#Dagon: Complete Edition

[gbhbl]

Game Review: Dagon: Complete Edition (Xbox Series X)

Would you like to know more about H.P. Lovecraft without having to do all that bothersome reading? Would you like to experience one of his famous stories from a visual and audio standpoint? Would you like hidden details that deliver even more facts about the famous horror writer? If the answer to all of this is yes, then you’re in luck, Dagon: Complete Edition has all of this, and a bit more.

Would you like to know more about H.P. Lovecraft without having to do all that bothersome reading? Would you like to experience one of his famous stories from a visual and audio standpoint? Would you like hidden details that deliver even more facts about the famous horror writer? If the answer to all of this is yes, then you’re in luck, Dagon: Complete Edition has all of this, and a bit…

[xboxissues]

New Xbox Games for October 7 to 11 2024

[drconstellation]

Michael the Watchful

Updated 11 Nov 2023

I'm going to be upfront - I don't like Michael. But I am intrigued by some of their actions in GO.

The above screen shot highlighting their angel ring came across my dash last week, and there was a comment that the ring looked like "Ophanim rings with pearls for eyes." I have to admit that for all that I am fairly widely read in mythology I hadn't heard of these before, and had to go look them up. I realize its probably because I'm not up to speed with all the religious references yet. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a complete newbie in that dept, its just a muscle I haven't flexed in a while and its a kind of "use it or lose it" kind of thing, you know? Happens when you've been around for a bit.

Ophanim: "The many-eyed ones." Oh. Right. That's tv series Archangel Michael to a T, actually.

(There are probably some parallels to the greek monster Argus here, but not sure if I should digress. The hero Perseus, winged sandals, Medusa's snek-locks, the 1000 eyes that never sleep, rescuing a maiden, the goddess queen's grief over the slain monster...)

Michael was the one that presented the incriminating photos of Aziraphale and Crowley meeting over time to Gabriel in S1, then followed it up with a phone call to Hell on the back-stairwell to Heaven.

And Michael is the Duty Officer during S2, they are "on watch" so to speak.

Michael is also the one that maintains the back channel connection to Hell, "the grapevine that obviously doesn't exist" that Beelzebub mentions to Crowley in S2E1, and that Gabriel also officially denies exists in S1E4.

The fact that in S1 they were seen talking to Ligur originally, who was destroyed by the holy water Crowley obtained from Aziraphale, and then in S2 they are talking to somebody else again (Beelzebub) in S2 via their angel phone again, says that they have to have established a new connection in between seasons. I commented elsewhere it seems to be implied the contact is Dagon, due to the little flirtation the tried to send to the angel that Michael quickly shuts down in S2E6,

but the fact the back channel is still working is still something to be concerned about. I mean, weren't you just a little suspicious when it was Michael who turned up with the holy water for the bath during the body-swap punishment scenes, when Hell only bothered to send a disposable Eric clone with the hellfire to Heaven?

Wondering how this angle is going to play out in S3.

Edit:

Found some information about the golden collars in the Job minisode in S2E2 and the detail on Michael's costume adds to this meta.

Around their neck they have row upon row of eyes, and around their sleeves they have wheels.

[demifiendrsa]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered - Official Trailer

Full reveal presentation

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store). It is also available via Game Pass.

The $49.99 standard edition includes the base game, “Shivering Isles” and “Knights of the NIne” story expansions, and the additional downloadable content “Fighter’s Stronghold” expansion, “Spell Tome Treasures,” “Vile Lair,” “Mehrune’s Razor,” “The Thieves Den,” “Wizard’s Tower,” “Orrery,” and “Horse Pack Armor.”

The $59.99 Deluxe Edition includes the unique in-game “Avatar of Akatosh” and “Mehrunes Dagon” armors, weapons, and horse armor sets.

Key visual

Screenshots

Overview

About

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered modernizes the 2006 Game of the Year with all new stunning visuals and refined gameplay. Explore the vast landscape of Cyrodiil like never before and stop the forces of Oblivion from overtaking the land in one of the greatest RPGs ever from the award-winning Bethesda Game Studios.

Key Features

Rediscover Cyrodiil – Journey through the rich world of Tamriel and battle across the planes of Oblivion where handcrafted details have been meticulously recreated to ensure each moment of exploration is awe-inspiring.

Navigate Your Own Story – From the noble warrior to the sinister assassin, wizened sorcerer, or scrappy blacksmith, forge your path and play the way you want.

Experience an Epic Adventure – Step inside a universe bursting with captivating stories and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters. Master swordcraft and wield powerful magic as you fight to save Tamriel from the Daedric invasion.

The Complete Story – Experience everything Oblivion has to offer with previously released story expansions Shivering Isles, Knights of the Nine, and additional downloadable content included in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.

[satoshi-mochida]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered announced for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC; now available - Gematsu

Publisher Bethesda Softworks and developer Bethesda Game Studios have announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store). It is available now. It is also available via Game Pass.

The $49.99 standard edition includes the base game, “Shivering Isles” and “Knights of the Nine” story expansions, and the additional downloadable content “Fighter’s Stronghold” expansion, “Spell Tome Treasures,” “Vile Lair,” “Mehrune’s Razor,” “The Thieves Den,” “Wizard’s Tower,” “Orrery,” and “Horse Pack Armor.”

The $59.99 Deluxe Edition includes new quests for the unique “Akatosh” and “Mehrunes Dagon” armors, weapons, and horse armor sets, as well as an art book and soundtrack app.

Here is an overview of the game, via Bethesda Softworks:

About

Nearly 20 years after The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion shaped the RPG genre, it is time again to turn the tide of darkness. This handcrafted remaster in 4K resolution runs at 60 frames per second, and brings the wonderous world of Cyrodill to audiences both old and new. In the shadow of evil, a hero will rise from the ashes of a fallen empire. The gates have been opened, and the battle has begun. Only one thing can save the world from Mehrunes Dagon and the demonic hordes of Oblivion. The true heir of the Septim line must be found and restored to the Imperial throne. Players who set forth in 2006 into the original game will have an opportunity to explore Cyrodiil like never before with stunningly updated visuals and modernized game features in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. They’ll also be able to experience the Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles story expansions. Not only that, but the game’s previously released downloadable content: “Fighter’s Stronghold” expansion, “Spell Tome Treasures,” “Vile Lair,” “Mehrune’s Razor,” “The Thieves Den,” “Wizard’s Tower,” “Orrery,” and “Horse Armor Pack,” will also be accessible. Adventurers favoring the flare of the Deluxe Edition will get to experience all the above, plus “Mehrunes Dagon” and “Akatosh” custom Armor and Weapon Sets as well as the Official Digital Artbook and Soundtrack.

Key Features

Rediscover Cyrodiil – Journey though the rich world of Tamriel and battle across the planes of Oblivion with completely remastered graphics. Handcrafted details have been meticulously recreated to ensure each moment of exploration is awe-inspiring for both new and returning players.

Navigate Your Own Story – Forge your path with new depths of control from expanded character generation and revamped leveling systems. From the noble warrior to the sinister assassin, wizened sorcerer, or scrappy blacksmith, create your custom character and play exactly the way you want.

Experience an Epic Adventure – Be transported to a universe bursting with captivating stories and encounter an unforgettable cast of characters. Revitalized combat animations and added visual effects make mastering swordcraft and wielding powerful magic more engaging as you fight to save Tamriel from the Daedric invasion.

The Complete Story – Experience everything Oblivion has to offer with previously released story expansions “Shivering Isles,” “Knights of the Nine,”‘ and additional downloadable content included in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.

Watch the announcement trailer and presentation below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

Announce Presentation

[saiakv]

how much does it take for them to fall asleep?

do they dream often?

what kind of dreams to they tend to have?

do they prefer to be in complete darkness to fall asleep, or are they ok with a bit of light?

do they need the door or the windows open, or do they prefer them closed when they go to sleep?

what's their usual sleeping position?

(Kenjaku edition?)

mundane headcanons || accepting, pretty please uwu

 Kenjaku doesn't need to sleep. But their bodies are subjected to physical confines, as a karmic exchange for the reanimation aspect of their technique. So ‘sleep’ as a process equates to Kenjaku spacing out for a bit and leaving the body to recharge ( insert joke about putting them on sleep mode ) 

how much does it take for them to fall asleep?

Kenjaku discovered that Geto's body would generally take a long time to enter sleep, however they also accidentally discovered that this timespan was considerably shorter when juxtaposed with the sounds of the ocean ( they proceeded to explain it as a result of Suguru's mind finding comfort in memories of the seaside, but imagine Kenjaku saying it in the most deadpan and slightly contemptuous fashion ) During their time with the disaster curses, Kenjaku's favorite place to take cat naps was Dagon's domain.

do they dream often?

Kenjaku has an excellent understanding of what dreams are and ability to traverse the spaces between them. However the process of their technique essentially overwrites the vessel's hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for imagination and dreams. That could potentially lead to the vessel's subconscious bleeding into their own and creating amagalmation of their dreams. Thankfully, Kenjaku has long forgone the need for paradoxical sleep, so without a REM stage they generally don't dream.

When in Kaori's body, they had to follow a regular sleeping pattern for the sake of keeping up with appearances, so they did end up having a few dreams at times. The content was... nightmare stuff for anyone else.

what kind of dreams to they tend to have?

do they prefer to be in complete darkness to fall asleep, or are they ok with a bit of light? do they need the door or the windows open, or do they prefer them closed when they go to sleep?

Kenjaku has found that this particular vessel is very prone to night sweats, so they generally prefer a ventilated space for their own comfort. The stickiness it leaves behind annoys them at times. As for light, they have no particular preference, they can virtually space out anywhere and given enough time the vessel will charge.

what's their usual sleeping position?

Flat on their back — however as Kaori they would often sleep on their side, with one leg looped over their husband at the time. (big spoon)

[andillformthehead]

I'm having deconstructing thoughts.

I've been reading and watching a lot of Bart Ehrman after reading and watching a lot of Michael Heiser. I was raised Christian and abused the entire time, so several thoughts are coalescing. Michael Heiser specialized (past tense, he passed away of cancer this year) in Old Testament textual criticism and historical/archeological research. Bart Ehrman specializes in the same things in regards to the New Testament and early Christianity. Dr. Heiser was a Christian and Dr. Ehrman is an atheist, but both speak with respect for and genuine curiosity about their given topics. Neither man (though I'm watching conservative thought begin to try to rewrite Heiser's legacy already, complete with edited videos that say the opposite of what he said in life) ever tried to persuade or demand that anyone must agree with their every word or else face some existential consequence the way churches do. As an abuse survivor I gravitated to both as credible teachers, because instead of forcing me to believe something or tailoring information to force my mind down a certain road they both simply give all available information along with their opinions and lots of counter opinions and let me as a reader make up my own mind. That level of respect for others, who they don't even know, boundaries and intelligence felt safe to learn from.

My current thoughts are this. Dr. Ehrman points out that the first written gospel book was most likely Mark due to the presence of identical sentences in the other two synoptic gospels. He points out that there were apologetics happening already even then, that Jesus very much did predict the arrival of God's kingdom on earth before his disciples generation passed away which is why nothing was written down until 100 years later when it became obvious that prophecy had very clearly failed.

Which means by necessity, Jesus spoke a prophecy which failed to happen. We criticize modern day "prophets" for the same thing.

I've read the apologetics to try to reconcile that, but they all devolve into self contradictory word salads that leave the reader to simply choose whether they want to believe the apologetic or not. Especially given that there are whole stories which can be shown to have been added to the gospels as they were copied by scribes and not kept unedited, such as the woman caught in adultery, I've come to the conclusion that apologetics are just storytelling (aka lying) to calm believers when they find out uncomfortable truths about reality. Like when people used to believe they could ward off germs with nice smells, or when people believed the sun revolved around the earth. It makes logical sense and calms a fearful mind until the physical proof shows it isn't true. I don't trust apologetics at all, they might reach the right conclusion by accident sometimes but they get it wrong way more often.

So with that said, what's really bothering me is that I was raised to believe that God hated anyone who wasn't an Israelite until Jesus came and died to include us. Except, one of the stories Dr. Heiser expanded on was the one of Naaman who was healed of leprosy by Elisha. Naaman was by all accounts an honorable man already, he just wasn't an Israelite. After he was healed he asked to take some soil of Israel home with him, to keep on him as a signal of his loyalty to Israel's God when he accompanied his king into the temple of Dagon and knelt to support the king. Naaman was told by Elisha that doing that was completely acceptable and to go in peace. Nothing else was ever said and nothing else changed about Naaman's life but we're told right then because he believed God had healed him and gave his loyalty to God in place of whoever he had worshiped before, that was enough for God. That's all he needed to accept Naaman. No death, no sacrifice, just belief. Dr. Heiser once had a conversation with a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints about whether he would say that LDS members would be saved or not. Dr. Heiser said yes, he believed they would so long as they worshiped God and believed Jesus died for them. He believed that because of stories like Naaman and others where God accepted a pagan man who never would know any of the laws. But that begs the question, why did Jesus need to die to atone for our sins if God was already capable of accepting us before that?

Back to Dr. Ehrman, he talks about how historically, we have no original texts that were written by the disciples because they believed the world was going to end within their lifetimes. They believed that because Jesus believed it. He points out that it doesn't appear that when Jesus started his ministry that he knew he was going to die the way he did. In Mark Jesus is completely silent through his trial until he cries out asking God why he has forsaken him before dying. Which would be a weird thing for God to say if he knew beforehand what was happening, that always bothered me. Jesus was killed by Rome for claiming to be king of the Jews, and he was charged with that on the testimony of Judas most likely. Jesus' wasn't that large of a following, his ministry was mostly supported by women and had plenty of female leadership. It was surprisingly progressive for its time, evidence of equal female leadership and communal caretaking such as sharing food and housing each other. Then Judas wanted to take control and betrayed Jesus. Dr. Ehrman believes Jesus really was claiming to be king of the Jews in secret but given the stricken silence and everything I know about how abuse affects you I'm more inclined to suspect it was a lie to get rid of Jesus. Most likely because patriarchy hates it when women are treated like equals. Then us gentiles got ahold of it, as evidenced by the fact that Jesus and his disciples were all lower class and in those areas would have spoken Aramaic while the whole New Testament is written in Greek. Public schooling didn't exist back then, common people didn't learn multiple languages. That was for businessmen and the wealthy who had time for such things. But it was written in Greek during the time of Plato and his dialectic methods of philosophical argumentation and suddenly it's about rules and hellfire if you make the slightest mistake instead of being about taking care of each other and loving God. Now we have hell, a concept absent from the Old Testament, to terrify people into line or risk burning for eternity. Now instead of the freedom we were promised by the New Testament writers we have the same type of convoluted and impossible morality laws they had in the Old Testament made up entirely by men with little to no input from God. There is nothing new under the sun.

What if Jesus really was just a Rabbi trying to help people as best he knew how? What if we've turned him into a conveniently manipulatable figure head when that wasn't what he wanted and then set him in the background to wear a crown while we actually worshiped Paul and his writings? Paul, who claims to carry stigmata and has terrifying and confusing apocalyptic visions after committing murders. I feel like it's worth questioning because if that's true, both of those men would want us to figure it out and fix it. Both of them would want us to figure out the truth and get back to caring about each other.

[hksddr]

Dagon complete edition - Nintendo Switch release - the work of Lovecraft

[g4zdtechtv]

Cinematech's Trailer Park - Dagon: Complete Edition (Multiplatform)

Delve into this game's eldritch horror…if your mind can endure it.

[gplayr]

Dagon: Full Version introduced for PS5, Xbox Collection, PS4, Xbox One, Switch Over, and Computer Author Feardemic and designer Little bit Golem has actually introduced Dagon: Full Version for PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch over. It consists of Dagon: by H. P.... https://blog.gplayr.com/dagon-complete-edition-announced-for-ps5-xbox-series-ps4-xbox-one-switch-and-pc/ #Clips #Feardemic #GameAnnounce #Horror #Nintendo #PlayStation #PS4 #PS5 #Switch #Trailers #Xbox #XboxOne #XboxSeries

[uesp]

A Daedric Prince such as Mehrunes Dagon cannot just choose to stop being a god of destruction. That element of his portfolio defines him for all time. If destroyed, his nymic will eventually reconstitute exactly as he was before. Therefore, a nymic might best be thought of as a pattern or formula that defines the being created when it manifests itself from the eternal chaos of Oblivion.

Now, this is where the subject becomes really interesting. With the right sort of magic, you can edit the pattern. Alter the nymic and you alter the Daedra defined by it. A truly capable mage who learns a Daedra's complete nymic could change its loyalties, limit its powers, anchor it into a different physical form (such as an object of some kind), or simply disperse it altogether. Obviously, the more powerful the Daedra and the more complex the nymic, the more difficult it is to carry out such alterations.

But that is why all Daedra fear the possibility of an enemy learning their nymic. And why they guard them so preciously.

--Excerpt from On the Nature of Nymics

[yazzydream]

Summarizing Domains

I'm slow to digest the power/abilities in jjk, so ignore me. But I figure some might like this information in teeny tiny words like I needed. Lol.

Innate Domain: The metaphysical space inside the heart/mind (心, kokoro). e.g. Like Sukuna's bloody lake filled with bones that's taking up rent inside Yuji.

Domain Expansion: It's the Innate Domain made into a physical place by using Cursed Energy. A complete Domain is endowed with the user's Cursed Technique.

Any use of the Cursed Technique inside the Domain is guaranteed to take effect. So, if it's a lethal technique it's a one-hit kill. If it's not lethal, it'll still definitely hit/attack/work on the opponent.

Ways to survive in a Domain:

a. Deflect/defend using your own cursed energy/technique against attacks.

b. Escaping. Basically impossible.

c. Use your own Domain to counteract. The more refined Domain will dominate.

d. Simple Domain: a small counter-Domain area that avoids the sure one-hit attack... (ref: Ch102)

Gojo's domain from the outside:

Mahito's Domain from outside:

Manga spoilers following:

The limits of a Domain can also be determined by a physical boundary, like the inside of a building or other existing barriers. (Necessary for incomplete Domains like Megumi's or that one Special Grade Curse who used the detention center. ref: Ch225)

Dagon's Domain was kept inside an apartment.

Sukuna's Domain is bizarre because it's not in an enclosed space. And its range is wiiide. (*Edit: Apparently he has a Binding Vow that allows people the chance to escape in return for that range. See: Shibuya. 💦) Though, the anime unfortunately, kind of gave us the impression that it was.

If you look at the manga carefully, even in its introduction, it's clear that Sukuna's Domain is not enclosed at all. You can see the walls of the detention center clearly.

...Technically speaking, if you don't have a Cursed Technique (like Yuji) you shouldn't be able to manifest a complete Domain. Hm...

*Edit: Very handy thread about Sukuna's Domain. Added note that Kenjaku's Domain is also open air/shell-less.

[aardvark-123]

~Excessively Twee Skyrim Headcanons: Riften Edition~

Despite his unassuming look, Aerin is a brilliant martial artist. He rescued Mjoll from Mzinchaleft by beating up a handful of Dwemer spheres, dropping a cauldron over their centurion's head and sneaking her out while the giant automaton was stumbling around like a blind, helpless, cauldron-wearing robot.

Aerin hasn't told this secret to anybody, but he found something in Mzinchaleft: a small bronze amulet, once worn by a powerful tonal architect. Wearing the amulet and using the secret trigger phrase "Aetherium spark on! Suit up! Combat Striker Bronzenizer!" allows him to materialise a suit of enchanted Dwemer armour, seemingly from out of nowhere, which is wonderful for saving carry weight.

Despite siding with the Stormcloaks, Jarl Laila is firmly against Nord-supremacy. She challenged Ulfric publicly once over his refusal to let Argonians live in Windhelm. Ulfric immediately brushed her off and started talking to someone else, and Laila didn't get another chance to talk to him for months, but she felt good about having tried.

On the surface of it, Maven doesn't seem to want her daughter Ingun to be an alchemist. Under the surface, Maven is carefully tailoring every word she says to keep Ingun timid enough to be controlled, yet independent enough to study alchemy and feel good about "getting away with it". Ultimately, Maven wants Ingun to awaken her talents and become the Black-Briar family's pet poisoner, and she'll always support Ingun's decision to do what she wants.

Um, excessively twee? Was that excessively twee? No, we need something nice, something... Ah! Here we are. Valindor is teaching Marise Aravel how to climb trees, a skill she's found indispensible for escaping from angry ice wraiths who'd like to keep their teeth.

Marise's family were the sorts of people who show their affection with food, and the importance of eating stuck with her all her life. She has been known to pester her friends, in particular Shadr, about eating a balanced diet; not just her beautifully preserved meat, fish, apples and vegetables, of course, you also need bread and cheese. And the occasional juniper berry crostata.

Bolli sometimes comes home from cheating on Nivenor with Haelga just when Nivenor is coming home from cheating on Bolli with Romlyn, Tythis, Niluvia, Hofgrir and/or Haelga. They don't say anything or even look each other in the eye, just share a bottle of mead and go to bed.

Marise has either a buzz cut or an enormous coiled-up pair of twin-tails under her hat, and she isn't in any hurry to reveal which one. Shadr might know, but he isn't telling.

Sapphire buys a lot of poison from Ingun, and the two of them have sort of become friends. Sapphire is particularly interested in an invention Ingun has been working on: long-lasting venomous nail varnish.

Wujeeta and From-Deepest-Fathoms are enjoying an on-and-off relationship. Fathoms is usually busy juggling her two part-time jobs, as a fisherwoman and a treasure hunter, but she appreciates the nights spent snuggling up with Wujeeta in the bunkhouse. Wujeeta looks up to Fathoms and wants to become a stronger person, or at least a person who isn't addicted to skooma, for her sake. Could they find peace and happiness together? We can hope so; it is Mara's city, after all...

Speaking of Mara, her loyal priest Maramal is insufferable. When Grelka got a tummy ache from some cheap horker stew, he told her it was a punishment from Mara. When bandits attacked Shor's Stone, dug up the smelter and carried it to their hideout, he said it was a punishment from Mara. He once said, completely straight-faced, that Mara had ended the Oblivion Crisis by beating Mehrunes Dagon senseless with a rolling pin. Mara has apparently blocked him on tumblr.

Laila once tried to hold a multi-faith event in Mistveil Keep. Unmid was furious: "Our boys in bear costumes have been fighting for the freedom to worship Talos! How could you think of inviting people into our city to worship some other made-up gods?!"

Maramal was more agreeable to the idea, with some reservations: "...And I'm sure all our guests will be delighted to hear the Word of Mara, that She is the one true Lady of Love, above all other gods, won't they? I'm so happy that those poor, deluded fools will finally be able to accept Lady Mara into their hearts! Mara, from whose radiant body all magic flows and whose heart gives Red Mountain its fire! Mara, Lady of Dawn and Dusk, of Life and Death, whose breath is Long Winter..."

"Just one good punch in the mug! Just one!" screamed Azura, reaching down into Nirn while Mephala and Boethiah desperately held her back.

Laila decided to hold a silent disco instead.

[bookmaven]

DAGON AND OTHER MACABRE TALES by H.P. Lovecraft. (Sauk City: Arkham House, 1986). Selected by August Derleth, text editing by S.T. Joshi, introduction by T.E.D. Klein. Cover illustration by Raymond Bayless.

All the remaining fiction by H.P. Lovecraft is collected in this final volume of the definitive Lovecraft, which includes every type of imaginative story in which the author excelled—Dunsanian fantasies, Gothic horror, and tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. Though secondary to the remarkable fiction preserved in THE DUNWICH HORROR and AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, these early works constitute absorbing testimony to Lovecraft’s creative development. Completing this volume is the only critical recension of “Supernatural Horror in Literature,” the single most significant essay on the horror genre.’

A Note on the Texts, by S.T. Joshi

A Dreamer’s Tales, by T.E.D. Klein

The Tomb

Dagon

Polaris

Beyond the Wall of Sleep

The White Ship

The Doom That Came to Sarnath

The Tree

The Cats of Ulthar

The Temple

Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family

Celephaïs

From Beyond

The Nameless City

The Quest of Iranon

The Moon-Bog

The Other Gods

Herbert West—Reanimator

Hypnos

The Hound

The Lurking Fear

The Unnamable

The Festival

Under the Pyramids

The Horror at Red Hook

He

The Strange High House in the Mist

The Evil Clergyman

In the Walls of Eryx

The Beast in the Cave

The Alchemist

The Transition of Juan Romero

The Street

Poetry and the Gods

Azathoth

The Descendant

The Book

Supernatural Horror in Literature

Index to Supernatural Horror in Literature

Chronology of the Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft

Bibliographic Information

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Heavy Is The Head.

A/N: Whether this becomes an actual series or not: We shall see.

Rated: Mature. | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual from me. 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me) are property of Pixelberry.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

^Shameless birthday plug. Why? Because it's my birthday and I'm completely shameless. 🤷🏾‍♀️😁💃🏾🙌🏾👏🏾

This is a birthday present to myself by myself! And what better present than a birthday fic.

Current Word Count: 6,890 words. (more or less. I stop counting after editing and re-editing. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Tag List: @shewillreadyou @therideordiechronicles @nina01040 @storyflirting @twistedjaee @tessa-liam @kingliam2019 @pixie88 @secretaryunpaid @aussieez @txemrn @lucy-268 @sfb123 @chemist-ana @choicesficwriterscreations @texaskitten30

I had this done a week ago but I kept adding and taking out parts, paragraphs and dialogue. But now it's done for real this time. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1.) The New Normal.

In King Henry IV, Part Two, William Shakespeare wrote the words “uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” It was later translated into modern English as “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”

5:30 am.

That’s the time the alarm on King Marquise’s phone went off. After rolling over to silence his phone, Marquise sat up, and with a yawn and a roll of his neck and shoulders, he’s out of bed. After stretching he turns his attention to the woman in his bed. The one he calls his savior, his Goddess, his true north. The woman who captured his heart so long ago. His Queen. Shanelle Miller is everything that he could have hoped, dreamed, prayed, and wished for as a wife and mother. Every day that he spends with her as his and his alone is a day he thanks God for.

He stands and watches her chest rise and fall as she sleeps soundly in their bed. He leaned over and moved a few stray strands of her hair from in front of her face.

“Good morning my love. I'll see you when I get back from my run.” He whispered to her before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

He quietly crept into his closet and changed into his workout clothes then grabbed his phone, AirPods, and Apple Watch before he left the main sleeping quarters where his wife slept and walked down the hall.

Being The King Of Cordonia is an incredible honor and opportunity. But it's not without its dangers and exceedingly high expectations and standards. Marquise has an obligation to Cordonia and especially to her people. And every day he bears the weight of it all. For two reasons, the two he calls his sun and stars. His wife and his daughter.

He walks until he comes to a door with a bright purple K on it. It’s his daughter’s bedroom. And just outside her bedroom door is a portrait that means more to him than all the literal gold in the family vault. It’s a portrait he took with his mother. He stops and runs a hand over the frame as he gazes at the portrait. It’s one of the most vivid memories he has of his mother when she was alive. He was 5 when she had the portrait commissioned. And sitting there to have it painted with her meant everything to him. He smiles wistfully at the painting before closing his eyes.

“Tu me manques tellement, ma mère. J'espère vous avoir rendu fier de Moi.”, he whispered in French as he leaned his head against the frame.

After staying for a few more seconds he stepped back then quietly opened Khari’s bedroom door. He carefully stepped into her room and stopped to look at his sleeping princess. She was curled up with her stuffed dragon Dagon and her kitten Paisley at her side. The family of corgis were sleeping together at the foot of her bed. Seeing her sleeping soundly made his heart melt. Lightly tapping on his right thigh he woke up Ozzie.

“Wake up Oz! We gotta go!” He whispered to his favorite canine companion.

Ozzie slowly roused from his sleep and blinked sleepily then looked up at Marquise before slowly rising and stretching. He was careful not to wake his mate Belle or their puppies Lucky and Lady. With a shake of his head, Ozzie was at Marquise’s side.

“Good boy Oz! Now let’s go. The boys are probably outside waiting on us.”

With one last look at his daughter and the family of corgis, he and Ozzie quietly leave Khari’s bedroom. They head out of the main bedroom wing and down the hall to the main staircase, where his majesty stops at a side table and grabs a leash for Ozzie before heading down the stairs and out the main entrance. When they walked out and across the lawn of the palace, his older brother Leo and his two best friends Maxwell Beaumont and Drake Walker were waiting for him and Ozzie.

“Ozzie!” The three exclaimed.

“What?! No love for your ruling monarch?”

“Dude. The whole kingdom loves you.” Leo replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah! You don’t need us stroking your ego.” Drake quipped.

“He’s got a big ego…” Maxwell teased.

“Scallywags! The lot of ya!”

The four shared a hearty laugh.

“Alright your Majesty! What are we doing this morning?”

“10 miles. 5 miles up and 5 miles down.”

“This has got to be illegal somewhere!” Maxwell whined.

“Yeah. You were Crown Prince once. Isn't it illegal to torture people without just cause?” Drake asked.

Leo sighed dramatically.

“If it is, I guarantee you he changed the law when he became King.”

“Happy to hear that you all understand why I am in charge.”

The three groaned collectively.

“Ready to go Oz?”

Ozzie barked in agreement.

“That's the spirit! Now let's go!”

And with that, they were off on their run with Ozzie at their side.

He enjoys his early morning runs with them. It helps keep him centered in reality. It reminds him that he is a man first and then a King. Besides, keeping his physique in tip-top shape for his wife is a bonus for him. He loves to give Shanelle something to drool over. These runs also remind him that he will always have his friends and his older brother to lean on and rely on. They are his most trusted advisors in both life and the Royal Council.

As his heart pumps during the run, his thoughts take him to the most recent events. The Via Imperii is the latest threat to his kingdom. This secret society is dangerous and has big plans for his kingdom. Plans he's not exactly keen on.

His reign as King of Cordonia has felt like it's been one crisis after another. From assassination attempts to coups to forced betrothal's to finding out that two members of his father's court were responsible for his mother's death on top of finding out that he has a long-lost sister, Marquise has dealt with it all. All while trying to run a kingdom and raise a daughter. What's more, no matter how much he wants to say to hell with this so-called secret society, he knows that he can't put Cordonia or his family and friends at risk. So he grins and bears it.

And lately, he's begun to question himself as King. He's also begun to understand why his father ruled the way he did. Constantine was paranoid as King. He felt he couldn't trust anyone, much less those in his own court. He used to have strong diplomatic ties with several allied countries but that all changed after Queen Eleanor was killed. And as a King himself, Marquise now understands his father's paranoia. But he refuses to let his life be ruled by or rule Cordonia by fear. He just has to find a way out of this.

7:15 am.

Marquise, Ozzie, and the boys soon finish their run just as the sun begins to come up over the palace.

“Well, that was fun!”

“Dude you’re a sadist!” Drake quipped.

“No, my wife is a sadist. I'm an innocent angel, who just happens to enjoy torturing you lot.”

The three men groan.

“I'm starting to regret my abdication.”

“Ugh! Everything hurtsssssss!” Maxwell complained as he laid out in the grass.

“Oh quit your whining! Be like Ozzie. Stoic!”

He smirks as his friends and brother narrow their eyes at him.

“You're lucky we can't touch you because you’re the King!” Drake sneered.

“I don’t know, I think I might have to pull out my older brother card. That trumps his King card.”

Marquise rolled his eyes at Leo.

“Let me get Ozzie inside. I'll see you guys at the Council meeting later.”

“Yup.” the boys replied.

With that, he and Leo head inside then back to their respective wings of the palace, while Drake and Maxwell head off to their flats near the palace. After getting Ozzie settled, Marquise headed to his quarters where he found his wife trying to silence the alarm on her phone. He stood quietly snickering to himself as he watched as she unsuccessfully hit her phone repeatedly.

He finally took pity on her and silenced her alarm. She briefly looked up at him with one eye open before turning over and burying herself in their covers.

“Wake up my love.” he gently whispered in her ear.

She groaned into her pillow.

“Now now. It's time to get up.”

“I don't want to be an adult today!”

“You're not being an adult, my love. You’re being The Queen.”

“I don't want to do that either!”

“Shanelle…” his tone was firm but gentle.

“Noooooooo…” she whined.

He shook his head at her.

“Very well. Have it your way…”

He stood up and with a shrug, he grabbed the covers and yanked them off of her causing her to bolt up in their bed.

“Just the way I like to see you. Breathing hard with your hair everywhere.”

She glared at him before throwing a pillow at him.

“Now is that any way for My Queen to behave?”

She let out a frustrated sigh.

“Of all the times for you to be a King…” she muttered as she crossed her arms.

He smirked as he held out his hand to help her out of bed. She gave him a side-eye before he helped her out of bed and into his arms.

“Ewwww!”

“What?”

“You're all sweaty.”

“I mean I just came back from my morning run with the guys.” he said with a shrug.

“Which means you haven't been in the shower yet! Yuck!”

He snickered as he tightened his arms around her.

“Gross!”

“You like it…” he whispered before nipping at the bottom of her right ear.

“Let me go!”

He groans as he buries his face into the crook of her neck.

“You need to go get in the shower! And so do I!”

He doesn't stop. Instead, he slides one hand down her back while the other stays in the center of her back. Doing so raised goosebumps on her skin, sent chills down her spine, and caused her back to slightly arch.

“Marquise!” she pouted.

He was thankful that she loved falling asleep in his old oversized Harvard t-shirt because it just barely covered the bottom of her ass.

“Let me go!”

“If I do that, you’ll start pouting again.” He whispered harshly in her ear.

She continued to squirm in his arms. But no matter how much she wriggled he would not let her go. It wasn't until he grabbed a handful of her ass that she finally put her foot down.

“Okay! Okay! Enough! We are not doing this! We need to go get in the shower before the munchkin wakes up! Now!”

With a groan of reluctance, he lets her go.

“Spoilsport…” he mutters.

“Whatever!”

“At least you’re all hot and bothered and sweaty.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes and as she went to walk past him he slapped her on her ass causing her to let out a yelp.

“Hey! Easy on the merchandise! You break it, you’re buying me another Birkin!”

“I am not buying you another one of those overpriced handbags.”

She stalked off into the bathroom without another word.

After taking a good long hot shower. Marquise was just about ready when his gaze fell on his cufflinks. One pair had his mother's royal portrait in them. And the other pair had his parent's wedding photo. Shanelle had them custom-made for their wedding anniversary. He settled on the pair with his mother's portrait.

He missed her dearly. Before Shanelle and Khari, Eleanor was the love of his life.

She was born Eleanor Anyango in Nyambura. A small village outside of Nairobi, Kenya. When she was 10 her mother took a job in the distant kingdom of Auvernal as a chambermaid for the royal family. As she grew up became interested in finance, so when she returned from college at Oxford University, she became a member of the Royal Treasury. That's where she met a young King Constantine Rys. The two were soon madly in love and when she married him in 1984, she went from deputy Treasury Director to Queen of Cordonia.

Two years after being married to Constantine, Eleanor was finally pregnant. They had a few fertility struggles but she was finally able to carry to term. She had her only boy. She named him Marquise Constantine Rys. She never got to see him become The King she knew he could be. Nor did she get to meet Shanelle or her beautiful granddaughter. And it’s the biggest regret that Marquise has ever had.

He stares at the cufflinks a few seconds more before slipping them on with a faint smile. He soon left his closet and went to check if Shanelle was ready. When he stepped into her closet, he was struck by the sight of his wife putting on her lotion. Her hair was still damp and her brown skin shined in the light.

“I thought putting lotion on you was my job.”

Shanelle shrugged innocently.

“You took too long. So I was forced to do it myself.”

“How can I make it up to you, my queen?”

“You can help me pick which perfume I'm wearing.”

“At your service my love!”

She threw him a wink over her shoulder as she walked over to the cabinet with her perfume in it. He followed behind her.

“How many bottles do you have?”

“At last count? 95.”

“Sheesh! And here I thought you had too many bags.”

“A. I will cut you for that comment. And B. you’re the one who's always buying me perfume.”

“Well, now I know not to buy you any more perfume. Or bags. Or shoes. Or jewelry. Or anything else, clothes and accessories related.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes at him.

“Liar.”

“Yeah, I know. So let's find your scent for the day.”

After going through her many bottles of perfume, they finally settled on two of them.

“I'm thinking of either my favorite Burberry scent. You know the one that smells like berries? Or maybe I'll go with the Prada one you bought me for Valentine's Day.”

“Hmm…let me see.”

Marquise took the Burberry perfume and lightly spritzed the inside of her right wrist before taking a sniff.

“Hmm…”

“Well?”

“I need a better spot to test.”

Shanelle arched an eyebrow.

“Uh huh.”

She tilted her head so he could lightly spritz her neck. He already knew this perfume was the one.

“Well?”

“How is it no matter what you always manage to look beautiful?”

“That doesn't answer the question, your majesty.”

“This is the one.”

“Thank you. Now move it so I can get dressed. I have an event to host today.”

“Oh? I don't remember seeing anything on your calendar.”

“That's because it's not a Cordonian event.”

“Ohh…”

“Yeah. It's the Via Imperii’s Ladies Of Prestige And Power Luncheon. Queen Sigrid all but insisted it be held here and that I host it.”

“You sound thrilled.”

Shanelle cut her eyes at him.

“You see this face? Does this face look like someone who wants to host a luncheon for a bunch of snobs?”

Marquise snickered.

“That is why I married you.”

“No, you married me because your only other alternatives for Queen were Olivia or Madeleine.”

Marquise shrugged.

“You're not wrong.”

“Of course I'm not wrong. Olivia would've had this country in constant war and Madeleine would have turned you into a raging alcoholic.”

“That's a little grim.”

“But still not wrong.”

“Okay fine.”

“So see? You had to marry me. For King and Country!”

Marquise shook his head and smirked.

“Speaking of which, have I kissed you today?”

“No. You woke me up and tried to use me as a towel.”

“I’m shirking my duties!”

“Indeed you are, my king.”

“Allow me to remedy that!”

He captured her lips in a passion-filled kiss.

“I hate it when you do that.” Shanelle pouted.

“Why?”

“Because I never want you to stop.”

“Well in that case…”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into another deep kiss. He loved to leave her breathless and wanting for more.

“I should let you get dressed.”

“You should but knowing you, you won't.”

“You're right. I won't. So let's get you out of this robe.”

Shanelle let her robe drop to the floor and it didn't take long to pop the buttons of his shirt open. She was soon rewarded with another passionate kiss from her husband.

“You are such a tease, your majesty.”

“Trust me, that was nothing.”

With no effort at all, Marquise picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, and walked her backward until she was just barely sitting on the edge of a dresser.

“This is how I like you.”

“And how is that?”

“At my mercy.”

Shanelle smirked.

“I am yours, my king.”

He smiled against her lips before kissing her again. She was his addiction. He believed strongly that if his queen wasn't happy then no one was happy. So he always made sure that she was happy, satisfied, and fulfilled in every way possible.

He slowly trailed kisses along her jawline to her ear and then down the left side of her neck. With each kiss being more heated than the last.

While he nursed her pulse line, his hands played with her breasts. She loved feeling his hands on her skin. Especially feeling the pads of his thumbs circle her nipples.

“Yessssssssssssss…” she moaned softly.

His majesty was getting the reaction he wanted from his wife. His lips soon went from nursing her pulse line to her breasts. She leaned back slightly to give him better access.

To him, she isn't just an addiction. She is an obsession that would sometimes borderline on a fetish depending on the day. He focused his lips on her right breast. Licking, sucking and nipping at her nipple with his teeth and his left hand was focused on rubbing and pinching her left nipple. He loves to drive her insane. And while it sometimes annoyed her, she loved it just the same.

When he glanced up at her face, her eyes were closed and she had her bottom lip between her teeth. He smiled to himself as he went back to teasing her. He slipped his right hand between her thighs earning him a groan of approval from his wife. He could feel the heat radiating from her core on his hand as he inched it closer. He could hear the desperation in her breathing.

“Someone is happy to see me.”

“Will you just shut up and fuck me now?”

Marquise cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Such language! Quite unbecoming of a woman of your station, my queen.”

Shanelle groaned impatiently.

“Let's see. What do you want?”

As he asked the question, his fingers brushed against her very wet slit.

“Do you want this?”

To illustrate his point he circled her clit with his thumb. Causing her to shiver and her eyes to flutter closed.

“Or do you want this?”

He slipped a finger inside her. He moved his finger in and out of her entrance. He watched her as she bit her bottom lip to suppress a moan.

“Hmm? What was that my love? I couldn't quite hear you.”

“Marquise…”

He loved to watch her lose control.

“Tell me what you want, my love.”

“I want you!”

With a victorious grin, Marquise dove headfirst into his queen. Her eyes snapped open when his tongue made contact with her clit.

“Ohhhh, God! Yes!” she moaned.

If there was anything that His Majesty knew quite well, it was his wife’s body. He knew every sensitive spot and he knew how to exploit those spots. With her legs over his shoulders, Marquise took his time eating her out. He took his cues from the different octaves her voice reached. It's how he knew when to switch between using his tongue and his fingers.

“God! Yes!”

He loved to hear her beg him for more. He made it his mission to always give her the most fulfilling orgasms. And this moment was no different. She was at his mercy and he was determined to take advantage of the opportunity.

“Baby just like that!”

He used his tongue to write his name across her clit while using his fingers as pistons inside her. He felt her legs begin to shake and could hear her moans begin to turn into shrieks that much like her breathing she was struggling to control. She had both hands white-knuckling the edge of the dresser as she rode his fingers. She was close; he felt it as her thighs squeezed around his neck. This was her way of keeping him in place as she rode out her orgasm.

“Oh shit! There! Right there! Just like that baby! Just like that!”

“Shhh, my love!”

“Marquise…”

“As much as I love seeing our little one, I don't think we want her barging in here to investigate why she heard her mother screaming her head off. Might scar her for life.”

She wanted to go over the edge into sweet orgasmic oblivion but she couldn't quite get over that hurdle so to speak. Luckily for her, he knew exactly what she needed.

“You might want to hang on, my love. And for the love of God, keep it down!”

He replaced his fingers with his tongue. Her thighs squeezed his neck as her body shook. He stopped long enough to encourage her.

“That's it, my love. Let go. Cum for me.”

She had a vice-like grip on the dresser and bit down hard on her bottom lip to muffle her scream, as she rode in his tongue over the edge into her orgasm. When he let her go, she had light bruises on her thighs from where his fingers were. She laid against the top of the dresser so she could catch her breath.

“My favorite!” he quipped before licking her juices off his fingers.

“I…hate…you!” she said breathlessly.

He snickered.

“I love you too. Now I'm gonna freshen up then go get the princess while you get dressed. Sound good?”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

“That's my girl!”

With a quick kiss, Marquise left her to freshen up before going to see about his little one. Being a dad was the highlight of his life. Khari was his sun, moon, and stars. When he got to her room, she was already awake. She was sitting on her bed reading to Paisley, Lucky, and Lady. When she looked up from her book she smiled before throwing her arms around his neck.

“Good morning daddy!”

His heart stuttered.

“Good morning precious. How are you?”

“I'm good.”

“Did you sleep well little one?”

“Uh-huh! But now I'm hungry.”

“Okay well let's get you dressed and we'll go meet your mother for breakfast.”

“Okay, daddy.”

He followed her into her closet and helped her pick her outfit for the day before helping her brush her teeth and get dressed. Normally her mother would do this but today he felt like taking a swing at it. Once she was dressed, they met Shanelle in the main hallway then made their way to the dining area where breakfast was waiting.

After breakfast, Marquise gave his wife and daughter a kiss goodbye as they got ready for Shanelle's event. While he left to host the Prime Ministers of Norway and Sweden in his study.

9:47 am.

While his Swedish and Norwegian were a tad bit rusty, his meeting included talks about possible tax incentives, opening consumer markets, each other's families, and NATO alliances went off without a hitch. Marquise was pleased to have made progress with two key European allies.

1:49 pm.

After a quick bite for lunch, his majesty then got ready for the Royal Council meeting.

While they weren't his favorite subject of conversation, he was thankful that he at least had his two best friends and older brother on the council with him. They made the meetings a lot more manageable. Especially Maxwell. During the meeting, he announced that there would be a tax increase on the nobility to help fund a new healthcare plan for the people.

While it wasn't received enthusiastically, many couldn't stop him from implementing this new law. Simply because the King’s word is final. Marquise prides himself on being for the people of Cordonia. Much like his mother Eleanor was. She believed in the ideal that Cordonia thrives for and because of the people. And not the nobility.

As he sat in his office with a glass of Scotch in his hand, he gazed at the photo on the desk of Shanelle and Khari from a month before. They had gone to Applewood for the rededication of the Applewood Orchard. And he snapped a picture of his girls after they tried the first harvest since the orchard was burned. He smiles at the photo of them smiling. They are what drives him to be a better husband, father, and King.

As he looked around his office his gaze stopped on the royal portrait of his father Constantine. It was commissioned right after he was crowned. Constantine Leonidas Rys was a complicated man in his later years. But in his youth especially when he was Crown Prince he was the life of the party. He was always reliable when it came to a good stiff drink and a great political debate. When he married Lady Debra Onasis of House Vescovi on August 21st, 1980, it was an arranged marriage between his father King Leonardo, and her father Duke Julian.

They might not have been in love at least but both cared for one another. When Debra gave birth to Leo in 1982, Constantine was thrilled as were his parents. But Debra was not. She loved her son deeply and dearly but life as Queen of Cordonia wasn't what she thought it would be. The pressure became too much for her and she left. Leaving Constantine to raise Leo by himself until he met young Eleanor Anyango on a diplomatic trip to Auvernal and the rest became history until her untimely death.

He was much older and set in his old ways when he met Regina Amaranth in Fydelia. But was smitten nonetheless. When they married Leo was 17 and Marquise was 13. Both care deeply for their stepmother as she does for them.

Marquise will admit that his father wasn't always the easiest to get along with. They butted heads more often than not but Marquise loved his father nonetheless. So when it was revealed that he was behind the plot to frame Shanelle, Marquise took it hard. He couldn't believe that his father would be so nefarious and yet he was. It changed their relationship entirely. With Marquise wondering if he could even fully trust his dad ever again.

It wasn't until Constantine died saving him that the voice in his head that questioned their relationship was silenced for good. Because as his father laid there dying none of it mattered. All that mattered was trying to save him. He needed to save him. He had to. There was so much that he needed to say, so much he wanted to say but he never got the chance to.

So whenever he looked at his father's portrait, he can't help but wonder what he would've said to him. But today he was brought out of his reverie by a knock at his door.

“Come in!” he announced.

An aide stepped in.

“Pardon the interruption your majesty, but Lord Vancoeur would like a word in private with you.”

Marquise rolled his eyes internally.

“Let him in.”

“Yes, my king.”

The aide disappeared then reappeared with Neville trailing behind him.

“Thank you. That will be all.”

“Yes, your majesty. Your Grace.”

The aide soon left and it was just him and Neville.

“Neville! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I came by to discuss your new tax hike on the nobility.”

“Please have a seat, Lord Vancoeur.”

Neville took a seat across from him.

“Now, what would you like to discuss?”

“Simple. I demand that you rescind the new tax law immediately.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. It's a frivolous law. And I want it stricken down! We are the populace’s betters! We should not be paying more in taxes! We should be living as the nobility that we are!”

Marquise schooled his annoyance behind a stoic mask.

“You do realize that's not how this works right?”

Neville scoffed.

“It is where our mutual friends are concerned. I would hate for them to have to force you and your wife to change the law.”

Marquise set his jaw as his eyebrow twitched.

“After all, we're both members, Marquise.”

“Your Majesty.” Marquise corrected him.

“There was nothing wrong with what I just said to you.”

“Actually there is. You may be a member of the Via Imperii but not only are you a very low member on their totem pole Neville but you're still Cordonian nobility so long as I allow you to be.”

“Oh come now Marquise! You can't be–”

“So don't you dare for one second think that I'm not well within my right as your monarch to strip you and your house of your lands and titles!” Marquise sneered.

Neville sank into his seat.

“That's what I thought. Now get out of my office, Lord Vancoeur.”

Neville got up without a word.

“Oh! And one more thing! You ever call me by my first name again, and I will personally see to it that you are thrown into a dungeon just for annoying the hell out of me.”

The color drained from Neville’s face.

“Have a good rest of your day.”

And just like that Marquise was alone once again.

Hearing the Via Imperii’s name, much less speaking it, always put him in a bad headspace. This is why he struggles with his wife being part of The Circle. He trusts her implicitly but he's seen firsthand what lengths they're willing to go to, to get what they want.

A prime example of this was them revealing that he has a younger sister. While he is happy to have Lena in his life and wants to have some kind of relationship with her, it's not lost on him that she works for the very organization that bankrolled the men that killed his mother. Not to mention the fact they only revealed her to force his hand and have Cordonia join their ranks. But what is his majesty to do? It's damned if you do and damned if you don't.

3:54 pm.

After all his meetings were over, it was time for the family to head to Volterias. When he got to the main staircase he was greeted by his daughter.

“Daddy!”

She ran up and nearly took him out at the knees.

“Hello my princess. How was your day?”

“It was good daddy. I missed you.”

He picked her up.

“I missed you too, my love.”

“Uh-huh. And what about me?”

Shanelle looked at her husband with an expectant eyebrow raised and her arms crossed.

“Of course I've missed you, my queen.”

He kisses her sweetly with Khari wriggling in his arms.

“Much better your majesty. Now, are we ready to go?”

“Yes, my queen. Let us be off to Duchy Volterias.”

“Yay! We get to go home!” Khari squealed.

Marquise smiled at his daughter.

“Yes, my love. We do.”

Soon they were off to his queen’s duchy. 2 hours later they were pulling up to the estate and Khari was ready to get out of the SUV.

“Home sweet home! Right, Ozzie?” Khari asked Ozzie. His only response was a bark which seemed to be in agreement. As they walked across the bridge his majesty began to think about dinner.

“So what are my girls hungry for tonight?”

“Can we make pizza daddy?”

“Of course, little one.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes and smirked at her husband.

“Never thought I'd see a King be a pushover but here we are.”

Marquise cut his eyes at his wife.

“At this very moment, I am a dad. Not a king. And if my precious little one wants pizza for dinner then we are going to have pizza for dinner!” he said matter of factly.

Shanelle simply shrugged as they walked into the manor. It didn't take them long to cover the kitchen in cornmeal, olive oil, tomato sauce, and various pizza toppings. And after waiting for them to bake, the pizzas were done and demolished. And after dinner, it was movie night in the master bedroom.

8:37 pm.

“Okay pumpkin what are we watching tonight?”

“Can we watch Moana mommy?”

Marquise let out a grateful sigh that she didn't want to watch Frozen for the millionth time.

“Of course, pumpkin.”

“Moana it is!” the King proclaimed as they settled into watching Moana.

Not even an hour later his majesty found himself as a pillow for both of his girls. With his wife on his right and his daughter on his left. He shook his head and chuckled softly.

“Happens every time…”

He quietly picked up his snoring daughter and put her to bed in her room.

“Goodnight my princess. I'll see you in the morning.”

When he returned to the bedroom Shanelle had changed into one of his dress shirts and was under the covers.

“That's my shirt!”

“I know. It smells like your Prada Cologne.”

He rolled his eyes.

“You weren't asleep, were you?”

“I dozed for a bit but I woke up when you went to put little bit to bed. Now get over here.”

“So bossy!” he teased.

“Queen.”

“By proxy.”

“Still Queen.”

Marquise rolled his eyes with a smirk before crawling into bed with his wife.

“I've been so busy with our girl I haven't had time to ask you how the luncheon went.”

He heard Shanelle groan.

“That bad?”

“I was stuck in a room full of female Nevilles.”

He winced.

“Yikes! And I thought my run-in with him earlier was bad.”

“Whatever you’re imagining…imagine it being…10…times…worse.”

Marquise shuddered.

“My poor love. I'm sorry you had to endure that.”

“It was awful…”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead while softly running his knuckles along her spine.

“Ne t'inquiète pas mon amour. Je suis ici maintenant.”

She snuggled against his chest.

“Let me make you feel better.”

He tilted her chin then kissed her softly. He loves the feel of her lips on his. He loves how soft her lips always are. He rolled onto his back and pulled her into his lap. Instinctively, his hands went to her waist to hold her in place as their kiss deepened. When the kiss ended Shanelle was feeling quite satisfied.

“Better?”

“I’ll say.”

“That's not a yes. So it looks like I must continue.”

“Yes, you should.”

He kissed her again. But this kiss was more intense than the last and left her dizzy.

“Damn! What did I do to deserve a kiss like that?”

“You stole my heart and never gave it back.”

She playfully shoved him.

“Uh-huh. But seriously how was your day? You mentioned something about Neville.”

“Yeah. He's not happy about the new tax hike on the nobility.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“He even mentioned telling our…mutual friends that shall remain nameless.”

Shanelle’s eyebrows shot up.

“He threatened you?!”

“Vaguely. Until I reminded him of his position in the Via Imperii and his station here in Cordonia.”

“The damn nerve!”

“That’s the Vancoeur family for you. His mother Lady Beatrice and older brother Gorman are just as bad. And his father Luther is even worse than the two of them combined.”

“Then maybe we should pay a visit to Comery Isle. Just to remind them of their betters.”

Marquise smirked.

“You're evil my queen!”

“Well, I mean I am in the land of apples. While living a fairytale life so…”

“That is just one reason why I love you.”

“You better.”

“My love, there is no other for me but you.”

“I'm not so sure your daughter would agree.”

“Okay fine. There is no other woman for me but you.”

“Much better.”

He looked at her with pure adoration.

“Why do you do that?”

“Do what my love?”

“Make me feel like I'm the only woman in the world?”

“Because you are my love. You always will be.”

“Ever the hopeless romantic.”

“You love it.”

“Oh I do. I really do. Now I think it's time that we got you out of these clothes my king.”

“The Queen has decreed it! So shall it be!”

They both worked to get him undressed. He groaned as she ran her hand over the bulge in his pants. She loved feeling him shiver at her touch. After he was naked, he tangled his right hand in her hair and pulled her head back so he could run his tongue along her collarbone. Hearing her gasp softly sent a chill down his spine.

“While you look great in my shirt, I need it gone. I want your skin, not fabric.” he whispered before nipping the bottom of her left ear.

“Then take it off your majesty.”

“Yes, my queen.”

He deftly unbuttoned the shirt, stopping to kiss every inch of her exposed skin before tossing it aside. When he looked at her his heart skipped a beat. He still couldn't believe that the beautiful black woman before him, is his wife and queen. Everything about her amazes him. Her drive, her determination, her everlasting love for him and their daughter, her wit, and especially her heart leaves him speechless.

Never in a million years did he expect to fall in love with someone like her. When they met at her old bar in D.C. he came for the drinks, the food, the possible debauchery, and his friends. But he stayed for her.

“You are a Goddess.”

“It's about damn time someone noticed my talents.”

“There is nothing that I don't miss when it comes to you, my love.”

“There is one thing you missed.”

“What?”

“You missed a spot here.”

She tapped her bottom lip.

“Nah. I didn't miss it. I just hadn't gotten around to it yet.”

With that, he kissed her again while tightening his arms around her. He didn't want to let her go. He gently leaned her back so he could kiss along her sternum and down her chest. He loves to shower her with love, affection, and kisses. His Queen. His Goddess.

He looked up to see her biting her bottom lip with her eyes closed. He slid his left hand to her neck and brought her lips to his. He wanted to taste her. He needed to. This moment is where she became a fetish. She broke their kiss to look into his eyes.

“I need you.”

“I am yours, my queen.”

“Take me.”

“I was waiting for you to say something.”

He drove his tongue into her mouth as he pulled her closer and into position. He winked at her before bringing her down onto him. He took a sharp breath while she gasped softly.

“Yes…”

His grip on her hips tightened as he started to move her in sync with him. He loved feeling her fit around him like a glove. She laid her hands on his broad chest as she rode her husband.

“You are infuckingcredible!” he said through clenched teeth.

He loved to hold her still then plow into her again and again. He would just barely pull out of her before thrusting back in. Never giving her inner walls a full chance to adjust.

“Fuck! Yessssssss! Just like that!”

He loved to see the lust in her eyes and hear the pleasure in her voice and feel her body respond to him. She went from scratching his chest to her nails digging into his wrist. He took that as a sign that she was close. And truth be told, so was he.

She bounced up and down riding him hard. Feeling her grip on his length, drove him insane. He took advantage of the situation and began thrusting his hips harder. He watched her close her eyes. With one final thrust of his hips, her orgasm snapped and sent her into a sweet oblivion with him right behind her.

That was it, all, ball game. Marquise held her close as they came down from their combined high. She snuggled against his chest, completely satisfied.

“That was…”

“Amazing? I know. You know that I live to please you, my queen.”

She rolled her eyes with a sly smile. He kissed her forehead softly as he rubbed her back. He felt her body become heavier.

“You should get some sleep.”

“Mmmhmm.”

He chuckled softly.

“Goodnight my queen.”

“Goodnight…”

It didn't take her long after that to drift off to sleep. As he laid there with his queen in his arms, he took a small moment to be thankful. Even with everything else in his life seemingly going awry, he was thankful for her. He was thankful for their daughter. He was grateful for quiet moments like these.

Because these moments became his new normal.

[according-to-the-laura]

StackedNatural Day 121: 12x13

StackedNatural Masterpost: [x]

February 23, 2022

12x13: Family Feud

Written by: Buckleming

Directed by: P. J. Pesce

Original air date: February 23, 2017

Plot Synopsis:

A ghost from a merchant ship may be responsible for a murder at a museum; an angel tries to kill Kelly.

Features:

Mary’s exploits with Ketch, Crowley monologuing at Lucifer, teachers being killed, Kelly being rescued by Dagon, the return of Gavin MacLeod, time travel shenanigans, Mary coming clean.

My Thoughts:

I always feel really betrayed when I get to an episode I’ve never seen before in Stacked and it has Buckleming, Ketch, and Nick-Lucifer all in the same episode. How much I am forced to endure in 45 minutes.

If this Gavin stuff happened before season 11 then I don’t remember a single piece of it and as such I have absolutely no emotional connection to him whatsoever. If Crowley had gotten to interact with him for more than like 5 seconds then I would have been able to care via Crowley because I love Crowley.

This episode shares a common flaw with most other Buckleming episodes in that it can’t decide what plot points it wants to pursue and so the pacing is fucked from the get-go. I really think that the best monster of the week episodes really only have one sideplot and one emotional side arc and that’s it. This episode can’t decide if it wants Dagon or Lucifer to be the side plot and that makes all of those scenes feel totally disconnected. Better writers could handle extra sideplots but that’s not what we’re getting with Buckleming.

Another fun Buckleming bingo space is the unnecessary sexual assault plot line. At least we weren’t forced to watch it happen on screen.

This whole BMoL plot really highlights what an absurd opener this season had. The only reason and of the plot makes sense is having that one random rogue agent decide that torturing Sam was step number 1, which for an agency that supposedly trains their agents the way they do is patently absurd.

There’s a few things I have nitpicky thoughts about that could either be the fault of the writing or the directing. Why would Crowley not leave the room to have a phone call with Dean? Why would the museum stay open, let alone accept tours, when it’s an active crime scene with child supervisors as the targets? Why do Sam and Dean insist on tying up wounds with a bandana instead of a sterile bandage when they had ample time to prepare? Why would Ketch think that the best thing to do is tell a mother to cut her sons out of her life in the interest of a job she only just started doing? Why did Gavin and Fiona disappear in a flash of light and dust when the other time travel we’ve seen used that spell by going through a door?

I understand that the Dagon stuff is related to Lucifer but the ending montage implying that everything else was going according to his plan is stupid and badly edited.

Basically the only thing I actually liked in that episode is that we got an explanation of where Nick has been because @meg3point0 and I were trying to figure out that timeline the other day and failed.

Notable Lines:

“No one is born good or bad. It's all in the upbringing.”

Laura’s (completely subjective) Episode Rating: 4.0

IMdB Rating: 7.7

In Conclusion: Blech.

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