#the bookend siblings

[simons-sweater-town]

Dead silence.

…Is she not going to say anything? Is your sister not going to rebuke you? Is she not going to yell or cry or…anything?

…No, she poses a simple, curious question.

“Why?”

*simon still doesnt look at her. he cant do it yet. cant bring himself to see her expression.*

...honestly? i was curious. a friend of mine who liked to mess around with technology and vr games and whatever reached out to me to tell me that hed found something weird and wanted me to check it out. it wasnt long before i realized that he had found some weird digital world somewhat similar to ours. i wanted to see what it was about, wanted to see what it was like in there. i built a headset for every person who worked on it with me. built each one by myself. had a friend who worked on the coding of the headsets, had another who figured out how to keep our bodies here while our minds were in there. two others who didnt do much except volunteer to test it.

*he goes quiet, opening his eyes to stare at the sky above through the tree branches before continuing.*

they both lost their memories. we pulled the headsets off when we realized that, but they didnt know anything about who we were, about who they were. they ran from us, terrified. i havent seen either of them since.

*he lets that hang between them for a long time before he continues in a small whisper. theres pain and guilt in his voice, and for the first time in a long, long time, he lets himself cry.*

the others wanted to keep going. keep working on it. fix that flaw so we wouldnt lose our memories. i told them no. it was too dangerous, and besides, we didnt have anyone else to test it on. they still wouldnt listen to me, so i... i moved everything up to the radio tower. without their knowledge.

*theres so much guilt in his eyes, it hurts to look at.*

i lost their friendship. they didnt know where it was, but they knew i had taken it, and they stopped talking to me. this whole time, you three had no idea. i just said i was hanging out with friends. i had wanted to show you all, before i realized the danger.

*he closes his eyes. his tears flow silently, glistening on his cheeks.*

i moved it to the radio tower because i knew it could be safe there. at least from you three. steven was a coward. he had no idea how to fight. he was terrified of that place. you and octavia were always so busy with your magical girl stuff that i assumed youd have no reason to go sniffing around there.

*he opens his eyes and finally looks at katrina, guilt and pain and hurt that had been hidden for months glistening in his gaze.*

and then steven disappeared, and octavia overheard me talking to myself after id seen him in there from the screen, and so she left without a word and after a week of praying she knew what she was doing, i had to follow. i wrote that note and put it on my desk and left you behind, too absorbed in my guilt to realize that i was leaving you to fend for yourself.

*its clear from his heavy sigh at the end that this is something that has been weighing him down for a long time.*

#the bookend siblings #[long-ass post] #[also lore drop]

[onewingedsparrow]

The first time the Cee Bee Siblings look at each other in Prime

VS

The last time the Cee Bee Siblings look at each other in Prime

The opposite mood of these bookends...! The storyboarding told in the colors of the scenes and posture of the characters...! (I'm not crying, you're crying) Warning, this is a long post. ;) I have a lot to say about the Cee Bee Siblings and the storyboarding of Transformers: Prime! I already fell in love with the first Cee Bee bookends I noticed earlier in "Darkness Rising Part 1," as well as earlier in "Predacons Rising." Discovering those bookends made me want to search for more, and I'm delighted to find these ones here. This particular pair of bookends above will always be one of my favorites. It's beautiful how many times Arcee and Bumblebee share a glance in Transformers: Prime. You just know from how often they look at each other, and the moments wherein they look at each other, that they share a long history with all the sharp secondhand embarrassment; snarky, sassy teasing; and silly inside jokes that come packaged with a close relationship. The opposing contexts that bring Arcee and Bumblebee to glance at each other in these bookends here are fascinating.

Prior to both these snapshots, Team Prime was engaged in a hectic, draining battle directly linked to death.

In "Darkness Rising Part 1," at the beginning of TFP, Arcee was grieving the recent loss of Cliffjumper when she got caught in a scuffle with Eradicons, a scuffle into which Bumblebee and Bulkhead then jumped to help her out. In "Predacons Rising," at the end of TFP, Team Prime was grieving the immediate loss of Optimus, upon learning that he willingly merged the Matrix of Leadership and therefore his own spark with the Allspark. In the first situation, Bumblebee and Arcee have a tough time battling the Eradicons. Exhaustion from grief, the distraction of the unplanned spectating humans, and other factors take a toll on their fighting. Despite the fact that the battle is 2 vs 2, and despite the fact that Arcee and Bumblebee are usually a highly efficient team, the Cee Bee Siblings are locked in a stalemate with their opponents, until Bulkhead (belatedly) shows up and the Eradicons (wisely) choose to skedaddle. Once the Eradicons leave, Bumblebee hunches over to catch his breath, and Arcee dryly shoots up at Bulkhead, "What took you?" to which Bulkhead replies, "Traffic." At this, Arcee and Bumblebee share a look, their first shared glance of many in the series, and the scene ends. While this "Traffic" joke is amusing to the audience (who knows full well what it's like to be stuck in traffic), I don't think Arcee and Bumblebee's reaction was tied to the humor beyond the fourth wall. Rather, what I see here between them is a glance of relief mingled with grief. After all, if Team Prime hadn't been delayed earlier, whether by traffic or otherwise, they would have been able to save Cliffjumper from death. In the second situation, Team Prime has just listened to Optimus Prime's farewell before his final flight, directly into the Well of All Sparks. While they stand on the edge of the Well, hundreds of lights, new sparks, burst forth, scattering like fireworks as new life at last returns to the once-desolate Cybertron. Team Prime stares, awed at the spectacle, until one especial spark catches their notice—a spark that dances above them, glowing with blue and red, while Optimus' voiceover closes the cinematic storybook that is Transformers: Prime. Only then—only then—do Arcee and Bumblebee look at each other. Where once grief over Optimus' passing darkened their faces, now, in their expressions, there is simply joy. Joy for the new beginning of which Optimus speaks. Joy for the knowledge that while death is an ending, death is not the end. Joy for the freedom they've found, for the war they've won, for the peace they've protected. No more do their wings droop from weariness; no, their wings stay upraised and alert. Gone is the exhaustion that once clouded their eyes; now, there is only light. In place of the frowns that they once held, smiles grace their faces. Though once they stood under the dusk of Earth, a striking symbolism for the darkness rising, now, instead, on Cybertron, they catch the glow of the brilliant sparks above, illuminated by the very future they fought so hard to see. Both these bookends were touched by death and grief beforehand. But the beauty of the contrast, the hope that shines in TFP, is that no matter how deep the tragedy, no matter how dark the hour, the ending will always be brighter than the beginning. Life has returned to Cybertron. Peace has ended the war. It's truly amazing to me how the very spark of Transformers: Prime can be encapsulated in something as simple as two passing glances between Bumblebee and Arcee.

#tfp spoilers #predacons rising spoilers #darkness rising part 1 #predacons rising #cee bee siblings #tfp arcee #tfp bumblebee #arcee #bumblebee #team prime #tfp #maccadam #salt and light #sparrow nerds about transformers #don't tag as ship i just wanna talk gen here <3 #i love tfp so much #transformers prime spoilers #storyboarding #cee bee bookends

[sparrowsworkshop]

Bookends

~ From the first page unto the last, Yes, I will stand by you, steadfast. The weight you hold up lessens true When my will grants new strength to you. Between us, countless, profound words Fill pressing space with praise unheard. Folded, covered, and bound with care, There never was a greater pair Than you and I, and me and you, To bear the burdens made for two. You still stand by me, yes, steadfast, From the first page unto the last. ~

"Bookends" poem by OneWingedSparrow Screenshots from Darkness Rising Part 1 / Predacons Rising Read on AO3

~

#thanks for reading! #cee bee siblings #tfp spoilers #predacons rising #darkness rising part 1 #predacons rising spoilers #tfp arcee #tfp bumblebee #arcee #bumblebee #maccadam #tfp #transformers prime #poetry #rhyming poem #salt and light #transformers #transformers: prime #bookends #sparrow poetry #cee bee bookends

[dykedteach]

experienced some gay on gay violence this morning (facetimed my gay baby brother to wish him a happy birthday while I was waiting for my bus and all he had to say was “ew, you have to go to work today? 🤮” )

#he’s so judgy and camp i love that we get to be the gay bookend siblings of the family <3

[lightdancer1]

I do like using Delirium of the Endless in very specific ways in my stories

Not just the seer/prophet aspects she has, though she does have them. This is one of her most frequent roles. In the canon of Sandman Delirium did try to prevent the er, ending, even if it didn't work. I give her that aspect and expand on it, while having her essentially usually be an unsung hero and a mirror of both Destiny and Desire, in certain aspects. She's one of the most active Endless, and one of the ones who sees most.

She's also not averse to manipulating her siblings' expectations of her as a child to quietly engineer events down paths she would prefer, as a mirror to what she does to and with mortals.

She also has the pucker factor that even Hob Gadling, who adores pretty much everyone in the family (Desire is a YMMV hit or miss from story to story, really, or different points in the same story due to the feud with Dream) finds her more than slightly frightening because of her casual reality-warping.

I also don't treat the Endless as having some kind of 'more powerful than thou' factor, and where they have that interaction with the material world it's more the ways they can and do directly affect it. Death and Destiny have the greater 'power' insofar as their concepts predated sapient life, where Dream and everyone else down from him didn't. This isn't something that translates into 'can beat up Darkseid and take his lunch money.'

In their respective spheres or domains, all of the Endless are equal matches to each other. None of them tend to remember this with Delirium and it can and will bite some of her older siblings in the ass or prove helpful, depending on the mood. Since as per comics canon and presumably Season II of the show Desire is something of a bully to Delirium, Desire gets more of the backhand where Destruction and Death, in different degrees, get her more sweet side....and Dream gets the cloudcuckoolander who spurs the Prince of Stories into being a part of them.

Delirium also showcases that all of the Endless really do have vast power over the material makeup of reality itself, for they are reality boiled down to its seven parts. All of the rest of her siblings restrain that power and its full scale of flexibility, Delirium does not. That is the only real difference between them, what she does the rest can do, they simply don't bother doing it for a variety of reasons....most of the time.

#sandman fanfic #delirium of the endless #delirium really does have a lot more potential besides cute younger sister or seer with wonky font #and in particular she works very well as a kind of bookend or mirror both to Destiny and to the twins #she challenges the rest of her siblings as much as any of them do #of course they also really do keep having problems forgetting Delirium is not in actual fact a child #which is one of the things that she at least partially can and does shape to her advantage

[rpvlix]

//I do think the siblings' similarities travel down the line of age. Like a bunch of interlocking venn diagrams. And I think thats neat.

#ken and kym are more similar than either of them would like to admit. #both filled with so much rage. #both so convinced their worldview is correct. stubborn. determined. #their flaws are strengths and their strengths are flaws #the middle three are very similar as well #lonely. alienated. other. #pit against each other because they're convinced the source of their problems is anyone but themselves. #disappointments. critical of their fathers way of life. most connected to mortals. #the final two are still similar but less so than the other 'sets'. #sol and andras. both quiet. keep to themselves. don't speak much unless spoken to. #prefer books to people. self isolate. #and around the edges there are similarities as well. Fous and kym. Braso and Sol. #I mean all of them share traits with other siblings #I just think its neat that there's bookends on whatever the hell the middle 3 have going on #ooc

[her-satanic-wiles]

October 19th

Uniform, Phantom x Cardinal Reader

Masterlist ⛧ The Cardinal Masterlist

Words: 6.3k

Warnings: Uniform; sub!Phantom; Cardinal!Reader; dom!Reader; male masturbation; brat!Phantom; power play; abuse of power; praise kink; degradation kink; cock stepping; heel kink; begging; edging; ruined orgasm; worship; hand job; unprotected sex; piv sex; dacrophilia; cunnilingus; cum eating; marking/hickeys; this basically feels like torture porn; I was in a man-eating mood and Phantom was the victim, I would apologise but I enjoyed this too much;

Taglist: @sodoswitchimage @enchantedbunny @bitchywitchygardener @thew0man @sodomiser @the-did-i-ask @copias-sewer-rat @gehrmansbignaturals @deetz-ghuleh @onlyhereforghost

This is another favourite... I had so much fun writing this.

🔞 MDNI 🔞

You had always been a dedicated and hardworking member of the Satanic Church, from the time you arrived in your early teens to now. For years, you had toiled tirelessly, demonstrating your commitment to your job and your faith. And though some days it felt like it did, your efforts had not gone unnoticed, and upon the ascension of the previous Cardinal Copia to Papacy, you too, were lifted from your previous life and placed in a position of higher standing. They were, of course, in need of a new Cardinal now that Copia was no longer filling the position.

Your robes were majestic to say the least - designed specifically to you: your body, your youth, the image you wanted to portray when wearing the uniform. The only non-negotiables were: it had to be black or red, you must wear the Grucifix at all times, you had to wear a zucchetto, and you had to adorn the traditional Cardinal make up when in public. The cut of your robes and everything else to do with it was down to your tastes and preferences. You chose something that made you feel like you wielded the power you were given.

Your robes were split into two parts and made of a beautiful, rich, red, satin material combined with accents of white lace in three places: the bottom of the sleeves, the tip of the bodice, and the top of the neck. The dress itself was designed in a fishtail style, with thick straps at the shoulders to keep everything in place - and the bodice being boned and laced like a corset to keep you secured inside. Those straps were hidden underneath a bolero made of matching material, with added drama.

The sleeves were bell-style, with extra material to give a lap-over effect at the elbows. The sleeves’ openings were long enough to reach your knees when you had clasped your hands together at your waist and were pointed at the end. Your forearms, however, were encased in a beautiful white lace that was clasped together with the red satin making it an optional feature. Square shoulders gave you a more formal look, while the bolero’s collar added an extra layer of extravagance. It was in a turtleneck shape with white lace at the top and an ascot-like finish at the bottom, which could be clasped into the bodice of your dress as it reached that far down. When the collar was in its correct place, the red front resembled the Gothic archways of the Ministry’s architecture, while the sharp, pointed features made you look much more intimidating than you anticipated, but very much enjoyed.

The whole ensemble was bookended by a red zuchetto (Copia’s zuchetto which he gifted to you along with the Grucifix you wore upon your ascension) and a pair of Cesare Paciotti dagger heels that you asked a dear Sibling over in the tailoring wing to recreate for you given that you couldn’t afford genuine ones.

As is customary for a Cardinal, you were given two new members of your team - an assistant (a newly ordained Sibling of Sin), and a Ghoul in training. Your Ghoul wouldn’t be a permanent fixture, sadly, given that when Papa needed a new one he would graduate them from their training and take them from a Cardinal now that they were completely experienced. After putting in a special request, you’d asked for your dear friend, Phantom, to work alongside you, knowing that you’d be much happier with him by your side for as long as possible.

When he saw you for the first time, his jaw dropped. His eyes widened beneath his silver metallic, Venetian-inspired trainee mask. Because the trainee mask arched at the base, the tip of his nose and his mouth were completely exposed to you, though painted black, allowing you to see his full reaction. He had arrived at the tailor’s wing to come and escort you to your new office, and was in awe of what he was seeing.

“What do you think?” You asked him pulling at your dress a little like a teenage girl showing her date her prom dress for the first time. Your two-toned lips were curved upwards into a little smile, evidently enthralled at your new uniform and the magic the tailor Sibling had conjured with their own two hands.

“You look incredible, Sister!” Phantom said quickly, a little too loud for even his own liking.

You stood up straight and clasped your hands together at your stomach. You lifted your chin proudly and said, “I’m not sister anymore, Ghoul. I’m Cardinal now, and you shall address me as such.” Your smile was now playful and mischievous, and you were putting on more airs and graces than you usually would just because it was fun. It was fun to remind him of your new title, it was fun to hear people refer to you as Cardinal now.

Phantom gave a nod and a nervous gulp before reciprocating your smile, clearly somewhere deep inside his own head. Once he had grounded himself, he gave you a deep bow, like a commoner would to a princess, playing along with your little game. “My apologies, Cardinal. As your Ghoul, I am to escort you to your new office and chambers.”

You nodded. “Very good, Ghoul. Lead on.”

He stood and opened the door to the tailor’s shop for you to step out and lingered behind you as you walked down the corridors towards the Cardinal’s wing. Usually Phantom would walk beside you, given that you both were friends, but even as Cardinal and Ghoul, he would still be beside you as an equal. Despite the Ministry having a clear heirarchy, none were treated as lesser than. Papa and his Ghouls and assistants walked side-by-side as did everyone else. It was strange walking in silence down a long corridor with your best friend and not have him beside you.

You turned your head to look over your shoulder to see what the matter was. Phantom was, indeed, still behind you. He was now carrying a suitcase full of your extra uniforms, but instead of looking ahead of him, he was looking at you, focussing extra hard on you. You had seen enough men do that to know exactly what it was he was looking at. His eyes were laser focussed on your backside. The cut of the dress meant that all of your lumps, bumps and curves were accentuated flawlessly, certainly giving you a sexier appearance than your old Sibling habit did, and though you felt good and looked good in it, nothing compared to your new Cardinal robes. And apparently, Phantom agreed.

He’d never looked at you before like he was looking at you now. He’d never been in total awe of your overall appearance, or even been speechless in your presence. And he’d certainly never purposefully hung back to walk behind you so he could perv on you. He’d seen your body numerous times before, given that this is the Satanic church that enjoys a good orgy here and there that you both have partaken in. Hell, he’d even been inside you once or twice before. But the way he was looking at you now was different. Like he was seeing you, truly seeing you for the first time.

“How are you supposed to guide me to my new rooms when you’re behind me, Phantom?”

His eyes sharply rose from your backside to your face, and a flicker of shame darted in them. It was barely there, but you caught it. “Right, shit! Sorry!” He ran to catch up with you, and from there on out made sure he was only one step ahead.

The coming weeks were nightmarish for Phantom, truly. You were simply regal in your new uniform, and it had affected your personality too. You were never not confident, but the Cardinal robes had amplified what you already had to now you being damn near untouchable. He noticed that people would move out of the way for you when you walked down the endless Ministry hallways, with him and your Sibling assistant trailing behind you. When you walked into the room, conversations would dwindle and all eyes would be on you. People didn’t fear you quite as much as they were a little intimidated by you, but you were just simply impressive. And the confidence you exuded made you ten times more attractive than you ever had been.

You were also no stranger and no enemy to giving orders and jobs to people when they needed it. Organising events, overseeing renovations, initiating newcomers - whatever your schedule looked like you were on it and had no qualms taking charge, and doing so in your Cardinal robes? Phantom could barely cope. He would set himself on fire if you were cold and he’d thank you for it. He’d worship the ground you walked on like you were Lucifer himself if given half the chance. And the things he thought about when he was alone in his room? When darkness cloaked him and all he could think about was sinning with you, being defiled by you. He would submit to you willingly; do anything you asked him to with a “yes, Cardinal” and “right away, Cardinal”, “anything for you, Cardinal”.

With his hand around his cock, he thought about what it would be like to grip onto your hips with you straddling his lap. He thought about burying his face in your cleavage and kissing at the exposed flesh below the red, Gothic arches you wore. He envisioned you hiking up that dress so you could straddle his face and he could pleasure you, the way his makeup would be stained and smeared all over your thighs and pussy. How your juices would gather in the engravings on his mask while he held you down on his face and worshipped you as you deserved. Or even how your breasts would bounce under the bodice of your dress as he railed you, as he speared you on his cock and fucked into you relentlessly. He remembered how good your cries were the last time he fucked you - and he hated himself for not savouring the feeling of your tight heat wrapped around his aching cock. Every night after work, he would throw himself onto his bed and stroke himself to orgasm. Orgasm after orgasm until it got to the point he was surprised he had anything left to give. He wanted you so fucking badly, but he had no idea if he was even allowed to have you anymore.

Every day you would do something, or act in a certain way that made life a little more difficult for him. And the worst part about all of it was you didn’t even know - because in reality, you weren’t doing anything wrong. He was just becoming so painfully attracted to you that it was hurting him, and he didn’t know what to do.

You started noticing the little slip ups three weeks into your job. The way the small things would always go wrong, the way he’d relay the wrong messages to people, the way he’d do something and not do it correctly. But you realised something needed to be done about it when one of Papa’s Ghouls, Swiss, came to you with a very angry note from Papa letting you know that Phantom had colossally fucked up, and he’d relayed the wrong message and because of that the Ministry’s power was down for an hour while the maintenance guys tried to find the problem that didn’t actually exist. Papa couldn’t rehearse with his Ghouls which meant he was even more stressed about the upcoming tour.

You found Phantom in the kitchens nursing a tub of Häagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream and the rest of the kitchen staff moving around him frustratedly while they were trying to prepare for the dinner rush.

“Good evening, Cardinal ___.”

The rest of the Siblings echoed the greeting and you responded with a polite bow of your head. That was when Phantom looked up at you and sighed. He grabbed the tub and went to stand, making an attempt to run away, but you were too fast and stopped him from disappearing. “Please just let me wallow.” He said, his voice filled with irritation.

“No. We’re going to talk about this and we’re going to figure out a solution.”

“I don’t want to.”

“I don’t care. We have to.”

“Um, Cardinal,” your attention was drawn to a middle-aged Sibling who was looking more and more exasperated by the second, “with all due respect we need this space to be free for the staff.”

“Of course, we’re just leaving. Thank you for being patient.”

The walk back to your office was long and silent; incredibly awkward. Phantom was trudging along behind you, still very clearly troubled and in fact, now he was much more anxious. Reaching your office was no better either, because trying to get the problem out of him was like trying to squeeze blood from a stone. He sat there in silence for a while, as if you were a cop trying to get information out of him. There was a brief moment when you thought he’d ask to call his lawyer.

“Phantom,” you pleaded for what felt like the eighteenth time, “I can’t help you unless you tell me what the problem is.”

“What if I don’t want help?” He said, petulantly.

“That’s tough shit, unfortunately. You caused a big stink today. You’re going to have help whether you like it or not. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“No.”

“Phantom.” Your voice became deep and warning. It made him falter, but he didn’t budge.

“No!”

“Satan’s taint, Phantom! The way you’re acting I have half a mind to take you over my knee and spank you until you behave yourself.” His eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed. That caught your attention. “Unless you want that.”

“Of course I don’t.”

You stood up and walked to the other side of your desk, leaning against it. As Phantom was sat down still, you towered over him. As you walked, your dagger heels clunked on the wooden floor below you. The atmosphere had shifted, and what had become a friend trying to help another had quickly turned into a game of power where your closest friend was on the verge of submitting to you. “I think you do.”

“You’re wrong.” Phantom was always a little shit, that was why you loved having him around. The man was the very definition of cheeky - naughty but was so cute he could get away with it, especially with you. You’d had to reign him in before, but you didn’t realise this would be how you’d have to do it for the foreseeable future.

“You’ve been harbouring some feelings towards someone, haven’t you?” Phantom didn’t want to reply at first, which told you everything you needed to know. He continued looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact, and this just wouldn’t do. You placed your index finger and thumb on his chin and moved his head, forcing him to look at you. “Haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

You hummed. “That someone is me, yes?” He nodded but of course that wasn’t good enough for your ego. “Ah, ah. Use your words.”

“Yes.”

“Good boy.”

Phantom released a sharp breath at the praise, shaky with the nerves he was feeling.

“Tell me about it.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes you can, my little prince. Tell me everything and I’ll give you a reward.”

He began recounting everything to you, the words spilling out of him with no end in sight. He poured his entire brain on the floor for you to rifle through at your leisure, sparing none of the more intricate or delicate parts of his torment. He detailed how he touched himself at the thought of you, how he spilled onto his stomach at the very idea that you would give him a scrap of attention, and how the whole thing had been eating away at him. All the while, you maintained eye contact with him, jerking his head back towards you every time his shame made him look away. When he finished, he breathed a sigh of relief, though he was still just as nervous as he was when he started talking.

“Such a good boy for me. Obedience deserves a reward, doesn’t it. What shall it be?” Your eyes glanced down at his growing bulge. “Do you want me to touch you?”

There was no hesitation. “Yes, Cardinal.”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. Cardinal? Oh. He conveniently left out your promotion in his story. That changed things a bit. Oh yes, this could be very fun. That same hand that was holding his head in place began moving downwards, across the clothed expanse of his chest, down passed his tummy, until eventually your fingers danced over his clothed (now very hard) cock. You didn’t immediately grab him, instead opting to just run light fingers over the material and watch his eyes turn from wanting to pleading.

“Although, you have been holding out on me for weeks. And Papa is very displeased. You’re my responsibility now. You got me into a lot of trouble with Papa.” You groped his whole cock now and released a low chuckle when he gasped.

“I’m s-sorry.”

“You will be.” You cut all physical contact with him and stepped back, leaning up against your desk again. “Kneel on the floor.” You told him.

He obeyed immediately, getting on his knees and looking up at you with wide, expectant eyes. But when you moved, he became distracted by it. You lifted your dress just enough for your heels and ankles to be revealed and raised your dominant foot to rest on his thick thigh. You let the toes of your pumps slide up his jeans towards his crotch, and watched as his breathing became heavier and heavier in anticipation for what was to come. At any point, he could have stopped you. Your previous sexual exploits have already established bedroom rules which allowed you both to just plough ahead and wait for the withdrawal of consent - which never came. What did come, however, was Phantom’s gasp when the red sole of your pump arrived at his cock, and applied just a little pressure. Enough to make his hands rush up to your bare calf and grip hold of the flesh. He let out a groan.

“Papa sent one of his very angry Ghouls earlier today to tell me about your fuck up.” You began. You moved your sole up and down a little, teasing him more as his mind became increasingly more and more blank. “I have to report to him later on this afternoon and tell him what happened and what I plan on doing with you. What do you think I should tell him? Should I tell him that my Ghoul was too horny to function? Should I tell him that my Ghoul is now dry humping my stilettos in desperation like a dog?”

Phantom didn’t even realise his hips were moving until you brought it up. His eyes had been shut tight at the feel of you, and how every so often, your heel would scrape against his clothed testicles.

You continued chastising him. “I should have recorded that for Papa to see. Show him what I’m dealing with.” You started rubbing his length in a rhythmic motion, mostly putting pressure on him and releasing it again.

Phantom let go of his inhibitions for just a second and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling, eyes closed and hips rocking against you, meeting your own movements perfectly. All the while, desperate whimpers were falling from his lips, strained little grunts that filled the room exquisitely. He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stop the noises that stumbled out of him. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be enjoying this; he knew that this was supposed to be his punishment. But it just felt so good. He couldn’t help himself.

“Are you enjoying this, my little prince?” You asked him, a condescending tone decorating your low voice, looking down at him desperately humping your heel. He truly looked pathetic.

“F-feels good.”

“Oh, does it? Is my needy little prince enjoying his punishment a little too much?”

“I’m sorry…” His voice was tight, like he was about to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It feels so good. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m so needy. I’m sorry I’m enjoying this. I’m sorry!” Everything that tumbled from his lips happened in the span of one breath. His hand moved from your calf down to the top of your foot, pushing you down onto him so he could gain more pleasure from your body without permission.

“My once good boy is acting like a bit of a slut, huh?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Let me hear you say it. What are you?”

“A slut! I’m a slut. I’m such a little slut.”

“Whose slut?”

“Your slut! I’m your slut. I’m a slut for my Cardinal. I’m gonna cum.”

“No, you’re not. Not without permission.”

“Can I cum, please?”

“No.”

“Please, please, please, Cardinal, please! I need to cum. I need to cum so badly. Please, Cardinal! I’m begging you, please let me cum, please!”

By the quickness of his hips you could tell that he was close. You hung on a little more before you pulled your foot away from him. His eyes widened in terror as the orgasm he was on the precipice of having began ebbing away from him, and fading back into nothingness being replaced by his painful hardness of his cock. “No!” He screamed. The noise itself was primal and full of devastation, like he’d just watched something he love get destroyed. This wasn’t the cool, calm and collected Phantom you knew. This wasn’t the mischievous little devil you had the pleasure of being friends with for all these years. This was a desperate, wounded animal on the floor begging for mercy.

You dropped your dress back onto the floor and began to walk away from him, your hand on the door handle. “I’ll go and tell Papa you’ve been adequately punished for your actions.” You had no intention of opening the door, but you did jiggle the handle to get his reaction.

He dove forward, landing on his stomach and resting his head on the floor, fully bowing to you like a worshipper would their deity. “Please forgive me! Please don’t leave me like this. Please let me cum! Please, I’m begging you. I’ll do anything, please! I’ll be a good boy, I promise!”

“Yeah? You’ll be a good boy?”

“Yes, Cardinal!”

“You’ll start listening to your Cardinal when she gives instructions?”

“Yes, Cardinal!”

“And you’ll start behaving yourself and you’ll come to your Cardinal when you have a problem?”

“Yes, Cardinal!”

You walked back to your desk and sat on it this time. “On your feet, precious boy.” Phantom stood immediately. You dragged your dress up over your knees, revealing your thighs to him and then eventually your panties. After shuffling around a little, you pulled them off revealing your slick-soaked cunt to his hungry eyes. He wanted to dive straight in, to lap up everything he could see, and he moved forward as if he were going to. But you placed your heel on his stomach and held him at a distance. “No. I have other plans.” You removed your foot again. “Strip. I want no item of clothing left on you… except that mask.”

The mask stripped away his identity. He wasn’t even supposed to have a name, but he’d chose it for the other Ghouls to use. You planned on using him tonight, as he apparently wanted, and the mask would strip him of his humanity. Make him just a toy to play with and nothing more.

He fought with his clothes, his clouded brain struggling to perform the basic task he usually did daily. But eventually he stood there, completely naked, his cock red, swollen and painfully hard, standing fully to attention and waiting for your next touch. You beckoned him closer with your index finger and as soon as he was in reach, you spat on and then wrapped your hand around his cock and began to stroke.

You wanted to torture him a little more, dragging more pained whimpers out of him but there was something so delectable about the whimpers that came out of him when you overstimulated him. How when you stroked him and focussed on his sensitive head, he did everything he could to squirm out of your grasp, but failed every time. “Oh fuck!” He screamed, white knuckling the desk below you as your hand worked him. “Please, please, please. I’m so desperate.”

“You are?”

“Yes!”

“Oh poor baby. Just wants to cum doesn’t he?”

“Please! I’ll be good. I’ll be so good for you. Please.” Your hand tightened around the head of his cock. “Cardinal, it’s too much! It’s too much. Wait. Fuck! It’s way too sensitive. Please, please, please, please.” You watched his chest rise and fall erratically as he struggled to breathe through the stimulation. Drool had begun to form at the corner of his mouth the faster you moved. “N-not on the tip, please! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Your brain decided to do something even crueller. You let go of him one more time but this time you spread your legs wider allowing him to get closer to your core. “Really!?” He asked, his eyes wide and ready to bury himself inside.

“Of course, baby boy.”

He lined himself up and entered you, but he moaned in despair when he felt your hands on his abdomen stopping him from burying himself in further. You only allowed his tip to enter you, and that was as far as he could go. “Cardinal, no! Please! Please don’t do this! Please let me go all the way in, please!”

“It’s this or nothing, my prince. What do you want?”

Weighing up his options he began shallowly thrusting into you, his eyes roaming over your entire body and taking in your collected appearance. He was a sweaty, red mess underneath his mask and paints. But you, not a single hair was out of place. Your robes were still pristine and perfect, no sweat staining the satin. He protested and complained but even if it was just the tip inside you, he still felt incredible. He watched as his movements barely made you blink.

You moved one of your hands up to play with one of his nipples, causing him to cry out and thrust a little further in than he intended. But this one little movement made him - “I’m gonna cum. I’m gonna cum! Can I please cum? Please, please, please, Cardinal, please! Please I’m begging you let me cum please.”

“Pull out.”

“No please! Please don’t make me.”

You reached round to the back of his head and pulled on his hair. “Pull out.”

Reluctantly he did as you asked and took the smallest step back, the head of his cock touching your clit still needing to be touched. You wrapped your hand around him again and began stroking, focussing on the tip again and earning a whine from him. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“I didn’t say you could cum yet.”

“Please can I cum? Please, please, please!” You could see his eyes were welling up with tears threatening to spill out at a moments notice.

“Aw, look at you. Whining and rutting into my hand like a pathetic little slut. Does the little slut need to cum, hm?”

“Yes!”

“Does he wanna cum so hard for his Cardinal?”

“Yes, Cardinal.”

“Cum for me.”

It didn’t take much more than that for him to thrust one more time to near completion. “Thank you! Thank you, Cardinal! This little slut’s cumming! I’m cumming for you. I’m cu- No!” Just as white began to spill out of him, you released him from your grip and held tightly onto both of his wrists, preventing him from stimulating himself as he came. The orgasm that was building to be one of the most powerful he’d had in a while was now nothing more than a tiny tingle while his cum oozed out of him and gathered on your bare cunt. Tears spilled out of his eyes finally after all the time he’d kept them contained for as long as he possibly could. You watched with evil delight as they ran down his filigree embossed mask, dripping down and around the engravings. He whimpered, both from the emotion and from the sensitivity of his dick.

His cum pooled on the desk below you as it oozed off your folds and slopped onto the wood. “You’ve got me all dirty now.” You told him. Your tone was just as condescending as it had been before, but this time exuded a hint of anger. Fake, of course, it was all just for show after all. But even so, you were having too much fun with this. “Be a good boy and clean it up.”

“Yes, Cardinal.”

You looked down your nose at him, observing as he dropped so his knees. His gentle, yet calloused hands gripped onto your knees and spread them apart to give him better access to his filth. His tongue darted out in anticipation of touching your folds and once your hands tangled in his hair and pushed him forward, he got the message, diving in immediately. His tongue gathered as much of himself off the desk as he possibly could, swallowing himself down as if it were some kind of drug before turning his attention to your waiting and dripping cunt. His black lips, though now some pink was peeking through from the amount of lip biting and sweating he’d done during this whole ordeal, suctioned against your clit and sucked, tongue coming to play as he worked to bring you to orgasm as quickly as you could.

Your back arched as he sucked particularly hard, making your hole clench around nothing desperately. His brown hair was becoming messier and messier the harder you tugged, keeping him there to stop him from ruining your own oncoming orgasm - because you knew that was something that had crossed his mind. He was a little shit after all.

“Is this making you feel better, hm?” You asked, head thrown back and voice strangled. “Knowing that you’re being useful today after everything you did?” You gripped hold of one of his hands with your free one and put it on your thigh, extending both of your legs so they rested on his shoulders. You dug your stiletto into his back just a little - enough to cause a pleasurable pain that had him grunting. “Answer me!”

His response was a simple grunt.

You watched his hips move, humping the air and begging to release more of the tension that had built in the time it took him to eat you out. His anguish was palpable enough to drive him to his animalistic preset. Humans don’t hump the air in search of pleasure, humans don’t whimper profusely into their meal, humans don’t allow themselves to be driven mad by arousal. He was still the wounded animal that was begging you earlier to make him cum. “Is the little slut hard again?”

Another grunt in confirmation.

“Well, if you do a good job and make your Cardinal cum, I’ll let you fuck me properly.”

He sucked on your cunt more fervently than before, his neediness for your approval, and by extension, your cunt urging him to work even harder to get you off. He needed your orgasm just as much as you did. The sadistic voice in your head was reeling at this, getting off on his patheticness and the little whimpers and noises he was making below you. The sound of his mouth and saliva working over your insanely wet core, not to mention the tiny moans. His fingers were grabbing onto your thigh tightly as he pressed his face deeper. You were sure he was struggling to breathe but it wouldn’t last long - you were driving head first into an earth-shattering orgasm within moments of announcing your intentions.

You kept him against you, riding his face and bucking your hips, using his tongue to finish. When your breath came back to you, you released him from your grip and sighed. “Come on then, little prince. A promise is a promise.”

He wasted no time, standing immediately and lining himself up but not pushing in. He looked at you, wide, teary eyes begging you silently to grant him permission to enter you again… this time fully. “Take your pleasure, sweetheart.”

He bottomed out right away, the pleasure overwhelming him instantly and manifesting in the sob of a broken man, now burying his face in the crook of your neck. “Th-thank you!” He grunted in between sobs and now needy thrusts as he took what he could from you, as quickly as he could, before you changed your mind and told him to stop. He didn’t know that this was it, that you’d let him cum inside you when he was ready, and this made him savour every feeling of his cock dragging against your salacious walls, every time his tip kissed your cervix roughly. “Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!”

“Does it feel good?”

“It feels so good, Cardinal. Thank you! You’re so tight. I can’t breathe. I - fuck!”

His mouth needed to do something as he let your cunt whip him into a frenzy. His lips began kissing every part of exposed flesh he could touch, the cold metal of his mask biting against your skin and adding a layer of pleasure to your sensitive spots. You felt him hone in one the exposed skin of your chest between the Gothic arches of your uniform, licking and sucking the spot there to help him expel some of that overwhelming emotion he was feeling, tears still falling from his eyes. One of his hands clutched onto your robes, holding you as tightly as he possibly could as if you were going to walk away from him and not let him cum. When he lifted his head to look at you, a string of saliva snapped from between your bodies and you saw the purple bruise he left behind… so very obvious to the rest of the Ministry what your most recent activity had been. You wanted to be mad at him, but the idea that everyone would know what you’d been up to had you tightening around his pistoning cock and pulling another groan from him.

“Cum- cumming! Oh fuck, oh fuck!”

“I got you, baby. Cum inside me. That’s it. That’s a good boy.”

He couldn’t wait for your permission. Both of his hands gripped your hips to desperately prevent you from wriggling away and he buried himself as deep as he could, hitting your cervix and completely emptying his load into you.

You continued your praise all while you hand came back to his hair and stroked him comfortingly. “So fucking good for me. Give me everything you have. There we go. Good job, baby boy.”

His toes curled, his fingers dug into your flesh, and he screamed at the sensation, that once powerful orgasm that was ruined now coming back threefold . His tears stopped for a mere moment while he fought to regain his breath, but once his orgasm subsided, he collapsed onto you, leaning against the desk and burying his head in your neck again. He wept, allowing himself to be vulnerable in this moment of overwhelm, and still clutching onto you. Sub-drop didn’t usually hit immediately, but it did with him, especially given the mood he was in before this all began.

You didn’t urge him to pull out, or move anywhere, instead you wrapped him up in your arms and let him cry as he needed to. “It’s okay, Phantom. I got you. You’re safe. I got you.”

“I’m s-sorry.”

You hushed him. “Listen to me, you have nothing to apologise for, okay? I should be the one saying sorry. I didn’t let you feel like you could come to me. I made you suffer for so long. Today included. I’m so sorry.” You reached up and undid the clasps around his head holding his mask in place, and softly removed it. He kept his face hidden for a while, not for anonymity or because it was expected of a Ghoul to completely hide their identity, but because he couldn’t bear to let you see his red, blotchy, tear-stained face - not right away at least.

When he had calmed down significantly, you felt him stand and let him, though you still kept your arms around him in a hug. You wiped the tears from his eyes, and peppered soft kisses around his face. “I’m sorry I got you in trouble with Papa.”

“You didn’t… well, you did but he’ll get over it. He was just lashing out at Swiss because he’s stressed, who then lashed out at me also because he’s stressed. In reality it had nothing to do with you.” For the first time, perhaps ever, you leaned forward and kissed his lips softly, trying to help him calm down. “Are you okay?”

He nodded.

“Promise me something: promise me you won’t keep anything bottled up anymore. Promise me that no matter how awkward it is, you’ll come and talk to me.”

He nodded again.

“No, baby, I need to hear you say it. Promise me.”

“I p-promise.” He said, tears beginning to fall again.

You held him in your arms for as long as he needed you, and spent the rest of the day comforting and loving him as much as he wanted. You made sure you cancelled any meetings to give him your attention, and kept him as top priority. This sweet, soft and sensitive boy eventually came back to life, turning into his insufferably cheeky self by the end of the day… except this time he was much clingier and hornier than before. Especially for you.

Kinktober: Previous Day ⛧ Next Day

The Cardinal:

Masterlist ⛧ The Cardinal Masterlist

Previous Part ⛧ Next Part

#mel writes #kinktober #kinktober 2023 #ghost kinktober #the band ghost #ghost #ghost bc #ghost band #ghost the band #nameless ghouls #nameless ghoul x reader #nameless ghoul x reader smut #nameless ghoul smut #nameless ghoul #the nameless ghouls #phantom #phantom ghoul #phantom ghost #phantom x reader #phantom x reader smut #phantom smut #smut #ghost fan fiction #ghost fanfic #ghost fandom #ghost fanfiction #the band ghost fanfiction

[sallysavestheday]

Tolkien Family Week #2

For @tolkienfamilyweek's Day 2 prompt (siblings), have 100 words of Aegnor and Angrod.

Middle children squeezed between exceptional siblings, Angrod and Aegnor curl early into each other’s confidences; they braid their more ordinary hearts together as a shield against comparison. Neither as graceful as Finrod nor as proud as Galadriel, both lack the drive of those family bookends to compete and achieve. But they are bright souls, swift to love and fierce in defense of those they care for. And there is no resentment: shining Ingo and brilliant Artanis are their pride. The hilly edges of Beleriand suit them, two strong hearts, on guard. The pines will remember them: Iron-hand and Sharp-flame, burning.  

#tolkienfamilyweek #angrod #aegnor #my fics

[waitmyturtles]

Last Twilight, episode 1: reflections

TW: suicide

ALLLLLLLLRIGHT! Aof Noppharnach began our year with Moonlight Chicken; interjected it with Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars, and bookends it with Last Twilight. I've got my cha yen ready (not too sweet), here we go, Last Twilight, episode 1.

Some quick notes on random stuff first, then themes I'm picking up on:

1) Yes, we had to have Doc Jimmy start a new series with a new fight, huh (and always in these bowling shirt/jackets, too)

2) Ajahn Pichai with the gold chain, sheeeet! (Listen. It's my OGMMTVC Bad Buddy Meta Month. Just about everyone working on this show on the screenwriting and directing team are BBS alums. The comparisons will be unavoidable!)

3) Why do I know Sea Tawinan? It’s not because I watched Vice Versa (I stayed away), but because he was great in a small role in 55:15 Never Too Late, AND, more importantly, homeboy wore an off-shoulder Fendi sweater WITH a blazer (CLAP EMOJIS) to some GMMTV event, which warmed my couture cockles. Much respect for the taste! (Poor @lurkingshan has had to literally hear about my fashion obsession with this get-up MULTIPLE TIMES, sorry Shan, palms together!)

4) Of the few episodes of Midnight Museum and UMG that I watched earlier this year, I was not impressed with Namtan Tipnaree, but I appreciate that she's starting off quite strong and moodily here. (Also, UMG's script did literally no human being any justice.)

@twig-tea has gathered the ragged and burnt out (oh, is that just me, lmao) Ephemerality Squad from the Only Friends meta circle to join them in a Last Twilight Liminality.... what should we call ourselves, the Liminality League? The Liminality Legion? Someone choose! Anyway, I am super down, and ready to start chewing on some themes. Twig captured the big theme of liminality, of time purgatory, and I totally agree with what you've gotten down in your post, Twig.

In the preview episode for this series, Before Last Twilight, we learn that Day has 180 days -- six months -- of vision left. At the same time, Mhok has 180 days -- six months -- to earn enough money to buy back his late sister's car.

In addition to liminality/time purgatory (this is only my coinage, btw, a way in which I can understand the moment in life this show is capturing), we clearly have a theme of cars and movement. Mhok is a mechanic. He wants to keep his late sister's car. The Bimmer that Night is driving is Day's car. Mhok has to get Day home on the back of a motorcycle as Night had to drive away while Day was wandering in the middle of the road. A car can move backwards only very temporarily, and will HAVE to move forwards at any point in time in order to get to another location (..... unless you're a driver from New Jersey, ayooo!). The car belonging to the late Rung is very much in purgatory at the moment.

We have a theme of sibling rivalry between Day and Night. Day was the success of the family, knows it, and hangs it over Night's head. And we have a theme of opposites. Day, Night, blind, seeing. I can play badminton, I cannot play badminton.

(BY THE WAY! We know we'll be reading more into badminton, AND in the rivalry of Day and Night, AND in the rivalry of Sea and Mark in this series, yes? Mark Pakin and Sea Tawinan are both national-level Thai badminton players who chose acting as their careers. They're facing off in some GMMTV BL sports tournament at the end of the year. I hope it's slightly aggressive! In Before Last Twilight, Sea actually made reference to his rivalry with Mark. Ooooh, TESTY!)

While I'm watching closely the tension between Day and Night, I'm also watching for the stress and pressure that caring for Day will put on Mhok, as well as Night and his and Day's mother. As many of us are watching Last Twilight very closely for accuracy and authenticity in reflecting the experience of a disabled person in an unaccommodating environment; I'm also looking to this show to hopefully capture stories of caregiver stress, which is an incredibly real and important phenomenon (relevant articles here and here).

As I always, always harken to in my posts: behavioral change is very real, and very difficult -- especially when behavioral change is forced upon an individual AND/OR a group, all of which contain very different emotional constructions. Day and Night's forced behavioral change, based on Day's vision condition, has very naturally and automatically caused stress in the group dynamic of Day's family system, as we saw in the outburst in Day's car. I wonder how Mhok will deal with that stress, and how he'll manage his own stress vis à vis caring for Day.

Last theme for now, and then some concluding thoughts. Mhok's emotional distance from his sister's suicide. He can't bring himself to connect with it directly.

I'm eating this up. It's certainly Mhok's way of grieving at the moment. He's also talking with his ex-girlfriend in both of these scenes. There's emotional space between him and Rung, between him and Porjai. And certainly there's simmering and unresolved anger as well -- honestly, the whole emotional circle. But Mhok, at this point, is not toeing the line of getting close to those emotions, and is engaging with the memory of his sister with distance, which is bound to be addressed vis à vis his connection with Day.

There's a lot of anger, a lot of regret, a lot of avoidance, a lot of dancing around the honest truth. Mhok and Day are likely conduits of emotional openness and steadiness to each other; we will see how it plays out.

What do I think of JimmySea? I'm not you're average Wai hater -- I really liked Jimmy as Wai in Bad Buddy. Because I didn't watch Vice Versa, I honestly don't know what I think about him in a lead role. So I am going in REAL fresh, knowing nothing about JimmySea's chemistry, and I like what I'm seeing so far, particularly with Jimmy's emotional control. I appreciate having seen a bit of the work they did together in Before Last Twilight to get to this series premiere.

Aof has done this before: he's recognized potential in pairings (specifically in Dark Blue Kiss with TayNew and Still 2gether with BrightWin) to come up with fabulous shows. So I have trust that he knows what he's doing with JimmySea. Let's see. I really like this so far, but Only Friends did indeed burn me out to a crisp, so I'm allowing myself the slightest touch of hesitancy as I get into a new and big GMMTV show.

#last twilight #last twilight the series #backaof noppharnach #last twilight meta #last twilight the series meta #jimmy jitaraphol #sea tawinan #jimmysea #mhok x day #day x mhok #mhokday #namtan tipnaree #film rachanun #good to see film in here #ohm thiphakorn #liminality league #the last twilight liminality league #aof noppharnach

[calyxthenerd]

They love experimenting with makeup on each other, and they become so good with artistic looks that Daring becomes the first Drag Queen outside of Wonderland (I don’t have his drag name, but I might come with something if given more time)

After the revolution manages to make some change and the pressure’s off, Lizzie starts working out really hard because she made it her personal goal to be able to lift her boyfriend in any and all ways possible, all the wonderlandians volunteered to help, but Kitty specially likes being carried around school by her best friend

Despite having been invited dozens of times, Daring is always nervous to join wonderlandian tea parties, not just because he was kinda mean to them for most of high school, but also because Maddie scares him

I feel like always find ways to have picnics in the weirdest places, the roofs of several buildings, including, but not limited to: the school, several businesses and homes in bookend, almost every castle in all the realms, also, Raven and Apple found them in the tree tops of the enchanted forest while they were out riding their dragons somehow? To this day, no one knows how they do it (it’s Kitty)

They bond over having annoying siblings who are obsessed with their swords and vigilante personas (I am pushing my Lizzie and Chase siblings agenda)

He grows out his hair and she just loves to braid it, because it’s so soft and well taken care of

She had to ask Dexter to remove Black Mirror from their Spellflix catalog somehow, because she watched with her mom and Daring, bless his heart, never having quite shaken his vanity, wanted to watch it because it had mirror in the name, and she just knew he’d be traumatized

@athena-xox

#daring charming #lizzie hearts #ever after high #calyx writes

[simons-sweater-town]

“I hate this place.”

[I tried to let you two stay out of it, buuut…]

[but i refused because its your brother and you deserve to know what hes up to. surprisingly, he still wants to stay after all this.]

*simon takes a sharp breath in, pulling himself up to his full height. then he lets it out and slouches back down.*

wow.

*and then he... smiles? proudly? sort of.*

little, defenseless, never-exercised-or-trained-in-his-life, run-from-danger steven, killing someone. i never would have thought.

*then he frowns.*

thats... not good, actually. good that he can fight, not good that he killed someone.

*he pulls katrina into a hug, looking up.*

promise me something?

[...you talkin to me?]

yes.

[...okay, shoot.]

promise that after all this, the three of us can go home safely.

[that was the plan, but okay. i promise. you gotta stick around for the wedding at least.]

...you still havent explained that-

#the bookend siblings #[mod lily] #[this is so fun. i love breaking the fourth wall like this.]

[teriteriteriteriteri]

random thoughts on penacony because it instantaneously became on of my favorite quests in anything ever:

Love that Sunday's character is set up to tackle one of the most central questions in all philosophy: why do people fight for their servitude? His answer? Because they are weak. In act 1 and 2 of his opera video essay to try to convince us of his views, we see people who are liberated physically and materially, but still enslaved mentally. Sunday's ideal paradise then envisions a world where you ARE imprisoned, but you believe wholeheartedly in your freedom. So freedom is good, but those who gain freedom tend to run back to their chains. It is both the weak and the strong that perpetuate the cycle. What's interesting is that Sunday does not believe an all perfect god can solve this issue either. A true benevolent god is concealed, self sacrificing, and is fundamentally human.

Will try to sum up some of his core tenets later, and try to pinpoint where it falls apart.

Lots of parallels with Kevin, of all people. His god complex is nothing like Otto, who is fundamentally selfish.

They really distilled all the interesting things about religion (read: paradise, need for the world to adhere to human logic and whim) and put it inside of an unsettling young priest.

Love Sunday's dramatic acts enacting his philosophy. The reality tv show moral dilemma, the dramatic philosophical reenactment of Penacony's history. The final fight taking place in the grand theater. The fact that for him this is a philosophical war, he wants to win people over by proving he's right, and he has thoroughly broken down and put together his entire thought process in hopes of it being foolproof. EASILY my favorite villain.

I feel like getting at least a CG or something of the siblings' planet getting nuked would have given Sunday's arc the final push it needed to fully shine. You can only get to those levels of deranged only when witnessing insurmountable terrors, and for us to truly understand, I feel like we needed to be shown it, as opposed to merely being told what happened.

The bookend with Acheron's questions is just, absolutely perfect. We begin with questions and by the end of the quest we emerge with resolute answers. I LOVE it.

Acheron serving as a foil for the entirety of Penacony's themes.

I need to replay it so badly, but its way to fucking long. I will reread the whole thing when it gets transcribed in the wiki or something. more thoughts WILL be had.

#ramblings.txt #hsr #honkai star rail #hsr spoilers #penacony spoilers #top 10 rpg quests of all time

[discluded]

o-oh?! 🥹🥹🥹

mile was playing it earlier

this engraved guitar is a sibling couple with white guitar, nong dove...

which mile played at the first kpwt Bangkok shows:

🥹🥹🥹 not these.. bookends... *bursts out crying* 😭

edit: @ohyesididnotjustdothat yeah 🥹🥹

also Mile had used 🕊️💚🕊️ and said it was a couple when he first posted about nong dove... the guitars are a couple

#kpwt #kpwt bangkok #mile phakphum #apo nattawin #kinnporsche #mileapo #musician mile phakphum #Youtube

[greenhousethree]

Bookends

"I used to call her Phlegm," she finds herself admitting toward the stars, lying face-up on the log she's decided is her new bed.

He grunts like he's unamused. "I know."

Two nights at Shell Cottage, summer '98.

For @whinlatter.

Meant to write you a cheery little drabble but this miserable thing popped out instead. Happy (belated) birthday anyway - here's two moments between your two favorite siblings. Glad you kicked the door down all those months ago with a fic that stole our hearts.

#bill weasley #ginny weasley #weasleyweek #summer '98 #fleur delacour #hinny #bleur #coming of age #grief

[theoutcastrogue]

Highlights from EXU: Calamity Wrap-Up

An extreme Oath of Deflection Redemption Paladin

BRENNAN: Luis was like, “Hey man, I am making a man who is strongly convicted. These are his convictions. This is what a paladin is.” One of the smartest things 5e as a system did is when it moved paladins from being wisdom casters to charisma casters. Because it made me realize why you don’t want to base morality in charisma. Because you’re like, “The only thing the world needs is redemption, and I’m going to do it every day! No matter how many people get hurt, or how badly it goes, or how many times the world tries to tell me it’s not working!”

MARISHA: Wouldn’t call that wisdom.

BRENNAN: Everyone is redeemable. You, are you the right guy for the job? Are you this person who can do this thing, in this moment? Zerxus took this universal truth about everyone can be saved, and didn’t see the bridge to, “I can save anybody.” That never occurred to him, like, "Am I the guy for the job?". I thought that was so beautifully done.

LUIS: I don’t think every redemption paladin needs to be played this way, but again, I wanted to play one to the extreme, and that was part of the flaw that I had embedded in it. I was like, “This is an incredibly toxic trait.”

PCs with children (in the Apocalypse!) and other familial relationships

BRENNAN: I love doing any familial relationships, siblings, parents, children. Because people are like gems. They have facets to them, and some of them only get exposed within certain relationships. So you need certain things to see certain sides of people.

What the story has to say

BRENNAN: In the terms of the bookending of it all, it was really significant to me that Laerryn used her Leywright to save Exandria, and that Zerxus used his cleansing redemption power to get Vespin back for a moment. Because I didn’t want the story to say, “Science is bad and innovation is bad and compassion is bad.” I wanted the story to say something more nuanced. It didn’t work in this instance for these reasons. The fact that both of you guys, after blighting the tree, after pulling the Lord of the Hells through, got to say, “Here is a chance to show what I mean by this,” was very cool.

#critical role #exu calamity spoilers #Exandria Unlimited: Calamity #Brennan Lee Mulligan #luis carazo #roleplaying #analysis #heroes and villains #d&d #5e

[kobbers]

Been poking at this list a while, for my favorite Solid Guy. It's a reflection of our time with Varl, largely constructed of Vibes but also laid out chronologically.

Song choice/vibe notes under the cut.

[Here I Am] - Just... baby Varl running around the Embrace. Out in the wilds, learning everything he'll need to grow into the warrior he becomes. I also like it in context of the Nora people in general, coming out into the world for the first time all those years ago.

[Hip to Be Square] - a cheeky nod to the fact that Varl is the exact flavor of dedicated, mostly-serious Good Dude that I'm drawn to in fiction.

[War] - Both in the matter of winning vengeance for his fallen sister and the decimation of Nora lands late in HZD, Varl is deeply grateful for Aloy's spear and bow at his side when things were at their worst.

[Let Me Try] - After Aloy saves the remainder of the Nora and asks for their aid on the Alight, Varl is eager to answer the call.

[Fatalis suite] - The Battle of the Alight, a fight against terrible odds and an enemy almost beyond comprehension.

[Into the Unknown] - Once the battle is won, the rest of the Nora gratefully return to the Sacred Land, but... Varl feels drawn to Aloy's side, to back her up no matter how far off the map she goes.

[I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)] - Seriously. You're not going to be able to shake this golden retriever off your heels.

[Someone to Fall Back On] - Rebuffed, but not willing to give up. He knows he's not up to Aloy's level, but that doesn't mean he's useless as an ally.

[Hey Brother] - the sibling language makes me happy here - I like to think that Varl mentally takes Aloy on as a sister once he gets past the whole Anointed thing.

[Battle Scars] - Especially appropriate for Aloy being injured post-Latopolis. Varl "carries her home," but also reminds her they both carry scars and are going to need each other.

[Count on Me] - Also good for Aloy recovery context.

[Accidentally in Love] - suddenly, T-boned by the most incredible Utaru woman.

[Shivers] - giddy infatuation ✨

[All Love Everything] - Varl as wife guy. I just. it's so cute to me.

[Conquest of Spaces] - Establishing the Base.

[Children of Planet Earth] - Study group begins. I'm devastated that in canon he wouldn't have made it to having access to the Voyager golden record.

[Count on Me] - a softer reaffirmation that Varl's got you - this time for Beta.

[Never Look Away] - Things are getting tougher and more complicated, but he's still dedicated to being the anchor point.

[Saturn Return] - More vibes than a literal match to anything specific, but things continue to get rougher and more dire leading up to the big mission.

[The Final Countdown] - Throwing a bone to myself here with something a bit silly, referencing the big Gemini mission and the fast approaching... end. There's also space imagery, which is a bonus. The aliens are not friends though :(

[Saturn] - Somber mood, reflecting on the beauty of life, a decent bookend to the opening song. Incredibly bittersweet. My boy didn't deserve this, in or out of fiction.

#varl #playlist #beyond the horizon #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #hfw spoilers #yeah the cover art is stupid what about it :]