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bobathirstaccount · 1 year

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Ripples

Chapter 4

Boba x fem!reader, Boba & oc

TW: abusive language

***

You cracked one eye open slightly. Your head throbbed from where you’d been beaten. Stealthily, you looked around. Your vision swam slightly, but you appeared to be unsupervised. You laid there for a bit to be sure you were really unguarded. Then you felt around a bit. Nothing. You stretched your arms further. To your horror, your realized you were truly alone. Where was your girl?

Panicking, you realized you were very cold. The air was also very stale. Suddenly you realized: you were in space. You nearly screamed in terror. You had been taken from Boba and separated from your kid. Now you were off world, alone. You had no idea how much time had passed. You had no idea if you’d ever see Tattooine again.

Time passed. Finally you sat up, slowly. Your head was still pounding from your wound. Looking around blearily, you saw you were in a small cell. There was a metal toilet and sink across from the slab you realized you were laying on. The lighting was dim, but good enough to show you your surroundings. It seemed a desperate space. Scratches were worn into the wall in various places. Something green was splattered against the opposite wall.

Shuddering, you looked for the door. There was no latch or window. You sighed, resigned. You waited.

***

“Look, bitch, I don’t know about any kid. Now shut the fuck up.” You backed away, not wanting any more bruises. But inside you simmered with rage.

Your captors had proved to be some type of mercs. You had also gleaned that they had been given only you to transport. Your girl never made it onto the ship. Maybe she was still on Tattooine. Maybe Boba had her. You could hope.

***

“Stop struggling, its not gonna help.” They had your wrists in binders and were dragging you off the ship. You resisted helplessly. The further you went on this journey, the further away from home you went. Dread and terror filled your heart.

Finally they drug you outside. The planet was bleak, cold. The sky was cloudless but dim, grungy. You were tossed into a pen with four other women. They looked at you, curious but too afraid to interact with you. You curled up in a corner and tried to get warm.

***

Weeks passed. You lost track of time. There was no sense of day or night in the club, and you never left. It was just as well. The air outside was acrid, and one could get hypothermia if outside for more than a few minutes without proper protection. Which you definitely didn’t have. You glanced down at your bikini, annoyed.

At least it was warm in the club, and you were well fed. It was better than the last time you had been a slave. You tried not to think of your girl. You had met her in a place similar to this, already working and full of advice when you had arrived. But she was not there to comfort you your first night, or to whisper secret girl talk to between shifts.

And you were not there to take care of her, as you had promised. You felt tears hit your collarbones. Wiping them away, you hoped that Boba had her. You could only imagine that your separation meant she had stayed long enough on Tattooine for Boba to find her. Surely he would have found her.

The question nagged in the back of your mind again. You tried to banish it, but you wondered… Did he look for you? Did he try to find you? Why hadn’t he come, if he was a bounty hunter? You bit your lip until it bled and you stopped thinking about it. Stepping onto the floor, you wiped the blood away and got to work.

***

Hours later, you snuck a break. Your feet hurt, but it was many hours until you could officially rest. You leaned carefully against a wall, watchful for your manager. You accidentally made eye contact with a client. You were beckoned over. Unable to refuse, you sighed and straightened your posture before approaching.

“So, what’s your name baby?”

You told him the name you had been assigned while on the floor. He grabbed you, “Hmm, pretty name…” His breath was gross, a mixture of several alcohols and tobacco. You tried not to wince. He said something else inane. It was going to be a long shift.

Resigned, you sat in his lap as he leaned into your neck to kiss you. Gross, you thought, revolted. But he planted a nasty kiss on you anyway. You tried to smile politely. It was a task. He was so vile.

***

Lily curled up in the corner and tried to disappear. Maybe if she stayed still enough long enough, they would forget about her. Sometimes it worked.

Not this time. The man grabbed her by the hair again. Yanking hard, he growled, “Come.” Crying again, she hurried to keep up as he drug her. He tossed her into a small space. It was some kind of storage cabinet that had been emptied out. It smelled of chemicals. Her eyes watered from the fumes. The door shut tightly behind her. Scared, she cried for her parents. Maybe they could find her.

Time passed and she stopped crying out of exhaustion. She crouched on the dirty floor, arms around her knees. Rocking to comfort herself, she thought about how tired she was. She thought of the small bed she shared with her family. It was always full of warm blankets and soft sheets. Shivering slightly, she closed her eyes and rested her small head against the cold wall. Despite everything, she fell asleep almost immediately. She dreamt.

She was back at The Club. Her home for months before she had met you. You had come in with a group of newbies, terrified and confused, convinced this was a mistake. But she knew. It was all that was real.

There was something about you she had immediately liked. You were different than the others. Shyly, she had shared her supplies with you to try to tender goodwill. It more than worked. The two of you became inseparable, you becoming her protector. It was strange to have someone look out for her, wash her hair, soothe her to sleep. She became deeply attached.

She was shaken awake. Screaming, she flailed. It earned her a slap to the head. Someone picked her up carelessly. She went numb, terrified. The man jostled her. She thought of Boba carrying her to bed from the fire pit. He was warm and safe, smelling of home. Daddy.

The man dropped her on the ground in front of another figure. She looked up, not bothering to try to stand.

“She’ll do.” The woman regarded her expressionlessly.

“Fine.” The man turned and left her with her new captor. She wanted Mommy. The woman looked mean.

“Well, let’s go, then, girl,” she motioned for Lily to stand. She grabbed Lily’s arm and started to walk. “Well, you’re in my care now,” the woman’s hold on Lily’s arm was vice-like. “Listen and do what you’re told, and you’ll be treated just fine.” Too scared to speak, Lily simply nodded obediently.

“Good,” the woman pulled her onto some kind of platform. It started to move. “We’re going home. You can call me Mother.” Lily looked away. She wanted her real mother. Mother continued, “You’re to be the extra help around the house. I understand you were an orphan from the desert on Tattooine; we’ll get you educated - I’m sure you’re ignorant.” Lily thought of all the things her father had taught her. She bit her lip angrily.

“Don’t pout. No fussing. You have a good life now, I won’t have it.”

Lily did her best to look neutral to avoid punishment. The ride “home” was long.

#boba x reader #boba fett x reader #boba x you #boba fett x you #boba fett fanfiction #boba fett fic #boba fett x fem!reader #star wars x reader #star wars x you #reader insert #star wars reader insert

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laurafett · 3 years

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Unfamiliar Fruit

PART TWO

Friends to lovers, sex pollen Boba Fett x f reader

Words: 6k

- You and Boba are guests in a palace on a different planet. The King serves you some strange food, with the intention of doing both of you a favour -

No mentions of pronouns, hair or skin color, sexuality. Minors, do NOT interact!!

Warnings: smut, fluff, age gap (reader is 18+), oral (m and f), face fucking, spit, cumplay, fingering, choking, slight innocent kink, slapping, degradation and praise kink, mirror sex

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With one hand, he pulled the door close behind him. A sigh escaped him while he looked at the maid in front of him. She was wearing something more casual this time, what showed that she also got caught off guard with the message. She waved her hand to signal him to follow her.

“Again, I'm really sorry. I know that this is probably a very bad time, but we wouldn't call you if it wasn't necessary. Also, no one answered when I knocked at your door, so I figured you were with your partner.” Her steps were big while she walked him to the communication center.

“It's not your fault. No need to apologize.” A hand ran over the bounty hunters face. It was hard for him to keep up with the woman in front of him. His erection was still very present and the pain made his legs ache with every new step.

He hadn't cum yet. When he touched himself and heard your orgasm through the comlink he thought he would, but then you said those words. Said you wanted him to touch you. His hand stopped in the second the last word left your mouth.

At first, he thought he was imagining things but he didn't. He heard your voice so loud and clear, the words repeated themselves in his head over and over again.

Never ever, in his entire time knowing you, would he have thought you liked him in the same way he does. But right now, a little spark of hope made its way into his heart. Sure, you were in ecstasy and still reeling from the affects of the fruit , but he would have been damned if he didn't even try to find out if you really meant what you said. And he did. Thank the Maker.

“How are the symptoms going so far? You don't look too bad but your partner?” Her questions cut through his thoughts. Boba drew his eyebrows together in confusion.

The woman's head turned around to look at him, after he stayed silent. “You know, from the fruits.”

“He knew what they were going to do to us?”

She laughed a little and looked back into the direction she was walking.

“Sure he did. He actually wanted to do you a favor after being away from your 'partner' for so long.”

His eyes widened at her words. This was what this all was about? The King thought you two were in a relationship? “Me and my partner are not together in that way. Why did he assume this?”

Her figure stopped for a second and turned back. The man could see the surprise in her blue eyes. “You two are not- Oh, Maker.” She cut herself off and thought about something. “We... we thought you two were... Oh no. I'm so sorry.”

Sorrowful eyes looked up at him.

“It was just... the way you talked about your partner and the way you two looked at each other... We really thought the two of you are in a relationship, that's why The King decided to get you those fruits.”

Her hands started to shake and he could see that her eyes started to tear up. Today was really not the day he wanted to deal with this.

“It's alright. Forget about it. Just take me to the call with my other partner.”

The maid nodded and started walking again. Both of them stayed silent for the rest of the walk. Boba was confused. Were his feelings for you so obvious that the King really thought you two had a romantic bonding? He told him about you, but he couldn't recall what exactly he said about you. Probably not much, after all of this was business.

When the two arrived at the communication system the woman walked away to give him some privacy. Fennec's face was simmering as a blues light in front of him as he approached the holograph in front of him.

“What's wrong?” His voice was annoyed. He didn't want to be here, he wanted to go back to you and finally do what he was wishing for, for so many nights.

“Hello to you too. I see you don't even wear your armor around here, it seems like you got comfortable.”

Boba rolled his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. He wasn't in the mood for this banthashit right now. “Just tell what you need. I don't have much time.”

“Busy, huh? I can see that.” Even though Fennec was just a hologram he saw that her eyes wandered down his body. A smirk played around her lips.

He realized that his whole body was on display for her and stepped closer to her face, covering everything underneath his shoulders.

“Fennec.” He sighed.

A light chuckle fell from her mouth. “Alright, alright. Do you remember the guy you made a contract with two months ago?”

The man brought his hand up over his mouth and thought for a second. His eyes wandered back to Fennec, the look in them telling her he had no idea.

Boba was good in what he did, he has always been. He kept track of the people he talked to, noted all of his partners down, had all the contracts sorted, he knew what he was doing. Just, in this moment he couldn't focus. It was hard for him to stand upright and follow Fennec's words.

“Great.” Her words drowned in sarcasm. “Kero Raff. The Twi'lek from Coruscant. You made a contract with him about the slaves on Tatooine. Some of your men would free them and he would take care of them when they arrive at his base. Remember?” He nodded. “Well, he isn't happy about the money we sent him, he wants more or he's out. He's wants a response, or he will hop of today.”

“How much more?” He leaned his hip against the table behind him. His intention was to finish this as fast as possible, not wanting to waste any more time.

“That's the problem. Wait a second I wrote down some calculations.”

Boba frowned and rubbed his eyes. This couldn't be real.

You were laying on your bed again, sweaty and shivering at the same time. The tears stopped some time ago but you were still not able to control your breathing properly. One of your hands was between your legs, trying to get another orgasm out of you but it just didn't work.

Blood was pumping quickly through your veins, the adrenaline making your body buzz. Every muscle was tense, like you were about to have the worst cramps in your life. The fingers in your wet cunt hurt from moving but you didn't stop, not wanting the pain to become even worse.

Your fingers slipped back inside your dripping hole. You grew even more wet with every passing second, you were sure the sheets under you were already soaked too. With a fast tempo you wanted to force yourself to have another climax, but without Boba talking to you, it felt like it was impossible.

His voice was like a song stuck in your head and you listened to it on repeat. The little pantings during his sentences, sounding like he forgot how to breath normally. Maker, nobody did to you what he did to you with only talking. Beside the fact that you fell for him a long time ago, his words were doing things to you you couldn't describe. There was something so arousing about him you weren't able to point out.

Maybe it was the fact that he told you that he wanted you, for quite some time now. You still debated with yourself if his confession was real or just something you made up in your head. Boba wasn't someone to talk about personal stuff. He rarely did it, even when it came to Fennec or you.

Your eyes squinted shut when you felt just the smallest amount of heat rising in your lower stomach. Trying to focus on the picture of Boba's head between your legs in your mind, you brought your second hand down to your core to start rubbing your clit.

Whispering his name, you did what he told you when you two masturbated on the comlink together. Imagining it was him, his hands inside of you and his dark brown eyes locked with yours. The movements of your hands got sloppier and finally you felt yourself getting close.

You recalled the conversation with him, replayed the way he called you 'Princess' and 'Little one' over and over again until you pushed yourself enough to let go. Silent moans filled the room and your body arched up. You felt yourself clenching around your fingers, while you rode out the light aftershocks.

This orgasm wasn't even close to the first one you had, way too weak and less helpful than the one you had with Boba guiding you through it.

You couldn't tell if the pain got less or if you just got numb after this amount of time. Both hands fell beside your head, not being able to keep them moving without getting a cramp. If Boba wouldn't come back soon, you would have to think about other options to get rid of the pain and to be honest the best idea you had by now was jumping off the damn balcony.

The bounty hunter was furious. They managed to build up a connection to the man and now he had to watch Fennec and Kero arguing. Boba suggested to just give him the money he asked for but his partner tried to talk him out of it. He couldn't tell how long this discussion was already going, but he sure knew that he was beyond pissed and fed up. His body was slightly shaking and he didn't know if it was because of the anger or the pain that still flowed through him.

“Enough!” He screamed at the two holograms in front of him. Both pairs of eyes looked at him, waiting for what he had to say. “I don't have the time nor do I have the nerve to keep listening to you two. Kero, I will give you twice as much credits if that's what you want.”

The Twi'lek with the light green skin started smirking and nodded. “This sounds like a fair deal.”

“Boba! What the hell?” Fennec protested against the man.

“Great. Fennec, write it down in my books. We will see each other soon.” And with that, he broke the connection and let out a deep sigh. He rubbed his hands over his head before he turned to leave the room.

The maid that led him here was still standing in the long corridor they walked through before. She smiled weakly at him and started walking him back to his chambers. Not a single word was spoken on the way back and this time it was Boba setting the pace, so she had to keep up.

His head was full and empty at the same time. He couldn't keep his thoughts away from you now that you were even closer to him than before. With every step closer to your room, his blood started to pump faster and his cock twitched at just the mere thought of you.

The two arrived back at the corridor where she picked him up some time ago. “Thank you.”

He said silent with his eyes locked to the door of your quarters.

The woman nodded and was about to walk away, when the bounty hunter snatched her arm to stop her. “It doesn't matter what happens or whoever may call tonight. I wish no further distribution.”

She nodded a second time..

“Yes, sir. I won't let it happen.” And with those last words she was gone. Boba's look fell on your door again and he rushed into its direction. He was about to open the entrance when angst made its way into his head.

He was gone for quite some time, what if you were able to get rid of the pain yourself? What if the pain got less and now you saw things in a different light? His hand drew away from the doorknob. You asked him to touch you, but you weren't in the right state of mind. Maybe you thought about it and came to the conclusion that it wasn't right to do this.

“Shit.” Boba whispered to himself. Since when was he thinking about such things? He never doubted himself in anything he did but you made him think of things he didn't even consider before. You made him ask himself about so many of his decisions. He didn't care about anyone's opinion until he met you. One day, you would be the death of him, he saw it as clear as water.

Still drowned in his own thoughts, he didn't realize how the door to your room got opened. You heard him swearing and thought he was about to return to you but after waiting some more moments, you got impatient and wanted to see what was taking him so long.

When you opened the door, his back was turned to you. You heard that he muttered something to himself but you couldn't make out what exactly. So you reached out to him, carefully touching his shoulder.

The man jumped in surprise and turned around, now looking at you. His breathing stopped when he saw that you were only in the green lingerie he caught you in before the dinner. Both of his eyes roamed your body up and down until they found yours again.

“Do you still want to...” You didn't finish the sentence, too afraid that he might have changed his mind.

Boba's eyes wandered back down to your breasts, his cock jumped at the sight in front of him. “Yes, fuck I-” But before he could keep talking, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into your room.

You pressed your lips on his and started kissing him as if it was the last thing you would ever do. His hands found their way to your waist, squeezing it. Your teeth bit his lower lip and tugged slightly while your hands went to his pants. One of them brushed his dick through the thin material and his hips jerked up at the feeling.

Breaking the kiss to get some air, you drew your face a little more away from him, his lips trying to chase yours. You smiled at him, finally able to open his trousers and letting them fall down to his feet. In a matter of seconds, Boba got rid of his shoes and pants just to bring his hands back to you, connecting his lips to yours again. Trying to signal him to pull off his shirt, you tugged at the hem of it and he broke the kiss to throw it off as fast as possible.

His big hands captured your face once more as he started to kiss you again. You let your hands glide over his chest and to the waistband of his, also black, briefs. Feeling his smile against your lips yours let go of his and made their way down his throat. A deep growl escaped him when you licked over his Adam's apple, feeling the vibration on your tongue.

Your mouth went deeper, starting to bite and lick over his collar bones. His eyes were pierced on you, watching every single movement you made. Your tongue moved over his chest, through the small patch of dark hair till down to his navel. Placing a light kiss just underneath it, your eyes went up to meet his while you settled yourself on your knees.

His dark pupils were even wider than normal and you could see the lust burning in them. Not breaking the eye contact, your mouth followed his happy trail, till you reached his briefs. A mischievous smile painted your lips when your fingers hooked around the waistband of his underwear. Not being able to wait any longer you pulled them down and Boba's cock sprung free.

With big eyes, you mustered his twitching member in front of you. He was thick, thicker than anyone else you ever been with. His length was a little bit more than average but you were sure that he knew how to use every single inch of it. The pubic hair around the base was dark and short, like he knew what would happen today and prepared himself for it.

One of your hands reached around his cock and the man grunted. It wasn't the touch that was drawing those sounds out of him, no, it was the sight in front of him. Your hand seemed so small compared to his hard dick. His hips twitched and he accidentally pumped himself in your hand, what made him moan even louder.

Looking back up to him through your lashes, you gave him a few slow pumps before you brought your tongue to the underside of his base and licked one long stripe up till you reached his tip. The man groaned, throwing his head back in pleasure. With some feather light licks, you collected the precum on the head of his cock. Boba's hand flew up, going directly to the back of your head, trying to hold himself steady.

Carefully and not too fast, you brought your lips around his cock, starting to bop your head back and forth. With each move you tried to take him deeper into your mouth. You looked back into the bounty hunter's eyes, seeing him watching you.

“Now look at that. Just when I thought you couldn't look any prettier I get proven wrong.” Your tongue swirled around his dick, making him hiss through his teeth. “Kriff, Princess you look fucking gorgeous with my cock in your mouth.”

You took your hand away from around his base and brought both of them up to his thighs, looking for something to hold. Keeping the eye contact you tried to signal him that it was his turn now. One of his eyebrows rose, not really understanding what you meant.

Nudging your nose up, you told him that he was in charge now. Finally understanding, Boba started to slowly pump himself into your mouth.

“So this is what you want? You want me to take control, little one?” A dark chuckle rumbled through his chest while you nodded eagerly. “”How could I ever say no to you?”

And with that, his pace started to pick up. His hand was clenched into your scalp, bringing your head towards his hips with every thrust. Spit started to drip down your mouth, making its way down your chin and breasts. You relaxed your throat when he continued to go deeper, breathing steadily through your nose.

The now brutal pace made you gag around him and tears started to swell up in the corner of your eyes.

“Look at you. Taking me so well. You are so good for me.” He panted, shoving his dick even deeper into your throat, keeping you there. Your nose was nuzzled in his pubic hair and the tears now started to fall down your face. An animalistic sound escaped him before finally letting go of you.

You pulled his member out of your mouth and started to breath heavy, trying to get air into your lungs.

“Fucking hell, you feel so good. But as much as I would love to cum into your mouth right now, I think we should wait with that so I can help you too.”

Shaking your head, you reached for his dick again and started pumping it. “No. Believe me, you will be able to cum more than just once. You need more than one orgasm to get rid of the pain.”

Boba smirked down to you. “Princess, I'm a bit older than you, this won't work.”

Still touching him, you tried to argue. “But you have the same reaction as I do. Fuck your age, it has nothing to do with the situation we are in right now.” Your tongue licked his dick again, wanting him to change his mind.

When you brought him back into your mouth, he gave up. It didn't take long until he took charge again, pushing his cock faster and faster into you. His hand went down to your throat, wanting to hold you but instead he felt himself.

“Kriff, can you feel that? Fuck, I can feel myself in your throat. You are such a good girl, taking me so well.” You squirmed at the nickname and tried to push your thighs together, but it didn't work at giving you any sense of relief. Taking one of your hands off his leg, you sneaked it between yours and started to rub your clit.

The wetness in your folds was already on your thighs, before you even touched yourself. You were almost dripping and it would be no surprise if you were able to wring out the panties you wore right now.

Boba's eyes fell down to your hand and that was it. He pushed himself so deep into your throat one last time that your whole face was pressed against his abandonment. Grunts and curses rolled over his lips and you could feel his hips twitch. Not a second later, you tasted his salty release on your tongue, stopping your own hand.

After some moments, he came back down from his high, pulling himself out of you. With innocent eyes you looked up at him, opened your mouth and showed him the mess he made.

“Oh, you like that, don't you? You want to swallow it? Wait a second, little one.” His hand grabbed your chin in a hard grip and tilted your face up to him. He brought his mouth above yours, tipped his lips and let a drool of spit drop into yours. You couldn't help yourself but moan at this kind of filthiness. “There you go and now swallow it, every single bit.”

With a theatrical loud sound, you swallowed every drop and opened your mouth once again to show him that everything was gone. He hummed at the sight.

“If I wasn't still hard I'm pretty sure this would've changed that, but I guess you were right when you said one orgasm is not enough.”

You grinned up at him. “Told you so.”

His hand came down to your cheek and stroked it slightly. “That's my pretty girl. And now I should give you something back, after you've been so good for me. Get up and lay down on the bed.”

Without hesitation you got up, went to the bed and laid yourself down. Boba stood in front of you, pushing your legs apart with his hands before he went on to the bed on his knees. He hovered over you for a second, enjoying the view. A smile formed on your lips, which he gladly returned.

“Marker, you are so fucking beautiful.” You were about to giggle but his lips crushed down on yours, shutting you up.

The kiss didn't last long because his lips started to wander down your body. Normally he would have taken his sweet time with you, would tease you but he knew that the symptoms of the fruit were still going through your body, so he decided he would do it another time.

One of his hands sneaked around your back, clasping your bra open. You pulled your arms up to get the straps off. Finally free from it, he tossed it behind him, not carrying where it would land.

“I actually thought you would rip the clothes off of me.” You purred into his ear. He looked at you, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, don't you worry princess. This will happen sooner or later, I promise. Also, I want you to keep this set as a memory for our first night together.” A soft expression painted your face. “And because you look fucking hot in it.” You started laughing at his words.

“To be honest, I would have loved to tear it down since the first time I saw it on your body, but now I'm glad I didn't do it.”

He gave you one last smile before his head dipped back down, starting to kiss your breasts. You moaned at the feeling of his wet mouth against your hard nipples, but he didn't spend much time there, already on his way down to your core, leaving kisses and marks all over your body.

Now that he was finally where he wanted to be the most and where you also needed him the most, he wasted no more time. Getting on his knees in front of the bed, just like he did earlier, he pulled your panties down.

You hissed when the fresh air hit your wet center.

“Shit.” You heard the man in front of you swearing and you popped yourself up on your elbows to look at him. “You are so fucking wet, princess. I know it's because of the reaction but do we want to try and see if I can get you just as wet when we go back home?”

You could feel yourself clench around nothing by his words.

“Dank, yes, Boba.”

“Oh, I love it when you say my name like this. Let's see how loud I can make you scream my name tonight, alright?” And with that, he brought his mouth to your cunt, starting to eat you out like a man's last meal before death.

Your head flew back and you started twitching at the feeling of his tongue between your folds. Boba brought one of his hands up and sneaked it underneath your thigh, pressing his flat hand against your hip to hold you in place.

His tongue flipped over your clit, making you whimper. Your hands grabbed the sheets underneath you, trying to hold on to something.

Suddenly you felt a sharp slap against your heat and you looked down. The man's face was inches away from your heat, dark, devouring eyes looking at you.

“Look at me, while I make you feel good. I want to see your face.”

Not brave enough to look away again, you kept the eye contact while he brought his face back to you. His tongue circled at your entrance, while his nose nudged against your clit. He moaned into you and the feeling rumbled through your whole body.

The bounty hunter raised his other hand, carefully thrusting one of his fingers inside of you. It felt like all the air got pushed out of your lungs. And before you were even able to get used to this feeling, he added a second finger.

The fast pace he started off with was enough to make you go crazy. It was hard to hold eye contact but you forced yourself to keep going. His two fingers crossed inside of you, stretching you out, while his tongue kept flipping over your sensitive bundle of nerves. He curled his fingers, making you arch your back and moan out his name.

You felt the heat rising in your lower stomach and your legs began to shake. “Fuck, Boba. I- I'm gonna cum.”

Without taking his mouth away from you, he started talking. “Go ahead. Cum all over my face, little one.” He curled his fingers one last time, sucked your clit between his lips and you were done.

Your legs pressed together around his head, keeping him in place. Your eyes fell shut, while a high pitched moan left your lips. Both of your hands still clenched at the bed sheets, ripped them out from their place under the mattress. Shaking and twitching, you pushed Boba's head away from you. Feeling nothing but the hot pleasure filling your body, you tried to calm down your breathing .

After some moments, you finally came back down from your high. You looked down at Boba who still sat on the floor by the bed. With one finger, you signaled him to come to you and so he did.

His body was over yours again, kissing you like there was no tomorrow. You tasted yourself on his tongue and moaned at the sensation. He rubbed his hard cock against your inner thigh.

“Kriff, I want to fuck you so bad, can I-” He wasn't even able to finish his sentence, because you already turned the both of you over so you were on top. Your hands were on his chest, steadying yourself while you grind your wet heat over his dick.

He brought his hands up to your waist, helping you move. When you were sure he was wet enough you rose up a little bit, grabbed his cock and lined him up at your entrance. Slowly you started to lower yourself down on him. Maker, he was so fucking thick.

Boba's dick stretched you like no one else had before. It was almost painful, but the pain was way too good to feel bad. When he was finally seated inside of you, you both took a moment to adjust yourselves to the new feeling.

“You are so fucking tight, Princess. I probably won't last long with this pretty, little cunt around me.” He breathed out underneath you while he squeezed your waist. You were still sensitive from your previous orgasms so you didn't mind. The most important thing was, that you were finally able to feel him.

You brought your hands back to his chest, holding yourself up and started to move. With the first few thrusts, you could already feel how his tip hit just the right spot in you, so you started to move faster.

Boba's hands helped you to keep the pace and from actually falling over. It felt so good that you were almost sure that you couldn't feel the pain anymore. You moaned and whimpered on top of him, looking directly to the part where both of you met, being sure that you never seen something so fucking hot.

The man grunted and had to hold himself back from thrusting into you from beneath. He saw that you were out of breath, at the end with your power. But Dank, if you weren't a sight to behold. Your tits bouncing with each thrust, your eyes closed in pleasure and your mouth open, making the prettiest sounds he has ever heard.

“Shit. You look so good right now, fucking perfect. If you could see yourself right now, Princess.” His eyes fell onto something behind your body and he finally knew how to finish all this in the right way.

“Stop. Hey, hold on for a second.” You stopped in your tracks looking down at him. He smiled in your confused face.

“Is everything alright? Did I hurt you?”, the panic in your voice set a warm feeling in his chest.

“Don't worry. Everything is fine, just move with me.”

You were about to ask what he was talking about but his broad chest was already pressed against yours, while he scooted over to the edge of the bed. A wicked smile danced around his lips, while you were still just confused.

“Get up and turn around.” You had no idea what his plan was, until you turned around and saw what was in front of you. The fucking mirror. Boba's hand pulled you back down to him and with his other hand he pushed his cock back inside of you.

This was something new. You have never seen yourself during sex, but something in you got excited at the thought. The man pushed your legs apart again and laid them over his own, so everything was on full display.

You saw your cunt, wet and swollen, stuffed with the cock of the man you were in love with. He smiled at the sight of your face, curious about what is happening in front of it right now.

His hips made an experimental thrust while to try to catch your reaction. Another thrust and he wasn't able to hold back anymore. He pumped himself in and out of you, watched your whole body reacting to his actions. It turned him on even more.

Your eyes wide in pleasure, your mouth open, your body bouncing with his and your hands on your thighs. Fucking perfect. Not being able to help yourself, you let your head fall back on to his shoulder. But that wasn't the plan. One of Boba's big hands grabbed you by your throat and pulled your head back up.

“No. Don't look away, or I won't let you cum. Look at yourself getting fucked. Look at how fucking perfect you are for me.” The hand around your throat tightened and you clenched around his dick at the feeling.

“Oh, you like that too?” He added a little more pressure, making you slightly light headed. “This is the best fucking cunt I've ever fucked. You want me to keep doing that? Hm? You want me to keep fucking you even when we get back home?”

An obscene moan left your mouth at his words. Kriff, if it was for you, he could fuck you for the rest of your life. You were sure that no one would ever be able to give you the feeling Boba gave you in this moment. You never wanted to miss out on that again.

His other hand went to your cunt and landed a sharp slap on it. A scream coming from your mouth, so loud that you were sure everyone in this palace heard you. The familiar feeling built itself up again, already bringing you to the edge with how sensitive you were.

“I asked you a question, little one.” His grip around your throat let loose a little bit so you were able to speak.

“Yes, fuck yes. Boba, you can fuck me whenever you want to, please. I'm yours, only yours.”

His hand returned to your cunt and started rubbing your clit. “That's exactly right and now cum for me. I can feel that you are close. Cum all over my cock.”

And with that, he pushed you over the edge again. Your legs twitched on top of his, making it very hard for him to keep pushing into you. White noise filled your ears again, almost making you deaf. Boba let go of your throat, letting your head fall back on his shoulders while you screamed his name on the top of your lungs.

The aftershocks were so strong in your body that you almost missed his question.

“Where do you want me to cum, little one?” His movements got sloppier with every thrust, just waiting for you to tell him where he can finish.

“Inside.” Your voice was so weak and silent that you were sure he didn't hear you, so you brought your last strength together and raised your head again to look into his eyes through the mirror. “I want you to come inside me, Boba. I'm safe.”

And that was all he needed to hear. You could feel how his release pumped into you, his cock twitching while he finished. His hands on your waist squeezed you so hard, you were sure he would leave bruises there. Your name fell from his lips, with many other swears.

Coming down from his high, his sweaty forehead fell to your shoulder and you could feel his hot breath on your back.

After a while of just sitting and trying to catch your breaths, he brought his head up again and put his chin on to your shoulder. “Fuck.”

“Yes, exactly.” You laughed breathless and he joined you. Carefully you tried to stand up and whine when his cock slipped out of you. To both of your lucks, he was already soft. As soon as you stood you felt his cum running down your thighs. He smirked at the sight.

“That’s actually kinda hot.”

“Ah, fuck off.” You said, pushing his shoulder and made your way to the bathroom on shaky legs. With a washcloth, you cleaned up the mess between your legs, doing your best not to touch any of the highly sensitive parts. Washing your face too, you looked at yourself in the mirror and all the marks Boba left on your body. You knew that he would be proud of them.

Stepping out of the refresher, you saw that no one was in the room. You looked to the balcony but the door was closed too. A bad feeling slowly started to overcome you. So, this was what this all was about? Not even his clothes were still here. Maker, you were so stupid. How could you think that the King of the Underworld would have interest in having a real bonding with someone?

You wanted to scream and cry, but before you were able to do so, the door to your room got opened and Boba stepped back inside. Fully dressed and in his hands a white bed sheet.

“I just thought it would be better to get some new sheets instead of sleeping in the dirty ones.” He went to the bed and threw the old sheets on to the floor, putting the new one on the bed. His eyes fell on your, still naked, figure standing in the middle of the room watching him. “Are you alright? Do you still feel some pain?”

“Are you gonna stay the night?”, you asked. The man let go of the sheets and went over to you, carefully taking your face in his hands.

“If you want me to.” He pressed a light kiss to your nose. “And if you want to, we can spend every night together from now on.”

You looked at him with a soft smile.

“That would be great.” He slightly pulled your head into his direction and kissed you deeply.

“Now, I think we should go to bed. We have to go back home tomorrow, without getting poisoned by the King again.”

“Poisoned by the King?” A confused look washed over your face while you made your way to the bed. You slid underneath the sheets right next to Boba after he got rid of his clothes again. He opened his arms for you and you went over to him, laying your head on his chest. His arm tugged you closer to him.

“Yes. It seems like the King thought we were in a romantic relationship, so he wanted to do us a little favor by giving us an aphrodisiac, so we could have fun.” He explained. And finally you were able to catch up.

“Ahh. Okay, that makes sense.” Some of the events of this current day went through your head and now you really got what it was about with all the expensive underwear, beautiful dresses and looks from the other guests at dinner. There was just one thing you didn't understand.

“Wait. Why did he think we were a couple? I've been here for only one day and the first time they saw us together was at dinner? That doesn't add up.” A sigh left Boba's mouth.

“The maid told me that they assumed that by the way I talked about you.” Your head shot up and you looked down at him with raised eyebrows and a wicked smile.

“What? Really? What did you tell them about me?” His dark eyes studied your face, while his hand went up to stroke your cheek.

“To be honest, I don't even remember. But I know for sure that they caught up on my love for you way sooner than you did, Cyare.” You leaned down to kiss him.

“You didn't catch up on my love either. Even though it was pretty obvious for a certain amount of time now.” With a hand to the back of your head, he held your face close to his and pressed his forehead against yours.

“Just good to know that we both had the same feelings for each other for such a long time and both of us weren't able to realize it.”

“Fennec will never let go of this. She will say 'I told you so' for the rest of our lives.” You chuckled against his face.

“Oh, she sure will. We will never hear the end of it.” Boba said with a smile across his lips. “But we should sleep now. I don't want to leave too late tomorrow.”

You brought your head down to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

The man kissed the top of your head before he whispered:”Good night, Princess.”

“Good night, Boba.” You said, snuggling closer to him.

This trip was totally worth it.

_________

Taglist:

@darthmama1618

#boba fett x reader #boba fett x you #boba fett #smut #sex pollen #the mandolorian #the book of boba fett

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harpyjoy · 3 years

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"I can't believe I didn't think of shipping these two before"

After thinking about it for a while I decided that it is better to tell it by a separate publication because it was seriously something too long xD

@rayshippouuchiha here are my delusions while I had a fever from the side effect of the vaccine...

It all started with the scene where Zero absorbs Ichiru towards the end of the second season, well in a way I think this part was a bit influenced by watching Hellsing, because at that point everything was combined with Zero, the fact that for having a life in which everything seems to go wrong (his family was murdered, he was turned into a vampire, he is about to go wild, the girl he loved turned out to be a vampire, he has been used as a pawn by another vampire and has to his brother dying in his arms) feels abandoned by god, so he abandons him in turn and Ichiru's blood flows to him...

(This is where I later realized that it might as well be a nice divergence for another even crazier ship like Alucard x Zero idk, but that's a can of worms I'm not willing to open right now)

...and a voice whispers an offer to him (because there always has to be a mystical and mysterious voice) that if he wants Ichiru to live. Now, I don't remember very well how the deal is going because after all it was a dream in the middle of a fever of like 39ºC but it would be something more or less like the two being born again as twin brothers, but this time there is no hunter's curse, Zero remembering all his past life but Ichiru won't remember anything.

The voice tells him that since it is an exchange of lives, he has to learn to live that new life and pay the price, whatever, between leaving that cell to continue doing what others want and deciding to take the reins for once in his life . Well, it's not difficult to choose, right? Zero chooses and reincarnates in the past as a pureblood baby vampire...

(and then he realized it was a damn cheating offer!)

In the arms of Shizuka Hio smile happily...

(what the hell is my life now?!)

...so apparently the price is to have this bloodsucking woman as his mother and to be a bloodsucker himself too, again ... but come on! at least now he's not going to fall to level E; so even though he's looking at Shizuka Hio's face in front of him now (what the heck? now that he notices it...is it normal for a hunter family to look so much like a pureblood family?) that it seems like now it's his mother, also, if that voice was telling the truth (which is very likely, since not all supernatural entities in the universe have the power to make you a reincarnation / time-dimension travel combo) Ichiru will be able to live a full life...

...and seeing a cute baby Ichiru in the arms of what seems to be his father in this life (that as my brain did not give for more, let's think that Shizuka's lover who was killed in the canon in this alternate universe was also a pureblood Hio cousin or something of her! more than anything because I don't want to think of another last name, and basically because I want her to be happy too) he has high hopes that it's true!

Anyway, the years pass and Zero learns that being a pureblood vampire is not so bad and since in this life Ichiru cuts his hair, Zero is the one who lets it grow (in honor of the Ichiru of his past life) although he still knows pierces because... why not?

Yes, the Council of Elders sucks, he had to live the early years of his second childhood in places without windows and the eyes of some noble vampires when they look at him are somewhat disturbing, but he has his brother safe and sound, and Shizuka...

(when she's not a bloodthirsty bitch fed for revenge)

...is actually a good mother, plus she has more strength in one hand than I could imagine and it feels pretty good to say "to hell with the Kurans", then the war between vampires and hunters breaks out and there are more pureblood gatherings than ever...

(and oh no, the damn Kuran! wait, since when are they three?)

...then, in one of those meetings Zero says "fuck it", because there is a guy who looks like the damn Kaname and a woman who is just like Yuuki ... and these old men from the Council do not shut up! so he escapes to breathe for a few moments and then he meets Rido Kuran and he honestly does not know what to think, he wants to hate him, but so many years have passed, he has Ichiru with him, he hardly remembers his human parents and he has enough with the discomfort he feels seeing Haruka and Juuri Kuran...

...and Rido looks so lonely that Zero almost sees himself in him when he was in his darkest moments in his old life and since Zero is not a heartless bastard he decides to talk to him about something random, and then the guy doesn't stop appearing everywhere!! and he first teases and laughs at Zero and then it seems that he can't understand what personal space is because he doesn't stop touching his hair and playing with the bell braided in his locks that Ichiru gave him and...

then he looks at him like he's...everything.

AND AT THIS POINT!! honestly with everything and my omniscient point of view even I was embarrassed to look at them because I felt like I was breaking into an intimate moment no matter they were just looking at each other because Rido looked so…thirsty.

He's basically a big cat and I think all the love, obsession and longing he felt for Juuri in the canon in this universe is focused on Zero, and the guy is The Yandere…Ichiru isn't impressed, but Zero seems to like him so meh.

And then it seems that pureblood vampires can have babies!! Because...who cares?

(Sincerely Zero no longer believes that something is going to surprise him)

They are not human, they are basically millennial immortal beings, one or two incredible things do not hurt and then the council of elders decides that they want to engage Rido with Ichiru (because he is the youngest), Zero has not even come out of shock when the two involved are already protesting very vocally and aggressively because who the hell came up with such a horrible idea?!, half the world and their mothers know that Rido and Zero are close! and Ichiru and Rido only interact when absolutely necessary (mostly because of Zero), fortunately the Council stops the proposal suddenly before it becomes more than a simple suggestion and...

then...I don't remember if when Rido and Zero get married they are Kuran or Hio?...

BUT, I remember that when you see them together they look like rock stars and they are the most atypical purebloods in history, where the other others look ethereal and fragile, they look dangerous and intimidating but equally or more attractive, like a seductive trap mortal.

They drive the Council absolutely crazy but they don’t care about them and they are a couple of cheeky, like very cheeky, I'm talking about public displays of affection and closeness that has more than one vampire looking away.

And so Zero is Senri's mother? (What the hell?!) Because let's remember that in the canon he is Rido's son with a noble and technically Yuuki and Kaname's cousin (?).... BUT! here his mom is Zero, because when Zero holds his baby for the first time and he is biting his finger to feed him with blood, the little one opens his eyes and Zero knows that look, he recognizes that light blue in apathetic eyes in the past and although now his hair may be more silver than dark he knows who he is, or rather who could have been (and damn he carried it in his womb for who knows how many months, it is his baby of course he keeps it)

THEN I WOKE UP!! (」° ロ °)」

and I was left with a dazed and feverish haze sitting on the edge of my bed staring at a shoe for like 10 minutes desperately thinking what else I could remember about the crazy cool dream I just had so I could take notes on everything, because that was a damn REVELATION!!, and then do something, anything, just something because it was too good to be true and when I looked for Rido x Zero fics on the internet they were all dark and distressing and unfinished fics and that was a big NO! And guess who's scribbling half-formed sketches and ideas with the happiness of a kindergartener right now? I don't know if this is going to end in a fic or a fanart or a comic or what the hell, but now it's my baby.

#vampire knigth #zero kiryuu #rido kuran #ichiru kiryuu #shizuka hio #senri shiki #mysterious troll voice #crazy dreams from covid vaccine fever #omg #yaoi #time travel

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sxveme-2 · 3 years

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blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Unedited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Twenty One: The One Where he Promised

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 2536

Close to two months. Lily and Bucky had been together for close to two months. Something Lily would have never thought for herself. Especially not after her divorce. Scott had made her feel so empty, so unloveable. For a while she doubted even divorcing him all those years ago, feeling as though she would never find anyone ever again. Because he had convinced her she wasn't deserving of it. That he was the only person who could love her. Boy, if she knew where she would end up, she would have laughed in his face at those words. Because despite the mental trauma she dealt with from her first marriage, Lily found herself on the other side.

But, she was saying goodbye to the man who helped her feel loved again.

"You promise you'll be home for Christmas, right?" Lily whispered as she unwrapped her arms from the taller man, looking up at him with wide eyes, "Hunt's really excited for it."

Nodding, Bucky pressed a quick kiss to the blonde's lips, "I promise, doll." the brunette whispered, "And I promise I will call you everyday until I'm home. It shouldn't be too long."

Lily nodded and pursed her lips. Bucky and Sam had been tasked with a mission a week before Christmas. And listen, he had gone on missions before throughout their relationship. But those were mostly weekend jobs. This one was predicted to be a week long, taking it all the way up to Christmas Eve. Lily had become accustomed to waking up with the supersoldier at her side, admiring her and tracing gentle patterns on her exposed skin. Or waking up to the smell of pancakes and faint voices coming from the kitchen as Bucky helped Hunter with homework, and Rose cooked. So far, he had been most helpful with the twelve year olds history lessons. No surprise to anyone.

Running her hand through the short cut of his hair on the back of his head, Lily smiled sadly. It had been a few months since he had cut his hair as well, and lord was the blonde obsessed. She loved it. And of course, she would miss playing with it as he fell asleep on her chest at night. Or watching Hunter pout since he couldn't braid it anymore. Or attempt to braid it. In reality, Lily knew she would just miss him. His smell, his touch. But she knew she wouldn't, nor couldn't, stop him. This was his job and Lily loved that, that he was out there protecting people. But the selfish part of her wished she could just keep him wrapped in her arms.

But it would be a nice break for the two of them. Every couple needs that.

"Are you leaving already?" Hunter's voice called as he walked down the wooden stairs with Rose, "Can't you stay for breakfast?"

Lily stepped back with her sister as she watched Bucky bend down to Hunter's level. Rose wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, tugging her into her side. Lily rested her opposite arm around the taller sisters waist landing on the side of Rose's five month pregnant belly. The younger of the two had learned she was having a baby boy, and now the big deal in the house was figuring out a name for when the baby came. Hunter was hell bent on Bucky, which only made everyone chuckle.

"I'll be back for Christmas, buddy," Bucky smiled tightly, ruffling the blonde boy's hair, "and I'll talk to you and your mom everyday while I'm in Vienna. I promise." The brunette nodded, lifting his pinky to the young boy.

Lily felt her heart swell as she watched Hunter bypass the pinky promise and wrap his arms tightly around the Avengers neck. Leaning her head against her sister's shoulder, Lily grinned at the interaction. She took note of the way Bucky tensed slightly, only to relax and close his eyes as he tugged the son of his girlfriend closer, and gave him a tight squeeze. The moment was interrupted when Bucky's phone rang, signaling that it really was time for him to leave.

"Alright I've gotta go, Hunt," he hummed, kissing the top of the boys head, "I'll tell you all the cool things that happen. Be good for your mom." The tall man grinned, standing and turning to Lily. He hugged Rose briefly before kissing Lily one last time, "I'll call you when we get there okay?"

Lily nodded and watched as he turned to leave. All three watched intently as the superhero got into his car, pulling away and driving off from the suburb. Leaving the three Osborne's standing in the doorway of the freezing December morning.

"Alright Hunt, let's get you fed before school." Rose whispered, tugging the twelve year old away from the door as Lily watched the black car disappear past the intersection.

-----

The day Bucky leaves, the day Lily has the most stressful day at work imaginable. Two appendix surgeries, a few colonoscopies, and things that Lily didn't even want to talk about. She had also gotten a call from Hunter's school saying he had seemed off that day, and that he was even quieter than usual. Not to mention, Rose was blowing up her phone with pregnancy questions. Overall, Lily wanted nothing more that day than to have Bucky at home, telling her she would be okay and that one stressful or bad day was normal.

Instead of Bucky, however, she got Gen.

"I know it's a Thursday but I brought wine." The woman grinned as Lily pulled open the front door, "Figured might help you take your mind off of how awful it must be to have your supersoldier boyfriend gone on a mission to save the world." She teased sarcastically, earning an eye roll from the blonde as the two walked into the kitchen.

Lily had indeed attempted cooking an actual dinner. Over the past few months Bucky had mostly handled dinner when he came over while Lily took care of breakfast the next day. But, Bucky would be gone for a week, which meant Lily had to properly cook again. And it's not like she had no idea how to, she'd been cooking for Hunter and herself for twelve years now. Was she very good at it? Not really. But she made do, and that's just how it had to be for the next few days. Even though everyone in the house knew at some point, Lily would give up and either pass the reins to Rose, or order pizza.

The Osborne's were known for their intelligence, not their chef skills.

Lily sometimes found herself dwelling on her parents. The entire thing had come out of nowhere. One moment she believed her parents to be innocent scientists, only to find out that they were trying to get their hands on technology that was somehow connected to Hunter. The entire situation was confusing for her, and she shied away from the details that Bucky had offered her whenever they spoke on the issue. But she didn't want to face the truth. It only hurt her more. And as it stood, the only Osborne's left standing with their free will and morals intact were Rose and Lily. Both living together once again and continuing on with their lives, knowing that their parents had made a mess, and had to lie in it.

"Rose were you around for the last time that your dearest sister decided to cook a stir fry?" Gen joked as she placed the wine bottle down, "Because I distinctly remember having to almost call the fire department."

"It was not that bad!" Lily laughed as she tossed the rest of the vegetables into her skillet, "Did I have to buy a new stove? Yes. But there was no need for the fire department. Right Hunt?"

The young boy glanced up from his phone and raised an eyebrow at his mother, "...Mum you raised me not to lie." He stated simply.

"Wow, you two even turned my own son against me." Lily chuckled as she mixed the ingredients around on the hot surface. Just as the conversation began once more, laughter and sweet tones of happiness mixing with the gentle music playing in the background, Lily's phone began to ring.

But she wasn't the quick one.

Lily watched and laughed as Hunter hurried to the phone. The entire time since he had gotten home from school and Lily from work, he had been waiting by her side. All because Bucky promised he would call every night. It made Lily's heart swell, the amount of love that the twelve year old had for the man. Of course it worried her in some aspect, seeing as she didn't know where the relationship would lead. Scared that if it went sideways, it would leave the young boy broken. Possibly even more so than Lily would be. She was very aware of the fact that Hunter would try and attach himself to a father figure, seeing as he lacked one. But Lily just...fell hard for Bucky. Had she fallen in love? Well she wasn't entirely sure just yet. But she knew she would. Whether it be soon or a bit longer. She knew it would happen. And it crept around corners and hid under furniture, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and take over Lily's heart.

"Hi Bucky!" Hunter's voice rang out as he slid up on the blonde's phone. Lily dropped the hand she had out to reach for it, smiling softly at the bright and excited face of her son lit up the room.

"Hey there buddy," Bucky replied, his voice muffled slightly as it rang through the phone speakers, "what're you and mom up to?"

"She's making dinner right now. But she had a stressful day at work so it won't be surprising if we ordered pizza." Hunter bluntly stated, causing Lily to scoff as she continued working on the food.

"I haven't even been gone a day and she's already trying to burn your house down!" Bucky chuckled, joking along with the boy, "Is it just you and mom there?"

"No, Aunt Gen and Auntie Rose are here." Hunter answered.

As the conversation went on, Lily's heart sunk slightly, yearning to hear the man's voice upclose, see the dimples on his cheeks and the lights of his eyes. But she knew that it meant the world to Bucky that Hunter loved talking to him so much, and she knew how much it meant to Hunter to see the supersoldier. The smile on the young boy's face said that much as the two continued with their conversation. School, Joey, and what Hunter wanted for Christmas were the main topics of the conversation between the two as Lily finished up dinner. Placing the meal onto four plates, Lily glanced back at Hunter and felt that same sunken heart swell at the bright and vibrant smile that was placed on her son's cheeks. She hadn't seen him so effortlessly happy in a while, and she never wanted to see that smile fade.

"Well we are just eating dinner now, Buck." Lily called as she leaned over Hunter's shoulder to place hisplate down, "Shouldn't you get some sleep? Isn't it midnight in Vienna? And you had a long flight darling." Leaning back, Lily placed her hands on her scrub covered hips, tilting her head to the side.

"It's alright, doll. I wanted to see your guys' faces before I went to bed." He cooed, readjusting on his bed, glancing over to the side at the scoff from Sam that echoed through the speakers as well.

"That's very sweet of you Buck, but I'm sure Sam would like to sleep too." Lily chuckled, taking a seat in her own chair, picking up her fork.

"Thank you Lily!" Sam called, earning a chuckle from the entire call.

"Alright I'll let you guys go for now then." Bucky sighed, gesturing for Hunter to turn the phone towards Lily, "I'll call you later if I'm still awake and the grumpy one of the two of us is asleep."

"Alright terminator let's not go that far." Sam called over once more.

"Well call me in an hour or so then." Lily smiled, before saying her farewells and ended the call.

The table fell silent as Lily stared at the now black screen of the phone her son was holding. Clearing her throat, the blonde reached forward and slid the device into her pocket. Without another word, the group dug into the food. Either she had actually done well, or everyone was treading on thin ice around her in fear that the lack of conversation she and Bucky had may have hurt her a bit more than she was letting on. Of course she would never say any of this outloud, but she wished that Bucky would have said something so that she could talk to him. But, if he was awake, she would hopefully get the chance in a few hours when Hunter had gone to bed and Gen left or settled in on the pullout couch in the basement for the night.

-----

Three hours later, two glasses of wine, and one sleeping son later, Lily finally found the comfort of her own bed. Gen had taken the pullout couch, the rest of the bottle of wine in her stomach. Lily climbed into bed, turning on her TV as Joey settled into his bed. It was nine o'clock, meaning it was 2 am over in Austria. And Lily was positive that the man had fallen asleep. But it was when she finally settled in, a romantic movie playing in the background to only further her sad mood, when her phone rang. Joey's head popped up and the blonde chuckled as she reached over and slid her phone across the screen, answering the call.

"Why're you up so late, Buck?" she asked, reaching over and turning on the lamp beside her bed.

Winds whipped past Bucky's mic as the sight of Austria lit up at night took over the entirety of her screen. She smiled at the flurries of snow that fell down onto the stone streets and covered the beautiful architecture. Lily rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm before rolling onto her side, showing Joey's head laying on the pillow beside her on camera.

"I'm not even gone for a day and the dog already stole my spot!" Bucky chuckled, turning the camera around to display his chiseled features and slightly tousled short hair.

"Well this is where he typically sleeps when it's just me in bed." Lily chuckled, eyes creasing slightly at the edges as she watched the man seemingly admire her face on his screen.

"I want to bring you here one day. To Vienna. It's beautiful here." He cooed, resting his arms on the stone rail that surrounded what seemed to be the balcony of him and Sam's room, "There are so many places I want to take you, prinţesă."

"I'm not much of a traveller." she chuckled, burrowing further into her pillows, pulling the large shirt that actually belonged to Bucky over her chin.

"Doll I've got some news," Bucky sighed, his voice dropping slightly, "Sam and I did some scoping on the mission. It may take the entire week. I thought we would be done earlier but..." his voice trailed off, running a hand through his hair.

Lily sighed gently, running a hand through her golden hair, "That's alright, darling. I just really have to stress how much I need you home for Christmas. How much Hunter needs you home for Christmas." She persisted, moving her eyes from his face on her screen to the soft fur of her dog.

"I'll be home, prinţesă. I promise."

-----

Christmas Eve came. Not a word from Bucky. He had texted her briefly but the two hadn't been on a call for a day or two. She wasn't able to get any updates from either Sam or Bucky, leaving her with zero contact the day before christmas eve and the day of. Lily's anxiety ridden mind immediately went to the worst. The mission had gone sideways, and she no longer had a boyfriend. God she wished that he would just text her, or get in contact with anyone so that she would just know he's okay. She just wanted him to be okay, and to be able to tell Hunter he was on his way home.

"Hunt can you help me finish up?" Lily called from the living room as she searched for the stocking that would complete the set on the fireplace, "Do you remember where you put your stocking?"

The sound of four feet walking forward grew closer as Rose and Hunter came into the living room. Rose gave her older sister a pitiful smile, knowing that she was avoiding hanging up the stocking that Hunter had chosen for Bucky. It sat on the couch beside the fireplace, taunting Lily at the idea that he wouldn't be home. That something dark happened. She could barely even fathom the idea of the man not being there for Christmas after he promised her and promised Hunter. The day was too important. But most of all, she just wanted to make sure he was safe most of all.

"Here," Hunter smiled and picked up his red knit stocking, "are you going to hang up Bucky's stocking?" the boy asked, looking up at his mom after hanging up his own stocking.

Lily's hand faltered as she readjusted Rose's stocking. Squeezing her eyes shut she let out a gentle laugh, looking down at the young blonde boy who stared back up at her with large hazel eyes. Tilting her head, she smiled and bent down, kissing the top of his head. Nodding, she reached over towards the newest addition, and stared at it for a second. Deciding to rip the bandaid off quickly, she placed it right next to her own, admiring Rose's stitching of the man's name. Lily traced the cursive name with her thumb, looking down at her feet that were covered by warm slippers.

"Alright buddy, let's get the milk and cookies out for Santa and then get you ready for bed okay?" Lily smiled tightly, squeezing the boy's shoulder and leading him into the kitchen, Rose following behind.

After setting the cookies out, Lily followed the boy up the stairs to his bedroom. After he brushed his teeth and crawled into his bed, she knew what was coming. The way he looked at her. The sadness in his eyes and the clear question that sat on the tip of his tongue. Hunter wanted to know about Bucky, and where he was. Why he hadn't come home yet, despite promising he would be home for Christmas. The two sat in silence for a moment, before the younger boy decided to make the first move.

"Why isn't he home?" Hunter whispered, looking up at the blonde woman, eyes wide.

"I'm sure he'll be home for tomorrow, love, but I just don't want you to get your hopes up," Lily sighed, running her hand down the boy's cheek, "You know how important his job is. It may take time, but he's keeping people safe."

"I know..." the young boy sighed, pulling his covers closer to his chin, "I just thought it would be nice to have him here."

"Well, Aunt Gen will be here tomorrow too so you have her." Lily smiled sadly, leaning down and pressing a kiss to the boys forehead, "Goodnight Hunt, I love you."

Flicking off the light, Lily left her son's room with a shaky breath. It pained her to see him so upset that Bucky wasn't home yet. It killed her too. She knew how much it would mean to not only her, but Rose even. But especially Hunter. It had always been the entire Osborne family going up to their parents house in Long Island, or coming down to Lily's and gathering around the firepit in her backyard. But now, it was the four of them, Gen, Rose, Lily, and Hunter. But Bucky would have just been the cherry on top for everyone.

Climbing back down the stairs, Lily sighed and dropped onto the couch next to Rose. The younger sister pulled the elder of the two tight into her side, pressing a kiss to the moms temple. The two sat in silence for a moment, before it dawned on them, they had a shit ton of presents to wrap from Santa. Heaving themselves off of the couch, Lily beckoned Joey down to the basement with them, where all of the secret presents were hidden underneath a bunch of blankets and cooking supplies in a closet. When the clock struck one, the two had finished. Lily felt the tears gathering in her waterline, and the moment her door shut, they fell.

Sliding down onto her butt, Lily felt the hot tears stream down her face at a rapid rate. She longed for her sons happiness, and the fact she couldn't do anything to help mend his mood, killed her on the inside. Especially on Christmas. Leaving Hunter with a missing father figure, and Lily with anxiety that something bad had happened to him.

Tucking herself into bed, Lily attempted to calm down. Everytime she tossed and turned, it seemed as though the clock fast forwarded another half an hour. It was three thirty, almost four, when she had finally begun to doze off, when the sound of the lock of the door down the stairs, began to make gentle beeping noises. Sitting up straight, Lily grabbed onto the closest object she could find and slowly cracked open her door. Joey followed at her ankles as she and the dog walked down the stairs slowly, careful not to make any noise as they stood on the landing.

Glancing over the banister, Lily watched intently at the figure that loomed at the door of her home. The outdoor lights automatically turned off around one am, leaving the figure only illuminated by the light of the moon behind them. Staring at the figure, Lily gripped at the object in her hand tighter, soon realizing it was actually a dog toy. Scoffing at herself, the blonde crept down the hardwood stairs, gripping the iron banister as her bare feet padded gently on the floor. It was only when the door pushed open, when Lily retreated behind the protective dog, who was now bending into a pounce position.

When the figure stepped into the home, Lily dropped the toy with a feeling of shock and anxiety coursing through her veins.

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giftwrappingpaper · 4 years

Text

wangxian vampire au

featuring vampire hunter lwj and shitty vampire wwx

-----

It was supposed to be an ordinary, by-the-numbers hunt. With an illustrious monster hunting career under his belt, Lan Wangji hadn’t thought much of it when his guild forwarded him the typical rumors of a small village recently plagued with vampire attacks. There was even a potential location for its den in the form of a nearby manor, long abandoned since its last inhabitants were murdered a century ago.

His subsequent investigation into the rumors proved to be more concerning; not for fear of great violence, but rather the lack of it. An air of levity permeated the village and its inhabitants, as if it hadn’t been recently targeted by a dangerous beast. As if there weren’t villagers and cattle alike with telltale signs of a vampire bite who curiously, after closer inspection, only lost enough to fill a thimble.

And then there were the village folk themselves.

“You mean Wei Wuxian?” Nie Huaisang, a local artist, said in one of Lan Wangji’s cursory village interviews. “I’d ask if you didn’t hunt one of my most generous patrons, Hunter Lan. Just last week he’d paid my rent five times over!”

“Unfortunately,” Jiang Wanyin, the local sheriff, said when Lan Wangji asked if he was aware of the regional vampiric patronage going around. “His habit of throwing money around has been a pillar of this village’s economy for decades now. So we put up with the guy, despite him being both a vampire and annoying as all hell.”

“He hates blood,” Wen Qing, the village doctor, stated during Lan Wangji’s visit to the local clinic; he had been searching for the vampire’s victims in hopes of an interview, but found that none had even visited the clinic after being bitten. “Well, most types of blood. There are certain types he tolerates, but he’s picky enough that the vials I sometimes bring him are the only sustenance I know of that he can stomach.”

At that, an unconvinced Lan Wangji asked, “Why would a vampire so repulsed by blood —“ already a ludicrous concept “— bite two villagers and a cow in a single night?”

At this point, despite consistent testimony throughout each interview, he was still unwaveringly skeptical about the supposed character of this “Wei Wuxian.” For even though he made it a habit to see the best in people, the claims spouted by these villagers conflicted with every teaching Lan Wangji had stood for since leaving his mother’s womb.

Wen Qing rolled her eyes and supplied him with a fairly useless answer: “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

Miffed at what was turning out to be a rather unconventional hunt, Lan Wangji set out to do just that. He’d already been here for nearly a couple of days, and the traps he’d laid around the village border weren’t enough to entice the vampire to bite (ha).

Blood bait, this time. Collecting blood samples from a few villagers as well as himself, he set up another set of traps, more sophisticated than the last, around the forest that surrounded the vampire’s manor instead of the village itself. Hopefully its close proximity would be enough to lure out the beast. No matter how blase the villagers — who were reacting to Lan Wangji’s preparations the way a mother would react to her child’s first piano recital — were in regards to a vampire in their vicinity, he knew he needed to dispose of it quickly before it began a killing spree.

A week passed. No success.

No matter. Unspoiled bait was the logical next course of action — so he called for the aid of local volunteers, and waited with the ensuing party of virgins at the village square throughout the night.

A few hours in without a single vampire sighting, he began doubting the validity of the volunteers’ virginal status, but decided to nonetheless wait it out. The rising sun made Lan Wangji blink away the inherent fatigue of staying up all night, and the vampire still didn’t come.

Lan Wangji had never been met with such failure before. Fed up with standing idle, he decided that now was the time for action. Diving head-first into a possible vampire den was a risky move, but judging by the villagers’ tales of the vampire’s ineptitude, it lived alone and wouldn’t put much of a fight when faced head on. So when the sun was at its highest point in the sky, he barged into the manor with Bichen and his silver-tipped crossbow at the ready, expecting the worst.

He was met with nothing. As he crept around the manor, he deduced that it seemed more like the home of an eccentric than a mythical bloodsucking beast. Mountains of stuff lined the manor’s interior, ranging from artistically ambitious portraits to antique candelabras. Strewn across any available flat surface were schematics of half thought-out contraptions Lan Wangji could only imagine what their functions were. The parlour was the most uncluttered of the rooms, with a homely lounge area and a stocked liquor cabinet, its setup optimized to entertain at least a dozen guests.

What sort of vampire entertained guests?

Best not to dwell too much into it until the creature was dead. The lower floor was empty, so he made his way upstairs. As unoccupied as the floor below. Maybe he overlooked something outside? He could scout around the manor’s expansive gardens, of which there was a curiously thriving radish garden. But just as he was about to start another outside search, he heard a soft shuffle over his head and through the ceiling.

Ah. There was an attic.

His patience long since fizzled out, Lan Wangji yet again forgoed a stealthy entrance. Once he spotted the ceiling attic door, he stomped his way up the pull-out staircase to face the target of by far the most frustrating hunts of his career.

As soon as he entered the attic and registered the scene before him, he took a moment for himself to stare.

Unlike the rest of the manor, the attic was in fact occupied; only, the man who occupied it stood stockstill against its darkest corner with a look of utter terror on his face. His body was awkwardly contorted in such a way that he was cast in shadow — in some places only a hair's breadth away from the thin beams of light that streamed through the uneven paneling of the attic’s outer wall, as well as its fully open window, effectively pinning him where he stood.

“Oh, thank everything that is holy,” the man, who is definitely a vampire, said with relief. “Please, good sir, could you please do me a favor and draw that curtain and plug those holes?”

Lan Wangji opened his mouth. Closed it. Then said, “You’re Wei Wuxian?” when really he should have dragged the beast out of the shadows and into the damning sunlight, because of course it was.

“How — oh, you’re the hunter everyone’s been warning me about!” was the vampire’s reply. The stiffness of its absurd posture slackened in surprise, but immediately straightened when its arm grazed the edge of sunlight. The barest hint of smoke sizzled from the contact.

Damn those villagers; really, Lan Wangji should’ve seen the betrayal coming. But before he could take further action, the vampire had the audacity to smile, fangs and all, at him, and say, “I was warned beforehand of your intentions, though I must say how surprised I am no one had thought to mention just how handsome you are.”

This was not the first time a target had tried flattery as a way to escape Lan Wangji’s sword. It was, however, the first time one had done so when in such a predicament: trapped into a corner of its own home by poor woodwork and an open window.

Lan Wangji couldn’t help but feel a drop of pity at such a surprisingly human but nonetheless pathetic display.

He said to the beast, “I am not sure you should be commenting on my appearance right now, considering your…current predicament.”

The beast’s — Wei Wuxian — face fell. “I lost track of time!” he bemoaned. “I somehow fell asleep while cleaning my attic, and when I woke up...well.”

Suddenly, all the tales the villagers spun about the vampire’s ineptitude began to make sense.

“You attacked two people at the neighboring village,” Lan Wangji recounted, taking a step forward. “And a cow.”

“I was hungry.” Wei Wuxian wrinkled his nose; a far too human quirk. “Wen Qing hadn’t come by in a while so I decided to…but I barely even hurt them! They’re blood tasted way too gross, so I left after only having a sip.” He frowned, a guilty expression on his face. “I tried to get rid of the taste with cow’s blood, but then it looked at me with its huge cow eyes and started mooing really sadly, so I let the poor guy go.”

Never, throughout the entirety of Lan Wangji’s career, had he seen a more pitiful sight. It almost made him feel bad about killing him. However, strangely pathetic target aside, Lan Wangji had a job to do.

He took another step. Even cast in shadow, he was close enough to see the telltale signs of Wei Wuxian’s vampiric nature: his pale pallor, his clawed hands, his red eyes. He could see Wei Wuxian’s face, too; which, a moment before, had been smiling at him. Protruding fangs aside, his smile was nice. As was his general appearance. If Wei Wuxian had been human, Lan Wangji would consider him handsome.

Wait. What?

Misinterpreting Lan Wangji’s approach, Wei Wuxian perked up — as much one could when frozen in a pose reminiscent of a ballerina mid-pirouette — and said, his smile returning, “Ah, good. My muscles were just about to start to cramp.”

Maybe he was too distracted. Of course this bizarre interaction was preventing Lan Wangji from continuing his hunt, filling his mind with enough wayward thoughts to distract him. Did vampire arms usually bend that way? Did vampires usually have the capacity to be stupid enough to lose track of time and fall asleep next to an open window? Did vampires usually have smiles that seemed so kind?

Okay. No. Slow down.

Lan Wangji shook his head, as if that would help with much. “You seem convinced that I will help you,” he said, “despite knowing who I am, and why I am here.”

Wei Wuxian blinked at him. Vampires did not blink. Why the hell was he blinking.

“You seem like a nice guy, if a bit intense,” he said. “At least, that’s what Wen Qing told me. And I already explained this whole misunderstanding. I’m certain you won’t find anyone in the village that’s actually mad at me for what happened.”

He was right — Lan Wangji hadn’t. “That doesn’t change the fact that my job is to kill beasts like you.”

“But I didn’t do anything?”

“That doesn’t —” Lan Wangji exhaled heavily through his nose. He shouldn’t be entertaining the thought of casting aside his duty for — what? An admittedly attractive vampire who was already entirely at his mercy? All vampires were considered, by human standards, attractive. This one was no different.

Belatedly, he realized that, at one point during what was turning out to be one of the strangest conversations of his life, Lan Wangji had strapped his crossbow to his back holster and unsheathed Bichen, his hand already off its hilt.

“Look,” Wei Wuxian said, voice frustratingly placating, “you seem a bit tense. Why don’t we go downstairs? Sit down and have a chat. Healthy discussion, moral debate, all that shit. Then you can decide if you still want to kill me based solely on preconceived notions of my species. I had some friends over last night and I still have food left if you’re hungry.”

Lan Wangji frowned.

“People food. Like, food that isn’t people, but for people to eat. Uh.” There was a nervous edge to his laugh. “Usually I’m more smooth than this? But I’m currently pinned to a wall, so. Help? Please?”

All vampires had an innate ability to hypnotize; Lan Wangji’s last hunt was so good at it, he’d had to plug his ears with wool to escape its pull. He knew the heavy, paralyzing feel of a vampire exerting its will onto its prey.

Wei Wuxian was not doing that. Lan Wangji wasn’t even sure if he even could, given his current track record of vampiric competency. It just seemed like he was, in a clumsy, almost endearing way…

Asking Lan Wangji out to dinner?

With no small sense of how incomprehensibly inane this hunt has become, Lan Wangji walked to the window and drew the curtains closed.

-----

originally posted on twitter

#wangxian #mdzs #cql #lan wangji #wei wuxian #the untamed #myfic

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your-1up-girl · 4 years

Text

Working on Weapons (Cindy Aurum x Fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: I love Cindy. This is my first time writing smut. I hate it. Please enjoy :)

Word Count: 4756

Link to AO3

Ever since you and the guys first showed up at the garage and you saw her walk towards the car with a smile that seemed to taunt you and a sway in her hips that spoke a language of their own, you knew that you stood no chance against this woman’s spell.

Every so often when you had to make a visit for supplies or do a task for her, you would do your best to turn on the charm. You weren’t bad at flirting, hell one time when you were at a bar, you and Gladio made a bet to see who could get the most numbers by the end of the night. Long story short, you had him beat and had an amazing night with one of those numbers.

The problem with flirting with Cindy was that she just seemed so used to it that it felt like nothing you did even phased her. Much to your dismay (and Gladio’s utmost entertainment) all of your subtle and not so subtle advances had no effect on her. The winks, cute nicknames that you reserved only for her, lingering touches, soft eyes and smiles that seemed to convey both innocence and hidden suggestive messages. Absolutely nothing. It was driving you crazy. It was at the point that even poor Prompto was rooting for you (“I have to live vicariously through you so you better make this happen,” It was a joke, one followed by a playful shove and a wink).

Just when you were at that point of giving up, it finally happened one afternoon. You all were returning from picking up headlights from that Gods forsaken sewer system. The whole party was exhausted and you wanted nothing more than to take a shower in the caravan.

“Hey Cin!” You called out catching her attention from another hunter who, from the look of dejection, struck out with her. “We got it.”

Cindy took the headlights from you but not before giving you elevator eyes, your appearance was intoxicating to her. Perfectly disheveled hair, a tank top that clung deliciously against your chest and hips, small bruises perfectly stamping your skin (some, she made note of, appeared to be about the size of her mouth), and a light sheen of sweat on your skin. If she hadn’t known why you were gone, she may have just gotten other ideas in her head about your look. Not that you noticed of course, Gladio convinced the others to take a hunt that was also in that sewer system. It took far too long to find and kill; with the exhaustion setting in you hadn’t noticed how the tables were turned and the woman of your dreams was now unapologetically checking you out.

“Didn’t realize these little ol’ things would be such trouble.” You smiled at her, combing your hair back with your fingers causing Cindy to flush ever so slightly.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re back and no one got too hurt other than Noct’s pride. But I’m letting you know now, if you want us to go back there for anything else, I’m gonna have to tell you to go fuck yourself.” Cindy laughed. It was a joke and she knew it, the smirk on your beautiful lips and the playful glint in your eye told her that.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind darlin’,” Turing, she saw that Ignis had put the car in her garage to prepare for the lights modification. “Looks like I got to get back to the ol’ girl. She’s gon be shinin’ so bright that the stars’ll wanna take notes.”

“If they wanna learn so badly they should just look into your eyes.” Gods that was corny even her face scrunched up on that one, but she still had that sweet, weak-in-the-knees smile so you assumed she somewhat enjoyed it? Thought it was cute at least?

“Anyways, to save myself from further embarrassment, I'm gonna go. Got a nice cold shower and a hot meal with my name on it.” You turned on your heel thinking the conversation would just end at that but what Cindy said next would forever stay in your mind.

“I thought I was the only hot meal you wanted to eat baby girl?”

...

Did you just hear that correctly? You tripped on your own two feet and barely had the nerve to turn around to see the beautiful mechanic giving you a small smile with slightly parted lips and half lidded eyes. She looked you up and down once more and licked her lips with a subtly that almost went missed by you. You knew that she was practically undressing you with her eyes because you had done the same on many occasions. Wondering if she was thinking about the same lewd thoughts made you unconsciously rub your thighs together. Opening and closing your mouth trying to think of something to say, Cindy just shook her head smiling at the ground before leaving you with, “Have a nice cold shower hun.”

Later in the evening, after you and the boys had cleaned up, and Ignis was making something in the caravan because no matter how late it was Ignis always wanted to make sure everyone was fed. You sat outside reading with Gladio, Noctis and Prompto as they played rounds of King’s Knight. But couldn’t care less about whatever they were doing or about what you were doing for that matter. You read the same page about 20 times now, but you just couldn’t get that interaction out of your head. Had all your flirting finally worked? Or was she just playing you?

“How y’all doing?” Speak of the gorgeous devil. All heads turned as Cindy approached the caravan. She wore black skin tight leggings, a loose gray crop top that hung off her left shoulder, and of course her signature cowgirl boots. It was nice to see her in casual clothes. The domestic look was one that suited her nicely you thought. You loved it when she wore her work attire but seeing her so relaxed, it made you imagine a possible future with her.

“You look comfortable Cindy. Done for the day? Thought you never close up shop.” Gladio asked.

“Yeah just about wanted to finish early today; the Regalia looks real nice now that she’s got new lights on ‘er. And you don’t gotta worry about those damn daemons either.”

Prompto gave out a happy shout at both the no more daemons news and for winning the match.

“What would we do without you Cindy.” Noctis relayed the gratitude with a slight pout.

“Aw don’t give me too much credit now. I just connect some wires and do some modifications. Speaking of, (Y/N).” Your head snapped so quickly to her she giggled making you blush, “My reason for closin’ early was so I would use you as my guinea pig.” She paused on purpose, wanting to get your reaction at her choice of words. She approached you to where you were, sitting on the table with a tilt of her head and a sly smile she continued. “Well, your weapons that is. See, with Paw-Paw modin’ things for the Prince, figured why not throw my hat in the ring too. If everything goes well, I could fix up equipment for other hunters as well.” Cindy crossed one leg over the other bouncing the top leg lightly as she spoke giving you an eye full of her calves. And dammit, you could not help yourself as your eyes wandered up to her thighs to the curve of her ass. Up her hips and exposed waist and to where the shirt peaked from her breasts, the soft skin of her neck just waiting to be bitten and finally to her face where a knowing smirk and lecherous eyes watched you take in her appearance.

She had you now more than ever. To think, you had been flirting with her on every occasion you could. All of a sudden she struts over here and says the right words, acts a certain way and you become putty in her hands. “So (Y/N) what’d ya say?” Prompto had to kick you lightly under the table to get you out of your shocked state.

Stuttering you gave an answer, “I yeah-yes, of course you can use me—My weapons! You can use- fix them if you want to.” Gods just kill me now! Face beat read you could hear Gladio and Noctis containing their snickers at you making an utter fool of yourself in front of Cindy. She didn’t seem to mind however, just turned that smirk into a smile and hopped off the table and began to walk towards the garage. She was about half way there and you were still glued to your seat like an idiot when someone spoke from the door of the caravan.

“I don’t think you should keep her waiting (Y/N).” Ignis took a sip of Ebony.

“Wha-? Weren’t you cooking-? How long have you been-”

“Long enough to know that you won’t be joining us for dinner. Now, you have much better things to attend to than staying here with me and The Three Stooges.” He was right, you got up from your seat already noting how you felt a bit of slickness at your core as you began to walk over to the garage. “Oh and (Y/N),” Turning to Iggy you saw the smirk as he took another sip of coffee, “Have fun.”

You didn’t say anything and just made your way to the garage. Taking the back entrance seeing that the large main door was closed early for the afternoon. Once inside you saw Cindy working on something at the workbench biting her bottom lip in concentration. She looked up at you when she heard the door shut, “Hey doll come ‘er.” You approached her as she told you to place your weapons off to the far right of the bench. Doing as you're told, you summoned your short sword and placed it on the bench. You turned around but as you did Cindy came up to you and kissed you. She had her arms on either side of you, effectively trapping. The kiss was one with a fever that you made your whole body tense and heat go straight to your core. That feeling bubbled so pleasantly within you.

However, you were in such a state of shock because Cindy Aurum was basically making out with you that you had yet to return the kiss. Cindy stopped to look at you with a hint of fear in her eyes.

“Have I overstepped my boundaries? I’m so sorry hun’ I just, you were always flirtin’ with me, so I took that as an opportunity to- You can leave if I made ya uncomfort-”

“No.” It was soft, you didn’t want to scare her any more that she clearly was. “It’s just that-” You dragged your hands across the exposed sink of her waist and brought her closer to you. Taking your time to feel just how soft it was. Your left hand played with the shirt hem and your right drew small infinity signs on the small of her back. “In all the ways I’ve had this dream play out, that’s all it ever was. A dream.”

It looked like that relaxed Cindy because next thing you knew she placed her lips on yours once more and pulled you close as well. Thank the Gods that your brain returned to a functional state as you kissed her back. Making sure to match the force and passion behind it.

“Let me tell you baby girl, I am very,” Cindy grabbed your hand, “Much.” Open palm she allowed it to ghost over her breast. “Real.” A quick glance down and a nod was all you need to knead the soft flesh in your hand. The sigh that fell from her lips sent shivers throughout your entire body.

“You're not wearing a bra?”

“Oh? I guess I ain’t.” She bit her bottom lip and laughed. “Honestly (Y/N), I’m surprised you just noticed. Just so you know, I ain’t wearing a thong either darlin’.” A whine escaped you and you leaned forward to kiss her again moving in tandem with her as you gave the other breast some attention as well. Her arms found their way around your waist and down to your ass, giving it a squeeze. Every moment that passed you expected one of the boys to shake you awake but the way Cindy felt, her breasts and hands, her dangerously addicting mouth, it all felt too real to be anything but reality. And thank the Astrals for that.

With caution, you allowed your fingers to graze over the nipple, already, it began to harden under the shirt at your touch. The kiss broke only for a moment as Cindy whispered in your ear, “Pinch it darlin’.”

And that is exactly what you did. Tweaking and twisting the small bud between your index finger and thumb. The action rewarded you the most intoxicating sound as Cindy moaned softly in your ear. In a bold move on her part, she brought one leg in between yours. The moan was one so sinful you didn’t even realize that you were capable of making such a noise.

That noise gave fuel to Cindy as she applied more pressure to your core with her leg. More sounds escaped both your mouths and you grinned into her thigh, mentally wishing you wore something much thinner than skinny jeans.

“Want to take this somewhere more private?” The infatuation in both hers and your eyes were apparent and Cindy laughed.

“We have a whole garage to ourselves, that not enough privacy for you?”

“Well, as hot as it would be to eat you out on the hood of the Regalia, I feel that if Noctis found out then he would literally behead us.”

Cindy smiled at you, with a peck on the lips and said, “I don’t think he’ll mind. What he don’t know won’t kill him, right? But, a bed is always good.” With your hand in yours, she led you to a side upstairs part of the garage. Opening up the door at the top of the side staircase revealed a quaint, rustic studio apartment of sorts. One central open area that had a small kitchen and dining area. There were some built in bookshelves that contained various books and pictures. A small love-seat with two pink pillows located near a door which you assumed was the bathroom. And on a more raised part of the room was a small dresser and her full sized mattress, adorned with pillows and a gray, chunky knit throw blanket.

On said mattress was the woman of your dreams. Seated on her haunches, leaning forward ever so slightly to accentuate her breasts and hair tousled from your hands moments before, she beckoned you to the bed. Wasting no time, you all but ran to her, crashing your lips against her and laid her gently against the soft duvet covers. Her hands were on your hips again, fingers finding their way to the button of your jeans. You smiled into the kiss and helped her out undoing it yourself and shimmying out of the article.

“What were you thinking about over there when you came in hun'?” The small circles being rubbed on your clit made it differently to answer but you did.

"Ahhh, just thinking that you got a real nice place. I guess it kind of surprised me." Deciding to return the favor and give an eye for an eye, you lifted her shirt off and tossed it. Taking in her beautiful upper body; chest of full display and nipples harden from when you played with them. Further grinding into her fingers you took one nipple into your mouth and began to suck and flick your tongue across the skin. Cindy arched her back at the sudden stimulation and momentarily stopped the rubbing.

"Oh God's (Y/N) that feels…" She couldn't finish as you moved to the next breast but still played with the other with your expert hands. "Ah! Based on how much attention you give my boobs, I take it that you're a tit girl then?"

You released from her with a pop, “When it comes to you, I just adore everything.” and began to attack her neck and collar bone. Kissing and nipping at the sun-kissed skin. She held you close running fingers desperately through your hair and leaving scratches along you back, your shirt discarded a long time ago.

"Keep doing that and I'll have to wear an actual shirt tomorrow hun'." The smirk on her lips was evident that she would do nothing of the sort. The thought of her working tomorrow with the bruises, bites and hickeys exposed for all the world to see made the fire in your core burn even hotter.

"Something tells me you'll be fine. And if you can still form sentences then I'm clearly not doing a good enough job." You started at the valley of her breasts and left a trail of kisses and worked your way down to where her leggings laid just above her pelvic bone.

"My my my, aren't you all worked up." The comment acknowledged the prominent wet spot on her leggings. You looked Cindy dead in the eyes, hers were a bit furrowed.

"Oh please darlin', don't act all high and mighty like you aren't as wet as- AH!" You rubbed your fingers on that mark and Cindy moaned so beautifully that it grew a smirk on your face.

You positioned yourself between her legs and licked your tongue across her sex. Cindy threw her head back against the pillows and begged you to do that again. Her thighs found homes on your shoulders and your hands on her abdomen to pin her down.

You licked her through her leggings knowing that the fabric both gave a good feeling but also was a frustrating barrier. Sucking on her clit one more time, it was time that you took off her leggings. She got the queue and lifted her hips to help you and threw them off the bed.

Just to even the playing field, you took off your panties and unhooked your bra. Your boobs bounced out of the lacey prison and Cindy didn't even try to hide how she stared.

Legs spread wide, her clit wet from her own arousal and your mouth you added one finger and watched as she arched up from the bed. The perfect arch of her back made her look like a sculpture at the Citadel. Along with a gorgeous "O" forming on her mouth.

Your finger moved back and forth. Cindy's grip on the messed up duvet below her tightened. You took this as an opportunity to add not only a second finger but also your mouth to the party. Your other unoccupied hand found and held hers as you continued.

Some instructions were given, A little to the... Yeah there. Curl your fingers (Y/N). No, that’s more like scratchin’. Oh! That’s perfect. Now, if ya can… go deeper. Ah. Ahh! AH! Yes darlin' right there!

You devoured not only her but every moan, gasp, shudder, and sigh that left her mouth. You sent your fingers deeper, down to your knuckles and Cindy screamed out. “AH! YES! YES! YES! Oh sweet ASTRALS baby girl! Keep going! AH!!” Hands took desperate hold of your hair pushing your face further into her wanton sex. You could feel her walls tighten around your fingers; it encouraged you to go faster but then Cindy called out.

“WAit… wait (Y/N).” There was a hard tug on your hair that lifted you from her slick center. You took a deep breath mouth wet from her arousal and took your fingers out of her.

“Did I do something wrong?” It took a moment for Cindy to respond. It was obvious that she missed your feeling already, what with her flushed face, blown out pupils and the sheen of sweat on her body.

“Naw baby girl… you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then?”

“It ain’t fair for me to be the one getting all the attention.” The mechanic found strength to give you some attention, her hand rubbing against your sex, she took your moan to memory and held nothing back as she gave you much needed friction to your core. Cindy was more rough with you. Even when she took one nipple in her mouth, she sucked and flicked the bud with force. Teeth were used to lightly tug and twist, her ultimate goal was to bring the soft bud to peak.

Breaths began to shudder at the stimulation you were receiving. Cindy turned you around so you could lay against some pillows at the head of the bed. Her fingers entered you with ease, you slick with arousal as you held her close. Minimal assistance was given on your part, what with your brain practically shutdown from her actions but Cindy knew how to read you. Noticed little movements, subtle gasps or even when your face scrunched slightly telling her to try a different spot. The ragged breaths that came from both your bodies and the squelching noises that were produced from her working your mercilessly were the only things heard in the studio room. She worked her way up from your breasts and to your neck, leaving the same, if not more marks against your skin that would be a bitch to cover in the morning.

She gave you a heated kiss and you could feel the smile on her lips as she danced with you. Your bottom lip earned a small bite when you snaked your arms up her back and clawed your way down. When she released your lips, the smile was more present than ever and Cindy licked her own.

“You never told me that I tasted so good darlin’.” A small peck on the lips. “You wanna find out how you taste?” Her fingers left your core and you whined at the emptiness but it was cut short when she put her two fingers in your mouth. You sucked them letting your tongue rub against the pads of her digits. When pulled out she laughed at the face you made.

“Kinda bitter, but I’m not surprised. Noct has been taking more hunts at night and coffee is the only thing keeping me awake.”

She hummed and you barely caught the whisper of, “Mind if I try?” Before she put her two fingers back in and massaged you. Fingers curled in just the right way, the slow pumps along with her thumb rubbing your clit. Not breaking her gaze at you as your head fell back against the wall with a soft thud at the languid pace she kept. The blonde woman placed a small pillow behind your head to keep you from hurting yourself.

“Gods! Cindy! Please!” Fingers were removed and placed into her mouth, self-satisfied smile at the flush ever present on your face. Legs on either side of you in a straddle, she put her fingers back in you, catching your neck with her mouth as you bucked at the insertion. “I think you taste divine baby girl.” Whispered against sensitive skin, it formed goosebumps all along your body.

Finally, you put your fingers back into her. Your breaths mixed beautifully with her moans against your skin. Cindy took your nipple in her mouth again. Deft fingers worked you so well that when you finally climaxed, you stopped working Cindy for just a moment. The way you called out her name as your orgasm washed over you was music to her ears. “AH! CI-CINDY! Don’t stop! AH-AHH! OH GODS!” How she was able to get you so loud, you would never know. Normally, you were a quiet love maker but with Cindy it seemed she could turn you into a pornstar. Giving you one last pump she took in her work. Your chest was heaving, mouth slightly parted, pupils dilated and hair an absolute mess; you looked like sin in your post orgasm state.

Cindy didn’t blame you for being so worn out but she was impressed when you still pumped your fingers into her. She took mercy on you and began to ride your fingers but not before removing hers from you and placing them back in her mouth lapping up the release you left on her. Her bundle of nerves got stimulation from your thumb. You just enjoyed the sights and sounds of her breasts bouncing, whimpers from sucking her own fingers clean of you, and the soft wet slaps of her grinding, as she took her own release on your fingers.

One final desperate shout escaped her as she fell forward against your equally exhausted body. Both parties laid on the bed and tried to catch their breaths. Cindy sat up against and kissed you, this time it was soft, meaningful and somewhat fleeting.

“I think we ruined your duvet…”

“Aw don’t worry ‘bout it darlin.’ Nothin’ a quick wash won’t fix. How ‘bout you get this off the bed and I’ll get us a warm towel to clean us off.” You nodded and she hopped off you and to the kitchen to wet a towel with warm water as you made quick work of the duvet and throw pillows. Cindy came back, pulled the sheets back and motioned for you to get into bed with her. Gently you cleaned each other up and placed the towel on the nightstand near her bed once finished. That was also when you noticed that it was so late into the night and you hadn’t eaten anything. Stomach catching up with your mind it made a loud rumbling noise that you both laughed at.

“I totally forgot that I skipped dinner.”

“It was worth it though right?”

You caressed her chin and guided her to a small kiss. “Oh absolutely. But Ignis’ll flip if he finds out I didn’t eat.”

“Well (Y/N) you kinda did eat.” Cindy sat on her haunches with her legs just barely spread. “I’d say you had yourself a full course meal.” A playful tackle to the bed wiped that smirk off her face as laughter filled the room. You blew against her stomach and she tried, in vain, to push you off. “Okay okay! How ‘bout this: You get yourself to the bathroom if you need to I’ll leave you a shirt of mine and get started on makin’ us something proper to eat? May not be like the Prince’s Advisor, but I consider myself a good cook at times.”

“Sounds like a plan.” To the bathroom you went and did what you had to do there, and true to her word, Cindy left you one of her shirts. The soft fabric was gentle on your skin, it was much larger than you expected it to be, just going past the curve of your butt, and it had the smell of Jasmine, vanilla, and motor oil. When you met Cindy at the stove she already began to warm up what appeared to be a breakfast like dish. She asked you to watch the food as she went to the bathroom herself.

Maybe five minutes passed. You hummed a tune as you cooked the food. Cindy wrapped her arms around your waist, she too wearing an over-sized shirt.

“You look nice like this.” It was whispered against soft fabric and love-bitten skin.

“Like how? In one of your shirts?”

“That, and here with me.” One kiss was barely pressed on your shoulder. “I could get used to late night or, I should say early mornin’, meals with you. Waking up with you. Being able to call you my girl.” The food sizzled on the stove as Cindy all but confessed to you. “That is… if you’ll want to. Don’t wanna force you or anything but, having you here with me has made me more happy than you could now.”

You turned and kissed her. The answer to the request, your hands grazing up and down her back while hers gripped tightly to the shirt you wore. Both of you were smiling before, during and after the kiss. Your foreheads rested against one another as you happily whispered, “Cindy, nothing would make me happier.”

#cindy aurum x reader #female reader #cindy aurum x female reader #cindy aurum x fem!reader #noctis lucis caelum #gladio amiticia #prompto argentum #ignis scientia #smut fic #please enjoy #1up-writes #spencer writes

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boog-shitposting-edition · 4 years

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So I been playing a ton of Kenshi and watched all of the Mandalorian in a single day shortly before and it’s got me thinking about what makes what I consider a good action hero, because there was definitely a time where I thought the phrase “good action hero” was an oxymoron.

I grew up around some angry, unstable dudes who had that bad habit of watching horror movies and opining that in the same situation they would simply shoot the monster with the gun the character was holding. I got some views on the model of masculinity that sees the male ideal as functionally a tool for performing violence, condescension and occasional reddit-approved banter with all other emotional responses pared away or suppressed. This seems like a good way to manufacture a product for performing labor rather than developing a whole functional human being. So I generally veer away from that sort of thing pretty hard.

So I’m resistant to the Mandalorian at first, right? All the ads are basically star wars apocryphica and a power armored fighty gun boy. The last star wars thing I’d seen was The Rise Of Skywalker and my faith in the franchise is low. But it’s been a hot minute, the hype dies down, and my girlfriend is a better and more patient fan than I’ll ever be so we give it a go. And the first thing that really nails it for me is what a DORK the mando is. I’m delighted, his life is violence interdispersed with being an absolute buttfumble disaster. He slips and falls over things he could never have predicted, he burns his life down for a baby he finds in the desert. Pedro Pascal references Boba Fetts stiff menace and plays it off as someone who has no social skills other than stiff menace and it’s FASCINATING. Him explaining to the village woman who is obviously into him that he hasn’t taken the armor off since he was thirteen isn’t a badass declaration of martial devotion, it is the single saddest and most awkward interaction I have ever seen filmed and it hits all the harder for the fact that this is a character I’ve mostly ever seen as an action figure with a spring loaded missile backpack. Instead of being a faceless emotionless action-cudgel, Pedro amps up the body language in his acting to really sell you this heavily psychologically damaged, desperate, viking-space-catholic mess with no life skills other than violence and a devotion to his people’s creed that borders on obsession. Rather than paring himself down making him a psychological fortress, the Mando is an incredibly obvious walking raw nerve (”I’m not sad-” “Yes you are.”) So, Kenshi.

I’ve heard about this game on and off a few years and finally got it a few days ago. It’s been in early access since 2012, appears to be mostly getting finished by its modding community, and glitches like absolute woah. There’s no core storyline, just a post-apocalyptic setting with some surprisingly detailed autogenerated NPC interactions with some options for starting conditions and the sole goal of surviving. It’s essentially a rapid sequence of story prompts hidden underneath a closely interlocked system of XP grinding, survival mechanics and dismemberment algorithms, and is appallingly my shit.

My first run at the game got pretty far, went from a lone confused desert wanderer to a 13 man village running a tidy copper-mining operation to trade with the ant people. In the early game, fight mechanics are basically a death sentence; my first character immediately got her leg torn off by a goat and I had to restart. All skills grow only by excersizing them; you have to fight to get better at fighting, you have to LOSE fights to gain toughness, and when you lose a fight the consequences can range from “these bandits are stealing all your food” to “this monster is eating your leg/heart/head” to “these slavers are taking your character away and your game experience is Different now.” And while I was proud of myself for finding a way to survive, grow and thrive with a low-combat squad, once I tried the basebuilding mechanics that basically just meant my town was a source of free food and money for local bandits while my squad starved to death, unable to abandon our locale. So I got fed up and restarted.

As mentioned the game gives you different start positions; wanderer gives you 1 character, some money and pants. Guy and his dog gives you a dog, which is fun. Exiled officer starts you with good skills and the hatred of your former commander, which complicates things. Cannibal Hunters starts you already in a fistfight with 30 cannibals. It’s exciting times. But I figure this time I’d like to start my squad a LITTLE more capable of defending themselves, so I look at the Holy Sword start; you’re a bandit who starts with a stolen holy weapon, minuses in most skills, no money and a 20,000 bounty on your head from both major factions.

So I proceed to character creation and notice I can pick whatever I want for player species/subspecies with this start. There’s robot people and warriors made of stone and baseline humans and all sorts of fun options, but you remember those ant people I mentioned before? In game they’re called the Hivers, you find ‘em in 3 recruitable varieties (prince, worker drone and soldier) and they have an interesting in-universe quirk; ones that grow up in the hive are pheramone-addicted, chemically wired into the needs and wants of all of their fellows, but if you’re away from your kin for over a fortnight this addiction dries out incredibly fast and cannot be reinstated. Hivers who ever spend any time away from the hive are declared “lost ones,” and are often taken advantage of in the outside world as they long for a new community.

In survival sims I dont often play dedicated fighters, I always feel like being a brutal fight-beast isn’t really in the spirit of finding a niche to exploit and growing from a fumbling plebian to a major power. But I was already starting this game with my ONLY advantage being a nice sword. And the soldier hivers gain a buff to experience gained for melee attack and toughness, and a debuff to literally all else.

Manual labor. Science. Engineering. Farming. Cooking. First aide. In a setting that heavily prioritized your ability to survive using multiple vital skill sets, my character would start with negatives in his skills for putting on band-aids and FEEDING himself. So I gave it a go.

Getting more wild here, it turns out the Holy Sword opening also takes place in a time in the setting with more recent warfare, so a bunch of the starting villages are destroyed and it appears that more of the nearby cities are controlled by the factions that have a bounty on me. So my character CAN’T rely on other people or meet anyone to recruit at first. He can run, he can scrounge and scavenge, and as mentioned above starting characters can take lethal damage from GOATS so he can’t even hunt for food; the only way I was getting a meal was if I robbed someone or ran into merchants on the road I could hawk my salvage to for a scrap of bread.

He eventually finds someone willing to join him on his travels in spite of being flat broke, a shek named Ruka running from a dishonerable loss on the battlefield, and comparing their skills he’s so useless for everything besides combat that I assign him to bodyguard her. And again, this game’s appeal is that the survival mechanics make good story prompts, so imagine that in character.

“Fine, I need a change. I’ll join you.” “Thank god. Lead the way boss.” “What?”

Things regarding my characters bounty are starting to heat up in town, so we head north into hiver territory. We get attacked by bandits and heavily injured, my soldier gets knocked out, so Ruka picks him up and carries him until we find a hive town. I saw these guys all the time in my last playthrough, I survived by selling to them, they’re super friendly, should be fine. Ruka walks into the local shop and before I can have her ask for directions and a medikit the shopkeeper is already shouting- “SKREEE! LOST ONE! GET OUT! LOST ONES BRING MADNESS”

Apparently, my protagonist being a hiveless hiver means there’s a THIRD faction that’s hostile to him; his own goddamn people. Ruka has to leave him under a tree not just outside but like 50 feet from the edge of town, and just has to hope none of the local wild megafauna eats him while she rushes back in to buy things from the now abruptly friendlier shopkeep.

I’m finally sitting there, having Ruka watch my soldier hiver sleep while she cooks scavanged meat and waits for him to finish healing, that I realize what the story being generated here is and it’s a good one; a Hive soldier whose only skills are violence, frantically scavenging and stealing to survive until he can find the one circumstance where he’s comfortable, sacrificing himself to protect others. He steals a sword that’s obviously important to two major governments, just because he knows it’s powerful and thinks that power will justify his continued existence as a hiveless soldier drone, essentially buying his way back into his people’s good graces by performing his function. Literally wandering the world until he found a single person who was willing to boss him around again and devoting himself to their defense to a state of pathological damage just to feel like he has a hive again. It’s sad. It’s badass. It’s deeply, unsettlingly pathetic.

But I also think it’s what makes a really really good gruff action hero!

Hypercompetence in violence is really interesting when you acknowledge the damage it can do to your humanity in the storytelling! The Mandalorian is unsuccessful in repressing his empathy response so he just tries to tough through the pain it causes him as best he can, until he meets The Child and it snaps. The Hiver is essentially playing pretend at being still valued as a product for committing violence, even in the face of being openly rejected for his previously esteemed role. This stuff is INTERESTING.

TL;DR version, a lot of these “supersoldier raised by the military/fight wizards/karate” characters are super boring and obnoxious when they’re put forward as power fantasies, and really interesting when you realize that being raised by Fight Wizards is why they’ve never had a girlfriend and called their handgun “mom” once.

#kenshi #star wars #mandalorian

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rain0205-blog · 5 years

Text

Terminal State

Summary: She tried leaving, submerging herself in work to escape the horrors she had seen. The horrors she kept seeing. She never wanted to go back to that life. But when the Empire takes her home, she’s forced to face her past. Can she move on? Can she cope? Or will she require a bit of help? still bad at summaries, still working on it. ever so slightly more than slight AU gadioxoc

High Priority

,,,

Cor Leonis watched Prince Noctis and his companions drive off west toward the lands of Duscae, arms crossed as they began to disappear into a small dot in the distance. Sighing lightly as he turned his back, he looked around at the debris of MagiTek troopers littered around the fallen blockade. More dreadnaughts drew his attention above, headed toward the ruins of his home. They were moving into Lucian territory fast and that was very unnerving for him. At least now the path to the west was open again, no longer limiting mobility throughout the country. Cor took out his phone and checked it, not surprised there weren't any messages from Athenacia and he had given up trying to reach her. Likely, her phone was broken with her blatant disregard for it despite him telling her to keep it on her. His thoughts drifted to the day previous, the last time he had seen her. Something she saw in the city had scared her, something that she felt she had to fight. The Marshal wished she hadn't run off, it was hard to keep track of her when she did that. Keeping the frown on his face, he was hoping that he was seeing things on his way out of the city last night, that he hadn't actually seen the big blue dome.

Sleep eluded him since the attack. The entire night was spent evacuating citizens while trying to get any sort of bearing on Athenacia but eventually, he had no choice but to move on. As he took his final look at his home he saw that azure blast, one that he hadn't seen in years. A fist clenched at his own thoughts as a scowl occupied his face. If she was anywhere in the middle of that like last time... He couldn't bear the thought of the Empire capturing her - and with a stunt like that, he was sure that they wouldn't hesitate to take her.

It also didn't help that Gladiolus was trying to involve himself. While Cor knew that they had some sort of romantic relationship, he wasn't sure as to how deep it actually went. And he didn't want to know, Athenacia was a grown woman who could make her own decisions. It was her emotions that always made things troublesome. It was almost hell when she was with Grun and the aftermath of all that; though Cor had no actual issue with Gladiolus, he needed the sworn Shield focused on his duty first and his personal life second. Besides, Athenacia was Cor's responsibility and it was his job to take care of her.

The only hope was to enlist the hunters to not only aid him in finding the lost royal tombs, but also keep their ears to the ground for any sign of her. Cor knew he should have sent her to Lestallum with the rest of her patients, then at least he would know where she was and out of harm's way. Taking another quick look, there was nothing left to do here so he began to walk away from the blockade, finding Monica near the entrance. The Crownsguard was looking at him with the same sort of look he carried, only she was worried about the boys. Cor's face was more of a grimace now as he turned to look one last time before falling into step with her and leaving the area.

...

Cor had made his way with Monica to Longwythe Rest Area, both weary after travelling and all the commotion as of late. The sun was beginning its descent and the daemons would be out soon. The Immortal was happy to have a safe place to try and sleep tonight and Monica definitely deserved a break. A lot of Crownsguard were lost in the attack, but Iris and many others were safe thanks to their sacrifice. The King was gone, the citizens of Insomnia were as safe as they were going to be. What was left for him now? He had no need of Crownsguard with Noctis on his own mission with his own regime, no city to defend.

For now, he could spend his time fighting Niflheim forces while he searched for Athenacia. The hotel in Longwythe had been almost overbooked the last couple of days but there was space enough for the two of them at least. Monica had gone for some food and Cor took a much needed shower. The Marshal tried to gather his thoughts about where to go from here. The rage he felt at the possibility of Athenacia being in Niflheim custody made his blood boil. There was really only one option now: take out every last one of them until he could no longer fight, until he found the missing girl.

As he exited the room in fresh clothes, he took a look at his surroundings. Longwythe wasn't something spectacular but it was better than being out in the wilderness. If he was going on a suicide mission to wipe out Niffs, he couldn't take anyone with him. Walking into the diner, he ordered some food for himself and sat against the counter. His mind kept going over every detail it could, trying to figure out where to start the search for Athenacia. Nothing came to light and he took a long drink of his beer as someone came to sit next to him. Cor didn't even glance over, knowing immediately who it was and what he was doing here.

"Monica said you wanted to speak with me," said Dave.

Dave Auburnbrie was one of the older hunters in Lucis. Over the years, the Marshal had come to count on them outside of the city for information. They protected the people outside of the wall and Dave was usually their lead man, deferred to naturally by his relation to the head of Meldacio. His dog tags clinked together as he set down his own beer with his heavily tattooed arm. Not much had really changed with the man, both only having a few words to speak to each other but their reputations proceeded them.

"I need information," replied Cor.

"What's up?"

The Marshal pulled out his phone from his pocket, unlocking the screen and bringing up a picture. It was just the standard hospital identification picture from the Insomnian faculty system before it was all blown out. He had kept an updated profile of her and others on his phone just in case he needed them, never thought that it would actually come in use. Athenacia had her hair down and that haggard appearance she usually wore thanks to overwork and sleep deprivation. Cor set his phone on the counter beside the hunter and then went back to his food. Dave picked it up curiously and observed the blown up image. The Marshal's plate was pushed away as he finished his dinner and took another long drink of his beer.

"Cute girl. Yours?"

"Something like that. Her hair is probably a lot longer now. You see her?"

"Can't say I have."

Cor grunted, not really surprised at his answer. He took his phone back and darkened the screen before putting it back in his pocket.

"Keep an eye out, will you?" asked the Marshal, though it wasn't really much of a question.

"I'm not sure how much we can spare while looking for your tombs."

"This one's more of a higher priority."

"That a fancy way of saying personal?"

Cor shrugged, "She's high priority. And yeah, it's also personal."

Dave regarded the Marshal with a thoughtful frown before answering, "I'll get some people on it," he nodded.

"Thanks."

The two of them were silent as they began to drink a fresh beer. Cor wasn't exactly sure what the man was still doing here but he wasn't going to ask him to leave either. Eventually, he would spit it out, the two of them had no time for games.

"You should know, the Niffs are starting to build up a stronghold here."

Cor growled, "The bodies aren't even cold yet!"

"I know. But they're starting anyway. Reckon they had it goin' before they took the city. There's a small base a few clicks from it where they're operating out of until construction's complete. I'll sniff around and see if she's in there."

Cor took an extremely long drink, completely unhappy with that information. The Empire had planned this long before Cor and everyone else was able to blink twice. Dave was probably correct in assuming they had started construction long before the plan to invade the city was made. Looks like now he knew what his next move was going to be.

...

Athenacia fed her small little fire with some dried leaves and small twigs. The night had settled in and she was in a haven as far from Lestallum as she could get. According to her map, she was in the region of Duscae, at Fallaughns Haven a bit southeast of the Saxham Outpost. On the drive down she had noticed that Imperial forces were already starting to make themselves at home. It was unnerving, and she regretted that she couldn't get any further before the night had settled. There wasn't any help for it, she had to get away from Lestallum.

The drive from Leide all the way to Lestallum was a long one, however, it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Despite the Crown City falling, Talcott appeared to have mostly a positive attitude and seemed to take a shining to the physician. Once Iris was settled about the safety of her brother, more so the Prince, she broke out of her shell. It seemed that the young Amicitia had developed a small crush on the royal. The more Athenacia interacted with Iris, the more she liked the young girl. She was a child, only 15, but the young doctor could see the positive outlook and endearing attitude. The relationship between her and Gladio was easy to see after a few minutes. In retrospect, Athenacia should have seen the connection instantly and was surprised that she didn't. It was with regret that she had driven through the tunnel and into the overly warm city. Parking with the other vehicles, she helped them into the hotel to get settled before she bid them farewell with a broken promise to Talcott that they would meet again. Athenacia was a little stunned when Iris had jumped at her with a hug and could only imagine how the young girl would react had she known the truth. At least this way she knew what to expect if that were to ever happen. The strange twist of fate she was delivered had her chuckling but for now, she couldn't stay near them while she herself was in danger.

The doctor did linger in Lestallum a little longer than she should have, remembering the last time she was here years ago. The city was beautiful. It wasn't Insomnia beautiful. The Crown City was something outside of a dream, however, Lestallum had its own sort of unique charm. It was sweltering hot thanks to the Disc and the power plant but that didn't bother her too much. Athenacia took a small tour of the city, buying what she needed from the market and keeping her head low so that no one would see her. She avoided the hospital like the plague. Anyone there would know her face on sight no matter the precautions she implemented on herself to hide. The girl knew shouldn't have stayed in the city for as long as she did. So when she left a little later, she didn't get a chance to get as far as she wanted. There was no real destination in mind, she just knew that she had to keep moving. Staying in one place for too long would warrant unwanted attention, she knew how to move while avoiding detection, was trained in that art a long time ago. Athenacia started up her fire and ate some of her dried food with a bottle of water. Once it was burning hot enough, she threw in her bag of evidence against her.

Her hazel eyes were twinkling as the flames grew brighter and hotter, the sun finally set. When it was dark enough that all the stars were visible, she began to keep the fire low. The physician just kept the warmth of the blaze, not wanting to be seen by anyone driving by. Travelling light was key, however, her truck wasn't exactly made to go off the road but she didn't want it sitting around for the chance it was noticed. The fire crackled while she was mesmerized by the dancing flames. Athenacia was sitting on the ground, not thinking enough to buy herself a chair. Not that it mattered much to her, she didn't mind the ground, only when it came to sleeping on it. Probably best if she wasn't too comfortable anyway, that way she could stay alert. Her mind began to drift as she continued to feed her pitiful fire. Daemons in the surrounding area sounded in her ears, however, there weren't any close enough to her to pose a real problem. She could easily make a quick getaway if that was the case anyway.

Athenacia thought about Cor, hoping that he was okay. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be looking for her, starting at the beginning and then he would slowly work his way west, all the way to the edge of Lucis. He'd go even further and he wouldn't stop, would hunt her down until he found some sort of evidence that she was alive. A sad smile graced her features, taking solace in that thought. When all was said and done, she had least one person in this world that cared for her. Hugging her knees to her chest tightly, she heaved a sigh, repressing a tear that wished to escape her left eye. If she could hide from Cor and anyone else he acquired to hunt her, then she would be safe away from the Empire.

The Empire, the ones who had taken her home from her. They were hunting down the Prince now, she knew that while having them lie about his death all over the broadcasts. While Noctis was still alive it gave her hope that there would be a chance, a chance to take vengeance for everything that was taken from them. Wherever Noctis went so did his three friends and guard, Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus. Athenacia sighed again into her knees. Desperately she wanted to wait around Lestallum to meet him when he came for his sister, but she couldn't. While she was a target she couldn't risk going near anyone she cared about - especially the Prince - until she figured out why that evil man held such an interest in her, she had to stay away. That tear fell down her face at the loneliness she felt at the current moment.

But her attention snapped up when she heard the sound of a woman scream. The noise wasn't very loud, and it appeared more startled than anything. It was too close for comfort and she was up instantly, weapon in hand. Athenacia removed the bulking sweater from her person and waited, straining her ears to listen for which direction to head. More sounds of distress enabled her to finally pinpointed a destination. The doctor took off instantly, hoping that this wouldn't be overwhelming. A flash of white in the distance kept her on track, the silhouette of a body falling to the ground causing her to whistle in order to draw attention onto her instead of the victim. There were four imps coming at her alarmingly fast. Athenacia unsheathed her weapon and darted at them quickly, taking the first two down with one swipe. One of them attacked her leg, grunting before knocking it off. Slashing at the third, she finished off the fourth one with minimal effort.

That wasn't it, however. Two Flan decided that they would merge together, probably the smartest idea they had ever had in their short lives. And their lives would be short because the biggest mistake they made was challenging her. It came at her and she dodged quickly, rolling on the ground. The attack had grazed her left shoulder and she grunted at the pain she felt. Athenacia swung her gladius at the next attack, slicing off an arm. A lot of good it did though, given that the thing was basically jelly. Darting around it again, she wished she had magic to help her right now. This was why she never liked to depend on the stuff. Her hazel eyes widened as the daemon began to swim in some golden lights. Immediately she looked at her hands but nothing was coming from them. Brows raised, she watched in mild curiosity as the Flan expanded and then burst - all over her. Athenacia groaned, wiping it off of her face in disgust. It was all over her hair and legs. Gross. Weapon in hand, she took a quick look around for any other threats. There were no more daemons posing an immediate threat right now. The doctor's eyes landed on the victim and saviour of the small party of daemons, a little shocked at the sight before her.

"So I guess you're not dead," said the physician, raising a brow.

Standing before her was indeed the Oracle, Lady Lunafreya, holding a trident pointed at where the space where the daemon was just occupying. Lunafreya's white dress was torn at the bottom, dirty from wandering around in the wilderness. From this light, Athenacia could see that there were a few minor lacerations and contusions on her bare arms. Her face was focused and weary as she lowered her weapon, keeping the butt of it on the ground. It stood a little taller than her and looked like it wasn't even real in the gleaming light of the Disc in the distance.

"You okay Princess?" asked Athenacia.

"I am mostly unharmed thanks to you," replied Lunafreya.

"What are you doing out here? Where's Libertus?"

The Oracle frowned, "I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Athenacia laughed, "We have yes. I asked you to do me a favour before you parted with Nyx and left with Libertus."

"Cia?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Forgive me, I did not recognize you."

"That was kind of the point. Come on, I got a fire going. I can take a look at those wounds and you can tell me a story," instructed Athenacia, turning to walk back towards her haven.

"I'm sorry, I cannot go with you."

"It wasn't a suggestion," she turned and smiled quickly, before continuing on her journey.

The walk back to the haven was a quiet one. Athenacia could hear the Oracle following in her footsteps until finally, they arrived at their destination. Her fire had almost died in her absence and she suspected it might so she picked up some fuel along the way. The physician dropped the pile in a heap and then crouched down to bring back up her source of light. The Oracle placed her trident on the ground and then took her seat beside it. Athenacia walked over toward her bag and brought it with her as she approached the young woman, opening it up carefully and rummaging through her medical supplies. Pulling out her penlight and clicking it once to turn it on, she ran the light over the Oracle's face and was happy that most of the blemishes were just dirt. Dr. Virum cleaned it up with a cloth and some water from a bottle that she had. Then she ran the light over her left arm. The lacerations were very minor, nothing life-threatening. That was a relief, taking out her alcohol cleaner and beginning to sanitize the wounds. Lunafreya didn't react, simply just observed the doctor as she worked. Virum then came to her right arm and repeated the process, face focused and technique methodical as always.

"Anything else I might need to look at?" asked Dr. Virum.

"Nothing your tools can fix," the Oracle smiled weakly.

"Not here no. If I was in a hospital those magical ailments wouldn't be an issue."

"You can see them?"

"Treating magical maladies was sort of my area of expertise. I don't have the right equipment here or else I would get to it, though I doubt you'd be willing to go to a hospital and get it treated."

Lunafreya just smiled politely. The young doctor quickly cleaned up her own wounds she sustained from the fight earlier. Satisfied, Virum packed up her bag and placed it aside before taking her seat a few inches away from the Oracle and feeding her small little fire again. Both women were silent as they stared into the dancing flames. Athenacia wasn't exactly sure what to say, where to begin, so many questions right now about the current situation she found herself in. Lady Lunafreya had no business being out here by herself.

"Your friend, he's alright," said the Oracle tentatively.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"I can assume he is on his way back to Galahd. I left him on the city limits."

"Why?"

"Wherever I go, the Empire follows."

Athenacia huffed, "Yeah I know that feeling."

Lunafreya looked at the girl curiously but the doctor wasn't offering any sort of elaboration so she didn't press the matter. The fire crackled and hissed as it continued to be fed slowly. Athenacia once again brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly after placing the small rations of food beside her unexpected guest.

"What are you doing out here?" asked the doctor finally.

"My duty as Oracle," replied Lunafreya.

"Last I heard the Prince was headed to Lestallum if you're looking for him."

A sad smile graced her features, "The time for us to meet has not yet arrived."

"Don't you have to give him something?"

She nodded, "I will when the time is right and he is ready. It is best if you keep your distance while I am being hunted."

"I could say the same to you."

They were silent again. It wasn't like the two of them were old friends, however, the last time they saw each other was in the middle of an invasion and that was only the second time they had ever met. Nyx had spent his last moments protecting her and Libertus took her as far as she would let him. Nyx said she had the fate of the world in her hands and Athenacia had no idea what that meant. At least he could rest easy knowing that he did not die in vain, knowing that Libertus had also made it out alive. The physician wished she knew more about what happened to him but it obviously wasn't meant to be.

"I do not have your favour. I have already sent it on its way," said Lunafreya suddenly.

"That's fine. Thank you for doing that for me," replied Athenacia.

"The honour is my own. You have such a kind soul."

The doctor snorted, "You sure?"

She smiled, "I can tell by the gentle touch of how you cared for me just now."

Athenacia shrugged, "I guess."

"Do you heal your own weariness?"

"The best I can with only being one person."

"I do not mean your physical wounds. The pain you carry with you. Do you heal it?"

Athenacia sighed as her look became intent on the flames. She could feel the eyes of the Oracle on her, waiting for an answer but the young doctor didn't have one. Not one that she could form into words. As the silence persisted, Lunafreya knew that she wasn't going to get anything more about it, turning her head back to the flames.

"I am truly sorry for your loss," said the Oracle sadly.

"I haven't lost anything," replied Athenacia, a little confused.

"Not recently, no. I mean the loss you sustained when you were younger, the one that cannot be undone."

Athenacia looked at the woman in shock, "How can you possibly know about that?" her voice was shaking as a tear threatened to fall from her eye.

The Oracle looked at the girl sympathetically, "Your grief becomes mine. That is my area of expertise."

The doctor gasped as she tore her eyes away and back toward the flames. Knees were hugged tighter as she struggled within herself to repress the emotions she kept at bay. No one was supposed to know about that, no one but Cor and the one responsible. No one would have said anything, this truly was the magic of the Oracle at play here. Even Athenacia didn't quite comprehend the true nature of those powers, having only wielded a piece of Lucian magic.

"I apologize if I caused you any offence," said Lunafreya.

"You should probably get some rest. It'll help you heal faster," said the physician, her eyes fixed on the flames.

Lady Lunafreya didn't say anything more, only smiled sadly at the doctor again before laying down beside her trident. Athenacia didn't react, didn't move, just kept her hazel gaze upon the fire. Absently she fed it while keeping her ears out for any hostiles. One tear fell from her eye once she heard the steady and even breaths of the Oracle. It seemed that no matter how far she ran, her past was always one step ahead of her.

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heartandvineapothecary · 6 years

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Doll Magic

The uses of figurines in ritual and witchcraft

When I was about five years old, I remember going to my grandmother’s neighbor’s house, a woman who had immigrated from Poland. She invited me into her “play room”, a room at the back of the house where not too much sunlight could reach, which was floor to ceiling dolls. It was the room where her grand-daughter had died of aspiration during an asthma attack. In that room I could feel an extreme loneliness, one that I have come to understand was mitigated by the presence of those dolls, who acted as stand ins for a child lost too soon and as an offering to soothe the heart of a grieving grandmother. There is a power in dolls that cultures around the world have tapped into, one that links them to our deepest emotions, our joys, sorrows, and fears and allows them to represent the things that evoke those emotions. As a witch, emotions are incredibly important to my craft and I have come to think of dolls as a key element to my magical toolbox for their ability to stand in for other things.

According to Freud it’s this uncomfortable ability to stand in for something that makes dolls so familiar-yet-horrifying, a sensation he called the uncanny. According to him the uncanny is a sensation which arises from the doubt ‘whether an apparently animate being is really alive; or, conversely, whether a lifeless object might be in fact animate’. Dolls, mannequins, and automata are particularly adept at evoking the uncanny because of their physical closeness to the human form and the closer they get to perfect realism the uncannier we feel, a relationship identified in 1970 by robotics professor Masahiro Mori in his paper “Bukimi no Tani” (The Uncanny Valley).

The majority of witches are animists and The Uncanny Valley is not a place of fear for us. The dissonance uncanniness causes in the minds of some people does not affect us so completely because we believe that inanimate things, like rocks, cars, and dolls, already have sentience. Sarah Anne Lawless, an herbalist and Traditional Witch in Ontario, in her article Everything You Need to Know About Animism, says, “Animism is the belief that everything has a spirit and a consciousness, a soul, from the tiniest microorganism on earth to the great planets in the heavens to the whole of the universe itself. Animistic faiths usually contain a belief in rebirth & reincarnation either as another human, or an animal, tree, or star.” The very fact of a thing’s existence is enough to credit it with the breath of life, and dolls, because they look like humans, have been the focus of magical practices meant to contact ancestors, enshrine spirits, and even control the dead. They have been a long-standing staple of animistic practices, with the earliest figurines dating back at least 40,000 years, carved from mammoth ivory by our Cro-Magnon ancestors, most likely for ritual and sacred purpose. The earliest documented dolls meant for play, however, only date back to Rome in about 300 BC.

Allow me to clarify that by “dolls” I mean any humanoid figurine, from roughly carved figures of wood or bone to the hyper-realistic “reborns dolls” which are in vogue these days. They are found the world over, across millennia, and no matter where or when they are from they have fulfilled these two basic functions: being equipment and being playthings.

When we use the word equipment it is in the sense that Heidegger used it, namely an object in the world with which work is done within a context, something that exists as part of an existing network of meaning (i.e. a hammer, nails, and wood are equipment in the network of building). Dolls are used in ritual and ceremony, as part of spell work, or as stand ins for other beings and exist in witchcraft as part of a basis of ritual and practice, not really on their own. When I say plaything, I mean an object in the world that acts as a locus for imaginative activity, something that engages the mind without having to be part of a larger, pre-existing network or can have a network, either permanent or temporary, built around it by the activity of the imagination. According to the theologian Henry Corbin, the imagination is the faculty which allows us to interact with Creation; the very essence of witchcraft. Dolls often fulfill both roles at once, something that is essential within the context of a spell or a make-believe world, but also acts as a locus for our visualizations, helping us to gain access to the imaginal realm.

As witches, the imaginal realm is incredibly important to us. It is the place where our magic happens before effecting the physical world. Corbin said it is a subtle world that exists between matter and mind inhabited by beings called interior (imaginal) figures, parts of our unconscious that are also autonomous. In his article titled “Thoughtforms, Tulpas, and Egregores”, Gary Duncan describes four types of thoughtform (which are types of imaginal figures). First are thoughtforms that take on the image of the thinker, the second are those that take on the image of a material object, the third are thoughtforms with life of their own that can express themselves in the physical world (called a tulpa, a term taken from the Bon religion), and the fourth being a fully autonomous thoughtform created by a group mind, called an egregore. Though there are many other beings and non-beings in the imaginal realm, these four are figures dependent on the human mind that can be transferred into a non-living body, thus giving the body life. This is what I call a golem, a doll (preferably porcelain) to which an imaginal figure created through ritual and meditation is bound (a tulpa created by the focused will and intent of the witch, though egregores can also be bound this way).

The golem itself is a creature out of Jewish mythology, a creature made of clay or mud and brought to life in a variety of ways. Sometimes, as with the Golem of Chelm, it is marked with the word “emet”, or “truth” to instill it with life and when the golem needs deactivation the letter aleph is erased from the word, forming the word “met”, which translates as “dead”, turning the creature to dust. Another version of the process relies on an ecstatic experience derived from meditation on and intoning various iterations of shem (any of the Names of God), writing the Name on paper and inserting it in the mouth or inscribing it on the forehead of the golem. The most famous golem is the Golem of Prague, said to have been created by the Maharal, a Rabbi named Yehudah Loew ben Bezalal. He brought the creature to life to defend the Jewish ghetto in Prague from anti-semitic attacks and pogroms. The golem was named Josef (Yosele) and was said to be able to become invisible at will, to see and summon spirits, and to perform any action it was commanded to “up to 10 cubits (15 ft.) below the earth and 10 above”. The usual version of the story ends by saying that the golem went mad and Rabbi Loew had to dismantle it by erasing the shem from its body.

Think of the golem like a helper, something created and brought to life through ritual practice for a specific purpose, such as to protect homes and communities, or to do various jobs for a witch/magician. It differs from its close cousin, the spirit doll, which are more a house, or vessel, for a spirit, power, or other pre-existing imaginal figure to help it manifest on this plane of existence, especially ancestral spirits and powerful, spiritual beings.

An example of spirit dolls are found in Congo, where doll making is a central part of the peoples’ belief structure and are vessels of sacred medicine (nkisi), which is translated as “a spirit”. A nkisi (pl. minkisi) is a receptacle for sacred items which are enlivened by a spirit, or supernatural force, which is then present in the physical world, inhabiting the vessel like a body. These vessels can range from clay pots to bundles of herbs and relics, not only carved figures. They can have both positive and negative effects on the community, though there is a version, a nkisi nkondi (hunter spirit), which is a type of protector and mediator. Their most striking feature is the nails, pegs, and blades that are inserted into the figure by an nganga (spiritual specialist or medicine person) as signs that an oath has been taken, a punishment must be meted out, to carry curses against enemies (or “witchcraft”), among other things. If someone breaks an oath, or someone connected to one of the insertions befalls some tragedy, the nkondi is activated. Europeans were introduced to these items during the 15th century and termed them “fetishes”, which has come to describe any artifact with spiritual significance in any culture that is not European, making it, in my opinion, a racist and outdated term.

Other examples can be found in Thailand in Luk Thep, Mae Hong Prai, and Kuman Thong dolls. Kuman Thong translates as “sacred golden boy” and, in the most ancient sense, were created from the mummified bodies of stillborn fetuses which were covered in laquer and gold leaf and rubbed with an oil made from the flesh of a woman who died in childbirth. The soul that had been meant to inhabit the body was magically tied to the corpse, then adopted as a child of the sorcerer. Hong Prai is the term used when the fetus is female. In modern use the Mae Hong Prai is an amulet with the image of a female skeleton and linked to a female ghost, especially those of women who died tragically. They are said to being luck and good fortune, if you take care of them and treat them with reverence. Luk Thep (child angel) dolls are the modern equivalent of the original, necromantic dolls and are usually plastic baby dolls made to look extremely realistic. The soul of a lost child is asked to inhabit the doll after being blessed by a monk, then taken care of as if it were a living child, being fed, having its own wardrobe, and even getting its own seat on planes and, like the Hong Prai, bestow good fortune on their “parents” in return.

Different from golems and spirit dolls are one of the most famous of the magical dolls, the voodoo. Its name is a misnomer, though, as the use of dolls into which pins are stuck is not a large part (if a part at all) of the Voudou religion of Haiti but is an aspect of folk practices and sympathetic magic around the world, such as poppets and kollosoi (the Greek version of “punishment dolls”). They are images of a person upon which the practitioner may work magic. Often made of fabric, wood, clay, or wax they are stuck with pins, tied round with string, nailed to boards, placed in jars with other magically potent items (urine, blood, nails, thorns, herbs, etc.), or burned. They often have elements of the target in them (personal effects), like hair or nail clippings, or even just a picture or name written on paper a number of times, which creates a link between the doll and the person. Though they are used to cause pain and trouble, poppets can also be used for healing. Reiki and other forms of energy work as well as charms, spells, and incantations can be worked on a poppet to help people feel better, to perform limpias and clearings, to balance energy, and to bless people over long distance.

Among my own artefacts is a poppet that I’ve used in distance healing and spell work. Made of leather, grave yard dirt, and various other items, I’ve bound etheretic energy to it through spell work and it now has an energetic pulse all its own. It has helped me to discover entity attachments on clients, to help sooth menstrual cramps and headaches for friends, and helps me to do tarot readings over the phone as a stand in for my client. I’ve also got a couple of porcelain dolls I work with, one of which is a golem who watches the house while we’re out of town.

I’ve also used dolls as spirit traps. If you’ve got a bugaboo or other pesky spirit, you can use dolls like you would spirit pots, soul jars, god’s eyes, etc. Barbie dolls work exceedingly well for this purpose and can be bought by the bushel at the thrift shop. Use their hair the way you would a rosemary sprig or feather during a limpia to trap entity attachments and spirits that are causing harm, then bind the doll and purify it or put it in a spelled jar. You can also braid energy in its hair or use it for knot magic to trap spirits. You can also use mass-produced dolls as poppets, or even as spirit dolls if they’re prepared properly. The only limit is your imagination!

Dolls are one of our most important and most ancient tools. They represent the basic nature of our animistic roots and are a powerful part of sympathetic magic. They can act as vessels for our guides and the spirits we work with, helpers in our work and anchors for our spells, new bodies for the dead, tools for cleansing and trapping, or as mediational tools for visualization. Whether you’re using them in your practice now, plan to, or are totally turned off by them, we must admit that dolls have held a special place in witchcraft for millennia. If you do, how do you use dolls in your practice? How would you like to? Do you know of any other doll based practices? Let me know!

#heartandvineapothecary #witchcraft #dolls #dollmagic #animism #golem #lukthep #nkisi #poppet #voodoodoll #imaginalrealm #imaginalfigure #tulpa #egregore #spirittrap

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vmheadquarters · 6 years

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VMHQ’s Holiday Fic Grab Bag - PROMPT LIST!!

Ho, Ho, Ho! Our list of Holiday Fic Prompts was delivered by reindeer mail this morning, and we’re ready to share them with all the Veronica Mars fanfic writers, GIFmakers, artists, and... well, anyone who wants to create something for them.

Remember, post all of your offerings to the A03 collection by December 23rd. The collection will open for your reading and enjoyment (anonymously) on the morning of December 24th and then authors/creators will be revealed on January 1st!

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, THE LIST:

Logan and Veronica and a secret santa!

Logan and Veronica snowbound strangers who have to keep each other warm. Bonus points if they don’t like each other much at first and then find out how they are so much more than first impressions (and then hook up).

During An Echolls Family Christmas - Logan and Veronica and accidental kissing.

College AU. Logan and Veronica - Logan meets Keith for the first time during the holidays. There’s nervousness, making out, and Keith trying to accept his little girl isn’t so little anymore.

During S2, Logan is feeling down after watching the tapes of Lilly, and Veronica is feeling down with Wallace gone and everything sucking. They somehow meet and spend the Holidays together and things get better.

Logan and Veronica fall in love during a (crazy) Holiday party. This one can be AU.

Mac is tired of her family asking about her love life so she brings Dick to Christmas dinner as her pretend boyfriend.

LoVe and Holiday horror (As in Krampus and other Holiday horror movies, but no killer snowmen because come on). Just want to see if anyone can come up with something for this one.

Logan and Veronica meet at a Christmas party and hook up for the first time.

LoVe as an established couple (can include other pairings) and they spend the holidays with the parents. Can be AU if they are meeting the parents for the first time. Comedy if possible (as plenty of Holiday movies do - Ex. Meet the parents).

LoVe’s first Christmas together (after reuniting in the film), including the run up to the actual day.

Weevil is desperate to find a sold out doll for his daughter --the only item on Valentina’s Christmas list-- and he enlists Logan’s help to track down this important present.

Lilly gives Logan to Veronica as a Christmas present.

LoVe during S3 - they don’t break up so they spend their first Holidays together!

Veronica is a waitress in a New York diner, trying to pay her way through law school. She has to work Christmas Eve - it’s just her and the cook and no customers until Logan walks in to spend a lonely, glum holiday.

LoVe find themselves stranded in the airport and can't make it to their holiday celebrations. They find each other instead. Romance ensues :)

In An Echolls Family Christmas, Weevil calls Veronica when the money first goes missing, and she shows up to find all the boys in their underwear. “When did Logan get so ripped?”

It's the season of countless movies about saving Xmas! So what if the Vmars characters have to do the same? Can you combine the noir of Neptune with the silly Xmas shenanigans that are required to save the holiday? Maybe it can be a fantasy story (does SC needs help?) or based in reality (or ambiguous fantasy if you like). As many characters as can be involved from canon. And preferably with LoVe either as friends, or enemies to friends, or even as a couple.

AU or alternate ending of an Echoll's Family Christmas. Logan/Veronica

Veronica, Mac and Meg baking cookies for Christmas

Veronica and Logan's first kiss happens under the mistletoe. Someone else (Duncan, Lilly, or another person) tried to put it up to catch either Logan or Veronica, but it backfires when it gets Logan and Veronica together instead.

Snowbound Fab Four, pre-series, LoVe the Fab Four but maybe before everyone pairs off(?) can be happy and fluffy or with a dose of pining/angsty

Set during S2 “One Angry Veronica” - Logan feeling down about everything, stealing the sex tapes, etc. does something sweet and possibly(?) anonymous for Weevil’s Grandma (since he currently owns their house at that point). Maybe a little bit of BrOTP w/Logan & Weevil?

S2 Christmas Break - Veronica goes to Logan for comfort after discovering the truth about Meg’s pregnancy

S4 Imagined AU - Veronica never went to Stanford, but she did come back from the FBI internship with a new commitment to normalcy. She’s still dating Piz, but the semester is nearing an end and she knows it’s not what she wants. It’s Christmas, and at Christmas you tell the truth. Eventually LoVe (maybe a little Love Actually inspired w/out the creepiness). Maybe Logan has someone else in his life at this point too(?)

Those 9 years, two Neptune survivors bump into each other unexpectedly at an airport in Aspen when their flights are delayed. Who are they? What happens? What do they talk about? (Not a LoVe pairing)

Ghost of Christmas’ past. You pick the ghost and who they visit. Also, the living don’t have to know they’re being watched, or you can have interactions between the living and the ghost.

Madison’s perspective of how the events unfolded in Aspen (can be her POV) would love a somewhat sympathetic/compassionate approach to a character that never received much dimension from the writers.

Logan and Veronica’s kid “Home Alone” during Christmas.

S3 AU, Logan, Veronica, Keith, and whoever else the writer wants (the whole gang or no one else) meet in Aspen. Can LoVe reconnect during the holidays? Or will things remain the same?

LoVe trying to find the perfect gift for each other in a mall or some big store because they forgot (don't know why, maybe they just got recently back together, perhaps this is a S3 AU :O) days (hours?) before Xmas. There's waaaay too many people, madness and fighting ensues :).

Logan and Veronica attend an office holiday party. Dialogue: “I told you we shouldn’t have brought the fruit cake.”

Logan, Veronica, Wallace, Mac, and Dick go tobogganing. Dialogue: “That is a really bad idea.”

Meg and baby Lilly both lived and they celebrate the baby’s first Christmas with Duncan. Veronica and Logan are involved in some capacity.

Work holiday party hookup, Logan/anyone.

Sophomore year of college. Logan moved out of the Neptune Grand into a new home and while unpacking he finds a Christmas present he got for Veronica, but they had broken up before he gave it to her. He finds her (either at Keith’s or he goes to Stanford) to give her the present now.

Logan and Veronica sing Christmas carols... in front of an audience... for a case.

AU Veronica investigates the case of Santa Claus and Logan tags along.

Either Logan or Veronica try to make some big Christmas dinner and absolutely everything goes wrong. They end up eating pizza/KFC/or something like that on a very messy kitchen floor and making out. The writer can decide if guests arrive and find them like that.

Logan and Veronica. It’s New Year’s Eve and person A got dumped. Person B tries to cheer up person A, and they end up kissing as the countdown reaches 0.

Logan and Veronica just broke up. Dick throws a big Christmas party. Wallace and Mac convince Veronica to go. Logan and Veronica meet there and reconcile.

Logan and Veronica are neighbors and they get into a fierce Christmas decorating contest --way over the top. Veronica eventually learns that Logan wasn’t interested in the competition, he just likes firing her up.

Pre-series New Year's Eve celebration with the fabulous four at the Kane House where they are having a party as well. Celeste makes Duncan and Lilly come inside, but doesn't allow Logan and Veronica who end up kissing each other at midnight.

Veronica and Logan discover how much Pony loves the Christmas tree, especially knocking off ornaments and knocking the whole thing over.

Angsty with a hopeful or happy ending. Veronica comes back from Stanford for Christmas after not seeing Logan for more than a year and goes to see him at the Neptune Grand. Dick's dialogue "He's in his room, but you're not going to like what you find."

Logan and Veronica meet after high school away from Neptune. One or the other needs a pretend date to take home for the holidays either because of lies they told their family, or to compete with an ex's new relationship.

Logan and Veronica are dorm/class acquaintances at Stanford, who end up getting stuck in a snow storm while carpooling to a mutual friends holiday party in Tahoe.

Logan and Veronica are best friends that end up next to each other for the New Years kiss at midnight.

Veronica brings a special Christmas present to Logan at the office.

Logan and Veronica are work frenemies that get picked to be each other's secret Santa.

Remake of movie Love Actually - use all VM characters. Special request: Logan as the Prime Minister and V as his assistant.

Matching Reindeer Boxers – how did Duncan and Logan end up with them? What made each of them decide to wear them that night? What did they think about one another when they realized they’d both selected the same pair (esp. if the author decides Veronica gifted them and it reveals that they’re both being nostalgic and missing her this time of year)

Sibling closeness over the holidays - adult Veronica and Logan planning for or celebrating a holiday with Hunter. Or really anything where Hunter is included in family togetherness.

"Let's import a Christmas tree from Canada."

Logan and Veronica are hosting thanksgiving dinner. They have a LOT to be thankful for (a little surprise for their family and friends - they are expecting).

Accidentally matching holiday underwear!

WeeVer! Set in college, at a point where her Dad doesn’t completely dislike Eli and she’s finally fed up with Logan and/or she loves Eli regardless of all the outside influences.

VMars and Logie Bear accidentally double-booked a train sleeper compartment on the day before Christmas Eve. Five minutes after meeting, they already piss each other off. But with a train this packed and no other way to get to their destination in time...what are they to do? (I have no clue; snark and shenanigans, I assume.)

A Christmas body swap!

Remake the movie Serendipity with Logan and Veronica. It may not be a movie about Christmas but it takes place around Christmas time.

New Year's Eve is always a disappointment. Keith knows this. Everybody knows this. So why not use the day to start working on his resolution for a healthy year? To make a long story short, Keith conscripts some victims to help him replace his pointless crop of lawn grass with kale. Some find it amusing, fewer find it hot, and others are just done.

"I got you for secret santa and I got you this really expensive but sentimental gift that you’ve always wanted, hoping you’ll never find out it’s from me and I’ve been in love with you since forever"

"You got me an amazing present and I didn’t get you anything because I didn’t know we were doing presents because you are just a close friend (and oh, this is supposed to be a declaration of love, well in that case, come to the bed, I’ve got great last minute gift idea)"

Veronica finds her old water bed in the attic while looking for Christmas decorations.

Van Clemmons has always kept himself out of the trenches in his little kingdom of learning and hormones...until he finds a camera in his stapler and Vincent Van Lowe in the waiting room, carrying a tray of Christmas cookies.

A Christmas Carol (the Scrooge one, not the singing kind (though that could be another prompt, where a bunch of carollers show up at LoVe's door)

Logan and Veronica AU - “We went through a really bad break up a month ago, but I already bought you a Christmas gift. it’s too late to return it now and I know you’d really like it so I show up to your house on Christmas Eve and give you the present I bought for you and I swear I see tears in your eyes”

Logan and Veronica drew each other’s name out of the Santa Hat for secret Santa (with mutual friends or at work) and “I really had no clue what to get you, we don’t know each other too well so…”

Logan and Veronica, “let’s dress up our dog as a reindeer” AU

Veronica and Logan both volunteer at the holiday charity and somehow they’ve managed to turn donations for the less fortunate into a competition to see who could get the most donations. AU

Logan and Veronica, sworn enemies, are chosen to prepare the company Christmas Party.

LoVe family buying or decorating the Christmas tree or baking holiday treats or making snowmen.

Logan and Veronica - they broke up, but now they meet at a Christmas party.

Logan and Veronica meet in the E/R on Christmas Eve.

LoVe are co-workers, but they barely know each other. They both have to work through the holidays.

Veronica can’t travel to see her family on Christmas, so she invites Logan, her grumpy loner neighbor.

Veronica or Logan’s ex will be at the Christmas Party. They pose as each other’s fiance or significant other.

“You’ve had too much eggnog and rum and now you’re drunk and doing a strip tease for everyone at this Christmas party; it isn’t sexy in the slightest because you’re giggling and your sweater is caught over your head but I’m still falling in love with you” -Logan & Veronica AU

“I get caught with one of my friends under the mistletoe and you literally sprint from across the room to shove them out of the way and take their spot” AU Veronica and Logan

Logan and Veronica: “It’s hella snowing outside and the power went out in our apartment building. You come up to my door, asking for blankets because you’re freezing but I just pull you inside and oh wait when did we start cuddling?”

Logan & Veronica: “We’re co-workers who hate each other but you had too much to drink at the staff Christmas party and admitted your love for me - I don’t know how to act around you now”

"I was having a snowball fight outside and you were casually walking by and oh my god I’m so sorry I accidentally nailed you in the face" Veronica & Logan AU.

On Christmas Eve, Logan and Veronica are stuck together because of blizzard, they have to share a bed.

LoVe- since the first time they met, every Christmas Eve, one letter appears on their skin, it’s the name of their soulmate (can complicate with two names written on their body, their nemesis and their soulmate)

At Christmas Eve, the heater broke and I’m freezing get over here"

Right before Christmas break, Logan & Veronica: ‘We’re stuck in a log cabin overnight during a snowstorm because of some stupid school team building exercise and it’s freezing and I can’t sleep and you can hear me shivering in the next bed so you pick me up and dump in your bed and good grief you are hot in every sense of the word’

Logan and Veronica - ‘It’s Christmas, I’m visiting my family, you’re pretending to be my significant other so my mum gets off my case only she’s assuming we’re going to be sleeping in the same bed together’

Can be set during S3 or around the movie - Keith and Logan interact while Veronica watches (holiday of your choosing). Inspiration these B&W photos taken by Chris Lowell:

Happy creating, and happy holidays!

#veronica mars #veronica mars fanfic #vm fanfic #vmhq holiday fic grab bag

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ssaori · 7 years

Note

Hi, Saori! I see you blog a lot about Sterek and I was wondering if you read fanfiction too? If yes, can you rec me some fics to read? If not, can you recommend a blog that you think recs good fics? I find your taste in Larry fics similar to mine and I was hoping you can do the same with Sterek as well. Thank you!

Oh boy, honestly I have no idea what to say, I’m just glad that not everybody’s fed up with my Sterek spams (probably a lot of people are but oh well) :D

First things first, you should check out @theofficialstereklibrary @wheredidhiseyebrowsgo @underappreciatedsterek @acountrygirlsfun @christinesficrecs @eternalsterekrecs and if you like Larry too then @nottooldforthisship recces awesome stuff all the time, (her sterek fic rec tag is a blessing) (my fic rec page is kind of a mess, but you can find some there too)

As of my recs, I usually don’t do it cuz I’m always anxious I’ll rec something the other doesn’t like, but since you asked so nicely here are some of my faves:

The Undisclosed(109k) - For once the pack doesn’t panic when a new hunter arrives. The gleefully sadistic man has labelled himself a collector of all things rare in the supernatural world and wants one of the rarest creatures; a werefox. Content that the pack is safe, the wolves focus on why their human member is acting so strange, ignoring the fact that Stiles only started once learning who the man wanted…

I’ve read this like, how many times? Way too many to be healthy? Seems accurate. And I’m totally not re-reading it again, nope.

Baking My Way Into Your Heart(179k) - Derek is an uptight college student, all work and no play. His carefully scheduled life is thrown kilter when his regular barista is replaced with someone new.

This fic changed my life tbh.

As Luck WouldHave It (I’m already smitten)(188k, WIP) - When Stiles meets his Dom for the first time, it’s nothing like the cutesy, lovey-dovey Subflicks he used to drag Scott to when they were thirteen. There’s no burst of sunshine when they collide, no sudden swell of violins when their eyes meet; only a really big dent in the front of his Jeep and a seriously pissed off Alpha glaring at him from the sidewalk.

When I see the e-mail I shut down and don’t even look up until I finished reading the update. It’s by far the most exciting fic I’ve read, and I read A LOT.

Do Not Go Gentle(108k, WIP) - Derek Hale, Beacon Hills Alpha, is thrown into a dark cell which already contains another captive. Someone quite young. Someone who’s clearly been badly treated. Someone who cannot speak and who has a cruel collar around his neck.Derek is both a Dom and an Alpha. What do you think he’ll do?

Same with this. Mondays can’t come fast enough. Dark, but worth it for me.

Home(160k, WIP) - January seventh. Seven days since the start of 2015, and seven days since his father’s death.The bastard, he thinks bitterly. The past year Derek Hale had made it blatantly obvious that he hated his scrawny guts, taking every given opportunity to shove him up against a wall, growl threats in his ears and roll his eyes whenever he stepped into the room, muttering some snide comment about how spastic or idiotic he was.So why did he fucking volunteer to take him in?

You can’t even imagine what this fic does to me. It’s everything.

Once Bitten(183k) - Stiles gets bitten by a werefox that’s running loose on Hale lands.The pack helps him deal with his new were status while searching for the fox who bit him in hopes of reversing the bite. But is the werefox really their biggest problem?

My favorite trope in this fandom is fox!Stiles and we need more of it.

Werewolf-Friendly(27k) - Derek is a junior in college, never could get the hang of social interaction, and is, you know, a werewolf. A werewolf and a virgin. And it isn’t like anyone is banging down his door to hop on his werewolf dick, save for the few pervs who acted like he was some kind of exotic toy to be played with and experienced. So, when he sees Stiles’ ad on Hot Men 4 Rent, Derek is… interested. And who is he kidding, he’s read that bio every day since that sad evening with the chocolate chip cookies, and has every facet of it memorized. Stiles, no last name. Eighteen. Student. Good conversationalist. Likes to crack jokes. Fan of junk food but enjoys running. Werewolf-friendly. Werewolf-friendly. And there is his phone number and an email address. Plus all the moles.

This was actually the reason I didn’t give up on Sterek after some stuff in the fandom. And it’s awesome and hot, so. :D

Run Little Red Fox (18k) - Fox!Stiles. Living on the run might not have been the best way to survive, but when you’re a Werefox with no family and no friends, what other choice do you have? Narrowly escaping hunters, getting mixed up in a war with alphas, Stiles is positive that life is out to get him. The weird vet is convinced that Stiles will be able to help defeat the alphas and protect the pack, but what can one injured Werefox do against a pack of murdering alphas?

Yeah, so I love this fic a lot and I need to re-read it, excuse me!

Not French but probably a mistake(8k) (you need to have an acc for this) - A witch’s curse sends Derek into a parallel universe where his life is a TV show. At first, Derek thinks he’s lucky Stiles got sent into this universe with him. He’s a little confused when Stiles starts kissing him furiously.Dylan isn’t sure why his boyfriend is acting so shy all of a sudden. It’s kinda cute. And he’s totally down to roleplay Sterek again, that’s always hot.

I’m a sucker for everything bleep0bleep does, plus French Mistake is my everything, so bear with me when I say READ THIS!!

Can’trely on me(116k) - Set at the end of season 2, Gerard beats Stiles up, but it’s a lot worse than anyone knows. The pack let him down, that’s not really a surprise lately.When Danny finds Stiles nearly bleeding to death the next day it’s the start of a beautiful friendship.Can the pack make amends before it’s too late? Will Stiles ever forgive them for not being there for him when he needed them the most?

This fic is so good. So good! I only didn’t like the ending but otherwise ohmygod.

Kiss Of Life (ThisSweet Pool is Everblue)(7k) - (Canon-AU for 2x04) “Yeah, kiss of life, d'you want me to say it in another language, Derek? Latin would be cool but I’m still not fluent yet so how about Spanish? Spanish worked on Jackson before. Beso de vida.“In which: Scott isn’t even lethally late—he simply doesn’t show up at all. Stiles does the saving and things railroad from there.

If you’ve seen the show you know this should have happened. YOU KNOW IT.

Anteocularis(19k) - Allison meets a strange deer in the forest. Derek may have found someone who can match his level of bullshit. Stiles is running from a murderer. Pack-feels and cross-species bonding.

I know, I know, but give it a try I promise it’s worth it :D Sassy deer!Stiles, who needs more?

Strike Softly (Awayfrom the Body)(35k) - Derek is a bodyguard and Stiles his spoiled, resistant client.

A bit fun, a bit dark but sooooo good!!

Youwon’t have to reach out for me (6k) - Stiles is having trouble holding himself together and he’d do anything to have Derek’s hand on him again–needs the relief like he needs oxygen, maybe more–which is exactly why he can’t let Derek touch him. Because Stiles knows Derek, knows exactly where he ranks his own pain in terms of importance, and he knows that Derek would ignore the pain completely if it meant giving Stiles something he needed. Stiles refuses be a source of pain for Derek–there are too many other people lining up to do the job–so he makes sure to hold himself at a safe distance.

It’s painful and beautiful!!

In Case TheDaylight Never Comes(82k) - There’s a relentless dark shape tearing through the pack and that’s only the half of it. Stiles just wants to sleep and stop being haunted by the faces of his night-time tormentors. His dad thinks he’s suffering from post-traumatic stress, Scott thinks he’s suffering the after-effects of the ritual; Stiles thinks they’re both reasonable theories, except for the part where Derek Hale is the only thing that can take his nightmares away and it seems that fact is no coincidence.

It’s very dark, so if you’re not into that kind of stuff… but otherwise excellent piece of work!

(I’m sorry I didn’t include the authors but that would have been taken even longer, but I send my love to all of them a lot, there are so many fics I love, but let’s not do this again, please. :D Have fun reading!

#fic rec #oh my god this took forever #thank you for coming for me #but #I'm really not the person for this #I'm sorry #anon #sterek rec #to keep

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drsilverfish · 7 years

Text

First Blood 12x09 review

This episode was significantly structured by its nod to the 1980s Rambo movie of the same name. Dabb clearly intended it to further the exploration of the Winchesters’ troubled relationship to (masculine-coded) authority (Daddy issues writ large). With limited success, I feel.

I wasn’t a fan of the concept overall, as I think too many of the problems of the Rambo movie itself were replicated in this SPN riff on it (the intense trauma of “soldier-masculinity” is exposed, but it is, at the end of the day, glorified rather than really broken down and reconfigured).

The Rambo movies are Regan era movies, quintissentially concerned with a mythos of white, blue-collar, masculine, heroic militarised individualism. Using the action movie genre, they explore the blue-collar white man’s trauma, if you like (his depicted betrayal by society and the authorities)...

Rambo (Stallone) is an ex Vietnam Vet, but this is not a political anti-war movie in the sense that Born on the Fourth of July or Platoon are. The US presence in Vietnam is not really questioned, nor is that the focus of the movie.

Rather, the after-effects of war on US soldiers is used as a metaphor for white male American working-class trauma.

Rambo is suffering from PTSD, and this movie explores masculine vulnerability in the midst of hard-bodied action. Distraught after losing an old army buddy, having flashbacks after being mistreated by the authorities, Rambo gets into trouble and is hunted by the police and then the National Guard. He is, of course, super-heroic, and beats all-comers, before a show-down with his ex commanding officer and father-figure.

Sam and Dean are placed in a similar situation to Rambo in Dabb’s episode.

As hunters they are fighting a constant war (against the supernatural) for which they never get credit. Moreover, they carried out a heroic action for the good of the country in expelling Lucifer from the President (if only that were possible IRL) but, instead of being rewarded by the authorities for this, they are treated as criminals. They are imprisoned and tortured via sensory deprivation and solitary confinement. This of course resonates for the audience with all the previous trauma and imprisonment Sam and Dean have suffered (particularly in Hell, at different times). The episode becomes a kind of trauma-porn, in a way, which I disliked, as it apparently circles back round through old Winchester distress for “feels”, without really illuminating anything we didn’t know in spades already.

As in Rambo, the state is a “bad father” (the interrogator, the guards, the mortuarty attendant are all men), This is specifically gendered, so that state authority is masculine in both Rambo’s First Blood and the SPN episode.

Sam and Dean are hard-core escapologists who deal-down with Death herself (in the form of Billie the Reaper) and reveal their militarised hunter-skill as Dean growls at the Feds, “We’re not trapped out here with you, you’re trapped out here with us.”

Apart from the very funny moment when we hear they’re both wanted for desecrating, different, corpses, I didn’t really enjoy these militarised versions of Sam and Dean. They were rather flattened, as characters, by the Rambo parallel, whereas (both as characters and as actors) they are capable of so much more nuance.

The Winchester sacrifice-for-each-other thing goes another round (regrettably) as Dean steps up to fulfil his bargain with Billie and Mary prepares to commit suicide to save both her sons. Is it critiqued? Yes, to an extent, by Cas, who tells them it was a stupid deal.

The biggest mis-step of the episode was that the piece on the chess board who gets sacrificed to get the Winchesters out of jail “free” (although perhaps there will be some consequences further down the line) is the only interesting WOC character the show has. Billie barely scraped the surface of her character’s potential before she was gone (like Abaddon before her).

In a season arc which seems to be aiming to have real-world resonance, as it tackles the theme of authoritarianism in the age of Trump (as represented by the BMOL) that move was cack-handed (given that POC already appear to be major Trump targets - witness the Muslim ban just imposed today). But, I’m afraid, not unexpected.

Mr. Ketch and Mick, of course, serve as smooth, menacing, distorted mirrors for our heroes, during an uneasy team-up, as well as presenting yet more dubious authority-figures.

I can still smell the ghost of John Winchester in the season and I am hoping this is building towards a big moment of family secrets/ tensions/ dynamics exploding.

Mick and Mr. Ketch can be read either as Sam + Dean mirrors or Cas + Dean mirrors (in a long-standing show tradition of speaking both to the brotherly dynamic and Dean/ Cas dynamic). But, with Mick rather evidently in a tan trench-coat, the Cas/ Dean is strong with this one.

I saw some discussion on my dash earlier about whether or not they are queer-coded. I think @sandraugiga and @elizabethrobertajones were talking about how just being British, in fact, queer-codes masculinity as far as the US movie industry is concerned - very true!

Absolutely, I’d say the whole exchange in which Mick has his “smooth” hands remarked upon by the hunter he was trying to enlist - that was coded as a seduction. And whilst the smooth hands comment was, on one level, the doughty American manual worker’s disdain for the paper-pusher, on another level it was a “manly” rejection of “something queer”.

Whilst Sam and Dean show mercy to their opponents, Mr. Ketch moves in and slaughters all the “loose ends”. In many ways, Ketch is someone Dean might admire and be attracted to (certainly in his more black-and-whte view of the supernatural phase, of old) as I mused here:

http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/152776532214/mr-ketch-whos-the-daddy

I look forward to some more direct interaction between them. That was rather on a leash this episode.

The best moment of the hour was Mick’s “imagine a world without monsters” speech to camera, because it was genuinely seductive. Mary was seduced, and we can see why, if this passionate absolutism was intended to parallel something she was attracted to in John Winchester.

And it has to be seductive, for Mary and for us, so that later, the audience are fully on board for its rejection.

I haven’t even mentioned the Destiel moments, because whilst they’re there, they are desperately unspoken and in a holding pattern (as ever).

I really regret the substitution of mobile phone communication for prayer. Prayer was so much more eroticised and I feel the show has, regrettably, backed off it for that reason.

And I miss BAMF Cas.

Overall - eh Rambo was never my thing. Dabb’s overall season intention to explore political themes intertwined with psychodynamic family themes centered around father/ authority-figures still very much interests me though.

#Supernatural #SPN meta #First Blood #12x09 #Andrew Dabb #SPN review #Meta

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captivesrp · 7 years

Photo

Drops of rain pelt Alaric’s bare neck as he hunches over, using all his strength to tear his knife into and through the underside of the boar carcass. Similar sounds of tearing flesh resonate through the clearing as Cydwag and Archora make similar attempts to skin and gut slaughtered animals dragged from a large pile nearby. The smell of blood and earth together form a bittersweet scent that nauseates Alaric almost to the point of vomiting. He continuously reminds himself that this is only the first day of training, that there is much more to come.

It comforts Alaric when Archora, whose continued suffering is evident, begins to joke with them in the afternoon.

“This is offal, what a fowl activity,” she says, pulling handfuls of feathers from a bird carcass.

Alaric enjoys the well-timed pun but it is Cydwag missing the point that incites a chuckle from Alaric; she responds, “It’s way better than yesterday.”

A while later, Archora once again speaks to Alaric, but this time about a different issue entirely---one that catches Alaric completely off guard.

“Uh, if I were to . . . leave. Um, would you have any pointers?”

Alaric looks up at Archora and can see the anguish on her face, but the idea of her leaving in her current physical state unsettles him. “I don’t think that’d be a good idea Archora,” he replies, doing little to hide the apprehension on his face. He knows what her reply will be.

“I’m desperate.”

“Today hasn’t been that bad,” he offers, knowing it will not be enough.

All of a sudden, flashes of red begin to cloud his vision. Alaric knows Archora is saying something to him but the sound of blood rushing in his ears drains out all else. He blinks furiously and the red in his vision begins to recede. He hopes another episode does not follow in turn. He responds, with what he hopes is a sensible statement, to Archora’s unheard comment, “It’s too dangerous. You don’t know where you are.” It is almost a certainty in Alaric’s mind that Archora will struggle to simply survive on her own, let alone with a camp of vicious brigands on her trail.

“Others have survived in the wilds, tribeless and alone. I . . .”

“Not like this.” Alaric’s mind is drawn back to his own experiences out on the road, and he struggles to imagine Archora in his place.

“I have a better shot out there,” says Archora, following words Alaric missed in his recollecting.

Alaric looks intently at the willful girl for a few moments, then gives in to Archora’s words as he understands there is no swaying her from a decision already made. He turns from her and resumes his gruesome task, sweat beading on his forehead as he thrusts the blade into a thick hide, sawing back and forth with as much strength as he can muster. It takes a while before Alaric notices the change in the atmosphere around him. “Cachu,” his whispers as he realizes his predicament.

His breathing begins to quicken as he stares down towards his crimson hands. His eyes lock on the horrific sight. The stone knife slips fluidly from his hands and he makes no effort to pick it back up. Alaric’s bloodied hands are the only constant image in his view as his mind falls back into memories buried deep within his mind: the pile of animal carcasses disappears, replaced by an image of his mother and father, tangled in a bloody embrace as their murderers walk out of the cabin, bloodstained knives in hand. He looks out from his place under the bed, unable to move, his hands stained red with the blood of his kin.

The scene vanishes, and once again Alaric is pulled back into reality.

He turns his hands palm down and presses them into the wet grass by his knees, unable to stand the bloodstained sight any longer. He forces himself to stop trembling, suddenly aware of the two other children working away beside him. He hopes they have not noticed his episode. It takes all the strength he can muster to lift the knife back into his palm and continue to skin the deceased animal lying before him. Nausea and anxiety flood his mind and it takes every fiber of his body to hold himself together.

* * *

In the following few days, the hunters are trained in the use of spears and bows, alongside endless endurance and weathering training. Alaric’s world becomes a vicious cycle of intense labour, pathetic food, and barely any rest. His labour on the seventh day since the Dranclwmcoeden is made even more strenuous when he finds out that the day of Archora’s departure has finally arrived.

Alaric and Cydwag, heads down in a sudden downpour, walk in silence back to the camp after their archery lesson was interrupted by the storm. Alaric takes the opportunity to think over Archora’s words back at the slaughtering field on the first day of training. If it was Cydwag who had decided to leave, Alaric would have fewer concerns. He knows there is plenty of difference between the two girls; Cydwag is similar to Alaric: well-built, strong, and resilient, while Archora is small and lean, and not from extended toil. But Alaric has to admit, he would be a liar if he named anyone else as equally determined or bold. He wonders if that will be enough.

Archora falls into step beside Alaric and Cydwag, her black hair plastered to her head. “I’m leaving tonight,” she says with unsettling energy. “Draeg caned me yesterday when I couldn’t keep up on the run, he’s taken my dinner away today—I won’t survive the week. I’m leaving.”

When they finally arrive in the village, soaked and trailing mud, Archora is ordered to her tent. Cydwag continues on to clearing in the middle of the camp, where dinner is waiting. Alaric reaches for Archora before she can walk away. His hand lands on her arm and she stops in her tracks, turning around to face him. He cannot let her leave without being fully prepared---and fully fed.

“Don’t—don’t leave from your tent right away.” He stares at her intently, waiting for a sign of confirmation from her.

“Okay,” she says slowly, “but I can’t wait long.”

“Of course,” he assures her, then turns to catch up with Cydwag.

Once he has received his food, Alaric, keeping his head down, cautiously moves away from the giant dinner table and wraps his rations into his shirt. He would go hungry tonight, but he would not be able to live with himself if he did not do his damndest to boost Archora’s chances in the wild.

He makes his way towards Archora’s tent, trying to walk casually---just another captive seeking shelter from the storm in his own tent. He finds himself relaxing slightly under the cool relief of the deluge. As he walks, Alaric finds himself wondering if any other children have planned to escape. He is certain Cydwag does not have such intentions, and he highly doubts that Ainsley, his pit-mate, has them either. Alaric has yet to interact much with any of the other captives, all of whom are being trained during the days in one way or another. For better perspective on the situation in this strange village, he decides he should try to speak with another captive. He will be living and working alongside them, after all.

Alaric’s thoughts are interrupted abruptly as a barrage of thunder rings through the darkening sky.

Archora is standing outside her tent when Alaric arrives. “This is for you,” he says as he pulls out the cornbread and meat from beneath his shirt and offers it to her. She accepts it quietly and Alaric is glad he does not need to convince her to take it.

She looks up at him with eyes full of pain. “Can you say goodbye to Ffrewgí for me? I—I didn’t get the chance.”

Alaric knows the face of Archora’s pit-mate; he has seen him around the captives’ tents in the mornings. He accepts her request. “Gods be with you,” he states. The wish holds no meaning, nor comfort, for him anymore, but he hopes it does for her.

“They’re peeking at us tonight,” she says, inciting a small smirk from Alaric.

Enjoying the show? he thinks as he looks up into the heavens. A bolt strikes the night sky, followed by the bellowing of thunder.

“Thank you, Alaric.”

Alaric looks back down to Archora. “Good luck, Archora.” She turns and runs, and Alaric moves slowly to his tent. Archora’s fate is in her hands now.

He stops outside his tent and looks back up at the pitch sky. He sees nothing but complete darkness---the only time both his eyes see the same. He wipes the water off of his face and bends into the tent. He intends to rest for whatever awaits him tomorrow.

#alaric #chapter five

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