#this poem cameos them
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i may not. but i write poem still
#hello friends i am in sydney australia (have been for a while now) (8 weeks)#it is good all i do is play taiko and boulder#that being said i have therefore had no time to draw. or be in fandom. i am however desperately in love#(muttering to self like an insane person)#fuck it we ball i Broke up. i. um#i broke a plate. this is not true#i am madly in love with my current little guy and it is bringing me much joy#this poem cameos them#yes i said go to sydney over the summer for ten weeks to play taiko with a professional taiko group and then did that#it is ending soon! i have just embarrassed myself yet again. it is true i have ocd#that’s ok though because i have been going through CHARACTER ARC after CHARACTER ARC#learning so much about myself and my loved ones this summer. hope u are too#in a less painful way#anyway#poem#words#my stuff#writing#poetry
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i have decided (impulsively) that i'm gonna do a 12 days of christmas writing thingy (does it have a name???),,, and maybe extend it to 31 days if i begin to really like it but who knowss. and i'll basically just try to write what i can, even if it's less than 100 or maybe a spontaneous 2k (been trying to hit that so maybe this challenge will be my best catalyst!!)
#[ mio talks aloud: ]#[ mio inspo: ]#[ mio needs to learn self control: ]#future card buddyfight#may even upload them on ao3#i don't think i'll focus on solely writing fics#might throw in poetry and maybe even scriptwriting if i'm up for that#cuz i am VERY hoping to write for fcbf#lol watch me write a poem abt uhhhh#eden hanazono#and her process/journey of finding peace with her past#while learning to open up to different people#despite her (possible) fear of attachment??????#and then throw in a cameo of my headcannon that shosetsu kirisame is her adoptive father/guardian LOLLLL
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abandon all hope.
RATING: explicit. 18+ only. — LENGTH: 9,131— Raphael x f![warlock]tav [reader]
CONTENT: being a patron is being a sugar daddy/mommy you can't change my mind, set during Act II canon, small amounts of alcohol consumption, toxic behavior/ expressions of possession/ownership, "fluff", SMUT [unprotected p in v], KINK(S) [praise kink, orgasm control, hair pulling, biting, scratching/clawing, blood, breath play, dacryphilia, just a little degredation, size], there's a lot of poetry in here I did my best, Haarlep cameo, the least Raphael could've done for killing an Orthon for him is fuck us ffs, have fun thinking Raphael is bad at sex I'm built different, this got out so out of hand
you had become his absolute favorite - his most precious client and prized treasure. it's become increasingly difficult not to admit that you're truly his forever...and he's ready to hear it.
"In a world of horrors where shadows loom,
A tiny creature navigates through certain doom.
A little mouse, determination in its eye,
Hoping this will not be its last heard lullaby."
It would be a lie to say that very voice didn't send the most delightful of shivers down your spine each time it announced his presence to you - you hung on each syllable like he was speaking a new language you were desperate to understand. Though your back was turned to him as the corners of your lips twitched upward you could feel in your soul - the one that no longer belonged to you - that he knew.
Though you may have been doing your best to feign disinterest and even often annoyance at his dramatics, it was no secret that you found him amusing. Fortunately, he happened to feel rather the same, a creeping mirth building in his chest at this familiar performance you were putting on.
"Just when I was beginning to miss your theatrics."
It was only then he realized just how badly he'd yearned to hear your voice again in the time since it had last swam into his ears. Curiously - but perhaps not at all - he felt his mouth go temporarily dry as his next rehearsed verse fell from his mind momentarily. When his silence lingered you filled it gracefully as you knelt before a bucket of water, scrubbing your arms free of the blood that covered them as you worked off the most uncomfortable parts of your armor.
His stumble did not last forever - his practiced words would not go to waste.
"With the battle fought and her patron's foe slain,
She has etched upon her weary soul so very much strain.
With a gentleness most sincere, the Patron offers her rest.
Her wearied body, soon at peace even in her mind,
No longer bound by battles' fierce behest,
Their worries, for a moment, left entirely behind.
For the strongest heroes, too, do need a moment's grace,
To find their strength renewed in the tenderest embrace."
Though his continued lack of transparency was frustrating, particularly after the stretch of days you'd had at his bidding, you noticed the practice lilt in his words, the methodic delivery of his latest poem.
"Have you been practicing poetry for me again, my Lord?" your tone was filled to the brim with the very amusement you felt, amusement that was growing by the moment at the slight waver in his voice, the subtlest indication that now was one of few times his trademark control had faltered. "I must tell you, it really is quite sweet. I've never inspired such before."
Your pleasantries and a title you so rarely chose for him stirred a feeling oh-so rare and delicious in him, a tingle up his spine that spread a wicked grin across his face. Exhausted, and uncaring of the company at the moment you continued your work on seeking your own comfort, continuing to peel armor away from your figure and toss it to the side.
Maybe you knew the lack of attention would agonize him - maybe that was only just more amusement for you. Annoyingly, he was attempting to bury the desires as he always did around you, finding now that the feelings stirring were beginning to gnaw their way out from the inside.
"You flatter me with honorifics yet ignore my presence."
His words had the slightest bit of edge to them and yet the tone in which they were delivered could be described as little more than a purr. It was a tone you'd discovered was reserved to fall on your ears alone - he never spoke to you this way in company, though you didn't doubt others existed that were fortunate enough to hear it. It was delicious - made more-so by the sharpness to them, the gentle bite that warned his limits were being tested.
The fact you only heard it when you were alone meant you seldom travelled with companions for too long, discarding them when your interests were no longer the central focus. It was lonely, but few wanted to be at your side when they discovered the source of your power, and the moments like this reaffirmed your decision each and every time.
"In a land of shadows shrouded with a curse most horrific,
Lies a weary hero, hoping her devil might be more specific.
For if she doesn't soon rest,
Her weary body will be for the shadows to ingest."
There was no denying the radiance and allure in his laughter - it rang out so beautifully it didn't fit in a place like this, it almost wasn't fair for such a joyous sound to ring out in such a cursed land. Now, you couldn't help yourself - you turned to face him with a light smile pulling at your lips, exhaustion written on your face accentuated by the blood of those you'd slain in his name.
It pulled at his heart, something that seldom occurred - you were truly always a sight like this, in his eyes at least.
"Your skills increase tenfold each time we meet," he complimented, the smile settling on his face matched by the pull of the wrinkles beside his eyes. "You were successful in your latest task."
It was a statement - not a question, the wordless affirmation of his continued faith in your abilities. Still, you could've given him a snarky response - the blood covering your body and armor wasn't enough of a clue for him? In truth, though, you'd began to enjoy the moments where he complimented you - even more the rare moment he actually thanked you.
"As always," your coy tone was the final act to try to hide the giddiness you felt now, as well as the fatigue that was slowly overtaking your body. When was the last time you had eaten? When he left would you simply remove the rest of your armor and do your best to build a fire and lay beside it, or would you simply make do with the cold ground beneath you now?
He could sense it; he knew exactly what was on your mind. In truth, your thoughts were mirrored in his - this was no place for someone of your caliber to rest, especially not when you'd been so very good for him already. He'd heard about your camp, of course, but seeing it for himself - well, it really was quite awful.
A snap of his fingers and once again you were in the House of Hope, the unmistakeable extravagant decor a much better sight than the lands you'd been traveling. Though it was a bathroom where you appeared it was already enough to almost bring tears to your eyes - it smelled delightful, a bath was already drawn with bubbles and filling the room with the warmest steam. Unsurprising was the small table beside it filled with fruits, meats, cheeses and wine that made a fresh rumble sound in your stomach.
"It is so very fortunate your generous patron is willing to reward a valiant effort, would you not agree?"
You huffed a breath through your nose as a smile spread further across your fae, heat rising in cheeks as you returned your gaze to his. "And who said devils are selfish?"
His beautiful laughter filled your ears again, the warmth radiating from the fireplace and the bath nothing compared to that which engulfed you just hearing the sound so entirely for you. His movements were smooth as he made his way to the small table, pouring a glass of wine with ease while his eyes stayed on you the entire time.
"You have undertaken quite the ordeal on my behalf, you deserve a proper display of my abundant appreciation," there was the unmistakable purr of sultriness beneath his tone, his strides predatory as he made his way back to you, eyes running up and down your entire frame again before settling on your eyes. "And a bath, though I do so worship the vision of my dark hero covered in the blood of my enemies."
"You show your appreciation by providing me my power."
"And yet," the pause lingered heavily - if you weren't so keen on enjoying everything he had to offer you there would probably be a quip about holding for drama, but now you only looked up at him with wide doe eyes - eager and expectant and deliciously obedient. "I find myself curiously wanting to provide you with more."
The look that was blooming in his eyes was a peculiar one - one of a fondness. He slipped behind you gracefully, one of his hands reaching to grasp your hip and turn you to face an ornate mirror before his arm fully encircled your waist, drawing you back toward his chest. His hand slipped up your body, avoiding any part that would have been too inappropriate to touch without express permission, to grasp your chin, holding your face gently but firmly as he angled it to look in the ornate mirror before you.
"The longer you have my power reflected in your eyes, the more beautiful you become. Wouldn't you agree? You are radiant."
Now it was impossible to pass off the heat that had risen in you as nothing more than the heat from the bath - with his hand just beneath your chin on your neck and his claws digging ever-so-slightly into your skin, the heat had begin to pool at your core. You were still trying to remain focused, to maintain the aura of strength you almost never allowed to falter…particularly around him. But with him pressed to your back and his eyes devouring you in the mirror like a feral animal with a long-awaited meal, there were certain signs from your body that gave you away.
The elevated heart rate. The blown pupils. The pull of your bottom lip between your teeth.
It didn't take any amount of perception to see the signs that were so plainly there, particularly not for a devil who was eager to look for them.
"As you've pointed out, I'm covered in blood."
"A testament to our combined strength, my pet," you were certain with the intensity with which he was staring into your eyes' reflection in the mirror that he had stopped blinking, finding an unchanging face each time your eyes closed briefly. "Do you mind?"
He was offering you the wine glass to free up his hand or to distract yours - it was impossible to tell, really. Regardless of the intent you reached for it, taking a drink and relishing the familiar fire this particular wine ignited in your throat and belly.
Meanwhile his free hand was lightly trailing over the bow to the back laces of your clothing, giving a subtle tug to seek permission as his eyes continued to burn into yours in the mirror. With a nod the laces fell free under the quick work of his fingers - it was somewhat endearing that you knew he could do this with the snap of his fingers, yet he was choosing to do it himself, to peel you apart with his own hands. What you'd been wearing pooled to the ground and revealed the aftermath of your battle in full, all of the bruises and scratches and burns that had no place there…unless they were given by him or on his word.
His hands found your shoulders first and with a familiar warmth your injuries became another part of your past, his eyes trailing up and down your body to ensure all that remained was evidence of injuries not belonging to you.
"Positively resplendent," his breath was hot on your neck as he angled his face closer to yours, his nose brushing behind your ear softly. "A painting of this image would be so suitable for a portrait of us, wouldn't you agree?"
Bravery - it was a characteristic of yours that he cherished nearly more than any other, one that provided endless entertainment (and often worry, though he was hardly eager to admit that). It was the very trait that sometimes pushed you to do or say the very last thing he expected, and yet you still managed to take him by surprise. Even now in his domain was one of those times, your face unwavering and intention resolute as you spoke.
"Not in this form."
All he'd offer in his momentary shock was a raised eyebrow before these features faded and he transformed to the figure he was meant for, wings stretching behind his back as he got more comfortable. This is how he was meant to look - how the two of you were supposed to appear together, the devil and his toy hero, you and the source of your growing power. It would take blindness not to see the radiance with which you two joined together, and even then it was palpable in the air.
Ignoring the many feelings and tensions that crackled between the two of you when you were together was difficult - and growing more impossible by the day.
"This is suitable for the foyer."
He continued to lean down behind you, swallowing you with his true height so he could press a singular kiss behind your ear before straightening his back, his hand that was still flat against your now fluttering stomach pulling you against him tighter. Your skin burned where his lips had graced it - tingling as though his the action was magic. Your body only continued to respond to him with all of the tell-tale signs: a rising temperature, parted lips, blown pupils, quicker breath.
He so adored that you were trying to maintain control - to maintain an unbothered façade.
"You prefer me this way."
It left his mouth as a statement, but you caught the subtle insecurity at the tail of the sentence, the way his words slightly trailed and his eyes flashed with a truth - and hope? - that was so rarely seen.
Was he afraid of your answer?
"You don't need to wear a mask around me," you were quick to silence his doubt and eager to put out a particular fire that threatened everything around it boiling beneath his surface. Your sincerity and sensitivity was hardly what had initially drawn him to you - he loved that you'd always been willing to tell him your mind without a care to whom you were speaking, even himself included at times. "You would know that I preferred you this way if you spoke to me yourself more often instead of sending your little spy."
Suddenly you understood the meaning of the phrase "devilish grin" in a new light.
"Do I detect jealousy, my dear?" he purred as he leaned down toward you again, his breath tickling the back of your ear and neck and his claws dug into your hip slightly. You tried to ignore the flare of heat within you, unwilling to admit it fully quite yet. "A flicker of envy, so very subtle but clear."
You huffed and rolled your eyes in response to his taunt, annoyed he could think of a rhyme so quickly and a charming one at that, and even more annoyed that it worked. Bards.
"Korilla does not enjoy the same…benefits you do," he continued when you offered nothing in response but the puff of air, a reticent hum vibrating in your chest as you raised the cool glass to your lips to take another drink. Your eyes met his in the mirror again as you realized how long they'd been focusing on his hands, allowing your gaze to stay connected as you continued to drink.
Of course, he was hardly one to leave a silence unfilled for long.
"And what of my own feelings?" he questioned, the twitch in his jaw accentuating the frustration behind his words that he was trying to tame. "So many people you meet these days and you haven't shared with a single one where you get your power…"
It was hard to focus on a conversation like this when his claws were now grazing lower down your thigh, red lines painting your skin the evidence the Cambion's claws had been there. In the mirror you could see how he lovingly soaked in the sight of each new mark - of each new claim of his territory. You'd have far more decorations from him by the time you returned to your own camp.
"What am I supposed to think other than you're ashamed of me?"
"No," the rejection of his insinuation came from your lips faster than any reply you'd given before by far, a fact that ticked his lips into a slight smile. Though the two of you teased anda taunted one another often, you were always well aware of the line before you stepped over it. "They wouldn't understand."
"They don't have to understand…they have to respect. Besides, it's not their soul to be bothered with, and you're hardly the only warlock in your little party."
"But they won't. With the Blade of Frontiers it is different…he had no choice, not really. I did - I could've chosen anything else…anyone else. And I chose you."
"Then you will make them."
You could hear the commanding tone he rarely needed to take with you begin to form in his words, a low grumble rumbling against your chest as he spoke. At this point you knew what little remained of his patience was so close to slipping away completely - but you still couldn't stop yourself from testing those tempestuous waters just a bit more.
After all, he needed you alive just as much as you needed him. Harm too serious coming your way was out of the question, and the proof you could take a bit of pain was in the stories that would be told about you and your adventures for years to come.
"It's just another contract to you. What difference does it make?"
The final impertinent word left your lips as his hand grabbed your chin, applying pressure and encouraging you to face him. He loomed over you in this form - a delicious fact - his skin noticeably hotter against yours as he leaned closer, trapping you between his body and the wall. Flames danced in his eyes, the raging inferno matching the temporary flare of anger he felt ignited in his chest. His grip on your face was resolute, thumb and forefinger grasping so hard your cheeks were squished together.
That would certainly keep you from further insult.
"I am so very fond of you, my impudent little mouse. Can you not see that is so?"
You'd been in many dangerous - increasingly so - situations recently, but the fact this one was one of the most was…invigorating. Invigorating in the same way as when he'd first approached you with a deal, in the way he'd complimented a job well done for the first time, in the way he was overjoyed when you returned from your kidnapping. In truth - because you were not foolish enough to deny what was a plainly writ fact - you were well aware you belonged to him in every aspect of the word. It was fun to test what boundaries a relationship like that presented.
Your heart was thudding against your chest harder and faster by the moment as he continued to regard you, fully aware you couldn't respond to his question through the hold he maintained on your face.
"I will not hear more of your ill-mannered mouth while I am being such a gracious host. You are far from 'just another' anything to me…"
There was a sincerity in his words that shattered any possibility of refute.
"…and I will not tolerate our attachment being hidden any longer."
A threat, or a promise? Both were equally exhilarating in their own way. With the expression on his face - furrowed brows, pinched nose, set jaw, and nostrils flaring with each breath - his feelings toward the situation were written plain on his face. He was done arguing - and you'd be foolish to push it.
"Perhaps I could have a collar fashioned for you that only I can remove."
His hand that still held your waist pulled you closer, a muscular tail winding around your lower legs to hold you against him. One of his legs slotted between your thighs as you pressed to him closer, hands clinging to his upper arms still. His face softened somewhat at the closeness, at the shaky breath that slipped past your lips as your eyes stayed oh-so focused on the way his curved into a wicked grin the more the thought blossomed in his mind.
"One that will burn you should you even try to remove it. Or perhaps better yet, a curse," as he spoke you found yourself drawn closer, entranced by the hardness in his pants that pressed to your waist now, chasing a kiss you weren't certain he'd give. "Or I could use hellfire to brand a symbol of my name beneath your eye - small enough not to ruin your beauty, large enough that everyone who sees you knows that you are mine."
He released his hold on your face only to drop his hand lower, lightly gripping your neck in a silent show of power. He regarded your expression carefully for any sign of distress and only grinned wider when he instead found observed your blown pupils and parted lips, his fingertips soaking in your accelerated pulse beneath them.
The fire in his tone sizzled for a moment, still lingering in each word but not quite as fearsome as even just a moment before. Sweet, almost - if you didn't know any better to see through the charm.
"Swear to me anew," he cooed, his thumb rubbing along the side of your neck as he spoke, eyes gazing at you with an expression that could only be described in adoration. The most temperamental volcano, fury subsided as fast as it'd come. When there was an offer to be presented, he could truly be oh-so-sweet. "An amendment to our existing contract. You are not to hide that we are joined together, or you will face consequences that will last forever."
Did it matter if you even truly had the option to refuse him when all you wanted to do was please him again? The proposition of more appreciation, the promise of his praise. That fact alone was enough to ensure your answer before you'd given it.
You nodded in understanding - specifics beyond what he'd stated weren't needed to convey the weight of his words.
"On one condition."
The bravery again - though your voice was more meek as you rightfully walked the fiery embers before you, navigating what you knew could still erupt again if you pressed too much harder again. To prove your point his eyebrow raised in annoyance, nose threatening to scrunch upward in frustration before you elaborated.
"We seal this contract with a kiss."
An expression that had almost been rage morphed into perplexity before a laugh burst from his chest, your mind lost in the sound and the view of his fangs, thoughts wandering somewhere fittingly sinful for your surroundings.
"And you talk about my theatrics."
Despite his taunting he brought you closer with his iron grip on your waist, the hand holding your neck still sliding up to your cheek as his thumb claw grazed along your bottom lip in passing. He looked at you like a child receiving a new toy, regarded you with an adoration often seen in temples.
And then, though there was still a subtle laugh shaking his chest, he held you reverently as he angled his head toward you. The rest of his expression as he approached would go unnoticed as your eyes slipped shut, holding your breath in anticipation…which he exploited for just a moment longer than was necessary before he finally gave you what you both wanted.
Your lips met like the strike of a match - the spark between flint and stone. It burned like frostbite and was over just as soon as it'd begun, taking your remaining breath with it.
It was a purr that rumbled in his chest as he ran his nose along your jaw that reminded you to breathe, his lips pressing a kiss over a pulse point on your neck pulling a gasp from your lungs as his hand slipped down the other side of your neck. Holding you like an artifact his fangs teased the skin on the spot for a moment as his grip on your waist tightened further, the tips of his claws threatening to break skin.
He withdrew before his composure melted, filling his chest with a deep breath to bring himself to full sense again.
"Come. I'm far from through with you, but you truly do need a bath."
It was…nice, which didn't quite seem wholly appropriate considering who he was and the fact the atmosphere had been threatening and tense only moments before. He sank into the tub first, motioning for you to join him by taking place between his legs. There was a voice in the back of your mind reminding you that all of this was because he wanted something - everything possible from you, and that he knew the best way to reach his goal was to manipulate.
The fact you were aware of it did little to stop you from enjoying it.
He made sure he ate and drank in a silence you didn't know he was capable of as his hands made work cleaning your body, a bath in the House of Hope proving to be a lavish experience as the water remained pristine and hot no matter how long it went on.
*(Though, it certainly could've just been the heat between your bodies sustaining the temperature).
It was the first time you'd truly relaxed since a tadpole had taken residence in your mind, the first moment of bliss in days. When his claws found your scalp and scratched against it lightly as he massaged soap into it he earned a thank you in the form of the sweetest moan that just couldn't be held back by your lips. You felt his cock twitch against your back at the sound, an appreciative hum rumbling in his chest.
"My, my…who knew you could sound so melodic, my dear," his tone was best described as a condescending coo, treasuring the way you melted in his hold and couldn't help yourself from being his to play with. "I want to hear much more of you."
One of his hands slipped from your head down to rest on your stomach as the other went even lower to the top of your thigh, pausing still to wait for your reaction. When you leaned your head back against his shoulder and closed your eyes he took his sign, chasing more of a reaction from you by running a single claw softly up your thigh toward your core. The small gasp that fell from your lips wasn't enough, his disapproval noted with a click of his tongue against his teeth. It was impossible to keep silent when one of his fingers connected to your clit, rubbing a swift circle quickly.
The cry that burst from your chest returned the smile to his face, a low laugh filling your ears again as he leaned forward to kiss your neck. Two of his fingers parted your folds as they slipped downward to your entrance, moans falling freely from your mouth you'd forgotten how to close. Taking advantage of the fact he leaned closer to claim your lips, reaching his free hand to hold the back of your head and ensure you couldn't pull away from him.
A dark possessiveness within him considered slipping his fingers into you to feel how your tight walls would grip him, though he knew it meant you would face the consequences of his claws. He could heal you, after all - but you'd always remember the feeling. He'd refrain on that particular thought…
For now.
Instead, he returned his attention to your clit, fingers circling the sensitive nub as his fingers tangled into your hair. He continued to kiss you past what your lungs could take, your eyes opening to attempt to gain his attention. His own eyes remained closed and he only held your head in a firmer grip - no doubt he knew though he couldn't see - and he continued that way until your vision was just starting to blur and your hole was clenching around nothing. Only then did he release you - releasing you fully by pulling his fingers away too - allowing you to take the breath you needed.
So close to the edge of release only to be pulled back away from it. It was a cruelty that made the first sound that left your lips when your breath returned to be a whimper.
"Please," you could barely get the shaking word through your lips, it could hardly be considered speaking when each letter was filled with a whine. "More."
"Now now, you will learn to take what I give you," he cooed, releasing his hold on your head to run the back of his fingers down the side of your face and neck, lightly pushing your head to the side to press a kiss beneath your ear. "With no questions asked. Won't you? You'll have to show me you can be patient."
You couldn't help the whimper that slipped past your lips again, your body singularly focused on its need for more. Your eyes are wide and desperate as you gazed at him, hands reaching to grasp at his thighs and squeeze. "'s not fair…"
Your ears were filled with his boisterous laugh again before he pressed a gentle kiss to your shoulder, allowing his lips to stay against your skin as he spoke.
"Perhaps not for you, but it's perfectly lovely for me," you realized as he spoke that he was having fun, a giddiness in every word that proved it. Unrehearsed, without anger, without practiced intentions. Him. "Finish up in here at your leisure, then join me in the boudoir."
With a snap of his fingers he was gone and the option to beg for more removed you were alone, left to wonder exactly what awaited you when you did join him. The kind of excitement that matched the feelings of fear and anxiety bubbled in your stomach, making your movements a little clumsy as you navigated your way through one last wash of your body.
The feelings remained as you removed yourself from the water, realizing immediately you'd been left with no towel or robe or clothes to utilize on your walk. Feeling a flare of preemptive embarrassment you found your way to the hall, doing your best to navigate quickly as you muttered to yourself.
You were distracted in your search that you didn't notice Haarlep had stalked up to you from the dark after you'd passed until their voice filled your ears. "My, my, aren't you just delicious," he purred, continuing to walk closer toward you when you froze in your tracks. They circled you like a predator circled prey, like a painter studying their subject - it was enough to make your face burn again. "I wouldn't mind slipping into your image for the occasional rendezvous."
"Haarlep."
Their name left your lips as a gasp and they stopped in front of you with a wicked smile, handsome and proud and no doubt every bit as convincing as their Master, if not more. "So you do know me. How flattering."
You were cornered against a wall with one of their forearms resting next to your head, the other grasping your hip in fingers much gentler than the ones they were mimicking. They leaned closer until your lips were brushing together feather light, the anticipation of a kiss lingering heavy in the air and sending your heart rate skyrocketing again.
"Oh, what fun we will have together…"
Their sinful tongue left their mouth to lick the seam of your lips until they fell open, the muscle slipping into your mouth to kiss you fully and hungrily. As you swallowed their spit you started to feel new levels need, the definition of the word insatiable finally grasped in your mind. One of their knees knocked apart your legs as their hand left your thigh, slipping to examine how wet you were and finding their digits slid through your folds with embarrassing ease.
"Mm…but that will be for another time," there was a sincerity in their words that made them so believable and you were certain they were correct about it. "Tonight, your job is to make him a bit more tolerable for the rest of us. Be a good pet and behave, won't you?"
As they sauntered away in a pace that existed to entice you to follow they threw one last wink over their shoulder, pointing you in the direction of where you were meant to go. In a haze you made your way to your destination, opening the doors to find your Patron sitting on the grand bed with glistening satin sheets, lounging back against the headboard with his arms outstretched, waiting for your arrival. He'd covered himself with an expensive robe, the one he'd deprived you of.
The red of its fine fabric matched his burning aura perfectly.
He observed your clumsy movements as you closed the doors with light amusement until the two of you were once again alone, his eyes appreciating your clean form as you walked to the foot of the bed. With a smile he raised a hand to motion you forward with one finger, his features fittingly illuminated by the hellfires that illuminated the room.
He was beautiful. Enticing. This very room could become an easy prison with no locked door if you allowed your resolve to slip.
"Come," he invited in a delicious tone, using one hand to untie his robe and allow it to fall open. He patted his thigh afterward to further elaborate on his instruction, one you were more than willing to follow. "Crawl to me…show me what an obedient, eager little pup you can be."
You did exactly as he told you to, enjoying the feeling of the soft sheets against your skin as you made your way to him. You climbed into his lap and straddled his waist between your thighs, core hovering over his hard and throbbing cock that you now wanted more than logic should reasonably allow. He felt how wet you were when your thighs made contact with his skin, breathing in deep to take in the scent of your arousal.
"My, my, how very eager you are," he spoke of you as if he was being presented with the meal of a lifetime. It made you feel desired in ways you weren't sure you'd be able to experience with anyone else for the remainder of your life. "I have to wonder, did my naughty toy find you along the way?"
You nodded, the only response you found yourself capable of, grinding down against his waist in a way that allowed his length to slip through your folds and spread your slick. His hands grasped your hips to follow your movements, chest vibrating against yours with a quiet purr as he appreciated your movements.
"Oh, of course they did…sometimes they just can't help it, the sinful thing…"
Both of his hands found their way to your thighs to grab them roughly, not making any effort to be mindful about his claws in places it wouldn't seriously hurt you - something that would become a pattern for the rest of your time together. Under his fingertips he could feel the welts that raised as a result of his scratching, smiling a charming smile as he took in your expression.
Finding you perfectly needy for him he reached one hand to grab your jaw and pull you closer, leaving his face hovering inches from yours. His skin was noticeably hotter against yours now, the undeniable evidence that he was just as effected by your closeness as you were his. His other hand gave your ass a swat to encourage you to raise up on your knees again, licking his lips when he could then reach toward your core and run his fingers through your folds again.
It was easier to feel the arousal he - and Haarlep, now - had earned when you weren't submerged in a tub. His fingers took the distance from your hole to your swollen clit painfully slow, matching the deep inhale he filled his lungs with along the way. Lost in how his hands felt against your body again you hardly noticed his tail wrap around one of your legs to hold you against him tighter, ensuring there was no chance of you climbing off before he'd had his fill.
It was hardly something he needed to do, but the implications of it made the experience all the better for him - and for you too.
"Don't forget to speak to me, my dear," he cooed, no annoyance present in his voice though he was hardly happy he had to remind you as he exercised a bit of patience at your current state. "I simply adore hearing the desperation in your words."
"Please, I need…"
Though he'd requested them your words were cut off as he pulled you against him rougher, pressing his throbbing length up into her core as he does. Your sentence quickly turned into a moan, your hands grabbing at his shoulders so you could cling to him in every sense of the word.
"Do go on."
You hated that his taunting tone sent a shiver down your spine and a hot wave of arousal straight to your core. Your desperation flooded every word that came from your mouth. "I need more," you were begging without having to be asked for it, something he would thank you for at a later time. "Something…a-anything you'll give me."
"Anything I'll give you?"
Was that particular choice of words a mistake? You found you couldn't come to a rational answer as you became lost in the embers of his eyes. You nodded, grinding against him to further your consent and ensure the point was driven home - you wanted him in whatever capacity he'd provide, in any way that would earn you more of his favor.
You hadn't realized your lip was quivering and your eyes were slightly watering out of the desperation but he had, soaking in the sight of you so wanton and lustful for him. It was his favorite look on you by far, and he couldn't resist the opportunity to see how truly indecent he could make you behave.
And all for him.
"Then prove to me you deserve it. Prove to me you're worth the effort from me and then I will prove to you that you are mine."
You only leaned closer to entice him the rest of the distance between you. You reached between your bodies with one hand to grasp his cock and rub it through your folds again, lining it up with your entrance and teasing down onto the tip slightly to test what he'd allow. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to express a thought that disappeared as you began to sink onto him, maintaining the eye contact you knew he loved as you moaned out his name quietly. He forgave you when your eyes fluttered closed to focus on taking his length and girth, your forehead falling down against his shoulder as a heavy breath fell from your lips.
"That's it," he was quick to compliment your efforts to ensure you knew how much he appreciated it, hoping the praise would keep you from giving up. "You can take me. Do not get discouraged…"
Your head nodded as another steady breath left your chest, shifting your hips to find the right angle to take him in. Though his words were honied you knew he was hardly the patient type and to avoid a temper change you pushed yourself onto as much of his length as you could take, finally earning a groan from him that was worth the quick shot of pain that being stretched like this brought. One of his arms reached to wrap around your waist and his other hand found the back of your head, cradling you against his form. His wings soon joined, wrapping both of you in privacy and what felt like the ultimate safety.
Within his wings it would be impossible for anyone who entered to see how well you began to ride him after a long adjustment period, how after several minutes of grinding and shifting and allowing him to pump into you you began to take him perfectly. Though he maintained his hold on your head your lips were finding their way to any place they could reach on his neck, chest, and jaw, eagerly nibbling and licking and sucking - testing if you could mark him like he'd undoubtedly mark you.
He decided you were testing him when you bit into him hard, his surprise announced by a grunt and a squeeze from his hand holding your hip. He gave your hair a tug to pull you upward into a hungry kiss, your moans joining together in the room as your hands grabbed his horns to hold him against you.
This is how he wanted you for him forever.
As your tongues danced your movements slowed, his hands meeting on your upper back to press your chest closer to his. Allowing you a partial breath he pulled away from the kiss to watch your face twist in pleasure as his claws dragged slowly down your back, pressing harder the lower they reached as he experimented with what you'd allow. You were eager to prove exactly what he'd requested - you could take what he would give.
His own head dropped to claim one of your breasts in his mouth, his tongue circling your nipple and flicking the nub several times before he changed his efforts to suck hard enough to bruise, glad he could stay here without a real breath for longer than what you may have previously experienced. He only pulled away to bite a mark into the soft flesh that immediately spilled some blood - as you continued to ride him exactly how you liked you either didn't notice or you didn't mind, either of which were fine by him.
"Very good," he purred, remembering how well you normally responded to his praise. He was thanked by a quiet moan and your walls tightening, fluttering around his length as he struck just the right cord in you. "Should I allow you release before I have my way with you?"
You were nodding before his sentence was fully complete and begging incoherently as your face buried into his neck again, continuing to lavish the skin with kisses. Your thighs began to shake at the mere thought of release, at how it would feel to gush around his length and how he would moan feeling you constrict him.
Whatever words he chose to give you permission were not fully understood, only their intent mattered. Though he wanted to pump into you at his own pace he allowed you to find release in this position yourself, happy it didn't take much longer for your walls to clamp around him and your head to throw back in ecstasy, your screams undoubtedly filling every wall in the house despite the closed door.
He held you down on his length as you spasmed through the high, enjoying the feeling of your body against his and focusing on how you felt held in his arms. He was always going to take what he wanted from you after you'd found this release but the longer he soaked in how small you were against his frame the more his own carnal desire began to take over his thoughts, a feral need building that wouldn't be long ignored.
"You have hold of me like an addiction," he breathed out heavy, shifting his hips beneath you - earning a whimper - wondering how much you'd truly be able to take. "So…unh…tight…"
Before you had fully returned to your senses he was pushing you onto your back, staying inside you with little effort and pinning you down with one hand on your stomach. His other hand rested at the base of your throat with his forearm beside your head, and just as your mind began to fathom how dangerous the position you were in was he kissed you slowly, silencing reason once again.
You could feel how sensitive you were as he pumped his length into you a few times - slowly to test your reaction. He pulled away from the kiss to examine your face, finding it filled with pleasure and overstimulation - traces of pain were there but you gave no indication he needed to stop.
"Do you think you can take what I will give you?"
His lips moved against yours sensually as he spoke, and you opened your mouth to answer for only a sob to be released. Instead you just nodded, hoping it would be enough in the circumstances and looking into his eyes with a pleading expression. He pressed a kiss to your bottom lip and pushed every inch you could take into you roughly, earning another sob that was muffled as he bit into your bottom lip enough to cause it to swell. He pulled away from the action with a wicked grin and savored your expression for a moment longer before this position came to an end.
He pulled out of you slowly, moving to stand next to the bed. In your haze you listened to him give you instructions to get on your knees and elbows, instructions you followed hastily on shaky limbs as he stroked his length watching you obey. When you were finally presenting yourself to him exactly how he wanted he mounted behind you, still grasping his length in one hand as his other reached forward to circle your dripping hole with two fingers.
"Precious. I will try not to break you."
His fingers were gone and replaced with his cock swiftly, his restraint gone as he thrusted in as far as he could, still trying to press further when he reached the end and smiling when the most beautiful cry filled the room from you. He groaned out deep as his hand found your stomach, pressing against it to hold you upward, reaching his other hand to slip the fingers that were coated in your slick into your mouth.
"So small beneath me," he breathed out, leaning forward to press a kiss over one of the red welts he'd created on your back. He engulfed you in this position, you were at his complete mercy - all hope of being anything but his ever again gone. He would never give you up. "On your knees for me. Just where you should be."
He forgot to be somewhat gentle with you as he thrust into you at a feral pace - or perhaps he just didn't care how little you were able to move when he was through. He continued to kiss your neck, shoulders, and back in any place he could reach, his teeth marking your skin anywhere he could manage. His claws were just as helpful in regard to marking you, reaching to scratch at your thighs and back - until he focused his hand's attention on your ass, spanking and scratching and grabbing roughly as proved to give him additional leverage as he pounded into you.
He was already obsessed with the way you took him with moans and cries while ensuring you stayed in the position he'd molded you into, eyes transfixed on how your tight hole took his length. When this whole Absolute ordeal was taken care of at your hands, he'd happily take this sight every day.
"Look at you just taking me," his voice was shaking now, matching your legs once again. His hand left your stomach to squeeze your throat, accentuating the fact that you were truly just taking whatever he would give. "And you do it so well, you sweet thing."
Content with how marked you were for him his hands instead grasped your waist in the gentlest grasp he'd offered yet, not quite matching the ferocity at which he pounded into you. Through blurred vision you were half aware of the familiar figure that slipped into the room through the shadows, the incubus unable to keep away witnessing what was filling the House with the irresistible sounds of flesh smacking against flesh.
You didn't know if Raphael noticed - you didn't care. You doubted a complaint would be heard if you offered one, and they would leave after you'd reached your release and they'd heard your euphoria anyway.
(Though you did momentarily hope that sinful tongue they'd offered earlier could be put to a better use, though you knew your body would be spent by then).
"Give me another," he ordered, feeling how your body was tensing up again at the threat of release, eager to feel you snap again. "And I want to hear it…"
He reached to rub your clit again at a speed that matched his thrusts, eager to feel how tight you'd squeeze him when you came undone, already intoxicated by the way your velvet walls were fluttering around his length. He was taking what he wanted from your body at a roughness that would no doubt leave bruises for you to feel on the road to Baldur's Gate - he certainly wouldn't heal marks that were a gift from him covering your back and neck and causing you to walk with a limp that so clearly displayed you had coupled with him.
He let you fall to the bed fully, only finding he was able to pound into you harder as you laid flat on your stomach. Unwilling to have you pass out he grabbed your hair on the back of your head and pulled hard enough to force it back so you could continue to breathe, leaning his torso over yours until he could twist your head and claim your lips in a rough kiss. He was hungry - feral - fully lost in himself as he chased his own pleasure, releasing all inhibition as he found his release. The only warning it was coming was the sloppiness that overtook his thrusts as the end neared, a growl rumbling in his chest as he pulled away from your lips to instead bite into your shoulder.
His seed was molten as it filled you, overflowing past his length. As his release filled your womb his teeth broke your skin and he tasted your blood as he was lost in his pleasure. He'd crave its flavor that was entirely you just as often as he'd crave claiming your womb now, knowing the mark would show you were his.
He continued to pump into you slowly several more times, holding you still as you squirmed and whimpered from the overstimulation, hearing the shake in your breaths and sweet sounds that proved to him you were crying. When he decided to pull out completely his chest shook with a quiet, dark laugh, finding a comfortable position straddling over your ass. His hands were loving in the way a curator's were with art, running over your scratched and bitten back adoringly for several moments, fingertips tracing the marks that would last the longest. He leaned down to press a kiss to a particularly possessive bite mark before removing his weight from you, rolling you to your side to to check that you were still capable of coherency.
You blinked up at him with glassy eyes, tear-stained cheeks proving he had been right about your tears. He leaned to press a single gentle kiss to your forehead as he pulled the blanket over your weak body. Selfish of a creature as he was, he was still capable of some semblance of aftercare - though that was it, it was enough from someone like him to someone like you.
"Well done, my dear. A wonderful demonstration of your devotion to me."
This praise - this tone. The very reason you'd do anything he asked, become anything he needed you to become. Anything he asked of you in a moment like this you'd provide. Part of you wondered how long it would take for him to exploit that fact.
"Next time you've behaved for me I will have Haarlep join us. They can lick my seed clean from you as I watch how you look beneath me."
(You'd think more on that particular promise later, when your mind was capable of wrapping around anything other than Raphael's finger again).
His new tone was undeniable and impossible to ignore, the reverence steeping every syllable enough to drown in them. Appreciation, worship. It was difficult to decide if being beneath him or hearing this newfound depth of praise was more fulfilling. You nuzzled closer to him still just barely conscious, physically submitting to the exhaustion that overtook every inch of yourself.
You nodded your head lazily in agreement before burrowing your face in his neck, enjoying the familiar scent of cherries, musk and sulphur that had come to mean power and protection to you. If you were lucky those sinful notes would linger in your senses in the coming day.
Though he was far from one to cuddle, he wasn't one to complain when presented with any show of mutual adoration from you, and he allowed his tail to drape across your legs in a subtle concession to your own desires.
Beyond that, he was still, but he was content.
"Rest," you were intoxicated with this voice, one you couldn't help but wonder how few beings had heard it, one free of any performance - honest, soft. "You will need it before you continue your journey. When you wake you'll be in camp with your cohorts, and when you reach the city again you will return to me."
In your last moments of consciousness, you remained his eager little pup.
masterlist.
baldur's gate III masterlist.
#raphael bg3#raphael baldur's gate 3#raphael x tav#raphael x reader#haarlep x tav#haarlep x reader#raphael smut#bg3 smut#raphael fanfic
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My AO3 acount
writershapeholeonthedoor
My Masterlist on Tumblr
Requests
SUPERCORP
One-Shots
Yellow Sun: Lena had never been more comfortable in her entire life
It's Cold Outside: 6 times Lena feels cold and 1 time Kara promises to keep her warm
Good Luck Kisses: There's a new trend around
You marked more than just my skin: Kara gets a tattoo and Lena is an tattoo artist
Dino gear: Kara’s main goal is to make Lena happy
You look perfect: Lena can't stop staring
I'm slowly dying (with or without you): Lena has a panic attack, Kara’s there
Old friends: Sam attends Alex's wedding.
Baby Driver: Lena doesn't know how to drive and Kara offers to teach her so she can take her license, however, driving proves to be harder than Lena thought it would be.
Drabbles
Kara declaims short poems at Lena part 1
Kara declaims short poems at Lena part 2
Supercorp at Quarantine part 1
Fanart/Gif sets drabbles (inspired by fanarts or gif sets from other people)
Wives spending a cozy night at home
Only bought this dress so you could take it off
Kara explaining her tattoos
Lena’s Birthday
BISHOVA
Slumber Party: Yelena wants to have a slumber party tonight.
That is not cutlery: Yelena keeps coming back and Kate just might end up wanting her to stay.
CAROLNAT
I Wanna Believe (that we're a masterpiece): Natasha seems to be unable to take care of herself, so Carol decides she will be the one to do that.
WANDANAT
Pillow talk: Natasha is back from a mission and all she wants is to see Wanda. Wanda, however, is already enterteined with another activity.
Take Care: Everyone tries to warn Wanda what a bad idea it is to fall in love with the big, bad, scary spy.
TWILIGHT
Drabble: Cute Rosalie and Charlie bonding moment.
Bella is high: Bella smokes weed.
FLORENCE PUGH X READER
Sunday Plans: It's a lazy Sunday morning and Florence has an important question for you
Happy Together: A cute unplanned date night with your girlfriend, Florence.
Black widow: Cooking With Flo is back and you make an accidental cameo that get the entire world to know about you relationship with Florence.
Kiss me more: This is the first time your friends are meeting your girlfriend and you're excited about it.
Sunrise in the East: Reader is very happy having one-night stands or having friends with benefits, avoiding any serious relationship for a while now. However, things change and she suddenly starts to think that dating wouldn't be all that bad.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON X READER
Mrs Hollywood: It's not always easy to date a Hollywood star.
Make up your mind: You ask Scarlett out on a date.
Mayores: Someone sends you flowers and your girlfriend isn't happy about it.
ELIZABETH OLSEN X READER
Marry you: During an interview, someone asks you to marry them and your girlfriend isn't happy about it.
Marry you (part 2): Your girlfriend proposed, your friends are happy for you, and you still have work to do.
Marry you (part 3): It's time for the world to know about your relationship.
Cool kids: Elizabeth meets your son.
Love me harder: You are having a nice day out with Elizabeth when a paparazzi stumble over you.
Happier than ever: Your last relationship was toxic and you're still coping with that.
Only girl: You and Elizabeth enjoy a quiet night at home.
She's so lovely: Elizabeth introduces you to the world.
Lay all your love (on me): You get hired to be Elizabeth’s love interest in her new movie and nothing could prepare you to how your life would change upon meeting her.
Skin: *SMUT* There are times when you need Elizabeth to consume you.
Runnin' home to you: After months of trying, it’s time to tell your wife that you're pregnant.
Dog days are over: Elizabeth isn’t a dog person… but you are. After the puppy interview, you try to convince your girlfriend to take one of them home.
Tattooed heart: You have tattoos everywhere and your girlfriend suffers from severe anxiety. You learned to walk around with Sharpies to help her out.
Into you: A quiet day at home with the person that consumes your every breath.
| Last updated: Jan. 20th, 2024.
#my writing#masterlist#fanfic#ao3#supercorp#bishova#carolnat#twilight#florence pugh#scarlett johansson#florence pugh x reader#scarlett johansson x reader#drabbles#elizabeth olsen#elizabeth olsen x reader#wandanat#wanda x natasha
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HOW TO GET A S/O — A GUIDE BY YOURS TRULY.
“i hereby declare that i am opening s/o applications! i can offer a poem, a brownie and my unconditional love. if you’re interested, please fill out this form!”
(platonic/romantic) ayato, albedo, childe, kazuha, an anonymous sender x gn!reader, chiscara cameo lmao
comedy, fluff, modern!au, high school!au (?)
for valentine’s day…. i love valentine’s day i LOVE PEOPLE IN LOVE!!!!!
“this is so dumb,” your best friend xiao mutters under his nose. “i’m not even talking about the fact that you came up with the whole significant other form thing or the fact that it actually worked,” he looks with an indescribable look in his eyes at your phone, “i can’t believe you used google forms to make it. really? google forms?”
“what else was i supposed to use, genius,” you retort while opening the submitted applications. “i’m more impressed that i actually got so many answers. i think my brownie has bewitched them, their body and soul,” you say jokingly while stretching.
xiao looks at you with a blank face and you only shrug. he looks like he’s mere seconds from a breakdown. you wonder why.
“well, i’ve gotta say this is perfect! valentine’s day just around the corner, y’know? would be nice to have a partner even if they would break up with me like two days later. i can’t keep pestering you to be my valentine every single year.” he simply sighs and rubs his eyes. he seems annoyed. you’re not sure why though but you know he’s not annoyed at you. he never is.
“alright, enough talking, let’s get to it! time to see whose application was the best!” you declare enthusiastically and start scrolling.
APPLICATION NR. 1
NAME: KAMISATO AYATO
TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF: i’m not particularly sure what contents should be placed here.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERFECT DATE: a meeting in the park sounds quite nice. obviously, it would depend on the weather. however, if it would be nice, strolling and talking while walking between trees and flower seems quite lovely. i’ve always wanted to try it.
TELL ME THE REASON FOR YOUR APPLICATION: you seem like a very nice and competent person. we’ve worked on a couple projects before and even if we wouldn’t end up dating, i would still appreciate becoming friends.
TELL ME A FUN FACT: oh my, i’m really bad this. i’m sorry. could i perhaps ask you a question though? do you know if i perhaps did anything to offend your friend? he’s been glaring at me since the time we first teamed up for a project.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
[…do you think thoma and ayaka put him up to it?]
[that is quite possible.]
[aish, that’s too bad. do you think he’d still like to meet up though? i’d like to get closer to him.]
[what? why on earth would you like to do that?]
[why not? it could be fun. also, addressing his concern, do you have anything against him?]
[…no, not in particular.]
[alright, if you say so…]
APPLICATION NR. 2
NAME: ALBEDO
TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF: oh come on, we’ve known each other for so long. i’m sure you already know it but but when i was a child i accidentally dyed my hair black — my mother was terrified. on the other hand, i was quite thrilled. maybe i should do it again.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERFECT DATE: a study date? perhaps. i’m sorry, this probably sounds quite boring. in my defense, i am quite a boring person. i’m open to anything though.
TELL ME THE REASON FOR YOUR APPLICATION: we’ve been lab partners since the beginning of high school, haven’t we? i’d like to think we get along quite well PLUS i don’t have a valentine this year either and if i’ll have to listen to my mother’s nagging again i will lose it. if you want to, i can give you extra chemistry lessons — an agreement with mutual benefit, if i can put it that way.
TELL ME A FUN FACT: did you know ajax screamed when he saw that you put out the forms? i’m not particularly sure why but i felt as if my eardrums were about to explode. even my noise canceling headphones didn’t work.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
[can’t believe he’d try to use me again to get rid of his mother’s talking his ear off.]
[if it annoys you, i can take care of it.]
[your definition of taking care of something is quite doubtful, if i’m being honest. and no, you don’t have to. i love helping him anyways. he’s a good friend and he explains chemistry perfectly.]
[i could also give you some extra lessons from it.]
[xiao, you are literally failing the subject.]
[and?]
APPLICATION NR. 3
NAME: AJAX AKA CHILDE
TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF: i’m good at sports, obviously. i’m also fantastic at learning. i’m also handsome. generally speaking, i’m perfect (and taken).
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERFECT DATE: simply spending time with my lovely boyfriend (if he’d hear me call him that he’d slap me in the face).
TELL ME AND THE REASON FOR YOUR APPLICATION: i’m trying to help my friend but i’m not sure if he won’t murder me in exchange if he does please put forget-me-nots at my grave i beg!!
TELL ME A FUN FACT: i once put a lightbulb in my mouth because i didn't believe it when they said you won’t be able to get it out. had to go to the hospital and shit — oh and by the way did you know there is someone close to you that HAS A CRUSH ON YOU PLEASE OPEN YOUR EYES I CAN’T KEEP ON ENDURING IT ANYMORE
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
[a crush? on me, out of all people?]
[why are you so surprised?]
[why would i be not? it’s not like i’m popular or anything. considering you, who has been my friend for the longest time never developed one, how could a completely random person do it?]
[…who knows.]
APPLICATION NR. 4
NAME: KAEDEHARA KAZUHA
TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF: i think you know everything you should already, considering you’ve seen most of my poetry.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERFECT DATE: finding a place the both of us have never been to before and exploring it together. making memories with a person you like is always pleasant.
TELL ME THE REASON FOR YOUR APPLICATION: i just want to get closer to you. and who knows where it will lead us.
TELL ME A FUN FACT: did you know they opened a new café just around the corner? perhaps that could be our destination.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
[kazuha is as sweet as ever. straight to the point too.]
[…too straight to the point.]
[did you say something?]
[no?]
[oh.]
[well, you do remember you’re supposed to visit the café with me though, right? we’re supposed to do it tomorrow.]
[of course i do.]
APPLICATION NR. 5
NAME: ANONYMOUS
TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF: what would be the point of me submitting myself as anonymous if i’d describe myself in great detail here
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PERFECT DATE: same one as yours
TELL ME REASON FOR YOUR APPLICATION: i’ve liked you since that one time where you reached out my hand to me in kindergarten and asked if we could become friends. i’ve kept on liking you when you went through your first breakup. i’ve kept on liking you when we were spending valentine’s day together every single year. i’ve always liked you. i still do. and i don’t think i’ll stop
TELL ME A FUN FACT: would you believe me if i told you that out of all the possible people ajax was the one that made me do this. i’ve threatened him that if this fails i’ll tell scara that he’s had a crush on him since sixth grade
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
[xiao?]
[…yes?]
[is this you?]
[…]
[silent as ever, huh.]
[what if it is me?]
[because if it is, i like you too. i’ve liked you for a very long time now.]
[…yes, it is me.]
[oh, thank the stars. i can’t believe i had to do this whole thing to see if my feelings were one-sided.]
[huh? what did you say?]
[…nothing! so, how would you like to spend our first valentine’s day together as an official couple?]
[official?]
[what, you don’t want it?]
[…]
[wait, xiao, did you just blush?]
[…we can visit that café.]
[whatever you want, my dear boyfriend.]
[…stop talking.]
#ayato x reader#albedo x reader#childe x reader#kazuha x reader#childe x scaramouche#ayato fluff#albedo fluff#childe fluff#kazuha fluff#genshin x reader#genshin fluff#xiao x reader#xiao fluff#ganyuslily.writes
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General season 2 opinions. MASSIVE TDI 2023 season 2 spoilers ahead (as well as a huge wall of text.) You've been warned.
Ok, so here's everything I like about the season (I can count them on my fingers)
-There were some funny jokes
-MKulia was entertaining and it's now in my top 5 favorite ships, but it's not perfect, as I'll explain later
-Hockey dudes were a joy to watch I suppose
-Bowie stole the show as usual
-There are a lot of neat challenges (The canoe, slide, and dog challenges was a particular stand outs to me)
-MK herself was really funny
-MacArthur's cameo was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, and she bounces off of Chris really well
-Duncney is still broken up lol
Honestly that's about it in terms of positives, cuz I have a million other negatives for this supposed sequel to (imo) the best written season of the show.
-The Relationships were the single worst aspect about this season full stop. Ripaxel and Praleb are probably the worst couples the show has ever subjected me to. For Ripaxel, they basically removed anything interesting Ripper had going on and Axel wasn't allowed to live up to any kind of hype she created because one lame ass poem turned her into Ripper's girlfriend for the remaining duration of her run, only for the both of them to be tossed aside in episode 7 in perhaps the worst double elimination in the entire show.
-Praleb started off ok. I thought it was gonna be a one-sided crush plot initially before Episode 6. They had a couple cute moments before episode 8, of which their screentime became suffocating because afterwards is was this painful back and forth where Caleb tried explaining himself and Priya would be mad at him, then ally with him, then be mad at him again like it was so tiresome. By the time they got together in the finale again, I was wishing they had just followed up on Pramien instead. Caleb by himself was funny in the first half of season 2 and Priya was great in season 1, but the two of them together were insufferable
-Speaking of Priya, she went from one of the best characters in season 1 to one of the worst in season 2. Why did she have to make it all the way to episode fucking 12 after winning season 1?? Just for some generic heterosexual romance? They also made her so dumb with shit like knowing Julia is manipulating her but then getting a surprise Pikachu face when Julia manipulated her??? You spent your entire life preparing for this show, how the fuck did you not see this coming???
-Segwayying into Julia, she's the worst antagonist full stop. I've never seen such an absolute downgrade of a character. She was a goat in season 1 who was aware of her situation and acted accordingly because the stakes were real. Here? Reality basically warps around her just to keep her in the game. She does things characters would never fall for in season 1 and they just go with it?? They insist on keeping her in the finale and do basically nothing interesting with her. She's not even as funny as Island Heather at the end of the day.
-I mentioned MKulia earlier, so I'll just get to it here: I like it in concept. Two evil sapphics causing chaos together is really fun. My main issue is that it was very sudden. They both were not fans of each other at the end of season 1 and now I'm supposed to just believe they became friends off screen? I mean, I guess, but it's kinda cheap. I would have really liked it if it was straight up enemies to lovers ngl. Also the fact MK had very little agency outside of being Julia's lackey doesn't help either. I want to point to the fake contract thing, for instance. Why did Julia do that? That sounds like an MK thing to do.
-Time to dive into other characters: Damien is an absolute fucking tragedy. At the end of season 1, Damien had one ambition: win next season. They kinda did that, sure, but they regressed Damien into being a complete coward to do so, not to mention he didn't even go all the way either. Damien didn't get a W until episode 6 and tbh that was his only W. By the end of his tenure, I was left confused on what the point of his run was. (I'll come back to this later.)
-What was the point of Nichelle? Like seriously, what did she contribute to the season at all? They didn't do the ironic underdog story with her, and considering she was getting all egotistical and aggressive, i thought she was gonna be the antagonist for sure...until Julia got rid of her in episode 5 in a way that really shouldn't make sense cuz like Nichelle is an actual celebrity that stars in blockbuster movies, I'm pretty sure she could sniff a fake contract a mile away, right?
-Hockey dudes were great, but I felt like they were very dumbed down at times? Like they were just generic dumb dudes that just meandered around a lot of the time (Wayne in particular just straight up floated away from a challenge at one point)
-Bowie was alright too. His line delivery is great as usual, but let's not kid ourselves: In a well written season, he'd be going straight for Julia the next time his team lost. Bowraj was nice to see even if the season didn't really do a whole lot with it
-Am I the only one who thinks this season is a tad bit misogynistic? Like this is the shortest them phase the show as ever had (to the point where i'd argue teams don't really matter) and 4 of the 5 team phase boots were girls. Millie and Emma in particular were really bad. Like, you could make Millie a team phase boot without like shitting on her that hard. And Emma got like fuck all closure outside of breaking up with Chase off screen like wow, way to utilize such a high potential character, Fresh. And this is saying nothing about how the girls that did make it to the merge had plots basically dominated by romance and like nothing else. And then there's MKulia which is apparently intended to be a friendship but like is written like a romantic one at times. It gives me all-stars gwourtney vibes and (as a fan of gwourtney myself) not in a good way. At least MK and Julia were somewhat in character I guess, but they had their edges really sanded off and honestly as a friendship (situationship?) it's a complete downgrade from Millie and Priya in so many ways
-And another thing: who's the protagonist this season? Outside of Praleb, who am I supposed to care for? Who am I supposed to root for? By the halfway mark, the show doesn't really make any convincing arguments to root for like anyone there outside of maybe Damien? And he went gone in episode 10, so like, hockey dudes? No one has an interesting enough narrative for me to care.
-The immunity idol stinks as usual. Like, why did Damien do THE SAME FUCKING THING HEATHER DID IN ALL-STARS?? That actually pissed me off so much holy shit. The immunity idol as it stands in the show is basically a shitty plot device made to keep characters in as there's no real strategy revolved around it.
-Oh and another minor thing: Owen's cameo sucks, and that's entirely due to him not being physically aged up at all and just being a vehicle for the same dumb jokes they always make with him. so stupid
-Anyways, I spend an entire season with two shitass straight relationships taking up screentime, a whole multiude of potential plotlines from last season (pramien) and this season (scary girl's revenge, millie being the new ripper, damien's comeback, julia having internal conflict over her friendship (feelings?) for MK) being set up and just nothing being done with them, and characters in general just being nerfed or borderline out of character (Ripper) and what am I rewarded with?
-Soar Losers. The most boring nothing finale in the entire show. The choices for finalists suck, Wayne, while being the least bad option for a winner (and i do still like him a lot), is still a mid ass winner in the grand scheme of the entire show. And more praleb drama? fuck off I hate them so much. The challenge did not feel finale worthy at all, and honestly it was the worst challenge in the whole season. On top of being a bunch of nothing, the show decides to bring back the worst trope it ever had: losing hair as karma. I almost ragequit the episode on the spot that shit makes me so irrationally mad. I think it's even worse here because Julia still had hair after the fact, which makes it seem like they were aware it's not a popular TD trope but wanted to half commit to it anyways for the sake of tradition or something. Terrible finale to an already decently sized letdown of a season, but it has some ok MKulia moments I guess. The finale was just emblematic of the entire season, where things just happen and you're just expected to go along with everything. (Also side note how come Chase wasn't the one to jump off of the cart for pizza immediately?)
TL;DR reboot season 2 imo was a step down in every conceivable way from season 1 apart of i guess comedy and it's left a very sour taste in my mouth. I'm probably missing a few points that I'll add onto later but man it feels nice putting my opinion out there.
#total drama#total drama 2023#td spoilers#prileb#mkulia#ripaxel#bowraj#td mk#td julia#td caleb#td axel#td bowie#td chase#td damien#td emma#td millie#td nichelle#td priya#td wayne#td raj#td ripper#td zee#td scary girl
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Drivin' on the right-side road
He says I'm pretty wearin' his clothes
And he's got hands that make hell seem cold
Feet on the dashboard, he's like a poem I wish I wrote
I wish I wrote
And he laughs at all my jokes
And he says I'm so American
Oh God, it's just not fair of him
To make me feel this much
I'll go anywhere he goes
And he says I'm so American
Oh God, I'm gonna marry him
If he keeps this shit up
I might just be in lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-love
this is literally #THEM
this one edit kinda had me in the trenches just for the part where the lyrics were like "the way you dress" and it crossfaded from tom wearing the 1.0 leather jacket to z wearing it PLUS the legendary "your sick girlfriend really loves you" cameo 🤧
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I've just seen that Tim Downie has read out someone's poetry on Cameo!
Are you going to send him any of yours?!!
I'd love to hear the Tiefling Party one lol.
I know, I saw! It was the beautiful poetry of @alpydk - I recommend reading more of their poems if you haven't already. They're lovely.
I'm so happy that you like the poem enough to want that, but I don't think so.
It's not something I can stretch to at the moment. I've been thinking of posting some audio of me reading them out myself - but I know that isn't the same, and I doubt anyone would want that!
My friend @fantasyfictionfables very kindly used ElevenLabs to read out that particular poem - Link here
One day if I ever have the funds and the bravery- then maybe i'll request a reading from him.
If that ever happens i'll make sure to share it.
<3
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On the Epic of Gilgamesh: The World's First Big Budget Adaptation
My Yuletide assignment this year was an excuse for me to reread (and rediscover everything I loved about) The Epic of Gilgamesh ‒ and I can seldom resist the excuse to ramble about this kind of thing, but where do you even start, with a work like Gilgamesh? It’s the world’s oldest (known) work of literature, it features an all-but-canon m/m romance, and (even from incomplete reconstructions from languages which have been dead and alien for millennia) its central themes and most striking imagery still resonate to this day.
But perhaps my favourite thing is that it’s also what amounts to the world’s first ever big-budget adaptation of an existing story, complete with extra of sex and violence, a tropey bromance between its male leads, gratuitous cameos from other popular mythic figures, and even this one wonderfully confusing deleted bonus-scene, tacked on at the end like a DVD extra. I’m not even kidding.
Let me explain.
The oldest surviving stories about Gilgamesh – a semi-divine, semi-mythical Sumerian king – were inscribed on clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Saudi Arabia) somewhere around 2000 BC. Five distinct poems from this era have survived in variously-complete format. Gilgamesh and Akka tells of how Gilgamesh gained independence for Uruk from the kingdom of Kish (ruled by the titular Akka, in what seems to be the one Gilgamesh tale most likely to have some real historical basis). Gilgamesh and Huwawa and Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven both recount his battles with their respective monsters. Gilgamesh and the Netherworld deals with the death of his servant Enkidu, whose shade is briefly allowed to return to the mortal realms to report on what awaits in the hereafter. And finally, The Death of Gilgamesh deals with Gilgamesh’s death from illness, the gods decreeing that semi-divine isn’t sufficient for immortality.
But these aren’t the best-known version of Gilgamesh. A few centuries later, someone took those existing tales and reworked them into a single, cohesive epic, spanning 11 tablets (plus one confusing bonus tablet that we’ll get to later on). The new, integrated epic promotes Enkidu from merely a servant to Gilgamesh’s equal: created to be his companion by the gods, in answer to prayers of the people, exhausted by Gilgamesh’s tyrannical rule.
In all the best traditions of modern shonen manga, Gilgamesh and Enkidu meet, fight, and then become fast friends. Together, they battle both Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, in episodes only lightly reworked from the original poems. But this time, these acts anger the gods, and their punishment is Enkidu’s death. Distraught at the loss of his friend, and faced with the horror of his own mortality, Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find the one man the gods ever made immortal: Utnapishtim, the Sumerian Noah (our gratuitous cameo). But Utnapishtim can only tell Gilgamesh that, short of saving the world from another biblical flood, his quest is a fool’s errand. Finally accepting his own mortality, Gilgamesh returns home. (This is, of course, a very summarised version of the full epic, but you get the general gist.)
Comparing the epic to the ‘original’ poems can be a little fraught, considering that even after reconstruction from multiple different partially-preserved copies, there are still gaps in both versions. We can only speculate whether there might have been other Sumerian poems that haven’t survived ‒ let alone how many other variations existed in oral tradition throughout the region and beyond. But for all the epic version adds and changes, what stands out most is how they’ve picked up and expanded on what was already the strongest running theme of the Sumerian stories: mortality – whether that be the desire to leave behind a record of great deeds to be remembered by (such as the slaying of monsters), or more explicitly in those final two poems, dealing with Enkidu and Gilgamesh's deaths.
For all that’s been added, the promotion of Enkidu to Gilgamesh’s equal does have more basis in the Sumerian originals that it might first appear. Though explicitly only 'a servant', Enkidu is the only other character appearing (or at least mentioned) in every poem, aiding his king in his struggles against Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. In sending Gilgamesh to the netherworld upon his death, the gods even note that he will be reunited with his ‘beloved’ Enkidu, whose death he so fervently mourned. And though everything else in the circumstances of Enkidu’s death has been changed, both versions render it a major event, and one that leaves Gilgamesh heartbroken.
There’s even a trace of epic!Gilgamesh’s tyranny in Gilgamesh and the Netherworld, where he so exhausts the men of Uruk with his games and contests (similar accusations to the first chapter of the epic) that the gods themselves step in, arranging for his favourite toys to fall through a crack in the earth into the Netherworld (prompting Enkidu to volunteer to retrieve them… and you can see where this is going).
But for all the adaptation takes from those old poems, some of its most striking chapters are (as far as we know) completely new – including all of Enkidu’s backstory. The Gilgamesh of the epic is still respected as a wise and powerful ruler, and he still exhausts the men of Uruk with his contests, but now, he’s also been asserting his right to droit de signeur (yes, really – that trope goes this far back), and his people aren’t happy. The gods’ solution is to make the semi-divine Gilgamesh an equal: Enkidu the wild man, raised in the wilderness by beasts. Nearly as huge and powerful as Gilgamesh himself, Enkidu soon becomes a problem for hunters trying to make their living nearby.
How do you solve a problem like a wild man? Well, obviously, you introduce him to sex.
Gilgamesh’s solution to the Enkidu-problem is to send Shamhat, a cultic prostitute of the temple of Ishtar (ritual sex was apparently a Big Thing in some ancient fertility cults) – and it works. After a full seven days of sex with Shamhat (look, this is why you send a professional), Enkidu finds he can now understand the language of men, but the wild animals reject him. Something stirs in him when Shamhat tells him of Uruk and Gilgamesh, but the tipping point comes when he learns Gilgamesh is due to make a scheduled appearance at an upcoming wedding (ifyouknowwhatimean). Enkidu rushes to Uruk, intercepts Gilgamesh on the very doorstep of the bride in question, and the two demi-gods proceed to throw down. And then become instant BFFs. Seriously, I wasn’t kidding about how very Shonen Jump it is; I don’t know what else to tell you.
Now, to what degree these new intro chapters were an excuse to sex things up and get the audience’s attention, I can only speculate – but there is a lot of sex in these first two tablets (and next to none afterwards). Regardless, this feels like the perfect place to segue into what for many will be the more pressing question: just how gay is the Epic of Gilgamesh?
Because I mean, just on a surface level, it’s already pretty suggestive: Enkidu, having newly discovered sex, shows up to pointedly cockblock Gilgamesh’s appointment with a young lady, and one round of (ahem) "wrestling" later, suddenly they really like each other. And the mere fact the gods’ solution to "this guy keeps exhausting all our men and fucking all our women!" is to send him Enkidu… you’ve got to wonder if he’s just a wrestling partner on Gilgamesh’s own level, or is he meant to satisfy other needs as well?
But you really don’t need slash-goggles to find subtext in this tale. Even the academics are here for this one.
Significantly, Enkidu’s coming is foretold to Gilgamesh in a series of prophetic dreams, helpfully interpreted for him by the goddess Ninsun, his mother. In the first, Enkidu is represented by a meteor that falls down before Gilgamesh – and to quote George’s translation directly, Gilgamesh recalls, “Like a wife I loved it, caressed and embraced it.” This is not what you'd call ambiguous wording. His mother corrects this only in that the meteor is to be a man – and to drive this point home, Enkidu spends much of the rest of the poem being described as having strength “as mighty as a rock from the sky.” If that wasn’t all suggestive enough, one might also note that Enkidu does his share of “caressing and embracing” (that same wording, presumably going all the way back to the original language) of Shamhat during their week-long sex marathon too.
Then Gilgamesh has his second dream – almost beat-for-beat identical to the first, except that now Enkidu appears as an axe rather than meteor. This is a little more confusing. Both are certainly dangerous objects which hit hard, but axes don’t generally fall from the sky, and Enkidu is never compared to an axe again. So why include it?
The most compelling (and really the only) academic explanation I’ve seen put forward is that both objects may be playful Akkadian puns. Kisru (meteor) evokes kezru, and hassinu (axe) evokes assinnu – and both kezru and assinnu are apparently terms for types of male cultic prostitute: men who have sex with other men. Lest you wonder if this might be reaching, that amazing “Like a wife I loved it” line is still right there. It all adds up.
Before we get too carried away with pre-historic queer representation though, it’s notable that even in a time where apparently no-one batted an eye at male cultic prostitutes, the Gilgamesh/Enkidu subtext would be left largely as the stuff of implication – but the pattern is also weirdly familiar. Like modern media adaptations from Sherlock to Captain America: Winter Soldier, it’s plain the screenwriters absolutely want to imbue their central male/male relationships with all the intensity and pathos (and maybe even a bit of wink-wink-nudge-nudge) of a romance, and yet stop short of making it explicit. I cannot begin to guess whether the same forces were in play here, but the resonance is still pretty striking.
We’re still not done with gay-Gilgamesh-shenanigans though, because we’ve still got to cover that mysterious, DVD-extra of a 12th tablet, which may-or-may-not include an actual, textual statement of how much Gilgamesh likes handling Enkidu’s dick.
This one is going to need some more context. See, the 12th and final tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh consists of a fairly-literal Akkadian translation of the latter half of the original Sumerian poem, Gilgamesh and the Netherworld. Narratively speaking, this is a bit of a record-scratch moment, because not only has the epic already reached its logical conclusion as of the end of tablet 11, Gilgamesh and the Netherworld is the one that revolves around the death of Enkidu – and in the new epic version, Enkidu has already died in completely different circumstances, way back in tablet 7. So what the hell is it doing here?
The best guess as to why anyone felt the need to include this episode in its original form is that the bulk of the original Sumerian poem relays a detailed account of how one’s actions in life will affect one’s prospects in the hereafter. Enkidu’s shade dutifully reports that a Sumerian citizen who hopes to be comfortable in the netherworld must have plenty of sons (to make offerings in the name of their departed father), must show respect to the gods, must die peacefully – the list goes on. The material has transcended the world of poetry and moved into scripture – and that may have been considered worth preserving long after the original tales were lost.
So where does the dick-touching come in? Brace yourselves: Enkidu’s account of the netherworld includes some graphic details about what happens to your junk. That crotch you touched, so that your heart rejoiced, is filled with dust like a crack in the ground. And so on.
Here’s where making definitive statements about this passage get messy. There are at least two different versions (the original Sumerian and the one from the epic) in different languages, and not always preserved well enough that all the words are still legible. So I’ve seen translations where it seems to be Enkidu’s own body that Gilgamesh ‘rejoiced to touch’. I’ve seen versions where it seems to be some unnamed woman’s body instead. Or maybe Enkidu’s saying that even having a wank isn’t worth much rejoicing in the afterlife (and for the record, I’ve seen all the above in just the work of just one author, Andrew George. Consensus is not a luxury we have here). There’s some ambiguity there, and I have no idea how much of that is down to interpretation, translation, or the actual state of the text. The 12th tablet of the epic of Gilgamesh remains a mystery stuffed into an enigma (then presumably filled in with dust).
Anyhow, back to the main text of the epic. From the meeting of Enkidu and Gilgamesh, things happen surprisingly fast. Gilgamesh immediately proposes a trip to the cedar forest to slay the monster Huwawa: an act which so impresses the goddess Ishtar that she hits on Gilgamesh, he rejects her, and she sends the Bull of Heaven to punish him. Angered by the death of both Huwawa and the bull, the gods inflict a fatal illness on Enkidu, whose death leaves Gilgamesh heartbroken. Like screenwriters trying to cram everything from Captain America’s origin story to his emergence from the ice into a single movie, the complete tale of Gilgamesh’s time with his literally-god-given-soulmate seems like it’s been compressed down to maybe a couple of months, max. But such is the nature of adaptations like this one.
But the best parts of the epic are hardly over. Gilgamesh’s search for Utnapishtim, the one man ever made immortal by the gods, will see him meet scorpion men and stone men, will take him across a sea whose very touch is death, and force him to race the sun through the tunnel it takes each night under the earth. He finds the man he seeks at the end of the world – which is our poet’s excuse to include the entire Sumerian flood myth in the narrative, as Utnapishtim recites exactly what he had to do to earn his immortality.
Gratuitous as it may be, this is not a complaint. I kind of love the pre-biblical Sumerian version of this story – not least because, despite being initiated by the most revered of the gods, the deluge sent to punish mankind for their ills is unambiguously framed as a mistake. Mankind is saved only because Ea, wisest of the gods, sneakily breaks his oath of secrecy by alerting Utnapishtim to the danger and directing him to build his ark – and Ea gets away with it by directing his warning not to the man himself but to the fence outside his home, so he can honestly tell the other gods “Who me? I didn’t tell anyone, I only whispered it to a fence!” (I like to imagine him walking away from that initial meeting with the other gods rolling his eyes, going, “Well someone’s gonna regret this in the morning, you just wait. Alright, alright, damage control time…”)
And the gods absolutely do regret the deluge. When at last the rain stops, and Utnapishtim lights some incense in ritual thanks to the gods for his survival, the text describes the parched gods clustering around the smoke of the offering like flies. To find something like that – that comes so close to suggesting that the gods themselves depend on humanity for some measure of their power and comfort – in a text this old blows my mind a little. It’s also a hell of an image.
In any version of Gilgamesh, the general attitude to the gods has a lot of commonalities to what you’d find in, say, Greek mythology. The gods are absolutely divine and worthy of worship, but also come across as one huge, long-running soap opera of privilege, dysfunction and pettiness. Even the Athenians, though, generally kept the image of their patron goddess Athena reasonably clean. By contrast, when Uruk’s own patroness Ishtar appears in the tale, her role is to hit on Gilgamesh, be rejected, go crying to her father for help, and send the Bull of Heaven down for revenge. Gilgamesh insults her, kills the bull, and even hurls part of its carcass at her as a parting blow. He then makes flasks of its horns and presents them to her own temple in her honour. For bonus confusion, the original Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Netherworld also opens with a passage where Gilgamesh does Ishtar a much-appreciated favour in clearing out the demons infesting a divine tree. What on earth are we supposed to make of it all? The worship of Ishtar must have taken some truly god-level compartmentalisation.
Much as I love Gilgamesh, some of it is inescapably pretty impenetrable to the casual modern reader. If you were paying attention back at that very first bit about Gilgamesh and the Netherworld, for example, you might have caught that plot point where the great king Gilgamesh so exhausted all the men of Uruk with his games that the gods themselves had to step in and take his toys away. What those toys were isn’t totally clear, but the best guess seems to be a ball and a mallet. These were made of wood from that divine tree, but even so – was ancient Sumerian croquet really that intense? You’ll run into stuff like this a lot reading any version of Gilgamesh – scholars will do their best, but some of it just doesn’t translate, reminding you you’re reading something written in a cultural context no-one’s seen in over 4000 years.
But that only makes it all the more fascinating when (like finding bits of Shakespeare in the infinite monkey cage) you run into the stuff that does still resonate. I could not tell you why Gilgamesh begins his case for why they should rebel against Kish with a spiel about the digging and/or operation of wells – but then you get to the bit where Akka compares Uruk with its great city walls of Uruk to a cloudbank sitting on the earth, or the part where Enkidu finally responds to Akka’s repeated demands of, “Slave, is that man your king?” with, “That man is indeed my king!” – and even separated from the poet by several millennia and the hard work of so many archaeologists to piece this thing back together, the words and the imagery still get me.
I could go on here. There’s so much I love in the various versions of Gilgamesh, so much that fascinates me and confuses me (and has very much tipped me back down multiple research rabbit-holes trying to get my head around it). But as both a gigantic nerd and fanfic writer, my favourite thing might still be learning just how far back the human tradition of telling and retelling old stories goes, recreating and adapting them in new formats, to resonate with new audiences. There isn’t a doubt in my head that even way back in ancient Akkadia, there were grumpy old fans arguing that this modern newfangled epic isn’t a patch on the proper old Sumerian poems – look at all the good bits they skipped and all the stuff they got wrong! Why, you realise they aren’t even teaching scribes proper Sumerian in school anymore? Pah, no respect for the classics!
Anyway, if you’ve never read the Epic of Gilgamesh in full (and it’s really not so long it’ll take you long to do), this would be my cue to recommend you Stephen Mitchell’s version as probably the most accessible English language introduction. This one is (in his own words) explicitly a version, not a translation: Mitchell isn’t a Mesopotamian scholar, but a poet, and his goal was to create something in semi-modern verse that captures as much of the original as possible in a format more accessible to the contemporary English-speaking reader ‒ patching over the holes as best as possible. And I can only applaud him the effort: after all, it’s nothing people haven’t already been doing with Gilgamesh for thousands of years.
But if you’d like to go a bit further down the rabbit hole, my other key source was Andrew George’s translation. George is an academic, and his version is a far more literal translation, preserving the gaps where we still don’t know exactly what’s missing, but including as much as possible from the various different versions which survive to us in different places – including those original Sumerian poems. Both Michell’s and George’s books are available quite cheaply as ebooks. (George’s much-longer and much-more-academic two volume work on Gilgamesh isn’t available as an ebook, alas, but can also be found in pdf format pretty easily on the web too).
Finally, I’ve got to rec you Irving Finkel’s talk on his work on even older versions of that flood myth – it’s only tangentially related to Gilgamesh, but damn, it’s fascinating too!
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My brother calls me an attention whore.
And I’m inclined to agree,
Because my needy heart yearns evermore
For the smallest scraps of love.
My organs are loose and faulty things,
That drag me down, so often exhausted.
Have me feeling like I was put together by a clumsy artist,
With self loathing tendencies,
And a hatred of their own works,
And I’m coming apart at the seams
Every time I mirror those unrelenting quirks.
Unraveling, everywhere but in my dreams,
My brothers still take care of me,
An old part of me just wants to scream;
Let them know I’m undeserving.
—Donnie
hey i know this is about donnie and from his perspective and it makes sense from the perspective of a depressed teen but-
Have me feeling like I was put together by a clumsy artist,
With self loathing tendencies,
And a hatred of their own works,
OW????? fjasdfklmsdfmsdkf im like "oh dope im in this poem. pog i love being included in stuff" hahah.
My brother calls me an attention whore.
omg cool a cameo from leo!! fasdlfkmdsaf
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World Whiskey Day Event
As promised, here is the prompt event for World Whiskey Day! The rules are simple: submit any creative piece (a drabble, a fic, a poem, a mood board, artwork, etc) that focuses on whiskey between now and World Whiskey Day on May 20th, and we will reblog it and add it to the master list that will be posted after the end of the event.
While this event is inspired by, and in honor of, our favorite whiskey-loving marshmallow, your work doesn't have to focus on him. You could write for another choices fandom entirely. If you do, it's encouraged to have him make a cameo or have a character mention him (just for fun). Crossovers and original stories are welcomed as well.
Prompts are provided in hopes of sparking some creativity, but you are not required to use them.
Whiskey Wednesday Meme Credit goes to @bebepac
PROMPTS:
General Theme:
Whiskey and Wine
Whiskey and Roses
Whiskey drinking contest
First drink (of whiskey)
Last drink (of whiskey)
Toasts (with whiskey)
Whiskey soaked memories
More Specific Prompts (but feel free to modify/tweak as needed)
Whiskey-soaked memories, that's what s/he was/is
“Whiskey, neat, and keep ‘em coming,” he/she/I was going to need all the help she/he/I could get to make it through this night.
When there are joys to celebrate or sorrows to drown….
The whiskey burns my throat like her/his absence burns my soul.
That’s great news! Let’s celebrate! I have your favorite whiskey!
Let’s seal the deal over whiskey!
The last time I had Irish whiskey things got….weird
MUSIC: (for inspiration)
Spotify WWD Play List
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can i request the rise turtles with a gn reader (platonic) who loves to write and sometimes writes the boys into their works?
like it doesn't matter if it's a poem or a story or something else, they just like to write the boys into it, and they'll like show some works to them too
how would their reactions be to that?
[it can be yandere or not i don't really mind either]
ROTMNT! TEAM UP! TURTLES X GN! READER
turtles don't mind a kind of cameo in your works. (well, maybe Raphael doesn't really like that)
Michelangelo is most pleased with everyone, because he loves comics, so he also dreamed of writing something of his own. In part, you fulfilled the turtle's dream, for which he is grateful to you.
Most often, Leo and Mikey read your writing, sometimes Donatello. Raf doesn't like this at all, but he tries to support you.
- oooh, write down how powerful I am, y/n, don't you see what muscles I have? :)- Leonardo asks coquettishly.
- Leo, I'm not writing a poem about your muscles, but about willpower and love for loved ones. You're like a cameo there.
"know your place, Leo. Write that intelligence and technology are cool, all scientists will praise your poem, y/n. - Said Donnie, not for a second turning away from his unfinished project.
- argh... I'll go to Mikey, he knows exactly how to help
#tmnt x reader#rottmnt oneshot#rotmnt x reader#tmnt oneshots#leonardo hamato#rottmnt leonardo x reader#leonardo x reader#donatello x reader#michelangelo x reader#raphael x reader
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Hey friends!
Seraphyllic, by DrakianDH, was updated today, with 17/20 Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and Graphic Depictions Of Violence, and Major Character Death, with additional tags "scarab the god auditor - Freeform, prismo the wishmaster - Freeform, Priscrab, ProhibitedWish, Scrabby, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, no beta we get turned to legos like the lich, Adventure & Romance, Story within a Story, Eventual Happy Ending, Maybe - Freeform, Author Is Sleep Deprived, The Author Regrets Nothing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, You gotta work for the comfort, begining poem important, each chapter a word, prepare"
You can read it here:
CAMEO FROM OUR FAVOURITE EDGY BOY <3333 Everyone SHOULD be scared of angry Scarab because HE !! IS !! GOING TO GET HIS MAYBE POSSIBLY PERHAPS CRUSH BACK !!!!
A new work, Two large pizzas with garlic bread please by othersin, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of Teen And Up Audiences and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Funny, Roommates, scarab just wanted some privacy, prismo just wanted some garlic bread, Walking In On Someone, Drabble, Short Story"
You can read it here:
FREE GARLIC BREAD YEAH!!!!! Every day, we are faced with the philosophical question as to where Scarab's exoskeleton suit ends and where his actual body begins/silly.
NSFW works are below the cut :].
A new work, Fade To Black by Void_Ink_Studios, was published today, with 1/1 Chapters released! It has a rating of Explicit and No Archive Warnings Apply, with additional tags "Smut, Fluff and Smut, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Tentacle Dick, Alien Sex, Scarab is hermaphroditic, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Laughter During Sex, Crying During Sex, Gentle Sex, First Time, Dirty Talk, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Multiple Orgasms, I'm not sure how vanilla it is when one of them is an alien bug, Smut as character study?, Idk if I achieved that but that's what I set out to do, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Praise Kink, so I hesitate to tag it as vanilla, But no extreme kinks are present here, Alien Biology, except for that I guess, After care, Explicit Consent, Enthusiastic Consent, because consent is sexy, Not Beta Read"
You can read it here:
The devious little GOOBERS getting up to MISCHIEF <333 I LOVE IT WHEN THEY TALK TO EACH OTHER AND HAVE FUN MORE OF THAT PLEASE :]/nf I love Scarab with cool anatomy, thas a cool looking bug man right there of course his parts are going to be cool too !!! Yeah !!!
Timekiller, by MatrixDream, was updated today, with 4/? Chapters released! It has a rating of Mature and Graphic Depictions Of Violence, and Major Character Death, with additional tags "One-shots!, Angst, Loneliness, Isolation, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, (Tags will update as fic updates), Bug Scarab, Popcorn, Captured in a pickle jar, silliness, Physical Disability, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Scarab had his wings removed as punishment headcanon, Blood and Violence, Blood and Injury, Ableism, Chronic Pain, Self-Harm, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Triggers, Whump, Monkey's Paw AU, Major character death - Freeform, Violence,, Hurt No Comfort, major angst, mentions of gore, Revenge, Ambiguous/Open Ending, (But still hopeful), Let me know if I missed any tags/warnings!"
You can read it here:
Screaming crying throwing myself onto the ground in emotional agony; MY BOY MY POOR BUG BOY HOW COULD YOUUU </3/pos the monkey's paw AU hurts so deeply, yet it's so good, the ending brings me solstice it's hopeful 🥹
#prohibitedwish#prohibitedwish fics#fade to black#seraphyllic#timekiller#two large pizzas with garlic bread please
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recent enstars fic dump
in the same vein as my fe post, i had a bit of an enstars phase in the past few months and have been writing about it a lot, so here's a humble summary of what i've been up to for ur perusal :) <3
"sweet silent thought" jun centric, i think this is maybe the fic i'm happiest with ever. it's a hiyojun thing primarily but it's mainly about him struggling in reimei and having a lot of hopeless doomed crushes. you know, normal coming of age stuff.
"kintsugi" this is just my "i love nazuna" fic. it's a bunch of scenes strung together that show his growth and healing and friendships with other characters.
"petals" little izuleo drabble where they're living together and very close and domestic but don't really know what to do with their feelings yet. or rather, how to express them. there's a flower metaphor.
special reikao section because i'm kinda obsessed with them atm and im not showing any sign of slowing down
"i bleed too" this one is super rei focused. it's a bunch of hcs i have about his childhood and illness stitched together, and conveys that being vulnerable with kaoru might help him heal from those things.
"not like before" obligatory internalised homophobia fic, you know how it is. also kanata mischief cameo.
"refreshing breeze" ritsu is in this pretty heavily. it's set in the present but it's about him finding out rei wrote very syrupy love poems about kaoru when he was studying abroad in his second year LOL
"fair winds and stormy weather" the most long ass thing i have ever written. it all happens in rei's head, and it's about them travelling postgrad and having realisations about each other (that they're in love, duh).
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ugh now I really want to know where the other lyrics from headfirst slide came from what was the original context for the other stuff what sources were being pulled from for this song about an affair I have questions?? I also always have questions about this song being the one from folie reprised on the elvis costello cameo on what a catch and the source of 'keep a calendar' is not helping lol
omgggg I so wish we knew, as we now know for SMFS, which song came first. Like, did Patrick reuse lines from Headfirst Slide in What a Catch, Donnie? Or did he reuse lines from What a Catch, Donnie in Headfirst Slide????
Because in What a Catch that bit is commonly understood to be a promise from Pete to Patrick about not "ending up like him" -- not committing suicide. And then Patrick ends the promise with, "Keep a calendar, this way you will always know," sounds like part of the promise: You won't forget. You'll live and count down every day.
So the fact that it originally came from a harsh poem is extra-interesting in how Patrick recontextualizes it. In two different ways. And in What a Catch he really does completely soften it.
I wish desperately knew which one came first. Like, did Patrick write Headfirst Slide first and then decide to reuse the lines and soften them *even more*?
Because, one thing I learned at some point, I think when Pete guest-hosted, like, American Top 40 or something, is that Patrick keeps a calendar. Like, Pete got asked for a fact about Patrick and he said something like, "He's got this little book and he writes down in it everything he needs to do that day." And I was like, "A calendar, Pete? He has a calendar?" But I think Pete means Patrick literally writes down, like, 8:12 am, have cup of coffee, or something, but even if Patrick's calendar is extremely detailed, it's still a calendar.
And so I always thought it was interesting that one of Patrick's standout traits to Pete is that he keeps a calendar. HE keeps a calendar. Which has always made me think that the promise in What a Catch isn't entirely from Pete to Patrick. Patrick answers Pete's promise with, "Keep a calendar so you'll always know," but HE'S the one who keeps the calendar of the two of them (Pete is always a late disaster): "*I* will keep the calendar for you, and you will always know that I am here and you are never alone"
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in an alt. universe of streamer enid feat. twin sibling
enid sees that wednesday starts dating her twin, and, of course, she's devastated. she basically drops off the face of the earth while going through the five stages of grief. acceptance is...hard, and really, it feels like reluctance, but she manages to get back on her feet and crawl out of the hole of despair she was in.
so she tries to move on, and it's hopeless at first. date after date, and she just can't seem to mesh with anyone. that is, until one day, she basically has a meet-ugly with someone. maybe she gets a fist to the face due to a mistaken identity or something, but whatever happens, charms enid enough for her to her ask this hot-headed stranger on a date.
and it actually goes well!
soon, one date turns to two, then three and so on and so fourth. and she's actually enjoying herself. sure, maybe the feelings she has for this person aren't as intense as the one she has for wednesday, but she finds herself thinking more and more, "i can be happy like this."
her and whoever this person is start dating officially. she's introducing them to her friends and posting it on her socials. hell, they even have some cameos on the blonde's streams. eventually they get engaged, but enid actually hasn't introduced them to her family...or wednesday
when wednesday eventually learns of the engagement, she is enraged and doesn't know why. she angry every time she sees their couple photos, any fan compilations about them, and goes absolutely apocalyptic when she learns through a 3rd party that wedding invites are being sent out. cue the oh-shit-im-in-love-with-enid epiphany, with a shit load of angst and self-loathing, and she decides to break it off with sin (that's the twins' name, right?). the goth doesn't care that enid's in an obviously serious relationship and attempts a grand confession. [douche move, wednesday]
but enid isn't the type to just drop someone (hopefully) and well, she's finally met someone who's chosen her first. her.
yes, she is still completely in love with wednesday but she's accepted that she was with her twin. wednesday chose someone else. they were on the brink of something special and wednesday still left the second she could, but enid is not going to do that. so she refuses the confession, no matter how hard it was, and maybe wednesday fucks it up more by calling enid the wrong name in the heat of the moment. and that, that was the final straw for enid. she goes on to marry her lover and now wednesday is left heartbroken.
wednesday keeps trying, though, attempt after attempt, but enid doesn't budge. she dedicates books to her, poems, and scripts. she professes her love anyway she can, and she doesn't care that her rep takes a downward turn for continuing to fawn over a married woman.
and that's basically how it goes for the rest of their lives. two people who love each other fiercely, but love wasn't enough in this situation.
definitely sorry for the uber ramble and this going all over the place. It was going to be short and then I just couldn't stop 🥲
Hello, what- nothing to be be sorry abt cynadquil just pleasantly surprised and hey totally understand wanting to write smth short and it just expands to a whole big thing
Its a writers ability
Anyways, I didn't expect people to be so interested in the lone path spin off after all
Seriously tho, very douche move on Wednesday's part. I read all this and it felt like a whole Rollercoaster.
Damn, this really is just a bad timeline. Nobody getting what they really content with in this au 💀
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