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plus-size-reader · 3 years

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Bad

Daryl Dixon x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1572 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Daryl finally coming to terms with the truth, some saviors aren’t that bad.

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You and Daryl didn’t get along.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that you were a savior, or perhaps it was about the fact that you had been there while Dwight was torturing him.

In all honesty, you had no idea what the real reason was but no matter how hard you tried, you just couldn’t change the fact that you two were working together now.

Rick had it in his head that everyone could live together, to build a better future, and a bridge.

The simple fact was that you couldn’t get away from each other if you wanted to. However, there were brief moments where you found yourselves on the same side, whether you liked it or not.

Aaron losing his arm was one of those times.

Those logs falling were the result of a panic by one of your men, who was more scared of a herd than doing what had to be done. If he hadn’t done what he’d done, Aaron never would have been trapped under that tree.

If he had just taken a moment to tighten the straps down, it would have all been fine but he didn’t.

No one ever did as they were supposed to and that resulted in a major catastrophe, during which you found yourself fighting side-by-side with Daryl.

Now, it was nothing to write home about really. Where the dead were concerned, it didn’t matter where you came from. It was the one common enemy you all shared.

However, when it came to being there when Enid severed Aaron’s arm without pain killers and directly on top of the smashed bone, that was a little different.

You stayed the entire time.

You didn’t have to and really, you had no real business being there, but that didn’t change that you were. You helped as Enid frantically read the pages of the notes Saddiq had left her and tried to find the right tools.

All in all, she was amazing but more amazing than that was the fact that you actually managed to get along with their people for once.

...And that wasn’t even all.

Once you’d finished and you were content with the fact that Aaron was going to live and Enid wasn’t going to drive herself to a panic attack, you went off in search of Justin.

You knew as well as anyone that asshole was responsible for this.

His only job was to radio in if there was a problem and set the second signal to drive the herd in the right direction. If that hadn’t happened, it was because he’d made a choice.

...And that wasn’t going to fly with you.

You were just as happy about this whole arrangement as they were but at least you didn’t make stupid choices to get back at them.

Did Justin really think that doing something like that was going to make any difference? A single man couldn’t change what was going on.

No matter what you did, Negan was locked away and the sanctuary in which you’d been living was long gone. It seemed simple, that was just what it was.

You didn’t buy into the perfect unified future that Rick was selling but you knew better than to put everyone in danger just to prove it.

Only an idiot would do that.

“What did you do? Do you have any idea what you did today?” you yelled, the words escaping your lips through gritted teeth. It was no secret that he thought this whole thing was a joke.

Frankly, he wasn’t wrong but this was too far.

“People could have died because of what you did, you asshole!”

You were content to just continue yelling at him for being such a jerk, but that wasn’t enough for Daryl who had caught up to you after leaving Enid.

He took it one step further, shoving the man out of the tent into the dirt. You were sure that would be all, he was feeling the anger and heat from what had just happened to Aaron but it wouldn’t go farther than that.

Right?

Wrong.

You were very wrong.

When you reached the outside of the tent, you found Daryl quite literally on top of the man, beating his face into the dirt.

It wasn’t much less than what you expected from him and really, it was all you’d been planning to do yourself but from him, it was a bit much.

He wasn’t one of you, and he certainly wasn’t going to help the situation by giving him a black eye.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Let me handle this” you urged, doing your very best to get Daryl off the other man. If you let this go on for much longer, you couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t kill him, not that it would matter.

You didn’t give a shit whether the man kept breathing or not, as you didn’t have any loyalties to him just because he was a savior.

That wasn’t enough anymore.

“Let you handle it? Why would I let you handle it?” He grumbled, practically spitting in your face when he turned his attention toward you but it did enough to get him off Justin.

It was fair enough.

However, it wasn’t enough to just break up the fight. For some reason, Daryl’s words had opened up a whole other can of worms and you weren’t just going to let it go.

Instead, you decided to just follow him toward where he was walking, in the direction of the bridge.

“What did you mean back there? When you asked why you’d let me handle it? He’s my people, not yours” you asked, genuine curiosity forcing your hand.

You knew that Daryl didn’t owe you anything, and never would but you couldn’t help yourself.

You’d been spending an awful lot of time together recently and no matter what you did, that wasn’t going to change. Everyone here was united by one thing, and that was their hatred of one another.

It was only natural that you had a few questions for a man who clearly spared no feelings for you.

“Your people? Nah, your people are dead” he scoffed, throwing a single look over his shoulder toward you. It wasn’t one of any kind of concern or care, if nothing else, it was disinterest.

Not that you could blame him.

He had a point, not in the way Rick wanted him to, but a point nonetheless. Right now, you were all in a strange limbo, where no one knew where they belonged.

There were no Saviors, no citizens of Hilltop, no Alexandrians.

You were all just people.

“I get it, Justin’s an asshole but we aren’t all like that” you tried, a slightly defensive tone in your voice. You weren’t sure why but for some reason, you didn’t want him to think you were just another animal.

You’d just been living in a different place than he had, doing what you had to do to survive. Personally, you were pretty sure that anyone would have done the same in your place.

Many of the saviors were adapting just fine to life among the other groups, but the few that weren’t were going to cause problems for everyone else.

“Whatever, I’ll believe it when I see it”

All you could do was sigh. There was nothing you could do to convince him that you weren’t bad, and until he opened up to you, that wasn’t going to change.

Daryl didn’t want to believe what you’d said.

He didn’t want you to think about what was going on with all of you or what the future could hold for you. Most of all though, he didn’t want to think about whether or not you were right.

After everything they’d been through and all that Negan had done to them, he didn’t want to believe that there could be any good in any of the Saviors.

...But that wasn’t an option.

It wasn’t possible that every single person who had been living under the Sanctuary roof was a bad person, no matter how badly he wanted to believe that.

You hadn’t been around much since the two of you had the conversation but you did come to check in on Aaron pretty frequently.

For someone who didn’t want to spend time with anyone who weren’t her people, and for who he assumed was a heartless savior, you did seem to care a lot.

“What are you doing here?” Daryl asked, approaching you outside the medical tent. It had been perfect timing that brought you together, with you leaving your daily check on Enid and him just beginning his.

It was little more than a coincidence, but that was all you had anymore. You had to grasp on to the little things, and by those standards, Rick was right.

Maybe you could all live together, eventually?

“I figured I’d bring Enid and Aaron some fresh water on my break, is that okay with you?” You questioned, shaking the empty jug you’d brought with you as proof.

Every word out of Daryl’s mouth sounded like a trick question but you both knew the truth. If you were really as bad as he thought you were, you wouldn’t have bothered to come.

...And it didn’t matter what you had to do to prove that to him, you weren’t giving up that easy.

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fanfics4all · 3 years

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Aquaphobia

Request: Yes / No Hi! If requests are open, could you please write something angsty with Jughead where she gets kidnapped or sth? Have a nice day ❤️❤️❤️ Anon

Requests are closed <3 Have a nice day/night

Jughead Jones x Fem!Reader

Word count: 2419

Warnings: TORTURE PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU GET TRIGGERED EAILY! THIS FIC CONTAINS THE ACT OF ALMOST DROWNING SOMEONE! ALSO CONTAINS KIDNAPPING!

Y/N: Your Name

A/N: I will not be tagging anyone because of the warnings above!!

PLEASE DO NOT STEAL MY WORK, I WORK HARD ON MY FICS AND IT’S NOT COOL TO STEAL SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK!

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

(Not my photo, credit to whoever made it!)

It was war between the Ghoulies and Serpents, which meant everything and everyone was fair game. My boyfriend Jughead, leader of the Serpents, was extra worried. He thought the Ghoulies were gonna come after me to get to him, which is understandable, but I knew what that meant. Jughead had invited me over after school, he said we needed to talk.

“What did you wanna talk about Juggie?” I asked, hopping onto his counter after I grabbed a beer.

“I think we should take a break…” He said and I nearly spit out my drink.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“Just until we take care of the Ghoulies, then we can-”

“We can what? Pick up where we left off like nothing happened? No! I’m not gonna let the Ghoulies break us up out of fear!” I said annoyed that he could even think I’d be okay with this.

“But you’ll be safe! Once we’re done they won’t use you to get to me!” He said in a desperate tone.

“Juggie, we’re stronger together and I will not let them scare us like this!” I said and pecked his lips.

“Now, if you excuse me I have to go to work.” I said grabbing my jacket and heading out the door before he could say another word.

Once work was finally over I gathered all my stuff . I lived alone since my parents decided to ditch me to go who knows where. My phone rang and I smiled when I saw Jughead’s name and picture pop up on my screen.

“Hey Juggie, I just got out.” I answered.

“I know, but you don’t have your bike. Is someone giving you a ride?” He asked and I sighed.

“No Jug, I’m walking. It’s not that far away anyway.” I said, rolling my eyes. I walked outside and breathed in the cool air. I made my way to my shittly little place.

“But the Ghoulies are after anyone who’s a Serpents and you especially since we’re together! This is exactly why I want us to take a break until things cool down!” He said annoyed. I took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was completely black, except for the moon which was shining bright and clear in the night sky. It was beautiful and helped me keep calm from going off on Jughead.

“I understand Jug, but I think that’s a win for them. Besides, do you really think they just won’t go after me if we break up?” I asked.

“I see your point, but I still think you’ll be safer if you weren’t with me.” He sighed.

“Jug, it really won’t make much of a difference. They’re stupid, but they’re smart enough to know that you’ll still care about me.” I said and he sighed again.

“You’re right…” He said and I smiled a little.

“I knew you’d see it my way, now why don’t y- Ouch!” I hissed in pain, dropping my phone to the ground. Someone grabbed my wrist with one of their hands and held me tightly. They twisted it behind my back, making me hiss in pain even more. I could hear Jughead’s voice screaming through my phone asking if I was alright. From the corner of my eye I saw whoever was holding me bringing a cloth closer to my face. I quickly held my breath as he pushed the damp cloth to my face, covering my mouth and nose. I tried to struggle out of his grip, but it only pained me more. The man groaned annoyed when he realized I was holding my breath.

“You can’t hold your breath forever babe.” He whispered in my ear and I realized who it was. Malachai.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Jughead desperately called my name.

“Don’t worry Serpent Prince! We’ll take good care of her!” Malachai called with a laugh.

“You son of a bitch!” Jughead seethed. I couldn't hold my breath anymore. I hastily caught my breath, trying my hardest not to breath too much in, but it was too late. I immediately smelled the bitter odor of the chloroform and a few seconds later my eyes closed against my will.

I opened my eyes and felt a sharp pain run through my head. I groaned in pain and tried to press my fingers to my head, but I couldn’t move them. The room had a dull light filling it, it honestly looked like I was in a basement.

“Morning Princess.” Malachai said walking in front of me with a smirk on his face.

“Your little boyfriends messed with the wrong gang. And now you’re gonna be with me, I’ll really treat you like a Princess.” He said and licked his lips. I decided silence was my best bet. Malachai on the other hand, did not like that.

“What’s wrong darling? Snake got your tongue?” He asked with a smirk. I simply turned my head away from him.

“Guess I’ll just have to make you talk.” He said, his smirk growing.

“Just talk Princess.” He whispered in my ear and I shook my head. Did he really fucking think that would work? Then I suddenly felt him nibbling my earlobe and I turned my face to stop him. Unfortunately, the only direction I could turn to make him stop was towards him. So when I turned my head he quickly moved his lips to my face and he managed to kiss the corner of my mouth. I moved away and he groaned. He followed my movements, trying to get his lips perfectly on mine.

“Stop.” I growled. I could literally feel him smile against my chin.

“Look who’s talking now.” He said with a mocking tone. I rolled my eyes. It was silent for another few moments, so Malachai tried to kiss my neck.

“Just leave me alone you Ghoulie as-”

“Don’t say it. We don’t want such filthy words coming out of your gorgeous mouth, Princess.” He said and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Asshole.” I growled.

“Well, I did warn you.” He said and untied me. As soon as my hands were free, because they didn’t bother to tie my legs down, I stood up and punched him as hard as I could. I ran for the door and of course it was locked. I turned around and he was now standing, eyes trailing over my body. My breathing became heavier as I waited for his next move. The veins were popping out of his neck and his hands were clenched into fists.

“You shouldn’t have punched me, Y/N.” He said after countless seconds of silence. He takes a step towards me and a shiver runs down my spine as I push myself against the door.

“Ya know I didn’t want to damage you too badly, but you just bought yourself a one way ticket to hell.” He said and threw himself at me. I tried to punch or kick him, hell I even tried to bite him, but nothing worked.

“Let me go you freak!” I shouted. I don’t think he liked that very much because he threw me against the wall, knocking my head and back on the hard cold concrete. I groaned in pain, but before I managed to get up Malachai took a firm hold on my upper arm and practically dragged me into a room I didn’t notice before. I felt the fear growing in the pit of my stomach, I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. The smirk he gave me told me it wasn’t going to be good. With his free hand he took a strong hold onto my hair and I screamed in pain, but it ended up being muffled by the water I was pushed into. I started to panic even more as my lungs began to fill with water and I struggled to get to the surface with my hands without any success. I screamed in the water for Malachai to let me go, bubbles forming from the air leaving my lips and floated to the surface. Just as I started to feel light headed, I was roughly pulled up and I immediately gasp for air.

“What do you think Princess? I didn’t want to hurt that pretty face of yours, so this was the next best thing.” He said with a huge smirk. He doesn’t even give me time to reply before I’m pushed into the water again, but I manage to take a deep breath right before I hit the water, which was freezing cold by the way. I just hoped that Malachai would pull me back up before I ran out of air, but I wasn’t that lucky. It seemed like he knew exactly when the lack of oxygen was enough for someone to pass out, which is exactly when he pulled me back up again. I gasped for air once again before he once again pushed me down again. I didn’t even have time to take a full deep breath, instead I was cut off halfway and swallowed some of the water.

My lungs were screaming for air and my chest hurt. Malachai didn’t care, he just kept going. And going. And going. And going. Saying that I was panicked was an understatement. He ignored my pleading, no matter how hard I tried. I looked up at him with fear and tears in my eyes, his smirk just grew.

Jughead’s POV

They took her. They took my Y/N! I shouldn’t have let her out of my damn sight! I should have had her come stay with me and take her everywhere! How the hell could I be so stupid? I immediately called a meeting after Malachai, I’m guessing, smashed her phone. Every Serpent knew what happened and we were all looking for her. We rounded up every Ghoulie and questioned them thoroughly, but didn’t get much. That was until I got the call from Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs.

“Hello?” I answered with a sigh.

“I think we know where she is, Jones.” Sweet Pea said.

“What? Where?” I asked, perking up immediately.

“Some Ghoulie scum said Malachai has a hideout on the edge of town.” Toni said.

“Alright, I want you to tell everyone where it is and to meet me there, text me the address. I’m already on my way.” I said and hung up. I grabbed my keys and hopped in the truck. I’m coming for you baby, just hold on a little longer.

Y/N’s POV

It’s been I think a week since Malachai took me and tortured me. He did it the next two days and I was now in shock. I woke up numb, realizing that I somehow managed to fall asleep again. My heart was beating in my chest, blood was running through my veins, I was even breathing every now and then, but I felt nothing but emptiness. I barely even felt Malachai’s arms around my waist, let alone care about it. He was not even an inch away from me, but I felt like I was miles away, almost as if I was dreaming. Maybe I was. Maybe I was in a terrible nightmare. A little voice in the back of my head is telling me that this is unfortunately reality, but I’m choosing to ignore it. Because if this was reality then I drowned, but not actually. Malachai pulled me up, and also pushed me back into that freezing cold water. Just thinking about him brings back pictures of water and a feeling of panic. I felt the fear and panic hitch in my throat, suffocating me like the water did. My eyes started to water as the panic finally took over, making my breathing quicken and get heavier. I gripped the hem of the shirt I was wearing, not even realizing it was a different one than yesterday. I let out a whimper and my body started to uncontrollably shake.

Jughead’s POV

We made it to the hideout and quickly got a plan down. We would go in guns ready, yes we got guns for this, and search the whole damn place. I would get my Y/N back no matter what. We all stormed the house and took out a few Ghoulies along the way, but no sign of Y/N. Until I found the basement. I rushed down by myself, which probably wasn’t the best idea, but I didn’t have time to think. They could be killing her for all I know. What I found made my eyes widen. Malachai was kneeling over her, calling her name as she shook and whimpered. He sounded panicked, something I wasn’t expecting. His legs were on either side of her waist and he was leaning close to her. I watched as he slapped her and she flinched in pain, but everything was silent. That when I snapped out of my daze.

“You son of a bitch! Get away from her!” I shouted and tackled him off her. We fell to the floor and began to fight, but I untilimently got the upperhand. I forgot about the gun completely and just started beating the shit out of him. It wasn’t until I was pulled off him by Sweet Pea and Fangs that I remembered Y/N. I rushed over to her and gently caressed her face.

“Y/N? Y/N? Baby? Are you alright?” I asked, but silence was my only response.

“Come on baby, I’m right here.” I begged.

“What did they do to you?” I asked, tears blurring my vision.

“She’ll never be the same again.” Malachai laughed while spitting up some blood.

“What the fuck did you do to her!?” Sweet Pea growled, lifting him up by his shirt.

“Let’s just say she won’t be swimming anytime soon, if ever.” He laughed and I heard Y/N whimper.

“Hey, it’s okay baby, I’m right here.” I said and pulled her in for a hug.

“J-Jughead?” She asked quietly, her voice full of fear.

“Yeah, it’s me, I’m here baby. You’re safe now.” I said and kissed her head.

“Wanna go for another dip babe?” Malachai asked and I heard her start to cry into my chest.

“Get him the hell out of here!” I growled. They grabbed him and roughly pulled him upstairs.

“I’m so sorry baby, I’m gonna help you through whatever that asshole did to you.” I whispered. The Ghoulies were really gonna pay now.

#riverdale #riverdale imagine #jughead #jughead jones #jughead x fem!reader #jughead jones x reader #jughead x reader #jughead jones x fem!reader #Malachi #Malachai #southside serpents #ghoulies #fanfic #request #triggering themes

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staliasjeronica · 3 years

Text

Riverdale S5 Ep11 Thoughts *Spoilers*

thoughts under cut to keep tag from being cluttered :)

- Oh yeah I forgot that Chad was blackmailing Veronica about the dirty dealings in her company even though it’s not her at all (unless it’s just been so long and I’ve forgotten but she’s my baby and I feel like I would’ve remembered but-

- Hiram and this dumb prison is one of the worst things for this show it’s a constant plot of people escaping and it’s so annoying like sure Hiram owns it and he was in the jail but no one has, like, taken him back to jail…??? Hiram is a fucking disease smh

- “back to remote learning” why didn’t you just stay that way though… like even right now in covid schools are opening back up and kids are complaining because it’s still not safe so like… just… go back to it??? I’m so not built for this world fasdhfkahf

- Veronica and Smithers 🥺🥺💞💞

- the way Veronica hugs Archie is so cute bc she’s so tiny but like she always gives her all and Archie is just 😐 never giving anything ahjfsdfsh it’s quite sad you can tell how done KJ is with Varchie lol

- “I really hate that I’m dragging you through this.” … what about constantly pulling him into your mob boss father mess that the writers refuse to allow you to escape from?

- “until you and Chad are officially done, I think we should keep our distance.” Varchie bones!!! you just KNOW that Archie has been looking forward to this because that man is whole heartedly in love with Betty and has been since forever and that while Chad prolongs the divorce papers, Archie will not be waiting for Veronica considering he doesn’t want her. Varchie = bones we love to see it!

- now who tf would join Penelope Blossom’s ministry… no one, realistically.

- can Cheryl stop being given the craziest and usually most boring plots ever please...

- Not someone holding a gun to Tabitha literally don’t hurt Riverdale’s best girl weirdo

- these bitches really haven’t aged huh…. poor Veronica though being robbed but like they stole some watches or something and the opal like that’s all you take..?? okay-

- Fangs 💞💞💞💞💞 also rip to him having to work with his ex tho

- STOP HAVING ARCHIE GO TO HIRAM WE’RE TIRED

- You know considering the whole reason why Hiram is still here as the villain and ruining Veronica’s life/growth to keep her in his plots al because Mark is a big soap opera celeb and apparently brings in money, you’d assume they would give him GOOD shit instead of everything he’s gotten. If they hadn’t of hired Mark can you imagine how much better off the show would be if they didn’t have to keep him around bc of his status????? God why-

- Reggie’s always there for Veronica muah…. oh fuck me I guess fjasjkdf

- “I work for one Lodge and it’s not you.” lmao okay??? you acting like that’s a flex, and that you’re working for the better Lodge who literally left you to die after the Serpents thought you shot Fangs so-

- MARTY BEING WHY REGGIE IS WORKING FOR HIRAM…….. YOUR DAD IS ABUSIVE LET HIM HANDLE HIS OWN DEBT??? God both Veronica and Reggie are always fucked over when it comes to their parents huh

- don’t you just love when they make characters act ooc for a plot ahhhhhh it’s totally fun to watch and totally not frustratingly annoying

- “FOR OLD TIMES SAKE.” 💞💞💞 we love Veggie even though they made Veronica act ooc and hurt him back then and they weren’t given an actual chance.

- “don’t be such a Betty” now why is Betty so surprised she only ever had fun when she was with Archie, when she’s with Jughead all she did was do what she wanted and order him around so likeefjhakdfh

- “he shouldn’t really be my problem anymore.” BUGHEAD BONES YASSSSS

- I know it was just a sound they used but like that squish sound when Darla kicked Tom’s face… did she like smash his face in damn what is this The Walking Dead?

- see the problem with them randomly bringing characters/parents in when they need them is that they’re never around so like no one really cares… like they could have utilized the parents so much (and Skeet and Marisol never would have left) and it would have been so much better than random appearances that make them look incompetent and awful parents because they’re never there during all the other times their kids need them. but we have to see the two toxic parents that won’t go away constantly??? literally what the fuck

- Betty calling Jughead’s writing cringey wbk she’s never liked his writing she was just stroking his ego bc she was his gf and had to be supportive lmaoo

- why are these 60+ year old men beating up Jughead like for why???

- so they just forgot that Tom was checking in on the convict huh gotta love dumbing down characters for plot!

- Fangs with his switchblade muah

- jealous Tabitha muahhh over a password

- “wait THE BETTY?"

- Cheryl looks so good

- Find meaning in his death… girl didn’t you not care that your husband killed your son over the illegal maple stuff I forgot the plot but it was something illegal and dumb

- “drain the vein” …...

- Reggie helping muah

- Why is Archie acting like an ass? like sure he doesn’t know that Chad is abusive and toxic but c’mon fucker you cheated on her and never apologized and you don’t even wanna be with her in the first place so why are you acting like you’re personally hurt sit down

- God Archie really hates Veronica huh… I don’t even blame him considering the shit she’s brought him into time and time again.

- Jughead was kicked like maybe five times yet he was fine falling out of a two story window and the serpent imitation but now he needs antibiotics..? plot convenience!

- literally don’t remember anything about Doc tbh or him talking to Donna and Bret like—

- ever since Negan people are obsessed with bats with barbed wire.

- also! yes please kill Hiram <3 I know they end up saving him bc of the opal but c'mon

- they searched basically nothing for five seconds wow such great detective work you guys!

- we know you just want his manuscript Jessica

- Cheryl with her rainbow skirt how cute!

- “daddykins” girl you’re like 25

- Veronica acting like she cares about Hiram fjsadhkfhas these guys thinking that they’d kill Hiram even though they need him lol

- bad bitch Ronnie we love her even though she’s gonna have to save her father to save others and get her opal </3

- not Veronica calling Archie first and not Kevin considering Kevin’s dad is there…. this is the pandering va fan service bs we have bc it makes no sense and it’s so forced

- Fangs knowing Archie rides with tools in his truck mmhm that’s a little sus idk how but archiefangs agenda coming through!

- no one would actually believe that Jessica ashkjdfsj and they take this bait…??? you gotta be joking lmao

- Jug got to help doc this time 🥺😭

- …. tell me why when he said boyfriend I immediately thought of Reggie I hate myself for wishing fahsdjkfsafj

- okay as cheesy and corny and awful the fight scene is since they posted a clip of it, them working together is so refreshing and nice we love leader!Veronica bc she’s so good at it. but the show only cares for Betty which is funny since she’s an awful detective fbahsdjfj

- my god enough with Jason’s body!!!!!!!!! you burned his body please let him stay dead let his body rest

- okay but the back and forth from Betty and Jessica is so good like I wish we could get that kind of rivalry drama type stuff all the time. too bad they refuse to let Veronica act like a normal person and get angry at being cheated on and such :/ when will Veronica slap the fuck out of Betty

- he’s not a blameless victim but Betty take responsibility for how awful a person you are PLEASE

- THE VOICEMAILLLLLLL Jughead only speaks the truth! it’s weird that he only realized what we all knew about Betty after but whatever, finally he gets upset like damn. also jeronica crumb he’s the only one to ever include Veronica smh ALSO Cole acted the fuck outta this voice mail muah

- the way Betty just sits there uncaring… she really is a freak huh god when will someone punch her in the face and take her ego down a million notches she’s so annoying

- “that’s darkness.” …?? what?

- the way bh’s relationship parallels jughead’s with Jessica though. the unhealthy habits, the bad energy, etc. except Jessica left it and Betty didn’t and it turned Betty into whatever the fuck this is. I miss s1 Betty :/

- so when will they sue Jessica for drugging them? mmhm probably never

- poor Tabitha being the only one who cares about jughead tho

- oh no I forgot there was a random musical number…

- you’re gonna have Betty and Tabitha act like THAT and not put them together so rude

- when will Cheryl be free from her mom. is was like turned on by abuse or something sigh why do the toxic (and most boring!) parents get plots and screen time and everyone else doesn’t...

- Veronica would be able to do Moree than pepper spray but whatever only Betty is allowed be “badass"

- fangs being fangs ugh so sexy my babyyyyy

- Trevor Stines is so attractive it’s a shame they only bring him back for five seconds to traumatize Cheryl over and over again though </3

- wow varchie in a pop’s booth what season is this again??

- god it’s so upsetting how amazing varchie would have been as just friends…

- the way he smiled at Veronica was so contradicting to the blank, “please don’t” expression when she was telling him she was gonna get divorced as fast as possible. why can’t he just admit he doesn’t want to be with her!!!!!! my god they’ve put off barchie long enough just let them be together so their characters can finally act in character and stop being so awful and annoying

- “this cause” what cause you fucking weirdo

- not Hiram threatening the mayor he could literally be your downfall if we had good writers fjasdkjfasf

- jughead how would you have killed him with a small wooden basket

- I like doc so much but I know we’ll never see him again until we randomly need him seasons from noow

- Betty wasn’t hit by the drugs until after the message though… how would she not remember? it didn’t seem to be doing anything to Betty until the bunker

- hopefully since they’re friends now Tabitha can make Betty act like a decent human being <3

- the way Tabitha looked at Betty please stop doing this to me...

- maybe we can finish that dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jabitha rising bughead dying we love to see it!

wow that episode felt like it was two hours long but thankfully I finally finished it… don’t have many actual thoughts but anyways hope you enjoyed my live blog of my thoughts!

#Riverdale #Thoughts #Spoilers

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thetradeway · 3 years

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Session 49 21 Aug 2021 - Faceless Jim

Duncan is at Matthew and Sophie’s house, so we’re just waiting for Ed (who is with us this week! He is back from the festival with a lurgy, which may or may not be covid. “Several people I was… Well, I was in a car with, have got it.” Duncan: “You can say ‘cuddle puddle’, it’s okay.” He did see Devin Townsend though.) and Mina.

Matthew: “Terrible things happened last week!”

Sophie, remembering: “*Gasp* Oh yeah! Not to anyone important though.”

Ardvack has no face, which was stolen by this creature:

Joe has edited Ardvack’s token accordingly:

We’re in the Underdark, as a reminder. Does Ardvack want Kessler to fashion him a face out of something? Ahleqs pats him on the shoulder and reassures him that we’ll fix him when we get back to the surface. Kessler wants to, in her spare time, work on a way of making Ardvack a face. He bandages himself for now, and casts Disguise Self so he looks like he still has his face. Matthew is able to edit the token and switch between his faces.

“Don’t investigate me too much.”

Tarragon Investigates for mushrooms, and finds two types that could be useful in herbal recipes, so she makes some cuttings and stores them away. One is green and seems poisonous; she could use it for her contact poison. (It’s like the ones you get in Fallout 4.) The second is blue and called a Nightlight mushroom; if you burn it, it releases a relaxing smoke; she could use it in her Relaxing Bark recipe.

Gideon’s ring says that the drift globe is trying to lead us east.

We decide to take a long rest; during it, Ardvack gives Gideon the stone of Shar that we found.

Tarragon makes Kessler some contact poison for her crossbow bolts. She can add a d6 poison damage on ten crossbow bolts - but the poison loses potency once it’s exposed to air, and is ineffective after 1 hour.

Kessler manages to make a slightly creepy leather face for when Ardvack’s illusion drops. “But I haven’t got a chainsaw. I’ll have to make do with a wood saw.” She will make him a better one when we get back to town. He takes it with two fingers and inspects it. He looks her dead in the face and says thank you, and tries to surreptitiously put it in a pocket.

We move on.

We make Perception checks; Tarragon rubs mushroom spores in her eye (nat 1). Gideon notices bones on the floor around us. They’re from creatures rather than humanoids; he makes an Investigation check on them but he’s not sure what exactly. He thinks maybe something medium-sized, possibly canine.

Have the bones been gnawed on, Ahleqs wants to know? He makes an Investigation check as well, but he can’t see any chew-marks.

Have any been cut cleanly? Kessler, Tarragon and Melaina see that some look half sheared, half smashed; it doesn’t look like a weapon was involved. Whatever did this ripped its victims apart; they are of various ages but some are pretty new, and they are clean of meat.

Uh oh.

The scenery starts to change. The large mushrooms begin to thin out, and the place grows more cavernous. The ceilings get lower, and there are stalactites and stalagmites. Kessler, Melaina, Gideon and Tarragon hear clicks and little scraping noises from multiple directions.

Gideon, with rising horror: “Some hideous creature dripping with ichor!”

We listen for more sounds as we move, and they seem to be getting more frequent. Gideon thinks we should check to make sure we’re going the right way, and uses the ring to illuminate the drift globe again. It rushes ahead of us and down into an area of huge stalactites and stalagmites; he extinguishes the globe.

Ardvack: “When I die down here… First off I’m sorry, for literally everything. But I was wondering if I could entrust to you… Carl. It was always my aim to find a cleric who could cast True Resurrection on him, so he could go back to his own family. I want you to promise me you will do your best to find someone who can bring Carl back to life so he can live a full life.”

Kessler wants to know if Ardvack can promise us that Carl wasn’t a murderer. He was bitten by a snake, Ardvack says. He was a woodsman. He didn’t look like a murderer.

Ahleqs points out that if Ardvack dies, we’re not getting out of here either.

Gideon spots some skeletons up ahead. “I fear I’ve made a grave mistake…"

Sophie, OOC: “Pun intended.”

Gideon makes a Perception check - a 12. At the end of the cavern in the direction the globe was pointing, is a large creature with a vulture like head with a carapace and razor sharp claws.

Gideon, eyeing the hook horror: “How important is this wizard, exactly?”

Ardvack realises that without the wizard, we can’t get out. We were teleported down here… Oh, it turns out that once we get back within the wards (where we teleported in) they will know we’re there and teleport us back.

What are we looking at? It’s a skeksis, isn’t it?

It’s a skeksis.

Ahleqs: “… Maybe it wants to talk?”

Joe: “Tarragon and Melaina, would you like to look behind you?”

We turn. There are two more behind us.

Initiative time…

Faceless Jim is up first.

(Duncan thinks Joe is sick of this campaign and is just throwing monsters at us to see how long we’ll survive. Joe: “I asked you if you wanted to go to the Underdark, Duncan, and you said yes so I have no sympathy with you.”)

Faceless Jim’s computer takes a shit, so he has Joe cast Eldritch Blast for him. Both hit for ten total damage. The creature ahead of us emits a hideous screech.

Then one of the things gets a go… It’s the fourth one, that we didn’t know was there. Oh good!

Gideon, who hasn’t turned around yet: “Oh, there’s two!”

It towers over Ardvack and foul smelling drool drips onto him.

Ed: “Does it purr and roll onto its back?”

It does not do that.

One of the attacks is a nat 1, but the other hits and it starts to peck some of Ardvack’s scalp off.

Tarragon hears a thumping noise behind her as one of the others attacks her, but both miss.

Before Ahleqs’ turn, a fifth one appears.

Me: “He is! He’s trying to kill us!”

The newcomer thinks the Grease Wizard looks delicious. It misses as well, fortunately.

Ahleqs casts Shatter. “Why are there so many?”

Joe: “Because they hunt in packs.”

“… Clever girl.”

Joe will let Ahleqs soil himself as a free action if he wants. His muscles are too clenched, unfortunately. Next round, perhaps.

One attacks Melaina and hits, and then it’s her turn. She Bonus-Action-Disengages and retreats into a corner to attack the one in melee with Tarragon. 16 hits. 37 damage! It screams and wobbles.

Ahleqs: “… And dies?”

No, but it looks rough.

Kessler uses one of her new poisoned crossbow bolts - a hit and a natty 20. Noice. Including the poison, 45 damage. Noice! It wavers on its feet and throws up a foul substance right next to Gideon.

Gideon: “Augh! Why!”

Tarragon Thunderwaves the two closest to her. The injured one is pushed away.

Joe: “That one’s having his worst ever day.”

Tarragon, brightly: “Good! I’m glad to have been a part of it.”

Carl is up, but Matthew has to go and collect pizza from the door. Once he returns, Carl dashes recklessly up to one and does a Slam attack. It hits, and the thing is looking tatty; Carl decides fuck it and goes for a bonus action grapple attack; but the thing is bigger than him, and may escape automatically. He gives it a go anyway. He does grapple it, but it has advantage to escape on its turn.

Is the river water, or methane, or what? It’s water? Okay, dwarven combat roll! Gideon lines himself up to get two of them in his sights, and uses the ruler to prove he can hit them both. Both fail the save for Aganazzar’s Scorcher!

“I do 28 roasting damage to these chickens!”

He gets a how-de-do-dis on the one Carl’s grappling - its feathers catch fire and it crumbles into ash. Carl gives Gideon a gauntleted thumbs up.

Ed, absolutely delighted: “Wait wait wait, I got my one liner cause they’re birds!

“I knew this would be a poultry affair!”

Gideon takes a badass sip from his magical ale jug. He is very pleased with himself and puts his hands on his hips.

(Welcome back, Ed.)

Another ninja one appears.

Ardvack, resigned: “Yep.” He drops his Disguise Self spell, and is attacked and pecked by one of the hook horrors.

Joe, entirely too pleased with himself: “What you doing, Ardvack? Apart from being digested.”

He Misty Steps the fuck outta there, and turns for an Eldritch Blast. It emits some high pitched clicks and the others respond; Kessler takes an Attack of Opportunity as it tries to retreat, but misses. It dashes to the back of the cave and is gone.

The two near Tarragon both attack her. Tarragon: “Bring it.” They do, and both hit. Tarragon, surprised but not especially inconvenienced: “Oh. Ouchie.”

Ahleqs does Eldritch Blast on one of them. How-de-do-dis! Yay! “I turn it into chum!”

Now a semi-professional coward, and aware that these things will have to kill a good number of his friends before they get to him, Ahleqs stays where he is.

Melaina hides and does Sharpshooter; 11 just misses.

Kessler steps up to one and punches it in the jaw. She goes for an Animal Handling check to try and tame one, but rolls badly.

Tarragon Rages and goes for an attack with her quarterstaff and rolls a nat 1. Butterfingers: You lose your grip mid-swing and your weapon goes flying (15 feet) away in the direction of your target. She looks over her shoulder to see who noticed; at least Ahleqs and Melaina, possibly Ardvack as well.

“… Well, shit.”

Carl goes for a Slam attack but misses. Gideon goes for an Acid Splash.

Joe: “Not until you do the voice!”

Ed, in Gideon old-man voice, as requested: “Acid Splash!” He moves, and turns his token around - and is genuinely alarmed to see Ardvack, faceless, standing behind him.

One gets a Nat 20 on Carl - he is Frightened of them for five rounds (Joe rolls on the crit table), and he takes 32 damage from just the crit, and then 6 more on top.

Another goes for Kessler but she reaction-Shields.

Faceless Jim again, and after some deliberation he looks in his mirror, re-assesses his face, pockets the mirror again, and does an Eldritch Blast on the one that attacked Carl. He rolls a one and a two on two d10. He basically pets it a bit too hard, like a kid with a cat. Ardvack bonus-action Healing Potions.

The one behind Tarragon hits her twice again. She’s raging so it’s halved to 12.

Ahleqs casts Shatter on that one, at level 3. “BLAAAAAM! Get Shattered, son!” (The somatic component for that spell is gang signs, it turns out.) It hits, and bits and chunks fly off. He has to roll a d20 (he’s been forgetting to do that) and rolls a nat 1, so he has to roll on the chaos table. He casts Levitate on himself.

Melaina rinses and repeats. 16 to hit for 32 damage! It looks rough!

Kessler once more tries to tame the one in front of her, beginning by punching it. The punch connects, but the taming attempt does not. She punches it again.

Tarragon goes bear and rips one apart, going to town on the innards. She lumbers toward the remaining two hook horrors, in melee with Carl and Kessler.

Carl is Frightened so he runs away, and the hook horror closest gets an Attack of Opportunity. 14 hits for 12 Piercing, but he has enough Hit Points to survive it. He runs to hide behind Ardvack, his gauntleted hands on Ardvack’s shoulders. (Bearing in mind that he is both broader and considerably taller than Ardvack.)

Gideon goes for a brilliant Dwarven tactic - the flank! Or - wait, no. He could always summon Rusty…?

We wait, while Ed has ideas. He could do flumph delivery on his spell! Wait, he can scurry - "such as only a dwarf can perform" - so he can properly place his cube, and Thunderwaves two hook horrors. Both succeed the save - and the bones nearby are scattered by the spell to reveal something shiny.

One is very injured and tries to run - Attack of Opportunity from Kessler and Gideon. Kessler’s hits, but Gideon swings with his magical tankard and misses with a nat 1. He rolls on the crit fail table - Sidestepped. Swap places with the target and make a DC 14 Dex save - on fail, you fall prone. The target has gone, and Gideon makes the save. Phew.

Ardvack doubles down and tries again. Eldritch Blast, one hit and one miss. 8 Force damage. He bonus action potions again.

Floating shop boy can’t do much so he stops concentrating on Levitate (even though it was involuntarily cast) and does Eldritch Blast as well. another hit and another miss. Ardvack, with his skinless face: “Attaboy!”

Melaina steps behind some stalagmites and hides with a nat 20, becoming basically invisible. She then misses with her attack. “Bollocks.”

Kessler turns her attention to the last remaining hook horror and warns it that it can end up like its mates, or it can be her steed. It makes some panicky clicks, but none are returned from the gloom. Kessler rolls her third 7 on Animal Handling.

Ardvack, calling from further away: “Just buy a horse!”

Kessler hits it for 7 Thunder damage and winds up the second shot which is a nat 20. Stunning blow: Max damage, and the target must make a DC14 CON save. On fail the target is stunned. It makes the save.

Bear Tarragon goes full Revenant, picks up the hook horror and shakes it until bits fall off. “And then I eat the bits.”

That was the last of them; Gideon goes immediately for the shiny thing he saw. “Gimme. Gimme gimme gimme.”

It’s a wooden ring carved with mice. He wants to cast Identify; have we got ten minutes? Sure!

It’s a Ring of Warmth. While wearing this ring, you have resistance to cold damage. In addition, you and everything you wear and carry are unharmed by temperatures as low as −50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Ed, suddenly realising something: “We’re ticking too many boxes - finding rings in caves, oh no!!!!”

We take a short recess for hit dice and tea.

Ardvack does not cast Disguise Self again. We all make Insight checks, even Bear-Tarragon. Anyone above a ten knows we have ticked over to the next day. We are now on the 2nd of Eleasis, in the year 1492. Ardvack reanimates some of the bones and calls the resulting minion Beverly. He is a boy.

Sophie, pinging something on the map: “Joe is this a mushroom? It’s all veiny and weird and I don’t like it.”

Melaina roots around for stuff, and unearths a leather roll of papers, quills, seals, sealing wax and so on. Joe: “I like to think that some poor diplomat has been ripped apart down here.”

Gideon reactivates the drift globe, and we follow. We continue through the caverns, in a general downward direction.

“You can travel at a slower pace and sneak…?”

Gideon, immediately: “No!”

Tarragon can be a bear for up to two hours; she remains so for as long as she can, but reverts back after a while.

We start to hear water. Ahleqs casts Mage Armour.

We are led to a bottleneck, and then a giant cave full of bioluminescent plants - ferns, and flowers, rather than mushrooms. Even the water glows a strange blue. We see a stone bridge crossing a subterranean river which crashes down from a waterfall. On either side of the bridge are two pillars made of skulls.

Ardvack, crossly: “Well this is going to go swimmingly, I assume.” He tells Beverly to cross the bridge - the eyes light up in all the skulls. Necrotic energy bursts from them, right at Beverly.

Gideon, waving: “Bye, Beverly.”

How many HP does Beverly have? And what’s his Dexterity? Not enough. Beverly is dust.

Ardvack turns to us with his skinless face. “You’re welcome.”

Hmm. Who’s next?

Could we wade? The water is glowing, so that’s probably not good. It doesn’t look too deep. Ahleqs wants to know if it’s magic. He makes an Arcana check - a 7. He has no idea. Ardvack takes the Help action.

Joe: “Look at Ardvack, making friends. Someone should have ripped your face off years ago son.”

Ardvack: “… I spit at God.”

The water is likely just glowing from minerals or something. Ahleqs does Eldritch Blast at the pillars; no damage. Melaina and Kessler look at the bridge: they remember when Beverly set foot on the bridge, the pillars adjusted to aim at him. They see burn marks across the bridge where other creatures have been struck before.

If one of us can get across maybe there’s an off switch? Melaina calculates how far she can jump, and aims for a boulder in the middle of the river. The sockets of the skull stay dark and the pillars do not move.

Could we use a mirror to reflect the beams back? Ardvack thinks it won’t work; there will be a mirror and an evaporated person.

Melaina estimates a four foot depth in the water. She can’t jump because she has no space for a run up on the boulder, so she steps in and wades square by square. “Does anything happen?” The skulls stay dark and the pillars don’t move.

Tarragon asks Carl if she can climb up on his shoulders as she would be swept away in four feet of water; he gives her a thumbs up and crouches down. Kessler doesn’t yet have a jet pack, so what will she do?

Carl ventures across, ignoring the boulder and wading right from the start. He lumbers slowly; he’s not a raging cadaver right now. He sets her down gently on the other side.

Matthew OOC: “So I assume Ardvack is eaten by the river monster…?”

As we pass through, we see that the water is perfectly clear. We can fill our water skins if we want. We do.

Gideon and Kessler are still on the other side. Gideon wants to swim. Kessler wants to jump at least halfway, and swim the rest.

Close up we can see that the skulls are carved from stone. Gideon uses his stone cunning to tell us that it looks like Duergar work.

“Oh dear. The Grumpy Dwarves, we call them.”

Ardvack is going to evaporate someone when we get back. He moves three squares and is told “Stop right there!” by the DM.

Here is what happens: There is a 40 foot-ish high ceiling here, with stalactites. We pass through two columns, and something makes an attack: a tendril reaches down from the ceiling and grapples Ardvack. Does 24 hit Melaina? Yes? She is also grappled then. As is Carl, and Gideon.

It then reels Ardvack in - he is raised 25 feet in the air.

It’s a roper!

Ed, OOC: “He’s ‘orrible! Get rid of him!”

We roll initiative…

Ahleqs goes first. After his customary scream, he casts Shatter. “That’s a good spell! BLAM!” He throws his gang signs. It makes the save and takes five damage.

Kessler hits with her poisoned crossbow bolts. Carl makes an attempt to break free from the roper’s grapple, but fails. He makes a breathy, dusty, dry sound.

Gideon wants to cast something, and can do so while grappled, so he goes Fireball. “How dextrous can it be? It’s literally nailed in place!”

Joe: “You say that; it rolled an 18.”

Gideon: “You bitch!”

He hears other screams up there. “Oh no, I think it might have fried our wizard!” He looks at the drift globe; it wants us to continue on through this cavern. He hasn’t cooked our quarry. Phew. For some reason, we never follow up on the screams.

Tarragon runs up to Melaina to hit the tendril grappling her, but misses. Two more tendrils try to grapple her, but miss.

The tendril holding Ardvack lifts him higher, and the roper bites him for 19 piercing damage. Matthew, OOC: “I imagine you all see something pierce me and come out the back.”

Melaina tries to break free. “Bazinga. Twelve! A mighty twelve.” The roper rolls a nine, so she’s free! She moves away and hides - but just before she rolls to hide, she is told to hold that thought.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

Joe: “Does 18 hit you?”

“*sigh* yes.” She takes four piercing damage, as a maggot type creature hangs from the ceiling onto her head, and gives it a good monch.

She’s at Disadvantage now, with her lovely slug hat.

Ardvack goes for a Shocking Grasp, but rolls a nat 1. (He is having yet another terrible day.) Crit fail magic macro: Not quite what I meant. The target of your spell becomes resistant to the damage type of the spell for 1 round.

Ahleqs makes a Perception check; “Ohhhhh, God.” 15 - high on the ceiling above him he can hear shuffling sounds. He calls up: “No, thank you.” He casts Fireball. The roper fails and takes 30 points of damage. “And is killed. And is killed…?”

In the flash of the fireball, we see that some of the stalactites are quivering and shaking.

He rolls his d20, but is fine.

Carl is still grappled. He wants to grab hold of the tendril and pull back, digging his heels in and trying to pull it off the ceiling. He rolls high, but the roper rolls higher with a nat 20. Dammit.

Kessler shoots with her crossbow. A hit and a miss.

Another Piercer drops down and narrowly misses Ahleqs. He gives it a kick. Gideon is up. “Well then.” He does Aganazzar’s Scorcher again and hits. “I burn ye!”

Tarragon runs forward an smashes Ahleqs’ piercer with her quarterstaff, showering Ahleqs with goo. He uses Tides of Chaos on his Dex check and his hair falls out again. Tarragon heals Ardvack with Healing Word at third level, for which he is not grateful. A piercer falls on Tarragon and hits her for 4 damage, and then a tendril reaches down and grapples her.

Another tendril reaches down and misses Kessler. A third grabs for Ahleqs and gets him. Ardvack is bitten by the roper; he throws up his breakfast in its mouth. It reels Tarragon in.

“I hope I give you the shits!”

Ahleqs is hit by another piercer. “It hits me square in my self.”

Melaina shoots for the roper. “Bollocks. Eleven.” She bonus action hides again “So that my worm friend doesn’t see me.”

Ardvack casts Shillshsldgksdkghsdglhjjhh and bonus action Flaming Blades it. “That much [damage].” Eighteen total, jabbing around in its gullet.

The stone part of the roper is cracking, and weeping some sort of ooze between the cracks.

A maggot drops past Kessler and splats on the floor. “I laugh.”

Ardvack: “Quick! Kessler, Animal Handling check! Make it a mount!”

Ahleqs: “Fuck it, I’m gonna do another Fireball.” The roper fails the save and takes 34 fire damage. “Oooh, hello!”

It is pretty heinously wounded now, and it uses its reaction to drop everyone who’s grappled. Ardvack and Tarragon are going to take some falling damage. Carl refuses to let go of it; he fully intends to pull the roper off the ceiling or pull the tendril off the roper.

Carl makes a STR check - an 11. “Awwww.”

Kessler shoots with her crossbow again - 17 misses, both times.

Gideon does Aganazzar’s Scorcher again, and the roper fails the save. How-de-do-dis!

“I scorch it like Doctor Octopus’ laser beam and it drops down but doesn’t hit anyone - conveniently - and it plops down on the ground.”

We squish the remaining Piercers, as they can’t do much once they’ve dropped. Carl uses one to kill another one.

We’ve solved Joe’s roper puzzle, but there’s still no sign of Ava, or of the wizard.

We take a short rest, before we halt there for this week.

#dnd #thetradeway #campaign diary

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lethesomething · 5 years

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Let’s rank IkeRev bros

I keep trying to get people into Cybird otomes, and try to advise them on routes to try, so let's break down Ikemen Revolution for both mine and your convenience.

Ray: The unproblematic fave. Likes cats. Sleepy boi. Hard worker in that Japanese way where he works too hard. His route is one of the less dramatic ones because he's actually somewhat well-adjusted. Tease. Has some of the best ending lines in the entire game. Boyfriend goals.

Lancelot: The Highly Problematic fave. Self-sacrificing idiot. Extreme example of that thing men do where they think they know best so they don't ask advice and just go gambling with the devil about the fate of the world by themselves. Horny boi. Needs a hug, like, real bad. Definitely tops.

Luka: Sweet summer child. The extremely shy one with the giant fuck-off sword. Keeps a diary, bless him. 'I wonder what these feelings mean.' Questionable grasp of basic human biology. Great cook. Someone tuck him in and make him Sleep for god's sake. Has really shitty parents.

Sirius: Onii-san. If you thought Hideyoshi from IkeSen had a big brother vibe, meet friggin Sirius. Likes flowers. The Calm One :tm:. Just wants everyone to get along. Spoils you. Probably knew exactly how much he wanted you from day friggin one but was too busy cockblocking himself.

Harr: The Rebel. Stubborn but soft. Vigilante. Socially awkward in the shy, super cute way. Conspiracy theorist (who happens to be right). Wears an eye patch to hide the pain in his heart. Would really like the band Smashing Pumpkins. Give me his friggin route already, Cybird! Let me hug him!

Zero: Sweet child who took up martial arts to get over the bullying. Pure. Protect him from any more emotional damage. I've only had Zero for a day and a half but if anything bad happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.

Edgar: A Mess. Where do we even begin? His route is the most High Key dramatic one that is currently out. Fakes it. All the time. Polite but murderous. Honestly throws up so many red flags? Has a mental turnaround so big you can see it from space. Perfect route for mc's with a savior complex and questionable self preservation instincts. Lots of sexual innuendo and teasing. Poke him long enough and all the sap comes out.

Kyle: A doof (that is his technical classification). Book smart and driven but just… so dense. Well-meaning idiot. The type of boyfriend that goes 'Shit, I shouldn't have said that' a lot. Comes with baggage (they All Do). Surprisingly chill attitude, all things considered. Massive drinking problem, though. Easy to please. The personification of 'A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou'

Fenrir: The happy-go-lucky one. Million dollar smile. If he lived in the 90's he'd be one of those eXtreme athletes. Rich boi. Like the only one that gets along with his friggin parents? Wild :tm:. Probably spends a lot of time crafting witty oneliners for when he shoots people. Pranks women by being super Respectful towards them.

Loki: Reverse Fuckboi. Clingy. Not too great with boundaries, actually. Save him from his crippling abandonment issues. May actually be a cat. Pretends not to like you but does… like so much. Cute but high maintenance. Expect to be this dude's entire emotional support system for a while. Unironically listens to My Chemical Romance.

Seth: The Rogue. Pretends to be your lighthearted friendly neighbourhood big sister. Is none of those things. Plays with knives. Arm wrestling champion. 'Slay, darling'. Great hair, ask him about his shampoo. His YouTube channel would be 50% make-up and dress advice, and 50% Tea (not the beverage).

Jonah: Diva. Spends a significant part of his route being an insufferable and overconfident child that was somehow given authority. Reminds me too much of Angelica from Rugrats. Pretty tho. Principled. His route has a mildly confusing but surprisingly satisfying about-face moment that is pretty spectacular. Seductively feed him strawberries and he'll burn the entire world to protect you.

Blanc: The Flirt. Knows everyone. Social butterfly. Crafts compliment with the same ease as he breathes. The reason you got into this friggin mess. Does great tea (both the beverage and the gossip). May actually be a fuckboi.

Oliver: Not a fave, just problematic. The Mean one :tm:. Attitude problems. Tinkers. Lives a literal double life but not in the sexy Batman way. I'm probably supposed to feel bad for him, but so far?? Eh.

#ikemen revolution #cybird #otome

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changelingvixen · 4 years

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Part 4

She looked at the finished dishes, a few hours later. Yes – she was happy enough. She’d made the curd from scratch and although there wasn’t time to make real Knights’ Bread, which needed overnight rising, she’d used baking powder instead of yeast to get a quick rise and it looked good. She’d signed the sachertorte with lemon sugar icing and although there was plenty to worry about – was there enough curd under the chocolate? Too late to tell now. Would they dislike the yeastless bread? Would the quiche be too eggy? She’d layered the vegetables in a swirly pattern in the top so it looked good. She suspected Royse knew as well as she herself did that food really was a many-sense experience, and visuals were also part of it. For that reason she wasn’t going to cut the Sachtertorte either; she’d serve it with plates, a jug of lemon cream and knives for them to cut their own slices and not ruin the smooth, glossy chocolate.

For a mad moment she wondered if she should have dyed some of it blue, and bit down on the giggle rising in her throat. Breathe – calm down. What happens if they hate it? You’ve lost nothing expect some pride and you didn’t have much of that anyway. You can get Apple and pack up and go back to Gridania and never think of this again. To her surprise, she didn’t want to do that, though. She liked the friendly Latool Ja and his companion, Gaheel Ja, another beastman living in the heart of Ul’Dah. Getting a free room and board was a nice perk. Royse seemed like a decent boss. And there was a strange sense of…well – glamour, excitement – about the place. It was somewhere between a bar and a circus – well, a Carnivale - and she wanted to see the magic. She was curious, she’d admit it to herself. Her skin prickled with nerves when she remembered she was serving to her boss and the star of the show. What was he like, this showman mage? She’d probably never have to see him face to face again, anyway, which was a relief, but she’d like to watch the show, anyway. It felt, for the first time, like a contribution to something greater, something vivid and fun and enjoyable.

A consummate businesswoman like Royse would have laughed at that – that she wasn’t seeing beneath the surface, that she was acting, in essence, like a customer, all google eyes at the show, but she’d never been up close and personal with anything like this. The theatre. The colour. It felt…unique. She’d never really been to much organised entertainment, because going alone was so dismal, but even the passing street bards hadn’t felt like this. She could see why the place was popular.

By the time the doorman – Ocher Mountain – had put a head around the door to say Royse was ready for the starter, she was feeling panicky, her heart galloping. I shouldn’t care this much. But she did. She couldn’t turn it off. Think of Apple. Breathe, for heavens’ sakes. This won’t even have been the most humiliating thing that would have happened to you. She ground fresh black pepper over the bowls of soup and clenched her fists for a moment to stop them trembling, then picked up the tray, licked her lower lip and walked carefully behind Ocher to the dining room.

Royse was there, and another doorman she hadn’t met yet, who raised a scornful eyebrow at her small shaky figure. Ignore it. You’ve had worse. Royse gave her an expectant look. Expectation was fine. The last guest was the Blue Mage himself.

He gave her a big gamin grin. She nearly dropped the tray and, cheeks a hideous and humiliating red, turned her eyes back to Royse. Oh yes, that was definitely a showman. He was attractive, although he wasn’t exactly classically handsome – although he had lovely golden eyes – but he had charisma. It unsettled her instantly. She wasn’t used to having megawatt smiles pointed in her direction. Her eyes must have looked pleading or at least confused, as she stood there rooted to the spot like an idiot, because Royse smiled a little too, trying to be kind. It said a lot that she’d rather face her potential boss’ face than his. Even out of the nice suit, in normal clothes, her had something she couldn’t quite look too long at.

She wished she’d eaten something herself before this to stave off the dizzy feeling.

“The name’s Martyn,” he said, as if he didn’t notice her discomfiture or at least was politely ignoring it. “I’m the resident Blue Mage.” She felt, rather than saw him smiling again.

“Pleased to meet you,” she said on autopilot, because her parents had drilled manners into her. For a moment she thanked them because without the mental memory she would have just stood there, mouth flapping like a fish.

“My name is Sthalmhas,” said the Roe in the doorman’s suit. He neither looked not sounded impressed and that was somehow reassuring. It felt normal, it brought some semblance of realism to the moment. She inclined her head towards him in a half-bow, her limp hands clutching the tray harder.

“Let’s have the soup, then, darling,” trilled Royse – at least someone was excited. She chewed the insides of her cheeks hard to settle herself and, avoiding everyone’s eyes, placed the tray down and served the bowls.

“This smells great!” Royse enthused, and she flushed again. Perhaps she could beg Ocher to serve the other courses while she paced in the kitchen. But they hadn’t dismissed her, so she had to stand there and watch the floor and listen to them eat and chatter to each other between bites, wishing the sands under the building would somehow rise up and consume her.

“I’m surprised,” she heard the biting voice of Sthalmhas, low and mildly…well, not disgusted. “I wasn’t expecting much.”

“I was,” said Royse, smugly. “I thought you darlings would know better than to doubt my skill at finding talent by now. After all, I found you two, didn’t I?” The Roe snorted.

He was saying something now, something jokey and complimentary, and she forced herself to not focus on the words. She got the feeling he was still looking at her, but she kept her eyes trained determinedly on the floor.

Her mind filtered out the rest of the talk until Ocher touched her gently on the shoulder. She nearly leapt a malm.

“Let’s go get the main course, eh?” he suggested, and she nearly melted with relief.

“Do…are you able to serve it, please?” she asked, trying not to sound like she was begging, as they walked back to the kitchen. “While I tidy up the torte?”

He smiled gently and compassionately. “Of course,” he said. If she’d been a different person, and perhaps if they hadn’t just met, she would have hugged him. “Ms Royse can be a little overwhelming but she’s fair, and she’s kind. Don’t worry.”

She wanted to laugh. She wondered what he’d say if she told him Ms Royse was not the problem here. Her heart was still racing so hard she could physically feel it in her throat, smashing a miserable rhythm up and down her body. What was this? Did she really want this job any more? A wild urge to just run out of the Celestium, never to return, gripped her. She could grab Apple and escape. They’d almost definitely never find her. They would get the main course and the tarte for free and she’d never, ever think of those sparkling golden eyes ever again. You literally know nothing about this man – any of these people! You’re not stupid. Stop this at once. A little internal scorn and shouting calmed her down to the point where she could hand the quiche to the amazing, life saving Ocher Mountain, who smiled at her again – the one age group that had always had some time for her had been older people, who apparently thought of her as some sort of misbegotten grandchild – and took the food to be served.

“Is the chef alright?” Latool Ja peered around the kitchen door at her as she stood wringing her hands. “The chef looked unhappy. Latool Ja thinks the food looked excellent.”

She mustered a faint grin. She’d had more positive attention from the folk here than she had in Gridania for literal years. It was ridiculous.

“I’m fine,” she assured the Mamool Ja, willing it to be true. He smiled.

“People here are nice. Martyn is very silly sometimes but a good friend. Martyn taught us Blue Magic, too. He brought us to stay here and made Royse let us live here too and keep learning. Even grumpy Sthalmhas is good person.”

“Oh good,” she said faintly. She could have done without hearing that. Being told he was a nasty person, arrogant, rude, something, anything, would have gone a long way to squashing this inexplicable idiot – hormone feeling. Because that, obviously, was what it was. Her body was stupid and so was her heart.

She didn’t believe in love, let alone at first sight. Crushes on stablehands as a younger woman had left her disappointed and embarrassed, even though she didn’t act upon them. As if the men sensed her burgeoning affection, they went out of their way to mock her. The nicer ones her stupid heart had decided were pleasant had the kindness to simply ignore her. In Limsa she’d smugly decided she’d grown out of being attracted to anyone because it was pointless. Loneliness was a state to learn to live with, and keeping her foolish heart safe was the only way to not be hurt. She’d never felt this monstrous backhand of instant attraction before. She loathed it. Being told he was a decent person as well – who clearly didn’t discriminate against beastmen either – did not help in the slightest.

Maybe there’s still time to ruin the torte, she mused. Then I definitely won’t get hired and I can just leave. But the professional in her couldn’t do that.

Latool Ja was looking at her curiously. “I’m fine, really,” she assured the kind beastman.

“If the chef says so,” he said dubiously, but he left her alone.

Ocher Mountain was her next visitor, and he was delighted. “They loved it,” he told her. “Have to say, I’d be happy to try any leftover cake.” He grinned at the sachertorte. The food. If they have anything positive to think of you, it’s because of the food. Remember that.

That grounded her a bit. “You’re welcome to it!” she managed a weak smile for him, loading up the tray with the cream jugs and plates. “I thought - they could cut their own pieces so they can see the whole thing.”

“Good plan,” the Roe said, balancing the tray gracefully. “You sure you don’t want to serve?”

“If you…um. If you don’t mind…” she mumbled, but he nodded.

“Not a problem. Ms Royse wasn’t bothered, so it’s all good.” He tipped her a small salute with his free hand and disappeared with the sachertorte.

Latool Ja came back in to apparently keep her company, or perhaps just because Royse had him on call as the candidate minder.

“So, you know Blue Magic?” she managed, trying to make small talk. The Mamool Ja nodded.

“A little bit. Gaheel Ja and Latool Ja are learning, although also are sidekicks for show sometimes. Before working here,” he laughed. “Helped Martyn sell job crystals and demonstrate blue magic. Not entirely honest but needed money to help people and not starve.” He grinned. “Martyn mean well and is good salesman and showman but not always totally honest with adventurers.” He waved a hand. “Is also adventurers’ own faults. They not read Blue Magic Spellbook properly.”

“Oh?” she said, and he settled in, leaning against the wall to tell her the story of how they’d first come to Gridania, via near-arrest for slightly dodgy sales techniques.

She gave a small laugh. Well, at least he wasn’t perfect, then. That helped somehow, knowing there was a solid reason to not trust the man. With a smile like that, she instinctively knew not to, anyway. Nobody who smiled like that would be kind to her for its own sake. But she wasn’t naïve enough to buy a dream from him like the adventurers had. She knew when good looking men smiled at her, they were expecting to mess her over in some way, and she might be unattractive but she wasn’t stupid. It helped, to harden her heart a bit. His face had been so open back at the table, his eyes interested and kind. It was good to know that was a lie.

“Yellowjacket think it was for own greed, but that not true. Latool Ja and Gaheel Ja also think so at first until found out real reason. Martyn not tell us. Martyn think he can solve own problems,” the Mamool Ja continued. “Martyn want to help sick friends by buying expensive cure and learn more about Blue Magic. Let people think was greedy and conman, but that is not true. Not really.” He shook his head. “Latool Ja think Martyn very clever and very good mage, but also very stupid sometimes. Latool Ja and Gaheel Ja would help Martyn if Martyn had asked.”

“Oh,” she said, wishing she had a way to say anything more than one neutral syllable. He sounded complicated. She could believe that, this man with the public face and the private, man behind a mask. It sounded like something she herself would have done, if she was honest with herself. Telling the truth left you open to hurt. Not that he would think like that – he wouldn’t need to, not someone like him – but presumably he had his reasons for things. Suddenly weary, she sat down on the kitchen stool, rubbing her eyes. Why did she care? She wished Apple was here, wishing she could breathe in the familiar, safe scent of the ‘bo’s feathers and hear his reassuring ‘kweh’.

“Royse kind to take us all on and help get medicine, though!” Latool Ja continued. “Everyone here nice. Chef will like working here.”

“I might not get hired,” she said dully. But her companion shook his head.

“Food best Latool Ja seen in Crystarium, including Royse’s delivered food!”

She gave a lopsided smile, shrugging a shoulder. “Ah. Well. Thank you. I like food. Cooking is fun. It’s…it makes sense.”

The Mamool Ja opened his mouth to reply, but Ocher Mountain knocked at the door.

“They’re all finished now,” he said. “And ready to see you!”

He waved her out, and she forced herself to stand and follow the Roe, not even managing to respond to Latool Ja’s goodbye wave.

Please just be Royse. Please send me away. Don’t hire me. Don’t look at me, don’t look in my eyes with those eyes, like I’m…like I’m valid. Like I’m worthy of your attention. Just…don’t ever be near me again. I’ve enough to think about and deal with.

#ffxiv

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gwaciechang · 4 years

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Love Run (4/10?)

“Welcome to my table, bring your hunger”

Yes, I know that line’s from The Horror and the Wild. Deal with it.

Once again, trigger warnings for Bobby Hayes’ life and everything involved in it. This chapter also involves a character with OCD whose rituals lead to an argument with the POV character, the discovery that an addict is keeping drugs in a recovering addict’s living space (a brief line that will be discussed later), and a heavy discussion of the POV character’s past drug abuse and recovery. Read at your own risk below the cut.

“Home sweet home,” you breathe a sigh of relief. Behind you, Bobby is tense and unhappy. That doesn’t change when he steps inside. You wince when you notice the mess. God, why didn’t you clean up before?

Well, missing the bus, making a friend, and killing a hitman might have had something to do with it. You shake yourself out of the memory before it can overwhelm you. You're literally too tired to have a panic attack, how sad is that?

You start scrubbing the dishes you left from breakfast that last morning into the sink. The handle falls off the mug, and you curse. That had been your favorite, too, because it’s the only one your ex didn’t give you when you two moved into this place. The only glue you have in the house is a children’s gluestick that couldn’t hold two pieces of paper together, assuming you could even find it. You resign yourself to a trip to the store. Bobby would probably insist on his own set of dishes anyway, and you do’'t blame him, you're the one who let this place become a sty, after all.

“D-do you mind if I help?” Bobby asks shyly.

“No, of course not. Just, um, just let me know where you put things later, and, uh, try to keep similar things in the same place. That’s dish soap in the handsoap dispenser next to the faucet, by the way. I have a gallon jug of dish soap under the sink next to the trashcan that I refill it with, it’s just easier.” When you realize you’re babbling, you shut your mouth with a click.

“That's smart,” Bobby’s smile is pained. “That’s normal person smart.”

“Normal?” you hold up your hands, which are still covered by his gloves.

Oddly enough, this actually makes him smile, and he gets to washing the dishes with his bare hands, even though it means having to touch four-day-old egg, or whatever that yellow crusty thing is. You go to your bedroom and try to organize your clothes, or at least get them off the floor. And that’s when you realize.

“Shit!”

“What is it?”

You poke your head out to say, “I don’t have a couch, and there’s only one bed.”

His face is grim and he fidgets when he says, “If you don’t mind, I could take a spare blanket and sleep on the floor.”

”I can’t let you sleep on the floor, Bobby, shit.” You take out your thickest blanket anyway, and go to the gaming room your ex set up to dump on the reclining chair. “I’ve fallen asleep here before,” you lie, you’d never used this room before. Bobby’s not paying attention, he’s too busy staring at your ex’s computer.

Right, he’s a fucking computer expert, and your ex, for all his uselessness, was very much into getting the latest technology for League of Warcraft or whatever it was he played.

“Yes, it is most likely whatever model of computer you’re thinking of. I don’t know exactly, since I’ve never used it,” you roll eyes and busy yourself with trying to figure out how to get the reclining chair to actually recline.

“I thought you said you’ve fallen asleep here before.”

Ah shit, you need to be more careful. “Um, yeah,” you hide your face carefully. “When my ex would fall asleep here, I’d usually come join him.” That actually isn’t a lie. “I hate sleeping by myself in that big bed.”

Bobby makes a sound, and for a second your heart beats fast with the hope he’s going to offer to sleep in the bed with you. But then he opens his mouth. “Have you considered getting a large stuffed animal?”

The idea is appealing. You hadn’t held a stuffed animal even close to your size since you were maybe five, but you’d be damned if you let Bobby knew that.

“I will throw this chair at you,” you threaten.

He honest-to-god smirks. “You can’t even lift it.”

You do your best and succeed at tipping the chair over right into the window. The headrest smashes into the blinds and starts to go through the glass as well, but Bobby catches it at the last second and very carefully tips it back.

“Well, fuck,” you say, examining the crack in the glass.

“I don’t usually sleep at night,” Bobby says suddenly. His fingers are tapping that nervous pattern against his elbows again. “We could take turns sleeping in the bed?”

“Actually, that might be a good idea,” you remember what Harry said. “One of us should be on alert, just in case somebody tries to break down my door, too.”

Bobby tenses at the reminder, and his eyes flick toward the door like somebody’s about to jump out right now. “I will,” he promises, rubbing the sores on his arms. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I can stay awake for a long time.”

“Well, so can I,” you think ruefully of being so high on meth you wouldn’t even realize a week passed by until the high ran out and you crashed, starving, hallucinating, for days.

“Don’t take anything, please. Don’t take anything that’ll keep you awake, and I promise I won’t take anything,” Bobby’s eyes are fierce.

“I won’t,” you promise. “I’d rather die. I’m not joking, I’d rather die.”

He gets closer to you, one inch at a time. “Well, don’t do that either,” he lays a reluctant hand on your shoulder.

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job of not doing that,” you try to force some levity into the situation. “Now come on, you barely have any clothes, and my groceries have probably gone bad.”

It turns out to be a mistake, because you forgot it was Friday and not Monday, and the shop is crowded.

“I don’t need anything,” Bobby says sullenly. He flinches every time someone brushes past him.

“Is it because the police took your money? That’s fine. I can afford it for a couple days,” you walk in front of him so you’ll deal with the crowd and he can avoid people in your wake. You also fail at trying not to think about work. You’re missing almost a week’s worth of income, and you don’t even know if Bobby has a job.

“No, I brought the box. I don’t like it here. It’s too loud.”

“Okay, let’s go home, and then you can make a list for me of things you need, and I’ll get it,” you start to turn him to the exit.

“No,” he takes your hand. “I’m not leaving you alone.” Does he realize he’s humming to his usual six beats?

That gives you an idea. “Here,” you take his gloves off and hold them under his face so he can see them.

“They’re yours,” he still doesn’t meet your eyes. “They keep you from scratching.”

“I’m not scratching, they worked. Now put them on.”

He does, and with his hands covered, he doesn’t stop tapping, but nor is he flinching when people pass by him. You’re not arrogant enough to believe it’s because you’re holding his hand now.

He closes all the blinds once you get home, then opens them to close them again.

You leave him to it, opening up the refrigerator door to toss the rotten carrots and a bag of things that could be kiwis or apples out. The cherries are a little soft, but they look edible, and so do the wrinkly oranges, so you put the green bananas in between them to help them ripen faster.

“I’ll do it,” Bobby yanks the groceries out of your hands and starts rearranging your food.

“Can you leave the fruit where it is? I want the bananas to ripen faster.”

“You could’ve just bought ripe bananas,” he says.

“Yes, but I don’t eat them that fast,” you try to keep your temper in check.

He takes the bag of cherries. “These are old.”

“They’re still good,” you argue, trying to keep him from throwing them out.

“They’re old,” he insists.

“You’re not the one who’s eating them!” your voice is getting higher now.

“I don’t want them in the refrigerator. They get old and they become breeding grounds for bacteria.”

“It’s my refrigerator!”

He throws the cherries at you before storming out of the room, and you just barely catch them. He’s tapping his fingers so hard against the wall that you’re afraid he'll break them.

“Bobby-”

“SHUT UP! STOP TALKING!” he screams. His eyes are clenched shut and he’s doubled over. You wonder if his injuries are still bothering him, and all your anger drains out.

You drop the cherries behind the bananas so they’re hidden from view. “I’ll leave the groceries to put away how you want,” you say as you walk off to your room. You close the door quietly to avoid disturbing his rituals, turn around, and find his box at the top of his dresser.

You know this is invasive, but you need to know. You of all people know how tentative the hold on sobriety is, and if someone has hard drugs that you know is triggering for you, you have to protect yourself. Still, knowing that doesn’t make you feel any less awful to start singing Bonnie Tyler again to hide the sounds of you opening the box.

Well, that’s a lot of cash and not a lot of heroin, maybe. You can’t smell it like this, but you know what it looks like.

You leave everything where it is and close the box in favor of something you can control: sorting the laundry. That’s how Bobby finds you, and he lets out a little sigh of relief when he sees his box hasn’t been disturbed.

“There was so much noise,” he says harshly, and then he winces.

“I understand,” you try to reassure him. “Your life just got turned upside down, you lost your apartment, you’re in a whole new living situation with another person, your life is in danger by people you don’t know, and shopping in big crowds can be stressful. You’re trying to get your control back.”

“So are you,” Bobby insists. “You’ve got a new roommate, that roommate’s reminding you of the worst time of your life, and you’ve still got nightmares of that man you killed for me. I should let you have your comfort food, it’s not my comfort food.”

“Which is why I put the cherries somewhere harder to see,” you say. “And if there’s anything else I can do, let me know, alright? We can compromise as long as we talk to each other.” You take tentative steps toward him. “Thank you for being honest with me. Thank you for not hiding or getting high to avoid having this conversation.”

“You shouldn’t be proud. I'm just doing something you’ve been doing for years.”

“Well, too bad, because it's my feelings and I get to feel whatever I want,” you say, standing up. “Now, I’m going to make myself some food. Coming?”

He does, like you hoped. Honestly, that boy needs some meat on his bones.

“What do you like?” you ask, getting your cooking utensils out and leaving the doors open so he can rearrange them the way he likes. He’s doing you a favor, really, you don’t have any organizational system for most of your kitchen.

“I want to know how to make your favorite.”

You can’t help yourself from clutching your chest. “Lu mian it is,” you say, taking out the yellow bean sprouts from the fridge so you could snap the roots off. “Could you take the shredded beef out of the freezer and put it in the microwave to thaw?”

He obeys immediately, the sweetheart.

“Great. Now get me the big metal bowl and a plate from the dishwasher. The bowl’s on the top shelf, the plates are on the bottom, and you can organize it however you like after that.”

“Okay, you see that big three-layered pot in the corner? Take the top two pots off, fill the bottom pot about halfway with water, and then put it on any of the stoves and turn the heat to medium.”

The water turns on, then off, and the pot clinks against the stovepot. Only once.

“What else?”

“Get a porcelain bowl from the dishwasher, top shelf. And then you see the sauces next to the stove? One of them says ‘light soy sauce.’ Pour about a tablespoon of it into a bowl. When you're done with that, there's garlic in the fridge in the same place you keep your butter in your refrigerator. Dice five or six. The cutting board is next to the sink. Then mix the garlic in with the sauce, and when the beef’s thawed, pour it into the bowl and mix it again.”

The microwave dings, and he pours the beef into the bowl. “Like this?” he asks.

“Exactly, perfect.”

Is that a blush?

“Alright, what’s next?” he asks when he finishes.

“Next? Next you listen to me thank you for following my directions perfectly.”

Bobby blushes. He’s so beautiful.

“Is the water boiling yet?” you ask as you wash the sprouts.

“Um, it’s getting close, it’s bubbling.”

“Okay, take two chunks of noodles out of the freezer and put them on the plate. 30 seconds in the microwave should thaw them out enough for you to separate them.” The microwave dings right as you pour the water out of the sprouts. You leave the sprouts next to the sink, separate the top two pots, and walk up to Bobby as he takes out the noodles. “Okay, do exactly as I do,” you say, taking one chunk of noodle from him to unravel into one of the pots. He, of course, follows your instructions perfectly and his pot is much neater than yours, the show-off.

“The water’s boiling," he says, looking at the stove.

“Perfect,” you put your pot over his and put them over the pot already on the stove. Then you grab a pot and pour about two tablespoons of vegetable oil into it, and crank it up to high. “Okay, pour the beef and garlic in here,” you point.

He’s already brushed the mixture into the pot by the time you realize you didn’t give him the spatula, so rinse it out quickly before stirring the mixture with it. Steam hisses, and you roll up your sleeves.

That was a mistake.

You cover the scars as soon as you can, but Bobby is already horrified.

“It’s not that bad,” you focus on making sure the garlic doesn’t stick to the pot. “They were uglier before they healed,” you try to joke.

Bobby rolls up his sleeves, too, so you can see his bruised injection sites. He makes eye contact the whole time, daring you to call yourself ugly again. You nod in acquiescence, and he takes over stirring for you. “How long do I do this for?” he asks.

“Until the meat turns brown,” you say, grabbing the bowl of sprouts. “Move over, I'm going pour this in.”

“Do I mix it in?” he asks. You’re so close to him that you can feel his warmth.

“Yes,” you squeak with a dry mouth. You don’t want to move. “A little more than that,” you say, peering at the pot. “A little more,” and technically this is good enough, but you don’t want to move. “A little more.”

The dry hiss of the noddle pot tells you that it needs more water, snapping you out of your stupor.

“Take the top two pots off,” you say, filling the metal bowl with water to pour into the bottom pot. Then you take the top pot off and put it on the bottom pot. “Now put yours on top of mine.” Man, you would love to say that in a different context.

When the noodles are done, you mix them into the meat and sprouts, and then you both sit down to enjoy your meal. Neither of you have rolled down your sleeves.

“I can’t remember when the noise really started getting to me,” Bobby says suddenly. “I remember the first time I lost my tooth, I kept counting my teeth. I don’t think anybody knew what I was doing yet. And then I had to do more and more. At some point, whenever I went out, I had to count all the trees, and if they weren’t in six, I couldn’t go to where I need unless I counted enough trees to fit six. So I stopped going out, things were just too scary. I broke my fingers one day, to try to keep myself from counting, and the doctor gave me Valium. It made me feel like I was floating, and when it wore off, I had to feel it again. When I’m on heroin, the world isn’t so scary anymore. But the noise always gets through again.”

You reach halfway across the table and lay your open hand down. “When I was thirteen, one of my friends had expired pills they let me take, because I was tired all the time and I didn’t know why. And I still don’t know. I just had to keep taking more and more of it to just stay awake, and then I started mixing other amphetamines. And then when I was fifteen, one of the people I used to buy from said he had something better than expired pills. He gave me crystal meth. He told me he’d inherited this mansion from his uncle, and it was full of the stuff. It was probably just an abandoned building, but it was always full of people using everything he sold.”

Bobby’s eyes are wet, but they’re looking right at yours, and he takes your hand. “How did you stop?”

You chuckle. “Honestly, my sister. My entire family stopped talking to me after they found out I was a tweaker. And one day, when I was too tired to care how much I took, I ended up having a heart attack. I still don’t know how she found me, but she did, and she called an ambulance and kept me alive until it got there. When I woke up, she was next to my hospital bed. She didn’t speak to me, but she locked me in her apartment while fluids poured out of me from both ends, and you have to really love somebody to do that while they’re screaming about how much they hate you.”

Bobby swallows. “Does your family talk to you now?”

“Yeah, eventually. It took a while to get my dad to come around. But having Chloe around to vouch for me really helped,” your eyes are blurring. You rub the tears away roughly, but they’re soon replaced by many more.

Bobby lifts his fingers and wipes them away.

“Thanks,” you say into your noodles.

“I’m sorry you were alone,” he says with way too much feeling.

“Well, once you get past the ‘Holy shit I almost died’ thing, you stop being so scared of things that aren't likely to kill you right this second,” you try to smile. It feels wrong on your face.

Your ex’s chair squeaks when Bobby stands up. You’re not sure what he's doing as he walks around the table, but his face is determined, so you don't say anything as he opens his arms and covers you in a hug.

#lucky man fanfiction #bobby hayes #joey i am literally begging you not to look through this tag

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librationpoint · 5 years

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Kinktober ‘19 - Glory Hole

Day 29 - Glory Hole 1589 words, Ray/Brad, Ray/Many, Ray/Surprise Guest In which Ray spend Superbowl Sunday on his knees. Definitely NSFW this time.

Ray wasn't really sure how Brad had organized this. The physical part was easy enough. A small section of the garage was partitioned off by a couple of plywood sheets held up by a few two-by-fours, easily thrown together in an hour. There was a padded adjustable bench, the sort for gardeners that could be used to kneel or sit on, and a surplus cot to lay down. Several gallon jugs of water, a couple empties to relieve himself in, assortment of snack bars, small little reading lamp, iPad and portable TV: everything you could possibly need to spend a long afternoon in your very own personal glory hole. That and a comfy t-shirt, exercise shorts, and jock; no need to dress to impress here.

The social part, though. How did someone even do it? You couldn't exactly send out an email to everyone at your command saying, "Hey, guys, anyone want to come to my Superbowl party? There will be chips, dip, and also anonymous blowjobs."

Brad had better be saving some of that dip.

It was probably better that Ray didn't know anyway. The chances that anyone at the other end would even know Ray existed was slim to none; Brad kept his personal life private and the number of people on purely on his side who knew Ray was anything but a friend could be counted on two hands and most of those were family. Presumably none of them would be coming within a hundred miles of the house.

Ray could hear vehicles pulling up the drive. He used his iPad to check on his lipstick; he thought it was a nice touch for the no-homo types and the shade looked great on him anyways. He was assured of this. He went back to playing Angry Birds as he waited for someone to work up the nerve and come out to enjoy himself.

It took a while but finally the door from the garage to mudroom swung open, briefly spilling light through the room as a man walked in. Ray switched his lamp off, got on his knees, and peered through the hole. It was dim in the garage, with only a couple small LED night lights plugged in near the doors to keep people from tripping over a motorcycle part and smashing their heads open on the concrete. And privacy of course, couldn't forget that. There was too much shadow to see his face, but there was plenty Ray could still make out. Thirty-something, thick build but not overly chiseled, tank and cargo shorts, dubiously generic tribal tat on his right arm, cocky strut. Definitely some flavor of marine or soldier, probably had at least one ex-wife and a $50,000 truck with crippling loan interest.

He knew what he was doing, though. He opened his fly, tugged his boxers under his balls, and after a couple strokes put his hardening cock through the hole. Average size, maybe on the plump size, dark, uncut but clean: definitely a nice started piece. Ray went down and started sucking without any foreplay or teasing, he seemed like the sort there to get his rocks off fast. That proved correct. After a few minutes he shot a nice, salty load into Ray's mouth, zipped up, and left. Ray made a tally mark on the whiteboard next to the hole and went back to waiting.

Maybe another ten minutes passed before the door opened again. This guy was tall, not Brad-height but maybe LT sized, shaped kind of like a stork, all long limbs and angles. Probably another marine, the haircut was depressingly similar to what Ray had worn while he was in, but the hesitance and general bookish look suggested some sort of POG, or fobbit, or whatever the fuck they were called these days. Maybe Brad was trying to put some hair on the guy's chest.

He hesitated about a foot away. He unbuttoned his jeans and tugged him and his boxer-briefs down to about mid-thigh and just stood there, cock still soft amid a ginger bush.

"So, uh... do I just put it in, or should I jerk it a little first, or?"

Ray wanted to say, "shut up, your stupid dickweasel, this is a complete violation of glory hole etiquette." Instead he kept his trap shut and stuck his index finger through to gesture for him to stick it in. The guy did, and while it took a minute to get him hard, Ray could forgive a newbie a lot of sins when he had a nice long one to suck on. He had some staying power, too, not just from nerves. If Ray were the sort to fuck random POGs he'd definitely be on the list.

Things started to slowly pick up after that. Ray could practically predict when guys would start showing up by how things were going in the game; the moment a time-out was called someone was bound to come by and drop a load. He spent the whole of half-time on his knees servicing a non-stop line of cocks, to the point that his jaw felt like it might lock open by the time play started again. Mostly guys seemed to be observing the cumdump equivalent of urinal rules, staying outside the garage where they didn't have to see a guy get his dick sucked, but also clearly waiting right outside during the rush from the speed they came in as soon as another left. The exception were a trio of marines so clearly boots that it hurt, with identical buzz cuts and polo shirts, who came in together and got a little noisy as they watched each other shove their cocks into a hole with about as much enthusiasm and roughness as you'd expect from that sort. Ray didn't think he'd ever been so eager to please gunny that he'd have come over to give his kinky girl a nice throat fuck but then again at their age he'd still have been on the receiving end.

The evening was basically an X-rated Dr. Suess story about cocks. Big cocks, small cocks, fat cocks, skinny cocks. White cocks, black cocks, hairy cocks, shaved cocks. Ray was in cock heaven. The one constant was it was all clean cocks; clearly they had been screened for familiarity with the concept of soap. That was more than could be said about the last time Ray had tried this for more than one or two guys in a row, back after he'd gotten back from Afghanistan. Right before he'd started his thing with Brad, actually, which he didn't think was a coincidence. Brad liked his mouth only metaphorically diseased.

Near the end of the night, Ray caught a flash of sandy hair and a familiar gait. The man was hesitant, slowly making his way over, which gave Ray time to decide to give his mouth a rest. He pulled down his shorts and drizzled some lube on his fingers so he could quickly open himself up. His visitor put his cock through the hole and with a grunt Ray backed his ass right onto his.

"Shit," the guy said from the other side. "You fucked-up horny hick."

Ray braced himself against the other wall as his fellow redneck did what any redneck did when finding his cock up a slick hole and started fucking him. The angle was awkward and the plywood barrier made it impossible for him to properly deep-dick Ray, but getting some backdoor action after working his throat raw felt great. He freed his own much-neglected cock from his jock and started jerking in time to the thrusts. He was already dripping from the hours of cock overexposure. It didn't take much for him to shoot all over the concrete floor, biting his arm to keep quiet. His mystery fucker came shortly after, leaving a thin trail of cum dripping down Ray's taint after pulling out. Ray turned and managed to fit his first through to give him a big thumbs up.

He got a, "You are so fucking weird," in reply.

Things died down fairly quickly an hour or so after the game was over. Brad had firm ideas about people going home once a party hit the end point listed on the invites. Ray sent him a text to let him know he was thoroughly wrecked and to put a closed sign on the door. After a while there was no further noise from the house. Ray was about to curl up and take a nap when some Viking-looking motherfucker came in. Ray did his best to give the man's oversized donkey cock the love it deserved but frankly his lips were about to fall off and he ended up mostly jerking him off until he came all over Ray's face.

"Get out of there and help me clean up," Brad ordered.

"You better have saved me dinner," Ray said, opening the makeshift door and wobbling to his feet. He followed Brad back through the mudroom and into the kitchen. "I'm fucking starving."

"You've been eating all day."

"They're not literal protein shakes, jesus." A soft snoring noise distracted Ray from his quest for something new to stuff his mouth with, and a peek over the back of their biggest couch revealed an adorable rosy-cheeked redneck marine curled drunkenly around a pillow. Ray gave Brad a 'what part of anonymous did you misunderstand' look.

"He didn't have a designated driver," Brad said with a shrug.

"You big fucking softy."

#kinktober #generation kill

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thestanhoe · 6 years

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Jughead frowned and swallowed thickly. “I don’t want him to go back to jail Ron. I really don’t want him to end up behind those bars again, I don’t know what I’ll do.” He sniffed and wiped his face roughly with the back of his hand. “And I don’t want it to be because of your father. If anything would make the two of them look worse, it’ll be bad. For us all.”

“I know Jughead,” Veronica said softly, head leaning on his shoulder.

He leaned his head against hers. “No, Ron, you don’t know.”

“I do Jug. Seeing your father behind bars just one more time will ruin you. I know.” She looked at him with raised eyebrows, as if trying to aid him to remember their conversation months ago about being more similar than they first thought. “I’m trying to figure out a way my Dad will listen to me.”

“Just say it straight out does it even matter?” spat Jughead and she stroked the side of his jaw gently, to calm him.

“I can’t lose his trust or he’ll shut me out altogether. Then they’ll be no hope. You’ve got to trust me on this.”

Jughead sighed and shook his head. “I trust you V. I don’t trust your family.”

“I don’t trust them either,” she whispered.

Jughead didn’t say anything else. Complete silence accompanied them as they sat next to the dumpsters behind Pops at 1am in the morning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some cigarettes and a lighter. Probably to give his hands something to do so he didn’t smash something.

“Life’s shit,” he grumbled, taking a drag and watching the smoke wisp away into the darkness.

“It is,” Veronica agreed, taking a drag from his cigarette and exhaling loudly.

“My dad’s screwed.”

His voice was tight, strained as if someone had him in a chokehold. Veronica frowned and leant up, spotting a tear glisten in the light of the streetlamp. She placed her hands on Jughead’s, as they curled into almost fists, and laced her fingers through his. He looked down at them in confusion.

“We will figure something out,” she promised.

“And if we don’t?” he questioned, sounding stuffed up and distant.

“We will,” she said, lifting their hands to place soft kisses on his knuckles.

Another tear slipped out and he ripped a hand away to brush at it quickly before Veronica could see it. She watched him with a half smirk.

“Okay,” he whispered, still holding one of her hands, and pulling her into him with the other. “Okay.”

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Wish I could tell you what this is, more context around it, what they’re talking about or just any extra information really but I literally just knocked it up in like 5 minutes because I realised that the first day of jeronica week is nearly over lmao. @everything-jeronica

#jeronica #jeronica fic #jeronicaweek #everythingjeronica

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teapotfiction · 7 years

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Ok buckle up kiddos...

...because I’ve slept on yesterday’s episode and I have a lot of thoughts. (The inner literature grad in me has been twitchy twitchy twitching).

Now, there were a lot of problematic things and inconsistencies which I don’t really want to get into in this. Mostly because it would take up the entire post, also because I think most of us are all too aware of where the real character stretches occurred (unless there is more to this episode than we know yet.).

So where to start?

Betty.

I think Betty broke all of our hearts this episode. Lili’s acting was astounding (did we expect anything else?). It’s heartbreaking because it’s the all too familiar trope of the person who most needs her friends, pushing them away. I struggle with the lack of communication between her and Jughead, but the tension between them was planted in the episode before. I’m struggling a little with the timeline of Riverdale too. Some sloppy dialogue led us to believe that it’d only been a few days, but the characterisation and more specifically, the dramatic changes in character suggest a much longer timeframe.

Betty’s character has changed. Season 1 Betty was desperate to keep people together; sometimes at cost to herself. (Think the Veronica/Archie situation, she was so desperate not to lose her friends that initially she didn’t give herself the time she needed to get over her own heartbreak). She wouldn’t let Jughead push her away in S1 E10; even in S2 E4 she accepted his explanation quickly for the sake of their relationship. The Black Hood is hitting at the very essence of Betty; her desire to appease those around her. Aside from the very real threat of, y’know, a murderous psychopath who may or may not kill those she loves, it is devastating to see Betty isolated because we know that is the very thing she fears. (Think back to the amount of times she’s defied her mother, or other authority figures and stuck up for her friends. For Betty, and her unwavering loyalty, her friends have always come first. It’s led her to bite her tongue, to go along with Veronica even when she’s felt uncomfortable, and maintain the friendship with Archie even when she was hurting. It’s also what we love most about her relationship with Jughead. More on that later…) The Black Hood is playing a deeply clever and manipulative psychological game with her. He knows her well enough to know that her relationships are her priority and her drive. Because once she’s destroyed those, at his bequest, what does Betty Cooper have left? He is destroying the very core of Betty; and by implication the very core of Riverdale.

Speaking of Betty’s relationships - this moves me onto Archie. I, for one, am enjoying his character arc. I think it’s important that he’s (finally!) being shown as someone who is a good friend to Betty. It’s a pity this wasn’t really featured in Season 1, because it made their friendship look entirely one sided, and made a lot of the audience fairly unsympathetic towards him. Had we had a bit more of their friendship build up before he turned down Betty’s advances, I think we’d have had a lot more empathy for him having to have that conversation with someone that he cared so much about. (No, I’m not defending the way he did things in Series 1; he went about it in entirely the wrong way and was also having a wholly inappropriate affair with a teacher, but - big but - he is a 16 year old boy and teenagers are horribly inept at dealing with things properly. That’s just life.) I do think sometimes we forget how hard it is to be the heartbreaker rather than the heartbroken because that’s not the story that’s ever focused on in TV and Film. Anyway, I digress. Seeing Archie and Betty work well in last night’s episode was important - just introduced far too late. It helped us understand why Betty asked Archie to do her dirty work and break up with Jug. (Must. Not. Cry. Must. Not. Cry.)

I’ve seen a lot of criticism of how Archie handled the break up with Jug. But consider this - Betty’s ‘It doesn’t have to cruel’ was indicative of her mental state, her desire to protect Jug and her need to convince herself she was doing the best by him. It was the only thing she could think of to convince Archie to do it. It wasn’t a realistic request. Betty knew this. That’s why she said ‘it doesn’t HAVE to be cruel’ - not, ‘don’t be cruel’. Subtle, but important difference. Because, for Jug to believe Archie, it had to be exactly that, cruel. It had to be cruel enough that Jughead would take it on face value and wouldn’t call Betty to verify. It had to be cruel enough that he really wouldn’t come near her. It had to be cruel enough that it would close off the final, vulnerable link between the two.

And it was. It was cruel, in the first instance, that she sent Archie and didn’t do it herself, because (as has already been discussed at length) it played into Jughead’s worst insecurities. It was also necessary, because she knows that Jughead can see through people (Ref, when he visits his dad in prison and says something along the lines of ‘my dad’s been lying to me for years, and he’s never been very good at it’). She couldn’t do it herself because she wouldn’t have the resolve if Jughead started to doubt the sincerity of her words. She also knows that he is particularly susceptible to ideas planted in her head. Her telling him outright that she didn’t want to be with him, would never be as effective as Archie planting the seed of doubt. Because that’s what he did - the doubt that not only does she not want to be with him, she’s been thinking it for a while, he’s been too blind to see it, and that she’s couldn’t tell him herself. It leads his imagination into overdrive. Why hasn’t she told him? Has he really been that distant? Is his new lifestyle too much for her? Is she too scared to talk to him now, to tell him the truth? How did he miss that she was suffering? Did she know he was lying to her at Pop’s? Because there’s a grain of truth in the way that they have been distant - and he knows he’s lied to her at least twice - when Archie delivers the message, choosing the words that he does (‘you can’t have them and her’), it’s all too easy for him to believe that this is real.

It also hinges on Archie’s character. Archie has many flaws, but he is essentially a truthful character. He doesn’t tend to lie. He sometimes doesn’t tell people everything, but if he is telling you something, it’s almost certainly the truth.

So basically, kudos to Archie, who was put in a very difficult position (and let us not forget, he must have felt sick to his stomach when he saw Jughead freely associating with the group of guys that he literally fought in the previous episode). Especially when you consider that Archie has quite a simplistic view of the world; good guys are good, bad guys are bad. There’s not a lot of room for nuances - especially post-Fred being shot. He wasn’t just saying what he did to stick in the knife or be unnecessarily cruel; he was saying it to be believable and because when he saw Jughead with the serpents he realised that it was true. Jughead can’t have the North and the South - not when they’re at war.

(Phew, that was long).

(The above assumes that the breakup isn’t just some rouse they’ve prearranged and it’s a code etc etc… I’d love to believe this interpretation, but the ending of the episode discredits this for me.).

And finally we come to Jughead. Juggie. Jug.

Oh geez. Where to start?

It is Jughead’s decision to join the Serpents before Betty breaks up with him that I find interesting - and problematic. If it had come after the breakup, the motivation could be dismissed as a simple knee-jerk reaction to feeling like he’s already lost everything. So it is very telling that the writers decided to position his loss mid-way through his serpent trials.

It’s quite the character change; this is the boy who literally chose homelessness over accepting his father’s life and was completely shocked when the serpents that he - and Betty - had been defending for most of series one, presented him with a bloodied body in his living room. Certainly, I think there’s more than a little bit of him that is seeking his place in the world and desperate to cling onto what he has left of his father. Certainly there’s a part of Jughead that’s always wanted to fit in. Series 1 Jughead found that with Betty; Series 2 Jughead is more ‘unmoored’.

Do I even need to discuss the lack of communication between him and Betty? I mean, what happened to them? Can we smash their heads together or lock them in a cupboard until our little beans start to talk to each other? What ever happened to that couple that we held a candle to as being one of the first, extremely healthy communicative relationships?

I am struggling with the writers’ decision to have Jughead embrace the violence of the Serpents. (Also, do not get me started on the Serpents’ initiation processes, and why are they a bunch of teenagers with just a couple of adults hanging about. It’s WEIRD, and bordering on too ridiculous even for Riverdale. And as for the bloody rattlesnake...). However, we do know that Jughead has quite the streak of self-sabotage, and is more than the ‘conscientious objector’ (He punched Chuck after all). He’s also used to being the one who’s left out. The one who’s family is unreliable. The one, for whom, things tend to turn to shit. This means when it comes to himself, he’s defeatist. He places little value upon his own happiness, and he will sacrifice it for what he thinks is the greater good. Sometimes, when you’re in this headspace (and especially when you’re a 16 year old, which I keep banging on about because I have to keep reminding myself that’s what they are!), you’re blinded by the idea that the decision where you’re suffering the most, must be the one which protects others the most. He’s not going to take the path that an older, more rational person, who is more invested in self-preservation might take.

The bit which sticks out for me is that I just feel Jughead would see the whole thing as a little bit ridiculous. We get a moment of the old Juggie in the trailer going over the ‘rules’ with Toni, but, surely, someone like Jughead - who is wise beyond his years in many respect and has a vast and sophisticated sphere of reference -would see the serpents for their frat-boy mentality instantly. As much as he wants to be close to his father, he doesn’t idolise him. He sees FPs faults, and until a couple of episodes ago, he seemed determined to avoid repeating them. I really struggle with how quickly he changed allegiance.

And then there’s Toni. Another allegiance change. I best get this bit over with quick because it makes me so sad. I really wanted to like her character. I was interested to see how the SouthSide was represented by someone who - unlike Jughead - wasn’t desperate to shake himself from its shackles. And I’m disappointed. Perhaps she’ll get a bit more depth of character later. Perhaps. I’m disappointed that she’s - so far - been brought in to compete with Betty (I am so done with female characters being pitted against each other). I’m disappointed that the writers have just shifted the Betty-Veronica-Archie love triangle to a Jughead-Betty-Toni one. She’s so obviously designed to be the opposite of Betty (even down the the clothes; black vs pastels), and Jughead has been her aim since she arrived. He carries the mystique of being Serpent royalty (to her at least, he doesn’t seem to hold that for the other serpents). It feels a little forced. I’ve have really liked her to be a friend. And if she had ulterior motives, did they have to be romantic?

So much about THAT scene upset me. Okay. So we have Jughead, at his absolute lowest, completely vulnerable. He’s lost everything, and feels like all his ties to the North have been severed in the worst possible way. But let’s not cast him as a victim entirely. He must have had an inkling about Toni’s intentions - from her volunteering to show him around on day one, to her hanging about his trailer, her (subtle but still evident) insults towards Betty, the signs have been there and he’s never discouraged her.

Actually, there are quite a few comments from Jughead throughout the episode that suggest he might be a little interested - or intrigued. (‘It was something you said, actually.’ etc). Here, he is the one who lets her in; he volunteers that Betty is a non-issue. Whether or not we want to accept it, it certainly looks like he wants to kiss her. And he kisses her back. He leans in and kisses her back. Not cool Jug. Did you want my heart to splinter into about a thousand pieces on the floor? If it was just the kiss and no comments, I’d be feeling a little bit better about the situation. But the combination…. Ack.

Until we see next week’s episode and the aftermath of the kiss of doom (sorry. Sorry. I just.. I’m not okay.) it’s hard to analyse exactly what’s going on with Jughead here. Is it desperation for something tangible? Is it that he’s realised there could be something with Toni, that represents his new life? (The one he can actually have - not the one that he felt like he was just chasing all the time). Is it purely a moment of weakness, wanting to feel close to someone to fill the void left by Betty? (Please. Please. Please). Will he regret it or pursue it? I’m too blinded by what I want to happen to be able to comment on that directly.

All I know is that the saddest sight of the show for me was Jughead sitting in his trailer, icepack on his head, new tattoo sealing his fate (the permanency of that really upset me. He’s fully committed. There’s no going back.) leaning in towards Toni - because he’s literally got no one else. He’s spiralling; he’s been thrust into a horrible situation but made it about a thousand times worse for himself.

Actually, no. The saddest sight of the entire show was Betty, who doesn’t have anyone.

Thanks Riverdale Writers. I didn’t want my mascara to stay on anyway.

(I don’t actually expect anyone to read all the way through, I just needed to get things off my chest).

TL;DR

I’m heartbroken.

Someone needs to have a word with Jug.

His foster parents are going to have a tough time explaining the state of his face to social services should they pop in anytime soon.

I vote we all step in to wrap Betty in cotton wool and protect her from everything.

Of all the crimes that the Black Hood has committed, breaking up Bughead was his worst.

#riverdale season 2 #riverdale #jughead jones #betty x jughead #betty cooper #archie andrews

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nanyoky · 7 years

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veronica b like “this is a test- not for you, but for my dad. all you have to do is learn a new language and stop bringing up that weird Team Kickass thing you’ve started kay love you byyeeee” bless her things are going to get rocky between them real fast

betty walks in her front door and immediately asks what’s wrong because her empathy senses were tingling

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT

“Your secrets, your sins...” I HAVE CONCERN OVER THIS PHRASING

“i am the wolf” please PLEASE give me the scene in which cheryl literally kills someone in the woods while “little red riding hood” by sam and the pharohs plays in the background PLEASE let cheryl kill the black hood with campy vintage halloween tunes gracing this already glorious soundtrack

also now it’s confirmed the hood is a fucking morality avenger, I AM EVEN MORE WORRIED ABOUT KEVIN’S DUMB RECKLESS BUTT

did they really think alice fucking cooper didn’t make a copy what is this amateur hour

so we all know jug is going to lose his spot writing for the paper by getting involved in serpent stuff right like does anyone think this is going to last more than two episodes

principal weatherby coming in strong for the team rn. i mean we all know this red circle thing is going to end badly but i do appreciate his support for his students’ passions

this guy’s actual name is sweetpea and they have to repeat it several times so we know know it’s real

Polly swans in like “I’M FUCKING LEAVING TOWN” because she and joaquin are both sensible humans they should start a club

“I am an unwed mother carrying my cousin’s baby- i am the POSTERCHILD OF SIN” tattoo this line to my fucKING ASS

betty is beyond snappy comebacks and just makes the BETTY FACE at alice i love this show

are things WEIRD and DRAMATIC between kevin and moose and midge god i hope so

kevin sure breaks a lot of hearts for the “only gay kid in town” where is he finding these helpless smitten babies to ruin for anyone else

i love hermione and her conflicted well dressed ass

“I thought you said no weapons” “i’ve had this bat since i was ten” like that somehow negates it’s skull smashing properties i love you archie

“i thought you liked me reckless” they are trying REALLY DAMN HARD this season to convince us that jughead is the badboy in the relationship when we all know he’s the human gummy bear and betty is the baddest boy around

so we ot3 bughead+toni right because toni really wants a bite of that blondie

lodges are the shadiest of shade and we all know this dinner is going to go terribly but HOW TERRIBLY

“you precious, beautiful, compulsive piece of trash”- me @ every character on this show

ETHEL Y THE FUQ YOU WALKING HOME ALONE IN THE DARK

Kev do you seriously just follow whatever dude you see you are 16 fucking CHILL YOUR THIRST YOU WILL DIE

“don’t be sorry *hugs*” archie is such a dumb boy but a good boy protect him protect him with all your might

i am living for this drama between kevin and betty because they are both so right and so wrong all at once and their poor choices make such total sense for both of them bless this plotline this outburst is so heartbreaking honestly i know it’s not going to happen but bring joaquin back because he looked at kevin like the sun shone out his ass and how could kevin do dangerous things when he has someone like that around joaquin would keep him safe by sheer force of smitten-ness

i mean i am worried but i think we all knew juggie was gunna get beat up at least once or five times at this school

#Riverdale spoilers #unsubtle highschool suburban gothic of my dreams #nell liveblogs

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creativeashproductions · 7 years

Text

Simmer // Archie Andrews

Summary: Archie and you have a fight when Veronica can’t seem to understand that Archie isn’t single but that doesn’t stop her from kissing him. During ‘Secrets and Sins’ some things you didn’t know are revealed causing a rift but with the sex be enough to convince you how much Archie cares?

Characters: Reader x Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper x Jughead Jones, Veronica Lodge, Kevin Keller, Cheryl Blossom, Chuck Clayton, Dilton Doiley, FP Jones, Jason Blossom (mentioned) and Ms. Grundy (mentioned).

Words: 3126

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I do not own Riverdale or the characters involved. Some parts of the dialogue from the episode has been changed to fit the fic.

Warnings: Swearing, underage drinking, party, fighting, and smut.

Author: Caitsy

A/N: This was two requests I put into one!

Master List

Prompt List

ASK US A QUESTION LIST

The minute Archie told you about Betty throwing Jughead a birthday party you knew it would go bad. When you were young Mrs. Jones would babysit you for extra cash, your parents doubled the average pay to her. That meant you grew up close with Jughead as if you were siblings or really close cousins and you knew how much he hated his birthday.

You were shocked when Archie allowed the get together build into a fill fledged high school part with two kegs in attendance. Your boyfriend was acting odd but refused to tell you why and you didn’t appreciated Veronica making eyes at your oblivious boyfriend.

He was currently getting smashed with the football team without a care in the world. You were an odd couple being the he was a musical jock and you spent your time pouring over scripts for drama. You were a drama geek since you could remember and you breathed the acting world in.

“Poor Archie.” Veronica, one of Archie’s new friends, said holding a red solo cup in her left hand.  “What do you mean?” You asked the raven haired girl.

“He looks like he needs some cheering up.”

“And what makes you think you should be the one cheering him up?” You questioned raising one eyebrow at her.

“I have experience with problems with parents marriages. He needs a real-HEY!” Veronica exclaimed at her soaking shirt with drops of your drink off her face.

You see already see the steam coming out of the other girls ears as if she could take you on with her nails done perfectly and her ‘elegance’. You could careless when you were a little territorial over your boyfriend and it went vice versa too.

“Stay away from my boyfriend or you’ll have a black eye to match you hair.” You spat reaching for the cup you saw Betty holding near you. She frowned before noticing a soaking Veronica before she ushered her to clean her up.

You chugged the drink before strutting over to Archie to him into a kiss that curled your toes. Kissing him only got better and better as you continued to date. You meant a great deal to each other with the feelings about hard times in your lives. Archie wouldn’t tell a soul but you had held it more than once when he got down about his parents being separated and barely seeing his mother.

Veronica was surprised when Kevin followed Betty and her into the bathroom where he jumped onto the counter. He informed his new fired about how Archie and you had become exclusive a mere a two weeks after Grundy left. Truthfully Archie and you hooked up a few times before Grundy even left town which looking back Archie would have preferred that getting out.

“The became exclusive after Grundy fled town, something about helping each other through tough times. There was a party in the beginning of summer and the two of them hooked up.That’s why Betty and Y/N aren’t as close as they used to be.”

“She took Archie from you?” Veronica asked looking at the blonde.

“Doesn’t matter anymore. I have Jughead and I’m happy with him.” Betty blushed.

You however were in the middle of making out with the redhead in the corner of the living room and when his lips began to explore your neck your mind began to look back. You weren’t afraid to admit that you loved sex and most of the school knew also that you would frequently get it on with your current relationships so they couldn’t actually call you a slut. The thing about Archie was that he made you feel nervous like you were still that fourteen year old virgin. You knew that he would be your last kiss and partner with the amount of love you shared between each other.

You were filling up your cup with water when you saw Jughead rushing his way through the busy house. He was aiming for the front door not bothering to really watch his surroundings. You could understand, he didn’t like his birthday for reasons you never knew and the get together wasn’t going to stay small either. Get togethers never stay small in Riverdale at an empty house.

Archie had excused himself earlier following a fight with Valerie. He had confided in you that she had been helping him with music before he officially asked you out. If you watched, Val’s eyes would follow Archie and you just knew that she had wanted more than business to happen between them.

“Jughead?” You called despite worrying about your boyfriend.

“Hey, Y/N.” He said faking a smile.

“You okay?” You asked coming closer to the boy.

“Not really. I need to get out of here.” He admitted, “Honestly if we were alone I would hug you.”

You couldn’t hold back the smile as his words because if anyone asked about Jughead they would all get the ‘he’s a loner, hates anything to do with personal touch’. Really he would hug you gladly seeing as you were literally close as siblings with the childhood.

“Do you want to take a walk? We could walk to the the playground and reminisce on easier times.” You offered knowing he would turn it down. Jughead always needed to be alone when he cooled down from a fight. It’s was a Jughead thing you had become accustomed to.

“I’d like to be alone. Tomorrow we can hang out.”

You hummed as he made a little conversation with Ethel given that since everyone had heard about her father people were actually being nicer to her. She had woven into your small group of friends even if she wasn’t always hanging out. You however glared when Chuck and Cheryl intercepted Jughead at the front door.

“Whoa, where you going guest of honour?” Chuck said pushing Jug back into the middle of the foyer.

“Get out of my way Chuck.” Jughead retorted.  “Oh, but you can’t leave now.” Cheryl playfully pouted, “We haven’t eve played our little game yet.”

“Seriously Cheryl? Your inner twelve year old is showing.” You snorted folding your arms as Archie came down to lean against the railing.

“Shut up.” She sneered, “Listen up party people! Everyone has their secrets and we’ve all done our fair share of sinning. THat’s one thing my dear brothers death has revealed.”

“Shocker she’s brought up Jason again.” You mumbled rolling your eyes.

“So let’s play a game to get those secrets in the open.” Cheryl said flipping the lock on the door closed.

Everyone congregated in the living room with seats filling up Archie pulled you down on his lap. You could feel the jealous glare from Veronica as you heatedly kissed your sinfully hot boyfriend with caring about the people around you.

“What the hell is ‘Secrets and Sins’?” Jughead asked beyond annoyed he wasn’t allowed to leave.

“It’s a variation of ‘Truth or Dare’…in which we own our truths by telling it as it is. I’ll start the game with Veronica Lodge.”

“Naturally.” The raven haired New York native replied breaking her glare from you and Archie.

“Let’s begin with the day you and your mob wife of a mother came to town fro a so called fresh start. Tell us, Veronica what’s so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?”

You went still as the news settled in that before you were together Archie had hooked up with the little fashionista. This was incredibly new to you given that if it was at Cheryl’s party that happened after every dance you hadn’t been there. You barely listened to Archie frantically whispering in your ear.  “It didn’t mean anything. It was stupid kiss that she initiated.”

“Sure.” You muttered slumping against him. He groaned knowing he had fucked up any chance of convincing you to stay over.

“That was your doing.” Veronica replied sending a small smirk towards you.  “Moving on to dear Daddy Lodge. ISn’t it true that your father, from prison, illegally purchased the drive in land? Which makes me wonder what else is he doing from behind bars?”

“Well I can’t speak for my father but I can think of someone with a very dirty secret, specifically Cheryl killing her very own brother.”

“Everyone knows how much I loved my brother.” Cheryl said shifting on her feet, you felt bad for the girl when you saw the tears welling up before you remembered how awful she was.

“Exactly. But did you love him maybe in ways that a sister shouldn’t love a brother? And as you got older, Jason started thinking it was strange, unnatural so he chose Polly over you. So you shot him between the eyes with one of your father’s many hunting rifles.”

“This is riveting. I can’t breathe.” Kevin whispered towards his boyfriend.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” You whispered to Archie wanting to get away from the boy, yet you couldn’t stop yourself from looking towards Cheryl, “Cheryl we can’t forget how your brother knocked up Polly…the girl stowed away in your mansion away from the people who would genuinely want to care for her.”

With the silence you left pushing Archie’s arms from around your waist to go limp beside him. You vaguely heard Dilton Doiley insert himself into the conversation before joining in like the follower he was. You never did get that kid with his severe problem with controlling that scout troupe he was in charge of.

“This game is sick.” Dilton Doiley said as Archie walked your back go up the stairs, “I wanna go next.”

“That’s the spirit, Doiley. What secrets do you have to reveal to us?” Chuck said grinning towards the boy taking a sip from the cup of alcohol.

“I saw Ms. Grundy’s car by Sweetwater River the day Jason went missing.” Doiley said shifting his attention towards an uncomfortable Archie, “I told Betty and Jughead, and then Ms. Grundy quit her job…and left Riverdale, like, two days later and let’s not forget that Archie was also at Sweetwater that morning.”

“Oh, my god. Colour me shocked Archie Andrews, is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight? Because you and Ms. Four-Eyes were pulling a Mary Kay Letourneau? Does your girlfriend know about your affair?”

“Don’t say anything Archie. Don’t get in the gutter with them.” Veronica said taking her chance without his girlfriend in the room.

“Wait, what? Andrews was banging a teacher? Damn, I wish I would’ve known I would’ve added you and Ms. Grundy to the book of conquests.” Chuck said walking towards his former teammate.

“Classy, Chuck, as always.”

“Wait a second explains why the only girl Archie could get was with the towns resident Daddy Issues princess.” Cheryl said looking around the room, “Aren’t you the pair…daddy issues and mother issues…Anything to say for yourself, Arch? Were a victim or a perpetrator?” You had been on your way down when you had heard the heard Cheryl bring your family issues into the conversation. You could careless what she thought of you but you felt terrible when Archie didn’t even stand up for you like you would have done, instead your blonde childhood best friend tried to steer the attention away from both Archie and you. That, you would forever be grateful for.

“Doiley plays with guns.” Betty inserted glaring at the popular Blossom.  “Big whoop, Betty. So Doiley’s a psychopath. Everyone knows that.”

You felt one lone tear trail a path down your cheek feeling your heartbreak when Archie still stayed quiet. Maybe he wasn’t the boy you thought he was.

“Well, I guess it’s my turn now. Boy, do I have a twisted secret to reveal, starring Betty Cooper.”

“Leave her the hell alone, Chuck.” Archie pushed in. A small gasp fell from your lips as your boyfriend defended Betty but not you.

“Shut up, Andrews.” Chuck exclaimed, “Look, you may get a free peep show every night, but you do not know her. Hell Betty doesn’t even know herself. Everybody know why I got suspended but what you don’t know…she dressed up like a hooker, in a God-awful black wig. Drugged me, handcuffed me in the Jacuzzi and well I almost drowned until she got me to say what she wanted to hear and then she really lost it. She actually thought she was Polly but hey you knew about this, right Jughead?”

You rushed in the room stalking up to Chuck like you were a predator before anyone could do anything and send Chuck down in one punch.

“You little asshole. You piece of shit human!” You growled kneeling down to grab the collar of his shirt to raise him a little off the ground, “You go around thinking your shit don’t stink, using girls and discarding them like a girl with barbies and if we all think about it…how many of those girls didn’t say no because they couldn’t.”

You slammed him back on the ground before grabbing your sweater from near Archie before hearing Chuck mutter a slur. You turned seeing the boy charging at you but in a swift movement Jughead’s fist connected with the other side of Chuck’s face. You were in shock before Chuck landed a punch on Jughead sending him to the ground. Everything around you blurred as FP, who you didn’t even know was hear, shoved the teen away.

You had stowed away your things in Archie’s room where it would safe from everyone at the party. You weren’t as pissed off with Archie as before so you had decided to talk to the boy before you fucked up by walking out on him. You hesitated when you peaked around the corner to see Archie and Veronica sitting close on the couch surrounded by trash.

“Do you ever wonder…what if you’d done things differently? What if you had made different choices?”

“What do you mean, different choices?”

“Everyday I wonder what if I’d left Riverdale, with my mom? Would things be…would I be better off?” Archie revealed as you watched the intimate exchange.

“I can’t answer that, Archie, but we wouldn’t have met and that would’ve been a tragedy of epic proportions.” Veronica giggled causing Archie to laugh with her.

“I’m messed up, Veronica.”

“We all are, Archie and honestly, you less than most.” Veronica said bringing Archie’s face to look at her before she leant in and pressed her lips against his.

You couldn’t help the tears fall as this girl decided that you were so irrelevant that she could kiss your boyfriend. After you warned her and made it very obvious that Archie and you were together.

“Ronnie, I have a girlfriend.” Archie said pulling back immediately.

“Yeah don’t worry. You’re single.” You spat causing both to whip their heads to the entry, “I’m gonna grab the sweater I left from your room. You can throw any other things away or get Betty to give them to me.”

“Wait! Y/N!” Archie said nearly tripping on his way to your retreating back. Veronica sat as she watched the boy she really liked rush to his girlfriend and she felt ashamed that she had caused Archie to cheat.

“I promise I love you. I don’t think of any other girl like I think of you.” Archie rushed to say, “Y/N, you were my first.”

“I know but you lied to me Arch. You didn’t stand up for me either but you did for Betty.” You whispered wrapping your arms around yourself.

“I know. I’m so sorry. I didn’t say anything because I know you can take care of yourself and Betty isn’t as strong as you.” He whispered cupping your face in his hands, “Please don’t leave me. I’ll stop being friends with Ronnie if you want.”

“Don’t. Please just tell her to stay away from you romantically.” You mumbled before his lips carefully moved with yours.

“Stay over, we can cuddle and watch a movie.” He whispered with his forehead pressed against yours.

“I think we can do other things. I heard make up sex is amazing.” You smirked up at him. His eyes widened in shock at how you had switched emotions quick, “I love sex, especially with my loving boyfriend, so sue me? Or you could screw me.”

Archie quickly pressed his lips against yours swiftly picking you up by your thighs to lightly place you on his unmade bed. He took his time removing both your clothing while sensually kissing every inch of your skin that was close to his mouth.

“Archie…” You breathed arching as he nipped your right hip. He growled in response as you gently pulled him up to kiss him.

“Baby, let me make you feel good.” He breathlessly said towards you as his fingers grazed their way way down your chest and past your lower stomach.

His finger circled that bundle of nerves that was incredibly sensitive with how bad you were turned on by him. You wriggled when his index finger slipped inside your entrance easily having collected the wetness. In a rhythm his fingers moved slowly while his thumb rubbed your clit. You hands were burrowed in his hair while moans left your lips and into the hot room.

“Oh god. I’m close.” You groaned arching as you fell over the edge and in the ocean of pleasure.

“I love you.” Archie whispered as he crawled up you so he could press a deep kiss to your lips as he guided himself inside your entrance, “Oh god. This gets better every time.”

“Please move.” You moaned clenching around his length.

He intertwined your fingers as he rocked back and forth with his mouth panting in time with your breathing. You nibbled at his collarbone causing him to moan as you left a mark that build darken incredibly.

“Gonna make sure Veronica knows you belong to me and only me.” You muttered gasping as Archie’s hips snapped upon your words. He was deeply affected by your words.

“God I love you.”

“I love you too.” You sighed happily as you called his name out immediately after calling back in that ocean. He followed quickly before carefully pulling out and tugging you close, “Can we take a shower?”

“Yeah go start the shower and I’ll change the sheets.” Archie whispered pressing a lingering kiss on your bare shoulder as you got up. He pulled his shirt on your body before pushing some of your hair off your face, “There’s some clean clothes of yours in the second drawer.”

“I love you.” You said once more before heading towards the bathroom.

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mostlydeadlanguages · 7 years

Text

Two Old Aramaic Curse Litanies (KAI 309 and KAI 222)

These inscriptions are two of the oldest documents we have in Aramaic, and both offer vivid examples of Semitic curse formulas. In situations where it would be difficult to punish someone with human courts, divine appeals were paired with magical curses to strike the offending party.

The first inscription was written on the skirts of a statue of King Hadd-yit’i, to warn future generations against defacing or removing the statue. The inscription is bilingual, written in both Akkadian (the international lingua franca of the time) and Aramaic (the local vernacular). It was carved around the 9th century BCE in northeast Syria, near modern Ras al-Ayn.

The second inscription comes from a group of 8th-century stelas near Aleppo that documented a treaty between an Aramean city-state and a Mesopotamian ruler. The treaty’s terms are decidedly imbalanced; Mati’el is required to stay loyal to his Mesopotamian allies, but no reciprocal terms are mandated. (Many biblical scholars have compared the treaty to aspects of the book of Deuteronomy.)

I’ve said this before, but it’s impossible for me to research these texts outside the context of the recent situation in Syria, where the “clamor of screaming and wailing” is far too strong. If you can, please support the World Food Program, a non-partisan organization that has been sustaining Syrian refugees and is now addressing widespread famine in Africa. Any amount helps.

The Inscription of Hadd-yit’i’s Statue (Aramaic Version)

[This is] the statue of Hadd-yit’i, which he set up before Hadad-of-Sikkan — who supervises the waterways of heaven and earth, who pours down abundance, who gives pasture and irrigation to all lands, who provides wells and jugs to all the gods, his brothers, who supervises the waterways of all rivers, who turns all lands into a paradise, Merciful God whose hears prayer kindly, who dwells in Sikkan, great lord, lord of Hadd-yit’i, king of Gozan, son of Sas-nuri, king of Gozan — in order to revive his spirit, lengthen his life, multiply his years, preserve his house, preserve his heirs, preserve his people, ward misfortune from him, hear his prayers, and accept his requests. He constructed it, and he gave it to him.

If it should ever crumble, may later generations restore it and put my name upon it. But if anyone strips my name from it and puts down his own name, may mighty Hadad prosecute him!

[This is] an image of Hadd-yit’i, king of Gozan, Sikkan, and Azran. In order to undergird his throne, lengthen his life, and ensure that gods and humans would accept his requests, he made this statue; he improved on the earlier one. He placed the image before Hadad, who dwells in Sikkan, lord of the Habur.

If anyone strips my name from the implements of my lord Hadad’s temple:

May my lord Hadad refuse bread and water from his hands. May my lady Suwala refuse bread and water from his hands. May he sow but not harvest. May he sow a thousand rows of barley and gain back only one. May a hundred ewes suckle a lamb without sating it. May a hundred cows suckle a calf without sating it. May a hundred women suckle a baby without sating it. May a hundred women bake bread in a tandoor without filling it. May his people forage in trash piles for barley to eat. May plague, the agent of Nergal, never depart from his land.

The Sefire Inscription (Excerpts)

[The first section lists the treaty’s parties — Bir-Ga’yah, king of KTK, and Mati’el, king of Arpad — and reiterates that it also applies to all their descendants and peoples.] [1]

They set up the stele with this text as this treaty.

Divine Witnesses

Bir-Ga’yah has forged this treaty before Ashur and Mullesh, and before Marduk and Zarpanitu, and before Nabu and Tashmet, and before Erra and Nuska, and before Nergal and Laṣ, and before the Sun and the Light, and before the Moon and the Moon’s Bride, and before NKR and KD’H, and before all the gods of Raḥbah and Adam [2], and before Hadad of Aleppo, and before the Seven, and before El and Elyon, and before Heaven and Earth, and before the Abyss and the Fountains, and before Day and Night.

All the gods of KTK and the gods of Arpad are witnesses.

Consequences of Betrayal

If Mati’el bar Attarsamak, king of Arpad, proves false to Bir-Ga’yah, king of KTK, or if a descendant of Mati’el proves false to a descendant of Bir-Ga’yah:

[About five lines are missing here.]

… a ewe, may she not conceive. If seven nurses grease their breasts to suckle a boy, may he not have enough. [3] If seven mares suckle a colt, may it not have enough. If seven ewes suckle a lamb, may it not have enough. If seven widows go seeking vengeance, may they kill nothing. [4]

If Mati’el proves false to Bir-Ga’yah, his son, or his descendants, may his reign become like a reign of sand — a reign of sand! — for as long as Ashur reigns. May Hadad send forth everything evil in earth or in heaven, and everything harmful. May he send hailstones onto Arpad.

For seven years, may the locust consume. For seven years, may the maggot consume. For seven years, may chaos (?) rise up on the earth’s surface.

May no grass sprout, so no green is seen. May no plants be seen. May the sound of the lyre not be heard in Arpad. May its people have a cacophony of oppression and a clamor of screaming and wailing. May the gods send everything that consumes to Arpad and its people. May snake, scorpion, bear, moth, and mold consume. […] a serpent’s gullet. May its plants be utterly annihilated. May Arpad become a den for [wild creatures:] the gazelle, the fox, the hare, the wildcat, the owl, […] and the magpie. May they speak of this city no more — nor of MDR’, MRBH, MZH, MNLH, ŠRN, Tu’im, Bethel, BYNN, […] Arneh, Ḥazaz, or Adam.

Sympathetic Curses [5]

Just as this wax burns in fire, so may Arpad and her many satellites be burned.

May Hadad sow them with salt and weeds, and may they speak of her no more.

This thief (?) and this […] are Mati’el; it is his spirit. [6]

Just as this wax burns in fire, so may Mati’el burn in fire.

Just as this bow and these arrows are smashed, so may Anahita (?) and Hadad smash the bow of Mati’el and the bows of his chiefs.

Just as (this) wax man is blinded, so may Mati’el be blinded.

Just as this calf is cleaved, so may Mati’el be cleaved and his chiefs be cleaved.

Just as (this?) prostitute is stripped naked, so may Mati’el’s wives be stripped naked — and his descendants’ wives, and his chiefs’ wives. [7]

Just as this wax woman burns and is struck in the face, so may they take Mati’el’s wives and […]

[The remainder of the treaty contains the actual terms of agreement, which include provisions like fighting Bir-Ga’yah’s enemies and providing a tribute. However, the text is extremely broken.]

[1] Arpad was a city-state in Syria, near modern Aleppo. KTK was apparently a city or region in Mesopotamia, but a hundred years of scholars have been unable to figure out where.

[2] “Adam” is likely the name of an unknown city, despite its resemblance to the biblical character and his namesake (adamah, the ground).

[3] Seven may seem a little unimpressive, compared to the hundreds in the previous set of curses. My theory is that the author of this curse was engaging in a little wordplay. Instead of a hundred, they wrote seven (שׁבע); instead of “to sate,” they wrote “to satisfy” (שׂבע).

[4] This line is rather difficult and uncertain. “Widows” is literally “weeping women”; women in the ancient Near East were also hired as professional mourners. My own guess is that this line means that after the babies die of starvation, their mothers will be unable to enact revenge. Another alternative is, “If seven hens go seeking food, they shall kill nothing.” The word for “war” or “food” is also the word “bread,” and so the parallelism with the Fekherye curse sequence above makes me want to translate this as a similar attempt to bake bread. However, the word for the female actors isn’t connected to baking (that I could find), and the word for killing also isn’t used in a culinary context, so it would take substantial new evidence to show that.

[5] I mean “sympathetic” in the magical sense, exemplified in popular culture by the “voodoo doll”: the idea that a magical connection exists between similar things, so that things done to one will affect the other. This sort of curse was very common in the ancient Near East — Hittite treaties in particular often featured it. Most likely, each part of this section was accompanied by a physical ritual in the initial treaty agreement.

[6] This line is both broken and confusing. Something appears to be identified with Mati’el and his spirit (i.e. his personhood), but “thief” would only make simple sense if a human thief were punished as part of the ritual, which would be unusual. No better suggestion has been made, unless the term refers to an unknown kind of wax figurine.

[7] The context would seem to imply that an actual prostitute would be stripped at this point in the ritual, but it could merely intend to evoke a well-known mental image, as “this prostitute” is not stated explicitly.

#aramaic #old aramaic #northwest semitic #translation #curses #vassal treaties #Law and Treaties #inscriptions #sefire #tell fekherye

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timhandelman · 5 years

Text

10% celery

It’s hard sometimes to understand the motivations of people. Is behavior all social? Genetics? both? Both.

My alarm gets me up at 6am (although I always wake up before it goes off). Grab a coffee, make my lunch (2 hard boiled eggs, veggies, a wrap of some sort, and an apple), fill my water jug (a 3 liter cranberry juice bottle), collect my gear (shovel, pack, rain gear, bear spray, gloves), then strap on my two-way radio.

Breakfast is at 630am, trucks leave at 730am for the block. I like to get all of that done before the throng of planters converge. A few are up earlier, like me. Many appear as breakfast hits the counter (eggs, oatmeal, bacon, fruit....the usual). Some speedwalk across camp with only minutes to spare. One, always one, is running full to collect,stuff, and shove-in as the trucks prepare to depart.

We do a three day shift, then a planter day off. Yesterday, day three, a small silver hatchback burns by the camp shortly before 730.am, yelling something out of the window.

*for context: we are camped on a beautiful lake (Fishpot lake), on the Nazko Indian reservation, 100km north of Quesnel BC.*

That was annoying. Boys cruising for burgers without a Grand bend in sight.

After a few minutes they pull into our camp (we are - 50 planters, 8 staff, and 7 dogs). 4 local guys from the reservation pull in and stop. One guy (the passenger) was hanging out of the window, he was loaded: they all were loaded. Now, I’m no prude, but I know this: one is not up all night until 7am the next morning on booze alone. I’ll go with crack, maybe meth, maybe coke (but that may be out of their price range). This guy, this chemical bag, was wired man. He was professing his demeanor of calmness, while smacking the side of the door. Anywy, it doesn’t take long before his ‘calmess’ to turn into aggression. He feints opening his door: ‘you want to fight me white boy’, he snarls to a planter. The planter (a big dude with missing teeth), steps right up, followed by a ring of planters. I grab a shovel and head towards the passenger side of the car, in case the driver or passengers burst out. I was super freaked out, but felt very protective of the planters. I felt it wise of me to arm myself, hence the shovel. It takes a great deal of self mental configuration to steal yourself for a fight ( I’ve had one fight in my life: Jeff Brulette. Windsor, 1970’s. My grade 7 bully. We stood toe to toe on Sand Point beach while I found the courage to strike. I punched him in the face. He grappled me, exclaiming, I felt that, I felt that. I was grinning from ear to ear. ‘I finally did it’, I remember thinking. He showed up to class the next day with a black eye, proclaiming his brother did it... he never bothered me again. Hi Jeff, fuck you!).

No fight ensued. They spun out, with window guy yelling: ‘I’ll be back tonight to shoot all of you white and black guys!’. Good thing we have an Asian girl on camp, at least one of us won’t be shot:)

The RCMP were called, their tribe leader was informed. He didn’t come back. We spotted their car in a ditch later that night. Doors ajar, windshield smashed.

Seems odd to me, to threaten someone when outnumbered 10 times over, but, well, stupider things have happened in the name of absolutely nothing.

I figure these guys have too much time on their hands. They are bored. Treeplanters, perhaps, represent what they don’t have: jobs, health, confidence, nicer cars.

I once saw a genetic breakdown of the human genome: the percentages that we share with the world around us: apes, dogs, bears etc. Down at the bottom of that list, there at 10%, was celery. We share 10% of the genetic make-up of celery. Yesterday, I saw that number rise.

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area50dununiverse · 7 years

Note

I loved your new fic OMG but I have never read anything so smutty I actually was bright red reading it lol! but it gave me an idea like liam spanks john and ed as an actual punishment B/C if they are gonna act like naught kids he will treat them like naughty kids and at first they hate it it hurts and is SO embarrassing but as time goes on they deliberately try to get in trouble B/C they start to find it hot and have to hide their arousal? sorry if this is gross it's literally filthy lol

Hello lovely anon! PLEASE don’t apologise for smut, nothing is too smutty for me!!

I’m glad you liked my fic, sorry I made you blush :)

I loved this prompt and was super excited but I’ve had mad brain block recently and really struggled with getting down a single word, so I really hope this is okay and not as rubbish as I think it is….?

I also only made it from John’s POV, because I couldn’t do multiple POVs because I suck at writing!

I really hope you like it!! There is smut at the end because y’know..

It all happened so fast. One moment Liam was shouting at John to put the box of cereal back and the next, there was cereal all over the floor and Liam’s hand was stinging. John looked like he was about to cry and Liam was horrified. He had to take a second to connect the string of events.He had shouted “if you’re going to behave like a kid, I’ll treat you like one” and he had smacked him.

He opened his mouth to say sorry, to pull him into a hug and ask for forgiveness but then John was crouching down to clean up his mess with a small “sorry Liam.”It had worked. Liam had never seen either of them tidy up a mess without being nagged for hours.

Edward looked personally offended by the whole thing and opened his mouth to speak but Liam was quicker. “Unless you want one too, shut up.” Liam watched Edward’s mouth snap shut and he was suddenly proud that he had found something to actually make them listen.He cleared his throat and walked out of the room, hoping he didn’t hurt John.

•

There was never a discussion about it, it just happened. Whenever John and Edward ‘misbehaved’ they would get spanked by Liam.They both hated it, but Edward seemed to hate it more than John and would do anything in his power to keep it from happening.

John got it a lot more than him. He tried not to, but one thing always lead to another which always ended up with him getting a sore arse. John had to admit to himself that it didn’t actually hurt too much, if at all but it was just the idea of getting spanked. It was embarrassing and belittling and John dreaded it when Liam would give him the look; the look that told John what was about to happen.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” John said with wide eyes. Liam had told him ten times not to attempt a cartwheel because he would end up breaking something. Liam had thought his warnings had worked until he left the room and heard the sound of glass breaking followed by a suspicious silence.

He went back in to find John standing in the middle of the room, his cheeks pink and his bottom lip between his teeth. Liam looked at Edward, who was sitting on the sofa, the exact look of worry and guilt on his face.

That’s when Liam’s eyes caught sight of the television. It was laying on the floor and the screen was smashed.Liam had no choice but to act, no matter how much he didn’t want to. Even though John apologised, Liam had warned him so many times so he had to follow through or they will know he was a push over.

Liam pointed at the floor in front of him and stared down at John. He only hesitated for a second before taking the few steps towards Liam. His eyes shifted towards Edward once before he slowly turned around and bent over just a little bit.Liam saw him close his eyes, bracing himself and he considered apologising before he smacked him but he knew that would make him look weak.

John was only wearing a pair of tracksuit bottoms, thinner than the jeans he was usually in, so Liam did it lighter than normal so it wouldn’t hurt him.John went and sat down, his arms crossed and face set. Liam watched him for a moment before pointing at the broken tv and saying “tidy this up,” before leaving him to sulk.

John was still sulking an hour later. He hated this new punishment. It hurt and it was awkward. No one had ever spanked him, not even his mother when they were children. He considered calling Liam out, maybe he could refuse, tell him that he won’t do it. But he liked Liam and they needed him. John didn’t want Liam to quit and he figured that he only wanted the best for them. John knew the way stop it happening again was to be good. It’s not that he meant to upset Liam and misbehave, he was just having fun and that sometimes led to misbehaving.

Edward side eyed him and smirked so John shot him a dirty look. “Don’t even say it,” John pouted, sensing Edward’s oncoming 'I told you so’. Edward had warned him to listen to Liam, told him what would happen and John hated it when he was right.“Did it hurt?” Edward asked instead, leaning towards him to look at his face. He shrugged, his face heating up slightly. John huffed again embarrassed and pissed off by the whole thing.Edward patted him on the shoulder in sympathy and John huffed again.

It was that night that John woke up from a strange dream. He was uncomfortably hard and hot and confused. He couldn’t remember most of the dream once he was awake but did remember getting spanked and the sounds he made as he cried out with each slap to the arse.

He looked over at Edward’s bed and watched him for a few seconds to make sure he was asleep before he wrapped his hand around himself, definitely not thinking about the sound each slap made against his skin in his dream.

The next day John couldn’t shake the strange feeling. He was confused and embarrassed. He didn’t tell Edward nor Liam about his dream but he knew and that was embarrassing enough. He kept away from Liam, even though the man in his dream was faceless, it was Liam that started this mess.

Just when John thought he was back to feeling normal again, Edward got himself in trouble. Liam gave him that look and John shifted in his seat, very aware of the consequence.John tried to avert his eyes as Liam stepped towards Edward but he just couldn’t help looking. John knew he shouldn’t be getting excited about this but as he watched Edward close his eyes and brace himself, he couldn’t stop the bolt of excitement run up his spine.

John was hard, and he knew it was wrong because he was watching someone smack his own brother. It was weird and John knew it. Edward made a small sound, almost a whimper and John shifted positions again, crossing his leg over and placing a cushion in his lap.

Edward flopped down next to him, his arms crossed and brow furrowed. John gave him a small smile, his cheeks turning pink as the embarrassment crept back in. He thought about his dream again and flicked his eyes back to Edward before standing up and trying to look natural and hide his excitement as he left the room.

•

John managed to stay out of Liam’s way for a week. There were no punishments for either of them and John was starting to forget it had ever happened.That was until he playfully pushed Edward, knocking him into the newly organised paperwork Liam has left on the table. Liam looked at John with fire in his eyes and John wondered if the room could hear his heartbeat.

He said John’s name and felt he was suddenly too hot. He could feel his cheeks turn pink and chest tighten. Liam didn’t give John a chance to go to him as he was suddenly in front of him, turning him around by his shoulder and landing a smack against his arse.It was harder than normal and John figured it was his temper but had an effect on him that he couldn’t explain. Liam was saying something but John couldn’t concentrate on anything but the uncomfortable feeling in his tight jeans.

“I can’t believe you, John,” Liam was rambling, “just when I thought you had grown up!”John cleared his throat, trying to keep his voice even as he said a quick “sorry Liam.” He held his hands in front of his crotch, trying not to look suspicious.“This was all our plans, flight information, hotel bookings…” Liam pointed at the floor but John didn’t look. It was over too quick, and he needed more somehow. He looked at the table, to what was left of the pile and before he could stop himself, he was sweeping his arms across the table, taking two glasses of water and a plate with what was left of Edward’s breakfast with it.

Edward’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide. John didn’t dare look at Liam, he felt frozen to the spot, excitement and nerves making him feel light headed. Liam was shouting and there were hands on him again and John almost asked for it, biting back the word 'harder’ as Liam raised his hand.It connected and John thought he whimpered but couldn’t be sure. Liam was telling them to get out, so John did, quickly leaving while trying to hide the fact he was outrageously hard in his jeans.

Edward followed, his voice going over John’s head as he headed for their bedroom. “What’s wrong with you?” Edward asked when their door was shut. John turned his back to him and mumbled a quick, “I need the toilet,” before leaving Edward standing in the middle of the room, confused.

•

John felt dirty but he needed it, couldn’t stop thinking about it and as he watched Liam talking on the phone, he made a plan.He needed to misbehave again, do something to get that contact, to make Liam spank him. He was getting hot just from the thought. It had been two weeks and as much as John tried to distract himself from the feeling, he couldn’t help himself.

John didn’t know what to do. Edward was talking a mile a minute from beside him but John wasn’t listening. His eyes ran over the hotel room, trying to figure out what he could do to make Liam angry, get him to react. Just at that moment, Liam put his phone down right next to the jug of water and John couldn’t contain the smirk on his lips.

He wandered over and picked up the jug, glancing at Liam once more before he dropped it, water soaking Liam’s phone. “John!” The reaction was instant and John held his breath. “What the fuck?”He was rushing over and pulling John around in a blink and John was so ready.

John let out a small whimper as Liam’s hand connected, his jeans muffling the sound of the slap. He wondered what it would sound like if Liam had removed his trousers and pants, pulled them down to his ankles, so John could no longer hide his excitement, showing Edward how dirty he is.

It was over too soon, leaving John wanting more. He was so hard now and he pulled his jumper down as he straightened himself up.Liam had already moved on as he left the room, leaving John in a daze; aroused and breathless.

He had to leave, desperate to sort himself out. Edward said something as John left the room but John didn’t stop, didn’t care what he said as he locked the bathroom door and quickly shoved his jeans to his ankles.He looked at his arse in the mirror, turning his head around to try and see any indication of what had happened. There was no mark though as his jeans protected his skin. John huffed, he wanted a red handprint and just the thought of it made him twitch.

He took hold of himself and let out a slow jittery breath, his eyes falling closed as he imagined the sound of skin slapping skin, his naked arse; offered up as he bent over and the sting.John whimpered at the thought. The sting would be amazing and John thought about how he would feel it for ages afterwards and he would look at the red angry hand mark to go with it.

John was moving fast, his hips bucking into his hand, tiny gasps and small moans the only sounds that could be heard, along with the unmistakable sound of his hand working himself over.

John was on was the edge when there was a knock on the door, making him freeze. “John?” Edward’s voice called, “are you crying? I can hear you crying.”John’s hand slowly moved, not being able to stop himself.“I’m fine-” he answered, his voice strained. John accidentally whimpered again and he knew Edward would’ve heard and would think he was crying still.

He suddenly got an idea. “Ed?” He breathed, taking his hand off himself “come in.” John unlocked the door and pulled Edward inside. Edward let his eyes take the sight in before meeting John’s eyes.John was too worked up to think logically, his brain clouded with arousal. “I need your help,” he puffed, his hand cupping himself again.

This wasn’t the first time they had seen each other like this. They shared a bedroom all their lives and had spent far too much time together to hide away when they needed to sort themselves out, so they freely touched themselves with the other one inches away in the next bed; sometimes even racing each other to see who could climax first.

“What?” Edward asked, his brow furrowed. John shifted on his feet before saying “smack me.” Edward’s face went from confused to shocked and back to confused in a heartbeat but John was turning himself around and bracing his hands on the edge of the sink. “Please?” He breathed.“I can’t hit you, John,” Edward whispered, making John whine in frustration.“Just do it please?”“Okay.” John heard Edward mumble. There was a long stretch where Edward didn’t do anything and John was about to snap at him to do it when he felt his hand on his skin.

It was too light, he was being too careful but John still felt the shock and the tingling on his skin. He closed his eyes and moaned, his voice strained as he said “harder Edward.”Edward’s hand came down again, harder this time and that was it. John cried out, his hand coming down to stroke himself again. There was another sting as Edward’s hand came down again.

John turned to the mirror and craned his neck around again, this time seeing the red handprints on his otherwise unblemished skin. John whined and braced himself against the sink again, snapping at Edward for more, harder and quicker.Edward did as John asked, without hesitation this time, the sound of the slap echoing around the small room along with John’s moans. John pumped himself harder and faster and one more smack and he was coming, harder than he ever had before.

John turned to face Edward with a small “sorry.” He felt guilty now he was in his right mind, he knew he shouldn’t have dragged Edward into this. Edward gave a one-shouldered shrug, his face neutral and John breathed out a laugh. Typical Edward, John thought, he’s just spanked his brother into the most intense orgasm he’d ever had and yet he’s completely unfazed.

John slumped down onto the lid of the toilet to catch his breath, watching Edward look at him, his eyes running over John’s body.“You owe me,” Edward finally said, “you can do me next time.” John gave a half-hearted smile and a nod as Edward turned to leave the room with a smile of his own.

#jedcest #jedcest fanfic #jedcest smut #jedcest prompt

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