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#i am surprised that i'm still managing self care
mooishbeam · 8 months
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『♡』 Obey Me
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♡ featuring: kaeya x f!reader
♡ summary: you learn your lesson for disrespecting the calvary captain wc: 4.1k+ (i am so sorry)
♡ cw/tw: wax play, humiliation, degradation, sex toys, dacryphilia, rough sex, hard dom, overstim, orgasm torture, edging, bondage, squirting, pet play if you squint, kaeya is kind of an asshole, pet names (dove, pretty girl, sweetie)
notes: idk how the word count did that I'm too silly. feral kaeya does something to me tbh. n e way I promise a shorter one next time hehe. art by ttalby_ on ig <3 comments and reblogs are appreciated!
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Kaeya isn’t used to feeling like this.  
The interesting days of tasks and adventitious missions superseded his need for activities outside of the Knights of Favonius. He often stumbled—more so, needlessly interjected—into petty situations. He lived for theatrics, an audience to indulge emotion and intimacy in its most vulnerable state. A man who solves the problems of the public before his own knew neither authentic nor genuine connection. Kaeya was well aware of how easily he made hearts swoon, with a silver tongue and attractive timbre, a mask imperceptible. When you arrived as an apprentice for the 6th Company, he assumed you’d be just as easy, just as captivated. You were anything but. You barely acknowledged his existence for the first year, and he’d be wrong to say your lack of dalliance didn’t chip away at his self-esteem. 
Something egotistical in him wanted your attention. Romantic prospects were dispensable to him, but you had to know who he was. After all, who doesn’t love the Calvary Captain?  
Just for fun he told himself, as you became the first person to turn him flushed and sow seeds of doubt surrounding love in his heart. Kaeya finally managed to achieve your regard and all you asked for was his name. The audacity of you, to ask the captain who he is? He nearly busted out laughing. He gently held your hand and kneeled to kiss it, maintaining eye contact throughout. 
“Kaeya, my dear.” 
You were surprised to find him waiting for you outside the headquarters one day, handsome navy strands haloed in confidence, a delicate flower and perfumed letter in hand. Kaeya watched you read it in silence, his poem dedicated to you, requesting a date. You couldn’t help but smile at his charm, despite his sweaty palms as he awaited your answer. An accumulation of the little things; the bouquet of roses he bought you weekly, so you’d always have a fresh one, making sure you were always hydrated, his ability to make you laugh in trying times. You were both full of adoration, though he wouldn’t admit how invested he was. The only person who glimpsed the truth was Diluc. Kaeya rambled in his drunken stupor at the tavern, and Diluc sighed at the overdramatic sonnet. “My heart beats for her like no other. Will this be my fate? My Greek tragedy?” he mumbled through hiccups. 
As your relationship blossomed, work withered. An emerging problem reared its ugly head. Your assignments consumed your daily life and dwindled the moments spent with Kaeya. In the beginning stages of dating he understood, exuding nothing but patience and encouraging words. He didn’t expect you to drop work for him, and he was willing to accommodate the hectic schedule. Romantic gestures were limited to light caresses or kisses, clandestine sessions in abandoned alleyways. Frequent dates reduced to a couple a week, then a month, then none. The worst instances were when you assured Kaeya you’d arrive, only to call him a couple hours later with a tired apology, still stuck at your office. You promised him you’d make time for yourself and practice self-care, but it was evident you weren’t listening to his advice. You were no stranger to quickies, kindly offering them to Kaeya if he ever needed “destressing”. But the captain was never a fan of rushed affairs. He wanted desperately to share extended time with you, and you had none to give. It became easier to lie than to admit how overworked you were. 
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Kaeya didn’t come to headquarters today, but you recall the conversation from the previous night. 
“Mm, I’m missing my little dove. Think you can come see me?” he said, tilting your chin up to meet his loving gaze. 
“Of course. I don’t have a lot of work tomorrow so I should be done early.” 
“Great. I’ll make dinner for us. Be at my place by 8, okay?” You agreed to the timeframe. 
Now that you’re comprehending the incomplete documents strewn across your desk, you regret your conviction. You shouldered the weight of everyone in your division. It’s getting close to the date, and you’ve barely scratched the surface. You fumble for concentration, anchoring down to finish the rest of the list. You make haste and shove the papers at Hertha. I still have time to get there you thought. Glancing up at the clock as you dart out the building, your eyes widen at what it reads. 10:15 pm. 
Fuck. You’re running now, skirt bouncing and bag rustling, navigating busy streets with an uneasy mind. Once again you promised, and once again you broke it. How could you be so careless? You catch your breath when your hand contacts the door. You relax before giving a few light knocks. The door swings open.  
Kaeya’s hair is free from its usual constraints, draping down his back and shoulders, wispy bangs hugging his sharp features. He’s clearly pissed reclining against the doorframe. He stares at you with his arms folded in front of the parted button down that peaks into the muscular, scarred chest underneath. 
“Kaeya, I-” 
“Get inside.” He turns and walks to the kitchen. You follow him inside and take note of the cold portion of a beautiful plate—presumably your meal—sitting on the table. He swishes the nearly finished red wine before taking a sip. You search aimlessly for an acceptable excuse while he leans against the table with his hand, glass in the other, eyes trained to the floor. Each second of silence simmering makes your stomach knot tighter, and he lets you stand uncomfortably.  
“I’m sorry, I... There were a few roads closed in the area. I had to take a different route.” you fib. He gazes at you, panning up and down before forcing a sarcastic smile. 
“How unfortunate. Are these the same roads that made you three hours late?" His jaw tightens. 
“It was pretty busy today-”  
“I’m feeling generous tonight, so I'll give you one more chance to be honest.”  
You sighed. “I’m so sorry. There’s been a lot of work lately. It’s not fair to you to deal with my problems.” He scoffs deeply, downing the rest of the glass and sets it on the table. 
“If this isn’t working for you, I understand.” 
“Oh? Are you suggesting a separation? Not even the gall to try and make it up to me?” he sneers. 
“You’re handsome and people like you. It’s not hard to find other options.” 
“If it’s not hard, why is the one thing I truly desire so difficult to hold? A petal drifting unpredictable wind, too quick to grasp.” He starts stalking towards you, relaxed but seemingly irritated. The contrast between his words and actions unnerves you. 
“How many times must I tell you to take care of yourself, to not let them walk over you, to come to me if you need help?” He gets to you and snakes his calloused hand behind your neck, a firm grip. Yearning lips are inches from yours, his hair tickles your eyelashes. 
“Why can’t you just listen to me, (Y/N)? Hmm?” He’s lenient, but you feel a shiver up your back and heat pooling in your stomach, nonetheless. 
“I’ll try harder. I promise.” you say, barely above a whisper. The pad of his thumb swirls your cheek. 
“I won’t entertain promises. Show me your dedication.” 
“What do I do to prove it?” A sadistic grin grows across his face, and lips graze your ear, sultry voice coiling around the shell. Your breath stalls. 
“Tonight, I’ll eat you up slowly-” Kaeya peppers soft kisses between the words against your jaw. “-savoring every. Little. Bite.” He trails down to your neck. You're melting in his hold, grabbing his robust arms for anything to stabilize you. "And when I’m picking you apart, and there’s tears in your eyes and you’re begging and you can’t take it anymore-” He drinks up your anticipation, an amused chuckle from the shudder prickling your skin.  
“-you’ll sit there and obey me until I'm done. Like a good pet.” 
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You’re stripped of everything besides your underwear in front of the restlessly eager man. Standing in the center of this candlelit room, you feel miles away from him as he sits fully clothed on the edge of the bed. He’s lax, legs spread with a nonchalant posture; they invite you to kneel between them. Sex with Kaeya was never like this. Though infrequent, your back-alley blowjobs were done with kindness and haste. It was one thing for Kaeya to ogle your mouthwatering figure, another in the humiliating state he constrains you to. Your hands are bound by leather handcuffs that clip to a chunky black collar on both sides, limiting the movement of your wrists to just centimeters away from your face. You could move if you tried to, but the collar locked and tightened around your neck the harder you struggled. In the middle was attached a dangling leash, empty of its owner.  
The vibrating lace panties he put you in buzz agonizingly low against your clit, sending gentle bursts to the butt plug filling deep, foreign space in your body. You’re glutted, chafing your thighs together to numb the sweet ache dotting your core. 
“C’mere dove.” Kaeya orders, his finger curls in a guiding motion. You take one step assuming his entreat, and he retorts with a tut. 
“Aht aht, dogs don’t walk. Get on your knees and crawl to me.” Embarrassment overcomes you as you drop to your knees from the filthy demand. It’s degrading, having to crawl without the use of your arms. You scuffle with balance, and he takes pleasure in playing with the controller. Your rocking rear and wobbly legs find rhythm on the floor through the violent highs and lows of vibration. It was harder due to the position you stumbled in; the bullet teases you in the right spots. You finally reach him, resting your head on his knee, exhausted for what’s to come. He merely pats your head and uses the other to stifle the smug smirk. 
“Good puppy. Look at me.” Suddenly, he wraps the leash around his hand and pulls in taut. It snaps your eyes to his lustful expression, a thick aura that encapsulates you, suffocates you in his command. Kaeya zips his pants down to spring his throbbing cock free, a dark brown gradient to the mushroom tip.  
“Suck. If you let anything spill, I’ll punish you” he cooes. You lick the pre come away, fixating on the sensitive tip. His breathy sighs show appreciation. You lick in circular motions around it before lolling your tongue and taking all of him between your lips. His girth makes space in your mouth impossible until the head presses the back of your throat. “Ugh, fuck” he groans. Kaeya stands and pulls the leash towards him, enough to nuzzle your nose against his pubes. You gag and slobber over his balls from the constant pressure in your throat, and he keeps you there, watching the tears ball in your eyes, unfazed by your retching pleas. He keeps a firm grip on the back of your head.  
“Can you take it?” It’s almost mocking, as if he can’t see the mascara that smears your cheeks and your sweaty, breathless figure. You nod anyway, eager to please. He hums approval before pulling out completely and hammering his length down your throat. His heavy balls smack your chin at a savage pace, and strings of spit connect your puffy lips to his shaft. It’s barbaric and your throat is raw from the impact, but he chases his high. You’re absolutely powerless, your hands can’t even push his thighs back. However, subconsciously it felt nice, to be out of control, at the mercy of someone else using you for their impulse. The whir in your soaking panties feels richer now, tangling in your lower back and clouding your senses. All you smell and feel is him, it was like you never worked a day in your life. Like you were made for this, and this alone. Obscene noises come from your squelching mouth and Kaeya’s broken moans. Fuck and yes are all he can handle through constant whimpers, and you feel him trembling toward his release. He tilts your head to get a better view of you, spit and tears mixed with strands of hair stuck to your skin. You were a mess. But his eyes are solely on you, drenched in adoration and pure love for your trust in him.  
“I want this pretty face on me when I come” he whines and speeds up his thrusts before spurting hot, creamy ropes down your throat, painting your mouth white. He twitches wildly on your tongue till rest, and his guttural moans echo in your ears as you hollow your cheeks to suck him clean. A satisfying pop emerges when you free his tip, and he recollects himself. He somehow looks completely untouched, besides the sheen of sweat; the poise of a prince. 
Once Kaeya comes to his senses, he eyes the evidence of wetness that soaks through your panties, along with drops of pre come you failed to notice. Truthfully, you tried hard to avoid spilling anything, but the sensations in both your back and front were dizzying. He drawls a dramatic sigh, and loosely fiddles with the leash. 
“Didn’t I say not to spill anything?” His words are methodical, weaving enough vitriol to make your blood still at the upcoming punishment. “I’m sorr-” 
“You made a mess. Clean it.” He drops the leash and waits. What you assumed to be a towel clean-up was quickly refuted as you felt the tension of his boot press on your upper back. With just enough weight, he forces your body down towards the fluids, arms crossed. You lick it up without complaint. “Good puppy” he praises. 
Kaeya picks you up as if you’re featherlight and sets you on the edge of the bed on your stomach. You can’t see what he’s doing, and the silence frightens you. Immediately, the judder of the bullet increases significantly—not enough to make you come, but just enough to torment. You attempt to sway from undying heat between your legs, yet the static overtakes. Unbeknownst to you, the butt plug begins to vibrate, as well. You whine and arch your back involuntarily. You finally hear a deep chuckle from Kaeya. His fingers graze your sopping underwear. 
“So naughty, you got like this just from sucking me off?” He pushes the bullet harshly against you. You mewl from the feeling. “Please Kaeya, it’s too much.” 
“Shh, I know, I know. We still have a long way to go.” he soothes. He spreads your ass to reveal more area, and he’s hushed to an alluring whisper in your ear. “(Y/N). I’m going to spank you. And each time I do, you’ll count. One, thank you. Two, thank you. Up to sixteen. Understand?” 
“Yes” you rasped. 
“Good girl.” 
Kaeya massages your backside and prepares a slap. His palm crashes sharply on one with a resounding crack. Blazing surge sprawls across the whole cheek, but you manage to stay afloat. “One, thank you.” He promptly delivers another, a staggering strike to match the other cheek. “Two, thank you” you hissed. He kneads the smoldering dough in his hands and smiles at the juices stuck to your inner thighs. 
“Such a pervert. You’re not enjoying this, are you?” he teases. The lines of pleasure and pain blurred for you long before. The crackling fire of his hand swatting your ass makes you cry out. He’s brutal, and the grip you have on his sheets colors your knuckles white. You endure delicious thwacks with a tender bottom all the way through thirteen. Your malleable mind forgets to count past that, forgets your place. Kaeya feigns hurt. “Am I that forgettable? Should we start over?” A shudder trails down your back. 
“M’no, Kaeya ple-ase. ‘M sorry.” you stammer. He swipes your tears with his thumb and licks it. “I’m touched by your tears” he groans. He moves back to your searing bottom, digging crescent shaped indents into the welted flesh with his nails. 
“Do you know why I had you count to sixteen?” 
“N-no...” 
A low hmph. “That’s the number of dates you missed.” You go pale for a second. “It won’t happen again, Kaeya. Please!” you beg. The need for release ruins your rational thoughts, and he can taste your desperation. “Please what, dove?” He plays ignorance. “Tell me exactly what you want.” He caresses your face lovingly, despite his cruelty. 
“Wanna come, I need it so bad, Kaeya.” His name rolling off your tongue in lewd fervor makes his length constrict in his pants. You’re putty in his presence, and he delights in molding you to his wishes. 
"Are you worthy of it?" he taunts. Fresh tears brim your eyes, and he can’t fight back the snicker in his throat. He walks away from you, and you’re left alone until you feel the mattress give way under his knee. What little sight you had in front of you is robbed by the silky black blindfold pulling stiff on your eyes. “Too tight?” 
“A little.” He loosens it a bit and kisses your temple. Suddenly, a sphere makes contact with your lips, and you open. The ball gag secures around the back of your head, and you’re already salivating from the stretch of your jaw. 
“You know what, I’ll let you come.” he lulled. You can’t hear the malicious tinge in his words, and he swiftly turns both vibrators up to a harrowing speed at the same time. A strangled moan gets caught in your throat and you quiver and lurch over. He spanks your sore behind in response. 
“Keep your back arched. I want a perfect view” he husks. You use the stamina you have left to stay in that position. Your hips are unconsciously rutting against the bullet, and the ecstasy lapping at your swollen clit sends trails of fire up your stomach. Kaeya watches the saturated outline of your convulsing vulva, the honeyed, muffled moans unending and palms his erection.  
“I’m sorry, this must be so hard for you” he soothes. “Almost as hard as it was for me to hear you lie so blatantly.” Kaeya wasn’t a man that held grudges, but he took amusement in your reactions. All he can think about is breaking you, with each touch and kiss; so that you travel through heaven and hell, drowning in desire until he carries you out. Your eyes roll to the back of your head, and you come hard, hole fluttering around nothing with electricity squirming in your bones. However, the pressure doesn’t stop, it seems to vibrate faster as you buck and cry. “Oops, wrong setting.” He turns it up higher, the bastard. It rips through your orgasm, already approaching another and you can’t take the sting. “Tell me if it’s too much” he sneers. Your hands jolt and snap back to the collar.  
“I’ll turn it off later, I’m kind of busy right now. You know, work and stuff.” What? He wouldn’t leave you like this, right? Undecipherable noises bounce around the gag, but none persuade him. Footsteps get quieter, then the door shuts.  
You can’t look or beg for Kaeya, and tears begin to stain the blindfold. Buzzing roars in your ears, your limbs are too weak to hold up and you can barely breathe. Your thighs shake from sick passion, and you come undone again over the persistent toys. The twenty minutes he was gone felt like hours. Your muffled sobs are uncontrollable, come cascading down your legs and spit dribbles from your lips. You aren’t sure how many times you came before he got back.  
The Archons must have shown mercy; the vibrations stopped. You hear that suave voice resounding in your brain. 
“I think you’ve earned a break.” he says, freeing the panties from you. The plug steadily glides out of your pulsing ring, and he removes the blindfold. Kaeya is the first thing you see, and for a moment he shines like royalty. The gag comes off and you’re babbling Kaeya’s name over and over like a chant, a devoted disciple. He cradles your face and hushes you. 
“It’s okay, I’m here.” He flips you on your back. You’re in a daze gazing at him but his attention is lowered to your spread legs, slabbering at the slippery aftermath of his abandonment. 
“Beautiful. A living work of art” he whispered. His mask dissolves before you. He reaches for one of the red candles glowing vividly on his nightstand and returns with the wax-leaking stick. You share a soft kiss, warm and pure while he tilts the candle over your chest. He’s careful with the course and allows it to dance across your breasts, down your sternum and above your pelvis. Each crimson plop and fleck are its own singing thrill, but your awareness is diverted to his wanton kisses, the nips on your bottom lip. Heat reignites your core. Once he blows out the candle, he smudges French kisses down your neck, tracing the pattern of the wax to subdue the burn. “You’re flawless” he breaths against your nipple. He sucks one while pinching the other, the occasional bite on your slightly bruising skin makes you wince. He slides off the bed and starts stripping with an insatiable thirst that longed to be inside you, shirt and pants thrown about. In one swoop, he grabs your thighs and pulls you to the edge.  
“If I uncuff you, will you behave?” You nod frantically with the clinking metal, and he detaches the restraints. He brings your legs over his shoulder, and you feel the cockhead prodding your slit. Kaeya sinks his tip into you, and you’re suddenly overcome with frenetic throbbing that ripples through your hypersensitive clit. “W-wait, Kaeya-” You don’t have nearly enough strength to protest when you grab his wrists settled on your waist—he’s determined to fuck it out of you. “Mm, just a little more” He’s craving, his veins rub your walls all the way to the base. With his balls flush, he pulls out and drives into you. The first pump sends a flaming shock through your body, an abyssal fall you succumb to. You can’t register the erotic screams or pleasant shock of Kaeya as a stream of liquid coats your bodies and drenches the sheets. Your hysterical sobs and innocent sorry’s are music to his ears, better than any melody in Teyvat. He rubs circles on your lower belly and starts again at an unrelenting pace. “I-I can’t Kaeya, ‘m coming so hard.” you wail, writhing from the deep strokes coaxing your g-spot. Your stomach quakes and you grip him like a vice, he can’t stop the feral urge. “Fuck- aww, sweetie. I know, I know. Can you do another one, for me?” He tries to keep his composure, but his voice is bordering unhinged, dying to see you squirt again. Kaeya's chest pins yours and he pummels your cunt with your shaky legs locked around him. Your nails latch onto his back and you weep into his shoulder. The emotion is too intense; your heart thrums viciously in your ears.  
“You’re my pretty little fuck toy, hmm?” he stutters through thrusts. “Just lay here and take my cock. Quit your job. Be mine entirely.” Loud plap’s accompany his silent plea, and you feel another orgasm boiling. His palm pressing on your womb makes you incoherent and he chuckles. “Aw sweetie, it feels too good?” he mocks. You touch foreheads. You’re both teeming, waiting for each other. “Give it to me. Come on my cock like a good slut” he demands. Wave after relentless wave splinters you, and the gushing sprinkler covers him exactly like he wanted. Kaeya moans at the sight. “Shit, ‘m coming.” He pursues his sputtering hips, shooting thick globs that greedily crowd your sex.  
Kaeya breathes heavily as he comes down from his peak twitching inside. You still tremble sporadically in his arms. He rubs your back, placing calming kisses all over your face. “You alright, pretty girl?” You’re edging on unconsciousness. He stays with you until you gather responsiveness.  
When you wake, the collar is off, and you identify concern in his eyes. “You weren't this scared when you were killing me” you murmur quietly. Kaeya flashes a genuine smile. “If you died from good sex, that’d be quite the compliment on my part.” He props you into his lap facing him, and you're reposed on his chest. He pats your hair, staring off into nothing and everything. 
“I’d much rather have you in pieces. Because I’m the only one that can put you back together.” It was a passing thought, one that shouldn’t be said out loud. It churns in your gut, and you aren’t sure why. 
“You worked so hard today. Let’s take a bath, okay?” 
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thatfreshi · 8 months
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Forever and Ever (Astarion x Reader)
I'm going to sob and throw up everywhere this was so incredibly sweet.
Tw - mention of scars (i think that's it)
Recommended Song: Ronson Princess - Clarence James
Waking up to the sunlight gleaming through the red fabric, you and Astarion wrapped in each other's arms. It's odd for you to wake up before him, especially since he doesn't have to sleep all that much, but he's been particularly stressed the past couple of days. Baldur's Gate has brought up a lot of unpleasant memories, things he would've rather left behind. But sadly, everything has brought you back here, and he still wants Cazador dead. Perhaps that's what's weighing on him so heavily, knowing facing his master is so close.
You stare at his sleeping face for a long while, letting the sun continue trickling in, knowing soon he won't get this, soon that freedom of being in the sun, it'll be taken from him, just like everything else. Today you've prepared very special plans, kindly getting everyone to leave camp for the day. Before things change drastically, you want him to have something nice, a day without fighting, a day without talking about Cazador, a day without walking past taverns that he'd rather forget. You continue to smile at him, as his eyelids slowly flicker open. He smirks.
"I can practically hear you staring at me you know."
"Well good, at least you know how gorgeous I think you are."
You leave a kiss on his nose. Locking his fingers into yours, you start tracing his knuckles, all the little lines, tiny scars from fights, the callouses on his palm. He'd deny that he had them to anyone else.
"So... I have a surprise for you."
His ears perk up.
"Oh really? Whatever did I do to deserve such a thing?"
"You know I've said this a million times, but you don't have to do anything to deserve a gift my love. I just know you've been really stressed since we got back in the city, so I thought it would be nice if we had a day away from everything, just to ourselves."
"As if we could ever get time to ourselves with our hooligan friends."
You grin.
"That's the best part, I got them all to go do something else today, so we have the entire camp to ourselves!"
You feel a little bad, being so excited that your friends are leaving you alone, but Astarion likes the quiet. Sure, he's a performer, making little quips in a crowd, but it's that solitude, especially with you, that he cherishes. Maybe he was Stockholmed into it, being forced to be alone so often, but it was usually better than dealing with his 'siblings,' or Cazador. At least rats can't cut you up when they feel like having a good time.
"You seriously kicked out all of our friends so we could be alone for the day? However did you manage that?"
"I may have put some of your manipulation tactics to use..."
Last night, you just so happened to make an off-handed comment about something that would interest each of them. It wasn't too hard, especially since everyone in your group is obsessive over one subject at least, if not more. One by one, they decided they'd spend the day checking out something in the city.
"I have never been more in love with you."
You lock lips, running your hands through his hair, realizing that quite uncharacteristically, he hasn't washed it in days. He's usually quite ritualistic with his appearance, no doubt due to how he always had to look perfect. The habits simply stuck around, but he doesn't mind all that much.
"So, I have a whole day of activities planned!"
He sighs, thinking you mean some intensive itinerary.
"Okay maybe not activities, but nice little calming things to do. I call it... self-care day."
You look way too proud of yourself, and Astarion makes it known.
"What, dear gods, is self-care day? I am all for caring about yourself, as I am spectacular, but an entire day?"
"Yes. It's supposed to be overkill. Just a whole day of absolute bullshit, so you don't have to worry about anything!"
"As if I have ever gone a day without worrying."
You sit up, lifting him up to sit with you.
"Well, we're going to try, because you deserve it. Pleaseeeeee, I just want to spoil you."
He can't ignore your pleading, especially when you look at him with those soft eyes, a gaze that could ask for anything and he'd oblige.
"Alright fine, I will follow along on your self-care day, even if it sounds a little silly."
"Great! So, remember how I went out after dinner last night, and I told you that you couldn't come with me because I was doing something super special and secret?"
"Oh, when I was terrified of you roaming the city by yourself? No, why would I remember that at all?"
His voice is absolutely dripping in sarcasm.
"You know as well as anyone that I can take care of myself, you just like being a chivalrous piece of shit to people that are mean to me."
He shrugs.
"Yes. That sounds entirely reasonable, why would I not do that?"
"Okay yes whatever you like protecting me blah blah blah. We're getting away from the story. I found lots of cool little things, for example..."
Your voice trails off as you dig through your bag, trying to find the cloth sack you got your hands on yesterday. After you find it, you slowly open the pouch.
"I found your favorite tea!"
It's quite a particular brew, one you're pretty sure was made in this city. It's almost impossible to find anywhere else, and when you find it here, it's usually expensive. You hand the bag to him, and he takes in the scent. Blackberry, lavender, ginger, and a couple notes of citrus. Is it way too complex? Yes, quite, but he likes to dissect the flavor, focusing on the different components in the drink.
"You remember that thing I said, what was it... about saving money for, oh I don't know, a place to live after this? You know this is far too expensive my dear."
"It's fine, I can pickpocket a few people."
He laughs.
"You mean I can pickpocket a few people and you'll say you were there for moral support?"
"Yes."
Astarion simply sighs, because if he didn't love you, gods would he absolutely hate you. You could probably say the same thing about him though, so at least you're even. He grabs two cups from somewhere in the mess of his belongings, and the two of you make your way to the dying campfire. As you grab some water from one of the carafes, he adds some more wood to the fire, casting ignis instead of actually putting in the work to start a fire. Usually you would tease him about how he doesn't know how to start a fire, but today he's allowed to take the easy way out. You begin boiling the water for your tea.
"Okay, time for surprise number two while surprise number one is still cooking up."
"Oh, a second surprise?"
"It's self-care day, not self-care hour. There are many surprises to come."
You quickly walk to Gale's tent, bringing back a charcuterie board, filled with small finely cut fruits and mini cheese wedges.
"Ta-da!"
Astarion takes in the beauty of the spread, his heart fluttering a little. Sure, he doesn't have to eat, but he certainly lives for the finer things in life, and a charcuterie board is one of them. After all, eating things that aren't bloody animals makes him feel a little more normal. You smile, realizing he's actually excited and isn't relentlessly teasing you.
"I bought them last night and had Gale put together the spread this morning. I know it's less romantic but-"
"No my sweet it's... it's wonderful."
The two of you eat heart shaped strawberries and little pieces of cheese while you wait for the tea to brew.
"I know I joked a lot, but I do really appreciate all of this darling. It's nice, to know someone cares about me this much. Especially to know that you care about me this much."
"Of course my love. You deserve this and so much more."
You kiss his neck, leaving a little bit of juice from the strawberries. It's hard sometimes for Astarion to remind himself that the worst is behind him, that all he has to do now is deal with his master, and he can finally leave all of this shit behind him. He can finally have that life he wants, with you in some nice house, sleeping together in a nice bed every single day. It's also hard to remember that you love him, that he isn't some charity case you picked up, that you do all of this out of the kindness of your heart. He thought for the longest time that no one was truly kind, and that if they were, they were going to be dead soon enough, and yet he would do anything it took to keep you safe, one of the kindest souls he's ever met. He tears up a little, thinking about how you would care this much, that anyone could care this much about him.
"Are you okay Aster?"
You wipe a tear off his cheek.
"Yes, I'm alright. Just sentimental, that's all."
The way his eyes get wide when he cries, as if he's letting the world in for once, you always notice it.
"That's okay, you can cry all you want. Besides, usually makes you feel better after."
While you're consoling him, you pour out two cups of tea, handing him the first. You take a sip, realizing why this is his favorite. Sure, it's a lot going on, but there's something luxurious about it, soothing, as if made for royalty. Astarion wipes at a couple of his tears, and takes a sip.
"I'm serious though Tav, you have got to stop spending all of our money after this. I'll take this one nice day, but after that, it's back to pinching pennies for us."
Always worried, always thinking about the next thing, always five steps ahead. He's always had to be, playing his life like chess, knowing he's a pawn in some far greater game, knowing if he makes one wrong move he'll lose everything. You don't blame him one bit. After all, the two of you do need enough money to buy a place after all of this is over, and yet you don't worry about it, knowing you'll figure it out. Things have worked out for you so far, and they'll continue to. They simply must.
"Alright, deal."
After sitting and drinking your tea for a while, talking about what you want in the house when you finally buy it, you lead him down to the nearby creek so you can wash his hair.
"Now I know what you're going to say-"
"What, that I could simply do it myself and that you don't have to do something ridiculous like wash my hair for me?"
"Yes... something like that, yeah."
"Then why would you even try asking if you could?"
"Because I love you, and I want to, and I don't want you to have to worry about it."
You stay silent for a second.
"...and I may have bought a really nice shampoo from a store in the city even though I probably shouldn't have splurged but I just want you to have nice things..."
You make those puppy eyes at him, expecting him to say no or give you some lecture.
"Alright, if you insist."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes. Now go ahead and start before I change my mind and lecture you about how to properly bargain for things."
Now this, is a truly rare occurrence. He's so particular about his hair, to the point where he has to fix it every time you mess with it. You swiftly fill a bucket of water and take the nice shampoo out of your bag, putting yet another strawberry in your mouth.
"Seems like you're enjoying the strawberries much more than I am."
He says as he turns his back to you, the two of you sitting in the grass by the creek.
"Hey, it's a board for the both of us. If you're not eating off of it, that's your loss."
You mumble while still chewing on the fruit. He realizes you're right and grabs another piece of cheese before you eat it all. You motion for him to take his shirt off so he doesn't get water all over it, and soon you start working through his hair. It's sadly become quite knotted the past couple of days, due to neglect from the slump he's been in. You try your best not to get sad about it, knowing it's the truest sign of just how out of it he's been. Between dirt and knots and dried blood, there's plenty for you to work through, slowly but surely cleaning it all out, combing through it along the way.
"Are you sure I'm not going to look like a wet cat when you're done?"
You laugh at him.
"Hey, I never said anything about styling, just that I'd wash it. How it looks after is on you."
You don't see it, but he smiles. He has this moment of realization, a sense of clarity. This is it. The thing he's wanted all his life, he's found it, and it's someone so unlike him. And yet somehow, here you were, madly in love, eating fruit and cheese by the water, simply taking care of each other.
"I want it to stay like this forever."
He says suddenly. Your face lights up.
"Me too."
You put down the comb, wrapping your arms over the tops of his shoulders. He holds onto your hands, as if he's realizing for the first time just how real you are. You're here, and he's here, and you're in love. What a wonderful thing, to truly be in love, to have a plan, to have a future. He never really had a future, just a present, day after day. But now there's hope, a life after today, and tomorrow, and the day after.
"Would you do this again sometime? This whole, self-care thing with me? It's been quite nice."
You leave a couple of kisses on his shoulder, and he feels you smile into his skin.
"Of course. As many times as you want my love. Forever and ever."
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tarjapearce · 6 months
Text
Crimson Crown (Pt. 5)
Royal AU! Miguel O'Hara x Reader
Special thanks to @pinkiemme for this amazing cover ❤️✨
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WARNINGS: Mentions of poisoning, awkward flirting, privacy invasion, mentions of character's death. Unresolved sexual tension, Unrequited sexual tension.
Summary: As danger looms in the horizon, a new objective is set in mind.
A/N: Didn't feel that well, so poured myself into this thingy ~ Hope your like ✨
Prince Gabriel approached today, I must say, there was something odd about his apology. Not in the disingenuous way but rather a more sudden and brazen one. The kind of way that leaves you confused.
He apologized, yet I wouldn't like to encounter his drunken self ever again.
Miguel blinked to read the next paragraph.
Odd things keep happening. The king has requested my presence today, Unexpected as it was, he is awaiting for me. I won't deny I dread this little encounter, hopefully this meeting brings me a little peace.
Everything seems to be happening at such speed is quite absurd.
He flipped the page with a sigh.
I've met the king where he instructed. And once more he manages to surprise me in such way I am... aghast. I'm still debating if it's a good thing or more of his political side taking over.
He said I was no stranger. He acknowledged me! I know this might sound preposterous even, but I'm glad we can settle for something more than strangers that occasionally have lunch together.
His words convinced me that he cares deeply for his people. Never in my life I've met someone that shares my vision for my future kingdom. It pleases me deeply. He is wise and I'm glad I am able to have such visionary on my side.
Oh...
He blinked as his mouth gave a shaky and surprised breath. His heart stirred in a pleasant feeling. It was odd and that terrified him. His heart was trying to settle a beat according to an specific emotion, but all of them mutinied and sent his brain into a brief override.
"Are you done invading her privacy?"
Miguel glared at a mirthful Jessica.
"This is the only way I can get some direct information."
"About yourself?" Her brow quirked with a little deadpan.
"The kingdom."
"Oh yes, the kingdom, of course."
Miguel rolled his eyes with a shake of his head and resumed his reading.
I was awaken today by the clashing of swords. The king was practicing some sword fighting with his brother. And now I can understand why he is called The Red King, or The Dragon's Claws in Onerim.
That was definitely a new nickname.
He wielded a sword in each hand. His technique is unique, precise and so deadly if one would be a tyro in the arts of combat. Even though it was a practice he didn't held back.
I cannot describe the feeling he... stirred  within me. May God forgive me for such volatile imagination.
His lips curved in a smirk.
"Flip the page."
Jessica's voice made his eyes snap up at her. She was away in her spot.
"You'll get extra patrol."
"Ohh, what did you read?"
"Si si, ya. Cállate, me interrumpes." (Shut up, you're interrupting me)
The power the king holds in his garden is... beyond me. How could he just accept things without looking into it? A bit reckless considering mostly of the plants he owes are either poisonous or quite medicinal. There is no in between.
Peter seemed concerned for the safety of the people that take care of the gardens, must admit his reaction was laughable.
But to my horror, tragedy attacked. There were many injured, but the king concerned me the most. I know his men are dear to him, but he shouldn't neglect himself. Not when he had a deep wound that could end up in a serious infection.
He allowed me to help him. He gave me a chance to prove him how worthy I could be. Hope my efforts didn't go unnoticed.
They didn't. How could he forget about your doting fingers working on him with such expertise, he barely felt any pain. He flipped the page.
Was I too straightforward when I said I admired him? He seemed uncomfortable even told me to see someone else as a role model. He's quite hard to read sometimes.
He's always frowning or scowling. Should I stop trying to approach? Even if we know our duties, I wouldn't want to be at odds with him.
But right now, my mind wanders to my father. He is ill, and I must visit him. Hopefully the king will understand.
Miguel exhaled. His shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his face. Once again the questions assaulted his mind, yet wandered towards your family.
So far they seemed good and they were keeping the promise. The economy kept thriving and so far none had complained of any trouble in the West Passage.
He put the diary back in it's place and left your room. The lovely smell of rich violets had been long gone. You had left a day ago. Nothing had changed except his inner turmoil regarding your safety.
Not that he didn't trust his men. Peter was more than efficient, Gwen was capable despite being young, just like Hobie. And Webslinger was more than seasoned. You'd be alright. You had to.
He left your room with Jessica tailing behind him.
"One day you'd have to tell her that you've been reading her diary."
"Probably she'd end up poisoning me."
"And you'd die a happy man."
Jessica chuckled as he was about to protest.
"Do you miss her already?"
His shoulders tensed and slicked his hair back. 
"How is the east frontier gateway doing?"
"Holding up as it should"
He nodded, "Any complains?"
"Negative. The mutinies have been controlled and the leader has been arrested." Jessica rolled her shoulders to ease some tension, "It's the second mutiny regarding a rebellion we've encountered this month."
"Do you think it's a pattern?"
"It better not. Rebellions although used for higher causes, always bring second hand intentions. With enough fire and ignorant people, it can be dangerous."
His nose flared, frustration simmering in his heart.
"Sometimes I do wonder if I'm doing a good job as a king."
"You can't keep everyone happy, Miguel."
"I know. Still I'm doing everything I can yet it's never enough it seems."
"It won't be for those who aren't satisfied. You're a good ruler. And if this keeps happening, we'll handle it. Like we always do."
"Thanks."
"Besides, you have the Princess now. You said she shared your ideals, hold onto that."
"Might as well invite her for a hearing in a council."
"Don't listen to those old people, they are nothing but square thinkers."
"As long as their interests aren't threatened, the princess will be alright."
"We gotta see her temper as well. Oh! can you imagine her being like you? The scandal!"
"You're enjoying this too much."
"Of course I am. You're worried about something else that isn't the kingdom for once."
"She said we're acquaintances."
"Better than strangers or people that see eachother as something convenient. Does it bothers you being only that with her?"
"It's not that. Wouldn't want to be on her bad side either. You know I don't trust easily."
"You're still seeing if you can trust her?"
"Of course. That's why I read her diary. Her thoughts are truthful."
"Whatever works out for you, I guess. As long as you remain truthful."
----
Your carriage stopped in the outside of the castle. Your mother and Lucille already awaiting. Peter opened the door for you as you stepped out.
Lucille rushed to hug you.
"I've missed you so much!"
The queen joined in a heartfelt reunion. Peter and the rest followed you inside.
"My dear. You have... no idea how much I missed you."
The queen gave you a kiss on the forehead and a hug.
"How is father?"
"Stable. Come."
Peter stood behind you, paying a keen ear to the conversation.
"What happened?"
"A poisoning attempt."
Your hands covered your mouth and the queen squeezed your shoulders.
"And by none other than his beloved mistress. That wretched whore poisoned him once he refused her whims."
Your jaw tightened upon hearing the things that came out her mouth. Another reason to abhorre them. Not only they had meddled with your parent's marriage, but now one had tried to kill him.
Peter saw you tense, now having a wider perspective on why you were so upset regarding them. Understandably so.
"Tell me she is dead."
Peter blinked at your words.
"I assure you this ain't the first attempt she tries. Remember when he suddenly fell ill by an everlasting raving? The whore had diluted datura and henbane on his drink."
"As much as I'd love to handle her treatment personally, I shall go to see the king. Lucille, Peter please come with me."
Peter gave the rest a sign call to remain put as he followed. You were on your element, and it showed as you gave turns around the castle, like muscle memory.
Lucille separated to go to a lab-like room as you walked to the king's chambers.
Guards saluted you as you entered. Heart sinking at the sight. Your father laid on bed, pale due sickness, lips devoid of color, eyebags dark and sagging thanks to the little sleep.
"Oh no. no. Please leave!" You dad whined but you held his hand soothingly
"How could you ask such thing when you're fighting for your life?"
"Who is this man?"
"Commander Peter B. Parker. From Arachne."
"You've already gotten married?"
"No. Not yet."
You soaked a rag on the water next to him as the damage was assessed.
"From all the things you could've done, was to anger a woman that is power-hungry."
"Please, child-"
"You know how that... Sarina is."
"She's just angered, but she will come to me. I know so. This is just a quarrel -"
"Father."
Your voice was stern, laced with anger, yet you kept wiping his sweat.
"I'll have her executed for murder attempt."
The king groaned and sobbed.
"In my time, none went above me. And look how things have changed, ser!" Your dad looked at Peter, trying to get him to reason with you. He just gave an awkward smile.
"It's beyond me how can you keep defending such... woman after everything she has done to you. You might tolerate it. But I do not."
You stood and went to the little medical station that was left either by Lucille or another doctor. Hands ground some herbs as Lucille brought a pot of boiling water.
" You don't know her like I do."
"Oh, my apologies dear father, but anyone that attempt to kill me in the name of love must surely be a lovely person"
Peter just remained watching, until you called him while stirring a goblet with a steamy green concoction.
"Hold the king." You instructed as he blinked stupidly.
"Beg... your pardon, your majesty?"
"Please hold the king's hands. I will give him his medicine."
"If you dare to touch me, I will have-!"
"You barely can keep your own head up, father. Stop it."
Peter sighed and held the king's hands firmly. His skin cold, clammy and waxy. Your father whined like a child as you made him swallow the potion, green and thick drops of the brew rolled down his chin. His face contorted in a repulsed one at the strong and sour taste.
"Thanks, Peter."
The Commander stepped away and let you work. You seemed used to your father's antics at this point, and so was Lucille.
"Now, if you excuse me, I must talk to the queen."
"Your mother refuses to talk to me, child."
You rolled your eyes.
"Understandably so. You can't expect  people that love you be happy for such repetitive behavior. Much less with someone that brings suffering. You're lucky if she doesn't makes you watch that woman's execution."
"Sarina has done nothing but to bring joy to my life!"
Sighing you shook your head.
"My God... why men must think with their groin?! How can you so blind, father? You've hurt my mother with your little childish affairs." You took a deep breath, "You're a king. An old one, mind you. Behave like one."
Your voice laced with anger. A warning tone.
-----
As day passed, Miguel poured himself into work. The reports of Rhino sure had decreased, the villain so far knew to keep a low profile, which was odd. It was against the rouge's nature to be so quiet and cunning, unless someone else was with him. And that meant trouble.
Sighing for the millionth time, Miguel plopped on his chair. One that had to be custom made for him, and then, slicked his hair back. Sometimes he wanted to pull his hair out due the strain he was constantly facing, and other times he really wanted to just punch something or someone.
He was sure that if that desperation would be a human or something tangible, he'd not only punch it, but would try to make it through the same  suffering it was making him endure. His heart beat faster and he clutched at his chest. A few deep breaths was enough to ease his irregular beatings.
He closed his eyes and relaxed his body. His fingers rubbed on his aching eyes. He had been sleeping less and less, to the point of having random yet unwilling naps and waking up tired and sore.
His neck popped as his spine cracked back into place and grunted like a rusty machine. His mind tried to empty itself, gravitating towards your soft and warm fingers on his aching skin. It was the closest someone has ever been touching him in a non threatening way.
Your fingers felt like silk sliding down his upper body, A gentle caress from the wind, a soothing touch in aching bones. Balm to his bleeding body.
Soft caresses on his face and hair turned real, palpable even. Like if his thoughts were taking shape and were now massaging his scalp with such softness it made him groan. He was surely losing his mind, but the touch was so soothing and slumber inducing that he remained still, slowly melting into the caresses. They reminded of yours.
Had you returned already?
His nose was filled in with a scent he wished to have long forgotten eons ago. His eyes frowned as the too real dream now delivered fluttering kisses up and down his neck. His scent strong in myrrh and herbs.
"Hello there." The feminine voice snapped his eyes open and sigh.
"Leave."
"But you seemed to be enjoying it, Miggy."
Dana's voice purred into his ear which he quickly shook off with a disgruntled sigh.
"I said leave." He nearly growled and that made her stop, only to kneel before him, spreading his legs, her hands roaming over his clothed inner thighs.
"I've seen your new toy. Even though she is quite the looker, it makes me wonder. For how long you'll play until you break her?"
Miguel's eyes darted to her as she placed little kisses on his hands. He quickly removed them off her lips, annoyed, earning him a giggle.
" I know you. You like playing rough until your toys can no longer amuse you. But I'm still here, Miguel."
Her fingers roamed his injured arm gently, but even so, Miguel winced. Her touch felt soiling yours.
"Did she heal you, my love? How sweet of her to keep you in good shape for me." Her hand hovered over his groin but he quickly grabbed her by the wrist. "How long has it been since we had some pillow talk?"
"How brave of you to prowl when she is gone."
"I am generous to spare her a bad time, by seeing me coming out of your chambers. Isn't that nice of me?"
"¿A poco si?" (Are you?) His face went blank
"Oh, Miguel. You mockery has turned soft. Just like you. I wonder if it's by that little witch influence."
"Witch?"
"I'd be careful around her. She knows too much." She sat on his lap.
He quirked an eyebrow without amusement. Stoic as ever.
"Follow your own advices, querida."
Dana widened her eyes slightly as she seized him with an undignified stare.
"You wouldn't allow her to do so such thing."
He shrugged and pushed her off his body gently, a cue for her to move but completely missed it.
"Who knows? I might feel bored and in dire need of amusement one day if you keep testing my patience. I said leave."
Dana stood with anger as he growled.
"We are on the verge of war and you suddenly start being all moronic and stupid over a pair of pretty eyes. She has been washing your brain! "
"The prettiest I've seen, indeed." He taunted.
"You are mine. And I do not share. Much less with a witch! For all I know she could've already poisoned your drinks!"
Miguel gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes and approached her.
"Is that so?" Her lips smirked as she bit her lips. Miguel took her by the chin.
"You don't like sharing?"
Dana shook her head and gasped as Miguel cornered her to wall, hand still gripping her chin. A grip that turned borderline painful as he kept squeezing.
"Tell me, dear Dana." The octave lower tone he pronounced dear made her gulp, "Do you see a ring on your finger?"
"She doesn't have one either."
"Yet. The difference between you and her is that she will. You won't." He spat. His smile long gone as he scrutinized her face. "We share a vision. You and I? A bed many months ago."
Dana growled but yelped as Miguel patted her cheek a bit too roughly.
"You don't love her" She taunted with a smirk, trying to swallow the painful stabs his words provoked her.
"What makes you think I love you instead?"
Something dern slithered in Dana's eyes.
"I am not in the mood for your stupid games and hysterics. Not now, not today, nor ever. Entiendes? Stay away from her and my affairs." (Understand?)
Dana stole a kiss, leaving a little wound in his lips in the process, a desperate way to mark him. Miguel snarled and took her by her arm then shoved her out of his chambers, slamming the door in her face. Rejecting her completely.
Little did Miguel know on taking Jessica's warning words at heart.
A scorned woman holds such wrath even you must learn to be wary of.
Dana left, her thinking gears turning and moving. Miguel would learn, whether he liked it or not. He was hers. She licked his blood off her tongue.
-----
"I apologize you had to witness that. My father... Is like a child once he gets bedridden.
"Do not fret over it, your highness. I've seen and done worse than that."
You chuckled as you walked through the gardens, checking on your roses and herbs.
"I always forget to ask you, ser Peter... Has the king been always this serious?"
"Even as a kid, yeah. His father trained us together."
Nodding your fetched a basket and then asked for boiling water to one of the nearby servants.
"Was he as ruthless and bloodthirsty as people say?"
"Ruthless, yes. He is when it comes to protect the kingdom and people he holds dear."
"But?"
"There is no buts, Princess. It is as it is."
"He loved the slaughter then?"
"Not to that point, but he wouldn't hesitate in ending someone's life if it was a threat. As little as it seemed to be."
You nodded and pulled two black roses along some berries to then put it on a kettle.
"What has changed?"
"He got tired of the bloodshed. And so Arachne. So we strive for the peace, wars leave nothing but destruction and broken families in their wake. "
"But?"
"We won't hesitate to wield our swords again if we are called for duty."
Nodding, you poured a cup for yourself and another for Peter.
"Sit." You instructed as you added honey to your tea, "We grow these for our women. In Theleria, fertility rites are quite sacred."
Peter eyed the simmering flower, the hot blend slowly turning into a subtle red-ish hue.
"But for men, it's just another drink for energy boosting" You smiled, "Thelerians are avid tea drinkers."
"Not my business to prey in, but... You're to kill that woman?"
"The Queen is. Can't pry away that from my mother. My people found out she is mingled with King Fisk's men. And thanks to her influence on my father, my kingdom just lost a couple more lands to him."
The tea's flavor blooming so sweetly in your mouth. A stark contrast in the sourness of your words.
"I don't like mistresses for that exact motive. Sure, love can be displayed with them, since royals get together to secure territory, legacies and the like, nothing more nothing less."
A sigh.
"I truly wouldn't want for the king of Arachne to fall under the same curse we have."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Some of our past kings have had a fair share of mistresses. And all of them have had a favorite that for some reason, turn out to be calamities."
Another sip of your tea, "I'm aware that such position influences greatly in a king's judgement. Sadly our past kings thought with their groin." Your eyes stared off at your drink, "And little by little they engaged in wars that costed our kingdom greatly."
"King Miguel is wise enough to not fall under such things."
"Not to underestimate his reasoning, but these women are cunning. You don't see them coming until is too late."
"Princess. I promise you, it's not the case with the king. Please, don't waver your faith in him."
"I will trust your word, ser."
Peter nodded with a solemn nod.
"How... -"
"Will the Queen dispose of her?"
Shrugging you finished your tea
"That is up to her. One would think that my mother would enjoy this, be satisfied even, but little do people know is that she is in pain."
"Pain?"
"Indeed. She never managed to get my father's love entirely, as it was an arranged marriage as well. And after my brother's passing it turned worst. My father's behavior I mean."
Peter sipped his now warm tea, for his surprise it was mellow and sweet tasting.
"He shut himself off from everyone. My mother specially. But with that woman, he seemed a different man. Even I was a fool to believe their supposed romance."
You ate a little candied flower before speaking again, trying to sweeten your mouth after the acrid words.
"It's not easy for her to get rid of my father's source of... twisted joy. But her treason to this kingdom weighs more than a heartache."
"If you were in this position-"
"I am, somehow, ser. And I hope I never meet them."
Peter's lips pursed and nodded
"Would you proceed like your mother?"
"No. I'd step away. There is no business for me to do in that situation. Can't get in between two people that seek eachother."
"I see"
"Why?"
"Just thinking. What if it's a one sided thing?"
"I'd need you to be more specific on that, ser."
"What if the king doesn't partake anymore in such activities, but the other... part, seeks him?"
"Still. Why would he keep them around to begin with, if he has no intention of such activities?"
You sighed once more, "It's more complicated than that, ser. I know that King Miguel has had concubines or mistresses before. But it's confusing."
"Confusing?"
"I'm not one to be authoritarian, and I know it's tradition for you and the rest of the continent. But in my kingdom, mistresses are... heavily frowned upon."
"May I ask why?"
"We value, respect and cherish those whom we decide to share our lives with. Adding someone else in the picture would not only make our partner feel unworthy."
You wet your lips after much talking, "But rejected even, a clear 'I do not need you nor want you'. My father was the fourth king in following such wretched customs."
"Do you feel disrespected, your highness?" Peter tried carefully, and your eyes casted down.
"I'd be a liar if I say I don't, even though prince Gabriel apologized. But customs are customs, I suppose."
Peter could only sigh, disheartened. Naturally he'd had to inform back to Miguel, however your words had opened a new perspective to him. He could now understand why you were so upset about how everything displayed.
Still, the drunk habits of prince Gabriel weren't appreciated.
"Wander the city, have some fun while you're here. I am to remain whitin the castle anyways. Must prepare my father's medical dosage and then I'll have some tea with Lucille."
You stood and left, cutting him short before he could reply.
-----
In the end, the execution of Sarina was a quick beheading, once the king had enough color on his cheeks, you were set to go. With a heavy heart you said your goodbyes to Lucille and your mother, who you had shared the past events.
"If he keeps causing you pain, return. We'll find a better solution. I will not tolerate you to end up like me."
She had said, comforting you at her best. Gwen, Hobie and Webslinger had toured the city with the help of Lucille. They carried some souvenirs back at work. You on the other hand, had been keeping your attention at your needlework all your way back to Arachne.
It took you two days to arrive, three and a half to stay and another one and half day to arrive. A whole week.
The scenery had changed, the might and grandeur welcomed you with open arms once more. Calling you, demanding your presence at the castle as red eyes settled on the window, watching from the horizon at the door, expecting; preying.
His eyes lit up with keen interest as your carriage stopped within the porch. Peter helped you out, Gwen and Hobie followed you as Webslinger returned to his post.
Peter arrived minutes later, a turgid expression painted in his face. Miguel didn't know if to feel worried or even more distressed.
"Report."
"Hello to you too, pal. Glad to see your sour face again."
Miguel exhaled deeply, begging for patience to heavens.
"Hello, please report."
"What happened to your lip?"
Miguel's jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.
"Then I am not speaking."
"Ah que la chin-... Mira, Parker no estoy para juegos." (Fuckin sh... Look, I'm not in the mood.)
"Neither am I. So you better speak up. What happened?"
"Dana happened. Alright? Now fucking speak."
"You absolute cheater"
Miguel's eyes widened in anger at his words.
"Whatch your fucking tone, Parker."
"I give two flying ducks who you are right now. You slept with your mistress again? While the princess was gone?"
"Funny for you to think I have the time for that. I didn't. She barged in my chambers, told her to fuck off and she bit me instead."
It was Peter's turn for his eyes to widen as Miguel spat his words angrily, nearly seething.
"You should definitely put that rabid dog down. Why do you keep her around if you aren't engaging?"
"Because..." Miguel sighed, " Because I know what that...pinche zorra is capable of." (Fucking whore)
"Kill her then."
"No."
Peter deadpanned, "You've killed for less. You've killed other mistresses before!"
"No. Still, is not easy to get rid of someone like her. You think I don't want her out of this place?"
Peter sighed and removed his gauntlets.
"Everyone warned you about her."
"You act as if you weren't young and stupid."
"I told you, Jessica told you, even your mother that didn't like anyone warned you about her."
"I was nineteen! I had just been crowned."
"And now you see the consequences of spoiling a pet too much."
Sighing, both friend's fumes dissipated, Peter face grew somber as Miguel pinched the bridge of her nose.
"She feels disrespected."
"Who?"
"My hen."
Miguel quirked an eyebrow to him, confused.
"The princess! She explained a bit of her customs and yeah, it makes sense for her to be upset about Gabriel calling her a concubine."
"She's still upset about it?"
"Rightfully so."
Peter explained the conversation he had with you. The king's health, the motive of said illness, the execution; Lucille and your customs. As Peter spoke Miguel's face changed into many emotions. Confusion, anger, discomfit and a hint of sadness.
"That's pretty much about it."
Miguel chewed at the insides of his cheek and gave an exhausted groan.
"No puedo más. I... No puedo."
Miguel wanted to rip his hair out, or scream until his voice was raw. Instead he stood.
"I'll be right back. Tell Jessica to bring in a new dose."
The king left his office, he'd receive the reports later, his steps guided him to your chambers. he entered albeit unannounced.
"My goodness!" You squealed and quickly secured the robe that laid loosely on your shoulders and legs, around your body. Cheeks flaring.
Miguel turned around to give you some privacy while picking his palm with his nails.
"My apologies, Princesa."
Smooth and supple skin was engraved into his mind. He cleared his throat.
"It's... It's fine. Didn't expect your visit. I am dressed."
A shame.
A little part of his brain screamed as he glared at none in particular for such thought. He turned around and you were fumbling with some things inside a little wooden box.
Your face lit up, when pulling out a piece of fabric with an intricate embroidery design. It was Arachne's and Theleria's emblem, woven together in the richest threads colors he had imported.
You stepped closer and offered it to him.
"A gift for you. I cannot express my gratitude enough for allowing me to see my family again, my lord."
"You did this?"
The fabric felt soft on his calloused ones, he was marveled. He'd never had enough time to indulge his own desires and hobbies as they were long gone forgotten and replaced by countless hours of work.
"In my spare time. Been planning on making this for quite a while. And now that I've finally finished it, it's yours."
You placed the thing on his hand and smiled
"Do you like it?"
"I do" He smiled gently, "Thanks. You're quite skilled in this."
"Thank you, ser."
A pregnant pause fell upon you both. Eyes squinting at the broken flesh of his bottom lip. Your fingers examinated it gently. It was a bold move considering you had only touched him once before, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Are you alright?"
A sudden adrenaline rush came to him. His mouth went dry at the sudden proximity you had created between the both. You couldn't help it, the healer in you always took over whenever seeing a wound.
"I injured myself." He lied and his mouth felt dirty, his heart gave a doleful beat as you frowned in concern.
"If stressed, lavender will relax you. Would you like me to prepare some for you?"
"It's alright. Just a stupid injury."
"I differ, but this one isn't that bad."
"Is the king better?" He quickly segued between topics and nodded with a smile at his question.
"He is. My mother and Lucille took a great care of him. I just added the finishing touches to his health."
"What about the Queen?"
"Oh? She is alright. Thanks for asking."
"Do you miss them?"
"Dearly. But my duties remain here. They will be fine."
"I'm glad you made it back. Unscathed I mean."
"Thank you."
Again, he cleared his throat at the uncomfortable silence.
"Is there anything else I can help you with, your highness?"
"I'd like to introduce you to the council soon, we'll have a meeting someday this week. I'd like for you to attend."
"Oh? Sounds like I should prepare myself."
"You'll do just fine."
"Even though I am scared, I will be there. I'll take it as another chance to learn from your kingdom."
Your eagerness about something new always made his eyes soften.
"I will let you rest, Princesa."
He took your hand and kissed the back of your palm. Your cheeks burned again.
"Have a good night."
"You too, my lord."
As Miguel left, his hands caressed and scrutinized the fabric. Your dedication shown in the pristine weave. A red skull spider like symbol surrounded by a wreath of roses.
A symbol of your future union. And now it was all his. He was glad you were home unscathed, that you saw your family and friends. But Peter's words had caused such effect on him that humbled him right away.
He wasn't aware of your customs, never really took the time to take a look on it. Which costed him a big time of his trust. He had disrespected you without knowing, and it was all up to him to fix it properly.
The thought of Dana touching him made him feel greatly repulsed. Touches that he once got lost in, were now selfish yanks and pulls that suffocated and irked him. Contrary to yours, that not only healed, but treated him with respect.
You didn't pressured him into things. You understood his motives, and how his time was used. But still, after reading your diary, he knew he also had to make an effort to keep you included and not sought after just when the conditions demanded your presence.
Exhaustion finally took a grip on him, he just removed his armoring and clothes, too quanked to even remove his shoes, limbs too heavy to keep moving. The bed under him creaked by his weight and for once in a long while, Miguel followed Jessica's advice and went to sleep early. No bad dreams nor ill heartbeats hunted him.
-------
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502 notes · View notes
ratsonastick · 3 months
Note
Clarisse with a mermaid/lake protector girlfriend? as if they were talked about a lot by the reader only appearing to talk to her or when Chiron called her, however she manages to transform into a human, and she doesn't talk to anyone other than Clarisse because she is shy and also doesn't like demigods ( except Clarisse, of course)
Lakeside
Clarisse La Rue x FemMermaid!Reader
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A/N- I hope this is close to what you wanted!
Requests Remain Open
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Clarisse has never liked the lake, it reminded her of too much and she could never sit down and focus because of the many sounds. 
But one day she spotted something stepping out and walking towards the shore and she became curious. At first, she thought it was another camper, but then she noticed how you had a different type of shine to your body. 
She drew a dagger from her pants and crept forward thinking it was a monster that had split in. Taking shallow breaths she approached you. When she stepped on a branch and broke it she mentally cursed at herself as you turned to look at her with fright. 
You quickly ran back into the water, your skin merging and forming what looked like a tail. Clarisse had heard of you, a myth around camp that she never believed. 
You were the protector of the camp lake, saving drowning children and whatnot. Aphrodite cursed you for loving one of her children. It was said that the girl had asked her mother to get you to leave her alone and this was the first thought.
What was meant to make you ugly, simply only made you more beautiful – or that's what Clarisse thought 
She heard Chiron make an announcement once about leaving trash around the lake, saying the living species were getting upset. She didn't realize it was you they were upsetting. 
Once she left she still had the curiosity to see you again, she asked her siblings if they had seen anything like you but they all just brushed her away. 
So she left it up to herself to find you again. 
She went at the same time she did the day before, this time she went slower, being careful not to scare you. 
She spotted you once again, you had small fabric pieces covering you, and vines, necklaces, and bracelets decorated you adding to the shine of your skin. 
And most importantly you had legs again. 
The night before Clarisse had asked Chiron about you. He told her that you do exist, but you dislike demigods – or any type of god really because of your past. So if she were able to get to you then he would be amazed. 
She wanted to get to you … boy did she want to. 
She walked over the pebbles and cleared her throat, you placed your hands on the ground to quickly stand up but she put her hands up trying to show that she wasn't a threat. 
“I'm Clarisse” she spoke softly, taking a step forward. “What do you want?” You asked in a soft and shy voice which surprised her. 
Clarisse shrugged her shoulders, not even sure what her reasoning was, she just felt drawn to you. “I haven't seen you before.” 
“Good” You answered, simple and plain, not wanting to add more as you took another step away from her. “You're afraid of me?” Clarisse asked, but it came out more as a statement. 
You scoffed turning to face her “No … I hate you.” 
“You don't know me.” Clarisse challenged, if there was one thing Clarisse hated, it was losing a challenge. 
“I've heard the children speak from the boats, they are afraid of you,” you spoke softly, but there was a certain sternness in it that made Clarisse’s heart pump. 
“I’m sorry … but that is simply the way I am. Mean. But I will be nice to you … I’ll try.” Clarisse found herself apologizing for no reason, her shoulders kinda shrugged and she had a straight face. 
It wasn't long until she convinced you to sit down with her, and eventually, she got you laughing. Clarisse was still her anger-driven self, but she mellowed down when she was near you, bringing out a more flirtatious side of her. 
After a few weeks, another camper noticed the two of you talking, and when Clarisse was questioned she gave them an aggressive look and told them to ‘back off’ and that you were not theirs to know about. 
She wanted you to socialize with others, to get over your hatred towards others, but at the same time, she liked having you all to herself. She couldn't help it but it was in her blood to be selfish. 
So the day when she saw you talking to another camper she lost it. She stormed up to the two of you and watched as you stroked the kid's back. “What the hell is going on?” Clarisse pretty much growled at you. 
But the look you gave her was unphased, and that made her even more annoyed. Her arms were crossed as she looked down at the two of you. “He was drowning … it's my job to save the children.” You spoke softly looking back at the kid. 
When Clarisse walked around the kid to see his face, she noticed the snot rolling down his nose and how he was drenched. She felt stupid, but to keep up her strong act she rolled her eyes “You're fine, now get lost.” She told the kid, tilting her head towards the cabins so he would get the hint. 
The little kid who was terrified of Clarisse got up and stumbled away. 
Clarisse watched the kid leave and then turned to face you as you stood up, “You let your imagination control you.” you spoke softly meeting her gaze, “Nothing controls me.” 
“Except for your anger and jealousy.” 
Clarisse scoffed and shook her head “Whatever I'm leaving.” 
“Don't,” you called out to her as she was already walking away, she stopped and swung her foot so it almost twirled her body for her.  She stopped, still a distance away from you as she waited for something else. 
“You're my only friend … I want your company.” You admitted for the first time since she started talking to you. Clarisse couldn't help but smile, so she looked down trying to whip off the smirk and play it cool. 
“Fine only because you are so sweet.” She teased, but she was gonna stay anyway, whether you wanted her to or not. 
She sat down and you followed her, you shyly scooted your hand towards hers, still afraid that Clarisse might get angry and curse you, like that camper had done in the past. 
But Clarisse smiled and took it, letting her hand interlock with yours, feeling your skin and how your hand was so smooth compared to hers. 
You sat together in silence, Clarisse drew patterns into your skin with her thumb, enjoying how you felt, and for the first time, she enjoyed sitting by the water. 
203 notes · View notes
muiitoloko · 28 days
Text
Your sentence
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Summary: Turpin and his wife deal with their pregnancy, and have some quality time together, before he pronounces her sentence.
Pairing: Judge Turpin × Fem! Reader
Warnings: Pregnancy, pregnant sex, smut, nausea and self-criticism.
Author's Notes: Greetings, esteemed audience! Welcome back to the latest escapades of Turpin and his bun-in-the-oven wife. Believe it or not, I actually managed to pen this chapter in the ungodly hours of dawn, and wait for it... I even gave it a makeover! *Busts out into an impromptu victory dance* Now, here's the million-dollar question: Is Turpin still recognizable, or have I accidentally turned him into a unicorn-loving, tea-sipping ninja? Your feedback is as precious as gold, so spill the beans.
First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh part here.
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As you sat in the bathtub, the warm water soothing your tired muscles, you couldn't help but feel a sense of relaxation wash over you. The maid's gentle ministrations as she rubbed your back only added to the blissful sensation, and you closed your eyes, allowing yourself to fully indulge in the moment.
However, your peaceful reverie was abruptly interrupted by the sound of the bathroom door opening, and you tensed as you heard Turpin's stoic voice. You glanced over your shoulder to see him standing there, his expression impassive as he observed the scene before him.
"Taking quite a long time with your bath, aren't you?" he remarked, his tone cool and detached.
You felt a pang of guilt at his words, knowing that you had been indulging in the luxury of the bath for longer than usual. "I-I'm sorry, Richard," you stammered, quickly attempting to apologize. "I'll be finished soon, I promise."
But Turpin ignored your apology, waving the maid to leave. The maid quickly excused herself and left the room, leaving you alone with your husband. His intense gaze bore into you, and you felt yourself becoming nervous under his scrutiny. Instinctively, you wanted to hide from him, but you knew that Turpin didn't like it when you hid.
As he walked closer, you couldn't help but notice the slight limp in his step, a reminder of the pain he was still experiencing from the previous night. You bit your lip, feeling a surge of guilt at the sight of his discomfort.
"What are you doing?" you asked, unable to stop yourself from voicing your curiosity as Turpin began to undress.
Turpin sighed lightly, a hint of exasperation in his tone. "Taking a shower," he replied matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It'll be quicker if we both shower together."
You blinked in surprise at his suggestion, feeling a flush of embarrassment creeping up your cheeks. "Oh," you mumbled, feeling foolish for not realizing his intentions sooner.
Turpin chuckled softly at your reaction, though there was a warmth in his eyes that you hadn't seen before. "You always did have a knack for asking obvious questions," he teased gently, his voice lacking its usual edge of cruelty.
You nodded in agreement, feeling a sense of relief at Turpin's lighter demeanor. As he finished undressing, revealing his half-hard cock, you couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement mixed with nervousness at the prospect of showering together.
Turpin noticed your hesitation and stepped closer, his gaze softening as he reached out to cup your cheek tenderly. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice gentle and caring. "I know things have been difficult between us, but I want you to know that I'm trying. I really am."
Touched by his sincerity, you leaned into his touch, feeling a sense of warmth spreading through your chest. "I know, Richard," you replied softly, meeting his gaze with an earnest expression. "And I appreciate it more than you know."
With a small smile, Turpin settled into the bathtub across from you and you couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that the tub was spacious enough for both of you. The warm water enveloped you both, soothing away the tensions of the day and allowing you to relax in each other's company.
"Is your hip still bothering you?" you asked softly, your voice filled with genuine concern as you reached out to gently touch Turpin's thigh.
Turpin nodded slightly, his expression thoughtful. "A little," he admitted reluctantly. "But it's much better after the healing ointment. Thank you for that."
You smiled warmly at his gratitude, feeling a sense of satisfaction at having been able to provide him with some measure of relief. As Turpin leaned back in the bathtub, he motioned for you to come closer, his gaze softening as he met your eyes.
"Come here," he murmured, his voice gentle and inviting. "I want you to bathe me."
Your heart fluttered at his request, a mixture of nerves and excitement coursing through your veins. Swallowing back your apprehension, you obeyed, getting on your knees in the bathtub and inching closer to Turpin until you were within arm's reach.
As you reached out to cup water in your hands and pour it over Turpin's chest, you couldn't help but notice the gray strands mingling with the black hair that covered his chest. Despite his imposing demeanor, there was a vulnerability in the way he allowed you to care for him, a vulnerability that touched something deep within you.
Turpin watched you intently as you bathed him, his gaze lingering on your breasts, which seemed fuller today than they had yesterday. A flicker of desire flashed in his eyes, and you felt a flush of heat spreading across your cheeks at the realization that he was observing you so closely.
With steady hands, you continued to bathe Turpin, washing away the day's grime and tension as you worked. His skin was warm and smooth beneath your touch, a stark contrast to the rough exterior he often presented to the world.
As you reached up to wash his face, Turpin leaned into your touch, his eyes closing in contentment. You couldn't help but marvel at the intimacy of the moment, the simple act of caring for each other forging a connection between you that felt stronger than any words could convey.
However, your peaceful moment was shattered when you suddenly felt something warm trickling down your chest. Startled, you looked down, your eyes widening in disbelief as you realized that you were leaking breast milk again. Gasping at the unexpected sensation, you quickly withdrew your hands from Turpin's body, feeling a surge of embarrassment washing over you.
Turpin, noticing your sudden movement, opened his eyes to look at you, his expression shifting from relaxation to curiosity. His gaze fell upon your leaking breasts, and a flicker of surprise crossed his features before a pleased smile tugged at the corners of his lips. It was almost as if he found the sight of you leaking milk to be divine, stirring something primal within him.
As you attempted to excuse yourself from the bathtub, flustered and embarrassed by the situation, Turpin reached out to stop you, his voice low and commanding. "No," he insisted, his tone firm. "Stay."
You hesitated, unsure of what to do, but Turpin's unwavering gaze held you in place. With a reluctant sigh, you acquiesced, settling back into the warm water as Turpin's eyes lingered on your leaking breasts.
Feeling self-conscious under his intense scrutiny, you tried to divert his attention away from your embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, Richard," you stammered, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I don't know why this keeps happening."
Turpin's expression softened as he reached out to gently caress your cheek, his touch surprisingly gentle despite his usual demeanor. "There's nothing to apologize for," he reassured you, his voice soothing. "It's a natural part of pregnancy and childbirth. Besides, I find it... intriguing."
You blinked in surprise at his admission, unsure of how to respond to his unexpected reaction. Turpin, noticing your uncertainty, leaned in closer, his gaze darkening with desire as he reached out to cup your leaking breast in his hand.
The sensation of his touch sent a shiver of arousal coursing through you, and you couldn't help but gasp at the intimate contact. Turpin's eyes gleamed with hunger as he watched the milk dribble from your nipple, his own arousal evident as his gaze flickered down to the growing bulge between his legs.
Unable to resist the temptation any longer, Turpin leaned forward, his lips capturing your leaking nipple in a hungry kiss. You gasped at the sudden contact, the sensation sending sparks of pleasure shooting through your body as Turpin began to suckle greedily at your breast.
His rough, yet surprisingly skilled ministrations left you breathless, your hands instinctively tangling in his hair as you arched your back, offering yourself up to him completely. Turpin groaned around your nipple, his own arousal evident as his cock throbbed against your thigh, desperate for release.
As Turpin continued to suckle at your breast, his movements growing more urgent and desperate with each passing moment, you felt yourself teetering on the edge of ecstasy. The combination of his touch and the warmth of the water surrounding you sent waves of pleasure crashing over you, threatening to consume you entirely.
With a primal growl, Turpin released your nipple from his mouth, his eyes dark with desire as he met your gaze. "I need you," he whispered hoarsely, his voice filled with raw need. "Now."
You nodded eagerly, your own desire burning hot and fierce within you as you reached out to guide Turpin's throbbing cock towards your aching core. With a shared gasp of pleasure, he entered you in one smooth thrust, filling you completely as he claimed you as his own.
The sensation of being joined with him in such an intimate way was overwhelming, and you cried out in ecstasy as he began to move within you, his movements strong and sure as he drove you both towards the edge of oblivion.
Lost in the throes of ecstasy, you began to move with him, your hips rising and falling in rhythm with his thrusts. Each movement sent waves of pleasure crashing through your body, driving you closer and closer to the edge of blissful release.
Turpin wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close as he continued to suckle at your breast, his other hand trailing teasingly down your spine. You gasped at the intimate contact, the warmth of his touch igniting a fire within you that burned hotter and brighter with each passing moment.
You continued bouncing on your husband's cock, enjoying the wave of pleasure building inside you, as Turpin released your nipple and buried his nose between your breasts, inhaling deeply as if he was trying to imprint your scent into his memory. The sensation sent shivers of pleasure throughout your body, and you couldn't help but whimper in response, desperate for more of his touch.
Turpin held your hips tightly, his movements growing slower and more deliberate as he fought to prolong the exquisite torture of your shared pleasure. He knew he couldn't last much longer at his age, and he was determined to savor every moment of your intimacy together.
You whimpered in frustration, craving the release that seemed just out of reach. But Turpin held you firmly in place, his grip unyielding as he slowed his movements to a tantalizing pace. The ache between your legs grew more intense with each passing second, driving you to the brink of madness as you begged for mercy.
As you felt the familiar coil of pleasure building within you, you couldn't help but plead with Turpin, desperate for him not to deny you your orgasm once again. "Please, Richard," you whimpered, your voice thick with need. "Don't stop. I need to cum. Please."
Turpin's expression softened slightly at your plea, his baritone voice low and husky as he complied with your request. Without a word, he pressed his thumb against your swollen clit, rubbing it in slow, deliberate circles as he continued to thrust into you.
The sensation was electrifying, sending shockwaves of pleasure coursing through your body as you felt yourself teetering on the edge of ecstasy. With each stroke of Turpin's thumb, you felt the tension coiling tighter and tighter within you, driving you closer and closer to the brink of release.
And then, finally, it happened. With a shuddering gasp, you felt the wave of orgasm wash over you, your entire body convulsing with pleasure as you clung to Turpin desperately. He watched you intently, his gaze filled with satisfaction as he held you close, reveling in the sight of your surrender.
As you collapsed against him, panting and exhausted from the intensity of your climax, Turpin waited patiently for you to catch your breath. With a gentle hand, he encouraged you to climb out of him, and you did so reluctantly, watching him curiously as he stood up from the tub, you standing up as well, confused.
But before you could react, Turpin grabbed your shoulder and pushed you down, forcing you to your knees. Your heart pounded in your chest as you looked up at him, a mixture of apprehension and arousal coursing through you. Turpin instructed you to keep your breasts together, his voice low and commanding as he expressed his desire to cum on them.
You obeyed without hesitation, though a part of you found the request to be somewhat dirty. But Turpin seemed to revel in the idea, his eyes dark with desire as he grabbed his penis with his fist and began to touch himself.
The sight of your pregnant wife on her knees in front of him, holding her beautiful breasts together for him, was enough to send Turpin over the edge. With a primal growl, he released himself, his hot seed spurting out in thick, white ribbons as it landed on your waiting chest.
You gasped at the sensation, feeling the warm liquid coating your skin as Turpin continued to stroke himself, milking every last drop of pleasure from his release. He watched you intently, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he took in the sight of you covered in his cum.
As the last of his orgasm faded, Turpin finally released his grip on his cock, letting it fall limp against his thigh. With a satisfied sigh, he reached out to help you out of the tub, his touch surprisingly gentle as he guided you to your feet.
Despite the lingering sense of dirtiness that lingered in the air, you couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at having pleased Turpin. And as you stood there, chest heaving and skin glistening with his cum, you couldn't help but wonder what other pleasures lay in store for you both.
Days later, the atmosphere between you and Turpin remained charged with tension, yet there was a subtle shift in his demeanor towards you. While he still maintained his authoritarian and cruel facade, there were moments of unexpected kindness and gentleness that he reserved exclusively for you.
Today was one of those rare days when Turpin seemed determined to be good to you, despite his usual impatience and short temper. You were feeling particularly unwell due to the pregnancy, the mere smell of food making you nauseous, and your emotions were on edge, causing you to cry at the slightest provocation.
And Turpin had been surprisingly patient with your mood swings, but as the day wore on, even his patience began to wear thin. The sound of your constant crying grated on his nerves, testing the limits of his resolve to be kind to you.
That night, as you sat in the opulent dining room of your mansion, eating the food with little appetite, Turpin's patience was finally reaching its limit. He listened impatiently as you sobbed uncontrollably, your tears flowing freely as you lamented feeling fat and unattractive.
Despite his efforts to remain calm, Turpin couldn't help but feel frustrated by your outburst. He had tried his best to be understanding and supportive, but your constant emotional turmoil was starting to fray the last of his patience. But Turpin controlled himself not to say anything, his jaw clenched as he continued eating. His patience had worn thin, worn threadbare by the relentless stream of tears and self-deprecating remarks that seemed to flow endlessly from you. Every sob felt like a dagger to his already frayed nerves, but he held his tongue, unwilling to lash out in anger.
But later, when the two of you retreated to the privacy of your bedroom, your tears continued to flow unabated. You sat on the edge of the bed, your shoulders shaking with each sob as you lamented feeling fat and unattractive. The weight of your pregnancy seemed to hang heavily on you, and Turpin could see the toll it was taking on your self-esteem.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Turpin rose from his seat on the bed, his expression dark and brooding. He crossed the room with purposeful strides, his baritone voice low and menacing as he approached you.
With a firm hand, Turpin pulled you out of bed and forced you to look in the mirror, your head throbbing from the strength of his grip on your hair. As you whimpered in pain, your eyes met his in the reflection, searching for some semblance of mercy in his dark, brooding gaze.
"You are mine," Turpin growled, his voice a low rumble of suppressed anger. "And no one insults something that is mine. Do you fucking understand? I'm tired of hearing your damn cries!"
You nodded meekly, unable to muster the courage to speak as Turpin's harsh words echoed in your ears. His cruelty was a reminder of the power he held over you, a power that both terrified and fascinated you in equal measure.
But then, to your surprise, Turpin's demeanor softened slightly as he released his grip on your hair, his hand moving to cup your chin. Through the mirror, you met his gaze, confusion and apprehension swirling in your eyes.
Instead of berating you further, Turpin spoke with unexpected tenderness. "Look at yourself," he instructed, his voice gentle yet firm. "You're not fat. You're pregnant, carrying my child. You should be proud, not criticizing yourself."
You swallowed back the lump in your throat, your eyes misting with unshed tears at his unexpected kindness. Turpin's words struck a chord deep within you, reminding you of the precious life growing inside you and the love you shared with him, despite the complexities of your relationship.
Turpin's hand lingered on your chin, his thumb brushing gently against your cheek as he continued to speak. "You look beautiful pregnant," he murmured, his voice tinged with genuine admiration. "You don't know how much it turns me on. You drive me crazy, damn woman."
A blush spread across your cheeks at his words, a mixture of embarrassment and arousal flooding through you. Turpin's desire for you was both thrilling and intimidating, awakening a hunger within you that you didn't fully understand.
Before you could stop yourself, you hesitated, biting your lip nervously before voicing a hesitant request. "Richard," you whispered, your voice barely above a whisper. "Could... could you... fuck me in front of this mirror?"
Turpin's eyes darkened with desire at your request, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "You want to see yourself, don't you?" he murmured, his voice low and husky with anticipation. "Well, who am I to refuse such a request?"
With that, Turpin moved away from you and began to undress, his movements slow and deliberate as he watched you through the mirror. You couldn't tear your eyes away from him, the sight of his muscular frame and thick, gray-streaked chest hair sending a shiver of excitement down your spine.
Emboldened by his response, you obeyed his unspoken command and began to undress as well, your hands trembling slightly as you shed your clothes. Turpin watched you intently, his gaze filled with hunger as he waited for you to join him.
When you were both naked, Turpin caught you from behind in front of the full-length mirror, his hands gripping your hips possessively as he positioned you to his liking. You held onto the frame of the mirror for support, your heart racing with anticipation as you prepared yourself for penetration.
But Turpin surprised you, dropping to his knees behind you and burying his face between your thighs. You leaned forward, gasping in surprise as his tongue delved between your thighs, exploring your folds with fervent determination. Your grip on the mirror frame tightened as waves of pleasure washed over you, your moans echoing in the spacious room.
Turpin's hands spread your ass cheeks apart, granting him better access to your dripping slit. His tongue worked wonders, licking and kissing every inch of your sensitive flesh, coaxing delicious sounds of pleasure from your lips. You couldn't help but arch your back, pushing your hips back against him, craving more of his tantalizing touch.
"R-richard," you moaned his name, the sound coming out as a breathless plea for more. His response was a deep growl of approval, his ministrations growing more fervent as he teased and taunted your throbbing clit.
Lost in the throes of ecstasy, you closed your eyes, surrendering to the pleasure coursing through your veins. But Turpin's voice cut through the haze of pleasure, commanding you to keep your eyes open if you wanted to see yourself.
With a gasp, you obeyed his directive, forcing your eyes open to gaze upon your reflection in the mirror. The sight of yourself, flushed and panting with desire, only served to heighten the intensity of the moment, sending a shiver of arousal coursing through you.
Turpin stood up behind you, his erect penis glistening with your juices as he spread them along his length. He commented on how hard you made him, his voice thick with desire as he confessed the dirty thoughts that plagued his mind.
"You torment me, you know," he murmured huskily, his breath hot against your ear. "Every moment I spend with you, I ache to possess you completely. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to walk around with an erection, knowing that you're the cause of it?"
His words sent a thrill of excitement coursing through you, igniting a fire deep within your core. Turpin's desire for you was intoxicating, drawing you further into the depths of passion with each passing moment.
With a primal growl, Turpin positioned himself behind you, his hands gripping your hips tightly as he prepared to claim you as his own. You braced yourself for the inevitable onslaught of pleasure, knowing that with Turpin, there was no escaping the overwhelming intensity of his desire.
Turpin entered you slowly, his thick, hard cock sliding into your wetness with deliberate intent. You moaned softly at the sensation of being filled by him, your walls clenching around him eagerly. But when Turpin noticed your eyes closed, he reached out and tugged on your hair, pulling you back with a growl.
"Keep your eyes in the mirror," he commanded, his voice low and demanding. "I want you to watch as I fuck you, every thrust, every moan."
You whimpered at his words, a shiver of arousal coursing through you as Turpin used your hair as leverage, pulling you against his cock. "Yes, Judge Turpin," you gasped, your voice filled with need. "I'll keep my eyes on you, Your Honor."
Turpin's grip tightened on your hair, his fingers threading through the strands as he began to pound into you with increasing intensity. Each thrust sent waves of pleasure crashing through you, driving you closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy.
"You're so beautiful," Turpin murmured, his voice thick with desire. "Absolutely beautiful. How could you ever think you were anything less than that?"
You moaned at his words, the sensation of his cock filling you completely overwhelming your senses. Turpin's hands roamed over your body possessively, tracing the curves of your hips and waist as he claimed you as his own.
With each thrust, Turpin's cock hit that sweet spot deep within you, sending sparks of pleasure shooting through your body. You couldn't help but moan his name, the sound filling the room as you surrendered yourself to the pleasure he provided.
"Judge Turpin," you cried out, your voice filled with longing. "Your Honor, please... fuck me harder."
Turpin's growl of approval echoed in the room as he complied with your request, his thrusts becoming even more intense as he pounded into you relentlessly. You lost yourself in the rhythm of his movements, the pleasure building within you until you felt like you were on the brink of madness.
As Turpin's cock continued to pound into you, you felt the coil of pleasure tightening within you, threatening to consume you entirely. With one final thrust, he buried himself deep inside you, his cock throbbing as he released himself in a powerful climax.
You cried out in ecstasy as you felt his hot seed spilling inside you, filling you with a sense of completion and satisfaction. Turpin held you tightly against him, his grip unyielding as he continued to thrust into you, prolonging the exquisite torture of your shared pleasure.
"Your Honor," you whimpered, your voice barely above a whisper. "I'm yours, completely yours."
Turpin's only response was a satisfied growl as he continued to claim you as his own, each thrust driving you both further into the depths of passion and desire. In that moment, you knew that despite the complexities of your relationship, there was a connection between you and Turpin that transcended everything else.
As Turpin calmed himself inside you, his movements slowing and becoming more tender, he reached down to rub your clit gently, eliciting soft moans of pleasure from your lips. You arched your back, pressing closer to him as he watched your expression of pure ecstasy through the mirror, his eyes filled with admiration and desire.
"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful," Turpin murmured, his voice filled with genuine affection as he held you close. With one hand supporting your belly where the baby was growing, he continued to soothe you through your orgasm, his touch gentle and reassuring.
In that moment, Turpin couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt wash over him. He knew he didn't deserve you, didn't deserve the love and devotion you showed him every day. But he was selfish, a bastard who couldn't bear the thought of being without you. You were his, his beautiful and incomparable woman, who saw past his flaws and loved him despite everything.
As Turpin led you to the bed, laying you down gently before retrieving a damp cloth from the suite bathroom, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of you. You sighed happily as he cleaned you, your eyes filled with love and adoration as you gazed up at him.
Once you were cleaned, Turpin set the cloth aside and went to the front of the wardrobe, intending to change into his sleeping pajamas. But as he glanced inside, his eyes fell upon his judge's wig, neatly arranged on the shelf. A smile tugged at his lips as he reached for it, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Returning to the bed, Turpin ordered you to sit down, and you obeyed without question. With a playful laugh, he placed the judge's wig on your head, watching with amusement as it practically swallowed you whole. You looked ridiculous in his judge wig, and you couldn't help but laugh too as you caught sight of yourself in the full-length mirror.
"It suits you, my dear," Turpin chuckled, his voice filled with warmth as he watched you. "Though perhaps a bit too big for your head."
You were surprised that he put the wig on you, when some time ago he scolded you for wearing the wig that he said was not a toy, but you ignored that, knowing that your husband was complicated and unpredictable, changing his mind and mood quickly.
Turpin leaned in closer, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he spoke. "Perhaps we should keep this little game between ourselves," he suggested, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I wouldn't want anyone else to see my esteemed judge looking so... absurd."
You couldn't help but play along, adopting a stern expression as you tried to imitate his husky voice. "Richard William Turpin," you proclaimed, your voice low and authoritative, "you are hereby sentenced to spend the rest of your days locked up."
Turpin raised an eyebrow in mock surprise, his lips twitching with amusement. "And what are the charges against me, Your Honor?" he inquired, his tone dripping with feigned innocence.
You poked his chest with your finger, trying to maintain your composure despite the playful glint in his eyes. "Your crimes," you declared, "are of causing sinful pleasures in maidens, seducing innocent maidens with your perverse charms."
Turpin's lips curved into a smirk at your words, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And what is my punishment, Judge?" he asked, his voice low and teasing.
"You will spend the rest of your life locked in with me," you replied, trying to sound stern despite the laughter bubbling up inside you. "That is your sentence."
Turpin's smirk widened into a grin as he leaned in closer, his breath warm against your ear. "I must say, Your Honor," he murmured, his voice low and intimate, "that sounds like a punishment I could learn to enjoy."
You couldn't help but laugh at his response, the tension of earlier melting away as you enjoyed the playful banter with your husband. With a playful glint in your eye, you reached up and removed the judge's wig from your head, placing it on Turpin's instead.
"Your turn," you challenged him, a mischievous smile playing on your lips. "Let's see if you can do better."
Turpin straightened up, adjusting the wig on his head with a smirk. As he adopted a more serious expression, his voice took on a low, authoritative tone that sent a shiver down your spine.
"In the case of Mrs. Turpin," he began, his voice filled with gravitas, "I find you guilty of stealing my heart and disrupting the peace of my mind."
You couldn't help but hold your breath as Turpin continued, his voice unwavering as he delivered your sentence. "Your punishment, my dear, is to serve me for the rest of your life. You will keep me satisfied, attend to my every need, and be by my side until the end of time. You are stuck with me forever, even when I draw my last breath. You shall not have another man in your life; you are mine, and you will always be, just like I am yours."
You were taken aback by the intensity with which Turpin spoke, the gravity of his words sinking in as you realized the depth of his desire and possessiveness. Instinctively, you reached out and cupped his cheek, searching his eyes for some semblance of understanding.
"Richard," you murmured softly, your voice filled with a mixture of awe and uncertainty. "Do you truly mean what you say? Do you truly believe that I belong to you, and you to me? Are you my Richard?"
Turpin's expression softened at your touch, a flicker of vulnerability shining through the mask of cruelty he often wore. He leaned into your hand, pressing a tender kiss to your palm as he spoke.
"Yes, my dear," he replied, his voice gentle and sincere. "I am already yours. I was sentenced as yours the moment I saw you for the first time. You captured my heart, and I have been yours ever since."
You couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion at his confession, the realization that despite his flaws and shortcomings, Turpin truly cared for you in his own twisted way. As he leaned in to kiss you, you melted into his embrace, knowing that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you would face them together, bound by an unbreakable bond of love and devotion.
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accio-victuuri · 3 months
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xiao zhan - GQ February issue cover story 1-3
01 Relaxation
The studio is on the Huangpu River in Shanghai. Xiao Zhan was wrapped in a black down jacket, took off his shoes, and sat cross-legged on the corner of the sofa, looking very relaxed. The filming came to an end for the time being. Although he had been working continuously for more than 7 hours, there was no trace of fatigue on his face. This is a face that always attracts attention. A few months ago, the studio released a set of Xiao Zhan's birthday photos, and sharp-eyed netizens immediately noticed that his face had become "rounder." In order to play the role of Guo Jing in the movie "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" directed by Tsui Hark, Xiao Zhan gained weight before joining the cast. His cheeks were no longer so thin, and his figure was obviously stronger. In the photo, he had Wearing Hu hawthorn children, it shows a bit of vicissitudes of life.
Strictly speaking, "The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Greatest Man" is Xiao Zhan's second filmmaking. There are many previous versions of the character Guo Jing, and the pressure on him is obvious.
On the day of the cover shoot for "GQ", Xiao Zhan got up very early to go for a run. He couldn't help but think, my god, I'm going to lose muscle again after sweating so much. He debated whether to continue, and finally decided to run for 30 minutes. When the time came, he thought that body fat would start to be consumed after 30 minutes, so he ran for another 10 minutes.
It's all about work. "Actually, I don't want to run. running will lose muscles, but I have to run to reduce swelling." After the filming, he planned to do weight training again no matter how late it was. An actor's self-cultivation is to be ready to shape the image for the role at any time, but he must strictly control his diet and manage his body shape. Xiao Zhan regards both as professional standards and requires himself to do so.
Before meeting, I thought Xiao Zhan would be very cautious about interviews. To my surprise, Xiao Zhan had a rare sense of relaxation, answered all questions, and even had some humor. Mentioning that actors should observe characters in life, he commented on the sitting postures of several people present. When asked what he had not expected after joining the industry, his answer was that he could not eat whatever he wanted like his high school classmates.
The interview lasted nearly two hours. I was curious. In the past few years, Xiao Zhan has been under huge attention. What kind of experience has it been for him?
Xiao Zhan said that many times, he has forgotten this matter. It didn't cause him a lot of trouble in life. The most "cruel" thing may be, "You can't eat as much as you want." "
I still sneak out to ride a bicycle, take a walk, and do a CityWalk. Only once, just now in after walking in the alley for 5 minutes, I was recognized. I also sneaked into the cinema to watch a movie. No one will care about you, really. after leaving the Internet, many things will be solved easily. Sometimes the world is right in front of us.
He has a lot of things he wants to do, such as taking the subway and going to the mall. "I will really take the subway, maybe tomorrow. It's so normal. I used to do it every day. Take the subway." For Xiao Zhan, this is his real life. The voices on social media no longer bother him. "After all these years, I'm still bothered. Am I still alive? (Laughs) It's really okay."
At this stage, Xiao Zhan is very satisfied with his living situation, " I have a job, a life of my own, and an audience that likes me, so I have nothing to be dissatisfied with."
02 Becoming an actor
To some extent, Xiao Zhan’s sense of relaxation stems from his increasingly clear goals. The voices from the outside world no longer bothered him. He knew what he wanted and what he didn't want. Now, he is doing more subtraction for himself. In the past two years, he has rarely appeared in variety shows, taking the career of actor as his most important goal at the moment.
In 2023, three film and television dramas starring Xiao Zhan will be broadcast, and each role will be a challenge for Xiao Zhan. During the interview, Xiao Zhan said many times that he was "under a lot of pressure", and he said this almost when reviewing every stage. But his tone is light, without the heaviness of complaints, more like an analysis and summary afterwards. The reasons are often specific and objective: the first time he comes into contact with a performance without physical objects, the first time he takes the leading role alone, the first time he plays a modern drama...
"Where Dreams Begin" is a script that Xiao Zhan particularly likes. He likes stories about that generation very much. When he was a child, he watched some movies and TV series, such as "Days Related to Youth" and "Happiness Like Flowers". When he mentioned the 1970s and 1980s, he felt that the sun was bright and colorful. Many people say that Xiao Chunsheng is a perfect character, but in Xiao Zhan's opinion, this is his biggest flaw. He thinks this character is very interesting and wants to give it a try. Xiao Chunsheng is a young man from Beijing. How to express the character's momentum and speak authentic Beijing dialect is a big challenge for Xiao Zhan, who has lived in Chongqing since childhood.
Shiying's character in "Yuguyao" is aloof. Because he didn't want to live up to everyone's expectations for his costume look, Xiao Zhan tried his best to lose weight before joining the cast. ""Yuguyao" is a script I got in 2020. Among the things I can choose, this is the script with the most complete characters and the most delicate emotions. It is also very logical and self-consistent. It is my The best choice."
"Sunshine By My Side" is the script that Xiao Zhan has been exposed to for the longest time, starting at the end of 2019. Although Sheng Yang in "Sunshine By My Side" closely overlapped with Xiao Zhan's career before his debut, he had to move his life as a designer to the screen and act in a natural and convincing manner. "Modern dramas and life dramas are really an unfamiliar field." At first, he was too eager to finish his lines and memorized them so well that when he said them, it made people think that no one in life would speak like this. Later, he discovered that in modern dramas, The logic of where to break the lines and where to put the emphasis is actually very strong.
In the past few years, he has played soldiers, doctors, designers, and Beijing youths. "There are no special considerations, it all happens naturally." He rarely plays repeated roles. But when choosing a script, Xiao Zhan will not deliberately avoid themes that he has acted in before. He will just put himself in the audience's perspective to feel whether he can be moved by it.
In 2021, Xiao Zhan starred in the drama "A Dream Like a Dream", playing the role of Patient No. 5. On the day of the premiere, many topics related to the drama appeared on Weibo hot searches, becoming a phenomenon-level event in the drama circle.
Xiao Zhan hesitated for a long time about starring in "A Dream Like a Dream". There are many reasons for hesitation: he is from Chongqing, not from a professional background, the play cannot be negative, it lasts for 8 hours, "A Dream Like a Dream" is very famous, and there have been many classic versions of the role of Patient No. 5 before. But after reading the script, Xiao Zhan felt that he must act.
Drama is a very pure thing. Dozens or even hundreds of people gather in a space to tell a story. This is an experience that is impossible to bring about in film and television dramas. Xiao Zhan yearns for it. He began to recite his lines crazily, and moved himself to Tangshan to rehearse intensively with the entire crew for more than a month, grinding out one scene after another.
"I was very nervous for the first performance. I am still nervous now when I think about it. When Gu Xianglan rang the bell, I became excited." The moment the light hit him, Xiao Zhan felt that everything had stopped. He could not see the expressions of the audience under the stage. There was only white left in front of me.
Xiao Zhan adjusted his breathing and began to speak his lines. The director said that the actors in the opening scene controlled the rhythm of the entire story, so every time Xiao Zhan said that line, it was when Xiao Zhan was most nervous. As he spoke, he would gradually forget about his nervousness and let out a long sigh of relief after speaking. I thought, ah, it’s finally over.
Once, at the end of the first half of the performance, Patient No. 5 went on stage to find Gu Xianglan with a painting and an address, and had a long monologue. Walking to the middle of the stage, Xiao Zhan suddenly lost his voice. He couldn't remember the beginning of the next word. After hesitating for about 1.5 seconds, he chose to skip that word and continued. The audience shouldn't be able to tell, he thought. He didn't think of that word until the end of the show.
"I couldn't remember it when I got to the break room, so I turned over the script and saw that it was this word."
"Which word?"
"A very common word, for example, drinking pure water. What kind of water was I thinking about? Distilled water? Tap water? Boiled water ? I just can’t remember." Xiao Zhan replied.
Acting is a very profound knowledge. Xiao Zhan said: "We have only scratched the surface so far." When filming "Sunshine By My Side", the opposing actors were all experienced actors. In terms of acting skills, Xiao Zhan is still very immature and exerts all his strength. Too much force will easily leave performance marks. He told himself to "be less pretentious", feel everything the other party throws at him with his heart, and respond honestly.
Xiao Zhan once expressed that due to life experiences, it is difficult to understand many characters. He discussed this issue with his seniors, "Everyone has two opinions. Some people say that of course you have to go through it. Without experience, you don't have a picture. How can you act? What you act is all fake. Also there is a voice saying that everything can be solved by technology."
Xiao Zhan's own answer is, "act more and be exposed to all types of genres" and "cooperate with more good teams, actors, and directors."
"To be honest, what I can do now is to act what my mind can touch. It's really difficult for me to act something that I have no concept of at all. Maybe in the future, through a work or with more good directors, Working with actors can solve my confusion. I look forward to this day coming soon."
03 Breaking away
Relaxation is the side of Xiao Zhan. He can balance part of the pressure, but there is part of it that is difficult for him to resolve. Xiao Zhan doesn't sleep well. "It's very difficult for me to fall asleep, and I sleep very lightly. It's like sleeping and not sleeping, which affects my state the next day." Especially when he just joined the team and is in a state of high nervousness. In this state, he often dreams about filming on location and not being able to do it well.
When he goes to different cities, Xiao Zhan will bring the same type of pillows and quilts. "I will bring everything that can help me sleep well." He has also tried aromatherapy lamps, lavender essential oil, and various other products that make him fall asleep when applied on his body. Medicines, sprays that can be sprayed on the pillow to make him fall asleep, melatonin, and meditation music. Finally, he found that the best things that made him sleep well were eye masks, earplugs, and not looking at the phone, "because I know that if I look at it, then I will Don't sleep, just get up."
Not long ago, Xiao Zhan found an old book "Departure" at home. That was recommended to him by his company boss when he was working as a designer. The concept of organizing life described in the book made Xiao Zhan start to rethink what he wanted and what he should give up.
Xiao Zhan has a particularly axial side to his character, "If I insist on something that I think is right, it will be difficult to be convinced." For example, if he decides to be an actor, he doesn't want to do anything other than an actor, " Come on, let's debate. No one is right or wrong. The team is also for your own good. Isn't it a good thing to have a lot of work? But for me, I have to subtract because some things are really not what I want. "
Xiao Zhan's acting experience began with a story about "an older amateur chasing dreams in the entertainment industry." He participated in the talent show at the age of 24, learned dance from scratch, debuted as a boy band, acted in online dramas, and played supporting roles in theater movies. Until he became popular in 2019, Xiao Zhan also became a star that attracted attention.
When you decide to do something, you must try your best to do it well. This is what Xiao Zhan has been taught since childhood. When he was in junior high school, his family bought him a mobile phone. When he first started sending text messages, he often used spaces to replace punctuation marks. His father said to him sternly, "What about the punctuation marks? Why is there no period at the end of the sentence?" From that time on, Xiao Zhan paid great attention to punctuation marks.
Xiao Zhan has been competitive since he was a child, and he doesn't want to miss any opportunity when it comes to things he can control. When he was taking the bus to school, he would worry about the person on the bus who missed the stop because he fell asleep.
For things that he cannot control, he will remind himself not to argue and learn to accept them. Until then, do what you can.
When asked which drama Xiao Zhan worked hard for, Xiao Zhan's answer was surprising. He said: "Every one." Before becoming famous, he auditioned for many dramas and went through interviews to enter the final round. , I had already put on makeup to try out the scene, but was replaced. Of course, scripts will be handed over now, but Xiao Zhan always tells himself that people only have intentions and can hand them over to many people at the same time. When he encounters something he really likes, he will take the initiative to meet with the director and explain his understanding of the character.
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justzawe · 3 months
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Zawe Ashton Covers AMAZING Magazine | Issue 4
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Actor, author, playwright and new mum Zawe Ashton adds another string to her bow: supervillain. As she joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she tells AMAZING about her love of poetry, getting physical on the set of The Marvels and the unwavering support of her own parents.
Zawe Ashton is no stranger to playing the antagonist. From her very first film role as rude schoolgirl Bianca in 2009’s St Trinian's 2: The Legend Of Fritton's Gold, to playing the intimidatingly cool Violet “Vod” Nordstrom in four seasons of student sitcom Fresh Meat and – more recently - as the rejected Julia Thistlewaite in 2022 period drama, Mr. Malcolm’s List, Ashton has a knack for taking on characters who appear unlikeable on paper… and making audiences fall in love with them. However, for her latest role as Dar-Benn in The Marvels, she had to go full villain.
“Very little can prepare you to have to embody an antagonist at this level, in a Universe that is literally not known to anyone – like our Space - and to make it real and impactful,” says the London-born actor, a new recruit to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “There's something deeply humbling about having to return to the sandbox; you have to go back to the playground and that was something I was not expecting. You have to indulge in adult play and it’s surprisingly vulnerable. I know that there are gamers out there, there are cosplayers out there, there are adults who have managed to keep that level of childlike play going and I respect it so much. There's a self-consciousness that can take over if you are not careful. Trying to react realistically to a laser coming towards you is not something I’d done since I was seven years old, and I had to get to that level of childlike confidence to just delve into the imagination. Once that was all clearer, the villainous elements came so much from the physical world, with costume and hair.”
For 39-year-old Ashton, adult play will likely become a more frequent fixture in her life, thanks to her most exciting new role – as a mother. She welcomed her first child in 2022 with fiancé Tom Hiddleston, her co-star in the 2019 revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal on London’s West End, later transferred to Broadway. “What has genuinely surprised me about motherhood is how much I don't feel ready to talk about it,” she laughs. “And this isn’t to shut down the conversation. I have gained so much insight from public people who have this incredible candour and this disarming, relatable dialogue about it very early on, but it's something that I am just dedicating time to absorbing. I’m listening rather than expelling energy. That genuinely has surprised me, because it's something you want to shout from the rooftops about; it's the most unparalleled, most important role in my life. The surprise has been how quiet I want to be about it. Maybe that's also me as a writer and this is something that will come through the pen at some point.”
Ashton attended London’s Anna Scher Theatre School from the age of six and was a member of the National Youth Theatre, before getting her degree in acting at Manchester Metropolitan University, but writing has always been significant in her life. She won the London Poetry Slam Championship in 2000, becoming the event’s youngest winner, at 17. “I may have been knocked off that pillar long ago, but in my head I'm still the youngest,” she laughs. “I love poetry. I had not written for a really long time; during the pandemic I lost a huge chunk of my creative soul when it came to putting pen to paper, which was really scary and was clearly the fallout of being in survival mode and feeling quite fearful. People's attention spans just went all sorts of different ways, didn't they? It was very hard for me to read, and it was very hard for me to write, which is very strange for me.
“More recently, a friend of mine from drama school who I used to do open mic nights with in Manchester – I used to perform poetry and she used to sing - asked me to write a poem for her wedding. I had a few moments where it was really tough, but I did it. I love her and I'm so happy for her, and being inspired enough to get a poem out and read it aloud really opened the floodgates. So, weirdly enough, I've been writing a lot of poetry recently and found a new love for it. I will always continue to use poetry as a way to understand the world. It's just so much part of who I am.”
For Zawe's full interview and shoot, order your copy of AMAZING issue 4 now. The Marvels is out now.
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dlst0rtion · 11 months
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note to self: don't do it you son of a- (chapter 2)
pairing: nekoma x male reader, yachi hitoka x male reader, and kuroo tetsurō x male reader
masterlist
series masterlist
a/n: I've been changing so many stuff lately since I don't have a solid plan for this series but the reader will get 2 love interest ^^
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Pudding 🍮
kenma
was it really necessary to chase down [last name] after school ended, kuroo?
kuroo
OFC KENMA 😎
having [last name] would be beneficial for the team
I needed to catch him before it was too late
kenma
I like [last name] and agree but I don't think taunting him like that would make him want to join us
kuroo
taunting???? him????
what makes you think I was taunting him
kenma
it's you.
kuroo
😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
EL O EL
I MIGHTVE MADE HIM MAD A LITTLE??? I BROUGHT UP MIDDLE SCHOOL 😍
kenma
ur so stupid
kuroo
trust the process kenma 😎😎
kenma
what made you interested in [last name] anyways?
kuroo
he's like art 😍
obscure art, but still, art❗️
plus his brain is so big
kenma
if [last name] doesn't want to be near us again bc of you I'd never forgive you
kuroo
real!!!
kenma
stop saying that.
kuroo
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________________________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐
"what the hell am I doing here," [name] asked himself as he stood outside nekoma's gymnasium doors.
[name] would never admit it to anyone but kuroo did touch something deep inside him when he mentioned joining the volleyball team.
as his mother said, he used to love volleyball.
used to.
[name] peeked through the slight opening of the gym doors as he watched nekoma's volleyball club practice.
his heart felt warm.
he forgot how it felt, the adrenaline when he would play all those years ago.
he missed it.
"can I help you with something?" [name] jumped a little as he turned around to see who caught him in this position. "oh! [last name] I've never seen you around this part of the school before."
it was the volleyball coach, coach naoi. he was a confident male with dark, short-cut hair. [name] liked him. he's a pretty cool dude.
"oh yeah um.... I was just," [name] didn't know what to say. he fully didn't intend on being caught and planned to make his grand escape after a bit of snooping.
"do you want to join the volleyball club, [last name]?" coach naoi asked with a small smile on his face.
he knew of [name] and had spoken to him a couple of times when they pass by each other in the hallways. coach naoi viewed him as a bright young kid that would be going to places.
"hmmm," [name] contemplated on saying no and leaving. "I'm not quite sure. I haven't played volleyball in years."
"that's alright! just come join us for a couple of days and see how you like it. you can act as our manager for the time being," coach naoi offered.
it was a pretty solid offer.
[name] gave the man a small smile, "sure."
the two walked through the doors while the sounds of shouting and sneakers screeching started to cease.
"everyone listen up!" the tall coach shouted which made everyone fully stop. "I would like to introduce you guys to [last name] [name]. as of today he will join us as a manager. please take care of him."
"nice to meet you," even though he had a blank face, [name]'s voice was sincere and warm as he bowed down to his future club members.
kenma, a guy from his class, gave him a small smile while kuroo gave him a gengar-easque smirk.
"NICE TO MEET YOU, [last name]!"
"isn't he kenma's classmate?"
"welcome to the club, [last name]!"
"YAHOOOOO WE FINALLY GET A MANAGER!"
"SHUT UP, LEV!"
jeez, what did [name] get himself into?
as coach naoi got the team started on their drills, [name] turned towards the other coach.
"coach nekomata, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm [last name] [name]," the young male said as he bowed to his elder.
"no need for that," coach nekomata said, waving him off. "I know who you are, [last name]. you were quite the powerhouse during your time at ushimi middle school."
"you know of that?" [name] asked, surprised. "and please, just call me [name]."
"of course. anyone would want to catch the son of the great [last name] makoto in action."
[name]'s mood slightly dampened at the mention of his father.
"so what do I exactly do as a manager? I've only been a player for a volleyball team and ushimi didn't have a manager."
"it's quite easy. you mainly just need to fill and hand out water bottles and towels. you can help catch naoi by handing him some volleyballs or collecting stray ones. you can also set up and take down nets and clean the gym when we're all finished," nekomata explained. "are you not returning as a player?"
"maybe I will again, someday. I'm just not used to playing it again right now," [name] sat down on the bench beside the elder. "coach naoi offered to let me stay here for a couple of days, act as the team's manager for the time being, and see how I feel."
"hmmm, I see. well I hope you return to the field again someday. it was magnificent watching you play," nekomata gave the boy a closed eye smile.
"thanks."
as the day progressed, [name] fulfilled his duty as manager. giving water and towels to the members. refilling the water bottles. and assisting coach naoi when needed.
during that time, most of the nekoma members couldn't take their eyes off of him.
I mean, THE [last name] [name] was THEIR manager?
unreal.
unbelievable.
ain't no way.
"so, [last name], you decided to join our team after all," kuroo said as he took a sip from the water bottle that the other male handed to him.
"it wasn't because of you if that's what you think," [name] gave kuroo a disgusted face.
"you wound me, truly, [last name]," kuroo said as he pretended to hold his heart in pain.
"you're so dramatic," he rolled his eyes and pushed the rooster head face away.
[name] then turned his attention to a certain pudding head who was sipping his water bottle in peace.
"you did good, kozume," he complimented the quiet male.
"thank you, [last name]," kenma smiled at his new manager.
"hey, what about me? I did pretty well today too," kuroo gave them a triumphant pose.
[name] ignored him.
"we don't need to be formal with me [last name] we're in the same class, just call me kenma."
"if only you call me [name] as well."
"can I call you, [name]?" kuroo chirped.
"no," [name] side-eyed kuroo as he visibly deflated.
"[name]," a short sandy-haired male said walking towards him. "never thought I'd see a [last name] as a manager instead of a player."
"you know about me too, yaku-senpai?"
"naturally," yaku replied. "I know you from ushimi middle school too and considering who your father is as well, it's not hard to know you."
"hmm, I thought it would die down since I left volleyball all those years ago."
"you come from two famous parents, [last name]. it's only reasonable for people to know who you are," yaku replied honestly.
even though what yaku said was true, it still brought [name]'s mood a little low since all his life people had expectations of him. especially his father.
"you don't need to worry about that though, [name]. we're your teammates, we expect nothing but your help and support," another, rather soft, voice said while yaku hummed in agreement.
[name] saw a guy with jet-black hair that was shaved into a buzzcut.
"Nobuyuki Kai, but you can call me kai," the male smiled warmly at the cold male.
"nice to meet you kai-senpai, you can call me [name] too," [name] directed the last part to both kai and yaku.
"[LAST NAME]-SENPAIII" a tall grey-haired male screamed running towards the group. "it's nice to finally get to talk to you! many of the girls in my class always talk about how handsome and unapproachable you are but I don't think you're scary at all. maybe your face is though. you should smile more, you'll be less scary. oh yeah, my name is haibi lev!"
many were shocked, but not surprised by lev's bluntness but [name] didn't seem phased by it, actually, he was amused.
"thanks, I'll keep that in mind," [name] stated.
"are you going to come hang out with us after practice? it's kuroo turn to buy us ice cream."
"LIKE HELL I'M PAYING FOR ALL OF YOU!"
"HEY! YOU HELD OFF YOUR END OF THE BARGAIN FOR 2 WEEKS, STOP BEING A FREELOADER!"
"yeah, come on kuroo. [name] is joining too, take it as a welcoming gift for him," inuoka suggested coming up from behind [name].
"fine," kuroo grumbled.
[name] looked on confused, "I am?"
"it'll be nice to hang out with you, [name]. we can all get to know you and you know... vice versa," shibayama said with a soft smile.
"only if you want to, [name]," kai reminded.
"I would love to but I need to pick up my little sister before it gets dark. I don't want her going home alone at night," [name] said taking a glance out the window, the sun had already set.
"oh shit, has she been waiting long?" yaku asked worriedly. he knew their practices take quite a bit of time.
"no don't worry about it. my little sister normally helps around her elementary school's garden with other students and teachers after school. she wasn't able to tend to the flowers yesterday because of the rain. if I leave now, I think I'll just make it," the new nekoma manager explained.
"nice time then?" kenma asked.
"next time," [name] nodded. "I should get going now."
"wait!" kuroo held out his hand to the male to halt him. "you should give me your number so you can be added to the nekoma volleyball group chat. just to socialize and be informed of plans."
"is this just an excuse to get my number?" the manager raised his eyebrow.
"partially," kuroo smirked. "but genuinely, it's so we can all communicate with each other."
"sure."
as they exchanged their numbers [name] headed toward both nekoma coaches who were patiently waiting for him.
"so, [last name]. what do you think?" nekomata asked the male.
"you have an interest group of people you coach," [name] stated as both the coaches gave him a small laugh.
"interesting enough for you to stay?"
[names] mouth twitched a little but remained in a straight line, "yeah..."
"perfect!" coach naoi exclaimed as he handed [name] a piece of paper. "here's the sign-up sheet to officially be a part of nekoma's volleyball team! we're honoured to have you. oh! and before i forget to tell you, we're going to be at shinzen high for a week after summer break starts."
"okay, thanks," [name] bowed to both of the coaches as he departed from the high school, ready to make his walk toward seichi elementary school.
as he waited for his bus to arrive he felt the constant buzzing of his phone.
meow meow vb team 😼😹😻
kuroo added you
lev
[LAST NAME]-SENAPIIIII
yaku
lev shut up
[name] is probably busy picking up his sister rn
kenma
^
kai
^
fukunaga
^
kuroo
^^
lev
hey [name]-senpai, I have a sister too!
kuroo
no one asked
lev
:<
yamamoto
I DIDNT GET TO TALK TO [LAST NAME] IN PERSON
kenma
that's bc you were too busy ogling him
kuroo
🤨🤨
yamamoto
he's a handsome man what can I say
lev
:O
inuoka
:O
shibayama
:O
yaku
:O
kuroo
😟
ur so real for that
yamamoto
what, I'm secure 😤
thanks.
lev
HE HAS SPOKEN
[LAST NAME]-SENPAI HIII
LEV HI ٩(^▿^)۶
kuroo
oh em gee
[name] uses those emoticons
I'm in love
that's [last name] to you
눈_눈
kuroo
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yaku
hey that emoticon looks just like you
눈_눈
kuroo
real
kenma
stop saying that
I like emo
kuroo
I'm emo
emoticons
sorry I accidentally press sent too early
yamamoto
bro is so down bad
kai
^
fukunaga
^
lev
^
kenma
^
inuoka
^
yaku
^
teshiro
^
Shibayama
^
kuroo
my primal urge to say real
Tumblr media
oh before I forget
coach naoi said something about going to shinzen high for a week or something
fukunaga
training camp.
kuroo
training camp
kenma
training camp
yaku
we're invited to a training camp
thanks.
so why do we have to stay at shinzen for a week?
yaku
to socialize
lev
to make friends :D
kuroo
to crush fukurodani.
thanks.
so why do we have to stay at shinzen for a week?
kai
every school under the fukurodani academy group takes turns hosting training sessions but shinzen always hosts the week-long ones. we just do a bunch of practice matches and try to improve our skill and technique basically
kenma
hmmm
oh cool
do we have to stay at shinzen high?
kenma
not if you don't want to
yaku
I think karasuno is staying at shinzen since they live in Miyagi
inuoka
were you planning on staying inside the school?
no can't afford to
have too much stuff to do at home
kai
understandable
taking care of your little sister?
and mother
shinzen isn't that far from my house anyways I can just walk there
lev
if you live near shinzen
why don't you just go to school there?
kuroo
shut up lev
I like cats better
kuroo
authentic
148 notes · View notes
yourheartonfire · 2 years
Text
The villain had to admit, they were not immune to the sight of the hero kneeling before them. 
"...cannot fight two wars at once," the hero was saying, steady and dignified, their clenched jaw the only sign of their tension. "In a choice between the annihilation of my people or surrender, I come to negotiate terms that will be mutually beneficial against a common enemy."
"Interesting," the villain said, popping a grape into their mouth. They had day dreamed about this, though their version typically involved a couple guards to hold the hero down. Never had they dreamed the hero would give themselves up of their own accord. "Or, I could make smart decision and sit back, watch you and this new challenger exhaust yourselves, and then swoop in to pick up the pieces."
The hero's jaw clenched even tighter. "If you do nothing, the only pieces left for you will be salted fields and mass graves," they said, almost smoothly enough to hid the raw anger under their words. "I did think you were more avaricious than that."
"Careful, you're throwing insults," the villain said, standing to their feet. "That's not very appropriate when you're begging me to save you. No, no - stay down."
The hero took in a great, shuddering breath, but sank back down to their knees from where they had started to rise. Their face was flushed and their hands clenched around the mudstained hem of their tunic, but they kept their glare fixed on the villain's. The villain didn't mind. They held the hero's gaze with a grin as they strolled down the steps of their dias.
"There will be no negotiation," the villain hummed, savoring the fury and the helplessness in the hero's face. "I get your throne. And I get you."
The hero jerked back as if struck. They did not break eye contact, the villain had to hand it to them. But there was no surprise. Just a despairing acceptance that the worst was happening. "A... a marriage alliance is certainly a solution I am prepared to consider," the hero said.
"Oh, if this were a marriage proposal I'd be the one on my knee." The villain reached out and ran a hand through the hero's hair. Just because they could. The hero shuddered deliciously under their touch as the villain leaned in. "You'll be mine," the villain whispered in their longtime rival's ear. "Whatever I choose to call you, however I choose to use you."
"I'm not accepting that," the hero breathed out.
"You don't have a choice-" the villain started.
"-unless you guarantee my people's safety," the hero finished, eyes fixed past the villain. They were trembling but still so defiant, so brave. "Half your best forces to my borders within the week, another quarter within the month. And no throwing my people off their land - you take them as your own to defend."
The villain stopped in their tracks. Looked down at the hero. "I said no negotiations."
The hero managed a faint smile. "And yet here we are. Negotiating."
The villain drew their dagger. The hero closed their eyes but did not flinch. "Look at you," the villain hummed, teasing the hero's chin up with the edge of the blade. "Out of friends, out of soldiers, out of resources. Begging on your knees and you still don't realize your position."
The hero swallowed again, throat bobbing against the knife. "Take my deal," they said, the self sacrificing idiot. "Save my people. And in return..." Their hand wrapped around the villain's wrist, warm and gently promising. "In return, I suppose you can teach me my position."
The smart play was to do nothing. The smart play was to wait this war out. But the hero was on their knees, on their knees, offering the villain everything... The villain couldn't say no to that. And they didn't.
1K notes · View notes
Text
cw: mentions (off screen) child neglect/abuse
"Don't," Harry said without looking up, words coming out muffled against the sleeve of his jumper. He shouldn't have been surprised that Draco found him here, sitting at the end of the pier, knees against his chest as he stared out over the lake.
Draco sat down next to him, heat radiating from his body, "I haven't even said anything yet," he said, feet dangling over the edge.
He shook his head, he could feel Draco's eyes on him but would be damned if he looked over at him. Every thought, every feeling would be written on his face. It hadn't always been that way but at some point Harry's body had decided he was safe with the other man and refused to mask his emotions anymore. "I don't want it."
"Don't want what?" Draco asked and Harry knew that he was just trying to get him to say the words.
The temptation to look over just to glare at him in response was strong. He didn't want his kindness, his gentleness, didn't want his words telling Harry that he was good, that he was enough. Those were the words Draco always gave him when things like this happened and Harry burned with hatred for them. For himself. "Don't," he managed, voice low and wounded, dangerous.
For a moment Draco didn't say anything, didn't do anything apart from looking at Harry like he thought that staring at him would make Harry look back. The silence couldn't last, unfortunately, "It's not your fault," he said, looking out over the lake. "And self-flagellating doesn't actually fix anything."
He looked over at Draco, "Sitting here is not about fixing things," he replied, voice scathing. "A child is actively living through trauma, Draco," he said because maybe that reminder would awaken something in him, would make him feel the same burning, agonizing resentment that was consuming Harry.
"I know," Draco said calmly.
"And they're going to send her back to them!" he roared, chest heaving. "She is living in a home where the adults demonstrate with their words and their actions that she doesn't matter." He shook his head, "She's eleven and she said that she was glad that she was here so that she didn't have to be such a burden on her family. How it would probably be easier for them and they'd be happier if she just didn't exist. What the fuck?!" he shouted, beyond frustrated, beyond any hope that there was anything he could do to make this world any less fucked up.
Draco rested a hand on his shoulder but Harry shrugged him off.
"Don't fucking touch me," he spit.
Draco said nothing and Harry recoiled from himself, he didn't want to hurt the other man, didn't want to slice him open the way that Harry was feeling torn to shreds.
"I can't. I told you not to push," Harry said, "I fucking told you to leave me alone."
"Harry," Draco said softly, "I'm not going anywhere."
"You should be!" He stood and paced away from the other man, still not looking at him, he couldn't bear to. He already knew what Draco's face would be doing, knew the soft set of his mouth, the wrinkle between his eyebrows, the way his eyes would say all of the words that Harry couldn't bear to hear. "I'm not in a good place right now."
"I know that," Draco replied steadily, "I'm not going anywhere."
"And when I just keep shouting at you? Pushing you away? What then?"
He hummed, "You're not actually mad at me. You're mad, and rightfully so," he said emphatically, "I'm mad, too. Your anger is right, and just, and good," he said. "And I am more than happy to bear witness to it. I want to bear witness to you, to your anger and your grief, to your guilt and shame. I want to see you."
"I don't want you to," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want you to see me. I want to be kind to you, good to you," he said. "I want to treat you with gentleness and care, and I can't do that when I feel like this."
Draco looked over his shoulder at where Harry was standing and their eyes met. It shot straight through Harry and all of the emotions that he'd been holding back, trying to rationalize, trying to tamp down, came rushing to the surface.
"I don't want to," he said, shaking his head, eyes stinging with grief, rage hot in his chest, both things making it nearly impossible to draw a deep enough breath. "I don't want you to see it."
"I know," Draco murmured. "Thanks for letting me anyway."
He shook his head, "It's not fair," he murmured, defeated.
"No, it's not," Draco agreed. "None of this is fair."
"You didn't see her face," he whispered. "You didn't see her eyes or hear the way that she talked," he scrubbed his hands over his face. "My whole fucking heart just-" he gasped out, trying to articulate the way his entire heart had shattered into a thousand piece that he didn't think he'd ever be able to put back together, but not even able to complete his sentence.
"Thank you," Draco said.
"For what?" he asked incredulously, because nothing he'd done had done any good. Talking to Minerva, talking to the child protective services in the muggle community she was from, none of it mattered. There weren't any visible marks of abuse, they weren't going to do anything.
Draco gave him a sad little smile and it twisted the knife even deeper into Harry's heart. "For coming to work today," he said softly. "For seeing our students, and loving our students, and being a safe space for them-"
"It doesn't matter!" he exclaimed. "Don't you see?" he asked. "Fuck. There's nothing I can do. Nothing is going to change for her-"
"Everything has changed for her-"
"How?" he exploded. "She's still going to have to go back there when school ends in four weeks. She's going to spend the summer pretending that she doesn't exist, wishing that she didn't exist."
He stood up and took Harry's face in his hands so that Harry made eye contact. "Having someone listen, having someone see you, it changes everything. You're right, the system is fucked up, everything about this is awful. But what you did for her, it matters. You listening matters."
"It's not enough," he said, closing his eyes as the tears spilled down his cheeks. "It's not."
"It's not," Draco agreed and that last bit standing in Harry's heart shattered, the last vestige of hope completely snuffed out. "But you are."
He huffed a bitter laugh that sounded more like a sob.
"You, being you is enough. It's not going to fix everything," he agreed. "It isn't. But it doesn't mean that you aren't enough."
"I don't feel like enough," he whispered, the words like knives as they left his throat. "I just feel like I fail them over, and over, and over again."
"You're not."
"I feel like I've got nothing to give them," he confessed, "like what's the point of teaching them defense against the dark arts when it's not monsters and evil wizards that they're fighting? It's the adults who treat them like they're nothing, it their own fucking learned behaviors, and trauma, and thought patterns that they're going to fight the rest of their lives. What's the point?"
Draco was quiet for a heartbeat and Harry opened his eyes to look at him. "You don't treat them like they're nothing."
"Of course I don't," he replied, so offended by the mere suggestion that he could ever-
"It's enough. You are enough," he repeated. "They need you to be you," he said softly, "that's it. They just need you to see them and hear them. It's enough."
"It doesn't feel like it," he said, more tears spilling out without his consent.
He nodded wrapping his arms lightly around Harry's waist, giving him the freedom to pull away if he wanted to. "I know," he said softly.
And Harry collapsed against him, body resting heavily against Draco's. "I can't do it," he whispered, all gaping, aching weakness.
"You're not alone," Draco said softly, kissing his temple. "You don't have to do it alone."
"Promise?"
Draco nodded, "I promise love. I'm not going anywhere."
------------------------
Read more of my fics
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thesimpsbasement · 1 year
Note
Hello! May I request Vil, Kalim, Malleus and Azul with a male! s/o who’s like Sherlock Holmes or William Moriarty? As in reader is very intelligent and stuff
Hello anon and sure! I sorta alternated between the 2 cuz didn't know how to incorporate both but I hope this is to your liking!
Fandom: Twisted Wonderland
Characters: Vil Schoenheit, Kalim Al Asim,Malleus Draconia,Azul Ashengrotto
Author:Mod Betty
Warnings/tags: slight spoilers for book 3,5 ( mainly spoilers on book 5) ,not proofreaded yet
Reader is male
Word count:1,300 words 
_____________________________
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-The first time he noticed your high intelligence was when you actually memorized every item for the skin routine he recommended you
-It took Epel forever to memorize them all and still forgets some
-During VDC he knew you'd be problem because he knew you'd probably see right through his plan and his concerns were correct as you were the one to inform Jamil way before he himself noticed Vil's odd behaviors
-Vil does care a lot about things being perfect, one minute mistake could end in a catastrophe
-You agree with Vil on that but sometimes you rather study than do a self care routine, maybe on your breaks you could add a couple products but not enough to meet Vil's standards
-Vil did admire your determined to adapt to this strange world by learning about it as much as possible, but what he doesn't admire is your lack of self care
-Sometimes he drags you out of your room to do a proper self care regiment
-Like the one you are currently doing
-" For someone who's such a genius you can be quite a forgetful potato" Vil says as he rubs some sort of cream on your face
"Apologies by I can't help but simply indulge of the common things in thought world taht would be deemed impossible in mine" you replied hoping to somewhat justifying your actions every though you knew it wouldn't
" I understand your excitement but you do need to take proper care of yourself,you may deem this unnecessary but I disagree completely and as your lover I'm even more complied to do this" he retorted continuing to apply product to your face
"Oh how lucky i am to have someone to spoil me like this, I'm moved" you tease,smile on your face
" The real lucky one is me to have a brilliant and sometimes forgetful boyfriend like yourself "
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-When he found out about your intelligence he was in awe
-you were so cool and not mean like Riddle and you were easier to approach Unlike Malleus
-Jamil is wary of you for a good while knowing how easily Kalim is influenced but you weren't heartless to use someone's kindness
-Kalim is the type to brag about you like " Look how smart my boyfriend is so if you ever need help go ask him!"
-And he wasn't lying,ever since hanging out with(and dating) you he's been improving in his academics and would always would go to you if he needed assistance, saving Jamil from extra work( which he thanks you for)
-Being in a new world made everything surprise you but also defied the logic of your own world so when Kalim offered you a ride on a magic carpet you were skeptical
-I mean a carpet couldn't hold the weight of well anything so it being able to carry 2 people is already taboo and also how can you control it's direction and spee-
-Before you could finish your train of thoughts and how the pure concept contradicts basic physics Kalim pulled your arm and seated you on the carpet
-The first minute you were nervous as hell,who could blame you, you were literally flying on a carpet!
-After the initial shock the ride was actually relaxing and fun
-You never thought you'd ever find yourself flying around on a magic carpet flying around but you don't mind it
-Turning to Kalim who was looking at you the whole time to make sure you're enjoying yourself, you put a hand on his cheek before saying "thank you for showing me something I would never have thought of" and pulling him for a kiss
-Kalim was overjoyed knowing he actually managed to 1) surprised you and 2) make you feel happy
-Safe to say there's never a dull moment with Kalim
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-He knew you were smart by simply observing how well you performed in class
-A magicless human from a completely different dimension did better than most of the NRC students
-What caught him by surprise was when you knew his true identity almost as soon as you saw him
-What confused him was that you were still referring to him as that silly nickname you came up with
-Even if you're smart and probably have some combat abilities you still couldn't stand a chance
-When confronting you about it all you did was smirk ad say " Don't worry I know a foe when I see one "
-Also good luck having to deal with Sebek since he's suspicious of you and your wits. Who knows maybe you were trying to fool the young master!!
-Would often come by Ramshackle and talk about each other's lives
-He was quite fascinated by your life back home,always solving mysteries and how capable you were in dire situations
-He doesn't necessarily need help in academics especially being the next heir of Briar Valley but would often ask you for help with other stuff ((*cough* technology ))
-For a mere child of man and from a foreign land you have a lot of knowledge to almost rival some fae
-Despite knowing you can handle yourself just fine you're still a fragile human with no magic so he will occasionally loom around the shadows,sometimes your sharp tongue could easily infuriate students from a certain dorm,After all Savanaclaw students don't settle arguments with words,but with their fists but when they pull their magic pens Malleus quickly steps in to stop the fight before you got hurt because of some buffoons
-After the students ran off, you turned to him a smile on your face " I could've handled them myself you know, even if they can use magic they're still brainless" Malleus chuckled " I suppose so however I don't think I'd forgive myself if you did end up hurt" he said sighing
-" How about we go to Ramshackle after class for a cup of tea? My treat" you suggested
-"Anything for you ,my brilliant child of man"
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-The first thing he noticed about you was how calm you were when you signed that contract about bringing that painting from the museum, it was almost as if you had a plan already and were confident it'll succeed
-Seeing how brilliant you were and how you could easily make things go your way he actually suggested working in Mostro Lounge
-Would sometimes challenge you to see who's better,be it who'd give a better offer on contracts or who'd finish homework quicker
-During closing hours he'd offer you a cup of tea and discuss whatever topics you thought of
-When dating your counseling started coming into play
-After some time Azul started getting comfort with being vulnerable around you, often pouring his insecurities as he stared at his lap
-" Sometimes I feel like you deserve better" he muttered not making eye contact with you
"Why do you say that love?" You ask him ,serious look on your face
"I mean someone as brilliant as you shouldn't stick around a stupid,fat,clumsy octopus" he said slight irritation in his voice
You sighed as you placed your hands on his shoulders " Azul look at me" ,hesitantly he did as he was told,teary eyes looking right into your
"The fact I'm your boyfriend should be telling you enough that I'm not going anywhere, I don't stick with people that I don't want too, so if I didn't like you I wouldn't be sitting in this very room now would I?" You said trying to comfort your partner without any sort of sugared words but with pure logic
-"Yeah I guess you're right" Azul said wiping his tears
-Smiling you kiss his forehead has you bring him into a hug " so please cease these idiotic thoughts for both our sake ,you know it pains me to see you this upset"
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howlingday · 1 month
Note
That’s cool. Now, what will the how Beacon story goes if Jaune is born a Xiao-Long? Is Yang going to be either an overprotective sister or a fun and party-loving sister to him? How would the interaction with Jaune and Weiss go?
Okay, so let's cover up to and including the initiation, starting with going to Beacon. Jaune says good-bye to Summer with Ruby and Yang, then the three go off to Beacon. Jaune and Yang were supposed to go together, but having learned Ruby managed to bust up Roman Torchwick and his goons, they're not that surprised that Ruby gets in with them... Well, Yang isn't surprised. Jaune and Tai were worried sick (literally for Jaune) when they learned Ruby got into a fight with an actual gang. Jaune spends the trip to Beacon with his sisters, flipping between being airsick to worrying about Ruby. Yang tells him to stop babying her, which Ruby agrees.
Once they arrive at Beacon, Jaune and Yang get dragged off by Yang's friends, leaving Ruby alone. Ruby explodes, Jaune helps her, this time dusting her off and making sure she's okay. She bats him away, insisting that she's fine. The two walk and talk with Jaune explaining that he's just worried about her since she was always the smallest of the three. Ruby then unfurls Crescent Rose, noting that it is at least three times heavier than Jaune's weapon. They then head to the assembly and Jaune gets dragged off by some friends. Ruby and Yang meet up, "tall, blond, and scraggly" and Jaune catching up to Ruby and Yang expressing how excited he is to be noticed by such a cute girl already, which Ruby scowls and pouts at because Weiss is nowhere close to cute.
"Oh, come on, Ruby, where else am I gonna find a girl willing to talk about me that isn't you two?" Pyrrha pops her head up.
The night before initiation and initiation itself go about the same, and Jaune now regrets not working on his "landing strategy". He was never good at it, and even now, he's still flying through the air like a dog toy. Y'know, the long arm and leg ones? Anyway, Jaune meets Pyrrha and he explains that he's still not used to this whole "being a huntsman" thing.
"Then why apply at all?"
"Well... I kinda have to." He explains. "When I was younger, my sisters and I were walking in woods, alone, and we ran into some Grimm. One of my sisters got hit and none of us had aura yet. I covered my little sister to protect her, but..." He shakes his head. "Yang's always been so headstrong, so she needs somebody to pull her back. And I didn't expect Ruby to get accepted, so now I have to protect her, too!" He sighs. "Sorry for dumping this on you. You probably think I'm worrying too much."
"No, no, I... I never had siblings myself, but I think I understand why you're here." She smiles. "I guess I'm lucky to have someone so kind as my partner." The two share a chuckle.
Jaune still manages to make the Deathstalker mad, gets flung, flies into Ruby, and manages to catch Weiss as she's falling, too. Jaune stresses about the Nevermore but decides to let Ruby and Yang take care of themselves while he and his partner deal with the Deathstalker.
The teams defeat their respective Grimm in about the same way as they did in canon.
"That's your sister?" Pyrrha asked. "She's very skilled, isn't she? Did you teach her to do all of that?"
"No." Jaune looks up to Ruby. "She did that all by herself."
As for your other two questions, I will say that Yang will still be her usual self, trying to do her balancing act between rough and tumble party girl and caring older sister. When she sees Jaune with his team, she admires how much her dorky twin grew into his own. And as for Weiss, well... I think that'll have to wait until next time.
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girlsrawesome64 · 24 days
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Hello dear, I can't believe I found someone who does cod matchups, I'm so happy! Can I get a matchup with a cod guy? If you already have too many requests and don't feel like writing, you can ignore this, don't worry about it ♥️
Female, 25, gemini, enfj.
Personality wise, I got two sides (stereotypical for a gemini, ik). Most of the times, I'm affectionate, teasing, playful and loving but I also get dead serious, cold and slightly intimidating in a blink of an eye if it's needed. I'm basically that meme: I can be your angel or your devil. Extremely ambitious when I want something or when I want to excel at something. Really protective and caring to my dear ones, I'd do anything for them. Unfortunately, I tend to overwork myself in silence. I bottle up everything and walk it off, continue working and caring for others more (but every girlboss needs a kiss on the forehead sometimes). I'm confident most of the time and can stand up for myself no matter what.
In cod I'd definitely be support. My favorites are: König, Keegan, Price, Ghost, Krueger. I'm ok with any theme and any dynamic.
My hobbies are: reading, martial arts training, dancing, playing guitar.
Fun facts: I'm in the medical field. I have a hidden tattoo of a a crescent moon. I'm a dog person. Oh and I speak Romanian - I am from Ro lol and German - still learning this one.
Thank you so much for your time, please take care of yourself and have a great day/night!
☾⋆⁺ARE YOU KIDDING ITS PRIIIIICE MAMAS /j /pos
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w: described heat exhaustion symptoms, temporarily ill alone with responsibility, dubcon flirting (fraternization; price is a higher rank ((diff units but still)) ), emotional abandonment/manipulation mention (price) + Unfinished, i had it sitting and more ambition but this all i got gotta prioritize self care like u said >:D, short storyish thing, <3, narrator has beef with price
☾⋆⁺ Price is the uhh, Captain right? The one meant to be giving orders, not taking them? The rest of the team had never seen Price stutter before.
☾⋆⁺ (forgive me if I butcher medical infos lmao, help much appreciated) Just kidding, you were a Captain now too via your transfer into English QARANC as Senior Nurse. Oh, how quickly the time goes. To climb that quickly? Impressive dedication. Not that it was surprising coming from you.
So when Price saw you across the room in the flesh as superior medical staff as part of his brigade for his specialist unit- uh oh. How the hell did you weasel your way in here? It's elite-elite, I mean, what are the chances? He- uh, of course you did, who is he kidding. He was just…insecure.
Mouth ajar, he blinked out of his blank expression with a cough as Gaz tilted his head in the way of him- "Sir?"- and followed Price's gaze back to you.
☾⋆⁺ So when you felt the heat of being watched, and managed to scan the new environment just to see him-? Oh, god. How do I say this: to say you've met before would be an understatement.
~~~
You're flooded back to that familiar field tent as Junior Staff Nurse- that suffocating humidity only enunciated by the heat waves blurring your far-vision of the sand and dried shrubs outside the mouth of the tent.
It was your first job allied with an SAS unit, and you could feel the sweat clinging your shirt to your back. All today had been a sudden intake of…too many people. Sure, you weren't alone, but come late afternoon, hurried triaging then treatment, your superiors had taken their break first, leaving you alone simply to monitor your now stable patients.
I think it's in that silence and break you realize just how much your head has been spinning; how the sun seemed to glint on the sand outside and beam right into your eyes; how your cheeks felt burning and your pulse was hammering. God, how did you not notice that before? You automatically caught yourself to brace back on a plastic table as you steeled yourself, reaching back to fiddle out a plastic bottle of water from that mess of container material.
Focus. You forced yourself to take a drink, gaze glazed over but keeping yourself together.
You felt a break in the light in your periphery causing you to faintly wince. The shadow almost walked straight past, but took a step back to pause at the entrance, bobbing both ways to check the interior. "You alright?" A gruff voice croaked out. Regardless of your strained response, they stepped forward, hesitantly taking in the environmental context clues for your circumstance. "Team leave you?" He double-took at the extent of the sight of you, pausing before doubling back to close the tent entrance to keep in the much needed cool. Head lulled down, all you registered was the dry beige camo of his uniform moving in and out of your vision as he faffed with something.
"D'you mind?" He grumbled lightly, offering his hand to help you sit down on the floor, albeit to lean against the leg of the table. He showed the cloth-covered cold pack in his hand, leaning down to meet your eyes with a furrowed brow. "'You're fine?'" He quoted with a chuff. "Ah, alright. More for me." He got up, pretending to pat the pack against the back of his neck and sighing faux relief.
After a pause he raised a smug brow at you, handing you the pack for the back of your neck, etc. In his motion you note the 'PRICE' embroidered on his jacket.
'Price' stood back, exhaling and crossing his arms, sporting light-hearted dry conversation as he rocked his weight. How long you'd felt like that, what happened, where your superiors were. Just checking it was definitely just heat exhaustion and if he had to stay the 30 minutes for you.
When you rightfully spit him out at his low-key condescending tone he put his hands up in defence, apologizing half-heartedly and trying to distract you with humour and everyday questions. He wasn't the most charming thing, but his noise was a half-decent change to your silent suffering prior.
☾⋆⁺ Lieutenant John Price. He always seemed to end up looking over your shoulder in the time you worked alongside each-other. Commenting something dumb only to be rewarded with your wit, sending the two of you into an endless feedback loop until he's leaning a little too close and, uh- check yourself, Lieutenant. Looked a little too fraternal there.
☾⋆⁺ Sometimes it was hard to relate to the other specialists. You'd both graduated your trainings much quicker than your peers, both exceptionally diligent and good at what you do. But every star has to have a weakness, right?
Something about each-others company felt natural, easy. Unintentionally, you both tended to scare off folks. But not each-other. Two sharp-edged puzzle pieces. Lounging around on base, finally on downtime, he'd plant himself next to you. Drowning out the chatter of others, he'd lean over and prop his foot up on his knee, staring at what book you were reading. What today? He reeked of potential snark until you looked at him. Price's face instinctively softened before collected himself with a hand along his hair, trying not to smile too obviously for the others in the room.
☾⋆⁺ One victory later and you couldn't make it out drinking for celebrations due to finishing writing up some boring documentations. Looking both ways, Price snuck out of the event early to return back and find you. He knew where you'd be by now. He always stood at doorways, never in, until the familar tread of boots on dried grass broke your focus. This felt like the first time you both were actually alone. The extent of your intimacy so far was staring for a thousand words a little too long when others weren't looking.
He strutted in the finally otherwise vacant tent, presence arrogantly, blatantly hovering over you as you continued to work. To the tune of- 'c'mon.' He gently tried his hand on your cheek, tilting his head to stare as he rubbed a circle there with his thumb.
If it didn't work immediately he'd take out his phone, humming an incomprehensible tune before the tinny music played from the phones speaker- music you love you'd mentioned in passing. He swayed and mumbled the lyrics (?), stepping a little closer to lower his hand to yours for you to take- to dance with you all the way into the night.
☾⋆⁺ Which makes your throat tighten even more in the present day once the focus(/panic) had passed and he's finally laying stable on the care bed by you.
The man who left you. Abandoned you in the name of work and 'greater causes'. A relationship that would've gotten him fired, yes, but his snap decision and the coldness in his eyes as he plainly announced it had sat rightfully boiling in your blood since.
FIN
~~but i am curious, like as u work together more would u fall back into some kinda tension?? weird asides? him taking yr orders? emotional reconciliation? or is he dead-dead to you?? IM INVESTED ~price by goldeagleactual on PT
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January Drama Wrap Up
January was a month of ups and downs (and some very big let downs) but over all I enjoyed what I watched. I tried out a new country's dramas and discovered some classics at the same time and I've built myself a pretty solid Currently Watching List to take me into February.
📊 The Stats
Total Dramas: 12
Currently Watching: 3
Completed: 4
Dropped: 2
On Hold: 3
My To Watch List: 60
🎭 The Dramas
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🤼💰 Like Flowers in the Sand - Currently Watching
Like Flowers in the Sand is going to be another one of those k-dramas I am never going to be able to explain to my non k-drama watching friends without sounding like I've lost the plot a little.
"It's a small town drama about a minor league ssireum team and a wrestler who's been in a years long slump. There's also an investigation into a murder linked to match-fixing but that's kind of a side plot and it's linked to the wrestler's childhood friend who's reappeared incognito after disappearing mysteriously many years ago ... I promise it's good!"
It's probably not the drama for everyone but as someone who has historically loved sports centered k-dramas and who loved When Camilla Blooms this drama ticks so many of my boxes. I'm very excited to watch the complex relationships and politics of small town life be put under a microscope and dissected and I can already tell I'm going to love how morally grey all the characters are.
It also doesn't hurt that the ML is the biggest himbo to ever ever himbo and I love him and his empty brain to bits.
Prediction: I become a ssireum fan.
🕹️💌 Love For Love's Sake - Currently Watching
I've been staying away from K-BL these past few months because I've been struggling with their short run time but Love for Love' Sake lured me back in like a moth to the flame and I have no regrets.
Is Love For Love's Sake Perfect? No, there are definitely some pacing issues that are leaving me feeling very temporally confused about how quickly or slowly events are unfolding and the lower than average k-drama budget does show at certain points but, do you what?
I don't care.
I wholeheartedly love this drama and it's going to have to mess up its last 2 episodes Last Twilight style to change that.
The relationship between the main couple? Adorable. The openly gay leader of the school delinquents? We stan. The oddball friendship group forming because they're all slightly crushing on the ML? Sign me up! The addition of a glitch in the game that's starting to mess everything up? Horrifying and I love it.
Prediction: A new favourite K-BL is born and it's all thanks to this mf
🩺😭 Doctor Slump - Currently Watching
I'm watching this because it's on my Plan To Watch list and Netflix started playing the trailer after I'd finished watching an episode of The Way of the Househusband.
I won't lie, this is definitely the drama, out of all the dramas I'm currently watching, that I'm least certain I'll finish but, at the same time, I was pleasantly surprised by the first two episodes. Yes, it does do that typical comedy k-drama thing of mixing ridiculous over the top laughs with some incredibly difficult topics (because who doesn't want to be laughing hysterically one minute and then doing some deep self-reflection the next?) but so far the balance and the boundaries between the two moods has been relatively well struck and only time will tell if it manages to stay that way.
I appreciate tackling the topic of burn out and depression in a country that still champions overwork and mental fortitude above all else and I'm interested to see where it goes with that part of its arc. The "being framed for murder" I am a little less certain about, but it has definitely added a layer of intrigue to a story that would otherwise be relatively mundane and by the books.
As I said, time will tell if I continue to enjoy Doctor Slump but I'd say my only quibble with the drama so far is that I'm not sure "accused of (and potentially framed for) murder" and "suffering from depression due to burn out and work place abuse" quite fit what is normally meant by the word slump.
Prediction: Maybe I won't drop this half way through like I thought I would.
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👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨🎥 BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita - Completed
My first Japanese BL ever and it was a good one. Yes, it was 3 episodes long, but it used its runtime perfectly. All of the main characters felt properly fleshed out (and the side characters were caricature enough that you only really needed one scene to know who they were and what they stood for), the pacing was great (it couldn't afford to drag but it didn't speed through scenes either), and it found the right balance between BL shenanigans and forrays into deeper messages. This was exactly what I needed at the time and, for someone who doesn't normally like mini-dramas that much, I enjoyed myself immensely.
Verdict: 8/10, I also want a life-size cardboard cutout of Aoyanagi to cuddle and hide behind when I open the door.
✒️💕 Cherry Magic, Japan - Completed
I'm planning to buy the manga.
I plan to watch the film next month (I never watch films).
I may have even checked out the fanfic scene in a bout of withdrawal.
Anyway, what I mean to say is that I get the hype, I really really do. This drama is fantastic.
Cherry Magic is one of those classics that you watch as a newbie and go "oh yeah I get why everyone is obsessed with this". The premise is novel and well executed, the characters are oh so easy to love, the main romance is so incredibly shippable, and the friendships are just as endearing.
I personally love the role Adachi's mind reading plays in shaping his relationship with Kurosawa and how the way it's handled means the audience feels what Adachi is feeling right alongside him. How can you not be charmed by the inner monologue of someone so sweetly and respectfully head over heels for you? But at the same time just because you're charmed, does that mean you like them back or is it just because you can see them at their most vulnerable? And what about once you're in the relationship? Do you give up the thing you know made it possible? Or do you pull back so you can't mess up once the crutch you rely on is gone?
There was so much quiet nuance to Adachi's and Kurosawa's relationship to each other and those around them and, when I one day sit down for a rewatch, I'm looking forward to unpicking them all.
Verdict: 8.5/10, Adachi and Kurosawa are going to be one of those couples that's impossible to leave behind. This is going to stick with me for a while, and once it's unstuck I'll just watch it again.
📸🌦️ Welcome to Samdal-Ri - Completed
I know some people thought the premise of Welcome to Sandal-Ri was unrealistic but, personally, I found it hard not to draw parallels between what happened to Cho Sam Dal in the drama and what happened to Kim Seon Ho in real life. Yes, the situations may differ somewhat (Sam Dal faces false accusations of work-place bullying by an employee while Seon Ho was accused of coercing his girlfriend into getting an abortion) but there were enough similarities (the media frenzy and the sheer intensity of the backlash, the scandals happening just as their careers peaked, the gradual revelation of what actually transpired) that I would be very surprised if there was no link at all.
For that alone, Welcome To Samdal-Ri had my attention from the get go. If this story were from a Western perspective, I would certainly have been much more wary of a story tackling false accusations (looking at you Euphoria) but from a Korean perspective, where celebrity culture is far more intense and volatile and in which false accusations have happened before and cancel culture can indeed end a career for even minor infractions (like dating), I wanted to see how it would be handled.
Ultimately I was satisfied, not wowed, not disappointed, satisfied. The show didn't dig that deep into the subject (personally I would have appreciated Sam Dal's case juxtaposed against another case in which the accusations turned out to be true) but it handled it deftly enough and felt "case-by-case" enough that I didn't feel as though it inadvertently gave off the message of "not believe anyone bringing accusations against celebrities".
Other than my own personal interest in the premise, Welcome to Sandal-Ri did a good job of holding my interest. In terms of overall vibe, it felt like a mix between (perhaps unsurprisingly) Hometown Cha Cha Cha (the idyllic small-town community filled with friends and loveable elders) and Our Beloved Summer (childhood lovers unfairly broken up but still pining for each other after years apart). The pacing was good, the characters loveable (I am now in love with Cho Hae In), and each episode felt like sinking into a warm bath for an hour.
Verdict: 8/10, it tackled an interesting topic while providing its audience with plenty of comfort and heart. It could have done without the love triangle though, just saying.
📃👩‍❤️‍👩 Out of Breath - Completed
I don't have too much to say about Out of Breath given it was 3 episodes long and less than an hour run time in total but I'm glad I watched it. Firstly, because it was nice to watch a (rare) Korean GL and secondly, because it managed to fit a lot into its short run time. Two break ups, a love triangle/unrequited love, cute dates, commentary on living queer in Korea, commentary on being out in Korea.... This show really had it all.
It was short, it was sweet, and it had a lot to say. I can't say I'd watch it again in a hurry, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a realistic portrayal of queer (and specifically) lesbian life in Korea.
Verdict: 7.5/10, it unpacked a lot in a short amount of time, the couple was extra cute too.
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🫂💕 Cherry Magic Thailand - On Hold
I realised very early on into watching Cherry Magic Thailand that I'd probably get a lot more out of it if I watched the original first. I'm not normally someone who says watching the OG is necessary to watch the adaptation (in fact I normally rebel against that idea with a whole lot of passion) but in this case it became very clear that without watching Cherry Magic Japan first, I was missing important reference points and comparisons that were pretty key to understanding and appreciating that plot fully.
Anyway, I've now watched and loved Cherry Magic Japan so Cherry Magic Thailand is back on the menu, I just want to give myself enough time away that when I go back to it, it's with completely new eyes (and I'm excited for when that moment comes).
Verdict: On Hold until I can give it a proper fresh start.
🩺🍲 Cooking Crush - On Hold
I watched this at completely the wrong time. I struggle with rom-com dramas at the best of times but by now I should know that I absolutely should not try to watch one when I am going through a period of high stress.
I am not kind to rom-coms when I am stressed, even the ones I might otherwise enjoyed.
As it is, I initially dropped Cooking Crush because I was struggling to stay focussed enough to finish an episode and the characters were grating on me. Looking back, part of me thinks that my lack of focus and general irritability may have had less to do with the drama itself and much more to do with the fact I could barely focus on anything during that time period and that I had barely any spoons left to give people in my actual life, let alone fictional ones.
So...
Anyway, Cooking Crush has continued to come across my dash in gif, meme, and analysis form and I've realised that I actually really like what I'm seeing, enough so that I've moved it out of the "dropped" pile and into my "on hold" list so as to give it a second shot in the not so distant future (something that doesn't normally happen).
I genuinely think I might like this drama, I just need to make sure I'm in the right mindset for it first to give it a fair shot 💪
Verdict: On Hold until my next holiday.
🐍🦅 The Sign - On Hold
On paper The Sign sounds like it's right up my street, after all what's not to love about star-crossed lovers doomed by the threads of fate and history to lose each other?
But that's the thing, "on paper". In real life The Sign is well, messy and a bit too cop-heavy for my liking. Sure there are some great moments, Billy and Babe's chemistry is on fire, and it may have one of the best and most artistic sex scenes ever to grace the BL screens of the world but sexy times does not a good show make and I've found myself torn about whether or not I should keep going or just give up at this point.
To help me decide I've taken the "on paper" part of The Sign very literally and bought the book to read. If I like the book (the translation is a bit choppy but I can overlook that if the story is good) then I'll finish the show, if I don't then into the land of the dropped it goes.
Verdict: On Hold until I've actually experienced it on paper.
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🌄🖕 Last Twilight - Dropped (episode 10)
I won't lie, this is the second time (the first time being Only Friends) that I've ended up being grateful my busy schedule got in the way of my drama watching because wow this show really took a tumble at the last hurdle. There was so much Last Twilight could have done, so many societal boundaries it could have crossed and reshaped and re-imagined but instead it went with... well a literal "fix it fic" ending that fixed nothing but instead broke all it had built up beyond repair.
I'm not going to go into detail about how Last Twilight let nearly every single one of its principal characters down, about how Mhok was never allowed screen time to process his own emotional trauma, about how the show briefly touched upon and then completely glossed over the very different social and financial circumstances of the both couples and the effects this would have on their experience of the world, of how there was so much ableist messaging around both the treatment of Dad's character which was always lurking under the surface but which only really came to light alongside the ending..... All I'm going to say is that, up until episode 9, Last Twilight had a choice about what messages it wanted it's audiences to come away with at the end, and it picked the wrong fucking ones.
It could have been a challenge to the ableist and classist mainstream norm so often portrayed in the media, instead it perpetuated harmful and hurtful rhetoric and stereotypes against the very people it claimed to champion.
Maybe one day I'll watch it again, but only because I want to properly break down what went so wrong.
Recommended reads by people who expressed it better than me:
This Discussion under "Last Twilight, episode 12: final reflections" by @waitmyturtles
"Last Twilight: Ep 12" by @wen-kexing-apologist
"Last Twilight Episode 12" by @lurkingshan
This post by @simplemindedmockingjay
Verdict: Dropped for betraying it's audience and those it claimed to champion.
👨‍⚕️⏳ Triage - Dropped (episode 10)
This one hurts me.
This one well and truly hurts me.
Because, the thing is, I loved so much about this show. It does so much right and up until episode 10 I was preparing to rank it among my favourite BLs of all time; the plot was fast moving and carried you from episode to episode in a whirlwind of anticipation, the romance (although minor compared to most other BLs) was highly shippable, the characters had depth and flaws and strengths that made you root for them, and the time loop plot device was doing things that were genuinely new and innovative.
I was hooked.
And then everything I loved just disappeared.
I don't know what possessed the creators of this show to completely change the universe of the drama for the last 2 episodes, maybe they thought the old one was getting stale (it wasn't).
All I can say is I absolutely hated the new turn of events.
Familiar characters with entirely new personalities and character arcs who I was apparently expected to root for (I don't know who they are anymore), time travel rules thrown out of the window because the plot demanded it be so (I'm sorry but the notebook time travels now? And a kiss will bring back memories?), the entire premise of the show just dropped and never even properly answered (why did Tin need to save Tol????? What about his heart murmur????)....
No.
Just no.
I'm out.
Verdict: Dropped for becoming a completely different drama in the last 2 episodes
⭐ The Awards
I fell in love with a lot of people and things this month so let's talk about them
☺️ Smile That Could Launch A Thousand Ships
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Yuuichi Kurosawa (and his actor Keita Machida) is, quite frankly, a ridiculously gorgeous man in the most normal of circumstances but his smile takes it to a whole new level.
Truly a sight that could light up a room (and the whole building the room was in), this smile is filled with such genuine happiness and love that it's hard not to smile right back just as brightly, whether you be a hapless audience member beaming at your computer screen or a flustered Adachi trying desperately to hold on to your heart.
What I also love about this smile is that it only comes out when Kurosawa is properly, over the moon happy. He's got other smiles for other occasions and they're all very pretty but this one? This one sits above them all and makes them pale in comparison.
🩷 Biggest Crush
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I have a type and that type is Cho Mina (and quite possibly Kang Mi Na, I clearly need to work through her filmography for... science). But seriously, this woman is STUNNING and is made all the more so by her dedication to her daughter and her refusal to let society pressure her into being ashamed of being a young single mum. She's strong, she's kind, she's independent, she's beautiful both inside and out. I don't care if she got the least screen time out of all the sisters, she stole the whole show for me and I am smitten.
📃 Line That Hit Me Like A Freight Train
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"I'm used to pretending to be normal"
"pretending to be normal"
I'm going to be forever grateful to Cherry Magic for giving me positive and thoughtful Ace rep in Fujisaki, for showing her happy and confident and unbothered by society's expectations that she should one day couple up and settle down, for giving voice to the Ace experience of "pretending to be normal" in simple line that holds so much meaning and so many layers.
I know it's not canon, but in my head Fujisaki does tell Adachi out loud one day, and she gets her response of "is that so".
🛌 Plot Device That Made Me Sit Up and Go "Yes"
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I may have ended up dropping Triage but credit where credit is due, it did do a lot of things right and one of those things was its ideas around time loops/ time travel. The idea that where you fall asleep at the end of the time loop directly affects how far back you travel back in time for the start of the loop?
Genius.
Why haven't I seen this done before??? It's such a clever way to provide the loop-character with the agency they need to actually make changes without breaking the established rules of the time loop and it allows for each iteration of the loop to be significantly different depending on how early or how late the changes to the timeline are made.
It literally solves almost all of my usual issues with time loop narratives.
It was genuinely intriguing watching Tin try to work out where he needed to fall asleep in order to go back as far as he needed and it was such a shame that, as the show neared its end, that aspect of the time loop experience just sort of fell away.
I want more time loop ideas like this and I want them now.
🌄 Scene That Took My Breath Away
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Last Twilight may have ended by taking this scene and its significance and flushing it down the toilet but you know what, the author is dead and I killed him. I'm taking this scene back.
Day wanting his last experience with his quickly disappearing sight to be a homage to the book that helped him come to terms with his disability and see the world anew, his description of the sunset he could see in his mind's eye that is far more brilliant and beautiful than reality could ever dream to be, his clear moment of realisation that yes, he could live without his sight and not only could he live without it, he could well and truly thrive, the last thing he sees being Mhok's face as the ultimate declaration of love....
The last twilight in episode 9 could have been a truly special moment and, taken in isolation, it still is. It's just such a shame that such a beautiful depiction of growth and healing and self-love and self-acceptance was ultimately papered over with an ending that didn't fit it at all, one that erased the positive and affirming messages this scene held.
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lumibye · 4 months
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˗ˋ ୨ - 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑 𝒖𝒑 : 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 - ୧ ˊ˗
holidays are my only opportunity to be unapologetically sappy on this blog , i think . . . . ( /j ) and since it’s going to be 2024 in like 20 minutes here in australia i wanted to get this out before it gets too late into the night hehe also ! i have a lot i want to say 
( also comm showcase because i thought that'd be cute )
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so it’s almost been a year since i properly ( there's no way to properly do it but you understand . . ) started self-shipping , i think ? and it's ( in all honesty ? ) helped me through much of the year i started this blog back in march i believe , but i consider our anniversary to be in may ( i thought it was august but a very silly girlie got dates mixed up with lore if you could believe ehe ; ) which . . is five months off but it still feels pretty close ! he’s become such an intrinsic and important part of my life now that it feels as if it’s always been this way i guess . i’ve said it before but his character is just so kind and gentle and caring but also he’s reminded be how lovely it is to actually romanticise life a little bit and how good it feels to embrace your passion/s i um . . i love him very much ? 🩵🥺
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he’s such a genuine source of comfort and so very dear to my heart , and I truly think he’s going to be my love favourite forever and i can't wait to do more ship stuff in the coming year hehe ! i’ve been with this series for sixteen years now . because i'm old . ( /j ) it was such a huge staple of my childhood and maybe i’ll talk about it someday - i'd like to ! - because many of my dearest memories are centred around this franchise. perhaps this blog was always inevitable in that way , i like to joke about self shipping with him is like a long term membership bonus . . but either way , in a sense i feel so lucky i get to express my love for it in this way if that makes sense ?
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marianne ( having been made this year ) is also important to me in a way that’s . . come to surprise me , honestly ? i haven’t had an ‘ oc ‘ in a very long while so perhaps i just forgot about how emotionally attached you can really become . it’s probably also no shock that despite being a self insert, she’s very personal to me . . as someone that admittedly struggles with quite a bit of negative self talk, being able to say i like these parts of myself that i implement into her character has been quite healing for me as well ! and being able to rediscover my love for collecting flowers and coffee was also something really fun to do ! to the person that designed her ( you know who you are hehe ) I’m so incredibly grateful you bought her to life. It truly does mean sm . . as well as to everyone that's drawn her of course hehe , im always so giddy to see my little beloveds drawn so prettyful !
i really can’t emphasise enough just how grateful i am for both the community and all of my really lovely moots. i’m rather quiet so i don’t talk a lot but the interactions i’ve had on here are soso special to me and i really do cherish them so much no matter how small . . i have so many fond memories this year of that alone and it makes me tearyy happy happy 2024 to you and your beloveds hehe - if you actually managed to sit through all this I’m actually spinning you around so so much you very lovely and sweet . I hope the new year is everything you want it to be ! sending you each and every one of my best wishes your waaay mwah mwah !
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Celebrating Tết w/ the Brothers (HCs) 🇻🇳💕
(and just Vietnamese culture in general)
CW: Mild swearing, not proofread, I am a new writer
-I'm celebrating Tết alone this year, so sorry if this is a lil self indulgent :)
Lucifer:
*Lucifer is highly intrigued with your culture from the get go. He is likely to have already done an array of research into Vietnam before you joined the program.
*At first, he only did this out of his own personal curiosity, but the closer he got to you, the more he began to take your traditions seriously.
*The first time you celebrated Tết with the boys was a miracle. Everyone was happy! Beel got his food, Mammon got his money, Belphie had time to relax, Satan got away with pulling some pranks during the height of the celebration, Levi was relieved that it was just a family thing, and Asmo saw it as an excuse to get dolled up and to take some cute photos! And when the brothers are happy? Lucifer is happy, despite the chaos. With a clean house to boot!
*Lucifer manages to convince Diavolo to set off fireworks at the palace as a surprise for the whole family.
*The day after Tết, Lucifer is already making plans for next year.
*Each year, your Tết is bigger than the last, all thanks to Lucifer. Soon, it becomes a holiday celebrated and appreciated in RAD with the student council hosting a small festival each year.
*His pride can't handle being smacked with a wooden spoon each time he does something incorrectly in the kitchen, so he stays out of your way and tries to prevent his brothers from interfering with your hard work.
*He fills each lì xì until they are stuffed with money after you tell him the amount of money you offer someone represents your proximity to that person. Each brother gets enough money to last them a long time (unless you're mammon, who manages to spend it all in one night.)
*Would definitely wear an Áo Dài. It is very sophisticated and modest with his typical colours.
Mammon:
*The second you describe the concept of lì xì? Oh hell no.  You knew you made a mistake the second you mentioned it. Now Mammon is excited.
*He begs for money from Lucifer and Diavolo. He tries to play it off as trying to do his best to respect your culture, despite still clearly not fully understanding the purpose.
*He moans and groans about having to clean the HoL the day before Tết. Is not at all amused of this aspect until you mention a clean house bringing good fortune. Next thing you know he's barking out orders to his brothers and scrubbing with all of his might.
*He forces all of his brothers to leave their shoes at the front door as to not track dirt in after all their hard work.
*When Tết finally comes around, he can't help but admire you and follow you around like a dog the entire time, simply blown away by you wearing your traditional attire.
*He will wear a red Áo Dài with gold trimmings. (I'm sure you could figure out why.)
*Really embraces the family aspect of the whole thing and spends lots of time trying to entertain his brothers, and his usual teasing self is replaced by a loving and caring big brother. (Although he does still try to duke it out with Lucifer here and there). He even goes so far as to pay off most of the debt he owes Levi!!!
*Lots of playful wrestling.
*He will end most nights drunk and happy with one of his little brothers in his arms despite their protests. He really takes this time to be vulnerable with them, as he rarely gets to.
*Will even have an emotional moment with Luke that they will literally never bring up again.
*Loves the flashiness of it all, especially when you take him to a public celebration.
*Tries to sell off your used decorations as "rare human artifacts" to other students but gets caught by Lucifer. Never again.
Levi:
*Gets super nervous when you bring up social gatherings. Plans on hiding in his room until you mention it only being a family thing. "I guess I can tolerate that..."
*Tries to do his research, and by research I mean scouring through each and every human world manga and anime he has ever owned to try and find a shred of Vietnamese culture or representation he may have been exposed to already. Is heartbroken when he can't find anything that relates back to your culture.
*You comfort him by exposing him to the wonderful world that was Vietnamese media. You show him your favourite dramas growing up, your favourite music and all of your favourite graphic novels. He's interested only because he hates missing out, and because it's you he's dealing with.
*Sets up his karaoke machine in the living room and goes bazonkers. Tries to sing a Vietnamese translation of an anime opening, but fails miserably.
*Bitches and moans when you bring up cleaning. You meet him halfway by convincing him to simply clean his room and Henry's tank. Which he was fine with.
*He makes his own Áo Dài with his cosplay skills. It's painfully colourful, but the design could not have been more accurate. Also makes Áo Dài for the rest of his brothers with the help of Asmo (and later down the line, Raphael).
*Attempts to save his lì xì money, but caves in and ends up impulse buying a ton of videogame/anime merch off of Akuzon.
*Sneaks you away at the end of the week to spend some alone time with him, overstimulated from all the celebrating.
*Looks forward to the celebrations each year.
Satan:
*Begins his research the moment you bring up your place of birth. Gets himself familiar with each and every tradition and holiday, even picking up some Vietnamese along the way.
*Surprises you by beginning the holiday early. He decorates the house inside and out with red and gold. He sneaks into the human world by bribing a close contact of his and returns with a Christmas tree sized potted kumquat tree. He was very vague when asked about his whereabouts, but Lucifer brushes it off as there is much to do.
*He tried to get you to teach him Vietnamese calligraphy, despite you not knowing how to do so yourself. So you take it up together and bond over stories of your culture.
*Does not mind having to clean at all, unless it's Lucifer telling him what to do, then it's an issue. Just leave him alone to do his thing and he'll get it done.
*He plans on wearing a fairly formal and traditional Áo Dài, until he spots Levi with a roll of fabric with cat patterns on it. He blushes when he comes out wearing an emerald green Ao Dai with golden cats scattered across the length of the fabric.
*Will wear a more casual Áo Dài around the house from time to time, outside of any formal tradition, especially when he is reading, purely because he finds it comfortable.
*Will ask you to teach him Vietnamese and will be fluent by his second year of learning. His new favourite thing is Vietnamese literature.
Asmo:
*Asmo sees this holiday as another excuse to blow up his social medias with pictures of himself and good food. Expect many photoshoots. Even hires a professional photographer at some point.
*You have to baby him through the cleaning as he complains about potentially breaking a nail. He gives up halfway through and calls up Solomon to do the work for him, claiming he owes it to him.
*Absolutely refuses to let anyone eat the food you prepared until he takes at LEAST a hundred photos. Lucifer will have to use his magic to keep the food warm.
*LOVES cà phê trứng nóng and will find any excuse to make it. He posts a video of him making the recipe on FabSnap, turning it into the trendiest new drink in the Devildom.
*Is extra and will wear Áo Nhật bình instead of the Áo Dài. It is a soft, pastel pink piece, embroidered with small flowers and faux gemstones. He wears a matching mấn and a full face of makeup to go along with it.
*Again, he takes more photos than are necessary and ends up only posting around five of them.
*Loves to watch sappy Vietnamese soap dramas with you. Is very overdramatic and reactive, crying at every major moment.
*He turns each casual celebration into a party. Everyone ends up hungover and tired by the end of the week.
Beel:
*You already know where this is going. Beel goes FERRAL at your description of Vietnamese food. You have to call up Barbatos and Luke to help prepare for Beel's appetite.
*As intense as his hunger can be, he is actually genuinely interested in the history and cultural importance behind each and every dish you bring out. He makes sure to eat plenty of snacks before dinner, so he can actually savour the food you made instead of scarfing it down like he usually does.
*Is caught by Satan trying to eat the kumquats straight from the tree. He manages to grab only a few before being shooed away.
*Doesn't see the cleaning as an issue and does most of the heavy lifting.
*Is another one who adores the familial aspect of the holiday. Spends every second of his day doting on his brothers, even sharing his food from time to time. Gives out lots of hugs and ends up breaking down crying about how much he loves his family. Please give him lots of huggos!!!
*Asks Levi to make him an Áo Dài with an ice-cream pattern, but was able to settle for a simple, solid red and orange design instead. It took Levi many tries to get Beel's measurements right, and even then it seemed as if the Áo Dài was far too tight for him. But he was fine with it as it seemed to keep him from stuffing his belly too much, afraid to ruin his brother's hard work.
*Involves Luke and Simeon (and Raphael) in all of the activities, as he sees them as his brothers as well.
*Incorporates Vietnamese ingredients into most of his meals now, even helping you start a small vegetable/herb garden for ease of access.
Belphie:
*Dreads the idea of having to clean the entire house, and is only willing to do so if you or Beel are by his side.
*Once Tết actually starts, you allow him to be as lazy as he needs to be, only really waking him up to eat food and partake in some of the activities.
*He takes this holiday as a chance to be vulnerable around his brothers, sneaking into their beds at night and cuddling up to them. Uses the "I'm trying to respect MC's culture!" argument when he gets caught.
*Does karaoke with Levi and Beel.
*Wears his Áo Dài quite lazy, as I hangs loosely from his body. His sleeves are a bit too long, but that's because he wasn't very helpful during the measuring process. Who knew it would be hard to take accurate measurements from a sleeping demon?
*Is very interested in Vietnamese interpretations of astrology. You are able to explain to him the concept of the Zodiac as he listens intently.
*When he sees you honouring your ancestors, he wishes to do something similar but for Lilith. He gathers his brothers around as they each place an offering at her altar. You decide to step out, allowing them a private moment to reminisce.
*It becomes his favourite holiday from this point on...
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