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#actually there was this whole other thing i added in
sansaorgana · 2 days
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— THROWN TO THE WOLVES (VIII)
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PART ONE || PART TWO || PART THREE PART FOUR || PART FIVE || PART SIX PART SEVEN
PAIRING — Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!Reader // Atreides!OC
SUMMARY — Giedi Prime celebrates Feyd-Rautha's birthday and the hundredth kill in the arena. Meanwhile, na-baroness gets reminded by The Baron who pulls the strings and finds out unpleasant truth about the promise her aunt has given to the Bene Gesserit.
AUTHOR’S NOTE — It’s written as an usual x Reader fic without describing anything about the Reader’s looks but I still classified it as an OC as well since she is Paul Atreides’ half-sister. I wasn't sure what titles Feyd's children would have but since his brother is a Count, I assumed his children would be C(o)unts and C(o)untesses. I mean, his eldest son would become na-baron but only after his father would become The Baron, I assume 🤔 Next chapter we go to Arrakis, babes!!! 🤭 Thank you for all your comments, reblogs and messages! 💕
WARNINGS — arranged marriage, mentions of sexual activities (no actual smut), violent behaviour, death, syringes, mentions of planned and scientifical breeding, blood pact
WORD COUNT — 6,670
ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.
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THROWN TO THE WOLVES (VIII)
You were laying on an examination table and staring at the black ceiling above you while the medic was busy with noting down some things and injecting you with vitamins, minerals and proteins. It was the day of Feyd-Rautha’s hundredth kill and his birthday but you hadn’t spent much time with him the past few days since he was restraining himself physically before the fight.
You still shared one bed with him, though. He wasn’t avoiding you as much as he had been the last time.
“How do you feel, na-baroness?” The medic asked and you smirked at him.
“Like you care about it,” you pointed out. “We both know you only care about the child.”
“I care about what I am being told to care about, my Lady. I follow orders,” he explained. “I asked na-baron the other day whether I should do everything to keep you in the best state possible or focus strictly on the child, na-baroness. He wanted me to ensure you would be alright,” he added and you tried your best not to show how surprised you were.
“He really said that?” You only asked.
“Well…” the medic looked down and laughed nervously, “he said that you might still be useful later, my Lady. Forgive my words.”
“The words are not yours, therefore you do not have to apologise for them,” you assured him. “Anyway, if I ordered for you to be killed, who would make sure I am alright?” You teased with a smile and he sighed with relief.
“So, how do you feel, na-baroness?” He repeated the previous question.
“I feel… different,” you told him. “I have these cravings…”
“Cravings are perfectly normal during pregnancy, my Lady,” he nodded his head.
“Yes, I understand. But recently I want to eat the same food as my husband although I still find it quite disgusting but… I still crave it. Feyd says it’s the child being whimsy but he is no medic…”
“It will pass,” the medic looked up at you and assured you. “The cravings will pass, my lady, after the pregnancy. Your husband is right about the child.”
“Other than that, except for feeling a little emotional at times, I do not experience any side effects of pregnancy. I don’t even feel sick in the mornings,” you told him.
“Yes, because I am trying my best to make this process go as smoothly as possible for you, my Lady,” he smiled and noted something down again.
“But…” you furrowed your brows, remembering something that had been worrying you lately. He looked up at you. “You see, during the celebration, I talked to my previous maids, perhaps you remember them. And they are pregnant, too. One of them told me the Harkonnen pregnancies are different and she warned me.”
The medic sighed and leaned back in the chair as he hesitated for a while whether he should explain this whole situation to you or not.
“There is no such thing as Harkonnen pregnancy, my Lady. We are humans just like you are,” he reminded you. “It’s the centuries of living on this heavily polluted planet that made us look the way we do and mutated some of our DNA but we are not of different species.”
“I understand,” you nodded. “Forgive me, I did not want to insult your culture.”
“Na-baroness does not have to apologise,” he bowed his head down slightly. “You see, our women are not very fertile because of the atmosphere on this planet. That is why our… medicine… has progressed so much. We needed to find an artificial way of ensuring population growth. The Harkonnen women – even boosted with injections – usually weaken a lot during pregnancies. But their bodies do not change much. When it comes to off-world women…” He hesitated once again and you sat up, listening very carefully. “Let’s say, your body treats your son as a foreign element. He is half Harkonnen – with the best genetic material from his father, of course – but your… clean and healthy body treats him as something polluted and poisonous. And what happens, my Lady, when you spill a drop of poison into someone’s drink?” He asked you.
“Diffusion,” you gasped and he nodded. Your heart skipped a beat. “So, the child is poisoning me?” You swallowed thickly as you asked. You could feel all your limbs go weak at the thought.
“No, na-baroness, not with me around,” he chuckled and shook his head. “But your former maids do not have such medical innovations, I’m afraid.”
“Will they die then?” You asked.
“No, they will not die. And their bodies might go back to normal some time after the pregnancy, once the blood gets rid of all the… toxins,” he added. “Forgive me, I did not mean to scare you, my Lady. And it brings me no pleasure to admit how truly poisoned our people are. It feels humiliating in a way.”
“So I have nothing to worry about?” You stood up and watched him carefully. He was visibly hiding something from you.
“Na-baroness doesn’t have to worry about the child taking away her strength, no,” he only said.
“What should I worry about then?” You raised your eyebrow at him, demanding an answer. You could see him panicking a little. He was the Baron’s loyal servant but you were being pushy and he was aware of the power you had recently gained. He couldn’t just lie to you so easily nowadays.
“I think you have been thinking of it, too, my Lady, of that possibility,” he whispered and you furrowed your brows. “Your mother, she… She died in childbirth, did she not? And everyone keeps saying how much you look like her, my Lady.”
“My mother did not die because she was weak in flesh,” you explained to him although you became nervous when he mentioned that. “She died because she was weak in mind. She couldn’t bear to live with my father in a loveless union. It killed her that on the day I was born he was with his pregnant lover. She died of sadness,” you informed him and he widened his eyes a little at that. You were aware that your explanation was not exactly very medically accurate.
“I can only say that I will try my best for the same thing not happening to you, na-baroness,” he stood up as well and bowed down, making you feel stupid for your outburst. Of course he was right. Your mother had died because she had lost too much blood.
She had died because of you.
Because of a child with a man she hadn’t loved. Because of a child she probably hadn’t even wanted in the first place.
Your whole life you had been imagining your life with her. How much she would love and cherish you. But what if she would not? Now, more than ever, pregnant with Feyd-Rautha’s son, you understood what your mother had gone through. She had been forced to give birth to you and she had paid the biggest price for it.
“I… I should leave now and prepare for the event,” you told the medic and he nodded at you and watched you walk out of the room.
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You walked through the dark corridor being led by the guards. You had been there before, a few days after your wedding, being taken to Feyd-Rautha preparing for his fight, scared of his reaction to see you disobeying him with the choice of your dress. These past few months, lots of things had changed. You walked confidently now with your head held high and waited for the guard to open the big, black doors in front of you.
You walked inside the room and spotted your husband in the middle of it, surrounded by the servants putting black paint stripes on his bare chest. One of the male servants was presenting the knives on a black, velvet cushion.
They all turned around to see you approaching them and you purposefully took your time while walking gracefully in a dress that was supposed to be one of his birthday presents. It was a mix of black latex – one of your new favourite fabrics – and black silk. Delicacy and vulgarity mixed together, wrapped around your curves and revealing just enough to let the imagination run free but not enough to actually reveal anything that belonged to Feyd-Rautha only. Your hair was loose but you wore a beautiful black diadem that had been a gift from one of the lords, given to you during the celebration feast thrown in your honour.
“Well, well, well,” Feyd’s eyes squinted at the sight of you as you stood right in front of him. You hadn’t seen him at all this morning because he had woken up very early to prepare. “I was just about to check the blade,” he pointed at one of the knives on the cushion. You saw terror in the eyes of the servants standing behind him.
Feyd reached out for the knife and balanced it a little in his hand before facing you and opening his mouth to show off his long tongue and licking the tip of the blade. You nearly gasped at the vulgarity of this act that made you ache in your core after a few days of not being touched by him at all. In your head, you imagined him dropping to his knees and burying his face right between your legs. It was making you feel dizzy to think of that and the tension between you two seemed to be under voltage.
But when you spotted his wrist tilting a bit, you already knew what would happen now.
“Tsk, tsk,” you hissed at him and he froze, confusedly looking at you. “It’s time to grow up, don’t you think?” You asked, teasingly. “Only spoiled little boys discard their toys so easily.”
You liked his bloodthirst and found it more than useful but you didn’t like to watch innocent slaves being killed for fun. You knew that it was not the custom of all Harkonnens to do that. A common lord would not kill so easily mostly because it would cost him money to get another slave. But Feyd couldn’t care less about the material aspect of it.
“Also, I do not understand why you decide to restrain yourself from fucking me but you can’t restrain yourself from killing before the actual fight in the arena. It makes no sense to me,” you added. “You need to be as railed up as possible.”
After a short while he lowered his hand and put the knife back on the cushion as the servants behind him sighed with relief.
“It’s not balanced properly,” he told the male servant. “Bring me another one, you useless sack of meat,” he ordered and the nervous man bowed down before hurrying out of the room.
“Good boy,” you praised Feyd, proud of yourself.
It was one thing to make him kill for you but it was another to stop him from killing.
“You want to weaken me,” he drawled through the gritted teeth. He was already railed up to the maximum and it was delicious to see him in such a state.
“Me?” You asked, playfully. “Far from that,” you explained. “I want you to be a rabid dog today, do you understand me?” You took a step forward to grab his crotch as your face remained inches away from his. The servants behind him widened their eyes and you felt a shiver going down his starved body. “Today is very important, my pet,” you whispered. “Do not disappoint me,” your hand squeezed him and let go as fast as you felt him hardening under your palm.
Feyd smirked at you.
“Rabid dog,” he only nodded, “for my Baroness,” he added and you felt a wave of pleasure crawling all the way through your skin.
You leaned in to cup his cheeks and place a kiss upon his forehead.
“Accept my blessing,” you breathed out, “and happy birthday, my darling”.
You took a step back and smiled faintly at him before bowing down slightly –  pure act of mockery after showing your unquestionable dominance – and walking away to leave the room to let him continue his preparations.
“I will make you proud,” you heard his voice when the guards opened the doors in front of you. To that, you gave no answer as you left the chamber and placed both of your hands protectively on your abdomen.
The truth was, he had no idea how important that fight could be for the both of you. Baron Harkonnen hadn’t spoken to you a lot the past few days and you had no idea if he had decided to listen to your advice or not. For a while you wanted to warn Feyd about such a possibility but you knew that it would only take away satisfaction and pleasure from him. And it was his birthday. He deserved his gift.
That is, if The Baron had listened to you.
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After being announced, you waved at the Giedi Prime citizens gathered in the arena as they cheered loudly at the sight of you. You gave them a wide but dignified smile before sitting on the chair next to the Baron’s and taking your binoculars from his servant.
“You will be pleased,” Baron told you as he watched you from the corner of his eye and puffed on his pipe.
“There are a lot of ways to please me, my Lord. Care to specify?” You teased and you swore, one of his eyes twitched at that.
“He will be given three Atreides soldiers that we kept imprisoned after taking over Arrakis. You might even recognise them,” Baron explained.
“I doubt,” you winced. “I never paid attention to soldiers,” you explained. “Not as individuals, I mean.”
“Well, you better pay attention to one of them now because he is not drugged,” Baron informed you and your heart skipped a beat at the revelation.
It made you both excited and terrified. You couldn’t show any of this to the Baron so you just nodded your head at him.
“If my nephew dies today, it will be on you,” he chuckled.
“It has no significance to you, does it? Your next heir is already in the making,” you pointed out sternly and caressed your womb. You dropped your formalities with him nearly at all because you felt that you no longer had to address him as my Lord. Not only you had advanced in his eyes in the ladder of his enemies but you also held the title of Duchess Atreides.
Oh, you had just realised. You really were Duchess Atreides now. And you would watch your husband murdering your own soldiers. That was dark, you had to admit. Baron still had his spirit.
“If my nephew turns out to be so weak to be killed today by a mid Atreides soldier, I am sure his son will be no better,” Baron’s voice got serious again and it caused a chill to go down your spine.
Well, you were trapped. Feyd had to win, otherwise you and your son would die, too. How stupid you had been to think that the Baron wouldn’t twist the game for his own gain.
“We will have to find a way to plant a better seed in your cunning womb then, my Baroness,” his eyes sparkled at you and then he brought the binoculars to his face and watched the arena.
You turned your head around to hide the way your body gagged at his words. You’d rather him to kill you than find a way to implant his spawn inside your womb, even if it would not even require touching him.
You took a deep breath in and watched Feyd entering the arena through your binoculars as the crowd cheered. What had you done…? Had you outplayed yourself? Would it be your end?
Your shaking hand squeezed your womb as if you wanted to comfort your son although he was too small to be stressed about it.
It’s going to be alright, you kept thinking, pretending you were talking to your child. Your father’s going to win it, my little one, don’t you worry.
You were so lost in the thoughts of stress and anxiety that your senses got numbed for a while and you came back to reality only when the whole arena was filled with a loud cheer as Feyd’s first opponent was killed.
You sighed with relief as he had only two to go now. You focused on the man who was not drugged and you realised that you indeed recognised him. He was an excellent warrior and it made you feel uneasy.
You tried not to look at the Baron at all but you could feel his eyes on you. And not only his.
You looked up through your binoculars and saw that on the balcony in front of you, the Bene Gesserit sisters were sitting together. Not only the local one but lots of them – hiding in the shadows behind their veils. Watching you.
You wondered if one of them was your aunt. Probably.
“Don’t you just hate them?” You fought your disgust and fear as you spoke up.
“Hm?” Baron asked.
“The Bene Gesserit,” you explained. “Their schemes and plans, they interfere with yours a lot, don’t they? Don’t you hate how much power they hold even over you?”
“Well, what would you propose to do with them? I can’t just throw them out,” he laughed at you.
“Why not? If I was The Baroness, I’d limit their influence in the Harkonnen systems,” you told him and he brought the binoculars down as the crowd cheered when Feyd dealt with another drugged warrior.
“Then perhaps you are not ready to become her yet,” Baron squinted his eyes at you.
“Why is that?” You brought your binoculars down as well and dared to turn your head around to face him as if you were accepting a challenge.
“You cannot reject customs so old and so common throughout the galaxy if you want to be a respectable House and not an outsider. I thought you’d know that, it’s basic knowledge,” he explained.
“I thought The Harkonnens were richer than the Emperor himself and with an army much bigger than his. Houses of such influence don’t have to care about the rules. They make them. I thought you’d know that, it’s basic knowledge,” you drawled.
If Feyd would win this fight, you would remain untouchable. If he would die, your life would be hell anyway. You had nothing to lose. You could speak to The Baron however you wished. At least your anger was telling you this and it was very tempting to listen to it.
But The Baron only chuckled at you.
“I like your fierceness. It is obvious you hold lots of hatred towards the Bene Gesserit but you cannot let your personal judgement overshadow the real situation. They can be useful,” he told you.
“I guess they can be,” you shrugged your arms and brought the binoculars back to your face.
“If it wasn’t for them, your dead body would rot in the Arrakis’ desert now,” Baron reminded you and you swallowed thickly.
You had other things to worry about now. Feyd was left alone with the undrugged Atreides warrior and he was struggling to win that one. You clutched on the edge of your chair with one of your hands as you watched him being nearly killed over and over. He was fighting back excellently but his opponent was more equal to him and his skills than you’d like him to be. You could see on the people’s faces that they all held their breaths.
But none of their lives were in as much danger as yours in the case of your husband’s death.
Your anxiety turned your hands cold and formed a gulp in your throat that was making you feel nauseous as you watched Feyd getting rid of all his cheating devices that were supposed to make him safe. He was full of adrenaline and wanted to show off – to make you proud. But he had no idea how much it all could ruin your life in the process.
“What is he doing?” Even Baron’s servant was shocked.
“Showing his worth,” Baron chuckled.
You wanted to scream at The Baron to make it stop and it was physically hurting you that you had to restrain yourself from doing so. You couldn’t show weakness but not only were you worried about yourself and your child but you had also just realised you were worried about your husband’s life.
It was an odd discovery but when you thought that you’d never be able to hear him call you pet or have him fuck you, you would miss it dearly. If you’d never be able to cup his angry face and watch it relax at your sweet cooing, you would be very upset.
It was pure torture to watch him fight now and struggle with the Atreides soldier. There was no way the Baron didn’t see the way your legs and arms were shaking. But it probably brought him nothing but pleasure.
When Feyd definitely killed the brave opponent and was announced a winner as he screamed in victory and raised his blade, you still couldn’t believe that it was happening for real. You needed a moment to go back to reality and when the cheers of Giedi Prime citizens reached your ears, you stood up abruptly. The people cheered even louder now at the sight of you and you approached the railing to look down at your husband.
You were aware that all binoculars at the moment were pointed at you so you tried not to show a hint of fear and nothing but pride. In Feyd’s eyes you spotted a sparkle at the sight of your satisfaction with his performance.
You turned around and passed the chuckling Baron without the word to reach the elevator as your guard followed you without a word. You wanted to be with your husband now.
It seemed like forever until the elevator was finally down and you hurried out of it to run through the dark corridor to reach the doors to Feyd’s chamber. On your way you spotted the Harkonnen servants dragging dead bodies of his opponents but you didn’t even flinch.
“Stay outside,” you ordered the guard and he nodded before you pushed the doors open and entered the room.
Feyd was standing there shirtless and smirking proudly at himself as the medic was tending his fresh wounds with some sort of liquid. You approached them and the medic bowed down at you as he moved out of your way.
You cupped your husband’s face and brought it down to press his forehead to yours. He was a bit taken aback by the aggressiveness of your moves.
“You did it, Feyd. You did it,” you felt tears streaming down your face and he furrowed his brows at your reaction. He grabbed your wrists and pushed you away slightly.
“You knew,” he only said and clenched his jaw. “You knew about that man not being drugged, did you not?” His pupils darkened. “What game are you playing? Trying to get rid of me with my uncle, huh? You want to be his little Baroness instead?”
“My Lord…” The medic tried to interfere seeing the way your husband was twisting your wrists to cause you pain. But Feyd only gave him a deadly glare.
Sometimes rabid dogs would bite their owners, too. You weren’t scared of him, though. He was confused and jealous.
“My darling, not only I knew but it was also my idea,” you told him and he froze to take a better look at your face. You smiled at him. “And now everyone on Giedi Prime respects you for the warrior you are. I have seen you train many times before, I thought the way your uncle gives you drugged warriors is humiliating to you,” you explained softly. “I couldn’t tell you before because it would spoil your fun. Happy birthday, Feyd,” you added.
He softened in an instant and let go of your wrists only to grab them again and bring them to his lips and shower them with hungry and sloppy kisses that would later leave the red marks. His kisses were never soft or gentle, you suspected he wouldn’t know how to kiss like that.
“Leave us,” you whispered almost inaudibly to the medic and he bowed down before walking outside the room.
When Feyd finished soothing your wrists, he pulled you closer to him and you placed a kiss on his forehead.
“You made me proud,” you told him and picked up the bowl of liquid the medic had left behind as you began to tend your husband’s wounds yourself. He shivered when your fingertip touched him gently for the first time and you shushed him quietly. “When you killed your harpies, your uncle caught me in an empty room and told me that the other lords call you weak now. I told him to give you a real warrior so the lords stop their whispers. But my real agenda was to show the nobility of Giedi Prime that you are a worthy successor,” you shared the details of your plan with him.
“What do you mean he caught you in an empty room?” Feyd’s jaw clenched.
“That is not important now, my pet,” you shook your head with a chuckle. Your fingers worked delicately and slowly on his smooth skin. You doubted anyone had ever touched him this way before.
“One victory like this is not enough,” he pointed out.
“I know. But now it’s going to be easier. We still have to be patient, though,” you looked up to meet his gaze. “Here, it’s done,” you announced and put the bowl away.
“You should leave before I ravage you,” he looked you up and down with so much hunger in his eyes that you felt as if you were already naked in front of him.
“You think I don’t feel the same after all these days of not feeling you?” You laughed at him. “Do it,” you dared him and his eyes widened. “I trust you won’t hurt me despite your starvation,” you teased.
Some part of you really trusted him. Perhaps because he was the only person in the world you could trust amongst the Harkonnens and you desperately wanted an ally.
Your plan would only work out if you had Feyd by your side.
“Later,” he shook his head, surprising you with the level of his self-discipline. “I can wait a few more hours but I will not risk the safety of my heir,” he explained.
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The birthday celebrations started but Feyd was not very excited about them. He had been way more interested in the celebration thrown for you and your son than about his own. He seemed to be bored and all the gifts presented to him were making him nod his head without any enthusiasm whatsoever. Birthdays were not celebrated as officially as other holidays on Giedi Prime so you were able to roam freely around the room and talk to people while he was doing his own thing. However, you were growing tired and exhausted. It was evening already and all the stress you had experienced earlier wore you out. 
You felt Feyd’s hands on your shoulders and you turned around to face him with a smile.
“I’m bored here,” he told you.
“It’s your birthday, you should be celebrating,” you caressed his cheek.
“I’d rather celebrate with you upstairs,” he smirked and you nodded softly. “I’ll go talk to my uncle now as he wishes to see me and you go to the bedroom and wait there for me,” he ordered and you leaned in to peck his lips. 
“Don’t take too long, I have more gifts for you,” you told him and his eyes sparkled as he nodded his head and walked away to go to his uncle.
You excused yourself using your fragile state and you left the dining room to go upstairs. Once again you were not guarded but this time you decided not to wander around the yet unexplored rooms and go straight to yours.
When you were about to reach the staircase, you heard someone else’s footsteps behind you. They weren’t as heavy as the usual steps of the Harkonnen guards or lords but they still made your heart sink in your chest. You turned around and spotted the local Bene Gesserit woman standing a few steps behind you. You wanted to sigh with relief but you were not stupid to think that her presence meant you were safe. Quite the opposite.
“What do you want?” You asked her.
“To talk,” she approached you and took her veil off. You were surprised to see that she was a regular woman like you were. You had never been able to spot that from behind the veil covering her face.
“Talk about what?” You gritted your teeth and she reached her hand out towards your womb. You hissed at her and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
“I mean no harm,” she assured you and pressed her hand to your abdomen for a while. Then she hummed to herself and took the hand away. “Impressive. Your aunt barely managed to convince the sisters to allow this union because your genes were not as strong as they wanted Feyd-Rautha’s children to have. However, I see that the Harkonnen medicine is progressing greatly,” she pointed out. “They brought the best out of you.”
“I don’t like the way you speak of me,” you snapped. “You don’t address me properly and you dare to insinuate my genes are not good enough to bear my husband’s offspring.”
Bene Gesserit smirked at you. She didn’t seem to care about your little outburst at all.
“However, it’s a boy,” she continued. “I mean, of course it is. I didn’t expect the Harkonnens to want anything else,” she added. “Your next one shall be a girl.”
“Excuse me?” You took a step back and clenched your jaw. “What I have next is my business. Mine and my husband’s, that is,” you placed your hand on your womb protectively.
“If you don’t give Feyd-Rautha a daughter, my Lady,” she emphasised ironically and you raised an eyebrow at her, “then I will.”
You nearly gasped at her insolence. Rage filled your whole body hearing her words. She threatened to lay with your husband? While she was inside your home?
“If you bewitch my husband, I will have you killed. I do not care about any of you,” you threatened her back.
“Your aunt promised us that you would be easy to control. As we both know, that is not true but we can let that slip. However, we will not give up on the promised daughter,” she explained calmly.
“Wh-what?” You stuttered out.
“Your aunt promised us that your first born daughter will be trained to become Bene Gesserit,” the woman answered and you felt a stinging pain in your chest.
Your aunt… whom you had never even met in your life. Of whom you had had no idea for most of your life. Yet she seemed to be the mastermind behind it all because of your grandfather’s sick ambitions to put his granddaughter on the Harkonnen throne. And your father… He passively had allowed that all to happen as Lady Jessica had cheered. 
“Is she here?” You barked at her. “My aunt? I want to talk to her.”
“The other sisters have left already, I’m afraid, na-baroness,” the woman told you. 
“If I have a daughter one day, I will not give her away to you witches,” you pointed your finger at her.
“There will be no need. She will stay here and I will train her,” she explained. “The Harkonnen countess would not be treated like a regular sister. Of course such powerful members have their privileges.”
“I still don’t want you near any of my children,” you told her angrily. “And I want you to stay away from Feyd.”
“You’re scared,” she smirked as she approached you, “because you know my poison is more effective than yours. I could really bind him to me in a way that is not accessible to you. You don’t hate us for witchcraft. You hate us because you’re not one of us,” she dared to whisper to you.
“I prefer holding less power but not being a blind follower of any idea nor force but myself and my own desires,” you answered proudly and straightened yourself.
You will obey me.
The loud and overwhelming voice boomed inside your head. You knew that voice very well. You had been growing up with it around.
“I will obey you,” you nodded and turned around to walk away but after a while you managed to fight this staggering sensation numbing your brain. “I will not,” you said.
“What did you say?” Bene Gesserit asked, surprised. You turned around to face her once again.
“I will not,” you repeated.
“How did you do that?” Her eyes widened.
“Growing up around Lady Jessica… You think I didn’t learn how to disobey your cursed voice?” You asked her with contempt. She didn’t have to know how much it costed you each time to be able to do that. You wanted her to think it was easy.
“That is impossible,” the woman shook her head. “You could not learn that by yourself.”
“Yet I did,” you shrugged your arms. “And no offence, but Lady Jessica was more powerful Bene Gesserit than you are.”
“Yes, she was,” she nodded. “That is why she was able to teach you this.”
“Teach me this?” You raised your eyebrow.
“Of course. Do you think you were able to master this ancient ability to fight The Voice by yourself? She had to teach you this. I only wonder why,” she hummed to herself.
Now you wondered, too. Perhaps some part of her wanted to protect you from whatever would come in the future. Perhaps some part of her cared about you.
And you hated to be grateful to her for anything but now you were.
“I might give you a daughter next,” you told the woman in front of you. “Having a powerful Bene Gesserit as my daughter can be useful,” you remembered Baron’s words. “But if you try to pit her against me or send her away to procreate with some gross lord far away from here, that is when I will intervene and you will regret this, witch,” you warned her.
She nodded.
“And if you touch my husband…”
“With all respect, I’d rather not touch him if I don’t have to, so just give us a daughter next,” she chuckled nervously.
You smiled at her. At first you were surprised hearing her words but then you remembered that most people did not see Feyd the way you were seeing him now. To them he was scary, unhinged and temperamental and his presence was deeply unsettling.
You left her in the corridor and went upstairs to your bedroom. You regretted not seeing your aunt because there were lots of things you’d love to tell her.
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Feyd joined you in the bedroom not long after. You were dressed in a nightgown already and sitting on the chair pulled away from his desk.
“What took you so long?” You asked him when the doors closed behind him.
“He gave Arrakis to me,” your husband informed you and stood above you as your eyes sparkled.
“What? He did?”
“Apparently Rabban is humiliating himself over and over there and embarrassing our family,” Feyd gritted his teeth. “I will be named the new Governor soon.”
“Well, that’s a gift I cannot possibly beat,” you teased and beckoned him over as he fell to his knees to be able to face you.
Feyd put his hands on your thighs as he opened them with his long fingers and you chuckled softly at him.
“Such an eager pet, aren’t you?” You teased him and he looked up. “That gift has to wait. Give me a knife,” you asked him.
He was confused but he handed you a short blade he was always carrying with himself.
“It’s so pretty,” you took a better look at the dagger in awe. It was really an excellent piece of work.
“Keep it,” your husband breathed out.
“But it’s your birthday, not mine,” you caressed his cheek gently.
“You need a weapon, too. I want you to keep it, just in case. When I’m not around and my uncle catches you in an empty room… For example,” he insisted.
“I don’t even know how to use it.”
“It’s a knife,” Feyd snorted. “You just stab.”
“Well, I guess. You can teach me more when I’m not with child anymore,” you proposed.
“I can,” he nodded and leaned in to place a kiss on your womb.
“So you do know how to kiss like that,” you teased and he looked caught off guard.
“I did it like you always do it… Did I do something wrong?” He asked and you swore, you could call him adorable in a way. You couldn’t believe it was the same man who had been slaughtering his enemies in the arena earlier.
“Aw, I’m only teasing. Give me your hand,” you ordered and he raised his arm as you slit one of the lines on his exposed palm. He didn’t even wince, so used to the pain much greater than this one. And he didn’t question anything you were doing either. It was almost sad, the way he obeyed you.
You watched his blood spilling down his pale skin; so dark and thick – it was nearly black and of a slimy texture. Then you cut yourself the same way, trying not to hiss out of pain as your own blood spilled, looking much healthier than his poisoned one.
You put the blade away and held his bleeding hand with yours to squeeze it tight. Feyd looked deep into your eyes, understanding the meaning of this gesture.
“I am yours and you are mine,” you told him. “Forever from now on. Your blood is my blood, my blood is your blood. We are one,” you whispered. “You do not exist without me and I do not exist without you. Together we will build our empire,” you continued and he nodded with a very serious expression on his face. There was pure admiration in his eyes, though. “We will not allow him to come between us.”
“We will kill him,” Feyd added angrily and you nodded at him. He was so eager.
“And everyone else in our way,” you assured him. “I shall be your anchor.”
“I shall be your blade,” he promised and you leaned down to join your lips together and mix your saliva like you mixed your blood.
You let go of his hand and straightened yourself, breaking the kiss. Feyd however brought your palm to his mouth and began to lick your wound as he drank the blood that spilled. Like dogs would lick their owners’ wounds.
“If I had known he’d give you Arrakis, I’d come up with a better gift,” you joked. Feyd looked up at you with your hand still pressed to his mouth, now stained with your blood.
“Nothing he’s ever given me can match you, my Baroness,” he confessed.
You smiled at him lovingly. It was a sight no one else in the world could admire – Feyd-Rautha on his knees, obedient and in awe. You finally opened your thighs in front of his face to give him what he had been waiting for since this morning. Most likely the gift he had been anticipating the most.
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MASTERLIST
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flamingpudding · 3 days
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I'm back with a part 4 if you want to do it it's kind of more of a crack write I just need Klarion trying to explain the family tree
But not explaining how he was made at all So Young Justice and the Justice League are now convinced that a the Ghost King was a teenage parent who is now 27 years old and just passed college with a degree in astronomy and machinery
Klarion's other parent is a a crazy fruit loop 64 year old millionaire who went to college with Klarion's Mom parents who had an emotionally unhealthy obsession with his mom's mother and then it passed on to his mom.
And he has an older sister who is technicality a clone of his mom but also has the bastards DNA so fundamentally making Ellie Vlad Master and Mom's first born kid but there's six other siblings that Klarion had that died back a while back but Mom got granddad who's apparently the time lord AKA Cronos which is a whole another long story to go back in time and save those kids get them fixed up and now Klarion technicality has seven older siblings which all do their own things
And then he starts mentioning his uncle who is a 9 ft yeti his technicality auntie who is a medieval ghost princess who can turn into a dragon his auntie Pandora and his his grandfather cronos
My names for the six other clone children are Donald (he/him), Cecelia (they/she), Bartholomew(Them/They), Kyle AKA Bite(He/It), Brutus(He/They), and then there's Danna (She/Her) who actually really like the name Dan and asked Klarion if could have it when Klarion changed his name
Sorry if this is a little bit too much I've just really been thinking about au for this after the last part you made I hope this helps you with your writing or at least makes you laugh but I really love the idea of Danny's AKA somewhat clone children and finding their own personalities and and fighting themselves out of just being failed clone of their mom also I love the idea of Danny going back in time to save the rest of the clone kids cuz now he's a mature adult who wants to save their lives and wants them to grow into their own people.
(⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)
I probably did way to much research into all the fandoms I am in to see what I could tie into this... And yet this feels shorter than it should but I also currently lack the time to add more. But for now I hope this will be satisfactorily.
Also this family tree idea especially the part of saving the melted clones. LOVE IT!
So even though it took me a while! here is Part 4 you inspired! Thanks so much for the ask!
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"Dude, you are making us only curious!" Impulse spoke up as he sat down next to Klarion who had his head in his hands. "Like you and your mom can't just drop your family lore like that!"
The witch boy on the other hand looked up with narrowed eyes at the speedster. "What lore?"
"Let's see, the part that apparently a Vlad tried to kill your Grandpa to make friends several time. That your mom is 'ghost' adopted by the lord of time Cronos and Pandora, which makes us family too by the way, and that you have a sister that apparently is even crazier than what we got to know of your family so far." Wonder Girl counted off her fingers next to him grinning as she mentioned the part of probably being a part of his 'crazy' family too. Which hell yea, that sounded like a lot of fun to be explored she would have to talk with Wonder Woman about that as soon as possible.
"Also..." Red Robin added as he flipped through the photo album that apparently no one remembered he had. He was turning it around and pointed at a particular photo with a wild bunch of people in it that varied between more human and well... less humanoid people. One of them definitely was a Yeti and there was also what looked like living armor as well as Teekly (they knew that demon cat at least), a giant green dog and for some reasons there was a green aggressive looking Octopus in the background too. "...how are you related to a Yeti?"
"Hey that man there and those other teens in the picture actually have some resembles with you! Do you have older brothers too?" Superboy additionally asked as he moved around Red Robin to see the photo better pointing at a man that appeared to be in this late twenties, blue eyed, black haired and a little on the buffer side. If he didn't know any better and the fact that he should keep his mouth shut about their actual identities he would have jokingly asked Red Robin if his family would like to add more kids considering Klarions family apparently had a bunch of black haired blue eyed members too, judging by the photo at least.
"What are you talking about. That man is my mom and yes the others are actually my older brothers and that Yeti is uncle Frostbite who also happens to be the best medic in the Infinite Realms" The four teen heroes looked stunned at the picture and then back at the Ghost King that was smiling at them, still seated by the dinner table with their mentors. Who by the way were now perking up at the change of topic and the information they could gain with it, well Wonder Woman was more interested in the apparently extended family she had.
"Oh I remember we took this photo last year, it was such a hassle to get everyone into one place with them all being busy doing their own things." Danny mused for a moment, remembering fondly how he had to literally drag some of the kids home through a portal.
"It was more annoying than anything too since I was declared to be the youngest...." Klarion muttered also remembering that day not as fondly as his mother.
"Wait, wait, wait! That is a picture of your family? I need an explanation buddy!" Impulse cut in without shame, quickly removing the picture from the photo album to get a better look at it before holding it out to Klarion so he could explain all the individuals. "Plus why does your mom look soooo.... human?"
The witch boy on the other hand stared at him for a couple of seconds before looking over towards his mother as if waiting for something. After a moment the teen heroes as well as their mentors saw Danny nod with a little smile. "This dimension doesn't have the GIW so its fine, the Justice League Dark won't be a problem either, right?." Constantine flinched at the smile the Ghost King was giving him, muttering something under his breath as he had hoped his presence had been forgotten.
"Since mom is giving his okay...." Klarion mutter sitting crosslegged on the ground as he snatched the photo album from Red Robin and flipped through it. "Lets start with the easiest stuff to explain."
Danny chuckled noticing that not only the teen heroes but their mentors as well showed an interest. He choose to stay quiet letting the adults listen in on the kids, and if things went bad he would just ask Clockwork if they could revert time back to this moment and he would change his nod of permission to a shake of denial.
"Okay first of, this is my mom and his sister Jasmine, this is Danielle my older sister and that hulk with flaming white hair and blueish skin is me. That was before I got deaged because of destabilising." Klarion explained flipping to a photo of him, Danny, Jazz and Danielle. "Mom was around fifteen, Aunt Jazz about seventeen and Ellie should have been about a year old but she was aged up to twelve. They look human in this one because well they are. Mom was originally human and became what you call in this dimension a Meta through an accident."
"Wait... that would mean your mom... How could he have two kids at that age of fourteen? You look like an adult and your sister was aged up?" Wonder Girl couldn't help but ask as she looked from the photo and back to Danny at the dinner table again.
"That's cause Vlad was a fu-"
"Language Klarion!"
"Vlad was a fruitloop. That photo was taken shortly after Vlad and I sort of redeemed our selfs. Plus, mom didn't really have my sister and me willingly.... we were kind of forced upon him in a way." Klarion explained shrugging. "Old Man Vlad had an obsession with his mom that then turned on mom, which resulted in my oldest sister Danielle first. Actually, a lot of my elder siblings resulted from that, but they didn't survive it the first time, Mom got Old Man Clocks help to save them once he got used to being the Ghost King. I got added to the mix shortly after my sister, but... i wasn't in the best state of mind at first, kind of went through a redemption phase in which mom had to fix the timeline of our original home dimension, too."
Danny chuckled again at the disturbed looks the teens were giving his son as well as the looks their mentors sent him. He probably should correct Klarion's wording... but being one of the gremlins of his family he just smiled on, not commenting. He really understands now why Pops Clockwork liked watching the chaos he used to cause as teen, and still sometimes causes as adult.
"Klarion... how old is this Old Man Vlad?" Red Robin asked grimacing as his eyes under the mask flicked up to the Ghost King and then back to the witch boy both seemingly unbothered by the disturbing information they were sharing.
"In human years... probably around 67? You stop counting age at some point if your a halfa." Klarion shrugged, not noticing the grimaces of the teens around him. "Anyway, Ellie is sort of the first born. I came in after that, with my core being a mix of Mom and Vlad. Not DNA wise though since I came to be because of their ghost cores. That's why I look like that in this photo. Though human DNA wise I am probably now mostly Moms, we never bothered to ask the old man."
Danny muffled another chuckle, coughing as Superman sent him an incredulous look of shook while he felt Batmans burning gaze on him.
"You... mentioned more siblings?" Red Robin asked carefully sharing a look with his team, feeling like there was a whole lot of trauma in Klarions family he wasn't sure they should address or not. So asking after his siblings was probably, hopefully the safest option. They didn't know that while there was trauma in the witch boy's family it was not the kind they were imagining.
"Yea I got a bunch more brothers, Vlad was a evil crazy fuitloop, before he redeemed himself. They all kind of melted in one timeline but mom and Grandpa Clock found a way to save them." Klarion nodded flipping to another photo containing him, as he looked now, and all his siblings.
"So, Ellie you know about already. The one with the sunglasses and died hair is Bartholomew, second oldest. They made themselves a home in other dimension, barely at home cause he has to much fun messing with something called a 'Starstream' by being a 'Constellation' and throwing gold coins at 'Incarnations'. Don't ask me what that means, I barely pay attention when he gushes about his favorit 'Incarnation'. They spent like all their money and pocket money there. Aunt Jazz thinks he might develop a gambling addiction if we don't stop his spendings." The teen heroes eyed the teen that looked like a young adult grinning in the photo as the witch boy pointed at the one next to them. "The one with the vile is my elder brother Bite, most responsible one of this bunch. Mom even allowed him to take care of a couple of dimensions by taking the role of being their God of Death. I think he messed them up more than helped but he is doing a somewhat good job, even if he is sort of obsessed with making some red head his saint or something..."
"One of your sibs is a God?" Impulse gabbed and Klarion just blinked at him with a shrug. "My Grandfather is the ruler of Time, your point is? Wonder Girl is also related to a God of your dimension."
"Never mind him, moving on." A yelp resounded as Superboy pushed Impulse head down leaning in more to see the photo better. "You got one emo looking brother there!"
"Oh that's Yamikumo, he is like a year or two older than me right now, in human years. He barely got any of mom's powers so he choose to try to life a somewhat normal life but weirdly enough he choose a dimension that is ruled by people who have powers and abilities, you know like the Meta Humans of this dimension. Now that I think about it, he is also the only one who actually is studying on how to be a Hero."
"Do you end up fighting with him if he studies to be a hero?" Wonder Girl whisper asked him with a quick glance towards their mentors, to which Klarion shook his head. "As long as we leave the dimensions one of us choose to live in alone we usually don't fight about stuff like that, aside from the usual sibling fights that is. Then again I do have some siblings that like to make bets like who is better at ruling as demon lord, or who can safe a dying timeline quicker."
Danny chuckled again as he watched the kids, Klarion had definitely caused some misunderstandings with his wording. Then again it wasn't like Klarion said anything that wasn't true, but then again his son loved chaos. So there was a suspicion that Klarion intentionally choose the way he worded the explanation about how he and Ellie came to be as well as the rest of siblings.
"So....." Superman slowly started wondering how he should bring up the topic. "...you became a mom at 14?"
"Say Danny is there a way for me to meet this Vlad? You know since we are family." Wonder Woman also asked smiling in a certain way that reminded Danny of Valerie when she was mad but didn't want to show right away how mad she was, to which the Ghost King on reflex could do nothing but gulp for a moment. Not noticing that a green post it note appeared on the table before him.
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DM Tip: Creating a Campaign Skeleton
Learning to be a better dungeonmaster was a protracted process. A younger me was often so stressed out by the desire to be a better artist that I'd have legitimately mauled a person if it would've revealed to me the wisdom I sought (with my hands or even an actual maul given the chance).
One of my biggest hurdles was the idea of a universal framework for d&d adventures, a guideline that would tell me if the things I was creating were on the right track. It was sorely needed, I loved the process of being creative but without an understanding of how my creative energy was best used I ended up sinking days, weeks, or even months worth of energy into projects that went nowhere. Worse yet, when I DID get a chance to put my ideas into practice at the table they'd frequently spiral out of control and crash, resulting in even more stress.
Over time I learned from these mistakes, I got better, and then I got good. I moved from conscious incompetence to competence, and I ended up having a run of absolutely stellar campaigns that were everything my younger self could have dreamed of: stable, enjoyable, meaningful, and most importantly an absolute delight to my players. Routinely I'd have people, including folks that'd only played with me a few times, mention that getting together to roll dice and listen to me babel on in silly voices was a highlight of their week.
It was as one of these campaigns began to wind down (three years! a satisfying conclusion on the horizon!) and I started looking for a followup scenario that I decided to study all my really successful campaigns and figure out what connected them. The end result was something I'd been looking for for nearly a decade, a reliable format that I could build campaigns around.
I want to preface this section with the understanding that while this information is laid out in a vaguely chronological fashion there's no guarantee that these ideas will occur to you in any particular order. Inspiration is a funny thing, and each idea flows into the others to make a cohesive whole. Due to foreshadowing and setup reasons you're also going to need a pretty solid idea about all of these when starting a campaign, though exact details will likely change/ can be vague up until the moment they're needed.
The Reason: Who are we and what are we doing?
Gives your players a solid background to build their characters around and give them a reason to travel together, rather than having to ad lib one on the spot. Likewise sets expectations of what the campaign is "about" that you can build on or subvert in time. The reason doesn't need to hold true for the entire game, just long enough to serve as a framing device. EG: The Witcher starts out as a "monster of the week" setup and then uses that framework to pivot into politics and prophecy once we've seen the premise play out.
The Pilot/Crashtest Adventure: What's first?
I’ve already written about these, but the general concept is to give your party a mostly contained first outing that doesn’t have any larger bearing on the plot so they can focus on learning how their characters play/building the party dynamic.  By the time the party's finished this first adventure they'll have already started putting down roots in the world: they'll have in jokes, npcs they've started to care about, an understanding of what's on the horizon, and an idea of where they want to go next.
The Central Gameplay Pillar: How does this all work?
It's important to have an idea what your campaign is going to be about in a mechanical sense in addition to its plot and themes. There is a difference between an adventure that has the party delve a dungeon, and a dungeoncrawling focused campaign. I like to lead with these outright during the campaign pitch so that players can know what they're getting into. Your playgroup will likely have strong opinions about what they like and dislike, even if they don't have the words to describe it, so you might need to explain the ideas for them.
The Hub: Where are we?
I think every good campaign has a hub, some kind of settlement that the party returns to between adventures to offload loot, pick up supplies, and sift through the latest gossip to look for the next questhook. Letting the party return to the same place lets them build up a relationship with it, clarifying the picture in their mind as new details are added and they grow more and more attached. It's possible to have multiple hubs over the course of a campaign, but I'd advise really only having one per arc to best concentrate your efforts. Fill up your hub with distractions and side adventures, shorter stories that the party can get tangled up in while the larger adventure slowly reveals itself. Returning to the same hub also means returning to a familiar and expanding cast of NPCs, which helps your party become more and more invested in the setting
The Main Event: What's going to happen?
Here we get to the meat of the issue, the big story you want to be telling using this campaign. To pull off the sick narrative kickflip you wish to perform, you're going to need to lay a lot of groundwork, seeding in details left and right as well as giving the party a chance to stumble across evidence of your schemes without ever realizing the whole thing. To do this, you're going to work in the building blocks of your big reveal/twist/pending disaster into the setting along with those side adventures from the hub. This will give your party an idea that something is going on, but with more pressing matters to take care of they're going to be distracted up until the moment you decide to pull the trigger.
The Setting: What's over there?
While things like genre and tone are definitely things you should have a handle on from the outset, I personally feel like the details of a setting are best constructed on an ad hoc basis, either in a direct response to something required by part of the narrative (be it side story or main event), or pencilled in at the margins as the party explores the world.. That said, creation of the hub and setting often go hand in hand because it's important to match the settlement to the environment and then shape the environment to the quests inside the settlement. As for what's beyond your hub, I happen to have just written something about building out settings.
Now, this next option is one that I recommend you start thinking about only once your campaign is fully underway, so it doesn't clog up your creative process by focusing on something that you might not even get to
The Change: What the fuck?
A little while after the main event has kicked off and your party is off on the quest that will turn them from mere adventurers into heroes, they start to hear rumours of strange happenings. It's certainly not related to the present scenario, it may even be an unexpected windfall, but it's not something they have time to look into. Time ticks on, the land is saved, and the party is able to enjoy their victory lap as well as some dearly needed time off. Before they can get comfortable however they're slammed by some strange occurrence that they could have never predicted that changes the state of the world. A neighbouring kingdom invades, an important ally is murdered and they're blamed for it, a dragon starts rampaging through the realm. Its important that this event is outside the party's skillset, not necessarily diametrically opposed, but counter to what they were planning
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charlottecutepie · 2 days
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How about Will being sweet and rough at the same time? Like verbally being sweet, gently calling you his little bunny with his hand around your throat or just generally being rougher physically but also leaning in for forehead kisses. 🥹💜🐰
౨ৎ𓂃 ࣪˖ Jealous bunny (William Afton x fem!reader)
tags: nsfw, smut, vaginal sex, outdoor sex, car sex, jealous!reader, riding, doggy style, missionary, praise, rough sex, lot of petnames, choking, multiple orgasms, small daddy kink, fluff, creampie, soft!william, mention of william being married
author notes: heyy ty sm for this wonderful idea, i really liked it!!! tho I went further and added a lil plot here, hope you don’t mind :) lets say it’s me warming up for dubcon fic with stalker!william !!!!!!
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It's pretty late, William is driving slowly and carefully, which even surprises you. He usually always drives casually, but apparently the day at work turned out to be quite difficult, his face also shows that. He stares wearily at the empty road through glasses, his facial muscles relaxed as he blinks tiredly. You rest your chin on your hand and turn your head to look into the car's window. Beautiful moonlight falls on the green meadows, giving a magical shine to the emerald grass. The stars sparkle in the night sky, some white and others bluish. It's really beautiful, breathtaking even, you actually forget you're with William until his voice reaches you.
“I keep forgetting to ask,” he begins, adjusting his glasses, the hand that holds the steering wheel relaxed. “How's Elizabeth's success at school?”
You know what to answer him. You turn your head to William and your gaze immediately falls on his hand, or rather on the finger on which the wedding ring shines hideously. Why hasn't he taken it off yet? Him and his wife decided to divorce a couple of months ago.
“I try to motivate her to study, but—”
“Buut she's pretty stubborn, right?” he interrupts you with a smile.
“Yeah,” you nod. “she's rude to me sometimes, and she doesn't want to do her homework. Today she. . . actually, she threw a tantrum because she didn't like the breakfast I made her.” you sigh never taking your eyes off William's ring.
He chuckles softly. “Her mom did a great job raising Elizabeth as a spoiled girl, i can say.”
“Well, that's the thing.” you sound displeased, not hiding the resentment in your voice. “it's difficult with her.”
“I know, darling, i know.” his hand lays on your thigh and strokes it, as if soothing you. “but believe me, this is how Elizabeth expresses her love. If she's throwing a tantrum and doesn't obey, it means she loves you.” you even seem to relax until you hear his next words. “kind of reminds me of her mom.”
Your face drops and you slap his hand away. “Don't wanna hear bout her.” you mumble as you narrow your eyes.
William looks at you. “Sorry, baby, i won't mention her.”
Silence filled the car again, only the chirping of crickets and the engine of the car are the only sounds. You're really offended that he started talking about his wife again, even though he always spoke neutrally about her, they just didn't suit each other. Their marriage was bursting at the seams and the only thing that kept them together were their kids.
“Why you're still wearing this ring?” you question him while continuing to look into the window, but your eyes aren't focused on the beauty of nature at all.
“I put it on especially for work,” he answers calmly. “It minimizes unnecessary questions and gossip about my personal life. You know i don't like sharing my things with people.” you glance at him briefly, raising an eyebrow.
“Okay.” you pout, that's when you feel his hand on your leg again, this time squeezing softly.
“I don't care about her anymore, princess.” you barely keep yourself from pushing him back, jealousy swallows you whole.
“You still love her. . . ” you say quietly. And even though you realize you're doing the wrong thing, because there really is nothing between them anymore, it's like they've become strangers again, you still can't contain your emotions and jealousy.
“Love her? Darling, I left all feelings related to her behind a long time ago.” he raises his eyebrows and gives you a surprised face, the car is going slower by the minute because William is clearly not interested in driving now. He didn't expect his girl to let herself think that he loves someone else. You're quiet, your face darkened and corners of your mouth downturned. “You're beautiful you know?” William's deep voice asks, his hand caresses your skin, slowly moving closer to your core.
“Don't say that.” you snap at him, trying to hold yourself from arguing with him. William chuckles, oh babygirl, it's no use fighting with me.
“Why i can't? If i love my bunny, why can't i say that?” this time you let him touch you, but you still don't look at him, trying your best to pretend that you don't care about what's happening right now. Except William has touched and fucked you so many times that he knows exactly when his little doll is lying. Of course, when you cross your legs and your body tenses, William knows what that means. He smiles and rolls off the road. “You're really stunning, these little shorts fit you so well.” he cooes.
“Don't.” you hiss at him.
“Or what, bunny?” you don't answer his question. “c'mon.” he reaches over and pulls your chin up until you're forced to look at him. Afton smiles, the corners of his lips tugging up, he stares into your eyes.
“You love her.”
“I don't.”
“You do—” William doesn't wait for you to deny it anymore; his mouth slams down onto yours in a searing kiss.
“I do love you, doll.” he pulls away only to whisper raggedly against these words into your lips before kissing you again. He claims your lips once more, caressing every inch of skin exposed by your t-shirt with one hand while the other slowly trails up towards your breast. You whimper into his mouth when he squeezes softly through the delicate fabric.
“If you'd love me, you'd—” you try to speak when he breaks the kiss, but your voice breaks when he plants tender kisses along the side of your jawline lowering to your neck. William murmurs another “i love only you” and when he reaches for your t-shirt, he slides his hand underneath the fabric to gently cup your breast; suckling on your skin while running his thumb over your sensitive nipple in an intimate circle.
“Is that enough prove, darling?” William pulls away from your neck, his breath warm against your lips as he looks into your eyes, he's watching your face, studying your reaction. But you're fucking silent, even though you know it's damn more than enough, you're still quiet. Your chest rising up and down from his passionate kisses and touches, your mouth opened, but no words come out.
Since his girl is silent, William decides to take matters into his own hands, he reaches down and rubs your pussy through your shorts. He grabs your hips while thrusting up against you; making it apparent just how hard he's gotten for you. “Mmmhm, my pretty bunny” he nuzzles your neck, breathing in deeply; you're sweet and hot all at once — like heaven on earth to him. He leans back slightly against the driver's seat, guiding you over his erect length which presses excitedly against your pussy through his pants. “Let me love you.” he takes yours chin again forcing it up for a hungry kiss while simultaneously grinding you against him.
“Right here?” you ask him in between kisses, trying your fucking best to make your voice sound neutral or careless even, but you fuck up as he grinds against you, his bulge pokes your clothed cunt and you feel your panties wetter. “N-no, i don't want, let me go.”
“Right here.” William looks at you, never believing your words, the signs are unmistakable: flushed cheeks, heavy breathing and soaked panties. You're horny, it's written all over your needy face. “Just let me love you darling.”
“You love your wife, you still wear that. . .” you gasp when William roughly bounces you on his erection. “damn ring.”
Not wasting any time, he removes the wedding ring carelessly from his finger and throws it aside before grabbing your hips, pulling you onto himself with force and kissing you again. A lot of kisses, you can tell that, your lips already swollen from that. “I love you, i need only you, only my little princess, mine.” William pulls back slightly, tugging your shorts and panties off in one swift move, revealing your glistening pussy. He watches hungrily as you bite your lip but don't stop him. He fumbles with the button and zipper on his pants before pushing them down along with his underwear to reveal a fully erect dick just waiting to thrust into you. “Gonna fuck that jealousy out of you.” he growls.
Panting heavily, William lines up his hard cock with your wet hole and then plunges inside you roughly, causing a sharp gasp to escape from both of you. He lets you adjust to his length, holding you in his big hands, making you feel small and safe with him, he groans and begins pounding into you hard, filling you just perfect, moaning as he praises his little princess. “Perfect, you're perfect. . .” his hips drive deeper every second until his balls slap loudly against your ass.
“Nghah— Ahh, William!” you feel so stretched open by the force of each thrust and yet it doesn't hurt. You grip onto his shoulders tightly for support but that doesn't slow him down in the least.
“Told you I'd make your pussy mine, bunny.” William huskily mutter in your ear before claiming your mouth with another fierce kiss as his cock reaches deeper in you at rough pace. He can feel you getting closer by how nice your pussy clamps around him and it's all he needs: feel your little cunt clench on his cock, be inside you while you cum. “Ughh, love the way this little cunt sucks me in.” he runs his hand down your body and finds your clit.
“I'm—” your voice weak from sudden stimulation, you shake as his fingers fastly caress your little sensitive bundle. “Fuck, gonna cum!” you whine, closing your eyes tight as you try to bounce on William, but you don't even realize he's doing all work here, having a firm grip on you and moving you up and down on his cock like a ragdoll.
Hearing your moan makes William's heart race faster, spurring him on to fuck you even harder. “C’mon, doll, let me hear you say it.” he continues slamming into your pussy, enjoying how wet and tight you're getting from his relentless thrusts. You barely hear what he tells you as your moans and slapping sounds filling the car.
“Daddy, please-please,” you cry out and in next second your ears catch satisfied laugh from him. “let me cum, please!!” your begs sound way too good and pretty for him, so he leans closer to you and gives you a tender kiss on the forehead.
“Such a good girl— yeahhh, go ahead, cum on my cock.” you let out a moan and shake as waves of pleasure crash over you. “fuck. . .” William's pace slows down to smooth and gentle, he kisses your breasts through your t-shirt, your nipples hard from chilly summer night and how horny you are. William licks your pretty nubs through clothes and you loose your head from such intimacy. Your fingers dig into his shoulders even harder now as he buries himself deeper inside until it seems impossible to go any further, reaching your cervix. Your orgasm sweeps over you and William feels it, hearing your rapid breaths turn into loud moans. His cock pulsating inside you and you cream around him as he finishes inside you, letting himself moan from how desperately your cunt tries to milk every last drop from him. “Hhmm, princess, my girl.” he hides his face in your chest, never wanting to let his little girl go.
He pulls away from you slowly, taking a moment to catch his breath. Looking up at your flushed cheeks, and into your eyes. “Was it enough to prove that I love only you?” he's still inside you and you shiver a little in aftershocks of your intense orgasm. “C'mon, tell me, doll.” his voice is soft, but there's an insistent undertone to it making you realize he wants an answer more than anything right then.
You look into his eyes and although inside you realize that what he did was more than enough, you do your best not to smile. And you're good at it, your face still looks like it did at the beginning of your talk, offended and completely provoking him to further actions. William reads everything in your eyes, which sparkle with devilish excitement.
So, William continues proving you, fucking you from behind in the passenger seat of his car, the cool leather brushes against your hot skin. With him inside you so deep and stretching your pussy it seems impossible not to let a loud moan escape your lips. His strong arms grip around your waist tightly as he picks up speed, watching how your ass jiggle whenever he thrusts. “Can’t believe you think i love someone other than you.”
“Oh fuck— Hahh, mmm. . . H-harder!” you moan and he drives into you harder, his breathing ragged and heavy.
“How could you even think that?” he growls in your ear. The more William talks to you the hornier you get as your whole body trembling and quivering. The need for him is intense inside you, every thrust pushing you towards another orgasm; making you claws dig deeper into leather seats. “My good little girl, my princess. Daddy gonna make sure to prove he loves only you.”
The contrast of his sweet words and rough fucking makes you cry, eyes watery as tears appears in corner of your eyes. The sounds and begs of yours make him fuck you harder, just as you asked to, William manhandles you by grabbing your hair, your roots hurts as he yanks your head to him.
“I belong to you, bunny,” he grunts, enjoying your glassy eyes full of sweet pretty tears as you drool silly. “and you belong to me. As it should be, right?” your heart trying to escape your chest as he pounds into you.
“Right there, fuck! Fuck—fuck—fuckkk!” you shake under him, you'll surely be sore after that, not only your body, but your throat because of how loud you're screaming. You're clearly ignoring his question.
“Answer me, bunny.” William tugs on your hair, making you gasp from unexpected pain. Your pussy gripping on him so fucking tight that he feels he gonna cum in any second again. “C'mon,” he thrusts. “answer” another thrust. “me.” you know you're acting bitchy right now, it's totally wrong, but you love this kind of William, who's trying to prove all his feelings, who cares about your state, who's ready to fuck all these insecurities out of you, so rude and aggressive, hair pulling and animalistic pace, but so gentle and soft, praising you and trying to make you believe.
You don't give him the answer he waited, instead just bucking your hips to his thrusts, wanting nothing more but to cum on his cock again.
“Fine, doll.” you hear William's voice behind you, but this time it's different, tone intimidating, more serious, his grip on your hair weakens and he lets you go.
You don't get time to process why he pulls out, leaving you feeling horribly empty as he changes position, manhandling you again, laying you on your back, his hands spread your legs wider and he plunges inside you again. This time you arch your back and your cunt throbbing, your hand grip onto the edge of the passenger seat as you cum hard, trembling and breathless. William watches, enjoying the view where you two connect and groaning with satisfaction when you pull yourself closer to him begging for more. “Cum for daddy, that's a good girl.” he moves, feeling how your walls clench around his shaft while he rubs your swollen bud in soft circles.
He leans over you, his mouth capturing your lips in a messy kiss, stealing the air from your lungs. William groans against your lips, perfectly feeling how tight you just got from cumming. Your hips lift off the seat involuntarily, inviting him deeper into you; wanting all of him inside you as he fills you up completely until his balls slap against your skin. He never stops moving, instead changing from thrusting to completely pulling out of you, leaving your hole clenching around nothing only to slam back in with wet sound, abusing your cunt. Mad pleasure coursing through your veins, your juices making a beautiful mess all over the car seats.
“I must fuck this cunt properly, yeah? To make my little girl believe me,” he bruises your cervix, maintaining eye contact with you. You look into his face, but even through your blurry vision you see how handsome he is, especially now, hair messy as ever, face flushed and pupils dilated, sweaty forehead and all of this is yours, only yours, this man belongs to you. You take him like a good girl you are, your dripping pussy that wet he easily and deliciously slides in and out, creating sloppy sounds. “i'll make you understand.”
His strong arms wrap around your neck and your eyes widen, in both fear and excitement, this is something new. William presses down on your throat, earning from you a muffled wheeze and then pulls out, depriving your pussy of warmth. You grip his wrists, watching William's frowned face, but his eyes betray him, so loving and caring, filled with nothing, but pure love for his angel. Weird feelings overwhelming you and you really get lost, he chokes you, his brows furrowed as he's concentrated, his tip slides over your slit, but never entering and you ready to burst in hysteric from wanting him inside again.
“No, please, fuck me, please!” you cry, trying to move, but your voice is so fucked up, William adores that emotion written on your confused face. “William. . .”
“Now you understand, babygirl? Answer me.” William stares deeply into your eyes, his grip tightening on your neck; enough to remind you who's in control. You're struggling for breath with tears running down your face. “Fucking answer me.” he repeats again.
“Ye-yeah! You love me, William. . . No one else.” you try to nod, your voice hoarse.
“Oh my god,” he sighs deeply, his leaking cock twitching from your beautiful sounds. “yes, that's right, baby, that's it, such a good girl.” he releases his hold on your throat and runs a finger over your cheek, wiping away your tears. He leans for a deep kiss while pushing inside you and you wrap your legs around his waist, gladly welcoming him inside again.
“Mhm— Mhnng!—” your muffled moans. “love you so muuuch!” you cry into his mouth and the whole car staggers like an earthquake from his quick, sharp and rough thursts.
“Me too, bunny, me too.” he whispers, pressing his forehead against yours, voice hushed, full of adoration and affection for you. “Pussy so fuckin tight—” beautiful groans leave him. “Gonna cum— ughhh inside you again, claim you. Mine, all mine.”
“Please,” you manage to beg through whines. “dont stop, ahhh!”
”Never gonna stop loving you, doll,” he pants heavily as he starts to slow down his thrusts. His eyes fixed on your beautiful face as he continues kissing your hot tears away. His cock hits all your sensitive spots, making you loose your mind, you grip onto him desperately. “My pretty angel, you're everything to me— Mmhmm—”
What a wonderful babbling mess you are, your jealousy has evaporated and you're not even sure if you even remember his wife's name anymore. You're reaching for another kiss, too hungry for William's attention and he gladly gives it to you.
His hand yanks your t-shirt up to reveal your cute breasts bouncing from the intense pace, his runs his finger all over your nipple and pinches it, what makes you gasp. William leans down to capture your other nipple into his mouth and you shudder from his beard brushing against your sensitive skin, only to hear soft laugh “so sensitive for me.” from Afton. He sucks on your lil bud and bites it, leaving painful red mark from his teeth and all this time never stopping thrusting in and out of your squelching cunt.
He straightens his back, removes annoying strands from his forehead and then your mouth falls open when his thumb lays on your little clit, rubbing it in fast but sensual circles. William hums, watching you cumming for him again, your cunt unbelievably tight around him as you gush on him, his tip rubbing against your sweet spot. William moans loudly from that crazy tightness, warmness and wetness of yours, and he cums too, again inside of you. He slows down, but continues to spill his seed inside of you, however you're that full it starts to leak out of you, mixing with your juices and creating a mess in his car.
“Nhaah, daddy—” you purr, watching his beautiful face confronted in pleasure, little smile appears on your face. Afton glances at you and pulls out, resting his tip on your clit, still feeling the hotness of your pussy. “that felt so good.”
He's fighting fatigue so he doesn't fall on you, a warm smile also appears on his face when he notices your satisfied pretty face, your body still trembling, his cum still oozes out of your pulsating hole and William groans at such view.
“So,” his fingers tilts your chin again. “not so jealous anymore?”
118 notes · View notes
robobarbie · 9 hours
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Hello hellooooooo! We recently had a banner contest in the discord server, and I wanted to show y'all the awesome entries that didn't win. They're all really cool in their own ways, so I wanted to give them each a lil moment.
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(by @/jestie)
Love the focus on xyx!! He reminds me almost of what I'd think teenage him would look like. Very chill, sporty, and out with friends on a beautiful spring day. The linework in this feels really soft as well -- especially on those hat details. AND THERE'S CAT!! CAT!!!
All other submissions under the cut!
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(by @/hunddenseje)
I like the details in the flowers a lot for this one. The way people draw roses and how they choose those inner patterns is always neat. And the little plants and mushrooms on his shoulders are fun!! They go well with that striped shirt pattern!!!
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(by @/stintsy)
The way this artist circled the boys with that pink rosy pattern will stick in my brain for a while. It's v pretty, and it's like they opened a bush and found us in there for some reason. "Hello! Happy Spring!" Thanks boys please close it back up!!! It's my cry hour in the bush!!!!
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(by @/emmascient)
This person's artstyle is so unique and full of life. The little spots of light coming through the trees just adds to whole thing, too. And I really like seeing fanart of owl with textured hair!!! Also check out xyx's fucking biceps holy fucking sh-
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(by @/.mewo.)
Just a bunch of bros on their lunch break bayBEEEEEEEEEE!!! I like the detail of toast's coat tied around their waist and the fucking anti-societyboy shirt quest is wearing LMFAO. Also cat is ADORABLE in this. God. More cat art. Always need more cat art!!
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(by @/c1nnadoll)
Every time nightowl is drawn in a croptop, two months is added to my life. I just know it's true. God bless that cute ass flower crown and the perfect little peace sign. Man looks so stable and happy. I hope he had a nice day after this picture!!!
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(by @/fluffydeer21)
Toast and Quest look so content and cute with their flowers. And there's another neat rose with a lil interior pattern! Held, of course, by this artist's fave LI. Xyx looks pretty good with gold jewelry, I cannot lie. I have no idea why I made them green in game. LMFAO
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(by @/noneivly)
I like how this feels like a painting. Like those brush strokes and even the palette choice just look like something you'd see hung on a wall? It's really cool. Also the little detail of the chibi picnic boys in the background makes me giggle. Small!!!!! So fucking small!!!
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(by @/kiki_221)
The energy in this is excellent. You can almost hear them laughing together at Toast's expense (deserved I'm sure). I'd like to imagine they're all relaxing at a park after a big lunch. I hope they got to discuss all the good things that happened to them this week.
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(by @/01noxxie10)
Another excellent chillin in the grass pic! Purple actually looks really good on Quest. I don't think I've ever drawn him in that color before? So this image made me think about that a LOT. Also look at fuckin chill ass xyx. Calm beautiful motherfucker. Fuck you!!! Fuck you!!!
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There's two more images, but those are the discord banner winner and the one I chose for my twitter! If you want to see those excellent drawings, check out my twitter here or join the discord server here!
Thank you everyone for all the submissions! I treasure them deeply!!
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aratedfreyjablog · 2 days
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A Talk about OG!Gamigin including Theory!
PB why are you likes this!!! Why do you have to pull my heart strings and make me like a character to the point I'd be willing to throw everything, only to off them!!!
Seriously, I'll be willing to throw all my resources for OG!Gamigin or even beg PB for him to either get revived in the story or have his own card so I can see him co-parent our drago!Gamigin and Jjok with Lucifer!!!
*Spoilers for Gamigin's comic under cut
Look at this guy! OG!Gamigin went from looking like this:
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To this:
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In a span of a single week from pouring his life force to save drago!Gamigin!!!
Literally, giving his all with his thoughts behind his action summing up as finally being able to make his life worth it by being able to save someone from the horrendous war. And that's regardless of race as he willingly gives everything for a dragon he finds injured in a forest.
The comic truly is tragic as it's obvious drago!Gamigin held affectionate sentiment towards OG!Gamigin, not only because, like Lucifer, he saved his life. But it seems like he and OG!Gamigin were able to forge a strong bond where drago!Gamigin goes as far as to swallow OG!Gamigin to prevent him from completely disappearing while making it his goal to fulfill everything OG!Gamigin ever wanted to do.
Drago!Gamigin also refers to OG!Gamigin as his friend in his lobby voiceline, where it seemed that it was OG!Gamigin who used to sing to the jingle of drago!Gamigin's staff.
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In addition to all of this and disregarding my biasness towards him, I genuinely would like to see OG!Gamigin in the future content as both drago!Gamigin's voice line and comic emphasize on "disappearance" rather than simply dying. This makes is plausible that there's a possibility OG!Gamigin can be revived/brought back as to existing separated from drago!Gamigin. Unless, PB was just trying to sugar-coat things which would devastate me more than anything else now.
There's also questions on the concept of giving one's life to another being since while receiving OG!Gamigin's life and taking up his existence, drago!Gamigin is able to hear all of OG!Gamigin's thoughts and receive all of his desires. So, on top of taking a demon's existence and becoming said being, it's unclear who's powers these phenomenon belongs to - OG!Gamigin's or drago!Gamigin's.
Another set of questions relates to the whole timeline of Hell's development many of us are trying to find out (e.g., how did demons came to be, who is Hell's first king, who's the actual oldest demon in Hell, etc.). It's obvious OG!Gamigin had been living in Hell longer and perhaps may be older than some of the other 72 demons though to what existent is unknown.
Either way, it's safe to say OG!Gamigin can be added to the list of characters that is probably interlocked with the main lore of WHB and PB's general lore as a whole (looking at Astaroth and not forgetting his line about how it's not bad to fall from grace + Buer's contract with an Inugami).
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directdogman · 15 hours
Note
I have two questaroonies.
(1) Does mayor Mingus give little Billy the privilege of legally being considered a child? She seemingly knows what he's capable of so couldn't she just put him in jail?
(2) Who the hell are little Billy's parents? Where are they? How did they raise him to be the thing he is today?
1)billy isn't considered a legal adult, no. remember during oliver's route, the ID he produces is an obvious fake.
saying mingus COULD put him in jail is kind of ignoring the implication that billy has already been through the juvenile courts at least once, which is implied in at least one of the mingling scenes. others below mingus have certainly tried and failed.
i think the reason she doesn't try this is obvious if you think it through. billy is an absolute pest and if placed in any sort of holding place, he would see to it that the mayor's life is absolute hell. her own goons (stabby + shooty) literally look up to billy as a criminal, so imagine what it'd do to DT to have billy end up in a prison for adults. these petty crooks would leave prison with actual training, courtesy of billy. unless he was placed solely in solitary, he would absolutely have an awful influence on the prison population.
and imagine you're in mingus' place and have to try explaining to virtually anyone why you decided to have a random child you dislike placed in solitary confinement! basically, good luck KEEPING him there. and y'know, once he's out, you'd better believe he'd become a problem for you. it's a dead-end strategy. her strat of keeping him where she can see him is her only play, given how unassuming his physical form is. she knows how dangerous he is, but would struggle to sell it convincingly to anyone who doesn't know him well, and it would create nothing but problems for her to actually try to nip the problem in the bud.
2)i actually considered partly answering this question in-game with a whole subplot that basically amounts to gingi asking "where are this kid's PARENTS???" and looking into the matter, only to keep finding a trail of dead-ends and basically realizing that billy's parents only exist on paper, adding an extra layer of confusion and malevolence to the character. but, i decided against it based on having too much to do already. take from that what you will
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ledgerserious8 · 3 days
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Prince Bat | Bruce Wayne (Bale) & Reader
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Warning : Don't copy my writing Don't steal my writing. All rights are reserved for my writing
Genre : Love Smut
Summary : Bruce will give You his gift..
Word count : 8.3k
The whole party was a great success, Everything that he had planned was making this day more special for you.
You looked so pretty in that black peplum pleated dress and the white rivere necklace around your neck and everything in you can melt Bruce completely.
The way you was handling all the attention is just proof of you composure and grace. You looked like a princess here now
"Dear do you like this party?" - Bruce asked you calmly as smiling at you
I just want you to enjoy today." - He added softly while still staring at you with so much love
"I'm enjoying this a lot, thank you for everything you did for me bruce" - You replied calmly and politely and your eyes showing how much you thanked him for everything
"You are looking so stunning sweetheart" - Bruce confessed playfully while still watching you
His eyes just couldn't get enough of this beauty
"May I have this dance my princess" - He asked you as he held your hand
"I would love that" - You replied calmly as smirking charmingly and playfully to him
And that made him the happiest person to have walked on this earth
He just pulled you even closer as he was about to start the dance, But he just waited for you to move first
He wanted it to feel like you was guiding the dance or at least that's what he wanted
"I promise I'll lead you" - Bruce explained softly as looking into your eyes
"This time you move" - You whispered against his ear as your fingers on his shoulder
Your request was simple and reasonable and that's what he liked about her the most, You just looked at his eyes with a smile as you wanted him to make the first move
He didn't waste any moment and just took you by your hand and just started the dance
Even though he was leading he was actually letting you take the reigns as he was just following you as the dance the both of you were doing was actually a simple one
It was just two people swaying their bodies close to each other and spinning around in a circle
"You look handsome like a prince bat" - You whispered as chuckled softly.
He smiled as he tightened the grip around your waist, He loved it how you was giggling after he started rolling you with him
It was just a very simple roll and that's what he was doing, This made you look more like a princess now
"Shall I spin you princess?" - Bruce asked you softly as the two of you swayed your bodies to the music
"Hey stop making me blushing" - You admitted as your cheeks started turning into red rose
As soon as you said this he actually felt your blushing before your cheeks get red but he didn't show that he knew it
He just didn't wanted this moment to end, He wanted to keep spinning you as long as he could
His one hand was around your waist as he was now pulling you even closer to him now as the other hand was on your hair
"Why?" - He whispered as the both of you were rolling around together
"Is it because you can't handle how much I love you?"- He asked you playfully as the both of you started slowing down now
and suddenly you wrapping your arms around his neck was the most beautiful thing ever
He kept one arm around your waist and another one get around your neck from behind now
He loved this close contact as he was so close to you so much now
The music was still playing and the two of you were still just swaying slowly
Your eyes were still locked in his as he could just lose his senses in that beauty of yours
"Shall we slow down the pace?" - Bruce whispered as he was caressing your cheeks by his fingers
You didn't response you just closed your eyes slowly and let your lips touched the lips of your four-month boyfriend
He was in the beginning of his double life as batman but also in the beginning of his love relationship with someone he could love and that person was...you
As soon as he felt the touch of your lips on his own he stopped moving or dancing
your soft lips just made that guy melt, Just the kiss of your lips was enough to make him lose any sense of control he had over himself
He was losing himself in the sweetness of kiss as he felt like his heart was melting with your touch
The kiss made him forget everything around him and just focus on the feeling of his lips and your lips
And just for a few long seconds your lips and his were just few inches away from each other now
The breath was still coming out from the both of your mouths in the form of mist
The intense kissing and the romance made the emotions of that moment too high and the both of you were both breathless
Both of you were panting now and that was making this moment even more romantic
"Shall we go to my room now sweetheart?"- Bruce asked you with a loving grin on his face.
"Your room?" - You whispered seriously as trying to catch your breath
His heart skipped a beat as he heard the serious tone of your voice.
"I want to make love to you I want to be your first everything just like you're to me" - Bruce confessed honestly as looking into your eyes
'just how you're my first hug my first kiss and will be my first time I can't contain myself anymore just by being with you" - Bruce whispered softly as grabbed your hands and locked his fingers with yours
"Please give me all of yourself." - He begged as he was holding you tight to him with both of his hands now
Your eyes widen because his words to you proved he never was with another woman and he never being touched, yes everyone was wanting him but it's him who decided
He was in the beginning of his life in the Wayne manor and alfred and even as batman so he decided to wait to get someone but he never expected he will find you easily
"You really want to be my first man?" - You asked him calmly as started smiling
"You know I have always wanted this," - Bruce whispered honestly
"I've been wanting to be your first man ever since the first day you came into my life." s His voice was now filled with love and affection
I want to make you completely mine now." - Bruce explained as he was leaning even more towards you
He closed his eyes as letting his forehead touched yours and let out a long deep sigh
And again your answer was just a passionate kiss to his kissable lips
The passionate kissing sent a rush through his body right down to his very soul
Your soft lips and the feeling of her kiss sent him over the edge and he was so aroused he just went crazy
He just couldn't contain his excitement now and had to take you to his room to make you his
As soon as you give "Yes" hint his body responded and he just took you up in his arms and started walking upstairs towards his room
And he just continued to hold you in his arms as he was now carrying you upstairs
"We will be good" - Bruce whispered softly against your ear
The both of you reached his room and as soon as the both of you did his fingers closed the door behind him and locked it
The room was completely dark except for the tiny bit of light coming in from the window in the room showing the moonlight
Now you and him could finally be alone in privacy after a long time of being busy
"Bruce" - You whispered his name softly as the nervousness was into your tone and he knew it
"Lets take this slowly baby" - Bruce explained after noticed your nervously as he slowly put you down on his big size bed
"I want us both to be in a comfortable position and relax as now it'll be our first time and first time is pretty important." - Bruce whispered as he was getting top on you on the bed
He then started taking his black suit and tie and his top off as well
He was down to his shirt and started unclipped it slowly and gently by his fingers
You can now see his chiseled chest with every movement as he started taking his undershirt off himself and now you can see his chiseled chest
His body was so perfect and toned with muscles all over and the shape of his muscular chest added to your charm
Your face was too red enough to make your hands moved and covered your face as started biting your bottom lip
"Don't be embarrsed my girl" - Bruce whispered as he was just looking at you from a top
His body was now fully shirtless and he was just watching your adorable face
His muscular body was shining in the light coming from the window and he was such a sight to behold as he had such a perfect body
I'll just have to see every inch of you soon anyways." - Bruce explained playfully now getting the top of his jeans off
your eyes opened and were still locked into his eyes as you was just taking in the beauty of his look
The both of you were so close that your breaths were actually him like the both of you touching each other
"Baby the way you look at me just makes me crazy inside." - Bruce whispered softly as smirking
His voice was as if he was about to tear your clothes off right now because he could not control his excitement
He just wanted you so bad at that moment it was becoming unbearable now
His eyes were burning with love as soon as you looked into his eyes
The love that he felt for you was so intense that it could overcome any obstacle in its path and nothing can withstand the power of such love
With this he gently took your lips and now started making out with you passionately
Your arms around his neck just made him lose himself in you
He was now full of lust and you was just making him more and more hungry for you
He was kissing you like there is no tomorrow after he took all your clothes and his in one time
His hands have started exploring your naked body and he was just giving up to the desire of his desires
Your arms around his neck felt like the both of you had been there in his entire life and he was now feeling complete now with you like this
He was kissing you passionately and intensely and there was no way that he could hold back now
I want you so badly right here and now" - You whispered in a low and soft voice as he was kissing you more passionately
You started moaning his name softly as his mouth was eating your nipples as his fingers squeezed them and then getting down to lick your stomach
"Ahh" - You moaned out softly as his tongue was playing on your stomach and getting down
He let his head between your thighs as giving you a few love bites around your thighs as looking at you with his sharp eyes..
Even when it's first time but Bruce seem the god of this sex..
"Please Bruce" - You begged him heavily as trying to catch your breath during your fingers grabbed the bedsheet
"Not yet" - Bruce replied teasingly as smirking charmingly at you and keep giving you love bites
You keep moaning and sweating more than before as you started biting your bottom lip but suddenly you felt something inside you..a finger
"Bruce your-" - You whispered but he cut you off by kissing your lips passionately
He was moving his finger inside you slowly and started getting it in and out a few times before he added his other finger
Now it's two fingers..inside you
He started kissing your neck passionately as he still fingering you and moving his fingers so fast inside of you just to make you moan more
"Please I'm c-" - You begged him but again he cut you off but this time by his voice
"I know baby just go ahead" - Bruce whispered softly as smiling by noticed the pleasure on your expression
Suddenly he pushed his fingers so hard inside you and it's made you shouted as your back ached while your juices getting into his fingers and covered them
He pulled his fingers out of you as started sucking them by his mouth while looking at you with smirk..bat smirk
"That was so good" - You whispered honestly as trying to calm yourself down
"I know but we're not done yet" - He whispered softly against your ear as his fingers touching your waist
"I know" - You whispered back cutely making him chuckled softly
"I will be so gentle and slowly with you okay?" - He whispered as he was top on you under the covers and you both naked
"Okay" - You whispered as closing your eyes and your nails was on the skin of his back
He closed his eyes as hiding his face against your neck and you felt his cock started getting inside you slowly trying to not hurt you
He was trying to not move at first but if he moved he need to make sure you're okay first because he can feel your nails tightened on his skin
"Please start" - You whispered as your fingers through his hair while giving him the permission
You can feel him nodded silently as he started thrusting inside you more deeply but so slowly to be careful
His movement was extremely gentle and slow with the biggest of attention on you
He was trying to be gentle and slowly as he promised you because it's the first time of the both of you
He was really taking it slowly because he wanted the experience to be the most pleasurable one for both of you
With you hugging him tightly he also had the opportunity to explore your body with his hands which was just so arousing for you
This was really the best experience that you both hoped for from the both of your first time
Of course he was nervous about everything happening right now but he hide it to not make you nervous more
He was also moving with all the attention to you and your pleasure and he was feeling all the more excited with your touch now
He continued moving slowly under the covers and was now making sure that your pleasure was as much as his
"You feel so good baby" - Bruce whispered now as his movements slowed down even more
You didn't give him any response because you started biting your bottom lip lightly and painfully
Your painfull bite on your bottom lip was so hot now and it started making his breath get even more heavier
This was the very reason that the two of you were so compatible with each other
The chemistry between you just so perfect that the both of you could read each other so well and you loved feeling his body on yours and he loved everything about you body
He kissed your lips and moved up to your neck again and started kissing you there
"You're hurt babygirl? do you feel anything wrong my girl?" - Bruce whispered as keep kissing your neck and thrusting inside you slowly under the covers
"it's just a little bit painful but please go faster" - You confessed honestly as making noises
Hearing your words made him so excited that he just couldn't stop now
You biting your lips was really a visual pleasure for him because he could feel you was going crazy after tasting him which was the whole point
So knowing that you was enjoying it was enough for him to keep going and also the fact that now you was actually asking him that meant she wanted him to go more wild and he wanted nothing else than that
He started kissing your neck more aggressively now with his lips and even his tongue on your neck
"It's our first time and I don't want you to just have pleasure but it should be a perfect and memorable experience for both of us." - He whispered against your ear
"I know just keep faster" - You begged him as your nails was making a little lines scars on his back
The fact that you asked him to go faster was enough to make him do just that
It was like you was already reading his mind at this point and it turned him on so much that his body was actually shaking a little
He moved faster into the motion under the covers and was driving you crazy with his kisses and bitings on you body
And his cock inside you was just eating you out so hard
He was holding your face and kissing your neck more and more fiercely which was sending you into such a hot zone that you was almost at the point of no return
"Baby look at me. look into my eyes"- Bruce whispered as cupped your face and you looked into his eyes
"See? see how much i love you so fucking much" - He whispered with deep voice as moving faster under the covers
"I'm seeing this very well" - You replied heavily as your tears started falling making him worried about you
"Shhhh sweetheart what is it?" - He asked you as he started rubbing your back by his fingers
The tears on your eyes just killed him inside because he thought that he was the cause for this and he was completely terrified now
"What's wrong love?" - He asked you with a soft concerned voice while slowing the motion of his thrusts under the covers and just held you close to him
"I'm just so close enough" - You whispered as you closed your eyes tightly making him start smirking
"It's okay I get you baby" - He whispered softly as started moving so faster inside you under the covers
His fingers grabbed yours and locked with them as the bed started shaking because of the movement of the both of you and your moans with his groans filled the room
Even his tears was falling during he was kissing your eyes to wipe your tears but it's just too pleasure
It's just took a few more minutes as the sound of your moans and his groans filled the room and he loved every second of it
"Oh god baby" - Bruce groaned loudly with your moans
He just felt so satisfied that he was able to make you feel so good and that too in the very first time
Your body was now shaking and you was in your ultimate climax with him while you was moaning his name loudly
He kept moving at the pace which was taking you to your ultimate climax and making your orgasm more better
Feeling your warm body underneath him with the breathings heavy of yours was just so hot that he just didn't wanted to move from this
He stayed the way he was on top of you as the breathings of the both of you slowed down after a while
He was looking at your body shaking and your face covered in sweat and it was all because of him
The thought made him really feel proud of himself
The both of you were taking small breaths now and could barely speak
He kept looking at your face as it was getting more and less red due to the sweat with your body still shaking
With his hands on your face, he looked at you you was the only person in the world who mattered to him
'I'm yours now baby..not just from the first moment i put my eyes on you" - Bruce whispered as kissing your forehead and nose as still cupped your face
"Mine all mine?" - You whispered tirelessly as smiling warmly at him
"Your breath alone was making me crazy so how can I not give you my love?" - He replied as he still held your face close to his
He suddenly saw your eyes on the clock on the wall as it was showing that it was three after midnight
The both of you had already lost track of time but it was all worth it
He looked at you and you had such a cute smile while all your body was relaxed
"We were so busy in each other that we missed the time" - Bruce explained calmly as he was looking at you and his fingers stocking your hair
"Yeah but I promise I will keep lying on the bed to stay with you more time" - You promised him honestly as smiling cutely
Hearing your promise and feeling your fingers playing with his chin made his heart skip a beat
All his worries and fears just vanished in no time
The way the both of you were so close to each other now made him feel so much loved and safe in your arms
He couldn't help but bury his face and even further into your neck
It was just so comforting to be held in your arms
He was now caressing your back while still having his face buried deep into your neck with his eyes closed
"Shh sleep" - You whispered against his ear as your fingers playing with his hair
His eyes were now closed as he took deep breaths and was now feeling really comfortable in your arms
He had already put all his worries and anxiety to rest after hearing your promise and his only thought now was to sleep
He couldn't control himself from feeling so relaxed in your warm embrace
With his body now fully relaxed he didn't even mind how his face was buried deep into your neck
His whole body felt as light as a feather and he was just slowly nodding off
"I love you baby" - He whispered still with his eyes closed
"I love you too my handsome man" - You replied shortly as smiling and closed your eyes
These words from your mouth made his heart beat so much faster
Hearing you call him her "Handsome" and then adding calling him only 'Man' was extremely charming
This gave him that extra comfort feeling in your warm embrace as his body was feeling completely relaxed
These words now made him feel as he was a man completely under your spell as you had now conquered your man
He was now feeling so much loved in your arms, so much safe and protected by you
"I'm your one and only Bruce." - Bruce admitted and he too closed his eyes
You just nodded to him silently as the breathings of you both became slow and calm as your bodies fell in a deep sleep
The both of you were sleeping soundly and all your worries were taken care of by each other.
The both of you held each other tightly while sleeping as you both felt safe and protected with each other
It was just like a perfect image of love and beauty
The both of you were sound asleep in each other's arms with your love keeping you both together
But because Bruce was orphan man he was hugging you so tightly under the covers
That was your man and he was so different yet you loved this so much more then anything else in this world
He can be a orphan man with tenderness childish heart he can be batman he can be the most serious man and the most soft too
He was The bat of Gotham and also of your life forever and ever and also he was..
Prince Bat
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marimayscarlett · 1 day
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It's fascinating how the 2 people Richard disagreed with the most during Mutter drama are now the 2 people he's most affectionate with in public. Schneider and Paul.
Not to say that he's less loving with others, but with those 2 he really goes in for all the hugs, squeezes, and kisses.
Hi 👋🏼
From what we know from interviews, it really did seem to be Paul and Schneider who disagreed with Richard the most during the exhausting Mutter recording - even though the process seemingly took its toll on the whole band. Paul and Schneider mentioned this period in some of their interviews; I must admit, I always have the feeling that Paul is trying to sail around this topic a bit, staying rather vague, while Schneider pretty much is going all in and is very open about the conflict and his opinion about it. Here are two statements of them both:
Schneider in the infamous 'Rock Hard' interview together with Richard from 2004 (Richard really tries to take responsibility in this interview and it's overall a bit painful to read):
'But, starting with "Sensucht", the guitarists began to work at home, using a computer. And when we learned about these passages, there was nothing to add, the music was all ready Guitarists did all the work, and we could not add anything! Moreover, if we wanted to change something in the compositions, the guitarists refused, so they were obsessed with them. [...] we rehearsed as five, without Richard, in the same place, all together. It was great. And then once Richard came back, there was a little tension and one thing lead to another. [...] We reached the limit when it became impossible to mention the name "Richard" without adding an "idiot" or "asshole’ ! It's strange that there were no personal complaints. But as soon as it came to music, Richard was the last person we wanted to listen to. He needed a good lesson! [...] Richard was a wall against which we could not fight.'
Paul in his section of the 'Rock Hard' interview:
Does your statement mean that you had little fun working on 'Mutter'?
Yeah, 'Mutter’ really wasn't that much fun. The famous third album, as the saying goes. There were also personal reasons. After eight or nine years, the balance of power had shifted within the band. It actually happens in every band that Ritchie Blackmore quits because he can't go on with Jon Lord anymore. For years their friction was refreshing for the listeners, but at some point it gets on everyone involved so much that one has to drop out.
But nobody left Rammstein.
No, not that. But we also had gossip and stress between two people because of competence difficulties as well as over- and underestimation. We had to reorient ourselves. It also cracked. But — I knock on wood! — we got through it well, so we could work on the fourth album with fun.
You certainly don't want to mention the names of the two.
Correct. It can happen to anyone, because everyone is unreasonable from time to time.
We don't really know how the relationships between Richard and other members of the band were strained at that time (at least Till seemed to be on somewhat ok terms with him), but for Paul and Schneider we have "proof" that it was hard on them - so it's even more heartwarming to see Richard being cuddly with them! They overcame their difficulties, put a lot of effort in patching things up because the band was important to everyone. And it's nice to witness this in hugs and affection 😌🤍
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abarbaricyalp · 2 days
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Give Me Toothaches Just From Kissing Me
"But March 10th was two weeks ago!" Time doesn't exist. Happy Birthday to Bucky Barnes
The first time Sam had gotten Bucky a birthday cake, it was a joke. It was 2016, just a few scant months before their whole operation went to hell in a handbasket, and Sam had texted Bucky without expectation of a reply. Just a picture of the view from his fancy hotel balcony in Monaco or something, with a fancy chocolate cake on the wide balcony ledge. He was in town for a military tech conference, so his morning jogging schedule had been interrupted. Eating a whole cake on his own over four days would totally be in the realm of possibility. 
An hour later, when Sam was more than half a bottle of wine down and two albums in on a 'crooners' playlist, a shadow peeled itself off of the wall and greeted him with a, "Hey, birdbrain."
Sam, perhaps, did not do any work towards proving that nickname stupid by flailing dramatically and knocking the cake with his forearm. With twin movements, they watched the cake sail to the ground seven stories below and explode into a shower of sugar and cream. Then they turned to look at each other. There were three beats of shocked silence and then they both burst into laughter together.
"That was a really good cake," Sam whined in between the laughter as he leaned into Bucky's space and Bucky wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"Yeah, I could tell. You already had half."
"I didn't figure you were gonna actually show up," Sam pointed out.
"Why wouldn't I show up? You called."
"That hasn't stopped you before," Sam pointed out. He spent a few extra seconds staring at the mangled cake on the ground before he sat back on the balcony furniture. Bucky followed him down. He kept his arm around Sam until it was unfeasible, and then he let his hand fall to Sam's, fingers tangling together. Sam allowed it because it was his birthday, even though it was vastly out of the range of usual activities for them.
"Well, this time I was promised cake," he added after a few seconds of amiable quiet.
Sam looked over at him to discern if he was serious or not. The grin pulling at his usually severe mouth said all Sam needed to know. They burst into quiet giggles again.
“Good thing I got all the sweetness I need right here,” Bucky eventually conceded. He tucked a knuckle under Sam’s jaw and leaned in to kiss him beneath the moon and the lights and everything but a cake.
. . .
The second time Sam tried to give Bucky cake, it was a year later. It felt almost impossible that the world had slowed down around them long enough to justify an impromptu visit to Wakanda to check in on Bucky.
When their jet had touched down, Bucky was waiting for them with a wide smile that Sam had never really seen before. "Now, I know I told T'Challa not to do anything for my birthday, but he went a step further and got me everything I didn't want," he joked as he and Steve collided in a fierce hug, the kind of thing that always made Sam want to look away.
Then Bucky was extricating himself from Steve's hold so he could crowd around Sam instead, ducking his face down to Sam's neck as he squeezed his waist. If it was supposed to be a hug, it was like no hug Sam had ever had. He could get used to it though. After a few heartbeats shared between them, Sam pinched Bucky's hip and stepped back.
"Hey, old man," he greeted. Bucky grinned at him, boyish and a little smitten. It was a look Sam was more familiar with. "Happy birthday."
"Is that what this is about? You stop paying attention after 90," Bucky joked. For a split second, his fingers lingered over Sam's but he didn't take his hand--Sam didn't take Bucky's either--and he turned back to Steve to amble along together as they instantly fell into a conversation like they hadn't just been apart for the better part of half a year.
By the time they got around to dinner and a small party, Sam felt silly for bringing a dozen store bought cupcakes--hidden away in his room upstairs. The dinner had been more of a feast, despite Bucky's protestations, and the dessert spread that followed was unlike anything Sam had ever seen. No expensive wedding or VA event or Stark fundraiser held a candle to the cakes and cookies and sweet bars that were available. Sam ate more Wakandan desserts than he could name American desserts and each one was better than the last. Bucky, for all his talk of not wanting anything, had at least sampled every chocolate food on the table and gone back for full servings of most of them.
By the time they managed to crawl into Bucky's room--which branched off into Steve and Sam's rooms and connected bathrooms--all of them were groaning about stomach aches and sugar comas. Bucky crawled under his blankets, becoming nothing more than a groaning lump, and Steve settled along the bench at the end of the bed, laying back on it and resting a hand over his stomach, while burping and then apologizing every few minutes.
Sam ducked into his room while the others settled and grabbed the two bags from him and Steve, as well as the plastic carton of cupcakes. It was absolutely not going back with him at this point. His stomach hurt just looking at it.
Back in Bucky's room, he passed off the bounty. Bucky set aside the gift bags, but his eyes gleamed at the sight of more sweets.
"Come on, open the gifts," Sam jostled, sitting on the bed nearest where Bucky was sprawled.
"Nah, I'll look at them later," he said as he peeled the safety seal sticker away from the cupcakes.
"Oh, come on," Steve laughed. "You're still shy?"
"I'm not shy," Bucky snapped. "I'm civilized. Not everyone has to tear into their gifts as soon as they're within reach."
Sam snorted and tried to hide it from Steve.
"I do not do that," Steve objected, but not with much conviction. Actually, he wasn't that bad, Sam had to admit. But clearly Bucky had better stories than Sam.
“What are these?” Bucky asked instead of fighting a battle he knew he’d already won. He took the cupcakes and deftly opened the package without making a cacophonous sound, which meant he knew perfectly well what they were and clearly had had his share of them.
“I know they’re not anything special after that whole show,” Sam acknowledged, waving his hand in the general direction of the kitchens. “But these are packed so full of preservatives, you’ll be able to keep ‘em until his birthday,” he joked with a gesture towards Steve.
“Way to sell ‘em, Wilson,” Bucky chuckled. He was already halfway through one of the cupcakes and he held a blue one out to Steve. It was the middle of march, so most of the predesigned things were spring flavored. This set, blues and greens swirled around, was about as festive as Sam could find. “I love the frosting on these things,” he added around a mouthful of cupcake.
Steve shot Sam a knowing, slightly gloating look. He’d been the one to insist Bucky would enjoy these, no matter what else was going on with the day. Then he shoved the entire cupcake in his mouth just like Bucky because apparently manners hadn’t been invented yet back in the ‘40s. Sam shook his head at their antics, both of them trying to one up the other until almost the whole carton was gone.
Bucky reached over to snag a smear of frosting off of Steve’s cheek and sucked his knuckle into his mouth while Steve cried foul about uneven division of frosting.
“You two are gross,” Sam laughed and made sure his own face was devoid of any frosting before their turned their attention on him.
It didn’t work. By the time Bucky had turned his playful, teasing expression on Sam, his eyes had darkened just a little and one eyebrow rose in a challenge.
“No,” Sam warned, holding up the half of a cupcake still in his hand. “Whatever it is, no.”
But Bucky didn’t listen. He reached out to and shoved the cupcake against Sam’s cheek, frosting first, then pinned him back against the headboard with a broad hand across Sam’s shoulder and collarbone. Sam swallowed thickly, couldn’t help the way he went lax beneath Bucky’s weight as the other man settled across his thighs and leaned forward to lick a stipe of the icing off of Sam’s cheek.
“Stevie, you might wanna think about gettin’ to your own room,” Bucky warned without taking his dark, hungry stare off of Sam.
“Ah, come on. You two are gross,” Steve complained, but he did hustle out of the room pretty quickly. Took a cupcake for the road.
Sam tried to put some structure back in his bones, tried to posture up under Bucky’s hold. He reached up for the frosting, wiped most of it off of himself, and then smeared it across Bucky’s cheek, down to his mouth.
That mouth split into a grin before it was against Sam’s, lips parted, tongue hungry as he licked over Sam’s lips, chasing after the frosting he was depositing.
Sam had to admit: this may be better than the desserts downstairs.
. . .
The next time he actually got to sit still for Bucky’s birthday, it was a few lifetimes later. He had every intention of sleeping in just a little bit, skipping his run to get up before everyone else and make a cake, wake up the house to the smell of chocolate and buttercream, the way his mama used to always.
Instead, he slept in a lot a bit and woke up to the sound of nothing short of chaos in the kitchen. Sarah was out already, he surmised when he finally dragged himself upright and grabbed his phone from where it had fallen the night before to check the time. He and Bucky had gotten in late the night before, stuck in New York doing paperwork after some giant worm appeared out of a sinkhole in New Jersey. He had no idea how Bucky had the energy to get up, much less start making noise in the kitchen.
Groggily, maybe a little grumpily, he pulled on a hoodie and a pair of shorts that wouldn’t aggravate all of the scrapes he was covered in and went out to see what was happening.
Bucky did make it a point to clean up the kitchen any time he was near it. Especially after himself, but even when Sarah cooked. He insisted that she did the cooking, so he should do the cleaning. And somehow this reflected badly on Sam, as far as Sarah was concerned, which seemed unfair. Sam cleaned plenty.
The cleaning never seemed to justify the mess beforehand.
“What in the world is going on here?” Sam asked, leaning on the wide doorjamb that led into the kitchen.
Cass whirled around first, clutching a too large mixing bowl to his chest. “Nothing!” he exclaimed.
AJ, less practiced in the ways of subterfuge, said, “We’re making cupcakes! For Bucky,” he clarified
Bucky, who was remarkably clean for the amount of flour and egg otherwise splashed across the kitchen, grinned at Sam. “I didn’t ask, by the way. They brought it up. I dunno how you and Sarah say no to these little faces.”
AJ preened and gave another spin with the spatula, sent more frosting over the edge of his too-small bowl.
“You guys are working at a disadvantage, trynna listen to Bucky,” Sam said, coming into the kitchen. “I know you know how to use paper towels. Why does the kitchen look like this?”
Cass let out a little noise of guilt, but Bucky saved him from having to answer by producing a roll of paper towel from behind himself. “It’s probably supposed to be my job, but I’m a better taste tester.”
“Uncle Sam, is it true he can’t get salmonella ‘cause of the super soldier serum?” Cass asked.
“Can I have some?” AJ added.
Sam shot Bucky an unimpressed look, but he was nothing but cheeky smiles and not a shred of embarrassment. “I guess we’re gonna find out if it’s true or not,” he said. He snagged the paper towels from Bucky to begin wiping up at least the bits of cracked egg that lined every countertop. “Lucky it’s me in here and not your mama.”
Cass made the same kind of noise again as he searched for a place to put down his mixing bowl. It must be an oldest sibling gene, because Sam remembered Gideon making the exact same kind of sounds. Usually when Sam was about to do something like jump off the stair bannister.
“Mom’s out at the restaurant,” AJ said, unbothered. He was usually unbothered.
“Come here,” Sam said, gesturing more for AJ to make space than for him to actually move closer. “Bucky let you pick the wrong bowl, so you’ve gotta be careful,” he said, holding AJ’s hand as he held onto the spatula. “Go slow, like this.”
He looked up as AJ failed to do that, more frosting going flying, and caught Bucky’s eye. Bucky grinned again, soft and lovely in the mid-morning light coming through the kitchen window.
“A guy could get used to this view,” he said with a warm honey tone.
“A guy will not,” Sam said. “Get to actually cleaning.”
Bucky gave him the laziest of salutes and took the paper towels back.
By the time Sarah came home, with balloons and, hilariously, an ice cream cake, the kitchen was clean and they’d managed to make the best cupcakes Sam had ever had.
. . .
It took finding their own place, saving the world a few hundred times, a lot of missed events, and one perfect spring day for Sam to finally have a cake on the table on Bucky’s birthday. Handmade, from the same recipe he always got for his birthdays as a kid.
“Happy birthday, old man,” he said, kissing Bucky’s temple.
Bucky caught Sam’s hand against his shoulder, tugged him down to sprawl across Bucky’s lap. “Is that what all this is about?” Bucky teased, like he did almost every time Sam tried to do anything for his birthday, no matter how delayed the celebration was.
“Yeah, yeah,” Sam laughed. He dragged the cake closer and lit the handful of candles–he was not putting a hundred candles on a cake–before sitting back a little. “Make a wish before you keel over.”
Bucky laughed, bright and loud, and his arms tightened around Sam. “I haven’t had to wish for anything for a long time, Sammy.” And he kissed Sam without even trying to blow out the candles.
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winterlogysblog · 2 days
Text
4KOTA FANFIC | Based from @crystaldrops20 's idea💡
I finally finished it lol
Note: My grammar still sucks so bear with me
Nasiens is tasked with one thing. One important thing, and that is, to bring Percival back. It's not a simple task, it's a quite complicated one that might take years to accomplish but Nasiens won't give up, producing medicine is the one thing that he knows and he'll do the best that he can to make the medicine that will wake him up. They took him to the Fairy Realm, it was Lancelot's idea, and Meliodas approved of it.
With Lancelot's guidance, they traveled towards the Fairy King's Forest with Anne and Donny tagging along. Lancelot seems quite familiar with the place which isn't too surprising since he's half-fairy. Nasiens is optimistic but nervous, he's presenting himself to royalty after all. Lancelot must have noticed this and reassured him. "Don't worry too much, you'll be fine in there."
"What is he even like?" Donny asked. "You mentioned him before, you said he taught you a few spells, right?"
"Yeah, Tristan even said that he made you your clothes," Anne added. "Which isn't really something he would do to just anybody given his status."
Lancelot sighed. "Might as well... You see, the Fairy King... he's my uncle."
"What?!" The three erupted
"It's not that big of a deal okay." Lancelot shrugged.
"What do you mean not that big of a deal!!!" Donny shouted. "This is really important information!!"
"Listen... don't think about it too much all right. Uncle isn't the type of person who cares about these things, and since you guys are my buddies I guarantee you he'll just make you call him by his name."
And true to Lancelot's words that is exactly what happened. And that is how Nasiens got himself into the Fairy Realm and it was filled to the brim with various things he could use, and it made him hopeful that he could actually do this. The Fairy King placed Percival inside the Cave of Whispers, he didn't get the chance to ask him the reason for this since he was still quite unsure of how to approach the monarch.
Everything is as it should be, he is given the opportunity of a lifetime to explore a realm that is perfect for his abilities and with a goal in mind, there is nothing that should stop him. During his time there, he made good friends with Tioreh, the Fairy King's youngest daughter and her other siblings seem to like him as well, except for their eldest. From time to time Lancelot would visit and would bring Anne and Donny with him.
"How's everything?" Donny asked him as they gathered inside the Cave of Whispers.
"The usual, although my experiments keep on failing." Nasiens lowered his head.
"Come on man. It's only been what? a couple of months since you got here. I'm sure there are tons of things you haven't tried yet, you'll find a way." Donny patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
"How is it living here then?" Anne asked.
"It's fine. I'm still easing up on the whole thing. Sometimes, I still get quite nervous around them even though they're so friendly." Nasiens answered. "I got used to being with Tioreh though, I'm not quite sure about the others."
"That's good at least." Lancelot nodded. "Out of everyone, Tioreh and Belte are the easiest to get along with, Sixtus is a bit tricky but I'm sure he'll like you."
Nasiens can't help but chuckle. Lancelot turns into a different person when he's around his family, he gets so giddy and fun like he finally gets to loosen up a bit.
"I mean when I first met Sixtus you're the person who came to mind. You two are quite a lot alike." Nasiens said.
"Fair." Lancelot nodded.
"Mertyl doesn't seem to like me all that much, to be honest," Nasiens added.
"I guess I can see why." Nasiens heard Lancelot said. "He's always been so insecure."
"What would Mertyl be insecure about?" Nasiens asked.
"What?" Lancelot raised a brow.
"You said something about how you can see why Mertyl doesn't like me because he's insecure about something. I wanna know what it is about."
"I didn't..." Lancelot mumbled under his breath.
"Lancelot didn't say anything like that."
"I'm pretty sure he did, I heard him."
"Nasiens... You just read my mind." Lancelot breathed out.
"What?! You're joking, right? You're the one who can read minds around here Lancelot."
"I'm not kidding, I can guarantee that you just read my mind just then."
"All right, even if I did, how is that even possible?"
"Nasiens... have you been taking any Mullein pills since you got here?" Lancelot asked.
"Mullein pills? No. I haven't, and what that has to do with anything?" Upon Nasiens' answer, Donny and Anne were taken aback, a small gasp escaping their mouths.
"I've been giving these two Mullein pills every time we visit because the atmosphere of the Fairy Realm is toxic to humans, it causes dizziness and asthma if they're exposed for too long."
"What?" Nasiens gasped. "But how come I experienced none of that, in fact, my health actually got better ever since I got here."
Lancelot sighed heavily. "Oh dear."
"Lancelot... you know something don't you." Donny turned to the blonde but he stayed silent, his head stayed low. "Hey! Say something!"
Lancelot simply chuckled. "So it is true."
"Nasiens... you're smart, you could put two and two together, right?"
Nasiens lowered his head. "I'm... I'm a fairy, aren't I?" Anne and Donny's eyes widened. "How long have you known?" Nasiens asked Lancelot.
"I have my suspicions, The ability to be immune to poisons is quite rare for humans but is natural to the Fairy Clan, that was my first hint. But, you never exhibited anything else other than that so I suppose that was just a unique thing that you could do because of your magic." Lancelot explained. "Then... this happened."
"I see." Nasiens nodded.
"Hey! Don't be upset!" Anne rushed over to him. "No matter what you are, you're still Nasiens, nothing will change."
"She's right!" Donny added. "I'm sure Percival will say the same thing, know what I bet he'll be super excited to know that you're a fairy this entire time."
Nasiens smiled as they comforted him, truthfully, he wasn't all that upset, he was actually glad that he got to know more about his origins and slowly he gets to hear what's inside their hearts, he gets to hear their love and care for him.
"Lancelot! Aren't you gonna say anything?! You're the one who dropped this on him! Be a little considerate come on!" Anne scolded Lancelot.
"Could you two wait outside for a bit? I need to speak to Nasiens alone." Lancelot said, his voice low, his bangs covering his eyes.
"Don't give us that! If you have anything to say to him, you can say it to us! We're all friends here!"
"Fine." Lancelot sighed, slowly walking over to Nasiens as he spoke.
"I had another cousin, his name is Galehaut. I've been told that he was taken away, a changeling a prank, a stupid and cruel prank where a fairy and human baby were switched. Uncle and Auntie were absolutely devasted at the time, I couldn't even comprehend it myself but I was told that the fairy who did it wasn't a part of the forest, it was someone from the outside, which made it even more impossible to find him. They tried their best but they couldn't and they had to accept the fact that they ultimately lost their firstborn."
"Lancelot... where are you going with this?"
"Galehaut has brown hair and amber eyes, that's what I've been told." Lancelot continued. "Nasiens... when I first met you... you reminded me so much of my uncle." A small tear escaped Lancelot's eyes. "From the way you look to your determination to save the Gorge." Lowering his head he chuckled."It's crazy that I only realized this just now... I can't believe it has been you this entire time."
Nasiens is stunned. Lancelot, he's crying. He's overwhelmed with emotions, he can hear it, he can hear it perfectly. There are no lies to what he said, everything is true and genuine. A small tear fell from his eyes as well, soft sobs escaping him.
"I know you have questions, rightfully so, but I can't answer all of them," Lancelot said. "We'll talk this thing through with everybody, it won't be easy but... I'll be there. We're family now after all."
Donny and Anne were left dumbfounded by what just occurred, everything just seemed so crazy that it couldn't be true, but it was. For the first time, Lancelot is clean. Anne can see it, he's not hiding anything, and everything he has said is true.
Unbeknownst to them, some are looking in and listening in to the conversation. Two fairies, one boy and one girl.
"Hey! Did you hear that!" One whisper yelled.
"Yeah! So... Nassie is our brother." The other one responded.
"That's what Lancelot said, besides you heard all those rumors. They couldn't just come from anywhere."
"What about Mertyl then?"
"Come on! He's still our big brother, and I highly doubt this will change anything. Think of it like we'll have another sibling but instead of having a younger one we'll have someone older."
Amidst to their whispering, another voice joined in.
"What are you two doing here sneaking around for?"
The two fairies turned around and flew upwards in shock and held each other.
"Sixtus!" They cried in unison.
"Well... Tioreh is about to visit Nasiens and she mentioned that Lancelot would be here so I tagged along." Belte explained. "Then we just so happened to overhear their conversation and..."
"Sixtus... Nassie is our brother." Tioreh spoke softly.
"What!?"
"Dude, you must have heard the rumors right? You know about the name every elder refuses to talk about." Belte flew over to his brother.
"Galehaut," Sixtus spoke softly. "It's the name of Mom and Dad's firstborn."
"How did you know?"
"I asked Dad about it years ago, his answer did not match what his heart said. I don't know why they kept it from us but I suppose it's for Mertyl's sake. He has always been insecure about his standing."
"We heard it. Lancelot said it himself. Nasiens is Galehaut!" Belte shouted a little too loud.
"Hey!!" It's Lancelot. "Belte!! It's rude to spy on people."
"Now you've done it!" Tioreh glared at her brother.
"You too Tioreh!!"
Sixtus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Just go inside."
Upon entering, Tioreh and Belte hang their head low not wanting to see Lancelot glaring at them which he really isn't.
"Seriously." Lancelot raised a brow. "You too Sixtus."
"As if." Sixtus scoffed. "I'm the one who caught these hooligans."
"On a serious note, is it true?" Sixtus asked for confirmation and Lancelot affirmed it with a nod.
"I see."
"That's amazing!!" Tioreh cheered and flew over to Nasiens to give him a hug. Flabbergasted, Nasiens stayed still. "I have a new big brother!!"
"Come on man! Loosen up a bit!!" Belte laughed without a care in the world.
Lancelot just chuckled at his cousins' antics and Sixtus smiled.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Mertyl." Sixtus said.
"Thanks." Lancelot smiled.
"Did you seriously just realize this now?" Sixtus chuckled, deciding to be a bit playful.
"Oh shut up! You guys didn't realize this too." Lancelot exclaimed.
"Well... I did." Sixtus smirked, flipping himself upside down.
"Me too!!" Tioreh added, clinging onto Nasiens.
"I mean, I kinda got it." Belte shrugged.
"Hah! Liar!!"
"What do you mean!! He looks a lot like them. Anyone would have guessed!!" Sixtus chuckled. "Especially me, I've been told that I'm the spitting image of my father."
"I still can't get that one." Belte shook his head.
"Uncle looks different when he's younger. Just imagine Sixtus with his hair and eye color and you got it." Lancelot replied.
"Quick! Change! I wanna see it." Tioreh squealed.
"What?! No!!"
"Do it!!" Belte insisted. "It's not that hard."
"Still a no." Sixtus shook his head.
"Sixty... Please..." Tioreh pleaded. "Do it for Nassie." She shoved Nasiens who is getting overwhelmed but growing comfortable with their interactions.
"Say something," Tioreh whispered into his ear.
"Uhhh... I'm curious what His Majesty looks like when he is younger as well." Nasiens said.
Sixtus stayed silent for a while until a small idea came to mind.
"Fine. I'll do it." Sixtus smirked. "But... Call him father first."
Lancelot choked out a laugh, falling on his knees, Tioreh let out a cheer of excitement and Belte gave Sixtus a high five.
Nasiens' cheeks turned red, the very thought of it made him so embarrassed he wanted to melt into a puddle.
"Do it Nassie!!" Tioreh shook him.
"Come on, it'll be fun." Belte clapped his hands.
"You guys are vile." Lancelot laughed. "You're gonna kill the guy."
As the commotion was going on, two figures stood at the entrance of the Cave.
"They all seem to be getting along just fine, there's no need to worry your Majesty."
39 notes · View notes
Moonlight -x- Sunlight
ch.4 -- Senjuro (cw// banner has flashing text!)
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r.kyojuro/f.reader
genre: modern!au, teacher!kyojuro by day/demonslayer by night, izakayaworker!reader, slowburn?, romance, angst
warning(s): slight mention of bullying :(
w.count: 5k
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a/n: *blows so much dust off this thing after i shelved it for a year* Go ahead and revisit the other chapters via the INDEX for your refreshers if you'd like lol
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It had been two weeks since you had seen Rengoku. Your ankle had healed, and you were once again fully mobile- much to your relief. You weren’t sure how much more limping around with a cane or crutch you could take. After your ankle healed and you got the all-clear from Kocho, you went through the hoops of making her your primary physician.
You hadn’t ever met a doctor you could be so comfortable around- though the whole bonding over being attacked by a demon probably had everything to do with that. Still, you were pleased with your new doctor, nonetheless. Not to mention, giving your money to a smaller business worked more for your morality than signing it all away to a huge corporation like a hospital that already had more than enough business on its side. 
Rengoku never went a day without sending you texts. You had a feeling he did this with all his friends and acquaintances; texting you a ‘very good morning!’ or asking when you’d be getting off work at night and to be careful on the way. You find it pretty cute. Finding a man as well rounded, optimistic and diligent in the ways of keeping in touch wasn’t exactly something you’d consider common; especially since he didn’t use any sort of abbreviations and spoke in fully formatted sentences like he was standing right in front of you.  
Apparently, with midterms and exams coming up, he’s been busy keeping his students occupied and prepping them for passing grades. That, alongside any extra tutoring lessons or occasional substitute gigs has his days packed. 
“Being a teacher must be tough,” you had thought to yourself during one of your many threads where he explained such things.  
You remember the second time Kaname showed up to your house unannounced. Luckily you were home when he landed on the branch outside your window. Though, that didn’t stop you from being startled at the big black mass that landed and pecked at the window to your living room. You were confused as he hopped right on inside when you opened the glass window before he flew to your couch and just sat himself on the arm of it. You didn’t see anything attached to his leg like before- which would’ve been odd since Rengoku had literally texted you earlier- so you were wondering why he was there in the first place. 
Then your phone dinged.
(Rengoku): Per chance, you haven’t seen Kaname flying around, have you? 
Clearly, Rengoku was also unaware that his crow was hanging around your place. The picture you sent him of the black bird leisurely resting in your living room had him calling you for the first time. It was comical, hearing his voice over speaker phone to reprimand Kaname as if the crow would actually understand what was being said to him and reflect on his actions. 
It obviously didn’t work since the next day Kaname was once again pecking at your window as you got ready to leave the house to run some errands. And you continued to allow him inside. Enabling this behavior is probably the opposite of what Rengoku wanted from his work crow, but were you just supposed to sit and stare at that poor, needy bird out your window? No. Of course you weren’t. 
You were sat on the ground by your door, pulling on your shoes when Kaname had cawed behind you. You made a small noise of surprise before you felt his talons land on the shoulder of your jacket. His added weight on your shoulder and his black avian body perched on you was something he hadn’t done before, but you smiled at the fact this bird was getting more and more comfortable with you. Of course, you would then remember that this was a working bird, and he wasn’t exactly yours. 
“You want to come out with me?” Kaname cawed with a small flap of his wings as if he truly understood your question and was giving you an answer. “Alright. You’ll have to stay outside when I’m in stores though, okay?” Another small flap of his wings. 
You stand and grab your bag, going through the checklist of what you’ll need leaving the house. Phone. Wallet. Keys. And whatever else your bag had hiding inside it. With an impulsion decision, you pull out your phone and take a picture of Kaname resting on your shoulder before sending it to Rengoku- who was probably still working since it was still early afternoon- and slipping your phone in your pocket. 
“Remember to behave, Kaname,” you tell the crow one more time before you leave the house with him remaining perched on your shoulder. 
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You thought that having Kaname perched on your shoulder was a cute thing. It showed that he liked you and had- to some degree- grown to trusted you. Having a little friend around for Taco to chase was a bit of an annoying exercise sometimes since the feline must’ve felt jealous. Or that's how you justify the way Taco would crawl up your legs to try and get the same level of attention at the crow. Still, having a smart corvid hang around willingly made you feel… magical? For lack of better terms. If this is what witches in the woods in fairy tales felt like you were more than willing to commit to the bit. 
That is, it’s all comfortable in the comfort of your home. The moment you stepped outside, you could feel the eyes of all the people also on the street focused on you. People from across the street giving you looks like you wouldn’t notice. Kids on playgrounds in the park you had to cross definitely had your face growing warm with the cheers of “that ladies got a big bird on her!”. 
It's silly how you had completely forgotten that it wasn’t exactly a normal, everyday thing to witness.  Still, Kaname remained unbothered. Lucky him. 
It wasn’t like you could shoo him off now. That would’ve made you feel more guilty than embarrassed. No, you couldn’t do that to him. So, instead of acting like a bitter woman, you just lifted your hand and used the back of your fingers to lightly ruffle his feathers just under his beak. His nuzzle into your hand as you gave him attention sealed the deal. 
When you get to the first store you need to stop at- a department store- you point to a small, city planted tree that sat in its own little square of dirt surrounded by brick that really needed to be upkept a bit better. 
“Now, you remember our agreement?” You talk face to face with the bird in broad daylight, not acting like a loon in the least. Still, Kaname bellows back to you like he was agreeing. “Good. I won’t be long.” You turn your back on your trusted corvid pal before you’re walking through the automated glass doors of the store. 
True to your word, you were in and out as quick as you could be- or in this case, as quick as the newly trained cashier who was stressing out over their first real day could go. You made sure to give a quick “you’re doing great” on your way out. When the same automated doors- with a few new smudges from strangers who couldn’t resist touching the clean glass- reopen to let you back outside, you see a small gaggle of teenagers. They surround the same, wimpy looking city planted tree you had left Kaname in, and with their phones out were snapping photos and a video of the cawing bird. 
For a bird, he sure had a lot of personality. Though, you supposed that all birds did in one way or another and crows were already smart to begin with. Though, you felt irritated as they all hovered around him like some sort of attraction. 
Stepping off to the side, you get out of the way of the entrance before you’re calling him. You figured that the kids would probably keep filming and snapping photos, so you turned your back to them before calling him back. Kaname would know the back of your head anyways. 
“Kaname,” you speak clearly. It wasn’t loud, but just enough to be heard over the bustle of the afternoon traffic. The crow’s head twitched before his wings unfurled and he was gliding gracefully over to your shoulder that he favored. With another quick finger pet on the crown of his bowed head, you start off again. You ignore the teens who were hollering after you, feeling like an attraction just as Kaname had been treated as. 
When you finally don’t hear them anymore and make it to a section of street that isn’t so thick with people that you’re stepping on each other, you pat Kaname affectionately on his beak that he once again nuzzles into. 
“I’m sorry about them. Your picture is probably going to be floating around school campus’s now.” Maybe he understood, maybe he didn’t. You didn’t speak crow, so his cawing back to your linguistic woes didn’t spark much need to keep talking. 
You continue your errand running in much the same fashion. Window shopping here, stepping into a small shop there, always leaving Kaname somewhere to wait for you- although this time higher than eye level so he wouldn’t be as bothered by the public. It was when you had just finished your final store run when you felt Kaname tug at your hair after riding on your shoulder for a while. 
“Ow!” You whine when his beak snags some of your hair and tugs on it. You turn to him to try and him to quit it when you see a familiar combination of blond and red. Though, it was atop a much smaller body. 
A small boy, maybe high school aged, has that same flame styled hair that you recognize. He was stuck between two other boys, one with his arms slung around Rengoku’s(?) shoulder. The other was hovering around like he was herding him. The boy who resembled Rengoku looked so uncomfortable that when they rounded a corner, your body just took off after them. 
You were right to trust your instincts. 
The two were classic, low-grade bullies from the look of things. Taking the smaller Rengoku’s bag and shifting through it like they were looking for something. You didn’t even realize that now is the time that schools had released their students for the day. You wanted to help but had no idea how to start. Shouting maybe? A strong Hey! would surely get their attention and maybe little Rengoku, who may not even be related (somehow), could slip away in the distraction. 
Luckily, Kaname disrupted your brainstorming and created an opportunity for you. 
With a loud and crass and angry sounding caw, his wings opened, and he flew towards the two bullies like a graceful, winged bullet. His talon’s had landed in the nest of hair of the boy who had the little Rengoku’s bag, effectively making him drop it. With another warning caw, jumps off his head- taking a few stray hairs with him, and flew up and swooped back down to attack the other boy’s skull with small pecks of his beak. You were in awe. Kaname didn’t even need your help defending the bullied victim! Still-
“Hey!” Your original plan of just shouting was definitely more effective when you had an aggressive black bird on your side. Kaname stopped his pecking and flew back up into the air, circling around before he was landing on your shoulder. His eyes that were gentle and relaxed before were now narrowed and attentive. “Leave that boy alone and get out of here,” you command with your stance wide, and arms crossed with your errand shopping bags hanging in the crux of your elbow. You knew that it wasn’t your demeanor that sent the brats packing, but the aura of the angry corvid that added a boost to your intimidation. 
When they were out of sight, you let out a sigh and you felt Kaname relax too. Uncrossing your ams, you jog over to the boy who was now gathering the things that had fallen out of his backpack. Kneeling on the ground with him, you place your bags down and put your hand gently on his shoulder to get his attention. 
“Hey,” you say again, much softer this time than before when you bellowed it. “Are you alright?” You ask. 
The boy nods and his completely tied back hair, aside from the front strands, bounce as he does. You hear him hum in affirmation too. He did a bad job of convincing you that he was really okay. Still, you give him a moment to collect himself. 
“You’re name,” you start as you pick up a stray pencil that had rolled away from him, “it’s Rengoku, isn’t it?” You were near positive. After all, who else could look so closely related to the Rengoku that you know? When he lifts his head and the eyes that also resemble the ones you know was proof enough. 
“Yes?” He sounded nervous. Rightfully so. You’re quick to defend yourself. 
“Oh! I just- well, you look a lot like someone I know, so I just took a wild guess.” Rengoku had mentioned before that he had a little brother in high school. “He mentioned he had a kid brother once too.” The more you tried to save face, the more awkward the whole thing felt. 
Still, the little boy’s face seemed to relax at the mention of familiar individual. 
“You know my older brother?” 
“Sure do,” you reassure. Helping him pack away the rest of his fallen items into his bag, you pick up your own bags and walk with him back out onto the main street. “Where are you heading? Do you want me to walk you?” Your sudden offer must’ve flustered him since his cheeks went pink. You were still a stranger, so yeah, it was kind of weird. 
“I’m okay!” It sounded like he meant it that time, more so because he was embarrassed and blurted it out in such flustered conviction. “I’m just going home. I’m not far now.” 
You hum worriedly but give in anyway. Then, the familiar weight you had gotten used to on your shoulder departed. Kaname and swapped from you to rest on the head of the smaller Rengoku, using his blonde roots as a nest. You chuckle. Looks like he’d have a well-trained escort home, so you weren’t needed after all. 
“Alright, then. Be careful going home.” He bashfully nods before he’s walking away from you. With a small huff of anxiety for his safety, you check the time on your phone. “Oh, damn!” You curse to yourself before rushing back the way you had come. It had gotten so late that if you didn’t get home soon, you wouldn’t have time to feed and play with Taco before it got dark. He’d pout about that for days if you missed his usual ‘me time’! 
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Senjuro walks into the apartment he lives in with his older brother and let out a deep breath as he dropped his bag and sat to remove his shoes. Kyojuro, who had managed to come home earlier than usual by deciding to take the short, 15 question quizzes he had to grade back home with him instead of doing it on school premises, heard the familiar sounds of the front door opening, closing then locking. He didn’t need to go out tonight for demon slaying, so he had already changed into more comfortable clothes by the time Senjuro returned. 
Hair pulled off his neck with a hair tie that was fighting for its life and his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose. The sweater he wore was light in color with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows as his lazy, black pants kept his legs warm. The air conditioning was almost always running in the apartment since both boys always seemed to run a bit warming than others.
“You are back early today,” Senjuro greets when the older sibling stood behind him and helped him off the floor when he slipped into his house shoes. Senjuro often wore slippers inside since his feet were always so cold- his older brother was the opposite walking around the apartment barefoot. 
“It isn’t often I can spend so much free time at home,” Kyojuro answers. The two walk deeper into the house when Kaname flies inside and to the wooden perch Kyojuro had set up months ago for him to rest on in the living room. 
The apartment was small, but just enough for the two boys. When Kyojuro had moved out of his family home, he was insistent that Senjuro come with him. Their father wasn’t fit to raise the youngest right now and everyone knew it. 
The main space was open and spacious. A single three cushion couch was in the middle of the open area with a tv mounted on the wall. The small coffee table in front of the couch is scattered with items and random odds and ends that never made it back to their proper place. Behind the couch was a small table that could seat four and was currently covered in the quizzes Kyojuro was previously grading. Beyond the living room was a small kitchen that Senjuro was in charge of since his older brother could not cook to save his life. Just down the short hall were their respective bedrooms, an extra room Kyojuro uses for an office space and the bathroom. 
Just quaint enough for the Rengoku boys. 
Kyojuro took to gathering his graded and ungraded papers into piles so he could make room for the homework of Senjuro’s that would soon be replacing his own mess. He could finish in the office later- his little brother’s studies are more important and this way he could ask questions if he needed help instead of holing up in his room at his own desk. 
Hearing Kaname honk softly for a dried treat, Senjuro is quick to oblige. Kyojuro stops his gathering as he takes his glasses off to have them hang off the v-neck of his sweater instead and crosses his arms. He sets his sights on his faithful crow.
“Where have you been all day?” Kyojuro knew Kaname understood him, and he also knew he could get an answer if the bird felt like he wanted to. Senjuro, who had fed him his treat, ran his hands along his back with the flow of his feathers. Then, the mysterious woman he met today came to his mind. 
“Ani ue,” Senjuro calls out the formality of his brother even though he’s been told time and time again that he doesn’t need to. Still, Kyojuro answers with an acknowledged hum, pushing his slight annoyance at his crow aside. “Have you met a girl recently?” 
The question stuns Kyojuro for a second. Longer than a second actually. Really, the bout of silence that followed the innocent question was long enough to make the air awkward. 
“Could you be more specific?” Kyojuro asked in return. His mind went to a space that his little brother didn’t need to be meddling in. Meeting a woman like… romantically? Or was he just over thinking? 
“In terms of meeting someone new.” 
He was over thinking. 
“Ah,” moron. He curses to himself. “I see.” He racks his brain with a hand at his chin. He often meets all sorts of people at work. New substitute teachers come and go all the time. Maybe he meant one of them? Or maybe… 
Kyojuro’s eyes widen in epiphany as he looks back at Kaname. Senjuro had been in classes all day, as had he been. When he wasn’t busy with his job as messenger bird, Kaname often lazed here at home. There was only one place Kaname had been frequently disappearing to instead of staying in the comfort of his home recently. His arms dropped back down to his sides as he walked closer to his crow and brother. 
“Is there a reason you want to know?” Kyojuro sits on the couch and offers the cushion next to him as Senjuro takes it easily. Slightly facing each other, they carried on their conversation. 
“I dropped my bag on the street today,” Senjuro starts. Kyojuro knew that wasn’t the full truth. As much as he hated it, Senjuro was timid enough to be picked on by other kids and Kyojuro wasn’t always around to help him. “When I was picking up my stuff, this woman came to help me. She knew my name; said I looked like someone she knew.” Senjuro’s habit of picking at his nail beds started up and Kyojuro quietly pulled his hands away from each other. “Kaname was with her too. I was just curious.” 
Kyojuro looked into the wide, curious eyes of his little brother and smiled. He called for his crow, and Kaname easily made a home on the back of the couch between the two siblings. Kyojuro pet Kaname’s back and under his beak, alternating. 
“You were with y/n-san all day weren’t you?” 
“Yes!” The crow loudly cawed. 
“Don’t you go and forget where it is you actually live,” Kyojuro lightly reprimands. “And don’t go speaking around her either. You’ll scare the wits out of her cat.” He returns his attention back to his brother. “To answer your question from earlier now, yes. I do believe I’m familiar with the woman you ran into today." Senjuro took notice to the change in his brother's face. Did he know he was making such a softened expression? "She and I met recently.” 
Something in Senjuro’s eyes shined at the mention of you from Kyojuro’s mouth directly. Maybe it was because he didn’t need to worry about a stranger knowing who he was. Or maybe it was something else Kyojuro just wasn’t picking up on. Senjuro spent a little bit longer talking about you, how you had shopping bags, how Kaname was so comfortably hanging around you, and how you seemed like a nice person. 
Soon, the brother-on-brother chit-chat had to come to a stop. The sun would be setting soon and Senjuro still had homework to do and dinner to make. Kyojuro took his papers to his office and shut the door. Dropping his work on his desk, he flipped on the desk lamp before he sat himself in his chair. The leather creaked at his added weight and the chair reclined when he leaned back against it. 
Digging his phone from his pocket of his slacks, he stared at his reflection in the black screen. Kyojuro really wanted to thank you for helping Senjuro, but for some reason he couldn’t even tap on the screen of his smartphone to wake it up.
Kyojuro wasn’t a religious man, but he did thank whatever god had been watching him when the screen lit itself up with an incoming text. 
(y/n-san): Did Kaname make it back home? 
Kyojuro laughs out loud at your message. Senjuro hears it echo from the kitchen. Kyojuro would get his grading done first, then he'd set aside time for you.
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You jump out of your skin when, as you’re mindlessly browsing through your socials, an unexpected call jumps your phone to life in both vibrations and a loud ringtone you had always seem to forget the sound of. Fumbling your phone in your hands, you snatch it up before it could give way to gravity and hit the ground... or Taco who was resting on your lap. 
Seeing Rengoku’s name printed on your screen had you mentally lagging before you’re answering the call. Any later and it would’ve been dropped, then you’d be forced with the dilemma of if you call him back or just pretend it never happened. 
The sound of light white noise greets you for a moment as you bring the phone up to your ear. Then, you start off the call first. 
“Hello?” 
“Ah! You picked up!” He sounded excited. You mindlessly start petting through Taco’s fur as he still lay peacefully on your lap. “I’m glad. I was worried you may be busy given the time.” 
“That makes sense,” you agree. Any other night you’d be just about ready for work. “I have the night off tonight, so your timing works out.” 
“How fortunate!” You’ve never heard someone say those words without it being sarcastic before. He really sounded like he was relieved he wasn’t taking up your time. You smile as you lean back against the cushions of your couch and turn the tv you had on for background noise down. It was turned onto some random celebrity reality show or something, you weren't really paying attention to it. 
“Kaname did make it back safely to answer your earlier question. I apologize I couldn’t reply immediately. I was finishing up some work that I had already stopped in the middle of once.” 
“Don’t worry about it.” You shift your legs. Taco mewls in annoyance. “Was it for…?” You didn’t know how to ask if he was talking about his work in education or his demon slaying gig. 
“It was for my classes! Grading quizzes can take up a significant amount of my time. I was also helping my brother with some homework when he needed it!” 
You perk up at the mention of his brother.
“That reminds me,” you start, “I ran into him on the road today. I was out running errands when we met.” 
“Yes,” Rengoku's voice took on a softer tone, “that is one reason I wanted to call you.” You stay quiet. Unsure on what to say next. “Senjuro is a gentle child, so he is easily the target of people who feel the need to push other's around. I feel guilty that he doesn’t express to me all the things that happens, but you helped him out today, yes?” 
“Well, sort of. Kaname did most of the work if I’m being honest.” You stop and think about what happened right before you noticed the little Rengoku- who’s name you now know to be Senjuro. Kaname was tugging at your hair, almost like he was trying to get your attention to shift somewhere else. “Without him, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to chase off those brats myself. So, really the credit is all his.” 
You hear Rengoku chuckle on the other end of the line. It was easy to tell just by his voice and concerned tone alone that Rengoku really cared about his little brother. 
“Does your brother do any after school clubs?” 
“Pardon?” The question caught the flame-head off guard. 
“I just- and stop me if this is totally invasive- but I thought that maybe if he needed, I could check on him from time to time after school. Just to make sure he’s not being bullied?” Saying it out loud made you realize just how crazy you sounded.  It sounded like you were trying to butt into their lives! “I’m sorry. It’s just I’m usually free in the afternoons and all so-” 
“I’d appreciate that.” 
“Oh,” you breathe. You half expected him to kindly reject you as you shoved your foot further into your big mouth. “Really?” 
“Senjuro sometimes spends time in the school’s library until I’m ready to go home with him. On the days where he or I cannot go back home together, I do worry about him. I know he'll need to defend himself one day, but he’s still young.” 
There’s a bout of silence between you both for an uncomfortable amount of time. You wonder if the call disconnected at one point because it was so quiet. Still, the time recording the length of the call kept ticking up, so Rengoku was definitely still on the other line. 
“So,” you clear your throat. “Senjuro-kun likes to read?” 
“He does!” The pep is thrust back into his voice and you feel relieved. 
The call lasts for much longer than you anticipated. So long that Taco had gotten off your lap, paced around the couch twice, ran up and down the halls and whined for food all the span of it. You don’t remember the last time you had a long phone call that wasn’t work or business related. Even the few previous calls you've recieved from Rengoku weren't this drawn out. It was enjoyable.
You notice the numbers glaring at you from the clock of your living room and gasp. It was getting late. Really late. And Rengoku- even if he wasn’t working tonight- had classes tomorrow. 
“It’s getting late,” you find the next best gap in conversation and throw in the beginning of the end of the call. “Shouldn’t you be getting some rest? It wouldn’t be good for a teacher to be dead tired all day because he was up so late.” 
“Believe it or not, I’m not a morning person at all! Senjuro brews me coffee every morning since I tend to be grumpy from the long nights I should be used to by now.” 
You laugh at the image. You don’t think you’ve seen him frown once since you met him- even if it hasn’t been that long. 
“Even more reason to let you go.” You get up off the couch and stretch. As if predicting your moves, Taco races towards your room ahead of you. Of course, you’d wash up properly before joining your feline son. “I enjoyed talking to you, Rengoku-san.” 
“You don’t need to be so polite,” he insists. “Referring to me by name alone is just fine.” 
“You’ll need to drop the formalities with me too then. It’d be weird if I spoke casually with you, just for you to not.” 
“Deal.” 
“Good night, Rengoku.” 
“Sweet dreams, y/n.” 
The call ends. Even though you wash your face with cold water, your skin still feels warm in your palms. 
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a/n: wow i can't wait for next year when i get around to writing another chapter (is this satire? who knows)
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nereidaa · 3 days
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can you write me something, percabeth, pre relationship? do whatever you want with it, wherever inspiration takes you :)
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pairing: percabeth summary: baby percabeth going to the movies together!! it's basically a what if they did go to the movies in botl and they're like 15 but nwm words count: 560
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as soon as he could, percy left the goode high school. he looked around, quickly walking past the street, and occasionally bumped into annabeth.
“hey, watch where you're going, seaweed brain,” annabeth laughed, placing her hand on his shoulder. her eyes sparkled and her smile was wide. her dark hair was braided. she wore her camp t-shirt and jeans. her clay bead necklace was on it’s place as well. she looked beautiful like that.
“hey,” he mumbled.
“how was your orientation tour?” annabeth asked, removing her hand.
“not that bad,” percy answered, smiling as well. “calling paul mr. blofis was kinda cringe, though. and what’s new at the camp?”
they talked as they went to the movies. they talked about everything: from some things related to the camp half-blood to the architecture (annabeth was the one who actually talked, percy didn’t catch a word but listened anyway) and to school. annabeth told him about the monsters she fought in the spring and about her time in san francisco. it was a normal conversation between two teenagers that were going to catch a movie and just have a cool afternoon hanging out together.
“so, what exact movie are we going to see?” annabeth asked as they stepped inside the movie theater.
“i was thinking, like, ‘spider-man: across the universe’?” percy said, looking at her and pointing to the big poster of the marvel movie.
“really?” she raised an eyebrow in a quite judging way, yet she agreed. “okay. i hope you’ve never seen it before, have you?”
“no, i didn’t,” he lied immediately. annabeth shook her head, knowing that he’s lying, and ain’t being able to hold back a smile.
she grabbed his arm by his wrist and led him to the box office. “one ticket for ‘spider-man’, please,” she said, as her hand reached for the cash she had in her pocket. she clearly wanted to pay for herself when they went to the movies together for the first time.
“two tickets,” percy pushed her a bit to the side and pulled out the credit card his mom gave him. the girl glared at him, as if she wanted to punch him in the face. unfortunately for her, percy had grown a few inches taller this year and she couldn’t look down at him.
“thanks,” percy said to the attendant before turning to annabeth and smiling. “let’s go get some snacks, huh?”
“what was that, seaweed brain?”
“i’m introducing the marvel universe to you, wise girl,” he said.
annabeth rolled her eyes. “i’ve already seen a marvel movie before, seaweed brain.”
“really? did you like it?” he said, raising his eyebrows. he was happy to hear she did see something of the mcu, but he also felt a little bad about the fact she never told him she did.
“no. though valkyrie made the whole movie better,” the girl said, smiling slightly.
“ugh come on! there were so many other marvel movies you could watch,” percy frowned slightly. “the spider-man movies are good.”
“of course they are, seaweed brain, no doubt about that,” she giggled at his voice, looking away.
“nevermind,” she said, looking at her watch. “the movie’s gonna start soon. let’s go get us some popcorn.”
“and a soda,” percy added.
“and a soda,” annabeth agreed, smiling widely.
they did have a cool afternoon hanging out together.
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ashe-studies · 13 hours
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things i wish the sonic franchise brought back or implement.
.
Dark Sonic
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seriously, i love imagining a fight between Dark Sonic and Eggman inspired by Korra vs. Zaheer ( when she was poisoned ). where he loses the cool attitude, the smile, everything, and goes in with full power, charging himself left and right at Eggman. it'd be even more fascinating to still have Dark Sonic lose. not because of his lack of power, not because of lack of skill, even when blinded by rage, but because of Eggman's ingenuity.
a lot of people, to this day, misinterpret Dark Sonic as a murderous, rampaging monster, but that completely misses the purpose of why he exists to begin with. i believe this is a case of people not exactly knowing where he comes from, or just a lot of fans drawing a murderous Sonic and it took the internet by storm one day, but just in case you don't know:
Dark Sonic is from Sonic X, a TV show that is sort of an expansion on Sonic Adventure 2, adding more lore, character arcs, and overall meaning to the game's original plot. Dark Sonic was revealed in the episode "Teasing Time" in s3, and the reason he appeared is because he discovered his friends ( Cosmo and Chris ) were injured and that one of them ( Chris ) was unconscious.
the whole reason this form exists is Sonic's love for his friends essentially fueling his rage. it's like Darkspine Sonic from SATSR, or has similar formula. Dark Sonic isn't inspired by any bloodlust or desire to kill, but rather by burning anger at seeing his friends be put in harm's way.
Dark Sonic is made from the strong desire to protect his friends.
2. An Actual Arc For Shadow
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you guys might be confused, especially if you consider some of my previous posts, but lemme explain.
for a long time, it's never felt like Shadow has actually recovered from his trauma, atone for his actions ( yes, i understand he saved Earth ), or live life really at all. it doesn't help that, to this day, SEGA continues to make Shadow relive the past.
i don't consider the movies to be a part of the problem, as Shadow being introduced to the plot was basically a given, and you can't introduce him in your own take without his general backstory ( unless you're Boom or Prime, i guess ). i believe the movie will be doing taking some creative liberties to his story, as they did so with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and i see no reason that they should stop.
the reason why i have an issue with this is because it's an ongoing issue within the games, specifically. Shadow the Hedgehog ( 2005 ) was a disservice to his setup and the 'first arc' ( considering he's still alive after the fans demanded his return ) to his story.
aside from it just giving 'early 2010s deviantart edge', it's just so...
childishly handled.
for one, you're immediately given a Hero or Dark route, like in SA2, which i feel completely misses the point of SA2's true ending. Shadow has redeemed himself ( or began to ), so to give him complete reign to just become an antagonist all over again defeats the whole purpose of a redemption.
it's like what Prime did with Dread, giving him an already established redemption arc ( sort of ), but then corrupting him again for no real reason other than just because.
another issue i have is Shadow's amnesia and attitude in general within the game. technically speaking, yes, it does make sense for him to suffer memory and // or physical issues from his fall from space, but to completely wipe out every single thing he did just to give him the opportunity to relearn his past, do some fucked up shit, do some less fucked up shit, then throw away everything in the past, Maria and her wish included, is...
amazingly obtuse, for lack of a better word.
again, while it's technically not out of bounds, i feel like giving Shadow complete and total amnesia just disrespects SA2's vision and execution of the story. it's redundant, it's lazy, and overall just really damn frustrating to watch.
Shadow deserves to have a story that allows him to heal from his trauma, discover who he is, and respecting Maria's wish along the way. a lot of people seem to think it's either he forgets about his past ( or buries it ) or full-on dedicates his entire life and doesn't bother picking up a life lesson or two, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Shadow can heal, grow, and change. SEGA just won't let him.
3. The Echidna Tribe & Knuckles' Story
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Knuckles is one of my favorite characters in the entire franchise as a whole, but his character and story is sorely dismissed. while Shadow has the issue of repetition, Knuckles suffers from being dropped on the head multiple times and played for a joke ( i think Frontiers is one of the more recent games that didn't do this, but i might be wrong ).
one of the reasons why i love Knuckles is how straightforward, yet reluctant he was about finding out his past. at the end of Sonic Adventure 1, he says something to the extent of:
"maybe i'm better off not knowing the meaning behind all of this. because i feel something terrible will happen if i do."
he is content being ignorant for the sake of his own peace of mind.
but in SA2, he's more or less forced to start facing his fear and learn more about the past. unfortunately, though, we don't actually get to see much after this game, because the tribe is almost entirely forgotten. instead, it's brought up in comics that are more or less canon ( i think ), but not fully aligning with the games. i think it's safe to say the comics are their own canon?
like with Shadow, i would've loved to see an actual conclusion on this arc of Knuckles' story. to see more of the tribe in the past, of their wrongdoings, character moments, more of Tikal or Chaos or the little Chao, and how it all ties together.
but instead, we have lots of media repeatedly insulting Knuckles' intelligence, ignoring his tribe and // or his job entirely ( i guess they forget the Master Emerald is portable? ), and just generally dumbing him down to be a hotheaded moron that apparently doesn't care about being the Guardian!
Knuckles is one of the most relatable characters in this series for me, as there's a lot of things i would rather not know and stay ignorant to, but have to face head on in order to fully move past it and grow to be better.
he was completely isolated on Angel Island for so long, yet people still make fun of him to this day for being manipulated by Eggman in SA1 ( even though he didn't even fully believe Eggman, it was just a precaution, but who cares about the details- ). he's not just a hothead, he's strong, he's kind, he's pretty blunt and, honestly, really fucking adorable, i love this echidna.
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look at him, just standing there. i love him.
anyway, Knuckles deserves a proper story surrounding his tribe, his identity as the Guardian of Angel Island, his relationships, and to have a satisfying conclusion. or, at the very least, more games or media in general not dumbing him down to an angry hothead with nothing better to do but to yell and ignore his responsibilities.
3. Sonic
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"what're you talking about, ashe? sonic's meant to be a flat character! what could be wrong with him?"
yeah, but after frontiers, i want more mentally ill sonic that needs to be concerned for by his friends, okay, that's all i want-
4. Storybook Era
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now, now, i know a lot of people don't like the storybook games because of their shoddy gameplay and all that, but i genuinely love these games, their flaws included.
i do believe satbk has a better story than satsr, but i still have an attachment to the latter game, so suck it.
it'd be really nice to see a storybook game with switch, xbox, ps, or similar controls. as the era has Sonic diving into different worlds, maybe a world like Alice and Wonderland could be an interesting game. several elements to work with, locations turning into creative levels or even hub worlds. this is sort of a long shot dream that will probably never exist, but i wanna see an adventure-style storybook game one day.
i'll probably die before that idea is even considered, but it's a fun thought and that's all that matters at the end of the day.
there's no real big reason as to why these matter or anything, as i don't believe you need a storybook in order to send off the messages these games try to give, but they're just really charming to me and i love to see how this type of game could be implemented into video games today, with all the new engines and whatnot.
5. Teams
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oof, okay, um-
there's a few games that have teams in them, and i guess you can count sonic forces as one of those games, so i should be more specific here.
i like SA1's flexibility with the roulette-like system, where you could play as any character you wished, but i also like SA2's team system, where they all had a close-knit role within the story from a similar perspective ( hero vs. dark ).
SA1 served multiple perspectives, all giving you pieces of the same puzzle that you have to figure out as you go. by the final story, all of the characters ( except Big, but idc, i love him ) have their character arcs and it's with their changes that the story is fully complete.
SA2 served the entirety of two perspectives and merged them together for the final story, heroes and villains having to work together to fight off the greater evil at hand.
overall, i want more games having the characters work together, having different details // information or even moral differences ( it depends on which system they go with, though ) on the situation at large, but maybe still having to come together.
whether or not they use official teams, i want the sonic franchise to bring back using other characters as necessary plot points with their own individual arcs.
it may not be needed, per say, as there's still a few games that work and don't have either of these systems, but i really miss the adventure games and wish for more of their elements to be implemented in future games.
6. CHAO!!!
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BRING THESE LITTLE CREATURES BACK, GODDAMN, WHY ONLY TWO GAMES?!
.
anyway, that's all i can currently think of. i think these would serve either character or charm to the franchise, but maybe you have some other ideas of what the games could give! maybe proper returns of characters, other forgotten stories, or even new ideas!
lemme know what you think.
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pinkcrocss · 1 day
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On Jordan's pronouns..
So the show has openly referred to Jordan as "Bigender" not necessarily "non-binary" (not to say that only non-binary people choose to use they/them pronouns) and we've seen Jordan's friends and loved ones use she/her, he/him and they/them pronouns without any corrections from Jordan.
From that, I think it's clear that Jordan is comfortable with all three pronouns being used. I would go further and say, when using gendered pronouns, Jordan seems to prefer them to mirror how they are presenting.
So more or less, he/they when they're in their masc form and she/they when they are in their fem form. Which is reflective of the experience of some of the genderqueer/gender fluid people I've known irl.
In fact, the only instance of true misgendering we see towards Jordan is in episode 3, from their parents. Essentially, their dad intentionally ONLY uses he/him pronouns, regardless of Jordan's form. And in that instance, there is the added context of the fact that Jordan's father openly rejects Jordan's fem identity.
I bring this up to say, that there's a very annoying behavior I've noticed where anytime someone refers to Jordan using a gendered pronoun, people either jump down their throat or rudely correct them to *they, as if they are intentionally misgendering Jordan.
To some extent, I understand the desire to come to Jordan's defense because the majority of the world is very transphobic, and people want to nip any potential misgendering in the bud.
But I think it is also harmful.
I've seen a lot of discourse about the inherent transmisogyny of people who exclusively refer to trans women and other binary transpeople by "they" pronouns only, as a way to still not acknowledge part of their identity.
There's nothing wrong with using "they" exclusively for Jordan (I do that in my fics too. Just cuz it's easier), but the whole point of pronoun discourse is to get people to actually take the time to respect people's chosen pronouns and understand how it relates to their identity. And when people are genuinely trying to do that in good faith, but people are jumping down their throat and insisting they only use a blanket "they" because of the off chance that you're assuming they're trying to misgender a fictional character, I think it's actually less progressive than people think.
Like yes, call out misgendering and point out when people are actively trying to assign a specific gendered identity to Jordan; but actually take the time to figure out if that is what the person is doing first.
I've been seeing a growing backlash towards Neo-pronouns and any identities outside the gender binary, and I feel like this level of over-correction directly feeds into that sentiment.
Has anyone noticed the same thing? Or maybe have a different interpretation of Jordan's pronoun usage?
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diasdelfuego · 1 day
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For @iwtvfanevents' Rewind the Tape, I’m rewatching the first season and going over some old posts about it too. I hoped this liveblog would be shorter than the one for the first episode, but that did not happen. Better luck next time, I guess. 
Opening shot
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Mr. de Pointe du Lac covets the rare.
While the pilot opens with Daniel’s ad, which we soon after learn Daniel himself is watching on his TV, episode two opens with a glimpse of Marius’s painting that is, you realize after a second, shot from behind Daniel’s shoulder. You might think that the camera panning upwards follows the direction of his gaze.
Now, in HD and with headphones on, I do hear the groan! 
Tintoretto, born 1518, started working in the 1540s, died 1598.
In the chronicles, Armand is born ~1482 and turned ~1499; and Marius’ palazzo is attacked shortly after —let’s say within the year, I don’t remember the specifics. In the show, Armand has either spent 514 years as a vampire, meaning he was turned in 1508, or has lived 514 years in total, meaning that he was born in 1508 and was probably turned in his mid-twenties, so 1530s. Of course, I favor the first interpretation, because I’m me and I love to make things more complicated than they need to be but, in any case, it doesn’t sound like Marius would have actually been “a contemporary” of Tintoretto’s if Armand was kidnapped by the cult shortly after turned, so we could have another case of vampires being inaccurate about time, or a hint that the timeline has changed considerably. 
Ugly ass painting, by the way. 
But we get our first look at the Bechet. 
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Danny put on a nice little shirt and jacket for his dinner date! 
There’s no way that the groan isn’t plot-relevant. Lestat in chains? Akasha in the basement? Armand getting annoyed? Claudia’s ghost? Place your bets now! 
I love Armand, sorry, I mean, “Rashid” turning on the music from his little iPad —I totally didn’t realize he was doing it until I rewatched. 
Daniel, kill yourself. 
He knows he fumbled his bag and it’s not looking like he’ll get to hit. RIP to him. (/not serious)
“I serve a God. It is my honor to serve.”  “...having a hand in the divine plan.”   “He was my murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker…”  “...there was present a kind of worship on my part.”  “You alone, under the rising moon… can strike like the hand of God.” 
Normal show. 
Dinner date (part I) 
“Mr. de Pointe du Lac will join you at course seven.” “Seven? Wait, but how many courses are there? Fattening me up for the inevitable end?”
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Unfortunately I do find Daniel funny. That’s my worstie right there. 
I love how this whole scene is set up. 
Any table with this amount of candles immediately turns the meal into a date, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules. 
Duck foie gras terrine, pickled fruit, roasted apple bonbon.
“The liver of a duck or goose that has been carefully fattened is used to make the upscale culinary product known as foie gras. (...) Foie gras terrine is a dish made from force-fed duck or goose liver that has been chopped and mixed with fat.”
Oh, so they are making a little joke. LOL.
Danny looks on with concern as the employees —all wearing the same black latex gloves as “Rashid” and all wearing masks as well— wrap the other end of the table in saran wrap. 
Oysters. Pig’s foot. Different oysters. Is he being served champagne? The oysters are very funny to me. 
You missed at least three or four endangered species.
Loved what @feedingicetothedog said about this: “...what he chose to serve daniel, ultimately leading daniel to participate in predatory, unethical consumption alongside louis. (...) serving daniel these meals attempts to force a reluctant empathy (one that daniel rejects and instead voices his disgust).” 
Oooh, she looks so gorgeous in that black kaftan! 
I want to apologize for my outburst earlier. I can assure you, it will not happen again.
First time watching, and several times after, I was convinced this must be the following day. It took me a while to realize this is shortly after the ending of episode one —an hour later, maybe?— and so the “outburst” that Louis is referring to is that one (1) single tear. 
I LOVE YOU INSANE GIRL!
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(Also, very funny to revisit my original liveblog. I start by saying this episode didn’t work as well as the pilot, then still give it 4.5/5 stars again. And now it’s tied for my favorite one.)
Your memory is a monster; you forget—it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from you—and summons them to your recall with will of its own. You think you have a memory; but it has you! ― John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
But Daniel says “we” forget. Uh.
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“Ajoblanco. Bread, crushed almonds, garlic, olive oil, and salt, a garnish of green grapes, and AB negative, fresh from the farm. Bon appétit.” “Part of me wants to ask about the farm.” “Two vampires walk into a church. That's where we left off.” “Blissing out post-priesticide.”
The garlic has to be another joke, come on. 
And serving cold soup should count as torture. 
I remember noticing this before but I missed it this time, and @crazykuroneko’s liveblog brought me back to it: “two vampires walk into a church,” like it doesn’t matter that Louis was still human when he walked in, he was always going to end up here.
Anyway, Louis is so funny here. Daniel is so funny here. This whole sequence is delightful to me. I do find it interesting, characterization-wise, that Louis deflects from the question of the farm and Daniel lets him derail. Screenwriting-wise it makes sense that they’d save the details for later, but it’s still curious in-story.
Wedding night / First hunt
Are you hungry, Louis?
(Loved that @meastyeyes pointed out how important this question is, how it sets up a core conflict not just of the episode but of Louis’s character arc.)
We start with “apprenticeship,” on minute three, and then we’ll hear “taught,” “master,” “student,” “pupil,” “mentor,” through the whole episode. Welcome to Vampirism 101. 
Sam and Jacob in the flashback are great. Slapstick comedy isn't dead! Sam perfectly delivers Lestat’s tirade while snapping limbs like he’s doing chores, and Jacob’s physicality starting this scene and all the way to the coffin is simply excellent. 
Lestat is so annoying 😭 he needs to kill himself. 
Need to smoke a blunt with her so badly… 
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Had to pick the whole “Lestat’s blood was giggling inside me,” exchange as my favorite quote of the episode.
OK, face! 
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And the sound editing during Louis’s trip is crazy, actually, what the fuck. Have you guys heard it with headphones? It’s amazing. 
Lestat’s wine tasting speech is so annoying…
"Hunting is an art. You have the power to subdue anyone you want, but sometimes restraint is your most powerful weapon." "I was being hunted."
Lestat, kill yourself.
If Armand had been Louis’s maker he would have gotten him all the beefy hunks my princess wanted, not that goofy ass salesman.
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT. 
Rolin Jones needs to be tried at the Hague for the “baby bird” line. By the way. 
Also, mentioned in that post about Louis’s feeding habits I linked above, golden utensils are used in very fine dining because they leave the least metallic aftertaste on the food. Later on in the episode he will use a golden spoon for his “human meal” —but now I’m noticing that he also uses it for the blood. 
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Back to the flashback, my girl looks like a tiny kitty cat. 
We get this moment of mind communication before Louis has fed and before his first sunrise —and before Lestat explains they can’t read each other’s minds, of course. There’s no further elaboration on when the “wall” comes up, but I’ve always had the idea that it’s that first “death sleep” that completes the transformation. 
Back to what I was saying about Jacob’s physicality, now I’m paying attention to how he gets rid of the cape and slumps against the wall before jumping the salesman. Between out-of-his-mind stoned and predatory, I love it. 
I always laugh at the salesman briefly wondering whether he’s walked into a gay threesome or he’s about to get serial-killed. Well. 
You don’t bite the blood, you suck it.
Another line that should count as a war crime. 
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Jacob’s acting as Lestat is disposing of the body —and through everything that follows— is so, so, so good. 
“I-I gotta go home.” “This is your home now, Louis. Breathe.” “I... I gotta collect money from the cribs.” “I have all the money we need. Breathe.” “I have to go see Grace and Paul.”
God, what an actor. 
We’ve called this episode the “honeymoon era,” but first comes this wedding night and Louis acts every bit the shell-shocked bride. And we’re back to the question of meaningful consent from the “marriage” scene. 
In the list of moments that we can interpret as Louis adding a bit of color to his narration, in the pilot we have Lestat’s “hunting” scene and that first moment in the card room before Louis comes in, then Lestat standing on the balcony calling out to him; now we add Lestat’s “You’re gonna find that very difficult,” to the list. Sam is also doing great work through this whole sequence, I want Lestat dead. I remarked on his delivery of this line during my first watch, and I keep getting hung up on it. If this is Louis’s narration, he would have been more than entitled to paint Lestat as mocking or cruel, but here he comes off almost pitying. 
I love the burning effects. I remember someone —not sure if it was an actor, writer or crew member— said something about how they designed vampire burns to look different from human burns, and I think the result is solid. Makes me think more of coal than skin. 
I should have taught you that.
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT. 
Bridal carry! 
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And our first look at how Lestat has adapted Rue Royale for his vampiric life. You gotta love the set design. 
The laissez-faire attitude of the local police force…
For you, perhaps. 
The perfect setting for a vampire home. A vampire romance.
Someone brought up a sequence from the books, from Body Thief, I think, in which Lestat talks about falling for a given mortal and building them up in his mind and making up a whole narrative of what their love would be like; and you can certainly see that Lestat right now. 
"You've had a long life, Louis, and such an extraordinary one ahead. Have a rest." “She's coming up on 33.” “It's a lick and a promise in vampire years.”
KILL YOURSELF, LESTAT.
It's okay. You can be on top.
They thought they were being sooo funny. I’m sure Anne thought she was being hilarious with the closet line too. 
Something I caught in my first liveblog: we don’t see Louis and Lestat kiss in this episode —still, their relationship doesn’t come off as “toned down” at all. 
Dinner date (part II)
Helluva bender.
Trying so hard not to quote every line of this episode, but I love Louis’s, “Death, rebirth, coming out, homicide…” —perfectly delivered.
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To satisfy your fixation…
GET HIM AGAIN!
And “To the shame of queer theorists everywhere,” still makes me laugh. 
Daniel needs to kill himself, but Louis is still bullshitting. The question remains, does he know he’s bullshitting? Has he convinced himself that he had anything resembling a free choice at his disposal? Does it help? 
Provocation. Is this the primary tool one walks away with after downloading your Internet class?
Ugly laughing. The version of this line that exists in my mind has Louis saying “your li’l Internet class,” and I’m always surprised when he doesn’t actually say that. 
Daniel doesn’t have anything to answer to that. Eat shit, old man. 
(Back to my old liveblog: I didn’t like Daniel’s annoying soundbite quips because, quoting myself, “the writers are using him to editorialize their own narrative a little bit too hard” but now I adore every insufferable one-liner stolen from Twitter precisely because the writers are so effectively using them to editorialize. I contain multitudes, I guess.)
Rabbit, three ways, and Vulpes rueppellii, or Ruppell's sand fox.
Not actually an endangered species, I looked it up. 
The puppet is so funny.
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Rather than point out how Louis’s declaration here plays off against the end of the episode, let me just link to @iwtvfanevents’ scene highlight. Performing as Lestat, all the more interesting now that we have seen the whole season and we know that the entirety of what we saw has been a performance. Masks upon masks upon masks. 
That's the purpose. Our book must be a warning as much as anything…. It was the right line of questioning.
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I’m always on this line. The first interview was a fluke, an accident. This interview is purposeful. There are things Louis is hoping to achieve here, and he needs Daniel for that. I know I wrote something like this before but who knows where that was, but I really think that, alongside all the other reasons why Louis could want Daniel, specifically, here, the fact that he’s presented as a no-bullshit, no-punches-pulled type of journalist speaks to a sort of authority, a credibility Louis is looking for. He doesn’t want a transcriber, he wants someone who will see even through his own lies. Maybe this whole sequence is a test, actually: if you can cut through the bullshit here, then you just might be the right guy to help me pick my memories apart. 
Anyway, this is all speculation, but one of the most interesting lines of the season, to me. 
Mind-reading lessons
Killin' folks ain't a second language.
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Obligatory mention that I can’t believe people think Lestat is talking about himself in “I have English consonants to thank for this astonishing jawline.” He’s literally ogling Louis right there. HOW WOULD LEARNING ENGLISH AT 150 YEARS OLD CHANGE THE SHAPE OF HIS JAWLINE. Pissing on the poor website. Anyway, moving on now. 
Wandering eyes. Kill yourself, Lestat. 
This is definitely within a few weeks of Louis’s turning. If we want to be generous with Lestat we might think it’s the following night, and he hasn’t had a real chance to mention the mind gift before now. If we want to be generous, that is. 
(That still means he’s ogling other people that soon after, so… I don’t even need to say it.)
Every human thought boils down to three things… "I want food," "I want sex," "I want to go home."
Still on this line.
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It's not cheating with a woman because I can't get pregnant.
Icon! 
Peel back on me, then, what am I thinking right now?
It’s not a light delivery, and he looks troubled as he looks at Lestat. I wish he told us (Daniel) more of how he felt about this whole matter. 
In my original liveblog I was moved by “lestat’s almost pained admission that they are now “at each other’s discretion”. such a quiet, subdued scene, and yet it presents the core conflict not just of the episode, but of the show: “a sacrifice is made when the dark gift is shared”.”
Later I added that “louis lost that, the miracle of having someone who understood his affection without him needing to pull his teeth trying to express it. at the center of him there's a sense of alienation from other people that he has never been able to overcome, and during those months, lestat was the one place where he belonged. with him louis was seen, but the moment he was turned, lestat could no longer see all of him. he still had to wear a dozen different faces, and now a new mask for the one person with whom he thought he wouldn't need it.” 
Here, in “Just like the meat,” Louis tries to appeal to their similarity with humans, and Lestat dismisses him. Next episode, he tries to appeal to their superiority over humans, and Lestat dismisses him again. Funny how that works. 
You're not one of them anymore, fledgling. You chase after phantoms of your former self. I'll break you of it.
Lestat, kill yourself.
Back to the past
We’ll miss Nora’s entrance with the Christmas tree.
Where is Z’s post about how Lestat is just sitting through these plays about abusive patriarchs and creepy old men going ho-ho-ho while at his side Louis is trying to make the entire opera house go up in flames. 
Mama du Lac looks so fancy. 
And she’s so startled when Louis answers to her (homophobic) thoughts. 
You seen my alligator, ma’am?
He’s so corny 😭 
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The costume department is not at all subtle, Louis and Grace are wearing almost the exact same shade of cream. And sorry to buy into Kalyne’s Grace propaganda, it’s true that she could have visited and it’s true that the family is happy to live off of Louis’s pocket while looking the other way, but you can’t tell me she doesn’t love her brother. It’s funny that she just takes on the new eyes with the one comment, but her “Better you,” comes off genuine.
Jacob’s acting in the scene with the racist attorney is so incredible. Thinking back about what Eric says about real actors shining in the subtle stuff, and this is a prime example. In the eyes and the way the smile gets more and more forced. No wonder they used this scene in that talkshow, alongside with Jacob’s narration in Dubai it’s some of his most incredible work of the season. And of course, the delivery of his monologue is impeccable. Like the church confessional, just a perfect arrangement of words. For sure one of the best scenes of the season. Such a satisfying moment. 
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(Also: “I wasn't a man anymore. I was something else.” Only next episode do we get to “I am a vampire.”)
Louis looks gorgeous in this white suit covered in blood, and I love his gesturing both during the Dubai narration and during this flashback argument. 
“You are a library of confusion.”  “Some things you don’t get about America, Lestat.” 
But he was happy to pretend he understood when he was “courting” Louis. Which brings us back to mind-reading —he could understand what it was for Louis to endure constant humiliation and marginalization as long as he was literally seeing Louis’s thoughts and feelings, but he’s unwilling or unable to exert any actual effort once that shortcut is no longer available to him. 
A couple of parish priests go missing, people say, "Fine. Most likely kid-fiddlers."
I missed this one the first time around, very good bit. 
“Fledgling” twice in like 15 seconds. Kill yourself, Lestat.
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“Oh, you need to stop using that word right now, 'cause it's soundin' a little like "slave".” “Don't say it.” “Well, that's what it fuckin' sound like. It's what it feel like sometimes.”
What a change it is to go from Lewis the slaveholder to Louis. A lot has been written about this, like this post or this article; but on this rewatch I’m struck by the contrast with this scene from the book:
“[Vampires are] jealous of their secret and of their territory; and if you find one or more of them together it will be for safety only, and one will be the slave of the other, the way you are of me.’ ‘I’m not your slave,’ I said to him. But even as he spoke I realized I’d been his slave all along. ‘That’s how vampires increase...through slavery. How else?’ he asked.”
I do love the cursing and Lestat’s hair-flip. 
If disrespect was done to you…
@sygoflyy already said everything that needs to be said about that “if” here.
And I’ll say it for an eighth time, and no more…
Kill yourself, Lestat.
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First look at their couples’ coffins. Delightful. 
I’m still curious about whether that’s Gabrielle up there.
And I know it’s pointless to even engage with it but I think it’s crazy that people really saw this scene (and everything that preceded and followed it) and decided Louis is a materialistic gold digger. Be fucking for real. 
Time jump
That's a mighty tall ladder you're climbin', Mr. du Lac.
Kill yourself, Fenwick. 
No “sirs” after Louis becomes owner of the Azalea, I know that’s right. 
Also, who pointed out that Lestat did his hair like a “founding father”??? He looks ridiculous!!!
(And I really can’t stop seeing the body double.)
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We skip forward five years (very effectively, I must add!) and Louis changes from bridal whites to damnation reds. 
My club, my rules. I opened the doors to anyone with money to burn. I paid the staff better, paid the band better, all the while helping those who had been with me down the block to better themselves.
In just a minute we’ll see that in the modern day, Louis keeps himself convinced of his own morality —or tries to convince Daniel of it?— with pretty much the same arguments. 
Brick looks so good. Hi, wife! 
And it was a pointless point of pride that I paid back every cent I borrowed from Lestat.
Alliteration fans everywhere cheered! I find this so interesting! Pointless because Lestat had so much money it made no difference, pointless because it didn’t earn him Lestat’s respect, pointless because he would lose everything eventually? 
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Speaking of things lost, we’re back to the du Lac family home. Is Grace’s dress a sleeping gown? 
Still on my Grace apologia agenda. Yes, she’s resentful, but the affection is genuine. Their laughs after she says “I’m sure Mamaw would love to see you,” are so real and so bittersweet.
I’ll go back to the dinner date soon, but I love how this sequence plays out, Louis’s mouth literally watering, the growing fangs. Perfect moment of suspense. 
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Dinner date (part III)
I no longer kill. My last victim was in the year 2000.
Just like at the beginning of the episode, I find it interesting that Daniel asks a macro-question (“...is the pandemic the opening they've been waiting for?”) but ends up focusing on the more personal aspects of Louis’s story.
Obviously, it makes sense on a meta-narrative level to lay the foundations for a grander plot but not overwhelm the audience with it right now. And I really don’t want to get to that bigger arc. Queen of the Damned was a nonsensical book, and right now I fail to visualize a good adaptation of it. I mean, the writers have proved themselves with the first season, so I’m less wary than I was when I first watched this episode, but still… 
Anyway, back to the point, we get a very good glimpse of Louis’s reasoning, or what he’s pretending is his reasoning, who knows, to make peace with the existence he leads: 
What on earth would a meth-addicted son of a coal miner in West Virginia want with eternal life? Or the Arab youth whose family were wiped from existence by a Western drone?
Maybe because he has no counter-argument, maybe because he heard himself in that tape recording begging for immortality, Daniel instead aims at the soft spot he’s found, poking at Louis about his nephew.
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And here comes Damek. I don’t think I’d noticed how shiny his shirt was before the Blue-Ray rip. He really looks like he’s going clubbing. 
The slap to the vein. I’m just so obsessed with him. 
Go to Kite Beach. It's good. Kites.
Normal situation. 
Anyway. import and maintenance of food technologies is still my canon for Damek. 
Can’t help but notice that the meat Daniel is eating in this scene is pretty rare. 
And of course he looks disgusted, he has to. But I don’t believe him one bit. 
Back to the past (reprise)
“I ain't never gon' have a family of my own, am I? No sons, no daughters.” “I'm your family, Louis.”
I was gonna make a joke about how people suffering from baby fever get when smelling a baby’s head but it seemed in poor taste.
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I think someone pointed out that both Louis and Claudia, articulating the loss of their humanity, call back to traditional familiar structures: “Maybe I'd have a handsome husband by now. Or maybe he'd be plain but with a good disposition. That'd be fine, too. I'd be sweepin' floors, makin' dinners, nursin' babies.”
You can make your arguments to justify Lestat’s isolating tactics, sure, but the outright negging that follows??? I do love the line “a challenge every sunset,” I can’t lie, but I hope he blows up. Also, “as imperfectly perfect as you’ve become” is a word choice that gives me pause now that I’m thinking of Lestat saying “I put you on this Earth.” 
Gifts in lieu of apologies. (Earlier, no apologies either. Now I can’t remember who said it, but, “Well, what can I do to make it up to you?” was literally Lestat asking for a shortcut.)
Louis’s smile… Girl, he doesn’t deserve you!!!
He had a way about him, those first years, Lestat. Preternaturally charming, occasionally thoughtful. He was my murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker… All of those things at once. He didn't choose me to be his doormat. I knew he enjoyed it when I fought back, but there was present a kind of worship on my part. The earth beneath me always felt liquid.
So much to unpack here. “Preternaturally” charming, the vampire trick clearly implied, even though now they’re both vampires and there should be no such magical charm. Only “occasionally” thoughtful. “My murderer, my mentor, my lover, and my maker,” is one of the craziest lines to ever be put on the screen. There’s nothing I can add to the myriad of posts made about this line, but “fought back” is insane. Fought BACK? GIRL. Worship is crazy too. And “The earth beneath me always felt liquid,” always takes my breath away. 
And the opera… 
Hold up, here's the post I was talking about.
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“Horny goldfish” deserves a Nobel peace prize.
Lestat is playing his role too well 💀 and the way he looks at Louis when he finally sits down and you can actually see him realize that Louis is not happy to play his fucking servant, like… Louis's narration before this (“We did what we always did…”) tells us that they'd done this before, how could he not have foreseen this? 
Just as later during the “reconciliation” in episode six, Lestat’s show of vulnerability seems genuine enough, which doesn’t mean that the choice to show vulnerability isn’t calculated manipulation. Unfortunately, it works. 
I wonder at the fact that this seems to be the first time in six years Louis asks after other vampires.
I do love the “...articulating the difficult love we often had trouble expressing ourselves” line, it’s a gorgeous bit of writing. There was a post going around recently paralleling this line to the Antoinette affair, a parallel I found very compelling since I’ve always been of the idea that the affair more than merits paying attention to because of what it tells us about Lestat, about Louis, and about their relationship. 
The curtain fell like a guillotine.
I’m in love with him. 
Nursing my complicity.
In episode six: “Mindless accomplices.” 
Something from my original liveblog that I still think has some merit: “i get the impression that this episode was trying to tackle some of the events that surround the original [claudia’s turning sequence] and recontextualize them. instead of nearly killing little claudia, louis is so starved he is tempted to kill his sister’s baby; and instead of terrorizing two young sex workers, lestat insults and demeans the chorus singer before killing him slowly; but thematically the scenes felt very similar to the pages that surround claudia’s turning.” In retrospect, this is certainly a reversion of the scene with the two sex workers, since the whole “You are a killer, Louis,” sequence is a perfect replica of the movie scene, which is in turn adapted from that book moment —I don’t remember right now if I had ever watched the 1994 film before the show, but I did after the season finished airing. 
And I did mention in that first liveblog that I didn’t necessarily agree that they’re “hannibalifying” Lestat. This is not at all outside of the scope of how Lestat behaves in the books. And Hannibal is a Lestat rip-off anyway, so a fun little feedback loop we have there. 
Jacob Anderson is so gorgeous. What the fuck. 
Sorry, I still hate the “...for a third time and no more” bit. 
Everything Sam is doing in this last bit of the scene should count as a war crime. By the way. 
From my first liveblog: “reid’s delivery of the “you are a killer” rant was masterful, and i loved to see molloy genuinely affected by the story. also, the scene was beautiful! not just jacob’s perfect face, but the blood on white suits, the golden tint from the flames on their faces, both the voiceover and lestat’s exhortation.”
Still just as stunning a year and a half later.
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Dinner date (part IV)
My favorite scene of the whole episode. This is already long enough as it is, so let me redirect you to a separate post for my thoughts on Louis and Daniel sharing some ice-cream, and let’s wrap this up here. How considerate of me. 
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Final thoughts
This is such an uniquely paced episode, and it’s actually crazy how subdued and intimate it feels when it’s just as packed as the pilot. The ending still catches me unprepared every time.
I closed my original liveblog hoping that episode three would kick it up a notch, and it sure did! Now that I’m paying more attention to the way the episodes mesh together, I see why the pacing for the whole season works so well: the action-packed episodes five and seven are also separated by a somewhat slower episode, more interior and charged with tension; and Claudia’s entrance likewise marks a sharp turn and introduces a moment of bright bubbling energy between the two fairly gloomy halves of the season. Looking forward to seeing how they arrange season two. 
I just love what this episode does. We ended that first episode with Lestat’s promise that vampirism would give him power, and with power, freedom. 
This episode starts to show the caveats in that promise, the cracks in the foundation. 
As put in this fantastic post: 
the lie is that there is a process which can deliver someone from grief without having to face that grief, that there is a place you can go where suffering and violence can no longer reach you. as the season progresses we see the scale and scope of this lie; the deliverance that lestat promised reveals itself as a new configuration of the same problems which plagued louis in life only in more concentrated form. for example, louis says in the confessional that he sees his business as a kind of vampirism -- "i profit off the miseries of other men, and i do it easy;" but instead of escaping this dynamic by being turned he only encounters it in a more overt form wherein instead of making money off others' emotional suffering, he sustains his existence by inflicting physical suffering and death. his struggle to find alternatives to indiscriminately killing humans throughout the season shows just how completely he has failed to extricate himself from the moral quandary he tried to outrun by giving himself over to lestat.
They have laid all the ground for next episode’s conflict and the entire season’s arc. And by the end of the episode we know, or at the very least we suspect, that this core conflict that he was dealing with a century ago still follows his every step. 
I think it’s in this episode that we finally start to understand who Louis is. Of course, we got an idea of who he was in the pilot, but we were focused on past Louis, on the human Louis, a version of him that was meant to die by the end of the episode. This is the version of him that we’re actually dealing with, the person that we are watching Louis becoming in the past. 
We see him talking about treating his employees well while working in the sex industry, talking about why the underprivileged would choose vampirism, and then “feeding” from Damek. The clear connection between blood and sex that episode one first introduced and this episode remarked upon. Louis washing off the taste with a ritual performance of humanity that tries and fails to serve as penance for his continued parasitic relation to people he knows, even if he tries to play it off, he’s exploiting. He’s no longer starving himself but this is still a form of self-flagellation. The least harmful one, something that Armand would be amenable to enabling? But, of course, we don’t know about Armand yet. 
What we do know is that Louis hasn’t solved this core contradiction, just like he hasn’t gotten over his grief. We know he’s still performing. We suspect a lot of what he’s saying or doing might be bullshit! He’s fucking with Daniel and, by proxy, with us! He’s playing a character, he’s telling a story, and we should do well to remember that. But he opens up sometimes. He’s willing to put his heart on the table between them for Daniel to examine, and we’re wondering why. 
(Briefly back to Damek: in the pilot, Louis talked about coming to accept his sexuality (and arguably drew a parallel between his experience and Daniel’s) after a scene that clearly tied blood to sex and “intimacy”. That connection was only reinforced this episode, but it also told us Louis’s relationship with blood remains troubled, which leads us to wonder if his sexuality is similarly a point of conflict still. I think everything that can be said about this has been said already, so let me link to two great posts on the topic: this one, and this one.)
Anyway, what this episode does for our contemporary Louis, and what Jacob Anderson does for our contemporary Louis are just masterful. 
Another perfect piece of television. Ten stars. A hundred stars. 
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Someone give some kind of award to Daniel Hart right now.
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