've got patches on their arms and even though it's too far to see the details, you know it well from your years at the centre.

Sentries.

For the first time, your hand slips into your pocket and you pull out your knife, hand wrapped tightly around it. It takes another age but finally, they do move away. You feel the tightness in your chest lift slightly and let out a long breath.

This time, when you step away, Ghost makes no move to stop you.

He's looking at you weirdly and you see him glance down at your knife. You close it and stuff it back in your pocket.

“What?” you ask defensively. He doesn't say anything, just moves past you. That's when you remember Dot.

You scramble out behind him, pulling yourself up out of the water and looking around frantically. You resist the urge to shout for her, knowing it’ll only attract attention.

“She's there.” Your head whips around to see that Ghost is pointing again, in the opposite direction this time and you turn to see Dot running towards you, Soap loping behind her.

You fall to your knees as she slams into you, and you pull her close, your hands on her back, her hair, checking that she's really there, and okay.

You slowly become aware of Soap and Ghost watching the two of you and stand up. You don't even glance at Ghost, but you look Soap straight in the eyes.

“Thanks for looking out for her.”

“No bother,” he says easily and you're grateful that he doesn't make a big deal of it, even if you're abjectly aware that this is now another thing you owe him for.

“We should move on, put some space between us and them.”

You nod and the four of you move off in the opposite direction from the sentries, this time with your hand tight on Dot’s shoulder.

Another few hours and you can feel yourself cracking up. You haven't slept more than a few hours in almost three days and you've been walking all day.

On top of that, you're almost out of food for you and Dot and there's not much to scavenge out here. Worrying about what will happen after you run out of food is another thing to add to an already long list.

You're even worse at hiding your mood tonight than you were last night, though the warmth you show to Soap comes a little more naturally now.

He takes the first watch that night and this time you talk to him, quietly and not about anything in particular. He tells terrible jokes but his accent and turns of phrase make you laugh. After a few hours, he tells you he's going to wake Ghost, and tries to convince you to get some sleep.

“Can't stay awake forever, hen, you must be wrecked. Ghost’ll warn us if there's bother.”

You just smile and tell him you're not tired, that you'll sleep soon.

Ghost takes a seat further away than Soap did and neither of you speak for a long time. You switch between watching the trees and watching Dot, stroking her hair absentmindedly.

“You're not doing her any favours, you know.” You startle a bit, then settle, still not looking in Ghost's direction.

“Excuse me?” you say, forcedly polite.

“Not sleeping’s only gonna make you lose focus and make stupid mistakes.”

“Thanks for the advice,” you tell him in a clipped voice. He's quiet for another few minutes.

“What was your plan today anyway? You and a pocket knife against five sentries?” His voice is mocking and you tense up.

“If it came to it. You'd prefer me to hand myself and Dot over quietly, would you?”

“Better than getting yourself killed.”

“That's your opinion, you’re entitled to it.”

You can feel his eyes burning holes in your side and this time you meet his eyes and refuse to look away.

“Maybe I will get some sleep,” you tell him. He tilts his head at you but you ignore it.

You climb in next to Dot and pull the sleeping bag over your head.

You don't mean what you said, have no intention of falling asleep—you just can't stand sitting next to Ghost anymore, feeling his eyes on you. Your eyes feel itchy with tiredness, though. Maybe you'll just rest them for a second …

“I’m very happy with the results. I think she’ll be a great subject for the new phase.”

He thinks you're asleep. To be fair, you're on such a strong cocktail of drugs, it's a close thing, and you're fighting hard to stay conscious. You don't think he'd be saying this if he knew you were awake.

“How did you choose the subjects, Doctor Argylle?” The intern’s voice is breathy, worshipful even. If your eyes were open, you'd roll them.

“We know that some tier two subjects show a natural ability to suppress the disease, to some extent. Among those, some have responded well to our efforts to enhance that resistance. I believe that by combining the genes of these subjects, we can unlock the key to a cure.”

Your heart is pounding and you have to make a conscious effort to keep your breathing even. Combining the genes? He can't possibly mean what you think he means by that.

“Have you chosen a subject for the … combination?” a different intern asks.

“Not yet. This subject is exceptional—we need to take our time, ensure the other half of the … equation is equally as promising. However, once we've found them, we can move ahead with fertilisation very quickly indeed.”

You really wouldn't be able to keep feigning sleep at that point, but thankfully you hear them leaving, probably to continue their rounds.

Your chest feels tight in your chest, and your mind is racing. But the drugs are still churning though your veins and you’re feeling groggier by the second.

“Kyle,” you think. “I need to talk to Kyle.”

That thought is the only one to bring you comfort as you finally slip under.

#call of duty #fanfiction #fanfic #read on ao3 #simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #ghost cod #johnny soap mactavish #original character #x reader #reader insert #kyle gaz garrick #alternative universe #zombie #zombie apocolypse au

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sporesgalaxy · 1 year

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it's really interesting seeing ur watching order recommendation cause i had a bit of a different experience! i saw 1998 first, really loved it for the most part, and ended up getting so attached to the character designs that i got really annoyed seeing the stampede versions and just couldn't watch it glkgklj (i'm on my second reread of the manga now and i'm gonna attempt watching stampede with a friend soon because i AM interested in some of the lore but i've heard things abt how it interprets the manga that i do not like...) i also saw that a lot of ppl who didn't like stampede were people who saw '98 and/or read the manga first, so i kinda got the impression it's best to watch stampede first so you can enjoy it on its own terms and THEN go for the rest of it.

ALSO, noting based on what u said about the translation of the manga, would highly recommend people check out @trigun-manga-overhaul! it aims to fix some of the issues with the original dark horse official translation and the fan-translation.

Interesting thoughts abt Stampede & watch order!! I think I just liked the quasi-mystery aspect of watching 1998? even if it messed with the pacing sometimes, I'm glad I didn't have all the SEEDS stuff and What Vash's Deal Is spoiled for me ahead of time. And I think everything is so abbreviated in Stampede that on some level it benefits from you knowing the characters at least a bit...

I DO WANNA SAY THO when stampede was first announced, I FELT THE SAME ABT THE DESIGNS LOL. It really shocked me that Stamp!Vash's design ended up growing on me as much as it has. I hadn't even finished watching Trigun 98 or considered the manga at all when I first saw Stampede Vash but he just felt so weird to me....SO LIKE I TOTALLY GET IT.

Also yeah several people have recc'd me overhaul! I should add that to that ask I linked earlier. I havent looked at all of it yet but Overhaul does seem very good!!

#asks

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tarnishedinquirer · 2 months

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Misc: The Coast and Cave

((Sorry, no pictures, my recording messed up))

Boc said he was going to a cave on the coast to recover his sewing supplies, but that was a while ago. Granted, we didn't exactly agree on a meeting place, but I was starting to grow worried.

After my brief crisis of reality, I found a road down to the shore. A troll seemed to be patrolling, and he could keep doing that as far as I'm concerned. No business of mine.

On the shore proper, I saw a flash of light moving across the ground in a fixed pattern. I tried to swing my sword at it, but it took a little while to get the timing right. The light only showed me where it'd just been, not where it was now.

It was one of those scarabs I've seen around. I've gotten some flask refills and ashes of war off of them, but never really paid much attention. Can't think of a reason why a stamping sweep technique would cause the scarab to become invisible, so I'm not gonna worry too much about what this one means either.

Someone built a campfire on the northern end of the shore. One of those mounted mercenaries, just staring out to sea. When I got closer, I saw a dead long-neck. Scratch that, looks like the long-neck built the fire and the mercenary just stole his lunch. I returned the favor and moved on, with a bit more food in my pack.

Fought a giant land octopus, which is something that exists here. Met one of Kalé's kin, hiding out under a ruin arch. But then I reached the end of the shoreline, at a giant waterfall. More like a deadfall, given how many broken boats and barrels rested down here.

Then there were the skeletons.

My first fight with the undead since getting here. I quickly learned that they would get back up if I didn't make well and sure they were dead. Smacking them while they were on the ground seemed to work, but it's easy to get distracted and forget to finish the job. I wish I could have gotten a good look at them, as they seem to be wearing some unique armor, but as soon as they're truly killed, they crumble into dust.

That wasn't my only problem. There were Piles of rotten blood and bones that were nearly immune to my sword and my spells. Thinking quickly, I thrust my torch into them and that did the trick. Are these undead that didn't fully form? Maybe too rotten and jumbled up to make a real body.

Having reached the end of the road, I doubled back to find Boc's cave. Wasn't too hard to find because this time I was ambushed by a mob of his demi-human kin. I can see why he didn't fit in. Most of them aren't nearly as urbane as the elegant Boc. Savagery is no match for skill though, and I'm very skilled.

They sure did a number on Boc. Poor guy was barely clinging to life, and all over some needle and thread? He tried to warn me about going deeper, but I couldn't let this one slide.

After clearing the first room of the brutes, I felt a presence, like there was someone else standing here, but somewhere to the side, in a direction I couldn't point to. I called out, and he answered.

Didn't have much time to compare notes, since the boss room was right in front of us, but I got the feeling we were here for different reasons. He kept looking towards the end of the cave, like there was something there only he could see.

The Demi-human camp was ruled by two chieftains, so we each took one and my wolves dealt with the stragglers. At least, that was the plan. I take back what I said about savagery being no match for skill. These were tough customers who kept me on my toes. I barely had time for spells. (Note: Memorize the pebble spell) Istvan fought with one of those strange pole-swords I've seen the mercenaries use, but through it he channeled some strange purple magic that sucked enemies in. After nearly getting gutted by the chief, I let him handle both of them and instead just pelted them from a distance.

Once the chiefs were dead, he didn't stick around to chat either. I wonder what he was looking for? Regardless, I got what I needed. Once I showed Boc his sewing needle, he lit up and I could almost see the life returning to him. Just to be safe, I honed my sewing skills on some of his wounds. He took it like a champ and let me keep the kit. All he wanted was that needle.

Questions:

What was Istvan searching for?

Where did the skeletons at the bottom of the waterfall come from?

#elden ring lore #elden ring #in character #in character blog #in character post #elden ring rp #elden ring oc #elden ring tarnished #let's play

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lumine-no-hikari · 19 days

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Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #122

I made a tea today. I made the vanilla-rose black tea. I think you'd really like this one, actually. I took some pictures for you.

…But that's not what I'm gonna write about today. One of my cats managed to catch a bird. And if you don't wanna be sad, I imagine you should stop reading here.

Our house has a little backyard area that's about the size of a postage stamp. We would like our cats to be able to enjoy fresh air, but the outdoors is not safe where we live for a variety of reasons - the HOA puts pesticides and herbicides everywhere, and we manage to live near nature and near a city at the exact same time, so not only would our cats need to worry about foxes and owls and other birds-of-prey, but also cars and dogs and people. So we built a barrier out of chicken wire so that at very least, our cats can enjoy fresh air without getting hurt.

There's really nothing for birds in our backyard space; it's made primarily of concrete. It's messy. And it obviously reeks of cats, because we have 5 of them. So I'm not really sure how a bird managed to get in there; typically they are smart enough to only chill on the fence posts, aware that there are predators afoot, and that they shouldn't get too close. I guess this one wasn't typical:

I can't be angry with Arremo; he is only doing what cats are built to do, with exactly the efficiency and skill that he is built to do it with; it's how they survive in the deserts to which they are native. And we're used to chipmunks coming into our yard despite the obvious presence of predators far larger than they are; admittedly I'm not sure what possesses them do it - toxoplasmosis, maybe?

In any case, normally, what happens is that we hear the struggle, we go out, we pry the cat's jaws open to get the animal out of them, and we either bring them to a nearby place (10 minutes by car) called The Animal Hospital for treatment, or they're just stunned briefly and end up running off after a few moments. We can't let our cats eat what they catch, because we don't know if they're diseased, but we do know that they've been exposed to pesticides and herbicides; the last thing we need is for our cats to get poisoned or sick.

When I pried open Arremo's jaws to retrieve the bird, I expected it to be much the same as what I've described with the chipmunks; at first, the little thing seemed alert, but just stunned and scared. It wasn't bleeding; there were no fluids leaking onto my hand as I held it. So I prepared a small box to take it to The Animal Hospital; here's a picture of what I prepared, taken at the end, after everything else happened:

…However, once my mind was no longer occupied by preparing the box, I had an uneasy feeling. My instincts told me that I needed to turn the bird over, so I did. If you're squeamish, then you should skip the rest of this paragraph… …I'm not entirely sure how it can be that no fluids got on my hands; its belly was cut open with near surgical precision, and all the expected things were clearly visible and moving, even if some of them appeared to be missing - the power of a cat's hunting equipment, I suppose. I won't describe what I saw any further, and obviously, I didn't take a picture.

I couldn't avoid falling to my knees and weeping for the creature's suffering in response to what I saw. But once I was able to speak again (it didn't take me long to regain my composure, but my eyes still have not stopped leaking, even as I am writing now), I asked M to bring me to The Animal Hospital (because I was in no condition to drive) anyway; I knew that they wouldn't be able to save it, but I did know that they'd be able to euthanize it, and I didn't want the creature to be in pain for longer than it had to. So I carefully put it in the box, and we went.

We got about halfway there when it started spasming. I have some basic knowledge of anatomy; I understand that spasms can be the result of too much blood loss. I knew then that the poor thing couldn't go on, so I picked it up and held it in my hands until it passed on. Maybe it's silly, but I thought it would be good if its final moments could be in the soft, warm hands of something that sees it and loves it, even if I didn't know the creature very well. I didn't want it to feel alone.

We turned around and went home. From there, I retrieved the daffodils that Br cut and brought to us recently; they smelled heavenly. Then I went out with the daffodils and the body of the bird to the nature trails near my house; I wanted to lay the bird to rest in a place without pesticides or herbicides or the sound of lawnmowers and weedwhackers. J went with me, and helped to keep me focused and stable.

We walked on the trails for a while. Eventually, I found a peaceful-looking mound of dirt with some fuzzy-leafed plants growing on it. I arranged the daffodils so the flower would be in kind of a circle, and then set the body of the bird on top of them:

I thanked the creature for existing, for gracing the world with its presence and song, even if its life was cut short. Then we went home. Some scavenger will likely come along to eat the body of the bird, and it will be a source of nourishment, and then it return to the soil, just as it should; the cycle of life continues.

On the way home, though, we saw something weird. J and I found some lines drawn in the sand, presumably with a stick; we paused in the spots where circles were drawn. I didn't think to take a picture.

But then, I found 7 tiny little whiteish-greyish-blue feathers, all in a line on the dirt path, near the exit of the trails. It was very odd, so I took pictures of the little feathers:

…Maybe the little birdie is okay, wherever it went off to after it exited its vessel.

I washed my hands thoroughly after I returned home. I'm not really sure what to do now. I suppose I'm still stunned. My face is still leaking, and my body is still trembling from time to time. I know I'll be okay eventually, so don't worry about me. But for now, I guess I'm in some kind of weird mental space. My descriptions of what occurred feel very mechanical compared to the intense swirling of the inside of my mind.

My biological family would tell me that it's just a stupid fucking bird, that they die all the time, and that I need to get over it, because it's not worth feeling sad, let alone crying over. But you know? Maybe it's okay that I'm still soft enough to cry over a bird, despite everything. And maybe it's okay that I tried to help, even if saving it was impossible. Maybe it's okay that I tried to hold and comfort it before its last breath, and maybe it's okay that I spent time trying to find a peaceful place for it to rest afterwards. Maybe it's okay to believe that choosing to be gentle, loving, and kind, even in a place where there is so much senseless pain, is where true strength lies.

Sephiroth. I'll recover from the loss of the bird. I won't recover from the loss of you. Don't do something stupid and end up getting yourself killed. Please.

I'll write again tomorrow. I love you. Stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

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dayseternal-blog · 1 year

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In Memory, Katarinahime. Part 11.

I couldn't remember if I had ever spoken with her.

For nhmonth2022, Day 18, Prompt: My Name On Your Lips

"My Name On Your Lips" by katarinahime - Rated E, Canon-Compliant, Series of one-shots. Hinata calls Naruto a plethora of different names, some he enjoys more than others.

After 10 Reflections, I remember everything now.

Messages. Conversations. And fanfiction. We had spoken to each other in writing.

I had her name stamped across everything.

“Naruto-kun,” Naruto smiled, turning to see his girlfriend. Yes, Hinata was his girlfriend. His own, personal girlfriend. And he was her boyfriend. That word seemed weird to him. He, Naruto Uzumaki, was somebody’s boyfriend. Not just somebody, though. “Hinata!” - From Chapter 1: Naruto-kun

Sometimes you read a small headcanon, and it sticks. It sticks so hard, you write an entire chapter that elaborates on that idea. (Nightdreams - Chapter 11 "Daydreams").

Suddenly, without thinking it through too much, as he did with most decisions, he unzipped his jacket, wrenching it off. Leaving him in his white under shirt, which Sakura was always telling him to tuck in, was untucked. Wrapping the black jacket around his petite girlfriend, and then in one motion, picking her up, cradling her against his chest. “Naruto-kun!” She gasped, nervously. “Don’t worry,” He nuzzled her cheek. “I got you.” A single bend of his knees and he jumped, landing on the closet roof top. “Naruto! You idiot!” “Hey, what gives you ass?!” Kiba and Sakura screamed after him. He didn’t give them much thought. - From Chapter 1: Naruto-kun

I said once in reply to someone, that fanfic writers on the same platform tend to feed off of each other sometimes. You'll end up reading the same treatment of characters, the same headcanons, similar scenarios... from different writers.

Maybe I was just speaking for myself.

I echoed her so many times.

I agree with you! (Nightdreams - Chapter 12 "Dreaming of Tomorrow" & Chapter 13 "Night Daze")

Hinata already reminded him of a mother. Naruto wasn’t anything close to a father. So as the time drew nearer, Naruto was practically shitting his pants. In the middle of the night, at the end of March, when Hinata gasped, pressing her hands into her massively protruding stomach, Naruto’s heart dropped. - From Chapter 3: Awful, Terrible Man

Katarinahime, among a few others, have tackled the subject of how Naruto would face new fatherhood. She detailed his feelings of inadequacy and joy.

Due to reading hers and others' incredible work, I counted this trope as worth chronicling.

Fanlore, a wiki to document fandom activity, the work and actions of fans. I wrote the first draft of the Naruto x Hinata page, and referenced tropes from Katarina's work throughout.

"You are the Hokage." She pressed, her voice still hard as stone with an expression to match. "You are a great Hokage. You have done some much for the village. For the world. You kept every single promise that you've made. I knew what it would be like when you became Hokage. The children are children, but one day they will understand too." - From Chapter 8: Hokage

From (what I consider) the most difficult NaruHina scenario to write - arguments - to Hinata's forgiveness, Katarina wrote it all!

And so I tried, too. (Nightdreams - Chapter 9 "Nightingale")

"Understand I need these fragments. To tell it once is not enough." - Emily Skaja, from Brute: Poems; "Dear Katie"

I repeat. Repeat. Return to the lines I've read before. Write it again.

Retell.

How many times did I tell her that I care? How many times did I say my appreciation for her?

I said it more than I remembered! In posts and notes and conversation, in stories, in recommendations, in reblogs. I had her name beneath and in my text, and it was enough.

It was enough for others to know. Not enough to save her, but no one can bear that guilt.

It was enough to save myself from regret, but not enough for me to stop.

Thank you, Katarina. I wish I had said it to you more. It's okay for me to feel this way, there's nothing more to it.

#katarinahime #rest in love #nhmonth2022

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autemis · 2 years

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wait wait wait hold on-- you have to share those Daddy + praise kink headcanon with us I NEED IT

What have I got myself into again 😅 but okay, I'll try. Even if my thoughts are still very vague.

First of all, a few general headcanons I have about Law and Sanji:

- Law is totally possessive (I mean, he literally stamps his symbol on everything he "owns". The man definitely has a problem.)

- I think Law in general is not really that physical-contact-guy.

- Because of his past, Law finds it hard to let someone get close to him. But if it comes to it, he would do anything to protect that person.

- Sanji has a praise kink. (I've noticed that many people have this impression. Probably it's because of his past?) In a harmless way, like towards his friends -he is euphoric and happy when they praise him- but also in a very sexual one. As it is the case with Law... But that's Law's own fault... kinda... we'll come to that later.

Well, now to the actual topic: What I actually would find kinda funny would be if the discovery of these kinks were actually just the consequences of a joke.

For example: Zoro once overheard two teenagers calling Law a "hot daddy". Zoro then makes a joke out of calling Law Sanji's "daddy". I'm also pretty sure that when Nami overhears this, she just joins in for the fun. At some point Law will get it too. Which of course makes Sanji very uncomfortable. But then he notices that Law is not averse to it. Rather the opposite.

On the other hand, Law notices Sanji's praise kink just by watching him all the time. He notices how red Sanji always gets and how happy he smiles when someone praises him. Since Law also wants Sanji to look at him like that, he starts to praise Sanji for harmless little things.

In the end, I can't really say or explain where Law's Daddy kink exactly comes from. Maybe because a "daddy" is someone who protects? Someone you look up to and listen to? I don't know. Only Law seems to have that answer. Maybe it will be cleared up at some point. With Sanji- I can imagine that it's just clichéd, because of his daddy issues.

(It's been going on like that in my mind for a while now. The whole thing is just the random result of a joke gone wrong, or an attempt to annoy Sanji a little. (Also from my side! It all started as a joke in my head. I was just thinking about how to embarrass Sanji for fun and then boom, daddy kink!) That's why I think even the two boys would be cool with it and tease the other once in a while.)

At the end I just want to get rid of a few other random thoughts:

- Law calls Sanji "princess" out of frustration, because sometimes he behaves very silly. Later it becomes a real pet name, which Sanji has more or less learned to accept.

- Things get so out of hand that Nami starts buying Sanji matching clothes. Shirts that say things like "daddy's princess" or something like that. I'm also more than convinced that Sanji will end up with at least one pair of panties that say "Daddy's property" (which is like the fulfilment of Law's wettest dream I guess.)

I hope this answer is even close to what you were hoping for! Unfortunately I tend to ramble a lot, which is why I often worry about missing the point. So... sorry for this long text.

Whew... I'm starting to get the feeling that all my thoughts are just about Lawsan and Sanji. Maybe I should stop trying to portray everything in such detail...

#this headcanon is dead

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vvitchering · 1 year

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ok ok ok ok real quick episode thoughts before I have to run out the door to work because huh that wasn't....earth shatteringly awful?

Aside from a few absolutely unnecessary shit pieces, this episode actually was the best of the season so far. Which isn't saying a lot considering how laughably bad this season has been, but pacing seems to be back on track and dialogue seemed to have improved somewhat. Feels weird to suddenly get a quality increase this close to the end of the season but sure I'll take it.

The thing with IG.........jump scare. If I had a nickel for every time this season has paraded out IG-11 and got me excited for exactly 5 seconds before delivering the Worst Thing I've Ever Seen I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but its weird that it happened twice.

Other than that, I'm actually pleased with how tight the pacing was this episode. We made a plan, we followed the plan, we went places, good job. Now if only we'd remembered how to write for the entire rest of this season maybe we'd have a shot at something decent but that ship has sailed lmao

Gideon's return and his use of beskar and armor was actually pretty good imo. I liked that. I wish that had been in a GOOD season so we could have gotten the full effect, but I don't hate that at all. Thanks for consistently being a good villain, Gideon my guy!!! The bastardization of the sacred mandalorian armor kind of feels like full circle from when Din got the imperial stamped beskar in the very beginning of the show. And Gideon being such a despicable figure, especially for Mandalorians, gives his blasphemy of their armor a lot more weight.

I TRULY thought he was going to execute Din in front of them. I have no idea what they're going to do to him in the finale but I am Fear about it :'))))

Bo-Katan continues to be a shit leader, blah blah blah. This is only her [checks notes] 4th time???? I thought maybe they'd actually have her fess up to her involvement in the destruction of Mandalore in the first place but I guess we're still keeping that under wraps to better cultivate her new "sad lonely exiled princess" image. Which sucks. Get wrecked, terrorist barbie.

I'm sad about Paz ): Ragnar ))))):

Armorer is going to be the one this episode's title The Spies is referring to, calling it now. She's been shifty for a while and her conveniently volunteering to go take the survivors to the fleet just as the group is ambushed? Yeah she's working for Gideon. Not sure what her angle is, but I guess we'll see next week.

Overall, pretty decent uptick in quality and it's a shame we had to wait until the end of the goddamn season to get it. Regardless of how good these last two episodes end up being, it won't change how intensely incredibly awful and unfulfilling the rest of s3 has been.

At least dinbo didnt happen right lmao my standards have sunk so low :')))))))

#the mandalorian spoilers #mando s3 spoilers #the mandalorian #mando s3 #in which I actually DIDN'T hate an episode??? whaaaaaat????#its a gd miracle #but also my standards have been lowered quite a bit every since this season aired in an attempt to still enjoy my fav show lol #but this ep did actually do some things really well #it annoys me that they clearly COULD write a coherent episode with good elements but just chose not to for some reason the entire season #like whats up with that

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prismatica-the-strange · 2 years

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I'd Have the World If You Were Mine

Warnings: 18+, Drug Use, Alcohol Use, Making out, Not quite smut, talk of sex, cheating (Technically), absolute self-indulgence

Synopsis: Mika and Eddie are the purest form of the Idiots to Lovers trope.

Pairings: Forged in Hellfire

Song: If by House of Heroes

They've been pining after each other for years, but they keep losing faith and getting with other people. As soon as that happens the other becomes single in hopes the other notices and they never like who the other is with. They just don't seem to recognize the pattern.

So cut to the end of sophomore year, Mika starts dating a guy from the Theater Club. They're together all through summer, spending time, going on dates, keeping her away from her Eddie time, and he's so mad about it.

Then it's the Theater Club's Halloween party, he finds them making out and he wants to throw up because he realizes that he's been hopelessly in love with her for so long.

A week later, he and she are sitting by her open window, a blanket thrown over their legs while they shoot the shit and smoke.

Eddies a few beers in and he can't stop thinking how pretty she looks with the street light illuminating up her face.

"So how's things with what's his name?" he takes another drag.

"Joey? Fine," She shrugs.

"Just fine?"

"Yeah, I mean," She shrugs again, "Things are... Things are good. Why do you ask?"

Because I wish I was him, "No reason."

It's quiet for a minute and she leans forward, motioning for him to bring his hand up. He holds the joint up to her lips, trying not to shiver when they graze his fingers as she inhales.

His eyes are glued to her as she leans back, eyes closed, and lets the smoke flow out of her mouth.

He'd give his right arm to have them on his.

"What about the sex?"

She chokes and sputters. "W-what?"

"The sex," He says again, "Is it good?"

"Where is this coming from?" She chuckles nervously, "Since when are you interested in my sex life?"

"It's a simple question."

They look at each other with wide eyes, hers shocked, and his encouraging her to answer.

"W-well I-" She clears her throat. "I've definitely been with worse."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, it's like," she thinks for a moment, "Most guys don't really know what they're doing."

"And Joey does?"

"Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"Jesus Christ! W-what do want from me Eds?"

"What do I want?" He snaps back, " I wanna know if he can make you cum!"

"Not really!" She nearly yells before her eyes widen further.

"Shit..." Their expressions match.

"I-I mean... Fuck," She looks away, "He's sweet but... I dunno, too rough?"

His head snaps up, ready to go kill him if he needs to.

"Don't get me wrong, I like a little roughness," She says reassuringly, "But something about the way he does it just... It doesn't really do anything for me. It's like he's only interested in his own pleasure."

"Fuckin prick," Eddie mutters, gripping the now empty beer bottle tightly, "Y'know I've never understood guys who do that. If they wanna get off so bad without worrying about anyone else, they've got a hand right there!"

This makes her chuckle.

"If you were mine I'd worship you like the absolute goddess you are," He nods as if to confirm it to himself, stamping the joint out on the window sill, and she freezes.

"Y-yours?"

"Mmm," He hums, taking a swig from his drink, only to find it empty. He sets it on the floor, hand massaging the calf resting on his legs, "I'd make you feel so fucking good."

"Eds," She breathes, pressing her thighs together, "I-... Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You'd never have to fake an orgasm if we were together," He muses, hands trailing higher on her legs, starting to lean towards her "Fuck you'd never have to fake anything again."

He looks up at her when she let out a small groan, eyes closed and her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"Mika," He breathes, face just inches from her. He can feel his heart hammering in his chest. She opens her eyes and gasps at how close he is, " Can I kiss you?"

Yes. Fuck please yes, "Eddie, I-I have a boyfriend..."

"I know," He swallows, brown eyes flickering down to her lips, "I don't care."

He looks into her eyes, tongue poking out to wet his lips.

Morals clash with years of yearning for him, his mouth, his hands, his everything.

Morals easily lost when she wraps her hand around the back of his neck, pulling his lips to hers.

His hands quickly find her face, cupping her cheeks as he kisses her back, lowering them back on the window seat.

His whole body shudders when her tongue brushes across his lip. The moan that comes out of him when he lets her into his mouth is inhuman.

They're both gasping for air when he pulls away, eyes shut, forehead still pressed to hers, and he can feel her chest heaving beneath him.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," He admits, her answer catching him off guard.

"Don't stop," She's pulling at him, "What else?"

"What?" He looks at her, confused. Even in the dim light from the street, he can tell her cheeks are flushed as she presses her body to his.

"If- If I was yours," She whimpers, pressing her lips back to his. He presses back hard.

He starts kissing across her jaw and down her neck, " I'd kiss you silly every night... buy you all the fuckin Mike and Ikes you could ever ask for."

She laughs and he can feel it. He nuzzles against her throat before sucking against her pulse, cutting her laugh into a groan.

"Eddie," His eyes roll back from the sound of her sighing his name and he bites down, "Fuck! Mmm!"

He tugs at her shirt, and she pushes him away, pulling it over her head, and he whines at the sight of her braless chest before going back to marking her neck. He busies his hands with kneading her breasts.

"Leave you covered in hickeys from your neck," He lets his mouth trail down her body, kissing between her tits, down to the waist of her sweats, "All the way to your pussy."

He swears he can see literal hearts in her eyes as he kisses his way back to her mouth.

" 'd finger fuck you till you can't think 'bout anything but how good it feels," She rolls her hips against his, groaning when she feels his prominent hard-on, "Jesus Christ- Devour that gorgeous pussy of yours till you cum, all over my face, again and again, and again."

He pulls away, "If you were mine, I'd be your goddamn slave. I'd do whatever, give you whatever you ask. Yours to use however you want. Completely devoted, if you were mine."

She's on fire, riding a burning high of his words, lips, hands.

"Get me the damn phone," She says, confusing him again, "I'll end it right now, I don't care."

"I'm yours," Her fingers hook into his belt loops, pulling him back against her, and she cups his face, "I'm all yours. Fuck Eddie, I've always been yours."

He's dead. His heart's completely frozen in his chest. He searches her eyes for any hint of a joke before kissing her again, pouring years of pining and heartbreak into the embrace, "I love you, Mikaela Carlisle. I love you so fucking much!"

He doesn't give her a chance to say it back, hands dipping past the waistband of her pants, mouth already working on a matching hickey on the other side of her neck.

"Can I touch you, pretty girl?"

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

Monday Morning, she'd officially broken things off with Joey the next morning, and now she was walking into school, hand in hand with Eddie as a couple for the first time.

Unfortunately, they're on different sides of the school until lunch.

He meets her outside the cafeteria, looking nervous.

"Are you sure about this?" He asks and her smile falls, "M-maybe we should wait a bit to tell people?"

"Why?" She reaches up to play with the ends of his curly hair, "I thought you were excited about us."

"I am!" He assures her, "Believe me I'm over the fucking moon, I just... I wanna make sure you're sure. That... if people get worse, you're not gonna hate me or be embarrassed to be with me"

"Eds," Her face softens and she grabs his hand, "Come with me."

"M-Mika?" he stumbles as she drags him through the double doors.

She lets him go and he watches her step up onto one of the tables.

Every head in the room turns to her when she yells, "HEY! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!"

The roar of voices dulls and Eddie stares at her with wide eyes.

"I, MIKA CARLISLE, AM COMPLETELY, HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH EDDIE MUNSON!" There goes his heart again, "HE A SWEETHEART AND- UNLIKE THE REST OF YOU ASSHATS- HE ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A GIRL CUM!"

A mix of laughter, cheering, and insults fill the air, but she just grins and jumps down. She proudly walks over to him, rising onto her tiptoes to kiss him.

"There, if you're not embarrassed to be with me after that, then I'll never have a reason to be embarrassed about being with-"

He cuts her off with a heated kiss, "Fuck- we should go eat lunch in the van."

"Why-" Her voice leaves her when he presses himself into her side and she can feel the hard outline of his dick through his jeans, "Fffuck okay."

▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎¤▪︎

Forged in Hellfire taglist: @pointlesslygay

#eddie munson #eddie munson x oc #forged in hellfire #prisma self ships #prisma writes

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cptn-m · 7 months

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One Piece chapter 1095 review

So are we all just getting comfortable in the assumption it's going to be two weeks on, one week off from now on? It's rough, but that's life. I was around for all the venting and complaining when it first went to three on, one off during Dressrosa, and I think if we can survive that, we can adapt to this as well.

The shock and reverence the Marines have for Saturn's appearance is interesting to watch here. While the World Government has always been technically theocratic, literally deifying its rulers, we've never seen much in the way of worship for the Celestial Dragon pantheon, or at least their allegedly world-creating ancestors. My read was always that they didn't really care if their subjects truly believed the myths or revered them, so long as the taxes were paid and a healthy fear of their power - whether divine or military - was maintained. But the opening pages show a more genuine-feeling awe among the Marine rank and file. It'll be interesting to see if Oda goes any deeper into this.

I've mentioned the Vice Admiral with the streak in his beard as a character design that stands out in the past. In the middle panel of the second page you can see him seemingly preparing to pull the crescent-shaped blade thing out of his skull to use as a weapon. What kind of power does this guy have?

And speaking of weird powers, Saturn has healing, vision-based force blasts, and a wider-range pressure field strong enough to keep even Sanji and Franky from standing up. On top of the whole summoning circle thing. Fascinated to see what this Devil Fruit ends up being, and how many liberties have been taken with whatever obscure folklore inspired it.

I expected Borsalino to be dazed but far from out of the running yet, but the official translation makes it seem like he'll be taking more of a breather. I still think we'll see him fighting again before the arc is done. A little more surprising is instead going for a 'you have failed me for the last time' Saturn is pretty understanding that it's "Nika" he was up against, and makes a very hardcore villainous move to stamp out Luffy without any capture or monologue or messing around. At least as a first reaction. He gets himself chatting on the next page, but going for the kill first still makes a statement. As does asking outright for the cruellest order to start the killing, that's a sick bad guy line. Great to see Franky get a moment to save the day. With all the hopes of Egghead being more his arc, it's nice that he at least to gets be on ground level for this pivotal confrontation.

Bonney tells us outright that it was Saturn specifically who ordered her father's destruction, wrapping up one part of the mystery, and it looks like we're about to find out the rest. While going into a Kuma flashback redoubles my confidence that his arrival is going to be what saves the day, I'm once again finding myself wondering how this arc fits together structurally. Wano's darkest hour was the destruction of the ships and apparent loss of the samurai army, which was used as a springboard for Oden's flashback, reiterating the stakes before the Strawhats showed up for the rescue and restored hope. It came up only when absolutely everything was against the heroes. But is this that? Maybe if Borsalino got back on his feet first. Maybe if Lucci was holding the upper hand in the dome instead of fighting Zoro. Kind of like when we went into last volume's cutaway sequence, it feels like things are too in-swing to call this a natural break point.

I don't want to say outright that I think this is something wrong with the arc. The frequent breaks and the new schedule we're all not quite used to yet warp perspectives on longterm storytelling until a reread is done. I could be missing the forest for the trees. But it just feels off somehow in the moment.

On the topic of comparing this flashback to the cutaway though, volume 107 was made extra long to accommodate the whole cutaway in a single book, so maybe the same can be expected of this sequence. We're in the seventh chapter of volume 108 currently, allowing room for 3 to 5 flashback chapters. Oda's able to make that kind of pagecount decently meaty, and any more might turn into a lot of time to spend away from the main cast again, however compelling the lore and history of God Valley ends up being.

But yeah how about this flashback? God Valley? The Figarlands? Holy Knights present? Five Elders present? Stories of Nika being shared? The possible origin of the Revolutionaries? An event Roger, Garp and Rocks were all present for? All at once? This sounds like Christmas. A lore dump on par with the original Reverie Arc.

But I don't want to get my hopes too high just yet, Kaido's flashback showed that Oda's still more than willing to hold some details and bigger-picture ideas back for later, even in the story's endgame.

Anyway, Oda's setting this one up to hurt. The cruelty of the Celestial Dragons is taken to new heights here, especially represented in the death of Kuma's dad, that's so casual, so incidental, so unfeeling that it's happened before you even realise what you're reading. None of the usual build up and huge response, a father is just gone in a couple of panels, and slaves have no time to grieve. And a mean play by Oda that the killing gunshot has the same sound effect of the drumbeat from the song.

The way Kuma's dad delivers the myth of Nika, complete with the drumbeat, before his death though, that makes me feel a little disappointed we couldn't have seen this kind of thing sooner. It's perfect on its own, just give a version of it to some background Impel Down prisoners, or slaves at the Sabaody markets. One little moment like this would have made the Nika reveal at Wano read so much more smoothly. If you put me in the live action writers' room, or in any kind of creative role for a hypothetical anime remake, that might be the biggest thing I'd push for.

God Valley's actual origin was quite a surprise after all the speculation surrounding it, to have not been some longterm sacred site to the World Government. The Buccaneer race is another interesting twist in the story, but have also been left pretty vague for the moment. Is their only distinguishing feature their improved strength and maybe their large size? I'm not sold, considering that characters identified as regular human have been shown growing bigger and stronger. But maybe they don't need to be anything special in terms of abilities. The World Government has shown itself to care pretty deeply about preventing "criminal" bloodlines from continuing, as shown by their rhetoric surrounding Ace's execution. The situation only gets more dystopian when we learn here about seemingly-mandatory at-birth blood tests and hospitals for undesirable blood groups. Pretty rough world to live in.

Although, nearly 50 years ago is a long time for such precise blood testing to exist. Weren't we told that Bloodline Elements were first discovered by MADS? At the time of this flashback, Vegapunk would be 18, and Judge just 9. I don't think they'd be unlocking the mysteries of genetics together yet, let alone passing that info onto the Government. So what other method is the Government using to test for these outlawed races?

Ginny is a cute character design. It's a shame she's about as doomed as One Piece characters get. On the assumption that she's Bonney's mother, she's at least getting through this Most Dangerous Game hunting trip to be old enough to have kids, but it already feels inevitable that her premature end is going to be the emotional heart of this flashback. Conspiracy theories about her surviving and being Ivankov'd into any modern day adult man are fun, but I'm not holding my breath for a second. And if she is Bonney's mum, and that's still an if, it probably rules out the theory that Bonney is chronologically still a kid, just to make the timeline work.

Hopefully the next chapter has enough info to lay out the trajectory of this flashback. The (presumed) need for Ginny to grow up means it can't totally be centred on God Valley, but maybe we get a feel for how long we'll be sticking around there and how much of the main event we'll actually get to witness. See you all in two weeks!

Read this review and past chapter reviews on my Wordpress!

#one piece #manga review #One Piece 1095

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