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gallusrostromegalus · 11 months

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I'm glad to hear that Kaname protected Momo from the worst of Aizen's manipulations. Does she ever find out about his efforts, or does that stay a secret?

Post-Aizen-Fight, Kaname is in the hospital recovering from General Befuckening, and needs Reiatsu transfers to finish purging The Curse from his system and it's Hitsugaya's turn.

*****

The boy doesn't actually say anything for a long time after Unohana finishes connecting the IVs. It's alright. He's still exhausted, and there really isn't that much to say about what happened that hasn't been gone over and over and over, in debriefings and staff meetings and the distant sound of tears Tousen can hear coming from Lieutenant Hinamori's room. Gradually though, Lieutenant Hitsugaya's silence grows cold and sharp and restless, a winter gale banging against a window that won't quite latch right.

"-Out with it." Kaname sighs, opening his eyes and not frowning at the ceiling. "If you keep sulking like this I'm going to get frostbite and Unohana-sama will have both our hides for it."

Toshiro startles, coughs a bit like he's about to deny it, but collects himself and states his problem with magnificent succinctness.

"Momo." he says, voice almost violent in it's neutrality.

"Ah." Kaname nods. "I did what I could, but I know that was far from enough. I am sorry."

Hitsugaya is quiet, considering his words. "...What did you DO, actually?" he eventually asks.

Kaname blinks in surprise. "Huh. I thought Hisagi-san would have noticed when he did the audit of all my paperwork. I was genuinely hopeful you were going to spot it before Aizen could make his move with how much Momo complained..." he muttered, slightly puzzled.

"Spotted what?" Toshiro grumbled.

"You have undoubtedly been subject to the ongoing saga of the Rice-Farm-Subsidy Fraud case that Lieutenant Hinamori has been investigating since her promotion to lieutenancy?" Kaname prompted.

"Yeah, yeah, the one that's got her haring off to some backwater district or getting lost in the stacks at the archives for days on end or-" Hitsugaya graoned, then stopped. "...the one that had her constantly traveling away from the division, or doing extended research without Aizen's help."

"He used to get terrible motion sickness from trains or portals, you know." Kaname smiled, sitting up a bit. "-and a wretched allergy to paper-dust. Part of the reason he made me do all his fucking lab work, I imagine. but it seemed a good way to keep Miss Hinamori outside his sphere of influence at least for a few weeks at a time. Do I still have water in my glass?"

"...you MADE IT UP?" Hitsugaya yelped.

"I did no such thing. There is an extensive conspiracy between the various provincial leaders and mid-district governors to defraud the Central Government of subsidies for rice farms that frankly, do not exist, while also hiding the existence of taxable villages, resulting in invisible granaries used to fund private armies and other villiany-" he explained, sitting up properly and groping for the end-table where his water theoretically was. "-I just made sure Miss Hinamori had enough information to know where to look for the evidence of said conspiracy, and occasionally... lightly interfered with granaries in the middle districts to make sure more visible evidence came to light for her to keep the investigation open and moving in a timely manner. Lieutenant, if I may ask for your help-"

There was a rustle of cloth as Hitsugaya shook himself, grabbing the pitcher and refilling Kaname's glass, handing it to the frail man.

"Thank you." Kaname took a drink, handing the glass back to Toshiro to set down. "-I imagine the investigation will go much faster and with fewer extended trips to the rukongai now that I'm not cursed and can freely discuss the taxation and census records Aizen had covered in his illusion to hide his experiments." he explained. "...But doing it the long way has allowed Miss Hinamori to build a very complete and entirely legitimate case. She's an exceptional forensic investigator."

"...HOW?" Hitsugaya gaped. "The curse- it's not like you could talk to her, or send her messages- and if you could, it'd mess with the legitimacy of the case to have an anonymous tipster?"

"I had to...sort of gently suggest the names and locations to her in such fashion that her subconscious would make the connection between those terms and the case. Fortunately, in addition to being a certifiable genius, Miss Hinamori is also a master of the Lingual Arts."

"...Sir, I don't think Hinamori is that kind of girl." Toshiro mumbled, and Kaname could almost hear his full-face blush.

"You're thinking of Zaraki-Taicho, who is an entirely different kind of cunning linguist." Momo announced from the door. "-but you don't know everything about me Toshiro." She teased, coming in the room and climbing onto the bed beside Kaname, unfolding and re-folding that week's newspaper. "Lieutenant Sasakibe took over the crossword in your absence, and I think he may still be a bit upset with you."

"Ah." Kaname winced.

"What?" Repeated Toshiro, thoroughly lost.

"You remember that Tousen-taicho is the Editor-In-Chief of the Seireitei Newsletter, right?" She asked Hitsugaya, who failed to respond in a fashion that suggested that he did not, in fact, know that. "-Anyway, sometimes he writes more or less for the paper depending on that week's news, but without fail, he also designs the crossword- the most fiendishly difficult one in any of the newspapers, Sir." She explained, taking out a pen and tapping the partially-finished lexical puzzle she'd been working on.

"I try." Kaname smiled, looking just a bit genuinely smug.

"You largely succeed. I didn't actually make the connection between your five downs and the rice subsidy investigation until i tried doing Sasakibe's substitute puzzle this morning. I think he may have made the same connection, because 5 down today is 11 letters, starts with "P" and the clue is 'Degenerate Justice'."

"...Prevaricate." Kaname hissed with imagined pain at the likely wrath of the Chief Lieutenant. "Oh dear. Do you think a written apology is in order?"

"It's Sasakibe-san, it's just as likely to be his idea of an apology." Momo shrugged, filling in the word.

"...for those of us that are better at Sudoku?" Hitsugaya glared.

"Tousen-Taicho was putting clues about where the next bit of evidence I needed for the Rice Subsidies case in the Crossword because he knew I did it every week." Momo explained. "The clue was always in the fifth column down, which is a structurally important one in crosswords- you little shit, I even got on your case last year about how you always used locations for your 5 Downs and I STILL didn't make the connection!" She realized, rolling up the paper and affectionately swatting him over the head.

"Entirely deserved, but you have my word that was as much as I could do to help you, and that you have my full resources available to you now." Kaname smiled.

"I have entirely too many words from you-" Momo sighed with exasperation before putting the paper down and laying down beside him, hugging his chest. "-But I believe you. There's- I've been finding all sorts of things- people I forgot, places I'd been before and couldn't remember- huge sections of my LIFE! that his Illusion just... vanished."

She hugged Kaname's chest. "-I can't imagine what you went through."

"I hope you never will." he sighed, returning her embrace and for a moment, Hitsugaya felt even more outside the conversation- this was a secret grief, but the burden lightened by finally being able to share it. "...Did Sasakibe Key any clues to 5 Down? He might have more to say." Kaname asked, letting go and Momo sat up, frowning at the paper.

"Key?" Asked Toshiro, pleased to be talking about anything else.

"Sometimes one word is a hint to some of the next words, usually the ones that originate from it, um- Yeah, three words. Four letters, second letter 'i', clue is "Astronomical Favor"; Three letters, middle letter 'a', clue is "German Opera, 1874" ; and the last one is four letters, Second letter 'e', clue is "Truth's Abode". Momo read off.

All three of them stared (or pointed their faces) blankly at each other for a moment.

"...Yeah I'm gonna stick to the Sudoku." Nodded Hitsugaya.

#AEIWAM #an elephant is warm and mushy #Bleach #Bleach fanfic #kaname tousen #momo hinamori #Toshiro hitsugaya #Crosswords are fun i promise!#bonus points to whoever figures out Sasakibe's Secret Message!

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cinefilo-pigro · 6 months

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Anarchia - La Notte del Giugizio

Tra azione e riflessioni sociali, "Anarchia - La notte del giudizio" esplora la lotta contro l'oppressione politica e le disuguaglianze, offrendo intrattenimento e spunti di riflessione sulla società attuale.

Anarchia – La notte del giudizio Azione e riflessioni sociali Il seguito del primo ottimo b-movie scritto e diretto da James DeMonaco, “Anarchia – La notte del giudizio”, cambia il punto di vista del racconto. Si passa da un piccolo nucleo famigliare costretto alla sopravvivenza in casa propria, a un gruppo di persone che per puro caso si uniscono per affrontare la notte dello “sfogo” per le…

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#2014 #Carmen Ejogo #Film #Frank Grillo #James DeMonaco #John Beasley #Recensione Film #The Purge Saga #Universal Pictures #Visioni #Zach Gilford #Zoë Soul

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donttouchmeimsleeping · 7 months

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The thing about Star Wars Narrative

"The Jedi ... the Sith ... you don't get it, do you? To the galaxy, they are the same thing. Just men and women with too much power. Squabbling over religion. While the rest of us burn." - Atton Rand

Atton was a pilot back during the Old Sith Wars, around 3980 BBY. He was less loyal to any one cause as he was loyal to the people he served with. He would serve for the Republic until Revan became a Sith and he would follow by defecting to the other side.

What I like about Atton is that he wasn't a Jedi and wasn't a Sith, but he was force-sensitive. He was, in the beginning of his character development, an outsiders perspective. Although he wasn't discovered to be one until he was well into his adult years by a captured Jedi who was going to be tortured into a loyal Sith. So he booked it out of the prison he was serving at under Darth Revan, because he knows what they do to Jedi, to any force-sensitives. Afterall, he was trained to be a Jedi Hunter to turn Jedi into Sith. He was well versed in how this process went.

Yet because he was neither, he got caught in the middle of the cross fire between the Jedi and Sith. He would eventually be trained into a Lost Jedi, which were basically Jedi that went underground during the Great Jedi purge, and part take in forming the foundation of a new Jedi Order. Which would survive and endure the Sith Wars, and all the way until the events of the Skywalker saga where the fate of the galaxy would hang in the balance because of yet another war.

But this time, light does not prevail in this war. A war hidden in another war. A war between the Jedi and Sith, just as much as it's between the Republic and the Separatists.

Is this not what happened in these movies? Because even though there is a war going on, the war the really matters is always between the Jedi and the Sith.

"To the galaxy, they are the same thing." People (in-universe) could not tell the difference between Jedi and Sith, because they both look the same. They both wear robes, both are too calm in dangerous situations, both carry dangerous plasma glow-sticks of different colors. The only ones that know the difference are the ones the have personal experience with one or the other. Or even both on the off chance.

"Just men and women with too much power. Squabbling over religion." Because from an outside perspective, like Atton or even us, that's what is looks like without context. Both sides have literally the same abilities just different attitudes at using them, and that where most people turn a blind eye. Because they don't believe these different attitudes mean anything in the face of the power they harness.

(Yet as an audience, with more information as a given, we should know the difference.)

"While the rest of us burn." But, by this point, everyone knows that Skywalker was so self absorbed that he crippled the galaxy by letting it be ruled by a Sith Emperor with a corrupt empire while also being a compliant right hand to said empire. Basically, in the war between light and dark, the rest of the galaxy is just collateral during and after the battle.

This has been the case in "Revenge of the Sith" and in "The Return of the Jedi" and even in the Old Sith Wars.

My point is, the Star Wars narrative has always been about three things: the Jedi; the Sith; and the Galaxy. The Galaxy depends on the Jedi prevailing, the Sith depend on the Galaxy rejecting the Jedi, and the Jedi do what needs to be done.

That is the narrative of Star Wars.

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system-architect · 8 months

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BELATED asura appreciation week day 1 - talk about one of your asura ocs! i had a busy week but there's never a bad time to talk about my guys lmfao

gunner is my main character and is also my commander! he has a non-commander au as well but i mostly think about the commander version. don't let his appearance fool you-- he's about 185 years old right now, the mists just kind of pickled him

he's a rata novan who ended up getting hurled into the mists due to uncontained ley energy overloading the portal he was traveling through while trying to escape the chak. after escaping the mists, he got his masters in synergetics, had a brief stint in the inquest researching the mists/eternal alchemy, accidentally blew up a lab after making his collider go supercritical, hid out briefly in the maguuma wastes, and then fled into the fractals to lay low while being a fractal explorer. in commander au, he's eventually caught by the peacemakers and then sort of leashed to zojja (in the same way canach was to anise) and sucked into the personal story timeline from there on

the freak accident w/ the portal left him with permanent physical-magical-spiritual scarring, and on top of turning him into a revenant, it 'blew open' the ley channels within his own body. he's unable to properly regulate his own magical flow and soaks up uncontained magic like a sponge, with his condition worsening over time as more gods and dragons are killed

the extra magic has some perks and is why he's been able to so "easily" hold himself in combat as the commander, buuuut if he isn't careful, he hits critical mass and his body attempts to purge all of the excess magic at once. the magic trying to vacate forcefully is extremely painful and incapacitates him for awhile, and is super dangerous to anyone around him. he usually gets warning signs prior to this happening in the form of vertigo, headaches, and 'auras' (physically seeing ley anomalies and magical flows). the different pieces of tech built into his armor are regulators (built by one of his "coworkers") that are supposed to help slowly diffuse the magic out over time to prevent this. this 'ability' has won him a few fights, but the cost is high.

i think that's all? HERE'S SOME OTHER FUN FACTS ABOUT HIM:

he's trans + gay

he has adhd and tourette's syndrome. both of those get worse the more magic he has in his body (or the more stressed he is lol)

he has ley magic and spectral agony scarring all over the right side of his body

mallyx and shiro are his canon legends, kalla sometimes comes and goes at will

he obtains astralaria during heart of thorns, and he ALSO has a canon nevermore that he gets during icebrood saga

his name is technically gunn but he just plain prefers going by gunner and that's effectually become his name

he had Normal Organs at the start of PS but over time his magical corruption has turned his innards/mouth/teeth a glowy kaiju blue

#guild wars 2 #gw2 #asura #asura appreciation week #my art #gunner #asura!gunner #emetophobia MAYBE?#its not meant to be stomach sick and i drew it myself as a clinical emetophobe #its also toony #but i can see how itd bother some people so tagging jic

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highladyluck · 9 months

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so uh Vorkosigan, would you recommend it, and if so where do I start, I hear there are reading order issues?

I’m a big fan and I think it would appeal to people who like ‘doing your absolute best to improve and thrive within the unfair constraints you’re given’ as a theme and political milieu. The internal structural storytelling work is particularly fine & makes them very satisfying; structurally they remind me of Diane Diane’s work and that is high praise, she really knows how to build ‘em.

Beyond the obv comparison of Mat Cauthon in his accidentally recruiting the Band of the Red Hand era, it reminds me of a couple series that you might be familiar with or at least have heard of?

Megan Whalen Turner’s King’s Thief series because Miles is essentially a noble rogue fighter & there’s a big focus on culture and politics including the politics of disability, and also because of the enemies to lovers arc.

Arkady Martinez’s Teixcalaanli series in terms of like… coping with an empire you love that doesn’t love you back, and other issues of identity.

Period romances like Pride and Prejudice, and some Georgette Heyer novels (she’s famous for excellent regency romance).

There are a lot of genres including coming of age, adventure, period piece & romance mixed in with the SF, which means you can kind of jump around to suit your mood. It’s a bit like Discworld in that there are multiple potential starting places, but also clear internal arcs that work best if read in chronological order.

I used this guide: https://bookriot.com/vorkosigan-saga-reading-order/ which is mostly chronological with a few exceptions for maximum emotional impact. The guide also explains the omnibus editions (which is part of why it can be confusing to figure out the reading order). Just don’t read in publication order, it makes no sense that way.

I recommend starting with Shards of Honor and then Barrayar if you want to start at the beginning, you want a female POV character, and you are in the mood for some great enemies to lovers romance. (This is the story of Miles’s parents.)

If you’re more in the mood for ‘coming of age adventure where a young man with many problems accidentally recruits a mercenary army’, you can start with The Warrior’s Apprentice and then The Vor Game. (The series is mostly about Miles so this is the ‘straight to the main character please’ version.)

There are some content warnings for sexual assault in Shards of Honor (I’d put it at around the Robert Jordan balance of explicit description vs implication) and sooooo many content warnings for Mirror Dance (physical and psychological torture including sexual assault & exacerbation of a character’s binging and purging eating disorder- it’s handled well but it is more explicit & goes farther than what happens in Shards of Honor.) Komarr has domestic abuse (emotional). Lots of heavy stuff but it is dealt with in a thoughtful and nuanced way, and characters have chances to heal afterwards.

Your library probably has them in physical and ebook form, and you can also find them for around 6-8 per novel as ebooks (the omnibus editions are a better deal as ebooks). A used bookstore with an SF section probably has one or two as well, they’ve been around for 35 years.

#ask #vorkosigan saga

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missacidburn928s-heathenhideaway · 13 days

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If You Let Me (Badda Boom Universe)

Alpha!Jax Teller x Omega!POC!Reader "LuLu"

Summary:

Flashback to that time when you confessed your love during a jam session in the backyard unaware that Jax and Opie can hear you through his open window and things took a turn you weren't expecting.

Warnings:

Smut, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Jax Teller, Accidental Voyeurism, Oral Sex, Sex, Rough Sex, Marriage, Pregnancy

Notes:

Hello Heathens, I've decided that anytime these two have a story for me to write about them, I am going to add it as a chapter to their saga. This story is heavily inspired by the song "If You Let Me" by Sinead Harnett. (A link to the song will be in the story) Happy Reading!

Banner by @cafekitsune Divider by @firefly-graphics

Your recent hook up with Jax is fresh on your mind.

Granted, it was a week ago when he was “off again” with Tara before you found them back together just days later. It’s a semi-normal thing you've learned to deal with since you were teenagers.

You know loving him the way you do is painful, but you can't seem to help yourself. He’s had your heart since you were preteens and all those lovely hormones kicked in. His scent is the only one that has made you weak in the knees from just one hit. But you’ll only ever be his Little Moon, the girl who is dependable, always there whenever and for whatever he needs.

Ruts included.

You aren't fooling yourself thinking that someday he will truly be yours, your collarbone sporting his claim. So you keep yourself open to interested parties and have racked up quite the body count. But no one has hijacked your heart, or satiated your heats, like Jax has.

Well, that’s not true. Ari came pretty close to taking the role of Alpha in your life. Just when you thought you could possibly take things further with him, he got a job offer overseas he couldn’t pass up. That’s where things ended, just over a year ago. The universe loved to torment you.

Seeing Jax a couple days ago at the clubhouse, Tara hanging all over him, was all the reminder of your place that you needed. So you're spending your day off with Diamond, out in the sunshine on your back porch. Medicating your soul with your dear friend THC.

“Girl when are you going to get over that boy? The dick must be amazing for you to keep going back knowing he isn't going to pick you. I don’t care how good he smells to you.” Your best friend protests.

“I’m not going to bother trying to explain it to you again. My love for him isn't conditional. His scent is the one thing that always calms me. When we hook up, great, when we're just hanging out at the clubhouse, great. No matter who is there. It is what it is, D. I’m not trippin over it. So neither should you.”

“You’re telling me you dont want more?”

You let out a deep sigh. “Of course I do. But there’s nothing I can do about it. That’s how unrequited love works.”

“Alright then. If you say so. But answer me this one question.”

“Shoot.”

“How do you manage all these pent up feelings without lashing out?”

“Easy. Like this.” You take a hit off the joint and start strumming on the acoustic guitar in your lap.

The Ganja begins to steadily course through your system, loosening your tongue and helping you purge all the pent up emotions you’ve been bottling up. Your surroundings disappear as your voice is carried on the wind to Opie’s open kitchen window, where he’s handing an exacerbated Jax a beer.

“Is it for good this time?” Op asks.

“She’s leaving again. So yeah. It’s for good.” He takes a sip of his beer. “At least for me it is. I really am getting too old for this back and forth shit.”

“I’m sure the fact she’s a beta doesn't help. Especially when you surround yourself with a certain little Omega.”

“I’ve known LuLu my whole life, man. If Gemma hasn’t run her off, Tara certainly isn’t keeping her from me.”

“Ya finally gonna do something about that, now that you're a free man?”

“What do you mean?” He pulls a cigarette out of his pack with his teeth and proceeds to light it. “We just hooked up last week.”

“I meant to make it more official than just hooking up when you need a tight place to stick your knot.”

“But she takes it so well man.” He smirks, tilting his head as a sound catches his attention. “Do you hear that music?”

“Probably Lulu out in her backyard.” Op supplies. “Must be high too, for her voice to carry this clearly.”

He gets up from the table and heads to the open window that has a perfect view of your backyard. There he finds you, sitting on the porch with Diamond. Your eyes are closed, fingers strumming along your beloved acoustic, emotion clear on your beautiful face as he soaks in the words you're serenading.

“I wonder who she’s singing about.” He thinks aloud.

“You can not be that dense man.” Op chuckles out.

“What are you talking about?” His eyes never leave your backyard.

Opie shakes his head. “I’m sure it’ll come to you. If not, just go over and ask her.”

Your mouth watering scent, along with your sweet voice, wafts in through the window. He can’t help but feel a pull towards you as he takes a deep inhale, allowing your last notes to sink in. He carefully watches as you look at Diamond, a smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes gracing your face.

“Damn girl, you’ve got it bad. You weren’t kidding about it being unconditional. Jax is one lucky son of a bitch and he doesn't even realize it.” Diamond declares through a plume of smoke.

“Like I said before. It is what it is. Just because he checks all my mate boxes, doesn't mean I check all of his.” You swallow, placing the guitar next to you and taking back the joint offered to you. “I can’t wait around for life to find a way. So, I enjoy what I am given.”

“You’re too damn precious for this world girl. Fuck I wish I had just a sliver of your patience and self resolve.”

“Oh, no. I’m still a petty bitch. Don’t get it twisted. I hate the fact that he chooses her over me. I just don’t see the sense in wasting energy on it.” You take a hit. “He’s had more than a taste. Not to mention he’s a full grown Alpha. If he wants more, nothing’s stopping him but him.” You exhale, letting the smoke slowly leak out of your mouth and into the air.

“Is that right, Little Moon?” You turn towards the voice of the Alpha in question as he walks up your porch steps.

Unafraid of the truths you now know he just heard you hold your head high. “Sure is. But it’s of no matter at the moment is it? You belong to someone else.”

“She ended it today actually.” He confesses. “She leaves for Seattle tomorrow morning.”

“She never really could stand Charming for long. Always chasing something better.” You relay.

“I have to agree with you there. But it at least frees me up again.” He gives you that devilish smile.

“You could have been free at any time, Jackson. You chose to embrace your gilded cage.” You coolly state.

“Shiiiit, Mary Jane’s got you extra poetic in your pettiness today. I love it!” Diamond laughs out.

“Aw come on Darlin’. Here I was, having heard your little concert, thinking maybe I’d find you being all soft and sweet.” He play pouts.

“I’m not in the mood for your games or to ruin my high Jackson. So please, just say what you have to say.”

“You sure about that Omega? Even with Diamond present.” He nods towards your bestie.

You narrow your eyes in his direction. “I have nothing to hide from her. I’m waiting.”

“Alright.” He crosses the deck, cups your face in his ringed hands and pulls you up to his face, laying a devastating kiss to your lips. Your synapses go haywire as his strong scent envelops you, allowing a whimper to escape your throat. His hands glide down to your waist, where he lifts you up so that he can switch positions with you.

Your thighs are now splayed across his denim covered lap, loose shirt raised to your waist, exposing the tiny shorts you were wearing underneath as he leans back into your former seat. He breaks the kiss, a smug look on his face as he looks up into your glazed over eyes. “That’s better.”

He runs his thumb along your bottom lip. “Diamond, I’m going to need you to give me and my Omega some space. Op’s next door if you don't want to go home. Choice is yours.”

“Your Omega.” You whisper, in confusion.

“You heard me correctly.” His eyes remain on you.

“Oooooh bitch, Imma bounce. Even though it looks like this is gonna be good.” Diamond grabs her bag. “I expect a full report first chance you get. Which by the look on his face isn't going to be til at least tomorrow. Love ya girl. Bye.” She scurries off.

“Bye.” You wave to her, your eyes never leaving the Alpha below you.

“You and I have some things we need to work out. Are you up for it Little Moon?”

“Does this have something to do with you overhearing me singing?”

“That’s part of it.”

You sigh. “Okay. Give me your worst.”

He grabs the waistband of your shorts, snapping them against your skin. "First I need these off of you. We're gonna have this talk with you warming my cock so you understand just how serious I am."

With a determined look and slick quickly dampening the crotch of your shorts, you stand up on shaky legs. With an initial push down over your ass, you shimmy them the rest of the way before taking a step out and kicking them off to the side.

His eyes devour your bare lower half, biting his lip as he runs a palm along the bulge in his jeans. “Mmm. Good girl. You really would do anything for me huh?” He hits you with his dazzling smile, the one that always has you weak in the knees. “Come here and unzip me, Omega. I want you to pull me out and sit on the evidence of what your scent does to me, darlin’.”

You can feel your slick beginning to slowly leak down onto your thighs, perfuming the air further with your scent. You squeeze them together before stepping forward and doing as your Alpha requested. You bend over at the hip, ghosting your fingers down his torso until you reach the tented denim, releasing his hard length to the light of day. With a quick squeeze to his base, you straddle his lap and slowly lower yourself down onto his thick cock, letting it fill you up inch by inch.

He grabs your chin, forcing you to look at the possessiveness and lust swirling in his Cobalt blues. Drawing in a deep breath, your lids become heavy, you can’t help but lose yourself in how good his mouth watering scent mixes with your own sweet essence. As you reopen your eyes, he places a soft kiss on your lips, sliding his hand down to wrap around your throat. "Now be a good little Omega for me and pay attention to what I have to tell you."

You nod your agreement. Your tongue, incapable of forming words at the moment.

“I was next door at Op’s, shooting the shit in the kitchen. Downloading him on all this Tara business. When this music drifts in through the window that faces your backyard.” He pushes his thumb under your chin. “Imagine my surprise when Op tells me it’s probably just you playing around out back.”

You swallow against his fingers. “You heard me.”

“Oh yes, Little Moon. I heard every sweet and tortured word you sang.” He smirks at you. “At first I thought you were just singing to sing. Though the words did sound a bit like a confession. It wasn’t until you finished and Diamond got to chatting that I connected the dots. All those precious words were about me.”

"Yes." You whisper out.

"And here I was, getting called out by Op right before the universe comes and drops a neon sign pointed in your direction." He licks his parched lips. "I originally came over here to tease you about getting high and serenading the neighborhood.” He chuckles to himself. “After hearing you say it wasn’t worth the energy to wait around for me and then still called me out on it when I showed up. Well, darlin' I knew I had to rectify that."

"So that's what this little show of Dominance is all about then? Witnessing the power you as a whole have over me?” You give him a challenging look.

“Not at all.” Unbothered by your accusing tone, he caresses your neck, fingers dipping down until they ghost along your collarbone. “This is all to make it clear where I stand. I heard you loud and clear, Omega. No more dancing around it. I’m taking what’s rightfully mine.” He growls out.

You involuntarily clench around the girth settled deep inside of you as his words register, making him practically purr at the feeling.

“Fuck it. Move your hips Omega. I need you to continue being a good girl and let me watch you ride your Alpha.”

Your eyes alight at his command. You swivel your hips, slowly grinding against him in a figure eight pattern, losing yourself in how full you feel, walls gripping on to his thickness.

You raise up and start to bounce on his lap, his hand returning to your throat, giving it a gentle squeeze. The sweet pressure, muffling your moans. "That's it. You look fucking gorgeous when you ride me. Your tight little cunt was made for taking my knot. And you’re going to let me stuff you full of it aren't you."

You can feel the stirrings of an epic orgasm on the horizon. He removes his hand from your throat, gliding his fingers down your torso to start rubbing your clit in tight little circles. You gasp out, head tilting back, hands gripping tightly to his shoulders. You’re right on the knife's edge, rapidly hurtling towards your own climax.

"Fuuuuck, baby you're so close. I can feel your sweet little pussy trying to make me pop my knot. Gonna cum all over my fat cock, Omega?" You moan out, head bobbing, lost in a haze of lust. "I can’t hear you, ‘mega. Use your words baby. Do. You. Want. To. Cum. On. My. Cock?"

"YES! Please, Alpha. Please. I want to cum all over your cock, make a mess just for you." You beg, uncaring of who might hear you.

A low growl vibrates through his chest. "There's my sexy little Omega. Begging so pretty for her Alpha." His fingers, dancing along your clit, quicken, causing the grind of your hips to increase.

"Now!” He grits out with a strong thrust of his hips up into you. “Cum for me right now, Omega. Want to feel this tight cunt of yours clamping down on my dick like a vice."

His command was all you needed to let go and fall head first into a mind numbing orgasm. You rest your forehead against his, as you let out a deep guttural moan. Nails digging into his shoulders as you writhe and squirm in his lap, riding each wave of ecstasy.

He pulls you in closer, kissing you to muffle your screams. You do have some pretty nosy neighbors afterall. His tongue dances with yours, setting you off once again. Or did you ever stop? Honestly who cares at this point. You find yourself chasing his lips as he breaks the kiss.

"Such a perfect Omega. Cumming so hard for her Alpha. Gonna let me fill ya up, baby? Cum so deep you'll be feeling me leaking out of you for days?"

You whine at the images his words create. "Yes. Please. I want you to fill me up so badly, Alpha. Need your knot." You plead with a twist of your hips.

Gripping your waist, he pumps up into you at an erratic pace. “Fuck baby, I’m right there.”

You grab his face, leaning down to smash your lips against his. Your tongues fight for dominance as he groans out, knot popping as he thrusts in deep, locking you together as he paints your womb white with his seed. Your velvety walls, milking every last drop he has to give you.

You find yourself smiling, as you hum your pleasure at being filled, against his lips. He pulls back slightly, trailing kisses down your neck, until they rest against your collarbone. Running his teeth along your skin, lips latching on and breaking various blood vessels with his suction. Leaving behind his temporary claim.

“Couldn’t help myself. Had to leave my mark somehow, darlin’.” He kisses the darkened, tender flesh. “When my teeth do finally sink in. Breaking your skin for the first time. You are going to be lying blissed out beneath me in bed, with my knot deep inside you. Not riding me in the backyard.”

“Don’t keep me waiting too long this time, Jackson.” You tease.

After you both caught your breath and cleaned yourselves up, you decide to enjoy the rest of your day off together. Smoking a fresh rolled joint, enjoying some great takeout, and watching movies until you fall asleep cuddled together on the couch.

Both of you awakened once the sun broke through the curtains and into your eyes. This has never happened before. One of you always leaves before the other wakes up. You have to admit it feels right waking up wrapped in his arms.

“So, Little Moon. How do pancakes sound?”

Damn why does his voice have to be all deep and husky first thing in the morning.

You shake out the naughty thoughts running through your mind. There’ll be time for that later. “That sounds great to me as long as you can get Opie to make them instead of me.”

“It’s the least he can do after the free show I’m sure we gave him.”

#poc reader #jax teller x reader #jax teller smut #alpha jax teller

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bh-52 · 1 year

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The Inquisitors can sit this one out, now that Vader's blade has arrived.

#star wars #the star wars saga #galen marek #starkiller #galen marek fan art #Inquisitorius #imperial inquisitorius #imperial inquisitors #imperial inquisition #imperial inquisitor #purge troopers #star wars fan art #starwars #the force unleashed #the dark side of the force

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justforbooks · 4 months

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13 January 1953: Stalin orchestrates the Doctors’ Plot

The dictator stokes up an anti-Semitic fantasy to fever pitch

It was 13 January 1953, and the Soviet paper Pravda led with a bombshell. “Today,” it declared grimly, “the [state] TASS news agency reported the arrest of a group of saboteur-doctors. This terrorist group, uncovered some time ago by organs of state security, had as their goal shortening the lives of leaders of the Soviet Union by means of medical sabotage.”

According to the authorities, a group of Kremlin doctors had murdered several senior Soviet officials, among them Josef Stalin’s close comrade Andrei Zhdanov. “Whom did these monsters serve?” asked the paper. “Who directed the criminal, terrorist, and harmful activity of these vicious traitors?”

The answer, apparently, was an unholy alliance of “corrupt Jewish bourgeois nationalists” and foreign spies. The paper alleged that the majority had been “recruited by a branch-office of American intelligence – the international Jewish bourgeois-nationalist organisation called ‘Joint’. The filthy face of this Zionist spy organisation, covering up their vicious actions under the mask of kindness, is now completely revealed.”

So began the saga of the so-called Doctors’ Plot, an anti-Semitic fantasy of Stalin’s own imagining. Over the next few weeks, hundreds of doctors, many of them Jewish, were arrested. Why Stalin did it remains uncertain. Anti-Semitism had deep roots in the Soviet Union, and he seems to have considered mass deportations of Jews to camps in the Soviet east. But it also conformed to a pattern. Stalin was always on the lookout for international conspiracies, and he regularly liked to purge the Communist party of supposed traitors.

But fate was on the doctors’ side. In March the dictator unexpectedly died, and the charges quickly disappeared. As his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, told the party congress three years later, the whole thing had been “fabricated... set up by Stalin”.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #today in history

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amadeusgame · 5 months

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This month I've... accomplished a lot. It's difficult to communicate just how much, because a lot of the work is the kind that isn't exciting to talk about and doesn't look like much... but it is a lot, and it needed to get done. The narrative work I did this month in particular has helped me prepare to finish the full 5-episode saga, not just a new demo or the first episode.

Speaking of the new demo. I originally planned to release it by the end of this year, but it's looking like that was optimistic, considering how much I'm adding from the original demo. New goal is to have it ready for private playtesting by the end of this year, and released publicly early in 2024. Next month I'll confirm if we're still on track for that!

If you'd like sooner updates, or are interested in playtesting, you are welcome to join the Discord server.

Other resources here, including the new website. Now to the devlog!

Highlights for this month:

Updated Mechanics Implemented: I have built a test scene to triage the new mechanics I've built, and functionality is now at the point where I can start rebuilding the demo with them. I am working with playtesters to identify and iron out bugs as I do so.

Finalized Narrative + Art Direction: I have determined which art assets will be inked, and which will remain in pencil. Part of this decision involved making a lot of overarching narrative and thematic details concrete, so while I don't have much to show for it at the moment, it will really pay off when the later episodes release.

Project Management: I now have a part-time job (unrelated to games), and have spent this past month re-learning how to manage my time and keep on track while also getting enough rest. Brief discussion of navigating this adjustment as a solo dev.

Marketing: This month, I really started thinking more about the kind of marketing *I* appreciate as an audience. I've shared social media posts from other indie dev projects - what is it about those posts that communicated to me I would like the games?

Recreation: media I engaged with this month!

Details below.

Updated Mechanics Implemented

I've made improvements, changes, and additions to several core mechanics so that they are flexible enough for me to build a complete game. This has been very complicated because most of the code I wrote for the old demo was very, very limited, and was held together with duct tape that could just barely handle what I built for the demo, and nothing beyond that. So my mission has been to purge the spaghetti and make my scripts able to actually do what I need them to for a more complete game.

It's very easy to get lost on where to start when approaching something like that, so I want to share an approach that really helped me: writing out the intended functionality in just English as comments first, and THEN figuring out how to script it. It's a way of "sketching" code to break down how it will work before getting into the weeds of proper syntax and functionality.

Some specifics on overhauled mechanics:

Movement - movement scripts can now handle things like an obstacle in the middle of the "walkable" area of the screen. There is polish to do but the core functionality is there and easier to iterate on. I've also added some tweaks that make it "smarter" about handling whether you're currently using point-and-click or WASD inputs.

Screen Transitions - this mechanic is MUCH more generalized now. It can handle as many entry/exit points from a screen as needed, so scene layouts can be much more varied. A downtown screen with multiple alleys each leading to different screens is possible now.

Point-and-Click - I made a lot of changes to the point-and-click movement scheme, many of which involved learning how coroutines work; unfortunately, it's still pretty buggy and rough-feeling. I think I made a mistake by trying to make my control scheme support two completely different types of inputs, because it has resulted in two half-polished movement schemes instead of one relatively polished one. However... I cannot bring myself to axe the point-and-click movement scheme, despite WASD currently being more reliable. So I'm going to move forward with the hybrid, and workshop it as I rebuild the demo. The good news is it is at the point where I can safely implement it without breaking anything (hopefully) while I continue to iterate on it. The better news is, even if it's unpolished, I think it makes the game feel very unique.

Menus - I figured out how to track "layering" the two menus (backlog, and settings screen) so it properly handles freezing/unfreezing movement if you open one on top of the other, and I made the placeholder menus/UI nicer looking. Also added audio volume controls.

Virtually everything in this image is just a placeholder, but it's a placeholder that feels much better than what I had before. Sketching this out on paper gave me a template to start building on.

I will be utilizing the "notebook" as a shortcut to view the text backlog, as well:

I have more work to do formatting the backlog, but it works, and a scroll-bar is automatically added once it exceeds the height of the backlog window.

Thanks to building this test scene, I've got all of my test scripts to a place where I feel confident rebuilding the demo with the new mechanics. There's a lot that needs to be tweaked and changed, but it's finally at the point where it feels like replacing the existing demo with the new mechanics is pretty much a clear upgrade. So I'm excited to get started on that!

Finalized Narrative + Art Direction

In October's devlog, I wrote that determining precisely which assets will be inked and which will remain in pencil was probably this month's most important project. I debated going with a practical approach (such as "ink all assets of this type: talk sprite, interactible, etc") - but I quickly realized that I would have more fun doing something cool with it instead. This turned it from an art direction problem to a narrative problem, which forced me to answer a LOT of questions for myself that I had been putting off until later, because most of these questions will not be unveiled within the scope of Episode 1. They weren't strictly needed to finish just Episode 1 originally; but they would be if Episode 1 were to include an art direction decision that is related to very late-game concepts.

The drawback to this is it took up a lot of time and energy that could have been spent focusing on Episode 1 and finishing the new demo faster and getting a release faster.

The (huge, in my opinion) benefit to this is that Episode 1 is going to be much more effective now, as there are so many things I can set up early on because I already know precisely where I'm going with them. I also just feel more prepared to continue this momentum over the next several years and write the entire narrative, not just the first segment of it. I think the overall experience will be better and more convincing, and that this was an effective use of my time.

I fully expect some things to evolve as I make the other episodes - my experience just in creating the demo has been that some parts of the game truly do write themselves - but I still think this was a very good use of my time this month. It's going to drive me nuts keeping everything I'm planning under wraps for the years until the reveals come, though.

(Which leads me to another very important thing I did this month: called a friend and spoiled literally everything I've been planning to them. I was drawing spoilery fanart of very late-game reveals and needed SOMEONE to spill all of the beans to. The friend in question is an author so they also acted as a very useful brainstorming/sounding board for certain themes I still wasn't sure where to go with... anyway, I cannot recommend this enough. Having just One Dedicated Spoiler Friend has been invaluable.)

Since I spent so much time on the brainstorming part of this, I don't have much to show for it at the moment. I've started inking some more assets, though. Here's Solea (not yet scanned/colored):

Project Management

If you don't read anything else in this section, take away the following: I now have part-time work to offer financial stability and life experience. My real job is developing Amadeus.

Adjusting to being outside of school was difficult, and adjusting to now having a part-time job has also been difficult. However, I am really lucky in that this job is pretty much perfect - it's completely unrelated to games (so ALL of my games and artistic energy can go to Amadeus, not to work), it's part time (so I have much more time to dedicate to Amadeus than I would if I was working full-time), and I like the people there. Thanks to this, I don't have to stress about my financials or a fruitless job hunt, and can focus all of my remaining time and energy to my own projects.

However, having limited free time - even if it's more than I would have if I worked full-time - means project management is even more essential than it was before. It's not just a matter of giving myself deadlines so I get things done, it's a matter of understanding what tasks I can actually accomplish on a given day/week without burning myself out. I find that inking assets is something I am willing to do a little at a time, in bed, before I sleep. Coding is something I'm more than happy to do on lunchbreaks and on my commute. Music composition, however, requires a solid 2-hour block of sitting at my desk with no distractions, and a completely free day afterwards just in case I hit a groove and happen to bang out an entire piece in one afternoon. Learning to work with my own tendencies and not against them is essential to actually getting things done.

One more benefit of my new job is I've learned how to use project management software in a way that works for me to remind myself of what needs doing (especially regular upkeep tasks), in addition to special projects. I've started using it outside of work (on an unrelated, personal account! For the record! Asana is free for small teams!!) to manage Amadeus tasks, and I have to say it has been a game changer. It's really getting me to stay on top of everything that needs doing. I got the advice from several indie devs at SIX to use project management software, and wouldn't you know it, they were right. The folks who actually get enough stuff done to have a demo at SIX know what it takes to get your game made! Who knew??

Marketing

I've been paying more attention to what other indie devs do to advertise their own work. Many aspects of "successful" posts are beyond my control - whether something reaches a wide audience or not depends on too many factors to stress over. So I have decided to focus on what I can control: if the post reaches someone who might like this game, how do I show them that they might like this game?

For the past couple weeks, I've picked a game whose marketing posts I willingly shared on social media because I was excited about the game. I retweeted Small Saga's trailer advertising its upcoming release last week - why? Well, because I watched their trailer video and found it appealing. Why did I watch the video? I don't watch every video on my twitter feed! But something about the trailer footage reminded me of Final Fantasy IX, one of my favorite video games ever made. What, specifically? The character designs and town designs evoked that feeling for me. Then I unmuted the video and really liked the track that was playing, and I decided I wanted to share this.

As a musician, it pains me to say that the music was not remotely close to my first priority when determining whether to share this post. It was a deciding factor, but one that did not come into play until after the visuals had captivated me. The visuals showed me "this game feels like Final Fantasy IX," and that is the hook that got me to stick around for the rest. The trailer succeeded in convincing me, as someone who might like the game, that I might like it. And it did so by letting the game speak for itself. The fact that the font in the trailer matched the aesthetic of the game footage was also a nice bonus.

So last week, I put together a post with a video that was supposed to communicate: "if you like Umineko When They Cry, you might like Amadeus." The same way Small Saga communicated "if you like Final Fantasy IX, you might like Small Saga." I included more of the pure text-based visual novel scenes in this trailer than usual, because Amadeus is turning into more and more of a visual novel the more I flesh out the narrative. I don't know if this accomplished what I hoped it would, but the process of making it taught me a lot.

A couple weeks before this, I based my post off of Cavern of Dreams marketing on Tumblr. Cavern of Dreams appealed to me because its posts told me exactly who it was for: it was for people with a nostalgic love for N64-era platformers. Who is Amadeus for? Well, since I was deep in revamping the point-and-click controls to also allow point-and-spacebar for wrist ease, I made a trailer advertising this accessible input scheme.

I don't pretend to be very good at marketing still, but I've learned a lot just from seeing what other people have done that clicked with me. Marketing, as an indie dev, is really about communication. It's about showing people the heart of what you're making, in a way that lets people who share the same interests find it and enjoy it.

Recreation

3 games to shout out that I played this month:

Burly Men At Sea - an excellent reference for a game with a simple style and focused concept that is really appealing and polished. It's fun, silly, cute, and does what it wants to do extremely well. It's... effectively the opposite of what I am making, which is a game that is scrappy, overly ambitious, and all over the place. But that's okay! It's very grounding to play a game that features strengths completely the opposite of my own.

Once by Moonlight - a short werewolf visual novel here on itch. I don't pretend to think I am the first person to write a visual novel about a werewolf, so I wanted to look at someone else's take on it. I recommend it if you have a couple hours to spare. I took about a page of notes while playing it for my own reference, as both a dev and a storyteller, so you know it's solid!

Tsukihime - I only just started this, but it was a recommendation from a friend after I asked for a VN recommendation that was long enough to binge and go insane over, and preferably had vampires or werewolves. I am certain this will show up under "Recreation" for next month as well, because I can already tell this is going to give me a lot of ideas and influence Amadeus in ways that are yet to be determined. While I myself am not writing a horny visual novel, I also feel it's important to acknowledge that horny visual novels are the backbone and history of the whole genre, so why not play the super iconic one about vampires?

That's a wrap for this month! Next month, my goal is to be able to sum up my entire devlog with "the demo is remade and in private playtesting." Fingers crossed I can hold myself to it. Stay tuned!

#devlog #Amadeus: A Riddle for Thee #visual novel #indie game dev #indie dev

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