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#Bundles - Cutting Designs
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I love Moth Howdy’s extreme floof, he is an actual puff ball and I want to live in his hair
i guess you could say he's a.... mothball
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(amplified fluff for your viewing pleasure <3)
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collieii · 11 months
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back on my wolfwood bullshit! i'm using a lot of the same ideas from my other post so i'll try not to repeat myself, but as i said, a major theme of wolfwood's arc is autonomy and freedom, and the idea that having freedom to choose also comes with the responsibility to act and make good choices.
throughout trimax, wolfwood is in a strange position. he's beholden to higher powers - the eye of michael, knives, even vash in a way, while also simultaneously having a lot of freedom to act, particularly in the moment. the things that control him are more like swords of damocles - present, inevitable, but not immediate. he's constantly struggling to figure out what he should do - take knives out, kill vash, and more generally, things like his profession as assassin. he's very torn about the choices he makes (or doesn't make) and the life he lives because he's dissatisfied with his position, and there isn't an easy way out.
there are a lot of parallels between midvalley and wolfwood. midvalley, similar to wolfwood, was forced into a place he really didn't want to be in. he's hyperaware of the danger of his situation, knows he's expendable to knives, and that knives has so much power - how can anyone escape it? so he has to ask himself - how is he going to spend the time that he has? should he risk his life or play it safe? we know what he decides - he's likely to die either way, so he might as well try to get his way, release himself from knives' control.
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midvalley pretty easily identifies wolfwood as someone who is allied with vash, who has no true loyalty to knives. he says they have no reason to fight - midvalley and hoppered have officially moved against knives and made their choice. is wolfwood going to resolve himself, follow what he truly believes - in vash, against knives? or will he keep playing the game of someone who doesn't have their mind made up, still working under knives thumb? (midvalley has always called wolfwood chapel, right up until this moment - he's breaking through the pretenses, acknowledging that he knows what wolfwood really is).
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(using the overhaul translation here bc it's much clearer!) midvalley basically says that wolfwood does have power, but at that point in the story, he's mostly just going along with what's safe, as opposed to midvalley and hoppered. midvalley is aware that wolfwood might have similar goals to him. as someone who, like wolfwood, fears knives and what he can do, midvalley criticizes wolfwood's passivity or inability to fight for what he wants.
still, we see that when midvalley does act against knives he dies. immediately. both him and hoppered made their choice, and it didn't end well for them. maybe they knew it'd be that way. still, it's a poignant reminder to wolfwood about the power of choice, and the risks that come with it. he has to confront what other people are willing to risk and ask himself if he can do the same.
then we get to volume 8. wolfwood, who spends so much of the story agonizing over his choices, is finally resolved. he goes against knives and frees vash. he chooses not to kill unless absolutely necessary. his autonomy is realized at the price of his life. and that's the equation he has to figure - save myself, and damn everyone i care about? be dissatisfied with myself, my life? or save what he loves, do what he wants, and risk himself? wolfwood is keenly aware of his own morality. he has so much he wants to protect, and he can't do that if he's dead. i think one of the reasons he's able to take a stand against knives is because of his relationship with vash - he knows that there's someone with similar goals and values who will fight to protect humanity after he's gone. he goes out having taken care of chapel and livio, and trusting that vash will handle knives. he can die peacefully knowing he's assured the safety of his family.
by volume 10, wolfwood is showing everyone who he is and what he stands for, for better or worse. he was willing to fight - and willing to die - to do what he believed was right. trimax shows, again, and again, that there's often no easy answer, no easy way to live, no easy choice to make. that's sort of the idea that's communicated with the bird imagery - a life of freedom is a life of struggle. it's not a new idea, ofc. but we see with wolfwood - the right thing and the safe thing are often not the same. what are we willing to do? how far will we go? what will we sacrifice? and what will leave us most satisfied at the end?
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cricutexplore2setup · 20 days
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How to Connect Cricut to iPad: Two Methods Explained!
As you know, Cricut machines are amazing. You can use them to create thousands of creative stuff like tote bags, keychains, cards, stickers, decals, etc. If I tell you about my crafting journey, it's too long. I started when I was a teenager just for a hobby, but I didn't realize when it would become my business. Well, if I share my story, this blog isn't enough. So, let's discuss the matter we are here for. I know you want a little clarity on how to connect Cricut to iPad. Don't worry; I'll share everything with you to make your work easier.
My blog is dedicated to iPad users who are struggling with their Cricut machines and want to learn how to connect them to an iPad. Let me walk you through this guide and teach you the process.
Introduction to Cricut Design Space
Before we move forward to learn how to connect Cricut to iPad, let's learn about its special software and its excellent features. This application or software is designed for Cricut users to create creative designs. Also, you get multiple features in this software, including different fonts, texts, templates, and designs; you'll be able to design anything you want. To get this software or application, you need to install it from Cricut's official website.
How to Download Cricut Design Space on iPad?
If you want to download and install the Cricut Design app on your iPad device, follow the steps below.
That's it for the Cricut Design Space download on an iPad. Now, let's check its connection process.
How to Connect Cricut to iPad via Bluetooth and USB?
Here comes the final step, which is to connect your Cricut to an iPad. To do this, you'll need to use the Bluetooth pairing option. Go through the steps below to learn the connection process.
Method 1: Using a USB Cable
If you want to connect your Cricut to a wired connection like USB, you need to follow the steps below. A wired connection is helpful in many ways and can be set up hassle-free.
That's how to connect Cricut to iPad with USB. After this, you can utilize your Cricut to create anything.
Method 2: With Bluetooth
Check the steps below to learn Cricut setup on iPad via Bluetooth. This wireless connection is amazing and will work best for you.
That's how to connect Cricut to iPad via Bluetooth. If you want, you can go for a wired connection such as USB.
FAQs
Why Does My iPad Need to Download the Cricut App?
There are certain minimum system requirements you need to check before you download the Cricut app on your iPad. For instance, your iPad version should be 11 or the latest. Also, your internet connection should be strong and within 2-3 Mbps to download and upload. If everything meets, you can connect Cricut to iPad.
How Do I Connect Cricut to My Computer?
To connect your Cricut machine to a computer, follow these steps:
What to Do When My Cricut Is Not Connecting to My iPad?
When your Cricut is not connecting to your iPad it can happen when your Cricut or iPad device is not connected to the power supply. If you're using a USB cable, your cable may be loose, and if you're using a Bluetooth connection, maybe your device's Bluetooth option is not ON.
Visit: www.cricut.com/setup login install cricut design space app
Source: https://setupcricutoncomputer.wordpress.com/2024/04/06/how-to-connect-cricut-to-ipad-two-methods-explained/
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cricutcutdesign · 20 days
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How to Connect Cricut to MacBook: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting started with a brand-new Cricut machine can be overwhelming, especially for beginners. So, I’m here to help you with its connection. Take a deep breath, and let me teach you how to connect Cricut to MacBook. It’s going to be interesting, and after reading this blog, you won’t need anyone’s help to set up a connection between your devices.
As a MacBook user, you may often find yourself in trouble due to different connection and setup methods, but not anymore! In this guide, I will explain the steps, particularly for MacBook users, to help them out with a Cricut connection. Here we go!
What Is a Cricut Design Space?
It’s the key to a Cricut machine’s setup. If you’re an existing user, you might know about it. But, if you don’t, I’ll tell you here. Basically, it is a design software by Cricut. This software has many features that allow you to design anything. For instance, you can use different fonts, designs, templates, etc, to design your project.
To get started with the Cricut Design app, you’ll need to download and install it. I’ll share with you the procedure to get this versatile software on your Mac system. Well, you can get this software on any device, but as this guide emphasizes the Mac system, you can only learn about Mac. After installing this design software, you can connect Cricut to MacBook.
How to Download Cricut Design Space on MacBook?
You know how important it is to download and install the Cricut software on your MacBook system. Check the steps below to learn how to install it on your Mac.
That’s it for installing the Cricut account on your MacBook. If you’re a new user, create a new Cricut account and then sign in to your Cricut account.
Connect Cricut to MacBook: 2 Different Methods 
Here, all your questions will be answered. I’ll tell you all the steps involved in connecting a Cricut machine to a MacBook.
Method 1: With a USB Cable
If you want a wired connection, you can choose a USB connection. As this connection method is conventional, you can use it to connect your devices when your device doesn’t support a Bluetooth connection. Let’s see the steps below to learn how to connect Cricut to computer with USB.
That’s it to connect Cricut to MacBook via USB connection. If you don’t want to use a USB connection, go for a wireless connection like Bluetooth.
Method 2: Via a Bluetooth Connection
If you want to go for a wireless connection, you can select the Bluetooth option. Let’s see the steps here to learn how to connect Cricut to MacBook via Bluetooth.
That’s it to connect Cricut to MacBook. Now, you’re ready to use your Cricut machine the way you want. If you want to explore more things with your Cricut, get the Cricut Access subscription that offers loads of amazing features for your everyday crafting work.
FAQs
How to Connect a Cricut Machine to a Windows PC?
To connect a Cricut product to your Windows, follow these steps:
How Do I Update Cricut Design Space on Mac?
To update the Cricut Design app on your Mac, follow these steps:
How to Activate a Cricut Machine?
To activate your Cricut product, follow the steps below:
Lastly, check your firmware to complete the activation process.
Visit: install cricut design space app
Source: https://explorenewmachine.com/how-to-connect-cricut-to-macbook-a-step-by-step-guide/
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How to Connect Cricut to Laptop via Bluetooth and USB?
You all are here to learn something very important, “how to connect Cricut to laptop.” I get it. Since I’m a Cricut user, you can ask me anything about it, and I will answer you without pause. So, are you ready to learn its connection process to a laptop? In this blog, I’ll share two main methods of connecting your Cricut machine to a laptop. Let’s get started with the procedure.
What Do You Need to Connect Cricut to Your Laptop?
Before getting started, I want to tell you a few things that you should know. I hope, you’ll not confuse in any step while connecting your devices. Let’s see them.
So, by keeping all these steps in mind, start the USB and Bluetooth connection process.
How to Connect Cricut to Laptop: 2 Different Methods
Finally, you’re ready with your Cricut machine and laptop to setup a wired or wireless connection. Follow the steps carefully to set up your devices hassle-free. Here are the methods to do it correctly.
Method 1: With a USB Cable
This method is a wired connection that needs to be set up with the help of a USB cable that you got with your brand-new Cricut product. It’s time to get into the Cricut’s setup on a laptop via USB.
Now, you know how to connect Cricut to laptop with USB. You can set up a wired connection. Let’s try it and start using your Cricut machine as soon as possible.
Note: All users must note that they can only set up a USB connection when their systems have USB drivers installed correctly. If your system doesn’t have them, it’s important for you to install them right away.
Method 2: Via Bluetooth
You know, Cricut machines are equipped with versatile capabilities, which makes them stand out from all the others. Here, we will be discussing the process of connecting Cricut to a laptop via Bluetooth. Let’s learn how to connect Cricut to laptop wirelessly.
Finally, you know how to connect Cricut to laptop using Bluetooth. Now, you can move to using your Cricut machine to make unique crafts.
How to Get USB Drivers on a Laptop?
USB drivers are a must to install and update your laptop to set up a device easily on it, such as a Cricut machine. Therefore, use these steps to get the USB drivers on your laptop.
That’s how you can get the necessary USB drivers for your laptop and continue using the USB connection.
Conclusion
Hopefully, I was able to teach you how to connect Cricut to laptop via Bluetooth and a USB cable, and you will try it on your own soon. Luckily, your Cricut machine is compatible with all devices such as desktop and mobile devices. Hence, the process is simple and convenient for every user who wants to connect their Cricut machines to a laptop. Once you complete the Cricut setup, you can use your machine to cut your first craft.
Source: https://desincricut.wordpress.com/2024/04/01/how-to-connect-cricut-to-laptop-via-bluetooth-and-usb/
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printhaysrobert · 1 month
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svgcraftor · 7 months
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vectorkhazana · 9 months
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Select and download Christmas design SVG cut files in PNG, AI, EPS, CDR, PDF Format online. All these files are quickly useable for vinyl, decal, shirt design, t-shirt design, crafting, engraving, and screen printing machines.
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tyej49 · 10 months
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Introducing the "American Flag Flower" T-shirt - the perfect way to show your love for the USA and celebrate Independence Day in style!
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Whether you're attending a 4th of July BBQ, watching fireworks, or just looking for a meaningful addition to your wardrobe, the "American Flag Flower" T-shirt is a must-have. Available in a range of sizes and colors, it's the perfect way to show your love for America and inspire others around you.
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100% ring-spun cotton
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Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
Quarter-turned to avoid crease down the center
Blank product sourced from Bangladesh, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, or Nicaragua
This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!
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craftxyinc · 1 year
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perlelune · 2 months
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Play with Fire | Feyd-Rautha
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Your secret tryst with the na-Baron should have ended the moment you returned to your betrothed on Caladan. And it would have, if your lover was willing to let you go.
Warnings: NON-CON, Knife Play, Blood Play, Breeding Kink, Jealousy, Cheating, Blackmail, Murder, Slight Paul Atreides x Reader, Incest
This is a dark story. Heed warnings before reading under the cut.
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A raspy moan erupts from Feyd-Rautha’s throat as your slick walls squeeze around his hard cock. Your head tosses back, pleasure swirling through your core. Your nails rake across his sculpted, ivory chest and he purrs. You bury them in his flesh, scattering crimson lines across his skin. His hands curl around your hips as he thrusts into you more vigorously. You dig your heels into the rumpled sheets, your mind blanking as his pelvis massages your bundle of nerves.
You chew on your lip, willing yourself to be more quiet. The most arduous task considering the mind-blowing sensations coursing through your heated flesh. Your reputation hinges upon it. If anyone brushed past the na-Baron’s chambers and recognized your voice…you would be ruined. 
What a lewd picture the two of you must paint from afar. You, a proper lady from a noble house of Caladan, riding Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen’s cock with wanton abandon, your dress bunched around you, sweat glistening off your panting frame. The Harkonnen heir-designate is in quite a disheveled state himself, grunting below you, his dark gaze hazy with lust. 
“You are a goddess, my darling,” he lauds.
The echo of his gruff baritone ripples across your skin. Feral need bleeds from his words, his ravenous gaze riveted to your writhing form above him. It’s evident the na-Baron is basking in this sight, his tongue flicking through his lips every once in a while. The trail of his dusky eyes goes from your bouncing chest to your entrance, greedily sucking every inch of his length.
“Then fuck me like a god would,” you dare him with a smug smile. A risky move, particularly considering how deep inside you he already is, pulling broken moans from you each time his taut hips meet yours. But you want to push his buttons even more, see how far you can take it. 
Grazing the flickering candlelight isn’t enough. You want a blazing inferno to engulf you whole. 
You cock your eyebrow and sneer, “I expected more from such a great warrior.” You grab the long silver dagger lying beside him. Feyd-Rautha hardly goes anywhere without a deadly weapon nearby. His bed is no different. You push the tip against his throat. “Fuck me as if your life depended on it, na-Baron…because it does.” 
Most men would cower at such words. But Feyd-Rautha isn’t most men. A wild glint of excitement blooms in his orbs. His throat bobs, a look of satisfaction so intense crossing his features, you wonder if he’ll spill himself inside you right at that moment. 
He welcomes the threat upon his life like the most wondrous gift, making no move to shirk away from the sharp edge kissing his throat. Bliss decorates his features as you nick him in various spots with the blade, lingering so he feels every ounce of the sting when his flesh is sliced. Your blade curves meticulous patterns in his ivory flesh, drawing raspy moans and elated growls from him. You spread your hand across his chest, pressing your palm into the fresh wounds. Dark blood is smeared across his pale chest. The na-Baron moans at your touch, the pain delighting him. He embraces it as much as the pleasure. Perhaps even more.
He accepts the challenge you give him. A squeal shoots through your lips as he flips your bodies, forcing you on your stomach. He pushes the flowing fabric of your dress up until your dripping folds are bare to him. A shiver of anticipation courses through you when his thick tip presses against your weeping entrance. The blade slips through your fingers, a soundless scream parting from your throat when he slams his cock into you from behind. 
The metallic taste of your own blood rains on your tongue when you bite your lip, confining every sound fighting to be unleashed. He wraps his hand around your nape, shoving your head into the mattress, allowing you no time to gather your breath. Each of his thrusts is brutal and unforgiving. He ruins your walls without a care. You find yourself almost wishing you didn’t agitate the beast inside him. Almost. If the sinful dance of torment and bliss weren’t so entrancing, perhaps you would regret it. 
His muscular frame covers yours. His scorching breath glosses over the back of your neck as he inquires, “Does my cock meet your high standards, my Lady?”
Your chest heaves as you whimper underneath him. You are so delirious with both pain and pleasure that it’s hard to even think coherent words, let alone utter them. Feyd tears you from your haze with a pointed pinch on your swollen bundle of nerves, making you cry out.
“It’s…a-adequate, my Lord,” you stutter between panting breaths. 
“Just adequate?” he scoffs. “Well, this will not do.”
Determined to have you choke on every taunt you threw at him, the na-Baron isn’t satisfied until you’re passed out underneath him. He finds his release as your walls spasm around him. Even as you’re on the cusp of collapse, you urge him to pull out, coaxing him to spill himself over your belly. A sliver of annoyance passes over his features before he surrenders to your wishes. Relief fills you when his warm, sticky seed coats your stomach.
You doubt your fiancé would respond well to you returning with a Harkonnen bastard growing in your womb.
As you wipe yourself with a damp cloth on the edge of the bed, you inform, “My mother and I are returning to Caladan tomorrow.” He doesn’t acknowledge you at first, sitting with his leg bent, completely unabashed in his nakedness. You let your gaze roam over his smooth, hairless muscled flesh. It’s a pleasant sight, one you commit to memory. You’ve enjoyed your time with the na-Baron. And not only did you enjoy yourself, you’ve shed the fear you harbored regarding your wedding night. You loathed the idea of being some shivering, terrified maiden before your husband. You long for more. Giving pleasure but also receiving it. Reciprocity. 
Feyd’s head turns. His alabaster face betrays no emotion. He observes, “This was a brief trip.” He tilts his head. “Must I expect your next visit to end as swiftly?”
Mirth tugs the corners of your lips skyward. You crawl towards him.
“There will be no more visits.”
His  jaw ticks.
“Is that so?”
You cup his cheek and state, “I am to be married soon.”
A hint of possessiveness flashes across his stony features. Subtle, but there nonetheless. You’ve learnt to decipher the minute shifts in his expression in the two weeks you have spent on Giedi Prime.
He snickers.
“To some lesser man, I reckon.”
You bend over his shoulder. A teasing lilt sneaks into your voice.
“Are you seized by jealousy, my lord, consumed with burning rage at the thought of another man touching me in the ways you have…” Your lips graze his earshell. “Perhaps even being inside me?”
His hand shoots out to clasp around your throat. 
“Jealousy is for the weak,” he grates, his cheek pulsing. You smirk. Stoking the flames of his ire often yields…interesting results.
“Then does that make you your weakness, na-Baron?” you jest boldly.
The hand around your throat tightens, impeding your airways. A whine escapes through your lips. He hauls you off the bed and shoves you onto the floor.
“Darling…” he warns, his grip around your neck unwavering. “You speak too much when your mouth should be full of me. On your knees.”
You scowl at his imperious inflection but comply regardless. This is your last encounter with Feyd-Rautha. The last time you bend to his whims. While you’re not fond of his tone, you can discard your disgruntlement for a brief time. 
You wrap your fingers around his length. Your dauntless gaze rises to meet his as you start planting kisses along the dark, swollen tip of his pale cock.
“Your wish is my command, my Lord na-Baron,” you whisper teasingly.
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You never expected to entertain a secret affair with Feyd-Rautha of all men. For the entirety of your girlhood, you heard horror stories about the Harkonnen, how ruthless and cruel they are, how their wasteland of a planet is a cold, inhospitable rock. 
So when your mother announced the two of you would be going on a diplomatic trip to Giedi Prime, you weren’t thrilled. In fact, fear surged through you that day. You kept picturing some awful thing happening as soon as you landed. You thought it to be a punishment, and wondered if perhaps you had offended Leto Atreides and his family in some form without realizing it.
However your parents explained the idea stemmed from a clumsy attempt at quelling the long-standing rivalry between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Keep those tensions from building into an all-out interstellar war.
While Duke Leto Atreides will not risk his son’s life for a last ditch attempt at peace, the lives of members of a House Minor who swore him allegiance many years ago are more…expendable you suppose. 
It is how you, daughter of an Earl with close ties to house Atreides, found yourself on Giedi Prime. Your father voiced his hopes that your sweet disposition would rub off on Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen as he bid you goodbye. 
Perhaps that plan worked a bit too well. 
You barely understood how it happened. How your path and Feyd-Rautha’s collided in such an...unexpected way. 
It all started the day you watched him - admired him truly - through your binoculars as he performed in the gladiator arena. That day, a hundred doors opened up inside you, each clamoring to be crossed. Like a castle brimming with rooms you never explored. 
The spectacle of death should have repulsed you. Instead, you found his bellicose dance over the sand as the crowd cheered him on fascinating. You were unable to tear your gaze away that day. Inexplicably drawn to something twisted and sick you shouldn’t crave, yet did anyway. You found yourself wondering if those deft, pale fingers are as apt with…other things as they are with blades. It kept you awake at night and obliterated every other thought. How he’d be like. What he tasted like. What it would take to coax out that ferocity you saw in the arena in wildly different circumstances. That strange, irresistible force kept pulling you into his orbit.
So one day, you surrendered to it and snuck into his chambers, offering him your maidenhood. And he took it without hesitation.
In a life in which every decision is made for you, either by your mother, or your father or the Bene Gesserit…It is freeing to finally make a choice for yourself, one that only serves you and not the ends of a mysterious sisterhood whose obscure prophecies mean nothing to you.
However, while you have plucked a modicum of gratification from this affair, it must end. For not only are you spoken for but, during your time on Giedi Prime, you have borne witness to the depth of the na-Baron’s heartlessness. 
While you admire his prowess in the arena, you resent his disregard for human life. You’ve trembled as you watched him slaughter servants to test the sharpness of his weapons, slice a cook’s throat for bringing him a meal he found under-seasoned or not warm enough, gut innocent bystanders simply because he had the impulse to do it. 
Feyd-Rautha is a mercurial beast. A prime example of the Harkonnens’ capacity for unprovoked, gratuitous violence. 
Therefore a flurry of comfort flows you through at the prospect that you’ll be going home soon, back to Caladan’s familiar, flourishing landscapes. Whatever thrill the affair elicited before is beginning to wear off. You long to be home and return to your fiancé.
However that sense of peace crumbles when you return to your chambers that night and find your mother waiting for you on the bed. You smooth out the wrinkles in your dress. It’s useless. The evidence must be all over you because she stomps in your direction, a wild look of rage distorting her usually demure features.
“Have you lost your sanity?” she roars.
You shake your head, feigning ignorance.
“Mother, I have no idea-”
It’s not until the sharp ringing of your mother’s palm flying across your face fills your ears that you realize that she just hit you, the searing sting of pain spreading belatedly. Almost like time stood still in the crux of that instant, leashed by your shock and disbelief. Your mother has never laid hands on you before. Not even once.
Your wide eyes find hers.
She shakes a berating finger at you.
“Do not lie to me, child. How many kinds of an idiot do you believe me to be?” Your mouth shudders as you clutch your throbbing cheek. The strength with which your mother struck you still pulses right below your fingertips. “You even reek of his foul stench. My own flesh and blood…smelling like a filthy Harkonnen whore.”
Your face burns, from both pain and shame.
“You foolish girl.” Her gaze narrows as she leans back, gulping a wide lungful before speaking again. “After your father and I moved the heavens to secure a worthy match for you?” She shakes her head. “You are lucky we are leaving tomorrow and that your father will not hear a word of this.” She pauses, sadness and disgust tinging her tone. “You were such a sweet, kind little girl, so curious and clever, always clinging to my skirts…” Your mother sighs. “So dutiful. What mistake did I make in raising you for you to become such an utter disappointment?”
Your heart shrinks under her accusing glare. A sheet of guilt pervades you as you fall silent, finding no word to stand up to your mother. She is right. Reality crashes over you. You were in a haze, a lust-driven fog. Now you’re wide awake, as if a bucket of freezing water was poured over you. You have besmirched yourself and your house, tossing away your virtue for…what? Ephemeral moments of delight. The more you mull over your actions, the more you realize how impulse-driven and dangerous they were…that all of it was a mistake. 
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Your mother’s words drop a hot stone of shame in the pit of your stomach, one that remains lodged inside you even as you land on Caladan. Not a single word is exchanged between the two of you in the brief time you sit together in the starship transporting you back home. Instead, a heavy silence rife with animosity fills the air. 
You’re grateful Feyd-Rautha is notably absent the day of your departure. You don’t have the fortitude to peer at him, face your mistakes. And it’s what he is. The walking, breathing embodiment of your mistakes.
So in the ephemeral span of time required for time and space to fold and bring you back home, you sink back into your role of virtuous and demure lady of your house.
As you and your parents disembark, you let your eyes soak in Caladan’s beautiful landscapes. Lush, green plains fill your sight, their familiarity sending a wave of calm through you. Finally, you’re home. Light-years away from bloodthirsty warriors and caliginous planets with blotted skies rife with smoke and pollution. You are ready to bury the entire ordeal behind you and return to normalcy.
Expectedly, the Atreides clan is there to welcome you and your parents back home.
A small smile appears on Paul’s face when your gaze lands on him. Your stomach knots as you return it. He can never learn what occurred on Giedi Prime. That secret will follow you to your grave. You approach him, pointedly ignoring your mother’s sizzling stare.
Her apprehension permeates through you even from where you are. There can be no other mistakes. 
Your match with Paul Atreides must be a success. For both your house’s sake and the safe continuation of the Bene Gesserit’s breeding program. The pinnacle of centuries of scheming and puppeteering from the shadows. Your mother impressed it upon you many times over the years. How the purity of the bloodlines must be preserved. How all of it serves to bring humanity closer to its age of enlightenment. And while you are not so conceited to believe you will bring forth the long-awaited Kwisatz Aderach…you understand your role in producing an offspring that perhaps may nudge the sisterhood closer to that goal. 
You suppress the tremor in your hand as your cousin plucks your hand to kiss the back of it. 
“May we walk together for some time?” he inquires. 
Relief swells inside you. Chatting away from prying ears is a welcome prospect, the combined scrutinies of both your families flaring your nerves. You can even feel Lady Jessica’s attention on you now. What if your mother’s half-sister saw right through you? Your aunt’s sharp Bene Gesserit’s senses have always stirred a vague unease within you. Today even more so, as you choke on so many secrets you can barely breathe.
“With pleasure,” you respond, accepting his hand as he guides you away from the welcoming committee. 
The two of you engage in a tranquil stroll across the grassy field. 
“I trust your journey went well, cousin,” Paul says.
Flashes of torrid nights spent in a bed you shouldn’t be in force their way inside your mind. You quell the pesky memories, your brows knitting. 
You coax a demure smile onto your features.
“It was a…learning opportunity. One I wholly embraced.” 
Naturally, you spare your soon-to-be husband the details of what it is you learned and with who.
Your fiancé nods. 
“It sounds delightful.” His green eyes soften as he mumbles, “You were missed.”
“By you, my Lord?” you beam, happiness fluttering through you.
Over the last few months, since the official announcement of your betrothal, your fondness for Paul grew the more time you two shared. The crush you harbored for him as a child blossomed into more, his kindness and nobility of heart winning you over. But you never expected him to reciprocate those feelings. 
A hint of pink dusts Paul’s cheeks. Straightening his spine, he clears his throat.
“Many…including myself,” he answers evasively.
Your smile widens. “I would hope my betrothed noticed my absence.”
Warmth rushes through you as replies, his tone dropping, “It was definitely noticed, my Lady.”
He suddenly falls quiet. Thoughts seem to lurk in his mind, causing a deep frown to carve his brow.
Concern tickles your insides.
“Is something troubling you, my Lord?”
He hesitates, his thin lips squeezing before he reveals, “Mother believes I should take you as concubine, not as a wife, in case another marriage prospect presents itself to me.”
You ponder his words. It does not surprise you coming from your cunning aunt, that she would encourage her son to keep his options open the way his father did. A sliver of bitter disappointment percolates through your chest. Being Paul Atreides’ concubine would have its range of perks. You could stand beside him, share his bed and perhaps even a genuine love one day. One as deep and true as the one his parents have nurtured for years.
But it would also mean that while you’d undeniably be his, Paul would never truly be yours…that he could become someone else’s overnight to secure some treaty or alliance with another house.
Still, you conceal the panic rushing through you with a meek nod.
“It would be a clever move,” you say. You hold his eyes. “What did the Duke say?”
“That he regrets not making my mother his Duchess everyday.” 
He seizes your hands, his fingers curling tightly around yours. Determination steels his olive gaze. “I do not wish to repeat my father’s mistakes,” he states. 
The worry building inside you is stifled by his soft reassurance. 
“That is a relief to hear, my Lord.”
As Paul’s fond gaze rests on you however, guilt creeps inside you once more, your mind wandering to the debauchery you surrendered to on Geidi Prime. Self-loathing fills you.
You tear your hands from his, your focus tumbling to the ground.
“Are you unwell, my Lady?” he asks, his tone dripping with concern.
You shake your head, giving a false smile.
“It’s nothing. I was simply lost in my thoughts,” you lie.
Interest blooms in his green orbs. “Would you care to share them with me?”
The blood in your veins freezes. You pale to think how Paul, your beloved, his beautiful eyes overflowing with love and trust, would look at you if he knew. The mere thought makes you queasy. He can never know.
“I was simply overwhelmed with excitement at the thought of our union, my Lord.”
He accepts your explanation without a shadow of doubt in his eyes. He takes your hands in his again, fervently promising, “I am aware that greater forces may have rushed our union, but I want you to know. I will love and cherish you with my whole heart.”
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For several days, you get to bask in your renewed peace, finding solace in returning to your habits and focusing on the wedding preparations. While your mother’s coldness remains, you don’t let her behavior cast a pale on your happiness. Besides, she will be compelled to acknowledge your efforts over time, how much you strive to do nothing but bring pride to your house. You may have faltered on Giedi Prime, yielded to your baser instincts. But it is all in the past. 
The dusky planet will fade. Feyd-Rautha will fade. And soon, memories of your life with Paul will replace those fleeting moments of weakness. 
So, for a while, all is well, your mind at rest and your spirits lifted. All is well... until nothing is.
Until a handmaiden brutally tears you from your slumber one morning.
“My lady, you must awake now,” she whispers, urgency laced in her tone.
“Arisha…The Devil himself must sleep at this hour,” you groan, burying your head in your soft, comfortable pillow.
A Harkonnen ship just pierced through the Caladan exosphere. Its landing is imminent.”
Dread shoots through you.
The news has you leaping out of bed, abruptly hurling you into a state of complete wakefulness.
You whirl towards her.
“A Harkonnen ship?” you screech, your voice wavering. 
“Yes, my Lady,” Arisha confirms.
Your mind throbs as alarm pulses through you. A Harkonnen ship…here on Caladan? This isn’t just strange. It is unprecedented.
“Help me get dressed, at once,” you command, already shedding your nightgown.
You rush to get ready, joining your family as they hop on an aircraft to reach the landing site. Your chest is tight the entire time.
When you arrive, a striking scene welcomes you. On one side of the large landing strip, the Atreides army stands proudly, flanking the Duke and his family, while on the other there is a Harkonnen battalion, accompanied by a large swarm of Sardaukar soldiers.
A thick layer of tension coats the air, so palpable you feel its weight on your skin as you join the Atreides’ side. Both sides are poised for battle, ready to draw their weapons and unleash hell if need be. The fresh morning Caladan breeze is heavy with the threat of imminent bloodshed. Your gaze drifts to the mighty Duncan Idaho. The swordmaster’s face is uncharacteristically stern, the usual cockiness he dons gone from his features.
You swallow past the dryness in your throat.
You pivot to Thufir Hawat, the Atreides’ mentat. A hushed question rushes through your lips. “Thufir, how much will it cost them, traveling this far from Giedi Prime to Caladan?”
The mentat’s orbs gloss over with a white veil as his genetically altered mind runs calculations faster than any regular human could. Within a few seconds, he supplies a precise answer. “Two guild navigators, a total of one million two hundred ninety thousand fifty three and a quarter solaris round trip, my Lady.”
You release a quivering breath. The cost of the trip alone has a pang of foreboding twist your insides. Who squanders such a vast amount of solaris over a courtesy visit in enemy territory? 
Only a fool or a madman would do such a thing.
Your eyes travel across the field. A familiar dark gaze corrals yours. Your heart skips a beat. For brief seconds, familiar pale lips rise in a taunting smile.
 A shudder rocks through your frame. You lower your eyes, keeping them on the grass.
Him? Here? On your beloved Caladan? Adrenaline pumps through your blood, your pulse spiking. A frown forms on your brow. Sense is amiss here. You thought him a beast, driven by nothing but violence and lust. But as you take in the scene unfolding before you, the two enemy armies trapped in a standstill, you understand more clearly. 
This is not some impulsive, foolish attempt. This is a calculated move. No side can hurt each other this openly without annihilating each other and causing a global, intergalactic incident. The other houses of the Landsraad would be forced to declare allegiance for one side or the other. The Imperium would be compelled to respond. Chaos would erupt. 
And it’s blatant the na-Baron knows it, a smugness etched on his face despite standing in enemy fields.
You are so consumed by your raging train of thoughts that you nearly miss the tail end of the conversation between the Duke, your father and him.
Shock bolts through you when you catch the suggestion that he should stay in your family’s estate.
Indignation pulses through your words.
“In our home, father?”
Your father shoots you a withering glance. Your head dips as you bite your tongue. No protest should have risen from it. As an Earl’s daughter, your opinion in such matters is irrelevant. So despite the frustration and horror swelling inside you, you bind every objection to the cage of your sealed lips.
His gristly, arrogant baritone booms across the field.
“In light of the…belligerent history House Harkonnen and House Atreides share, I believe it may be ill-advised for me to stay at Castle Caladan.” Despite your bowed head, you can paint a vivid picture of the haughty smile stretched on his lips as he says, “And since our two houses have grown undeniably close, thanks to your daughter’s most skilled, clever tongue...” Your heart races as you quietly pray no one present deciphers the lewd implication behind his words. “It is where I shall take residence for the duration of my stay.”
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 Later that same day, Feyd-Rautha wastes no time in finding you, making the purpose of his visit clear when he sneaks into your chambers. His reflection in your vanity mirror as you remove your headdress startles you. 
You jump to your feet.
“Guards?” you call sharply.
He cocks his head, a smirk ghosting over his plump lips.
“Guards?” he repeats, openly mocking you. “I have Harkonnen soldiers at your door, my darling.”
A shudder ripples through your spine. You lift your chin, your tone firm and commanding as you say, “You can’t be here, na-Baron Feyd-Rautha. It is inappropriate.”
He snorts.
“Inappropriate?” A predatory look crosses his features as his dark gaze roams over you, seeming to peel the layers of your dress. “I do not recall that being an issue when I had you spread over my cock back on Giedi Prime.”
Heat rushes to your face at his lewd reminder. 
“Y-You must leave,” you insist, fighting to quell the tremor in your voice.
“Or what?” he challenges, taking slow, lithe steps in your direction. Your pulse soars. “Will you scream?” A crooked slant appears on his mouth, the prospect clearly filling him with great delight. He hums low in his throat. “Then how will you explain my presence in your chambers?”
You recoil, every hair on your body bristling as he inches closer. The realization that you are alone with him, with no help coming, that power you held before now robbed from you, has dread steadily mounting inside you. On Giedi Prime, he was a leashed monster, one you felt you could sway as you like. Here in your room, he is a ravenous creature, hungry for blood and retribution. One you no longer have control over. 
You dash towards the exit. He smoothly impedes your attempt at escaping, his fingers fastening around your wrist while he grabs your body from behind. He yanks you backwards, pulling you against his chest.
“Not so fast,” he sneers. His tongue slips out to drag across your temple. You wince, jerking in his embrace to free yourself. You bend over him and sink your teeth in the flesh of his arm. He purrs in pleasure, his hold on you tightening. His gravelly whisper summons goosebumps on your skin. “Oh darling, such a slippery one you are, always trying to run from me whenever things start to become most…interesting.”
He hauls you to your bed. Your heels dig into the ground to resist. His patience fizzles out and he throws you onto the carpeted floor instead. The clamor of your drumming heart rises to a crescendo in your ears. He looms over you, his body caging yours. Terrorized, you gape at him, an helplessness you never felt before pulsing through your veins. Your chest heaves rapidly, alarm widening your gaze as he reaches down to pull down his black pants. His erect, alabaster cock slips free, the swollen tip already shimmering with the evidence of his need. A scream dies in your throat when his fingers wrap around your neck, bruises already forming in his painful grip.
You thrash beneath him, clawing and biting every part of him you can reach. Your feistiness only serves to galvanize him further. A demented look of amusement decorates his handsome face as you struggle underneath his frame. His throbbing length pokes your stomach. You kick your legs, desperation radiating through your chest. He places himself between your thighs, pushing your dress out of the way until it’s bunched around your waist. A raspy sigh leaves him as he nudges his thick, leaking tip against your dry entrance.
Terror sings through your veins.
He revels in every bit of fight you give him, plucking satisfaction in watching you exert yourself to delay the inevitable. A hungry wolf toying with a lamb before sinking his teeth. Even as you grab the dagger hidden under your skirts and try to stab him, he’s undeterred, the flicker of surprise shifting to a smile when you nick his shoulder blade. He wrenches it from your hand with little effort, once more demonstrating that whatever frail control you thought you ever had…was just an illusion. You squeal in pain as he twists your wrists above your head, his steely grip nearly snapping your bones.
“No…don’t you dare,” you hiss, the confidence in your voice faltering as you feel him push inside you. 
His warm breath brushes over your face. “I traveled across the stars to find you again. I will take what is rightfully mine.”
Your back folds as he spears you with his cock. The room blurs around you, the sudden searing pain as he begins to move inside you almost knocking you unconscious. He never took you like that. Like an animal in heat, desperate to reach his high. You choke on your breath with every one of his quick, feral thrusts.
His lips sweep over yours, ravenous and possessive. You bite him and he growls, somehow growing harder inside you. His sick enjoyment of this makes you shudder. He fondles your soft flesh, groaning into the bloody kiss. Black teeth trail possessive bites along the quivering column of your neck. His hands feel everywhere on your reluctant flesh, the weight of him suffocating as his greedy mouth tastes yours.
“You thought you could toy with me and toss me aside when it pleased you,” he rumbles, squeezing your jaw. His fingers dig painfully into your cheeks. “I am Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. I am not some spoiled little princess’ toy.”
The last remnants of bravado inside you are swiftly pushed by the hasty, merciless snap of his hips into yours. You try to ignore the horrid heat gathering in your lower belly, the spasms rocking through your core every time he hits those tender spots he’s come to know too well.
“I’m delighted to see your body hasn’t forgotten me, darling,” he taunts, yanking a drawn-out whimper from you as his cock punches through your walls.
Your chest grazes his, his form draping over yours as you sag against the floor of your bedroom, completely defeated.
“Please…” The desperate, feeble cry falls from your tongue in a last ditch effort to get him to stop. It only makes him smile down at you, a glint of victory illuminating his dark orbs. Tears well up in your eyes as you grow overwhelmed with fear, confused and terrified by the way your body yields to him. Your walls constrict around him, hugging his cock as if welcoming the assault. A wave of sickness spreads through you.
His tongue traces a slow path across your cheek, collecting the salty trails streaming down your face. He moans, his eyes fluttering shut. “Your tears taste sweeter than I could have imagined. Almost as sweet as that tight cunt of yours.” He licks his lips. “Perhaps I shall aim to make you cry for me more often.”
When his warm spent glazes your ruined walls, his sweat-covered muscular frame covers yours. He remains buried inside you, crudely pushing back the sticky excess with his fingers. You shiver beneath him, weeping quietly, forever destroyed, forever changed. 
Head nestled in the crook of your neck, he whispers, “We shall see how well my seed blossoms in your garden, my darling.”
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“I do not understand,” Paul says, turning a dismayed frown upon you. “You are to be his willing bride?”
Swallowing a deep breath, you recollect the events that have led you here. Led you to stand here before the members of House Atreides, before your fiancé, to announce that you will not marry Paul. Led to you disgracing yourself and your house.
The wayward memories slip through your grieving mind.
Focusing on their conversation is hard, the discomfort in your body making it hard to walk properly. Feyd-Rautha relishes your torment, occasionally tossing taunting glances at you above his shoulder, a secretive smirk hovering on his lips. Your fingers clench in your lap. He insisted your father give him a tour of the castle this morning, and as his supposed ‘friend’, you are naturally expected to be present. Nevermind the sickness and resentment taking hold of you whenever you look at him.
As the tour nears its end, your father asks, “Do you have everything you need, na-Baron, or do you require any further accommodations?”
Feyd-Rautha hums, as if he were truly mulling over this offer.
“Any further accommodations?” He smirks, pausing before resting his eyes on you. “I suppose your daughter’s hand in marriage will do.”
Your head snaps up, a stunned exhale bursting from your mouth.
Your father turns a puzzled frown towards the ivory-skinned young man.
“My daughter’s hand? Is this a joke?”
There isn’t a hint of mischief on the na-Baron’s face, his expression deadly serious, making your father realize…his request must be as serious. He halts in his tracks, the smile vanishing from his face.
Feyd-Rautha approaches your father, ordering rather than asking, “Cancel the match with Atreides, old man, and give your daughter to me instead.” He snickers. “Her virtue is already mine anyway.”
This sends your father into a blind rage. He draws out his sword and lunges himself at the na-Baron.
“You rascal. I will teach you-”
Your father was a great warrior once, a fearsome force on the battlefield. Duncan Idaho himself would attest to that, having fought at his side several times. 
…But that was decades ago. Nowadays with his body slowed down by age, he is no match for the quick, ruthless Feyd-Rautha. He barely gets the opportunity to swing his sword at the young man once before Feyd-Rautha guides his blade below his chin and through his skull. Blood gurgles from your father’s mouth, raining over his neck and clothes before he falls into a heap on the floor. 
Your stomach drops. You watch in horror at his split skull, matter spilling from it across the tiles, his rolled back eyes, his still open mouth. 
You sink to the floor, crawling to his corpse. Fresh blood stains your palms as you cradle his head.
“Father!” Tears blur your sight. You lift your eyes, yelling out orders with a broken voice. “Guards! Detain him!”
Shock ripples through you as the guards ignore you, staring ahead blankly as if the gruesome scene before them didn’t exist. 
Feyd-Rautha kneels at your side. He frames your chin, bending over your shoulder to whisper, 
“Oh darling, do you not understand?” You hear the wicked smile in his raspy baritone. “Your house isn’t your house anymore. It is mine.” Ice bursts through your veins. His gravelly voice lowers, as if he were sharing a secret with you. “Do you wish for your sisters and mother to meet the same fate?”
Your chin wobbles in his grasp. “N-No.”
He strokes the side of your face.
“Then do everything I say.”
 “Y-Yes, my Lord,” you reply with a tremulous nod.
Ire trembles through Paul’s voice, his fingers clenching into fists at his side. Disbelief and hurt contort his boyish features.
“I do not believe it. I do not believe you,” he says, pinning you with an unflinching stare. You lower your gaze. You can hardly believe it yourself. How your entire life fell apart, your future in ruins…your father’s blood now on your hands. You blink back budding tears and take a deep breath to thwart any hint of trembling in your voice. You’re grateful for the funeral veil concealing your expression. “I apologize for breaking the promise my father made.”
Paul’s jaw clenches.
“You’re lying.”
“Son…” Leto Atreides begins, a slight warning in his tone. 
“There is something she isn’t telling me, father,” Paul insists, his green gaze narrowing. “Speak the truth.”
You shiver before feebly uttering, “My Lord…”
“Silence!” You flinch at the sudden wave of power engulfing you, forcing you into quietness as if someone snatched your tongue from your mouth. You release a shaky breath, staring up at Paul in shock. The Voice. Paul used the Voice on you. A Bene Gesserit skill meant to make the target bow to the user’s will. Your wide-eyed gaze rests on Paul. You never expected him to use this on you. As if you were some enemy he needed to interrogate.
His anger cracks in the air like a whip.
“I said…Speak the truth,” he snaps, using the Voice again. 
A great pain settles in your body, pins and needles coursing through it. Sweat breaks out on your skin. Words tear from your throat on their own, aching  as they spring from your tongue. 
“I offered myself to him on Giedi Prime,” you blurt out.
Your hands fly to your mouth as soon as the words pour out of you. Your eyes fill with tears. Paul looks at you in a way he never has before. Like you’re a stranger. Your heart sinks.
“I see. So it is true.”
Meanwhile, at your side, Feyd-Rautha basks in every second of the spectacle, twisted mirth swaying in his dark orbs. He hasn’t said more than a few words during the whole exchange but it’s clear he’s plucking joy from this, reveling in your misery.
Paul nods, stepping away from you.
“You are dismissed, my Lady. You may go to your future husband.”
Paul’s icy timbre shatters what is left of your heart. He turns his back to you and you feel more alone than you ever have in your entire life. Your lips clamp shut, a cold wave setting all the way to your bones. 
Even Paul’s parents, the Duke and your aunt the Lady Jessica appear disappointed in you, their eyes bereft of its usual warmth as they watch you leave with the enemy.
You have nothing, no one. Just the monster beside you. Your soon-to-be husband, who won your hand through bloodshed and deception.
Feyd-Rautha’s hand curls around your waist, guiding you towards his starship. With every step you take, further away from the Atreides castle, you feel more hollow.
“Come with me, my love. Let us go home to Giedi Prime,” the monster whispers.
You don’t put up a fight as you’re nudged inside the vessel, silently accepting your defeat. Feyd-Rautha plants a deep, slow kiss on your lips and you passively let it happen. 
You admire the beautiful green fields of Caladan one last time before the doors close. An errant tear skips over your cheek. You likely will never see your planet again. And even if by some miracle you could return, you would be the enemy to all of them…even to your own family, who holds you responsible for Father’s untimely demise.
You peer down at your hands. If you let your mind wander, you start to relive that awful moment. That moment your father’s wet, warm blood coated your hands, dripping between your fingers. You will never wash off the stain, shed the guilt. 
You wanted to feel the flames, experience the full-blown heat of something thrilling and new. Something you never had in your tedious, predictable existence before.
You in fact got to feel this heat. You walked through the fire and the flames consumed everything you held dear.
And now you stand amidst the ashes, everything you ever knew ripped from you forever. 
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appraisedtiktoks · 1 year
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Closed Captions:
The video begins with a man driving as text appears “Homemade flowers for the girl”
Cutting off some of his beginning dialogue, he explains that he stopped by the grocery store for flowers as multiple videos cut in of the flowers he’s describing.
He picked up one bundle of closed, open, and normal flowers before driving home to assemble.
“Alright let me get comfortable real quick. I’m just gonna have my Mr. Rogers moment here and get a little comfy” he states as he rolls up his sleeves and begins removing the flower bundles from their plastic encasings.
“Now it’s time to prep the flowers. Listen mc you can’t give it to her in the plastic wrap. Remember you’re giving her a gift, not a task.”
As he’s shown cutting off the thorns and removing and bruised petals, he continues, “And don’t wait for a holiday to do this-“
“Leaves and buds in water will quickly rot” appears on screen as he removes them.
“Just because flowers are the best kind of flowers.
Oh and here’s a tip. Save a flower for yourself, right? And when that flower dies, that’s when you know it’s time to get her new flowers.”
Throwing his tied tie over his shoulder he grabs a vase off screen.
“Alright, now grab yourself a vase, Florlab sent me this one, thank you. Measure the stem (of the flower) to the base of the vase and the greenery will help the flowers stay in place.”
More text, “cut at an angle” appears as he does so and begins placing the flowers, “And now just have fun! Use your creativity and design, express yourself through flowers and then boom. This is for you, and this is for her” he finishes off, panning to a beautifully decorated white vase with green decoration leaves and pink and white flowers
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jorrated · 4 months
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Redid my Maya Knux gijinka! Now with notes and sources on how I did the design (It's kinda long, around 2k words jsyk):
The hairstyle:
Knux has pretty long spikes, so I knew I wanted to give him long hair! Braids or dreadlocks look pretty fitting, so I tried looking for references of hairstyles to see if any fit what I was looking for:
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Source: Mayavase.com (Photograph by Justin Kerr)
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=1092
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=1453
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=694
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=1340
While all the vases show a variety of interesting hairstyles, I particularly loved the look of the braids in K694 (the third picture). Being tied upwards wouldn’t really fit Knux however, so something like the man in K1340 (fourth pic) with his hair fully down, or the 5th man from left to right in K1092 (first pic) with a cloth holding the hair would be really nice!
I didn’t want to give him a headpiece, if only to not clutter his head, but also I didn’t think it’d fit Knux as a warrior. The ruler’s headpiece in K1453 (second pic) however allows the hair to come off it, and seems to have some dangly adornments on the end of the strands/braids/locks, which I found super pretty. Plus:
“Elite Mayan men and women styled their hair to show off their pointed heads, crafted through the careful head flattening they experienced as children. Women gathered their long hair on top of their heads in flowing ponytails. For special occasions they braided their ponytails and decorated them with ornaments and ribbons. Mayan men grew their hair long but burnt the hair off their foreheads to accentuate their elongated profiles. They would bind their hair into one or many ponytails or tie it in a bundle on top of their head. Mayan slaves had their hair cut short as one visible mark of their inferior status.” p.399
Source: Fashion, costume, and culture: clothing, headwear, body decorations, and footwear through the ages (Sarah Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, Sarah Hermsen as Project Editor), 2003.
https://archive.org/details/fashioncostumecu0000pend/page/n5/mode/2up
Taking all of that! I settled on tight braids with a few adornments made of jade and wood, with a red cloth to keep his hair from his eyes. Almost all of the braids are pulled together into a ponytails, but there are some smaller braids loose.
It’s somewhat of a mixture of styles, combining ornaments of special occasions, with the long hair of elites on a character like Knux. But I kept these ‘contradictory’ aspects of the design to remember that Knux kinda learns about his ancestors on the go, through murals, writings and technology, so I doubt he’d have a great grasp on what he should and shouldn’t wear. I think it adds character as someone who’s trying to figure out himself, his history and his place in the world.
Shoes and Accessories:
For footwear I kept it simple, just turned Knux’s existing shoes into sandals:
“Ancient Aztecs and Mayans of Central America adopted a thick-soled sandal with a protective legging attached at the heel, while the top of the foot and shin remained exposed.” p.135
Source: Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (Valerie Steele), 2005
Although my gut instinct was to cover Knuckles from head to toe in accessories, I also tried to keep it simple like the shoes. He’s a very mobile fellow so he can’t have too much weight or annoying bits flying everywhere and getting in his face. So I kept his moon necklace, like in Fleetway, just adjusted the shape to have a bit more of details:
“The jewelry worn by the Mayan, Aztec and Inca people was rich in variety and quite beautiful. Without metalworking skills, Mayans made jewelry from many materials. Mayan men wore nose ornaments, earplugs and lip plugs made from bone, wood, shells and stones, including jade, topaz, and obsidian. Necklaces, bracelets, anklets and headgear were made with jaguar and crocodile teeth, jaguar claws and feathers.” p.402
Source: Fashion, costume, and culture: clothing, headwear, body decorations, and footwear through the ages (Sarah Pendergast and Tom Pendergast, Sarah Hermsen as Project Editor), 2003.
https://archive.org/details/fashioncostumecu0000pend/page/n5/mode/2up
As stated here, Mayans didn’t have metalwork, so I imagine this is an artifact that his ancestors got from another group of people.
Just a page before they also mention how the Maya people used to file points into their teeth, to make their mouths more appealing. This includes shaping them into pointy teeth, (like the classic shark teeth), but they could also file them into other shapes, like in this picture:
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Source: https://www.archaeologynow.org/blog-3/blog-post-title-two-txwxl (I’m pretty sure this isn’t the source of the image, but I couldn’t find an actual source that wasn’t an uncredited blog)
The Maya people are also notorious for their good dentistry, as seen the stone ornaments in the teeth above. I think the filling is something Knux could do on his own, but anything that would involve actual dentistry would be too much. But it’s still interesting to read about!
(Here’s an article named “Mayan Esthetic Dentistry: Using Modern Techniques and Digital Imaging Technologies to Link the Past to the Present” by Yassine Harichane if you want to learn more!)
While a non-permanent version of stones on teeth seemed cool, like Jade incisor-coverings, at the end of the day I don’t think Knuckles is too vain, so I didn’t add that to the design. Although I think he’d definitely try out a bunch of things like this, just to try to understand them.
For additional outfits I gave him a red layered cape and a green huipil! The red cape is just to bring back more red into the design, since I gave him a lot of green. And the huipil is a nod to his poncho in the comics! (Although huipiles are commonly associated with women and girls, I still wanted to give him one, not only to bring up his partial detachment to his ancestors, but also because Knux probably wouldn’t think much about gender in general let’s be honest)
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Source: Mayavase.com (Photograph by Justin Kerr)
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=638
Somewhat based the red cape on the 4th man in this picture, from left to right, but I kept it simple, as maybe just some fabric Knux found around the island, nothing too fancy.
For the huipil I wanted to do something more detailed but was having a really hard time coming up with designs. And I didn’t want to straight up plagiarize someone’s else work, so I kept it vague, maybe some day I’ll sit down and give it a more detailed version. I did come across a very nice store/ catalog that sells traditional Maya textiles, and this one was very gorgeous! Highly recommend give this and the other textiles a look!
In the end I made the huipil look vaguely like the ones shown in page 128 of the following book:
“In the Museum collection, costumes that looked very much alike usually turned out to be from villages that shared a language. Among Cakchiquel villages, dialect differences were usually mirrored by costume differences. Working on this principle we were surprised by the striking similarity of style in the huipils of San Antonio Aguas Calientes (fig. 195) and San Martín Jilotepeque (fig. 196). These villages, while both Cakchiquel, spoke very different dialects and were separated geographically (map, below). The similarity of their huipil was so remarkable we felt the need to investigate these two villages more thoroughly and found that a multi-cultural history probably accounted for these unexpected similarities of style. Huipils from these villages may well illustrate the earliest examples of pan-Maya acculturation after the Conquest.”p. 127
Source: Threads of identity: Maya costume of the 1960s in highland Guatemala (Patricia B. Altman, Caroline D.West), 1992.
https://archive.org/details/threadsofidentit0000altm/page/n7/mode/2up
Lastly on accessories, which I don’t know if it counts as an accessory but I didn’t know where to put it: the body paint. Last time I gave Knux a human design I couldn't find a good resource on Maya people painting their bodies. Every source mentioned and was in consensus that some of the people did paint their bodies, but that was the extent of the info. I wasn’t able to find any patterns or meanings of the body paintings, or even good visual reference for it. But! This time I was able to get a bit more:
“Body painting was a common Maya practice. Classic Period murals and polychrome vases depict warriors covered with red or black paint; sometimes their bodies were striped with red paint. Paint was also used around the eyes and nose to give a fierce expression. In the 16th century, these practices continued. Women also applied red paint to their faces and bodies, but presumably to make themselves look beautiful, not fierce. Small paint jars of red hematite mixed with mica were found in the houses at Cerén, and these may have been for cosmetic use. Unmarried young men painted their bodies black, and so did those who were undergoing periods of ritual purification and fasting. Priests often wore blue body paint. “p. 338
Source: Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World Lynn (V. Foster), 2002.
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Source: Mayavase.com (Photograph by Justin Kerr)
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=2800
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=2573
http://research.mayavase.com/kerrmaya_hires.php?vase=7996
I of course wanted to give him red paint, and I really liked this design of the red lining the cheeks on the face down to the neckline. However in most of these depictions the red on the body is accompanied by the white face, which I can’t actually tell if the face has white paint, or the body has black paint, like described in the quote before. Either way I chose to only use the red, to keep in line with Knux’s original design.
(It’s worth mentioning that these vases shown depict rulers, as you can see the intricate thrones and altars, which isn’t really fitting with Knux. But again, I want to keep some mismatched aspects into his design, not only warrior-related things.)
The main outfit:
Last but not least, the main outfit. Don’t have much notes on this I’m going to be honest, I just tried to keep in line with descriptions of warriors clothing:
“While some warriors may have been resplendent on the battlefield, the common Maya soldier fought with little clothing other than loincloth and body paint, based on battle scenes in the few Maya murals that remain (see figure 2.9, page 54).” p.147
Source: Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World Lynn (V. Foster), 2002.
I considered putting him in a loincloth for accuracy, but tbh I was scared people were going to be weird about it, and so I gave him a skirt with some fabric that emulates the look of a loincloth and some scrap fabric around his waist and limbs! He actually ended pulling up a lot from the dude I mentioned in vase K1092 (the very first ref pic in this post) lol!
And that´s all, hope y’all liked it :P
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deadsetobsessions · 1 month
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Bruce didn’t come here often. Perhaps that was terrible of him but he couldn’t bear to visit his son’s resting place. It was difficult to equate his high-spirited son, bright as the sun itself and endlessly brilliant despite the more he grew up in, to the cold and lifeless stone engraved with his name and words that did not encompass everything his son was to him.
His hands were full of flowers, Jason’s favorite books, a round rock, and his son’s favorite foods.
Bruce didn’t come here often, because it broke his heart even more when he did, but today was a day that love and grief triumphed over his need to avoid.
He walked down the winding pathway, Alfred a silent sentinel behind him. He hated it, but he understood. Today was the only day Alfred allowed himself to be emotionally closed off. He’d lost a grandson.
Bruce didn’t come here often, but his son’s birthday was a day Bruce would remember how to love and live again, just for Jason.
“I will be over here, Master Bruce.” Alfred stopped at his designated spot, where Bruce had added a bench and a draping tree to shade Alfred as he stood vigil.
The first time they’d- it was April, and the sun- after the funeral, Bruce was lost in the throes of grief and had kneeled over the freshly tilled dirt for hours. Alfred had stood there, in that same spot, in the city’s rare blazing sun until Bruce came back to himself.
Bruce had almost lost his second father that day, and what good was wealth if it could not prevent that? And so, water, shade, a bench, and a space heater was added.
Bruce knows better than anyone how stubborn Alfred can be, when it comes to matters of the heart. After all, he didn’t have to raise Bruce after Martha and Thomas died.
“Alright, Alfred.”
Bruce splits from the haggard butler with pointed looks at the water bottles he’d prepared for today for Alfred (who manages, this time, a faint but amused raise of an eyebrow) and walks towards Jason Todd’s grave.
Here where his son is buried, the grass is kept green. In April, Forget-Me-Nots bloomed and dotted the place where Bruce’s world collapsed with bright colors. In August, it is still green, but the tin engraved with the names of the deceased stood out without the flowers.
Bruce kneeled and quietly arranged the flowers before placing them in the tin. He set the platters of food down and uncovered them. The scent of chili dogs made his heart stutter, flashes of a bright smile and book references blinding Bruce with their nostalgia.
He swallowed, grief building, and placed the stone he’d brought atop the gravestone. He sat back, gripping Jason’s book with white knuckles.
Bruce didn’t turn around when clothing rustled behind him. Alfred would have verbally cut down anyone that dared to approach them today, especially here. That he didn’t do so was telling of who it would be.
“I’m still mad at you, for not telling me as soon as you knew.” Dick Grayson sat down, hand over one of Jason’s school bag pins he had carefully attached to the front of his jacket.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“He deserved better. I should have been there.” Dick whispered, placing another bundle of flowers into the tin. It fit, but barely. “I would have dropped everything to come find him. Even if it wasn’t on time, even if it wasn’t enough, I deserved to be there when he was buried. We were family.”
“I know.” Bruce repeated, no less regretful. In his grief, he had wronged his loved ones. “I’m sorry.”
Dick casted a quiet, assessing eye at him. Bruce stayed quiet.
“It’s too dreary,” Dick said. He took out paints, little statutes of robins, bright birds, and bits and bobs Bruce knew Jason would have loved had he been alive out of his pockets.
“It should be more colorful,” Dick murmured as he placed them artfully against the headstone.
They sat there, for a while. Dick glanced at… at Bruce’s hand, and settled down.
It’d been a while since they’ve spoken, but he knew what the man intentioned to do today. This will be the most Dick will have heard Bruce speak outside of his civilian obligations.
Bruce took the cue and gently opened Jason’s book. He’d bought it for Jason- the first gift- and he’d read it to Jason every night. Dick had a similar book.
“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse…”
——
A boy with black hair and blue eyes wandered amongst the graveyard. They’ve been here for a while, and the man’s low rumble was soothing to listen to. The shades that hung about the graveyard settled as he read out loud from the book as his son sat quietly beside him.
As the boy, invisible and intangible, brushed his hand against the gravestone, he wondered why they were reading to an empty grave.
——
Dick had left long before Bruce did.
And when it was time to go, as stars began to climb and as the cold began to nip at his fingers, Bruce heard a quiet voice.
“Do not stand at his grave and weep,” and Bruce turned, recognizing the poem. “He is not there. He does not sleep.”
But there was no-one.
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natalievoncatte · 3 months
Text
“We should play truth or dare.”
Kara nearly choked on her wine when she realized what Lena had said. That sounded like an amazingly terrible and yet incredibly intriguing idea. She turned to say something when she caught Alex giving her a look that could shatter diamonds. Kara downed the last of her wine and said,
“It’s getting pretty late, Lena.”
“You’re no fun,” Lena said, poking Kara in the center of her chest for emphasis.
Kara was glad she was sober. It wasn’t entirely true that she was immune to alcohol- it just took about a gallon of grain alcohol for her to feel a mild buzz for a few minutes, then have to run to the bathroom as her superhuman metabolism almost instantly forced it out of her system. Alex had “helped” her discover that once back in high school, and they both ended up grounded for a month.
“Come on, Kara. This way I can find out where you’re always running off to. In vino, veritas.”
Kara looked around and saw her own mirrored panic rising in the others. Kelly looked on from the kitchen, the only other member of their little group who was oblivious to the sheer weight of what Lena just said. Nia looked even more green than she had a moment earlier, and Alex was giving Kara a warning look, shaking her head behind Lena.
Brainy, for his part, remained mellow, sipping his grape soda. He was the designated driver for the night.
“Yeah, we need to go,” Nia threw in. “It’s been fun but I have an early day tomorrow.”
“It’s Saturday,” Lena protested, but it came out shaturday.
“I have to get up for yoga,” said Nia.
“We’re all in the same class on Thursday,” said Lena.
“Um, I’m getting ready for the yoga championships. Extra classes.”
Lena raised an arched brow.
Alex cut in, suddenly. “Kelly babe, you ready?”
“If you are. I was going to see if Kara needs help with the dishes.”
“I’m fine,” Kara called out, hearing the alarm in her own voice.
“Lena, are you riding with us?”
“Nah,” said Lena. “I’ll stay.”
Alex cleared her throat.
“How will you get home? You’re sauced, Miss Luthor.”
Lena grinned and looked over at Kara. “I’ll just stay over. I do it all the time.”
Alex’s brows climbed up and she turned to Kara with an incredulous expression.
“When did that start?”
“It’s no big deal. I live on the other side of town and Kara has a nice couch.”
Alex seemed to relax a little. Kara’s heart was trying to slam through her ribs.
“Okay.”
They all bundled out of the apartment, with Alex promising to text and Brainy swearing to let Kara know they were all home safe.
Kara closed the door behind them and turned around. Lena was still curled up on the couch, swirling the last of her wine in the bottom of the glass. She was in leggings and a big, baggy sweater that had been pulled to one side so hard that it almost bared her shoulder. Her hair was down and had gone wavy, falling over one half of her face, making her mysterious and distant. She downed the last swig of wine and put the glass down.
“We could still play truth or dare.”
“Lena,” said Kara. “You’re really drunk.”
“So are you.”
Kara swallowed, hard, feeling the bitter bile of her lies at the back of her throat. She wasn’t drunk at all. She was barely even tired; the city had been miraculously calm all summer.
“Which is it, Kara? Truth or dare.”
“Neither,” said Kara. “I think what you need is some sleep.”
Lena rested her glass on the coffee table, in the middle of a game of Monopoly that they’d all been too drunk to finish.
(Except Kara. Lena would have won, because Kara always agreed to whatever trade Lena offered, because saying no to Lena was harder than lifting a submarine over her head)
Kara leaned back against the kitchen counter coolly, trying not to betray her emotions. That turned into a job for Supergirl as Lena rose from the sofa with seductive grace, stalking across the loft with feline intensity. She was at once cuddly and soft in her sweater and a seductive vamp with her long inky locks pulled over one shoulder and the other bare.
Kara’s eyes locked on the bared skin, soft and creamy and crying out for a warm touch, then pulled away sharply as she willed herself not to ogle her best friend. It was a losing battle. Every step brought Kara back to the sway of her hips or the way her leggings gripped her thighs or the soft promise of her curves beneath that sweater.
Kara was starting to think she might be gay.
Lena stepped into her space. With both of them barefoot, Kara had a notable height advantage. Lena reduced it by rising on her tiptoes and threw her arms around Kara’s neck.
Kara had few weaknesses. Kryptonite. Magic. If kept up long enough, oxygen deprivation.
Lena Luthor.
She was so close that Kara could taste her breath, the fruity tang of the wine and the soft, inviting scent of Lena beneath her perfume. She was wearing a soft pink lip gloss that drew Kara to stare at her lips. She could almost feel them without touching. Her blue-green eyes were dark and sultry, and she leaned in on Kara, pressing the soft weight of her breasts against her chest.
Kara’s pulse went like a hummingbird and her knees went wobbly, but she simply ignored gravity.
Kara had other advantages. She could see the heat bloom on her skin and feel the change in he skin conductivity, and hear her heart racing. Lena’s pulse nearly matched her own.
Before she knew what she was doing, Kara had her hands resting on Lena’s sides just above her hips, moving on pure instinct. All she’d have to do was dip her head a fraction and she’d be kissing her. She was so close.
“Please pick dare,” Lena whispered.
It too every fiber of her being not to say “dare,” but she held her tongue. She also held Lena.
“I can’t. You’re drunk and I’m not.”
“Hi drunk, I’m dad.”
“Lena! This is serious!”
“Oh, you’re serious. I thought you were daddy.”
“Lena!”
“I dare you to…”
Kara pressed her finger to Lena’s lips.
“Lena, please listen. You’re drunk. I’m not. If you still want to do… whatever this is… in the morning, I… I want that. But not like this.”
Lena frowned and Kara thought she might die of sheer sorrow right there.
“Okay. Should I go home?”
“No, absolutely not. Just… do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll explain in the morning. I promise I’ll,” she swallowed hard, choking down the fear. “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Okay.”
Kara sighed and scooped Lena up, easily taking her weight in her arms. Lena yelped and hugged tight around her, clinging close and pressing cheek to cheek. Kara wanted to kiss her so bad that it ached in her chest, throbbed in her veins, but she didn’t. She carried her to the couch.
“Wait,” Lena said. “Can’t I sleep in the bed with you? I promise I won’t try anything.”
Kara nodded, mentally wincing. She carried Lena around to the bed and laid her down, drawing the blankets over her and settling her head on the pillow.
She had a choice to make her. The right thing to do, the honorable and chivalrous thing, would be to go sleep on the couch. She knew that, but the very idea of it was anathema to her.
To her credit, she stepped out of the bedroom to change and she put on pajama bottoms.
Kara took the far side of the bed, staring straight up. She didn’t expect to sleep a wink, but somehow she drifted off.
When she woke up, there was a weight on her. She looked down and found Lena pillowed on her chest. With a sigh, Kara rolled onto her side and drew Lena close, sheltering the other woman in her arms. In sleep she looked peaceful, so free of the worries and fears and anxieties that dogged her when she was awake.
Kara knew she should stop stroking Lena’s hair, knew she should let go of her, but the soft, hypnotic beat of Lena’s heart was nothing she could escape. She held Lena a little tighter, her own heart fluttering when Lena murmured her name on her sleep and hugged her back.
They woke up like that, Lena tucked in close under Kara’s chin. Lena was already awake when Kara woke up.
“Hi,” said Lena.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“Head hurts.”
“I’ll get you something,” Kara said, starting to rise.
“Oh no you don’t,” said Lena, tugging her back down. “You said you were going to tell me everything.”
Kara froze.
“How much of last night do you remember?”
“I remember the part where I tried to climb you like a tree and you bridal-carried me to bed and tucked me in,” said Lena. “And the part where you started hugging me like a teddy bear.”
“You started that.”
Lena snorted. “Why didn’t you kiss me?”
“Like I said, you were drunk, and I can’t… not until I… you don’t know everything.”
Lena sighed, looking away, and then looked up.
“So, truth then. Are you Supergirl?”
Kara flinched back, momentarily struck numb. If she was asking that, it meant she knew the answer.
Lena stared at her hopefully, almost pleadingly, her big pretty eyes sparkling with unshed tears. She bit her lip and Kara melted, feeling herself turn to goo.
“Yes.”
Lena let out a long sigh of blessed relief, closing her eyes.
“Lena?”
“It’s my turn. I pick truth.”
“Okay, um,” said Kara, “why did you ask me why I didn’t kiss you?”
Lena rolled her eyes. “Because you’ve been staring at me like I’m a bowl of potstickers for years, and I was wondering if you were ever going to make a move.”
“Why would I look at you like you’re food?”
“I meant you were looking at me like I’m something you want to eat, Kara.”
“I’m not that kind of alien.”
Lena tensed, breathing sharply as she looked stunned and a little hurt.
“Wait,” Kara blurted, “oh Rao that was a joke, I didn’t mean I don’t want to… I really do want… I just , I’m… I don’t know what to say now.”
“I’m in love with you,” Lena sighed.
Kara froze. “You… you’re… with me… IIloveyoutoo.”
The mashed-together declaration had barely escaped her lips when Lena lunged closer and kissed her. From there it was pure chaos. Lena pulled and Kara followed, rapidly ending up on top of her as she shimmied out of last night’s outfit.
Kara pulled back from a soul-burning kiss as she felt the heat of Lena’s bare skin under her hands.
“Wait,” she said. “If I picked truth last night, what would you have asked?”
Lena smirked.
“Why do you stare at my chest all the time?”
Kara laughed, snorting a little.
“I’ll show you.”
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agent24zine · 3 months
Text
PREORDERS OPEN!
💛 THE TIME IS HERE 💖
Pre-orders are now OPEN until March 8th! The Agent 24 Zine is a non-profit fan project centred around Agent 3 and Agent 8 and their relationship together!
Pre-order here: agent24zine.bigcartel.com
Check out below for bundle options!
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TOGETHER FOREVER
- 1 physical copy of Agent 24 Zine (A4 with over 100 pages!)
- 1 .PDF file of Agent 24 Zine
- 2 1” Phone charms
- 1 3” double sided, different design acrylic charm
- 1 A5 sticker sheet
- 2 3” die cut stickers
- 1 5”x7” postcard print
- 1 2cm washi tape
- 1 2” acrylic magnet
- All stretch goal merchandise that gets unlocked
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Stretch goal bonuses will be unlocked the more orders are placed and will be included in our Together Forever and Box of Trinkets bundles. These bundles will also include an early bird bonus for the first 50 orders!
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LOVE LETTER
- 1 physical copy of Agent 24 Zine
- 1 .PDF file of Agent 24 Zine
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BOX OF TRINKETS
- 2 1” phone charms
- 1 3” double sided, different design acrylic charm
- 1 A5 sticker sheet
- 2 3” die-cut stickers
- 1 5”x7” postcard print
- 1 2” acrylic magnet
- All stretch goal merchandise that gets unlocked
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DIGITAL DATE
- 1 .PDF file of Agent 24 Zine
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