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lowkeyerror · 6 months

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A New Victim pt 3

Sam Carpenter x reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Notes: Typical violence associated with series. Yes i edited this bc i wrote it in the wrong pove whoops

Summary: You and Sam stay behind while the others go to a party. Maybe that makes you vulnerable.

Masterlist | part 1 | part 2

You had been staying with Sam and Tara for a few days. You were still on edge, but grateful to not be alone during this situation. You felt protected by the sisters. The group in general was still a little skeptical of her, but Sam and Tara weren’t.

Tara made sure you had at least one other person with her on campus. Sam kept an eye on you off of campus, insisting on joining you on any errands you had to run.

Things began to fall into a routine and maybe this stalled some of your anxiety. Little did you know your anxiety was about to spike to unforeseen levels.

The apartment was full with the usual suspects. Albeit they were headed out to a part. Sam wasn’t fond of anyone going, but she tried her best to let them have a normal college experience. Tara had begged you to go with them, but as soon as you heard that Sam was staying behind, you declined the offer.

You weren’t going to express it to everyone, but you felt safest around Sam.

“ You’re sure you don’t want to go?” Tara asks one last time as they head out of the door.

“ I’m good here, you guys have fun.”

“ And be back at a reasonable time,” Sam adds.

Tara rolls her eyes at her older sister and closes the door behind her. The only one’s left in the apartment were you and Sam.

Sam’s gaze fell onto you . You were playing with the baggy sleeves of your hoodie. Sam had picked up on the fact that you weren’t much of a conversationalist. Sam didn’t usually have much to say either. Yet when you were in a space with just you and her, you felt compelled to speak.

“ You’re staring at me,” Your eyes cut over to Sam, who is in fact staring at you already.

“ Why didn’t you go to the party?” Sam deflects the attention.

You shrug, “ I just didn’t want to.”

Sam shakes her head, “You don’t think it’s safe.”

You fold your hands on your lap, “ Do you think it’s safe?”

Just as Sam is about to answer the question your phone begins to ring. You pale when you pick it up to see no caller ID. Sam sees this and instantly snatches the phone. She answers the call and is met with heavy breathing on the line.

“ Put Y/n on,” the voice is familiar to Sam, but it only brings back bad memories.

“ Why start this when you never survive? What’s the point of doing this?”

The voice laughs, “ What’s your favorite scary movie Samantha? Maybe we could reenact it.”

Sam is quick to bring you to your feet. She keeps a death grip on around your wrist as they walk around the apartment.

“ I will kill you,” Sam grits her teeth as she searches for the criminal.

“ Not if I kill you first,” the line goes dead after that.

“ Sam?”

The dark haired girl grabs a baseball bat and hands it to you while grabbing a knife for herself, “The son of a bitch is in here.”

You begin to tremble, “ I don’t know if I can do this.”

Sam didn’t get to comfort you as the masked assailant barged out of their hiding place in the closet. Ghostface moves quick making every step purposeful.

The closer he gets the faster you feel your heart beating. The slew of curses that fill your mind send you into a panic. You glance at Sam who has that dark look back in her eyes.

Sam is thinking as fast as she can. She wants to split from you, but she doesn’t want to take the chance of having the killer focus on you.

They seem to be in a stalemate. That is until Ghostface tries to leap over the countertop to attack you both. Sam moves expertly, but you don’t follow immediately. Instead you take a swing at the killer’s leg making them fall harshly on the floor.

“ Door now,” Sam says inching towards the exit of the house. You follow the directions given by the older girl.

Sam gets there before you, though you aren’t far behind. However you weren't moving fast enough. Sam sees this and grips the you, yanking you through the door, before slamming it. Together you ran hand in hand. You have no idea how far you've ran. All that you know is that you're out of breath.

You hunch over to catch your breath and feels a stinging pain on your back. Your hand hesitantly touches the spot and you hiss. When you look at your hand there’s blood.

“ Fuck,” Sam yells in frustration at the air. The woman is beyond angry at herself for allowing them to be put in this situation at all.

“ Hey, we’re ok,” You try to reassure Sam and yourself.

Sam takes a deep breath, but it’s almost pointless when she sees the blood on your hand. “ He got you when we were leaving. Turn around and let me see.”

You almost blush at the demand. In any other situation this would’ve had you melting. You feel Sam’s finger lightly graze your skin and shiver.

Sam sighs,” It’s too dark. I can’t see.”

“ I have the keys to my place,” you offer, unwilling to go back to the apartment. Sam frowns for second seemingly weighing her options then nods.

When you arrive at your place, the first thing you do is turn all the lights on. Sam begins checking the place before determining that the pair is alone. Once both are done, you lead Sam to the restroom.

“ I’ve got a little first aid somewhere in here,” you find it and hand it to the older Carpenter sister.

“ I need you to take off your shirt.”

Your brain short circuits. Sam feels this shift and begins to back track, but she stops herself as she watches you reach for the hem of her shirt.

Sam fights the urge she has to put her hands over the yours and assist you. For a moment too long Sam just stares at your back. She takes a deep inhale as she steps closer to you.

“ Doesn’t look too bad,” her voice is airy as she speaks. You simply nod unable to speak in such a vulnerable position. “ Is it alright if I...”

Sam grabs your side to pull you closer. She grabs materials from the first aid kit, and begins cleaning the wound. You flinch as the alcohol hits your wound.

“ Sorry baby,” Sam speaks unconsciously as she tries to disinfect the wound.

You blush, but try to keep quiet otherwise. When Sam finishes dressing the cut, she doesn’t move away from you. Instead she sighs heavily and rests her head on your bare shoulder. Slowly she snakes her arms around your waists. Usually in this situation you would panic, but all you do is place your hands on top of Sam’s.

“ I won’t let him get away with this,” she mumbles into your shoulder.

“ It’s just a scratch,” you try to calm her.

“ It wasn’t supposed to be just a scratch Y/n. He won't get the chance to do it again.”

You turn around so you're facing the woman, “ I think I handled myself pretty well.”

Sam sighs, “ You did, but you shouldn't have had to. I shouldn't have came up to you that day at the park. I dragged you into this shit storm.”

You shake your head as you gaze up at her, “ I’m glad you came up to me. Killer or no killer, I wouldn't trade that interaction for anything.”

Sam's eyes soften, “ He stabbed you.”

“ And you patched me up. Actually you saved my life because if you hadn’t pulled me through the door, I would’ve-“

“ It would've been my fault.”

You gently place your hand on the side of Sam’s face, “ It wouldn’t have been anyone’s fault except whoever was behind that mask.”

Sam leans into your touch, “ It only exist because of my father.”

The dark hair woman finds her face being tilted up so she could get a good look into the your eyes, “ Sam, I don’t care how you try to make yourself the bad guy here, but it’s obvious to me that the psycho killer with mask is the one at fault.”

Sam chuckles a bit at the statement, it sounds so obvious coming from your lips. The Carpenter sister let her eyes drift briefly to the lips she was thinking about. It wasn’t fast enough for you not to take note.

There was something that felt so normal about this all. Being this close together, hands on each other, there’s almost no tension. Sam can’t help inching her head towards the younger girl. You start to slowly move in too.

Your lips are centimeters apart from each other when Sam’s phone rings loudly, echoing across the bathroom. Both women practically jump apart.

“ We need you at the party, it’s Tara”

Taglist: @aiakuma @idkwhatiamdoingherebro

#lowkeyerror #samantha carpenter #samantha carpenter x reader #ghostface #tara carpenter #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #anika kayoko #sam carpenter x reader #sam carpenter #sam carpenter imagine

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parachutingkitten · 7 months

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Dragons Rising Lloyd/Akita Reunion, cuz the show hasn't given it to me yet.

Lloyd and the kids are on their way to the First Realm, but run into an old familiar face along the way. Definitely a little flirty, but can still be read as platonic.

No one could quite pin down what was wrong with the trees around them. They were too straight. Too baren. Too… something. It was as if they had somehow noticed a change about this place which they had no familiarity with. Perhaps it was just the overcast day and the subtle winds which made the wood seem so ominous, or perhaps there was something more sinister going on. Either way, the feeling between the group was palpable- they were lost.

“You sure you know where we’re going?” Sora asked. “This doesn’t really seem like a trail anymore.”

“That’s because it’s a shortcut,” Lloyd assured her, holding up the map. “Or at least… I think it is.”

“I might have preferred the main path if it had less of a creepy forest vibe than this one,” Arin added, looking skeptically up at the trees.

Lloyd closed the map, confident in his direction. “Look, this will save us two whole hours, the only reason it’s typically avoided is because this forest is supposedly cursed.”

“You know, you had the option of not telling us that,” Arin groaned.

“Trust me, the last thing you want is your teacher keeping things from you,” Lloyd mused.

“Did you guys hear that?” Sora broke in.

“Hear what?” Arin asked.

Lloyd held his hand up, stopping the group. “No, I heard it too.”

The three stood in silence for a moment, listening for the sound to come again. It was hard to discern through the light winds humming through the branches, but it was there: the sound of living movement.

“You two stay close,” Lloyd instructed his students, continuing to scan the treeline. He squinted through the homogeneous rows of bark surrounding them, but still couldn’t see where the noise sourced from. Erring on the side of caution, his hand began to reach back for his sword. However, before he could even make contact with the metal, a flash of white burst towards him, knocking him to his back. The movement was accompanied by a deep growl, and a sharp scream from either side of him.

Lloyd felt strangely overpowered by the weight which fell on his chest. It came in two pointed placements and pressed in a way which seemed to go through him, taking with it most of his breath. The noise he heard was unequivocally animal, and the vigor which restrained him matched that assessment. As he squinted upwards at his attacker he was able to make out the beast's face. A wolf- but not just any wolf.

"Akita?" He used the last of his air to address the creature.

The growling stopped as the animal retreated, allowing Lloyd to sit up, and more importantly, breath.

The wolf now circled around him, bumping into his arms with a friendly familiarity.

"Hey, it's good to see you too," Lloyd chuckled.

"You know this dog?" Sora asked.

"I do!" Lloyd smiled. He looked into the animal's eyes fondly. "She was, um…"

There was a bright flash of light as the form before him began to shift. As the shock from the shine subsided, he made out the image of a woman reaching down to help him up. It was a familiar face, but a changed one. Her wild raven hair was much longer now, tied back into a tight ponytail which exploded behind her, and topped with her familiar animal adornment. Her figure was clothed largely in black, and fit to her body much more closely. On her were obviously several weapons, along with a number of other useful objects attached to her person directly. But her face seemed much the same, her smile just as shyly offered, and the marks which framed it right where he remembered them. "I'm an old friend," she finished.

Lloyd took her hand as a pair of awed marvelings came from the kids. Her strength easily tugged him upward, their eyes remaining locked as he made his ascent.

“I didn’t think you were- I mean-” Lloyd paused for a moment to avoid stumbling over himself any further. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I can’t say I thought the same.” Akita tightened her grip on his hand before finally letting it go.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lloyd chuckled.

“It means Lloyd Garmadon seems like the type of person to turn up in unexpected places.” Akita smiled. “As you have!” She gestured to the forest around them.

“This is the girl from the Never-Realm!” Arin burst out, finally drawing their attention away from each other.

Lloyd glanced back and forth between him and Akita. “Yes, she is. How did you-?”

“Does this mean she’s the one that-”

“We don’t have to elaborate on that description,” Lloyd stopped him, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks. “Seems like you got it figured out.”

“I’m still lost,” Sora chimed in.

Lloyd let out a heavy sigh. “Sora, Arin, this is Akita, I met her on a mission a while back, she’s originally from the Never-Realm. Akita, this is Arin and Sora, they’re my… students.”

Akita was grinning wildly by this point. “Students, huh?” she turned her attention to the children in question. “What’s this idiot been teaching you?”

“He’s been training us to be ninja!” Arin jumped excitedly.

“He’s been training me to use my elemental power,” Sora added.

“I already taught myself the basics of spinjitzu,” Arin continued. “but it’s awesome having a teacher!”

“Self taught is the best way to learn,” Akita offered Arin a high five, which he eagerly reciprocated. “I like your ears,” Akita turned to Sora, pointing above her head. “You make them yourself?”

Sora reached up toward the accessory, pleasantly surprised. “Thank you, I… yeah.”

“What are you doing out here?” Lloyd asked, his attention still strongly attached to his rediscovered ally.

“I live here,” She shrugged. “I’m out collecting tree bark.” She tapped a small pouch that hung at her side. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you do with the tree bark?” Arin cut in.

Akita smiled, pulling out her dagger. “You peel it off, very carefully,” She placed her blade along the nearest tree, carefully shaving off a long strip of bark. “You take it home, clean it, dry it.” She tossed the piece to Arin, who caught it easily. “And it makes an excellent tea.”

Arin’s eyes had grown wide, Sora looking at it over his shoulder, her hands reaching for her pocket knife.

Having distracted the kids, Akita again turned to her new-found companion, quieting her voice.

“What are you doing here? No one ever comes through here.”

“We’re headed to the First Realm.” Lloyd answered, matching her tone. “We’ve got a whole dragon problem going on, and we think the realm of Oni and Dragon might have some answers.”

Akita’s face ruffled in confusion. “The First Realm?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd answered, a strain of uncertainty entering his tone.

Akita stared at him a moment in thought. “You’re almost certainly headed the wrong direction.”

“Really?” Lloyd sighed, reaching for his map.

“I told you we were lost!” Sora called over to them, now struggling with her knife against a nearby tree.

“We can’t be going the wrong direction. We’re right here,” Lloyd pointed on the map. “in the Unsleeping Woods-”

“No, right now we’re in the Forest of the Tamed.” Akita placed a finger a few inches away from Lloyd’s as his gaze froze on the spot.

“How could we have…”

“You probably mixed up the Forbidden Path with the Forsaken Path.” Akita took the map from his hands, tracing along the two trails. “The Forsaken Path takes you much farther North.”

“That… would do it.” Lloyd sighed.

“I’m sorry, we were on something called the Forsaken Path?” Arin butt in.

“Technically, I thought I was taking you on the Forbidden Path.” Lloyd corrected him.

“You do know that’s not better, right?” Arin groaned.

“Well, it’s far too late an hour for you to start that direction now.” Akita rolled up the map, handing it back to her companion. “But my camp is nearby, and I have plenty of extra space.”

Lloyd’s vision turned to his students, thinking for a moment.

“You are gonna let us hang out with the cool wolf-lady, right?” Sora asserted, bark strip in hand.

“Wait, does that mean this forest isn’t cursed?” Arin spoke up.

“Well, it's a different forest, but it could still be cursed.” Sora prodded him.

Lloyd turned back to Akita, his eyes narrow. “You sure we won’t be a bother to anyone?”

Akita smirked. “No one to be a bother to, except me. I’m a scout. I’m camped by myself in an abandoned fishing village. It’ll be nice to have the company,” she assured him.

Lloyd smiled, his mind still a mush at seeing the face in front of him. “You’re sure?”

Akita rolled her eyes, walking past him. “Come one everyone! Camp is just a few minutes west of here!”

…

Akita gingerly closed the door on the common building, a targeted grin on her lips. “So… Kids?”

“It’s a new development.” Lloyd shrugged, shrinking back a bit.

“No, I like it!” she quickly clarified. “The responsibility seems good for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lloyd chuckled, swinging off his backpack.

“It just means…” Akita thought for a moment. “Adulthood is a good look on you, that’s all.”

“Well, your new job looks good on you too,” Lloyd glanced up at her as he sat the pack on a bench near the door. “You seem like you make a great scout.”

“Well, I certainly did a good job of finding you,” she teased.

“It seems like a pretty important role. I bet Kataru is really proud!” Lloyd continued.

Akita was quiet for a moment, her demeanor falling. “Yes…”

Lloyd paused, studying her face. “Or not?” He offered.

Akita’s face hung before facing her companion. “Kataru didn’t make it through the merge.” The air in the room was suddenly filled with a thick stillness. “Most of my people didn’t.”

There was a beat of silence before Lloyd took her arm, guiding them both down to the bench. “Are you alright? I mean, I can’t imagine. Have you been by yourself all this time?”

“I’ve been fine,” Akita waved it off.

Lloyd’s face was stuck puzzled as he processed the new information. “I thought the Never-Realm had a lot of land carry over. The produce is all over the place.”

“Much of the realm did make it through.” Akita agreed. “But the majority of it is uninhabited wilderness… so that’s largely what survived.”

“Akita, I’m so sorry,” Lloyd placed a hand on her knee. “I had no idea.”

“My role as scout is the only reason I made it. If I had been home with my family, I would be gone with them.”

Lloyd felt the pain in her words, and could empathize all too easily. “You know, I lost my whole team in the merge. I thought I would never see them again. And I’ve found some of them since then, but I still remember how hard it was, thinking you’re absolutely alone like that. It can be so difficult just to find a reason to keep going.”

Akita looked back at her friend with pity. “Well, it’s nothing worth complaining about.” She pat his back as she stood, making her way further into the room.

“...what?” Lloyd turned over his shoulder to look back at her, thoroughly confused.

“Everyone lost things in the merge.” She shrugged. “We are not special. All that’s left to do is focus on what we do have.” Akita pulled out her dagger, moving to the water basin towards the back of the room to clean it. “I was lucky enough to make it through the merge, and with me came an abundance of territory I was familiar with and knew how to survive off of.” She glanced up from her work. “And now I’ve even found you. So that’s three things I have to my advantage.”

Lloyd sat on the bench, body twisted around, stunned for a moment. “I guess that’s one way of looking at things.”

“What’s the alternative?” Akita questioned.

“I don’t know. Feel your feelings a bit?” Lloyd offered. “Didn’t losing so much ever make you feel a little… I don’t know. Lost? Scared? Hopeless?”

There was a breath of silence as Akita pinpoint her words. “Loss is unavoidably painful, and I am not immune to pain.” Akita dried her dagger, it shining in the dim lantern light. “But giving up hope is the coward’s way out. It means you’ve decided you will no longer fight.” She stood up, starting back towards Lloyd. “And I am no coward.”

Lloyd sat with the statement, his eyes still caught on the shine of the dagger as she again approached the bench.

“You on the other hand,” she pointed the weapon at him with a smirk. “I’m not so sure.”

“Hey!” Lloyd laughed, standing to meet her height. “I’m plenty courageous!”

“Perhapps, but not that I’ve seen.” Akita shrugged, slipping the knife back into its scabbard.

“Not true.” Lloyd shook his head.

“What was the brave part? When I had to save you from wolves, or from the giant ice bird, or when you spilled out your feelings to an animal you thought couldn’t understand you,”

“Okay, okay,” Lloyd waved her off, still chuckling.

“-when your supposed friend very easily captured you, or when you ran away after a girl kissed you?”

“To be fair, she was a very intimidating girl,” Lloyd beamed.

Akita grinned, a bit of blush sneaking onto her cheeks. “Well, I don’t think she was trying to be… at the time anyway.”

Lloyd’s face tensed for a moment, his words hesitating. “I feel like I might need to apologize-”

“No, no!” Akita quickly cut him off. “You don’t need to-”

“Well, everything just ended so abruptly,” Lloyd shrugged. “I feel like maybe we didn’t get any proper closure because I had to leave-”

Akita scrambled for words. “I knew what I was doing, and that it would leave things…” a sigh of defeat left her lips. “It was just one of those silly teenage impulses,” she chuckled. Her frame had softened a drastic amount over the past few exchanges.

Lloyd sat with the statement for a moment, still unsure of how he felt about it. “Yeah… right,” he landed on matching her nervous chuckle, the room now palpably less fluid.

Akita leaned forward, attempting to ease the newfound tension. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s caused you much more distress than it ever has me.” A smile snuck onto her lips again. “Given your romantic history and all.”

Lloyd’s eyes playfully narrowed. “Low blow.”

“How has it been since then? Anyone else to add to the story?” Akita asked, starting towards one of the food storages.

Lloyd laughed to himself, loosely following her movements over to the large table at the center of the room. “Yeah actually, it’s… Harumi.”

Akita looked up from her search for a snack. “Again?”

“Yep,” Lloyd nodded, leaning back on the table.

“I thought she died.” Akita returned to her search, thoroughly confused.

“Well, she did. Or at least I think she did. But she got resurrected through like… dark magic I guess?”

Akita pulled out an orange from the pack. “So she came back. Was she different?” she asked, beginning to peel her snack. “Like she didn’t want to kill you anymore after the building collapse or..?”

Lloyd’s mouth hung agape, trying to avoid stating the inevitable. “No she… she still wanted to kill me.”

“And you still liked her?”

“Well, when you put it like that it sounds really bad!” Lloyd began to laugh.

“That is really bad!” Akita stressed, her too beginning to chuckle.

“Come on, I mean first crushes are always the hardest to shake, you know?”

“I do…” Akita’s smile landed quietly on her expression, her eyes darting back down to her orange as she finished peeling. “So, what happened with her?” She crossed the expanse between them to the table and leaned next to him.

“Well, she went to prison. She did a bunch of crazy stuff, so there was no way she was getting out of that.”

Akita offered him an orange wedge, which he promptly took. “Well, that will put a spike in things.”

He hummed in agreement as he finished chewing. “It’s probably for the better though. I do not think that relationship would have worked out.”

“No kidding,” Akita mused, popping another wedge into her own mouth.

“I mean she had a lot of trauma related to me, and I had a lot of trauma related to her. And now I don’t even know where she is after the merge.”

“Did the prison make it through?”

Lloyd nodded. “It did, but there was also a massive jailbreak during the chaos, so she could be anywhere. It’s possible she didn’t even make it through.”

Akita stared down at the orange cradled in her hands. “Do you… think about her much?”

Lloyd breathed a heavy sigh. “It’s been less as time goes on. But it’s hard not to wonder about her.” His voice had quieted dramatically. “I don’t even know if she ever had feelings for me. But I think there’s part of me that will always care about her, despite everything.” He rolled his eyes.

Akita held a glance over at him, her mind running with a thousand thoughts. “Maybe you just have a thing for women who try to kill you.”

His expression cracked again into laughter. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I don’t know, I don’t see any other reasonable explanation for your attachment to her.”

Lloyd smirked. “You know, you’re right. I can’t help it. I’m attracted to the danger.”

“No,” Akita shook her head. “I find it much more likely you enjoy feeling intimidated.”

“Is that why you attacked me out in the forest?” he teased. “So maybe your little crush would go somewhere?”

Akita smiled, her gaze returning forward. “You know, I did have a crush on you when you left.”

“Yeah?” Lloyd prompted her.

“I did.” Akita set the orange down next to her. “And I’ve spent most days after that wondering how on earth,” Lloyd began giggling. “that could ever have happened. I mean someone so annoying, immature, weak,”

“Okay-” Lloyd interjected.

“dorky, cocky, just generally unlikable as you,” Akita continued. “I wrote it off as a complete fluke fairly quickly.”

“Well, that’s great to know.” They both smiled at each other. Akita’s eyes broke first, a weakness entering her voice.

“But, I have to say, being here with you again,” She spoke, her voice almost a whisper. “...I get it.”

Her eyes remained firmly forward, refusing to perceive whatever reaction might come from her words.

Lloyd was pensive, a number of emotions beginning to manifest inside him. “You know, I meet a lot of people in a lot of different places doing my job,” he began. “And I always thought it was so unfair that the one person I wanted to see again the most, was the one person I couldn’t get to.”

Akita turned to glance at him again, his eyes ready to meet hers with an admiration that instantly encircled her gaze. A strain built between the two; she could almost swear it was physicalizing in the air around them.

Akita groaned, burying her head in her hands as her nerves caught up with her. “I did it last time- I’m not going to be the one to do it again.”

Lloyd giggled dizzily at her reaction. “You know, girls have only ever kissed me first. I don’t really have experience initiating things.”

Akita tilted her face back to him. “So, you’re saying you would want to kiss me right now?” she challenged.

Lloyd felt the blood rush further into his cheeks as he struggled for an answer. “I’m not saying that I… I mean you-”

Akita chuckled, straightening up to face him again, waiting for a response.

Lloyd sighed, his eyes refusing to leave hers as much as he wished he might be able to. “It’s just… silly teenage impulses.”

#and then the kids burst into the room #ideally this would be a multi part fic #but I don't have any other ideas fleshed out enough #i just know i live for akita teasing lloyd #and the kids teasing lloyd #and come to think of it also the ninja teasing lloyd #lloyd garmadon #lloyd ninjago #akita ninjago #lloykita #llokita #sora ninjago #arin ninjago #writing #one shot #dragons rising #ninjago

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fangandbow · 4 months

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Always thinking about Inuyasha's boundless capacity for love.

This boy who was alone for so long, who had only known love from his mother, and then from a young age was made to struggle to survive in a world that hated him.

Who met a girl who was as sad as he was, and fell in love with her strongly enough to be willing to change what he was in order to let her be free. And then after she (to his knowledge) betrayed him - the one person he let in - he didn't take his pain out on anyone else. He didn't hurt any of the villagers. He could have. It would have been easy. He didn't.

Even after he awakened, he didn't. He attacks trees instead of the villagers trying to stop him. He talks a big game, but never follows through. Again, he could have. It's what they expected him to do. It would have been easy. He doesn't.

He never does -- this rough living, harsh talking, impatient boy is also, in his way, incredibly gentle. Time and time again he helps and protects even those who are cruel to him, those who proclaim hatred and distrust of him, and even though he loudly declares every time that he won't help, he doesn't care... he does, he does.

The girl who betrayed him was betrayed herself. He takes on the guilt of this, even when she doesn't take on any of the guilt of his own betrayal. He swears to help her, to protect her. To give her the love that wasn't given him.

He falls in love again, with another girl with the same face, but who is so, so different. He falls fast. Despite his hurt, his scars, his betrayal, he falls so, so easily. He can't help it. He has so much love to give.

He tries to love and protect both of them. Often making mistakes, and handling it badly in the way someone so young and so traumatized can't help but do. But he always gives more of himself than he asks of them (when he asks anything at all), is always the first to take on the pain, even when all it would mean is a future of more suffering for himself. He does it anyway, because as selfish as he proclaims to be, he is anything but. He doesn't matter. They do.

Kikyo was a tragic figure, one who deserved a chance at a life that wasn't a constant battle at the cost of her own desires.

Kagome is a force of nature, a girl whose kindness and determination is a match for Inuyasha's own. It's she who stands by him, who heals him, who allows him the space to figure out what he needs while never threatening to abandon him if he doesn't make the right choice. She encourages him to grow, into who he is, without fear, instead of becoming something or someone else. Time and time again, she trusts him, even at the start when she has little reason. Time and time again, she guides him towards the right choices, but lets him make them himself, because she knows that he will.

Kagome, amazing as she may be, didn't make Inuyasha the person he is. She just made it so he could be.

Because as beaten down as he may have been, as disdainful and contemptuous as everyone around him was of him, as disparaging and dismissive as he may have been towards himself, as skeptical of his own capacity for goodness, and for love-- she knows.

He is. He does.

#i'm having a Feeling #inuyasha #kagome higurashi #inukag #犬かご

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daze4all · 5 months

Text

Stelle Joins the Stelleron Hunters Idea + AU Avatar the Last Airbender inspired.

Stelleron hunter! Stelle , High Elder! Dan Feng , High Cloud Quintet! Lives AU.

Title: Akivilli the last Aeon

Or. Stelle the last Stelleron

Or. Stelle the Last Akivili Emanator?

Avater! Stelle x Dragon Prince! dan heng

Akivilli! Stelle x Exiled! High elder! Dan Heng

Stelleron Hunter! Trailblazer MC concept!

High Cloud Quintet Take to the Stars as a Crew Ruling the Loufu & Hunting down Akivili/Avater Stelle for Dan Heng the High Elder to regain his honor...

More Avatar the Last Airbender x Honkai Star rail Crossover Worldbuilding Concepts:

Aeons are hunted down for power are the enemy instead of the blessing but Nanook is still the enemy/firelord to defeat maybe destruction-aligned Xianzhou?

Other Emanators Gepard-Qlipoth Belobog last place defining, Earth Nation - IPC, Fire Nation - Xianzhou , Water Nation- Belobog, Penacony -Wind then?

Elements or path system: Ice, Wind, Water, Imaginary quantum

Past Aeon’s like past Avatars speak to Stelle in her mind.

Give advice different path/philosophies but agree need to destroy Nanook a false Aeon.

Long ago, Nanook attacked.

All the aeons and the paths and their elements were lost.

The xianzhou attacked in order the gain power of the elements.

Legend told of trailblazer who trod all paths and commanded all elements to bring peace to fractured solar system.

Background:

Stellerons were once miracles blessed given by the Aeon to help civilization thrive, but Nanook destroyed them all.

However, one stelleron survived, reawakened as a human trailblazer destined to trod & reignite the lost paths to bring a fractured solar system together in peace and harmony against the destruction.

Such was a legend lost to times of the one destined to defeat the destruction and rise as a new Aeon, Akivilli.

Stelleron Hunter MC!

Katara! Kafka & Stelleron Hunters release the receptacle Akivilli like the boy in the ice (could be march in her six phased ice now I think about it lol.

“However, I believe Akivilli would come again and so you have….” smiled Kafka warmly at Stell

Stelle, the receptacle awaken from the stars by Stelleron hunters….who are now good guys trying to protect the Steller on.

However, for now she was grey haired raccoon sticking her nose in a belabog trash can

“ I believe akivilli will come back and although they are great they have a lot to learn “ Kafka mused as in the background said hero was rummaging around in the cold of belabog.

“You sure about that?” Skeptically Silver wolf squinted at the silver haired Stelleron holder scruffy and blinking innocently as she was caught hand halfway through a silver trashcan.

“Is that the so called hero that will save us all” deadpanned Blade as he solemnly pointed to Stelle rooting in the trashcan,

“Perhaps…we need a restart “pondered Kafka hand tucked under chin elegantly unperturbed as the other two wrinkled their noses in disgust.

Hence how Stelle got dropped instead with the astral express lol…..

Synopsis: The planets Instead of helping Stelle she is hunted as the Stelleron holder with the Stelleron hunters. everyone thinking they have some master evil plan but in Stelles newborn eyes the hunters are trying to save the universe from Nanook, the destruction which pretty canon compliant except she with stelleron hunter crew not astral express which may be hunting them down as in this AU Aeons are the enemies due to Nanook destructive influence and are also hunted down for the power granted to those that walk thir paths after de

Star mates concept? Emanators and Belabog protecting last qlipoth emanater Gepard. There used to be many but wiped out by those who sought the paths power Stelle the last akivili emanater?

AVATER the LAST AIRBENDER Influences.

2. High Cloud Quintet/Quartet Ruling Loufu & Hunting down Akivilli!/Avater! Stelle

Imagine: if High Cloud Quartet still together and ruling Loufu hunting the Stelleorn hunters for some reason lol probably stole their stelleron from the past harbors Blade as an exile who wnet against their plans of hunting down Aeons for their path to be granted power if they succeeded in killing them

dan heng latter joins express crew he got together to hunt down the stelleron maybe?

Sky pirate exiled prince Zuko Dan Heng as dragon prince /high elder imbiber lunae & High Quintet Crew Hunting down the Stelleron

“I need to regain my honor as high elder and the trust of the loufu again by hunting down the stelleron” rigidly said Dan Heng as he looked off the starskiff.

“It’s been a thousand years they must be master of all the elements and paths by now.

“However, you too have thousands of lifetimes to rely on” Jing yuan rumbled beside him sipping tea at the chessboard while a bird chirped on his shoulder

“Don’t be hasty and strike carefully “ Jing Liu warned as she readied her sword in a spar as they clashed swords.

“Make sure to gather a good crew! That essential for a voyage among the stars” cheered Baiheng, a former foxian star skiff pilot. She a raised a sake cup in support from her seat as Jing Yuan’s chess opponent.

“Oh, are you offering yourself along for the journey“ inquired Dan Heng as his spear breok contact with jingliu bretaing eavy after the fight.

“We’ll sail to the stars for you anywhere” Jing Yuan promised as the group exchanged a look of understanding and solidarity only found among close groups of friends.

"Always” Solemnly with a nod, Jingliu took the proffered sake Cupp

Of course!” chimed in Baiheng brightly with a raised sake cup in toast. As the rest took a break from them spar to pick up their already filled cups and clink them together in solidarity

“Can I pilot the starskiff!” piped up Baiheng breaking the moment.

“No!” interjected them all panicked knowing Baihengs track record of crash landing onto planets with starskiffs.

Maybe high cloud quintet except blade together as pursuers high council of xianzhou enemies?

“The first to fall was long and from that the loufu gained geat power and so they began to hunt the abundance and Lan to gain more power from the fall of aeons. “ Kafka explained

Alt baiheng is bailu her reincarnation kinda like azula as dan fengs sister and next hgh elder but not crazy but perhaps plotting with alchemy commission to overthrow dan feng as high elder at worst

or just innocent cute sister Bailu with baiheng memories.

so the kid int the group who trie to sneak sake but they keep taking away her cup saying shes not physically old enough

Thing is no firelord equivalent…so council? Blinded by own success to see damage doing to other planets while pursuing path of hunt.

Believe longevity grant them authority as overseers of star to keep solar system in order

White lotus like trailblazers?

Antagonist! Xianzhou! Fire nation?

Due to long lived nature and blessing of long permeance they believe themselves superior to. The other paths so they seek to take over the solar system to drain resources of planet for their use as they exhausted their own

IPC -Earth nation big force against xianzhou but not much better some good some corrupt with their wall like ba sing se….but corporation may have shady dealing

Belobog-water nation- Example of a penal colony that turned to ice from resources being exploited

Some more World/background Context

Factions hunt down their aeons to prevent awakening/hunt them for their power maybe?

“the planet of your origin was destroyed in search of you” Elio the cat or kafka explains lining up to no more airbender lost memories

They formed a group called the stelleron hunter to hunt your the stelleron down to protect it white lotus style or maybe the trailblazer are and secretly trying to exploit the Stelleron for Elois own plans.

Long no longer exist but binzhou & vidyhydra most long lived & powerful example such hunting aeon to death granted them more power and soon other factions followed suit.

Blade exiled trying to die save long during the purge of aeons

aided by Dan Feng which Dan Heng regrets ?

Molting rebirth Dan Heng raised to believe past self a betrayer but fell for their bullshit stayed on xianzhou as new high elder maybe but discover trurh about past later turn on them and joins stelle & stelleron hunters.

Dan Feng/Heng exiled due to edict but allowed to return if he bring back stelleron/suspected aeon

Trailblazers Eventually you will need to face Nanook the destruction, but we are here to help you prepare for that. Kafka explained tilting Stelle’s chin up

Maybe march idrila another hidden aeon on join forces with trailblazer later on

Xianzhou also under nannok inf;uence home base took over?

Switch astral express crew with stelleron hunters? Lol

Likes some enemy navel military force lol like starskiff captains and gunners

Defy fate and prophecy to be more than the cure for destruction but her own quirky crazy self.

Stelle, Stelleron of Akivilli

The stars sing in her blood of the many paths she can take and of the fate foretold.

Of the many lives she’d lived, and elements she’d wielded over her many reincarnations and would once again.

In a sea of stars, she had found the one she wished to explore the sky with to trailblaze the many paths with.

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail imagines #imbibitor lunae #hsr blade #dan heng #honkai star rail x reader #genshin impact #hsr jing yuan #high cloud quintet #atla crossover #avatar the last Airbender x Honkai star rail #trash raccoon trailblazer #honkai star rail trailblazer #stelleron hunters #stelle honkai star rail #stelle x dan heng #stelle hsr #stelle

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fallout4-reacts · 18 days

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Companions (Any you want, but i do request Strong and X6) with a sole who has a mutation like a Big Horner's horns from FNV? Romance, smut if that's alright (I read the rules, but there wasn't much i could find against it) Please and thank you very much!

Woh...

It’s a very unusual request, at least—

Ok, it's true, I said I'll never do Strong in a romance, and I don't know what I worth in smut... but ... With a Big Horner's horns? How can I genuinely resist?

I can't

But I admit that I have a little difficulty with smut… I had only written one before

I do not know if I will meet your request… if you will like it

Also, I admit that I have trouble finding the right mind set to do this ask, and it also explains a little why I take so much time...

It’s a good request though…

Hope you enjoy reading

(Note that for this one I have suppress Codsworth and Dogmeat.......)

Part 1 - Cait/Curie/Danse/Deacon

Cait : At first glimpse, she shouted in terror when she saw Sole appear in the cage with their massive horns.

She was convinced she was dealing with an unknown species of Deathclaw, and despite her experience as a warrior, she didn't want to beat it with her bare hands.

However, they showed traits that were human.

And Cait's contract was passed on to them.

Cait had a long time to get acclimated to Sole, but she eventually grew fond of her companionship.

In all honesty, she would like to take things farther.

Much farther.

Cait frequently dreams about this large, curved horns.

Cait doesn't like to crave without getting.

Her best approach is to attack, so she basically throws herself at Sole one evening when they make up camp in a reasonably well-protected attic.

Sole actually backs up and attempts to get ride of the young woman, but clearly doesn't want to harm her. Once they manages to mobilize her on the mattress, they expresses their astonishment.

"What's wrong with you?"

"These horns! It's really sexy! I want you to take me, and I want to ride you like a beast."

To say Sole is surprised is an understatement given how unexpectedly Cait threw them out of the blue.

"God, you're even more insane than I expected. So, yes, I am flattered, but I am not a beast. Two, there are many other ways to flirt."

"Name me others!"

"Candlelight supper?"

"How will a candlelight supper give me a good fuck?"

"OK, that's enough. You stay here tonight, I'm going on a walk, and I'll free you tomorrow morning."

Cait realizes she has entirely lost the game, and despite her high on psycho, she falls very steeply on earth.

"I'm sorry," she says sadly.

Sole hesitates with their hand on the doorknob, head between their shoulders.

"Look, Cait, we can talk about this again tomorrow morning with a cool head."

"I really acted like a fool, and I screwed up my only chance of being with the one good person I met in my life!"

Sole lets out a long, deep sigh before turning to the young woman, who is still on her knees after falling on the floor mattress. They approach carefully and kneel before her.

"Let's just say you caught me completely off guard. We'll say you're quite cavalier. I'll admit that I reacted terribly.

"What difference does it make, explanations…"

Sole reaches out and gently touches Cait's cheek.

"I reacted quite poorly. I won't lie and say you're not an interesting woman. I've had, for myselft, maybe indecent thoughts on multiple occasions."

Cait looks up with a mixed expression. She seemed to be trying to understand, to find hope, yet skepticism dances in her eyes.

"Indecent?"

Sole smiles heartily.

"Very indecent…"

Cait raises her head slightly and looks into Sole's eyes.

"How indecent? Will you show me?"

Sole leans in and gently embraces Cait. Even though it is far from Cait's intended assault, she literally melts under the kiss. Her hands come to rest on Sole's shoulders, then one gently rises down their neck, cheek, and eventually hangs one of these unique features that tickles her so much. She heaved a shacking sigh.

Sole doesn't waste any more time on their side, passing an arm behind the young warrior to lie her on her back, caressing her chest.

"I'll show you," they finally reply, their voice raspy with desire.

Curie : The young synth's laughing once again warms Sole's heart. They can't help but be drawn to her fresh and pure personality. They slowly lean towards her at the table, pushing their dish slightly.

"And if not, you never thought of finding a company… in every sense of the word?"

"A company? You mean a companion?"

Sole smiles casually, allowing the young woman to draw her own judgments.

"You know, the only person I feel very deeply about…"

She pauses, blushing intensely as she glances down. Sole tilts their head sideways with curiosity.

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"I…indeed…someone very special."

"Danse?"

Curie busts out laughing once more, and Sole feels the last barriers to their heart melt, even if hearing what comes next may hurt them.

"Oh no! None of it! I'm talking about a very remarkable individual. So special that even nature couldn't help but give it a distinct appearance."

"Nick? I am not surprised. He's very charming."

Curie laughs a little more, feeling ashamed this time.

"No, a little more special."

Sole gazes around, amazed.

"I had no idea you had a super mutant affinity. But it's true that Strong is fascinating."

This time, Curie appears to be perched on thistles, writhing in all ways.

"Oh no, Sole. I'm referring to a close and exceptional person who helped me escape isolation and expand my horizons. I'm talking about a person whose life has graced adorable horns that raise a lot of questions but also attracts me."

Sole remains utterly silent in amazement. Even in his wildest hopes, they never imagined they'd be able to entice the synth. It's utterly crazy. Nonetheless, the bright expression on her face when she meets their gaze is undeniable.

"Despite my…difference…you don't feel rebuffed?"

"On the contrary, sweetheart, I am quite excited. Is that the term? I feel quite excited."

Sole's eyes widened with amazement. They would be lying if they pretended not to be excited.

"So…uh…"

They are looking for a way to go deeper, to express themselves more fully, but they are entirely out of words. Curie appears to be lost in her own boldness.

"I recommend exploring feasible possibilities. What do you think?"

"The…possibilities…"

Without further ado, Sole leans close to the young woman and kisses her passionately. She is unable to resist and prolongs the kiss with incredible ardour, sighing under the caresses that accompany the conquest.

Danse : Many thoughts pass through his mind. He attempts to take stock, but nothing comes to mind. His thoughts got entirely invaded by the succubus's naked body in front of him.

He shakes his head, attempting to dismiss the concept of the succubus. It's very disrespectful. Sole is not a demon who seeks his soul.

But the horns!

These horns sparked so many questions.

He fondles these exquisite horns carefully, lost in thought for a few moment.

But Sole delicately bites his neck, immediately bringing his thoughts back to the present moment. He shivers even more, pressing closer to the seductive creature's flawless form.

“Oh Danse,” wimps his friend, who writhes beneath his hands.

"Sole, you are so…perfect."

His hands let go of the magnificent mutation for a time, allowing them to focus on their lover's beautiful curves and chiselled musculature.

“Perfectly horrible," they say with a small recoil, feeling self-conscious.

Danse doesn't let them fall back into their unhealthy doubts, suffocating their words with a passionate kiss as he gently descends his hands into the intimacy that opens up to him.

"Horrible is what we've gone through. You are wonderful."

Sole moans once again as two fingers of Danse are inserted into the most sensitive part of their body, causing them to bow their back in response to their bestial wants.

"Hmm…take me, oh beautiful Paladin."

"No more Paladin at all, but knight at your service, my love."

Sole's gaze is fixed on his own, and Danse feels his lover literally melt in his arms. He slowly turns them on their backs, kissing them on the neck, shoulder, back, and hollow back.

He continues to softly caress Sole's buttocks, which are round and lovely.

"I'm so glad I didn't succumb to my horrible preconceptions the day we met," the fallen Paladin softly whispers. "I would have made the biggest mistake of my life."

He slowly penetrates his lover, allowing time for the other's body to adjust to his member.

“A deadly mistake,” chuckles Sole, but their laughter turns into panting as Danse penetrate them, skimming to find the most comfortable posture.

"Indeed."

Danse immediately grasps Sole's two horns in his hands, leading the charge with renewed fervour, to which his lover's groans reply in bliss.

He can't help but moan with ecstasy as he feels the intimate walls close in on his sex, leaving him panting even before his companion delivers the first jolts.

When they eventually lie down beside each other, breathless, Danse is unable to hold back a wide smile.

"Indeed…"

Deacon : Sole has no way to control their laughter. Deacon fainted from being insulted.

"For someone who has horns on their head, I think you're pretty cheeky."

Sole is taken aback for a moment, wondering if Deacon is joking or genuinely offended. For any response, they just clutch the amazing tail hanging from the agent's lower back.

"You haven't found anything better? But God, it's a true one!"

"My mother was a Deathclaw and my father was a gossip."

Sole laughs so hard this time that their tummy hurts.

"You had a tail surgically placed just to get me in your bed?"

Deacon appears increasingly disappointed as he picks up his tail from Sole. Obviously, he lacks the nerve to control her. However, his falsely insulted expression is funny.

"We do not mock the attributes of others!"

"Come on, my little spy, come here. A guy who can be sliced up for flirting must have some in his pants, and I want to see it for myself."

"My mother should be turning in her grave…"

"Deathclaws have graves?"

"This one, yes."

Sole begins to question whether Deacon is kidding or serious. But somehow, this whole situation is quite thrilling.

"So come and show me what else your mother left you…"

"My other tail, it's from my dad."

"You're insane, but I love it."

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butwhatifidothis · 8 months

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Do you think it'd be in character for Claude to fake an alliance with Edgey in GW Pt 2 so that he could undermine her while seeking an alliance with the Kingdom behind her back? I mean, that way, he could ask Rhea directly about what Edgey told him instead of blindly believing her.

It would be more in character, but not as much as it looks at first.

Because yes, Claude is very familiar with not exactly telling the truth, and he is also familiar with working around people who inherently distrust him. And something somewhat like this kinda happens in 3H, with Erwin - Claude has Nader create a distraction for the army to pass through Gloucester territory to Myrddin so that Erwin's forces don't intercept them (he does this in all the routes in fact, save for of course CF). So it's not like he isn't capable of some form of trickery, even when it comes to people he considers allies.

What becomes an issue though is that those sort of trickery means are mostly used for last-resort, fairly specific situations - Plan A wasn't to make Erwin think his lands are being attacked, it was the only option Claude had available due to the very landscape of Leicester necessitating going through Gloucester territory, and due to Erwin's stubbornness about aligning with the Empire (whether or not those reasons were self-serving or for self-preservation). Again, with Myrddin we see that he's willing to openly help the Kingdom/Church, despite the act of doing so breaking any neutrality the Alliance could have held onto. Communication with Erwin had already failed (due to, again, his stubbornness to align with the Empire), but Claude also explicitly says that he doesn't want to engage in actual combat with House Gloucester, so lies were the only way to go forward.

With the Empire, however, there was never any worry about engaging in combat with them - they invaded his lands, and he fought back. If Edelgard had started with negotiations with Claude first, that'd be one thing - if there was an attempt at an assurance for peace from Edelgard's end to start everything off, it'd make the idea of him joining her to betray her later have some ground to stand on logically. But with him doing absolutely nothing to provoke her she attacks his lands, which has two reasons for her doing so in specifically Claude's mind: taking Garreg Mach to use as a base, and getting rid of the Alliance and Kingdom at the same time.

To the first reason: while Garreg Mach is a good base, it's arguable that having to defeat the Alliance on top of fighting the Kingdom for it makes taking the base moot to begin with. Even for the symbolic nature of it, since Rhea has already been booted out at this point. The trouble would be more than its worth, essentially. And the second reason is... fairly obvious as to why that isn't gonna work out lmao.

Then there's also also the fact that Claude was handling the Empire pretty damn well - he is a young leader and is tricksty in his antics which means skepticism from his more experienced peers, the Alliance is known for its weaker military strength, and he had to deal with Shahid looming over his head, yet Claude still manages to hold off the Empire pretty effectively. So with Edelgard invading Claude's lands off rip and his shown proficiency at fighting back against her without much non-Alliance help, there's no benefit to siding with her, even falsely - none that would outweigh the benefits of siding with a party that has given him no misgivings, in any case. She's not a force that is too big to take on from the outside and so needs to be taken out from the inside, so going through the effort of getting inside is meaningless.

So, would falsely siding with Edelgard while secretly siding with the Kingdom be more in character? It certainly can be, if one plays the cards right. But given how Claude's handling of the Empire and Edelgard's actions against the Alliance are written, it'd be far more in character for him to just side with the Kingdom outright at that point

#ask #anon #clyde discourse #like at that point it's better to just cut the fat #there's no pretense of neutrality from Claude; he's already fought back against her #there's no pretense of peace from EdeIgard; she's already invaded his lands #the Empire is not an impossible force; Claude is dealing with them extraordinarily well given his circumstances #the Kingdom isn't a potential threat to Claude; it has done nothing to garner any attention (positive or negative) from the Alliance #and if the biggest issue was the Church/Rhea then Claude can just. snoop around? to find shit out? like he always did in 3H?#(hell with the war going on he - as leader of the Alliance - is the only one with fairly safe access to the ONLY SAFE WAY into Garreg Mach)#(so he could literally just like. have spies get in and snoop around? or even walk in himself if there's no one there? like hello)#and not side with the girly trying to kill him and who is responsible for the deaths of many of his people. just a thought #so there's nothing to really gain from pretending to side with Edelgard that couldn't be found in allying with the Kingdom

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 3 months

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By: Benjamin Radford

Published: Jan 19, 2024

A few years ago I was asked by an author to review his book, and it contained a discussion of the pyramids at Ghiza. I gave him the following feedback:

“You have a big red herring argument at the bottom of p. 36: ‘not a single group has been able to successfully erect even a scaled-down’ pyramid…. ‘even the skeptical community should be able to build an exact replica…’ This is seriously flawed reasoning, and you repeat this error four or five times. The burden of proof is on those making the extraordinary claim (‘aliens did it’) not the ordinary claim (‘ancient Egyptians did it).’ By your logic, geologists who counter creationist claims about the Grand Canyon would have to spend billions of dollars divert a river over a plain to prove that it was created over millennia by water erosion instead of created that way by God some 4,000 years ago.”

I added that researchers in fact have a pretty good idea of how the pyramids were built. The fact that none of them have (or have tried to) build a replica of the Great Pyramids doesn’t logically mean they are wrong.

[ The author deciding whether or not to build a full-scale replica of the Great Pyramids. ]

The idea of replicating a controversial event or project to test its validity sounds simple in theory. For example some people claim that the Egyptian pyramids were made (or designed) by aliens or ancient astronauts. The (ahistorical) assumption is that people at the time didn’t have the intelligence or technology to move the stones and build a pyramid shape.

Since the pyramids were built around 2560 BC there are no photographs or depictions of them being created, though in 2015 papyrus records were found of pyramid construction tools, and legions of pyramid builders’ graves were found in 2010, for example. Egyptologists have a pretty good idea of where the rocks were quarried and how they were cut and moved, but doubters are fond of noting that scientists have never actually replicated the pyramids. They claim that skeptics or scientists must build an entire pyramid to prove how it could have been done, using materials and tools of that era.

This seems like a reasonable challenge until you realize why such an effort would never be done—not because it can’t be done but because it would be impractical. Duplicating the great Ghiza pyramid would take many years and cost tens of millions of dollars. Who’s going to pay for it? It would also be pointless, since such a replication experiment would not be valid unless you used tens of thousands of workers (estimate range from 15,000 to 40,000) and spent a decade or more building it (as the original did). If some eccentric billionaire wants to fund it he or she should feel free, but scientists recognize it as an enormous cost and effort just to disprove some wild theories about aliens—which it wouldn’t do anyway.

Replicating 9/11

A similarly misguided idea got notoriety in May 2015 when a man named Paul Salo launched a crowdfunding project which, he claimed, would prove once and for all whether the conspiracy theories about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are true or not. On his Indiegogo campaign Salo wrote: “Many people want to know more about 9-11. We are like a Mythbusters for September 11th. It’s an important project for many reasons. Many people doubt various details of 9-11. As the world has changed our trust in government and media has declined significantly. We want to see for ourselves. We don’t need people to guide our thinking. In this project we will recreate 9-11 to the best of our ability given the funds raised. Our ultimate goal is a fully loaded 767 and a similar structure to the WTC. We will crash the fully loaded (with fuel) plane (complete with black box) into the building using autopilot at 500 MPH.”

Salo aimed to test the widely-challenged (in conspiracy circles anyway) claim that jet fuel can burn hot enough to sufficiently weaken a building’s steel structure that it collapses—instead of, for example, the Twin Towers coming down due to hidden explosives. While Salo’s scheme to duplicate the Twin Towers attack had a simple and populist appeal, actually pulling it off as a valid scientific experiment would be incredibly difficult and expensive, if not impossible. For a real science experiment you need to control for variables that could affect the results; in this case there are many variables including size and weight of the plane, the building type, and so on.

Salo promised that “You will be able to see for yourself what happens under these extreme circumstances. I’m not sure which country we will purchase the aircraft and building but it doesn’t really matter much.” Actually Salo would find when talking to engineers that it matters greatly where the building is, since building codes vary wildly by country and region. Buildings in earthquake-prone regions are built differently (and able to sustain greater structural damage without collapsing) than those built elsewhere. Variations in construction materials will also complicate comparisons. Each building’s architecture is different, and will not necessarily react the same way to the same structural damage. In order for the experiment to be valid, he would need to build an exact replica of the Twin Towers; not just any tall building will do, since the load-bearing structures vary from building to building.

He planned to “recreate as best as we can” the circumstances of the World Trade Center attacks. The problem is that “as best as we [that is, he] can” would leave an enormous margin of error, one so big as to make any results invalid and pointless. His results, should he have pulled it off, would be dramatic and sensational but hold no evidentiary value at all.

As with many such replications, Salo’s experiment would in fact be pointless and inconclusive no matter its outcome: If the building collapsed exactly as happened on September 11, conspiracy theorists would argue—correctly—that the conditions weren’t exactly the same as in the original building collapse. If the building collapses differently, that won’t prove anything either, for the same reason. Neither anyone questioning or defending the “official story” will accept his conclusions and admit they were wrong. Salo’s grand scheme went nowhere.

Bigfoot’s Famous Film

I’ve heard some version of this question dozens of times during my career as a monster investigator. Though I’ve investigated the best photographic evidence for several mysterious creatures—most prominently the 1977 photograph of the Champ lake monster, as seen in the articles Joe Nickell and I wrote in the July/August 2003 issue of Skeptical Inquirer and in our book Lake Monster Mysteries—I hadn’t done an in-depth investigation into the famous 1967 footage taken in Bluff Creek, California, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin (P/G). The film is said to show a female Bigfoot (dubbed Patty) walking across a riverbed.

The film has been the subject of controversy and debate for half a century, and is routinely cited as the gold standard for Bigfoot footage (even some fifty-five years later, which is deeply suspicious given the ubiquity of high-quality smartphone cameras since then). Though the footage is blurry, one thing is clear: it’s either a hoax or a Bigfoot. Skeptics have offered damning analyses, both of Patterson and the murky circumstances under which the film was created and developed; see for example Greg Long’s The Making of Bigfoot and Daniel Loxton and Donald Prothero’s Abominable Science. Bigfoot believers offer a variety of responses, many of which wrongly place the burden of proof on skeptics, such as “If it’s a guy in a suit, where is the suit?” and “If it’s faked, why can’t anyone re-create the film using materials available in 1967?”

The alleged failure of the film to be recreated by researchers has long been a popular talking point among Bigfoot believers. A few examples will suffice; a fellow named Scott Renchin, in replying to a Skeptoid YouTube video about the P/G film, wrote in January 2022 that “A real skeptic would prove the film is a hoax by recreating the film using techniques and materials used to create the alleged hoax footage… the BBC did this already and failed miserably.” This same BBC show was also directed to me by noted cryptozoologist Ken Gerhard and others.

Film Replication Claims

The literature on this just-under-one minute film is both voluminous and contentious and there’s a lot to unpack. I’ll begin by noting that my focus is not on Bigfoot’s existence generally, nor even on the authenticity of the film specifically. Over and over when seeking information on this topic, respondents invariably went off topic and dove into why the film is obviously a hoax—or just as obviously authentic. Instead my topic is very specific, and simple: Who, specifically, has actually tried to replicate the film itself, using what equipment, and when? What documentation do we have of sincere, dedicated efforts by knowledgeable experts to create footage that matches the P/G image?

Researchers have tried to recreate the movement of the subject in the film. My colleague Dave Daegling, for example conducted a detailed analysis of the P/G film in his book Bigfoot Exposed and explored the question of whether a human could walk like the creature in the film. He determined that—like the creature’s size and speed which are well within human limitations—it is certainly possible for a person to walk the way it does using what’s called a compliant gait. It’s not the most comfortable method of locomotion for a human, but it’s easy to adopt with a bit of practice and doesn’t rule out a person in a suit.

It was certainly possible to create a realistic costume like that seen in the film in 1967. Planet of the Apes, for example, was released the following year, albeit with the help of professional makeup and costumers.

Those resources would not have been available to Patterson and Gimlin, though Planet of the Apes required close-ups of the actors including faces in sharp focus, whereas the P/G footage is at a great distance, out of focus, blurry, and unstable—all factors that (intentionally or otherwise) obscure details, thwart analysis, and facilitate fakery. The out of focus background actors in ape costumes are a very close match for “Patty.” Hollywood special effects experts including Stan Winston, when asked about the footage, have declared the footage bogus and said that what’s seen in the film would certainly have been possible in the 1960s. In fact a fairly realistic gorilla costume appeared in the film Are You With It?—from 1948, nearly two decades before Patterson and Gimlin set out to film a Bigfoot.

[ Film still from 1948’s “Are You With It?” ]

Instead the question is about replication of the film itself, which is a far more challenging and expensive task, and would require not only the original equipment but a reasonably similar costume, gait, location, environment, and so on.

Where’s Bigfoot (Recreations)?

Alleged films trying to replicate the P/G footage turned out to be nearly as elusive as Bigfoot itself. I found a handful of videos of television shows attempting (usually lightheartedly) to make their own Bigfoot films, while not making any serious attempt to replicate the P/G film per se. For example one show, Evening Magazine, described their half-baked, tongue-in-cheek stab at it in 2005: “We wondered what it would look like if we tried to make a Bigfoot film of our own… We picked up a gorilla suit at Champion Party Supply and made no modifications to it. We used a 16 mm film camera, roughly like the one Patterson used.”

In my questioning of Bigfoot proponents I was often assured that many (or at least “several”) attempts had been made to replicate the film, but when pressed to name one, the BBC show was prominently mentioned (often accompanied by chiding about how I should do better research). Searching for something more substantive and scientific, I reached out to Daniel Perez, a respected Bigfoot researcher and publisher of Bigfoot Times newsletter, to ask if he was aware of any attempts to replicate the film. He kindly provided a list of references to material about the film. Of those, about a half dozen were television shows, and of those only two mentioned any replication or recreation. The first was a 2007 Discovery Channel show titled Best Evidence: Bigfoot which Perez notes “covers the attempted replication of the movements seen in the P-G film” (emphasis added). As noted, this is not the question at hand and in any event if anything casts doubt on the film’s authenticity.

The second was to a 1998 BBC show titled The X-Creatures: Shooting The Bigfoot (available on YouTube under the title The X Creatures Bigfoot and Yeti); see stills below. Of this episode, Perez notes that “The show attempts to recreate the P-G film but certainly appears to fail miserably.” I reviewed the episode a dozen times, and here’s exactly how the narrator describes the attempt (at the 20 minute mark): “Using the same distances recorded at Bluff Creek, the same camera and lens, and an amateur operator, it’s possible to exactly recreate the action of 1967.”

To be clear: The show at no point claims to recreate the Patterson/Gimlin film itself; instead it’s an attempt at recreating the action depicted in the film, which is a very different matter. Accident and crime reconstruction analysts recreate actions all the time, using anything from toy cars to computer animation. It’s a fairly straightforward process that does not require replicating all the relevant conditions at play when an event occurred. Even when an accident or crime is recorded on video, the investigators need not recreate the video itself, just the actions of people and objects seen in the video.

The goal of the X-Creatures show was to determine how plausible Patterson and Gimlin’s claims are using only two criteria: the reported distance, and the original camera and lens. That’s it. The show makes this crystal clear: “The most important revelation… is how close Roger and Bob were to the creature; they were right on top of it, which makes the behavior even less natural. It walked away, utterly unconcerned… At this distance, with this lens, you’re certain to get the creature in the frame—unless you artificially wobble the camera.”

There was no attempt at replicating the original film. Nor, for that matter, was there any attempt at duplicating the costume, which would be necessary for recreating the film. We can plainly see that the hair color is wrong, the hair length is wrong, the size is wrong, the musculature is wrong, and the feet they used looks nothing like what could possibly have made the tracks allegedly found at the site. The angle to the creature is wrong, the terrain is wrong, and so on.

I still have not found a single film or video attempt at recreating the Patterson/Gimlin film using period equipment, the correct location, a credible costume, and other important criteria. Defenders of the P/G film can’t have it both ways, disingenuously arguing on one hand that this BBC show was the best filmmaking expertise made to replicate the film while smugly noting that it was an obvious failure because it looks nothing like the original.

With Bigfoot proponents unable to identify a single attempted film recreation, I tried a different approach and asked Craig Scott Lamb, a filmmaker, film historian, and administrator of the Ape Suit Cinema, a Facebook group dedicated to filmed ape costumes. Lamb replied, “I know of no actual attempts by special FX professionals to replicate what was seen in the Patterson film. However considering the cost of a pro ape suit I can certainly understand the lack of motivation… In other words who’s going to foot the bill?”

Lamb’s question is as enlightening as his answer: No special effects experts he’s aware of have even tried to replicate the P/G costume—much less in service of a failed attempt to replicate the film itself— but he’s exactly correct about one of the key impediments to replication. Whether the Patterson/Gimlin film is real or not, the fact that no one has tried to replicate it is irrelevant to its authenticity.

More importantly, the Bigfoot community has the logic exactly backwards: the question is not why no one has replicated the film if it’s a hoax, but instead why no one has replicated the film if it’s real. In other words (regardless of the film’s authenticity) why does the best Bigfoot footage date back to the Lyndon Johnson administration and the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band?

This poses a serious blow to the film’s credibility: these Bigfoot creatures are really out there wandering in front of eyewitnesses with cameras, why haven’t better films and videos emerged in the past fifty-six years? Both still and video cameras have become much higher quality and much cheaper over the past decades. It used to be that quality cameras were needed to take high-quality photographs; anyone could take a blurry Disneyland vacation photo with a pocket camera, but to get clear, sharp shots you often needed a more expensive camera and lens.

These days most people have a twelve megapixel high-definition camera in their pocket smartphones, which provide stabilizing, zoom, and other features that would have been the envy of Hollywood only a decade ago. At no time in history have so many people had high-quality cameras on them virtually all the time. If Bigfoot, Nessie, and the chupacabra exist, logically the photographic evidence for them should improve significantly over the years. Yet it hasn’t. Photographs of people, cars, mountains, flowers, sunsets, deer, and literally everything else in the world have gotten sharper and clearer over the years. The only exceptions are things never proven real, such Bigfoot, ghosts, and UFOs.

It’s true that replicating the P/G film would be difficult and expensive, but this has nothing to do with the content of the film. To use a simple analogy, period Hollywood films are notoriously expensive for the simple reason that to make them look authentic the production designers must locate era-appropriate props, costumes, and more. A film set in the early 1900s, for example, may need vintage vehicles, clothing, telephones, and so on. These can be rented from prop shops, but still require much more effort and cost to secure than would ordinary objects of today.

If someone did spend considerable time and effort to create a convincing costume and setting, that would not serve to silence the critics but bolster them; the response would not be, “Yes, you’re right, it can be credibly duplicated” but instead, “Yes, but see how much money you had to spend! Patterson and Gimlin didn’t have these resources, so it couldn’t have been faked!”

Replication in Investigation

Replication can certainly play an important role in skeptical investigation, though recreating the circumstances surrounding an “unexplained” event is far more crucial than necessarily duplicating or replicating a given sighting, photograph, or video.

It’s actually quite easy to capture a photographic image that cannot be replicated in every detail. A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of a split-second moment in time (depending, of course, on how long the exposure is) in a constantly changing environment. Replicating some photos is easy—a close-up of a shiny penny in fixed studio lighting, for example. But outdoor photographs, or those of urban settings, can be difficult or impossible to exactly replicate in every detail—which is the standard often demanded. Clouds come and go by the hour (sometimes by the minute); leaves move position in even a slight wind.

Keep in mind that a full and true replication may require the original people or objects, under the exact same conditions. Depending on what part of the image is under scrutiny (a dark manlike patch in shady wooded area, a face seen in a ghost image, or an odd light in the sky) the image may look different. Sunlight reflection off a gleaming polished fender of a 1958 Corvette, for example, might potentially help explain a mysterious light or image. Substituting a 1984 Honda or a 2012 Ford in a replication photograph may not get the same results.

A close-up photograph of an egg taken in 1950 might look identical to one taken with the same camera and lighting as one taken a century later in 2050. But in most cases a landscape photo will be difficult or impossible to exactly replicate 100 years later. But more importantly, the task of recreating the film, as a practical matter, is enormously difficult under the best of circumstances. We can begin with the terrain, which like all other natural habitats, has of course changed significantly in the past fifty-five years. Consider all the environmental factors at play: Trees die and fall, rivers and streams move, and so on.

I’ve done replication in some of my investigations, including for the Santa Fe Courthouse Ghost, Sandra Mansi’s photograph of the Lake Champlain monster, and so on. But I’m always careful to include qualifiers and not claim to have duplicated anything exactly, but merely as best I can under the circumstances. Claims about how skeptics can’t (or won’t) duplicate things such as the Patterson/Gimlin Bigfoot film, or the pyramids, or anything else are spurious red herrings.

The question has broader implications for investigative skepticism. In many cases, using the principle of Occam’s Razor, replication should be enough to demonstrate that an extraordinary claim is indeed unlikely to be true. For example self-described psychic-turned-“entertainment artist” Uri Geller rose to international prominence in the 1970s and 1980s performing various acts which could be—and have been—duplicated by professional magicians, perhaps most notably the late Amazing Randi. This does not of course provide conclusive proof that Geller was simply a skilled magician instead of a psychic, which is after all impossible to prove. It does, however, give critical thinkers a logical, rational, science-based reason to doubt the claims.

Science is based on comparisons—between control groups and experimental groups, for example. By controlling variables and comparing two groups of people or situations, scientists can tease out what factors are at play. The key here is the variables under control. A photograph, film, or video represents a fixed—and usually very short—moment in time. With the exception of long exposures, most photos are a two-dimensional representation of what was in front of a lens for a fraction of a second. We can’t see what happened just before or after the shutter opened. The P/G film, which is after all just a series of photographs when speeded up give the illusion of movement, is just under a minute long, and one reason it’s suspect is that we don’t see the figure coming into or exiting the frame.

For more on the topic of science and replication see my Skeptical Inquirer article “Skepticism and Pseudoexperiments” in the September/October 2020 issue.

Data Replication

Though I’ve focused here mostly on photographic replication, there are other aspects worth mentioning. The issue of replication in science is pretty straightforward: It’s essential for establishing the validity on an experiment. Because well-controlled studies are difficult to design and carry out, there is always the chance that a given outcome will be the result of random chance, experimenter bias, or any number of other factors. If a result is true and valid, then any other researchers following identical procedures should, in theory, get similar result—though, it should be noted, they may not necessarily interpret the results in the same way.

Replication is such an issue in science that the inability to replicate results has garnered significant attention. BBC News reported that “Concern over the reliability of the results published in scientific literature has been growing for some time. According to a survey published in the journal Nature more than 70% of researchers have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist’s experiments.” Skeptical investigation sometimes involves designing experiments and scientific protocols, for example when testing dowsers, psychics, and others (see, for example, “Testing Natasha” by Ray Hyman in the May/June 2005 SI and Jim Underdown’s work with the Los Angeles-based Independent Investigations Group).

Depending on what’s being measured, replication can be difficult under the best of circumstances. If you’re trying to replicate a population study it’s important to look at the statistical methodology to be sure a representative sample was used; slight variations in the underlying populations can introduce confounders and thus create spurious (Type I and Type II) errors, suggesting that an experiment has not been replicated when in fact it has, or vice-versa.

Whether the topic is a famous Bigfoot film, 9/11 attacks, pyramids in Egypt, psychic powers, or anything else, the oft-heard complaint that something can’t be—or hasn’t been—duplicated or replicated is often a red herring. Despite its strong anti-elitist and populist appeal, the claim demonstrates a fundamental lack of knowledge about control groups and science in general.

#skepticism #scepticism #science #replication #Benjamin Radford #skeptic #sceptic #sceptical investigation #skeptical investigation #bigfood #pyramids of giza #pyramids of ghiza #9/11 #September 11 #world trade center #9/11 attacks #science experiments #what science is #religion is a mental illness

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bedeliainwonderland · 11 months

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I'm having evil Bedannibal AU ideas again. 😋

Bedelia was never Hannibal's therapist. She was/is a very well-respected psychiatrist who regularly contributed articles to the professional and scientific journals, and who gave guest lectures at different universities, and at Quantico.

All that is widely known in psychiatric circles. What is not generally known is that she also did profiling work for Jack Crawford's Behavioral Sciences Unit. (Bedelia insisted on keeping her involvement as secret as possible because she does not want public attention.) It started as a one time thing, but quickly became a regular job when it became apparent that she had a unique gift for this work and often saw things that the FBI's regular profilers couldn't see.

That work ends after Bedelia is attacked by a violent patient and that patient ends up dead. Traumatized by the events, she decides to retire. Jack Crawford tries to get her to continue working with him, but she makes it clear to him that this is out of the question, telling him she is compromised due to what happened to her. (Of course, all is not what it seems with this incident, and Bedelia's reasons for stopping work with the FBI are more complex than the ones she claims.)

Jack casts around for a replacement, and finally settles on Will Graham. This seems a good choice at first, even if Will's approach to the work is completely different from Bedelia's. But he gets results much like she did. However, Will is clearly unstable, and even with the help of Dr. Hannibal Lecter soon spirals out of control.

Once Will is locked up at the BSHCI, under strong suspicion of having murdered Abigail Hobbs and potentially a number of other people, Jack is once again in the position of needing a new profiler. So he decides to approach Dr. du Maurier again and persuade her to come back.

Bedelia refuses at first, but Jack is desperate, and when it becomes clear he will not take no for an answer and may start digging into what happened to her, she very reluctantly agrees to give it a try.

Given her trauma, Jack insists on having Hannibal assist her. Hannibal is not happy to hear that Jack is choosing to replace Will Graham so swiftly, especially since Jack is cagey about the identity and qualifications of the new profiler. Realizing that this could be a problem, Jack finally decides to take Hannibal into his confidence and reveal not just who will be taking over for Will, but also that Dr. du Maurier was in fact his original choice for the job, and Will was the replacement.

Hannibal is intrigued and delighted. He knows Dr. du Maurier by reputation, of course, and has long admired her from afar. Now it seems he will finally get a chance to get to know her.

Hello! Thank you for sending me this!!! I’ve been climbing the walls the last few days, just dying to talk about them.

This is such a fun idea!! So much potential. Firstly, it puts their relationship up front (which is what the show should have done at one point…) which is always my favourite. But their dynamic is completely different from the beginning because Hannibal is not Bedelia’s patient. Obviously, he meets her and is instantly infatuated (there is no other way) but she would be understandingly skeptical and wary of him. He instantly sees there is more to her than meets the eye and they might be alike. But she is obviously so much more than his usual “pet projects”. He has admired her from afar and now he sees that she is everything he thought she would be and so much more. But he is not her patient and he does not have the luxury of meeting her on regular basis (and staying as long as it is needed for her to love him back) so he needs to figure out a different way of staying around her. Yes, there are the cases they could work on together but that is fleeting and besides, Bedelia sets a clear boundaries when it comes to working on those. She does not want to get in too deep. Plus there is the “trauma”… once Hannibal hears about her “attack”, he is beyond intrigued and even more interested in knowing everything about her. He knows right away there is more to it than what it was said officially. Call it his possible murder wife senses tingling (and he’s not wrong). But since he had nothing to do with the situation himself, Bedelia has no attachment to him and no reason to trust him with the truth. She keeps him at a distance and he wants to get closer to her in any and all ways. But it does not mean she’s not intrigued herself. She sees there is more to him than meets the eye and her own curiosity grows with each meeting.

#obsessed with them #thank you 🥰❤️#bedannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannibal au #asks

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thetombedspirit · 8 days

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I am on a streak of playing games I wanted to play for a while now, cuz I just finished my first playthrough of Hogwarts Legacy!

And I had a blast with it! And of course I'm gonna play it again as a different house eventually, but in the mean time, I wanted to show you the MC I created for the game, based on my house, wand type and the backstory I made for her.

Meet Mackenzie Crowley

You may have guessed by the colour scheme I got going on here, but she's a Hufflepuff. She’s a Muggleborn, born and raised in an orphanage after the horrible murder of her parents: British prison guard Edward Crowley and Irish nurse Marie. Her only remaining possessions she has of her family are her father's signature flatcap and her mother's heirloom ring that she wears around her neck. She will only take off the hat to go to bed or if instructed to by professors. She is an only child and is quite protective of those she considers family.

Her wand is of yew wood with a Phoenix core. 12 1/2" in length and slightly springy in flexibility. She is a fierce protector of others and is not afraid to get rough when her friends are in danger.

She's loyal to a fault, almost frustratingly so, as she often finds herself torn in her loyalties between friends unless given very good reason to.

She has a passion for Beasts and Transfiguration magic. She is always on the look out for a creature in need and is prepared to dive in when they are under threat by poachers. When confronted with large groups of enemies, like goblins and poachers, she usually resorts to transfiguration, transforming enemies into explosive barrels and hurling them at their comrades. She will otherwise use accio, confringo and the disillusionment charm. When confronted with larger enemies like trolls and bigger acromantulas, she uses descendo and flipendo respectively, as well as more damage oriented spells, has as diffindo, bombarda, and glacio, in order to slow them down.

Natty, Sebastian and Poppy are her best friends. Natty was the first to welcome her to Hogwarts and Mackenzie chose her to show her around Hogsmeade to gather her supplies. When the troll attacked and Rookwood threatened her, Natty immediately jumped to her defense and she was the first person Mackenzie told about her confrontation with Ranrok. Though she was skeptical of Sebastian at first, concerning his affiliation with the Crossed Wands Club, she quickly grew to like him, especially as he showed her the Undercroft to teach her "unsanctioned" spells. Though she declines to learn the Unforgivable Curses, she tries to help Sebastian with his search for a cure as much as possible while also trying to deter him from his path to the Dark Arts. Mackenzie was the first person Poppy trusted with Highwing, and was quickly proven right to trust her when she rescued the Hippogriff from the poachers. They since always work together to set creatures free and fight the poachers back.

She loves all the creatures under her care, though the most special in her eyes are Caligo the Hippogriff, Sepulchria the Thestral and the Graphorn known as the Lord of the Shore (which she affectionately nicknames "Duke"). She rescued Caligo as well as Highwing with Natty from Harlow and his poachers and met Sepulchria when she ran away into the Forbidden Forest after a nervous breakdown. She earned Duke's respect when she bent the knee to him after fighting him in combat.

Outside her circle or friends, Mackenzie also has great relations with Ominis, Imelda, Garreth and Amit. She and Ominis got off on the wrong foot when Sebastian showed her to the Undercroft, but he has since come to trust her, especially as she continuously tries to encourage Sebastian away from the Dark Arts. Mackenzie brews her competitive nature in large thanks to Imelda while they tested new broom upgrades through her trials. Imedla fully expects her to join the Hufflepuff Quittich team when it comes back next year. Garreth likes Mackenzie, especially as she helps him get potion ingredients, though she does encourage him to brew his potions safely. She finds Amit's awkwardness oddly endearing and this makes her quite protective of him when it comes to bullies.

When she's outside Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, with the intention of crossing paths with poachers and goblins, she wears a disguise to keep her loved ones safe. The papers have come to calling her the "Avenging Wolf", on account to the wolf mask she wears to conceal her face. When Natty eventually finds out, she insists on joining her, taking on the mantle of the "Avenging Gazelle" (though the public mistakes her for a deer mask). Sebastian and Poppy quickly follow suit with masks of their own (raven and owl respectively).

She looks to professor Fig as a father and trusts his judgement greatly. When asked by him what Mackenzie will do with the repository hidden under Hogwarts, she tells him that she will keep it contain, and that she intends to eventually share the secret with those she trusts. After the battle under Hogwarts and Fig's untimely death, she later finds out through Professor Weasley that he intended to adopt her by the end of the year.

#hogwarts legacy #hufflepuff mc #natty onai #sebastian sallow #poppy sweeting #ominis gaunt #imelda reyes #garreth weasley #amit thakkar

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middle-earth-mythopoeia · 1 year

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Hello! I don't know if you've been asked this before, but what are your thoughts on Orodreth? Do you prefer him being the son of Finarfin or the son of Angrod? What do you think he was like as a ruler? Or as a father to Finduilas/Gil-Galad?

Hi! Thanks for the ask! :) Sorry it took me a while to get back to you!

I prefer Orodreth as the son of Angrod, since that was what Tolkien eventually settled on (even though it contradicts The Silmarillion). I just wish we had more details about his wife and his relationships with his children. So this is a really good ask!

The first thing that stands out to me about Orodreth is how much loss he experienced in a relatively short period of time. Angrod and Aegnor were killed in the Dagor Bragollach, and shortly afterward Sauron attacked Minas Tirith and Orodreth was forced to retreat to Nargothrond. (I assume that Eðellos lived with Angrod, so she most likely died in the Dagor Bragollach too. If so, then Orodreth lost both his parents at the same time.) At that point Finrod and Galadriel were his only surviving uncle and aunt (though she may have left Beleriand by this time). Then Finrod also gets killed by Sauron, leaving Orodreth to rule in his stead... Like many of the Noldor, he took on the burden of kingship while also dealing with personal grief.

In terms of how Orodreth was as a father, I think he would have been a loving parent who was very close to his children. I mostly base this on the fact that he lost so many members of his family, so I think he would have been very devoted to Gil-galad and Finduilas. In the version(s) of the story in The Lays of Beleriand, Orodreth is at first skeptical of Túrin when he comes to Nargothrond, but Finduilas speaks on his behalf and Orodreth listens to her, so he clearly valued her advice.

Also, if we assume that Gil-galad was Orodreth's son (which I do), he and Finduilas could have been with Orodreth at Minas Tirith. I don't know... it just lends a certain tragedy and weight to Gil-galad's eventual leading of the Last Alliance and his final stand against Sauron. Obviously all the Elves hated Sauron, but it's interesting to think that Gil-galad would have literally been driven from his home by Sauron when he was fairly young.

Orodreth's wife is never named and or even mentioned, which feels very conspicuous in The Lays of Beleriand because the story is more fully developed. Finduilas plays a large role; I have to assume that if Orodreth's wife had been alive she would have also played a role in the story. For this reason I have to assume that she is dead by that point in time. It would make sense, as terrible as it is to say, if she had been killed when Sauron took Minas Tirith.

One of Orodreth's best moments, I think, was when he expelled the Fëanorians from Nargothrond and didn't let his people kill them. Of course, what Celegorm and Curufin had done was terrible, and Orodreth had every reason to hate them, but I respect him for keeping the moral high ground and not letting his people become Kinslayers themselves. He should get more credit for his restraint. Given how much the Fëanorians took from him personally (they murdered his kin at Alqualondë, they made him and his family cross the Helcaraxë, they plotted to usurp Finrod and indirectly got him killed...) he showed remarkable restraint.

I think Orodreth was generally a wise ruler, the decision to listen to Túrin being the fatal exception to the rule. The fall of Nargothrond was utterly tragic, but I also can't really fault Orodreth for it, because everyone who met Túrin was ensnared in his curse somehow. Still, what's so awful about it is that the fall of Nargothrond led to the death of Finduilas. And of course, if the two of them were especially close, which I think they were, then that makes her death, which was caused by his worst error in judgement, that much more painful.

#asks #Orodreth #thank you for the ask :) I had fun answering it!#also I think it's interesting how there is a parallel between Orodreth and Turgon #Orodreth didn't listen to Ulmo's warning delivered by Gelmir and Arminas #and Turgon didn't listen to Ulmo's warning delivered by Tuor #they're both wrong to ignore the warning #but like I said I find it difficult to fault Orodreth for it #he was mired in Turin's curse by that point #my writing

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not-a-space-alien · 2 years

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Magnanimous Moonrise Chapter 14M

In this chapter: Valen finally gets to EAT

Story masterpost

Complementary chapter

Content/Content warnings for this chapter: Aftermath of torture, starvation, heavy emotional distress. This chapter could probably also be considered "carewhumping," although I think everyone's actions are completely reasonable.

Valen’s boots clattered on the kitchen floor as Lex helped him step up and back into the kitchen. Ari shut and locked the back door, then walked over to the kitchen window to shut the curtains as the sky started to streak pink with the sunrise.

"Okay," said Ari, giving a tentative thumbs up. "We're good? We're cool?"

Lex gave a thumbs up back. Valen let out a choked sob. What was he supposed to say? He also gave a thumbs up.

"It's all right," said Lex. "Things are going to get better for you now. We're going to help you. Things are only going to get better."

This felt wrong, incongruous with his actions. He'd kidnapped and attacked Lex, and he was being rewarded for it. It scared him. He wasn't sure whether to trust it.

Especially Ari. God, he wanted so badly for her to not be angry at him. She was so scary, and he wanted her to like him so, so badly.

“Ari,” said Lex, taking Valen’s wrist and drawing him forward. “Let me introduce you to Valen. He was here in human territory because…he was gathering…mushrooms?” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then continued, “That he was using to try and make artificial blood.”

“Mushrooms are more closely related to animals than to plants,” Valen mumbled, nerves completely shot.

“Ah, right…” said Ari. She rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I…Well, if that’s true… I mean…I’m glad you weren’t here for anything nefarious.” Valen could tell she still did not quite believe him, but she seemed less suspicious at least. They were standing here, having a conversation, and he didn’t have the muzzle on, and he wasn’t doing anything to hurt either of them, and she could see he could behave. This was good, this was progress.

“I-I’m sorry I locked you in a cage,” Valen blurted out.

“Hgn?” Ari gave him a befuddled look.

Valen’s knees locked up. Had his apology been insufficient? Had Ari somehow forgotten, and he’d reminded her of something to be mad at him for?

“I mean…” said Ari, averting her eyes. “That was just kind of fair play. Y’know.” She cleared her throat. “Well, I–Given what all happened, I would say…Well, listen, dude, I… Sorry about…all that.” She looked ashamed. “I owe you one, so–so if there’s anything you need, you just let me know.”

Was this real? Were they really going to help him? Dare he let himself believe it?

“Let’s get you taken care of,” said Lex. “What would you like to do first? We can get you cleaned up–”

“F-feed,” he said instantly. “Pl-please allow me to feed. I’m so–so, I’m so hungry, please.”

They both look surprised. Dread lanced through him. Maybe that’d been too presumptuous to ask for, even though earlier they’d clearly said feeding him was on the table. He realized with horror that if he was going to feed, it would be from Ari, since Lex was obviously out of the question…So essentially, he’d just demanded that Ari let him feed from her. That was the last thing he wanted to say to someone who was always grumpy and skeptical of his intentions, and he was so scared of her and he wanted her to like him so badly, he wanted to be the kind of person she would carry and protect in her strong-looking arms, he wanted her to call him a good boy again–

“Eager, huh,” said Ari, turning back to the fridge.

Oh god, that’d definitely been too much to ask. He’d just gotten back his ability to communicate, and the first thing he’d done was make an outlandish demand. Why had he thought that would be okay to ask? He really did need to feed every day for his health, but he didn’t need it to live, so eating was probably a luxury for him from their point of view. They hadn’t said how often they would feed him, maybe they’d meant they would feed him after he’d earned it, or not every day, or down the road, or–

Ari was bent over into the fridge, behind the door. Valen twisted his hands in the hem of his shirt. There was no reason why they couldn’t start feeding him today, right? That wasn’t unreasonable to hope for, right? There was no reason why they would be mad at him for asking that, right? They’d said they would.

They’d said they would; it didn’t mean they were going to.

They’d said they would, so why would he ask for it? Why would he push them when he was clearly already on the precipice of falling back into being viewed as a dangerous predator? Would they take this to mean he couldn’t think of anything besides blood? Would they put the muzzle back on? Would they give up on him and take him back to Nick? This was their blood, their bodies, why had he dared to ask for it? Why couldn’t he have just waited until they offered? Were they going to put the muzzle back on? Would they think he was dangerous? Would they think he was an animal who could only think of blood? Would they put the muzzle back on?

He wasn’t helpless anymore, though, he could use persuasion if he needed to, although he really, really didn’t want to, with how badly it’d gone last time.

“Hello?” said Ari, waving her hand in his face. “Earth to Dracula.”

He snapped back into his body. Ari was standing in front of him with a sealed medical bag of some kind–

Blood, a pint of blood.

“Like I was trying to say,” said Ari with a grin. “Today’s your lucky day, my man, cuz it turns out if you’re at a hospital to get stitches, all you need to do is flirt with the nurse a little bit, and tell her you’re vampire hunters, and fudge the explanation for what you’re going to use it for a little bit, and they’ll just give you some blood.”

“G-give it to me!” Valen snapped, and then drew back again, hand over his mouth, convinced that at any moment the desperateness leaking into his actions would convince them to give up on this whole venture of seeing him as a person and giving him a chance.

“Hold on a second,” said Ari, drawing it back. Here it comes. They’re going to make me earn it, they’re going to make me humiliate myself somehow like Nick did, make me debase myself for it. He couldn’t peel his eyes away from the turgid sack, saliva pooling in his mouth. He would do whatever they asked, he knew he would, he was desperate. He was desperate.

He once again wrestled with the urge to just use persuasion to take it. But he couldn't. He was trapped in their house, during the day, that would only make everything worse for him, to prove he couldn't be trusted. But...he wanted it so badly.

Lex’s hand was on his back, rubbing it comfortingly. “Didn’t you throw up…before?”

When you almost killed me? Valen’s eyes rolled from Ari to Lex in terror. I did, yes, I fed from you and almost killed you and then just vomited it all back up, wasting your blood, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

“So how much of this do you think your stomach can handle?” said Ari. “Decide beforehand, so you don’t get carried away.”

“For a human who was breaking a fast, we would probably give them crackers or something,” said Lex. “Something light, so they don’t get sick. You know?”

“Do you want just a little bit, and we can wait a bit to give you more?” said Ari. “Or, maybe, I don’t know, we can thin it out with water or something?”

That made sense. Valen tried to steady his pounding heart. This was so stressful. He felt like if he made the slightest mistake, or showed too much interest, or not enough, this would all evaporate and be replaced by more chains. But that made sense, they were being sensible… His clawing, aching stomach demanded that he answer to drink the whole thing at once. Maybe there would be no later, maybe there would be no returning to this precious, unexpected mana from the heavens…

But the acrid sensation of vomiting up precious blood had been so vile that he had no desire to repeat it. “If…if you dilute it with water,” said Valen, choosing his words carefully, painstakingly, like he was in a minefield, “M-maybe half of that would be a good start. Thank you.”

Ari smiled. “There we go. Let’s give it a try.”

She turned and put the bag on the sink. Lex fetched her a drinking glass, then came back over to help Valen stand.

Ari lowered the bag into the sink to contain any spills, then cut it open with a pair of scissors.

The second the bag was open, the scent of all that blood, right there, jammed itself into Valen’s nose and up into his brain, rocketing straight into whatever dark, primal part of him was responsible for keeping him fed. It bypassed his higher brain functions, his logical thoughts, a thrumming, violent, demanding urge gripping him in an icy claw and moving his limbs on impulse.

He’d slammed into Ari in an instant, clawing past her to get the bag, knocking it over, growling over the sound of the two women shouting distantly. Red was all he could see, blood, blood, blood, he needed it now, he needed it, he needed it more than anything, he couldn’t let them stand in the way, he needed it now.

His weakened body had delivered a few blows which would have once broken human bones, but Lex and Ari recovered from the surprise attack quickly. He felt his limbs wrenched back, slamming him into the counter, arm twisted behind his back, their legs pinning his own.

Horror flooded him as he realized what had just happened, and phased back in to hear Lex’s and Ari’s voices.

“Easy, easy!”

“Woah, woah–”

“Stop, stop–”

“I’ve got him.”

“We’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry!” he sobbed instantly. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I–I didn’t mean to–I didn’t mean to!”

He tried to stand back up, but a hand came into his hair, pressing him back down. He was stuck in place looking at the sink, watching what remained of the blood in the bag leaking out and down the drain. Tears filled his eyes. They’d really been going to feed him, and he hadn’t been able to control himself for five seconds, and he’d attacked them and spilled the blood, wasted the opportunity. There probably wasn't any way to come back from this, even if they'd been shockingly patient with him till now.

He almost used persuasion. He had something to lose now, though. If he proved he couldn’t be trusted with his mouth, the gag would be coming back, or the bit, and with it the crushing helplessness.

He thought about using persuasion anyway. He really did. He stood no chance at getting away now, with the sun rising outside, a full day of terrible sunlight ahead of him, but he was just so scared. And hungry.

He tried to writhe forward and lick just a little of the blood from the sink while he still had the chance, before he went back to Hell. It was right there, so tantalizing. Oh, it smelled like it was AB positive too, his favorite kind. The hand in his hair tugged him back, flattening him against the counter.

“Please,” he wept. “Please just let me lick the sink, I’ll do anything, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please–please have mercy, please just let me–”

“Easy,” said Ari’s voice, and the legs behind him pressed into him even further, stifling his squirming. “Easy. Take it easy. Breathe. Sit still.”

He tried. But the blood was right there, and they were certainly not going to feed him now.

“Lex, turn the water on.”

“No,” Valen cried. “Please, please, please just let me–”

Lex’s manicured hand appeared to turn on the faucet, rinsing the bag and sending the remaining blood down the drain. He tried to scramble towards it again before it disappeared, but the hand keeping his arm twisted behind his back pressed down, and a second hand came and pinned his other wrist to the counter.

He almost used persuasion, again. He wanted to. But he couldn’t. That would make everything so much worse for him. He wrestled with himself bitterly. The tears spilled over as the scent of blood faded.

“This isn’t going to work if you can’t control yourself,” growled Ari. “We’re trusting you to behave in a civilized way.”

“I’m sorry. I–I–I–I didn’t mean to, I-I-I couldn’t control myself.”

“All right,” said Ari, voice just as firm as her hands. “Just stay still.”

He went limp, heaving, hopeless. Things had been looking like they could get better. But he was truly some kind of wild animal now.

“Lex, are you hurt?”

“No, are you?”

“No.”

He felt Lex’s warm hand on his back again. “It’s okay,” she said. “See? You didn’t hurt us. We’re okay. You’re okay.”

I’m okay. It’s gonna be okay. He wanted to believe it so, so badly. “I’m–I’m–I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” said Lex. “Don’t worry. We’re going to help you.”

He let out a series of half-relieved, half-anxious sobs. They still wanted to help him. Maybe he hadn’t fucked it up beyond repair. Maybe he dared hope they could be patient with him. Maybe he dared hope they could see beyond what was directly in front of them and believe he had something more in his heart than the desperate, clawing violence he’d been driven to.

“We’re going to help you,” said Ari. “But we’re going to do it in a way that doesn’t put me and Lex at risk. Understand?”

“Yes, I understand, I understand, sir–m-ma’am.”

“Because Lex lost a lot of blood, and if she loses more, or reopens her stitches, you could hurt her really badly.”

“I–I know, I’m sorry, I d-didn’t mean to–”

“We know you’re hungry,” said Lex, “and we know you’re scared, and in pain, and we know people do things they wouldn’t otherwise do when they’re scared and in pain and hungry.”

Valen sobbed, eyes on the counter in front of him.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that you can hurt us even if you don’t mean to,” said Ari. “This might have been too big of a leap. We’ll do baby steps.”

“Th-thank you,” said Valen, body wracked with tremors. “Thank you, ma’am, thank you.”

“Lex, go get the muzzle.”

“No!” Valen cried, stomach flipping, once again fighting the urge to just use persuasion and high-tail it out of there, rising sun be damned. His body instantly ratcheted back up to the maximum levels of panic. “Please, please, no! Please don’t put the muzzle back on! Please, please, I’ll do anything, anything, I’m begging you–”

“Relax,” said Ari, emphatically, a command. “Hey, relax. We’re not going to use the bit. You’ll still be able to talk. It’ll just be a barrier between you and lunging at us again. We know you didn’t do it on purpose, but we still need to prevent it from happening again.”

“But, Ari,” said Lex, dismayed, “the muzzle we have burns him.”

“Go get some duct tape too.”

Lex pattered away. Valen tried to stop his enormous, shaking sobs. “I’m–I’m sorry, I really am. I won’t–you don’t have to feed me, I don’t need blood, you don’t need to put the muzzle back on. I won’t eat if it means I have to put the muzzle back on.”

“Sorry,” said Ari. “That’s not gonna fly. As long as you’re one sniff of blood away from going berserk–”

The muzzle was too much. He couldn’t. He couldn’t. Valen decided to cut his losses and use persuasion while he could. “You will–”

Ari’s hand clapped over his mouth instantly, the same one he’d bitten before when she’d done so, bandages and all. Her voice was low and menacing. “I know you weren’t about to use persuasion, because if you were going to use persuasion, that would mean I would have to put the bit back in, to stop you from talking, and we’re not going to do that, so you weren’t about to use persuasion, right?”

He let out a soft whine.

“Now I’m going to take my hand off, and we’re going to go back to the way we were just talking before, right?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Lex’s footsteps could be heard, and he saw her hand out of the corner of his eye, placing the muzzle on the countertop, a few feet in front of him. Tears of despair instantly brimmed over.

“Go get the chain from outside, too.”

Valen felt so ashamed of himself, so scared of what he’d turned into, that they felt the need to do this. Lex went out the back door and came back with the silver chain.

Valen heard the sound of duct tape ripping behind him. Lex’s hand came back and took the muzzle out of his sight. More duct tape sounds. Then it came back into sight, the metal wrapped tightly in tape, not a spot showing.

“All right,” said Ari. “Try not to panic. You’re okay. You’re safe.”

You’re safe. You’re safe. You’re safe.

Ari's hands eased up, returning him to a standing position. “There we go,” she cooed. “Nice and easy, now. Turn around, please.”

He did so, slowly. Ari and Lex were both leaning over close to him, concern on their flushed faces.

“All right,” said Lex. “You’re okay.”

“I’m going to attach the chain to this hook,” said Ari, gently running her finger along the metal collar still attached to his neck. “We’re not going to bind your hands. We’re just going to make it harder to bite and lunge, so you can stop yourself before you hurt us. Your hands will be free, and you’ll still be able to talk. Then you’ll get to eat.”

“Please,” said Valen tearfully. “I–I–I–” He wanted to eat so badly, but he also desperately wanted to keep the muzzle off, and he couldn’t decide which he wanted more, or if he had any chance of convincing them anyway.

“Do you think you can handle that?” said Ari. “It’s just as long as you can’t keep yourself from lunging when you smell it. Okay? We’re leaving your hands free, we’re trusting you to work with us here. We know you want to feed without hurting us. Think you can handle that?”

They were still going to feed him. It was almost too much to hope for, even at the cost of having to wear the muzzle. But feed him with what? He’d wasted the blood they’d already had. He assumed maybe Ari would cut her arm or something. That seemed like way too much to hope for, especially since it had been his own mistake. And while wearing the muzzle…what was their plan? He dare not ask.

“If you can’t, it’s OK to say so,” said Lex. “We’ll think of something else.”

“I can handle it,” he said, instantly worried the something else they might think of would be even worse. “I can–I can handle it, thank you, thank you for trusting me. I won’t bite you, I won’t use persuasion.” His chest hitched. “Thank you for trusting me.”

Lex put her hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for trusting us.”

All of them knew he didn’t really have much choice, but it made him feel better nonetheless.

He tried not to flinch away as Ari clipped a carabiner onto the ring on the collar. Lex handed her the silver chain–the front end of it had been wrapped in duct tape, to prevent it from burning him in the places where his shirt might not cover him.

“Just stay still,” said Ari as she clipped the carabiner through the chain. “There we go. Good boy.”

Heat rushed to his face as Ari tugged the chain. “Okay, let’s go into the living room.”

Lex helped him walk as Ari led him out. “Kneel down here, please.”

She was directing him in front of the radiator. That seemed okay. Not too scary. It would be warm, and they probably wanted to use its weight to connect the chain to. If he ever managed to get his strength back, he would be able to rip the radiator from the floor with one hand, but as it stood now, it would be an effective barrier to him lunging.

Ari connected the chain to the radiator with the combination lock from earlier. “There,” said Ari. “Does that feel okay?”

“Y-yes,” said Valen, curling up on the floor. “Th-thank you.” He could at any time unclip the carabiner and free himself. He was free. He wasn’t trapped. He was okay. I’m okay. I can get free if I want to. But if he could sit still, they would feed him, and he wanted that so badly.

“Okay,” said Lex, putting a few more loops of tape onto the parts of the muzzle that would touch his skin. “Are you ready for this, now?”

“Y-yes…No! Yes. Yes, I’m ready.”

“O-okay,” said Lex. “I’m going to put it on now.”

Valen tried to steady his trembling as Lex approached with the horrid device. The bit is gone. There’s nothing on it to stop you from talking. Your hands are free. You can just reach up and take it off. You can just take it off. Just let her put it on. It won’t hurt. Just let her put it on.

The tape-laden metal brushed his face, sliding into place as Lex came behind him and tightened the buckle.

He freaked out, pawing the muzzle off like a dog, whimpering and throwing it to the ground. He immediately wrung his hand and started apologizing. “I–I’m sorry, I tried not to–it was–it was a reflex–I’m sorry.”

“Okay, that’s okay,” said Lex. She gave him a reassuring touch and reached down to pick it back up. “Here, why don’t you take it, and put it on when you’re ready.”

He eyed the proffered device warily.

“You don’t have to put it on until you’re ready,” said Ari. “But we’re not going to feed you until you have it on. Okay?”

“O-okay,” said Valen. If he was going to act like a shark that went into a feeding frenzy whenever he smelled blood, it only made sense that they needed to protect themselves. They were doing their best given the situation. They were being remarkably patient and kind to him, more than he expected. He dared let himself believe they actually cared about his wellbeing, despite how thoroughly terrified he was of being restrained.

He took the device from her, and she stepped back. They both just watched him, giving him time.

He blinked back tears as he looked at the muzzle. I’m in control, I can put it on, I can take it off, it’s okay. It’s okay. He lifted it to his face with trembling hands, holding it there, fumbling with the belt with uncoordinated hands. “Can you–can you please–help me–”

Lex came over before he even finished asking, securing the buckle. “There, is that okay–”

“Let me–” Valen said, panic rising again. “Let me–j-j-j-just take it off again.”

Lex backed away. Valen struggled to undo the buckle, then eventually got it to snap off. The muzzle fell into his lap.

“All good?” said Ari, with a thumbs-up.

“Y-yes,” said Valen. “J-just let me…Just let me put it on and take it off a few times.”

He did so, getting gradually better at doing and undoing the buckle. Trying to impress upon his screaming, alarmed brain that the muzzle comes on and off now, it’s not a permanent fixture, he was in control of it, he could take it on and off.

“O-okay,” he said, doing it up for the last time, and folding his hands in his lap. “I think I’m ready now. I think I’m ready. P-please.”

“All right,” said Ari. “You stay here. Me and Lex will bring it to you. Stay there, just like that. If you take the chain off, our priority goes from feeding you to restraining you. Got it?”

“Yes,” said Valen. “Thank you. Thank you.”

He watched them go into the kitchen, opening the fridge again. Relief washed through him as he saw three more bags of blood inside. They’d been smart enough to not get just one.

Ari repeated what she’d done before, setting it in the sink and cutting it open with scissors.

Even though Valen was prepared for the impulse this time, he still instantly slammed the full length of the chain, choking himself, clawing the floorboards, shrieking and growling. The sight was apparently so ghastly that Lex and Ari looked over their shoulders in alarm. Valen did not have the presence of mind to free himself even if he’d thought it was a good idea.

Feed, feed, you need to feed. Blood, you need blood, you need to kill, you need blood. Blood’s been spilled, and you need to feed.

Gradually, as he adjusted to the presence of the smell, red crept out of the edges of his vision, gasping and shaking as he came down from the monstrous urge. He’d never felt anything like this before, the removal of all capacity for logical thought, the overwhelming animal instinct.

They’re bringing it over here. You don’t need to do anything. His hands splintered the floorboards as he gripped it savagely. Just stay still.

Ari had a drinking glass in her hand, filled with light-red blood, presumably diluted, with a straw. “All right,” she said, bringing it in. “Good job, you’re doing good. Back up a little bit.”

He shuffled backwards, the hope of being allowed to feed washing away all the lingering shame and embarrassment he had.

Ari set the glass down on the floor next to his claw marks, within his reach, and then backed up. “All right. Go ahead. All yours. Drink it slowly, so you don’t get sick.”

Valen crawled forward, extending his hand to take the glass. His unsteady hand knocked it over instead, spilling the blood all over the wood floor.

He whimpered. How many times could he mess up before they ran out of patience and stopped trying? “I-I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Lex.

“We still have the other h–No.” This last part came as Valen knelt and tried to lick the blood off the floor, pressing the mesh muzzle into it. After a second, he wet his hands with the diluted liquid and tried to push it through into his mouth. “No, no, don’t do that.”

“Please–” said Valen as Ari came over and gently took the chain, hauling him back, sliding him across the wooden floor. “Please–just let me–”

“You don’t have to eat off the floor,” said Lex. “We'll get you a new glass.”

“Don’t lick the floor,” said Ari. “We don’t do that here. We’re all people. We all get treated like people. People don’t make other people eat off the floor.”

Valen’s watery eyes remained on the circle of blood pooling on the floor. He knew they were trying to force him to have some dignity, trying to keep him from sliding further into his own dehumanization, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to eat, and how close he’d gotten without actually doing it yet.

He watched morosely as Lex threw towels down, absorbing the mess, while Ari went back to the kitchen and ran more water, making another glass.

She came back over, and both of them knelt in front of him. “Come here, big guy,” said Ari.

He tentatively crawled over, staying at arm’s reach, not further.

“Give me your hands,” said Ari.

He extended them out. Ari took one and used it to pull him closer, his thighs sliding across the wooden floor. Then, she put the glass in his hand, using both of hers to fix both of his onto the glass.

“You got it?”

“Y-yes,” he said. “B-but I’m not sure if I have the–hand strength to lift it to my mouth.”

Ari smiled gently. “That’s what the straw is for.”

Valen tentatively lowered his head when Ari didn’t remove her hands. Lex held the straw steady so he didn’t have to struggle to get his lips on it, poking it through the muzzle, and he sucked.

Finally. Finally. Tears welled up in his eyes again. It felt good. It felt so good. Not like ripping Lex open, no, nothing could compare to giving into the animal desire to ravage someone like that, nothing would ever fill such a primal desire again. But this was better, in a way. This was a gentle feeding. There was no shame, no pain, no violence. He could be happy if the future was like this. The cool, rich liquid wet his parched mouth. He could feel the cool sensation going down his throat, slowly, a trickle. Ari’s hands keeping him steady rebuffed whatever desire he had to upend the glass and drink it all at once.

The refreshing sensation reached his stomach, the bare, cracked pit that had once been filled regularly. His body cried out with gratitude at its salvation.

“There we go,” said Ari, as he continued to obediently sip. She removed one hand and stroked his hair. “Good boy.”

He shuddered and flushed.

“I’m not sure if he likes it when you do that,” said Lex.

Valen tried to hide his expression.

“See, he’s embarrassed,” said Lex.

Ari huffed a laugh. “Lex, that’s exactly what you look like when I play with your hair and call you a good girl.”

It was Lex’s turn to blush. Under normal circumstances, Valen would have been anxious, because apparently this was a thing that these two shared, and there was so much to be worried about with the implications of that.

But he couldn’t bring himself to care about anything except the heavenly, sweet, gentle flow of blood into his mouth. Maybe this was the start of good things.

***

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