#i chose these two moments because i found them pretty cool

[sisterdivinium]

If we are to take a deep dive, it is best to assure the place we're leaping from is stable, so let's do that by starting with the obvious.

The subject in both of these sentences is the same: the Halo. Both of these characters have borne it. Both sentences present the same grammatical structure and answer directly to one another despite the distance in time and space between one and the other's utterances. To Ava, the receiver of these conflicting messages, both claims prove themselves to be ultimately true, for the Halo acts as a gift, in granting her a second chance at a life she never had, and also as a burden, as it imposes on her responsibilities and demands of her sacrifices she would otherwise have never known.

But the show itself openly invites us to dig deeper, so we should not be contented with the obvious alone.

If there is always more, then we must peel back the surface and peek at what is underneath if we are to grasp at least a fraction of the functioning of Warrior Nun in different levels—be it in small scale, pertaining to the characters themselves, or be it in large scale, including how all of it relates to us as viewers in the end.

These two moments of season one are but a fragment of the show’s comprehensive universe, but we will examine them closely to see just how much meaning we can find in them, deceptively simple as they seem.

As mentioned above, the grammatical structure of both sentences is shared between them: “the [subject] is a [noun]”. This could lead to some sort of direct description we associate with the act of definition, of explaining what something is, as in “the pope is a man” or, to use the same reference as Mother Superion and Shannon do, “the Halo is an object”. In fact, had this been the case, we would have been closer to Ava’s own conclusion of the Halo being “a hunk of magic metal embedded in [her] back”, as this is a characteristic anyone could ascribe to it upon examination.

Yet the words used by both former warrior nuns are “gift” and “burden”. If they describe the Halo, then it is not in terms derived from objectively observable traits it possesses (such as it being made of metal), but in a wholly subjective manner. When Mother Superion and Shannon say the Halo is this or that, both imply that it is this or that as relates to themselves. In relaying what the Halo supposedly “is” to Ava, they pre-interpret it for her, infusing it with their own points of view—their beliefs. What they say of the Halo is much more a reflection of who they are than anything the Halo in itself could be.

A) The gift

A gift is, as we know, a present. It presupposes a giver and a receiver, as well as some degree of gratitude on the part of the latter, even if justified by politeness alone.

Mother Superion, embodying the authority of the Catholic church, framed by candles and an altar behind her while making use of short, straightforward affirmations, does not need to clearly state who occupies these positions: we can safely infer that the giver here is God and the beneficiary of this divine benevolence is Ava. A definiteness is patent in the sentences that follow—here is the power of the institution at work, for if Mother Superion starts out by “defining” the Halo, now she defines Ava through it. An inversion takes place, as the woman allows the object to define the woman (as “God’s champion” who “fights in His name”) rather than the other way around. The church, the Halo construct Ava as a subject, subjecting her to certain ideas of what she should be. She is the warrior nun despite having no say in it, not being a warrior and much less a nun.

At first sight, it wouldn’t make sense to interact with Ava in these terms, especially if, by this scene, Mother Superion has already read her file. It wouldn’t be difficult to deduce how expressions crafted with religious colours might impact an audience that does not show any religious proclivities. Furthermore, the tradition of rhetoric has always taught that speakers ought to adapt to their listeners if they wish to get their point across, so either Mother Superion is incompetent at communication, lacking sensibility and skills, or she is making a calculated move—one that is fully supported by her hierarchical position. After all, superiors seldom need to rationally convince their subordinates of doing something given how the latter are compelled instead by power dynamics to get in line—or else.

The strategy doesn’t really work on Ava.

In semiotic terms, we could even argue that there is something confusing happening in this scene—a narrative phase of manipulation (wherein someone tries to get someone else to accept and do something), we could say that it contains hints of both seduction (a positive commentary on the interlocutor—it’s not just about anyone who can be god’s champion, so this is a positive distinction) and intimidation (the threat of negative consequences if the interlocutor doesn’t comply—there is an implied order in the sequence, meaning Ava cannot refuse to be “God’s champion”). Ava might not share in this world-view, but it is what the church and its followers propose: a gift from God is a positive value. Being chosen by God to do something, even fighting and possibly dying in the process, is a positive value. Lilith is standing right there beside them and, at this point, she would surely agree and see nothing of this exchange in a negative light.

Yet Ava isn’t a nun and indeed she does not perceive any of these “honours” as being desirable. Mother Superion’s stance, the image she presents of herself as a strict nun herself when Ava has been mistreated by them all her life, equally gives her no reason to be persuaded, much on the contrary.

The manipulation fails. Ava is told God gave her the gift of life… And that now she is to endanger and potentially lose that very same life as some sort of gesture of gratitude. The logic is unimpressive at best and frankly absurd at worst.

Within the framework of the church, however, it makes perfect sense. Misattributed and misconstrued as it might be, the motto of credo quia absurdum is still pertinent: “I believe because it is absurd”. That a god should grant life only to claim it back through violence is perfectly acceptable if one believes in this god’s unquestionable authority rather than seeing this demand as something ridiculous or cruel.

The very concepts of God, service, battle, duty, blessings only make sense to the faithful, something Ava isn’t. She’s just a puny little individual resisting the pressures brought upon her by a powerful institution.

She and Mother Superion are only speaking over one another, not really having a conversation; Ava doesn’t care to listen to what the church has to say, she doesn’t take it seriously, and the church likewise does not take her individuality, her person into consideration.

However, we would do well to remember that Mother Superion is not simply a mouthpiece for the church—she is also Suzanne, lowly little individual with lowly individual desires and resentment just as Ava.

And, regardless of the effacement of self that monastic as well as military institutions enforce on their members, just as Ava’s subjectivity isn’t neatly negated by direct statements in line with reigning dogma, Suzanne’s own subjectivity also seeps through her words and attitudes. If not blatantly, at the very least there is a remarkable struggle taking place within her, suggested by her use of language as well as her demeanour.

The Halo, after all, defines her as well.

If bearing it is the greatest honour, a mark of God’s favour, if it defines a person, then losing it has an equal power of definition. The distinction it confers on someone is inescapable, for good or ill, and either one dies gloriously as “God’s champion” or one survives it, survives its removal, and is deemed rejected and unworthy by this so magnanimous God. The Halo soaks up all of the positive value ascribed to it—meaning those who lack it adopt a negative one in contrast, be it Suzanne who had it and lost it or even Lilith, who should’ve had it and didn’t.

Still it is considered “a gift”, something given by God… One could say it is a form of grace.

Suzanne’s noun and Vincent’s verb have the same origin, of course, the same stem. Despite the argument between them in this other scene, ultimately there is agreement between the two of them judging by their choice of vocabulary and Mother Superion’s reaction immediately afterwards. If this were not true in some degree, there would have been little need for Mother Superion to correct Ava in the first place, for Ava calls the Halo “a hunk of magic metal”, yes, but she also refers to it as “top prize”, as a reward—which, unlike “gifts”, are meant to be earned, to use Vincent’s comparison. There is a mixture of concepts here.

Without wanting to overcomplicate this text, let us say that ideology is a certain way of understanding the world and that it constructs and is constructed by our discourse, our use of language. One of the functions of ideology is that of attempting to smother contradiction, to smoothen the world’s complexities, simplify them, rationalise them away, however incapable it truly is at accomplishing that given how reality is too complex to be so tamed. Here, then, we see a notable sort of contradiction in Mother Superion’s discourse (in her ideology) that isn’t easily solved: a detail, a problem left out from the thought system. She agrees that grace, in the form of the Halo or not, is given, yet she treats it as if it were earned. This is a crack in the wall; it’s an idiosyncrasy, proof of a subject torn between the different voices that compose her subjectivity, the fragments, the different discourses that, put together, make her up as a whole.

What could be more contradictory than calling something which has scarred her physically, mentally and emotionally a “gift”?

If we create and are created in turn by means of discourse (“you are God’s champion”), if we can only understand and interact with the world when it is mediated by discourses and their correlated ideologies, what would it have meant if Suzanne had assigned another value to the Halo?

The inversion of values would certainly have ejected her from the church. If the Halo, to her, gained negative value, thus allowing her to retain some amount of positive value, her participation in the institution would be impracticable. She would be at odds with the dominant ideology, its structures, its rules… And she would face the resistance Ava faced by assuming such antagonism.

And sure, she might have regained some sort of “freedom”, but what would she have then lost? Resentment or not, there appears to be one central, recurrent positive value, one central desire to most characters in Warrior Nun and it would not be far-fetched to assume Suzanne shares in it herself and is unwilling to part with it.

B) The burden

Needless to say that if there is a generous deal of “burden” to Suzanne’s “gift”, there is also some “gift” in Shannon’s “burden”, judging by her mentioning the family she gained through bearing the Halo. Curiously enough, the dynamic of receiving something and paying for it with that very “gift”—Shannon getting a family and losing it by the very same means—is identical to the dynamics involved in getting Ava to accept her fate as warrior nun, by “paying” for the “gift” of life by risking that very same life in battle.

Shannon has received the “gift”—and fulfilled her role to perfection, allowed to thank God for it personally… If the Halo was taken from Suzanne, Shannon is the one “taken” because of it, alongside other ex-bearers.

Here there are no euphemisms. Shannon has lived the consequences of being “God’s champion” until the very end, so she has no need for distorted truths meant to keep things in order, to avoid questioning the principle of order itself which is the institutional view. There is still a struggle (there is always a struggle) as she admits to finding something positive (a family) through her loyalty to the cause even if the cause is what kills her and other women like her. The contrast between Mother Superion’s speech focused on individual responsibility and Shannon’s avowal of how it is “too great for one person to bear” tells us more than enough about how they each envision individuality, community, the possibility of action, who can make it come about—how life and death, different paths, different destinies, inform perception of the same thing.

Their values are inverted.

Mother Superion’s “gift” is Shannon’s “burden”; Mother Superion’s tendency, while alive, to value death (“You fight in His name”) is countered by a dead Shannon’s valorisation of life (“So much promise unfulfilled. So much life unlived. And for what?”) The scenes are in direct opposition to one another, they respond to one another as mirrored images.

So much so that the reply is not merely linguistic, hidden away in dialogue, but quite evidently displayed in visual terms as well. A mirror offers us reflections that are inverted—left in place of right, right as left—and so are these scenes inverted in relation to one another: in the moment of saying the sentences we’re concerned with, Mother Superion and Shannon stand in much the same place. If we do not notice, it is because the camera pans around in different angles—with the former, we watch the scene from a point at Ava's left, while the latter is shown from an angle at her right. We are literally treated to reflected images, seen from opposite points of view.

Colour, too, guides our reading of both scenes set side by side. With Mother Superion, we are in the realm of the church and its associated earthly tones as established throughout the first season, whereas Ava’s vision of Shannon paints the dream church in a shade of blue. Blue is, of course, the hue which had been mostly tied to Jillian Salvius, to ArqTech, to science. With science comes the concept of reason, as opposed to the sepia haze of faith.

Mary is also drawn against a backdrop of bright blue sky when she is investigating the docks and relying on her reason rather than her faith concerning Shannon’s death.

Shannon’s opinion on the Halo might be just as subjective as Mother Superion’s before her, but it is filtered through personal experience and observation, through reason rather than blind belief in a mission.

Yet we are forgetting something. Ava, having died already, claims there is nothing on the other side. If that is so, why is she meeting Shannon now? And why is this meeting taking place in circumstances that reflect previous events in an inverted manner?

As dreams often reuse what we have lived when awake, re-rendering our memories, transforming them, so it is possible that Ava is not having a vision but a dream—that she is talking not to Shannon, but to some facet of herself, Ava, manifesting as Shannon after connecting with her memory through the warrior nun book.

As Ava clings to it and the knowledge it affords her, it would make sense for her conscience to finally figure out a proper retort to what she heard of Mother Superion in that earlier moment, a retort fuelled by new information and by her own reasoning. At the very least, it would be more plausible to consider this hypothesis than to assume her vision of Shannon is a real communication with her spirit granted by the Halo, for, if we are witnessing a new phase of manipulation, then the message being transmitted this time concerns the Halo’s “lifecycle” itself—and how it must be brought to an end. If it is sentient as some characters believe, why would it let Ava meet Shannon and be exposed to the idea of working against the Halo’s own interests of perpetuation?

After all, the implications behind Shannon’s words are evident: again, if the Halo also defines the woman, then it defines sister Shannon, sister Melanie and all other warrior nuns going back to Areala with one word which will soon apply to Ava and whomever follows: that word is dead, crushed under the burden.

And this time, the message, a sort of compassionate provocation (“a burden too great to bear”—even for you), hits its mark, inspiring Ava to end the tradition and be the last warrior nun.

We are not in the semantic field of religion, even if it is there, in the background, being answered to; here we are not speaking of God or battles fought for this distant general in the sky, but of family, of women slaughtered in the name of a mission. This is no longer some ethereal question but an immediate concern. Whether this is Shannon or Ava herself subconsciously masquerading as Shannon to facilitate her own “awakening”, the point gets across now that it is transmitted in language that makes sense to Ava, now that there are common values between speaker and listener.

One could even hypothesise that, at this point, Shannon being a former warrior nun lends credibility to her words in Ava’s mind as she is a woman experienced in this role Ava is supposed to play.

If so, we can also understand the bridge of empathy that is built between Ava and Mother Superion later on when it is revealed that Suzanne, too, was a halo bearer and that she, too, has carried this “burden”. Both forge new understandings of one another through this common background and a personal exchange that is nothing like their first encounter—when the “gift” is said to have rejected the older nun, when its “burden” is divulged to Ava.

As Ava recognises Shannon, so do Ava and Mother Superion eventually recognise one another as well—so do they begin to comprehend how they did carry similar values, only obscured by their dissimilar ideologies and their resulting language use. If no other, then the value of family is what binds them together through Suzanne’s new disposition to embrace all of her sisters and Ava’s newfound conduct in considering them her sisters to begin with. They come closer in the catacombs and, at last, meet halfway by season two.

Yet we, the viewers, as touched by this miscommunication that ends well as we may be, after all of this talk of gifts and burdens, we remain none the wiser on what the Halo actually is.

C) The energy source

As previously exposed, we are kept in the dark because most sentences that speak of this iconic object in the series are subjective, focused on the characters’ own relationship to it or their ideas about it rather than any substantial data on what it might truly be apart from a “hunk of magic metal” currently in Ava’s back.

Perhaps because we spend so much time with the nuns, satisfied as they are with the logic of plain belief instead of concerned with tangible, provable things that can or should be explained. The most we get is the information on how the Halo is some kind of weapon, an amplifier attuned to the bearer’s body and soul.

Enter Jillian Salvius.

While her understanding of the Halo is admittedly insufficient, her research on it limited, her available vocabulary and scientific knowledge too slim (!) to encompass such an item, she does not say something like “the Halo is a mystery” or “a conundrum” as she says of Lilith later on. It would be true, just as it being a “gift” or “burden” is true considering those who called it thus, yet Jillian uses another sort of language instead.

Being a scientist, doctor Salvius opts for what we consider to be appropriate scientific modes of speaking, that is, by creating an impression of objectivity. It is not her personal reaction or opinion of the Halo that she offers, but whatever traits she can see or learn of in that moment: an energy source, an object that defies physics, a foreign body of undefined material. Ava “translates” this as being “an alien battery”, but the fact is that we are served a definition of the Halo unlike those we had before. It isn’t much, but for once we are not given a character’s personal interpretation of it…

Or so it seems. We none of us are capable of being fully objective, for none of us can rid ourselves of our selves—Jillian posits the Halo as an energy source, which seems innocent and impartial enough, but soon afterwards we understand what that means to her.

In themselves, the words “energy source” don’t carry many other connotations. Yet, for Jillian, these words that seem so neutral and “scientific”, so clear cut, do not sustain the facade of objectivity. She has spoken of energy before, it is an active component of her research, a common word in her lexicon; to Ava, “energy source” is “a battery”, but to Kristian and Jillian, who are part of ArqTech, who know what goes on within its walls, these words automatically acquire another meaning.

Yes, that of a battery, but one with a very specific purpose. Under the guise of neutral discourse, a very personal interpretation of the Halo, just as if it were a “gift” or “burden”, lies hidden. It is an energy source—one that doctor Salvius can potentially use to power her contraption. It is a “solution”, perhaps even a “gift”, of circumstance if not of god.

And it, too, defines Ava despite herself. When it fails, Jillian says she was wrong about Ava, not the Halo, thus conflating the two.

In the end, even she who might well be the smartest character, the one most closely connected with science and concrete knowledge, cannot guard herself from letting the unsaid (or “unsayable”) slip through her lips. She, too, in spite of her apparent objective language, exhibits a subjective kind of relationship with the world around her, influenced by the ideologies that cross her being.

D) Ending thoughts

Perhaps, when all is said and done, we are never truly able to follow that maxim we’ve seen more than once on Warrior Nun.

Perhaps we simply cannot think or act if we do not perceive things as at least partially related to ourselves.

It is not necessarily a bad thing, though, as long as different views can coexist, as long as they do not trample one another, as long as one person or group don’t elect themselves as the owners of truth, attempting to eliminate all who do not follow them as Adriel tried to do. In a democracy, in a place and a moment in history where there is freedom of thought and creed and speech, the phenomenon of various voices competing for the spotlight, taking turns under it is normal and healthy.

Warrior Nun gives us a fascinating insight on the multiplicity of voices that compose a society, even if there are elements of it which seek to suffocate those voices. It is a microcosm where different ideologies, through language, are confronted with one another, where they struggle to make sense of things—and where each of those points of view over a given subject might carry a morsel of truth. The Halo is a piece of metal and a gift and a burden and an energy source; none of these ideas or perceptions necessarily exclude the other, none is “more correct” than the other because, if so, then the question would be: as regards which character?

To Ava, at least, it is all these things and maybe more.

There are attempts to implant a hegemonic interpretation of facts. The very story of Areala, Adriel, the Halo’s trajectory along the centuries, how this is “the way it has been for one thousand years” is a strategy to cement a singular view. The repetition, the constant reworking of tradition, telling this story over and over with each warrior nun… That is the church at play, ideology trying to fill in any gaps, keep things as they are, conserve them and the structures that organise them, guaranteeing that things have one certain sort of sense and not another, one value, one meaning.

But life is not stagnant and people are not all swallowed whole by ideology even when they subscribe to it willingly, as a member of a church would. There are always things that cannot be explained, things that are beyond the scope of ideology—contradictions, pesky little details that escape the invisible goggles with which we look at reality. The truth is that it is far more complex than we can contain it with a few buzzwords, man-made or divine. There is always another side, always a reply, a constant dialogue between our different ways of seeing, understanding, being and, therefore, speaking.

A more visible example comes from those scenes in season two where Yasmine and Adriel are both telling the exact same story, only through their own perspectives, interpreting it in their own ways.

The show provides many opportunities to see how varied human voice can be, how the point of view of whoever is telling the story bears a mighty influence on the narrative, whether consciously or not, malicious or not. That, in turn, may inspire us to look around us, in the real world; to look at how we are representing things, others and even ourselves as well as how others represent us through the words we use.

This is not an exhaustive study, long as it is. As said before, it is but a glance at two scenes, two little lines of dialogue which are, however, intimately connected with others, with the stuff of the entire show—with the stuff of life. We could write more on how possessive pronouns and other sorts of phrases with the idea of the Halo “belonging” to someone or being “owned” by someone are used, just to remain in the area of discourse about the Halo alone.

But the present text has given all it had to give and its author does not wish to be a burden on her readers any more than she already has been.

#warrior nun #mother superion #ava silva #sister shannon #jillian salvius #look i tried my best not to throw jargon at you #it is strange for me to NOT mention bakhtin foucault pêcheux ducrot althusser greimas courtès perelman olbrechts tyteca & co #but the theory is there working beneath the text. i didn't want to scare anyone with the whole academic stuff #so i have tried all i could to use it without mentioning it directly and guarantee that anyone can understand what i've written #you will tell me if i have managed to convey my message or not #i hope i have. i don't like using a word like ideology without defining it but i want to trust in readers' intelligence #anyway. discourse analysis with some semiotics thrown in. i hope you have as much fun with this as i did! #i chose these two moments because i found them pretty cool #but we could talk about how language works in warrior nun for years probably #how it ties everyone together despite differences in understanding how it appears and reappears with new meanings #anyway I'VE SPOKEN ENOUGH #analysis and similar #exercises in observation

[lihhelsing]

Stay for as long as you have time

PART I | Find me on Ao3

Part II

CW: Self-hatred and mentions of homophobia

Steve Harrington was fucked. 

Like utterly and completely fucked. 

He had one moment of weakness and of course, that would come back to bite him in the ass in the form of a gorgeous man standing at Nancy’s door on Christmas. His whole life, Steve knew he was different. Tried his hardest to fit in when it always seemed so easy for other people to just be. Could never lower his guard, could never let the intrusive thoughts arise.

He spent his entire life pretending. All he needed to do was keep going.

It took him years and a friendship with a lesbian trainwreck for him to realize what was always painfully clear to him. Steve Harrington was not straight. 

And, as he did with everything in his life, Steve acknowledged it and moved on from it. Just kept pretending.

It’s not like he had any other choice. 

But then he just had to go to that bar.

He had gotten into a big fight with Nancy and he didn’t want to go home, so he drove to the bar instead. Chose one he knew he wouldn’t get recognized.

And then he saw him. So gorgeous, with long hair, bangs falling in his eyes, and a smile that would haunt Steve forever. It made Steve’s skin itch with pure need. 

He didn’t really think before sending him the drink.

Didn’t really think when the man approached his booth and asked if he could join him. 

Didn’t think at all when the way he said ‘sweetheart’ sent his heart into overdrive. 

Steve didn’t think. And now he was fucked.

Because the stranger from the bar, the guy Steve had shamelessly fallen for, was here. Standing in Nancy’s doorway, walking into Steve’s fiancé’s living room. 

He was here and his name was Eddie Munson and he would be Steve’s ruin.

Steve tried to keep his cool, shook Eddie’s hands like he didn’t know what those fingers felt like wrapped around his hips. Looked away when Eddie’s tongue darted out to wet his lips as if he didn’t know what his mouth tasted like. 

Steve did what he was best at: Pretend.

But his resolve was shattered the minute those round brown eyes met his at the door because Steve kept messing it up. Kept stealing glances at him like no one would notice. 

But Eddie did notice it. In fact, he seemed to always know when Steve was looking at him.

“Steve, would you come help me in the kitchen with dessert?” Nancy said, and it was clearly not a question. Steve nodded and followed her, Eddie’s eyes on him the whole time. 

Nancy opened the oven and picked up the pie, placed her two hands on the counter, and looked him dead in the eye.

“Alright, spill,” she said. No time for preambles.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he shrugged. Knew it wouldn't work with her. She would see right past his bullshit.

“Don’t play dumb, Steve. What’s up with you?”

Steve sighed. There was no way he could keep anything from Nancy, so he just told her everything. 

“And the night you met him was…?”

“The night we fought. I’m sorry I walked out. I was so angry. But at me, not at you.”

Nancy nodded. She rounded the counter and stood next to Steve, putting her hand softly on his face. 

“You need to stop hating yourself, babe. I'm pretty sure I told you that at least a million times,” her voice was stern, but not mean. Steve could feel the love behind every word.

“I know, Nance,” he said, not daring to meet her eyes. Knew what he would see in them and he wasn't really ready for that.

“There’s nothing wrong with who you are. Fuck your dad," Nancy said, tugging at his hand until he turned his head, and only when their eyes locked did she keep going. "You can stop pretending now.”

The words sunk in and Steve sighed. Nancy was right, as usual. Steve learned from a young age how to hate himself and he’d never stopped. Kept thinking he needed to please his father.

Even when his father hated who Steve was. Even when his father found Steve’s magazines, hidden in his room. Even when his father screamed at him that he would marry a good girl otherwise he could say goodbye to his money and his name. Steve hated himself then, even more.

So when Steve showed up at Nancy’s door, crying in the middle of the night, she took him in. She soothed him. Calmed him. And when Steve begged her to marry him, she didn’t even blink. She said, “If that’s what will make you happy, Steve, I’ll marry you.”

Nancy, who was willing to put her own happiness aside just so Steve would hate himself a little less. Nancy, who had been in love with Robin ever since Steve had introduced them both.

Nancy, who had fought Steve, begged him to see that cutting ties with his family wouldn’t be the worst thing. He wouldn’t ever be alone. 

“You should go talk to him,” Nancy said and Steve grimaced at her.

“He probably hates me,”

“The way he looks at you? I would hardly call it hate, Steve. Just go.”

Steve brought the pie to the table and softly tapped on Eddie’s shoulder.

“Can we talk?”

For a minute, Steve thought Eddie would say no. Would tell him to go fuck himself. But then, Eddie nodded and got up. 

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #ficlet #Ali's stuff #stranger things

[pinkanonwrites]

Stargazers, New and Old

Another Vash fic! Forgive me, TWST Fans, I’m so deep in the paint on this guy it isn’t even funny.

Vash the Stampede/Reader, +3,000 Words, GN!Reader, Mutual Pining, Cuddling, Stargazing

Through your shared time as drifters, you and Vash had spent plenty of time together beneath the stars.

Granted, it was usually from the roof of whatever cheap hotel the two of you were staying at for the night, tearing into snacks and idly chatting about whatever Vash had or hadn’t accidentally managed to blow up that day. There’d even be a celebration sometimes, if things went right! Townsfolk would spill into the street, drinking and dancing and celebrating another one of Vash’s many perfectly timed victories as they piled your table high with heaped praise and overflowing mugs of alcohol. As hectic as they could end up being, you often got plenty of enjoyment out of the fuss, watching Vash stumble around sheepish and drunk as his praises were sung up to the starry evening sky.

But if you honestly had to choose? You’d say you enjoyed nights like these much better.

Sometimes Gunsmoke’s two suns would sink deep into the horizon and the two of you would find yourselves between towns, lost to the sands of the evening desert. Not too often, really. Usually Vash was quick to make sure you had at least the basic amenities readily nearby: food, running water, a creaky old motel mattress that was only barely better than sleeping on the floor. He was fine going without them for an evening or two, but he hated to put you out in any way. But sometimes you’d get stopped up along the way, or have to stealth around a bandit camp, or get distracted watching wild Thomases scamper up and down the sandy hillsides, and end up somewhere in the empty desert, iles from the nearest town.

Luckily both of you were prepared for this kind of thing at this point, Vash even proudly showing off some of his little “survival trinkets” he’d scooped up before meeting you, like a miniature campfire set that packed away into a pocket-sized tin.

“Ta-da!” And that was where the two of you found yourselves now, tucked around the fire at the base of a large dune, Vash presenting you with a metal camping mug full of instant noodles with all the pride and bravado of a chef presenting a five-course meal. “Your majesty, may I present…. Dinner!”

"Why thank you, chef." You took the mug with both hands, letting the warm metal soothe the calluses on your palms. As Vash prepared himself a mug you cracked him a sly smile. "Or are you more my court jester?"

"What, was 'knight in shining armor' already taken?" He chuckled, cupping his own mug in his gloved palms and sipping carefully. "YEOWCH! Still pretty hot! Be careful, m'kay?"

"I will." You blew on your own cup of broth before sipping it. Shuffling over a bit, you let yourself lean heavily into Vash’s side, leeching his excess body heat. A single glance up showed the rosy-red blush that began to creep across his face at the contact, but you chose not to comment on it. “It’s really amazing how cold the desert can get during the night.”

“It’s actually because there’s no humidity. Without the water in the air to hold the heat, it cools off a lot faster.” Vash took another slow slurp of his noodles, staring out over the vast landscape beyond your tiny fire. “Deathly hot in the daytime, dangerously cold in the night… It’s a really formidable place.” A familiar, distant expression overtook Vash’s face at that. He did his best to hide it from you but you’d long since caught on to it, those moments where his walls faltered and you could damn near watch in real time as the melancholy of a man who had seen far too much began to creep in along the edges.

“And yet, here we are.” You simply responded, gesturing to the small campfire with your mug before holding it up to Vash. You never really felt like you could offer him much in these moments, simple placations and apologies feeling far too hollow. But at the very least, you could offer this. “Cheers to surviving? Despite everything?”

He chuckled, low, soft, and tired, bringing his cup up to yours to clink the metal rims together. “Despite everything.”

You let your head thump gently against Vash’s shoulder, the two of you absorbing the cool silence of the desert night. There was little need for words between sips of noodles and broth; the silence with Vash never crept into uncomfortable. As the fire and your supper dwindled in unison the sky inched ever further towards utter blackness. With no towns within a good dozen or so iles in any direction the deep velveteen shades of space were even more apparent than usual, long strips of indigo and blue speckled with pinpoints of distant light. 

“All done?” Vash finally spoke up, taking your empty mug from your outstretched hand. “I’ll take care of these if you want to get the sleeping bags ready.”

“Sure.” 

The first few times you had slept out beneath the stars, you were adamant about having your sleeping bag a reasonable distance away from Vash’s. ‘Personal space,’ you insisted, even as he joked that you’d be too wooed by his natural charms if you slept any closer. But over time you just couldn’t help yourself. Getting to know Vash, to really know him, seemed to go hand in hand with your own sleeping bag drifting ever so slightly closer and closer to his with each passing night. Now you barely even blinked as you rolled the two of them out, side by side.

With a belly full of warm food and the promise of a cozy place to sleep ahead, the exhaustion seemed to wash over you in a sudden, leaden wave. You barely had the energy to kick your shoes off, shuffling yourself awkwardly into the bag until it was pulled nearly up to your chin. When Vash turned back around from putting your mugs away he barked out a short, surprised laugh.

“Comfy in there?”

You nodded, biting back a yawn as your eyelids fluttered. You watched through bleary lashes as Vash put the cap over the top of the pocket bonfire, snuffing the flame with a soft hiss and plunging his silhouette into moonlight. You could catch the vague shimmer off of his glasses lenses, the glint on the pauldron of his prosthetic arm, and the barest hint of a soft smile by the light of the five moons.

“I’ll finish cleaning up, why don’t you get some sleep?”

You nodded again, humming softly as you let your eyes slip fully shut and melted into the darkness behind your eyelids. “Mhm… Thank you, Vash.”

You swore that as the comfortable fuzz of sleep crept further into the edges of your mind, you felt a warm, metallic hand pat you gently atop your head.

And then, blackness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You normally slept incredibly well with Vash by your side, safe in the knowledge that whatever may happen, he’d be there to protect you.

Which is why it came as a bit of a shock to you when you jerked suddenly awake, the fog of some already-fading nightmare seeping away from your consciousness. Even as you struggled to recall it the details continued to slip away, flashes of smoke and gunmetal and blond hair streaked with clumped, drying blood all that remained on the peripheries of your subconscious. It left you as most nightmares do, feeling hollow and distinctly paranoid.

The chill in the air certainly didn’t help either. Even within the plush confines of your sleeping bag you could feel the cold cutting through, leaving your entire body tense and shivery, muscles aching. You certainly wouldn’t be getting back to sleep any time soon.

But just as you saw fit to roll over and curse your bad luck, you noticed Vash. He was sat upright, leaning back on the heels of his palms, sleeping bag pooled around his waist as he tipped his head up towards the night sky. His face was lit in profile by cool, white moonlight, and without his familiar tinted lenses on you could see the reflection of a thousand little stars in his aqua-colored eyes. A look of incredible serenity was upon his face. You almost hated to disturb it.

But at some point he must have felt your eyes trained upon him, because he turned his attention to you, and that distant, moony gaze seemed to focus into something soft and concerned.

“What are you still doing up?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” You sat up and immediately regretted it, the frosty wind cutting straight through your thin, linen shirt. “Aren’t we getting up early tomorrow to beat the heat?”

“Yeah… Guess I just couldn’t sleep, is all.”

“Me neither.”

You fell silent again, following Vash’s gaze as it trailed back up towards the marbled sky. Shivering, you tucked your knees up to your chest and wrapped your arms around them as your eyes flit back and forth across those tiny, oh so distant specks of light. It was hard to even imagine that each one was just like one of your two suns, even harder to imagine that somewhere out there is where humans originally came from. Was Earth somewhere in this milky spiral of stars? Could you find it, one day, if you really looked hard enough? Or was it already too far gone, too distant or dim or lost to the hubris of the people who came long before you? You supposed you’d never really know for sure.

“Do you know any constellations?”

You startled a bit when Vash broke the silence, and just barely in the moonlight you could see him put up his hands as a sort of ‘Sorry!’ gesture. He’d had time to adjust to the dark, so maybe he could see you better than you could see him. 

“Not really.” You replied. “I know what some of them are called but I could never figure out how you were supposed to find them.”

“Want me to show you? It’s really not that hard, if you know what to look for.”

You nodded, scooting your sleeping bag as close to Vash as you could get. He wrapped his right arm around you and rested his chin on your shoulder, reaching up towards the sky with his prosthetic. You could feel the warmth radiating off of him, thrumming like an old yet sturdy machine. He outstretched a single finger, a thin glow of blue-green energy pulsing beneath the metal as he pointed.

“See that bright one, right there?” His voice was barely above a murmur, hesitant to break the silence of the vast desert. “Follow my arm, it’s gonna be just at the tip of my finger.”

“I…Think so? Is it just to the left of that kinda red one?”

“There you go! That’s the main point of Luridae, the Scorpion. It’s supposed to be the tip of the tail. If you draw a line to the one right below it, then the one below that, you follow the trail and make like, an upside-down hook shape. Seven stars.”

“But how is that supposed to be a scorpion?”

“You’ve gotta use your imagination!” He laughed at your furrowed brow, moving his hand a bit further to the right and up. “If you can find Luridae you can find Sula, the Spear. That’s an easy one, it’s those five stars in a straight line, see? It points right towards the tail.”

You squinted, trying your best to follow Vash’s instructions. Sure enough, just up and to the right of that bright star was a line of five, neat in a row like someone had sketched them up there.

“I see it! It’s right there, right?” You brought your arm up right next to Vash’s, sides of your arms touching all the way up to your palms as you traced the line in the sky with your fingertip. Even the metal of his prosthetic was unnaturally warm, just enough to be comfortable, like it was still holding its heat from the evening sun.

“Yeah, you got it!” His cheek was nearly pressed to yours, and you could feel him smile at your success. The excitement was infectious, leaving you feeling floaty and light despite your exhaustion. “Wanna try a few more?”

“Sure! What about up here?” You tipped your head all the way back, staring straight up into the night sky, only to wince at the sharp twang of pain you felt in the back of your neck. “Ow.”

“You okay?” Vash’s face filled your vision, expression soft with concern. You just shrugged, rolling your shoulder and pressing your fingertips into the tense muscle.

“I’m fine, just tweaked my neck a little. The cold just makes all my muscles kind of achey." 

Vash's hand rested on the side of your arm, almost hot to the touch against your chilled skin. How could he possibly run so warm? You wanted to melt into nothing more than a little ball curled up in the palm of his hand, dozing in the pleasant warmth it provided. Meanwhile his eyebrows had flown up his forehead, blinking incredulously at you.

"You're freezing! Why didn't you say anything?" 

"I dunno! I didn't wanna bother you? Besides, I didn't notice until I woke up, anyway!"

He frowned at you, unconsciously jutting out his lower lip in an adorable pout that made your heart stammer in your chest. He made a lot of faces like this, smug little smiles after a trick shot or delighted beaming grins over dinner, even those soft, bittersweet little expressions he'd shoot your way when he thought you weren't looking; faces that made you want to just throw caution to the wind and lean in and kiss him until you both ran hot and breathless.

But you couldn't. Vash liked to joke about how fearless you were, unafraid of tailing after the Humanoid Typhoon through each town and city he blew through, but you weren't that brave. Not enough to risk the possible rejection of the person you cherished most in the world, even if he was under the impression he was doing it for your benefit. No, you were nowhere near that brave. Not yet.

"Maybe you'll just have to share with me then, if you want to keep warm!~"

"Can I?"

You both stiffened, neither of you expecting your response to actually come out of your mouth. Vash was clearly trying to tease you, you could see that now by the wide eyes and startled red fluster on his cheeks, but you'd been so deep in your own thoughts you hadn't even registered it properly until the words were already out of your mouth. You clammed up quickly, the back of your neck feeling hot and prickly as you cupped your hands over it and turned jerkily away from him.

"Ah! Sorry, I didn't- I wasn't really thinking I was just- You know I should have known you were just joking, so… so let's just go back to sleep. Sorry. This is weird… sorry."

You'd definitely said sorry way too many times. And he'd definitely noticed. But maybe he'd actually cut you some slack for once and not point out how effectively you'd just humiliated yourself in front of him. Or maybe you could just roll yourself up in your sleeping bag like a pill bug and in the morning you'd forget this entire exchange even happened.

"...Do you really want to?" He mumbled, warm fingertips resting on your upper arm again and sending a shiver down the length of your spine. He didn't pull away even when you flinched at the contact, voice staying hesitant, small, almost like he was trying to soothe a skittish animal. "I don't want you to freeze or anything. I really don't mind."

"It's not weird?" You'd almost mustered up the courage to ask 'I didn't make things weird?' but you chickened out at the last moment catching a glimpse of Vash's soft expression when peering at him from the corner of your eye.

"No, it's totally fine! I run kind of hot anyway. I can be your heated blanket." Seating himself all the way upright, Vash opened his arms to you, and it took everything you had not to dive into them the second the gesture was offered. 

Trying not to look as eager as you were, you slipped carefully out of your own sleeping bag, shuddering as you were buffeted by the evening air. It was a bit of an awkward clamber, one you tried desperately not to think too hard about as you burrowed your way in right next to Vash. He was a big guy, and the sleeping bag was barely big enough for him to begin with, so once you got yourself situated you found that you were basically snug up against him from your ankles all the way up to your neck. And oh, was it everything you'd imagined to be and more. You were curled up into his right side; he'd tucked you up in such a way that your head was resting right on his shoulder with his arm slung around you, keeping you close. The thin fabric of your pajamas did nothing to quell the heat that rolled off of Vash's body and seeped into your own. It was a familiar, achingly safe kind of warmth, like falling asleep in an afternoon sunbeam coming through the window and landing across a soft mattress. It felt right. It felt like home.

"Comfy?" His voice was so soft a murmur you could barely make it out, and you nodded for fear of any words being let out giving away your true feelings on the situation. How were you ever supposed to sleep on your own again, knowing that this bliss was just within arms reach? "That's good. Hey, try looking up now?"

You blinked up at the night sky, an endless expanse of stars and moons stretched over your heads. His free arm rose again, fingertip tracing an abstract, polygonal form against the starry backdrop.

"Rivus Minor, the Little River. You can follow it across the sky, just like this. Follow my hand, okay?"

"Yeah." You whispered, for you didn't think you had the strength nor the courage to speak any louder. You'd follow his hand as it traced the stars. You'd follow him to the driest, most desperate towns, the true wastelands. You'd follow him through hell and back out again, to the most barren edges of No Man's Land and back, a thousand times over. Even if he tried to leave you behind, for your protection he'd say, for your safety, you wouldn't be able to help but follow. You'd follow him through blood and gun-smoke and tears and keep following beyond. As long as Vash was there, you couldn't help but be there too.

"Okay. I'll follow you."

#trigun #trigun stampede #trigun x reader #vash the stampede #vash #vash the stampede x reader #vash x reader #pink chat #my writing

[weixuldo]

Enigma// ch 12

anakin x reader

a/n: this chapter skips around a lot just cause i want it to get to the climax quicker lollll- i’ve had the conflict planned since around ch 2 and it’s coming up :)))

Time goes by and your “thing” with anakin evolves

NSFW

(pls read a/n @ the end for insight into the upcoming chapters)

warnings: cursing, cannon disabled character, sex, insecurity

_______________________________

Days went by, then weeks, and eventually months of spending time with the veteran.

Over that time, you found him growing closer and closer. The two of you spent much more time together; most weekends you would spend at his place and he would take you to dinner once a week.

With each passing day you were closer to figuring out the puzzle that was his mind.

As you learned more about him you realized his aloof attitude was more of a coping mechanism rather than his actual personality.

He was kindhearted and sensitive; as you uncovered the real Anakin Skywalker his “asshole moments” began to disperse.

Around the third time the two of you went out, Anakin officially asked you to be his girlfriend.

That night, you had picked him up from his place because the two of you were headed to a nice restaurant in the next town over; he had been having some pain that day so he didn’t feel comfortable driving that far, plus it was raining that night.

The two of you had finished your meal and were sitting in the parking lot as the storm raged on outside; it was far too stormy to drive back now, so you chose to sit it out in the car.

You decided to take advantage of the rain and cloud cover by engaging in some more frisky activities.

As the two of you cooled down from your work out, Anakin placed a gloved hand on your thigh and asked you if you were happy, well happy with him.

You were worried he was going to tell you this thing needed to stop, but you told him the truth regardless.

His expression changed from unreadable to a look of…relief?

“I wanted nothing more than to hear you say those things y/n. I feel the same way and i-if you would like to, I’d like us to take this to the next level” he stated, his other hand rubbing against his thigh.

“Ani, I’d love to be yours, if that’s what you mea-“

He smiled beautifully and was genuinely happy as he pulled you over the center console to sit in his lap. You giggled as you tossed your arms around his neck and he held you.

All of the doubts you had, all of the concerns- subsided for a moment as he held you close.

You were content.

_____________________________

You spent more time as a couple and decided neither of you wanted the drama that would come with telling people you were together.

The main concern was drama because of your age gaps; but you were also worried that the relationship would change your dynamics with the group- Ahsoka, Ben and Satine.

Anakin had other reasons, not that he would admit them to you, but he was worried that if other people got involved he would self sabotage because a piece of him was still scarred from the Padme situation… he didn’t feel deserving of love.

So it was better this way, you got to have your private relationship with Anakin and all there was to back it up was speculation; neither of you publicly confirmed or denied it.

The method worked for the most part; Ahsoka only noted that you and Anakin spent a weird amount of time together once when she was totally shit faced.

You were pretty sure Ben and Satine knew though, they just had that look whenever all of you would get together for dinners—like they knew what the two of you were doing.

But secrecy aside, you had never been happier.

You were free to be yourself around him and he accepted all of you. He loved hearing stories of your childhood and the adventures you would embark on in the forest behind your house.

Lots of nights you would just be rambling about random topics and he would lay beside you in bed just observing you adoringly.

He’d brush your thigh every once in a while and tuck story strands of hair behind your ear.

But he listened.

He listened to every word and remembered every detail.

Sometimes he would bring up something you didn’t even remember telling him and when you would ask how he remembered, he would say “When it comes to you, I want to remember every moment”.

He truly was a romantic; you never would have guessed the brooding man at the bar being such a lovesick fool.

And a love sick fool he was, he was hesitant at first, but once he got comfortable he let his feelings be known.

He told you he loved you around the 3 and a half months in

“I love you”

You knew it took a lot of courage for him to say that and that he was allowing himself to be extremely vulnerable with you.

“Really?” Your own doubt caused you to ask.

“Yes y/n, I do” he reiterated with a small smile.

Your face lit up and you wrapped your arms around his neck and leaned into his embrace.

“I love you so much Anakin, I just wanted to wait until I knew you let the same… I didn’t want to scare you off” you admitted.

“Damn, you shoulda told me, I would have confessed weeks ago if I knew” he teased.

“Really?!” had he loved you for weeks?

“Really.” He confirmed, pulling you in for a long kiss.

_____________________________

School was almost out for the summer and to relieve stress from finals you and Anakin were getting busy with other activities.

Watching a good show? Pause it. It can wait.

Baking? Toss the dough in the fridge for a little.

Sleepy? Help each other wake up.

On a date? The parking garage isn’t too far away.

Basically every scenario had an exception.

There were times he would just drive you to your classes the next day because your legs were shaking too much to go home the night before.

For a man who hadn’t had sex in a decade, he sure knew how to move his hips.

Maybe it was from the sheer deprivation he had, but every time he fucked you, he fucked you like his life depended on it.

He would grab at your body as he buried his cock into you and hold you close as he managed to thrust himself in and out of you.

You loved the cool feeling of his bionic hands grasping at your ass when you rode him; his pretty moans and the euphoric faces he would make were. Just heavenly.

One time you recalled cumming just from watching his expressions.

You liked the view of his silver dog tags dangling off of his neck when he would be on top of you; the cool silver would make you shiver when it would brush your warm breasts.

Along with becoming accustomed to constant sex with your boyfriend, you also learned proper aftercare for him. As much as he hated to admit it, he did have a disability and there were specific steps that had to be taken after a session.

First, his inhaler always had to be close by when you would start; there wasn’t a time where he didn’t need the medicine after fucking you. Often, you would help him sit up and administer it to him.

Most of the time he would have his prosthetics on, because it was easier to actually have sex, but with the intensity that he would fuck you, the friction often caused the limbs to rub on the sensitive skin around his stumps. So afterwards while he was stabilizing his breathing you would start taking off his limbs.

He wasn’t particularly thrilled that this was part of the aftercare routine, but the in the beginning of the relationship, he stubbornly left them on and his stumps actually became inflamed and he had to use his wheelchair for a week.

Taking the prosthetics off allowed his limbs to breathe and helped him cool down. After a few times you got the hang of the routine and thought nothing of it, it wasn’t a hassle at all,

it was part of loving Anakin.

He was still not the most confident about his appearance so he was still a little uncomfortable with the situation, but he really appreciated your respect and patience with him. He knew he could be an ass, but for you, he tried him damn hardest not to be.

After all, he loved you.

***

a/n: guys i actually love them :)) i’m ngl im implementing a trope that i’m not a big big fan of BUT im using it more for angst rather than actually liking that trope (if that makes sense lol) hope you guys enjoy and stick w me !!)

taglist: @dnamht @sxoulohvn @angeelcoree @wtf-andys @httpeachesblog @katsukiswrld @jetiikote @poisonedsultana

#darth vader #darth vader x reader #vader #anakin x reader #sw darth vader #anakin #darth vader fic #star wars #star wars x reader #anakin x you #enigma #anakin x y/n #anakin fanfiction #anakin imagine #anakin x fem reader #anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker x reader #sw x reader #starwars #star wars x y/n #star wars x you #star wars fanfiction #star wars fic #modern anakin au #sw modern au #modern au #star wars modern au

[packet-of-staples]

So I found some Rawfury videos of Yuri Lowenthal, Krizia Bajos and Cissy Jones talking about their characters and talking about the game before it was released (I was looking for clips for OC voice claims) and there was something in Cissy's Vivian video that kinda stuck out to me.

So what she says about Vivian exactly is: "Arcadia to her is- its not only where she's built her career, its where she's building her legacy, and uh, for her this is something really important. She wants to leave something of value, something that's worth a lot to people-"

Now, from a non spoiler point of view this is like, oh yeah rich Ceo lady wants to leave a mark on the world. Ceos are always talking about legacy, wanting to leave something behind, be something great yadda yadda. Added bonus if you know that she's supposed to be Elijah's '''Granddaughter''', she wants to continue her family's legacy all checks out.

But, knowing who she really is, not Elijah's granddaughter but one of the Arcadia 6, makes this sentence a lot more interesting. You could see this as her wanting to remake her legacy, because she technically already had one. Emily Garland is one of the 6 Arcadian born citizens to escape the dome, that's something pretty cool to be known for. But she threw that away, she sold out and chose to support the very company that oppressed her and many others like her. So now she has to make something more of herself to justify that choice. If she can make Arcadia greater, bring it out of its current slump like Howard Ashman did for Disney, then she's no longer the escapee who sold out because she was too weak to handle the outside world, she's the amazing woman who made American Arcadia popular again!

Cissy goes on to say: "-and so she works really really hard to make this thing, um, the best it can be with the most interesting people-" (She also goes on to call Trevor 'a bit of an L 7' or a square and I think that's really funny, like yeah, yeah he wouldn't be there, he would be square)

She does work really hard to leave something that, in her eyes, is positive to her image. She's reinventing herself to make her crawling back to the company worth it. To prove to herself that it wasn't a mistake and to leave a legacy that, hopefully, most people will look fondly on instead of in contempt or betrayal. She wants to leave something of value, because I can imagine there is a part of her that doesn't hold any value in herself, not after failing to make a difference that actually mattered and becoming part of the problem.

And I dunno I feel like that adds just an extra layer to her which is pretty cool. I could also be reading way too much into this idk.

Anyway, the other two videos are very cool too. Yuri talks about how Trevor's life isn't boring like Walton thinks it is, its just 'Exciting in the wrong way'. He also talks about how he thinks lots of people will relate to Trevor (So true) and how just because your life may be simple, it doesn't mean its boring and not worth living which I think is very sweet. Thank you Yuri. Krizia talks about how she really related to Angela because she grew up on Puerto Rico and how she got to add a couple of 'spicy words' as she put it, in her dialogue for a bit of extra authenticity. She also talked about how Walton was the job Angela always wanted, but after 'peaking behind the curtain' she realised that it wasn't the dream she thought is was, it's both kinda heart breaking but also very relatable, especially I'm sure to those in the entertainment industry. It makes me really want to know what her 'peak behind the curtain' moment was and what the steps where to get her to this point in more detail (Hey hey, Out of the Blue, hey please. please make that prologue thing you said was a good idea of mine on twitter. Hey, please? Please? It has the Regi Davis stamp of approval, please?)

The videos are very cool I'll put them under the cut if you're interested. I just wanted to have a ramble cause I haven't in a while and I've just been thinking about this.

#american arcadia #vivian walton #emily garland #trevor hills #angela solano #staples rambles #Also speaking of Regi Davis did you guys know he has Javert as his profile picture on twitter? I just thought that was really funny. #Youtube

[hotxcheeto]

Hii saw ur request were open!! This has been on my mind for a while and I need to spit it out somewhere 💀

Ellie x Fem!Rockstar Reader headcanons? SFW & NSFW!! Reader has a very confident and tempting personality, style and a voice like Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless and is also the face of the band. Maybe Ellie could be a groupie and get lucky enough to be noticed by reader?They start hanging out for a while which turns into them dating and Ellie is all cute and is basically their #1 fan trying to go to any available concert and gives reader song ideas and helps them relax after a set doesn’t go to well, Maybe angst too like reader is always busy that they don’t get to spend enough time with ellie? just ideas!!

I hope u have a good week <3

━ 𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃

𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) - Ellie Williams x Fem!Rockstar!Reader 

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 - Cursing, smut under the cut, angsty, TONS OF FLUFF, mentions of a bar

𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 ? - Yeah/Nope

𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - HEHEHEH this was really cute and the spicy nsfw section had be screaming the whole time, you're amazing thank you!!!

You always loved music and loved making it even more

It's what got you where you were, your love for all things having to do with music

You're relatively settled into your new found stardom when you end up at a bar with your band, talking to some random groupies who loved your music

That's when you met a certain girl named Dina who you thought was pretty cool, and ended up hooking up with one of your friends

And then through them you met Ellie, the green eyed girl having caught your eye

She was unironically wearing a band t-shirt of yours and you teased her about it

Totally lost her mind by the way she just didn't show it

Like literally probably screamed into her pillow and Dina couldn't stop laughing

Dina teased Ellie about it the entire night after you'd given her a private social media account to message you on so that you didn't miss her message

And you did, like all the time, you were traveling a lot at the time so messaging her was about all you could really do

You two went from sending cute little texts to full out conversations and hours of late night chat sessions

You'd tell her things you'd never told anyone before

And slowly you began to gain her trust and learn more about her personal life

Ellie really felt something with you, but it was hard because sometimes you'd have trouble responding due to getting busy

It made her question if that's what she wanted in life and a partner

It was your guys first rough moment, but you both came out of it knowing that you wanted each other after a long talk

It was very emotional and you both teared up at least once

Then you became official, and you both couldn't get enough

Back onto more happier stuff for now

She def sends good morning and goodnight texts, mostly when she wakes up, but depending on your timezone she'll get it to you before you're awake

Ellie's a night owl, so if you're elsewhere, and morning hits for you and she's awake, expect a message

Ellie loves when you call her after shows or right before, you're excitement kills her, she finds you so adorable

You'll get all giddy and show her around on the call, she's really just paying attention to you and your voice

Saves every picture you send her, and vice versa

You love it when Ellie sends you things, mostly because she isn't really the type

You'll mail her packages of things that you've found that remind you of her just to surprise her

On a few occasions she's showed up to your band performances just to surprise you

Felt bad when you cried tears of happiness and wouldn't let go after you hugged her

She started traveling with you when she could, especially with the career she chose

So sometimes you guys would see knew places

But thing is, Ellie is a very private person and she doesn't like being the center of attention

So when your relationship is outed and starts to go public you're both pretty nervous and you're always making sure she's okay with everything

It's very new for her, and you're scared she'll leave, which you wouldn't blame her for

But it wasn't easy at first, again you had a rough patch but it was resolved after you both talked about it

You did of course do everything to keep her from the public eye if she didn't want to be seen

You guys mostly hang out wherever you're staying or when you have the time, you stay with her

Speaking of which, Ellie LOVES when you stay with her, whether it be a few days or a few weeks depending on your schedule

She swears you make her life so much better, but of course if you need your time she's not gonna lock you up

Unless you ask

But seriously, she loves it, cherishes every second

Has tons of pictures of you saved and you have no idea

Until one day you're trying to find a picture on her phone and there's an entire fucking folder dedicated to candid pics of you

Probably cried when you found out

She keeps them to remember you when you're gone, she gets lonely

Loves when you ask her to play for you, it makes her feel special

Cause you can play so well, and sing yet you much prefer when she does it

Ellie's like your personal little lullaby machine, and you eat it up every time

You make her feel so loved without even realizing it

And same goes for you, girlie here is your number one always

Every performance she watches it somewhere whether it be online or in person just to text you about it or give you a kiss after

Will NOT miss one, even if she gotta pay for it to be livestreamed and choppy asf she'll figure it out

And if it all goes wrong she'll listen to you rant until your voice stops and you either fall asleep or your throat hurts too much to continue

You've probably ugly cried to her on facetime, and you know what, it was a bonding experience

Really made you both closer

But you have your arguments, nothing ever overly big and bad but you get into a bickerment once in a while

Especially over your time

Ellie hates it when you can't text or don't respond

But she understands that it's not your fault but when she gets upset everything she feels and thinks comes out

It causes turmoil and arguments and you'll ignore her for some time until she either gets over whatever tiff she was in or you'll force her to talk it out

Because apparently she was never taught to process emotions

she worries but it's because she loves you

She tells you that in person though

On a date at your apartment that you keep just for when you're done with traveling and hotels for a few weeks

You guys love each other so fucking much, but you have your bumps and communication is key

But you know where communication is also key

SPICY TIME BABY

She's so fucking AJFKDJAF;DS

Phone sex, cyber sex, discord sex, all of it babes

NUDES, NUDES, NUDES

She has a locked folder full of yours, and she laughs because you're all hers and fucking look at you

But because of the distance it's the only way you both can be intimate over the long periods of time you're away

Not that you mind her voice is so fucking hot

Imagine her talking all low in a groggy voice telling you to do things to yourself...

Or when she sends you little text messages of what she wants to do to you right before you go out on stage

Sometimes you'll send her little pictures throughout the day just to make her antsy while she words and you sit alone in a hotel room

FUCK, she fucking wants you so bad and it kills her having to do it all where she can't touch, she can only watch

Not that she doesn't like, look at yourself

And knowing that it's all hers REALLY gets her riled up

AND THEN WHEN YOU COME BACK TO HER

She can't keep herself off of you

And the sex is better than you're probably imagining, I promise

You can't walk the next day and you're covered head to toe in a reminder of her

She wants to make sure you remember who loves you most and who you belong too if you have to leave a few days after

You'll have a faint memory of your girlfriend everywhere you go, it's her love language <3

Nah I'm kidding, somewhat

But she LOVES to love you when you get back

Fuck, make love, quickies

Anything to make sure she's as close to you and pleasuring you as much as possible

Ellie loves when you're happy, and you're happy when she makes you feel good

SHE WOULD FUCK YOU WHILE YOU RECITED YOUR LYRICS TO HER

And she'd only let you come once you finished her favorite verse

Totally fingers you while asking if you missed her and all that comes out of your mouth are noises or babbles about how amazing she feels

Takes videos of her fucking you to remember the moment

Totally sends them to you at night when you text her about wanting her, just to tease you

Totally sends dirty selfies too

THE BOXERS AND TANK TOP DUO

And the angle where it's her neck down from above herself

OMGSDMGODJSOGIJHSDOI

The amount of pictures you have...

She loves it, don't let her fool you

#ellie x reader #ellie the last of us #ellie #ellie tlou #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams smut #ellie williams #the last of us #tlou part 2 #tlou x reader #tlou 2 #tlou #the last of us 2 #the last of us part 2 #the last of us part ii #tlou part two #tlou part ii

[ask-uts-earthspark-au]

i was wondering what the terrans would think if they learned abt most of the (former) decepticon high command and op being close before the war and how they'd feel about op technically being one of the main founders of the decepticons (assuming this goes with ur au. lol.)

I am all too happy to clarify how it goes for my AU! So here we go!

Technically, he didn’t found the Decepticons, in fact, both factions were established way before all of the current’s second creators/grandparents were even remotely imagined. And the war by technicality was long over way before Alchemist died. It was just the fucking functionalists that honestly couldn’t let it die like the little pissbaby losers they were.

However, Op was definitely to some extent close with the command before he became Prime, or at least Megatron and Soundwave - both of whom he - kind of - lived with.*

And on a further note, he was almost an inside man with how avidly he was trying to tear down the council and rework the Autobots from the inside out/top down. He just didn’t share very much of what he was doing to much of anyone.

* Honest to god, it was just Megs insistently bringing this wet cat of a man home almost every day, because he simply could not help himself. Orion just got used to having Soundwave visit like every other day.

This is why Megatron is genuinely so patient - he had to deal with these two fucking dumbasses on the regular, then there was spicy kitten Roller, and on top later came along the six cassettes. Then he became leader of the Decepticons and had five more dumbasses to live with day in-day out from his command alone, not to mention everyone else.

Megatron and Orion had always been close and the whole ‘Decepticon Leader’/becoming ‘Prime’ thing didn’t even cause the most minor of dents to strain their relationship. Arguably, Megs was more concerned about how firmly Orion was trying to ignore the Matrix having chose him, and how nonchalantly disinterested he was when it was spoken of/brought up.

Soundwave and Orion had an almost brotherly relationship. Megs and Ariel at first was shaky (Megs was just being a little overprotective of his precious baby brother, and he’s quite a big intimidating mech.), but they quickly made amends to become friends, having realized their similarities between the lines of being cordial and learning to live with each other for the sake of all future Christmas dinners they knew they’d have to spend together as in-laws (upon noticing she was, in fact, harmless, and he had nothing to worry about. Orion would be okay.).

The others of the command weren’t quite as close but they certainly considered Optimus a fairly decent Prime, and something of a friend, for a variety of reasons, if pessimistic and quiet sometimes, other times homicidal but the best ally they’d ever met. Elita was generally pretty nice company, and they hardly had to change much when around her, and her avid interaction in fandom space made her really fun.

To date, not much has changed over the years.

So Op and Elita were/are fairly close with the Decepticon command, in conclusion.

And the Terrans reactions to such an explanation:

Nightshade: Well that would make sense as to how it would be a lot easier to make some truce and end the war.

Twitch: woah… they’re siblings? Like us??

Jawbreaker: But… how would that work when they’re leaders of the opposite sides? And what about Elita-One?

Thrash: My main focus at the moment is what the hell kind of sibling drama caused a million year war??

Hashtag: actually, it says they didn’t start the war. Someone else did. They’re just the most recent of the leaders of the factions, so the war’s start isn’t on them…

Nightshade: I actually think it’s kind of cool how Optimus remained their friend despite different sigils. Clearly he knew that the council or whoever it was was in the wrong, so he fought to change things and keep them that way.

Thrash: oh dear god, here we go again…

Jawbreaker: Nightshade has a point, Thrash.

Nightshade: thank you. :)

Hashtag: Two notes:

Hashtag: 1.) Nightshade may be a little philosophical, and overly analytical at times, but they do have a point. We probably wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of that.

Hashtag: 2.) Twitch has gone to interrogate Megatron, so if we wanna catch whatever he might spill to her, we oughta head up.

Thrash: oh damn- she’s fast. And really interested in this whole thing.

Jawbreaker: Mhm. She is really fast, and super interested. Nightshade’s going too, let’s catch up. :)

Sorry if this was… half indecipherable, or didn’t make the most sense? It’s kind of complex to convey the exact relationships and everything there. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it!

#thank you for the ask! #anon ask #ask box #answered asks #terran answers #transformers #earthspark #transformers earthspark #hashtag malto #nightshade malto #twitch malto #thrash malto #jawbreaker malto #smol hashtag #2 asks left #megatron #optimus prime #elita one #soundwave #decepticon command #decepticons #founding of the decepticons #relationships #friendship

[starthelostboys]

i made this post a couple weeks ago, where i talked a little about what i think being a vampire and embracing it so much means for the lost boys (and star), and i wanted to follow up on that.

so i think that in terms of like, vampirism as a whole, all of the lost boys and star are extremely young. the oldest of the group is dwayne, and he’s not even 100

they’re also really isolated from other vampires. the only vampire that they really interact with outside of their own little group is max and he’s really intentionally withholding about like, vampire society and stuff like that. it’s a manipulation tactic because if he’s the only other vampire they know, they’re inherently reliant on him for information and help (if they need it).

also, i doubt that santa carla became the “murder capital of the world” if there’s only five vampires (and two half vamps) living there. it’s a tourist town, so i think a lot of vampires come and go throughout the year but none of the lost boys can really recognize other vampires, and don’t know that this is happening.

overall, the boys and star are just very young, very inexperienced vampires. they’re still very human in a lot of ways, even if they don’t want to see that.

i think that marko, paul, and star all chose to become vampires, but david and dwayne did not. so in their case, they kind of have to embrace being vampires wholeheartedly, cause it’s either that or just be miserable all the time.

dwayne’s the oldest of the group, so at this point he’s just gotten used to what life as a vampire is like (and is also pretty grateful that he’s not experiencing that alone anymore), but for david i think a lot of his confidence and supposed coolness comes from being able to put some distance between himself and his humanity.

cause david is definitely not someone who processes his emotions in a healthy way, so every time he just hates however he’s feeling in the moment i think he just kinda puts on the appearance of this cool, unbothered vampire until he stops feeling that way.

for marko and paul it’s different though, because they actively made the choice to become vampires. star made that choice to, but obviously she started to second guess it considering she’s only a half vampire.

i think that all of them were pretty aimless and unsure of what they wanted to do with their lives, and vampirism offered a convenient permanent pause on having to figure that out. also, in the case of marko and star, i think that they had run away from home before they could finish high school, and becoming a vampire was a way to start over from scratch.

for the entire group though, one of the main reasons why i think that they’ve embraced being vampires so much is that all of their friends are also vampires. they have little found family that they’ve made for themselves, and if none of them ever became vampires they wouldn’t have that.

on the other hand, while star definitely cares about her friends a lot, she doesn’t want to be tied down by anything. the reason she hasn’t made that leap to becoming a full vampire yet isn’t for any moral reasons, it’s because the concept of “forever” kind of scares her.

(personally i think that a lot of vampires are nomads who travel from place to place at will, and it’s really unusual that the lost boys and star have been in one place for so long, but none of them know that)

also, all of them are eternally teenagers. even though they’re decades older than they look, none of them really have the life experience or emotional intelligence to communicate with each other properly. so even though they all care about each other a lot, and value their found family very deeply, they get in really bad arguments very often.

#this is just kinda my thoughts on like. vampirism in the tlb universe #and the boys and star as characters #the lost boys #tlb #kate's bad takes

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Pretty cool answers, got some more questions ;)

1: in a earlier post I retweeted, you said Chris tried to try out for the basketball team & got rejected, how come he got rejected & did Jake cheered him up?

2: what’s their favorite movie out of millions of them; what’s the one movie they chose for like family movie night every time?

3: what’s their personalities like?

4: do they like to watch wrestling? If they like WWE, which era do they like?

5: silly question, when sneaking into a place, do they slap each other on the butt & say ladies first?

6: do they have an OCs?

7: not really a question but one of your OCs is a evil kid kryptonian & I can see his appearance as Lor-Zod of prime earth with the half long hair & buzzcut on the other side.

All too happy to answer them in turn my friend @gothicghost2000 ;-)

1. Well, ironically Chris has his red solar watch on during the trials to play as fair and normal as the other players trying out were. The thing is without his secret powers to help him standout, the coach deemed Chris’ performance too bland and by the books when his team needed players who brought some flair and even slightly dirty tricks to their style of play.

Hence came Chris being ultimately passed over and him having to go to Bomp N’ Stomp to drown out his sorrows with ice cream. Thankfully after Jake found out about this, he remembered some words of encouragement and consideration his Uncle Vic gave him back them after his first ever attempt in joining a team. He tells his best friend that what ultimately matters is that he plays the best he can, powers or not, and to never give up playing only because the coach tells him to with harsh words. Chris smiles at that remark and maybe either later that day or the following day, the two visit the park for an all out game between them at the courts.

2. Both Chris and Jake absolutely cannot pass up the chance for watching Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith, The Incredibles I or Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019) if either happen on playing on TV. As for movies for family nights, Chris and Jake would regularly suggest any of those choices, especially The Incredibles though individually, Chris can pick out any of the MCU films, especially Thor Ragnorak while Jake goes with a less than traditional choice of more ‘mature’ selections including but limited to The Waterboy, The Interview (2014) and even if Dick can permit, the ever so infamous Wicked Scary series. The latter only if Jake promises not to eat anything too heavy as they watch for a combo of that and the movie equals real bad nightmares.

3. Chris I imagine is more reserved, not as much talkative as his brothers, often trying to shy away from situations like here he doesn’t feel confident can result in good, likes his privacy during slower moments, has an almost innate fear of being sent away and rejected by his family for any tiny mistake he can make but nonetheless does good whoever he can, selfless, brave when faced against insurmountable odds, can have a jovial side when next to friends and loved ones, in particular Jon and Jake, feels authentically proud when he does something good, and above all else is a bright, likable kid who you can’t see a true once of bad in

Then there’s Jake. Unlike his most boisterous, lively and outspoken Big Sister, he’s relatively more reserved and laid back. Often being more observant of his surroundings and curious about many things which he feels are important, Jake doesn’t give up on finding answers to those questions no matter how long he feels the need to wait for their answering. Thankfully he’s a patient and understanding sort who can see from others’ viewpoints and comes to his conclusions once he has enough to go off from. Other than that, he’s very cooperative with his allies of all sorts. He’s usually a natural born partner rather than a leader but he’s competent and skilled in whatever task he’s given. He also never truly compromises on his beliefs and goals in life as a superhero, always striving to find other ways around seemingly impossible situations and choices even against the most heinous and vile of villains. He’s also kind at heart, compassionate, optimistic and hardworking on whatever needs to be done. He’s overall what you can conceivably call an ultimate sidekick, a moniker he can reasonably be proud of though don’t call him the perfect Robin, that honor goes to both his Father and above all elseX his Uncle Tim(my) Drake

4. Oh Me Oh My they certainly do and while they have their respective issue with that company, the Duo do like WWE, at least in terms of the stories and the performers who do such. Beyond any doubt, both Chris and Jake are in solid agreement of the rather raunchy Attitude Era from 1996 to 2001 being their favorite ones. As for their favorite wrestlers, two stand out, The Undertaker and Mankind from Late 1998 to 2000.

5. Nah, they’re simply too young for that stuff lol. They be confused if someone asked them that directly

6. If you mean like character they create themselves when being artistic; they have created something of a parody superhero who gains his powers from Apple pies and duels with a robot supervillain in comics they write and draw together, then give to some of their friends at school. Of course inspired by Captain Underpants

7. That……makes a lot of sense why. I originally had in mind Vla Bol having a Blond Buzzcut Haistyle with steel cold blue eyes, a scar on his right cheek, decked out in a militaristic private’s outfit with his Logo (an X with differing colors per two arms, upper left and lower right in black and upper right and lower left in green) on an armband on his right arm, and finally on his belt, tags that belong to his fallen comrades. But the Rebirth design for Lor Zod being applied if plausible lol

#chris kent #jake grayson #starburst duo #wwe #oc #sfw

[bisluthq]

I get how the “secret relationship” stuff in reputation is going to appeal to queer people, because straight people outside of the spotlight don’t have to hide their relationships (unless you’re in a Romeo and Juliet situation I guess). But we know Taylor was dating Joe and we know exactly why she was hiding.

I get relating to a lot of the themes of the album as a queer person, but I don’t get why people need that interpretation to be the “correct” or “real” one. You can relate to the album even if Taylor wrote it about a man, your interpretation can be different from Taylor’s

This is exactly what I said dude. There is no such thing as a correct interpretation of art. There is what Taylor was thinking about (usually autobiographical although she does fantasize and make stuff up because again, she is not a dick powered jukebox). There is what you think about. Things we think about when listening to her songs can change over time (as I said, this applies to what Taylor thinks about them too because it is HER CREATIVE WORK). I guarantee you End Game is giving her a little thrill now that she’s with a professional athlete but she didn’t write it with him in mind.

An interpretation is just that - one way to read something. It’s not limited to sexuality btw like people read things differently all the time. I’ve shared this before: CLM is like the most romantic song I’ve ever heard FOR ME. My current situation actually fits that really perfectly. I played it for my bf a few months into us dating expecting him to love it and he found it depressing and tragic. He didn’t get the romance at all. He didn’t hate the song as like… a song lol like he thinks it’s pretty but he fails to see how it’s romantic. That same day - we were sharing like what our most romantic song is about the other person because it was early days and we were vom cute ew 🤢 - he chose Patience by Guns ‘N Roses and I had the same reaction. Like, cool song ngl but I don’t get how it’s like a grand statement on romance. Idk what the fuck Axl was thinking when he wrote Patience (I suspect very little because he would’ve been high as shit but ok) but for my bf that’s like the grandest statement on love and fits us and for me it’s a little confusing and tbh it sounds like they’ve broken up when he’s singing it??? And that’s his same point on CLM lol. So like yeah people interpret things differently guys. This is what I’ve been trying to say.

Saying “I pick up queer themes in Dress” is fair play. Saying “Taylor didn’t write Dress about Joe, she’s a big fat liar who lies, it’s about supermodel Karlie Kloss- no wait it’s about supermodel Lily Donaldson because there’s a picture of them at a party in a bathtub with like 50 other people and she mentions that public moment in her song and ergo this song is about Lily/Karlie/the homophobic violinist from her first band and who cares what it means to me because I never go outside but Taylor is gay and this is the proof” is just unhinged.

Also there are a host of other reasons to want to be secretive in mf relationships other than Romeo and Juliet or super famous vibes just btw. Hookups within friend groups or intermixed friend groups often have to be kept on the DL. Hookups at work - unless it’s proven to be serious - should be kept on the DL. Dating while in the midst of a divorce or serious longterm breakup has to be kept on the DL. If you’ve got kids, dating has to be kept on the DL unless you’re a messy bitch who lives for drama or until you know it’s serious. Reconnecting with exes has to mostly be kept on the DL until you know it’s serious. I can go on. Being gay or being in a truly forbidden situation aren’t the only two valid reasons to want to know places you won’t be found.

Any of those situations could have you relating to Dress. The best friend stuff makes it sound a bit gay to me (someone who has hooked up with a number of her female friends) but that’s not the only interpretation nor is it factual. It’s also not invalid.

My last thought is like… as fun as muse analysis is, I like Taylor Swift because she articulates thoughts about MY LIFE better than I can. I don’t imagine Taylor and Joe or Taylor and Jake or Taylor and Harry or Hiddleswift or whatever when I listen to my favorite songs. I imagine my own life. That’s what I love about her. It feels like she’s articulating feelings and experiences I’ve felt better than I ever could yk?

[incorrect-koh-posts]

If you search Krol Tredowaty in Polish you mighy find images of Baldwin IV. An early take. Very cool.

Oh, thank you for pointing that out to me! 💛

Have some lovely Baldwin IV cover illustrations for Zofia Kossak's 1937 novel The Leper King (Król Trędowaty):

I'm particularly fond of these two - I think the minimalist art style suits both the subject and our leprous boy quite well, and I like the design the artists chose for his cloak and veil.

I also came across a rather pretty Polish cover for the Bernard Hamilton book:

My version of the Kossak novel (published in Germany in 1964), sadly, looks quite boring in comparison:

And while we're on the subject: I have to admit I rather enjoyed Kossak's take on the events in the Holy Land between roughly 1176 and 1187. Of course, it is very old-fashioned in terms of its writing style, and far from historically accurate - but considering that it was published in 1937, long before most of the decisive academic works we know had been written, I think Kossak nonetheless did an admirable job with presenting the historical events in a way that is both comprehensible and somewhat entertaining. Being nitpicky about the details while having access to almost a hundred years' worth of further research would be a little unfair, in my opinion.

That said, I'm not sure this is the right novel for you to read if you are simply looking for some good sauce about Baldwin, since Kossak's portrayal of him is a bit of a mixed bag. In some instances, her Baldwin resembled the wise, gentle king we know from KoH very closely, but in others, he came across as whiny and wallowing in self-pity, acting much more childish than he should. (Remember: In that time and place, men were considered legal adults at the age of fifteen.) So, what I missed in Kossak's Baldwin sometimes was the inner strength that - according to the chroniclers - he must have possessed in spades. His mother Agnes of Courtenay, by the way, receives a similar treatment and is presented as an overweight clucking old hag, which is, unfortunately, the default characterisation she is given in older historical fiction.

Apart from that, though, The Leper King was a hoot. This may be just my particular brand of weirdness talking - I'm currently writing my thesis about medieval German literature, so go figure - but I unapologetically love those early literary takes on Baldwin & Co. Their differing characterisations of the various historical figures are always fun to compare, sometimes I merely get a good laugh out of them while other times I end up being surprised or even genuinely impressed. This novel, somehow, managed to pair the WTF-factor with moments that I found genuinely heart-warming and dialogue that was by turns either well-written or absolutely laughable.

To be fair, some of this can probably be chalked up to the translation because - let's face it - many things that sound fine in any other language become very odd, all of a sudden, when translated into German. Towards the end of the book, for example, Kossak covers the Hattin episode and thus briefly tells how Eschiva and her sons retreated into the citadel at Lake Tiberias when Salah ad-Din laid siege to the city. Upon hearing this news, Kossak's Raymond exclaims affectionately "Meine tapfere Alte!", which is best translated as "My valiant old lady!", and if that isn't the funniest shit ever, then I don't know.

What I also found particularly wholesome - though of course not historically viable - was the way Kossak depicted the relationship between Baldwin and Raymond. For some reason, she seems to think Raymond was Baldwin's uncle (when in reality he was his first cousin once removed), but the "favourite uncle & favourite nephew" dynamic she builds between them really works for this novel. As a Raymond fangirl, it was also quite refreshing to read something that showed him as both sympathetic AND ambitious and, for once, didn't make him do the whole "cackling evil relative who is after the crown" act.

In the German translation, Raymond repeatedly calls Baldwin fondly "Mein Junge" und "Mein Kleiner", which literally means "my boy" and "my little one". I'm not crying, you're crying. Baldwin, in turn, refers to Raymond as "Oheim", which is an old German term for "uncle" (specifically: the brother of the mother - imagine that: Raymond as Agnes of Courtenay's brother! 😂). Hence, while it is simply a genealogical mistake and historically speaking, of course, a cartload of bollocks, it nonetheless warms my heart that this novel chose to present us with the one and only depiction of a literal "Uncle Tibs".

So, yeah - this was a fun read.

#asks #baldwin iv #raymond iii of tripoli #historical fiction #crusader fiction #book recommendations #book covers #zofia kossak #the leper king #kingdom of heaven 2005

[gaytwirights]

So like. Thoughts on the yyh live action (spoilers but like. That's obvious)

Tbh. The pacing was kinda rushed and I didn't like the wigs. But aside from that, it was a very enjoyable experience

Would I recommend it to someone who hasn't seen the original? Lmao absolutely not. I feel like this was an adaptation made for the people who were already fans. Certain characters (one of whom was simultaneously my bisexual awakening and my transgender awakening) were less focused on, which would make their impactful moments less,,,, impactful for a new viewer

I feel the biggest issue is that there are so few episodes that they couldn't get a whole series' worth of familiarity with the characters. Kurama's and hiei's big powerups happened in season two, and that's what made those moments so cool. By that point, we were already familiar with the characters (and thousands of filipino youth, myself included, had become bisexual because of dennis), so we got excited when these characters we already loved got cool powerups

All that said, the way they chose to compress the story was very cool. I really don't have much to say, aside from that. It was just really fun to watch all these familiar elements get put together in a new and exciting way. Even as someone who's been a fan since I was young, I was still caught off-guard by the changes and still found myself on the edge of my seat

And on that topic, the emotional moments really hit hard, and are really good at showing the depth of the characters, even within 5 episodes. When yusuke bad to fight his schoolmate, he was trying to get the demon insects out of him until the very end. When kuwabara finally broke the rock, it was because he wanted to be able to defend the people he cares about. The way yusuke and kurama had that common theme of dying and leaving their mothers to grieve (and it never gets brought up again!!! But we appreciate it nevertheless 😌). Parallel of yusuke and toguro had me tearing up tbh

And let me just say, I SCREAMED when hiei showed yukina his necklace. I've been waiting for this moment since I was GRADE THREE GODDAMNIT

And also, as much as I hated the wigs, I really liked what they did with yusuke's and kurama's costumes. The change to yusuke's costume was small -- they really just had him wear his uniform top open, rather than closed -- but it gave him a more 'casual' appearance. He really did look the part of a highschool delinquent, someone who doesn't care about rules or customs (like wearing your uniform properly). And as for kurama's costume, I loved that they used a fabric with a flower brocade for (what seems to be) his designated outfit for demon business. They really went for the flower motif, and I 100% support. However I would have appreciated if they spent a little bit more of the costuming budget on getting my boy a good wig

I also liked what they did with keiko's character. In the original she was just kinda a love interest, which. I mean. Fuck me for expecting a personality from a woman in a 90s anime. But here, there's some rough edges to her that made me think, right, she's yusuke's childhood friend

Another thing I liked is how they did the fight scenes. Here's the thing, a good chunk of the cast are teenagers. And they have to face off against various yokai. Yokai who happen to be much stronger than them. Even considering their shooty slashy boom boom magic, they have to really strategize how they're gonna attack. I really love how they had the characters really make use of their surroundings. Vehicles!! Metal doors!! It was so cool!!

Finally. Effects pretty 💛 there were some gay moments which I super appreciated 💛 but they should've brought a child in to play koenma

#tbh i understand the criticisms #they definitely didn't use a lot of the characters to their full potential #but like. that's just what happens when they only had 5 episodes to work within #yu yu hakusho

[imsailorpluto]

Island - 아일랜드

thoughts pt xyz, pre-finale

It all started with a few cool gifs on suggested for you page. Then I found the show and watched the first part. Next thing you know, I was reading the old manhwa, it was like discovering oasis in the middle of a desert. At first I was ecstatic but then disappointment hit me and I tried to brush it off. I thought reading manhwa would give me some solid answers regarding drama. Despite the fact it didn't, reading this unfinished masterpiece was extremely enjoyable. There is a new remake of manhwa, which I'm not a big fan of and honestly doubt I'll be finishing it (but you never know, curiosity does wonders if applied constructively).

The thing is, I'm in love with the old graphics of Island. This is it for me. I don't want the reboot. I want the old manhwa to continue where it stopped. That's Island.

If you've meet Pan and Miho through manhwa, then watching the drama might be quite shocking. These two (four??) characters only resemble each other. As a matter of fact, atmospheres these two products bring are not comparable at all. The only consistency that keeps binding manhwa and drama seems to be Johan or John, whatever you want to call him, although even he was wrongfully neglected too many times. He isn't a weak boy who can easily be stopped by someone pulling on his hoodie, and although such depiction does contribute to his cute image, it also contributes to making him look weak. That, he most certainly is not, which is greatly covered by manhwa.

Liking Johan is as easy as breathing. He deserves the world. If that character came to life and asked for anything, my card would fall out of the wallet and start hitting the desk all by itself that instant. No questions asked. The end.

While this isn't an attempt to draw parallels between drama and manhwa, I can't help but think why the writers chose their approach of bringing many tremendous changes. There's so much potential in the story and character development, but that's all. It's just the potential. Miho is regressing as a character as drama continues in pt 2, and so is Pan. And all for the sake of recycling an overused love story.

Just don't mess with the original code if it works, ok?

I can't deal with this pairing. Yes, it was cute at first how Miho and Pan interacted in part 1. They made my heart flutter. It's something about Pan's lack of interest and Miho's character portrayal in part 1 along with her fascination with Pan in those very first episodes that made their dynamics charming. Their toxic interaction tickled my imagination, just like everyone else's. Anticipation of possible romance between these two fit in there perfectly. However, actually going a step further in a way it was executed (in ep 10) feels inconsistent with the previous events.

Can't we have yearning and bond as deep as the sea that isn't romantic? Because their bond was pretty special. She actually needed him to protect her from lust demons. She was desperate at this point. It was either she dies or she hires a "killer" to protect her.

What's wrong with "I'm a half-demon and would kill you but you pay me well so I'm not going to" or "I promised not to let those demons harm you and that alone is the reason I am there for you, don't be fooled". Can't we have a human falling for a half-demon who's been out of touch with his humanity for so long that he doesn't even take Miho's feelings (in development) seriously?

It didn't felt right when Pan pushed Miho's head into the desk in part 1, but something about Miho reaching out to him nonetheless makes all the difference here. That's the point. That's them.

Couldn't writers work more on that toxicity, since that's how their relationship started in the first place? Somehow we got damsel in distress and knight in a shining armor instead, even for a brief moment in ep 10. I love a good romance but the drastic shift from their original selves doesn't sit right with me. Characters went from 2.0 to beta-testing mode.

Appealing to the masses just doesn't seem like a suitable explanation anymore. Someone who is only getting familiar with Island through watching the drama will almost certainly get awfully confused before disappointment hits them, let's keep it real. Wrapping up is rather clumsy and episodes leave impression as if different crews worked separately on filming. Making one slow burner episode in a 12 episode challenge is something most would frown upon. Making more than one slow burner episode while not resolving so many important issues most definitely won't sit right with the audience. Well, it's done. Whether we like it or not.

Then there's Gungtan, a whole mess of a character. Beautiful. Tragic. Broken. Beyond repair. But only on the surface.

While the old manhwa has John in the position of writer's personal punching bag, in drama that special place is reserved for both Pan and Gungtan. Gungtan appears in the remake of manhwa for the first time and his purpose there is killing Pan, apparently. That's as far as I've got, which is really not even half-way through. In drama, however, writers put him through hell and back, for the sake of creating a generic super-villain. It's been implied that his purpose is killing Wonjeong/Miho, but something doesn't feel right about this. Again.

My what will be what now? Honey, can we talk about this? You know I want only what's best for you. Let's have some nice warm tea, I've even baked you your favourite cookies. Let's take a shower, put on some fresh clothes and then we can go to the park and have a little picnic out in the sun. Come on now.

Writers, why couldn't you make a choice on time and stick to it? Why would anyone appreciate this poor and hurried attempt of vilifying? Are we building a complex character who is also a villain? Are we adding some very realistic depths to his character and making him look more human? Or are we making a simple cold-blooded murderer without a proper backstory because there is simply no humanity in him to begin with and therefore this whole narration is useless? What the hell are we doing? We can't do both at once. Because I'm pretty sure accidentally turning him into an actual protagonist of the show in few easy steps cannot be "fixed" by a (useless/pointless) shocking mass murder, preceded by lovey-dovey fabrication pulled out of thin air. Only to bring him back to factory settings from part 1 all over again. I'm taking it as screenwriter's cry for help, nothing more and nothing less. Did that second mass murder even happen? Not in my head it didn't.

Fear of the audience favorizing Gungtan, murderer of the whole religious sect of child abusers, over a forced cliché beauty and a beast love story, between a damsel in distress and a morally enlightened demon-slayer who is half demon himself, is very real. God forbid that happens, of course. Well, it's happening anyways and no cheap trick will stop it. He stole the show, it's done.

We. Love. Gungtan.

May the babygirlification begin. Starting sequence in 3, 2, 1

Leaving manhwa aside, the series had a huge potential to go in so many different directions, without even following original plotline. That's exactly what happened, it went into too many different directions at the same time and ended up being a huge mess difficult to clean up and wrap up. The only thing that makes me cling to it is the genre it represents and what's left of main characters, as each of them has their own well distinguishable charm. I'm loving the series, despite what it turned into.

It's like putting on every piece of clothing you ever looked good in, all at once, at the same time, because, well, you think you'll look even better. And it doesn't work that way. Or buying all the finest ingredients you could find and thinking it will make the food taste heavenly but instead you've got served Rachel Green’s Thanksgiving Trifle, so what do we do now?

All in all, it's easy to conclude even writers got lost in redefining already well defined plotlines, so nobody truly knows what is going on and why. Formulas for success got mixed up pretty badly. Even without taking manhwa in consideration, there's that bitter-sweet taste. Nothing is clear and everything's been mushed. It takes some time for impressions to set, but as time goes by, the less I am happy with the final result.

It's gonna be better next time. Hwaiting!

Pluto's out

#island kdrama #island manhwa #island webtoon #island 2022 #island 2023 #kdrama #tving island #아일랜드

[sombrasaiyan]

Bardock’s Favorite Saiyans | ginelifla + badagine + bardolifla

smut, yuri, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, oral sex female receiving, lesbian sex, scissoring/tribbing, voyeurism, threesome, spanking, biting, polyamory, poly relationship

PRIDE MONTH DAY ONE!

summary: Caulifla and Gine join Bardock’s crew, the two being inseparable and best friends. A year into their recruitment, they both realize they love Bardock. Neither one of them are willing to break off their special friendship because of this, but want to know who Bardock loves. On their day off they enjoy it lounging off in the open fields, catching a certain saiyan’s attention.

pairings: caulifla x gine, bardock x gine, bardock x caulifla

Gine and Caulifla are inseparable. From the moment these two were born on planet Vegeta, their ki collided amongst each other as they were drawn to each other almost immediately. As the two grew up, they decided to live in a house together. Gine would take care of the house and cook while Caulifla would go on missions and make sure she was strong enough to protect herself and Gine.

Lucky for the both of them they were enlisted in team Bardock, though Gine was a bit hesitant to be in such a team. Caulifla still kept her strong vow of protecting Gine.

Today was their day off while the rest of team Bardock was off doing their own missions. Caulifla and Gine didn't mind, as long as they had each other to keep company.

The enchanted forest is one of the saiyans' favorite spots to go to for relaxation. Caulifla found it while adventuring around once, and then the very next day she brought Gine along with her. Since then, they always came here to get away from their troubles or to ease some stress.

"I can't believe it's almost been a year since we joined team Bardock!" Gine declares happily, her tail wagging as it thumps on the grass.

Caulifla rests back on the ground with her hands behind her head. She allows the tree's cherry blossoms to provide shade. "Yeah, who would've thought we'd be the two lucky girls to be on that squad? Pretty cool huh?" She says with a smirk but keeps an eye on Gine.

Gine grasps a fistful of the grass before swallowing her embarrassment. A flow of scarlet takes her cheeks as she then says, "Uhhh, listen . . . Caulifla . . . I believe I've grown feelings for someone on the Bardock squad." Gine could practically feel her heart hammering in her chest.

"Really?" Caulifla opens both eyes as she turns her head to look at Gine. "I . . . Have fallen for someone too." She admits quickly.

Gine smiles wide, glad that someone had taken the heart of her best friend. After all, she deserves to be happy. If Gine had to assume who Caulifla had fallen for, it had to be Tora. Tora goofed a lot with her and would tag team with her if she wasn't with Bardock. Caulifla talked to him more than she did with Fasha, and they had lunch a couple times.

Caulifla couldn't believe that Gine finally found someone she had fallen for. Once upon a time, did Caulifla consider her more than a friend, but figured that maybe Gine was only attracted to the opposite gender. Then again, she was starting to get really close to Fasha and wouldn't be surprised if she already had a sexual thing going on with Fasha.

"That's amazing! How about on the count of three, we reveal who we like?" Gine says, keeping that big smile.

"Yeah, sure thing!"

"One . . ."

"Two . . ."

"Three!"

"Bardock!" They both say in unison and then gasp in horror. The saiyans were too stunned to speak and chose to be silent for a few moments.

" . . . N-No way . . . You like Bardock too?!" Caulifla says, sitting up slowly as she stares at Gine long and hard.

Gine felt ashamed that she had fallen for a man that Caulifla loved as well. " . . . I can stop liking him so you can be his mate." Gine sheepishly says while her heart sank to her stomach. She'll get over Bardock overtime, but she would never be happy being with Bardock while Caulifla was secretly hurting. She winces as she feels Caulifla's hands grip her shoulders.

"Gine, what the hell! I'd rather you be happy with Bardock! Forget about me, I'd rather value your friendship than my own happiness!" Caulifla says as the two look at each other, unable to read the mixture of emotions that laid in each other's eyes.

"B-But, Caulifla . . . I love you too and would rather keep this relationship we have now instead of sacrificing it for some dumb temporary feelings we have for our captain!" Gine says, placing her hands on Caulifla's waist as she then throws herself forward, hugging Caulifla tightly. A radish red takes her cheeks as her eyes soften.

Caulifla hugs back, squeezing her eyes shut as she tries her best not to cry while holding Gine in her arms. Their tails numbly outstretch towards each other and grip each other tightly, causing the saiyans to shiver.

"Hehe, okay Gine. How about this," she curls her forefinger under Gine's chin and places her thumb on the end of it. "Whoever Bardock chooses as his mate, we just accept it."

Gine nods only once, but was so unsure about what the future would hold. Sure, she would love one with Bardock, but couldn't see a future without Caulifla. "Okay, but I'm fine without a mate, as long as it means you stay in my life." Gine says as Caulifla grits her teeth, tightening her hold on Gine.

"You can be such an idiot sometimes." And before Gine could respond, Caulifla had pulled her in for a kiss, pressing her lips on hers for a few seconds—then pulling away, just in case Gine wasn't into girls too. Caulifla hangs her head as she hides the scarlet flush that took her face. "I-I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have kissed you without your consent . . . I just couldn't help it."

Gine smiles, but of course Caulifla couldn't see this reaction. "Caulifla?"

Caulifla hesitates to look at her, "Y-Yeah?"

"Now you're being an idiot." Gine says, and practically lunges at her, pinning her down the grass as Caulifla squeaks in response. Placing both hands on Caulifla's face, Gine gifts her a kiss of her own. Caulifla's eyes widen in surprise as she never expected this from Gine, but Kami she loved it.

Caulifla pulls Gine closer, spreading her legs so that Gine's waist would lower down on hers. It was too bad that Gine chose to wear the dress armor rather than her casual team Bardock armor. Breaking the kiss, Caulifla gently raises Gine back, "How much further do you want to go?" She asks, breathless.

Gine's gentle obsidian orbs gaze into those of Caulifla as she smiles. In a husky and seductive voice Gine replies with, "All the way."

Caulifla smirks, pulling Gine in for another kiss as Gine's tail wags. Gine kisses back with much fervor as Caulifla's fingers grip at the waistband of Gine's long pink armor skirt and tugs on it. Gine grins into the kiss, helping Caulifla pull down her skirt as she stretches it a bit to let her tail free. Down the skirt goes, leaving Gine in her black battle tights. She breaks the kiss to take a look at Caulifla who was trapped under a love spell casted by Gine.

"You know, I don't want to be the only one with armor coming off." She says with a sheepish smile.

Caulifla smirks up at Gine as she lowers a hand down her waist, nearing her ass. "Guess you wanna see me naked too, huh? What's stopping you Gine?"

Gine returns the smirk as she plays with the red straps of Caulifla's armor, lowering it down her shoulders as Caulifla works with herself to move her arms up to allow Gine to pull it off. Finally it comes off, leaving Caulifla's breasts exposed to Gine. Her cheeks aflame as Gine stares at them, mesmerized by the soft mounds of her breasts and her perky nipples.

Without even asking, Gine places her hands on each breast and massages them softly. She too shared her cheeks dusted with red as Caulifla curious hand slips into the front of Gine's tights, feeling up on where her clit was. Gine gasps, looking down at the sight before looking into Caulifla's eyes to meet the mischief in them.

Caulifla gives Gine's clit a couple strokes as she asks seductively, "How does it feel?"

Gine gulps, never having anyone touch her down there—not even herself—so it was safe to say this felt . . . new. "It feels . . . weird, a good weird!"

Caulifla giggles, continuing with her ministrations of making Gine feel good. "That's good." She slides her middle and ring finger down into her virgin tight hole as Gine gasps out, leaning into Caulifla's touch as she struggles to keep groping her. Gine starts to tremble as her shaky hands move onto Caulifla's battle tights.

"You should feel good too, Caulifla." Gine says, tugging her black tights and panties down, Caulifla kicking off her boots as her clothes go flying to gather somewhere behind the two. Now Caulifla was completely naked as she reddens, watching as Gine takes off the rest of her clothes too. They proceed to kiss each other passionately as their tails gnarl and twist with each other and rub for friction. Gine's fingers found themselves in between Caulifla legs, rubbing at her clit a couple times before sliding themselves in her entrance, causing the saiyan to moan into the kiss.

"Oh Gine~." Caulifla grips Gine's waist and flips them over so that now she was on top. Stroking her legs, the blush on her cheeks was bright. "You know, Gine . . . I always wanted to do this kind of stuff with you."

Gine smiles up lovingly at Caulifla gasping as she then dragged one of her legs up and hooked it over her shoulder. "Ca-Caulifla?" Gine's face reddens up as Caulifla gives her a crooked grin then bringing her core up against Gine's. "A-Aaah!" Gine immediately cries out in a roar of pleasure. Caulifla hisses lowly at the contact as she coils a hand around Gine's leg.

"I'm gonna start moving now," Caulifla says through soft groans, swaying her hips back and forth as their clits bump, swollen with the pleasure. Gine was already quite the moaning mess, Caulifla's delicate panting contrasted hers, but both were sounds of self indulgence. "Fuck Gine! You feel so good!" Caulifla says, quickening the pace as Gine squeezes her eyes shut in the immense pleasure, feeling Caulifla's body lower on top of hers. Their hardened nipples rub against each other as Gine brings Caulifla into a deep kiss, their teasing tails lingering at each other's entrance, prodding as they pleased. It was a mutual silence of wanting more, and the a couple inches of their tails started thrusting as Caulifla grinds on Gine faster, their clits wet with their juices.

As Caulifla breaks the kiss and sits herself back up to keep with the thrusting and stare at the dirty sight of their tails, Gine stares up at the big blue sky, moaning as loudly as Caulifla was at this point. In her own trance, her eyes wander off before snapping. Not far off from where they currently were, sat a tall muscular built saiyan, his eyes set on the sight of the female saiyans.

His eyes held a certain darkness and almost a warning within them as panic surged through Gine. One arm was tossed across his knee while his other leg draped down the cliff he sat comfortably on.

"B-Bardock?!"  Gine gasps, but Caulifla mistakes it as her soft sounds of pleasure. How long has the man been there—watching?! Oh Kami, Gine couldn't believe this! Why the hell of all days and out of all situations Bardock had to be watching?! "C-Caulifla!" Gine throws her hands on Caulifla's waist, giving it a couple squeezes in a warning as Caulifla smirks down at her.

"What's wrong, Gine? Want more?" Caulifla mistook the gesture as the spiky haired saiyan quickens up her thrusting practically bouncing up and down as their wet clits continue to rub against each other. Gine couldn't help but moan loudly as she tries to speak through them.

"Hanngh . . . Aughhh . . . Ahhh~ Caulifla wait!" Gine begins to remove the tip of her tail from being deep inside of Caulifla to see if she could catch her drift but the saiyan who was currently riding out her high drops her body atop of Gine's and whimpers with the immense pleasure.

Bardock stares at Caulifla's ass as it bounces with every thrust she was giving to Gine. He watches as their tails powered pumped into each other as he heard the loud and lewd noises of their sex as he couldn't stand to watch anymore. His boner was suffocating in his black battle tights as he rises up on his feet, teleporting behind Caulifla. Once she slowly sat up and continued with her cries of pleasure and bouncing, he places his hands down her waist, squeezing her as Caulifla's eyes widened, feeling whoever was grabbing her scoop her up off of Gine.

"Well, well well. What do we have here? Two saiyan girls in heat." He huskily says down Caulifla's back as Caulifla shrieks, being plopped down in the free space in between Bardock's legs.

"B-Bardock!" Gine manages to say from laying on the bed of grass, unaware of her legs being spread and drenched in her own sweat and juices.

"Like it's any of your business you fucking perv!" Caulifla says, trying to squirm in his grasp as Bardock plants Caulifla down across his knees, ass up as he tugs her tail. Caulifla cries out over the jolts of electric pain turnt pleasure.

"Ba-Bardock!" Gine sat up, forgetting she was just as naked as Caulifla as she throws a hand forward as a means to try to get him to stop. "P-Please! Leave Caulifla alone—sh-she's right! W-What we do . . . isn't necessarily your business!" She squeaks, her face reddening up.

Bardock raises his head up from staring down at Caulifla's ass as he wickedly grins at Gine. "None of my business, eh Gine? Both of you are brats, and do you know what brats need?" Bardock keeps his eyes glued to Gine while he begins to rub Caulifla's ass with one hand while jerking her tail with the other.

"H-Hey! Leave Gine out of this, bastard!" Caulifla says from where she laid on Bardock as the strong saiyan raises his hand from where it was planted before giving her ass a hard spank.

Gine winces at the sound, followed by Caulifla's little whimper. "B-Bardock! Stop it, leave Caulifla alone!"

"Brats deserve to be punished, and believe me, I'm going to punish both of my naughty saiyans." Bardock says, raising his hand again as his hand crashes down Caulifla's ass, spanking her over and over until a bright pink dusted her cheeks. Caulifla was whimpering and squeaking with every spank and it didn't help that he was tugging fiercely at her tail. "Starting with you, Gine." Bardock raises Caulifla right off his lap and delicately places her down the grass as Caulifla didn't know whether to be turned on by this situation or be completely baffled that Bardock now claimed ownership over the both of them.

"M-Me?!"

"Yeah, you." Bardock says with a twisted grin, grabbing Gine by the legs and dragging her close, causing her to squeak. She didn't think any of this was actually happening—it was way too crazy! Bardock inspects her gleaming clit and her cum running down her legs already from her early sex session as he places a finger down her clit. "You're already so wet, but I don't wanna fuck you just yet." He says this while dragging the finger down to her entrance, without warning he thrusts the finger inside, causing Gine to cry out and arch her back up, captured in his spell.

"G-Gine . . ." Caulifla whispers under her breath from where she was, as she couldn't help but smile. Her first time with a man was going to be with Bardock, and Gine loved Bardock. Whatever made Gine happy, made Caulifla happy.

"Heh, did having Caulifla bounce up and down on ya get ya this hot and wet?" Bardock remarks as his finger thrusts in and out of Gine.

"Aaah~ hahhh!!" Gine was writhing from where she laid as Bardock places his thumb down Gine's clit, rubbing it back and forth. "Ahhhngh! Bardock!"

Bardock smirks triumphantly as he waits until she came on his finger, whistling at the sight of her climax. "Alright, Gine! Hope you're prepared to get what's coming, straight from your captain!" Bardock declares, tugging down his battle tights to reveal his throbbing erection which catches the attention of both small saiyans.

Gine's eyes widen at the size of Bardock's penis as she trembles. "N-No way that's going to fit inside of me!"

"Don't worry, babe . . ." Bardock brings his waist close to Gine's rubbing his dick on her, lifting her legs up as he holds them up. "It will fit!"

"You jerk, how do you know she even wants it!" Caulifla says from where she sat, bare naked just as she was before.

Bardock shoots Caulifla a sideways glance, "Believe me, Gine wants it." He lifts his member from resting on Gine's core as he aims his tip at her entrance, grinning at the blushing saiyan who shivered in fear and delight. “Ready or not, Gine!”

#dragon ball #dragon ball super #dragon ball z #db #dbs #dbz #sombrasaiyan #one shot #dbs smut #dbz smut #sombrasaiyan fics #caulifla #crack ship #bardock x caulifla #caulifla x bardock #bardolifla #bardock #bardock x gine #gine #gine x bardock #caulifla x gine #ginelifla #badagine #pride month #yuri smut #yuri #yuri lemon #polyamory #poly relationship

[lacasitamadrigal]

Encantober Day 1

Caterpillar

“Casita! Casita look!”  

A curious squeak came from the colorful home, its tiles rising up in welcome as she waved a shutter at the boy who came trotting toward her. He had something in his hands, cupped gently so as not to jostle it too much. The sight made her happy. Antonio was such a gentle child, always careful of the other living creatures around him and ever so eager to learn about them. The fact that he seemed to enjoy showing her the new things he found was something of an entertainment to the home, one that never got old. 

“Look! I found a Hanno caterpillar!” The boy carefully held his hands up to display the tiny yellow insect with pride, showing his home as if he had found the greatest treasure in the world. Of course to him it probably felt that way, so of course Casita responded as such. 

The house put up a flourish of tiles, the shutters flapping open and shut in a round of applause for the boy and his prize as Antonio giggled at her antics. 

“Hey Casita, listen.” As the boy sat down in a little divet in the earth right next to her wall, the home fell silent and still, waiting to hear what he had to share with her today. 

“So Mami got me this book that shows me all the different bugs, right? And this was one of them! They’re super hard to find though because they’re so small and they kinda blend in with the plant’s they like to eat, but I found one!” He was beaming from ear to ear as he watched the caterpillar inch its way up his arm. 

“Anyway, so these guys turn into the Hanno butterflies and guess what… They’re blue! Isn’t that cool? They go from this pretty yellow color to a blue! And they do that during their met… meta…” The house squeaked out a curious noise as the boy’s brow scrunched up. It took him a few more moments before he was grinning again. 

“Metamorphosis! That’s what the book called it. Mami says that they make this shell thing and they sleep for a couple of weeks and when they wake up they have wings. They turn into butterflies! It’s so neat!” 

Listening to the boy talk about his little caterpillar made the house happy, not just because he was so excited himself, but because he still chose to share. He was the youngest of the Madrigals after all, the smallest of the family. With no gift to take him to town he was able to spend his days as he wished, and somehow she was lucky enough that he wished to spend them with her. 

“Tonito? You out her hombrecito?” 

Well, her and her Mirabel. It was a simple thing for the home to shift her tiles, and the girl was so used to it that she was hardly ever surprised by the movement. It took seconds before Mirabel was outside, giggling and smiling and steadying herself as she stepped onto the grass to spy her little cousin. 

Mirabel was another sharer. She spent her days a little differently than the youngest member of the family, but still she delighted in offering up her fabrics and thread for Casita to see. Of course these two would be close. They had all the time for their hobbies and so much to say about them and sometimes you needed more than a house to talk to, even if that house happened to be an excellent listener. 

“Hey, whatcha got there?” The girl came over to kneel down in the grass, her eyes bright as she looked at the caterpillar the boy had transferred to his opposite hand. 

“It’s a Hanno blue! Well… it's the beginning of one anyway.” The two grinned as they continued to watch, Mirabel settling in with a content sigh. 

“Hey, are you excited?” The words had the boy confused for only a second before his excitement seemed to drain from him, his smile not nearly as bright as before. Casita didn’t like that.

“Yeah, I guess so…” Now it was Mirabel's turn to offer him the confused look, her brow arching slightly as she leaned forward. 

“You just guess?” A nod was the only thing the boy offered as the home squeaked out its own worried sound. He wasn’t excited, he was nervous. She knew that because he shared so much with her. It wasn’t what she was hoping for. 

All of her other children had been at least a little bit excited, happy, ecstatic. Except for maybe one… Even Mirabel, as nervous as she was, had been ready to take that plunge. Until it had led her down a different path… But Antonio was afraid.

“You know..” Everything stopped for a moment as Mirabel spoke, even Casita listened intently. “.. It’s okay if you're nervous.” The girl smiled at the boy, soft and reassuring. 

“I bet your little Hanno there is nervous, too.” That had Antonio looking at his caterpillar, his eyes widening a bit as he considered that.

“You think so?” The girl gave a nod as she looked into those hopeful eyes of his. 

“Yep. He has to go through a whole metamorphosis right? He has to make the cocoon and melt-”

“Wait! He melts!?” That had the boy's attention. Mirabel always did know how to get his attention. 

“He sure does! He sits in that pod and he melts into goo, and after he’s done he has to reform himself back into a different bug, only this time with wings!” The little awed look on the boy's face and the whispered ‘wow’ even had Casita fascinated by the information. 

“And then, after all that work he still has to push his way out of the shell and spread his new wings to dry before he even gets the chance to fly. BUT he still gets the chance, and so will you, Tonito.” 

Antonio has to take a breath, his eyes casting back down at the bug in amazement before the worry moves in again and furrows his brow. Casita can feel him leaning against her wall, his weight pressing against boards she hardly ever uses. She tries now, picking one up to gently nudge at his foot, her shutter offering a forlorn creak. 

“What.. what if it doesn’t work…” The boy's voice is hardly a whisper now, his fear keeping his words from reaching anyone’s ears they shouldn't. 

This is his worry? That he will not get a gift? Of course he will get one, he is one of her’s, he is a Madrigal, he is her family. Everyone gets a gift. But of course… of course this would be his worry because they still don’t think everyone has a gift. Because they can’t see Mirabel’s gift. Oh if only the home had the words to scream, she would do so right now her frustration is so great. 

“Antonio. You don’t have to worry about that.” Mirabel. Mirabel will tell him. She will make this right. 

“I know it’s scary to think about, but you don’t have to worry. You have a wonderful amazing family who is gonna love you no matter what happens. You know that, right?” The boy looks up to her, his eyes brimming slightly with tears that he hasn’t let fall. 

“You have your Mami and Papi who want nothing but your happiness, you have an older sister who will make sure you stay safe, and a stinky older brother,” She makes a show of pinching her nose and scrunching her face up to get a little giggle from the boy. “ who would do anything to put a smile on your face.” Seeing the little smile she managed to get out of him makes her smile just a little softer. “And you have me. I’m always here if you need me.” 

“Promise?” The boy holds up his hand, his pinky raised in an offer. 

“Promise.” The two link their fingers, a smile passing between them as they let their hands fall apart once again. 

“Besides, Casita won’t let you go without a gift, will you Casita?” 

The house gives a single squeak of agreement. Yes. Antonio will get a gift, of that she will make sure. The past gifts have always been something to help her family. They’ve been used in unexpected ways, but they are being used to help as she had always intended, and to a greater scale. 

This time though, she does not wish to help. She has put her littlest member through worry and fear, something she never had intended. The elder members can help if they wish, but she wants to give him something for him, this boy who has shared so much of his life with her. She wants to give him friends. He has so few of the two legged youngsters that he plays with, he’s too shy to talk with them, but he talks with nearly every creature of fur and feather, hoof and claw. When he isn’t talking with Casita herself, he is playing and talking with the animals.

That is what she will give him. Everyone deserves to have friends that can talk with you.

“Thanks Mira.. I think I feel a little better.” His voice has already started to strengthen, though he still hasn’t gained his excitement volume yet. “Hey, do you think the Hanno will be in a chrysalis by the time my birthday comes?” 

“He should be, maybe we can be here to greet him when he comes out. Then we can see him as his new butterfly self.” 

“Yeah! Casita, can you watch him? Could he make his chrysalis here with you?” 

This is an easy yes for the house. Her shutter opens carefully and a board beacons him forward. It’s an easy transfer, the little caterpillar inching its way onto the smooth wood of the shutter. As long as Casita remembers it’s there all should be good. 

“Thanks Casita, you’re the best.” The warmth of the little body pressing against the outer corner of bricks has the home happily shimmying its foliage and causing a few colorful petals to fall on the children. 

“Come on Tonio, let’s go find the snacks before your hermano get’s home. I happen to know there’s some cake stashed away somewhere and I want it.” 

The laughter that trails inside is exactly as it should be, happy. No worry, no fear. Just as Casita has always wanted it to be.

#encantober #encanto #caterpillar #casita madrigal #casita #antonio madrigal #mirabel madrigal #encanto fanfic #encanto fic #I barely made it but heres my submission!!!!

[chokemewanda]

Chances - B.Barnes

Part Four

Masterlist Chances Masterlist

Warnings: swearing, STDs,

og gf - I got clear the other gf - I did too the other other gf - nothing yet Steve - I was not so lucky. I got the clap og gf - Awh Stevie no Steve - yeah. Apparently, Brock wasn’t the only one Sharon cheated on me with og gf - welcome to club bub x Steve - might go track them all down and form an epic group like you guys did og gf - do! We could be like a supergroup of jaded ex’s the other gf - don’t stress Stevie, chlamydia isn’t that hard to get rid of x the other other gf - I thought the clap was gonorrhea, good things you guys didn’t fuck lmao og gf - not helping Nat! You could have it and you wouldn’t know yet the other other gf - do not put that negative energy out into the universe

You looked up from your phone and sighed, your laptop waiting with the same three words you had written over an hour ago. The library was dead on a Friday night and you thought that you’d be better at managing your attention without the distractions. You had been wrong.

When your phone buzzed again you unlocked it and smiled when it wasn’t an addition to the group chat but instead a text from Bucky.

Bucky - You busy?

You - The unwritten paper I’m staring at wants me to say yes. So does my liver after the last time.

Bucky - your liver will be happy to know that I don’t want you to come drinking. There’s a talk on nano science in the medical field at Howard Hall in twenty minutes and I was wondering if you want to go?

Two of your professors had encouraged your class group to go to the talk, deeming it important towards your education but at nine on a Friday there was very little of your friends going so you had bailed too. You had hoped to write your paper

You - meet you there in ten?

Howard Hall wasn’t overly packed when you made your way in, waving your college lanyard at the person selling tickets on the door. Students got free entry while for anyone else there was a fee.

You found Bucky already sitting down, his hand on the seat next to him, saving it for you. It made you smile a little when you saw him looking around for you.

When you took your seat he smiled and before you got to say anything he launched into a spiel about the talk and how he was so excited to hear Tony Stark talking about the nanotechnology he used.

“You’re a secret nerd, aren’t you?” You asked with a laugh when he finally paused for breath. “I had you pegged for someone all cool and suave but deep down you’re just a giant nerd.”

“I can be cool and a nerd!” He insisted, pushing his hair back. “I have a motorbike and tattoos and a Lego millenium falcon on my desk at home.”

“Tattoos?” You asked, tilting your head and he grinned, knowing he had caught you. “Where?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He asked with a smirk and all you could do was laugh at him because of course you’d like to know. You weren’t going to give him the satisfaction of telling him that.

For your good luck Tony Stark chose that moment to make his appearance on stage, stealing Bucky’s attention. He gave a passionate speech about the advances Stark Technology would be making in the medical field. They were pioneering a new way to make prostethics, a topic you had read up on already because it was so fascinating.

At the end Tony held time for questions and Bucky was first in there asking a complicated question about the cooling systems needed to maintain operation while external factors affected it.

Tony didn’t have a definite answer but had multiple theories which Bucky discussed with him, explaining a system he had in practice for allowing the prosthetic to feel the same temperature as the rest of the body with affecting the tech and it’s ability to work.

More questions cropped up then, one from your own professor about the attachment of the prosthetic’s socket to the body. You surprised yourself by raising your own hand.

“Yes to the pretty girl in the third row.” He caught your eye roll and he laughed. “Feisty, you got a question?”

“You’ve described the use of three analgesics but two of them can stop blood clotting and one can’t be used on patients with a past history of heart complications. Did you ever consider using a smaller dosage of Naproxen?” You asked, almost afraid your question would be stupid.

“I’ll be honest with you, the technology is all mine but the medical side of it is all down to Dr. Banner. He’d be very interested to hear your take on it if you could email him.” Tony told you and you shrugged, knowing that was a brush off.

“Feisty girl and weirdly tall emo boy!” You and Bucky had been almost out the door, discussing the presentation when Tony Stark’s voice came from behind you.

“Is he talking to us?” Bucky asked, turning his head to see Tony rushing through Howard Hall, ignoring the questions being sent his way. He was focused intently on you both and you pulled up short, stopping in place.

He approached you, focusing on Bucky. You looked up at him and he looked almost awed to be in Tony's presence. "You want a job?"

"Me?" Bucky asked in shock. "I- uh-"

"Whatever you make now I'll double it, triple it. I'll make it worthwhile. I want to explore that cooling system of yours and I want you to do it with me in the lab." Bucky seemed speechless and Tony took the chance to look at you. "What about you, Feisty?"

"I haven't graduated yet. I'm in my final year." You admitted and Tony nodded, seeming overjoyed with this piece of information. He pulled out his phone, typing and then holding it up for you with an email address for Bruce Banner.

"Email Bruce your theory, make it worth his while and I'm sure he'll offer you exactly what I'm offering the Silent Giant here. You applied for the Stark Internship?" You hurried to type the email into your own phone and nodded. "Good, congratulations you got it. You're in."

"But the interview process hasn't even-"

"The Stark Internship starts off doing the grunt work no one wants to do. I want you on the floor. So maybe you won't get it. I'm not offering you an internship. I'm offering you a job." You fell just as speechless as Bucky who seemed to be slowly recovering.

"Mr. Stark, sir, my job-" Tony seemed exasperated with Bucky and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you drive a hard bargain. Four times your current wage. Stark Industries staff also are given the option to live on the residential floors. If you want a nice apartment, you got it. You and your pretty, little girlfriend." Tony told him intently and Bucky laughed.

"I work for you," Bucky explained. "I'm in my second year of the internship in R&D."

"Oh." Tony paused. "Well, the offer still stands you can just start earlier. Come up to my lab on Monday and we'll go from there. Bring your A-Game - uh what's your name?"

"James Barnes, sir," Bucky told him and you frowned at him before shrugging. It had never occurred to you that Bucky wasn't a nickname. Which was kind of silly in retrospect. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Good." Tony nodded, checking his phone. He pointed at you then as he backed away. "You get that proposal to Banner and I'll see you sooner rather than later."

"What just happened?" You asked Bucky breathlessly. "Did we just get a job working in the Stark Lab?"

"Looks like it." Bucky agreed, just awestruck. "Told you being a nerd pays off."

"You said no such thing, James."

(Taglist: @vicmc624 @southernhoney21 )

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