#(general screaming about this is still buffering)

[sugoi-writes]

Scream Machine - Part 2 - An Alastor x Reader Fanfic

A/N: Soooo, here's part 2! Horny brain went into overdrive and cranked this bad boy out. I do apologize if there are mistakes. I hope you enjoy!

Keep in mind I'm still keeping the reader/their parts/and such all neutral: the only thing is you are in a dress. But otherwise, that's it!

Mentions of grinding, light choking, some manhandling, biting, making out, tidbits of French, and generally... lots of clothed smut.

Catch yall in horny jail tonight 👈😎👈 Bring a sweater

❤️🎙❤️

The weather, despite the hellscape, was... perfect? Your stroll was casual, slow... and you felt like you were either being paraded around, or made claim on. It make your throat tighten as you continued walking with the radio demon.

You glanced upward, instantly regretting your decision. You caught the glint in his eye as your face heated.

"So, have you always been a musician, dear? In your time alive, I mean." You blinked at the question, nodding.

"On and off while alive. Music class here, trying new instruments there... but when I came to hell, something just... called to me. And I've been doing jazz band since I've gotten the hang of trumpet." You were surprised by the pleasant conversation, the ulterior motive becoming harder to crack.

"Do you play? With your broadcast and all, I'd assume you play too..." Alastor hums, positively delighted by your questioning.

"Indeedy! My Mother taught me everything I know. I'm a piano man, myself... never took up an interested in brass or percussion." Your eyes widened a little bit. How odd for an overlord to comment on... his mortal mother.

"I assume she was a good player..." The smile on Alastor's face faltered for a beat, before it quickly bounced back," Oh yes... she saved as much money as she could for lessons, as well. Whatever she couldn't do, she made sure I learned it elsewhere. You'd be hard-fetched to find a tune I can't play." You found yourself returning his smile as he looked down to you. Most of what you hear about Alastor is how terrifying he is... how dangerous he was... What a rare treat it was to hear about how he was just a child once, like you.

"And... I would assume you could keep up with demand, yourself," Alastor quipped," You must have a pretty good ear and lots of darling little fans.

You were going to confirm that yes, you made a name for yourself... but you remembered why you got here. Be humble.

You were shrugging shortly after," Y-You could say that, I guess. I wouldn't say I'm perfect by a long shot, but--"

You nearly fell on your face as Alastor rounded the corner suddenly. You grip at his arm tightly as your train of thought buffered. You didnt see the look on Alastor's... the look of satisfaction. He has you right where he wants you... Before you could continue walking, you felt your body become incoporal again, before materializing in the alleyway. Your breath hitches, Alastor now standing before you.

"Tell me... is music your only source of income?" Alastor asks, his voice taking on a nearly creamy quality. A shiver hits you again. That damned voice...

You scoff, laughing bitterly," Of course not... you should know that, with your hotel side project..." You seethe, immediately catching yourself. Don't lose your cool...not with this guy. His voice is already dangerous, a voice you typically fell asleep to... don't let him crawl further into your head.

Alastor's grin seemed to double, as he lowered himself to your level. A dangerous glint glided across his eyes," ...what if I told you it could be?"

You take a step back, your hand brushing against the wall of the alleyway. You were nearly pushed all the way to your back as Alastor loomed over you," I dont... quite follow I'm afraid, Alastor, sir..."

Sir. Ohh, he did like the sound of that. Your pulse picking up was music to Alastor's ears... His hand slammed into the wall next to your head, making you gasp and jolt. You looked to your right for your escape, but your head was tilted back and up towards the Radio Demon, his damned microphone forcing you to look his way.

"Well, with being the hotelier, and having my own... passion projects... I have been looking for people to delegate to. 'Many hands make the work lighter', and the like...," Alastor cooed, his voice sickeningly sweet as opposed to his demented face.

"And with this hotel... there is not shortage of entertainment, nor opportunities for employment..."

You swallowed hard, having heard of the hotel. You've seen the standoff that was brought about the most recent extermination. The things you saw made your skin crawl, as if infested with maggots. The princess of hell, Charlie, and her insane powers... the King of Hell himself, who was short a spouse, but not a punch... and the Great Alastor, who many had thought was gone; perished. But alas, how wrong you all were....

"Look, I-- I appreciate the offer. But redemption isn't what I need. I earned my ticket here, and I'd like to earn my keep to stay. This life-- this style--... I don't imagine heaven is very keen on wild jazz musicians up there." You grinned up at the Radio Demon, some of your fire bubbling back up from below," You have a lot of gals and boys just itching to get in... why me?"

Alastor's eyebrows raised, impressed," My friend, if there is anything that hotel and its residents lack, it's class... and what better way to fake it than with quality entertainment? Additionally, the more they partake... the more they adapt; and the more that YOU--"

A large pile of money vaporized out of thin air, it's bills fanning your face," ...stand to earn~"

You swallowed hard. The amount of money that was in his hand was... transformative. It was regal amounts of money. You could do so much with it. Pay debts, secure land... You'd be able to get out of the barrel of shit you'd been trapped in.

You glanced between the money and Alastor, your eyebrows knitting," ... well, what do you want out of all of this? Surely you're expecting something on your end, Mr. Overlord..."

Alastor sighs, tsking as his cane drops your chin, allowing you to relax," If you're worried for your soul, I'm afraid I have no interest in it." Alastor waves off your worry dismissively, still grinning maniacally," No, no... all I want is to become your patron. You supply entertainment for the hotel and its guests, and I supply you with cash... in the meantime, I can make any alterations and requests to your 'sets' at will." You blink, surprised as you process the words spoken to you. This man ALWAYS dealt with souls... and he had no use for yours? You huffed, almost offended. Of course... why would he have a use for a useless sinner like you?

You crossed your arms across your chest, your golden dress ridding up your thighs," So... let's say I were to agree to your little arrangement. Would I still be able to do my other music gigs? I'm still making a name for myself..."

"That would be quite alright, dear."

"And if I have a conflicting event...?" Alastor's silent smile sends the message. No calling out sick... got it. You nodded to the cash in Alastor's hand, eyes narrowed. You needed to play this up, see how much you could squeeze out of this...

"And that? Is that my weekly pay?" Alastor shakes his head, the money still gripped in hand like a bear trap. One that you were about to fall for...

"My my, you must take me as a sham... this is just the sign on bonus! I can assure you, you'll be making SO much more, once you start..." You gulped down the air around you like a fish out of water, gapping. Yep. That's all that you needed to hear.

"I... I dont..." Your mind was racing. Would you really be able to live with yourself by taking this? Would you really be able to accept a bribery like this from one of the most sadistic fucks in hell? ...of course you would.

You hold your hand our to Alastor, hellbent on making it official," Alright, Radiostar... let's make that deal." Alastor is quick to chuckle, his tone dark and rich as he closes the gap. The firm, resolute shake that was shared between you lit a spark in him, literally and physically, with an ominous green light. He had to keep getting more... MORE of you. More of your time.

Alastor backs you into the wall once more, your eyes doubling from panic. And there was your pulse, aching to be bit into... Alastor stoops down to your height, hands slowly raking down the walls of the alley. It their wake, he was leaving deep, wide rivets.

"Dear, I have to ask...," Alastor rasps out, his eyes threatening to flicker to dials. His voice drops an octave, making your legs squeeze together. Alastor's eyes move to them, taking note. So you were his little fan...

"...how is your stamina?" You didn't have time to ask, before Alastor crashes into your lips, tilting your chin up. You were breathless, hands instantly coming up and beating on Alastor's chest. This was so sudden! This was in public!!! This... this was pretty hot, honestly.

You weren't sure if it was the lack of oxygen, or how good his kiss had become... but Alastor was making you question your resolve. You felt Alastor's tongue, thin and keen on entering your mouth. You hesitated, before you felt two large hands grip you under your thighs. As you were hoisted up, you groaned, giving Alastor easy entry. The moment his tongue met yours, you were practically melting. Alastor was famous for his silver tongue, but you had no idea he could do this with it.

Your head was reeling from the quick, heated emotions you felt. Once or twice, you had pondered what it would be like to be endeared to the Radio Demon... but only that: pondered.

And yet today, you seemed to be having your lucky day. A fast paced, VERY lucky day.

When Alastor finally pulled away, you were panting, much harder than you did inside of the speakeasy. A strap to your golden dress had fallen down shoulder, only for Alastor's hands to move it back into place. A gentleman, despite everything.... and despite the mouthwatering sight of your dress riding further up your thighs. Alastor had to admit the display made him feel... carnal desires that he hadnt felt in such a long time.

"It's a shame... I figured the taste of metal would still be on your lips... but no matter. You taste just as sweet..." Alastor nearly purred, making you sigh shakily in his grasp. You fisted his blazer, eyes hazy as Alastor began to kiss your cheeks, then down your neck. You could punch, kick, scream... but this was playing out in sucj a delicious way... would a part of you really want to see this go any other way? You moaned into the crisp, hellish air.

You thought not.

You let your head fall back against the wall, eyes fluttering as you felt his hot tongue in all of his open-mouthed kisses. His breath set you on fire, and you were kicking yourself mentally, realizing this demon was getting you much too heated.

"S-Slow down! I-- ahh-- W-We're in public! Nnngh--" Your pitiful words were useless as Alastor suckled on the junction between your neck and shoulder, making your head feel even lighter. Your legs strained and buckled, and you could just tell that if Alastor touched you between your legs, you would be drenched with your own arousal.

"Aren't most performances live, mon cher~?" Alastor chuckled darkly, his nonchalant attitude making your breath hitch again. A broken, disjointed moan was the only thing you allowed to come out. With your head still thrown back, you couldn't see the way he drinked in your appearance. Alastor relished and memorized how your throat tightened and bobbled with each noise you made... Arguably, this was much better to watch than your strife at the speakeasy.

Alastor lapped at your shoulder lecherously, before sinking his teeth in. You nearly screamed, the pain soon replaced by pleasure as Alastor suckled at the wound. You let out a pleased hiss when Alastor's hands moved higher, gripping you by your hips. Then, you felt his knee come between your legs, anchoring you in place. To your horror, Alastor could indeed feel JUST how excited you've gotten.

Due to you dangling in the air, gravity was already threatening to pull you down. And with his knee the only obstacle, you felt the friction at your core... Worriedly: a place where you weren't sure if you wanted stimulated in an alleyway. But, the deeper parts of your psyche ached for the display to contiue... to see how much the Radio Demon would do.

Your toes curled as you let out a high pitched yelp, your hips involuntarily grinding into Alastor's knee. The deer Demon's ears perked up. Not only had your heart fluttered, but your voice had changed... so scandalous! He wasn't one to engage in this behavior before Hell... but with how far your dress had ridden up, clothed privates gyrating against his knee... he felt the need to indulge.

Experimentally, he pressed his knee further into you, forcing a whine as you ground down again. It looks as though you bit off more than you could chew... but you couldn't help but revel in the feeling. Alastor smiled mischievously, practically groaning himself.

"Oh darling, you taste absolutely Heavenly...," Alastor exaggerated," And your little cries... THIS is a performance I'd like to see~" Alastor nipped at your skin again, making you quake and grind. Your mouth hung open as Alastor hungrily licked a stripe from your collarbone to your ear. He shifted his tone to a gravelly, baritone inflection that made you clench around nothing. With the confidence of a succubus, he whispered in your ear.

"Should we see it to its conclusion?"

Your head rolled to the side, allowing Alastor more access as you panted below him. The fire in your belly beckoned your answer.

"Pl-Please... I-- I can't-- I cant...! n-not without...," you bite your lip," I-Internal stimulation." Alastor chuckled, sultry eyes gazing back to you through half lids. How quick you are to switch sides... how quick you were to be putty in his hands. Perhaps you would be willing to engage in other deals...

"You doubt my abilities? You wound me~" He ground his leg into your heat again, sending sparks up your spine," Then you'll have to work for it..."

You whined as Alastor leaned in to kiss you again, his hands holding your waist firmly," You may use me to meet your peak, love...," Alastor huffed, bringing you higher with just his knee. You found yourself unable to think, your body moving on its own to situate yourself.

"And when you climax, I want to look at me. And only me."

You panted like a dog in heat as your hips moved on their own, Alastor's grip rather unnecessary. Though, if he let go, he would be scared of losing this moment.

Your hair clung to your forehead as your voice hit a crescendo, eyes threatening to roll back. He wasn't kidding. With all of this wording, foreplay, and tension... you may just come from grinding on his leg afterall.

You felt a hot, girthy tendril come up to your lips, swiping your drool across your bottom lip. Alastor was lowering himself,  kissing the hem of your top. You shuddered as you felt the heat of his face ghosting your skin.

"Thats it... keep going. I promise I will give you something much more fulfilling soon~"

You whined as your mouth fell open, Alastor's tentacle pushing past your lips. The promise had to demanding more. On command, you sucked on his tentacle, hollowing your cheeks as you felt it wiggle and explore your mouth. He had also managed to quiet you down... effectively: he killed two birds with one stone.

In his case... something had been hardening in his trousers, straining against its confines. Damn it all, he was losing his restraint.

Alastor's hands guided your hips, rocking you quicker against his leg. He would ensure that you met your high before he pushed you too far. Your hands flew up to steady yourself, grasping his lapels tightly. Alastor chuckled in amusement as he watched you bounce against him, eyes rolled fully back into your skull as you took his tentacle and his teasing. Alastor rewarded you with a well placed kiss, landing on top of your clothed nipple. You nearly shrieked as Alastor suckled there, a new tentacle coming up to tweak and fondle the other. What a perfectly flushed and scandalous display!

You were putty in his hands, about to come completely undone. You looked towards Alastor, signaling to him that you were getting close. The Radio Demon grinned, removing his tentacle almost immediately. It instead looped around your neck, pulling you close to his face.

Your head spun as what little oxygen you had was knocked from your windpipe, it's grip around you loose. And yet, it was sensual enough to spike the feeling in your gut twofold. You let out a garbled whine, your lips forming the words "Close! Cl-Close!!!"

Alastor brusher your nose with his own, his voice low and demanding," You can cum now, dear... let me see your grand finale."

Your entire body convulsed, the suddeness of your orgasm shocking you. Your hands shook as your nearly screamed, Alastor's lips silencing your pleas. He helped your ride out your pleasure, magma coursing through you as you started to return to your senses. You panted, breath ragged as Alastor returned your gaze, catching his breath at the same time. You looked down between the two of you, eyes widening when you realized what had happened.

Alastor's pants now had a very evident wet spot... but not just from you.

You looked to meet Alastor's gaze, eyes wide in awe as he gave you a toothy, blissful grin.

"You'll have to excuse me, dearest. I am not used to this form of... entanglement. Though I can assure you that we can work on that stamina... together."

Alastor lowered you to your feet, before catching you hastily. Your legs wobbled and gave out, too unstable to keep you upright. You smiled back, eyes still glossy with lust.

"I-- I have to hand it to you, Alastor... that... that was a show alright."

Alastor laughs breathlessly, snapping his fingers. With a quick flourish, the both of you were wearing new outfits. You were now dressed in a deep red gown, while Alastor was fitted in a black and red pinstriped suit. Evidence of your mingling was gone, his sweaty, slick hair had now back to its voluminous, pristine look. You questioned if you looked just as fair...

"As I said! It was a performance I was most invested in... and one of many, I would hope." Alastor pats your cheek, stepping back once he knew you could stand.

"Unfortunately, my dear, I am out of time. Business to attend to. But... whenever you are free... you may come straight to the hotel for check in."

"Ch-Check in...?," you reply," But... I wasn't so keen on redemption, remember?"

Alastor laughs, a familiar laughing track echoing through his vocal frequency," You jest! Surely you know all staff are to stay within the hotel, dont you? Free room and board! What could be a better perk?" You smile sheepishly, wiping your hands down your sides, as if they were dirty from your exploits.

"Well... I guess after a freebie and getting my hair blown back, it'd be rude to refuse... I assume I'll have my own room?" Alastor nods, taking your hand.

"I'll ensure that it's taken care of. Of course... if you'd like, I could give you priority on where you'd like to be placed...?" You swallowed the lump forming in your throat, suddenly nervous after having been given the ride of your life by a near stranger.

"Well... if I could be next to your room... it may make... 'practice'... a little easier?" Alastor smiled wickedly, pulling your hand to his lips. You held back a mewl as he kisses your delicate knuckles.

"Consider it done... I'll send some help to collect your things." Alastor backs up a few more paces, and double taps the ground with his staff," Check in is before 8PM... don't be late~"

And with that, the Radio Demon disappears, leaving your head reeling and face flushed. You sighed, placing a hand over your still racing heart. You had a lot of work ahead of you...

You begin your awkward, wobbly way towards you apartment. The possibilities and the future were looking all too promising...

Indeed, you were about to be a much richer, much more satisfied sinner. And you were a-okay with that.

#alastor x y/n #alastor x reader #alastor hazbin hotel #radio demon x reader #radio demon x y/n

[rubin-therubix-loverofblorbos]

TF2 INCORRECT QUOTES: ULTIMATE EDITION

Medic: I hate taking off my glasses, because without them, my vision goes from Full HD all the way down to buffering at 240p and I just can't handle that.

Sniper: Are you good? Spy: In what sense? Sniper: Generally. Spy: Oh, definitely not.

Scout: You think that’s cringe? Moms around the world wait 9 months just to end up naming their kid Dell. Engineer: Hey, fuck you.

Soldier: The waiter at Olive Garden has been grating my cheese for 6 hours now, waiting for me to say when. Customers are screaming. Three people have died. Soldier: I will not yield.

Engineer: Still not over how yesterday when my flight landed, our pilot said we arrived 50 minutes early because they took some "shortcuts". Engineer: Excuse me, we were in the sky, what do you mean???

Spy: Okay, who's turn is it to give the pep talk? Medic: It's Soldier's turn. Soldier: Don't die. Medic, wiping a tear away: Truly inspirational.

Scout: We need more help. Maybe I should call my friends. Pyro, Muffled: … Your what? Scout: My friends. Engineer: Are they saying “friends”? Heavy: I think they're being sarcastic. Soldier: No, no, no, this is delirium, they've cracked from being awake all night. Hey, Scout! All of your friends are in this room.

Heavy: If I say I love you, will you say it back? Medic: Yes. Heavy: I love you. Medic: It back. Later Scout: Why is Heavy crying face-down on the floor?

Demoman: What happened to Soldier? Engineer: They died. Demoman: They what? Engineer: They died, but they’re okay. Demoman: …Can you please clarify? Soldier: Clarification is for the weak.

Engineer: Medic, Heavy, I love y’all and all, but can I ask what in the hell are you doing? Medic, trying to stabilize a tower of folding chairs that Heavy is sitting atop: Oh nothing much. Heavy: I love you too :)

Engineer: Caffeine no longer keeps me awake while I work, so instead I have Medic periodically send me texts saying ‘we need to talk.’ Engineer: It gives me the right amount of adrenaline and fear I need to keep going.

Medic: tapping fingers on table Soldier: taps fingers back furiously Sniper: …What’s going on? Scout: Morse code. They’re talking. Medic: -.-- ..- .-. / - …. . / -.-. ..- - . … - Soldier: slams hands on table YOU TAKE THAT BACK!

Soldier, to Demoman: Why is Scout not talking? Demoman: I'm playing the silent game with them. Soldier: Well, then you just lost. Demoman: I lost two hours ago. I gave them ear plugs and told them to close their eyes. It was the only way I could think of to get them to shut up.

Spy: casually taking four stairs at a time Sniper, falling behind, taking two stairs at a time: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fu-

Engineer: Here are two pictures. One of them is your bedroom, and the other is a garbage dumpster. Can you tell which is which? Scout: Scout: This one is the dumpster. Engineer: They’re both your bedroom.

Engineer: Stop setting things on fire because you're curious about what will happen. What will happen is fire. Medic: But what if something else happens just this one time. -Pyro giggling in the background-

Demoman: I’m having salad for dinner! Engineer: Demoman: Well, fruit salad. Demoman: Actually, it’s mostly grapes. Engineer: Demoman: Okay, it’s all grapes. Demoman: Fermented grapes. Engineer: Demoman: Engineer: Demoman: It’s wine. Demoman: I’m having wine for dinner.

Medic: Truth or dare? Soldier: Truth! Medic: Do you- Engineer: I dare you to kiss me. Soldier: kisses Engineer Medic, to Heavy: They said “truth”, right?

Scout: When I get murdered, can you make sure I become an unsolved case? Sniper: wHat? Scout: I want to be on Buzzfeed Unsolved. Sniper: Can we go back to the part when you said "when I get murdered"?

Heavy: Where’s Soldier? Spy: Around. Heavy: Around? Heavy: You don’t have any idea, do you? Soldier, dropping down from above: Did you know there’s a space above the ceiling?

Soldier: Do you think I’m ugly? Engineer: It’s not about looks, Soldier. What’s valuable is on the inside… Soldier: Engineer… Engineer: For example, someone's heart. Soldier: Aw… Stop it- Engineer: It could be purchased for more than a million dollars, you know. Soldier: Seriously, stop.

Demoman: In alcohol’s defense, I’ve done some pretty dumb shit while completely sober too.

Sniper: How many children do you have? Spy: Biologically, legally, or emotionally? Because there is a difference.

Demoman: What are your adjectives? Spy: …You mean my pronouns? Demoman: No, I know what your pronouns are! What are your adjectives? Spy: …I dunno. What are yours? Demoman: Noisy and chaotic! Spy: I’ve never had something go from making no sense to making complete sense so quickly.

Heavy: Unpopular opinion, not all dogs are good boys. Soldier: Blocked. Heavy: Sometimes, they’re good girls! Soldier: UNBLOCKED!

Soldier: I’ve been here in jail so long I think I’ve lost my mind. Soldier: The days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months. Soldier: How long have I been in here now? Almost a year? Medic: This is Monopoly.

Spy: Goddamn it, the printer broke while printing out Sniper's birthday invitations. Soldier: Well, what are they supposed to say? Spy: "Sniper's birthday". Soldier: So, what do they say instead? Spy: "Sniper’s bi". Soldier: Soldier: Works out either way.

Demoman, clearly drunk: Spy, hit me another drink… wooOO HOOoo… Spy: I think you need a therapist and not a bottle. Demoman: I think yooOOoou need to shuUT YOUR MOUTH! Medic: Spy isn’t answering my messages. Sniper: Allow me. Medic: I tried 6 times, what makes you thi- Spy: replying to message Hello.

Soldier: I think it’s time I get my life in order. Engineer, narrating: But they did not get their life in order. In fact, they got drunk last night and befriended a raccoon. Scout: Sniper! This soup is flaccid! Sniper: LITERALLY WHAT THE FUCK DOES THIS MEAN?! Medic, on a random band name generator: Oooo! They Might Be Depressed Horses! That about sums up my friend group. Scout: Helpful grammar tip: “farther” is for physical distance, “further” is for metaphorical distance, and “father” is for emotional distance! Demoman: My favorite part about Megamind is that he literally grew up on Earth around humans but is still confused about human culture and etiquette. Zhanna: So did I. He's not special. Engineer: Guys where did Scout go? Medic: They got arrested. Engineer: How the hell- Scout: *bursts in through the window* The cops are after me, I thought it would be fun to steal crackers and throw them at people. Miss Pauling: Soldier, we tried things your way. Soldier: No, we didn't. Miss Pauling: I did it in my head and it didn't work.

Demoman: I like your top, Sniper! Spy: I have a name, you know. Sniper: Sighs Why. Why are you like this? Demoman: How do you tell someone that you wanna have sex with them in a polite way? Sniper: Excuse me Lovely. Would you give me the honor of indulging in sexual activities with you? Miss Pauling: What the fuck is wrong with you two? Heavy: Is the Grinch his name, ethnicity, or job? Scout: It's a slur. Scout: *in a jail cell* What about my Miranda rights!? You’re supposed to say I have ‘the right to remain silent’”! NOBODY SAID I HAD THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT! Engineer: *in the cell next to them* You have the right to remain silent, what you lack is the capacity. Pyro, Muffled: Do you know the ABCs of first aid? Sniper: A. Bone. Coming out of the skin is very bad. Engineer: Engineer? Yeah, I'm enginEERING MY FUCKIN' LIMIT! Soldier: Heavy has no idea I’m high. Heavy: You’re high? Soldier: Oh, I’m sorry. Soldier, leaning over to Medic: Heavy has no idea I’m high.

Zhanna: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming? Spy: Can everyone in this godforsaken group please learn the skill called "Think Before You Speak"? Heavy: Ya know... it might be. Engineer: The smell of Home Depot is cathartic... Fairies live in the lights and chandeliers section, gnomes live in the outdoor gardening department... Spy: Stop romanticizing Home Depot. Engineer: Pixies live in the paint aisle. Fuck you. Engineer: Oh, fiddlesticks. Sniper: Look, I understand this is a tense situation, but let's watch the fucking language. Engineer: Why is it that I always lose things as soon as I need them? Sniper: Actually, it's not that you lose things when you need them. You lose them a while before. It's just that you LOOK for things when you need them. Engineer: Okay yeah thanks Sniper, that's great but WHERE'S THE FUCKING FIRST AID KIT? Applebee's Waiter: What would you like to order? Pyro: I'll take the apple. Applebee's Waiter: We don't actually sell apples. Pyro, visibly frightened: Okay then... I'll have the bees... Medic: Make her pussy wet, not her eyes. Spy: Make his dick hard, not his life. Scout: Break her bed, not her heart. Pyro, Muffled: Play with her boobs, not her feelings. Sniper: Get on his dick, not his nerves. Soldier: Always salt your pasta while boiling it.

Scout: Which country has the most birds? Scout: Portu-geese! Engineer: That's a language. Scout: Portu-gull? Engineer: Good recovery. Medic: I think you mean good re-dovery. Spy: TURKEY. HOW DID WE MISS TURKEY? Zhanna: Okay, if we can't do it by sheer force, we'll do it my way. Spy: But your way is sheer force! Scout: Pokemon is trying to slowly convince us Pikachu was always fluffy and I for one accept this future. Heavy: Did you think the mouse was just smooth and had yellow skin like a little simpsons demon?? Scout: Scout: Maybe. Demoman: What are you drinking? Engineer: Vodka. Demoman: Straight? Engineer: No, gay. Why? Soldier: *Kicks the door open, looking panicked* Engineer: What did you do?! Soldier: NOBODY DIED! UNFORTUNATELY! Engineer: WHAT KIND OF ANSWER IS THAT?!

Pyro, trying to comfort Sniper: What's the problem? Anxiety? Low self-esteem? Obsessive thoughts of random arson? I've been there. Sniper: But MuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuum... Medic: Can someone translate this? I don't know Australian. Scout: I'll do my best. Ahem. AY YO MA. Scout: Yum, thanks! Kidnapper: *puts more tape over their mouth* I said stop eating it. Medic, barging in: Syphilis! Engineer: Medic: Engineer: Pardon? Zhanna: I have no respect for this Santa character. Don’t sneak in through the chimney and undermine my authority by bringing my family presents. Walk in through the front door and fight me like a man. Engineer: You can't wake up if you never got to sleep. Sniper: Scout, remember when you said you weren’t going to interfere with my love life? Scout: No, that doesn’t sound like me at all. Engineer: I have a problem. Soldier: Kill it. Engineer: Can you chill for like, two seconds?

Zhanna: Are you okay? Heavy, crying: Yeah, it was just the onions. Zhanna: Picks up an onion What the fuck did you say to my brother? Sniper: Our relationship is strictly professional. Spy, sitting on Sniper’s lap: Absolutely. Only on business. Pyro: Do you ever think? Because I do not. Soldier: Screw lactose intolerance! I will consume as much dairy as I want! Soldier 2 hours later, crying on the floor: WHY DOES IT HURT SO MUCH?! Heavy, to Engineer: If Scout doesn't say "I'm King of the world" within an hour on that boat, I will give you my next pay check. Scout, within 5 minutes of getting on the boat: I'M KING OF THE WORLD!!! Zhanna: You know, I used to play back in my gory days. Demoman: You mean glory days? Zhanna: Ah, that too. Medic: Heavy, do you love me? Heavy: Of course I do! Medic: Would you still love me if I did something bad? Heavy: Well, of course I… would… Medic: I mean something really, really— Heavy: Medic, what did you do?

Engineer: Come on, Spy. Nobody actually believes that Soldier is in love with me. Spy, to The Squad: Raise your hand if you think that Soldier is helplessly in love with Engineer. Everyone raises their hand Engineer: Soldier, put your hand down. Pyro, Muffled: Dude, we can get mythical animals! Maybe I’ll get a penguin! Medic: Penguins are real. Pyro, Muffled: That’s the spirit, Medic! They’re real to me too! Miss Pauling: double checking supplies in the boat Compass. CB radio. Sunscreen. Pyro, Muffled: Hot dog costumes! Miss Pauling: I’m sorry, what? Pyro, Muffled: You know, in case we get lost at sea, and one of us, probably Soldier, goes mad with hunger, we’ll put these on. Soldier hates hot dogs, so they probably won’t eat us. Miss Pauling: Are you saying that Soldier would rather eat us than hot dogs? Soldier: I do hate hot dogs. Demoman: So, how long have you and Engineer been together? Soldier: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Engineer and I are not together. No. No. Demoman: Really? Sixteen ‘nos’? Really? Scout: I bet you can’t make a sentence without the letter “A”! Engineer: You thought you just did something there, didn’t you? Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but numerous sentences could be constructed without employing the first letter of the English lexicon. Demoman: Fuck you. Heavy: Uh, Engineer? Demoman is in the pool and I don't think they're waterproof. Engineer: What? Zhanna: I think they meant, Demoman is drowning. Engineer: WHAT?! Meanwhile Demoman: is drowning Miss Pauling: OH MY GOD, DEMOMAN! KEEP SWIMMING! Demoman: I can't swim, dumbass— sinks Miss Pauling: DEMOMAN!

Sniper: is hugging Engineer Zhanna: Hey! It's my turn to hug Engineer! Zhanna: grabs Engineer Demoman: kicking down the door What do you mean, "yOuR tUrN"? We agreed now is my time slot! Sniper: No, It's still my turn! Engineer: suffocating Guys, I love you, but just because I'm the smallest doesn't mean you can be huggin' me constantly! Zhanna: But we need the moral support! Sniper: And you're small! Which is cute! Demoman: If I don't hug you right now I think the depression will kick in and my body will stop functioning. Engineer: close to tears Well- I, I guess. Miss Pauling: Well, you know what they say: Can’t bake a pie without losing a dozen men! Pyro: No problemo! Pyro, internally: But it was all problemo. Miss Pauling: Are you sure this is safe? Soldier: Safer than Flintstone vitamin gummies in a bottle. Soldier: Keep twisting, junior! All you’re gonna get is clicks. Scout: I'd roast you, but my mom says I can't burn trash. Scout: slow-mo walks out of the room

AND ON THAT NOTE, YOU'VE {somehow} REACHED THE END OF THIS ATROCITY!

#AUHGGG #tf2 #tf2 sniper #tf2 scout #tf2 soldier #tf2 zhanna #tf2 medic #tf2 pyro #tf2 spy #tf2 engineer #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 miss pauling #IT #IT'S OVER #rubin report

[stories-and-chaos]

Tarnished pt 12

[Helluva Boss AU where Blitzø’s childhood theft from Stolas’ palace is discovered and major consequences ensue for everyone involved.]

[Part 12/?? Word count 2746 Cw: burns, torture]

—————

15 years ago, while Octavia was still in the egg.

Stolas had been suffering through tea with his wife and brother-in-law when King Paimon ordered his son’s presence. Details of the owl prince’s formal investiture ceremony needed confirmation from both men and the use of Stolas’ grimoire.

While all options for this afternoon’s activities were distasteful, Paimon’s demands trumped Andrealphus’ social call. Blitzø helped him into more formal attire to meet with Paimon. The imp was staying back though. Stolas tried to keep the interactions between Blitzø and his father to a minimum.

Fortunately at this point the imp’s leash extended to all of the Pride Ring and some of Wrath. He didn’t have to accompany Stolas when the prince took the book from the estate. There had been plenty of times when Blitzø had been forced into Paimon’s (or other Goetia’s) presence because of that stupid binding. Being able to stay at the palace was a relief.

Which meant he was at the palace with no buffer between him, Stella and her brother.

Which meant he didn’t have a reason to refuse when the two royal demons ordered his presence.

Blitzø and Stolas had been in such a rush to get Stolas ready and out the door, the owl hadn’t thought to give his friend permission to leave the grounds. Both of the other Goetia expressed disdain over Blitzø in general. But so far they had mostly ignored him.

I gotta tell Floof for next time, Blitzø thought as he stepped into Stella’s drawing room. She had her own set of rooms within the palace, in an adjacent wing to her husband’s. Blitzø kept his voice as flat and expressionless as possible. “You called, ma’am?” He mentally choked on the phrase but managed it.

“Come here imp.” Stella looked down her beak at him and gestured to a spot next to her seat. Fuuuuuuuck me. Whatever she wanted couldn’t be good. Andrealphus, for his part, had a smug look as he watched Blitzø approaching.

Once he was next to the table, Stella swung her arm. The serrated steak knife in her hand was quickly deflected from his neck. What would have been a fatal blow instead gave her a stinging palm as the knife spun away.

Andrealphus sighed. “It seems the reports of protection on him were correct. I’d hoped with Stolas and his grimoire absent it would be weakened.” Blitzø wasn’t about to let this bastard know he was right. “Fucking bitch!” he growled, turning to run.

Shrieking with rage, Stella flung her teacup at him. The cup cracked on his horn just above his eye and the scalding hot liquid splashed over half his face.

He yelped in pain. “Shit!” Blitzø stumbled to the door, only for Andrealphus to grab a horn tip and pull him back.

“Well! I suppose the protection isn’t absolute,” he said with sadistic glee. Blitzø could feel icy magick radiating from the bird demon as he was hauled onto the table. “I believe this will require some experimentation. Don’t you agree my dear sister?”

“Indeed Andrealphus. It will be quite an educational experience for us all.” Stella retrieved the knife and ordered teapots filled with boiling water. While they waited for the pots to arrive, she used the knife to cut Blitzø’s clothes away.

He tried to get away, spewing a stream of curses at the siblings. Andrealphus, tired of holding the imp down, pinned his wrists and ankles to the table with magickal ice. It being magickal didn’t stop it from being painfully cold, as much as the burn on Blitzø’s face. It did prevent the ice from melting; neither his body heat or the boiling water had any effect.

Blitzø might not have been able to escape, but he wasn’t about to give these cocksuckers the satisfaction of him screaming. He’d seen the sadistic excitement in both of them and if he couldn’t fight back, he could at least make this less entertaining for them.

Besides, one of his special skills was pointing out people’s flaws. Another was making insults into an art form. So he kept up a litany of insults, criticisms, and curses while Stella poured boiling water on his bare skin and her brother applied more of his freezing cold magick.

There was a point when he couldn’t help but scream though. Thankfully, Stolas burst into the room moments later. The prince was panting after sprinting to the room; he still had his hat and cape on. Blitzø caught a glance of an imp behind Stolas. One of the servants, unable to stop the royal demons, had alerted Stolas as soon as they could.

Blitzø barely managed to whisper Stolas’ name before he fainted.

The imp spent weeks healing from the incident. Even though his kind of demon healed quickly, over half his body was covered in burns and frostbite. Even the Goetia would take a long time to heal from something like that.

He didn’t remember the first week, he was on so many painkillers. Probably for the best as when he was weaned off some, the pain was still intense. Some changes had already occurred in that first week.

Stolas couldn’t divorce Stella over this, not yet. The precautionary heir this arrangement was meant to produce hadn’t even hatched yet. He did however banish her to the other side of the palace. Stella’s new suite was as far from Stolas’ as possible. Their single egg remained in Stolas’ wing.

While Blitzø was recuperating, Stolas had the Hellhound guards rotated. It took some time, but between Vex, Scarlet, and Blitzø (once he was conscious) they determined which ones were loyal to Stolas, which still sided with Paimon and now Stella, and which were neutral. While the imp hated it, he had at least one friendly Hound guarding him until he was back on his hooves.

Stolas couldn’t keep Blitzø with him constantly. Technically he could, but despite their relationship turning intimate a few years prior, neither demon wanted to be glued at the hip together. He was determined to give his friend and lover as much privacy and freedom as he could. So he had the rooms next to his bedroom altered. It had been linen storage for his chambers. Now it was something like a studio apartment, complete with kitchenette and full bathroom. The only entrance was a door next to Stolas’ bed.

Blitzø said it looked a lot like a fancy cell, but something about the secure space was comforting. Stella couldn’t get into here. His friend had put a great deal of effort into warding the door. Only Blitzø, Stolas, and Scarlet could enter freely. Only Blitzø could allow anyone else in.

It took Stolas two months to get the spell tuned correctly. The prince felt every bit of effort had been worth it. Once Blitzø was able to be up and about again, he could see the fear his friend tried to suppress whenever Stella was near. His wife could see it too. She made every effort to be in Blitzø’s vicinity at least once a day, just to experience the thrill of his trauma.

So seeing the terror melt away in Blitzø’s new safe haven, it broke Stolas’ heart while validating all those hours of work. The first night they knew it was secure (Vex had been the test subject, not being on the entry list) Blitzø fell asleep the instant he laid down on the bed.

In an echo of their first days together, Stolas covered him in a blanket and tucked Waffle Iron the plush horse in the blanket with him. Waffle Iron had been the most loyal of inanimate objects, sticking with Blitzø through all the worst days and his battered appearance showed it. His stuffing was clumped in sections under the cloth. There were awkward repair stitches in spots and patches that were starting to get threadbare. Scarlet had offered to take Waffle to a ‘toy hospital.’ It was essentially a repair shop that specialized in toy restoration. But Blitzø had refused, saying Waffle Iron was perfect as he was. Privately, he admitted to Stolas that once Waffle’s legs started falling off he’d probably take Scarlet up on the offer.

But for now the valiant Waffle Iron was a steady source of comfort for Blitzø. Stolas remained in the room, reading on the couch. It wasn’t a velvet upholstered, gilded, and ornamented affair like so many others in the palace. Like the rest of the furniture Blitzø had selected, it was sturdy and comfortable, with no frills or added fanciness. Plain brown cloth with horse pattern blanket draped over the back and horseshoe cushions. If there was a way to make an object horse themed, Blitzø had incorporated it. He had a room in the palace before but this was the first time he’d been able to choose how a room was furnished and the imp ran with it.

Stolas’ reading selection was more work than pleasure tonight. He didn’t have many friends among the upper echelons of Hell’s society. Those he did count as friends were as passionate about learning and using magick as he was. One of whom had found some works concerning magickal bindings and contacts. Stolas was loaning one of his books on prophecy in exchange for the one he was studying now.

He still didn’t know the exact spell Paimon had forced him to use on Blitzø. They knew the results but demonic magick was a tricky thing, even for high ranking demons. There was a great deal of fuckery involved whenever something new was added. Even a different word tense could alter a spell.

The somewhat fickle protection on Blitzø was evidence of that. Stolas pleading ‘don’t hurt him’ while the initial casting was in process had changed a servitude binding to something they still didn’t know the extent of. We may never know all the specifics, Stolas thought glumly as he turned a page.

Like most books on magick, this used a runic alphabet and Stolas suspected there was a code in some sections as well. Annoying but he’d puzzle it out. By this point the prince was sure that the bond couldn’t be broken. If nothing else, his own growing power, while allowing Blitzø more physical freedom, was reinforcing the existing chains.

He was focused on nullifying the effects instead. Perhaps he could subvert the specifics of the bond. So any scrap of knowledge he could gather was helpful.

Stolas stayed up much to late and woke up to Blitzø snuggled up next to him, tail wrapped around the prince’s waist while he scrolled through his phone. “Morning Floof. You didn’t have to stay here all night,” Blitzø said dryly once he realized Stolas was awake.

“But I wanted to, darling.” Stolas nuzzled the base of Blitzø horn sleepily. Anything else he was going to say was forgotten by a pounding on the door.

“Master Stolas!” Vex’s voice had an urgent edge. “Your Highness! The hatching started sir!”

Stolas squawked and flailed for the door. Holy shit it’s happening! Terror and excitement filled him as he flung open the door. He thanked Vex, the paused. “Blitzø, you don’t have to accompany me if you don’t want to. Stella will likely be there as well.” Stolas wasn’t going to miss more of his child hatching than he already had; he could only assume Stella would be the same.

Blitzø paled and gulped. He’d been anticipating the egg hatching too, if only to see Stolas’ reaction to become a father. He wavered for a time while Vex helped Stolas change.

Stolas had dashed off to the nursery. The hatching had barely started; he could hear little peeps in the egg and the tap-tap-tapping as the baby worked at making cracks. He made soothing trills to his chick, letting them know a parent was nearby and encouraging them.

Half an hour later, minimal progress was made. Every egg took time to hatch and there was no rushing the process. If the chick was in distress, someone could help them. But forcing an egg open could kill the hatching. Stolas wasn’t surprised by the minute changes in the shell.

He was surprised by Blitzø’s arrival with breakfast. “ I’m not gonna fucking miss this Floof, not even the bitchy feather duster could keep me away.” Blitzø had decided he wouldn’t let Stella ruin what happiness he could manage and that included being involved with Stolas’ kid. “Besides, when else am I gonna get to see you look this stupid over a wiggly potato?” Stolas chucked a bit of toast at him, which Blitzø caught in midair.

The hatching took all day, it turned out. Stella arrived in the late morning, saw how little progress was made and told them, “Call me when it’s almost out,” before leaving the room in a swirl of silk. She grinned at Blitzø’s stiffness at her presence and the wide eyed look he couldn’t suppress.

But she couldn’t do anything to the imp with Stolas there. She left for some gossip as social plotting with her friends.

The egg cracked open about half an hour before midnight. The baby Goetia rested with part of the shell stuck to their butt and another part on their head like a hat. The palace doctor made sure no one touched the hatchling yet. “Give them some space; they’ll get the rest of the shell off when they’re ready. Send another message to Lady Stella.”

Stolas looked besotted with the wrinkled chick. He and Blitzø had both been talking and giving encouragement to the baby as the egg rocked and cracked over the day. Now he was crouched next to the nest, eye level to the newborn. “Well done, little one,” he praised them. “You’ve worked so hard, I’m so proud of you.” The hatchling peeped quietly in response. “Take all the time you need, Daddy is right here.”

Dammit, Blitzø thought, he looks stupid and adorable. Not fair Floof. That didn’t stop him from snapping pictures, including a couple selfies next to them. “Dude, they really do look like an angry potato.”

Stolas just had a stupid smile. “A precious angry potato, isn’t that right little one?” he cooed to both Blitzø and the chick. As if in retaliation to the potato comment, the chick kicked off the rest of the shell.

The doctor came up to examine them. After confirming the baby was in good shape, she wrapped up the hatchling and handed the bundle to Stolas. “Congratulations your highness, it's a girl.”

Stolas’ expression was full of wonder as he carefully cradled the baby. “Hello my darling girl, welcome to Hell.”

Stella walked in, yawning as she did so. “It’s finally done?”

“Yes my lady,” the doctor answered. “You have a healthy daughter. Congratulations.”

“Oh, well that is lovely.” She gestured imperiously to Stolas who handed her the baby. “Hello there, poppet. I’m Stella, your mummy. We’re going to do great things together.” She cooed down at the baby who wriggled in her wrappings. “Obviously once you’ve got some feathers and your feet under you dear.” She handed the girl back to Stolas. “The nursemaids are all prepared? Excellent. I’ll be back in the morning.” She turned to leave.

“Stella?” the prince called out to her. She looked at him over her shoulder. “The baby’s name? I was thinking ‘Octavia’ would suit her.”

Stella glanced between the baby and her husband. “It was on our agreed list of names. Octavia it is.” Then she was off.

Blitzø, who had stayed out of her sight, was flabbergasted. Even his own dad, the greedy jackass, hadn’t been so detached. “Christ on a stick, she might be worse than your sperm donor Floof.”

The prince just sighed. “Not to worry Octavia, Daddy will always be here for you.” He patted the tiny chick gently. “Would you like to hold her Blitzø?”

“Uh, I guess?” The imp carefully held the squirmy chick. “Uhhhhh, hey there miniFloof?” Octavia yawned hugely. “Aw dammit, you are a cute potato.” He gently stroked her wrinkly head. “Hi Octavia. I’m Blitzø, the ‘o’ is silent. I’m your dad’s friend, so I’ll be here for you too.”

His burns were still healing, so Blitzø couldn’t hold her for long. He passed Octavia back to her father and the two men enjoyed the bit of peace in the nursery. At least until Octavia started crying for food.

—————

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#helluva fanfiction #helluva blitzo #helluva octavia #helluva stolas #helluva stolitz #helluva boss #helluva au #blitzo x stolas #blitzo #stolas goetia #helluva stella #helluva andrealphus #stolas #stolitz #cw burns #cw torture

[eachlittlebird]

Embrace

A little character study fic I wrote about Mayday, everybody’s new favorite Clone. No warnings, except for introspection and foreshadowing and general angst. ;)

***

Mayday held two contradictory sentiments in his head simultaneously. Fortunately, he had survived the war. Unfortunately, survival had brought him here.

Here being Barton-4, where freezing one’s ass off was the primary recreation. He was cold when he rolled out of his bunk in the morning, frozen through when he returned to it at night. He spent the long hours of darkness wrestling with his standard-issue blanket, trying to work it around his body in a way that held in the most heat. Between sleep and wakefulness he half-remembered, half-dreamed the embrace of an azure-skinned Twi’lek he’d met one off-duty evening at 79s. Again and again he conjured her: his fingertips tracing the spiral patterns on her flesh, her soft laughter like a summer breeze against his ear. He woke with empty arms, her remembered warmth leaving him all the colder until daybreak.

And it wasn’t just the cold. It was the stultifying boredom, the sameness of every hour. There were two colors on Barton-4: the black of night and the white of day, a weak and blurry sunlight filtered through a screen of driving snow. The dull eggshell of Imperial supply containers, the dirty ecru of their battered plastoid armor, and the grey rags they used to bind up busted greaves and pauldrons, an extra buffer against the chill. Save for the distant screams of the ice vultures and the howl of the wind through clefts in the cliff wall, there was an absence of sound too on Barton-4. Sometimes the silence was so overwhelming Mayday feared he’d spontaneously lost his hearing, the way he had temporarily after explosions in the war.

The war. Nonsensical as it would have seemed in the midst of it, Mayday missed the conflict, all its noise and movement and brilliant, blinding heat. The deafening roar of LAAT/i engines as they slowed to swoop over combat zones, the thump-thump-thump of mortar rounds still reverberating in one’s bones hours later, the shriek of missiles and the staccato march of battle droid feet, relentlessly closing in. He hungered for the war’s kaleidoscope of colors: the shattered glass and glowing plasma signs of besieged cities, empty landscapes lit by multiple suns or moons. He’d oriented himself in the midst of firefights by the blazing arc of a Jedi’s saber cutting through smoke-thick air, and had seen his brothers fall by explosions too bright for even his helmet’s filters to dim. Upon the snow-white cliffs of Barton-4 his memory painted the green walls of skyscrapers on Christophsis and the lurid orange and purple jungles of Felucia, and in the darkness of his bunk, the tender blue of that Twi’lek’s bare skin.

What had her name been? It was on the tip of his tongue but each time he tried to whisper it, the name retreated deeper into his maze of memories.

Yeah, kriff it all, Mayday missed it. The moments preceding the plunge into combat, the massed bodies of his brothers, armor knocking against armor, bluster and bravado passing nervously along the line. Some of the best jokes he’d ever heard had been told in those moments when life and death hung with equal odds in the balance, and he still laughed aloud whenever they came to mind. Adrenaline had pumped enough heat through his body to melt the ice off a tauntaun’s pelt, and there’d been times when it had kept him running, kept him fighting, kept him hauling up injured brothers and pulling them to safety long past the normal limits of endurance. There had been something intoxicating about the way life teetered on the edge of every moment, and seemed more precious for that precariousness.

Sure, they had the raiders here on Barton-4, their hit-and-run incursions triggering honed survival instincts. Some of the men had relaxed these too much in the dullness of the mission and they’d paid for it with their lives. The raiders had whittled down their numbers until only Mayday, Veetch, and Hexx remained. Something vital was missing now, something that had invigorated the men during the war with the Separatists, shielding them as surely as their plastoid armor. Purpose. A sense that their sacrifices and suffering mattered for the greater good. It was as absent from Barton-4 as color and sound.

She’d fit as snugly and comfortably in his hands as his DC-15 blaster, her heartbeat echoing in his chest like the recoil of a shot. All tender curves and whispers and the natural perfume of mutual attraction. The heat of their bodies, pressed together, had been sweeter than any artificial warmth generated by a machine. The danger of combat made him feel alive, but touch gave that life meaning. 

Waking up from another dream of the Twi’lek, the need Mayday had felt so long on Barton-4 finally crystallized in his mind. He missed the proximity of his brothers. On Barton-4, he and his remaining men spent most of their hours apart, covering distant parts of the compound, and when downtime came they snuggled up to the portable heating unit, not each other. But during the war, a clone longed in vain for breathing space. His brothers were always around him, in the corridors of cruisers, in the lines of defensive trenches. In mess halls and crowded quarters dozens of variations of the same face and body rubbed elbows and bumped heads. Sometimes egos collided and punches were thrown, but in the end there was never a doubt that your brother had your back, and you had his. In the darkest, most desperate fights, Mayday remembered with a stab of fierce affection the comforting pressure of a brother’s arm slung over his shoulders, the reassuring clasp of a brother’s hand. Carrying a wounded brother to safety had been the best of duties; holding a dying brother in one’s arms the greatest of honors. Backs slapped in celebration, elbows jabbed into ribs in shared conspiracy, shoulders offered to support a weary brother’s head: a thousand kinds of touches, more vital to sustaining the clones through the war than rations or armor or blaster power packs.

Sleepless with cold, Mayday would lie in his bunk and wonder if he and Veetch and Hexx would ever make it off that cold rock, ever slip through the stars to walk once more under temperate suns. Would they ever be surrounded by their brothers again, jostled by their rowdy carousing, drawn into their high-spirited pranks? Would they ever feel the comfort of that camaraderie shared by beings as close in temperament and experience to themselves as any being could possibly be?

Mayday wasn’t sure. In fact, sometimes he doubted it. But he did know that he would trade every beautiful blue-skinned Twi’lek in the galaxy for one brother’s embrace.

#Mayday #Commander Mayday #The Bad Batch #Star Wars #clones #SW fic #TBB fic #my writing #trying to start writing again #and I want to write about the clones #I love exploring their different personalities and histories #I'm a little obsessed

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

How about a few that have the memories but not the personality?

I have one of them so far. His name is Mass (short for Supermassive). Mass activated with his personality bank empty but full memory banks. Mass activated inside of Moon's computer, Halo and Horizon initially began combating Mass until they found his personality base was completely empty.

Once the Computer's two AIs deem him safe enough, they tell Moon of him, who pulls Mass out and transfers him to a body after a short questioning where Mass ended up crying over the memories he has. Mass is very clingy, he's very confused and scared of these memories, he very routinely has memory-mares of them and wakes up screaming.

Moon is the one Mass is most comfortable with, since he has very bad stress responses to Sun and Lunar at first, but he eventually gets comfortable around them and is able to see them as his brothers. Despite Eclipse's memories being there, Mass is very kind and compassionate to others and absolutely adores working in the Nursery.

There's also one who has the personality base but not the memories. His name is Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse activated in Sun and Moon's second bunker (the one Eclipse put Lunar into Moon in). He was very confused upon Moon revisiting and finding him after the October takeover.

Moon made sure he was safe, though he's a bit of a little bastard, and Moon takes him home and explains the situation to Sun and Lunar. Betelgeuse gets his name from Moon, who needed differentiate him from Eclipse.

Betelgeuse absolutely loves his name. He thinks it's neat and he loves the movie Beetlejuice. There's a running joke of his brothers saying his name three times in a row to 'summon' him.

Despite being a little bastard (with pranks and teasing mostly, just general gremlin behavior), Betelgeuse still has all of OG Eclipse's kindness and compassion and uses it to the fullest extent without the memory buffer inhibiting him.

He absolutely loves his brothers and friends and he will remind them of this every chance he gets. Betelgeuse is a very good security bot, he is incredibly protective of friends, siblings, and the children of the daycare. Betelgeuse becomes a night guard for the PizzaPlex along with Moon, a spot they've needed to properly fill a permanent secondary for for a long time.

#five nights at freddy's #fnaf #sun and moon show #sams #fnaf supermassive #fnaf halo #fnaf horizon #fnaf moon #fnaf sun #fnaf lunar #fnaf betelgeuse #snoweyanswers #anon #eclipse backup oc saga #tw amnesia mention

[esperosisdoeswriting]

[Protagonist]’s No Good Very Bad Day

Do you all like Eldritch Horror? No? Too bad cause I do :D I hope you all enjoy my little delve into eldritch/cosmic/lovecraftian horror, cause [Protgaonist] sure didn’t.

Content Warning: Gore, Horror Elements, General Mind-fuckery

Word Count: 1047

[Protagonist] sent a sharp kick at his assailant's face, as the four of them were thrown to the side wall of the van as it took another sharp turn. This wasn't exactly how he imagined spending his Saint Patrick's Day. Honestly, he wasn't planning on doing anything. But when your older brother's a gang member with a lot of enemies, you find things rarely ever go your way.

The skinny guy got a good jab at [Protagonist]'s teeth, and he felt his lip split against them as his teeth loosened; the coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. He spit it into the eyes of the short guy, the man cursing as he wiped at his face. The first assailant, a buffer man in a turquoise hoodie, got his hands back on [Protagonist] again as he desperately tried to shove him off.

"Get a hold of him damn it!" the driver shouted back at them.

"I'm trying, but the bastard is slippery!" the buff man shouted, his grip crushing the bones of [Protagonist]'s wrist as he grabbed for his other one. [Protagonist] threw a few swift jabs into the man's side before throwing himself forward, knocking the buff man into the shorter guy, throwing the three of them into a heap.

[Protagonist] tried to get his legs under him as he felt the grip on his wrist loosening, but just then, the van swerved again, knocking him to the side and directly into the skinny guy.

"Control him!" the driver practically spit back at them as he turned around. "I swear if I have to come back there-!"

"The road, dumbass!" the buff man screamed as a blinding light filled the van.

[Protagonist]'s eyes grew wide, and his last waking thought was the image of headlights streaming in through the car's windshield.

----------------------------

[Protagonist]'s first thoughts upon waking up were confusion. He heard a strange dripping sound, felt cold all over his body, and oddly weightless at the same time. It was dark, although he was sure it was just late afternoon when he was grabbed.

Grabbed into the van by those men.

The van that crashed.

And then [Protagonist] felt the pain.

He bit his lip hard enough he felt the flesh tear under his teeth as his entire body was engulfed in roaring pain. His limbs were both frozen and completely engulfed in flames. He felt the sharp and dull aches of crushed bones and pulled muscles. He felt every inch of his body completely shredded into a million pieces.

He watched in horror as the blood dripped down from where he was suspended in the branches of a tree, the crimson dripping down like rain into the crimson lake below him. The ruins of the fallen van were about twenty feet in front of him, and the corpses of his assailants littered the ground in broken messes. There was no way any of them were still alive.

But why was he?

It was a strange feeling of horror he felt when he felt only the barest drops of blood spill from his lips. He was almost entirely out of blood. He laughed as he finally screamed. Almost every drop of his blood was spilled on the ground below him, yet he was still alive.

How was he still alive?!

"Over here, High Priestess," came a strange voice. It was soothing and calm despite the carnage, and [Protagonist] desperately tried to crane his neck to see who it belonged to.

"Oh dear," came a woman's voice, and [Protagonist] felt every inch of his body alight at the sound. Something about her voice filled him with ease, like a long-forgotten friend that he hadn't met yet. Her voice was enchanting and almost hypnotic.

Then he saw them. There was a rather ordinary-looking man in a robe and an indescribable woman alongside him. He saw her long black hair writhing and twisting into indescribable shapes as it flowed inkily through the air. Her floor-length gown melded into the ground and seemed to disappear from this world at the hem, fading into and sprouting from the world around her.

But her eyes. Her eyes were green. They were green and oh so perfectly viridescent. As their eyes met, he felt himself get lost in that… strange emerald hue. Something about just how vibrantly green they were tickled the back of his mind and reminded him of the magnitude of the sun compared to the earth. The green talked of secrets always known and yet whispered in unknown truths.

He felt his mind slowly unravel in the loveliest of ways as he was dragged, kicking and screaming, into a consciousness he never knew he had faded from. The universe was inside that green. It was the green of that all-encompassing nothingness that enveloped the universe.

"Oh, my poor child," she said with a voice that knew the secrets of this world but would never tell them. Knew the most unknowable things and would whisper their sweet nothings into the sanity of madmen. "You've been met with a horrible fate, haven't you?"

He opened his mouth. He wanted to tell her he would devote his existence to her. He wanted to beg at her feet for help. But all that came out was a dull and embarrassing croak. A noise so unbecoming of the woman that stood before him.

She glided across the carnage, unbothered by the blood and gore she traveled across. Not as if any of it could affect her.

"You were gifted with immortality, yet your regeneration is that of a normal person's, isn't it?" she stopped below him, his blood dripping harmlessly through her face and onto the ground. As if she wasn't there.

Ah, he supposed she wasn't.

"Rest now, my child," she reached out and touched his face, her hand passing through his flesh and bone to caress his soul, her fingers painting him anew in every moment she made contact with him. "I will make you whole again." She promised as she ripped him to pieces.

He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he couldn't stand to live without her as his eyes fluttered closed without his permission, sinking into her darkness as the world ceased to exist, and he fell wholeheartedly into her abyss.

#writing #horror #eldritch horror #eldritch #lovercraftian #comsic horror #lovecraftian horror #horror writing #writblr #not a prompt #esper writing #thats rough buddy

[oofuri2003]

I’m still reeling from early 2000’s timeline to all of a sudden we’re in the 2020’s and there’s smartphones and apps. I’ll be honest I’m not a big fan of the change. I’m interested in how high school baseball was done back then and I feel like jumping an entire generation ignores how the times shaped the characters way back when. I think that’s why I liked haikyuu because it tried to stay faithful to the year it came out. Anyway I’m sure I’ll get used to it eventually I still love the oofuri characters I just mourn what was lost.

OKAY THANK YOU I thought I was being a huge baby about it but no you're right. Okay under a cut bc I have so much nonsense to say about this

i totally agree here - for some reason it really feels like a loss and just makes me sad bc like. It always felt like they were so rooted in their time period and that was something to love about oofuri! It adds so specifically to the vibe of the manga and it's always been interesting just to see how club activities and school and all that was for them at that time and place. And I've also read other media be it webcomics or whatever where the comic started in 2008 and has thus been explicitly set in 2008 the entire time even though years and years have passed. And as someone who was growing up during that time it's sweet to see! The nostalgia is sweet :( Ur soo right I'm mourning what was lost lol

I guess asa higuchi's get out of jail free card on this is that she never explicitly states the year in-text but again the context clues + it started in 2003 so obviously it's set in the early 2000s. I get it that like the manga has been running for 20 years but if you look at it as a whole, like, these kids had flip phones and then barely a few months later of in-story time they have like new smartphones and talk about apps and stuff. Which like okay. But.

I think if asa higuchi had REALLY wanted to transition them to a time period with smartphones she should have put them in that 2010-2012 period where smartphones were becoming the norm but not everyone had one (I had a texting phone until 2013 lol) to at least put Some buffer. I think this would have at least preserved some feeling of continuity and would have had some interesting character dynamics of those with and without smartphones and wouldn't have been as stark and confusing and weird as like. 3 months pass and suddenly the entire cast went from flip phones to smartphones and aren't even fazed or like lost on how to operate one.

It's prob one of my major crits of the series that she went this way with it especially without a smooth transition or buffer...I'll get over it eventually bc I think it's sweet that they have a baseball club groupchat and we get to see their profile icons but it also makes me cry and scream. Any oofuri art (or writing I guess? If I ever chose to do that) I do is going to have them firmly planted in the early 2000s tho lol where they BELONG. As I said in another post #Bring Back Flip Phones In Oofuri

#oofuri #why did i say all this. whatever #i almost extrapolated this to my mourning over the art style change but ill just keep that one for another time instead of being insane

[anthonybialy]

Costly Expenses

Our thoughtful government saves us from pecuniary ruin by giving us more useless cash. Churning out money at this rate may overheat the printers, but you have to take risks to pretend you're profiting. We can use what was one of the few paper products we're still allowed to use as blankets when we're compassionately sleeping on park benches. Buying a covering isn't worth the price, which makes it like every other object. Isn't it nice to be no longer possessed by possessions?

The inadvertent economic lesson of making things costly is the sole benefit of Joe Biden's inflated term. We're referring to items being more than expensive, which confuses our dear president. Issue an executive order that words can only mean something in one sense so we can move past the era of connotations.

Pretending we can get something for nothing is the surest way to create a product nobody can afford. The oldest lesson is also the least fun one to learn, which is why we keep repeating it. Everything generated is unwanted. So, that's why everyone seems so freaking happy.

The constant call for affordable housing creates noise complaints instead of cheaper mortgages. A high quantity of sales pitches surely wears down economics. The first humans to think rent should be cheap must surely be clever about other matters. Scream on a subway platform about how corporations are out to get you.

A seller looking for a market shouldn't be made to feel bad for the pursuit. Figuring whatever sort of units they think they can fill is the goal of oh so greedy landlords. Dreaming of artificially lowering prices will surely make it reality. Also, pizza should burn calories.

Trying to help may screw up everything. Take starting off with a goal of ending unemployment. Wouldn't it be swell if nobody had to worry about having a job or coping with life? Back here on Earth, jobs are the byproduct of having something useful to do. Uncertainty about competence plagues the very sort of people who vainly demand guarantees.

Desiring unlimited free money is why you must vote correctly. That's unless you want to suffer the indignity of toiling in order to acquire limited stockpiles. Supply and demand applies to what's used to buy goods, as well. Cursing consistency won't alter it.

Government pays the balance, and we all know they possess unlimited free cash. That's why their name is on the bills. As for other obsolete technology, the reasons anything costs anything eludes those who think executive orders create affordability. All they see is the price and not how it was set. Costs way beyond what's billed are not negated by voting.

Shoddy insurance is the downside of everyone getting it automatically. At least the prices are astronomical. Medical procedures cost a fortune, notice those who made them that way with endless mandates while buffering customers from prices. The only amazing thing about how high prices get when companies who aren't paying directly is that anyone is amazed.

This open bar is a great deal except for the bride's father. Handing the tab to society causes the worst hangover. Trying their hardest to make life communal is for those who manage pain by sharing it. Blues music is a way better alternative.

Take all the useless money you want. The reason prosperous contentment feels contagious has to do with the security derived from sitting on furniture made of cash piles.

There's surely no catch to the easiest way to get rich. Mean Republicans told you the only way to have bills falling out of pockets was to please bosses or customers. Do you really want to have to be good at something to afford food? Instead, it takes multiple wheelbarrows full of bills to buy a gallon of milk, and making vegans feel indignant isn't worth the price.

Satan shakes his head at how devious these alleged deals are. Getting hooked on terrible entitlements is cynical even for alleged hope peddlers. There's nowhere to take your dollars because you didn't spend any if you didn't already feel trapped. You're stuck with the dispassionate and caring government that couldn't figure out printing money furiously would lower its value. Washington offers no alternative. It's not like Burger King if Wendy is rude to you.

I only wish there could be a way to lower prices like different sellers competing for business. Such a “free market” would also maximize quality by having to attract customers.

You might think of not trying to make everything cheaper by edict but by competing for business. That is because you are an unsophisticated rube who doesn't understand how the right White House can order everything better. Expensive things that are worth the price will be a relic like VCRs.

People being able to afford things because the economy isn't drained to fill it sounds like a trick. Being glad to pay for nice stuff would mean earning and compensation, and both of those are antithetical to collective utopia. Or, continue to worry the plasma bank guy will recognize you while attempting to peddle your lone asset.

Trying to get rich instead of settling for poverty is for decadent kulaks. The whole work part dissuades those with political science degrees costing in the mid-six-figure range. The same tactics designed to lower prices creates the very need for them. If that's not ironic enough, wait until you hear about how being handed money doesn't mean you're wealthy.

[regionalpancake]

Picard Season 2 trailer - the gang’s all here!

#star trek picard #spoilers #(general screaming about this is still buffering) #(Some light image editing so I can see what’s happening XD) #Q #Jean-Luc Picard #elnor #raffi musiker #laris #soji asha #agnes jurati #cristobal rios #seven of nine

[kashikore]

𝙈𝙃𝘼 𝘽𝙊𝙔𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝙀𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙄𝙍 𝙁𝙐𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝙆𝙄𝘿𝙎

ᴾᴿᴱᵛᴵᴱᵂ: 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙊𝙔𝙎 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘿 𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙔 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝘼 𝙆𝙄𝘿 𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙁𝙐𝙏𝙐𝙍𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙊𝙉𝙇𝙔 𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙎𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙄𝙎 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝙒𝙃𝙊?

chαrαctєrѕ íncludєd: вαkugσu, ѕєrσ, ᴀɴᴅ ízuku,

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞)

x ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐊𝐔✪

Poor baby would be so confused

He was going to his dorm from training exhausted as one can be

He closed his door and saw a little green flash run across the room

My dude had war flashbacks to when Aoyama was on his balcony and shit 😂

And Deku was NOT FUCKING WITH IT he ran into the common room faster than Iida ran to go kill stain

And of course the first people he went to were Todoroki and Bakugou

Deku was crying and when he cries you can’t understand ANYTHING so he took Todo and Bakubitch to his room

And they checked the closet and they saw a girl who was about 5-7 and she was hiding in the closet she had 2 big curly green puffballs and some features that Deku couldn’t place

D-daddy the little girl cried and jumped into Izuku’s arms

Todoroki SPRINTED for his conspiracy theory board and Bakugou just stood there like wtf 🧍🏾‍♀️

After some questions and some All might shaped fruit snacks the boys had came to the conclusion that the little girl is D/n (daughter name) and she is undoubtly you and Izuku's daughter 

It turns out she was hit with a time travel quirk when she followed you on your patrol

Izuku being the honest person he is he decided to tell you 

He told you everything he knew and you were just as shocked as him

But ya’ll took care of D/n until the quirk wore off which was about a week and when you and Izuku woke up and saw a poorly written but cute note saying “bye mommy and daddy see you later” 

It’s safe to say Izuku cried a river and your eyes were sweating just a little bit 

Izuku finally mustered up the courage to ask you out and you were estatic not only because he asked you out but because you know you have a future with him.

𝐁𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐆𝐎𝐔✪

The boys of Class 1A were just chilling in the common room when a blue portal popped up out of nowhere

A small little girl with red eyes and y/h/c (your hair color) curly hair with a familiar scowl on her face

Everyone was stunned

The girl then turned said “Fucking bastard couldn’t even fight me like a real man just used his stupid quirk fucking extra”

She then looked around and said “woah that little bitch sent me back to the past huh”

“Who the fuck are you” says Bakugou

“D/n Bakugou Old man” the girl responds

“OI WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING AN OLD MAN AND WHY THE FUCK IS YOUR LAST NAME THE SAME AS MINE” yells Bakugou

“Are you that dense or just fucking dumb I’m your fucking daughter” the girl retorted

Bakugou didn’t need confirmation to know that was his kid

“Wait” Sero pauses “BAKUGOU GETS MARRIED” he screams

“Yeah I was shocked too” says the girl

“Who’s the unlucky- I mean lucky woman” Denki asks

“My mom is-” D/n began before she was interrupted by the sound of a slamming door

“WHO THE FUCK ATE MY MOTHERFUCKING POCKY(if you don’t like pocky substitute it or smthn)” you busted through the door fuming

“Oh wait that was yours” Kiri said

“Ejirou Kirishima you have 5 seconds to write your funeral guest list” you said

“Well as you can see that woman over there is Y/N Bakugou aka my mother” D/n says

“Your who? Sorry hun you must be confused I don’t have kids and I never will have kid that pregnancy shit scary asf” you said

Meanwhile Blasty bitch is frozen with a very apparent blush on his cheeks

It takes a minute but the 1A boys finally stop buffering and they all scream in unison “YOU MARRY Y/N”

Soon enough you find out that D/n is your daughter and she came here because a kid called her weak and she tried to fight them but they used their quirk and she ended up here

After everything is resolved and the quirk wears off and D/n returns to the future you recieve a text:

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐎✪

When a blue portal appeared in his dorm room dropping a child Sero was generally perplexed

“Daddy” the little boy says

Now Sero isn’t dumb

He doesn’t need confirmation that the little (dark/brown/light-skin) boy is his

Not to mention the wide smile that was on his face

He was surprisingly calm that he had a kid for someone who says FUCK THEM KIDS on the daily

He just needed to know who’s the mom

Then the little boy finally said “Can we go to the park dad”

Sero looked at the kid quizzically and said “Uh sure bud let go”

Now Hanta would be lying if he said he didn’t like the fact that he has a family when he gets older

He was more excited to find out what hottie he married tbh 🙃

Him and s/n (son name) are on the swing set at the park when Hanta gets an idea

“Hey kid” Hanta starts “What’s your mom like?” He asks

The boy responds “ She’s really tough and pretty and funny and her skin is soft”

“Do you know her name?” He asks

“Yes I do but why don’t you remember mommy’s name daddy” the boy inquired

“I do I’m just testing you” Sero responds a little too quickly

The boys says “ Y/n Sero that’s mommy’s name”

This man almost broke his neck when s/n said your name

There is no way he copped a baddie like you

With your beautiful skin and how it’s shines like gold in the sunlight and your sexy ass enticing smile

Hanta then decided that he was gonna tell you that this is your son too

He was nervous but then again he a smooth dude he has a way with words like no other

So they go back to the dorms

And he knocks on your dorm

You open the door to see Hanta and a little figure behind him

“Mommy” the boy says excitedly and jumps on your leg

You look up at Sero like nigga wtf 🤨

Hanta laughs at your expression and explains everything to you

When your kid returns to the future you and Hanta started talking

Eventually he grew balls and asked you out

He did it so casually too

You were just talking about how hot Toji Fushiguro is (HAVE YOU SEEN HIM 😩😩😩)

And Hanta was like yea ok cool great but will you be my girlfriend tho 👀

Mind you you were still rambling about Toji so you literally choked when you processed what he said

But nonetheless you said yes and that hunk of a man named Hanta Sero was yours

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐤𝐱𝐳𝐞 © 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝

And thank you @izukus-deku for helping me decide who had what gender go follow her right now 🍀

#mha x reader #mha x black reader #black y/n #black reader #izuku x black!reader #bakugou x black reader #sero x y/n #sero x black!reader #bnha fanfiction #bakugo x reader #izuku mydoria #zumiasks

[mymoonagedaydream]

Part 6

Summary: Why is it that being ‘just friends’ is always so much more difficult than it sounds?

Pairing: Bucky x y/n

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Language

Author’s Note: Yooo it's the finale and my 100th post. What a time to be alive, stay safe and stay sexy guys, god love ya.

---

You and Bucky were friends again.

That’s how your chat had concluded, friends again. It might not have been exactly what you wanted deep down, but you knew it was the right thing for both of you, even if it was just while you sorted your heads out- jumping straight into any sort of romance without a buffer period would’ve been like surviving a shark attack and then booking scuba-diving lessons for the next day. You just needed a little rest.  

That being said, when you started to hang out again, it became pretty clear that the two of you were still circling each other.

You could tell he was making an effort to get things back to normal but, whether for better or worse, that involved him reverting back to his usual, mega-flirtatious self. Buck’s teasing was almost enough to drag you kicking and screaming away from your inhibitions in small doses, so you were reasonably a little worried now that he was single and available to hang out with you and Sam almost every day.

Something was inevitably going to happen, you just didn’t know what.

You weren’t expecting a grand gesture or some huge, moving event to set in stone that the two of you were meant to be together, but you were definitely determined to wait until it felt right- or until you knew for sure that it would never feel right and it was time to move on.  

Either way, you were just glad to have your friend back for now.

The only worrying thing was that you hadn’t heard from Cece. She knew vaguely when you were planning talking to Bucky, so you figured she’d be in touch soon afterwards, but you’d heard nothing.

That was, until you went round to Sam’s a few days later.

Pizza was ordered and a couple shitty movies were stuck on while the three of you goofed around, but the tone of the evening really shifted when Sam retreated into the bathroom for a shower. You and Buck were left alone.

He lowered the volume on the TV and pointed an apprehensive gaze towards you, which immediately set alarm bells ringing in your head. ‘So.’

‘So?’

‘I spoke to Cece.’

‘Yeah? Well that makes one of us, she’s been ignoring me.’ He winced slightly and grimaced, which made your stomach drop, a tingle of alarm travelling up your spine. ‘What did you talk to her about, Buck?’

‘Just... stuff.’

This was definitely not good. ‘What stuff, Buck?’

‘I’m really sorry.’

‘Oh jesus fuck.’

‘I didn’t mean to tell her that bit, I just-’ He shifted himself forwards, perching on the edge of his seat and grasping his hands together. ‘I just thought she deserved to know the truth. I swear I wasn’t gonna tell her it was you, but she guessed and I didn’t know what to say. Apart from my mom you’re kinda the only other woman I talk to.’

You put your head in your hands, horrified imagining what Cece must think of you. There you were giving advice and comforting her while in the background you and her boyfriend were playing the ultimate game of will-they-won't-they.

‘Are you pissed at me?’

Despite your panic, you struggled not to laugh at how timidly he asked you that. ‘About this specifically, or just generally?’

‘I guess both,’ he was obviously relieved at your playful tone, ‘but we can focus on this for now.’

‘No, I- ah fuck.’ You were struggling to string together your thoughts. ‘I’m not pissed, Buck. It’s not like we were best friends or anything, and she probably would’ve found out at some point, I just maybe would’ve preferred a little time between me comforting her and me being exposed as the other woman.’ 

He sighed loudly, still staring at you, obviously not knowing what to say next. It sounded like it wasn’t his fault, but you could tell he felt terrible for letting it slip.

‘You were right, she deserved to know. It was really mature of you to tell her.’

‘You think?’

‘Yeah, for sure. I’m impressed.’

‘Thanks.’ A smug smirk slowly spread across his face. ‘You know, that’s just one of my many great qualities.’

‘How many times do I have to tell you that being able to eat a Big Mac in one mouthful isn’t a great quality.’

‘That’s your opinion.’

The two of you carried on chatting shit, eventually straying far away from the Cece topic and never really revisiting it. 

It was strange, even though you knew that she was somewhere out there probably hating your guts, it kind of felt like a loose end had been tied up. Bucky had told his whole truth and so could move forward with a totally clear conscience, Cece knew there was a real reason behind the break-up so- even though it definitely fucking sucked for her to hear- she could begin to properly get over it, and you now didn’t have to waste the next years of your life as a go-between for the two of them.

Hopefully, things were going to be much simpler now.

---

There were many instances in your friendship with Sam that had led you very close to homicide, and this night a few weeks later was one of them. He’d invited you for a night out with him and Buck, which sounded great, until he told you which bar he was taking you to.

Back to the scene of the fucking crime, just being there gave you Vietnam flashbacks.

The only solution you could possibly think of was to get so blackout drunk that you couldn’t even see your surroundings, never mind be haunted by them. It seemed like Buck had exactly the same idea, and Sam obviously just didn’t want to be left out, because he matched the two of you shot-for-shot all evening.

After a couple hours of hard drinking, Sam wobbled over to the bar to get another round- a good half hour passed before you and Buck realised that he’d managed to pull.

Well, either he’d pulled or some random girl at the bar had requested he give her a dental exam using only his tongue. Watching them go at it was like looking directly at the sun, your eyes started to sting after a couple seconds.

Once your corneas had been adequately burned, you let your gaze wander over the rest of the strangers holding up the bar, a couple of dudes catching your eye but none leaving a lasting impression. Bucky obviously noticed what you were doing.

‘Anyone you like the look of?’

‘Not really.’ You shrugged, making a huge effort to appear nonchalant. ‘You?’

His eyes stayed fixed on you. ‘Definitely.’

For some reason, your drunken self was absolutely fine with maintaining heated eye contact, in silence, for an unreasonably long period of time. The tension between the two of you just kept rising until it was pretty much off the charts.

It was you who eventually broke the spell. ‘You want to stop fucking me with your eyes?’

‘You want me to do it with something else instead?’

A dirty chuckle tried to escape your throat but you just about managed to stay composed. ‘I still haven’t decided.’

‘Haven’t decided or just don’t think I’ve been punished enough yet?’

You shrugged again, getting a cheeky smirk over the rim of his glass in return. Scanning your eyes over the bar one more time, you suddenly realised that Sam had disappeared, along with the girl he’d been eating alive.

‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’ Hovering out of your chair a little, you took a proper look around but still couldn’t see him. ‘Sam ditched us.’

‘Eh, let him have his fun. He was kind of a third wheel anyway.’

You collapsed back into your seat, raising an eyebrow at him. ‘You’re relentless tonight.’

‘And you’re hotter than hell and half of Georgia, what’re we gonna do about it?’

The look he was giving you made your head feel foggy, apparently copious amounts of alcohol and weeks of gradually building sexual tension was not a good mix.

You needed a minute.

After letting a brief excuse spill from your mouth, you jogged to the bathroom, figuring that leaving Bucky at the table a little confused was better than passing out or trying to shred his jeans off his body with your bare hands.

You steadied yourself on the sink, the same one that Cece had wept into a couple weeks earlier, splashed some cold water on your face and gave yourself a stern talking to. It was obvious what you wanted, at this point you were probably punishing yourself more than you were punishing him.

It felt right. It really did.

Squaring your shoulders, you took a deep breath and gave yourself a firm nod in the mirror. You’d never before felt so wobbly whilst simultaneously feeling like you could take on the whole fucking world.

You marched back into the bar and headed straight towards the front door, somehow managing to catch Bucky’s eye on your way out. A small follow me gesture was enough to tell him what was about to happen. He scrambled to his feet so fast it looked like someone had started a fire under his ass, the last few drops of his drink getting rapidly gulped down as his jacket was ripped from the back of his chair.

He met you out on the sidewalk. No words were exchanged, he immediately scooped you up into his arms and crashed his lips against yours. The next thing you knew, your back was firmly pressed against the cold brick wall, legs wrapped around Bucky’s waist.

Mouths connected with necks and hands grasped desperately at clothes, you could barely tell where you ended and he began.

He pulled away for a brief second. ‘Back to your place?’

‘What, you mean my parents’ house?’

‘Yeah, I wanna meet ‘em.’

You laughed far more loudly than intended before pushing him away and hurriedly making your way down the street, a hand firmly wrapped around his wrist. ‘In your dreams, asshole.’

---

You were unceremoniously woken up the next morning by an obnoxiously loud banging sound.

Figuring it was probably just your parents making sure you were still alive, you ignored it and tried to get back to sleep.

But the noise didn’t stop.

Slight irritation rose in your chest. You tried to yank the pillow out from under your head, with the intention of smothering yourself with it, but for some reason it wouldn’t budge. Something was holding it down.

A few seconds later, a combination of the loud banging and all your wriggling around stirred that something into action. 

You were grasped firmly around the waist and pulled backwards, the length of this mystery presence’s body pressing firmly into the back of yours, a warm sensation spreading down your back and through all your limbs.

‘What the hell d’you want, man?’

The loud voice right next to your fucking ear was enough to knock you out of your half-asleep dream state, just in time for you to make full eye contact with Sam as he burst through the door.

‘Hey can I-’ He looked at you, then at Bucky, then calmly nodded and backed out of the room without another word.

After that, it quickly became apparent that you were not in your own bedroom. The dirty gym shorts on the floor and the ridiculously strong smell of cologne should’ve told you that straight away but, in your defence, you were very hungover.

‘Looks like the cat’s out of the bag.’

‘Well could you push it back in please, it’s poking the hell out of me and I’m trying to sleep.’

A low chuckle vibrated along your neck, making all your hairs stand on end. Buck somehow managed to flip you over in one swift movement so you were facing him, from which position he was able to pull your leg up, bringing your thigh to rest on his hip. Without a thought, your hand automatically moved up to rest gently on his cheek.

Lying there, nose to nose with him, it still felt right.

‘So,’ his eyes flickered open, a faint smile dawning on his lips, ‘have you decided yet?’

You settled yourself into him, letting his arms enclose you, feeling your whole body completely relaxing. You never thought you’d actually get here. It felt so nice just being close to him like this, but there was no way you could let him know that. He was cocky enough already.

‘Not yet, I’ll let you know.’

‘Fingers crossed.’

---

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---

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[wizkiddx]

hiii could you do one of tom asking your dad to marry you?? thankuuuuu

okay so I don't believe in boys having to ask the dads, because we are strong independent QUEENS and no man owns me ever, but I hope this is still okay <33

not proof read and written super quick so sorry!

summary: Tom's terrified to ask your dad a very particular question question

///////////////////////////////////////////////

“Mr Y/l/n” Tom called your dads attention from the dishwasher he was loading up. The holidays spent at your parents meant a lot of good things- but mainly food. So much so the dishwasher was almost continually on, just so you didn’t run out of crockery.

“Its Y/d/n Tom, we’ve been through this.” He was joking but with your Dad - Tom could never really tell. At heart your dad was an absolute softie, except no one really saw that except your mum and you. Always a daddies girl, Tom knew how much your dad had meant to you. He had guessed before he’d met you parents , that he would be protective.

And that he was, never frontally rude or cruel. It was more subtle - though to Tom it was very damn clear, he had his doubts. As a people pleaser, Tom didn’t like the fact he didn’t like him. Time and time again, he’d tried to prove just how much you meant to him and yet it seemed to fall on deaf ears. So three years down the line, it was safe to say he was bloody terrified. Heart-in-mouth sort of event. Tom did a lot of ‘terrifying things’: talking to massive studio heads; going on stage with thousands of people screaming; jumping out a plane even.

But no, a single conversation with your dad had his adrenaline going like nobodies business. Asking to marry you.

“You going to just stand their gawking? I hope the moviestar doesn’t make my Y/n do all the housework?”

“No sir I-of course I don’t” Stammering his way through with wide eyes, Tom practically leapt across the kitchen to the opposite side of the dishwasher to your dad. Secretly your Dad was chuckling away to himself, taking absolute delight in how terrified the ‘movie star’ was of him, but managed to keep a steely outershell. In silence, the two uunloaded the dishwasher, Tom desperately racking his brains for conversation starters.

This is what he did for a living, learnt the speech he’d spent hours preparing, then retell it. Why then, was Tom having such an issue with the script he’d arguable practiced the most? Deciding he needed a buffer, Tom went to the safe space of small talk.

“So how was the pub? Y/n said you were meeting some old friends?”

“Watched the match, bloody awful game and Wilks was crap, I don’t know why he even started.” Now this football talk was something Tom felt safe in. He had learnt as much as he could about your dads team - just so there was some mutual conversation.

“Yeh tell me about it, I caught the last half. Though the ref made so bad decisions too, that penalty never really was VAR or not.”

“Thats the most respectable thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

The next couple of minutes were spent with both men raving fanatically, letting all their anger out on the pretty subpar game this afternoon. In fact, Tom swore your dad actually laughed along with him at one point. Admittedly he’d caught himself almost immediately- but for two seconds, he had cracked it.

With the last mug placed in the cabinet, Tom was quite frankly shocked at what your dad said next. He had presumed that since it was late and everyone else was in bed, Y/d/n wouldn’t want quality time with his daughters boyfriend.

“You fancy a nightcap son?”

He’d never called Tom that either. Frankly, you dad preferred the nickname ‘moviestar’ because he knew it infuriated Tom. Made the tips of his ears flush bright red, that was Toms tell - one that your dad had noticed too early on.

Jerkily Tom nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat as he followed the elder man to the sitting room - where he kept the scotch glasses and bottle. No sooner had the drinks been poured, that Tom practically exploded with his thoughts.

“Mr Y/l/n-sorry I mean Y/d/n I-I um I needed to ask you something.” All he got was a long sigh and a nod, encouraging him to continue. “I-uhm….”Tom scoffed, clearing his throat because all of a sudden it felt like he hadnt had a drink in 10 hours, mouth completely dry.

“Well first off-and all respect. I know I don’t have to ask you. Y/n is the most independent and strong woman and we aren’t living in the 1950s. But, well but she loves you alot.” Tom stressed that last point especially, looking up to your dads poker face. It put him off for moment.

It was just how grumpy he looked, it was bloody terrifying. Taking a big gulp of the malty liquid, Tom steeled himself once again. “ And she respects you, your opinion always matters and I’d never come between that. And Y/n, she likes her traditions right? Like the stupid hat game you all play at Christmas dinner which makes no sense to me? Or the puzzle that you don’t start till everyone’s pretty drunk and tired at 3 o’clock in the morning on christmas? So that is… uhm thats why I’m asking you.”

Again all Tom was met with was a stern gaze, once again taking another generous sip of the scotch.

“Look I know you have your doubts about me- “ That got a response, a snort of agreement from your dad as if saying ‘you think’.

“But-but I really love your daughter. She’s my whole world and I can’t imagine being without her. And I know my lifestyle probably doesn’t fit with how you imagined your daughter to have. I mean-I’m not always at home and I’m away for months but- but…. look.” Tom sighed, shifting awkwardly on the sofa to directly face your dads armchair. “When I’m homesick and tired and grouchy from filming and I get back to the hotel I facetime Y/n. Everyday. And just seeing her smile, you-you know, the really soft small one that makes her dimples pop out? One look at that smile and everythings fine. Because all I’m thinking about is seeing that smile for the rest of my life. When she finds out she’s pregnant with our kid, when we’re taking them to college. I mean even when we’re 80 and probably sick of each other- she’ll still have that little smile that puts me into this sort of stupor. I just- I love her. And I’d do anything for her, I always will, I promise you that. So-so” With a shaky breath, Tom delivered his hitline.

“This is me just letting you know that I’m going to ask her to marry me and- I really hope she says yes.”

Tom was almost out of breath, and the breath he did have was shaky, looking up desperately at the older man across from him. He watched with wide eyes as your Dad placed his glass back on the drinks table with a clink, before leaning forward and standing up from the chair. He groaned slitghtly at the movement (his knees werent what they used to be) and took the two steps forward to be stood right infront of Tom’s seat. In that moment, Tom honestly thought he was getting a punch to the jaw at the very least. Afterall, he had just pretty much demanded that he were to propose to you.

As he braced for impact, tensing all his muscles, instead what he felt was a light pat to his right shoulder. Tom trailed his eyes up your dads figure to see what he thought was a gentle smile on his face too. Though he hadn’t ever seen your Dad smile at him before, so couldn’t say for certainty.

“You’re a good kid Tom, and you make Y/n very happy. Just pull yourself together when you ask her alright son? Didn’t think moviestars got stage fright.” And with that, your dad turned his back, heading toward the doorway that lead to the stairs to the bedrooms. Stunned, it took a moment or two before Tom processed - long enough that he had to leap up and call your dads name to get him to halt in the hallway.

“So is that a yes? You’re giving me permssion?”

“Oh Tom….” Your dad sighed in the lowlight of the hallway, in a more muted voice - now they were closer to the bedrooms where both you and your mum were sleeping peacefully. “ You already said, Y/n is strong and fiercely independent. I don’t control her, heck I don’t think she’s ever listened to me and never will. But…. for the record, I hope she says yes too and… I know she will.”

Scoffing in excitement, Tom combed a hand through his scalp, feeling such a wave of relief it was almost indescribable as your dad turned and trudged up the stairs. Once he heard the door of your parents bedroom close, he couldn’t help himself. He ran back into the kitchen, where he preceded to do an excited jumpy dance thing.

Because it meant a lot. To have your dads approval, to have your dads support. That meant the world. Not only for the sake of proposing but also, everything Tom said was true. He wanted to build a family with you - which meant that man was going to be the grandparents to your kids one day. That man had helped to craft you into the person you were today - his ‘person’. His perfect angelic, sweet woman.

Whenever he felt this excited, this happy, this elated - theres only one person he wants to be with. So, after turning all the lights off and checking the doors were locked (with a very obvious spring in his step) he then hopped up the stairs. Tiptoeing around, he got ready for bed in no time, before getting to the highlight of each evening.

Delicately he crawled into bed, sliding under the covers, so as to not disturb you. Naturally though, feeling the bed dip made you turnover- hooking your legs round his and resting your head on his chest. Tom chuckled quietly at your cuteness, stroking your cheek lightly with his thumb. It was enough to rouse you awake, enough to make you acutely aware of the thundering sound from his chest. With tired eyes, you propped your chin on his breastbone looking up at him with concern.

“You alright T? Hearts really racing.” He only replied with this loopy lovesick grin, his right hand coming to cup your cheek.

“Go back to sleep darling, I’m okay.” He did look okay, but he was almost too smiley and even with a foggy sleepy brain, you were still suspicious.

“Whats going on, you’re being weird?”

“Nothing…. your dad and me just had a chat… He called me son.” That shocked you too - clearly the conversation you’d had with him about being nicer to Tom had rubbed off.

“He did?”

“He did…. you are beautiful you know?” Now he was definitely being weird. You furrowed your eyebrows, as if trying to read his mind because something odd was going on in there.

“Now you’re just being creepy. What’s up?”

Tom just leant forward to kiss your forehead, then pulled you down onto his chest.

“I just love your family and I love you, you know that?”

“Are you trying to get into my pants? Because my parents are literally in the next room.”

“Oh shut up and kiss me.”

#tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland angst

[rawrienstein]

Late night Elden Ring thoughts.

So I beat the game a little less than a week ago and just let my thoughts float around about it.

I honestly don't think Open World is a good genre and Elden Ring being the best at it is more because it already had an established formula it adapted. I keep imagining the better traditional Souls style game in my head. The most interesting/fulfilling things to navigate are the dungeon-esque areas because they have all the stuff you expect from a traditional Souls style game as opposed to, "Well I'll just horse past this dumb shit later nerds."

Density.

It's not feasible to make an open world game dense. Elden Ring is one of the few that I've completed because it does it's best to be as dense as it can. But the further you go, the copy pasting to get dense just gets more obvious.

It took me 100 hours to beat to satisfaction, but I'd gladly give back 50 of those if I could not fight the same boss 7 times. Or bosses that whose new challenge is, well there's two of them. Or well now he's got a friend. Or there's literally no difference this is just a regular dude now you deal with all the time.

I don't want to look at this same mini dungeon tileset for the 10th time in a row. Oh, this is new, wait this is a new cave mini dungeon tileset, I'll be seeing these 5 times again. Cool.

Ah, palette swap dragons, usually one of the coolest creatures reduced to "Well each one gets two unique attacks."

I think exploration is my favorite part of From Software games. They generally come up with really interesting takes on traditional fantasy, and their level design is really good. They really figured out what a jump button means for exploration! It's really good! But the practically over-reused assets stuff just kinda kills it for me.

I'm glad they figured out horseback combat. It's good and works, but fuck that if I can get more unique areas/creatures instead.

I'd also really appreciate more non-aggressive overworld creatures. I really like the jellyfish. I'm glad I can just chill with most of them. Wish there were more like that. Friends...

To get off the open world rant I also just need to scream about how Souls combat will always be shit with it's three fatal flaws that it's kept for the past every game in the series.

Input buffer and lack of consistency of it. Sometimes it holds on to an input for a full 5 seconds and will perform it at the earliest opportunity and usually the worst. And other times it's just doesn't at all. It's difficult to figure out what triggers this and I still don't know. I just know one easily repeatable excessive input buffer example is jumping heavy attack and then any attack right after pressing the heavy. It usually forces the next attack or input after the jumping attack finishes. Which is just way too long to hold onto an input.

Lack of input buffer override. The input buffer could be overcome if I could just put a different input in the front of the queue instead of the follow up attack I got interrupted from I'd like to just guard instead now, oh it's just going to attack after being combo'd for 3 seconds. Cool. Thanks. Gonna horse back here from the grace site now.

Somehow an even worse camera with worse lock-on/targeting. Some of the white target placement on enemies just don't make sense and result in frequently whiffing while literally in their boundary boxes. I cannot be in any closer but my thrust weapon is pointing somewhere in the sky and not a hurtbox at the feet. Cool design for this enemy. Camera also being too close so I can't see the enemy except for parts of their feet. Please just zoom out a little? Just a widdle?

Okay I lied, here's a fourth. Input delay for rolls due to being the same button as running, that's just stupid. Like, just extremely stupid. No.

I'm just going to end my gamer rant here. There's a lot of cool stuff in Elden Ring. It's still worth exploring. I hope everyone enjoyed their time. The bespoke stuff is really cool and what I expect from FromSoftware, but I also don't want an Elden Ring 2.

#Elden Ring #video games #screm #also just add an assist mode for accessibility

[kindaeccentric]

When I was writing my university bachelor's degree thesis (that I'm still to defend) about Penny Dreadful as a modern adaptation of Frankenstein I noticed how the original novel's homoeroticism is realized by the series in an interesting way.

In the way he is presented, it seems to me that Victor secretly desires men, but thinks that only through creating a perfect one by himself he's allowed to touch other man's skin. His endeavour to pierce the veil between life and death is an excuse, since Victor from the series grew up lonely after the death of his mother and he searches for companionship, for someone who would love him unconditionally, like his mother used to. He believes he can find such love only in a person he creates himself, brings from the dead, and who would see him as his only friend, calm and obedient. Yet his first instinct is to make a man, not a woman, and a handsome man at that.

I can imagine both Rory Kinnear and Alex Price are not everybody's cup of tea (I do find them attractive, they are quite charismatic), but the way the original Creature and Proteus are shown makes them attractive. Proteus we see through Victor's eyes, when he is tending to his body before its even reanimated, when he sketches him (a sure sign of affection) and when he teaches him how to eat in a way that becomes seductive, because of how the camera lingers on his lips and then, in a closeup, on his fingers running down his long throat, immediately bringing to mind erotic imagery. Some may argue that Victor tries to emulate the relationship between his mother and himself taking the parental role and projecting onto Proteus the role of his childhood self, and as much as it is partially true, their relationship bears these marks of hidden desire on Victor's part from the start. The image at the end of the first episode when Proteus is born shows Victor trembling, teary-eyed, looking at the body, a torn and stitched back together, but human body, of a naked man. He's afraid, but not necessarily of the man, but of finally getting what he wanted, it's a fear resulting from excitement. Then the man is touching his face tenderly and Victor, still trembling, cannot stop himself from a little smile. Their faces are softly illuminated by the orange light of the gas lamp, creating an intimate atmosphere of a warm bedroom. Victor practically gasps hearing his own name smoken by Proteus. I doubt all of it was intentional in the way I read it, but it doesn't change the fact that the final scene can be easily interpreted this way.

Then the original Creature, with the violence surrounding his return, presents him as highly masculine, smart, powerful, a direct opposite to the delicate, clueless Proteus Victor could easily form into whatever he wanted. The Creature throughout the entire series is perceived as ugly by some and easily tolerated by others, making his ugliness purely subjective, since, despite his small deformities he remains strangely alluring with his gothic qualities (black long hair, black lips, white skin, yellow eyes, proportional features) of a dark brooding gentleman. With blood on his face he becomes vampire-like (vampires always a symbol of hidden desires and 'depraved' sexuality, the Creature and Victor becoming a mirror image of Vanessa and vampire Mina, both Creature's and Mina's monstrosity an indirect result of Victor's and Vanessa's desire towards having a same-sex companion). The Creature touches Victor's face, a callback to Proteus doing it, but the Creature is not gentle, he smears blood all over Victor's face (blood in vampire narratives was always a symbol for other bodily fluids, that's why it seems so sexy, it also gained another meaning in the 80s, due to the HIV epidemic, which no filmmaker can shake off if they tried, I could discuss it more with The Lost Boys, but no time for that right now).

The dynamic between Victor and the Creature is a reversal of Victor's budding relationship with Proteus, experience winning over innocence. Victor is under another man's rule, and it terrifies him, because it would force him into a position of having to admit his attraction, whereas as the one in control he could have still easily deny it. The Creature, with all his attributes, symbolizes carnal love, he's all 'body', where Proteus was virginal, pious love (to an extent). In one of the scenes where we see Proteus he looks up into the skylight at Victor's apartment and appears angelic, as if in a halo of white light.

It's revealed Victor never had a woman, and the series wants the viewer to believe it's because of his awkwardness and passion for science that consumed him, but his dedication to creating himself male companions instead of searching for a living female one is exactly what makes him seem more queer coded.

It's clear that the lack of paternal figure results in Victor quickly becoming close with older men he encounters (Sir Malcolm, Van Helsing), but it also puts him into a position where he's constantly surrounded by men, with whom he feels more at ease, and is intimidated by women. The rivalry between him and Ethan is that of siblings, until the moment when Ethan teaches him how to shoot a gun. It might be a stretch (it is a bit of a stretch, I admit), but a gun often, especially in horror, alongside a knife, represents manhood and masculine power. Victor allows Ethan to touch him and encourages him to show off with the gun, which is a scene all too familiar from many other movies where the role of Victor is reserved for a woman and the interaction is flirtatious (can't pull examples out of thin air, but if you saw over 1400 movies like me you know I'm not lying). All this adds to the general image of Victor.

The Creature and Victor, when they are on a walk, have a very revealing conversation in which the Creature points out how quick Victor was to grow attached to his more perfect man, and Victor doesn't deny it, he admits that he did in fact feel affection towards Proteus, although the meaning of it as the scorned past partner expressing jealousy over the love he didn't get while someone else did is largely subtext. When the Creature says that he's lonely, Victor answers 'I cannot love you' (paraphrase, because I can't find the exact quote right now) and the Creature, disillusioned, mocks him, 'I do not want what you cannot give' suggesting that Victor, by making himself a meek obedient man, is selfish, cruel, manipulating, and a coward, therefore could not have loved Proteus truly. Then again, Victor cannot bring himself to love his original Creature, because he's not the ideal man he envisioned and by then the Creature being too aware of his flaws of character. The Creature/Caliban/John Clare knows that Victor is 'monstrous', not just because he's someone who desecrates dead bodies, plays God and abandons his creation, but because of his queer desire. It's important that in the case of Penny Dreadful 'monstrosity' signifies many different things, literal (being a vampire werewolf, witch, and so on), metaphorical (bad deeds, like letting your son die a horrible death, cheating, killing etc.) and wholy subjective, merely condemned by ignorant society (Sembene's blackness, Brona's sex work, Lily's want to be equal or greater than men, Vanessa's want for sexual freedom, the Creature's ugliness, Angelique being transgender and other cases), so it's NOT that much of a stretch this time.

We also have the whole problem with Lily. Victor is so attached to Lily (who takes up both Elizabeth's and creature's bride parts in the novel) because he believes that only by possessing a good woman he'll be redeemed for his 'sinful' desires, but he's foolish to think that. This belief reduces a woman to a semi-maternal, semi-virginal angelic ideal with no sexual urges or agency, like virgin Mary. Lily is a true replacement for Victor's mother, and his imagined redemption. As long as she's similar to Proteus, in that she's not sexual, and pure like an angel. Yet Lily is not a woman in that sense. She is another of Victor's creatures, so she partially also takes over the role of the original Creature from the novel, a male. She's not an ideal of a Victorian obedient wife, she has power, or tries to have it, but power in the context of patriarchal society is masculine by nature. The moment she drops her pretenses of a weak delicate wife-like girl Victor does not want her like this. He doesn't want a woman that is sexually liberated, because he doesn't like women in this way, and yet, by being similar to the first Creature (from Victor's perspective, from hers John Clare is similar to Victor-a man, I could delve into Brona's sexuality, but later, this thing is already way longer than I intended) she's 'the man' he wanted.

There is also Henry. Henry Jekyll takes the role of his namesake in the novel, Henry Clerval, Victor's closest friend, and a character most often cited to have homoerotic tension with Victor. It's true that some of the eroticism might be accidental, stemming from the prevalence of homosocial interactions in 'Frankenstein' which in turn is a result of misogynistic nature of 19th century Genevian society and in-novel universe reflecting it, but like I mentioned before, it still feeds into the queer reading of the text and translates beautifully into Jekyll and Victor being both extremely misogynistic towards Lily and their mutual homoerotic tension. In the scenes where Henry purposes his plan to Victor he practically seductively purrs it into his ear, Lily becomes merely a female buffer that allows for that interaction, a female presence which is an excuse for male closeness (here I have a couple of examples actually: Dead Ringers, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Scream (in a roundabout way, through murder) and a couple others, but that deserves its own article). I won't even mention more references to the novel, because that's a lot already.

Penny Dreadful, although I believe largely unintentionally, expands on what is already there through the changes it introduces in relation to the novel's plot. I have nothing else smart to say, I just think it's worth considering.

*I use the word 'queer', because that's the umbrella term we use in academic writing for years now and even our lgbt+ group at university is called 'queer', so don't come at me with stupid takes

#Penny Dreadful #queer readings #Frankenstein #Victor Frankenstein #lily frankenstein

[asterroidd]

sho the todorki

↬ pairing: shouto todoroki x reader

↬ synopsis: you like him, he likes you. the problem? sho's in the friend zone and so it's up to mina, the resident match maker, and company to give you guys a lil push.

alternatively: sho being a dork, hence the title

↬ warning/s: profanity lol, a lot of second hand embarrassment, two insufferable idiots, idk if this is too ooc of shouto but just take this dorky version of him

↬ note: a fic dedicated to @puredivinity​ that serves as a welcome gift for joining the sho simp club. luv u mara despite all the cursed images i send

    Class 3-A has four unspoken rules:

    Number one: never play music out loud beyond 8 pm (tried and tested by Denki himself, got blown up by Bakugo)

    Number two: don't leave your room at 2 am or a certain grape pervert would harass you

    Number three: refrain from mentioning crocs to Kirishima. Just don’t.

    And number four: never tell you or Shouto that both of you like each other (just for the sake of entertainment)

    It had become customary to not break these four rules or those who dare break it is rumored to have a thousand year duration of bad luck to be passed down generation after generation.

    That said, Mina was fed up with the mutual pining you and Shouto clearly exhibit. For two years she watched both of you shy and fluster with one another. His face beet red while you a fumbling mess. Truly a sight to behold. It was like watching a romance movie in real time, but without the stupid opening track. 

    At first she thought it was cute, it all started one morning during her first year in U.A. You forgot your jacket that day after waking up late and thus have to rush to get on time. Aizawa would have your head if you weren't there in homeroom. So in your idiocy and frantic state, you forgot most of the essential stuff and that includes, of course, a warm jacket.

    Mina watched as Shouto stared at you from across the room.  With tense shoulders as his gaze constantly drift from your form to his jacket. Her mouth curled upwards, interested with the current situation. It was not every day one could see the infamous Todoroki Shouto so nervous.

    She eagerly kept her attention on him, watching as Shouto got up from his seat and slowly made his way to you with shaky legs. Shouto, barely uttering a word, shoved his jacket to you and rushed back to his seat. At that moment, Mina already knew something was blossoming between you and him.

    And so it basically became her life mission to make sure you and Shouto end up with one another. She made the promise two years ago, and yet here you both were, two dorks that has a crush on each other but couldn't confess even if the world ends that very moment.

    Was it difficult to watch? Yes.

   It took all of Mina's entire being to not push his head into yours. She knows the consequences if one breaks the fourth rule. Two years had already pass and graduation is around the corner, she refuses to accept that both of you aren't a couple. As Class 3-A's resident cupid and match maker, she is more than determined to make sure you and him both end up together. Mina would not be inherently breaking rule number four, just gonna give you guys a lil' push with the help of a friend. And that friend is one that possesses an electrification quirk.

    "Okay, what do we tell (____) tomorrow?" Denki asked.

    Shouto looked over his written notes one last time before nodding and giving his answer, "I'll ask them if they want to have coffee."

    "Good! Make sure to?"

    "I'll make sure to keep eye contact and. . ." he halted, going over his notes once more. "And make sure that I'm smiling."

    Denki flashed him a grin. Clasping a hand around his shoulder and lightly patting it afterwards. "Now, don't forget the lesson I've taught you today. It is important that your date goes smoothly with (____)."

    Shouto eagerly nodded, stars dancing in his eyes. His heart clamored inside his chest, beating in a quick tempo comparable to that of allegro. Sweat accumulated on his palm, in which Shouto then hastily wiped it on his shirt. Despite nervousness bubbling inside his stomach, Shouto admits that he is excited to ask you out.  "Do you really think (____) and I would be a great couple?"

    "Of course, dude! Right, Mina?" Denki turned to his friend. She gave him two thumbs-up, giving fuel to Shouto's confidence for tomorrow's event.

    Now that Denki is done giving him an hour-long lesson about asking you out and things to do in a date, Mina was sure everything would go smooth as butter. Like, what could go wrong? Despite Shouto being a dork and foreign to the concept of love, he still has that natural charm that had some swooning for him.

    Though, she spoke all too soon.

    Mina facepalmed, dragging her palm across her face as Shouto stood frozen before you. She and Denki should've seen this coming.

    "(____)," he started, his voice cracking at the end. Suddenly the discoloration and grime in between the cracks of the wall looks interesting. He kept looking everywhere but you.

    You tilted your head to the side, "What's up, Sho?"

    Heavens above, Shouto loves that nickname.

    The male fiddles with the ends of his shirt, his tongue twisting and throat closing which makes it hard to speak. After class had ended, Shouto came up to you asking if he could talk to you somewhere private. He led you to the area behind the gym where no students are on sight. Well, that is except for Mina and Denki who closely followed behind to make sure Shouto wouldn't mess up his chance. The two stayed low, making sure they are well hidden behind the bush nearby.

   This was now the moment; the perfect chance for Shouto to ask you out after practicing his lines over and over again. It was a simple question: ‘Do you want to have coffee with me this weekend if you are free?”

   Should be easy enough right?

    "I- well- uhh. . ." he scratched the area behind his ear. "D-do you maybe want to free?"

    Shouto paled, he'd done messed up.

    "Wait that's wrong—" he took a deep breath. "Are you coffee this weekend?"

    Really? Really Shouto?

    "Shit— wait! Coffee this free??"

    Can someone take this lost child away?

    Denki bit his inner cheek, hands tugging his hair from second hand embarrassment. He had fate on him; had fate that Shouto had rehearsed enough the night before in asking you out. Guess he was wrong.

    "What do you mean by that?" you voiced out. You were beyond puzzled, unsure what to make of the situation. First he asks to speak with you in private, now he's a stuttering mess. Could it be that he's confessing? Asking you out?

    Your heart quickened at the thought. You were ready to say 'yes'.

    "What I mean is uhh. . ." Shouto wished he has his written notes. "Are you weekend for this coffee?"

    "YES!!" you shout without thinking.

    Wait, what? Hold up.

    "Aight, I'm forcing these two to kiss each other." Mina announced. That’s it. She lost hope for the both of you. You and Shouto need professional help. She adjusted her position, ready to get up and intervene. That is until Denki lay a heavy hand on her shoulder.

    "Wait," he motioned his head to you. Mina huffed, sitting down once more.

    "Sho. . ." you start, a soft smile on your face.

    "Y-yes?" damn, Shouto is such a stuttering mess.

    "Do you want to grab a coffee this weekend? I mean, if you are free?"

    He blinked, your words slowly being registered in his brain. There was a buffer, like an old computer processing 10 kilobyte worth of data. His brain was stuck on 78% in the progress bar. Then, it dawned on him; the cogs and gears turning. It took a full minute for Shouto to understand. "I-. . .I’d love to!" he managed to stutter out.

    Welp, at least that did the job. Denki and Mina released a sigh of relief. High-fiving each other despite the obvious fact that Shouto failed his task.

    But hey, beggars can't be choosers. All's well, ends well.

    You can't believe it.

    You have a date with Shouto. THE Todoroki Shouto. The guy you've had a crush on since your first year in UA. The one that swept you right off your feet the moment you laid your eyes on him. The friend that always had your back. With him struggling to ask you earlier, could it mean that he likes you more than a friend?

    You let out a squeal, pressing the pillow flush against your chest. In total, you've replayed the scene from memory for over fifty times already. You couldn't even concentrate in doing your homework. So you thought instead of doing your responsibilities, you opted to celebrate by screaming and running around your room in glee.

   It wasn't everyday you'd get a douse of serotonin.

   You’ve waited for this day since forever. Day dreaming about Shouto being your significant other; holding hands with him, wrapping your arms around his torso, and kissing his lips.

   The thought brought forth another pterodactyl squeal from you.

   Oh gods, what would you wear? Should it be casual? Semi-formal? Formal?

   A wedding dress??

   No one told you a date was this stressful. You groaned, prying opening your wardrobe cabinet to quickly plan out an outfit. You can’t afford to look stupid and, dare you say, cheap when you’re on a date with the most sought after male in UA.

   Meanwhile, Shouto is also panicking.

   “Look man, you messed up once but that’s okay!” Denki cheered him up. “Experience is the best teacher.”

   “I know but. . .” Shouto took one deep breath, burying his face in his hands. “I-. . .I just froze up the moment I was in front of them.”

   “And that’s normal!”

   The moment you and Shouto parted ways, the male immediately went to Denki for some follow up consultation. Sure, he can fight villains face-to-face without batting an eye. Could freeze half of his enemies without a drop of sweat. Unleash an inferno of fire to defeat his oponent. Tolerate a bunch of fans shoving cameras up his face to get a close-up picture.

   But Todoroki Shouto, for the love of god, couldn’t ask you out without freezing in place and become a stuttering mess.

   “Lighten up man!” Denki nudged his shoulder. “Unleash the tiger inside you.”

   “But I don’t have a tiger inside me. That would be anatomically incorrect.”

   “Look—that’s not the—. . .what I mean is—uhh. . .nevermind. . .” the blond struggled with his words. He had to be careful with what advice he throw at Shouto. That man takes things way too literately. “What I mean is, toughen up. Have confidence on yourself. You’ll have (____) falling for you before you knew it.”

   Which will be easy since (____) is a simp for him, Denki thought.

   Shouto raised his fist then clenched it, determination washing over him. He gave one brief nod to his mentor (that is the personification of Pikachu).

   He can do it. Todoroki Shouto could do it.

   He’d go over his lines a thousand times before the date. He’d make sure he is 110% prepared before the weekend. Denki had made a dent in his schedule just to tutor him how to make you fall in love with him. Shouto wouldn’t let this go to waste.

   Yes, this man is prepared and is on a mission he couldn't possibly fail.

   Scratch that, Shouto’s a mess.

   He pulled the end of his sleeves, his legs bouncing up and down. The male bit the inside of his cheeks, was the weather hot or was it just his insides burning up. Shouto couldn’t sleep the night before, his mind kept him up. It was like 17 browser tabs are open, with three of them frozen, and he doesn’t know where the music is coming from.

   Due to the jitters getting the best of him, Shouto arrived at the agreed destination. . .two hours earlier than what was expected.

   Which wasn’t a problem anyway, since you did the same.

   You huffed, doubling over and placing your hands on your knees. You had ran from your house all the way to the cafe just to make sure you weren't late this time. In attempts to catch your breath, you’ve failed to notice your date standing just a few feet away from you. The minute Shouto laid his eyes on you, fire sparked deep within his heart. Someone pinch him and tell this wasn’t a dream.

   “(____),” he walked close to which startled you.

   “Sho! You-. . . you’re early!”

   “So are you. . .”

   Then silence fell between both of you. Talk about awkward. Who’s idea was it to get these two idiots in a date? If anything, both of you should’ve just left it on mutual pining and save it as a story for the grandchildren.

   Shouto cleared his throat, hands scratching the back of his neck. “Well, since we’re both early. Why won’t we enter the café?”

   You nodded, your voice box failing you. Inwardly, you were screaming your heart out. The embarrassment was just too much for you to handle. You doubt that Shouto would want a second date at this point.

   And so you lagged behind him, keeping a feet distance away from the male. You have a hard time looking at him without making a mess for yourself. Blood rushing your cheeks, it was hard to ignore the butterflies fluttering inside your stomach.

   The café was quite small. A handful of potted plants hung outside, the store’s name written in calligraphy, and a few customers visible from the window. The establishment was newly built, Ochako introduced it to you about a week ago. The cheesecake they sell is to die for—it was definitely worth the hefty price.

   A small chime went off as Shouto opened the door. Then it hit you; the strong smell of coffee. You were not a big fan of the beverage, but you’ve got to admit that the scent was pleasant. Without prior warning, Shouto lightly held your hand in his. His thumb gliding over the back of your hand a few times. You took in a sharp inhale, eyes widening at his gesture.

   This is what they do in dates right? Shouto recalled his notes.

   So this is like a DATE date?? Not a friendly date? Somebody pinch me right now, you thought.

   “We should find a table,” he spoke, eyes refusing to make contact with yours. You’ve managed to stutter out an agreement, too occupied with the feeling of his hands. It was so warm—just the way you imagined it throughout the years.

   You could finally die now in peace. Goodbye cruel world.

   Soon enough, you and he are situated on a table near the window. Neither of you dare start a conversation, because god forbid another awkward interaction. Years worth of watching romance series could have never prepared you for such an instance. You wished you should’ve consulted some of your classmates—especially those who have experience in the topic of dating—before coming here yourself. You could try and message them, but you wondered if it would be rude to pull out your phone and ignore Shouto. No, you wouldn’t take the chance.

   “Uh- So how are you, (____)?” he asked, pulling you out of your thoughts.

   “Oh, uhhh—. . .” how does one even speak again? “I’m doing well, I guess. . .?”

   That was lame, (____). Lame.

   “How about you?”

   Shouto was silent, you figured he didn’t hear you so you repeated yourself once again. All the while not looking at his direction. It would be better if you don’t see his face or you’ll turn into a puddle of mess.

   But seconds seem to drag to minutes, and that got you concerned.

   “Sho—“ you cut yourself short, realizing that he was staring at you with a lovestruck expression. He looks at you rather softly, like how one would look at a small pet one happens to cross by while walking. The way Shouto kept his gaze at you made you insecure. Was there something on your face? Hair? Shirt? Oh gods, did you smell?

   You wished that, right then and there, the earth would swallow you whole.

   “Sorry I was just. . .” he faltered in his sentence, gulping down his saliva. Shouto then turned his head to the side, a blush ever so present on his cheeks as well as the tips of his ears.

   "Sorry, you're just—just so cute in that outfit that I can’t help but stare."

   His voice was quiet, barely a whisper but you heard it, ironically, loud and clear. Your hand found its way on your mouth, blood rushing to your cheeks as a result of his compliment.

   “Tha-thank you. . .” you’ve managed to croak out, looking down and fiddling with your nails.

   Just. WOW. You can’t believe it. Never once did Shouto commented on your appearance throughout the duration of your friendship with him. What he did was just. . .just so unexpected from him. You find it hard to believe yourself.

   All these years, you’ve hidden your feelings for him. Trapped it inside a chest and swallowed the key yourself. Him falling for you is comparable to that of pigs flying; it was impossible to happen. Yet both of you sat there, like two dorks, a blushing mess while refusing to make eye contact with one another. For once, maybe this time, you could tell him how you feel.

   “I like you. . .” you voiced out your thoughts. It took you a minute to realize what you've done. You let out a small gasp and directed your attention to Shouto. He was also looking at you, baffled. He went silent, his jaw went slack, and eyes wide open, trying to find the words to reply.

   Oh boi, did you made a mistake?

   “(__—“

   “BECAUSE YOU’RE MY FRIEND!” Your jaw tightened, declaring it all too loudly just in case he rejects you. “I like you because you’ve been a good friend to me.”

   You hope you were doing this right.

   Unbeknownst to you, Shouto felt his heart break into two after hearing your added comment. His shoulders slumped down, sadness clouded his features.

   “I. . .I see. . .” he muttered. “I like you too,” he said after a pregnant pause.

   Your whole face lit up. Now it was your turn to look at him with a baffled expression. There was a twinkle in your eye, is this it? The moment of your life?

   “Because you’re my precious friend.” Shouto plastered a smile on his face.

   Oh. Welp, Mina and Denki tried.

   RIP to both of you, forever pushing the other in the friend zone.

ya’ll want a bakugo version of this? (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ✧

#shouto x reader #todoroki x reader #shouto todoroki #shoto x reader #mha #bnha #my hero academy #boku no hero academia #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mutual pining #reader insert

[gaijinhunter]

Monster Hunter Rise: 2nd Trailer and news blowout

Hey guys this is Gaijinhunter. I am uploading this as a text post since I caught a cold and have been unable to edit a video.

There was a huge second wave of news for Monster Hunter Rise with the reveal of the 2nd trailer the other day during the Game Awards 2020 show. Keep in mind the actual full length trailer is much longer and better than the shorter edit they showed during the show so makes sure you watch it. It showcased a second map, 2 new monsters, several returning monsters, and more. They also updated their official website with a ton of information so instead of doing a trailer reaction or breakdown, I am going to give you all the info they shared but split up by category, trying to focus only on the new stuff.

New Map

Director Ichinose hinted in an interview that one of the new maps would be nostalgic and boy he wasn't kidding. The Flooded Forest from Third Generation has been massively remade and is back in MH rise. Of course given this game’s focus is verticality, there is no underwater combat sections but they really nailed it from what I can see. One of the most iconic parts of the forest was the ruins in the backgrounds, and now you can scale up it using the wirebug. How cool is that. 

With the new map we also got the reveal of 2 new monsters.

First up is the mermaid wyvern, the Somnacanth. This marks the much hyped return of the leviathan class of monsters which were missing in world and iceborne. This Monster looks so wild. It has a special breath that will put you to sleep, is super aggressive, and has this crazy taiko drum like chest in which it will grab oysters and other things and bust them against it to break them open and buff itself. The Japanese name is quite a mouthful and is called Isonemikuni. This is the monster that Ichinose teased with his cute drawing on twitter.

Next up is the tengu beast, Bishaten. This monster is really unique, it looks like a mix of a monkey, bat, and bird. It has a huge and powerful tail it uses for massive mobility and it will chuck various fruits at you as well. One of the most iconic fruits it throws are persimmons, which are very Japanese and if you haven’t had them before, they are kind of an acquired taste. It’s Japanese name is Bishutendo. 

For returning monsters we have a few. First is our favorite sponge, the Royal Ludroth. This is a fan favorite and a great early to mid game monster. It has one of the best move sets in my opinion, very telegraphed but it can still catch you off guard even if you are super used to it. Strategically figuring gout where to stand in order to cut off its tail or break the sponge has always been really fun and intersting so I’m delighted to see this monster return, also look at that texture of the sponge!

Then we got the return of the Great Wroggi, the anti-poison skill tutorial monster. This thing really messed me up back in MH3G until I spent the time to get the materials to craft anti-posion decorations and even then, like the Great Izuchi, it fights really well with its sidekick small wroggis and I cant wait to see the improved cooperative AI that they are making for the Great Izuchi applied to this monster as well. It’s armor also spots a really cool Crocodile Dundee hat and look in the trailer and you can see the palico armor as well. So cool.

Finally, we got a small scene that appears to show a snow map and a group of baggi getting hit by a Khezu lightening shot. Does this mean the Great Baggi will return? Not sure. But that scream 100% is a Khezu, and I cannot wait to see how it looks with higher resolution texturing, I bet it will be creepy as heck. So while not technically confirmed, I’d say it’s safe to say Khezu is returning in some form. The balance of all these monsters is so great, I love the selection so far.

As far as other returning monsters that might return, I think we all expect nargacuga and zinogre. These are flagship monsters from games directed by Ichinose and he even tweeted his palamute and palico both named after these two monsters. Especially given the Japanese aesthetic, I think it’s pretty much guaranteed they are returning. Then I think mizutsune is also highly likely given its Japanese design, the fox theme, the kimono armor. Plus the model for it doesn't look that far off from the new Somnacanth. Anyway I have super hyped.

Interaction with animals and endemic life

One of the huge features of Monster Hunter Rise is the focus on wild life and animals to buff your hunter or be used as tools during a hunt.

There are 4 major types of Endemic Life: Temp Buffer, Permabuffer, Hunting Helper, and environmental.

For Permabuffer, we got a new render of the Spiribirds, which will buff your hunter if you move near one, and the effects depend on the color of the pollen it is carrying. Green increases your max Health, Orange increases your defense, red increases your attack power, and yellow increases your max stamina. There is even a special rainbow colored one, which I assume will buff all 4.

Via their website, Capcom announced a new item called the Petalace, a bracelet made of a plant called a Sending Sprig that each hunter has equipped. This is what collects the pollen from the birds and buffs your hunter. There is a variety of Petalaces in the game and some may increase the amount in which an attack boost is applied from a single Spiribird, raise the max value that health can be boosted, and more. Here in the screen shot we can see the caps for each and the amount gained for each buff. Just a quick note but this is not going to be replacing charms as we know that they are giving away a talisman for pre-order.

For Temp Buffer creatures, they revealed the name of the Clothfly, a butterfly that will temporarily increase your defense once you interact with it and cause it to generate a cloud of dust. In previous videos we have seen Peepers that reduce stamina usage, birds that raise your base stats, and a dragonfly that boosts your affinity and I had calculated it out to being applied for 90 seconds but we’ll have to wait for hte final game to see if that depends on the effect or if they change it, but it sounds about right.

For Hunting Helper creatures, we got an adorable new render of the Stinkmink. You can carry up to 5 Hunting Helpers and use them like items. The Stinkmink can be used to cover yourself in a special pheromone that will attract large monsters to you, even allowing you to lure one monster toward another to cause a turf war. I personally can think of other applications like luring a monster toward a trap and stuff like that.

And for environmental endemic life, they didn't show it in the trailer but there are also wildlife that can be used like environmental traps. For example, use raw meat and the giganha fish will go crazy, damaging anything nearby be it a hunter or monster. I can’t wait to see someone hunt a Great Wroggi using only raw meat. I love that we finally will have more use for this item.

NPCs

In the new trailer we got to hear several of the NPC villagers talking and on the website they go into a lot more details. They have quite the star-studded cast in Japanese and the English voice actors are also very interesting picks. This really marks the first time in Monster Hunter that the main cast of villagers will all be called by name and speak, which I think adds a lot of personality to the game.

First we have Fugen the village elder of Kamura and skilled long sword user. 

Then we have Hinoa the Quest Maiden, a cheerful and optimistic girl who serves as the quest giver in the village while her twin sister runs the gathering hub. While not announced in any other language, the French and Italian language sites for the game list her sister’s name as Minoto. Hinoa’s name is Hinoe in Japnaese and for the rest of the cast their names are identical between the two languages.

One thing I am excited for is that they said that one of the ways they will help communicate the uniqueness of Kamura is through songs and they shared a sample of one of them in the full trailer. This one is sung by Izumi Kato. If you remember back in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate they featured songs by the wyverian Diva, and I am so happy they decided to do songs again, they add so much richness to the world and are just lovely to listen to.

Next up is Yomogi, our village chef. In this game you will eat meals at her Tea Shop, where her speciality is the Bunny Dango she makes along with the help of some palicoes. I love that we’ve seen her in past videos with a heavy bowgun, so the idea that all the villagers are active participants in the story is great. 

Then we have Hamon the blacksmith. He used to hunt alongside Fugen back in the day but now creates weapons for the hunters of the village. His grandson also appears in the game and is a kind-hearted youth that loves your hunting companions.

Next is Kagero the merchant. Despite his mysterious appearance he is actually very warm and kind. If there is a sale going on, not only can you buy most items for half off, but you can also participate in a lottery where you spin a wheel and it dispenses a colored ball. Get a rare color ball to win a rare prize. You can do it once per sale, but you can also scan an amiibo to spin two more times, but only once per day per amiibo you own.

Finally we have Komitsu the sweet-tooth, she sells candy apples in town. What these do is still not yet revealed.

Companions

We got an adorable render for the Cohoot, the pet owl that shows the positions of monsters on your map. You can interact with it in the town and even dress them up in fancy outfits.

Kamura Village

We got gameplay showing that the entire village is open to the 4 person multiplayer session and you can even ride around on your palamute and use your wirebug while in the village to zip around and have fun. There is still a gathering hall but the ability to see each other in the village as well as jump around and really explore it is a lovely change they are making.

Story wise we got more info about the Rampage, both a story mechanic and new quest type. For some reason the monsters will sometimes gang up and attack the village all at once and no one knows why. They call this a Rampage. There was a really bad rampage 50 years ago that nearly destroyed the village and in response the town has created a Stronghold to stop further invasions. This looks like a new quest type with multiple monsters all at once, and a slew of different artillery options at your disposal. I could see this as being a really fun type of quest to do online with other players. 

And of course the most exciting news was that there will be a demo in January with more details to come later. That is far earlier than I expected and I now have to finish up my back catalogue of games in like the next month.

And that about wraps it up. Cpacom said that they will be sharing weapon preview videos for all 14 types very soon and if they do the way they used to do it, we’ll get one new video a day for 2 weeks. I hope you enjoyed this recap of the news and please let me know down in comments what you thought about the second trailer. And until next time, happy hunting.

#MHRise