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mysteryshoptls · 8 months

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SSR Jack Howl - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Jack: Oh, this painting has wolves in the snow chasing an intruder that was romping through their territory. Very brave of them.

Jack: And this painting… Ah, it's a wolf that raised an orphaned baby. Didn't know one did that.

Jack: There's so many wolves to be proud of.

Jack: ―Ah, oops. I can't help lingering whenever I see a painting of wolves. Since they invited me all the way out here, I should take a look at the other stuff as well.

Jack: Hm? What's that painting of those animals over there…?

???: Oho? This is quite the tasteful art piece.

Jack: Oh you're… Malleus-senpai. So, you like this one, too?

Malleus: Indeed. It is truly a scene to behold that I could not help myself stopping before it.

Malleus: The sight of the baboon walking through the throng of animals, all whom have their heads bowed, is majestic and beautiful… Whatever could they be doing there?

Jack: I think this is… Yeah, a depiction of when all the animals gathered to celebrate the birth of their prince.

Jack: The baboon in the center there was respected by all the other animals as a real capable sorcerer.

Jack: Not only was he an amazing mage, he was also good at drawing, and was real strong, too.

Jack: Don't you think that's amazing? It's only natural that he'd remain in the history books, especially being that skilled.

Malleus: True, those with exceptional talents have a charming tendency to attract the attention of others.

Malleus: And you, Howl, seem to have quite the font of knowledge, with how you to readily are able to answer my queries...

Jack: Heh, I just a thing or two about the history of animals, since I'm a beastman, and all. Back when I was a kid, I'd have a ton of picture books, and I'd hear all about them.

Jack: But I think it was the tales of the King of Beasts that really made me actually go to the library and want to study more on it.

Jack: Take the fact that he was the leader of his pride. He must've been a head above everyone else in all his abilities.

Malleus: Heh… I'm certain that was the case. At any rate, it sounds to me as though this conversation has lit a fire inside of you.

Malleus: You seem to have some form of attachment to the King of Beasts.

Jack: I wouldn't say attachment… I just respect the way he pursued his life.

Malleus: Respect, I see. Well then, have you ever thought of seizing the position of pack leader as the King of Beasts did?

Jack: Nah. I don't like being part of a pack, and I'm not one for leadership.

Malleus: Oho? I was under the impression that wolves hunted in packs.

Jack: If we have the same end goal, sure, I'll team up with whoever. But it's not like I'll obediently wag my tail for everyone.

Jack: A pack leader needs to be wiser and more responsible than anyone else.

Jack: If the guy at the top makes the wrong judgement, then everyone else will suffer.

Malleus: So, you consider "wisdom" to be the key trait of a leader?

Jack: I mean, it's not enough to just be wise. They also have to be physically strong. There are folk out there that'll use sly and cowardly methods to do what they want.

Jack: If they don't have the strength to completely crush 'em down, they're not worthy of that spot at the top.

Malleus: Heh… You sure do tout some lofty expectations, Howl.

Jack: I just don't like compromising. And, since these are expectations, there'd be no point into setting them so low in the first place.

Jack: Sometimes people say I'm overly conscious, or a pain to deal with, but… So what?

Jack: No matter what anyone else might say, I follow what I believe in. I decided that long ago.

Malleus: Heh, I see that you're a rather stubborn one, Howl. However, I cannot say that pride is a terrible thing to have.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Jack: So, this museum also has a painting of a young lady wishing at a well, huh.

Jack: Back home… I mean, in the Shaftlands, you'd see this pretty much everywhere, but it's been a while since I've laid eyes on one, myself.

Malleus: Hm? Is this painting that well known in the Shaftlands?

Jack: Not really this painting, so much as the actual story behind it. To the point where you'd see artwork based on it displayed all over the country.

Jack: You'll get people tryin' to make a wish in the well like she does, too.

Jack: My little sister'll run to a well every time she sees one. Not like there's any proof that it'll grant her wish, but she still does.

Malleus: You make it sound as though you've never wished upon a well, Howl.

Jack: Uh, well… I did try when I was a kid… But only once.

Malleus: Oho, and why was that?

Jack: At the moment I tried to cast my wish, I fell into the well…

Jack: At the time, I was a little too short to look over the edge of the well. So, I tried to hoist myself over the rim, but I put a little too much oomph into it.

Jack: It was an old well, so there wasn't any water, but a huge pile of fallen leaves, so I didn't get hurt… But it did startle me pretty bad then.

Jack: On top of that, that well was in the middle of the forest, where people didn't really walk past. No matter how hard I yelled, no one came by.

Malleus: What misfortune. However, as you are standing here before me today, I must assume that someone did indeed come and save you.

Jack: Nope, I got out by myself. Luckily, the inside of the well had real blocky walls, so I was able to use them as footholds as I climbed out.

Jack: But that definitely wasn't easy. Back then, I wasn't training or nothing, so I didn't really have any muscles, either.

Jack: I thought I was going to fall so many times, but somehow, I got out of there…

Jack: As soon as I got out of the well, I collapsed, 'cause I was so exhausted and just couldn't move for a while.

Jack: I really thought I was in a huge pinch there, but… At the same time, I was also a pretty impressed.

Malleus: Impressed…?

Jack: Yeah. I was having trouble just climbing up to the edge of the well in the first place, but then I was able to climb the whole well up to the surface.

Jack: I was able to do something that I didn't think I'd be able to do. That means that any wish can be granted…

Jack: SO LONG AS I HAVE STRENGTH AND MUSCLES!!!

Jack: So, basically, anytime I'd have extra time that would have otherwise been spent wishing on a well, I just worked out, instead.

Malleus: Fufu, you truly found an extreme approach… But I see. Essentially, this incident was not completely misfortunate.

Jack: Yeah, I'd say so. I think I'm how I am now, because of what happened there.

Jack: Now that I'm thinking of why I got into all this training, I kind of want to work out now.

Jack: When I get back to campus, I'm going to throw myself into my training even more, so that I can overcome anything I encounter with my own power!

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Jack: The Queen of Hearts, huh… I feel like I see her depicted alongside animals a lot.

Malleus: True. However, that is a rather unusual bird.

Malleus: It appears to be a flamingo; however I've never seen a lime green one in my life.

Jack: From what I heard, in the country that the Queen of Hearts ruled over there were flamingos of various colors, not just pink.

Jack: When Heartslabyul do their traditional croquet tournaments, they use magic to color the animals to match this tale.

Malleus: Oho? You certainly know much about this.

Jack: Me and those two from Ramshackle got invited by Ace and Deuce to play croquet with them, so…

Jack: It's just something I heard back then.

Jack: …Ugh, man. Talking about it reminded me of how I lost pretty bad then.

Malleus: Those in Heartslabyul are quite familiar with croquet. Is it not surprising to lose to them?

Jack: Even if I've never played it before, I'm usually pretty good at any sport I try. Only…

Jack: The croquet they play in Heartslabyul has real weird rules, and you need to get the animals to work with you.

Jack: During our game, the flamingo and hedgehogs were nervous only with me, so they didn't move like I was hoping they would.

Jack: They weren't scared of Grim and [Yuu], even though they were also playing with us...

Jack: The fact that I lost without being able to do anything really frustrates me.

Jack: Or more like… Can that game even be called a sport, in the first place?

Malleus: Certainly, I would agree that it is a far cry different from what one would consider an ordinary sport. I was also surprised when I first observed it.

Jack: You think so too, right!? It's just weird, needing to work alongside the animals like that...

Jack: Seeing that all the sport-loving types in my dorm haven't ever played it before…

Jack: I really don't think they could even be put in the same category. But I can't deny that I did lose the game.

Jack: When the next time comes that I play croquet with them, I can't show a terrible display like that again.

Jack: So that just means that I have to keep up in my Animal Linguistics classes!

Malleus: I see. So, ever since you lost, you've been continuing to improve yourself.

Malleus: They do say that the languages of smaller animals is rather difficult to absorb. Good for you, putting your all into even a mere game.

Jack: That's 'cause I don't want to lose the same game twice. Next time, I'll make Ace and Deuce lose face.

Malleus: Fufu, I shall hope for your efforts to be successful.

Malleus: ―Well then, I shall make my way to a different exhibit. You should also make an effort to look at some more of your favorite paintings.

Jack: …There he goes. He just does his own thing, huh? I really don't know what goes through his head.

Jack: Well, whatever. I guess I'll head towards another exhibit too. …Hm? This painting…

Jack: Ah, a lion prince, and his hornbill attendant. Heh, how can such a pathetic lookin' lion really become king?

Jack: I'll only ever accept someone strong. If they're to be king, they need to have the power to crush all greedy and sleazy people down.

Requested by Anonymous.

#twisted wonderland #twst #jack howl #malleus draconia #twst jack #twst malleus #twst translation #twst birthday #mention: ace #mention: deuce #mention: grim #mention: yuu

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sxxythingz · 1 year

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Let me show you

Lo’ak Sully (21) x Na’vi fem! Reader (21)

Warnings: smut, p in v, breeding kink, cursing, cream pie, mentions of cheating, aged up characters

Summary: After some time of dating while you were human, you decided that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with Lo’ak so you became Na’vi. You didn’t realize that while you were still human, he wasn’t exactly faithful to you until one day you catch him in the act. After you decide to leave him, he figures out a way to make it up to you.

WC: 5.0K (I didn’t realize it was that many words guys I swear)

🛑MDNI🛑

“Get your hands off of me, I am done!” You yell as you snatch your arm out of Lo’ak’s hand, storming through the forest as tears threaten to fall from your eyes. “Wait y/n, just let me explain! Come on, don’t be like this.” He says as he follows behind you while you quickly paste through the forest, far away from his hut.

“No! There is nothing to explain Lo’ak! I caught you with yet another girl. What is this, like the 5th girl in the past few weeks?” You abruptly come to a sudden halt and stand in front of him with your arms folded. He looks at you, defeat in his eyes and he huffs loudly. “I’m sorry, ok? I won’t do it again. It was a mistake y/n, I swear!” He says and you chuckle as you throw your hands into the air. “Cheating on me 5 different times is a mistake? Have you lost your mind, is that what you really think in your head? That this was all a mistake?” A broken giggle leaving your throat to stop you from crying as you run your hands through your soft, loose braids.

“No. I’ll tell you what the mistake was. The mistake was permanently transferring into an avatar just to be with you! There’s no telling what you were doing while I wasn’t here and I regret ever even knowing you.” You shoot him a cold glare as you see the heartbreak cloud his face. “Y/n… you don’t mean that. Don’t say that, just come on. Let me-“ he protests as he tries once again to grab you, but you back up before shaking your head quickly.

“You didn’t even deny being with other girls while I was still human… I thought you loved me, I thought you were my mate, that we would be together forever and build a family together. I did this so we could bond properly, I have no one here except for you and your family. I gave all of myself to you and you continue to pretend that I don’t exist. I just can’t do this anymore Lo’ak. We are done.” You spit at him before you turn around and begin walking off to prevent him from seeing the tears that have begun treading down your hot face.

About 2 months have gone by since you and Lo’ak have broken up and you’ve not sure how you are even surviving at this point. You’ve realized just how much time you guys have spent together since you’ve met, never really parting from each other for too long. After all of the years that you two have spent together, walking past each other as if you don’t know who the other is has to be the hardest part of it all. You’ve left your family and friends on earth, making his family, friends and everyone in the lab the only people that you have left, but it’s just not the same as having him. As hard as it has been without him, you know that going back would be pointless because he’s just going to do the same thing as before.

Who am I kidding? You think to yourself as you scoff aloud. He's probably already in another relationship with someone else right now. You walk through the forest, searching for Kiri since you don’t really feel like being all alone. Today would’ve been you and Lo’ak’s 6 month anniversary and people always say time heals all wounds. To you, it quite literally felt like the opposite since you have been dealing with all of the other anniversaries all alone, but it seems that the further out you guys would’ve been together, the worst you feel.

“Kiri!” You yell out as you finally find her in the middle of the forest, playing with the leaves that light up. “Y/n! Where have you been? I have not been able to find you all day.” She says as she gets up and runs into your arms, embracing you with a tight, warm hug. Ever since you’ve gotten here, way before you became an avatar, Kiri has also become one of your best friends, especially considering that she was nearly your family before Lo’ak messed that up.

“I’ve just been walking around. I’ve had a lot on my mind today, you know.” You say as you both begin to walk together. “It’s you guys' 6 month anniversary isn’t it?” She asks and you give her a look of confusion as to how she would remember it when she didn’t even know what day you guys had made it official. “Lo’ak was telling me and Neteyam about it earlier this morning before he and Neteyam went off to training.” She confesses to you and your heart drops at the fact that he even remembered.

“I see.” Your head falls down as you think of how you guys could’ve spent this day together had he not been such a fucking cheater. “He is really broken up still about you guys. Father gets so upset with him because he hasn’t been paying attention during training. We hear about it every single night after they return by father yelling at him.” She says as she rolls her eyes.

“Well that isn’t my fault nor my problem. He’s the reason why we aren’t together anymore, he just couldn’t get himself together and it wasn’t that hard. I have no sympathy for him.” You speak in a low tone, causing her to giggle at your aggression towards him. “He won’t stop talking about how sorry he is and how much he regrets it. It is actually quite pitiful. I asked him why he won’t just tell you that instead of us, he says it is because you won’t hear it.” She says and you let out a small chuckle as you nod your head.

“I gave him plenty of chances Kiri. I excused him the first 4 times that he consecutively cheated on me. I have nothing left in me anymore to give to him. I gave it all away and he just keeps hurting me.” You feel the tears begin to come up while you try your hardest to swallow them back down, but you fail miserably. Kiri glances over to you as she sees the tears begin to flow and she stops, turning you towards her as she wipes the tears off of your heated face.

“Hey, don’t cry. I know what he did was wrong and so does he. Neteyam scolded him for it because he knows how good of a girl you are. You are amazing and we all see it. You know what will cheer you up?” She asks you and you shake your head, looking into her eyes for the answer. You wanted anything to get rid of this dreadful, empty feeling forming deep inside of you. “Let’s go to the lab and see what those skxawngs are up to, hm?” She says, you smile as you nod your head. She grabs your hand and begins walking towards the lab.

You walk into the lab, grabbing masks, wrapping them around your necks as you both inhale deeply in sync before dropping them down to hang around your necks. “Y/n, Kiri. What are you guys up to?” Norm asks as you come and sit next to him while he scrolls on the computer. “Trying to cheer my y/n up. She is feeling a little down today.” Kiri tells him as he looks at you. “It’s the anniversary isn’t it?” He asks you with a sympathetic look, you feel your eyes automatically rolling as you realize. “Let me guess. Lo’ak has told you too, hasn’t he?” You ask him and he laughs a little before looking back at his computer. “He came in yesterday, super upset about it and talking about-“

“How much he regrets it and he wishes he could apologize.” You cut him off to finish his sentence off for him, already knowing exactly what he’s going to say as you watch him nod his head as he chuckles. “You know, if he’s this torn up about it, then why won’t he just tell me about it directly?” You ask as you shake your head in frustration. Norm’s eyes land on you then towards the door as his eyes widen. “Well he might be able to.” He says as you look in the direction that he is looking and spot Lo’ak standing there, his eyes burning holes into your back before you turned around.

“Hi y/n.” He mumbles out as he stands in the doorway as if his feet are stuck in one place. “No.” You mumble as you quickly get up and try to walk away, but he gets in front of you, making you hiss at him. “Just wait. I heard what you said. You said that if I was really that torn up about it, then why wouldn’t I just tell you directly? But you have to give me that chance to do it. Please? All I need is a few minutes.” He begs of you and you roll your eyes.

“Norm? Would you be so kind to set a timer on your phone for 10 minutes?” You ask him as you quickly look back at him, your hair swinging with your movement, hitting Lo’ak in his chest. “Uh.. Done!” He shouts back at you with a thumbs up after setting the timer on his phone and you nod your head before looking back at Lo’ak. “You have 10 minutes, and I’m being generous with that. Come.” You say as you walk towards the door of the lab while he trudges behind you thinking of the perfect words to say. You both walk out of the lab and deeper into the forest before you suddenly come to a stop and stand in front of him. “What do you have to say?” You ask as you fold your arms.

“I-I’m sorry for what I have done. I love you so much more than I thought was possible. It’s been so hard without you and this sucks. I realize what I’m doing wrong and I know that I have hurt you. No, I can’t take it back, but I can promise to do better and cut out the things that hurt you. I can promise to be good for you and to you. I can be the mate that you want out of me. I see that you have completely changed your life for me, you’ve become one of us just for me and I am so thankful for that. I want to show you the right way that I appreciate you and just how happy you make me.”

You feel hot tears forming in your eyes at his words, oh how you wish they were real. “Look, I know it’s hard to believe coming from me right now and I accept that, but just give me one more chance please.” He confesses to you and you look down at the ground, wanting to scream at him. Wanting to tell him how much you hate him, wanting to tell him how much you’ve needed him, how lonely you’ve been without him by your side, but you hold it all in.

“No Lo’ak. It’s-it’s just not that easy. As much as I want to forgive you, as much as I want you to do right for me. I just can’t believe you because you’re telling me you’ll change. I can’t take anymore heartbreaks, it’s tearing me apart.” A tear falls down down your cheek, triggering him to step closer to you. You back up as you look at him, watching his eyes become glossy before you stop and let him continue to step towards you.

“Please y/n. I know it’s hard. I’m trying so hard to tell you how much I love you and if you’ll just give me another chance, I can show you. No more cheating, no more playing games, no more breaking your heart. I just want to make up for what I’ve done so please just let me do that. I’m begging you. What can I do to show you that I’m serious?” He asks you as he places his hands on both sides of my face and more tears begin to stream down your face as you shake your head, not having an answer for him. “How about I show you tonight?” He asks you and you look into his yellow eyes, silently questioning his words.

“Let me make it special. This is not the way that I want to ask you to forgive me so please let me show you tonight. Meet me at the spirit tree right as eclipse falls.” You slowly nod your head, not sure of why you’re even agreeing after you said you were done. “Ok I’ll see you then. I promise I’ll make it right.” He says before he gently rubs your face one last time before letting go of it and walking off, leaving your cheeks to feel as cold as ice without his warm touch.

You place a purple flower in your hair before readjusting your purple loincloth that matches the flower in your hair. You walk out of your hut, looking into the sky to see the moon that just began to appear in the sky. You let out a small sigh before you begin to walk in the direction of the spirit tree. You question why you agreed to such a stupid thing, why you won’t just turn back around and not even show up, but your feet deceive your mind as you continue to walk towards the spirit tree. You said that you wouldn’t go back, that you were done, so why are you even giving him a chance to explain?

I’m so stupid, I know, but I love him so much. It’s so hard to walk away from him. But I have to and I have to tell him that tonight. That I truly meant what I said and that I am done for good. I have to move on and find someone who is good for me, who loves me and who dares not to treat me like an option. You think to yourself as you get closer and closer to your destination.

You approach the spirit tree and your mouth drops at the beauty of it. You’ve only been to the spirit tree once and that was to transfer your soul into your avatar body, so this is your first time truly observing it in its true beauty. You look down and see Lo’ak standing up as he begins to walk towards you as you come to a stop, waiting for him to meet you.

“Wow. You look… beautiful. I’ve never seen you in purple, it makes your skin glow.” He says as he comes inches away from you and you feel yourself smile as you look at the ground, your cheeks burning and your heart skipping a beat. “Thank you.” To both of your surprises, you accept the compliment as you retract your eyes back to him and you feel him grab your hand. “Come.” He says as he walks you to the spirit tree.

“It’s beautiful.” You say to him as you walk around the tree, paying attention to every small detail about it. “This is where we come to connect to our ancestors and the souls of those who have passed away. It’s a sacred place.” He informs you as you turn around and look at him. “Why did you bring me here?” You question his motives as you slowly sway towards him. “Since this is the most sacred place on pandora, I wanted to bring you here for something very sacred if you would allow me.” You raise your eyebrows at his response as you watch him grab his queue and bring it in front of him.

“Before I messed everything up, I know that you wanted to make tsaheylu (bond) and I know that you might not want to anymore, but if you do then I am more than happy to do it. I promise to never hurt you again, I promise to always put your needs first. I promise to be the mate that you always wanted and I’ll do anything to make you happy. In these 2 months, I realize how hard it is being without you and I never want to experience this again. I love you, Y/n. Please forgive me?” Desperation clouding his voice as he stares into your eyes, looking for the forgiveness that he’s asking for. “I-“ You try to speak, but you feel the tears coming as you watch him watch you, his eyes quickly pacing back and forth.

“I-I can’t-” You don’t finish your sentence as you watch him drop his queue in defeat, his head dropping as well. You step closer to him and look at him as he looks into your eyes. “I can’t be without you Lo’ak. I have tried in these 2 months, and it’s been the hardest thing that I have ever done. I don’t want to be without you Lo’ak, but I don’t want to be hurt anymore. All I’ve ever wanted was you from the moment that I met you. It will take a lot.. but I’m willing to work on us and build together. I can’t say that I forgive you right now Lo’ak, but I want you to prove to me that I am all that you want so that I can forgive you. So that we can move on.” You say back to him as you reach behind you, grabbing your queue and placing it in between you guys, causing him to smile and grab his once again.

He grabs your hand and pulls you down to sit right across from each other as you slowly bring your queues closer until they finally connect. You feel your body jolt as your eyes flutter shut, a sensation running through your body as you see all of the memories that Lo’ak has, all of the thoughts that he has about you. Love, adoration, your children to come, the bond that will grow stronger for you two. Your strong partnership and friendship that you’ve both taken the time to build over the years. You slowly open your eyes at the same time as him, a smile creasing your soft lips. “Lo’ak. Nga yawne lu oer (I love you). You say as you reach up and touch his face softly. “Nga yawne lu oer, öeya yawntu.” He says back to you as he leans in and kisses you.

The kiss is slow and soft at first, but it quickly speeds up as you both become hungry for more of each other. He pulls back from the kiss and looks into your eyes before standing up and holding his hand out for you to take it. He stands you up, immediately picking you up bridal style as he looks at you and smiles. “Let’s go back to your hut, my love.” He says and you nod your head as you lay down on his chest while wrapping your arms around his neck.

He walks back to your hut with you in his arms, laying you on your cot before getting in between your legs, accidentally bumping your queues and causing them to disconnect. A groan escapes your lips at the loss of feeling and he chuckles. “I know, baby. But you’re about to feel something else.” He flashes a smirk at you and you laugh before rolling your eyes. He leans back in and kisses you once again, easily slipping his tongue in your mouth as he softly strokes your hair. He breaks the kiss and begins to kiss down your neck as you breathe out.

“Lo..” you moan and he hums in response. “I’ve never done this before. Not as a human either.” You confess to him and he comes back up to look into your eyes. “Duh. I could’ve told you that, yawne. I’ll be gentle and careful, if you want me to stop, just tell me ok?” He says and you nod your head before he begins to kiss you again. You feel his hand stroll down your body, your skin feels on fire everywhere that he touches, until he reaches your clothed pussy. He softly rubs his fingers in circles and you moan into his mouth at the feeling.

“Is it ok if I take this off? I have to get you ready before I do anything else.” He asks for your permission and you nod your head in agreement as you feel the heat increasing between your legs. He unties the string to your loincloth, you both watch as it falls off of your waist and you lift up for him to pull it the rest of the way off before he tosses it next to your cot, on the ground. He crouches down in between your legs as he opens them a little wider and begins to rub circles around your clit with his thumb, your back arching off of your cot as your mouth hangs open. He stops his movement, bringing two of his fingers to your lips while he kisses your thighs before speaking.

“Suck.” He commands and you obey as you open your mouth, sticking your tongue out for him to slip his fingers into your mouth and you suck them as your eyes bore into his beautiful golden yellow eyes. “Good girl.” He says as he takes his fingers out of your mouth and brings them back down in between your legs. “This might sting a little bit, but it’s getting you ready. If it is too much, tell me to stop.” He says and you nod your head in agreeance as you feel his fingers enter you, causing you to push your legs closer together from the discomfort, but your body relaxes more as you look down to find him staring at you with love in his eyes, your legs slowly relaxing and falling back down.

He continues to push them inside of you until they are completely in. He moves his fingers in and out slowly and you moan out as you feel your own lubrication consuming his fingers. “Lo’ak.. t-that feels really good.” You moan out, gripping the sides of the cot. He keeps going for a little bit longer as you hear how wet you are, that being the only noise in the room. “I-I think I’m going to..” your words are abruptly interrupted when the feeling goes away as he pulls his fingers out of you, earning a groan from you. “Why did you stop, you idiot?!” You yell out as he sits up, smirking and taking his fingers into his mouth before moaning. “I’ve got you exactly where I want you. And you taste good.” A moan escaping your throat as you feel yourself throbbing around nothing while he unties his own loincloth and throws it on top of yours.

His long dick springs out, hitting his stomach, your eyes widening at the sight. “Oh Lo‘ak, I don’t know if I can take that.” You protest as you back up a little bit, but he pulls you back down by your thighs. “You can take it my love. I’ll go slow and if it’s too much, I’ll stop.” He reassures you as he places his hand above your head and lines himself up with your entrance. “Like I said with my fingers, this is going to hurt at first, but it is going to feel really good once you get past that ok? Just trust me. I’m gonna make you feel good, I promise.” He says as he kisses you one more time before slowly pushing himself into you.

You yell out as your hand flies up to his lower torso, looking down to see that only half of it is completely in. He stops pushing himself in to give you a break as he grabs your hand as he brings it up to his lips to kiss the back of it before intertwining your fingers together. “You’re doing so good, my love. Just a little bit more left ok? The pain will be over soon.” He says as he pushes a little bit further while your back arches off of the cot once again, groaning in pain.

“I’m all the way in. Tell me when you want me to move.” He says planting soft kisses all over your face, leading to your neck where he softly sucks and bites at the sensitive skin. “Move Lo.. please.” You give him permission to move and he nods his head as he pulls out of you halfway, earning moans from both of you as he pushes himself all the way back in.

“Mmm.” You moan out, causing him to look at you and smile. “Did that feel good?” He asks you. “Yes. Keep going please.” You say to him, your hand gently caressing his face. He continues his slow pace making you a moaning mess underneath him. “Lo’ak.. go a little bit faster.” You bat your eyes at him while you wrap your legs around his waist. He speeds up his pace as he groans into your neck. “You feel so fucking good around me. I love watching you go crazy over my Dick, wanting and needing more.” He growls in your ear as he places his hand on your waist before slamming you down on him, you buck your hips as you scream out, knowing that your voice will be gone by tomorrow. He looks into your eyes before licking his lips.

“When do you want to start a family?” He asks you while you pant out of control. “Now… R-Right now.” You manage to breathe out in between pants, tilting your head back while your eyes begin to roll to the back of your head. “Are you sure, my love?” You simply nod your head, not able to form full sentences. “Look at me.” He demands, you tilt your head back to look at him while he moans softly.

“Whose pussy is this? Hm?” His thrusts get harder with each word that escapes his lips. “It’s yours.” You pant out softly, barely audible. “I can’t hear you princess. I said, whose. Pussy. Is. This?” He repeats his question once again, your hips smacking together forcefully with every word. Your legs begin to shake uncontrollably as you let out a high pitched moan each time. “I said it’s your Lo’ak! It’s all yours, every part of me belongs to you!” You scream out as you hear him chuckle. “Good girl. I'm not pulling out of you. I’m going to fill you up with my cum.” He says as he grabs your weak hand and places it on your lower stomach.

“I’m going to fill you up right here and give you my child.” You can barely keep your head up and your eyes open as you feel yourself coming closer just off of his words. “I-I’m going to cum Lo’ak.” You tell him as you feel your body shaking. “So am I, princess. Wait, don’t cum yet.” He says as he grabs his queue once again, you observe him and lift up a little to grab yours as well. “This will make it feel a lot more intense.”

You connect your queues to each other and moan in unison as the feeling intensifies. “Now. Let go for me baby. Cum all over my dick.” You feel your body letting go at his words, your fingernails scratching at his toned stomach while your orgasm washes over you. You feel him stop his movement as he groans and curses while he throws his head back, cumming inside of you as you feel his hard dick throbbing. You both breathe out heavily as you finish riding out your highs and attempting to catch your breath.

Lo’ak looks back down to you, a proud smile plastered on his face as you smile with him before he leans down once again to kiss you. He slowly pulls out of you, causing you both to inhale sharply at the feeling. Your queues are still connected to each other as he lazily plops down next to you. You turn around to face him as you lean in and give him a soft peck on his lips before speaking.

“We’re mated Lo’ak.” You say, excitement exerting your tone as you rub his face and he laughs. “We are mated and you might have a little surprise in a few weeks. I just gave you three of the best gifts in one night. I’m amazing, aren’t I?” He brags on himself as he places his hand on your stomach and rubs it softly, earning a laugh from you while you roll your eyes.

“I promise to be different for you and for our family. I am so sorry that I didn’t realize just how amazing you were before I lost you. I love you more than anything that I thought could ever be possible.” He once again confesses his love for you before he brings his lips to yours and you wrap your arm around his neck, pulling him in closer to you.

You give his forehead a kiss before you flip over and lay facing the opposite direction of him, backing yourself completely up against his warm body as you feel yourself getting sleepy. His long arm reaches over your body, landing around your waist as he pulls you even closer until your bodies are completely embezzled together. He peaks to look at your face one more time before he nuzzles his head into the crook of your neck. “I can’t believe my dick put you to sleep.” He says as he laughs and you roll your heavy eyes. “Shut up and let’s go to bed, skxawng!” You say to him as he laughs, as you both lay cuddled up together, drifting off to sleep in each other's arms.

A/N: Lo’ak being a simp is literally so adorable to me 😭 anywho, I hope you guys loves it!!! 💖 if you guys have any requests, don’t be afraid to let me know and I would be more than happy to do them!

#atwow #atwow fanfiction #avatar #avatar smut #atwow smut #atwow lo’ak #lo’ak smut #lo’ak x y/n #lo’ak headcannons #lo’ak #lo’ak x reader #lo’ak fanfiction

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wqnwoos · 1 year

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joshua & childhood friends to strangers to lovers

not a fic. just hana losing her mind over a fic trope. (honestly, it’s probably better if you ignore this. for the sake of your sanity.)

listen to me OKAY just imagine it;

being absolute BESTIES as kids. like you guys are inseparable and your parents think you’re going to get married and then the teenage years happen. you guys have crushes on each other, but neither of you know this, so you both are unhealthily repressing your emotions and slowly you guys fall into different circles — maybe fuelled by anger or an argument or maybe it’s just natural drifting apart, but for whatever reason, you guys aren’t as close as you were anymore. until eventually you don’t really talk at all (except for the cursed “happy birthday!” text once a year)

seeing each other again after years; maybe you guys are in the same university and you’re partnered up for a project, or you collide at a party or you have a mutual friend or something. and you’re like oh fuck he got even cuter and slowly you guys start becoming friends again. it’s interspersed with awkward moments but a lot of it is laughter and reliving old memories.

(“hey, remember when we snuck out the house for the first time?” “we literally didn’t know what to do. we got mcdonald’s and then went home because we were so nervous.”)

(“do you remember in middle school when you liked that guy t— ” “shut the fUCK UP we promised we would never speak about that again!!”)

but as your new (old?) friendship blossoms, so do those Feelings™️ and then suddenly one day those awkward moments have accumulated and become too much — you guys start arguing about the end of your friendship. who ended it and why and how and it turns into a blaming game until joshua just snaps and tells you he’s loved you since he was eleven. and it takes you a second to realise what he’s saying and then you’re like well fuck YOU i’ve loved you since i was NINE. and then there are many smooches and u guys live happily ever after 💗

an / can’t believe i’m actually publishing this. it’s so incoherent and literally just me going a little bit insane over joshua (i was scrolling through pictures of him on pinterest and this is the result.) it’s also almost 1 in the morning. i may even delete this when i wake up 😭 but also THANK YOU FOR 300+ FOLLOWERS i love u all 💗💗💗

#it is almost definitely better for you to ignore this i’m so sorry #joshua fluff #joshua x reader #seventeen fluff #seventeen x reader #seventeen headcanons #joshua headcanons

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kiragecko · 9 months

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This is a post about why I'm currently considering myself to be nonbinary, but it's not a post about gender.

It’s about 90% of the elementary school girls wanting to sit on the grass and talk about boys, and me still not understanding why even now, in my mid 30s.

It’s about ‘girls books’ that were all about friendship drama and worrying about menstruating, and how these were framed as universal concerns. My only friends were a pair of male cousins and we mostly cared about how our Lego ninjas’ castle infiltration was going. (The options were limited in my small library in the mid-90s.)

It’s about the ‘wild’, ‘disobedient’, and 'hyper' kids in the books I grew up with being so much better behaved than me, even on my best day, that I’d puzzle over it for weeks. Maybe if my parents were stricter I would be able to follow instructions easier? Maybe I was one of the mean kids in those books? Why was nobody in books like me?

It’s about the revulsion I feel when I think about ‘romantic’ gestures. Remembering my mom getting flowers from someone at church, and my aunt getting upset when I laughed about how she wouldn’t like them. MY MOM IS ALLERGIC TO FLOWERS, but a person who had nothing to do with the situation got offended that I didn’t consider them a thoughtful and nice gift. It makes me feel nauseous thinking about how I’m ‘supposed’ to think things that I don’t want and can’t use are loving gifts, just because society decided they were.

It's about people wanting me to already know their social conventions, and feeling like they are doing SO MUCH WORK when they make allowances for my mistakes, but thinking that learning anything about how I like to communicate is asking far too much of them.

It's about trying to make friends as a teen, and all the guys getting upset or weird when it became clear that wasn't code for dating.

It's about makeup giving me rashes, and my hair being done up giving me headaches.

It’s about women in lingerie in ads, and how I wore a headscarf for a year in reaction to how that made me feel.

It's about learning biblical gender roles, and getting really excited about the idea of protection and love in return for submission. And then finding out I like the BDSM understanding of protection and submission a lot more than I like the church's. That the person I love doesn't have the skill to protect me in ways that make submission safe.

It’s about having noise and light sensitivities, but being expected to enjoy crowded weddings.

It’s about people acting disgusted when I get too loud. Or excited. Or happy. Or interested.

It's about 'body language experts' that ""explain"" what various gestures mean, and it's about that month when my husband believed them and told me I was wrong about what I felt.

It's about definitions of 'womanhood' and 'humanity' that contain things that exclude me. And learning how to be okay with being the exception this time. And eventually getting so used to being the exception that I can no longer connect to the concept at all.

It's about only reading fantasy, now, because an elf's experience isn't supposed to be relatable.

It’s about learning that ‘I actually wanted’ things I didn’t want, and I was ‘unreasonable’ when I said no, and I was being ‘too sensitive’ when things physically or emotionally hurt.

It’s about being ADHD and aroace and weird in far too many ways; in a culture that seems to consider that to be willful rebellion and disrespect.

I don’t know how to be a woman. I don’t know how to feel good about being a woman. I don't feel I can fulfill the roles and dynamics associated with femininity. I can't present myself in the expected ways, and I don't really want to. In isolation, 'woman' feels like an accurate description. But than I think of OTHER people considering me a woman, and having the right to define what that means, and I just can't.

I need a break from considering myself female, so I can figure out how to do it in a way that doesn’t break me.

I want to learn how to interact with other people in a way that are less exhausting and painful. Engage on my own terms, and disengage if those terms aren’t fulfilled. Protect my own boundaries with strangers and acquaintances - people I don’t expect to make allowances for me. Not by demanding things of them, but by only offering myself on certain terms.

I don't want to ask anything about anyone else. I'm tired of it being about them. I want to ask things of myself. Ask for respect, and care. Figure out what that would actually look like. I want to process and let go of my self-hatred and feelings of being 'designed wrong'.

I've heard the terms 'acegender' and 'neurogender'. They don't excite me, but I recognize that's part of what's going on. Having ADHD gets in the way of performing womanhood to the point that it becomes hard to separate them. And some much of femaleness is defined in relation to being a part of a heterosexual romantic couple. I've got the man, but that hasn't helped me decode the mysteries of romantic and sexual attraction. The baffling concept of men having some sort of allure that women lack, of being a different category.

But, like my marriage isn't about my lack of attraction (it's about the choice I made to love him, and the decade plus of commitment we've had to each other), being nonbinary isn't about my lack of understanding of and ability to perform womanhood. It's about choosing to love myself, and recognizing that I've internalized enough harmful beliefs that I can't healthily identify as female right now.

It's not about gender.

#nonbinary #gender stuff #neurodivergence #asexuality #acegender #neurogender #when you spent years thinking your desire for they/them pronouns was about not being female #and it turns out it's actually about wanting to opt out of stereotypes that were destroying you

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staygoldwriting · 2 years

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Cousin Buckley: Part 3

Summary: You’re Robin’s cousin, and you’ve stolen the hearts of Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson 🖤💜

Part 1 Part 2

Warnings: none, just fluff!

Word count: 1201

A/N: I am having so much fun writing these, you guys! Thank you so much for all of the love, support, comments, reblogs, notes, follows, everything! It means so much, and I can’t wait to continue on with this series 🤗 I’m currently navigating the taglist, so I apologize for any problems!

“Welcome to Family Video!”

Robin opened the doors dramatically as you three stepped in. The previous workers wordlessly exited, thankful their shifts were over.

“Don’t get your hopes up, Buckley,” said one worker, a tall thin boy with a zombie-like look, “we had like, two customers all day.”

“I know, Martin, I know,” she said energetically. “But I always make it work, don’t I?”

“You do,” Martin replied flatly. “That’s why I never do my shifts with you. I need to spend my misery in peace.”

“Alright, Martin, that’s enough for today,” Steve smiled, ushering him out then turning to you. “Want a tour?”

You nodded excitedly as he placed his arm gently around your shoulder.

“So, we’ve got the main desk here, as you can see,” he gestured with his other arm. “To the left are kids movies, romances, comedies, then adventure and fantasy stuff. To the right is the more intense stuff, like horror and thrillers and big action movies, like the Terminator.”

“Smart divisions,” you said. “Was that your idea?”

“He wishes,” Robin snorted from the counter, then looked at Steve, panicking a bit. “He did organize the snacks though!” She quickly pointed at the display of snacks below the counter and you smiled.

“You guys need Nerds,” you remarked.

“I’ll make a note of it,” Steve smiled. “Okay, I’ll leave you to browse. Robin and I thought it would be fun to have a movie marathon night, so you’ve got your pick! Choose like three or four, but my only request is that one of them is Real Genius. I’ve been wanting to watch it for a while, but I haven’t had the time.”

“Same here!” you replied, smiling brightly. “I’ll grab that one for sure, and I also want to look for The Last Starfighter. I hear it’s really good.”

“Grab Sixteen Candles! Or Nightmare on Elm Street!” Robin called out.

“That’s quite the range,” you chuckled. “I’ll grab both.”

“Everything except Elm Street should be to your left,” Steve said. “Call out if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Steve,” you smiled.

He moved his arm away and jumped over the counter, joining Robin. As you started your browsing, you looked back at the counter to see Steve glancing up at you. As you caught his eye, he blushed, looking down and smiling widely. Robin smirked a bit, then shook her head.

After looking around for a while, you found all of the movies and brought them up to the counter. Martin was right; not many people had stopped in to pick up a video, but you guessed it made sense for a Tuesday afternoon.

“Okay, I found everything we need for tonight,” you told Steve, handing him the movies. “How much is it?”

“Oh, you’re not paying,” Steve said with a chuckle.

“I have to, I’m a customer!” you gasped, then leaned closer, making Steve lean too. “I can’t steal.”

“I know,” Steve mimicked your tone. “What I mean is that I will rent them.”

“Oh,” you said. “Are you sure?” you looked at him hesitantly.

“Positive. You’re a guest and besides, I have an employee discount,” he winked, then took the movies to the register.

“Ready to play?” Robin asked, holding the cards. You nodded and went over to join her.

“I thought I’d relieve you of Steve duty,” she smirked, shuffling the cards.

“I don’t mind,” you smiled, glancing over at Steve, who was helping a customer.

“Listen, I know you’re a lot nicer than I am, but I know for sure that Steve can get annoying. Eddie, too. So just let me know if you need a break.”

“I promise I’ll let you know, but I’ve honestly been enjoying them. They’re cute,” you smiled a bit brighter.

“Cute as in a puppy who’s lost and following you around or cute like you’d want to date one of them?”

“I don’t know,” you blushed. “I mean, neither of them are bad-looking, but I wasn’t really thinking about them that way. Why?”

Robin shrugged. “Just wondering. They’re good guys, you know, just in case you’re looking…”

“Oh, Robin, I just got here!” you laughed. “Besides, I barely know them.”

“But do you want to know them?”

“I think you want me to know them,” you chuckled. “Rob, do you know something I don’t?”

“Not if you look hard enough,” she smirked, then dealt the cards.

~~~

You all arrived back at Robin’s house, and as you were getting out, Eddie drove up in his van. He leapt out with a few grocery bags and pizza boxes in his hands. When he noticed you three, he smiled widely and held them up.

“Sustenance!” he shouted, making everyone laugh.

You helped Eddie place all the food out in the kitchen as Robin grabbed cups. Steve prepared the living room, grabbing some blankets and pillows and placing the movies on the entertainment center. He then came in to grab some food. You decided to skip using plates and just share the pizza boxes, but you put some chips into bowls and got some sodas. You all gathered into the living room and squished on to the couch. Eddie was on your left, Robin on your right, and Steve was next to her.

“Okay,” Eddie said as he opened the box. “We’ve got pepperoni in this top one. I think cheese is below, and then there’s a veggie one underneath. Who wants what?”

“Veggie please,” Robin called, and you passed it to her.

“Cheese,” Steve said.

“I like pepperoni,” you smiled.

“Me too, we can share,” Eddie smiled back, placing the box between you two.

“I’m going to put the first movie in,” Steve said, getting up. “Any votes?”

“Real Genius!” Robin yelled, and you and Eddie nodded in agreement.

“So,” Eddie turned to you. “How’s your first day back in Hawkins been?”

“It’s been great!” you smiled. “I can’t believe I’ve only been here since today though, it’s been a busy day. A good kind of busy, though.”

“Don’t feel pressure to stay up for all of these, Y/N,” Robin said. “I forgot you just got here.”

“Thanks, Rob! If I fall asleep, no one draw on me, please,” you chuckled.

~~~

You successfully made it through Real Genius, laughing non-stop with everyone else. You went for Sixteen Candles next. You eventually got cold, so you used one of the blankets Steve brought out. You looked hesitantly at Eddie.

“Hey, um, do you mind if I lean on you please?” you asked, blushing. You were so tired, you could barely keep yourself propped up.

“Oh, no, I don’t mind, go ahead!” Eddie fumbled with his words a bit as he smiled, holding his arm out for you. You carefully scooted to his side, and once settled, he placed his arm on your back. The warmth felt comforting.

“If you get cold, feel free to steal some blanket,” you said, extending it to him. He accepted and laid it across his lap.

“Thanks, Y/N.” His smile made his eyes gleam.

Resting on Eddie made you feel so relaxed. Feeling his slow breathing slowed yours down too, and you felt yourself drift softly to sleep in his arms.

To be continued…

Taglist: @joequinn94 @simonsbluee @lagataprrr @holeformunson @efvyqrs @fieldofsecretss @phantomxoxo @fanficfanatic204 @steves-robin @toomanybandstocare @aeumi @jmj-1312 @theravenclawlover @onlyangel-444 @lou-la-lou @spideyycents @homiesexual-or-homosexual @justacaliforniandreamer @hawkins-hs @dumplinshee @ashdoctor @spaceygirly1 @hollandcomics @igotbasicdrag @underthebatcape @kaitcreatesart @evqans @whyislife954

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sonicblueartist · 7 months

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Little Bit Of The Past

I was thinking, we never got the chance to know about Bullfrog's past. I mean he's the only one we know the least about; except he is an assassin, he is the last of them and he has some moral codes and apparently he knows a lot/ have experience about vengeance.

AND that he was used to watch Rayman as a kid. (And that he took part in a war. Okay I learned the war's name. The wasteland war.)

This gives us a waay more open space to fill in. And I can happily do that with my own headcanon. (I might add it in my fics too but not too sure lol, it's all up to you guys wanting me to add it or not)

So I first thought maybe he had a pretty normal life as a kid. Grew up in a family with a mom and dad. I also thought (because frogs literally give birth to so many babies) he has a lot of brothers and sisters?

Maybe Rayman when he was a kid (like most of the kids) was his favorite show.

I am going to make this post a bit quick so... One day some soldiers came and killed his parents and took his siblings and him prisoner. Some assassins rescued him and taught him their ways. He ignores it and goes to rescue his siblings but finds them all dead? And he wanted revenge so he finds the person did all this and killed him but it was nearly costing his life as his mentor saved him but he died in the process and he swears to never follow the path of vengeance ever again.

This was my take on why he doesn't like vengeance. That's all, thank you for reading! (Still not feeling like this is his entire past but this will do for now~ Btw I have no idea how he is the last assassin. I don't know if there is a canon part of this but if not I am gonna assume that they all died in that war and he is the only survivor. I believe this because when Pey'j died his reaction gave me the vibe maybe something similar happened in his past, because he looked so desperate and upset (yeah he was his friend even though he knew him a little it might be normal but still))

Also off topic but I don't believe he died (his bomb activated) in the end when Laserhawk pressed the button and activated his bomb. I dunno but I have a feeling that Bullfrog is now freed with the bracelet broken. (He is still held by Eden but still lol) But I am sure Sarah has some big plans for him. (Because he is seemingly the only one that still alive lol) And if someone is alive in a show this means something will happen XD I am also really unsure if Rayman/Ramon will be the one to save him but anyway.

#bullfrog #captain lazerhawk #captain lazerhawk spoilers #captain laserhawk #rayman #headcanon #senario #idk if this sounds stupid but yeah this is what I think #vengeance is not the way son

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im-overstimulated-and-im-sad · 3 months

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WIP Wednesday

Thank you for the tag @carlos-in-glasses @sznofthesticks @heartstringsduet 💝

This is from the upcoming chapter of my TK and Sophie fic - little plot here just TK being protective -

2010 -

“Well, you kids have fun,” Sophie said with a wink. “I’m gonna go see how long the line for the Cyclone is”.

“Soph, wait,” TK said. “Maybe… maybe you should stick with us”.

“What?” Sophie looked at him over her shoulder, baffled. “TK. We talked about this. Wasn’t this your idea?”

“Yeah, I know”. TK muttered. But it had been his idea when they had been talking about it at home. Not when TK felt the eyes of way too many tanned guys with big arms and small tank tops following them down the boardwalk. And TK might enjoy this, except he knew it wasn’t him they were checking out.

Sophie lowered her voice. “TK, you really want to ask someone out with your sister hanging around you?” The top of TK’s ears turned pink. Carson and Kenny were still in the hot dog line, and were far enough away that TK wasn’t worried that they’d heard her. But [redacted] was much closer; she was texting, but she’d definitely heard.

“Fine”. TK sighed. “You’ve got Enzo’s phone on you, right?”

“Yup”. Sophie took it out of her pocket. “It’s right here”.

“Keep the ringer on”. TK pressed. “And please, please don’t go off with anyone. And don’t talk with people you don’t know”.

“Uh huh”. His sister rolled her eyes. “Unless they offer me candy, right? Then I should snatch that shit up. I was kidding, TK,” she admonished when his face visibly paled. “God. I’ll be fine. Now, please go have your own fun? Or at least go talk to Carson before he realizes how annoying you can be?”

No pressure tagging - I tag @anewkindofme @actualalligator @lochnesswriter @lemonlyman-dotcom @snowviolettwhite @reyestrandd @dreamingofmickeywaffles @firstprince-history-huh @lightningboltreader @jesuisici33 @kiwichaeng @herefortarlos @inkweedandlizards @birdclowns @freneticfloetry @paperstorm @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @welcometololaland @tailoredshirt @thebumblecee @liminalmemories21 @happilylovingchaos @chicgeekgirl89 @sugdenlovesdingle @carlos-tk @eclectic-sassycoweyes @thisbuildinghasfeelings @kiloskywalker and anyone else who wants to do it - open tag 🫶

#911 lone star #wip wednesday

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innytoes · 5 months

Note

uhm... 👉👈 Ray hitman AU? maybe? if you were up for it? pretty pretty please? 🙏

-For those who don't know I made a shitpost about Ray being a hitman because I looked up housing prices in Los Feliz (and how medical debt works) and SIR HOW THE HELL DO YOU AFFORD THAT HOUSE ON A PHOTOGRAPHER'S SALARY.

-It starts when one of the Petal Pushers has a very abusive, stalker ex. She had tried everything, but even with a restraining order, it isn't enough. Law enforcement just shrugs and suggests she moves (again) after 'someone' breaks into her house, ransacks it and kills her cat.

-It's not like Rose and Ray meant to kill him. But it's what happens. They manage to make it look like an accident. They never tell Violet, but deep down she knows.

-Somehow word gets around and they suddenly have a booming side hustle of taking out abusive spouses, partners, exes, stalkers, etc.

-Ray starts to take on the most of the wet work, with Rose doing the research and being his alibi.

-He's always been a great shot. He won Rose so many stuffed animals at carnival shooting games that they had to start donating them to shelters.

-They do have very strict rules on who they work with and who their targets are. Ray gets very good at stalking people with a giant long distance tele-lens. Both the people who hire them (to make sure they're telling the truth) and the targets.

-The prices they charge vary, and they even have perfected the scheme of 'take out life insurance on him and we get half of the pay out' for people who are in a bad financial situation. Those are trickier because he has to make the deaths look like an accident.

-Listen I'm not saying a few of the plants in Rose's Plant Wall in the studio are toxic. Of course they aren't, they have children running around in there.

-The ones under the grow-light in the attic though....

-He tells everyone he's a photographer but really, he only knows how to work the tele-lens. Rose jokes he could become the world's greatest paparazzi if he wanted to.

-Rarely does he get up close and personal with the targets, but he did made an exception once when 'My Ex Is An Abusive Scumbag number 87' really, really wanted Ray to know the client was right by going after his kid from his first marriage, because his favourite target (their client) wasn't there to take his rage out on.

-He starts hitting the gym after that because it was a liiiiittle too close for comfort.

-As spoken by @floating-in-the-blue: THAT'S WHY HE'S SO FIRM.

-They buy a big house and have money to send the kids to summer camp and fancy music school and the likes. When people ask he just smiles and shrugs and said he signed an NDA so he can't talk about most of his Big Photography Clients.

-Carlos and Julie think their dad is the biggest goober and he totally is. He forgets where he put his phone because he's too busy with the 700 other details of his job. He can tell if any of the parts of his work-toolbox have been moved even a millimeter.

-Just imagine Reggie like: wow Ray really does a lot of research about his photography clients, I wonder if it's like an engagement shoot or something.

-IT WAS NOT AN ENGAGEMENT SHOOT. There was a shooting, though.

-He's a little shell-shocked but still follows Ray down to where he meets the client to promise her it's done, and she cries and tells him thank you and mentions some of the awful things the guy has done or threatened to do, and then he gets it.

-They stage it to look like a break-in gone wrong. Reggie helps knock some shit over when they're distracted like: he's a ghost there are no finger prints. He stays after Ray leaves and watches the woman 'come home' and call the cops. She's either a really good actress, or the tears are just more tears of relief.

-He's really, really glad the abusive guy didn't come back as a ghost though, that would have been so awkward.

-Reggie decides that Julie can never, ever know.

#julie and the phantoms #not!fic #I wrote a thing #ray molina #rose molina #reggie peters #Reggie is the best little ghost accomplice #he's been a distraction from people who might have noticed Ray 'working'#he's calmed down pets and kept them out of the way #(nobody noticed the little cat toy floating in the living room while Ray finished the job in the bedroom after the guy 'OD'ed')#has he haunted a few people Ray's been researching so they have a few awful days before they die mysteriously? Perhaps #he's also alerted Ray about stuff that either meant the potential client was lying or all was not as it seemed #or if things were even worse than they seemed #did he spend the day curled up under a pile of Luke and Alex #because he had to subtley tell Ray there was a WOMAN CHAINED UP IN THE BASEMENT?#he doesn't wanna talk about it #hitman ray

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x-authorship-x · 5 months

Text

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

Thanks for the tag @tsarinatorment 🥰

Im not going to try to really put them in any order but...

Uchiha Shisui (Naruto)

We all been knew 🥴 to me, Shisui is just the perfect kind of character to play protagonist with, with enough badassery and charm to come out on top but with the sweetness and the last scraps of his idealism to soften his edges. Kishi, however, threw him down the toilet at the nearest opportunity (which was just so 🤌bullshit🤌 I'm almost - almost- impressed) because he realised he Gone Fucked Up making this amazingly powerful character with no hint of him in prior work so 🤡 canon is dead, Shisui lives forever

Finn (Star Wars movies)

Anyone who's had the misfortune to follow me or has browsed my AO3 bookmarks knows I'm a wreck for Commander Cody and for Obi-Wan but I'm not choosing either of them? How??? Because Finn... FINN, he was literally raised to be canon fodder but he had this deep rooted fear that what they were doing was wrong and he didn't shoot and he took that fear and he knew he had to run. So often we wanna be brave in those moments but in actual fact we just panic, which is what Finn did... And yet he was so brave too? He saved Poe, he fought viciously for Ray, he joined the Rebellion, he met these people for minutes at a time but had already impressed them on his soul, on who he was going to be (and he'd only had a name as of that day???). Finn should've been the protagonist of that trilogy, the sequels were just...well, and I'll die on this hill that Finn's force sensitivity reaalllly should've meant something 😩 I love so many SWs characters but Finn is really the one that got me to actually attempt my own Fics too!

Obi (Akagami no Shirayukihime/Snow White with the Red Hair)

Do I Have a type? .... Next question.

Obi is just ✨🤌 ✨ badass with a mysterious background? ✅ Loyal but sassy? ✅ Pining for the 'lady' he is sworn to protect?✅ Is also her partner in life and crime? ✅ Low self worth but flirtatious? ✅ Gorgeous but dangerous? ✅ .... ✨💕

Yor (Spy x Family)

She is literally the best mother oh my God just kiss your husband though (and maybe get some space from your brother-)

Fíli (The Hobbit)

I JUST-

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 little golden lion prince, heir to his uncle, to a kingdom only told in stories of grandeur he's never seen and with all the hope and grief of his displaced and hurting people.... Mischievous but sensitive, funny (the hidden knives hehe), determined to do his family and people proud (cut down far too quickly, deserved better... Oh god I have a type-)

Boromir (The Lord of the Rings)

Why do I keep listing dead guys 😭 do I need to spell it out? Honor, desperation, valour, love of his people, he is high-key aroace rep, his resentment-to-love bromance with Aragorn that was ROBBED from us, I cannot tell if Merry and Pippin wanted to queerplatonic marry him or if they wanted him as their "getaway horse" for the rest of their lives but dammit 😭✨🤌

Evelyn Carnahan (The Mummy)

Do I need to even give reasons????? She's miles ahead of all those other scholar bitches, she's out there winning desert camel races, she's a reincarnated princess with daggers, she has the most gorgeous hair and eyeliner I swear to God, she is THE moment… For all time. She's a LIBRARIAN

Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

*flips desk through solid concrete wall* HE'S THE PERFECT MAND'ALOR

PERFECT FATHER

COOLEST INTROVERT IN THE GALAXY

He is SOFT and SOFT-SPOKEN

He is STERN (except in face of baby's wet eyes) and LOYAL and he has an HONOR CODE DAMMIT STOP TAKING ADVANTAGE HIM

This doesn't count as a star wars pick, which I gave to Finn, because we are, as usual, swerving completely off canon (and this is a TV series, not the movies ha!) because you cannot convince me that Din, the wandering bamf who just wants to get credits for all the kids in his covert and provide for his home but cannot participate in the maiming of an 'alien' child so gets landed in so much shit, wouldn't be exactly what the Mandalorians need for a fucking Renaissance dammit 😤😤😤😤

Hawks (Boku no Hero Academia/ My Hero Academia)

*covers my face in shame* ffs it's so transparent lol

FINAL PICK - WILDCARD: Éowyn(The Lord of the Rings)

Ohhhhhhh and it's the Shieldmaiden of Rohan with the steel chair! The Witch King goes down, and he's not getting back up-! 3! 2! 1! And the crowd goes BALLISTIC!!!

I want to write a fic about her 😐 I want her to have a whole alter ego as one of the Rohirrim's best warriors 😳 I want her, seventeen and coltish, to down her first orc, standing in defense of another, and to know with absolute certainty that she wanted to protect everyone she could… 👁️👁️ yes I know I already did lotr but you're what??? Gonna stop HER???

Tagging @katlou303 @theraynealchemist @looks-like-starlight @zebrabaker @iamnotakitty @kazumirina @eruditeempress @ellorypurebloodculture @welpjesuisla @hidingfromthefeels and whoever else wants to have a go! 💕

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starry-blue-echoes · 1 year

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no way me? actually finishing a snippet for once? the world must be ending

but also no joke I've had this in my WIPs since mid October and I'm SO happy it's finally done :>

It's been a while since I did anything with the Vampric Joot In Italy With Vampiric Giorno, so how about we change that :)

(also, sorta? warning for implied vomiting. It's not graphic but the implications are there)

----------

Abbacchio didn’t trust the new guys. Didn’t like them either.

Now, this came to the surprise of literally nobody, including himself. He didn’t like people in general, simple as that.

(Well. Except for Bruno. But he was a literal angel among men and only an idiot wouldn’t like him. At the very least he could agree upon that with the kids.)

But this was different. The newbies were….. weird.

Giorno was a blonde little brat who looked like he hadn’t struggled a day in his life. He was too…… perfect looking, not a single blemish to be seen or hair out of place. No matter where you looked, and believe me Abbacchio had looked hard, there wasn’t a flaw to be found. He always moved with a stupid amount of poise and grace, footsteps quiet like a cat’s and never once looking caught off guard. And the kid wasn’t just a pretty face either, he was smart. He noticed things, small little things that usually only Abbacchio noticed. The kid knew about Abbacchio’s distaste. He definitely knew about the tea. But instead of getting pissy or tattling on Bucciarati, he stayed quiet.

On top of pissing him off, all of it was just plain freaky.

And Jotaro…..

Well. Where to even start with the bastard.

Under normal circumstances, Abbacchio would’ve had begrudging respect for him. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in any of them, but didn’t take any bullshit. He was built like a fucking truck, taller than even Abbacchio was, but he wasn’t a meathead and actually had some braincells. He was admittedly similar to Giorno when it came to brains and noticing things, but he was different in his execution. Blunter for one thing, not even bothering with any pretty words or manipulations. He gave the hard straight facts without any bullshit.

Unfortunately for him, any and all possible respect was thrown out the window because of his stupid fucking outfit.

He’d heard his explanation along with the rest of them when Narancia got nosey and asked. The simple “I’m allergic to the sun” without any elaboration.

And Abbacchio was calling bullshit.

That guy was wrapped up in so many layers that you couldn’t see a spot of skin anywhere. If the sun really was that dangerous for the man then why the hell had he joined the mafia? Abbacchio’s closet could attest to the fact that this line of work went though more clothes than the average person would want to deal with, from bullet holes to knife wounds to whatever the fuck could happen in a Stand Fight.

Unless Jotaro had a complete and total disregard for his life, it didn’t hold up. People only covered up that much when they didn’t want to be recognized and had absolutely no shot at a disguise.

Hence Abbacchio’s current plan.

Jotaro was currently gone with Narancia to grab groceries and wouldn’t be back for another hour. Fugo refused to leave the patio and was waiting for them to come back. Mista was doing a perimeter sweep outside. Bruno and Giorno were talking in the living room. Trish had holed herself up in her room.

Meaning no one was around to see him using Moody to get some answers.

Jotaro had also very conveniently gone upstairs before he’d gone to leave with Narancia, and the stairs themselves were quite loud. Only Trish was up there in her room, so Abbacchio didn’t even have to run the risk of someone sneaking up on him and asking questions (lord knows Bruno wouldn’t be happy if he ever found out). Now, he wasn’t quite sure where upstairs Jotaro had gone, but he could simply follow Moody, so easy fix.

Moody Blues slowly peeled off of him and stood, the digital clock on its head gradually ticking up until it slowed to a stop at around 23 minutes and 56 seconds.

“Let’s see what you’re hiding beneath that coat.” he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as Moody slowly shifted. It took barely a second before it changed, and soon enough Jotaro was standing right in front of him on the stairs.

“Play,” he commanded.

The copy took a few slow, expected steps up the stairs.

And then just as he left the view of the main room.

He vanished.

Suddenly and abruptly, Jotaro was gone. He didn’t seem to be hit by anything, he didn’t even fade or fizzle out. Just one moment he was there and the next he was gone and Moody reverted back to its usual form.

For a moment Abbacchio had thought that something was wrong with Moody. He rewinded the Stand briefly…. but the exact thing happened again.

What the fuck.

Okay, wait, think about this logically. It obviously wasn’t an attack or anything the man thought was dangerous, meaning Jotaro was likely the one responsible. Abbacchio still didn’t know what his Stand could do, none of them did, but whatever it was it was fucking fast. Much faster than a human. First there was how he managed to get to the docks before they had, then there was catching Zucchero on the boat. Who’s to say he didn’t use it to move. Based on how he’d only been upstairs for a few minutes, he likely hadn’t gone that far.

He felt out with Moody, feeling for the echoes of people who had walked these halls. No one had been here very recently thank god, but it still took a moment until-

There.

Behind one of the doors. Not Trish’s thankfully, that would’ve been awkward, but instead the door next to it.

Abbacchio easily closed the distance, walking up the last few remaining stairs and down the hall, and behind the door was……

The bathroom.

Moody quickly zipped over to where Jotaro had been by the toilet, and for a brief second Abbacchio was ready to skip over it……

But the man was hunched over it.

The layers of cloth were peeled away from his face but his hunched over frame prevented Abbacchio from getting a clear look.

But even without seeing his face, it was obvious he was sick.

Okay…… definitely not what he expected. The man hadn’t shown any signs of being sick earlier, so that either meant the apparent nausea had been very sudden or the guy was really good at hiding it.

Abbacchio sped up the replay. Even with the fast forward, it took a few seconds before Jotaro finally stood up, flushing the toilet as he did so. He made his way over to the sink and-

“Pause.” he commanded his Stand.

-and Abbacchio couldn’t help but stare.

He looked… okay this was going to sound crazy, but he didn’t look that human.

The features were…. wrong. He had two eyes, a nose, mouth, all the features that most people had but at the same time it was off. Like the strangeness of Giorno cranked up to an 11. His eyes were a blue almost as vibrant as the sky and sea itself, but around the pupils (which were too sharp too long not right) they were crackled with bits of red like shattered glass. And his skin, it was horrifyingly pale, almost looking translucent in some places. Abbacchio could practically count the veins and-

And now that he was looking at his face, he noticed Jotaro looked…. boney. His eyes were gaunt and his cheeks were hollow, the latter only being accentuated further by his sharp cheekbones.

Definitely way too boney to be losing meals like that.

There was also a strange…… youthfulness to his appearance. From the way he spoke and acted Abbacchio had assumed he was in his late 20s, maybe early 30s, but under the face mask he looked……. young, sorta. Sure the gaunt features and sheer exhaustion made him look older but if you were to fill him out a bit more…….

He looked like a teenager.

And that made a little, minuscule piece of Abbacchio squirm a bit. He was an asshole but…… nobody, especially not a kid (if Jotaro even was one), deserved to look like that.

During his time on the force he’d seen a few cases that still kept him up at night. And some of those cases had involved kids who were far too skinny and quiet with eyes that should’ve been bright holding nothing but a look no child should ever have.

And whil Jotaro wasn’t anywhere near their ages, the look in his eyes was pretty similar.

There was a muted pain in those blue orbs. A tenseness in his face, a heaviness in his shoulders, slight indents in his lips that spoke of having gnawed on them far too many times but lacking any scars.

But it looked so…… normal to the man. A whispered “play” sent Moody back into motion and he was just…… casual. His movements were easy and practiced, and not once did his expression shift.

This was frankly none of his business. He’d done this to figure out Jotaro’s identity and any possible threats, not analyze him for any…… whatever the hell this was.

So why did Abbacchio feel like he accidentally stumbled upon a rabbit hole far deeper than he first anticipated.

#is this my favorite piece of writing? no. however I finally got it finished so dammit if I'm not proud I got it done #jotaro in italy #vampiric jotaro #vampiric giorno #jjba #jojo’s bizarre adventure #golden wind #jjba part 5 #jjba abbacchio #leone abbacchio #moody blues #jjba jotaro #jotaro kujo #jjba giorno #giorno giovanna #bucci gang #sb writes

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souryogurt64 · 10 months

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I’m so tempted to go to the last show but I already went to Saturday’s show and my mom will most likely not let me go because she’ll say that I already went. Might fuck around and ask my dad to get us tickets because I need to see this last show….

I am really sorry to trauma dump on your ask specifically, and this doesn't really seem like it's your situation. But. I've been wanting to tell you guys this happened last month. I didn't really know how because it was so extreme, even for me usually. But I get a lot of kids venting to me about their parents in my inbox. Just in general, but especially a bunch lately regarding Fall Out Boy concert ticket drama. So I guess this is a cautionary tale and advice for any kid following me with emotionally abusive parents who is having a hard time getting to whatever show on this tour, because I think there's got to be at least ten of you following me

Backstory, I'm 24 and got my first "real" job in February. It's like. An actual job that pays well and has health insurance and time off and benefits and stuff. I never thought this was achievable for me. This came very out of nowhere and was a huge shock to everyone.

My parents definitely did not think I was ever capable of doing this. I think they're kind of in a "denial" phase. They had me 100% convinced I was never going to be able to hold a job and I was always going to be dependent on them or homeless or something, IDK. Anyway, I’ve been there for almost 6 months, so I was taking my first vacation-- like my first-ever actual one with PTO-- to visit my friend and see Fall Out Boy.

My parents had offered to let me borrow the car to do this. They had been telling me everything was fine for months leading up to it. Stuff had been going fine between us for awhile. I delivered my mom’s favorite flowers for mother's day because I was on a business trip. Like a week before this I went out for a "really important" dinner with my dad and his boss and his boss' daughter as a "huge favor."

I also needed to be home that week anyway because I had to see my psychiatrist, and also it was my best friend from high school's 21st birthday. And my parents have 2 cars, my dad works from home and my mom works at a school a 5 minute walk from our house and it was July. So it made no logistical sense for me to get a rental. But if they hadn't offered or been okay with me taking the car, I would have said "Ok, no problem."

Anyway, as soon as I got off the Metra, I knew something was weird. They made me drive and my mom was screaming and gasping and saying I was driving "crazy" and "too fast" when I was going 20 below the speed limit. Also that my sunglasses "weren't safe" for driving. But instead of taking them off, I had to wear hers. She did this when I was a kid and I got anything nice like a sleepover or a Girl Scouts trip or something. She was trying to pick a fight that she could progressively escalate, and then tell me I couldn't go because of something I did or said. And sure enough, when I tried saying no to one of her weird power plays, she started saying I had to do it or I wouldn't see Fall Out Boy.

Except I'm not a kid anymore so this was meaningless. Once we got home I tried to disappear but my dad wanted us to "talk it out." It kept escalating because my mom was fake crying and saying she didn't know anything about the concert until the night before and wasn't okay with me taking the car. Which was all a lie. I started to get pretty agitated, because it was gaslighting in a non-post-ironic sense, and she started filming me. This was something she did a lot when I was younger.

I had been trying my best to ignore her. At this point though, I felt this was going to go on for however many hours it took for there to be some kind of insane drama, and my dad was going to enable it.

Again if they hadn't wanted me to take the car, that would've been fine. But by offering to let me take the car and then pulling this, they tricked me into a situation where getting to Fall Out Boy was either going to be a very prolonged and horrible emotional nightmare, or a a very expensive logistical nightmare. It was also about trying to punish me for going and make my special first vacation-slash-Fall-Out-Boy-Extravaganza as miserable and stressful as possible, I think, which definitely worked.

So anyway, she starts filming me saying I'm being hysterical and out of control. I was pretty upset but I was just sitting at the table and kind of crying.

I was holding a glass of water, so I stood up and threw the water at her. At this point I think everything went off the deep end. I don't want to get into all of it, but there was a lot of screaming. Other highlights included my dad grabbing a knife laying on the counter (lol) and me shattering the actual glass. Then things started getting very physical so I kicked my dad in the balls as hard as I could. After that my mom started trying to call the cops so she could try to get them to take me to the psych ward in a cop car again but I said some stuff that scared her into stopping.

So for anyone following me who's younger and has parents with like mental issues or is in an abusive household. There is nothing you can do to prove to your parents they should "let" you go. There is no magic age where you will be "old enough" to leave the house or do things. There is no GPA you can achieve or degree or even job you can get that will make your parents okay with you going places and doing things. There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is never going to happen.

You just need to get out as soon as you can and minimize contact. Better yet, find a way to go to concerts anyway. I had money and access to a car but I was afraid of drama and thought if I just tried hard enough someday they'd let me go. They were never going to. Just go to the concert anyway and ignore whatever drama happens and know it will be over eventually. The fact that you went will matter way more in three years.

My honest advice to any teenage girl whose parents won't let them go to a concert is this: Literally any slightly older boy will take you to a concert if you buy him a ticket. Do not mention anything about your parents not knowing because they will get paranoid. Be safe, only do this with people you know and trust, do not have sex with anyone, and use your best judgement about the kind of people you hang out with. But this is your best bet. Sneak out if you have to.

But as an example, my friend worked at Jimmy John's in high school and college. All her coworkers were guys and some of them were college aged. We'd go to their Dungeons and Dragons sessions. Literally any one of them would've gladly taken a free ticket to see Fall Out Boy, and none of them would've done anything weird. I could've just told my parents I was sleeping over at her house and not said anything. She could've gone too and then I could've actually spent the night at her house. It would've all been fine. I was just too scared of my parents to do anything like that. If it's on a weeknight just sneak out and deal with it or say you're working and don't come home. Make sure you go to school the next day though.

Also I had money and worked a lot but my parents were really obsessive about my bank account. If you're in a situation like that, just ask your job to start giving you checks, open an account at another bank, and start cashing only some of them there. It's hard and scary and a lot of responsibility, but it's easier than you think, and it's worth it. The people at the bank will help you, just don't mention your parents because they'll get paranoid. (The earlier you start doing this the better--I'm 24 and dealing with the bank drama now and it's way worse than if I had thought about this 8 years ago). You deserve to do things like this and you should not feel guilty about it

Just your gut. Do not sleep over or get drunk/high with a guy unless it's someone you really know and trust. If you're going anywhere with someone just actually be friends with them first. Also do not do this with guys that are too much older either, because they're definitely going to be weird. But if you're 17 and give a 19 year old friend-of-a-friend a free ticket to Fall Out Boy, they'll gladly drive you. If you're in college, just be smart, and be safer than you think you need to be. But this advice applies to a lot of like 18-20 year olds too. Good luck haha

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forthedancingandthethriving · 5 months

Text

"I've never been to the Internet Archive before.." Abyssal mutters softly, eyes twinkling with amazement as she strolls in with CPU by her side. He smiles up at her, clearly endeared by her amazement.

"Only accessible through the Hub," he informs her with a hum. "The Browsers were strict about that."

"Browsers?" She blinks.

"You know, Google, Firefox, those guys." The older Admin answers as they get to the large doors. He pushes them open with practiced ease, and she follows him inside. "They have their own spaces they govern, but this is the one place they all have a hand in."

Abyssal nods as she follows him, marveling at the grand library. Large bookshelves with what she could tell were filled with many reports. She didn't really envy those who had to write it down.

"Is this a part of your job?" She asks. "I thought you focused on all the capturing and stuff."

"This is an unofficial part." CPU shakes his head. "My job entails termination on the spot, Abyssal. Crash handles capture and recapture, while Antivirus handles those bigger threats fit for Computer Hell. I handle those that needed to be terminated on the spot since Crash doesn't really have permission to terminate."

"So.. I've been doing similar to Crash? Except I've been bringing Worms's viruses to Computer Hell or similar?" Abyssal asks.

"Pretty much." He nods, waving to some Archivists.

"Feels like I'm one of you guys now," she jokes, "with how I'm doing that and universe clean ups."

"It fits you." He says simply, making her look surprised before he waves down a Program. "RAM, over here."

"Oh, C-CPU!" The program is a blue ewe, though with horns akin to a ram's. With a green sweater and skirt flowing as she floated over, hooves gently clack as she stands on the ground. Her eyes shift over to Abyssal, and momentarily, her expression falls. "O-oh.. is this..?"

"This is Abyssal," CPU spoke quickly. "A very good and close friend of mine, and one of the younger Admins at the Adminspace. Abyssal, this is RAM. She's the Lead Archivist here at the IA."

RAM blinks. "She is.. a lot taller than you."

"I've been getting that lately.." Abyssal smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She glances at all the command boxes around RAM, a bit shocked.

RAM claps her front hooves together, smiling. "We-well! What do you need?"

"Just entering some new data about Viruses." CPU waves his hand, and some data boxes appear. They float over to RAM, and she nods gratefully.

"Thank you so much!" She smiles before glancing away shyly. "Uhm.. is there.. anything else I could help you with?"

"No, thank you. Have a good day." CPU waves goodbye before turning and walking off. Raising an eyebrow, Abyssal waves goodbye as well and follows.

"Why'd you end the conversation so quickly?" She tilts her head. "She seemed nice."

"Only because you were with me." CPU sighs. "RAM.. she's a good Program, don't get me wrong, kid. But she's just.. she's clingy and way too affectionate. She keeps trying to flirt with me, too."

"But you're single?" Abyssal tilts her head more.

The older Admin drags a hand down his face and mutters something softly before looking up at her. "Look, the bottom line is, I just don't like her like that. She's not my type, and never will be. So I always keep it short with her."

"Ooh.." The younger Admin nods, following him out of the Internet Archive building. "Okay, I get it."

"Good." He stretches his arms before sighing. ".. you feel up to seeing the others?"

Abyssal grins. "I'm not the one suggesting it! Yes!"

CPU snorts, though there's a smile on his lips. "Don't let it get to your head, kid."

"No promises!"

#admin: abyssal #admin: cpu #program: ram #fanfiction: my writing!#!posts!#theres a lot of snow so i wrote smth with a little sprinkles of fluff to warm me up lol

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icaruswasadreamer · 18 days

Text

If We Were Villains: a book review

Or, the power of environmental storytelling, amazing characterization, theatrics and what it does to a STEM student with a passion for the arts

A/N: This is my first time writing a book review, and I decided to make up a little formula for myself to follow for the rest of my reviews. Truthfully, IWWV is not my first book, but it has defintiely inspired me enough to write something for it that isn’t fanfiction so here it is. Feel free to share your thoughts and bring up discussions, as this book is dear to me in many ways and it deserves to be talked about. Do note all of this is my opinion and that is all it will ever be. Hope you enjoy this review/semi-analysis of IWWV that I am less than qualified to talk about, but that is the beauty of self-expression. Please be warned of spoilers which will be marked as to where they Start.

How I was Introduced to the Book

I first learned of the book through booktok. And I know the implications of that statement and the reputation of booktok in the bookish community. I, myself, don’t think too highly of booktok (as it is where all the colleen hoover fans worm about), but I have to admit that it is, by far, one of the best avenues to discover authors and books, no matter the romanticization of reading as a hobby or the misinterpretation of these books. Truthfully, without booktok, I would not have asked my friend to buy me a copy of If We Were Villains for my birthday and I wouldn’t be enamoured by its narrations and characters as I am right now. There was a specific tiktoker that I followed for the fact that they have read a lot of dark academia books – which is a genre that I’m getting into right now! If We Were Villains was introduced to me as a really great book with a lot of twists and turns, and I went into it with that expectation.

The Book Itself in My Own Words

Imagine that one picture that comes up whenever you search “dark academia aesthetic” on pinterest. There is a manor at the far end of the photo, distant and castle-like. Vines and greenery cling to it as if it were the old cobblestone shrine of a forest God and its windows are hauntingly grey with dust as if it were lived in by no one except ghosts. You are only outside looking in, and there is no scene you can manage from the manor. What you can observe, however is a lake. It reflects the greyish bluish white sky above it and it does not move against the life, the nature that surrounds it. It is ever present and everlastingly still; ultimately very boring to the people who spare it a glance, but go beyond depths you and I can comprehend or imagine. Think of that image, but in book form. Oh and add several other complicated things in it too, just for flavor.

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio is a hauntingly, tragic mystery about 7 friends who made the mistake of being gay theatre kids. It’s the found family trope in reverse as you watch as their life fall apart in the incident of a murder that no one is really sure who did. We follow Oliver Marks, essentially the main character and the narrator of the story as he describes what his life is like and how it’s about to be ruined because some guy was too petty to accept that he isn’t always the star of the show. Watch the 6 of them go through the motion, pretending everything is fine and that they’re all not mentally ill in some way while quoting shakespeare that no normal person does.

As sarcastic as I sound, it is genuinely a wonderful, captivating story about grief, friendship and art. Everything is so complicated (in a good way) and you’re not really sure what to feel about all of it, but at the same time, you stay for the ride because the feelings are worth it, just to see this show to the end just so these characters can reach their epilogue finally. The way I would describe it is imagine all those reading assignments and book reports you had to do in your english class about a sonnet or play, then mix it with all the gay fanfiction one would read in the witching hours of 3 am as you sob quietly to yourself because you know your ship will never be canon. It is a culmination of these two things, and it’s awesome.

First Impressions/Last Impressions

I struggled with getting through Act I of IWWV. And I do genuinely believe that this was not at all the fault of the author or the story as the set up was interesting and mysterious and curious enough for me to get hooked. It just so happened that the fish was uninterested and busy with other things that I did not get into immediately as I would have hoped. Despite this – and after several months of not reading – I managed to pick up the book again and return to where I left off.

Perhaps it was the fact that there was a large gap of me not reading IWWV and then the sudden bolt of me reading it religious explains why I found the first parts of IWWV quite slow. I do recognize this as a part of the set up and exposition of the book and was entirely necessary for the emotional impact that it would give me by the end, but prowling through those first few chapters was hard as someone with a short attention span and have several hobbies aside from reading and writing.

But now, after almost a year of trying to finish this book properly, I have to say that I am wrecked and I will never be the same again. I thought I was going to hate the endng, truthfully, as its implications was bleak and somehow, undermines the efforts of its characters. But, the epilogue had me pleasantly surprised and relieved, that I would have to say that the ending was exactly my cup of tea. I’m still not sure on where I stand with happy endings or tragic endings, but I do in fact love open endings – endings left to interpretation, the kinds that will make you tear your hair out because where is the rest of it? Why is the book just- done? And here is where fanfiction comes to play, my friend.

The journey has been a journey, and I definitely have to say that I have learned a lot from this book and that it was easy to fall in love with the book despite the rough beginning.

//SPOILERS START HERE//

How I fell in Love with It

The atmosphere IWWV gave me which was extremely immersive and can only be described as delightfully haunting. It is peak gray – and gay – atmosphere that I really enjoyed as it felt like the right amount of theatrics to not be too dramatic and satirical. Something also surprising is the fact that it is oddly humorous despite being a book about murder, shakespeare and what makes a tragedy. Actually, considering it is inspired by shakespeare, the humorous aspect is not so surprising if you take into account some shakespeare being pretty absurd as it is. The unironic things these characters do like randomly quote shakespeare out of nowhere is so pretentiously funny, but also contributes well to what the book is going for.

As unnatural as that would be for like a normal person, because Oliver and his friends are so deep into the shakespeare of their classes, they make it feel natural and you get used to that as the story progresses. Oliver had a really good justification for this which he explains to Colbourne in a way that I truly resonate with. This book, as well as the characters, are so in love with Shakespeare’s words that it’s hard to not find yourself enamoured by it to. I love the way they describe taking art like this as I feel, as an artist and creative, that this is an artist’s ulttimate purpose. To capture the things that cannot be said properly through ordinary words, and to encapsulate those moments of heightened emotion and feeling. Any piece of art is an attempt to reanimate emotion, and we use art to deliver those emotions that we, ourselves, cannot fully comprehend.

This is what I love about this book, aside from its brilliant storytelling and interesting and raw characters. It feels like it was made with the intention of appreciation for art, and I really respect that as art means so much to me. This book is art and it is about art as much as it is about this specific friend group dealing with whatever just happened, and I really really love and appreciate that about this book.

Strong Points/What I learned from It as a Writer

IWWV is genuinely a master class in environmental storytelling. The Castle, where everyone stays at during their time in Dellecher is the most effective use of environment I’ve seen in a book (which I’m sure there’s more, I just haven’t read it yet in which I will at some point). The way the castle has a place for everyone, and the scene wherein Oliver is seen cleaning the different rooms of the Castle goes to show the amount of detail the author puts into each little cranny of their descriptions of the Castle. One specific detail I remember was in Richard’s room where a chess board was described with one horseman toppled over and another missing. I may be tweaking, but that might just imply something about story. Aside from the environments, IWWV also makes good use of its inspiration material which is shakespeare.

I definitely should have gone into IWWV with some knowledge of shakespeare and I would encourage anyone who wish to read IWWV to read at least one shakespear book, because I didnt and I am incredible lost on how IWWV uses those narratives of Shakespeare’s plays to reference its own tragedy and characters and I am extremely upset that I didn’t get to experience that other narrative of the what the play were trying to tell the reader. But of course, you don’t have to have a background in theatre or shakespeare to read IWWV. It would extremely as they constantly quote shakespeare and if you don’t know what those quotes mean, you will get lost at some point, but you can manage through it (as I said, the book does well with these quotes that it starts feeling natural enough that you, too, would start to make sense of these quotes even if you would struggle at first). But, from what I have heard from people who have read the book and Shakespeare, the plays do reference and foreshadow the story within IWWV.

The play Ceasar directly reference how Richard is going to die and who’s going to kill him. Like Richard is the modern Julias Ceasar, he is someone who has caused tyranny in their group of friends and provoked James to hit him on the head which led to his friends eventually leaving him for dead. I still struggle sometimes with that betrayal because in truth, Richard was their friend for 3 years and then they’re just gonna throw him away like that? I think it’s just how I view friendship, but to be fair I don’t like Richard enough to be angry that he died. And that’s a good way of utilizing source material! Because who killed Ceasar if not his most intimate of friends.

This is kind of like Chekhov’s gun in a way except we’re talking about multiple guns and you’re in a gun shop and the fact that the guns are constantly being fired. Everytime the environment is being described, it doesn’t get boring or go into super great detail. I’m always seated for those descriptions of the environment because at some point one very specific detail will mean something to the story more than you expect it would. Otherwise, it contributes to the atmosphere and helps you feel incredibly immersive. I think much of what I read are heavily character-driven (which isn’t a bad thing!) and IWWV is also heavily character-driven in terms of plot, but it uses its environment well. Like it exists and isn’t just an extension of the actors themselves, but it doesn’t just exist as a setting, it exists as a plot device. A carefully crafted set for a performance. IWWV was a wonderful case study for me to be able to spot those little details in the environment and try my hand in interpreting what they mean, like a detective looking for clues – which is very fitting!

Characters and characterization was also very good in IWWV. Every character was equally flawed and all of their actions warrant a “What the actual fuck?” from me. The amazing thing about IWWV is that despite its title, none of these characters are bad people, just very flawed with poor decision-making skills. Even Richard, I would argue, is still a gray character despite being an asshole! It was entirely his fault for becoming needlessly petty and aggressive towards his friends, but I don’t really think that undermines their 3 years of friendship together. I genuinely believe that Richard was just a guy with a big ego that was too fragile for his own good and he did really dumb and shitty stuff about that. He isn’t your 2D Villain, because his actions were triggered by the event of something – being casted as someone that wasn’t the main focus of the play. And his friends and the reader have in their every right to be angry at Richard for the shit he’s done, but you have to admit he wasn’t always like that. He changed and that is the most admirable thing about the character writing in IWWV.

Everyone is very dynamic, but not too drastic for it to be jarring. They fit well together despite having contrasting personalities and all of them have something going on in terms of their personal life. It’s a shame we don’t exactly see ther perspectives as we are limited to Oliver’s narration, but we do get glimpses of it and I believe that is enough for the characters to feel real. My favorite character, Filippa, is the most mysterious one from the group in terms of backstory, but I know enough that she is willing to do everything – even hide a murder – just to protect her friends, her family, probably because she doesn’t have one of her own in more ways than one. And I got that from a single line that she said to Oliver when he asked why she hid the fact James did it.

“You all were the only family I had. I’d have killed Richard myself if I thought it would keep the rest of you safe. [...] I was terrified you’d do exactly what you did.”

Each main character of IWWV have their own tragedy to their character which is rooted upon the “type” of character they are in the beginning of the story. They all both defy and fit perfectly in their own roles in the narrative and that is their tragedy. Oliver is the sidekick who became the center of attention by his arrest, James is a hero who murdered a friend, Richard is a dead tyrant, Meredith is a temptress who wishes she was seen as anything but, Wren is the broken and frankly, no longer as innocent as she ought to be ingenue, and Alexander is the villain with good intentions. Filippa is the curious case as she does not have set role, this does not excuse her from being tragic, but it does makes sense how she is the only able to stay relatively stable throughout the story. In the very beginning we were already told of what tragedy these characters would have and it is all connected to their role in a stereotypical narrative, how they are type-casted in their plays.

I would go into each of the characters and their own personal tragedies and flaws, but that would be really long, so I won’t. But these characters and the play on the type-casting of these actors are perfectly executed. I would like to cite James’ arc for this as he is described as being the hero, but slowly, as we see how he and everyone else copes with Richard’s death and how he gets casted into the villain role, we saw how this changes him and how his archetype of being the hero slowly crumbles to make way for a darker James filled with immense amount of guilt that only perpetuates with Oliver’s arrest. We see how it breaks him as his hero persona is no longer his. He takes up the role of the villain, and that kills him because he was never meant to play that role. Everything about him screams hero and I think he himself believed that, so his sense of self crumbles away as it is slowly revealed that he is in fact, the villain of this story. And yet, what makes him the villain is still technically a heroic act. He killed a tyrant after all. And that is just hella clever.

IWWV almost reads as really complicated fairytale if you think of it as these characters as the archetypes of their roles. It is definitely the most fascinating and creative way of character writing I’ve ever seen and that is a feat on its own. It follows a formula, yet it defies the routinely-ness of that, the audience can understand what’s going on like in the middle of the book and I think that serves well in this scenario because now, it’s only a matter of dread and waiting for the final act to commence. I never felt like I was reading an intermission in any parts of it as everything, both character and environment, serve the plot really well.

Criticisms/Pet Peeves

But of course, despite all my praise, this book is not free of the criticisms and I did feel frustration for some parts of it whether it was good or bad frustration. It’s not a perfect book and I have a few gripes with it.

The way it treats Meredith and Wren specifically is appalling. It, sadly, goes into that really bad trope in some queer books of the women getting in the way of the men hooking up. I really feel bad for these women because, even if they still have their own things going on and they are able to be their own characters, they somehow become extensions of the men that they are involved with, and everytime, it is extremely unfair.

I’ll just say it, Oliver is just using Meredith to forget about James. I don’t doubt he loves her or doesn’t think of her as attractive because he does, but there is an aspect to their relationship that they both don’t deny is really connected to Oliver’s and James’ relationship. This is a flaw of Oliver’s character that I don’t like because it’s so unfair for Meredith and the way they started their relationship is also kind of dubious? I mean, Meredith went for Oliver not only because he was “nice”, she also went for him because he was the only one available and the complete opposite of Richard. Meredith had no interest in Oliver in the first few scenes of this book and Oliver also didn’t really think of her much because she was already with Richard, but he couldn’t deny she was pretty. I just don’t like the implications of their relationship to Meredith’s character and her struggle with objectification and her constantly being sexualized by the men around her. I know Oliver wouldn’t do that, but at the end of the day, isn’t he just using her?

I desperately want to believe in their love and I do! But it gets so bad when you mix in James because suddenly, Meredith no longer exist to Oliver. He literally went to jail for the guy, of course, his love for James isn’t equal in any way to his love for Meredith. I also just don’t agree with how the ending has Oliver and Meredith together only for Oliver to essentially leave Meredith because he finds out that James might still be alive. He admits that he was still in love with James! I understand that polyamorous relationships are a thing, but clearly Oliver has shown to be neglecting of Meredith whenever James comes to his peripheral vision! I just think that, maybe, Meredith deserves better than how Oliver is treating her.

And god, don’t get me started on James and Wren. They, frankly, came out of nowhere! I think its because we are limited to Oliver’s perspective so we don’t see how their relationship developed and how their dynamic would go. I do see that James cares much for Wren and vice-versa and that they could totally work, but god, when you mix Oliver into it, Wren just doesn’t exist. I am extremely upset about the part where James gets incredibly drunk and then drags Wren to sleep with him for the same reasons Oliver sleeps with Meredith! And I hate it.

It’s very messy, and very well-written and very in-character, but god the implications. The way these women are being treated in the relationship drama is just to serve the men’s own relationship and how they totally belong to each other, but somehow they’re not together and they have to stay with the women and it’s really messy and Oliver is a disaster bisexual. Maybe I just don’t like love triangles or love squares, but this is just a prime example why you shouldn’t date someone in the same friend group. It’s messy and sometimes, I debate with myself if it was necessary. Either way, it happened and I can’t do anything about that.

Overall Thoughts/Scoring

I have a lot of thoughts about IWWV and the book itself has a lot of themes and messages that really struck me. One thing that I really liked about IWWV as an aroace-spectrum person is the friend group’s relationship because despite all the tragedy around them, they manage to be really wholesome and there examples there of platonic intimacy that I don’t usually get to see in books. I love how Oliver and Filippa are essentially like siblings with how they are always there for each other and Filippa is always looking out for him and their other friends. I love the brotherly relationship between Oliver and Alexander. And despite my gripes, there are moments in Oliver’s and Meredith’s relationship that remind me that they were friends first and lovers second, and I really appreciate that.

I didn’t mention Oliver’s and James’ relationship as much because I’m pretty sure that’s what you would expect for me to say. It’s a good relationship, I like it since I’ve always been a fan of that kind of dynamic where they transcend the meaning of best friends, they’re gay essentially, but they are also each other’s person and their intimacy is beyond physical. I’m just describing sexual/romantic tension here but everytime they are in screen together, you just know that they are looking at each other with so much emotion. And of course, what Oliver did for James was incredibly stupid, but also just states what James is to Oliver. And it’s really codependent, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a kind of love that makes you feel thing.

I also would like to comment on how it tackles grief and guilt as those are major themes in the story. I appreciate how despite being dead, Richard is still ever-present in Oliver’s mind and everyone else’s that no one even bothers to go to his room aside from Oliver who just has to because he has to clean it. Guilt haunts everyone in If We Were Villains and I feel for that, especially when it comes to grief. It captures perfectly what mourning for someone who did some really bad stuff to you is like with the added guilt that you somehow contributed to his death. And it’s cruel how these people just have to deal with that major change; nothing is ever the same when someone dies and we can’t do anything about it. The show must go on, unfortunately. And that’s what happens to these characters, on or off the stage, life will continue with or without them and they have to go with out, otherwise they might end up drowning in their own misery. I think that is much the moral we can find in IWW, if it even has one.

//SPOILERS END HERE//

My scoring would be an 8/10. It’s really good and I recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of shakespeare or really into dark academia. I wouldn’t say it would be the best introduction book for this genre, but it got me into it so maybe it could work for you too!

#if we were villains #iwwv #if we were villains spoilers #booklr #bookish #book review #book recommendation #iwwv spoilers #this was 7 pages in my gdocs #writer things

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caffstrink · 1 year

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your points about omori are so real but i also think the story isnt even that good like the "twist"... like not only does it not really make sense logistically (puts on my cinemasins goggles for a minute) how did two small kids drag an older girl into the woods to hang her without getting noticed and also why even come to that conclusion instead of making it look like more of an accident in the original scene (takes off my cinemasins goggles sorry about that) but i felt like it was kind of cheapened when it wasnt her killing herself. like he still couldve blamed himself for that because he wasnt there for her and didnt notice the signs but its like no he accidentally pushed her down the stairs. (and then framed it as a suicide which Was indeed actually a bad thing to do so yeah man you should feel a little guilty) but that could just be me being an enjoyer of explorations of suicide and its aftermath in stories

Honestly the twist was the only praiseworthy thing i found in the game and even so it wasn't enough to redeem the whole journey to get there imo. I think my opinion happens to be the opposite of yours bc mari comitting suicide would've been too simple, too expected, whileas sunny accidentally causing her death is what explains the guilt that makes him repress his emotions/identity and choose to live in his imagination. Theres 2 main big issues i have with it though, and since you've given me the opportunity I'll rant about it.

If i remember right at the time of her death mari was 15 while sunny/basil were 11 or 12, so i don't think it would be far-fetched for the two to carry her body together, although hanging her from the tree would be difficult. As for no one noticing i think that's actually pretty normal as far as these cases go, you'd be surprised at how many murders happen in broad daylight in suburban areas where there's neighbors walking outside yet no one notices bc they're not looking at someone's backyard to see some guy burying a dead body (if you watch those murder documentaries you'd be surprised at how common these cases tend to be). Basil trying to frame it as suicide is honestly a very very stupid idea, but considering their age and the situation it does make sense since they were panicking and people have 0 braincells when they're panicking.

The main reason i liked this twist though, may be because of how i perceived the scene where we see mari's hanging body and how it had an eye open, i thought it implied mari could be still alive when they hung her, and the uncertainty of it is what wouldve plagued sunnys psyche for the following years. Idk that was what i thought at least, but i don't recall seeing anyone else point out mari possibly still being alive when she was hung, so it may be just me.

Now here's the rant part. The game subtly implies that sunny's parents knew it wasn't a suicide. And by subtly i mean in a HIDDEN ROOM YOU HAVE TO ACCESS THROUGH ALTERING VALUES IN THE GAME FILES instead of, i don't know, in the annoying dragged out black space horror segment? Anyway in that room you see a shadow of what looks to be Sunnys father chopping down the tree and he says "you're no son of mine" or something along those lines (its been a while so i forgot the exact quote). PLUS its kind of obvious maris body wouldve been taken to be analyzed and theyd for sure see the head trauma that caused her death, but since it was accidental and both sunny and basil were minors, it's likely they went unpunished and Sunny's parents covered up with the suicide story so the others wouldn't think of them as murderers.

Why the hell does the game never mention his parents except on the real world? Its shown they divorced after mari died, did sunny not really care about that? Why does his ugly pastel escapism fantasy not have any mention to them? Did he not feel guilty about the grief he caused his parents? WHY IS IT NOT MENTIONED IN THE GAME AND ONLY IN A HIDDEN ROOM

And the second thing is the reasons that caused the incident in first place, it felt like it couldve been explored much more than it was. Like ok i get it, sunny didnt actually want to play violin, his friends thought he did and he was too afraid to disappoint them when they bought him one. But the main thing he mentions he hates about it in his diary is that he needs to practice on saturdays and misses 1 hour of cartoon watching with his friends. Like man. Come on. Priorities i guess? There wasn't any pressure of someone moving away, or someone leaving for college, or anything like it that would explain why sunny needed that 1 hour of cartoon watching with everyone so badly that it emotionally distressed him to that level.

My second complaint is how Mari is treated like a pure saint through all of the game, which was kind of a missed opportunity to have shown that she also was flawed and not always the kind big sister he idealized her to be in his mind (it could've also been shown that the Saint Mari in his brain is due to his guilt, but no, apparently she was just was like that irl too), the only flaw mari had was that she was perfectionist about the piano recital and pressured sunny about it? Like come on man there could've been more here. We could've had accepting mari was a flawed human as a part of sunnys recovery so he can move on from itn but instead mari is just a perfect angel through all of the game who unfortunately was accidentally killed by her younger brother bc she got upset he broke his violin on purpose like any 15 year old would. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

#long post

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