#also wanna talk about and expand it more since its very vague at the moment | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rogue-durin-16 · 3 years

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FIREWORKS AND STREAMERS

Request: I have been insecure about my curly hair lately and was wondering if you can you write something with one of the weasley twins where the reader is insecure about her curly hair and one of the twins makes her feel better.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Hufflepuff!Reader

Genre: fluff

Tags:

Requested by: @wildcat1434

Fred Weasley: @whiskeyn-rain @lumos-solemn

Permanent taglist: @elia-the-bibliophile @randomparanoid @karlthecat15722 @thebutchersdaughtersblog

Warnings: none

A/N: So like, incoming fluff bc this idea was cute and sometimes I do be needing fluff, that's about it, enjoy <3

Rogue-durin-16 masterlist

The relationship between me and my hair had always been... Bumpy, you could say.

There were periods in which I would find it quite lovely; during those times I would let my curls free, showing them off with a proud demeanor, knowing my hair was unique. Those times began to turn less and less usual since the middle of third year, though they were still there.

However, after the summer prior to my sixth year, those moments had banished; I only wished to hide my hair, and my friends ended up noticing. They told me surely there would be a spell or potion able to change my hair.

As if they had summoned it, the next day in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall introduced us to what seemed like my salvation; Crinus Muto, an advanced spell that modified the caster's hair with no restrictions.

My best friend advised me against using it, claiming it wouldn't help my insecurity— if only, it would worsen it.

I really wanted to do as she had told me and completely dismiss the spell's existence, but two nights after I had a big mental breakdown about it, caused by the most stupid thing ever.

"Is Weasley staring at you or am I blind?" One of my friends whispered, her eyes trained on the Gryffindor table.

I didn't even bother to look up, not wanting to know whether it was true or not, before responding with a quiet "You're blind."

"I mean, it's hard to tell with two rows of students between us but," She nudged me, urging me to avert my gaze from my dinner and redirect it to Fred. "it kinda looks like he's... staring."

Curiosity killed the cat, I guess. My eyes finally left my plate and were, in fact, met with Fred's brown ones. As soon as they met, though, he looked away, pretending to be focused on his food, just like I had been doing seconds ago.

"Of course he's staring." Hannah Abbot, who sat right in front of my friend, commented with her mouth full. "Have you seen your hair?" She swallowed her food, looking me up and down before adding, "No offense, but it's an absolute mess." My eyes opened widely in shock at her bluntness. "You should take care of it, really."

"Has someone ever told you you're an ill-mannered bitch, Hannah?" I heard my friend talking back at the younger girl while I got up and started to make my way out of the Great Hall.

Of course, I didn't see Fred shooting up and attempting to go after me; ultimately he decided to stay in his place, since he saw my friend walking out too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was very aware of all the pair of eyes that had been laid on me the very moment I entered the greenhouse where we would be doing the Herbology tasks.

When I had met my friends at the Hufflepuff common room that morning, I had received divided opinions about my straight hair. At first I had been very convinced that it looked way better than my curly hair, but seeing my friends' reaction, I wasn't that confident about it anymore.

I didn't have time to undo the spell before class, so I decided to go along with it and see how the day unfolded.

I took a deep breath, my eyes trained on the ground as I made my way to an empty seat; maybe there weren't that many people staring, maybe it was just my anxiety.

I finally gathered the courage and looked up, nervously scanning the glasshouse so I could shake off my fears.

There was only a couple of my peers staring, which would have put me at ease, if one of them wasn't Fred Weasley.

On top of it, of course, he wasn't even trying to be subtle, it was almost as if he wanted me to notice his judging eyes; I could feel his gaze on me for the entire class.

The instant Professor Sprout dismissed us, I shoved everything in my bag and left the greenhouse, thanking a couple of Gryffindors who complimented my hair on my way out.

Again, I didn't notice Fred leaving the class as soon as he could to run after me.

I threw my bag against a tree near the lake shore and, as I fell against it, I heard someone jogging in my direction.

"In a hurry to sit by the lake, Y/l/n?" I followed the tall ginger with my eyes while he circled me and sat down by me. "You alright?"

"I just needed a break from... People." I vaguely explained, focusing on the water instead of on the boy besides me.

"Understandable." He hesitated for a second before adding, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, it's fine." I surprised myself at how calmed and collected I sounded, as if I wasn't chatting with my crush.

"What happened to your hair?" His genuinely curious inquiry took me aback, and I struggled to find something to answer.

"Why?" My heartbeat picked up, anxiety inundating me once more. "You don't like it?"

"It looks weird." Fred looked at me up and down with a grimace. "You don't... Look like yourself." I was about to enter fight or flight mode, but he seemed to notice, and panic made its way to his face. "But it doesn't matter what I think," he was quick to add, his eyes wide open as if he knew he had said something he should have not. "I mean— I think it shouldn't matter, if you like it, that's great— I mean, you don't need my opinion about that either!"

"Calm down, I understand." I tried to reassure him, before his rambling drove the both of us crazy. "Can I tell you a secret?" He nodded with pursed lips, surely afraid he would fuck up if he spoke again. "I've been very insecure about my hair lately— like, very." I sighed. "My best friend told me not to straighten it, but last night I got a not so nice comment and—"

"So that's why you left?" I nodded, tugging my sleeves. Fred went silent for a moment, and then cleared his throat and scooted closer to me. "I know this won't do much, but I really love your hair. Kinda reminds me of fireworks and streamers." He gestured around his own head, mimicking the fireworks' movement. "Dunno I think is fun and pretty awesome." I raised my brows at him in surprise. "Like you."

"Aw, that's very sweet." He offered me a sheepish smile as I felt my cheeks blushing. "It does a lot, actually." I confessed, fidgeting with my rings. "I guess I kinda needed to hear something positive about my hair."

"Well, whenever you need to hear something positive about your hair," he pointed at himself. "I'm your man." He winked at me and I let out a chuckle. "I can also tell you positive things about you in general, but that has a price."

"And what is it?"

"You'll have to let me buy you a drink at The Three Broomsticks this Saturday." I tried not to let panic slip through my recently eased demeanor; was he asking me on a date? "And give me a kiss after." He wiggled his brows at me and my face turned red. "the kiss is negotiable."

I casted my gaze down, fixing it on my shoes, not sure of what I was supposed to say at that. His foot tapping mine snapped me out of my thoughts.

"So?" My eyes traveled to him once more, only to find his studying me already. "What do you say, Y/l/n?"

"Well," I shrugged, trying in vain to play nonchalant. "Seems like an affordable price, so it's fine by me."

"I'll pick you up after lunch, yeah?" Before I could agree, he gasped, his eyes going wide. "I'm a genius."

"Come again?" I frowned, confused as his sudden frantic behavior.

"Don't mind me, love." He jumped up and jogged towards the castle, leaving me puzzled in there. I was about to grab a book from my bag when Fred rushed back, crouched down and pecked my cheek. "Your hair's amazing." He assured me. "See you!" My fingertips graced my now flushed cheek as he headed off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was finishing my lunch when two towering redheads entered the Hall running; while George, slowed down, Fred made a beeline to the Hufflepuff table, his casual clothes already on.

"Ready?" He asked breathless.

"Yeah— you didn't have lunch, did you?" I pointed out, getting up to stand in front of him.

"No, but I'll eat something later—" his eyes roamed over my carefully picked outfit before stating, "You look... very pretty."

"Why, thank you." I offered him a smile and looked over my shoulder at the Gryffindor table, where his friends were very attentive to all we did. "You sure you don't wanna eat something?"

"Hundred percent." He tilted his head towards the gates. "shall we?" He prompted to walk before him, and it was then that I realized he had his hands behind his back. Once we were out in the yard, he tugged my hand and made me turn to him. "I made something for you."

"You didn't have to." Was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard his words. Then the wording dawned on me; he didn't get me something, he made me something. "What is it?"

"So, you know that I told you your hair reminded me of fireworks and streamers?" I nodded, not quite knowing where he was going with that. "Well—" he then showed me what his back was hiding; a delicate, tiny firecracker with my name written on the side. "George helped me so I could finish it on time."

"I'm—" at my loss of words, I could only let out a happy laugh. "This is so cute— am I supposed to ignite it?"

"Duh!" I gently pushed his shoulder in response to his teasing. "Do you know how to do it?"

"I've seen you do it plenty of times." I admitted, grabbing the firecracker with one hand and my wand with the other; it looked so pretty, it was a pity I'd have to ruin it.

With a brief firemaking spell, the firecracker set off. Fred pulled me back slightly before it happened, though.

I was in awe at the beautiful fireworks before us, which looked like a color-changing, expanding version of my hair.

When the colors died out, I turned to Fred, whose attention was already on me, awaiting for a reaction. Surely, he was not expecting the kiss he got, but he didn't complain either; while my hands rested on his chest, his traveled to cup my cheeks before I could pull away.

"So you liked it?" He questioned quietly against my lips.

"I loved it." I whispered back with a wide smile. "You're a sweetheart." I pecked his lips before retreating. Holding his hand in mines, I made my way back into the castle. "We're not leaving until you have lunch."

"You are a sweetheart." He responded, following my lead without offering resistance. "By the way, your hair looks gorgeous." The corners of my lips twisted into a bigger smile at the sweet words he spoke only for me to hear as we went back into the Great Hall.

Maybe my hair wasn't that bad after all.

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help-i-need-a-cool-username · 4 years

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JNPR Berries Week 2020

Day 6: Alternate Universe

Okay guys i hate aus and i always avoid au days for ship weeks but i actually have so many Pyrrha Lives/Fall Maiden!Pyrrha AUs and i got carried away i wrote almost 2k in bullet points

@jnprberriesweek

After Fall of Beacon Pyrrha has two options: 1) enroll at Haven with JNPR and continue to chase her Huntress dreams while paparazzi continue to make most things she does public, indirectly informing Salem where she is at all times. 2) drop off the face off the Earth both to avoid Salem/Cinder and to continue the Fall Maiden's job

Pyrrha being Pyrrha (self-sacrificing) goes with option 2

JNR decides there’s no way they’re going to let (a freshly discharged) Pyrrha go running into unknown with no friends or backup

She’s worried about putting them in danger (even though that’s the Hunter job description) but Goodwitch reminds her that she’s only at half power so she should accept the extra protection, and friends since she’s about to leave her whole life behind to live as a nomad which makes making friendships difficult to create and maintain

(Pyrrha doesn’t mention that she’s pretty sure she sees all of them in the more romantic light)

JNR help Pyrrha change her whole appearance. Which is very important since she’s also famous

She looses her iconic armor and has to leave her weapons behind

JNR tries to convince her to cut her hair but she’s worried about not being pretty

Jaune unhelpfully reminds her that that’s probably a good thing considering they’re trying to make her as non-noticeable as possible (poor boy just meant she’s so pretty already she'll probably never be able to blend into the background of any crowd)

Ren is actually the one who has to go "Pyrrha you’re gorgeous shorter hair isn’t gonna change that at all"

Then Ren goes "look at Nora she has short hair and she’s stunning for all we know you’ll look even better with short hair"

Pyrrha and Nora are practically speechless because Ren thinks they’re beautiful

Pyrrha is like okay but I won’t let you cut it any shorter than here (gestures to mid-chest level). (JNR tries not to look at her boobs)

Nora then tries to get her to dye it. Pyrrha holds out

JNR end up in Vol 4 outfits

Pyrrha makes the difficult choice of deciding to fake her death. She makes sure her friends (she unfortunately is unable to contact Blake or Weiss) and family still know she’s alive (but they still grieve her as if she’s dead. They most likely will never see her again. The only ones likely are her parents) but to the world Pyrrha Nikos is dead, killed in the Beacon Massacre

JNPR sets off through Vale (Fall Maiden's territory)

Pyrrha has a hastily made vaguely similar weapons to her last set. She may be a professional but she’s a professional with her chosen weapons and semblance, not most other weapons

JNR sees how Pyrrha dies inside every time a little kid or random citizen tells her "did you know you look a lot like Pyrrha Nikos?"

Pyrrha is also now getting hit on without her celebrity pedestal to keep people at bay

The first few times its truly pathetic how Pyrrha responds

JNR doesn’t intervene because they remember how sad she was about no one asking her to the dance

What JNR thinks is they’re coming into rescue her only occasionally. The truth is Pyrrha is getting rescued every time by a different member and lots of times one of them will step in before anyone even approaches her

Most of the time she’s happy one of them intervened

Some times she’s mad that no one will let her handle this herself (no one has realized that yet)

A lot of the time she feels all warm and fuzzy because for a few moments she gets to pretend. She’s given a free pass to slow dance with Nora, or to lean into Ren when he puts a arm around her waist, or get away with kissing Jaune on the cheek

(JNR are also very happy when they get these excuses.)

Jaune typically intervenes because he’s a nice guy and watching Pyrrha flounder is horrible. Ren and Nora always intervene because they’re either being protective or jealous (Ren has perfected the evil eye. People will back off before they even finished crossing the room)

They almost always camp out but when they stay in town they usually share beds to save money

Originally they were doing girls in one bed boys in the other but Nora is the whole kicking, sprawling, blanket snatching package so they typically pull straws on who gets to share with her

Sometimes even her bed buddy will leave in the middle of the night and see if they can squeeze in with the other two

On the other hand Jaune drools, Ren sleeps like a vampire, and Pyrrha snores

With Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ren all pushing six feet whenever two of them pair up touching is unavoidable

Most of the time everyone but Nora (who can fall asleep instantly) stay up freaking out about being so close to their crush. Ren actually freaked so much the first time he moved to the floor and activated his semblance just so he could sleep

Pyrrha is a side sleeper so she always ends up tangling her legs with her bed buddy. She’s always embarrassed but tries to stay in that position as long as she can (its the only selfish thing she allows herself)

Winter however quickly forced JNPR to start sharing sleeping bags

They always zip both bags together but all decided spooning is the way to go after too many cold nights. They also bought a tent just big enough for the four of them in order to trap escaping body heat

Jaune is dying from so much close contact. Was it not bad enough he has to see all of his (recently discovered) crushes get changed twice every single day? Was accidentally seeing Nora's abs and walking into a door frame in Beacon not enough?

Nora and Pyrrha on the other hand are loving it (when its not absolutely freezing)

Ren has caught all three of them arguing over who gets to sleep with him that night several times. Apparently he’s the best big spoon

A pack mule joke turns into them actually looking into getting one

Originally they wanted a horse, but when they actually were looking they ran into the problem of 1) its too tall for Nora to pack the bags 2) horses are massive and JNPR quickly realize they're scared of them

So that leaves either a pony, donkey, hinny, small mule, or llama

They end up with a donkey and name her Betty. Nora wanted "Bessie" but Ren refused to give in on the basis that she’s a donkey and not a cow

They also take this opportunity to purchase more bulkier items that would make their life more comfortable that they were unable to carry by themselves before (tents, pots and pans, extra shoes, more jackets, books)

They're over a year in when Ren of all people gets high and talks about his feelings

He thinks he’s talking to Betty but really he’s been talking to a tree stump for the last hour

He got high by taste-testing the mushrooms he was cooking

The team came back from getting firewood and unpacking Betty to find him laying in the mud giggling at the sky with their questionable mushrooms burning on the fire. It was pretty clear what happened

JNP have been making sure he wont hurt himself but mainly they’re enjoying the show

"Psst Betty. Betty. You wanna hear a secret?" JNP lean in "I’ve managed to fall in love with my entire team. You can’t tell anyone though. I don’t think I’ll ever tell them either. Im not good with feelings, and that would probably make me a terrible boyfriend"

He then goes on about what he likes about each person. He goes off on a tangent about someone’s eyes for seven minutes. He talks about his favorite facial expressions everyone makes and the best parts of their personality. Nora's been red for awhile now, Jaune is leaning so far forward Pyrrha's worried he’s gonna catch on fire, and Pyrrha is actually tearing up

He says how he feels guilty whenever he cuts in on whoever is moving in on Pyrrha, that he feels guilty about being jealous but also about sending someone away when he knows Pyrrha wants that experience, and how he doesn’t realize he’s already moved in to stop the person until they’re walking away

That he feels like he could mess up everything he has with Nora, not by going into a relationship with her but by being unable to open up any more emotionally than he is now which he knows she'll expect (they’ve talked about being “together-together” before)

He laughingly mentions that one time Pyrrha said she wanted a guy taller than her because Ren gets it now because when he’s bunking with Jaune in the winter he’s found he really likes being held by someone taller than him

Ren then goes "oh no. No no no its bad enough I’m talking about my feelings out loud I’m not going to tell you who has the best ass. Aren’t donkey's also called asses? What’s it like being a donkey?" And everyone is laughing

Pyrrha is the first to break after they fall back into listening. She looks at the fire the whole time. She admits she feels the same way about all of them, that she also planned on never saying anything.

Then Jaune pipes in that he just figured it out for himself pretty recently. That at first he was worried it was either teenage hormones or that he was reacting to a vastly shrunk dating pool and therefore the feelings weren’t real. (Unlike Ren and Pyrrha his feelings didn’t begin romantic and then expand his started sexual until realized what he thought was strong platonic feelings might actually be romantic)

Nora is still red with her hands over her face but eventually she says that she’s been attracted to all of them since team JNPR formed and "since we all clearly feel the same way about each other can we stop with the super embarrassing love confessions and makeout already"

When Ren wakes up that morning he remembers very little since he doesn’t know what were dreams and what were hallucinations. He has a dehydration headache and rolls over but Pyrrha sees he’s awake and she comes sits next to him. Ren doesn’t uncurl until she started playing with his hair. "How much of last night do you remember?" "Mostly just colors." "Ummm okay. Remember anything anyone said?" "I think I had a conversation with Jaune about rocks." "That was to Nora actually. But you did think she was Jaune." "Mmhm." "So last night there was a development, but since you were high I wanna ask you again now that you're sober." "Okay." "So ummm, we're kinda all dating now? But if you wanna back out now that you're sober you totally can." "What do you mean by 'kinda all'?" "All four of us." "And you all want to date me?" "Yeah, you don’t remember all the love confessions that happened last night." "Oh. Did my rock conversation interrupt all that?" "No. You actually confessed first." "I WHAT."

#hinacu rwby #rwby #jnprberriesweek 2020 #jnprberriesweek #polyam jnpr #poly jnpr #hinacu au #i forget are alpacas also pack animals #are elephants #i figured they prob couldnt find a camel since Vale seems to be a pretty wet place #jaune arc #nora valkyrie #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #fall maiden pyrrha #fall maiden #au #alternate universe

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factual-fantasy · 4 years

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I WANNA SEE ALL UR UNDERTALE ART AND IDEAS🥺🥺🥺I WOULD LOV TO READ AN EXPLANATION OF UR LAST TWO POSTS

...Aight, bet.

I’m going to have to be slightly vague for a few reasons. For one, because people seemed to like this idea, I have been expanding it more and working through it, this means everything is subject to change. Second is if I go too far into detail it’ll take too long.

So, the story.

This takes place in a Refinedtale like universe. i.e. Chara, Asriel and Gaster are alive and on the surface after a pacifist run. Now, In this story Frisk, Chara and Asriel are friends with Monster kid, abbreviated to MK. Now they somehow end up in this huge cave system, with tunnels and huge rooms. A HUGE plot hole that made me shy away from posting about this story is I have no explanation for how they got there. They just wake up there separated for no reason. They weren’t doing anything strange or magic related, no they were just sleeping in their beds I guess and woke up in this weird place. No Its not supposed to be back in the underground.

So, the kiddos wake up confused, find each other and decide to look around. They come into a big room and find Toriel standing in the middle. Her outlines are white and the rest of her body is black. Her face is also blotched out, just like Papyrus in the first post. They try to approach her, but she attacks them with everything she’s got. Like really, she is trying hard to kill these kids. The kids fight back and keep trying to talk to her. Asriel manages to slip through the battle and pounce on his mom. He’s sobbing and begging her to stop and that she’s scaring him. She instantly stops. Her lines turn black and her body turns green. She becomes really connected to Asriel and becomes his servant all of a sudden.

The idea is that if one of the kids touch one of the blotched monsters, the monsters lines will turn black and they’ll change to what ever color the kids is. Asriel = Green, Chara = Red, Frisk = Blue, and MK = orange.

Toriel loves Azzy now and carries him around. hence this picture,

The kids are a bit nervous because she literally just tried to kill them. Now after that battle they start to look for more people.. and fine Undyne. Undyne was really intense, but MK managed to slip behind everyone and ram his head into Undyne’s leg, knocking her over and changing her silhouette to orange.

They now assume that a lot of other monsters are around here, and all you have to do to get them out of that state is to touch them. And depending on who touches them, their color will change and they will follow that specific kid around.

So they continue searching and find their next opponent, Undyne lends them each a small spear to protect themselves.. and.. its turns out Sans is next.. this one was really upsetting. I have touched a little on Chara’s inner demons in Refinedtale with this post. In this fight with Sans, the battle is really tense and hard, its a sense of bitter sweet nostalgia for Chara. Sans was always the most interesting battle in the timelines wasn’t he? Sans is seemingly the most harmless monster there is! So small, so frail.. But so powerful too. When Chara remembers the battles with him she feels shame, but also excitement! Sans’s battles were the best ones. Its because it was truly personal. Sans knew she did something. This powerful hatred came deep from within his soul. It was terrifying, and wildly exciting!! Being in this place again, where she could try and kill the comedian once more.. was just.. so thrilling! She couldn’t stop herself, she couldn’t hold back! She lost herself in the madness..

..and went way, too far.

Chara stood there for a moment, panting and smiling from ear to ear.. and then it hit her. The excitement was gone.. and in its place was just dread. Shortly after realizing what she just did, she burst into tears seeing Sans’s head scattered all over the floor. Everyone is shocked, a RESET isn’t an option here, Sans has gotta be dead. Chara crumples to the floor and cries. But next thing you know, Sans’s face shards gravitate towards his body on the floor. His face reconstructs itself, he changes to a light red color and Stands up. In the picture, her knee bumps Sans hand, thus counting as being touched. He walks over to Chara and helps her stand up. He’s now protecting her and loving her like Tori is to Azzy. After a long while of recovering and apologizing, they move on to look for more people. This is when they find Papyrus.

The fight with Papyrus was beyond anything they ever expected. It was like they were fighting Sans again.. but Papyrus was so much stronger than Sans, he was so much FASTER than Sans, it was insane! He could focus on every single one of them all at once! There was a post (that I can’t find) explaining how its very likely that Papyrus is stupid strong- he just holds back on you, anyway.. So this fight goes horribly, everyone is getting hurt. Chara tells Sans to do something, try to get Papyrus to stop, make it so one of them can touch him. So Sans teleports above and behind Papyrus’s head. In the picture above, that’s Sans in the middle of teleporting. He wraps his arms around Papyrus’s neck in an attempt to stop him. Making him lose his grip on Asriel.

Papyrus reaches his arm back, snatches Sans out from behind him, holds him up by his shirt and is about to kill him.. when..

Asriel begs “Papyrus stop!! Stop fighting us!!” Papyrus turns green.. the blasters and bones disappear.. then he gently sets Sans down. Not a word is spoken between the two brothers. But you could cut the fear and tension between them with a knife.

They all do their best to recover from this fight and move on. They keep searching and then find Alphys.

This one was hard because no one could get near her. She would sit completely still and the electricity would just come to them. The idea is everyone distracts her while Frisk sneaks behind her and manages to touch her. She turns blue and they move onto the next monster, luckily not much heart ache here.

Then they get to Mettaton, there’s a slightly angsty yet cool part where Mettaton is attacking Frisk and Alphys jumps in to protect her. Its like the Scientist vs its beloved creation you know? Anyway this is where things start to get fuzzy. I haven’t decided who gets Mettaton or how they get him. But lets just say its MK?

Now, I haven’t been able decide if Grillby will be one of the Blotched monsters. You might say that Grillby isn’t a significant character to the Undertale timeline at all, and you would be right. However in Refinedtale he is. Grillby plays a huge part in Sans’s life and to the overall movement in the timeline. And since this is Refinedtale based I figured it would make sense if he was in this.. but for some reason it just feels a bit off.. anyways, if Grillby was to be in this, he would be right after the Mettaton battle. I feel like Asriel would be the one to get him because he has a bit of a special advantage when it comes to fire type magic.

Next would be Gaster. Just like Papyrus, he was stronger than expected. The kids all kind’a saw him as a weak, broken old man that was way past his prime. Well they were completely wrong and apparently they forgot where Sans and Papyrus’s powers came from to begin with. So the battle is rough, the kids are tired and just manage to snag him. I can see Chara being fed up and charging through his attacks in a fit of rage and throwing him to the floor. He turns red and things are okay for a while.. They rest and try to collect themselves.

..they all know who’s next..

The four kids get carried through the cave system to conserve energy while they look for Asgore. They find him and decide that the kids trying to fight him is a bad idea. They don’t know if they can die here and they’re exhausted. Sans has demonstrated that the blotched monsters cant seem to die so.. they form a plan.

Sans, Papyrus, Gaster, Undyne, and Mettaton will all attack and just try to get him pinned on the floor, then one of the kids will run over and boop him on the nose. Simple! In the meantime Toriel (maybe Grillby) and Alphys will stand back to protect the kids. Cool right?..

(warning, Gore reading up ahead)

..Well, there’s a reason why Asgore is the king of monsters you know. It goes horribly. Gaster is pinned to the floor by Asgore’s foot and has his rib cage smashed in. Papyrus is impaled in the chest by his trident and is pinned to the floor, destroying his rib cage as well. Sans is pulling hard on Asgores soul with blue magic, trying desperately to get him on the floor and off his family. He’s blasting him in the shoulder with Blasters and impaling him with large bone spears. Undyne has a spear dug into his other shoulder and is bashing him in the head and yanking on his horns. Mettaton is using guns and shooting him from every exposed angle, he’s using his arms to pull on his knees in an attempt to get them to buckle beneath him..

...but he just wont go down.. no matter how hard they try, its not working..

Asgore throws Undyne off of him and smashes her head against the floor, causing it to crumple and shatter. Sans is mercilessly yanked by the arm and thrown hard against the cave walls, causing him to break in every area and the kids to shriek and cry. He kicks Gaster aside and shakes Papyrus off of his trident. He then uses the trident to slash at Mettatons head so hard his head comes flying off.

(Gore reading over)

The terror sets in as Asgore makes his way over to the crying kids. Toriel is literally on fire, Alphys is sparking, (maybe Grillby’s flames are roaring) they’re both(/all) ready to fight. The 5 blotched monsters on the ground slowly regenerate, but they’re not doing it fast enough.

As he steps closer and the crying gets louder, Asriel looks desperately for a way out. He then notices Chara is gone. And Sans has vanished from his place on the floor. Before Asgore can make his move, Chara and Sans drop down from above him and land on his shoulders, Sans’s face hadn’t even reconstructed yet, he didn’t grab on to Asgore and simply slid down on his cloak and collapsed on the floor. Chara gripped tightly to Asgore’s neck and shrieked, “STOP!!”

..He turned red, put down his trident and stopped.

As to what comes after and why this all happened? I don’t know. I imagined the four kids wake up in their beds the next morning and remember all of this, but the blotched monsters don’t. I also thought this could’ve taken place during a picnic. The kids disappear for about 10-20 minutes and show back up running from the forest crying and wounded. I also thought that everyone wakes up on the forest floor and only the kids remember, and everyone else is just confused on how they got there.

Haven’t decided on a beginning or an ending. But that’s pretty much the story in as much detail as I’ve built so far. :} I hope you enjoyed reading this, it came out longer than I intended, but that’s alright I think. ,,^ ^,,

#undertale #refinedtale #talks about gore

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cviperfan · 4 years

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Okay so partially motivated by how many references there were in SPoP and largely bc it's been in my backlog for years and I remembered the whole thing got uploaded to youtube a while ago, I finally got around to watching Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time so time for some hot takes

2 clarify I did see the movie about around 2000 which was my introduction to the series, and I did see like 1 episode back in anime club (over a decade ago now tbh) but for the most part I went into this with only a vague sense of the ending and offhand knowledge of a few of the weird comedy episodes so this was mostly a blind watch

Before getting into #spoilers I will say that this ended up being an easy Top 5 and that it's definitely still worth watching (fair warning for the very frequent rape and incest (and sometimes both)), especially if you've somehow also avoided most of the context of this show like me, and it really is one of the rare Nothing Else Like It kind of show (though it has roots in older shoujo like Rose of Versailles and modern stuff like Revue Starlight have picked up its lede)

Okay spoilers from here on

I really only kinda have vague memories of the more knightly take on Utena from the movie so Series!Utena having this powerful Dumb Jock Energy threw me

Like she's out here invoking the Air Bud Rule from minute one

This bit where Akio is going on about some Important Life Lesson thing and she's just fuckin

crab walking im

what a hero i love her

I have always kinda been more partial to shoujo than shounen bc the sense of like emotional urgency and the heightened exaggerated feelings are just more compelling to me narratively and what Utena does spectacularly is really drive that to fucking 11 and it permeates every aspect of the show

Like the melodrama of it all is so shameless and it's so committed to letting its visuals and music drive the mood and emotional intensity of its stakes that they kind of speak for themselves and demand to be taken on their own terms rather than having clear or rigid interpretations

Like it's kind of a situation of "yes most of what you're seeing ties into the show's bigger themes and characterization but also you can just vibe to the spectacle as well" like even when it's not on the Dueling Arena there's a theatricality underlying everything that pairs perfectly with the spirit of shoujo even as it... not necessarily contradicts it, but challenges it in some ways and also wants to coexist with it?

And I think that's the interesting thing how it wants to tackle some of these arch concepts tied into the genre while also being deeply intertwined with it. Like it really is a Product Of Its Time in so many ways but it also feels somehow timeless and transgressive in others even now?

Like part of me would be interested to see a remake that took into account 23 years of conversation about how much perceptions of gender and sexuality have changed but at the same time would it lose some essential part of itself in that transition? idk potentially

Also lbr a hypothetical remake wouldn't even attempt to revise anything it would just redo it thus making it pointless

So I know this has been a thing that's been brought up before but seeing it play out dang RGU and NGE really are just companion pieces to each other huh

Subverting the themes and narrative arcs of their respective genres, mysterious quiet girl who's directly the key to everything, the ritual of action setpieces rendered as Actual Ritual in the story, banger OP, comphet ruining everyone's lives

Also they really don't have much in common comparatively but I'm definitely seeing pieces of Utena in Kill la Kill too? Particularly how Mako's arc feels like a fleshing out and expansion from the archetype divergence Wakaba got in that one ep (I can't believe klk was the utena/wakaba au fanfic)

Speaking of which damn he is a sleazy bastard and a gross predator but ngl Akio can Get It he and Ragyo are basically the same character and I guess this is just my type apparently???? oops

Like I'm recognizing how like really awful he is but also you really can't blame Utena for crushing on him he is super hot and charming

aside i lost it at the audacity of "well even tho i am a man like twice your age (AT LEAST) and took advantage of the situation and also i am clearly not the type to take no for an answer since you didn't reject me you're basically just as bad as me" bruh

The Black Rose Arc is... interesting bc like it borders on superfluous with how it resolves and yet the introduction of a "monster of the week" type power rangers element specifically built to expand on the secondary cast is a pretty inspired choice

again my primary point of introduction to the series was the movie which is basically a remix of the Student Council arc so when I got to 12 I was like wth are they gonna fill the rest of this with? WELP

What I really like about it is that usually this kind of setup-- the 'character is faced with their dark inner thoughts they shy away from and they become a short-term enemy' deal-- ends with the char in question coming to terms with this and overcoming it to become a better person

but here it's just like... they lose and then they just gotta... sit with that, forever. Like it doesn't really change the status quo of their relationships w/ utena or the others but it does just stick around for them and now the audience knows that about them too. like sometimes you just can't take that shit back.

Utena's relationship to queerness, having heard about it tangentially for years but seeing it play out now is also interesting bc while in the grand scheme it doesn't feel necessarily any more ahead of its time than something like Cardcaptor Sakura there is a casualness to it that's distinct

Like for the most part it's either kind of the tangential fluff that even then was part of shoujo as a standard but then there's also stuff like the Akio/Touga or Touga/Saionji hinting or Kozue's casual pass at Anthy in addition to the maintext Juri/Shiori push-pull and ofc the subtext-but-maintext Utena/Anthy threads

I wanna take a moment to talk about Juri bc of how kind of in the spirit of the show itself it plays things both with and against the grain with her

Like she's a Tragic Lesbian which is nothing new but usually this character type (and Distinctively Lesbian characters in general) in anime/manga tend to be portrayed as being very predatory, invasive and either played for laughs or to repulse the audience, so the degree of empathy RGU shows her in 97 is rare to see even now.

Like there is a "safeness" to her bc of how unattainable Shiori is (though their arc ends in a decidedly ambiguious way), but it doesn't really feel like she's getting the short end of the stick over the more straight-leaning characters bc arguably all of the relationships here are defined by an aspect of chasing the unattainable, echoing Utena's own quixotic search for her Prince, and her choosing to remain closeted feels realistic *especially because* of the surrounding context of how heteronormative the world she exists in is. Like the character is aware of that and is navigating it in a way that feels honest

Speaking of which it's interesting how the reveal of Juri's pining for Shiori in Ep 7 echoes the bigger reveal of Utena/Anthy bc of how it plays up this heterocentric love triangle or at least it seems to be but then the cards are on the table and no that's really not what it is at all, and it feels significant that after spending most of the series naively oblivious to Juri’s feelings and what she wants out of a relationship with Shiori that Utena finally Gets It in Ep 37

Is it a coincidence Juri actually gets to be the one to point it out? No

Speaking of triangles big ups to the Ruka/Juri/Shiori one honestly bc of how hard it commits to the unknown third result of a LT where absolutely no one comes out happy and it actually works even with the handicap of Ruka basically coming out of nowhere just for these two episodes

Like all three of them want the one person who's absolutely never gonna love them back and that's just rough buddy and isn't that kinda the show in a nutshell

So the thing that struck me about Utena/Anthy and how it plays out is how subtle it really is. And that does make sense bc while f/f teasing/subtext again was part of shoujo before it's quite a different thing for the heroine to ultimately reject her 2 male love interests and choose a life with her female best friend, esp in nineteen ninety seven

Like I think you can argue that Ep 12 feels like The Moment where What Their Relationship Is, Definitely shifts and that possibility is suddenly there, and then it doesn't come back in a big way until the ending but there are tiny glimpses throughout where you can see that working in the background if you’re really paying attention

Small things like Anthy's flashes of unspoken jealousy, Utena fretting over her even when she's in bed with Akio, and part of that is coming from going in with a knowledge of what the endgame is and keeping an eye out for it. I can hardly imagine being a viewer during the og broadcast and then ep 34 comes and suddenly the intent is made clear and our understanding of the inciting incident gets all flipped turned upside down

And to a modern viewer I can get coming into this for the first time and being frustrated at just how close to the chest it gets played, but that's also kind of the only way it gets to happen at that point in time? But I think it ultimately is effective and vital to their individual arcs and dovetails nicely with the themes of the show

Like I remember hearing that original manga creator Chiho Saito was pretty against their paired ending, but with a lot of convincing from Ikuhara ultimately came around to it, and it's hard to imagine the anime's ending working any other way and being nearly as impactful

And there is something really beautiful about the bucking against the established idea of yuri relationships being a childish concept that gets left behind in order to 'grow up' actually becoming the impetus of their own journeys into adulthood and eventually back to each other, and it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed that for this Bold Step and declaration for the future that RGU takes that while yuri is more common than ever it largely continues to exist within the realm of schoolgirls and something to be left behind in adolescence like for RGU’s faults and shortcomings it saw this world of possibility in moving forward, while the genre largely elected to stand still

And it really speaks to either the timelessness of the show or how much the queer experience has remained constant that even with a tragic ending, that hope, or rather the promise of their reunion, feels bold and defiant and genuinely uplifting even now

Like the moment where just before they reach out to each other one final time, and their voices as children speak out to each other, as if finally fulfilling a promise they barely remember, I really did just start ugly crying

Lastly some assorted closing thoughts--

-Touga? Punk. Guy really takes advantage of Utena's whole prince thing to manipulate her, ends up losing to her in the rematch and then fucks off to mope for like AN ENTIRE SEASON then pops back up "oh yea im in love with her literally nothing else about my behavior has changed tho" like lmao you tried i guess

-Also i know Touga's design is p stock standard bishounen ojou-sama type but god this is all i can think about when I see him

- Green Touga Saionji is a bitch-ass motherfucker but like he at least tried more than anyone else so uh that's something I guess?????

Like the guy clearly has some unresolved feelings about Touga so i'm inclined to be sympathetic bc wow poor choice my dude but also... bitch-ass motherfucker

-Nanami really went through this thing for me where it's like... she's a brat and a shitty person but it's also hard to really dislike her bc she does get what she deserves most of the time and also she gets kinkshamed more than most of the cast despite none of them really having a high ground over her lol

-Miki did nothing wrong (aside from like the implied incest but that's also like... half the relationships in this show uh)

sidenote I can completely see the notable excess of Incest Subtext/Maintext being intended as like... A Thing to comment on how common it is within shoujo and also tying in to like the bigger themes of Growing Up bc the idea that you’re chasing after your own damn siblings betrays some freudian inability to mature or whatever but tbqh it doesn’t always feel like the show knows the line between commenting on this and indulging in it and RGU is very indulgent by its own nature so I really can’t blame people put off by the show as a whole bc this is an area where RGU is largely indistinguishable from its genre peers

-Juri really did nothing wrong tho also props for having the best duels

-FUCK SHIORI THO for eel

so obviously i have not seen the show up to now but I've been in yuri circles for a long time so I knew about Juri/Shiori and my perception of it had always been "oh it's one of those kinda messy with complicated feelings" kinda ships where the drama is a big part of the appeal and that's true but like

the actual nature of it I did not realize up to now and OH SHIORI'S REALLY THAT BITCH HUH

So not only does she date that one anonymous guy specifically to spite Juri unaware she doesn't actually like him BUT THEN WHEN THEY GET REUNITED SHE'S JUST LIKE LOL IT DIDNT MATTER BUT HEY WE COOL RIGHT *AND THEN* when she finds out about Juri's feelings she's like HELL YEA I CAN HANG THIS OVER HER HEAD FOREVER FUCK HER

***AND THEN*** when she gets some karma after Ruka dumps her ass she airs her dirty laundry out in front of EVERYBODY like Juri hasn't been dealing with this shit like an absolute champ the whole time like?????

Like ok i get that there's the sad longing drama there and usually that's my jam and the show itself seems to end on kind of an ambiguous note and the follow-up manga from this year seems to leave it as kind of a "maybe" but I'm sorry get Juri a better GF 2020 she deserves better

I saw some Juri/Wakaba going through the tumblr tag for the show and honestly that's some big brain shit I'm here for it

Also now knowing exactly how this dynamic operates it really makes that Jasper/Lapis reference pic one of the SU crew drew of them read very.... interestingly???????? (tho Lapis' design reads a lot closer to Kozue and that's probably a closer personality analogue too)

-I love that thing in ep 37 where the whole SC is just very casually like hey utena if the whole revolutionizing the world thing with anthy doesn't work out uhhh call me im free haha just kidding unless...? lmao

-I'm pretty uninclined to try to pin precise sexuality HCs to characters for series this old where the ambiguity is part of how its danced around like partly coming from my own experience I'm inclined to read Utena as bi but that really is just coming from me?

But on the other hand literally every time a guy is like "i love you utena come be happy with me and we can love each other forever" she's like "k" after having left them on read for a day and disconnects from them entirely so lesbian going through comphet is a pretty valid read i think lol

-Lastly I think it’s pretty interesting but validly frustrating how fast and loose the show’s relationship with dream logic and non-traditional storytelling really is like when the shadow girls show up I was like “oh this is a greek chorus thing and it’s meant to reflect on the themes of the episode” (or uh in the case of exactly Ep 29 to break from tradition and explicitly tell us what a characters deal is lmao) but then no actually turns out they’re actually real characters who exist within the show too fuck you

ANYWAY I really did love this show and felt like I got a lot out of it despite it being pretty infamously hard to decipher but the ways it's inscrutable appeal to me specifically so very happy with this I'm gonna be thinking about it for a while

#revolutionary girl utena #cw: rape mention #cw: incest mention #might follow up with some thoughts about the movie later

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lost-kinn · 5 years

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so since we’re all talking about the pale king, i’d like to talk about the moment you see the pale king and realize Hey @ Team Cherry Why’s He So God Damn Short?

i’d like to pose the idea that it is crucial in any coming-of-age story to realize that your parents are people too, because this is what enables you to grow past them and cease to be defined by them.

and if there was ever a coming-of-age story, it’d be hollow knight. it’s the story about the knight growing up, finding out who they are, and becoming their most realized self--which might be returning to the greater void, or becoming the shade lord, depending on your opinion on which ending is the “True” ending.

but growing up is, as hollow knight recognizes, not only reconciling yourself with your parents. it’s an act of reconciling who you are in relation to your society, to your peers, to your place and history, and religions if they’re involved in any of the aforementioned things.

so just to put that out there: i do think that one of the big narrative arcs of hollow knight is for the knight to grow up, and the rest of this argument follows that one of the big goals of the game is charting the knight’s journey in growing up.

for a child to grow up, they have to realize that their parents are not infallible.

and in order for a person to self-actualize themselves outside of the totalizing influence of a state or god, they also have to realize that their societies and their gods are not infallible.

it’s a very good thing, then, that the pale king is a triple-whammy of three of the most prevalent patriarchal figures of all time: Patriarch, God, and State.

firstly, i want to highlight that when it comes to fathers, there’s a pretty common narrative that because a child is so young, all they know is their father and their father’s influence (or their parent’s influence, alternatively). their parent’s influence is totalizing.

in the process of having such an all-encompassing influence on their child and their child’s world, the parent creates their child, both biologically and in the act of raising their child.

it’s the issue of “raising” that hollow knight does a really good job of expanding.

think about your own childhood. was it necessarily your parents who had complete influence over you? considering that most of us spend seven hours in school every day, can we say that our parents are most influential, even if our parents were very involved in our lives (to say nothing of people with less involved parents)?

think about the way the government structured your schooling. even if you went to private school, the government still had standardized tests. if you went to public school, the state had a say in everything you learned, the people you were in contact with, even what you wore and what you ate.

if you spent any time in church, religion had a direct impact on your life. but even if you didn’t, religion shaped the history of the country you’re in, shapes the way that you probably think about the world, shapes the values you hold, just by osmosis.

when it comes to creating (“raising”) a young person, hollow knight rightfully pings three sources: parentage/family, state, and god:

1) their influence is usually complete and all-encompassing. particularly in a monarchy, government rule and influence is complete and supreme. in conceptualizations of god, gods are omnipotent and omniscient. for a young child, their parent’s influence is similarly complete.

2) gods are the creation myth of how everything came to be, and the way that the world should be. states will usually also tell you something similar; the american government spoonfeeds a particular history about the american revolution, for example, and posits a set of values such as freedom, individuality, and meritocracy, and all of these values can be difficult to see alternatives to if you’ve never known anything different. similarly, a parent will also provide for you a genesis story—quite literally, your parent fucked your other parent and then you happened—and also impose a set of values.

3) because of these previous two points, family, god, and state are the processes by which people are created, as a direct consequence of the all-encompassing influence they wield.

in hallownest, these influences are easy to see. gods are so prevalent for the sheer extent of their influence, their ability to shape their followers and their subjects to their will (e.g. unn and the mosskin, grimm and the grimm troupe). the extent of hallownest’s government was so strong that its monarch was revered as a god. the actual subjects of the city of tears are physically molded to the king’s will, and the followers of unn, the grimm troupe, and the radiance are all physically altered by the god’s influence. vespa commands a similar control over her hive even in death, even though she’s only a queen and not a god.

the expansiveness of god’s influence is also what aligns god so well with the state, of course; they’re hugely influential, they tell you why the world is the way it is, and they also tell you the way the world should be, brooking (usually) no argument.

we can see this easily paralleled with the child’s point of view of their parent when they’re very young; unable to see past their parent’s influence, their parent’s influence is totalizing.

of course, the reason why it’s important to see that influence and to name the sources of these influences is because this pattern of influencing the world had some pretty disastrous effects for literally everyone.

a lot of hollow knight is realizing that the kingdom-state of hallownest gave you, the knight, a VERY short end of a societal bargain.

like. that society killed you (the knight), and your siblings, so that it could maintain itself.

hallownest is a Fucked Up Place, one that structured its entire society to give you, the knight, a REALLY short end of a bargain. your society--the kingdom of hallownest--did you, the knight, a huge fucking dirty.

here’s the thing about tying father, god, and state together: it provides the player with personal, ideological, and political reasons to say, “fuck this system.”

it collapses the knight’s coming of age story as a young child into an adult with other storylines, such as the knight’s ascension to godhood and the killing of god herself, and knight’s ascension to kinghood and overthrowing the last vestiges of hallownest (also known as being a revolutionary).

it’s not just that your personal father fucked up—it’s the realization that the entire society has done you wrong, and needs to be either fixed or surpassed. at the very least, it needs to be recognized for its shortcomings. (again, remember that it’s not just a parent who raises a child; it’s an entire society that has a hand in it.)

the pale king becomes the focus of that, even though we know that there were multiple other people who were involved in the plan--the white lady, for one, but it seems like even ogrim was aware of the plan to sacrifice thk, and deemed it an acceptable sacrifice so that hallownest could maintain its power.

in short, the pale king becomes the embodiment of all of these plotlines in one person.

he gives give the state’s power a face and a name, and that’s not incorrect, per se, since hallownest is a monarchy. he gives godhood a face and a name.

the pale king is a character that says there is no divide between political and personal. it is all personal. the state if our father, god is the state, and if we want to settle the score for the wrongs that have been done to us (and i mean us as both the knight and us as players), then we need to start looking at family, god, and state.

and in hollow knight, the narrative has neatly combined all of these into one character.

ultimately, the reason why it’s so important to embody father, state, and god all in the same body is because then the issue becomes manageable.

and by manageable, i mean SHORT.

(firstly, i should add that it’s not like the coalescing of father, state, and god is uncommon. if you wanna know how common it is, take a look at that old joke about how the final boss of any JRPG is either god, your father, or both. for a really prominent cultural example, take a look at none other than gendo ikari, who’s shinji’s father, the director of the instution that runs shinji’s life (“state”), and aspires to either kill god or become god or both, depending on your interpretation of evangelion.

and hollow knight brings up this conflation of father, state, and god in a lot of other ways, which i think is important to note. it’s not like the pale king has a monopoly on it. see: the hunter’s remark where he says that the sum of his being goes to the knight because he has “no children, no subjects, no followers.” see also: grimm, who’s an excellent foil to the pale king in this way; he is the master/monarch of his troupe (state), he is a god and The Singular God of his domain, and he’s also a literal father. like, that last bit is almost the entire point of the grimm troupe DLC.)

but returning to my point, the pale king embodies all three at once partly because he then because easily targetable.

it’s like that old adage they say about the monster in a horror film—the monster is only scary up until the point that you see it, and realize that it has a corporeal body that you can kill. (monster theory operates on this, anyway—monsters put a vague, incorporeal anxiety into physical body, which you can then confront.)

but also think about it in terms of government. locating the state in a single person makes it easier to oppose, easier for you to locate its “source.” think about a lot of governments today: their “rulers” are more dispersed, but therefore are more dispersed, and therefore society is more difficult to revolutionize. locating everything within the pale king cuts down the entire idea of The State to a human size.

and think about it terms of god, too. god’s been discussed to death--possibly literally--for centuries. nietzsche declared god dead in 1882. hegel posited that god was only a reflection of ourselves, in that we have created the world around us with the power innate to human beings, and then created god to house that power and use that power against us. god’s been dying for a long-ass time, and it’s been a huge source of both liberation and anxiety, because if there’s no god to keep the world together, what the fuck are we supposed to do? at least when there was a god that ran everything, we had someone to be fucking pissed at when shit went wrong.

and then you put all three of these into a physical body—

—and he’s SHORT.

ITTY BITTY.

TEENY TINY.

and then to add on to the fact that he’s short—poke around the white palace and the extra lore, and you realize that the pale king would have lost in a fight to the radiance because he wasn’t invincible, and that he was desperate for a solution, and that he made some good decisions and some fucking awful decisions, and his influence on the world was insane in its reach but he was still a person who walked on two legs and had a child and a wife and probably actually felt some kind of positive emotion for both of them. this is the part where we realize that the pale king is not infallible, and isn’t some cartoon villain who controlled everything everywhere.

the moment you see the pale king with your own eyes is seeing that the Very Society You Live In, the same society that fucked you over so horrendously, was made by a person who was fallible and even weak like you. this is the culmination of the storyline of the knight as someone who, literally, overthrows the last vestiges of hallownest, and surpasses the society that victimized them.

god was made--or maybe is--a person like you. this is the culmiation of the storyline of the knight who kills god and becomes their own god in the godmaster ending.

your parents are people like you. this is the culmination of the storyline in which the knight grows up.

you were made by people like you. the processes by which you were made are not beyond your power.

the process of growing up, as described by hollow knight, is empowerment. it’s realizing that you have more control than you thought.

like a child realizing that their parent is human for the first time, they realize that their parent’s influence, the world created by their parent, is not infallible or invincible. they realize that their parent’s influence on them is vast, but has a limit. and that this isn’t terrifying or awful, but is a freeing experience. they realize that their parent’s influence can be escaped, destroyed, or surpassed.

in the act of recognizing the humanity of the people who created you, you can recognize firstly the limitations of their power, and the extent of your own.

if they could do those sorts of great feats while also being a fallible person, then so can you.

the playing field becomes equal. they were a person. you’re a person.

if the pale king is a person, then the pale king is no longer a cataclysmic event that happened to you (the knight). and the instant the pale king is no longer a chaotic, incomprehensible event that Happened To You, you can remove yourself from the position of a passive receptor of someone else’s actions.

you (the knight) are not simply void to be molded by a god, or a knight to be molded by a king, or a child to be molded by your father. you, the knight, are a person.

you, the knight, the victim of this situation, don’t just have to lie back then and let yourself be defined by your own persecutor, or the society that threw you away, and no longer have to be defined purely by your own tragedy.

you have to become more than your tragedy to become a person, but before you can do that, you have to realize that your persecutor had his limits too. you have to define yourself, and your own abilities and your own power, beyond the scope of your persecution.

the pale king needs to be more than the cause of a tragedy to let you do that. he needs to have limits, and in order to grow past him, his limits have to be seen for what they are.

now, let me say for the record: you need never forgive a persecutor, and personally speaking, i don’t recommend it. but i’d propose that it is required to their strengths, their failings, their mistakes, and their limitations, that you can really start to grow past them. and that hollow knight makes this requirement pretty literal, in that you have to see the pale king (and the white lady) to get voidheart.

you can only realize yourself and your potential when you’ve seen, for your own eyes, the remaining husk of your god, your state, and your father, sitting small and shriveled and dead on his throne.

#hollow knight #lore #i'd also like to talk a bit about how the act of recognition is one of the most powerful tools hk uses #in that the knight recognizes themselves in thk #and the hunter #and hornet #and the broken vessel/lost kin #and in the greenpath vessel #and in all the faces at the bottom of the abyss #and i'm very sorry to say probably zote too #but that's a very connected train of thought that i'm just not going to tackle rn #fun fact: this also fits very well with the deconstruction era of being a subject that is produced by external societal power #not just a subject as a discursive entity that is produced by a subject that is ruled in the process of being produced as discursive #and i think one of the excellent strengths of hollow knight is that it explicitly acknowledges subjectivity in the deconstruction sense #and then rebuilds after the deconstruction #quite literally: the apocalypse has already happened to hallownest and we are in the process of picking up the pieces #the literary apocalypse has already happened and now we are rebuilding our own personal agency #which brings me to thk and their agency but i am going to cut that thought off at the pass #not today folks #anyway sry if this is not a post that is easy to read #i definitely did my best but i can only pare this line of thought down so far

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iamwhelmed · 5 years

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Honeymoon Due

Summary: Marinette accomplishes her dreams-- being a designer, owning her own boutique, and even marrying Adrien Agreste! What she’d always wanted just didn’t exactly happen the way she wanted it to...

RATED M

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“Loveless Marriage” wasn’t anything Marinette expected for herself. No, far from it. She imagined that she’d walk down the aisle in a fancy gown she made all by herself and he’d cry when he saw her, that she’d spend her time chasing her dreams, that her husband would support her wholeheartedly and love her with such ferocity that the world could feel it-- like her parents. To be fair, she got most of that. Her wedding dress was, in fact, a Marinette original, a sweetheart neckline that fell like silk over her shoulders and trailed behind her like a queen’s cape. White as snow, fit her body as though Tikki had magiced it out of the thin air. Modest in length but short enough to see her pointed kitten heels. She ran her own boutique, and her customers adored her every creation. She was fairly known locally, and had refused several offers to expand because she simply wasn’t ready. Her husband certainly supported her with everything he had, which was a large sum of inheritance and all the words of affirmation she could handle-- Adrien was always an amazing friend.

He just wasn’t a good husband, not in the emotional sense.

He did all the things husbands should do, like help with chores, work with her as a team (they were really efficient with taxes), and he never, ever forgot a birthday or anniversary. But love? Well, Marinette had doubts when he’d proposed. Nobody else seemed to, and if Nino nor Alya thought that maybe (just maybe) he wasn’t in love with her, then clearly she was just overthinking things, right? Tikki, who was never, with all her years of experience, lacking in advice, always seemed to get quiet when Marinette mused aloud to her about the whole thing. “I think he loves you, Marinette,” she’d said once. “Just you wait, I bet he’s gonna sweep you off your feet!” Adrien didn’t cry when she walked down the aisle.

Well, he had swept her off her feet in the sense that she was still madly in love with him. The...intimacy… that came with marriage, though? Marinette, five months married, was ashamed to say their honeymoon was spent exploring the beauties of the world’s most touristy locations (Niagara Falls, the Leaning Tower, several century-old cathedrals…) and less breaking in a bed. Aside from sleeping. Which was the only thing they did together in a bed. She hadn’t had the heart to complain to Alya yet, not when she’d gone as far as helping her through the very stressful, very experimental process of helping her find Wifey lingerie. Adrien had never seen it, and to be honest she was considering throwing the set (a white lace bodice, strung up with panties that were certainly not meant to be worn so much as they were meant to be taken off and thrown across a room, tucked neatly in a drawer, under a few sleeping shirts so he’d never find it) away before something awkward inevitably happened. Knowing her, that time was approaching with teeth-grinding intensity. She could feel the sharp, hungry nails of impending embarrassment clawing down her back.

The kissing--er, Adrien kissed her cheek, and when his lips neared her mouth, he pecked and moved smooth as ice away from her. It killed her when he did that, because she knew it was for the paparazzi, that it was for appearances so everybody thought they were a happy married couple. She’d thought to herself, a few days into their vacation, if perhaps he was just shy, being as sheltered as he had been most of his life; those thoughts (hopes, excuses, whatever you wanna call them…) were dashed when they moved into their sleek uptown apartment and he still didn’t touch her. The idea that he wasn’t interested in sex crossed her mind, but that thought also… diminished… when she found several lewd Ladybug cosplayers saved on his computer whilst she searched for a work file he needed her to print. She’d blushed, and vaguely wondered if she should make her own cosplay and see if he had a crush on her alter ego, but brushed the thought away as the conflict of revealing her identity immediately clashed.

Maybe just… Ladybug-inspired lingerie, then?

Her whole body grew red hot and she threw her head uselessly against the desk a handful of times.

She’d known, honestly, for a long time. Adrien hadn’t ever touched her out on dates or kissed her, even if he did hold her hand. He had never loved her, not really, he was settling and they both knew it; he just didn’t know that she knew it. If Gabriel’s investment in their wedding meant anything, she had a running theory on her husband’s intentions. It was a formality, for him to get married, and all the better if the art of design stuck in the family. She wouldn’t be surprised if Gabriel started pushing for grandchildren soon, especially since her well-meaning parents were already getting antsy. She hadn’t broached the subject with Adrien, but considering their marital bed was far from active or explored, she figured that topic was best left alone.

She loved him, truly, she did. There was no other man she wanted so badly, no man who meant so much to her that she’d be willing to subject herself to months of affectionless, almost fake domesticity, but she had to wonder if her limit was fast approaching. She could only pretend to be happy for so long before it broke her. Being in an unrequited love was one thing, but constantly subjecting herself to a situation where her heart was as open as it bloody well could have been and receiving nothing for it… even Ladybug couldn’t stand to be an accessory for so long.

She sighed and dropped her bag on the floor, exhausted from the patterns she’d spent all day laboring over and the mental toll overthinking her hopeless marriage had taken. Adrien wouldn’t be home for at least three more hours, and Chat Noir was expecting her in ten minutes. Ladybug was surprisingly desperate to get away from her comfy apartment with her Model-Extraordinaire-Husband and get a breath of fresh air with her flirty kitty. She missed the muffled voice from the other side of their bedroom door as she pushed it open.

Upon flicking the switch, she found Chat Noir himself standing brazenly in the middle of the bedroom, looking for all the world like a cat with a half-eaten bird in its mouth. They both froze.

Moments ticked by, wide green eyes pointedly staring into slanted, confused blue ones.

She sighed. “Chat Noir, what are you doing in my house?”

“Y-Your house? O-Oh, yes, I, well, uh…” He tugged at the collar of his suit, which exposed the already-visible skin on his chest even more than usual, what with his half-open zipper. The unsatisfied, mistreated wife of a clueless, sexless model flared within her at the sight, but she pushed the inner singing voice down. Chat grinned at her, slipping into his typical composure as easy as one slips into a worn pair of jeans. “I was coming to check in on you, Princess. Heard you got married!”

Marinette scoffed, and immediately Chat’s face fell. “Legally, I guess. Yeah.”

“Marinette?”

She crossed the room and plopped down on the king-sized mattress she and Adrien slept side-by-side in every night, let her shoulders sag. No use pretending she was a happy-go-lucky successful designer with a perfect husband when she knew Chat Noir could keep a secret. Besides, he was her best friend, her kitty, her partner-- the man she damn well would have ended up with had Adrien not been in the picture. She knew it, she was sure Chat knew it, not that he knew she was Ladybug or that the other guy in the picture was Adrien. “You know what it’s like… to be in love…” she squeezed her eyes shut, tried to breath and keep the budding threat of tears at bay. “To not be loved back.”

“Princess,” something in Chat’s voice had bristled, like he was offended on behalf of her husband. “I certainly hope you’re not going around falling for other men!”

“Other than my husband?” She said it with air quotes. “No, I love him. Only him. Always have.”

“But you’re married? Clearly it’s mutual, right?”

Something in Chat’s voiced begged her to say “yes”, to tell him that she was just being dramatic because Adrien hadn’t left a note this morning when he left-- which he had. She couldn’t. A broken sob hit her chest and she leaned forward into her hands. “You’d think!” Her body shook, and she felt so horrible not like Ladybug right then. “I’m an ornament, Chat! I was an easy solution. I don’t know, maybe his dad wanted him to get married? He knew me? Knew I loved him? Knew I wouldn’t say no?” She shook her head and exhaled, hating the way her lungs stuttered. “I love him so much! But I’m not his wife! I’m his friend! That’s all I’ve ever been to him! I’ll bet he’s still in love with that other girl, the one he kept mentioning when we were, like, fourteen.” She snorted. “Can’t blame him, that’s how long I’ve loved him, so…”

The bed sprung, and she knew that if she turned, she would find Chat Noir haphazardly lazing on the bed next to her. “What makes you say that?” His words came out soft, softer than she’d heard out of him in a long while. Soft like he was talking to Ladybug. “I woulda thought he was a good partner.”

“Partner, yes. Husband, no.” She wiped away her tears and took a few deep breaths. It would be okay. She would calm down, she’d get used to this “marriage”. Maybe. Hopefully. Heaven knew it was all she’d ever wanted, just not as she’d dreamed. “Adrien is… amazing. He’s sweet, and gentle, and he’s understanding. I can always lean on him,” She chanced a glance at her partner, who was eyeing her from the side with what she could only assume was pity. Hurt, maybe, probably for her. Chat was good like that, a loyal, loving, empathetic kitty. The thought warmed her heart. A part of her wondered what would have happened if she knew Chat under the mask, if she would have married him instead, if he would have cried when she walked down the aisle (the honeymoon certainly would have been… wilder). She wondered if it wasn’t too late to tell him that she was Ladybug, see where things took them.

Would Adrien be relieved if they had an open marriage? Would he take a deep sigh and ease up his bones and tell her how glad he was that he wouldn’t have to pretend out of the public eye anymore? She scrunched her nose; that didn’t sound like Adrien. Then she snorted, because who was she kidding? She’d never want to be with anybody but Adrien, no matter how tempting the promise of her minou could be. “But I don’t think he loves me.”

Chat opened his mouth to respond, and she stopped him. “Not like that.”

He relented and fell silent again, leaning back on the bed in such a leisurely stretch, she’d have thought it was his bed. Marinette shook her head and tried to keep the tears that were making a second comeback away. “I think he married me because his dad wanted him to, and I think Adrien trusted me enough to not do something crazy like divorce him and take half his savings. Like I said,” she shrugged. “We’re friends. But I’ve always wanted more. I thought I could have that, that things would change after we got married.”

“What did you want to change?” Chat was gazing up at her from his now comfortable position on her and Adrien’s bed, head pressed against the fluffy mattress and the red comforter. His green eyes were gazing into her, in search of something and she wasn’t sure what. She turned her head over her shoulder to look at him.

“Us. I’d like to go on dates and cuddle on the couch. I’d like to not be a married virgin!” Chat’s face went the tingest red behind his mask, and her face was levels redder. She turned away from him again and crossed her arms over her chest, like she was adding another layer to her already-covered chest. Suddenly, any loving thoughts of an identity reveal flew far, far away; it would be better if Chat Noir never knew His Lady said something so embarrassing. “I’d like to kiss him, you know? Like an actual wife, like we,” she shut her eyes “love each other.”

She felt his claws, leather and tough, slipping around her arm, cupping the skin near her shoulder and warming it. He was sitting up, she assumed, because she could feel the bed creak under his shuffle. “How do you know it’s because he doesn’t love you?”

“What other reason could there be, Chat?”

His thumb ran in circles, small and simple, around her skin. The claw of his finger lightly grazed the muscle and tickled, and part of her hoped he wouldn’t break skin. She wasn’t sure how she’d explain that mark to Adrien (if he noticed). “You said you’re friends. Maybe he doesn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable? Maybe he already feels like you’re doing him a favor?” The thumb stopped, and the claw was digging not uncomfortably into her arm; he’d break the skin and leave a mark, she knew, but Chat’s caress was the closest she’d gotten to physical affection in months. She wasn’t about to squander the little solace for a husband who would probably be happy for her, or not care, or not ask any questions at all. “Maybe… he wants to kiss you. Maybe he’s thought about it a lot. Maybe, he just didn’t want you to think all of it was fake?”

Marinette snickered and raised her free hand to wipe a tear that had built against her will in her eye. “I doubt it. Besides, I don’t want to force him into--”

Chat turned her head by the chin and kissed her, unabashedly, passionately.

Chat kissed the way he did all things-- no plan, no cares, only feeling. She was swept off her feet in momentary bliss, fingers itching at the comforter as they ached to pull at his hair. He had one hand cupping her jaw, and he was tipping her up to meet his lips and bite at her until they parted and he could set his tongue to work just as well. She let him, and she wasn’t sure why. Maybe she was touch-starved, maybe her confidence had taken a bit of a nosedive in the last half a year, or maybe her less-than-platonic feelings for Chat ran a lot deeper than she thought they did; but she kissed him. She moaned and let him grab at her waist and pull her closer. She let him press her down into the mattress and climb on top of her, and if his hands went places they shouldn’t have, she wouldn’t have noticed in the flight of it all.

Right there, on the bed she shared with the boy of her dreams, she was going to break her marital bed in-- without her husband. It should have felt wrong, she should have screamed and slapped him and (for pete sake yelled at him about fraternizing with a civilian which was COMPLETELY unethical) she should have told him not to come visit her again. But she didn’t. She should have hated herself and Chat should have been long gone already and she should have been screaming to Tikki about her infidelity. But she didn’t; no, something about being there with Chat felt leagues right above anything else she’d ever done. Better than opening up her boutique. Better than stopping an akuma. Better than baking her first perfect macaroon. Chat’s fingers in her hair, his body pressed against hers with no space between to speak of, his lips trailing from her lips to her neck where he was biting and kissing and doing everything she’d ever dreamt Chat would do to Ladybug if she’d given him the greenlight-- all of it felt universally right, like fate had brought them here, like Chat was always supposed to be the one.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t still love Adrien-- she did, oh part of her wanted this to be him so, so very badly, but even Ladybug knew when she’d been beat. If Adrien truly was her friend, if he didn’t want to play the role of “lover” that came with the “husband” title, then this had to be fair game.

Chat paused in his ministrations, lips sucking off her skin with a “pop”. He chuckled, low and deep and it stirred her and spurned her further. “Never did get over that crush you had on me, huh?”

“W-what?” It took her a few seconds to register that he meant the weredad incident. Oh. She grimaced and playfully slapped his shoulder. “Don’t let it get to your head, you mangy cat!”

He laughed, wholeheartedly, face digging into her neck and the mattress beneath as fits had their way with his body. Marinette nearly fell into hysterics just hearing and feeling him squirming atop her. She raised a hand to her mouth and stifled the sound that escaped. “I-It’s hard n-not to, P-Princess!” He pulled up and over her, caging her in on the bed with his limbs, green eyes glaring into her with a warm, familiar glow. The mirth was plain on his face, like he knew something she didn’t. She wondered what that would be, but dared not ask. He smirked: “It’s already certainly gone to one head.”

Her face grew three shades hotter. She reached up, grabbed a pillow, and smacked him.

He laughed even harder, pulling back to sit on his knees, but still kept his hands straddling her hips, nails creeping over the band of her jeans. “I should p-probably give Ladybug a call! Let her know I can’t make it to patrol tonight!”

Oh yeah, patrol… that thing she was supposed to go on.

Marinette pretended to be none the wiser as Chat whipped out his staff and dialed in Ladybug’s number. To no surprise, Ladybug did not pick up. Chat raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off nonetheless. “Hello, My Lady. Just wanted to let you know that this cat won’t be an outdoor cat tonight.” Marinette rolled her eyes, but smiled to herself at the voicemail she’d get later, and the memories she was yet to make, but would inevitably still be fresh next time she transformed. Chat’s face grew sly in a way she hadn’t really seen him get before. She wondered if it was his smolder face. As much as she hated to say it, for fear of adding to his ego, it worked. “You see, I’ve been a terrible housecat as of late. My poor wife has been feeling neglected, and I wouldn’t be much of a husband if I didn’t, at the very least, lick the bowl clean.”

Wait. Wait, wait-- what?

“Plagg, claws in.”

Chat Noir shut the call down seconds before a green light, gradient and laser-like in movement, emanated from the stray cat at the foot of her bed. She squeaked and reached up to shield her eyes, balling up on the bed in a fetal position as if her knees could cover her eyes, give her another layer.

Chat laughed. “C’mon, Princess. Open your eyes.” He reached over and pried her hands away from her squeezed eyes, holding them delicately as she struggled with the impending doom of seeing Chat without the mask. That made this too real, made cheating on Adrien so much more real! “Marinette, it’s okay,” he brought her hands to his face and pressed a kiss to either knuckle. “Would I ever lie to you?”

Appealing to her trust in him-- low blow. Despite the reservations she had (of which she had MANY), she let her eyes part, let them readjust from the blur.

There, sitting in front of her, was a very flushed, very cocky, Adrien Agreste. She couldn’t help herself, she gasped. His face drew closer, eyes lidded the way she’d seen Chat Noir’s narrow a million times. This time, this time felt so different. It was Adrien, his hair (oh, his hair was so Chat Noir right then it wasn’t even FUNNY), his eyes, with Chat’s smile and husky purr. Her breath caught in her throat as he pressed a kiss to her wrist and watched her reaction as he did it. She flushed. “So, Princess… would you have any interest in putting that wedding dress back on? I never got the chance to fully admire it.”

Admire it he did, with minimal damage, surprisingly. It was clear Chat Noir wanted to tear the damn thing off of her, but Adrien was still gentle and sweet and most importantly knew better. He did the next best thing, though, which meant she would need to replace the zipper if she were to wear it again for vow renewals. The bed that had been untouched for months was a feather-covered, duvet-sulking mess. Whatever makeup she’d been wearing before she started crying on Chat’s shoulder had almost certainly been smeared or smudged or wiped off as she cried into Adrien’s shoulder. He had lips imprinted all over him, but the one he seemed the most proud of was the one at the corner of his lip where he was grinning like a cat who caught a canary. The whole posture looked smug, actually. He sat up against the headrest, one arm propping up his high-held head, and the other running soothing circles into her shoulder where she laid at his chest. She pouted at him, mad that he wasn’t even winded after the stunts he pulled… she was still catching her breath! “Sure you got fed, kitty? You look like you’re about to paw at the cabinets again.”

“I said I’d lick the bowl clean, Princess, never said I’d be full after.”

She went red again, which seemed ridiculous after the sheer gymnastics they’d both performed minutes earlier. “How?”

“Hm?”

“How are you not even a little tired after that?”

Adrien titterted. “That’s what happens when you let a man with month's worth of fantasies jump your bones. I’m not even halfway through my list yet.”

“What part of I am your wife did the wedding not get through to you?”

To her surprise, Adrien’s smile grew soft, full of love; he leaned back down to capture her between both arms and hold her to his chest. This was the Adrien she’d always known, the gentle smile, the quiet voice that still sounded like bells. He pressed his forehead to hers. “The part where you wanted me to do everything I wanted to do. I’m not used to that,” he brushed their noses together. “I’m not used to being loved by a wife, but I want to be.”

She nuzzled into his chest and stuck her face in the crook of his neck. He ran a hand through her hair, still heavily mussed from its time pressed to the pillows. “The girl I mentioned, back when we were fourteen…”

“Ladybug.”

“Yeah,” he huffed, somewhat sheepishly. “You weren’t, um, wrong about me still holding out for Ladybug but--”

Marinette yawned, “That’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t have to waste money making the” she yawned again “lingerie, I’ll just put on the suit.”

“What?!” Adrien pulled away to look down at his wife, but found she was fast asleep, and that she would stay that way until the sun came up. So Adrien lay there, wide awake, contemplating the likelihood of him being that inconceivably lucky.

#miraculous ladybug #marichat #adrienette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste

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includeangieinthesequel · 5 years

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For my fic Will’s Son

Oof the formatting is weird. I’m so bad at tumblr posts

1. What inspired you to write the fic this way?

I read a story about Kurt getting Diane pregnant and it was set during one of the earlier seasons of TGW. I loved it and it was cute but because Diane was an older mom she struggled a lot. I wanted Diane to have a baby but I wanted to keep the McHart love story we all love so much. So I decided to have Will be the dad and honestly as crazy as it seems it’s hilarious to think of Diane and Will raising a baby together. Which is why I did flashbacks to get a glimpse of them during the pregnancy and with a little one. It gives me time to think of the next chapter while keeping it cute if I’m writing an angsty or more romantic present time chapter. Also I just love doing flashbacks in stories.

2. What scene did you first put down?

The first chapter lmao. I just went for it because I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I wanted to establish Will and Alicia’s relationship first. I also wanted to establish that Will’s kid was Diane’s.

3. What’s your favorite line of narration?

Literally all of chapter 17.

Jk jk

Okay so when I wrote this line I just had to take a moment to exclaim to myself how fucking good I am. I had to look up a picture of Julianna Margulies’ eyes and I just went for it. The line is “Her features remained soft except those honey colored eyes whose specks of green reflected concern.” Bitch I’m so fucking good at imagery. That whole chapter was my favorite for narration. My other fave from that chapter is “It was like she lost her mind for a moment....Will really derailed her train of thought. Not even derailed, he crashed that shit.” That’s my fave paragraph because when I was writing the chapter I had a great flow and then it was like I lost my mind because I couldn’t think so Alicia had to lose her mind too. These characters are often feeling what I am too. It’s how I write good shit.

4. What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Okay again, I’m gonna hype myself up. Guys I’m a funny person okay? I’m always trying to make people laugh in my writing and in real life. It’s hard to say. There’s also a chapter I haven’t posted yet that’s got a funny line in it. But I’ll give you my favorite line that isn’t funny.

“You wanna talk, baby? Let’s talk. I’ll listen.” That’s the most Will Gardner line I’ve ever written and it reminds me of the elevator scene when he asks if he’s being too hard on her. It’s flirty, fun, and very sexy. This chapter is PG and it’s still kind of sexy the way Will talks to her. It’s also from that chapter I love so much.

5. What part was the hardest to write?

Anything involving Alicia. Just.. fuck. If you’ve ever tried to write Alicia Florrick it’s hard as hell. She a complex character with a complex mind and she figures things out before I do. It’s like come on lady slow down just a little.. It’s like I know her future but I don’t know how she got there. Which is wild because with Diane and Kurt I just write whatever the fuck I want and they just follow along. Oh and Will! Will depends on Alicia’s story! She’s not even the main character and I struggle so hard with writing her. So just Alicia is the hardest part to write. I love the challenge but damn...

6. What makes this fic special or different from your other fics?

It’s not gay.

I’m pansexual. I like to read and write both lgbt things and straight things but I tend to write more for lesbian couples. My longest stories before this one were about Tanya and Rosie from Mamma Mia. Which is wild because it made me realize how different Tanya is from Diane Lockhart and as much as I want to compare them and write them the same I can’t. I can expand more on that but I won’t right now. The other thing that makes it different is the fact that I don’t rely on smut to fill in chapters or even fuel the next plot line. That could’ve been a Tanya thing but I don’t know. Smut doesn’t fit into this story with the way these characters are written. It’s also different because I’m not pushing myself to get to 2k words in every chapter. I take my time and when a chapter is ready it’s ready even if it’s only 300 words. It just has more flow and its not as immature as my Mamma Mia stuff. I literally cringe at that stuff now. My writing has grown a lot since then and it’s only been a few months.

7. Where did the title come from?

Nowhere. I think I need to change it so I can get more readers interested. I just wanted to post it because I was excited and had written three chapters before I decided to share it. So I just put the first thing that came to mind. I suck at chapters most of the time. I tend to save each chapter under a specific topic or a phrase or even a song that inspired it. I hate the title so much which is why I’ve started titling each chapter.

8. Did any real people or events inspire any part of this?

Heck yeah, baby. I pull inspiration from everything but the thing that’s most specific is my own life and friendships. Will and Diane’s relationship is taken from mine with my best friend. We’re platonic soulmates. In chapters 20+ you’ll see how this ties in but for now I’ll tell you this; I was a little in love with this person and they loved me too and we fell hard but we couldn’t be together and we shouldn’t have been because the moment we shared (like Will and Diane’s one night stand) was just a moment and though it felt like it was perfect and like we were in love we aren’t meant to be together and even if we are I’m sure the universe will find a way. But we’re best friends. They’re a little younger than I am and they’re totally Will and I’m Diane and the similarities are crazy.

9. Were there any alternate versions for this fic?

No. However, I’m thinking there needs to be so I can put Will and Diane together for once.

10. Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Will/Diane: it was funny and wild and I love doing obscure stories.

Will/Alicia: it’s my fix it fic. They make me so emo and I just want them to be happy.

Kurt/Diane: because I wanted people to read it. Kidding lol. Because I love McHart so much and I enjoy writing them.

11. What do you like best about this fic?

How different it is. It’s just as fun as it is romantic and I’m so used to doing one or the other. I also love the response I’m getting to it. I didn’t expect it to be so well liked. I love writing babies and I love writing cute/funny lines. I also love romance. I love that I can reread it and laugh like I didn’t write it.

12. What do you like least about this fic?

It’s moving so slowly. I already know how I want it to end but getting there is taking entirely too long. It could be because half of it is flashbacks but guys I’m struggling. I’ve already written the first chapter of the sequel. I’m not even done yet.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I don’t listen to anything while writing because I need to focus. The music I was listening too around the time I started writing was 90s R&B and Bruno Mars. I needed the raw emotion to fuel the feelings the couples had for each other. The soft, sexy, bass is exactly how Will and Alicia see each other. It’s how I would want to write their smut if I decided to write some for them. I would write it like a Boyz II Men song. Oh and for Kurt and Diane it’s literally just Mamma Mia songs and Motown. Angel Eyes kills me and it’s just so beautiful. Their love is beautiful and soft and angelic. They’re also classic like Motown and not always perfect but the feeling is there vague as it maybe. Definitely check out 90s hits like Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston. Do it. Also Motown cause Queen Baranski loves it.

14. Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from this fic?

Love is hard and Alicia deserved better. Also, love can come at any time in your life. That’s why I kept the classic Kurt and Diane love story. I made Willicia too easy so McHart is that much harder.

15. What did you learn from writing this fic?

I learned about babies’ growth and development. I knew a lot already because I’ve taken child care courses but I needed a refresher. I learned about cowboys and their lingo. I learned that readers like cute stuff and they don’t mind weird ideas. I learned that throwing in Mamma Mia references is always cool. And I learned that I don’t need to add smut to keep it interesting.

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mooncaps · 6 years

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Okay, so shout-outs to the anon (or maybe multiple anons) who told me to read Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook. I freaking loved it! I’m also glad I read it at this point and didn’t wait until after the whole series. It makes such a good companion piece to the Stakes mini-series.

The Enchiridion was...not quite as exciting, but still had a couple of neat tidbits. Simon’s notes are nice. The Wizard section was fairly interesting. Some nice lore and world-building. I kind of wish the Bestiarum Vocabulum section had a bit more to it. And I must admit I was slightly disappointed that the Enchiridion did not, in fact, explicitly state that you should not strike a foe who’s raised their bottom to the sky. The Scrapbook is so in line with the mini-series; it would’ve been nice if the Enchiridion could’ve incorporated that as a little nod. They cover their bases with the explanation that there are multiple editions and even strongly imply that Finn’s was an earlier edition, but it still would’ve been neat.

A far more glaring omission is the Empress. Hierophant and the Vampire King are both mentioned in the Scrapbook, but the Empress isn’t. She knew both Marceline and Simon. Marcy had her power of invisibility so she must have staked and absorbed her at some point. My best guess is that the Empress enthralled Simon at a point when Simon was still writing the notes and it was on one of the pages he pulled out before he left. Or maybe Marceline just didn’t write it down for some reason. Or the writers just dropped the ball and didn’t catch this little continuity hiccup.

Those are my general thoughts. I’m also doing the whole images of my some of my favorite stuff interspersed with my reactions and commentary thing, but since this is gonna be an extra-extra long post, I’ve decided to actually use a read more cut this time.

Marcy and Bonnie talking about Simon in the margins. Give me some of that in the show.

This is the kind of lore development I like to learn about.

Does that mean the writers have thoughts about more Shoko development in future episodes and didn’t want to burn up their ideas in the side material?

International crisis. I mean that was more-or-less implied by the irradiated world, but I like learning more info. Also, he’s already talking about going North. It fits that they paired this with the Scrapbook. The notes follow through for tracking Simon’s progression into madness.

Sure. Again, kind of vaguely implied already by the series, but nice to know.

Now all I can think of is “long ago the four nations lived together in harmony...” Thanks to whoever sent that ask.

I may wanna get these on buttons or patches for my coat to go with the Avatar symbols.

Not sure what to make of this. I feel like it’s some kind of lore for the show. Maybe something to do with Prismo?

Hoo boy. Here we go. The feels train is pulling into the station.

This relationship is just so moving. I’m a sucker for found families.

More world building. Bring it on.

Even if Simon’s story hadn’t been tied to Marcy’s, it would still be one of the most interesting parts of the show. And that first paragraph feels like something that should’ve come up in the show by now. They really haven’t explained quite enough about Betty for my liking. Learning that she has a history of studying these kinds of things helps clarify why she’s so willing and able to take the approach she’s been taking.

After Bonnie and Neddy, I can only assume that this is the Mother Gum in its early days.

Mmhm. Sure. Matter’s more pliable. I can dig it.

The vibrational talk reminded of that bag of miniature people that Magic Man planted on Finn that one time. And he had to shake them to speak to them on their vibrational plane or whatever. I wonder if that’s ever gonna come back with some kind of added significance.

Reminds me of when Life kissed Death.

Wonder if that was a deliberate nod or not.

This. Relationship.

Again, I’m glad I read this now. The thing I couldn’t quite puzzle out after Stakes was where Hunson Abadeer fit into things. This is filling in some of the blanks quite nicely.

You know, after seven seasons of Grob Gob Glob Grod, it was a little jarring to actually see the word “God” here. I’ve got a pretty good recall for character voices, so I could basically hear Tom Kenny saying it as I read it. Of course it makes sense that Simon would have God in his vernacular. Somehow, after the phrase being conspicuously absent for so long, it seems to punch up the impact.

She celebrates her birthday around the time Simon found her! This precious child!

Oh, I can hear it in her voice. My heart!

“I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. Ever.”

There’s no mention of her encountering him again in the scrapbook. I’ve already mentioned the Empress, conspicuous in her absence. And she alludes to other meet-ups in the episode “I Remember You.” I can only assume those meetings take place after the last page of the scrapbook.

I’d love to know more though. I’d love to see her first discovering that Simon’s still alive, but completely insane now. And I’d love to know how we get from this:

To this:

There’s so much of the story that’s still untold.

That moment in Bad Little Boy where Ice King was like “Gob, I’m sorry I doubted your power” kind of takes on a new dimension when you think about how Simon’s from a different time.

“I hope these bring you comfort now that I’m gone, and remind you that you are loved.”

Just fuck me up, why don’t you?

“I want to feel her holding me in her arms and hugging me again like that.”

JUST FUCK ME UP, WHY DON’T YOU?

Again, this ties in so well with the Stakes mini-series. This was exactly the right time to read this for maximum emotional resonance.

Oh, Marcy, you poor, sweet, confused, little angel.

Well, I wanted to know where Hunson fit into things. Should’ve known it would be bad times.

Yeah, I can kind of relate to not having a great father but still wondering how much of who you are is from him.

Deep. Especially at her age. Simon did say she was smart. And of course she had to grow up fast, given that world was a wreck.

“He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”

I concur.

I can also kind of relate to giving your not-so-great dad another chance and getting burned again. I suppose it’s not really a shock that I gravitate toward characters who have poor relationships with their fathers.

I never really gave any thought to how difficult it would’ve been to even find fries at that time. And the fact that it was the first time he stole something specifically from her also gives it a little more weight. Like I’ve said before, it’s hard to tell when something’s just a throwaway gag and when something’s gonna come back later with added perspective and significance. I have to wonder how much they thought about in advance and how much is just them looking back and saying “we can expand on that.”

There must be at least some of it that they knew they wanted to develop even from the very early stages.

It’s interesting to figure out where Hunson comes into the picture, but I still don’t fully understand all of it. Primarily: How could a human woman see enough merit in Hunson Abadeer that she would want to sleep with him? What stopped him from immediately sucking out her soul? Why was he even on Earth shortly before or during the Great Mushroom War? There’s still a lot of room to grow on here.

Oh, honey, you’re the most interesting person in this universe.

“I still hope for a living friend.”

I was kind of hoping I might get the story of how she met Bonnibel, but I guess they’re saving that for the show. Must be after the events in the scrapbook.

Gimme all the lore. And Marcy wandering through an abandoned sunken mall full of skeletons shouting for Simon is an absolutely heartbreaking thought.

This angel child deserves nothing but happiness.

THIS. RELATIONSHIP.

She found a puppy! Ahhh! They’re so precious!

Yas, Queen!

This poor girl can just never catch a break.

This backstory is fantastic.

RIP, my dude.

Rise, Marcy the Vampire Slayer.

Let’s go!

Oh no, what’s wrong with Schwabl?

Marcy defending the last of the life on Earth against the scourge of the vampires. I’d seriously watch a whole series of this.

“Staking vampires, protecting the last remaining humans. It felt like I was protecting you. It was the only thing that brought me happiness during those years.”

Fascinating.

It’s rough watching a character who’s so good go through so much pain.

No, not the puppy!

Save the puppy!

Also, that time she almost went feral on Jake was probably really terrible for her because it would have stirred up these memories.

Another good reason to pair the Enchiridion - and particularly Simon’s notes - with this. Who would’ve thought that Marcy owned it for a time?

Thank goodness something turned out okay in all of this.

Wild. So is this Simon and the Crown, or some other force causing it? Does it affect the whole planet, or just the continent Marcy’s on? What about all the humans who were leaving on the boat? Can they survive an ice age? Is it a full “400 really boring years” like in Finn’s wish world? Longer? Shorter? This side material raises at least as many questions as it answers.

So Simon found the Enchiridion and took notes on it for a while before finally sending it to a museum in Scandinavia just was the international crisis that would become known as the Great Mushroom War was ramping up. Then some wizards found it. Then Marcy found the wizards and took it from them. Now the Enchiridion is with Marcy in hibernation. Then somehow it ends up with a minotaur later and Bubblegum is the one who tells Finn where to get it. There’s another chapter in between there and I feel like it involves both Marceline and Bubblegum. Marcy’s life after the ice age could probably fill another book or two.

Precious angel child.

Oh snap, it’s actually written by the people who play Marceline and Hunson.

That was a trip and a half to read. I love the backstory and world building so much. Even in the early episodes I suspected that there must be some kind of substance to this universe for the show to go on for as long as it did. Based on the early stuff though I had lowered my expectations and never imagined that this universe would gain so much depth, complexity, and (above all else) tragedy.

Marceline seems so carefree, but she’s been through SO. MUCH. Most of it while she was still a small child. The people of Ooo are absolutely blessed to have someone like Marceline in their world. And they’re also quite fortunate that her trauma didn’t push her to the full-on dark side. Even after a thousand years of so much confusion and loss, however chaotic she may get, she still has such a good heart.

And wow does reading this ever reinforce my desire for them to figure out a way to save Simon. “He didn’t deserve what happened to him” is so right. Although if it hadn’t happened to him, he never would’ve been able to protect Marcy. He probably would’ve died in the Great Mushroom War like almost everyone else, and Betty would’ve died too. Maybe you could chalk it up to Marcy’s mother’s last prayer being answered or the universe working in mysterious ways or possibly even retrocausality that Simon was able to survive and care for Marcy. Even so, I’m about four seasons beyond ready for the heroes and protagonists to help this poor old man get back the sanity that was stolen from him.

I feel like Finn’s the key somehow. The Crown seems to be possessed by a ghost or spirit. Gunther’s unfinished ghostly business was Evergreen and Evergreen’s unfinished ghostly business was the Catalyst Comet and Finn’s the reincarnation of the Catalyst Comet and all of that’s tied up with the Ice Crown. It seems like there’s some kind of puzzle taking shape there. Betty’s studying psychometric energy, magic, and Glob’s freaking helmet...Glob who was last seen facing off against, once again, the Catalyst Comet.

And just from the Doylist perspective, the writers have been spinning out this tragic tale of Simon Petrikov for a long time and it would be emotionally unsatisfying if they never save this poor man’s mind. I’m worried they might make me wait until the end of the show to fully resolve it though. I was worried for a while that getting his mind back would kill him, but after the events of the episode “Betty” I don’t expect them to take that route.

Simon and Marcy are such tragic characters and I feel for them both. I love learning more about them, even when most of what I learn breaks my heart. The two of them embody so much of what gives this universe its heart and brings it to life.

#Adventure Time #my first thoughts on this

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callunavulgari · 6 years

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YEAR-IN-BOOKS

I’m gonna go ahead and do this again this year, because I really like end of year reflection things and it was fun last year, so hey.

1. a book you loved?

I was fond of most of the books that I read this year and all in different ways. Last year was an absolute goldmine of awesome, amazing love this book forever types. This year I definitely had less of those, but I read more, and what’s maybe even better is that I also read a lot of books that I normally wouldn’t have. I wanna say that my favorites of the ones that I read were either The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo or Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

2. a book you hated?

UGH. Artemis by Andy Weir. It is the first book that I have ever given only one star to on goodreads, and was a total waste of time. I’ve read a good half of The Martian, and even though I’ve yet to finish it, I liked what I read well enough. But as I said in my scathing goodreads review, The Martian worked for Weir because it’s one dude alone on Mars. Artemis, unfortunately, requires a full cast of characters and has a female protagonist. Weir does not know how to write women OR realistic dialogue, and following along with middle school grade humor and a woman that is basically a lady-sized cut-and-paste of Weir’s ideal wet dream. Which wouldn’t be bad, necessarily, if she wasn’t so obviously a man’s ‘idea’ of a woman, instead of an actual three dimensional character.

3. a book that made you cry?

There’s a scene at the end of Victoria Schwab’s Our Dark Duet that involves a cat. No, the cat does not die, and I don’t want to get into it because the whole reason the scene is sad is because of spoilery context, but I did end up tearing up because of that damn cat.

4. a book that made you happy?

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is an absolute delight. It has legitimate funny moments, really well drawn out characters including several species that are so perfectly crafted that you can envision them, right down to the feathers and claws, and the story, while a little meandering, is totally great.

5. the best sequel?

I read kind of a lot of sequels this year, but then, I also finished a lot of series this year, period. My gut reaction is to say Siege and Storm, because it’s one of the ones that I read the fastest, and the series that sticks out the most. But I’m going to say The Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. And honestly, second up is probably Waking Gods, because holy wow, those books.

6. most anticipated release for the new year?

I’m really looking forward to Only Human, Thunderhead, and Vengeful, which are the sequels and triquels (is that a thing? that word should be a thing) to Sleeping Giants, Scythe, and Vicious, all of which I read this year and adored. The book that isn’t a sequel that I’m most looking forward to is Feeder by Patrick Weekes, which is basically about a lady that hunts monsters. It looks right up my alley and I’m super psyched.

7. favorite new author?

Technically I discover Schwab last year, but I did a lot of exploring of the books that she’s written this year and she is definitely a new favorite of mine. The other one that I’m keeping my eye on is Sylvain Neuvel, who wrote Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods. More on those books later.

8. favorite book to film adaptation?

So, the only reason that I reread A Wrinkle In Time is because of the trailer for the new movie that is coming out in March. I got incredibly excited, and am probably, if I can afford it, flying down south to watch the movie with my mom when it comes out. The Annihilation trailer also looks pretty cool, but I’m anticipating serious changes there. I did end up watching the film adaptation of Me Before You this year, which I’d read last summer. I ended up crying like a baby, and was pleasantly surprised by how much of the book they kept.

9. the most surprising book?

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I borrowed the book from the library, but it wasn’t the Pride and Prejudice with dragons that I got, and stupidly delighted by.

10. the most interesting villain?

The Grisha Trilogy, for sure. Honestly, Alina and the Darkling’s relationship was the only thing that kept me reading these books, and I was thrilled by the Darkling from the moment I realized he was the villain in Shadow and Bone all the way to the end. “Make me your villain,” indeed.

11. the best makeouts?

Okay, so Love For the Cold-Blooded was about a million times pornier than I imagined it would be, so that would get my vote for best sex, but there weirdly wasn’t much actual kissing involved. Also the fact that I didn’t like the characters or story very much probably didn’t help things. So honestly? Probably Shadow and Bone. That [SPOILER, though not much of one] scene where Alina and the Darkling make out against a wall was probably the most exhilarating scene of the entire series. Like, trust me. I know he’s the villain, bad wrong, etc. etc. but I shipped them hard.

12. a book that was super frustrating?

Slaughterhouse Five. I didn’t actually get around to finishing it, because the version that I got was an audio cd narrated by James Franco and I just. Didn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of traffic. I don’t know if it was the story, his voice, or a combination of both but I was super uninterested in the entire situation. I gave up somewhere in the middle of the second cd.

13. a book you texted about, and the text was IN CAPSLOCK?

Okay, so the thing is. I don’t really have any friends. Not ones that I can talk to about books anyway, which is super tragic, because I love books and I miss being able to talk (read: rant) about whatever I’ve just read. I do it with Nick occasionally, but he doesn’t ‘get’ fiction so it’s mostly just me waving my hands a lot and talking rapidly in his direction as he nods and takes a couple steps back so I don’t accidentally smack him in the nose. I did, however, have a conversation with my roommate about Wool, and all the reasons why she should read it.

14. a book for the small children in your life?

Okay, but every kid should read A Wrinkle In Time. The sequels are a little... stranger than I remember, but I loved reading them as a kid, and I really loved rereading the first one as an adult.

15. a book you learned from?

Spunk & Bite was a guide to ‘punchier’ writing, and while I wouldn’t say that I really learned anything that I didn’t already know, some things were expanded on that I found interesting. I also read some of The Islamic Enlightenment, which was pretty decent from what I read of it but a bit much for my poor ADHD brain. I think I need to stick to fiction.

16. a book you wouldn’t normally try?

A lot of the books that I read this year were things that I wouldn’t normally pick up. I think the ones that were most out of my element were Less by Andrew Sean Greer and Before the Fall by Noah Hawley. The first book is about an aging author who, when upon invited to his ex’s wedding, takes a trip around the globe in order to get out of going. My manager, who I talk to about books a lot, asked about it and was incredibly confused since it’s so far from what I usually read. Despite this, it’s probably the book that I will remember most from this year a decade down the line. Before the Fall is similarly not my usual cup of tea, about a man and a boy who survive an airplane crash. It’s a thriller/mystery, but the characters are so beautifully fleshed out that it hooked me anyway.

17. a book with something magical in it?

Technically a good half of them have magic of some sort, because that is the usual type of book that I read. I’m going to go with All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater though, because all of her books are magical.

18. the best clothes?

As much as I would love to get away with wearing the brightly colored reaper’s robes from Scythe, I really, really adored the description of Arthur’s suit in Less.

19. the most well-rounded characters?

That was a theme of the books that I read this year. They all had really gorgeously well-rounded characters with intricate backstories and relationships. Before the Fall was really, really good about it, as was Station Eleven, and The Secret History, though in the case of that last one you almost don’t want to get to know the characters better by the end of it.

20. the best world-building?

I really liked the world building in A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I seriously can’t even begin how to describe how cool all the different species and space jargon was in this book. This is the space-faring book that I wanted Artemis to be.

21. the worst world-building?

Love For The Cold-Blooded? It’s a world of superheroes and villains, but it’s so slapstick that it takes away from the book a lot. Like, honestly if it wasn’t for the fact that I was vaguely intrigued by the hero bangs evil minion side of it, I wouldn’t have even kept reading.

22. a book with a good sidekick?

Gut-punch reaction is A Crooked Kingdom, but it’s hard to call any of those characters a sidekick. I’m going to go with The Archived, by Victoria Schwab, because I haven’t talked about the series yet and Roland and Wesley are both fantastic sidekicks. I loved them both immensely, most of the time more than the main character herself. The Unbound, its sequel, made those two even more compelling.

23. the most insufferable narrator?

Ugh, ugh, ugh, definitely Jazz from Artemis. Again, it isn’t her fault, she could have been super cool. Genius, tech-savvy, Muslim girl who lives on the moon and smuggles shit? Definitely could have been a cool character. But seriously, that dude cannot write ladies. She is literally just Mark Watney.

24. a book you were excited to read for months beforehand?

All The Crooked Saints. But I think I’ll always be excited for Stiefvater books.

25. a book you picked up on a whim?

I picked up almost all of these because they had been recommended to me in some capacity. Spunk & Bite and The Islamic Enlightenment were both books that I picked up in the library because they simply caught my eye. Slaughterhouse Five I actually only grabbed because it was one of the only audiobooks in stock that wasn’t either Danielle Steel or Christian talky shows.

26. a book that should be read in a foreign country?

Less. I read it in a pool in North Carolina this summer and though it scratched the itch, it should entirely be read in a foreign country.

27. a book cassian andor would like?

Sleeping... Giants? Or A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet?

28. a book gina linetti would like?

I legitimately have no idea what this character is like.

29. your favorite cover art?

A Conjuring of Light or All The Crooked Saints. They’re both very aesthetic™

30. a book you read in translation?

None of them. Clearly I’m not getting diverse enough.

31. a book from another century?

Hah. Haha. Technically A Wrinkle In Time was written last century. Oh god, I’m getting old.

32. a book you reread?

Other than A Wrinkle In Time, which I read so long ago that it shouldn’t even be counted as a reread, I didn’t actually do any full rereads this year. I’ve been itching to reread both The Raven Cycle and Uprooted though, so maybe I’ll do those when I make my way through my library pile.

33. a book you’re dying to talk about, and why?

Okay, but seriously. Less and Station Eleven were fucking phenomenal and should be read even if you’re unsure that you will like them. I loved both of them immensely and again, I can’t rant to any of my friends and work friends about books because they look at me like I’m stupid. Also, Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. Those were some damn good short stories.

#new year's memes #2017 #books to read #heather says what #fuck yeah recs!

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kv-r18-fics · 7 years

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First Time Sin Times have passed, their relationship grew, but can they sum up the courage to go a little farther?

She really had this strange impact on him, she really did. Rachel wasn’t this quiet and self-loathing girl he first encountered her as, but now as this gorgeous woman who became more involved in his life. Their comfort zones expanded more and more over time until that comfort became mutual longing for one another. They craved their embrace, their warmth, their scent, and even their kiss.

Their touch and their kiss was so damned addictive, if one person didn’t start it, then surely, the other would. It ranged from simple to steamy, but lately, their innocent intimacy stayed in the steamy category. There was a sort of spell that enthralled the pair to push their emotional limits further and further. It was so confusing, yet also alluring at the same time.

Zack himself was utterly confused to do about these new feelings, it made him act different, talk different, and also think different. Even looking at Ray, no matter how innocent she behaved, his mind brewed a flurry of different thoughts, and those of a nature he never thought a man like him would feel. He craved to touch every inch of her. Ray’s face, her lips, her neck, her brea-

Fuck.

Such thoughts felt like a plague, one who’s side effect made his body experience an annoying heat, but also a ravenous crave that left him uncomfortable in his own clothes. Zack had an impregnable feeling of want. Hell, it was getting to the point where he was starting to cave to newer instincts. His close call to just surrender himself to desire happened once in the shower, his mind drifted from his hands carefully washing his scarred body, to his imagination going wild and changing the roles that it may be Ray’s hands instead. Her hands were always soft and gentle, no matter what she did, it could be holding his hand or cradling his face close to hers. His lewd imaginations could only dream what how else it might feel elsewhere on his body.

No, he had to shake out of it. If he was suffering this bad with these strange temptations, then one could wonder just how Rachel was putting up with it.

She fared no better, but Ray had a calmer head on her shoulders, and was quick to deduce her reason for her overwhelming desire. They both wanted to be together on a whole new level.

Zack only knew vague basics of sex, the areas he roamed were shady and people tended to do the shadiest of things in his domain before they were cut down. The thought of engaging in an act once repulsed him, but now the tables have turned because he had someone to share this feeling with – and for the right reasons. Talking about this subject was both awkward and terrifying for both sides, neither one had any idea what to do, and they were afraid that this sense of intimate need would drive their partner away, especially Zack. Rachel was everything to him, she calmed his sense of mind, and made him feel what it was truly like to feel human again, to feel both loved and wanted. For Zack to lose that could break him. However, they’ve built so much trust in one another, like there was this silent agreement that neither one would bring undesired harm to the other person. Whatever action was done, had its good reason.

They just needed to keep talking, and plan. Should the day to finally act on this desire came, they would be prepared, both physically and emotionally.

It did feel like a weight was lifted off their chest, the pair had this mutual attraction for each other and wanted to pursue it further, and they decided to handle the problem better instead of just diving into it. Well, Ray did most of the talking, she knew Zack guided himself with instinct more than ever.

There were the following days where the two often got lost with their amorous kisses, but they still didn’t feel ready yet to take that next step. They’d even ask their beloved partner if they felt comfortable to go even further, but knew not to pursue if they weren’t ready yet. Some days they’d try and push themselves further out of the comfort zones, the next would just end with them catching their breaths after a simple but passionate lip-lock session.

Little by little that comfort zone began to deteriorate, their hands began to explore more of their partner’s body - touching their stomachs, shedding one article of clothing to reduce their body heat, even kissing other places their mouths have never been before.

Ray knew Zack felt uncomfortable with exposing his whole body under his wrappings, he had shown it to her once already, but she never goaded him into showing it more often – she did encourage it to remind him he was still beautiful. Zack, however, got to see what she hid under her shirt. She was god damn beautiful in his odd colored eyes, such soft porcelain skin, smooth curved body, and supple breasts hiding underneath a small bra.

“You’re fucking beautiful, Ray…”

“So are you, Zack…”

Maybe they didn’t feel ready to claim each other yet, but perhaps going a little further into that territory would ease their worries. A little more clothing was removed, and they would remain in their undergarments.

“…Y-you’re okay so far?” Zack asks.

It was so unlike him to be nervous, but they’ve gotten so far already, he didn’t want to push Ray further that it could drive her away.

“Yeah…I’m just…a little nervous…” Ray replied, “how about you?”

“I’m in the same boat…” Zack said, “…I’m willing to keep going…if you are…”

Ray had a look of uncertainty on her face and Zack was quick to notice it.

“Hey…if you wanna stop now, we’ll stop…” Zack said, “…you fucking matter a lot to me. If you aren’t feeling alright with this, then tell me. Don’t swallow your pride just for my sake. I maybe a killer, but I am a respectable male adult.”

Soon, he placed his hands onto her face and pulled her close to softly kiss her lips, “Beg for me to stop when you want me to. Beg for me to keep going when you need me to…okay? I got ears, and I know they’re not charred enough to not hear you. I’ll listen.”

Ray stared into Zack’s heterochromatic eyes for a moment, and lightly nodded with a sweet smile. She mattered to him, her happiness mattered above all else, and she felt the same for him.

“Hey Zack…I know you don’t like taking off your bandages…but, could you at least take off the ones on your hands and face?” Rachel requested.

“W-Why?”

Ray felt red creep her face as she answered, “…So, you can touch me better…”

Isaac’s mind went blank, but he fulfilled to her request. First came the wrappings off his hands, tossing the breathable cloth to the side and then unraveled the last bits covering his scarred face. Before insecurity could set in, Ray leaned up to softly kiss at Zack’s lips and cheek, all the while her fingers tenderly trailed his facial scars. Such a sweet expression drove him to motion her back to his lips so he could deepen it into something more passionate.

They drowned in desire, the moment they got a taste of each other, and Ray’s hands trailed down to Zack’s chest, slowly caressing his muscles under her touch, while curiously trailing her hands lower. They slowly parted for air and watched where Rachel’s adventurous hands wandered, they comfortably laid at his lap.

This was very far, yet her mind didn’t scream at her to stop, Ray glanced up to Zack for some sort of sign for her to. There was none, instead, there was a sense of both excitement and curiosity in his eyes.

They teetered past the comfort zone, just a few more pushes before they went too far.

Ray’s hands trailed to the rim of Zack’s boxers and began to carefully slide her fingers into position. Zack wasn’t resisting her, but instead, helped her by shuffling to allow her to take the clothing off. Isaac’s heart thumped in his chest, he’s still trying to process that he was going to completely undress in front of her, but that was part of the ritual of love-making, wasn’t it?

He felt his bottom half become draftier with every inch of his covering being pulled down, and did Rachel’s face turn red when she did get a good look at him.

He was hard, and it showed the very moment Zack’s boxers were bunched at his knees.

“…Are you alright?” Zack asks.

Ray had trouble forming words in her mouth and quickly nodded, “Y-yeah…sorry, I’m um…still feeling kind of like a prude. I’m also having a hard time believing that I’m seeing you…um…c-completely…”

Zack nervously laughed, “Yeah, me too…”

“I’m not scared though…kind of curious now, since I got a glance at you…”

“Curious?”

Ray lightly nods, “…Like…how much further I’m willing to go…I’m not getting the feeling of retreat yet.”

“…I’m not either…”

Zack allowed Rachel to continue undressing him, and watched the undergarment get dropped to the side of the mattress. They’ve definitely gone past the border of their comfort, but it felt more natural with each minute of boldness they showed. Ray brought her hands back to Zack’s lap, and let her fingers gently caress his thighs. Zack held his breath as he watched her soft digits get closer to his erection, the very moment he felt her curious fingertips graze his sensitive skin, his whole body shuddered, and had a sensation of electricity shooting down his spine.

God, her curious touches was sending a flurry of sensations and emotions in his head, he could feel his body pulse in response her innocent fondling, it was a hot, tingling, and desirous sensation. Like a fire that needed to be stoked, a fire he was not fearful of. Soon, Rachel’s fingers grazed the head of his cock, and he quickly felt that sensation hit him hard. Zack quickly uttered a sound he never made before, sure he made pleased groans and hums, but he moaned.

“Did I hurt you?” Ray asked, in a small panic.

“No…god no…” Zack panted, “…do it again…please?”

It’s rare for him to say please, but if it drove him to do it, then she must’ve done something really favorable. If it was a pleasing sound he made, then Ray wanted to hear it again.

Ray brought her other hand up to gently grasp Isaac’s hard member as her hand returned to where it was before and brought her fingers to pet the area again. She could feel Zack quiver under her touch as he breathed that same sound once more. A longer moan. Under his scars, Zack’s face was starting to flush, and he had this look in his eyes that begged her not to stop. If she got him into this state just by a touch alone, her mind began to ponder how badly he’d melt with more of her curious touches.

Comfort zones were now non-existent at this point.

Zack tried so hard to stifle himself from making such strange noises, he didn’t mind the other sounds he made while kissing Ray, but this vocalization was different, and a little embarrassing. It made him sound helpless, but a willing helplessness – it wasn’t him, not at all, but he felt so oddly okay with it.

Ray’s fingertips grazed and caressed every bit of the tip of Zack’s length, she noticed Zack’s hips would move either on reflex or automatically. This got Ray wondering, as her hand holding onto him decided to imitate it. Her hand had a gentle but firm grip as she motioned it up and down, feeling Zack’s skin glide along with her action.

“Ray…” Zack moaned out.

He didn’t need anything in particular, he just wanted to breathe her name as his body was trapped in this pleasure Rachel was giving him. It felt really fucking good to say it. So, he did, over and over again.

Ray felt her body grow hot the more she listened to Zack’s heavy breaths and alluring vocals, it was driving her mind to flood with more carnal instincts, so her hand went a little faster. Isaac felt his legs spread open a little more for her automatically, giving her plenty of room to do as she pleased with him.

Soon, she began to feel something slick and sticky coat her fingers, it couldn’t have been sweat. No, it was flowing out from Zack the more her hands pleasured him. Right, she remembered reading something about it one day after their “talk” in a health book. Pre-ejaculate. That was it. She had driven Zack to that point of arousal - they were engaging in foreplay, or sexual stimulation to be a little more descriptive. It was a consensual sexual activity, but not at the point of penetration yet. However, she seemed comfortable with it, hearing these new sounds coming from Zack excited her, so did seeing this vulnerable expression on his face – especially for a guy like him.

“Zack…” Ray whispers.

The gruff man felt a damn good shudder crawl up his spine.

“Again…say it again…” Zack begged.

She leaned close to his ear, then tenderly breathed out his name once more.

“Isaac.”

He breathed out a longer moan, just hearing that seemed to double the pleasure he felt, Zack wrapped an arm around Rachel’s waist as he brought himself to start kissing at her neck, hell, he even dragged his tongue along her collarbone the more aroused he was. This played out far better than the fantasies that haunted his mind and his dreams, if this small moment of curious indulgence felt amazing, he wandered how the real thing would feel. Wanting to hear Ray’s voice beckon him like she’s doing now as he would bring her this sensual nirvana was getting him very excited, and the growing heat coursing through his body felt like it was going to envelop him any second. Isaac also felt like his body wanted to burst, he didn’t know why or how, but it caused him to growl out aroused groans.

Sweat trickled down Zack’s forehead as his moans were becoming heavier, and his hips thrust upward a couple times in Ray’s pacing grip.

“Ray…” he moaned out again.

It sounded like he wanted to say something to her.

“…O-out…something…wants out….”

Zack was reaching his climax and didn’t know it. Ray felt he was trickling more of the sticky substance than before, as she continued to stroke his aroused cock. She decided to do one more increase in pace, and felt Zack grip tightly on her waist. The man buried his face in her neck as that feeling inside continued to build, he wanted to let it out so badly, but something just didn’t spark the ignition yet.

“Isaac…I love you…” Rachel whispered.

Those tender words of affection made his heart skip a bit, but it was enough to feel the heat change into a surge of passionate ecstasy that swept right through him, Zack’s body shuddered as he vocalized one last cry of pleasure, and could feel his body release something as he was lost in this rapturous feeling that consumed his body. Rachel felt Zack throb under her snug grip until something spilled onto her, she pulled back on reflex, and saw that Zack had expelled a white substance from himself. He just came.

Isaac panted heavily to catch his breath and slowly sat himself straight, his mind was still jumbled from the event that happened, but he noticed Ray was looking around for something.

“…What’s wrong?”

Ray’s face turned slightly red, “…I…um…need something to wipe this off…”

Zack’s bi-colored eyes trailed to Ray’s hands, he slightly blushed, for he knew it must’ve come from him – it could explain the feeling he had of something needing to be released from his body. Whatever this weird substance was, he could agree she needed something to wipe it off.

Zack reached down and grabbed the article of clothing beside the bed - it was just his boxers, fuck it, he’ll just go commando for a while. He brought the undergarment to let her clean off the bulk from her hands.

“Um…go wash up if you want…sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, Zack…it’s supposed to happen…” Rachel replied. “Health books never explained just how messy it would get…”

Zack quietly laughed to himself with a simple roll of the eyes, then watched Rachel get up to wash herself. Zack’s eyes trailed down from her exposed back to her hips, then her buttocks. She did have a sway of sorts when she walked, Zack seemed to notice that and felt that aroused shiver crawl down his spine.

After this activity, they both felt they made a good push through the boundaries of nervousness and discomfort. If Ray could turn Zack into a moaning mess, then he was indeed going to return the favor.

Once it was his turn to undress her, Zack admired every detail of Rachel’s uncovered body. She appeared so beautiful and vulnerable to him, he could drag his fingers down every inch of her and still wouldn’t get enough of the sensation of her soft skin. Not to mention, her nude body looked like something he’d see in pictures of marble statues, both wonderful and deific-like to every detail.

“You’re still fucking gorgeous Ray…don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise…” Zack muttered.

“C-come on, Zack…you don’t need to say that about me…” Ray replied, feeling both shyness and self-doubt.

“I will say it, and there’s not a damn thing you’re gonna do about it,” Zack lightly growled as he tenderly kissed at Rachel’s neck.

Isaac was obviously rough around the edges, but his lips and tender strokes of the fingers said otherwise. Rachel felt heat grace her cheeks the more Zack kissed at her neck, and even guided her to lay down onto the bed.

“Relax, okay? I just want to kiss you a little more…” Zack whispered into her ear.

“I won’t stop you…”

“Good girl,” Zack quietly replied as he trailed his lips along Ray’s collarbone.

Nothing went unkissed – her neck, lips, shoulders, and cheeks. As he trailed it down more, it changed from nibbles to hungrily trailing his tongue down her body. The woman was getting goosebumps from the sensations she was getting with every new spot Zack focused his attention on.

If Zack was going to get Ray to moan and mewl his name in pleasure like he had done, he should start now. Her breasts were the first target, one hand trailed up and lightly groped at her bosoms. Rachel flinched slightly with a quiet whimper, but felt Zack quickly peck her on the lips.

“I’m not gonna hurt ya’…” he whispered. “is that okay?”

Rachel breathed for a moment to collect her thoughts, then nodded to allow him to continue. It was embarrassing, but not uncomfortable. She trusted Zack, after all.

Zack allowed his hand to lightly fondle Rachel’s supple breasts, his fingers gently toyed with the nipple in each breast, and felt as it hardened under his touch. He could hear Ray’s breath get heavy, but it wasn’t exactly a moan yet – better switch with his mouth. Isaac leaned down, then trailed his tongue along it, even played with the petite nubs a couple times before letting his lips have a turn.

“Z-Zack…” she whimpered.

Oh, he was getting close.

Maybe if he went lower, like what Ray did, he’d get the desired result. That’s what he did, bringing his oral assault on her body further downwards. He targeted her navel, her hips, her thigh, then found himself to her inner thigh.

Rachel’s heart couldn’t stop pounding, she was both anticipating and not anticipating at the same time of what this man was going to do to her. Zack felt that sense of arousal again as he gazed at her body, and even had this strange sensation of hunger. He held one of her legs firmly with his hand, then gently spread it slightly open for him. Then Zack brought his free hand up to have a feel of her for the first time.

His scarred fingertips gently grazed her silky soft skin along Ray’s hips, she made a good call to request him to remove the wrappings off his hands and face, otherwise he’d lose his god damn mind to feel the cloth restrict such an alluring sensation. Slowly they trailed downward, and he could feel Rachel get goosebumps again, this drove him to continue his own journey to fulfill his curiosity further. Soon, they had made their way between the woman’s legs, and Rachel felt the need to grasp onto something for some kind of security.

She clenched onto the sheets beneath her as Zack’s fingers started to explore and fondle her aroused womanhood.

Out of every part of Rachel’s body he had the honor of touching, this area had all sorts different feelings – it was slick, wet, and hot underneath his fingers. No matter what area he grazed, he could feel a throb in his touch. What she did to him, he would do the same, and allowed his digits to play with her own arousal.

It felt sort of invasive, hot, but so pleasing to Ray, she tried her best to stay silent the best she could until she could bare it no longer, and breathed out a soft moan.

Zack could swear he might get hard again by the time he was finished with her.

His heterochromatic eyes gazed at the woman underneath him as his fingers stroked the area again, he was sure it would get slicker and much more heated as he continued. Rachel writhed under his touch and felt her hips try and follow the man’s fingers, as if her body guided him to touch all the right spots, and when he did, she was not quiet about it.

The hunger he felt grew the more he listened to Ray’s moans and whimpers, and he even licked his lips as he watched what he was doing to her. Whatever thoughts were running through his head, he was going to let instinct be his guide again.

Zack stopped for a moment and heard Rachel try to catch her breath, his scarred fingers were soaked, and he followed a desirous need to lap it off. Ray focused her attention to the man above her and watched as Zack dragged his tongue against the digits he pleasured her with, he had this flushed, yet ravenous look in his eyes as he uttered aroused growls under his breath.

This taste, her taste sparked something in Isaac, he wanted to devour her and make her scream his name out in this strange and new pleasure they were experiencing. He sure wasn’t fucking nervous anymore.

Ray felt Zack bring his hands to both her legs and lightly grip at them to keep them apart, her heart raced like mad as she was expecting Zack to caress between her legs once more, but she did not expect him to dip his head down instead. The woman quickly covered her mouth as she felt something fondle her again, but she knew it was not his fingers, they were still firmly planted on her legs – it could mean it was his tongue.

It was weird, it wasn’t unpleasant, but it was weird. Ray could feel Zack drag his tongue up and down every inch of her quivering womanhood, even his lips enveloped her heat as he lapped, kissed, and sucked between her legs. She’s never expected they’d take it this far with oral sex as well, but internally, she was not complaining. For their first time, it felt amazing.

Zack came to learn there was a certain spot that made Ray moan the loudest, just like his own reaction to her touches, there was a little spot his tongue could graze and tease rather easily to make her squirm uncontrollably – and he went right for it.

Ray panted heavily as she felt like her body was on fire, her legs were practically numb at his point, and she could feel Zack’s hot breaths and hums of his voice rattle on her body.

“Zack…” she purred.

The man shuddered again, and breathed out soft growls from her voice turning him on.

“…Louder…”

“Isaac…” Ray moaned out. She could feel Zack relentlessly go down on her once more.

Fuck, now he was hard again, Ray’s taste was one thing that pushed him, but hearing her voice beckon his name in a pleased and begging manner made him want to pin her down and fuck her right now. He was thinking with his desires again, Ray’s comfort was important too, but with her tone of voice, she must be thinking the same thing as well.

Rachel’s hips squirmed more than usual when she felt that heat between her legs swarm like a growing wildfire, Zack showed no signs of stopping his oral assault on her most sensitive areas, he even learned how to flick his tongue to tease it even more and get a better reaction out of Ray.

This made Ray arch her back as she yelped out Zack’s name once more, no wonder Zack was so vocal when she pleased him, and if she had done the same action Zack was doing now, one could only imagine how he could react. One of her hands let go of the sheet underneath her and ran her fingers right into Zack’s hair. This felt very pleasing to him, it told him that Ray appreciates that he and only he was giving her this feeling, and loved him enough to let him get this close.

This was indeed a great push beyond the boundaries of the comfort zone, it now proved they trust each other enough to engage in intimate acts because they cared more for how their partners felt, and encouraged each other if insecurity plagued them about their body. After all, they adored the other’s body, they were both beautiful and handsome in their eyes and wanted to give into hidden desires to show their love for it, and were they ever rewarded for it.

As Zack continued his hungry barrage of licks and kisses, Ray could feel a sensation like she was teetering over the edge, this must mean she herself was reaching her end, and Zack was pushing her ever so closer to it. She felt Zack’s mouth envelop her one last time as his pleased hums rumbled on her body again, this was enough to make her become lost in this hot and blissful feeling that made her body numbed by no other feeling than this.

Isaac’s ears were ringing as she heard Ray pant out a few sharp moans before crying out Zack’s name, her fingers clenched onto the sheets and a small tuft of Zack’s hair tightly as pleasure ran rampant through her body. The man winced slightly from the unintentional rough handling, but he could easily shrug it off, all he cared was looking at Ray as she was experiencing the same feeling of sexual rapture he had felt. Holy shit, it was a gorgeous sight to see her trapped in her first orgasm. He did that to her, he was able to make her feel that incredible.

The ability to make their partner so weak and lost just under touch alone was both scary and amazing at the same time. For their partners being willing enough to allow it to happen, it was fucking intoxicating, such a word was best to describe the feeling they got as they listened to their beloved breathe their name in rapture, offer their bodies to be manipulated how the other pleased, and permitted their partners to drive them to a whole new level of sensations never thought possible.

It was no wonder they were hesitant to take that step sooner, there was still so much to take in. Yet, both Zack and Ray were eager to learn now.

Zack leaned in to have one final taste before pulling back to let Ray catch her breath, he knew that he was never going to have enough of her.

Soon, he tenderly kissed at Rachel’s neck, bringing himself up to her cheek, but felt her weakly stop him from her lips.

“Hey, what’s up?” Zack asks.

Ray’s cheeks were already flushed, but it was obvious that she was shy to address the reason.

“Your mouth was down there…it’ll be weird,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, and yer hand was on my dick earlier, but that didn’t stop ya’ from dragging it through my hair,” Zack retorted, “Don’t care if you’re gonna say you washed your hands, they still camped down there.”

That made Rachel snicker, sure it was blunt, but he was right. Pretty sure if they did this more often, it would wind up past the point of not caring, to hell with modesty then. Rachel allowed Zack to continue, and he was quick to capture her lips. At this point, they didn’t care that they were still naked with him on top of her, they just wanted to share a short moment of sweet tenderness before deciding what to do next.

“I love you, Zack…”

“…I love you too, Ray…” Zack whispered back at her.

His body was pressed against hers, with Zack’s hips resting on Ray’s, but both of them didn’t seem to acknowledge it for the time being.

“So, what now? We did some pretty amazing shit,” Zack asked, “…if…you know…you want to see how much further this goes…I’m not gonna argue.”

Rachel leaned up to tenderly peck at his lips, “Don’t feel like stopping for now? Because I’m not…”

Zack’s face began to blush, “We’re gonna fuck?”

“Well if you say it like that, it sounds like there’s no love behind it,” Ray said with a pout.

“Y-you know what I mean!” Zack replied in a flustered manner, “…we’ve known each other for how long now? Ya’ know my language isn’t poetic.”

Rachel quietly laughed, then leaned up to kiss at his cheek.

“I know, I just felt like messing with you…”

Now, Zack was the one to pout, then brought his fingers to run through her golden locks.

“So, how do we start this?”

“How about kissing to start things off…then see how it takes us from there,” Ray replied.

That sounded like a plan, and Zack quickly brought himself down to kiss Ray deeply. Now that they were comfortable with their bodies being out in the open, this gave them more freedom to touch their partners when their kiss got heated, and it wasn’t long until it did.

Isaac brought a hand up to play with Rachel’s breast as their kiss turned steamy, while Rachel wrapped a leg around Zack’s waist to keep him close, Ray’s fingers began to secretly tug off the wrapping that covered the man’s torso. Zack would retaliate, but at this point, no fucks were given - plus it felt relieving to have his body cool off better with no cloth trapping his body heat and sweat.

A simple kiss turned into heavy making out, their tongues finding one another to give the lovers a taste of sweet sin, their bodies began to build up in heat once more, and eager to do more than just lay there in intimate caresses. Zack was already hard, and hearing Ray moan in his mouth as he fondled her breast only roused his feeling of want more. Normally, when they get heated like this, he’d sometimes tease her by a simple grind of the hips, but he had forgotten that they had nothing on. So, when Isaac decided to give her that small usual tease, the results were different, and it caused the both of them to break the kiss to utter out their own sounds of pleasure.

Zack lift his upper torso to glance at their hips, his member was snugly rested between Ray’s folds. Since there was no restriction of clothing between them, he had rubbed their own sexual parts together without realizing it. Damn it felt good, perhaps a little bit teases before the main event should spice things up. It may be their first time together, but it should be one that neither one will forget.

Zack hovered over her again and moved his hips once more, feeling Ray wrap her arms around Zack’s shoulders while her leg stayed at his hip. Back and forth he moved his body, feeling her heat against his in this soothing rhythm - he shouldn’t get too caught in this, no matter how good it felt. It didn’t help that the sweet areas he rubbed against caused Ray’s hips to buck up on reflex.

“Fuck…” Zack breathed out.

He trailed his hands back to Ray’s hips, then lightly shook off the last bits of wrappings that clung stubbornly from his body, he held onto her as he had this longing gleam in his odd colored eyes.

“I think I’m ready now, Ray…”

Rachel glanced up at the man and lightly nodded, “…Me too…”

“No retreat?”

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Ray stubbornly answered.

Zack smirked to himself as he reached down to the pants that were discarded to the side, in the back pocket was a condom he had stashed away should this time ever come. Ray was the one that talked to him about rubbers and contraceptives, thank god she did, his straightforward ways would’ve complicated matters for them – though the planning part about it was embarrassing. He wanted to forget having to figure out on his own what size was perfect for him based on what symbols he could memorize, at least that struggle was out of the way.

The man ripped open the package as Ray decided to muster a little more patience for Isaac to prepare himself. As he slipped it on, he got himself back into position, his hand anchored himself at Ray’s thighs, while the other hand held onto his cock to slide into her.

“Nervous?” Ray quietly asks.

“Yeah…”

“…Me too,” Ray replies, “…but I trust you…”

“Thanks…” Zack spoke, “…hey, if I hurt you…lemme know, alright?”

“I will.”

“Good girl…” Zack said.

No matter how many times he said those words, it made Rachel feel warm inside.

Soon, Zack was pushing himself into her, and felt a hot snugness as he entered her. His penetration was a little hard to take in, this was her first time, after all, and he was a little big for comfort, so Rachel unwillingly allowed herself to wince if her body began to sting.

“Ray…say something, if I’m hurting you, I’ll stop,” Zack pleaded.

“It’s my first time, don’t stop please,” Ray begged, “i-it just stings…I’ll adjust.”

“It’s not unbearable?”

“Just a small discomfort,” Ray replied, then nudged him to push further inside her, “Thank you for your concern…”

Zack still felt very uneasy, but he trusted Rachel’s judgement, she did more research on this matter, while Isaac’s illiteracy kept him clueless. He only knew the basic mechanics from observing his victims, and instincts telling him what to do, after all, it did get them this far. Zack took a breath as he inched himself deeper inside her until he felt that he was truly connected with her. The small pain faded away as soon as she felt Zack pause from venturing inside her, and gazed at the man hovering above her, there was this look in his eyes that said something clear as day.

‘You’re mine now.’

Ray reached her hands up to tenderly pull his face to hers and captured his lips to confirm his claim to her body. With a small and sweet kiss, Zack reluctantly pulled way, for he needed all the breath he could get for what he was about to do.

Their bodies were fused together in this passionate and slight sinful moment of love, it wasn’t the two of them engaging this this act, but their bodies moving mutually as one to achieve the ultimate point of rapture – together.

Zack gently pulled one of Ray’s hands off him to lay on the bed as he laced their fingers together, his other hand remained at his lover’s hip, and he shifted his body to ready itself for motion. Like before, he pulled his hips back, the combined feeling of heat and snugness inside of Ray sent a tingle down the man’s spine, and he gently pushed himself back in. Both the lubrication from the rubber and even Ray herself made it easy for Isaac to slide back in with no resistance, so this made the thrusting of his hips much simpler and comfortable for both lovers.

The pace started off slow and gentle at first, Isaac carefully motioning his hard member in and out of her as Ray softly moaned his name – his full name. Ray’s body quivered from this intrusive heat gliding in and out of her, touching sensitive areas that she never knew that she had, and tagging spots that made her throw her head back a couple times.

“Does it hurt when I do that?” Zack breathed.

Ray quickly shook her head, then bucked her hips up as a signal for him to do it again.

“Feels good, then?” Zack softly laughed. “Gotcha…”

Perhaps a pick-up in pace would drive her wild if he got that spot again, so he began to motion his hips much quicker. He must be hitting her sweet spot more often now, Ray was yelping out loud moans and squirming more than usual, not to mention her bodily reactions were bringing him pleasure as well. Zack breathed his own sighs of satisfaction from the slippery friction and growing heat between each other, and hearing Ray shout his name in delight while her body shook only increased that feeling.

Zack may have taken Ray’s body to be his, but he wanted the world to know, he quickly leaned to Rachel and began to kiss and bite at her skin. He wasn’t being rough or aggressive, but he did want to leave marks in every bit of her porcelain skin as proof that Ray belonged to him. Rachel was too swept up in the pleasure she was experiencing in their first sexual intercourse, she hardly even noticed or possibly cared if Zack set his teeth upon her like a ravenous wolf.

“Zack…” she moaned.

“Ray…louder…” Zack replied.

Zack wanted to hear her shout it, declare that he was the one giving her an intoxicating pleasure.

Rachel sharply gasped as she felt him find her sweet spot once more, and shouted his name as she wrapped both legs around his waist.

“Isaac!”

Fuck, it felt good to hear her shout like that, he decided to return the favor back to her, though a little more sensual to rile her up. Zack leaned to her ear and began to whisper soft moans into it.

“Rachel…” he moaned repeatedly.

She quivered again, Isaac’s relentless thrusts and his tender name beckoning was too much for her brain to process, it was like a sensory overload. Was he being soft or was he being bluntly straightforward? This perception of not knowing what he was up to only made the pleasure grow from this feeling of sensory randomization.

‘Beg for me to keep going when you need me to…’

Zack’s words repeated in Ray’s head, whatever desires that followed with it, she had to let her lover know.

“Faster…” she whispered.

“Speak up.”

Soon, Isaac felt Rachel’s legs push him down against her with stubborn demand.

“Go faster! Please Zack!” she shouted.

She was begging him for pleasure, Zack hungrily nipped at her shoulder as his hand held her hip tightly and allowed the speed of his thrusts to increase. Zack breathed out Ray’s name a few times followed by stimulated growls, Rachel threw her head back again from her and Zack’s heat growing ever stronger and the overwhelming stimulation consuming her when her most sensitive spots were rubbed just right.

Isaac was getting that sensation of something wanting to burst from him, now that he had experienced it before, he knew that he was going to cum. Judging by how Ray writhed underneath him, and how often she elicited her lewd cries, his dear woman was reaching her climax too. What upped the ante is both lovers could feel their bodies giving signals of their upcoming ecstasy, they pulsed wildly like a racing heartbeat, and just needed another push to send them both teetering over that edge.

Even Zack began to utter more moans as he breathed, the sensation of his upcoming release building was slowly becoming too much to bear, but he wanted to see Rachel’s face one more time – the expression of pure bliss. Her bliss. It was far more pleasing for him to see than a face of despair in any given day.

Just a little more, perhaps getting that sweet spot a few more times ought to do the trick. Zack tenderly kissed at Rachel’s neck as he thrust his length a little deeper into her, feeling the woman underneath him squirm as she sharply gasped. He got it. Zack made sure not to harm Ray as he tried to bring her ever so closer to her climax, he grazed that spot repeatedly until Ray wrapped herself tighter around him, her moans were drawing out much longer.

This was it. Zack was driving her to her sexual peak, and it was all for him to see.

His heterochromatic eyes locked onto Ray as he kept his pace going, he could even feel her body succumb to her orgasm, he could feel it this time, and it felt god damn amazing. It was indeed like they were of one body.

Watching this woman’s expression of both love and pleasure as she cried the name of the person who made her this way excited Zack so much. Just this sight and sensation made Isaac moan out Ray’s full name a couple times. Hearing her moan his name, while he beckoned hers was like a strange music to his ears - a song that gave both partners an exciting stimulation.

It was only a matter of time until his own orgasm was on the rise, it was threatening to take hold for some time now, and he managed to buy enough time to make Rachel be trapped in its net first. Zack paced his hips just a little more until his own heat was starting to envelop him. Ray could feel Zack’s invasiveness throb inside her, a familiar sensation she just endured, which meant that Isaac was seconds from cumming.

“Ray…I’m…” Zack tried to warn.

Rachel leaned up to confirm she got his message and kissed him deeply, but broke it halfway to let Zack catch his breath as his climax was taking over. So, they were just nose to nose, with their lips grazing each other, with an occasional meet of the tongues.

Zack let out a sharp gasp at first, then an elongated moan, as his body shook this time when he felt his release. Their pleasure during intercourse was much different from the previous pleasures they felt, because they were of one body, it made such a tender sensation increase ten-fold. Rachel nuzzled Zack’s neck as he tried catching his breath, his body still shuddered as the entrancing pleasure began to leave his body.

For a man with incredible stamina, Zack felt like his depleted the very moment he came like this. He was exhausted, but summoned the last bits of energy to nuzzle Rachel in return, then carefully pulled his spent body out of her. Good thing a trash can was nearby, Zack was too worn to get up and do anything, all he had left to do is to remove the spent rubber off his body, toss it into the bin, then lay his tired body down. As soon as his body collapsed onto the mattress, Rachel snuggled up against his chest, and Zack wrapped his scarred arms around her frame.

Soon, this afterglow began to fill the area around them. Like all was right with the world now.

“I love you, Zack…” Ray quietly spoke.

“Love you too, Ray…” Zack tiredly replied, “…are you feeling alright?”

“I am…though there is some faint soreness from your bites…”

Zack snickered a little, “Sorry, I kinda got carried away there. I’ll kiss ‘em later…”

“Clearly, you did get carried away,” Ray quietly laughed in return, then reflected on their actions, “…I’m glad we both finally did this. It was…really quite the experience…I can’t put it into words.”

“Fucking amazing, if ya’ wanna keep it simple,” Zack bluntly said.

Ray giggled to his reply, then softly pecked his lips. She noticed Isaac was having trouble keeping his eyes open, during their tender moment of conversation.

“…Are you getting sleepy?”

“I’m fuckin’ beat…” Zack mumbled, “pleasing ya’ took more out of me than I thought…”

“Want to go to sleep?”

Zack lightly nodded as his arms gently caressed Ray’s back up and down in soft strokes, “I will if you’re joining me.”

Ray gave Zack a sweet and loving grin, “You know I am, Zack…”

Zack returned a smile back at her, “Good girl…”

The two lovers got into a comfortable position to sleep as they drifted off in each other’s arms. They’ve just gone through a life-changing experience together that bonded them more than ever. Zack and Ray have given each other a piece of themselves during the passionate merging of bodies – both their heart and their souls. No one else was to ever have it, but themselves.

#fanfic sin

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rpchive · 5 years

Text

124th Encounter-- Starcast

nearly 130 logs in and the group finally gets a name!

The door to Collin and Jay's room swings open as Collin gingerly makes his way inside, trying not to put too much weight on his left leg. He puts the shard from his leg on his desk as he twists around and plops down into his chair. Bending over, he works the boot off of his prosthetic and then rolls the leg of his pants up to inspect the damage the bird caused. The hole itself isn't particularly big; the bird just pecked; chewed; and cracked its way through to something that interested it. None of the other shards seem to be missing or damaged, and the shard it grabbed seems to be undamaged despite being pulled out. Collin: Good grief, I guess those bird things like shiny stuff. Well, at least it didn't do a lot of damage while it was in there.

though they’re eating metal trying to find oracles, this one was trying to get to the leg shards specifically because they’re magical

realistically they’d probably be eating mages in TJ’s universe too, but they need to get big enough to do so first

He detaches the prosthetic from his stump and sets it on his desk. Staring intensely at it, several minutes quickly pass by as Collin tries to figure out the best way of repairing the prosthetic.

alienrabitt: Are you gonna be able to fix that on your own? Collin: Huh? Oh, I... I'm not sure. It's not too bad, but I've never tried to do anything to my leg before, so I'm not sure how to react. We could always go back by Barbell, but it seems kinda rude just to swing by for a quick repair job. alienrabitt: Can the pantheon fix it? Collin: Oh yeah, that's also a possibility. I could also... hmm...

His eyes glance over to one of the drawers of his desk. alienrabitt: What's up? Collin: I... was working on a thing a little while ago before things got a little, uh, hectic.

He pulls the drawer open and pulls out a pair of brown leather gloves. Setting them on the desk, Jay can see a symbol on the backs of the hands etched into the material, a dark colored jumble of loops with a small number of tiny runes dotted within some of the circles. alienrabitt: Some gloves? What're those supposed to do? Collin: You know how people with magic usually use like a wand or a staff or something to channel their magic? I thought maybe since I'm not as powerful magic-wise as I used to be, I could try my hand at making my own, uh, focus or whatever you want to call it. If I had something that could make me more efficient at channeling my power, I could make myself a little more useful. alienrabitt: Hey, you're useful even without it em. But let's not call each other "useful" or "useless," that just sounds mean. You're helpful, regardless. Collin: I guess that's fair, but regardless, I thought it might be handy to have. Anyway, I haven't really had a chance to use these yet, but assuming they actually work, I might just be able to fix this myself. It'd probably be good to be able to fix my own leg, after all. alienrabitt: Well, I mean, they are gloves...uhh, but that would be really cool, if you can pull it off...! Collin: Actually I have to put them on to make them work.

He gives Jay a sly grin as he picks the gloves up and starts sliding them on. alienrabitt: Huh? Well, yeah... Collin: That was a, uh... glove... joke- N-Nevermind, let me just focus on this...

so many puns lately...

He picks up the removed shard and carefully pokes one end through the hole that the bird made earlier. Once the shard is most of the way through, he drops the shard back inside. It bounces around for a moment and then rests on the bottom as the other shards continue to float around. Collin takes a deep breath and then holds his hands over the glass section of the leg. As he does so, the central point of the symbol on his gloves begins to glow with a faint white light which then quickly begins to expand outwards to fill the rest of the lines and runes. Visibly relieved, Collin lets out a small sigh. "Ha, okay, the gloves are actually doing something! I was afraid they were still duds right now." alienrabitt: Well, it looks cool...is it working? Collin: No idea, let's find out!

He adjusts his shoulders and focuses more intensely on his leg. The symbols' glow intensifies slightly as the prosthetic starts to shimmer and the loose shard inside begins to shake. Finally, the shard lifts back up into the air and returns to its normal position with the rest of the shards in their orbit, and a moment later regains its normal shine. The hole within the glass begins to shrink as the glass itself seems to grow and stretch to seal the shard chamber. Another moment later, the shimmering subsides as Collin's leg is repaired back to its former state. The glow in Collin's gloves dies out, and he rests his hands on the edge of his desk.

"I... I can't believe that worked, holy crap."

I will note that, even though the bird didn’t eat the shard, it did drain all its magic

alienrabitt: That's great!! It looked cool, too. Let's see how well it holds up, huh? Collin takes the prosthetic back off the table and turns around in his seat. He spends a moment reattaching the leg back, flinching slightly, then shoots a tiny flame out from the bottom of his foot to make sure the shard is functioning normally again. "Perfect, I think it's back up and running now! Hopefully nothing else tries to pick my leg apart for parts, though." alienrabitt: I doubt anything else would... Collin: Here's hoping.

[The next morning...]

Collin and Fawkes step into the console room, partway through a vague conversation about something Fawkes is currently working on. Nydins and Rio sit in the console room, casually making small talk as they wait for something. Collin: Oh, mornin'. How're you guys doing today? Nydins: We're fine; just waiting for Paprika to get back. Fawkes: Oh? What is she up to? Rio: Well, we landed in a place where there's mostly just humans, so we need to see why we're here; but, well, a lot of us are blatantly...not human, or a little different, so we need people who can pass as human to look around. Collin: I... can't argue with that. Now that I think about it, I guess Paprika really is the most "normal" looking human on the IT. Has she been gone long? Nydins: Not really. Probably about 5 minutes....and that's not true; I'm sure you and Clair could go out there! You'd just need to look less like a DND character. Collin: That's... fair. As long as I covered up my leg, I'd be fine. Anyway, if it's only been that long, I'm sure she's fine. Nydins: I'm sure she'll be back soon. What about you two? Collin: Well, I was just planning on getting something to eat, honestly. I didn't realize we'd already landed somewhere. Nydins: It happens. You're probably just used to it by now. Collin: I guess so, yeah. Anyway, I'm gonna duck into the kitchen for a few minutes, I'll be back. Maya is in the kitchen with Jay and Clair, the trio making smalltalk about what could be outside. Collin: Mornin' y'all. Talking about where we landed, I'm guessing? alienrabitt: Yeah, just a little. We were debating going out there, but if it's someplace boring, staying in might be better...

Clair: I mean, it's just a normal place with just...humans, I guess? It might be boring compared to what you're used to, but aren't you a little curious how humans are? You didn't get to see a lot of normal people, right?

alienrabitt: I've...seen plenty of, uhh...kids and teens, I guess? But I haven't seen a lot of adults. Or good adults. Collin: I haven't seen much of anything when it comes to normal human stuff, but I can't really go running out there right now. I'd need a change of clothes before I do that at the very least. Maya: So would I, probably. I doubt they see a lot of girls running around in suits with lights on them...

Clair: Well, I bet Paprika's not gonna find much if it's just a bunch of normal humans. There's probably nothing exciting out there...

alienrabitt: But why would the IT land in such a normal place...? Fawkes: Even normal people can have problems. They probably just don't involve things like evil machines or giant monsters usually. The group can hear the door of the IT open and close followed by an excited conversation in the console room. Collin: Oh, shoot, sounds like she's back.

He hurriedly digs through a cupboard and pulls out a granola bar, which he begins quickly eating. "Wanna go see what's up?" With a nod, Jay opens the door to the console room only for Paprika to excitedly enter the kitchen and toss what appears to be a comic book upon the table. "S-somebody knows about us...!"

Clair: Well, we're uhh...superheroes, aren't we? Is that really surprising?

Maya: But we haven't even been here before...!

Paprika: The comic's not even about anything here, it's an older issue that covers the meteor incident with Asra Nox! Collin: That's so weird. Seeing stuff that we've done laid out like this is so... bizarre.

Fawkes: I suppose it was only a matter of time until we came across something like this, given the nature of parallel universes and such. alienrabitt: Did you see a newer issue anywhere...?

Paprika: Well, I did, but it didn't sound like anything anyone's done before...

Collin: But... doesn't that mean it could've been predicting our future? Maya: Maybe it has. We'd know if we could find an issue about something we've done recently... Collin: Does this mean we need to go comic shopping? alienrabitt: Or steal one, I guess... Fawkes: I thought we were above shoplifting...

Collin: I don't think we need to actually take anything, right? Can't we just flip through them in a store or something? Maya: Can't the IT just make them? Collin: ... I keep forgetting it can do stuff like that. Maya: Just get it to make a bookshelf with all the comics in somebody's room, then get one of your robots to speed read them all. They can do that, right? Or maybe one could just download all the comics or something? I don't know; you have advanced technology and magic, use it for information!

half this season’s been Maya going “USE YOUR SHIP THAT CAN MAKE ANYTHING TO MAKE THINGS TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS THAT COULD BE SOLVED IF YOU HAD THOSE THINGS”

Collin: I've never really asked the IT for anything specific before, uh... Can you make a bookshelf with all of these comics somewhere in my room? Please?

He glances around the room, unsure of where exactly to look, then shrugs at the others. Paprika: Um, I guess you'd have to check your room after that...

alienrabitt: I'll go look.

Shrugging, Jay heads for their room. Collin and Fawkes follow closely behind him, curious to see if it worked. Sure enough, there's now a new bookshelf in the bedroom lined with multiple volumes of comics, each one with a single common title: "The Starcast." Collin: "The Starcast"? That's an interesting name... alienrabitt: I guess that's what they're calling us...? Y'know, like the Justice League or somethin'... Collin: I'll take your word for it? I guess it is kinda catchy though. So uh, what should we do with all of this now? alienrabitt: Look through it and see if it's catching up with us or ahead of us...though I guess we could see that much by finding the latest issue...there's over 100 of these, though... Fawkes: Here, give me a few minutes.

He sits down in front of the bookshelf and pulls a chunk of comics down from the end section. Setting them to his side, he grabs the topmost one and carefully thumbs through it to get a full view of the pages, pausing for just a moment before skipping to the next page. After a few minutes, Fawkes finally finishes the last comic and returns it to the stack, then carefully replaces them back in order on the shelf. "There we go." alienrabitt: Well, what'd you find? Fawkes: I'm... not sure. The last comic here featured two people fighting, but I don't recognize either of them. Before that, Demo and Daedalus were having a conversation, and Demo was saying that she couldn't come back to the IT because of something she'd done. alienrabitt: What? Why would we kick Demo out...? That must be way ahead of us... Fawkes: I guess so. That seemed to be the only bit that stood out from what I already know. alienrabitt: Well, maybe we should find the author...they might've just started writing whatever they wanted after a certain point. I mean, we can't see the future, but we know what happened before we got here... Collin: We could, but I'll need to wear something that isn't so uh, "DND" first. I'm just wondering where they're getting the ideas for all of these... alienrabitt: That's something I don't think we'll know until we ask... Collin: True. Give me a few minutes to figure out a new outfit.

Several minutes pass as Collin gets lost in the closet trying to put an outfit together, but he finally steps out after some time. He has a hoodie over some kind of t-shirt, and a pair of denim jeans and shoes that manage to hide his prosthetic. "It's nothing fancy, but I guess that's the point, huh?" alienrabitt: Probably. I'm gonna have to cover my arm if I go out there too... Collin: Yeah, but it's up to you whether you come with us or not. Anyway, we should probably go fill in the others. alienrabitt: Yeah. It'd probably be suspicious if we went as a big group...

They return to the kitchen, where Maya, Clair, and Paprika are discussing who should go outside.

Maya: We should only send two or three people. If they're a celebrity, they might not even let one person in... Collin: Ah, sounds like you guys are already on the same page as us. Maya: I think you should send someone who's good at dealing with people socially...

Paprika: Why not Clair? Even if she spent a lot of time in Oz, if some kind of security or something kept you from getting to the author, she could just, uhh...persuade them you should go anyway.

Maya: I don't think she's got the goods for-- oh, wait, you meant...y-yeah, that would work... Collin: Wait, what else would she mea- Maya! Sheesh, I'm suddenly glad Daedalus isn't in the room right now... Maya: It should be you two, honestly. Jay and Paprika would probably back down under pressure, and I'd probably do something irrational at the first sign of a "no." Collin: If you say so? I'm just trying to figure out what our story should be... Paprika: You could say you're fans! But once you got to the author, I'm sure they'd know the truth... Collin: I think we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it, honestly. Paprika: Um, well, good luck out there! If you get into a pinch, don't forget your communicators. Rio found the author's address, so if you just follow your communicators, you'll find the place you need to be. Collin: Sounds easy enough. Are you ready, Clair? Clair: I...guess so. I just hope I don't actually have to do anything weird to anybody... Collin: Hopefully we can just bluff our way out of needing to do that. Let's see if we can find this mystery author, then. The pair leaves the IT and makes their way into the city without drawing unwanted attention to themselves.

Clair: It's been a long time since I've been to a place like this... Collin: No kidding. I think I've only ever been in a city for a couple of weeks at most, and that was... at least a year or two ago now. It feels a little surreal, honestly. Clair: It's a shame we can't go around and do anything here... Collin: Yeah, maybe we should pitch that as a downtime idea for next time? Maybe not here exactly, but a place that's just... normal.

is it still illegal to get the IT to make money if you don’t even live in that dimension

Clair: That'd be nice! Maybe you and Azreldeh could go on another date or something. Collin: U-Uh, maybe? She seems like she'd know her way around a city, at least. I'm not much help when it comes to stuff like that, unfortunately. Clair: That's why you'd be better off together! Unless it didn't go well last time...? Collin: I mean, it wasn't bad? It was a little unexpected though, she seemed so... solemn, I guess? It was a very different side of her that night, I'm not entirely sure why. Clair: Maybe she was thinking about something serious? Collin: Yeah, she was talking about some stuff from her past that night. I don't know, it was an odd night. Clair:Well, hey, it's probably pretty hard to open up about that stuff. Maybe she just wanted to prove she trusted you? Collin: Hmm, I hadn't thought of it that way. You may be right about that. I'm surprised you brought her up though, I didn't think you'd be interested in what we're up to. Clair: Well, I mean...it's kind of special to have a relationship with more than one person at once, right...? So I guess I just got interested a little... Collin: ... Ohh, uh, yeah, that makes sense. I don't know, it hasn't really turned into anything serious yet. Plus I've never really "dated" anyone before, so it's all kinda new to me. What about you? Is everything going well with you guys? Clair: It's...fitting. All of it just feels a little like a finished puzzle, I guess. Collin: Heh, I'm glad to hear that. You guys deserve it after everything you've been through. Although I have to admit, it's kinda funny seeing how different Daedalus is around you. Clair: Huh...? Well, I...guess he is. Collin: It's a good different, don't worry. I'm glad he found someone like you.

Clair: Someone like me? He was already dating Demo, wasn't he? I'm not that special... Collin: No, there wasn't anything special going on there until you guys all became a thing. Clair: I think you're just saying that because you've never seen a relationship with more than one person... Collin: Well, I'm pretty sure Demo has always had a crush on him in some form, but she didn't do anything about it until now as far as I know. Besides, I've never seen Daedalus take an interest in anyone as fast as he did with you. Clair: That's...kind of surprising. I didn't do something to him on accident, did I...? Collin: Pff, nah, you're fine. It was before you even had any powers, honestly. Clair: M-maybe I just didn't notice, then...um...I'm just glad he's happy for once, though. From what I know, he hasn't really had the best life...or a long one, I guess? So it's probably really important that he figures himself out sooner rather than later... Collin: Yeah, no kidding. But I think he's in a good spot right now if you ask me. Clair: I just hope it stays that way. I hope whatever this is isn't actually a big deal either... Collin: Yeah, likewise. I just don't get how a normal person could be writing all of that without something to give them all that knowledge. Clair: Well, maybe they just...look normal? Collin: Definitely possible. I just hope to God they're not another devil or something. I don't think I could take another one of those... The pair arrives at the author's address, a rather large house surrounded by a stone fence with two mechanical gates connecting a driveway; one at the front, and one at the back. Collin: Looks fancy. So uh, how do we get in? Clair: Oh, I've seen a few of these! There's usually a little box or something with a number pad and maybe a button to get someone's attention so you can ask to be let in, but I doubt the author'd let in a couple of strangers claiming to be their comic book characters... Collin: Yeah, I hadn't really thought about how to bring that up... Don't suppose we could just pretend we're selling something, huh? Clair: Probably not...can't you just shoot a portal somewhere past the gate? You can fire through bars, right? Collin: I could, I just wasn't sure if that was the best plan... Oh hell, we've done dumber things before.

Collin opens a portal on the wall next to them and then another on the outside of the house beyond the gate. The pair make their way through the portals and to the door of the large house, only to find the house itself is already unlocked. Upon entering the house, the pair finds themselves in a large living room themed around the IT's console room, though the floor is made of tile instead of glass, and the "console" in the center is actually a currently unlit fire pit lined with benches in an isolated area "outside" surrounded by sliding glass doors. There are two halls to the left and right; a doorway leading to the backyard; and a staircase leading upstairs visible from the front door. Collin: Oh man, this is weird. I mean it's kind of neat but also kind of, I don't know, uncanny? Is that the right word? Clair: Whoever's making these comics must be a serious fan...it's a little strange. Collin: No kidding. Who do you think the most popular character is? Clair: Well, probably you or Jay. You've been around the longest, right? Collin: Oh I was just kidding, I don't wanna think about what having your own fan club would be like. Anyway, uh, where do you think this guy would be right now? Upstairs, maybe?

*spider man voice* save it for comicon

Clair: I'm not sure. They probably have an office or something... Collin: That's what I figured. I don't know, let's try down here first and see what happens.

Collin wanders toward the left hallway, glancing around as he goes. There is a bathroom in the hall between the entrance and the room at the end of the hall, which seems to be a dining room. Collin: Well, at least the bathroom isn't themed the same, right? Clair: Looks like a bathroom you'd find anywhere else. It's pretty clean, so this one must be for guests... Collin: Yeah, and there's just a dining room over there. Let's try the other hallway. The right hallway has a locked door, and at the end of the hall, there is a second locked door; however, after trying to open this one, a surprised voice responds from the other side: "Oh god, somebody's in my house! Look, if it's about the show, I won't go back on my storyboards; I've told you a dozen times that this is just how things pan out, so just...! ...Wait, you didn't knock..."

There's a pause as they walk closer to their door, and their voice becomes significantly more recognizable as feminine.

"...Did you seriously break into my house?" Collin takes a few steps back from the door but doesn't shift his footing to run. "We considered it, but the portals work a lot faster." ???: "I should've known you'd be the first to come look into all this. So that means...Clair's probably with you, right? Because nobody else could get you out of a pinch without drawing attention, and anyone that could is obviously inhuman...or something like that."

Clair: Um, pretty much...? Who are you?

???: "Well, I'm the author! I write the comics; I storyboard the cartoon; and I guess I'll be scripting a movie sometime soon...um, but I guess my pseudonym won't be enough for you guys."

The door unlocks, and the woman responsible for the comics greets the pair face to face. Though she has no horns, and though she is most certainly human and nothing else, the woman's features seem unmistakably similar to Nydins, with a few differences. Her hair, significantly shorter, is hastily pulled into a sloppy bun; and she's wearing a gray cardigan over what appear to be pumpkin themed PJs. Half-rimmed glasses rest upon her face in front of bright, green eyes.

"Nia Bardos, legally, but I'm sure you know..."

Nia’s like a 4kids shortened version of Nydins; Bardos is an anagram of Darbos

Collin: Wait, you... Nydins? But you look so...? Nydins: Yes and no. It's complicated. I've obviously never been Nydins Darbos in this life, and yet ever since I was little, I knew about a soda machine that flew through space; and a robot that helped a superhero rescue a human...so I wrote about it. I drew it. I couldn't let myself forget, so I kept doing it. I got better; I remembered more; I got it published; put it everywhere; and growing up, all I ever wanted was to know it was true, and here you are. Collin: So you're like... a reincarnated Nydins? That's so... Man, that raises a lot of questions though. She laughs a little. "Doesn't it?"

Crossing the room, she takes a seat back at her desk, L-shaped so the computer off to the right side doesn't block her view of the people in the tall, black chairs across from her own desk seat. Upon the walls are framed posters and drawings of the Starcast; the IT; places they've been; presumably the most iconic fight scenes or memorable moments; concept art sketches that show all the outfits people considered wearing before deciding on a comfortable look; and various other similar things. "...The technology here's not super advanced; I've been trying to make something similar to Fawkes for ages, but it's not looking reasonably possible. Truth be told, I just didn't want to be the only one I could talk to about this." Collin slowly walks toward the chairs on the opposite side of her desk as he takes in everything inside her office. "Geez, this is a lot to take in. So I guess you haven't actually found anyone else that uh... 'reincarnated' here then?" Nydins: Nobody's contacted me or anything; not like anybody'd really have the guts to send an email to an author going "hey, I think I might be that guy you write about all the time!" Collin: Yeah, I guess that would be a little out there. We didn't even bother ringing your door thing because we figured no one would buy us saying that we're the actual characters. Clair: So...did you seriously just hope we'd break into your house someday?

Nydins: Oh, absolutely. Every once in a while I'd throw in something ridiculous that definitely didn't happen just to see if you'd panic and try to find me to ask if it would. Collin: So... that thing about Demo leaving the IT was literally just bait for this exact situation? Nydins: Well, yes and no...I don't have the full details yet, so I'm writing red herrings until I can remember exactly what happened. I think there's still humans left from the war, and they won't be happy to hear that they missed a couple of gods and an entire city... Collin: Well that's not really what I wanted to hear from someone that might know our future. Do you know anything more specific than that? Nydins: I don't know much else other than there's a human with a weapon that's out for kleivenn blood, and either you'll find him, or he'll find you. I just hope it works out for you...

I mean she probably knows how it works out but 🙃 gotta keep some stuff a secret

Collin: God, I hope so too. The last thing we need right now is another post-war dude with a grudge to bear. Nydins: Hmm, well, is there anything else you wanted to ask? Collin: I'd ask if you were holding up okay given whatever happened to you, but you seem to be doing uh, fairly well for yourself all things considered.

He looks around the room again as he considers his words. "I guess our little story really picked up, huh?" Nydins: People sure do love superheroes. We've managed to attract a lot of attention. It's funny seeing people run around dressed as us for Halloween. Collin: That's so weird to think about... I mean, I should've figured this was possible given all this multiverse crap, but man. Seeing it for real is something else entirely. Nydins: You're free to stick around as long as you'd like, but I'm sure my publisher'll be sending someone to look into my work in a few days here. I feel like you guys being here would raise a lot of questions... Collin: I can imagine, especially if I start throwing more actual portals around here. I'm guessing those don't normally exist here either, huh? Nydins: Probably not! You probably wanna get those closed before it gets dark... Collin: Done. Anyway, we came here to figure out how true your future comics were and whether or not we needed to be worried about something, but it seems like we need to take everything with a grain of salt, huh? Nydins: For now. I'm sure now that you know about all this you'll probably find out what's true for you and what isn't. Collin: I guess so. Well, I'm sure there must be something you want to ask us, right? It seems like this is what you've been waiting for, after all. Nydins: What's there to ask? I've been writing about you my whole life; I know you guys. Collin: ... Can't really argue with that, can I? Nydins: Heh, probably not. Well, I should probably get back to writing... Collin: Alright, we'll get out of your way. I uh, guess we might see each other again? Or maybe you'll just know what we're up to, I'm not really sure. Nydins: I'm sure we'll meet again someday. Looks like we'll be friends for a while.

Collin: Here's hoping, huh? Well, take care, and try not to make me look too bad in your next issue, alright? Nydins: Hahaha, alright! You take care too! Collin steps outside of Nydins' office with Clair and closes the door behind him. A moment of silence passes between them, only broken by Collin quietly saying "Huh." Clair: It's a little weird, huh? Collin: Just a little bit, yeah. Guess we should head home now? Clair: Yeah; probably should. The pair makes their way back out of the house and past the gate again, then head back for the IT. Paprika: You're back! How'd it go out there? Collin: Well, it wasn't... bad? Paprika: Hmm, I guess it would be pretty casual in comparison to everything else we normally do... Collin: No no, I mean... the person writing all those comics was like... a reincarnation of Nydins. Paprika: I...guess that would be possible, huh. So, nothing else weird? Collin: Well, not exactly. She mentioned something about it being possible that some humans from the kleivenn war might still be hanging around somewhere, but her memories aren't really all that precise or accurate all the time. Paprika: Well, what could we do about that aside from bring it up to everyone in Kujaar? Collin: Not sure, but I figured I should bring it up anyways just in case. Paprika: Well, I'll definitely make a note of it! Collin: But yeah, aside from that, nothing super crazy happened, which is probably good considering it was just the two of us out there. Paprika: Yeah, I'm glad you two were alright. But my assessment led me to believe there were only ordinary humans out there, so I figured you wouldn't need help. Collin: Good thing you were right on that. Anyway, I'll go let everyone else know there's nothing to worry about regarding those comics.

this was just filler tbh; who knows what the next log’ll be

#[S4]

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