#there Is that element of addiction there. the need to get a high off of being the smartest and most powerful person in the room

[talentforlying]

ok legends of tomorrow ended up touching on one of the most Fascinating things about constantine, which is the way he thinks about his magic, so i'm gonna ramble about that for a minute.

first and foremost, magic is a tool for survival in constantine's mind. that's it. it doesn't make him better than people, he just uses it better than most people. of course, he's arrogant about having it, and can be equal parts holier-than-thou and devil-on-your-shoulder about its usage, but it's still just part of the kit for him.

that's one of the reasons that so many other magic users hate his guts; it's why one of his monikers is "the magpie of magic". the artifacts and powers and rituals that are sacred to others, that are ways for people to commune with their faith, to extend the grace of their personal divinities upon the rest of the world - those are all just tools to constantine. divination is a pair of glasses. a binding spell is a wrench. an exorcism is a hammer. he picks up what works and leaves the rest.

the reason he took up magic to begin with was to survive. he started using magic trying to kill his abusive father, and then when he felt too bad to go through with it, to weaken him. he used magic to bolster his grifts when he was living on the streets, and he used it to set his friend chas free of his abusive mother and her familiar. eventually, he got too cocky with it, too full of himself and his talent for magic, and that's how newcastle happened, but after that he tempered himself, started looking at it as the kind of weapon that needs to never be left lying around loaded.

but because magic is what helped him to survive, he does think sometimes that it's the only thing that makes him worth living. he's tied a lot of himself up in his ability to help people after a long, long childhood of being told he ruins everything he touches. even when he fucks things up, or magical entities from his past fuck things up for him, he never blames the magic, he blames himself. magic is the only thing that makes him redeemable, in a way, for the life he's lived. for the people he's hurt.

he needs magic to stay alive these days, but he didn't always. newcastle shot him in the foot in a real big way: he was someone powerful enough to both summon a major demon and send a little girl's soul to hell. he was being yanked out of ravenscar to do magical favors for people as early as two years into his sentencing, he'd accidentally made a name for himself that could not be erased and it launched him into the viper pits of the magical world in a way that could never be undone. every job he did for people, every gun put to his head, meant more deals he had to make, more strings to pull, more people to piss off. he never had a fucking chance to get out of that world once he'd already fallen in it.

(which is why i think a hades-game hellblazer arc where he's constantly escaping hell only to get sucked back in would be thematically appropriate, because he keeps trying to leave and it keeps pulling him back.)

these days, if he were ever to lose his magic, he'd be a dead man walking. demons and angels and warlocks and magicians everywhere coming to take their pound of flesh. he owes his life to his quick and clever thinking, but he keeps his life because of magic, and that's why he'll never be able to give it up. ever.

#( ooc. ) OUT OF CIGS. #idk it absolutely kills me that constantine tried Again and Again to escape the world of magic #but he never could and never can. he made one mistake and it royally fucked him for all eternity #legends of tomorrow made it a physical dependence which is very along the lines of the way it's talked about in the comics #there Is that element of addiction there. the need to get a high off of being the smartest and most powerful person in the room #but for the most part his dependency is because of survival. he needs to put up a front or he'll be killed on sight #he needs to seem unfuckingtouchable at all times or everybody from hell to heaven will come for him #and i think something that gets talked about the least with constantine is how hard he tries to save other people from his own fate #he scares people away from magic. he warns them. he shows them the consequences of bad luck and overconfidence #he is a walking talking billboard of 101 REASONS NOT TO DABBLE IN THE OCCULT #but no one listens. and then they blame him for drawing them in like a serpent in the garden when he was the wall around it the whole time #he loves magic. he really does. it's power and it's fun. but he's DAMN transparent that it comes with a price #and he blames himself for every single person who decides they're willing to pay it only to find out later they can't #every person unfortunate enough to get caught in his orbit whether they chose to be there or not #now him calling in favors and blackmailing people into helping him? that's on him. that's a whole other meta #but with magic itself? he really does try to get away sometimes. and he really does try to help others get away too #( character study. ) A WALKING PLAGUE OF A MAN.

[greenunoreversecard]

HEYYEYHEY CAN I REQUEST LLOYD (ninjago) HEADCANONS PLEASEEEE (ty :3)

A/N: Ofc!I'll do general character ones, as well as x reader ones :) hope ye likey likey:pp

Lloyd, The Greenest and Geekest mf.

General character headcanons:

Half Japanese half Chinese

His hair is box blonde dye and you cannot change my mind.

Left handed

Severely dyslexic and hands off all scroll reading and just reading oriented tasks to kai.

Def gen z vibes. Like, the others give off more inbetween z and millenial, so they dont always get his humor. And sometimes he uses that to his advantage and "Speaks in code" (uses as much slang as possible)

Has LED lights in his room set to forest green.

Has given himself a smiley face tattoo.

Cried over a dead goose once.

OK, just to preface i see cole as a stoner of Sorts and uses the excuse "it gets me closer to my element"

With that in mind cole let lloyd try it and now sometimes when he is told to unwind, of feels like he needs to take a chill pill he and Cole spark up

in the beginning of his leader ship role, he used to Say;"kick ass and take names" and if things went wrong he had the fuck it we ball mindset, but got better with time. There are still times they wing it, though.

if he isnt in his gi he almost exclusively wears his pajamas (aka a Hoodie, tshirt and sweats)

Vv tired, and now has a raging addiction to energy drinks due to his lack of Sleep.

He used to eat worms as a kid bc he Thought he it was evil.

Has a eyebrow piercing, and wants a tongue piercing.

Wears "reading" glasses, that he should technically wear all the time because he can't see up close and has a astigmatism,, but he says yolo. Zane then make him contacts after he almost ran into a moving blade and got his head severed.

Adhd and OCD, as well as the normal line up (anxiety, depression, cptsd)

Lloyd in a relationship:

Hes very distant in the beginning, it'll take time to warm up to you.

He tends to be orage cat vibes.

On the cat trend, he gets close for a bit Before becoming distant. Going through waves of affection, kinda.

He hasn't had like, any good relationships in his life so he tries to "protect" himself when he feels he gets to close to you, and so he pulls away.

He does the fuckboy face when your sad bc it makes you laugh, as well as That weird dice roll

He actually does the face/dice roll combo whenever he Sees you as he walks over, it's an inside joke now

primary giving love language: acts of service and quality time

Primary receiving love language: gifts and words of affirmation. But physical touch is also high up there.

Also, not expensive gifts. He hates those. Give him a stick you saw on a walk that made you think of him. He'll cherish it forever. And maybe cry.

He will cry.

will make noises at you and expects a noise in response or he'll be sad.

Also randomly bites you. He's a nommer

also sends you memes throughout the day.

As well as random pictures with the caption;"BABY LOK THIS IS S. US IF WE WHERE *insert whatever item here*

Called you babe, baby, love, shitface, asshole.

Expect kind and loving gentle bullying.

Doesnt know how to express his emotions to just expect him to come up to you, lightly shake your shoulders and aggressively say;"I love you bitch.i ain't Evea gon stop lovin you. Bitchhhhhhh" (vine reference)

Sends you .5 of everyone, himself included. He's addicted to Taking them. You will not get out of it.

Also sometimes just walks around in nyas stilettos for fun.

You two have fashion shows.

You also take over the Living room sometimes and build giant ass forts to watch shitty reality tv in and make fun oF The people

Overall, once he realizes you won't leave he's the most funniest loving chaotic guy.

But expect it to take a hot minute for him to realsie this

give him time,, but also have some deep talks..

Let him vent

and for the love of God don't hurt the baby's heart.

Expect inside jokes

#no beta we die like jason todd #greeny's inbox #Ninjago x reader #lloyd garmadon #lloyd montgomery garmadon #lego ninjago #Lloyd garmadon x reader #Ninjago x you #Male reader #gn reader #ninjago lloyd

[dragon-ascent]

Why You Mustn’t Resonate with Other Elements: Exhibit A

You resonate with elements other than Geo and Zhongli is…not too happy about that.

★彡Majorly fluff but heavily implied spice at the end

 Zhongli takes pride in the fact that his lover is a traveler. Not just any ordinary traveler, but one who can traverse the many terrains of Teyvat with immense skill and poise. He often enjoys accompanying you on these adventures, and on times he cannot, he eagerly awaits your return, each smile of yours bringing along with it some fabulous treasures that generally cannot be fathomed by regular adventure-seekers.

Above all, though, he holds in high regard the fact that you can seamlessly transition between elements depending on the Statue of the Seven you resonate with, even without a Vision - of course, you’ve been a Geo user ever since marrying Zhongli and settling down with him. At this point, the golden element is practically a part of you, just as your heart and soul is. 

This evening, his heart is filled to the brim with love and anticipation, as today is the day you return from a desert expedition in the far western reaches of Sumeru. Normally a patient man, he finds himself ever so slightly giddy with excitement, chancing a look outside the window every minute as the day creeps toward evening. Finally, he sees you, and without a moment’s hesitation he goes outside to give you an affectionate welcome. Beaming, he holds his arms out to you, ready to embrace you as you inevitably barrel into him as your form of hello, when his smile falters just the tiniest smidge.

The gilded sheen that used to adorn your clothing is now a bright green. 

You’ve resonated with Dendro.

*****

Obviously, Zhongli doesn’t bring it up right when he welcomes you back. No, he waits until later that night, after you’ve finished telling him stories of the trials, friendships and betrayals you’ve faced, coming out unscathed as usual. He is patient, so he only brings it up after dinner, casually, nonchalantly.

“So, you’ve never told me about the drastic change in yourself in your letters to me,” he starts, watching you from where he stands as you sit on the couch cuddling a cushion.

Tilting your head, you answer, “Is it my hair? Has it gotten a little longer? Maybe I should cut it.”

With a sigh only he can hear, he strides forward and takes your chin gently. “I want to know why you have changed your element.”

You blink. “Oh! Well, I had to deal with some ancient Dendro totems that needed rejuvenating, hehe.” You smile up at him, but he’s still frowning slightly.

“That is all well and good, dearest, but when dealing with other elements, you generally like to switch back to Geo when all is done, yes?”

“Well...” You shrug. “I like Dendro. I think I’ll stick to it!” 

A small huff escapes Zhongli’s lips. “Why not Geo?”

You giggle. “Zhongli, are you jealous?”

“I am not.”

“You are!”

“I am most decidedly not.” He turns away from you, the tiniest blush blossoming on his face. 

You snicker, getting off the couch and hugging him from behind. “To think Rex Lapis would be jealous...my, I’m really flattered!”

“Hm.”

“This is the best reaction I’ve ever seen in my life! I knew resonating with Dendro was the right idea! You’re such a cutie, Zhong!”

A pause, followed by another sigh. “So, you got what you wanted. I take it you will change back to Geo now?”

You smile and peck his cheek, dancing over to his front view. “No, I don’t think I will.”

Now that you’re standing in front of him, you get a good view of his gleaming amber eyes, swirling with a kind of tempered desire only Zhongli himself would be able to rein in.

And rein he doesn’t, for the very next moment he’s holding you in his arms, a passionate kiss sealing your lips. Your eyes at first widen with surprise, but then flutter closed as you melt into his addictive touch, wrapping your arms around his neck as he pulls you closer. 

“Zhong-ah!” He bites your lower lip and pushes his tongue into your mouth, ravenously questing for that which he desires. As he does so, he pushes you against the wall, caging you in. Your heart pounds with love and lust, giving yourself to his own burning feelings.

But when he pulls away finally, it is evident he’s nowhere near done. As you catch your breath, he bites your neck, his hand roaming down your side and settling at the curve of your hip, squeezing ever so lightly. “It seems I need to give you a reminder.”

“H-huh?” Your mind is a blur of bliss, every bite and kiss of his pulling you deeper into the haze. It is only when his hand glows a bright gold that you are brought back to the surface, albeit only temporarily as you gauge the look on your lover’s face. 

Zhongli’s eyes, normally a mellow amber, are now carnally golden, a promise - no, a contract - of what’s to come.

“The versatility of Geo lies in its ability to create the most beautiful constructs.” Saying this, he conjures up…a pair of jade handcuffs, glimmering innocuously in the dusk light. You stare at it, dumbstruck. He quirks an eyebrow, amused by your reaction as he kisses you once more. “Allow me to remind you of this, properly and thoroughly.”

#genshin impact #zhongli #zhongli x reader #genshin #genshin x reader #sini writes #zhongli x you #fluff #traveler

[empressdede]

Addiction

Like Martin Luther baby I had a dream and wrote it down 😭😭 Hope you guys enjoy it🥺🫶🏾 Also heavy inspired by (THIS)

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In moments like these Trinity really sat and wondered if this was something healthy. Her husband was always on her case about being healthy, always trying to get her to eat the right meals and to throw away her sweets. One thing about Trin, she had a sweet tooth; addicted to things that made her feel good even if it wasn’t good for her and Jonathan was always there to put her in check and keep her in line.

But this…. Jonathon encouraged. When he found out about it, he pushed her to keep doing it and she really wondered: was this healthy for my marriage? But then again, did it matter? Did it matter when the moment was everything she’s ever wanted and more? It made her feel good, and she was always addicted to thing that made her feel good.

"You feel good baby?" Alexis whispered in her ear drawing her back to reality. Once again, Trinity found herself back at her best friends house. Both of them stripped from clothing and in her bed.

Alexis leaned against her headboard with Trinity’s back pressing to her chest. Alexis’ hands were trailing up and down her body in a sensual manner, massaging the coco butter scented body oil into her skin. Trinity let her head fall backwards to Alexis’ shoulder and nodded her head.

Alexis caressed Trin’s breast with one hand and finally let other hand slip two fingers into her. A small moan slips through her lips and her hips moves to chase Alexis’ fingers as they started to create their own pace.

Sweat inked their skin from the foreplay already, they burned for each other and it sucked for Alexis when her best friend was always on the road because she always miss having her in this element. She tries to savor each and every moment but she always gets lost in the moment, her priority always being that she made Trin cum for her.

The squelching noise could be heard in the room as she continued to thrust her fingers in Trinity. Her other hand tweaking and pulling on Trinity’s nipples to further the stimulation of pleasure running down her body.

Trinity’s moans were louder now and Alexis let out her own moan of appreciation. "This my pussy?" Alexis asked softly in her ear.

"Yes baby." Trinity moaned out, bucking her hip against Alex’s hand. Her eyes were damn near glued to the back of her head with the sensations that were flowing throughout her body because fuck.

"Alex." Trin softly called out and Alexis didn’t really need the warning. She knew, she always knew with the way her walls her clenching against her fingers.

"You gonna cum for me baby? Mama making her pretty pussy cum?"

"Yess, gonna make me cum." Trinity whined out, "F-fuck, don’t stop… please." She begged and she never would.

"M’not even gone for 10 whole minutes and look at you." Another voice rings out into the room.

In the midst of them being lost in each other, they didn’t hear the front door open and close. Missed the heavy footsteps that treaded up the stairs nor did they sense the extra pair of eyes watching them.

Alexis’ eyes slitted up to her door, where Jonathan stood leaning against her doorway. Her fingers never ceased their pace, Trinity let out another moan and arched her back as she felt herself cum.

"There we go mama, let it out." Alexis whispered, her eyes never leaving Jonathan’s as she slowed down her thrusting to let Trinity ride out her high.

Jonathan kept his gaze on Alexis while Trinity tried to catch her breath. His only problem with this picture was Alexis was almost trying to assert her dominance to him and he just couldn’t have that.

"You looking for sum’ Lexie?" He questioned, pushing himself off the door to walk towards the two.

Alexis felt the shivers run up her back, the slow steps that Jonathan took to them were calculated, he was trying to get her to fix herself but it was too late, being with Trinity always flared the dominant side of her. "No." She whispered to him, she didn’t want to challenge Jon today, not when she just got them back.

Jon stood in front them, and a smirk took over his face, raising an eyebrow at Alexis almost amusingly. "Just eager to put hands on Trin huh?”

“We missed each other.” Trinity stated, turning her head to face her husband.

Jon smiled sweetly at his wife, her head was still leaned back against Alexis’ shoulder and Alexis’ arms were still holding her tightly. The small affection between the two pulled on his heartstrings, something he wasn’t going to admit out loud yet because of how complicated everything was between the three of them.

“And what about me?” He asked tilting his head to the side at the girls.

“Missed you too baby.” Alexis cooed, tilting her head up at Jon and puckering her lips for a kiss.

Jonathan smirked, leaning down to press his lips against hers in a slow kiss. “I thought I told y’all to wait for me?”

“It was me Jurdy, I started it. I couldn’t help it.” Trin confessed and in retrospect, Trinity shouldn’t have been okay with seeing her husband kiss another women, her best friend no less but she was okay with it. More than okay with it when all three of them being together made her feel a euphoric feeling that she’d never felt before.

“Wanna show you guys something I bought on the road for you.” Trin stated with a smile sliding off of Alexis to go retrieve her ‘gift’, pushing Jon to take a seat in her place. “Just wait here and I’m gonna go get it.” With a quick kiss to her husband she was quick to leave.

Showing back up to the room to find Alexis in the same position she was in not too long ago and she smiled at the scene in front of her. Jonathan caught her gaze and was whispering in Alexis ear.

“Look at what she bought for you Lexie.” He whispered huskily in her ear as he continue to thrust his fingers in and out of Alexis. “Come give her some love Trin.”

And it was as if her foot had a mind of its own, walking towards the two and crawling on the bed to add herself to the equation. Alexis tilting her head up to look at Trin and tried to appreciate the outfit that she had on for them but Jonathan’s fingers pressed against her spot which caused her to loudly moan.

“Feels good huh baby?” Trin whispered, a small smirked on her face as she reversed the gesture back to Alexis.

Alexis nods her head and Trin closes the spaces between them. This moment was the only moment that mattered to all three of them, no matter how unorthodox this seemed to anybody. Their desires for each other was something that could’ve been only described as sweet, something so good that you can’t walk away from it.

Jonathan, Trinity and Alexis found themselves lost in each other like an addiction and it wasn’t something they were looking for a remedy for any time soon.

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👀 ya’ll just as gay as me or am I a problem? Lol ENJOY THOUGH

#empressdede #empresswriting #wwe #black reader #jimmy #jimmy uso #addiction #jimmy uso x black reader #jimmy uso x reader #jimmy uso smut #trinity fatu #trinity x reader #trinity fatu x black reader

[icyg4l]

Pick-An-Image: Messages from the Altar

To wrap up this Black History Month series, I will explore messages that the ancestors have to give for those with an altar. If you don't know what an altar is, it is basically a sacred space for you to connect with your ancestors. You should include the four elements (earth, water, fire and air) in this area. The altar is a place where you can lay your burdens, future plans and daily thoughts without human judgment. I will use the Hoodoo Tarot deck to conduct these pile readings as done before. So without further ado, let's get into it!

Left-to-Right (1-3):

Pile 1: You need to spend more time with your grandmother, whether she is alive or not. Connect with her by going shopping or lighting a candle and sitting a fresh cup of water on the altar. Your ancestors also want you to know that you should lay off on the coffee, it’s taking too much of your energy and your coins! You’re going to be someone special. Your ancestors are proud of the progress you’ve made. The people in this pile could struggle with some type of addiction or mental health issue. You may also struggle with some type of codependency but you’ve been working through that & your progress is being seen/admired. It is your responsibility to carry the torch! You were chosen to break generational curses and bring in new traditions. Don’t just say you’re going to do something without putting in the work. You’re going to have a breakthrough soon, just trust the process. And, if you have recently gotten into a relationship, your partner is ancestor-approved! The name Megan could be significant.

𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚄𝚜𝚎𝚍: 𝙰𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜, 𝚃𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜, 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚜, 𝙰𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚜, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚒𝚡 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜.

Pile 2: You need to cancel that subscription that you forgot about. You also should stop paying for self development courses because the work that you need to do can be found within you! You don’t need a life coach to tell you that you’re a mess. We all are! You like to carry a reputation of pride and virtuousness; you’re a real stand up-guy. It’s a shame everybody ain’t like that, huh? You could have recently gone through some type of betrayal. But don’t let this stop you from accomplishing your set goals. Keep your head held high. You need to let loose though. Shake your shoulders. Dance. Let the energy in your body flow. Minor setbacks aren’t meant to last forever, you know? This level up is about to go crazy. And congratulations in advance ;)

𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚄𝚜𝚎𝚍: 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝚃𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚒𝚐 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎, 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚁𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗.

Pile 3: You got that monkey on your back, chile. You know what attachment you need to get rid of. It’s messing with your ability to see clearly. Prioritize your self-esteem so that the words of other people won’t get to you so easily. For those of you that recently had a baby, she (female friend/older cousin that passed on) wants you to know that postpartum depression shall pass. The name Samantha could be significant. It will not break you, my love. She will make sure of it. Clean up the conflict or else your money problems will worsen, especially if you have beef with a coworker. You need to set boundaries with your father, especially since you’re grown now. Dealing with your physical ailment is terrible, I know. I wish I could be there to lessen the pain. It hurts to see you suffer this way.

𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚄𝚜𝚎𝚍: 𝙰𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚜 (𝚁𝚇), 𝚃𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚜, 𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝙼𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝚂𝚒𝚡 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜, 𝙵𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙺𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜.

#law of assumption #manifesting #neville goddard #hoodoo #tarot #tarotreading #astro notes #pick a card #pick a pile #divination #pick an image #tarot deck #tarotcommunity #spirituality #daily tarot #channeled message #pick a reading

[darkdemeter]

— TEASER —

Material is subject to change in post editing.

“SIREN, BE BOUND TO ME”

Read it here!

A/N: Ahhh ha ha... demie did a wee oopie?? WHAT?! I love pirates and the whole golden age of piracy - I'm just a period piece addict - okaaay? So here's a teaser for it because I don't have enough Bucky stuff, he's just got a series happening right now, in which, part 2 is in the works, our beloved mafia Bucket Bucky hasn't been abandoned! P.S: if you recognise that the writing style is a bit different, it's because I have moments where I write like this and then... it switches off. So I'm trying to get into the habit of keeping it consistent.

Semi-dark! Pirate! Bucky Barnes x Siren! Female Reader

— READER DISCRETION —

Nothing majorly triggering? — Pirate. Bucky. — possessive Bucky elements — light hinting of reader being a sort of fuck toy — pet names! ("little Siren") — Wanda's got magic in this au — FYI, reader is wearing a robe, so she ain't butt naked for the crew — I think that's it?

Enjoy the excerpt!

—- not my gif, credit to original poster! -—

  Your gaze drops to the limb of his remaining flesh hand, the other limb itself brings an uncomfortable yet hazy familiarity, you dare not to look at it up close when in the awoken presence of his intimidating stature. Often you would question its being there and admire its raw and uniquely - strangely mystical - materials, when your captain lay beside you fast asleep. 

  Wrapped tightly over and under the callousness of his palm, the golden chain twinkles in the pale moonlight, the larger pearl at its centre holstered by binding gold and tinier pearls, beneath the gilded net a more refined shape of a pearl dances on its hook. 

  However, your mesmerised pupils flicker in an instant, brought to the attention of your captain awaiting your obedient answer. A noise is pitched in your throat with the answer but it dies swiftly before its deliverance. 

  Your vision focuses behind him, up near the ship’s helm, her fingers lace slowly in their hypnotic movement as the fabric of her scarlet magic is weaved together. A warning. You do your best to hide the distressed visage of fear, batting your eyelashes and brushing aside the death of your verbal response, you bow your body forward submissively to his that towers over you.

  When your lips touch his, he almost instantly devours yours in a hungry kiss, the soft caress of your fingers tracing the curves of his chest brings pride and lust to possessively reel you into him, your nude front colliding against the hardened wall of his own. 

  Your hands run their course of exploration up the swollen bulk of his arms until they find purchase and entangle themselves in his dark locks. His own hands ravage your body, kneading the flesh and slim muscle of your hips.

  He groans when you submit to his overpowering will, mouth parting to his eager tongue that shoots forward like a fired cannon, aimed to dominate you in every sense of the word. Your soft whimpers beneath him bring him unimaginable pleasure, the sort that drives him to seek it evermore, with no seeming end to his insatiable hunger for what is you; your entire being. Wolves are known to be ravenous beasts. It’s why he’s known by the moniker as the White Wolf. 

  His tongue fiercely dances over yours, swirling and his bottom teeth tease you by nipping your lip, earning a high pitched squeal from you. He chuckles, the sound rich and dark in its intention. Your core comes alight, burning hotly and the once cool air dissipates as heat courses through every vein and nerve in your body, your mind swimming in the ocean pools of his eyes. Eyes that at times are the only thing you need to be connected to the sea. 

  The prominent tent of his erected endowment presses against your stomach and lower abdomen. You finally pull away, however, in his caging embrace it’s not very far you’re able to move back. 

  “Wait for me in my cabin, little Siren,” he orders gruffly. Your mouth falls agape and you sputter in your rattled confusion.

TREEHOUSE TAGLIST

@identity2212 @sebastianstansqueen @openup-yourmind @kandis-mom @calwitch @cjand10 @ashdoctor @missmarvelophilic

#female reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky x you #james bucky buchanan barnes #bucky fanfic #pirate au #pirate bucky #siren reader #teaser #dem's updates #oneshot

[coffee-colored-hopeless-romantic]

My New Addiction Pt. 2

Octane x Fem! Reader!

Part one link at the bottom!

Again lmk if the Spanish is off at all, my Spanish knowledge isn’t the best👉🏼😎👉🏼

Once again, mutual pining, slow painful burn of a romance, awkward flirts, etc.

><><><><><><><><

I hope you enjoy! 💚 if you have ideas or suggestions on how this goes feel free to message me!

Octavio was in his room trying to mentally prep himself for having to see you looking nice, not that you didn’t look nice all the time but nicer than usual. We’re you going to wear a dress? A skirt? Pants? What you were gonna wear was gonna kill him as long as it wasn’t plain weird but he figured that wasn’t your style anyways. You didn’t love the spotlight like he did, he kind of liked that about you. He heard a knock on his door and it was none other than Loba, an odd guest right before an event.

“Oh! Hey Lolo, what can I do for you?” He asked with a grin, mask in hand. Loba smiled at him

“Hey speedy, could I borrow a shirt of yours? Pretty please? I need a button up.” She winked, this only confused him, Loba literally had the biggest closet out of the entire crew and she needed a shirt? From him? As confused as he was he shrugged and threw over a smaller silk button up of his that he hardly wore. “Knock yourself out.” She waved and thanked Octavio as she walked away, leaving him to get ready.

What he didn’t know what Loba was styling you for today, you weren’t the most savvy when it came to dressing super nice so naturally you went to the style master herself. She went to your room and threw the shirt at you. You catching it and lookin’ at it. “OooOo! It’s like the perfect green too. You really have nice stuff Loba.” You complimented and she waved her hand to disregard the quality of the item. “Oh please. This hardly sees the light of day, beautiful.” She wasn’t wrong but she did leave out the fact that it was Octavio’s shirt. She styled the button up to just hang off your shoulder, you wearing a black lace bralette underneath, her adding on a few gems to add a subtle glam element on the dainty lace. Pairing this with black satin dress pants. Finishing it with a black belt and heels.

“I’m not the best in heels I’ll be honest.” You admit and she laughs softly.

“You’ll be next to Octavio, he’ll catch you if you stumble I’m sure.” She winked at you, causing a soft blush to creep onto your cheeks. See how these things work is basically each team gets interviewed after a short ‘red carpet’ type entrance. Most of the time the teams coordinate a little to make the pictures more appealing so that’s why you were looking for a green aspect of the outfit. Loba sighed and placed her hand on her forehead. “Ugh, I should’ve asked if he had a spare mask. Oh well.” She threw down her staff, causing her black market to pop up. Quickly going in and finding a mask that worked with the outfit and snatched it from his room, then some goggles and swiftly closing it. “I doubt he noticed. He’s probably playing music.” She grinned devilishly and you couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“We’ll as long as I give it back I guess.” You shrugged the blatant stealing and just left it alone. It wasn’t a big deal anyhow. You finished the outfit with pining the goggles to your styled hair, it was left down but it was curled. (if you have curly hair it was just styled slightly). Loba did a dark green Smokey eye with some silver on the inner corner, putting on lashes and a dark red lip to finish it off. Highlighter on your high points and she smiled. “My my, aren’t you pretty?” She cupped your face. “Speedy is gonna lose it.” She teased and said goodbye so she could get ready. She usually had a team of people to make it quick for her, she was sought after for pictures so she was at a higher standard than the others.

You did another once over on yourself, you felt really attractive for once. You smiled a little and added a little subtle necklace and a few rings to accent everything. Taking a few selfies to post later you finally heard the announcement to get to your vehicles to depart. You started making your way to the pick up, where everyone was at. A few whistles and some of the girls complimenting you as you arrived. Even though you’ve been here a little while you hadn’t had a conference that asked specifically for more formality. You personally hadn’t had a duo’s match until now so you figured that was why. Natalie walked over to you, wearing an beautiful blue dress, modest. Her hair out, showing off her golden locks. “Wow! You look exquisite!” She complimented and gave you a hug, she was such a sweetheart when she wasn’t in a match, she was a menace to go up against sometimes. She had been teamed up with Anitta, an unlikely duo but they didn’t do bad. Loba strutted to the pickup and wrapped her arm around you. “Thank you, this is my work.” She announced proudly. “She’ll be the bell of the ball.” She air kisses your cheek, to not ruin the mask you were wearing.

Ajay giggled a bit and looked around for a certain green haired fella, not seeing him yet. “Silva is gon’ enjoy the eye candy for sure.” Everyone knew you had a crush on this man by now, except him. You made small talk with everyone until you heard a family mechanical footstep. Everyone kind of naturally covered you, Gibby being the main wall. Octavio waved. “Sorry sorry! I couldn’t get this tie on.” He looked at everyone and watched as they parted away for him to finally see you. Thank the Gods he was wearing his goggle and mask combo or else you would’ve seen his face heat up in a unsuspected blush, that was his shirt. His shirt. On your body. “Dios mio…” he breathed out, poor guy didn’t know how to react, he just stared a bit. Ajay snapped her fingers. “Say something ya’ stupid boy.” His gaze snapped to her and back to you before finally speaking. “Wow! How lucky am I to have such an attractive teammate! The fans are gonna love this!” He rushed over to your side, pulling out his phone to snap some selfies. A few other legends peeking in a few of the shots. Soon everyone’s individual rides pulled up and everyone started to pile into their assigned car. Octavio reached and opened the door and gestured for you to enter first. “Pretty ones first.” He did and over exaggerated bow as you passed by, causing you to laugh. He followed you in and plopped into his seat. Once the doors were closed and you two were off he rubbed the back of his neck. “So that’s why Lolo needed a shirt huh?” He asked, you looked at him confused. “What? No she had this… right?” Looked at him and he shook his head. “Nope, that’s mine. She asked for it while I was gettin’ ready. Also… is the mask and goggles mine too?” He asked through a chuckle. You flushed a bit pink and laughed awkwardly. “O-oh! I didn’t know this shirt was yours, no wonder it was the perfect green. Yeah these are yours too, she used her market to snatch them.” You tattled, “I was gonna give them back though! Don’t worry.” You explained and felt awkward now, looking at your outfit. Did you look okay in his clothes? Was it weird?

Octavio shrugged and put both hands behind his head, leaning back into the seat. “Meh, you should keep it. Looks better on you anyways. The shirt I mean, the mask and goggles are my thing.” He looked at you and winked, causing your heart to skip a little. Trying desperately to not show how bashful you were feeling by his compliments. You soon saw him sit back up quickly, grabbing his phone again. Turning towards you, “look at my teammate everyone! Isn’t she la mas linda?!” You laugh and try covering his phone. “What does that mean!! Are you making fun of me you jerk?!” You tease and he shakes his head, looking at you, through the goggles. “No I said aren’t you the prettiest.” You stop moving and your face was radiating heat now. “I- oh shut up.” You laugh it off and return to sitting normally, your heart beating rapidly. “He acts like he doesn’t get to see Loba everyone something like this happens!” You grin, pulling down your mask. “Maybe he has a crush on me huh? Tease him about it for me will ya?” You say to the phone. Not knowing if he was live-streaming or just recording this. He laughed and soon turned the phone around, showing he was just recording it on his phone, he switched it to pictures and took a few more photos. He liked pictures. The more to post the better. “Ok! Now just ignore me for a second, look out the window. Model for me real quick.” He chuckled. Not expecting you to do it with ease. He had never seen you model, okay it saw you do it for your Legend photos but those don’t count! He hadn’t seen you model like this. Your legs were crossed and you had you phone in your hand, looking down at it, hand in hair like you were leaning onto it. His eyes lingered on your frame, seeing how well the clothes outlined your body. How his hands wanted to dance along your skin, if you looked this good in clothing how would you look without them? Quickly attempting to shut down the thoughts running rampant he snapped one photo, one was plenty for him. “Wow.” He whispered and smiled, snapping back into the fun, unbothered Octane. “Nice!! Now one of me!” You laugh a bit more and take a picture or two for him.

He sure did love his fans. He was always doing something for them it seemed. Daring stunts someone requested, replying to some letters even. He was a really sweet guy to his fans. It was cute to see. The conversation was typical the rest of the way, fun and weird at points. Soon the car stopped, in line to drop you off at the entrance of the carpet. You breath and look in the mirror to make sure you looked alright. Octane looking over at you double checking yourself. He whispered something and you looked over, catching him just gazing at you. “Tavi?” You ask as you pull up the mask. “A-ah! Haha! Don’t worry about how you look, you look fine!! Let’s go out there and show them the best team ever. That didn’t win but we’re totally the coolest!!” He was so enthusiastic and you loved it. You smile and give a nod, waiting for your turn.

The car stopped and Octane opened the door, exiting first. “Heyyyy!!!” He said all excited before stepping to the side and offering his hand to you. “C’mon hermosa.” You take his hand and exit, placing a hand in your pocket and putting on your model face for the pictures. You wave to people and you both make your way to the main carpet. Posing for some individual photos you soon felt a hand snake around your waist, you looked over and it was Octane, still posing. Your heart raced again and you leaned into him, following his vibe. There was a couple ‘serious’ ones and the rest were you two throwing up peace signs and rock on signs, he picked you up once, putting you on one of his shoulders effortlessly. You laughed and took off the mask, sticking your tongue out and laughing. Once off the carpet it was on to questions.

The whole thing was over awhile later and it was time to go get dinner with everyone at the bar. You had the mask off entirely at this point, putting it in your back pocket and Octavio was doing the same, he had gone to the bar to get a drink in him before he had to socialize with you again. Walter (fuse) walked up to the bar and watched as Tavi’ downed a strong shot. “Whoa there, tough day or somethin’ mate? You aren’t one for shots usually.” He asked as the bartender fixed his drink. Octavio shook his head. “No, nothing like that amigo, just…” he sighed and Walter chuckled. “Is ya little lady crush lookin’ a little too nice for ya?” He asked as he sipped a bit of his drink. Octavio groaned and looked at him “Is it that obvious?! Damn…” the two share a laugh and Walter leaned on the bar. “Listen mate, good ole Fitzroy has had his fair share of…eh well, partners. What I’ve learned is that it’s best to at least make your feelin’s known.” Octane looked at him like he was crazy. “Hey now you don’t gotta do a whole confession of love and shit, but Yaknow. Flirt it up, make her blush. See how she reacts. Trust me you’ll know if she ain’t interested.” He patted his pals back before walking off to join his partner Bloodhound.

Tavi sighed and ordered a drink to have while hanging out. That’s when you walked in, looking as sexy as ever. He watched as you greeted everyone that was nearby and Ajay gestured towards the bar. You smile seeing Tavi already over there, you thanked her and made your way over. “Hey Tavi! Some of the pics are already posted online, look!” You pulled out your phone and showed him some of the shots the press had taken of you two, gosh you looked good together. “Hey! That’s rad! Look at my face in that one!!” He laughed and so did you. “Tavi, you can’t see your face, Fuckin’ dork!” He made an ‘oops’ face and shrugged. “Eh, whatever. Want a drink?” He asked and you nodded. You order your favorite drink and wait for it to be made. You also needed a drink to listen up around Octavio looking so dashing. You figured you hadn’t said anything about he looks so now was as good as ever. “Yaknow, you look pretty hot ya self speedy.” He was mid drink when you stated this, he damn near choked. He chuckled, playing it off as well as he could. “Oh~? You think so huh? Are you falling for me, Chica?” He wiggled his eyebrows and you laughed as you got your drink handed to you. “Don’t know Silva. Show me some dance moves and I’ll figure it out.” You leave a subtle flirt as you saunter off to Loba, who was the one that encouraged a flirt or two to be dropped, along with Ajay who knew how dense her friend could be. Speaking of Ajay, Octavio basically chugged his drink after that interaction and rushed over to her. “Che. Talk. Now.” Was all that was said before he dragged her off into an empty hall.

“What Silva? You can’t go draggin’ me off like that without a good reason so what’s goin’ on hm?” She asked a little annoyed at his sudden actions.

“Che, you’re a girl.” She almost looked offended.

“Yeah..?”

“And I may or may not have a crush, on a girl” he halfway admitted.

“You do have a crush but go on.”

“And I- hey. Anyways. I think she just flirted with me. What do I do?” Poor boy was so nervous. He’s had a couple one night stands but those were with fans who made it very clear that they wanted him. Ajay looked slightly amused. “Oh you poor thing, okay. Tell me what happened.” She listened to Octavio reenact the interaction between you two, word for word. She rolled her eyes at how obvious the flirt was and smiled a bit. “What are you, stupid? She wants you to dance with her, boy!! Now stop talkin to me and go! Don’t be creepy either!”

With that he was pumped. There was a chance. You don’t flirt with anyone so that had to be a sign right?? He could feel the liquid courage coursing through him and it was giving him a rush of excitement. “Oi! Hermosa, let’s dance.” He held out his hand and you smiled taking it and having him lead you to the dance floor. There were already a handful of friends out on the floor, along with some higher ups from the conference from earlier. You and Octavio danced as club music was playing through the speakers. You started out just dancing facing each other, bumping and lip syncing to the music together. Loba gathered the girls Natalie, Tressa, Ramya and her girlfriend Kairi to the dance floor to, give you hand. Loba entered your little circle and started dancing behind you, taking place a man. Hands on your hips and dancing close, “you should dance like this with a certain someone.” She said next to your ear. “Let me help.” She continued to dance with you until she suddenly left and a new body took her spot, that person was Octavio. He kept his hands to himself, just kind of side stepping to the song. “Hey.” He said, looking at you. There was a moment before he grabbed your waist and started dancing with you, he was Hispanic and his hips only proved that. He wasn’t grinding but you could see his movements.

Fuck it

You closed the distance, pressing against him and dancing with him, reaching up behind you and putting your hand behind his head as you danced. His hands remained respectful, not wandering. Although you wished he would. “Chica’s got dance moves!” He shouted over the music and you smirked, turning to face him and body rolling on him slowly. “Only with people I like.” You also had some liquid courage flowing. He continued to grip your hips and matched your energy, he wasn’t a stranger to dancing flirty. Getting lost in the music and crowd you danced with him for what felt like forever until it was time to eat. Renee coming into the dance floor and fetching the girls, including you. Didn’t give you much of a chance to object or say anything before being dragged off, this was planned. Leave him wanting more type of thing. Soon one of the guys came to wrangle the rest of the boys and meet up at their private table.

Octavio planned on sitting by you and continuing the flirtation but you had people on either side of you, the seat across from you was free though so he snagged that. It was two long tables by each other with an array of food on each of them. Octavio didn’t waste much time I’m getting food on his plate, a little bit of everything and extra of the things he liked. Small talk and casual conversation was heard as everyone was eating, Octavio glancing at you from time to time and you doing the same, anytime you two caught each other you’d just flash a soft smile his way and continue with whatever conversation you were having. That was basically the dinner, you two didn’t get to talk much, not just because everyone was talking to everyone but you two both didn’t know what to really say. There was always the ride back from the bar though. It wasn’t too far.

With dinner finished you all chatted at the tables a little while longer, laughter and camaraderie seeping out of every window. You enjoyed this. Everyone here were pals, of course they didn’t ALL get along all the time. Revenant and Ash were a tough duo to ‘befriend’ and anyone would say they put up with everyone else most of the time. It was finally time to leave, the vehicles lined up outside for everyone to get in. Octavio tapped your shoulder before you could leave. “Hey, wanna walk back? I’m not ready to end the night just like that!! I still got a buzz.” He laughed a bit and against your better judgement you agreed. “Hah! Okay Tavi, we can walk back.” You said happily. He rushed and told your driver that he didn’t have to worry about you two and began to walk back to the legends precinct. Octavio for once wasn’t taking pictures of snagging videos. He was just walking along side you, of course he would jump occasionally over things and maybe add a flip in there. But for Octane, he was pretty chill. “So, hermosa. What did you think of your first fancy shmancy after party thing?” He asked and you grinned. “Oh it was a lot of fun, I don’t get to get dolled up much, especially now. Just doesn’t make sense. I’m gonna get all sweaty and probably bleed most days so why try?” You laugh a bit and he joins in. “Yeah, those typically aren’t my favorite, it takes a lot of work to even put a tie on, takes too long Yaknow?” You nod, a smile just resting on your lips. “I did enjoy dancing with you though, that was a lot of fun.” You looked up at him as he walked backwards in front of you, he tripped a little when you said that and he laughed. “Yeah! I didn’t know you could move like that! I mean I knew that were good at moving in matches but that’s totally different. It was hot!” He blurted out and he realized what he said and made an ‘oh shit’ face. Wide eyes and awkward smile. You felt a soft heat on your face and you laughed a little. “Oh yeah, I’m so hot…it’s all thanks to Loba’s hard work.” You looked down as you walked, you weren’t the most confident in your appearance but you learned to just be content with it most days. You didn’t realize Octavio stopped walking and you bumped into him, you looked up at him confused. “Don’t say that, I think you’re very pretty, even without all the frills.” Well you couldn’t hide the blush on your cheeks after that statement. You just let out an awkward chuckle and avoided his eyes, “I-.. uh well thanks. I appreciate it.” He didn’t move, he just stood in front of you. There was a long pause and you finally looked back up at him, his eyes locked onto your frame. “I didn’t lie when I said I had the most attractive teammate today.” You weren’t ready to accept all these compliments while he was so close to you. “Okay okay! What’s got you so affectionate, the booze?” You tease, playfully pushing him away and walking passed. Octavio was trying so hard to make it obvious that he liked you without having to say it directly, usually he could tell anyone anything pretty bluntly but with this he couldn’t find the words. He was stuck in his head until he heard you wince slightly. He turned around and saw your poor feet in those heels. “Oh man! I bet your feet hurt! I didn’t even think about that, lo siento.” You couldn’t even respond before you saw Octavio kneel in front of you, back facing you. “Hop on! All aboard the Octrain!” You couldn’t help but accept his offer, you climb onto his back and he once again lifts you up effortlessly. “Woo! Let’s go!” Was all that was said before you had to cling on for dear life, the man took off in a sprint, even without a stim he was fast as hell.

With that speed it was no time that you guys were back at the precinct and heading up to your rooms. He didn’t allow you to walk anymore until you were safely back in your room. Once to your door he slid you off his back and did a few hops “That was fun!” He smiled wide and you grinned looking up at him. “Thanks Tavi, you didn’t have to do that.” He shook his head “Hey, I’m the one who asked to walk! It’s my fault I didn’t think of your torture devices on your feet.” You both laugh and you nod “Yeah, fuckin’ hate heels.” You admit “But damn they do wonders to the legs.” You strike a pose and he did too, sharing yet more laughter as you turned the knob of your door. You didn’t want to end it yet but it was getting late. “Well , I had fun today thanks to you. I hope we get paired up again soon.” He put his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Yeah, me too, chica.” He rubbed the back of his neck watching you enter your room,

“Night Tavi.”

“G’night y/n.”

With a click of your door shutting you slid to the floor, biting your lip. You had to tell him sooner or later. Today really tested you on not just kissing him. Stupid guy with his stupid handsome face. You sigh and kick off those heels and start undressing to get into comfy clothes for the night.

He went to his room and changed into looser clothes and decided to take a run, he had a lot of energy after tonight and needed to get rid of it if he wanted any chance of sleep tonight.

↩️Prev Part. Next part.↪️

#fanfic #my writing #x reader #x y/n #apex x reader #apex octane x reader #apex octane #apex #apex legends #apex legends x reader #apex legends octane #octane x reader #apex octavio silva #octavio silva #Octavio Silva x reader #slow burn #mutual pining

[yuripoll]

KNOCKOUTS: Kakegurui (2014 - ?)

Kakegurui is an ongoing psychological series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Tooru Naomura about a school that runs on games of chance.

Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. You see, when you're the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy, it's not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It's reading your opponent-the art of the deal. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling? At Hyakkaou Private Academy, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. But when Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she's gonna teach these kids what a high roller really looks like! - AniList

Original JP available on Book Walker & ENG published by Yen Press.

CWs under the cut. General severity rating: mod to major.

not strictly yuri <- there are canon lesbians, an overwhelming femslash majority on ao3, and an undeniable homoerotic pull himejoshis are sure to enjoy, but only a small portion of homoeroticism is texually romantic. it's a shounen with yuri flavour.

sexual content <- kakegurui has ecchi elements, and you get the typical sexual framing that comes with that, including frequent pantyshots. no sex happens but there is obvious arousal and non-explicit masturbation.

dehumanisation <- the only way i can think to word this. people in heavy debt are treated as "housepets," less than human. this results in bullying, harassment and controlling their lives after graduation. the bullying extends to hitting and forcibly cutting hair; harassment includes forcing a girl to strip and threatening rape (both in ch5); control extends to essentially selling people's lives and arranged marriages.

forced sex work(???) <- not totally sure how to categorise this but i think it needs a heads up. references throughout to, in conjunction with above and in the same vein as arranged marriages, making women have sex for political or social gain. never shown or described in detail, but it is a looming threat.

worth mentioning; while the housepet and life plan stuff comes up every now and again, its not as frequent or as dire later on as it is in the early chapters. the recurring cast are, generally speaking, nicer as the series finds its footing.

problem gambling & financial distress <- most characters are obscenely rich so impact of gambling addiction is lessened, though it is a bit glamourised.

violence <- typically in the case if going to drastic measures in gambling, like breaking a finger to win or risking chopping a finger off. includes trauma to the eyes and fingernails. bloody, but not excessively. not graphic, and not especially frequent.

suicidality & attempted suicide <- punishment for one gamble involves jumping from a height (ch33), and presumably to death. ch68, someone threatens to kill herself to make her opponent fold. also, presentation is crazy enough that it doesnt feel like it would be especially triggering (imo) but one character is very fixated on her own death, particularly in regards to getting shot.

internalised racism <- ch19, a child is told to give up on her dream because a japanese person couldnt do it

vomitting <- scene in ch57. not super detailed but icky enough that i baulked at it a bit, and im not usually bothered by it.

#knockouts #kakegurui #not kidding abt the first few chapters. i was starting to regret including it before reading it until it really started #getting into the swing of things #and now im a bit obsessed w it.

[dearspiritss]

Swiss/Multi Ghoul Headcannons?! 😱

Warnings: both sfw and nsfw, talks of weed, breeding/knotting, oral receiving/giving, switch Swiss, praise and degradation, hint of polyghouls(?)

SFW

- The first time he sees you, he just stares at you in awe. He’s taken aback by how amazing you look and the way your voice is like warm honey to his ears.

- Gives you all kinds of nicknames, cute and funny ones.

- When he asks you out for the first time, he didn’t even mean to. It just kinda, came out? He was just talking and outta nowhere he’s jus’ like; “Yeah, would you go out with me?”

- An absolute gentleman. Opens doors for you, smothers you with cheesy compliments, and makes sure you’re always happy.

- If you’re sad or just generally upset, he will pull you into his arms and hug you tight. He knows you can’t resist one of his comforting hugs, so he uses it to his advantage.

- As a multi ghoul he can possess a few different elements. Fire and Quintessence being the main two. So if you’re feeling down or just need to relax, go to his room. He’ll immediately be able to tell something if off with you. He’ll pull you in and rub warm circles into your back, using small doses of quintessence to help you relax fully.

- He loves when you’re vulnerable. He’s come up behind you and tickle you, and will not stop until you say you love him.

- If you’re sick, this man will in fact be up your ass until you feel better. Always checking in on you, making sure you’re well rested, fed, and hydrated.

- If you have longer hair, he’ll play with it for hours. Just fidgeting or actually doing your hair for an event. He loves it, and he loves that you trust him enough for him to be able to do that.

- Best smoke seshes with him. Even if others are there, his attention is mainly on you. Making sure you’re not gonna green out on him.

NSFW

- SPEAKING OF SMOKE SESHESSS- this man loves having sex high. He loves the way drool runs down your chin when you’re latched onto his cock. The way your eyes are fighting to stay open while looking up at him through those glassy eyes of yours. Just absolutely adores it.

- Definitely talks dirty in different languages. Some Jamaican and slurred Spanish is definitely said while he’s balls deep in you. You can’t say I’m wrong, end of discussion 🤷

- Big breeding kink. When it’s your first time with him, you’ll discover you can bend in ways you never thought you could bend before. He will continue ramming into you until his cum is spilling out whatever hole he’s fucking. Goes absolutely feral if you ask him to knot you, like foaming out the mouth.

- He could stay between your legs for hours. The way your thighs squeeze the sides of his head every time you reach your high has him leaking though his pants. Will edge you just to see you squirm and whimper, wether it’s for more or not. Man is addicted to the way you taste.

- He is a Switch, but is mostly dominant. All though if you ask to fuck him, he’d be all on board. On his knees, ready to take whatever you give him. Would praise you and tell you how good you make him feel, just to get you riled up. Oh, and if you degrade him he will be a puddle in your hands. Wrapped around your finger like a puppy, following every command you give him.

- If you guys end up having a threesome with one of the other ghouls it will most likely be Aether or Dew. If it were a ghoulette, it will ALWAYS be Cirrus. He loves the way Aether’s quintessence seeps into his brain, making him melt down to the floor for the two of you to use him however you please. Dew being possessive and bossy towards him, but oh so sweet to you. The way Cirrus’s fingers wrap around his throbbing cock, while your own hands roam his body. Just all too much for him.

- If you’re a ghoul preforming with them, he will tease and prod at you the entire time. Coming off of his platform to whisper into your ear, wrap his hand around your neck, “accidentally” running his hands over that sweet ass of yours which he adores so much. He can smell the arousal that seeps from you from his stage. He loves seeing you flustered in front of thousands of people.

- One of the kings of aftercare. Makes sure you’re alright and back down to the surface. Carries you to the bathroom to soak in a bath with him, gently rubbing warm circles into your lower back. Whispering sweet nothings into your ear, telling you how good you did. If you’re both too tired to get up, he’ll cuddle up to you letting you know that he’s there. Just so sweet compared to how he was destroying you moments before.

- If he sees you wearing his clothes, he will lunge onto you like an animal in heat. It’s turns him on to the max to see how you look in his clothes, covered in his scent mixed with your own.

I definitely have a bit of a obsession… anyways love y’all and stay safe <3

#aether ghoul #cirrus ghoulette #dewdrop ghoul #sodo ghoul #swiss ghoul #ghost hc #silly little headcanons #the nameless ghouls #ghost ghoulettes #ghost ghouls #ghost the band

[t0tentanz]

CYBERPSYCHOSIS as explained by Mike Pondsmith (therealmaxmike via Reddit)

Okay, so time to (partially) explain CYBERPSYCHOSIS.

First of all, Cyberpsychosis is a disorder that in part depends on the subject's overall internal susceptibility. Just like every person who drinks a lot at parties doesn't end up an alcoholic in the gutter, not everyone who gets loaded up on cyberware is going to automatically go cyberpsycho. You have to have an inherent susceptibility, which (in the TRPG) is represented by the player's Humanity Stat. Humanity is not just a measure of *one* aspect of personality, but an overall measure of several elements including the subject's ability to emphasize and relate with others, their ability to absorb and rebound from mental and physical stressors, their ability to show compassion and flexibility to others, and whether they are able to balance their worldview through other methods.

So, in some ways, I tend to treat cyberware as an addiction--heavy anabolic steroid use being my favorite model. Not everyone who juices ends up crazy mad with roid rage. But those who are more susceptible to the need to take more steroids are more likely to hit a point where they do flip into roid rage. (Take a look at this article from Livescience for a pretty good idea of how roid rage works--notice that it's got the same basic profile as cyberpsychosis).

David's starting Humanity was probably already pretty high. And before things went to crap, he had a loving mother, a career path, and no more hassle than the average poor guy in a wealthy Ivy League school. So he had lots of buffer. But even so, he still, even after losing all that, was able to make friends, build a replacement family, and (after some prompting) even get a girlfriend. And a mentor (Maine) to create a supportive father figure. So he could definitely handle the stress of added cyberware up to a point.

Most people in Night City don't have the level of Humanity to pull this kind of stunt off without going cyberpsychotic. So David is one in a million. And that's why Arasaka wants him.

V is a different case. We don't know V's background, but even if V was a full on Corpo, they were able to hold it together even when they ended up with a dead Rockerboy in their heads (Yah, tell me about it; Johnny Silverhand's been in *my* head for the last three decades.) In fact, having Johnny in their head probably helped V, because Silverhand's rage and attitude probably acted as a buffer for the psychological hits V is taking. It's like having a time share with a guy who's already half cyberpsycho and doesn't mind if V slaps stuff on their shared body; he's already crazy and violent.

So that's a rough explanation of the roots of cyberpsychosis. If I ever get band width, I'm going to start writing/posting some stuff about what I had in mind as I put together the Night City universe. But for now, you'll have to go with what I've got here. Have fun, and remember not to chip mili-spec cyberware, like your mother warned you about.

And no, cyberpsychosis isn't caused by AI net demons. Gimme a break, chooms!

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 #cyberpunk #cyberpsycho #cyberpsychosis #cyberpsychology #mike pondsmith #therealmaxmike #maximum mike #edgerunners #edgerunners spoilers #cyberpunk edgerunners #cp77 #lore stuffs #cyberpunk lore

[liugeaux]

The Best Games of 2005 | Is This Art?

Here is my second best-of list. For further explanation check out the 2004 list I posted a few weeks ago. 2005 was the first year I can remember where the question "Are Video Games Art?" really started to mean something. It was also the first year of the Seventh Generation of consoles as the Xbox 360 hit stores in November. Remember, this is written as if it were published at the end of 2005. There will be no cutesy future predicting and all comments should be taken at face value. Let's get started.

#10 - Ultimate Spider-man

Saying this is just Spider-Man 2 with a better art style is a bit reductive, but ultimately (pun intended) is kind of accurate. The swinging mechanic is still the core appeal of it, and that appeal is still super strong. It's flashy, consistent, and an easy lock for No. 10.

#9 - Mario Kart DS

It's technically not the first portable Mario Kart game, but it's definitely the first portable Mario Kart game that demands you take it seriously. Nintendo has successfully translated the look and feel of console games over to the DS. The icing on the cake here is the online play, At least until you discover players "snaking," but that's a conversation for a different day.

#8 - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Technically released in the US in January, The Minish Cap barely made the cut-off for my list. Unlike Capcom's 2 previous portable Zelda efforts, The Minish Cap has seemingly endless charm. Link's talking hat, a compelling story, and a solid dungeon structure have The Minish Cap feeling a lot like A Link to the Past, one of the greatest games ever made.

#7 - Guitar Hero

We're all losers. We stand in our living rooms, clickity clackity-ing on fake plastic guitars trying to get 5 stars, while the world passes us by. I think I'm fine with that. Guitar Hero is as inventive as it is addictive. From the cheeky aesthetic to the 5-star soundtrack, this game sits in a category all by itself. It's easy to pick up and naturally walks you through learning and ramping up your skills. I don't know if I had more fun with a game this year.

#6 - Call of Duty 2

At this point WWII games are passé. We've already met our quota for WWII games this decade, but as the only Xbox 360 game on this list, Call of Duty 2 proves there is still plenty of blood left in that stone. Forgoing reality and leaning on survival elements that make for exciting gameplay, the game makes you feel like you're on the frontlines fighting for your life. It's beautiful and really shows what this new console generation is capable of.

#5 - Psychonauts

One of the main "Games are Art" titles of this year is Psychonauts. A genuinely funny take on mental health and psychiatry, it finds a way to poke fun, but while subtly raising awareness of important Psychiatric concepts. Psychonauts plays with your emotions as it has your heart laughing. Memorable characters, unique platforming and some of the best writing any game has ever had, makes this one easy to recommend. Like movie directors, Tim Schafer has proven he's one of the field's first auteurs.

#4 - Resident Evil 4

Who knew that all the Resident Evil series needed to get my attention was a perspective change? REs 1-3 all suffered from being too frustrating to control for me to have any fun with. The novel over-the-shoulder 3rd person controls puts the player in a position similar to first-person, but with the mobility and awareness of a 3rd person game. Resident Evil 4 is a frightening romp through inspired new ground all while improving the survival horror genre in meaningful ways.

#3 - Lumines

Yeah, I've got a puzzle game at number 3, fight me! Not since Tetris has a puzzle game grabbed me as firmly as Lumines did this year. Could it be the sleek and futuristic presentation? Maybe. Could it be that Lumines is the perfect game for Sony's new curious little handheld? Probably. Have I spent countless hours deep in high-score chasing? Absolutely! Lumines might be lighting in a bottle, but that lightning burned super hot this year.

#2 - God of War

Nothing is more aggro than being forced to wear the ashes of your dead family on your skin. Kratos is justifiably angry and being able to take his anger and tear through a pantheon of Gods is quite cathartic. It helps that God of War's gameplay is fluid, frantic and addictive. It takes tropes from previous generations of beat-em-ups and layers brand-new ways to combo up and destroy. It's also another entry in the "Is this art" sweepstakes. The cinematic nature of the entire experience rivals much of the drivel coming out of Hollywood, and being a game makes it even more engaging.

#1 - Shadow of the Colossus

Truly an unparalleled experience, Shadow of the Colossus is a masterpiece that shines by engineering vivid emotions through the art of digital animation. Each Colossus is a world unto itself and even though you, as the protagonist, are tasked with slaying each beast, the pain and helplessness of imminent death expressed from them as they fall will etch itself in your bones. Shadow successfully takes the technical limitations of the PS2 and bends a low frame rate and limited draw distance, into a part of the expression of the art. It's not a perfect game, but it's a step in an unprecedented direction for the art form as a whole.

Notable Omissions:

Sid Meier's Civilization IV - Civ 4 is a fine game and is definitely a major improvement over Civ 3, but my patience for strategy games in this style is thin.

Battlefield 2 - I didn't play it. I'm not even sure if there's a competent way to play it with a controller and I'm definitely not gonna try it with a mouse and keyboard.

Forza Motorsport - With very few exceptions, I'm not a racing game guy, and racing sims are completely off my radar.

Next time we move to 2006, the launch year of both the Wii and PS3. See you there!

Cheers.

#shadow of the colossus #god of war #lumines #mario kart ds #psychonauts #guitar hero #resident evil 4 #call of duty 2 #ultimate spiderman #the legend of zelda the minish cap

[biiedwin8]

Maladaptive Daydreaming: Why Do Your Friends Cut You Off?

Today, I'll be answering this question: Why do your friends cut you off? By "cutting you off," it means, let's say, you started out with 20 friends, for example, and then you realize that as you keep daydreaming, friends are pushing you away. You keep losing friends, to the point now you just end up having imaginary friends. And actually, we are not even talking about toxic friends; we're talking about normal friends who are really there for you, who just want to hear about you, want to go out with you, want to have fun with you. But why is it that they cut you off?

Actually, there are a couple of reasons. The first reason is, of course, friendship sometimes needs a bit of sacrifice and a bit of you giving your energy to the friendship. For example, the energy when it comes to doing things together, because friendships flourish with activities like going out, playing games, or just doing joint activities together. But because you don't really find those activities fun anymore, you prefer the euphoric daydreaming or the intense high offered by the imaginary world.

You end up not going for those activities. You may end up ignoring going out because you don't feel like it's something you want to do. But sometimes you may have to just go because you want to be with your friends. You may go just to be with your friends, but because you feel that it's boring, and boring is not your thing, you'll end up forgoing those activities which build our friendship, and then going to the imaginary world.

So the more you keep doing that, the more your friends will feel that there's no need to call you when they have a plan. It gets to the point where your friends will not even call you because they know that every time they try to call you to go and do something, you give an excuse like, "I'm busy," when it's not really because you're busy, it's because you want to go back to this imaginary world.

So it will get to the point where your friends will just push you away because they'll feel that you are not contributing to their friendship, because you are selfishly choosing imaginary friends. That's why they'll cut you off. They'll cut you off because you're not actually cutting them off.

Another reason is, of course, sometimes friendships have ups and downs. You may sometimes be betrayed and all those things. So because you are afraid of facing those things, you are afraid of facing that aspect of rejection or that comparing yourself with your friends, which are normal things that happen, because you are afraid of facing those, you end up choosing something which offers you temporary relief from that fear of facing your fears, which is now daydreaming instead of facing that fear, facing that social anxiety. Because there's only one way to face social anxiety, of course, it's just going to those events and then just talking with people and then really seeing how it goes. Yeah, but because you don't want to face that fear, those deep fears, you end up isolating yourself and going to this imaginary world. What will happen, of course? Your friends will cut you off.

Another thing is, of course, you may feel judged. Let's say you share something with a friend, something about your addictive behavior. You tell them, "Hey, I'm normally addicted to this thing, this daydreaming, where I create an imaginary world, I create an imaginary universe, I create intricate storylines." So when you tell them about that, of course, your friend will be like, "What the heck are you doing?"

So that element is they won't really understand your addictive behavior, because not everyone is able to understand what someone is going through, unless you are very, very compassionate and very, very open-minded. So because some of your friends may not understand it, you may really feel judged, because every time they're telling you, "Stop doing that, stop doing that, stop doing that."

So it gets to the point where you are afraid of being with your friends because they're judging you, and you feel embarrassed when you meet them. And you may also get embarrassed because you may end up fantasizing or creating daydreams about some of your friends, especially friends of when you are attracted to a friend or something. So when you create these fantasies, you may be afraid of facing them.

So because you're afraid of facing them, you end up isolating yourself. So because of that embarrassment or the shame of being with them, what happens? You end up creating this rift between you and your friends, and after some time, you end up being alone, and you end up going to the point where you only have online friends, which is not the same thing as having real-life friends. Or you just end up having friends in your imaginary world, which is not the same thing as having real-life friends.

So you will lose a lot of friends by engaging in addictive behavior, but it's not because it's your friend's fault or anyone's fault. It's because your addictive behavior is driving you towards that root of isolation and loneliness.

Note from the Author

If you’re ready and you’d like my help with overcoming and managing your maladaptive daydreaming without spending years in therapy, then you can book a FREE BREAKTHROUGH CALL with me HERE. Happy healing 💙💙. Feel free to share and comment! Use this information with caution, it comes from my own thoughts & bias, experiences and research😊.

#maladapting daydreaming disorder #daydreaming #actually madd #obsessive daydreaming #actually maladaptive #intrusive daydreaming #madd #maladaptive daydreaming #imaginary friend #immersive daydreaming

[oblong-egg]

Magic System Concepts

Magic is an interesting concept to me. I like to think of it as something somewhat living. It filters through people in different ways, manifesting itself with different elemental connections based on what part of the body it gets stuck in or feeds off of. Overuse of magic can result in the energy feeding on the body faster than it is able to replenish, and, after a while, make the body unable to recover from what the magic takes. Everyone’s rate of recovery or regenerative abilities are different. Recognizing overuse is relatively easy, but some disregard the symptoms in pursuit of power. Magic can often be addictive.

Bodily and elemental connections are:

Water : Blood

Air : Mind

Earth : Bone

Fire : Lungs

Light : Eyes

Shadow : Soul

Examples of corrosion from overuse could be: 

Blood : Anemia or high blood pressure

Mind : hallucinations, paranoia, or mindfog

Bone : degradation or overgrowth

Lungs : chronic cough, collapse, or disease

Eyes : poor vision or blindness

The only type of magic that has a chance of survival if severely overused is Shadow magic, but even that has severe consequences that could follow the user for the rest of their life. Shadow magic or Dark magic eats away at the soul of a person and this could result in one completely losing track of themselves and/or their morality. If death does find them, the remains of their soul will be sent to hell as it’s squandering God’s gift to man (or something). If theres nothing left of their soul, their severed consciousness is left to wander the Earth until it eventually fades and they cease to exist.

Magic itself is not good or evil and it doesn’t exist in a physical state. It’s more like an energy. Cosmic energy, if you will. With training, it is possible to channel this magic or energy without elemental connection. Which means not letting the magic feed off of the desired body part. An example of this is the Hunter Soulstone Technique (no relation to the Soul Stone in the MCU), which Orion Hunter coined. He might not have been the first person to actually use this technique. He’s just the one that introduced it as a possible method in case one was caught in a situation without a weapon. This technique involves a Soulstone, which is a gemstone with magical properties, usually used to hold either pure magic, or trap souls in a practically inescapable prison—unless the stone is broken. They are usually embedded in a weapon.

It requires either very high resistance to magic, or much concentration. Or both In some cases. With this resistance and/or concentration, one can draw magic directly from their environment without contaminating it with a bodily or elemental connection and allow it to circulate through them. From there, the user can essentially will the magic into a tangible shape.

Orion has used this technique to aid him in battle by providing him a quick weapon when there would usually be none available. He’s taught this technique to two of his sons, Sky and Soul. The stones he provided for them were just free-floating gems, which is unusual. However, through this circulation of magic, the user can essentially make any object they need. So an example of the different forms that one can forge to hold the gem can be:

A ring for more practical and glamorous carrying or

A weapon as stated before.

These objects function much like their non magical counterparts, but only as long as the holder maintains constant physical contact with it. If they let go, the object evaporates and the stone is left free-floating once again.

You might also be able to guess that, the more of these objects you try to summon, the more resistance/concentration you’ll need. Because Soul, the character featured above, is a dragon, his magical resistance is much greater than a human’s, he can summon two very easily. His brother, Sky, does not have such an easy time. In fact, he struggles to maintain even one for extended periods. Only one object can be summoned per stone held.

Soulstones can also be something like aura readers. They change colors based on the person holding them. This requires no magic channeling, only physical contact.

#the egg speaketh #wkol lore #art of mine #art #original character(s) of mine #digital art #oc soul

[maverickuk]

Is Warcraft 2 still fun to play in 2022?

For a game that came out in late 1995, that makes it 27 years old now - let's just take a pause to contemplate the ease in which the years can melt away for a moment...

For my 2022 summer holiday I dusted off and charged up my beloved Libretto 100CT for another retro gaming road trip. However until most other outings, this time I brought along a comfortable desktop mouse too.

This opened up the possibility of playing the many great strategy based PC games that need a decent mouse to enjoy comfortably.

I decided to jump into a game that I remember being impressed by in my younger years. I could recall a high resolution gameplay interface (especially compared to Warcraft 1), impressive sound and music along with addictive gameplay.

I found myself leaning towards the human campaign and spent a good few hours working my way through a number of the campaign scenarios.

I was struck how small the actual gameplay area was, with much of the screen taken up by other interface elements.

However it didn't take me long to get into the usual routines of gathering resources to invest into my own buildings and units.

Something that did bother me throughout my playtime was the amount of micromanagement required, which newer RTS titles has largely done away with.

For example not having build queues was a constant bother. If I wanted to build up an army it was a slow, tedious and repetitive process.

I did enjoy how new unit types would be made available in later scenarios, which kept the game feeling fresh and more varied. However the negative aspects of the experience drained my enthusiasm to keep playing faster than I would have liked.

Overall I enjoyed my time with Warcraft 2 and can see how it was such a landmark title. However viewed through a modern lens it's easy to fit areas that a modern remaster could resolve (as happened with C&C).

Certainly a game still worth spending time with.

#warcraft 2 #blizzard #retro gaming #libretto #mouse

[kcarkwright]

ARKWRIGHT'S PREPTOBER LESSONS: Figuring out your plots. Yes, plural.

Ah, plot. Gotta love it. Unfortunately.

A good story is really just two stories hiding in a trench coat, trying to buy tickets to a film they're definitely not old enough to watch.

So, every story should have a PLOT A and a PLOT B. PLOT A should remain about that main conflict, the protagonist vs. the Big Bad™. PLOT B should be about the Major Character's personal arc through their journey.

And, if you're writing a series, you get to add PLOT C, the directional plot of the series as a whole.

Yay. Three responsibilities.

Anyways, while abandoning these and just writing sounds so ideal — it isn't gonna work. A Plot Outline is like a treasure map, guiding you to your precious treasure: finishing your fucking book. Without it? You'll probably get lost. Maybe eaten by a kraken or something.

Here is a thread of how to format each of your plots, starting with PLOT A.

PLOTLINE A – how the story gets told. 

PLOT A is more like a road map: Major Character needs to get from point a to point b. Except, a giant fucking hurricane had just blown through, turning this simple drive into a little adventure full of fallen wires, flooded roadways, and hey, let’s add alligators, because why not? Maybe the drive is to escape the hellscape known as Florida. 

That hurricane is the Inciting Incident. The big shebang that changes the entire course of the whole drive. Usually, the inciting incident is out of the Major Character’s hands – but who knows! Maybe they caused it directly by pissing off the great and powerful Florida Man. It’s up to you! You get to ruin their day in any special way you want. 

Now, Major Character has hopped into their ol’ 2005 Kia Hatchback, a trusty vehicle Major Character has used for every drive since they’ve had their license, and starts off, a trunk full of boxes and a mind full of…mountains. Yeah. Mountains. Nothing bad ever happens in the mountains, right? Rarely are there any tornadoes, inclines would help with the flooding. And Major Character has always wanted to have a white Christmas! 

The mountains. That’s where Major Character will be happy, and safe, and away from the fUCKING GATORS–

But, haha! Fate in the form of a sleep-deprived and caffeine-addicted author has decided to make Major Character’s rerouting absolute hell. Why?

For fun, obvs.

So this old Hatchback is chugging along as well as it can – there’s still severe winds after all, and the roads are just so slick – until it gets to the true damage of the storm. The intersection is absolutely submerged in a flood patch, a drainage pipe at the north of it just pouring gallon after gallon into it in a violent rush. But like, even then, the water doesn’t look too high. Major Character can still see the legs of the stop signs and they look about the same height as normal. And besides, they’ve got Hatchback on their side! This car has survived 18 wrecks, a dozen hurricanes, multiple break-ins, and a lightning strike, if the carfax is to be believed. It can easily make it through this glorified puddle. So, with faith in their dependable old friend, Major Character pushes forward – 

And immediately waterlogs the engine. 

This is all a metaphor, of course, for your Plot Point One. You can interpret this instance to fit your tale in any way you wish: did Major Character ignore all the warning signs and push through anyways, becoming a victim of their own hubris? Did they put too much faith in their tools because it’s gotten them out of every issue so far? Have they simply never heard the phrase “turn around, don’t drown”?

The Major Character’s reasoning for this first plot point is up to you, and is going to be a part of your Plot B. Don’t stress too hard about it yet. 

I find Plot Point One to work best for the story if it strips something from the protagonist. Because now, that road trip has become a hike, exposing Major Character to the natural elements of the inciting incident, forcing them to adapt. And by stripping away the tool Major Character depended on, this makes it soooo much easier to kick them while they’re down. 

My OCs love me, can’t you tell?

The journey for Major Character is so much harder now, but they keep on, more determined than ever to leave because holy FUCK they hate Florida. So they trek on with cuffed jeans, dealing with the effects of being Hatchbackless when they turn a corner, aiming to take a road that – surprise – was swept away by the flooding, now a patch of cement-sprinkled dirt, rushing along in a landslide. 

This is a bit on-the-nose, sure, but sometimes we need it to be: there’s no more road for them to take. Plot Point Two, I believe, works best when you next take their choice of progress. Their chance of moving forward on the obvious and safest path. They’re either going to have to admit defeat and stay in the Sunshine State, or find a new way out. 

Your Plot Point Two is also known as the Midpoint, the middle of your book. And I feel like it’s a good time for an intermission, and to mention something important.

At minimum, you need three plot points. 

Minimum. MINIMUM. Not max, not total – minimum. This map is kinda like a Dora the Explorer map, and we need 3 stops on the trail for the episode to feel complete – but that isn’t the set amount we’re allowed to have. You can torture your Major Character in any way you please! And the Plot Points aren’t the only action you’re allowed to have in your story! Major Character has to get to the Plot Points, after all. Your Plot Points are your “Because [instance] happened, [instance] occurs next.” That’s where most authors feel daunted with their writing. Everything I’m typing here is to fit your basic (see: boring) Plot Structure. But this isn’t a set rule. You aren’t legally required to heed this advice to the letter. Just have those major points, those important instances that change how the Major Character takes this journey, and you can fill in the details of how they get there later. You don’t have to know your story inside out. You’re allowed to be clueless in some parts of your story; I find letting the setting and Major Character interact without my consistent interference is where some of my best writing happens. 

Anyways, yeah, back to our regularly scheduled program. 

Landslide. Major Character can’t go that way now! It isn’t safe, and besides, they don’t have the tools to get past. Even trusty Ol’ Hatchback wouldn’t have made that, if Major Character hadn’t sent it to an early grave. This Plot Point is where (! in my opinion !) you want to give Major Character the opportunity to change. Y’know, against their will. They don’t want to go a different, unmapped way, but they also don’t want to stay in Florida. So, with a grit in their teeth and a determination that exceeds their fear, they step off the known trail, over the guard rail and into the unknown. 

Allow your Major Character the chance to begin shining, here. They find they’re actually not bad at navigating a post-hurricane bog. All those years in some made-up cub scouts equivalent somehow survived in the back of their mind. Sure, mosquitoes might be chewing away at exposed skin, and their fucking socks are wet, but Major Character is making progress. Finding a way out has been hell, but Major Character finally, FINALLY, feels like they can do it. 

You see that hope? That assurance and confidence? Yeah, snuff it out like the Hatchback. 

Major Character sees a highway overpass up ahead! Of course; if they take the highway, maybe walk it or hitchhike, they’ll get out of Florida waaaay quicker than if they just traveled random backroads by foot! Of course, they have to get on the highway first – and it just so happens that the on-ramp to this overpass is littered in sunbathing gators. 

Plot Point Three is most fun most fun when you dangle a saving grace like a doughnut on a stick – right behind a major obstacle. The prize is so goddamn close, they can see the tape on the wrapping! And yet, it’s like they’re at square one. 

Now, freeze frame on Major Character and the alligators: Plot Point Three is going to be the most important part of your book. Not the inciting incident, not your climax: Plot Point Three, iN My oPiNiOn, makes the rest of the book. Because your choices here will bleed into what makes the Climax. 

Because from Plot Point Three will be born three beasts: 

The Disaster

The Crisis

The Absolve

THE DISASTER is where you want everything to go to hell in a handbasket. Gators? In my roadway? It’s more likely than you think.  Dozens of powerful jawed dinosaurs just waiting to eat Major Character. In fact, a scaly guy just at the edge of the gator gang has spotted Major Character. Why is it turning to face them? Oh god, it’s rushing towards Major Character–

Major Character isn’t fully unequipped; being Floridian, they’ve been taught since grade school to zigzag to escape a pursuing alligator. And just a ways away is a tree with a low hanging branch Major Character can use to hoist themselves up higher, away from the beast. 

But Major Character wasn’t told how goddamn fast gators were on those stubby little legs, how it could snap side to side easily and only needed a few seconds to readjust itself before it was back on their tail, a jaw with an impossible number of teeth always getting too close to Major Character’s achilles before another zig or zag. Every close snap came with a breeze that warned Major Character, threatened them, but if they just dug their feet in, maybe used trees as cover when they dodged, they’d make it. 

The gator keeps in pace, only just missing their legs from their constant jukes, but the branch is right there, splintery and wet as Major Character grips it and jumps, the spittle from the gator peppering their pants as they clambered up the tree and away from the monster, leaving it to groan dissatisfied in their wake. 

THE CRISIS is the panic attack Major Character gets to have in the tree. Not just because they were almost eaten by Godzilla’s weaker cousin, but they’re now stuck in a tree. All metaphorical, of course: they’re now stuck in place, unable – and honestly, too fuckin’ scared – to move forwards. How are they supposed to get passed…13, 14, 15…yeah, fifteen gators?! They’re not Steve Irwin! They barely even qualify as a hiker! And now they’re stuck in a tree, a gator happily making a place in the shade to sleep for the night, and…

They’re trapped. They can’t get out of this elm, or Florida. 

Major Character tries to rest, exhausted from running away and hiking and climbing and the allergic reactions from the mosquito bites…but it never really settles in. They stay in that in between, still privy to the sounds of their surroundings – and consistently getting startled awake by them. There’s the rumble of a gator clearing its throat that nearly sends Major Character out of the tree with their violent jerk, the constant harassment from the bugs keep them from truly settling, and there’s that crackling hum that keeps randomly snapping–

Major Character looks for the noise, finding a fallen wire insulated all but at its end, the frayed ends of still-live electricity shooting volts into the air. A cicada buzzes just a little too close and gets fried midair, turned to toast-smelling ash before it even had the chance to realize this was the end. 

That wire…the idea was stupid, but as Major Character watches an anoli lizard scuttle across the insulated part and remain unarmed…maybe they can use it. 

[i am legally required to tell you guys to not fuckin’ play with wires. This is fiction. Major Character already killed the Kia, don’t let them kill you too] 

THE ABSOLVE is when Major Character begins making a plan. When, after googling how to survive a lightning strike or other electrical shock, they chuck their phone, the gator under the tree rushing towards the noise in search of a snack. It’s them practicing how to hold a branch with the back of their hands instead of a normal grip, so if they get electrocuted, their muscles tightening won’t hold on to the wire and (hopefully) further shock them. It’s them mentally mapping out the safest way to get to the raised middle of the road, away from the puddles and gators and at the perfect vantage point to electrocute everything alive and dash up the on-ramp. It’s silencing the group chat Major Character made to update everyone on how they were trapped, and to give a location in case something goes wrong. It was getting the chance to say goodbye because, either by wire or gator or storm or starvation, there’s a good chance they’ll die regardless. 

Yeah, it’s dramatic. It’s meant to be. This is your building action to The Climax. This is everything that sets up the drama as Major Character clambers back down the tree and over to the wire, a hooked branch in one hand as the other slowly reaches out (facing backwards – never just fuckin’ grip anything that could be live!!) and gently brushes against it, breathing a sigh of relief when they actually survive the touch. 

So they take the wire, keeping the live end as far away from them as possible, and begin tugging it forward, recalling that mental map of where to bob and weave so they avoid most of the gators.

Of course, in the small amount of time, a 12 footer readjusted, becoming a speed bump directly in their path, making them stop in their tracks. The gator spots them, opening its maw and letting out a low rumble. A warning. Don’t be so stupid, it advises. 

Luckily, you get to make them as stupid as you want! 

I’m not gonna sit here and map out the entirety of the action. That’s your job, I’m just the author self-appointing themselves a writing guru. Maybe your Major Character uses the wire as a whip, zapping the alligator right in its open mouth. Maybe they stop too suddenly and accidentally zap themselves too, the pain coursing up every nerve ending like a high speed rail train, lighting them on fire (metaphorically or actually!). The action here can be as calm, or as crazy, as you want it to be. Just try to keep in mind to keep it realistic to your tale; having aliens zoom down on a UFO and beam up Major Character doesn’t fit at all with the flow of your story. Keep all action, all lull and all character interactions befitting with the type of story you’re trying to tell. 

But more or less, it should end with a chance, that split second, where Major Character’s feet land firmly on the dry topside of a sundried road, and they drop the wire, electrocuting every pursuing gator and leaving all the creatures in their wake as they rush up the highway, finally safe and able to begin making it to their destination. 

Like an adrenaline rush, after the Climax comes the Falling Action, the patching of the electrical burn and the dehydration beginning to actually take its toll. It’s the Coast Guard helicopter flying ahead that was called in by someone in the group chat, a rope ladder being thrown down for Major Character to scramble up. Its the relieved cry of Major Character’s loved one that was called to be told they were found, alive and…mostly okay. The Resolution follows when they land in Savannah, Georgia, Major Character being released after an overnight hospital stay. It’s the boxes volunteer salvagers managed to retrieve from the Hatchback, it’s the Greyhound ticket to the smoky mountains. 

It’s the moment you get to close your computer, and breathe, yourself.

Now, if you’re a single-novel writer, congrats! You just finished your story! But if you’re not, if you intend to put Major Character through more hell: The end of this story is the inciting incident for your series. I mean, yeah, they made it to the mountains, and so far, Major Character is comfortable; but you know what’s in the mountains? Mountain lions. Mountain lions and forest fires. 

That's it for how to structure PLOT A! Click here for more information on how to structure your PLOT B.

CREDIT TO DEVILISHLYDELIGHTFULDIVIDERS FOR THE DIVIDER. Seriously their stuff is so cute go look at it.

#Arkwright Academics #preptober #nanowrimo #writeblr #writing #writing advice #KayCee Rambles #story writing

[wpip-raham]

A question for Pip! Having been a fighter for as long as he has, was there ever an incident where the injuries to another person or the expectations demanded in the ring became too much? Does he enjoy inflicting that sort of pain on other people or does he consider it a necessary evil? Has there ever been a point where he considered stopping?

Answer below the cut:

Pip’s early years were hard-- he wasn’t a *fighter* per se before. Sure, he’d scrapped with his siblings here or there, and he was fighting with another squatter when he was scouted...but it’s not as if he just had this raw, untapped potential. The pit needed new blood and new entertainment to get the gil coming in, nobody -- not even Pip -- could say they *knew* he’d be any good at it. 

What’s separates him from others is his (actually very harmful) inability to back off. He’ goal driven to a fault, though he can’t articulate what the end-goal actually is, success is a part of it that he’s still chasing with every victory. 

And even on a micro-scale this mentality is visible. In a fight, he’ll go ‘til near death -- and has, often. Especially when he was just a kid picked off the streets. Certainly, those were the times where he questioned whether it was too much. But he hadn’t really many (apparent) options, and to accept that it was too much was somehow a reflection of himself-- and his pride won’t let him accept that something is beyond him. He’s known many a healer and many a healer has known Pip. His nose has been beaten in more times than he can count (literally, ‘cause the man’s not that educated), ribs broken almost biweekly...I mean, he could probably describe the feeling of choking on his own blood in gory detail because he lived that for so long until he ‘got gud’ so to speak.

His tenacity (if we can call it that) also makes it hard for him to know when to stop-- most fighters would likely know the feeling of blood lust, and Pip certainly is no exemption, and you could even argue that he’s got a predisposition for it. His line of work isn’t pretty, and death happens regularly (there’s no regulation against, say, lining your gloves with razors or rocks to tilt a fight in your favor). He prides himself on having a hand in only 2 deaths during his fights. The first stunned him. The second, he was still testing the limits on when to dial it back. But those two live on with him in a sick sort of fashion and certainly raised some questions about whether this was all too much. 

But does he like inflicting that sort of pain? Tough to say. There’s a thrill involved that he’s addicted to and he loves chasing that high. Does it have to come at the cost of his well-being or that of others? He hasn’t found a better way to scratch the itch so, maybe that says something about him. And I think he’s too deeply involved and too deeply ‘indoctrinated’ to be able to look back and say ‘this is a necessary evil’. It just *is*-- it’s what he does, has been doing, and likely will continue doing and...yeah, there’s elements of it he really likes. He likes the sort of people it attracts because they’re exciting, dangerous. He likes the chaos of the pit, the uncertainty. He likes the type of attention being a pit fighter garners, the looks he gets. He’s built himself a little pedestal and, by the twelve, he’s going to stand on it and make a spectacle of himself because it feels nice to be *someone*.  

Still, even he knows there will be an end. Pip’d never openly admit it, but he hopes he goes out in a bloody blaze of glory, seems only fitting. He couldn’t accept retirement, that feels too much like admitting weakness. So, he knows there will be a stop, one day, but he’s hoping that decision is made for him. He won’t go down easily, and ideally not anytime too soon. 

#W'pip Raham #i love this ask #thanks!!!