#Mac sent down as a murderer

[dinosaurswant2rule]

More re-writes inspired by @febuwhump

This is written with the day 1 and day 2 prompt in mind

Helpless and solitary

Happy febuwhump all!

Ooh just as a note, the re-write/febuwhump only extends to the first paragraph break, the rest of it is previous content

[sakuraryomen01]

Valentino /Sukuna Ryomen x Fem! Reader/ .11 [Slight Nsfw]

warnings: asshole sukuna, college prep. school (aka bitch u at an expensive ass school), former friends to lovers, slow burned love, yuji is sukuna's little brother, ec project with Nickolas the transfer student, drunk sukuna shows up at the dorm(!?), a small makeout session, some sexual touching and mentions of grinding/humping at readers thighs, caring for this stressed out man-slut, ooc sukuna.

reader: female reader; 23 years of age, college prep.

plot: It's been years since you've moved from country life, since you've forgotten about all the things you used to love about your hometown and where you grew up from... you didn't think it'd chase you to college in the city after almost a decade..

words: 5.036k

fanfic masterlist: .o1 .o2 .o3 .o4 .o5 .o6 .o7 .o8 .o9 .10 .11 .12 .13 .14 .15 .16 .17 .18 .19 .20

a/n: hey guys! sorry for the delay ^^ i've been wanting to get some chapters drafted before posting them! ty sm for the patience i hope u enjoy and r ready for the upcoming drama between sukuna and y/n!

a/n 2: so so sooooo sorry for being three days later after saying i'd be posting right away!!>< I was with family and the wifi was being iffy the last few days. I couldn't access many of my socials and much less work on the final draft of the chapter!! i powered thro until i was satified and it's finally here! i hope you enjoy!!

chapter/idea cred to: @misslauravillanueva i needed to give credit for the help! i was struggling on what to do!><

. . .

Thank you for reading this! Enjoy!

“Achoo!”

“Ah, are you alright?” Geto’s cool tone echoed from the kitchen, his brow raised with a curious expression written on his face. “Coming down with something? I told you to relax from studying for a while–”

“It’s not that!” You huff, cheeks burning with embarrassment. ”I just sneezed. I don’t know why though..”

“Okay, relax. I’m not gonna get upset.”

With a pout, you leaned against the armrest of the couch. Bowl of mac and cheese with little hot dogs in hand and a Coke on the coffee table. Eyes returning back to the TV screen and watching the current crime show playing, listening to the crimes that the murderer committed as he was handed a death sentence. 

Sometimes, when I let my mind wander to Sukuna.. It feels like that.

The idea that he’s now stuck on your mind despite all the anger he had towards you. The almost strange obsession and addiction to the idea of him. While you’ve been repetitively trying to control these new emotions and thoughts, you couldn’t help it. Seeing Sukuna that day in Ec class all those days ago. Having to tutor him. Even dealing with his weird smirks and teasing.

..That kiss too..

“Your face is doing that thing again, Y/n,” Geto’s voice chirped out of nowhere, causing you to jolt in your spot. “So jumpy over a guy? You know therapy exists, right?”

Returning a rather poorly chosen burn, Geto stood from his spot on the couch and waved a hand at you. Grabbing his things and his shoes from the carpet near the door, he sent you another telling look.

“If you're this upset, just ask what's up. Seriously, seeing you get stressed over this is kinda.. sad.”

There was a stabbing pain in your chest. You knew.

“Good night to you too, Suguru,” You hum, leaning on your fist as the door closed with a click. Leaving you alone in the dormitory for a few moments.

Your thoughts clouding your headspace until you decided to go to bed. Unable to understand this dreadful lil thing people called love, unable to understand why Sukuna Ryomen had crawled his way into your heart just by being an ass.

Tomorrow is another day.. Right?

. . .

“Today we'll be picking partners for class projects!”

Eh?? Ehhhhh????

You blinked a few times at the announcement, looking down towards Toji as students began to groan and complain a little. Quickly these were silenced as Toji lifted a stack of papers and chuckled deeply in his husky voice.

“It's not my problem, just get them done. You have two weeks to do it, so get your partners. The class is uneven so be ready for one of y'all's groups to have an extra person. It's a self-pick topic type of thing so start discussing today or tomorrow your topic and go with it!”

Toji tapped the papers on his desk and sat, letting his tie loose as he started relaxing for the rest of the period.

“If you need suggestions for your topic, there's a list in here along with your presentation requirements. I expect all names and correct citations with these as well.”

You let out a small groan and rub your temple. Not only were you stressed, now you had to deal with this? Extra shifts at work couldn't save you from this type of annoyance. It's not that you hated group projects, it's just a small tick when half of them throw the work onto you.

Pros and cons. Pros– none. Cons– work was usually tossed onto you.

You stood from your desk and began making your way down the steps to grab a paper. A strange chill ran up your spine as you passed Sukuna’s. Sparing a glance over, your cheeks warmed almost immediately.

Some bits of hair were pinned back and a pen rested on an ear. His shirt had a few buttons undone with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Black pants tight enough to have made a bakery spawn on the seat he sat upon. He looked really handsome, daring to battle even Toji’s good looks, and it was getting to you. 

What hit the nail in the coffin is when he just so happened to catch you ogling with your tongue practically hanging out of your mouth. His eyes sharpened at your expression as a smirk curled at the corners of his lips.

An almost playful yet teasing smile you weren't used to seeing on his face caught you off guard. It made your face hot, and your shame grow a few beats in that moment.

“Stop creeping” was basically what his face was saying.

Letting out a strained cough, you covered your face and made your way back up to your desk. Positive that his eyes had followed you all the way up the stairs before you sat in your spot. Hiding behind the paper and some random book you grabbed from your bag.

You couldn't be more obvious, could you?

While fellow students started to shift in their seats and partner up with friends and just random buddies from in the room, Sukuna was swarmed with a small audience of girls as he stood from his seat to also fetch a paper. The guys that sat around him gave him annoyed side-eyes and snorts as he absorbed the attention from all the women in the room. 

“Sukuna, do you wanna partner with me?” One asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and letting the blush on her cheeks show.

“Me too, we could all do it together!” Another spoke up, poking her button nose into their conversation. Her bright green eyes staring up at Sukuna with a needy gleam.

It makes you confused to an extent, making you press your brows together as you look to the side. Sukuna probably thought that's what you looked like every time you saw him. It makes your heart ache and head throb, another grand headache to your already upsetting day.

Just let your mind be normal for once in your life.

You begin to gather your things and part from the room, the hustle and bustle of the classroom quietly fading into the background. Letting out a relaxed sigh as the sight of your bed creeped into the corners of your mind– oh, how you wished to be relaxing in bed with your favorite stuffy.

“Hello, miss? Would you like to be my partner for the project?” A voice suddenly called from behind you, somewhat echoing throughout the quiet hallways. It startled you since you didn’t expect anyone to follow you out of the classroom asking such a thing, it piqued your interest.

Lifting your head, you come face to face with someone you didn’t know.

His dark hair was up in a bun with his undercut showing behind his pierced ears, a kind smile flashing behind yet another piercing on his lip. Tanned skin that seemed to glow like it was pampered with the best beauty products around, not a scar or pimple in sight. Cute dimples at the corners of his lips adding to his boyish charm while his honey eyes gleamed at you. It reminded you of Yuji in a sense, but this was not Yuji.

You’ve never seen this guy before– a really cute one at that.

“Hello,” you say, momentarily stunned at the stranger, letting your hand weakly wave. “Uhm, partner?”

There was an adorable chuckle that furthered your stunned silence before you heard a response. “Yes, I saw you walk out here alone and thought you might need one.”

You take in a deep breath, regaining your composure quickly and patting yourself down. “Ah, right. I actually don’t like having a partner, my past experiences have led me to conclude that they’re not the best option for a project. Besides, I’m a big girl, I can handle one on my own.”

“I can see why,” He starts, looking back at the classroom with the still clamoring students before returning his attention to you. “That horde in there was after one guy, they don’t care about this project. I was actually about to do the same as you when I saw my choices were so low.”

Rubbing a big calloused hand over his nape, the strangers’ almond eyes looked from the empty halls and to you, his smile sheepish. “Please? Don’t make me beg now.”

There was a small silence between you and the stranger as you considered walking off and letting him go with his original plan before the Economics class erupted with whines as Sukuna and a girl walked from inside. The color left your cheeks, seeing the girl’s arm wrapped tightly around Sukuna’s. Looking as if he was protecting her from the growing crowd of the class, engaging in an active conversation as they walked on by.

Your heart sank sharply, seeing Sukuna letting someone else into his circle. He used to be so cold, so annoyed with people when he was younger. Only letting you really hold him that close, giving you nuzzles of appreciation since he didn’t like to say it aloud.

Now, he gives you the cold shoulder and holds others that aren’t you close.

Without letting your head finish its last thought and your eyes still trained on the back of Sukuna’s head, you gave a nod and looked back at the stranger. “Sure. I’m Y/n L/n, by the way.”

“Really? That’s great!” He smiled, the warmth of his company lightening your mood sufficiently more than it was a few moments ago. “My name’s Nickolas Alveres, it’s nice to meet you, L/n.”

The both of you share a smile for a second before Nickolas nods down the hall, motioning for the both of you to head to your next classes. He doesn’t wait for you to join him, but you do anyway. Trying to make small talk with him as you try to get to know your partner, letting the smile on your lips stick.

While you wore a smile, someone else had a frown. A deep scowl, if you will. You didn’t feel it, but Sukuna’s partner saw it.

She raised a brow, cheeks tinted a slight color as she cast her gaze in the same direction. Seeing you close to another man, only escalating the befuddlement.

“What’s wrong, Sukuna?”

A disgruntled look was plastered all over said man’s face, his frown so prominent it was a waste of time to even attempt to hide it. A chasm of wrinkles forming on his forehead as his brows pressed together at the sight before him. Watching the way you and some kid walked side by side with a smile on your face, not a care in the world.

When did you get so chummy?

“It’s nothing.. Let’s go, Haru,” He said, not sparing a second to look back at you. With a huff, he pulled his work partner, Haru, with him to the nearby library to find a good subject for this project.

It’s what he wanted anyways.. right?

. . .

“Wait, wait.. He punched Gojo in the face?!” Nickolas laughed, holding his cup up to his lips quickly to cover his giggles and chuckles. His nose crinkled up as they continued despite his obvious resistance. “He must’ve been drunk too to get so defensive!! I thought he was just a jerk most of the time.”

“Usually he is,” You start, crossing your legs under the coffee table. Looking over some of the notebooks the both of you had sprawled out onto the wood to look for any good topics to talk about in the presentation. Quickly, you scribbled out one, taking a sip from your cup and looking back up to Nickolas. “Recently though, he’s been alright. Not as mean as he used to be, but not one-hundred percent rude and annoying.”

A calm silence filled the air as Nickolas rested his work in his lap, taking a moment to look from them to you. “Speaking of, how long have you known this guy? You talk about him like he’s an old friend.”

The corner of your lips twitch upwards for a short second before you let your face relax. “He was. Not really interested in joining forces again recently.”

Nickolas nodded his head in understanding, eyes glazing over somewhat on what response to give. Seeing that the idea of this guy somehow hurt you, it got him concerned. Why bother letting him get to you so deeply if this is the result? It doesn’t make sense.

“Don’t let it get to you too much, Y/n,” He mustered after a short silence, placing his cup on the coffee table and letting his ring tap against the plastic. “If he’s still letting you be this close, even helping you care for a friend, that’s gotta be something.”

You nod numbly, knowing the obvious has been said too many times. Talk to him, ask him how he’s doing about the relationship, what does he want from you? The same three things that you always wanted to say when you were with him, but how. Other than tutoring, other than being near each other in class, you and Sukuna spent little to no time together.

All you remember about him is that he was the tough kid in school with home problems that liked to play tag and hide and seek. That he scared you with bugs and frogs while at the lake or near the Willow tree. The fond memories you shared with him couldn’t be the only factor that you had to use to judge what you wanted, you had to be around him more.

How was going to be the hardest puzzle to solve.

“Oh well,” Nickolas yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “It’s about time i get headed to my dorm. I have an early class tomorrow. I’ll leave you my number so that we can plan meetings for the project!”

Jokes and laughter filled the room as you and your partner exchanged information when there was a loud commotion at the door. You glanced from Nickolas to the dorm door and let out a light hearted chuckle, waving your hands next to your head.

“Ah, I’ll go get that! Gather your things, okay?”

Nickolas nodded and turned to his open binder and mess of notebook paper splayed on the coffee table, humming to himself as you rushed over to the front door. Hair stood at attention when you opened that door, seeing a messed up man laying on the hallway floor. A big wine bottle squeezed tightly in his right hand, the other placed next to his head on the floor.

His voice came out in gentle hums of some random rock song, lyrics jumping out from his mouth every second or so in a drunken daze. His fluffy hair was messy and almost unrecognizable until you realized who it was.

It was Sukuna.

“Wh.. What are you doing here?” You shout, shocked at his arrival, but there was not really a response. Only his hand raising to wave his finger around to the hum of his song. “Sukuna, answer me!!”

“..rather be.. Than lonely..”

Letting out a sigh, you look back at Nickolas and see his confused face staring at the gap between you and the door down at Sukuna. He stood there ready to go with his bag strap on his shoulder and keys in hand, giving you quick glances for some semblance of an answer. You give a small shrug, looking back to the immobile man on the ground.

Gently, you kick at one of his legs to try and get something out of him. “Sukuna, get up!”

Not a single thing, just a grunt and a tussle before your eyes finally connect with glazed ones. Maroon pools that were foggy beyond belief, not having a thought behind them. Nickolas tilts his head to the side and shakes it, giving you a pat on the arm and a sheepish smile.

“I'll get out of your hair, Y/n. Good luck!”

You step out of the man’s way, looking down at the disgruntled Sukuna and give a weak chuckle. Parting ways with Nickolas for the evening and kneeling down to Sukuna and shaking his shoulder. “Sukuna, you’ll get sick, get up.”

“..Doesn’t matter,” Sukuna mumbled, closing his eyes and taking a sip of his drink. “F’m sick, I’ll just be sick..”

“It does matter, now get up.”

You did your best to pull Sukuna up by his arm and into a sitting position, hooking the limp appendage over your shoulder and lifting him up onto his feet. It was a struggle since Sukuna was so heavy, but you managed. The stench of alcohol reeked from his breath and shirt, mixes of dirt and some stains that you didn’t feel the need to ask where they came from. 

Stumbling into your dormitory you freed the near empty beer bottle from Sukuna’s grasp and pulled the door close. He wasn’t giving much fight– probably due to the amount he drank– and just leaned his weight onto you. Mumbling to himself about things you weren’t going to pressure him into answering. Still, it made you wonder.

What the hell drove him to come to my place?

Surely, he wouldn’t mind answering that.

With a huff to your lips you plopped Sukuna’s heavy ass onto the couch and folded your arms. The beer bottle in your hand swirling around as you rotate your wrist ever so slightly, brow raising at Sukuna’s nearly asleep form. It was odd to see the big, strong and mean Sukuna Ryomen on his last leg from intoxication. 

Despite this, you found it cute.

“I’ll go get you some water and maybe a change of clothes,” You announce, tilting your head to see if that gauges a reaction. Sadly there was nothing but a huff and some finger taps on the couch’s cushions. Letting your arms fall to your side, you grunt and place the beer on the table. “Whatever, I’ll be right back.”

You grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and some extra sheets from your bedroom before making your way back into the living room to Sukuna. A fresh set of clothing was provided, thanks to Geto’s many late night bang sessions with Shoko, and some cooling pads were placed next to Sukuna on the couch. He didn’t do much but glance at the items, turning his face away in– what you assumed– was a quiet protest.

Sukuna never acted this petty and spoiled before. What’s gotten into him?

“Let’s get you changed, yeah?” Gently, you press your hands to his chest, earning a reaffirming nod and proceeding to undo the buttons of his collared shirt. 

It was strange to be in this position. On your knees, undressing the man you’ve pinned for for so long, only to be seeing this messy and unkempt side you didn’t like to imagine him being. The feelings in your chest that you wanted to put away were making your heart race once more, every glance you got to see from the mess you called Sukuna.

His hair made him resemble his brother more than anything else now, hanging over his sweaty forehead and tattoo. Arms hanging loosely at his sides, man spreading for all of the world to see. Shamefully, you enjoyed the calm attention. Even though it was unsightly, you liked getting to touch all over Sukuna’s body.

“There,” You mumble to yourself, having officially released Sukuna from his shirt. “N-Now, onto your..”

Trailing off, you look down at Sukuna’s pants. Swallowing thickly at the idea of pulling off his trousers, you took a deep breath. I’m never going to live this shame down!

Gently, you began to undo his belt. You face burning ever more as the air began to tense, wishing that anyone but you would be this bashful over something so silly. Still, regret hit you harder than the embarrassment or shame ever could.

Sukuna was watching you. Watching your hands slip the belt loose, pulling his button undone and pulling at his waistband. You tugged, unable to yank them down and free his lower half.

“Sukuna.. Can you lift your hips?” You ask in a soft voice, startled by the quick response. But what was it really, he was watching your every move. You felt like you were being examined in some office and not helping Sukuna undress. “Thank you.”

“Mm.”

Making haste of the situation, you pulled down the fabric of his trousers and grabbed the loose shorts you had found from earlier. Ignoring all thoughts of Sukuna and how perfect his legs looked, the thick black hands of his tattoos on the fat of his thigh. The way the bulge in his briefs was much a cause for distraction, even denying that it twitched once freed from it’s confines.

Yep, never happened.

“There, all better,” You sigh, satisfied. “Now that your ready for bed, I’m going to do the same.”

It took a few minutes, but you had completely reclothed Sukuna and he now looked more sleepy and ready for bed rather than drunk off his ass and about to black out on the couch. You had struggled to even get him to take a sip of water and sober up, but to no avail. You figured you’d have to try again tomorrow morning and explain the situation once he woke up in a confused fit.

Getting him comfortable on the couch too was another ordeal you didn’t think you’d go through, but you did. Tucking in the large male until he was all cozy and warm, safely resting his head on one of your spare pillows.

“I’ll see ya in the morning, Ryo,” You mumble, letting your mind wander for a moment and tracing the outline of one of his tattoos on his bicep. Feeling the muscle twitch under your touch momentarily.

“Mgh,” Sukuna muffled out, cheeks warm to the touch.

Letting out another sigh, you stand from your spot next to the couch. Only to be pulled back towards the culprit at hand, falling ass first next to his lap. Sukuna didn’t make a sound, just grasped onto your hips and pulled you in for a hug. His arms anchored around your lower stomach, pressing into the arch of your spine and forcing you to press against him as well.

His nose was pressed into the crook of your shoulder, but you continued to crusade for answers from the sudden affection. “AGH! Sukuna, that was highly uncalled for!! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Answer me, dammit–!!”

“Who was that guy?”

You flinch, caught off guard. The clarity and conviction in Sukuna’s voice was strange, seeing as he had been stumbling and leaning into you for the last few moments. “Uhm, my Economics partner Nickolas. It shouldn’t matter, you need to sleep!”

“I don’t need sleep,” Sukuna grunts out, lifting himself off of the couch and trapping you underneath him. Using his big arms like a cage, eyes locking you in place with a vice on your heart. “What was he doin’ hanging here?”

“Sukuna, this is childish,” You start, ready to defend yourself for a confrontation. “He’s my class partner, you shouldn’t be upset over it.”

Wait.. why was he upset?

Previously, he had never seemed to give a flying fuck what you did or whom you did it with. What’s with the sudden change of heart? It made yours ache at the possibilities, wondering what could it be that made him so hostile all of the sudden over Nickolas.

“I barely know him anyways..”

“And you let him sit here on this couch?”

There was a small slap sound as skin met skin, Sukuna’s palm and fingers grasping your chin and cheeks. A gentle but firm squeeze sent shivers down your spine, your hand reaching up to try and pull Sukuna’s off but to no avail. His eyes scanned your face for anything, a sign.

Something. Anything that would make this ache in his chest stop.

“What is he to you, huh?” His voice came out rough, deep. Intimidating. 

It was scary, but a shudder was sent up your spine. A lustful and unneeded shudder, one that sent ideas to your brain. That made your mind wander, but you held them back. 

Even as Sukuna’s lips captured yours, as his teeth grazed and nibbled at your lower lip, your hands reached up to tangle themselves in his pink locks. You had to deny, because the Sukuna that was here wasn’t really him. It was a drunk and dissociated version of him, a side that you normally didn’t see. 

A side that he probably didn’t like showing.

“Did you let him do this, mh?” Sukuna muttered, pulling away from your mouth. A string of saliva connecting the both of you for a moment as your lungs fought for breath. Chest rising and falling heavily, your hands hold onto Sukuna’s arms, trying to find something to stabilize yourself in this mess of kisses.

“N-No, we just.. Talked about class–”

“Talked? About class? Me? You?”

Sukuna retreated his touch from your face and instead placed them on your thighs. Laying beside you on the couch, keeping you trapped against his chest and making sure to dress the blankets over you.

“Sukuna, seriously, this isn’t funny anymore,” You whimper, covering your face. How could you push this away? You’ve wanted nothing but to be closer to him, haven’t you?

Desired, pleaded. You wanted everything.. But this wasn’t the way.

Feeling Sukuna’s hands wrap around your waist, having his hot breath on your neck and shoulder as he rutted his hips against the fat of your ass. You felt utterly guilty, like trash. Wanting to crawl away from Sukuna and save him the little grace he had, to avoid giving him something to wake up and regret tomorrow.

“Y/n.. look at me.. Look at what you’ve done,” The man in question ordered, hooking your top leg over his elbow. Letting the bulge in his pants grow more and more, his voice becoming ragged and deep as he got harder and harder. “You’re making a mess of me, can’t you tell?”

You nod, wanting to pull away and sleep in your bed. But the desires in you only wanted you to fall deeper. The strings of your heart being plucked as Sukuna’s lips found the sensitive skin of your neck. Marking and sucking, lewd sucking sounds erupting from his lips as he made harsh hickeys form on the skin.

Mewl after moan escaped you, your pussy wet and slick under the confines of your panties and pajama bottoms. Sukuna could tell, releasing your leg from his hold and slowing his hips for a moment until his hand migrated to your front.

Grinding the flat surface of his palm against your clothed cunt, whispering naughty words into your ear that you had to drown out. Even if the wants in your belly wished for Sukuna to be there, to fill up your insides and make a mess. To be closer than he’s ever let you been for the last month or so, you had to stop this.

And you did, with much regret.

“Sukuna, stop,” You whimper, pulling Sukuna’s hand away from your body. Breaths coming out in baited huffs, you sat up. Not taking a moment to let yourself get lured back in, feeling Sukuna’s hand find your waist again as you resisted further.

“Stop what?” He mutters, annoyance in his voice. Laced with an emotion you wished to unhear. “Didn’t you want this too?”

“Not like this.” Cold, respectful. You had to be this way, to give Sukuna another chance. Letting him have his way now in such a drunken state, you wouldn’t be able to recover a good relationship. “If I was like anyone else, you’d be taken advantage of.”

Sukuna’s touch softened, his glazed eyes clearing for a moment as he looked at the back of your head. Seeing a shimmer of something on your cheek, his fingers trembled. He desired to reach up, to brush those tears away. It was against his very nature, his very being.

He didn’t like the idea of being all cuddly and cozy, being soft and vulnerable with someone. The idea of it made his stomach churn and made the urge to vomit impending. 

But, with you. Seeing those tears form, for his sake. He felt irritated with himself. He caused it. Him.

“I’m going to bed now,” You say, voice shaken up. “Get some water, sleep.”

You stood from your place on the sofa and walked over to the small hallway, entering your bedroom and letting out a shuddering exhale. A weight was now firmly sitting on your chest. It ached, it hurt, it burned.

Everything that pain felt like was exploding in your chest. Reaching up a hand to try and comfort yourself wasn’t worth the effort either as you slid down the wood of your bedroom door. Curling into a feeble position as the tears fell from your eyes, finally free after holding them the whole time.

What you wished you could do about the man on your couch.

. . .

a/n: y'all i literally have a crippling addiction to crime videos and all that shit it's just so interesting for no reason oml (crying inside) also sorry for the month long pause (i say sorry too much) i was creating new characters and working on ideas for the next few chapters!

Chapter Song Them: — Granite - Sleep Token (Lyrics)

taglist: @mageyboo, @mzladyd , @mysticwonderlandangel, @sukunaspersonalfleshlight, @kawaiipenguin20, @k-indie, @okkotsufav, @cafeinthemoon93, @pulchritxde, @bontenbunny, @deepinballs, @kleebloomed, @fiierytearzx, @wo-ming-bai, @instantgalaxysheep, @watyousayin, @z3r0art, @sukunaobsessed, @lik0, @sukunasfirstlove, @princesstiti14, @nemoyr, @ladywolf44005, @cat-mak20, @coffee-on-a-rainyautumn, @hxlalokidottir, @domainofmarie, @the-moongoddess, @dark-n-dirty-duchess, @agentdedf1sh, @sukunastoy, @lyn-soso, @bao-yu-sarah-morningstar-wang-9, @heyitstacy, @lost-in-tokyo, @marksassybanana, @bozos-r-us , @p-3-4-c-h, @chaoticqueen33, @dxxny-loves-u, @l0tus-in-l0ve , @jiordeci, @opossum0-0, @gumisgirl, @mommasbigd, @heyitstacy, @misslauravillanueva, @fallenlostarchives, @infinitivesearch

last chapter || next chapter

[rosekeu]

heart to heart : s. getou

a/n: angst. hurt no comfort. it hurt to make this. inspired by anakin and padme. i feel like getou has so many parallels to anakin skywalker its crazy. working on a fic inspired by it. listen to heart to heart by mac demarco while reading!

sypnosis: the day will come when you wont be.

it was the middle of the day, and gojo had called you up for something regarding suguru. your sugu. you've been hearing the rumors about the murder of the village in some land far away from tokyo. it was a mission he was sent to.

you arrived at the location gojo told you about and you saw the scene unfolding. gojo and suguru standing about 10 feet apart having a discussion, the pain you saw in both of their eyes was apparent. you moved closer to hear what they were talking about.

that was when he noticed you. 

standing there all pretty, he thought. suguru began to feel conflicted, a bit of guilt rising towards his chest. his heart.

it yearned for you. all of you.

you ran over to him, grabbing him by his soft hands. “what are you doing out here?” he asked, concern written all over his face. “did satoru call you?”

you nodded, intertwining his fingers with yours. “i was so worried about you. satoru, the higher ups, have told me terrible things.”

he stayed silent for a moment, the village he slaughtered clouded his mind. he knew it would be inevitable for you to find out. but he decided to indulge in your bliss. “what things?”

“they said you murdered a village…” your voice became a mere whisper, but he could hear you still. “they said you're a danger. a traitor.”

he released himself from your grip and one of his hands came up to cup your face, making you look up at him while the other entangled itself in your hair. although his eyes were empty, he still smiled at you. but it wasn't the same. 

“they're trying to turn you against me.” he said, trying to make amends with the person he cared about most in this world. 

“sugu.” right, he was your sugu. the guy you cuddled with every night. the one who told you about every flower and their meaning. the one you could come to every night if you had a bad day, and just needed someone. that was him. your sugu.

“satoru, he cares about us… about you.” you tried to make him see clearer. “he wants to help you please sugu. come back to us.” he looked at you, the air seemed to be getting thicker between him and you. 

“come back to me.” you pleaded against him. tears swelling in your gloomy eyes and your hands gripped his sweater. “please!” you were begging him.

“i need you sugu!” you cried out, tears coming down harder like a waterfall.

and there it was. a lump in his throat.

a lump of doubt and uncertainty. you were his world. he was doing this for you, so you would be safe. the people he was trying to protect as jujutsu sorcerers were trying to kill the people he loved. he wanted justice, a perfect world for you. 

“suguru. all i want is your love–”

“love won’t save you, y/n. if i keep going down this new path, you’ll be okay.”

“but at what cost? we’ll figure this out sugu. i promise, please.” he wanted you to come with him. he wanted you by his side forever. as if you were the oxygen he needed to breathe.

“you're a good person, don’t do this.” you tried to reason with your lover but it was pointless. he was set on his new goals. his newly carved future. 

“i’m becoming stronger and together.” he paused thinking about what he was going to say. he wiped the tears coming down your face with his soft touch. “we can make a perfect world.”

your brows furrowed in confusion, what was he trying to say? “wha-”

“if we kill all non-sorcerers, there won't be any curses anymore. we’ll be free.”

free. you thought. becoming a jujutsu sorcerer was hard and freedom isn't on the list of things you have when you're a sorcerer. you stepped away from his touch. shocked at the words which were leaving his mouth. “i don't believe what you're saying. the higher ups were right. you've changed.”

he wasn't the man you knew before. the sweet, gentle and caring man you knew for years. the guy who couldn't seem to keep his eyes off you for one second. that wasn't him, anymore.

“i don't wanna hear anymore about the higher ups or satoru. they were wrong, you're just too blind to see it right now..”

“i don't know you anymore. suguru, you're breaking my heart. you're going down a path i can't follow.”

“because i'm leaving you both behind?” referring to you and satoru. 

“because of what you've done. what you plan to do.” you stood your ground, a caring expression. you wanted him to come back home. 

“stop and we’ll go home right now. just like it used to be. i love you!” you begged him to stay. and you reached for his hand but he pulled away this time.

“i can’t.” he said, back-faced towards you. hands now in his pockets. you stayed frozen in place. you were trying to reach him but he was so far gone. your sugu. 

‘my love…’

[j0kers-light]

what would j do if frost mac or neo had the hots for y/n (or all of them🤭). maybe they're smart enough and respect j enough to not say anything but j can just..... tell

Hey hi anon!! 🖤✨

Oh boy 😬 Joker's Loyal three having the hots for Y/n? Of course J would tell. Nothing gets past Joker. Let's break this down by person anon!!

Frost knows better. He's Joker's right hand man so the audacity, the betrayal? (If you're into poly, Joker x Frost x Y/n would work) BUT Chaos drives the Joker is too possessive to share boat. SO! How dare Frost overstep his boundaries? Does he want to die? I mean...

I think Joker would accept it more if Frost just thinks you're attractive (I mean J can't blame him. You are insanely gorgeous, no hard feelings) however if it develops into something i.e Frost actively flirting with you or touching you... oh yeah Joker has to step in and shut things down real quick.

Bromance or not, no one makes a move on his Light. Joker would likely order Frost on an out of town mission as punishment and don't think you're off the hook. Oh no no no no. Joker knows all about your "8/10 would smash" comment about Frost. Expect long nights on your knees sis. Yeah take that L.

By the time Frost does returns from his exile months long mission, "Y/n who?" and you singing the same tune "Frost who?" since your pussy is tired from the beating Joker gave it. A little soreness outweighs Joker murdering his right hand man. Moving right along.

Mac is smart so you would think he would know better? Nope. His pretty boy ego blinds him to the fact that you're J's girl and that Joker Does. Not. Share. All it took was a flirtatious joke and a wink sent your way and Mac's fate is sealed. Strike one.

The blond learns his place real quick in the form of denied access to key systems. Goons whisper as he walks pass. Things feel off at the hideout and his position is called into question. Did Mac really think Joker was gonna let him holler at his girl and touch his money? Boy.. Strike two.

Mac is on thin ice and unfortunately he's caught red handed asking you "what you're doing later." You deny accountability (every person for themselves 🤷🏾‍♀️) you and stand off to the side to ensure that Joker doesn't kill his bookkeeper. Mac might be smart but he dumb at the same time. A gunshot is tame compared to what Joker really wants to do to the blond. Its a warning and Mac keeps a distance from you and doesn't speak to you unless its important going forward.

The boy is traumatized. When Mac becomes romantic with Morgana, Joker backs off but if Mac tries some mess again, RIP to a real one.

Neo is definetely the least loyal out of the three and it shoooooows. Neo canonly flirted with Y/n so.... this is kinda a spoiler of what's to come.

The first time Neo met Y/n he was flirting (he got off with a warning at the time since no one knew your connection to Joker yet) but then he pulled that stunt at your dinner party. Yeah. Neo had the game messed up from day one. That fboy mentality of his is gonna get himself killed. Has anyone heard from him since?👀 Moving right along.

So as for what Joker would do after Neo makes a pass at you? *Murder on My Mind by YNW Melly plays in the background* Jk🥴

I will avoid spoilers here. Just know that Neo is currently knee deep in his redemption arc. His punishment fits the crime and is important to the plot considering he almost ruined it with his foolery in front of your parents. 😤

I hope this answered your question anon! It was fun to fill. 🖤✨

[cloud-somersault]

I wrote out a twitter thread explaining my thought about this whole debacle and why I'm so upset. So I'll paste that here, since I locked that account also.

it's just that Wu doing a murder is such a pivotal moment for constellations!shadowpeach that it affects their entire dynamic going forward. Everything is going to seem like it's skewed in Mac's favor because both of them have that tragedy lurking in the back of their minds. And I feel like people are forgetting that, but the characters themselves never forget that. The only way this could be "balanced" is if Mac forgave Wu, and he's never going to do that. Their relationship is unhealthy and imbalanced no matter what in this AU.

I know I'm harping on this a lot, but it just feels like, to me, people aren't understanding what I'm trying to say with this story. And if that's the case, I just am hesitant to share it because my intentions and the part of myself I'm putting into my work aren't being seen.

That is why creatives share anything; to inspire connection and resonate with other people. If the takeaway from the epilogue is "Mac is good/Wu is bad" then I feel like something crucial is being missed. That's not the point of what I'm saying. That's not what I'm saying at all.

I get disheartened when this happens every single time it happens for this reason: I feel like I'm not being understood and people are misconstruing this story to say something it's not trying to say. There is no "competition" here when it comes to who's right or wrong.

This story is about reconciliation with someone who was hurt deeply. The ups and downs of that. The imperfections. The effort, the care, the communication, the lack of communication. And the love that lies at the center of that, regardless of who's "right" or "wrong."

Because I don't see it that way. Wu is impulsive and is emotionally-driven. He's so happy Mac is in his life. And maybe if I wrote from his perspective, this would be more apparent, but it's Mac's turn now. And y'know, Wu is making mistakes, but Mac is forgiving him each time.

It's a big deal for Mac to forgive, because he is the victim. It's not as big a deal for Wu to forgive, because he's going to forgive no matter what. And that's his choice to forgive no matter what. Because he wants to be with Mac no matter what. It's characterization.

But people always say "your characterization is good!" Is it if people come to this conclusion? If they read the story and boil it down to "Mac is portrayed to always be right and that's fucked up" without giving a single thought to "Mac has been shown to be more sensible than Wu, so he's more mindful of his actions/words."

Their personalities drive their decisions. These are flawed, imperfect characters. They make mistakes! Some more often than others, and that's okay! But those flaws influence their decisions and can inspire a pattern of behavior that leads to "Wu is quick to forgive."

I'm not asking anyone to critique my story. I'm not even asking you to read it; I'm sharing it with you. But if it upsets you, if you hate it, if you hate parts of it-you're valid! But please don't share that with me, because I love this AU and I love what I've done.

There is no agenda here. I love both Mac and Wu equally, actually. I love writing both of them. I'm not trying to push a narrative or paint one of them in the wrong. I am just trying to write a realistic portrayal of a reconciliation. That's it.

Thank you to the people who have sent messages and said kind things on here or on tumblr. I appreciate that. This has only fueled my spite and I'm going to continue to write Wu fucking up again and again bc he's desperate to be with Mac. And that's characterization.

I doubted sharing the rest of the epilogue because in chapter 13, Wu fucks up again. In the sequel to the epilogue, Wu fucks up AGAIN. So, now, do you see why I was rethinking things? It's more of the same. It's a major plot point later on, even. So. Get used to it, I guess.

This entire debacle and me writing this thread solidified why I need to finish the epilogue. Shadowpeach discusses this in chapter 13 and it's made clear there what the dynamic is and they both agree to it. I'll finish the epilogue. After that, I don't know.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Comp post of these very funny and accurate incorrect quotes sent in by @justweirddino ! Tysm for sending all these in!

I've put transcripts of all of them in the image description.

I love everything about Sandy in these. This man too sweet for this world.

In Macaque's defense, "hometown" is either Flower Fruit Mountain or the literal Moon, so he's normally the weirdest thing there.

Mei is the friend who calls murder of a friend "homiecide". It's in her nature.

Pigsy and Mac's dynamic is def "Sit down, you're getting life advice. I don't care that you're 4k+ old and a superpowered monkey. Your ass stupid." One of the scenes I have planned for Chapter 3 of the au is literally Pigsy tricking Macaque into small talk/life advice.

Wukong warning the rest of the Brotherhood about his scary af partner is totally in character. He's so proud, enamoured, and scar-oused by Mac's demomic powers.

[void-ink-studios]

An Unhinged Animal Crossing ramble

I haven't played my Animal Crossing file in over a year, but damn did it help me through college.

I don't know about any of y'all, but I made backstories for the villagers on my Island, and they all had connections and families. I made lore for these adorable little bundle of pixels.

Some of these backstories are ridiculous and silly. And I'm okay with that. This post is for me, I am this post's target audience. If you like my nonsense, that's on you.

Mac and Cherry are siblings, Mac being the overly enthusiastic younger brother while Cherry's the cool and aloof big sister. Cherry left home to start her music career, and she's doing pretty alright as an indie solo act. Mac wants to be a wrestler, but misses his big sis, so he kinda set out to follow her. Cherry used to find him super annoying and was really pissed that he followed her, but their relationship is getting better. She's learned to appreciate she always has him in her corner, and has started to return the favor for Mac's training. Mac was the first to move to the island, as a great private spot for training, and talked Cherry into moving in when she was done with her current tour.

Clyde is literally just vibes. He's a country boy, but his rural neighborhood is getting encroached on by suburbs. So, he became a backpacker, looking for somewhere not very busy or high pressure to settle down. He has a passion for woodworking and bug collecting and has formed an unlikely friendship with his neighbor Julia. Tiny brain with a massive heart. Doesn't know what a politic is, doesn't wanna know what a politic is. Would think a huge cheese wheel is an appropriate gift for a first date.

Julia wanted a fresh start, with her new name and identity (because you cannot look at her and tell me she isn't trans). With a dream to be a fashion designer, she transitioned very publicly and said so long to everyone who knew the old her. She is a high demand city girl, but got tired of the grind and questions and judgement. So, she retreated to the island to collect her thoughts, get inspiration, and just vibe in a place where no one knew who she was. She has expensive tastes, but has found an unlikely friendship in the kind but simple farm boy next door.

(Yes, I do think there is a Halmark Christmas Movie ass romance story waiting to happen here, don't judge me)

Gruff and Vladimir know each other. They know each other far too well. Two bosses of different families, families with some less than savory business practices. Vladimir moved into town from the old country, and muscled in on Gruff's turf. The two hated each other at first, constantly plotting the other's downfall, until they discovered a mutual desire to protect their family. Gruff has his niece Chevre, while Vladimir has his granddaughter Meagan. They saw eye to eye, at least enough to not try and kill the other. It more became a game to them, and soon they covered for each other from the cops. Gruff came to the island first, mostly as a way to finally get out of the city, but wasn't alone for long. Before she moved away, Meagan tipped Vladimir that Gruff was at the island, and he soon followed. Now they take pot shots at each other in the form of old man banter, sometimes with graphic murder plots, and no one can really tell if they're joking or not.

(This is the part you're gonna have to go with me on this)

Marina and Cephalebot are an unlikely duo. She claims that he's her younger brother, but everyone can see there's something off about him. He's adopted, but from where, no one knows. Except the family (There's so few octopi villagers I just like to think they're all a family, okay?). Marina found him in a crater in a corn field, with no memory or understanding of where he was. So, she decided that was brother material enough. In reality, Cephalebot is an alien probe. He was sent to Earth to study the local life and report back (kinda like Eve from Wall-E), but crash landed. He felt welcomed and loved by the family that helped him, so he decided to stick around. So, he lives as a resident of the planet he was meant to study, constantly learning how to vibe as an Earthling. He comes across as weird and a little invasive, but he means well. Marina, however is all that she seems on the outside. She is sweet, she loves pink, and she's the big sister everyone would want. She's also surprisingly handy with a screwdriver (because she's learned how to repair Ceph if needed). Marina came to the island as a perfect beach house spot, noticed all the bugs and fish in the area, and called Ceph to join her because of how much he likes studying the wildlife.

Drago is the heir to a powerful family (either business or actual royalty I can't decide), but does not have a cutthroat bone in his body. He's gentle where his parents are ruthless. He gets called an idiot and soft all the time, and no amount of "training" ever makes him a cruel person. He had enough one day, and bailed. He took some money, some snacks, and left. He found the island as the perfect escape from his family, and set up shop pretty quickly. He gets a little nervous around some of the stronger personalities, but quickly warms up when he realizes none of them are as vicious as the ones he left behind. He hangs out with Clyde at snack time, helps Shino with her performances, and even likes listening to Vlad and Gruff's old man ramblings.

Shino is not of this realm originally. She was a demon, summoned by a jealous actress to sabotage her rival. She took on the mortal form she now inhabits as a way to get closer to her target, but something else captured her interest. She fell in love with the stage, with the attention she received for her own skills. So, she ditched her contract and set to travel the world as an actress in her own right. She writes plays and poems, and performs them for whatever audience she can find. She moved to the island for similar reasons as to Julia, to refresh and get some new inspiration. She found that she liked it there, and has made an unlikely friendship with Drago, an always willing audience member.

----------------------

If quite literally any of that was interesting to any of you, feel free to reblog or add your own thoughts. It was nice to finally just dump all of those ideas out there.

[red-ropes-of-avalon]

They Can Live In My New World Or Die In Their Old One- Chapter 9: But I Am

Summary: You are known among the kingdom as The Mad Queen, a ruthless woman with a large military. Seeking to take your rightful throne, nobody who has ever seen you has returned before, all thought to presumably be dead. Your strength is unequal. Ser Leon Kennedy is a knight sent by King Graham to ask for a temporary truce. Hordes of monsters and the undead rising, the kingdom couldn't fight two wars. But how does one reason with a Mad Queen?

Ada pushed you through the doors to the throne room before slamming the doors closed behind her. Blood was splayed over the floor and throne, coming from King Graham’s slashed throat. A middle-aged man with light brown hair and a beard was holding Leon. An old man with armor and glasses held a young girl with blonde hair. She was crying violently. “How good of you to join us Mad Queen, allow me to introduce us. I am Lord Simmons the Master of Whispers, and my companion is Lord Commander Wilson. We have served since your father’s time,” the brunette man spoke slowly eyes eating you up. You leveled a glare at the man, he seemed extremely confident. “We are glad to welcome back the rightful queen, however, we must say the company you keep is extremely poor. Ser Kennedy here, well he thought to end the war it would be best to slit the King’s throat on his own. I wouldn’t trust him, your grace.” 

“How interesting, because if I recall he said he’d be in the catacombs. Helping the innocents hide, so my army wouldn’t accidentally cause harm. How would he end up in the throne room alone with the king so he could slash his throat?” You paused looking uninterested, as your gaze flicked to the sigil windows. How tacky you thought. “Especially if he was marked a traitor since Ser Redfield and Ser Nivans saw him pledge himself to me last night. They rode for the kingdom to tell everyone of this coming siege and that Ser Leon here was a turncoat.” You picked at something under your nail, not even sparing the men a look. “Oh by the way, these windows are nothing short of tacky, ugly even, nothing like the majestic beasts that represent actual lords.” 

“He must have slipped in while the guards were changing posts,” Wilson tried to lie. 

“Then your guards must be rather awful. What do you suppose was the weapon, good lords? His sword and hands look rather clean if they were meant to have spilled blood from the king’s throat. Furthermore, he knows the forces I command, and he knew what sign we had for surrender.” Sure the last bit was a small lie, but you knew these kinds of men. Small men who think themselves far greater than they were. Eventually, they would crack, they were never as smart as they thought themselves to be. In a battle of wit, you keep them for a long while. Long enough for either your dragons to follow your voice to the throne room overlooking the great bay, or for Setanata to come join you. If they could weasel their way out of this question, questions of your father’s reign and murder would roll after. 

Setanta stood before his father, a father who wouldn’t even use his name. He was getting pissed at this point. His blade rose up and crashed against Lugh’s. As much as he hated the man for how he treated him, he could respect him as a Lord. A well-seasoned man, a man who survived many things, illnesses that could wipe his children, wars that could take a Lord Commander, none of that could get through Lugh mac Nessa. “Stand down boy! Our Queen is getting her throne, I just need to ensure you don’t go rabid, you mutt.” That just pissed him off more though.

“I’m not a rabid animal Lord mac Nessa! I’m your bastard son! If it doesn’t serve my Queen’s goals I won’t do it! I am her proud Lord Commander! How dare you call her our Queen! You stood by the bastard who kept with the institution that kept your power! Before her, I wasn’t worth anything! Your only child that survived everything and you still wouldn’t acknowledge me! You’d rather the family die than let me be legitimized!”

“You have never been fit to be an heir to me. The mac Nessa name is more of a chain than it is a crown. It binds you to an image, you would never be happy being. You were always wild, a wolf true and true, the sigil was the only part of the image you met. You would be far happier being my bastard and never bearing the responsibility of being tied to high society. Never having to play politics just to ensure that there was some balance. Holding awful knowledge but having to hold it tight to ensure nobody you cared for would be hurt by the despicable men power attracts.” Setanta lowered his sword and looked at his father’s deep eyes. He had never seen his father as anything other than a Puritan for the old ways, not a man aching for the new world, to be free from the political game he was thrown into from birth. The game played his wealth and name against the morals he wanted and wished to be able to express. 

Lugh lowered his own sword and patted Setanta on the back. Both men moved to sheath their swords, and Lugh sat back down in the pavilion. He patted the seat beside him, and Setanta obliged. “Lord Simmons, and Lord Commander Wilson, they had King (L/N) killed when he began to make decisions they were unhappy with. I suspect that they may have killed King Graham as well, go protect your Queen. You are a loyal Wolf, and if the old wolf dies, know that I am proud of you, Lord Commander Setanta mac Nessa.” Setanta took a deep inhale willing the small burst of tear back down.

“Thank you, Father,” and Setanta turned to walk into the castle. The sound of a knight’s feet clanking on the ground coming towards the pavilion had him hide behind the wall quickly. The knight walked toward Lugh, and sat beside him. Lugh seemed to be laughing as the knight looked on confused.

“What did the Lord Commander order? He must be rather nervous if my suspicions are true.” The knight spoke not a word, some nameless kid probably promised a high promotion and drew his sword. Lugh laughed once more hearty and no longer covering for some stupid political game, not the Master of Coin, or Lord mac Nessa, just Lugh laughing at his fate. The kid swiftly cut the old man’s head off and grabbed it off the floor. Taking off the way he came, and Setanta cursed under his breath. Twice Kingslayers, thrice fatherslayers. He followed the knight quietly on his feet, he didn’t know the palace. Better to keep the bastard with his father’s head in eyesight. 

You had succeeded in pissing off the Lords. You were too smart a woman for them, too clever, too sharp-tongued. “So in short, you expect me to believe, a useless drunk who was upset with a decision the king made, that didn’t even affect him, managed to get into the throne room here, murder my father, and all without a single guard, who you claimed to have posted at all times, noticing that a drunk as a skunk commoner had not only gotten into the castle during high tide via the bay entrance to the catacombs but also murdered their king?” Leon watched with pointed interest. You were way too good at pissing them off, keeping them talking, and ignorant of the surroundings. He had heard the soft sounds of the dragons moving along the walls, positioning themselves outside the awful metal sigils. 

“I suppose we could be wrong about some details. But your Grace, the throne is yours now. What do you suppose we should do with these miscreants? The Kingslayer and his brat.” Wilson responded trying to ignore the uneasy feeling welling up. 

“I think you and I both know, this good and honorable man is no kingslayer. But you two, you’re seasoned kingslayers by now.” You shot the men a dark look and dragged a finger up to the middle of your lips, hushing the two who now had dark faces. “See I can tell you, that man while he may have done the act, didn’t make the plan. See as much as it pains me to think this way, he was simply too drunk to even form a cognizant thought, much less manage to plan to kill a king. See I think my father started to displease you, so you decided he needed to go. But like the small small men you are, you couldn’t do it yourselves. So you got a scapegoat, who you could blame instead, and take your fall. And whenever anyone looked too deep into it, you had them killed, or you Master of Whispers, you took their tongue. Oh, I know all about that, yes a few of my girls were once victims of yours. You really are a small man, Simmons, you don’t even deserve the title of Lord. Now it looks like you did it all over again because you two fools thought a woman like myself would be easy to fool. So I will tell you now, release these two and you may not be granted a cruel death.” Soft claps were heard from the side and in a small corridor, Setanta stood leaning against the wall, a freshly decapitated head in one hand and in the other Lugh’s. 

“You are so brilliant your grace. Well deducted my Queen! These men, they even had my father killed for figuring it out. So release the pretty boy and the girl, your little charade it’s up.” Simmons removed his hands from Leon, pushing him towards the door. You caught him, spinning, causing your back to face the men. Wilson released Sherry towards you as well. You brushed your hand over Leon’s face to check for injuries. Simmons's hands reached for the dagger once more, grasping it and steadily moving towards your back. Setanta’s eyes flicked towards the hidden hand and his stomach dropped. He moved quickly to block your back, and the dagger ended up embedded in his shoulder, the pain dropping him to the ground. You spun quickly, eyes gleaming with hatred. 

“I’ve had enough of you, you old fool,” you removed one of the long sharp spines from the dragon scales on your shoulder. Simmons was caught off guard and in that brief moment, you dug it into the side of his ribs. He doubled over in pain, and Wilson raised his hands. Even in armor, he wasn't going to win against you, the only person to ever outsmart Simmons. “Leon help bring them to the dungeon. I’ll stay with Setanta until the forces return. They will be a demonstration, the old regime of these disgusting men is over, and my reign, a good and just reign will begin.” Onraxes and Moonfyre let out giant roars from the top of the castle. You had won, and the rule of the dragons would begin once more. 

“My dear subjects, many of you do not know me. The real me, I am no Mad Queen, those are rumors propagated by these two Kingslayers. My father was the late King (L/N), and I am Queen (Y/N) (L/N), the Unbowed and Unbroken, and the Empress of Dragons. The men before me had my father killed, and now have killed your king, King Graham. These two shall answer for the injustice they have done, to all of us. I am here to break the cycle, for too long men who have high names have used it to oppress others, the commoners specifically. That ends with me, never again will an evil man like these two use that as a way to oppress the small folk. I will always champion you, for what is a ruler without love for her people and the love of her people? Today I would like to bring you all into our tradition, my dragons here are dispensers of justice. Today we begin the sacred cinder lands here, before the castle. Ashes are sacred and cleansing, the cinder lands are our celebration. I do not need you to accept it but I would be overjoyed if you did.” You turned from the citizens who had gathered and now faced the bound men. “Former Lord Simmons, Former Lord Commander Wilson, you are charged with treason on three accounts- one for my father, one for King Graham, and one for me. You are charged with murder on three accounts- one for my father, one for King Graham, and the final one is for Lord Lugh mac Nessa. There are numerous others, however, these charges are enough. I sentence you to die,” your fist gripped tight. Moonfyre and Onraxes opened their maws and flames spewed on the land they stood scorching the bodies. Despite the hesitancy of many knights, there was an overwhelming cheer from the citizens, your citizens.

[corrupted-nightmare]

back to the basics -

name: viviana june vikare. name meaning: vivana meaning alive or lively. june meaning young. nickname(s): vivi, viv occult type: vampire, red council. birthday: october 13th age: 126 ; 23 (age when turned) sexuality: bisexual occupation: dance teacher ; stripper language(s) spoken: romanian, hungarian, english, spanish

extra, extra, read all about it !

personality deep dive -

archetype: the coryphee zodiac: libra - the scales - air - venus personality type: esfp - entertainer positive traits: sociable, persuasive, daring negative traits: unhinged, extravagant, intrusive moral alignment: chaotic evil enneagram: type 7 - enthusiast hobbies: dancing, ballet, vinyl record collecting pinterest: click here theme song: rhiannon - fleetwood mac

ties that bind -

birth parents: skender vasile & livinia barbu aunt: sorina barbu sibling(s): jinx & sorin vikare pet(s): athena - cat

open for the taking -

(character) back from the dead - ex. vivi acts spontaneously. you made her angry during your breakup years ago and she killed you. or, at least she thought she did. she wasn't as fine-tuned in axing people as she is now and accidentally turned you into a vampire. whoopsie daisy. now, you have returned. could be that you hate her and have been hunting her down. could be that you just accidentally stumbled into the same town. any gender. would likely have been turned in the late 40s-early 50s.

(connection) it takes two to tango - vivi teaches dance classes of all different styles. you could be a long time student of hers (at least, since she came to town) or a new one.

(connection) all that jazz - vivi loves music. you two have bonded over this. maybe, you just love it too or maybe you play/sing. either way this has brought you together.

(connection) former hookups - vivi likes to have a good time. these were nothing serious, but you likely remained pals.

(connection) enemy/ies - viv doesn't take things too seriously. even having a foe. this could irritate you or you find it amusing. either way, it is like a game to her. would probably be an occult fued, but we can really figure out anything!

once upon a time -

viviana never got to know her parents, though once she did meet her father, she understood why. her mother died during childbirth and her aunt raised her.

having known that vivi was in danger of being turned one day from the rumors around their village in romania, her aunt moved them to new york. she had thought the busy city would be a good place to hide amongst the throngs of people.

vivi grew a deep love of dancing when she was a child, certainly stemming from the flapper era that she was being raised in. that love sent her to a ballet school in london during the summer of 1944. it was there that she had received a call that her aunt had been murdered. when she went back to their home, she found a letter addressed to her in the event of her aunt's passing explaining the fears of her father finding her.

not sure of what else to do, vivi packed up what she needed and headed towards the west coast, thinking that she wouldn't be found. however, she was wrong. her father caught up with her in california and turned her into a vampire. not that she wanted a relationship with him, but it seemed he also didn't want one with her. he did tell her limited information on his plans to gain more power by extending his bloodline.

vivi wasn't sure when it would happen, but she knew eventually she would have siblings that she would be unable to warn about the man. that day came when she found a brother and sister, jinx and sorin, both created and turned by skender vasile.

despite the circumstances, vivi was thrilled to have siblings and took to them immediately. she gladly moved with them from place to place, eventually finding san arcadius.

inside information -

during the war, vivi could often be found at uso dances.

after her aunt was killed, she would leave california for months at a time to go to different countries and study their dance styles.

during the day, vivi has a dance studio in town that she rents to teach. all of the windows are blacked out.

she loves music, often losing track of time dancing around to music.

she has a fascination with daggers and throwing them, making her an excellent dart player.

quite the gambler, loves both the slots and tables.

believes her cat is a better judge of character than she is.

[butternuggets-blog]

FOR WANT OF A NAIL

@baldwin-montclair @adowobsessed @sylverdeclermont @nicki-mac-me @thereadersmuse @kynthiamoon @wheresthesunshinesblog @adowbaldwin @beautifulsoulsublime @lady-lazarus-declermont @adarafaelbarba @dogblessyoutascha

Part Thirty-Five

Summary:  Baldwin Montclair had a string of ex girlfriends, a single child, and a  lifetime longer than most people could dream of to make all kinds of  mistakes. His family knew one which kept coming out of the woodwork to  irritate him every other century.

Also on AO3

Jerusalem had always had a bandit problem. The hills surrounding the city were full of hidden spaces, and pilgrims travelling along the winding roads were often dragged into them by gangs of thieves and murderers.

The rest of Outremer didn’t fare much better. An upswing in pilgrimages since the capture of Jerusalem had seen hundreds of devotees of the Christian faith slaughtered as they travelled across the desert to visit different holy sites.

Hugh looked down at the reports of death in front of him and sighed. This had to stop.

‘Paixão, it is almost midnight. Come to bed.’ Fernando wrapped his arms around Hugh’s chest from behind and kissed him on the cheek. ‘You need to get some rest at least.’

Hugh leaned around and kissed him. ‘I will soon. I need to finish these reports for Baldwin.’

Fernando sighed and rifled through the papers. ‘More deaths. You can solve this puzzle for your brother in the morning, coração, when you have a clear head.’

Hugh smiled and leant into him.

‘What would I do without you?’

________________________________________________________________ 

It had taken Hugh most of the day to fully pin down his plan. But he was happy with the vague scope of it, so he sent a messenger out into the city to summon his brother.

‘You have a solution to Baldwin’s concerns?’ Godfrey said, as he slid down from his horse.

'I believe so' Hugh nodded. He gave Godfrey the broad strokes of his plan and by the time they reached the study his brother's eyes were gleaming.

'A company of knights-'

'Poor, chaste knights'

'Poor, chaste knights, who serve the pilgrims and any who wish to purchase their services, and who answer to no one but the Church.' Godfrey beamed. 'Self sustaining, because every new member gifts the order their personal effects and property, thus expanding our income and land ownership. Brilliant!'

Hugh had long since given up pretending that his family operated anything for purely altruistic reasons.

'We will also implement a credit system' Hugh plucked a chart from the papers scattered around his desk. 'Pilgrims will store funds with us to protect against theft on the road. They will receive a receipt which they can use to withdraw their money at our establishments along their journey.'

'Baldwin will be very pleased with this' Godfrey clapped his brother on the back. 'I am very proud of you.'

'Thank you' Hugh smiled.

________________________________________________________________ 

Baldwin had agreed to hear Hugh's proposal at the Council of Nablus in January. He had arranged the royal court meeting to establish the first written laws of the kingdom; sixteen people were expected to attend, including Baldwin, to fiddle and fuss over twenty-five sets of ecclesiastical ordinances and regulations.

Godfrey listened in on the negotiations while he and Hugh waited as guests in the anteroom. Hugh kept himself awake by counting the wall tiles.

There was canons against adultery, and ones against bigamy. Hugh screamed quietly inside while laws prohibiting sodomy were handed down. After the final few canons were established - ecclesiastic self defence, false accusations, and theft respectively- it was time for the council to hear proposals from waiting guests.

'Jerusalem is in the grip of a crisis. The attacks on pilgrims journeying here to pay penance to God are increasing. We must find a way to cure the violence.'

Hugh paused for breath.

'I propose the creation of a company of knights, sworn to the protection of pilgrims and the poor; men who are, like the angels, warriors of Christ.'

'A sound proposal' Baldwin nodded. 'Is there any man here who will second it?'

'I second it.'

Warmond of Picquigny, Patriach of Jerusalem, leant forward in his chair, fingers steepled in front of him.

'How will this brotherhood sustain itself?'

'If donations from the church are not forthcoming-' chuckles echoed softly through the chamber, '-The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ will rely upon its members. Each man, upon becoming a sworn brother, will forfeit his earthly goods to prove his devotion to the cause and to support it.'

Warmond sat back, looking impressed.

'We have taken the liberty of designing a grand seal,' Hugh waved Godfrey forward and he passed along the table, holding out a detailed sketch for everyone to see.

'Two riders upon a horse. The reverse will be a depiction of the order's headquarters.'

'Where will that be?' Warmond asked.

'If this holy order is for the protection of Jerusalem, and under papal control, I am sure we can accommodate them at the Dome of the Rock' Baldwin piped up. 'How many potential recruits have you?'

'Other than ourselves, we are six.' Hugh pulled out a list from a pouch on his belt. 'Hugues I, Payen de Montdidier, Archambaud de St. Amand, André de Montbard, Geoffrey Bison, and Rossal, and Gondamer.'

'Impressive gentlemen' Warmond nodded, as murmurs of approval rippled along the table. Most of the men Hugh had picked came from high nobility; Payen de Montdidier was related to the Counts of Flanders, and André de Montbard was from the extremely well-connected Montbard family of Hochadel of Burgundy.

Baldwin knocked the table with his fist.

'A show of hands. All those in favour of making The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ an official military order?'

A forest of hands shot up.

________________________________________________________________ 

Hugh,

Your enquiry in your previous letter has caused me considerable amusement. The answer is before you.

André de Montbard has a nephew in the Cistercian order, Bernard, who is abbot of Clairvaux Abbey, southeast of Bar-sur-Aube, in the Val d'Absinthe glen.

His work within the order is unlike any other. I feel you and he will see eye to eye on a great many things.

Go seek him out and petition him for your order's Rule.

Martin

________________________________________________________________ 

Bernard of Clairvaux was ecstatic to be chosen to provide The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Jerusalem with a set of rules for their organisation, and set up a papal meeting immediately.

The council was over thirty people strong; a healthy combination of French clerics, Cistercian abbots, and a papal legate who had been sent to represent Callixtus II as he was too busy to make it himself.

Hugh and Bernard had spent a gruelling three days prior hammering out the finer details of the rules, so all that was really left for the council to do was hear them, amend anything that particularly bothered them, and approve the list.

From shortly after Prime until just before Vespers, the council queried, quarrelled, questioned and critised until finally Bernard stood up, smiling, a parchment scroll held gently in one hand.

'So it is decided on this day, in this house of God, before all the saints and angels in Heaven, that the good men who have beseeched our aid in the matter placed in our hands are to be welcomed into the loving embrace of his Holiness, the Pope, and of the Church.'

'Once more, before the Grandmaster affirms this work with the order's official seal, I will read aloud the list so that we may assured of its contents a final time.'

Bernard cleared his throat.

'Here begin the chapters for the Rule of the Knights of Christ. How they may hear divine office. How many Lord's Prayes they should say if they are unable to hear the divine office.'

Bernard worked his way slowly and methodically through the list, enunciating clearly as he went.

'On shunning whispering. They may not gaze at the face of a woman. And finally, that one may no longer become a godfather.'

Bernard signed the bottom of the scroll, affixing his seal next to the papal legate's. Each council member pressed theirs onto the parchment as well; finally Hugh, beaming proudly, signed and sealed it too.

Author’s Notes

Paixão - passion

Coração - heart

The design on the Knights Templar seal changed between different grand masters. The two knight seal was used by Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort, circa 1158. It possibly depicts Templar founders Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded circa 1119, headquartered on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages. (Wikipedia)

The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, while the nearby Al-Aqsa main prayer hall or Qibli Mosque first became a royal palace for a while, and then for much of the 12th century the headquarters of the Knights Templar. (Wikipedia)

Prime - morning prayers at 6am

Vespers - evening prayers

Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. (Latin: Bernardus Claraevallensis; 1090 – 20 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

He was sent to found Clairvaux Abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, which soon became an ideal of Christian nobility. (Wikipedia)

I found the Original Rule of the Knights Templar here

The Council of Noyes, where the Rule of the Knights Templar was finalised, was actually several years after its founding. I decided to speed things up a little.

[nitrosodiumfmp]

Games Like Sinister | Gameplay

The only reason I picked Doom 2 over Ultimate Doom is that I prefer it; better level design, more enemies, generally more fun. The link here is obvious; you move through levels trying to reach the end, fighting off demons as you do so. The game is 2.5D, which may seem confusing, and it is. Essentially, there's no up - floors can't be placed on top of each other, but it gives the illusion of height. The basic idea of exploring an abstract underworld filled with two-dimensional monsters is what Sinister is entirely based on, and I'll probably add limited combat, but not on the gratuitous level of Doom.

Pathways Into Darkness is a classic 90s dungeon crawler akin to Ultima Underworld, but slightly more obscure as it was released for the Mac and the Mac only. The story is bizarre; a gigantic god-like entity is asleep under the earth, and its dreams are causing a massive temple to manifest in the jungle. You're part of a spec ops team sent into the temple, to drop a nuke in its lowest chamber and pacify the being before it wakes up - as this would cause the end of days. It connects to the Marathon series as well, but that's not important right now. Having a game focused on exploration and combat, but also being set within a dead god's dream is very in line with my idea for Sinister. The game is also quite surreal with its enemies; from lumbering blob-men with mouths in their chests to goofy walrus-like floating creatures to reanimated skeletons, who throw bones at you.

Penumbra was essentially a tech demo for Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It follows Philip, a physicist who enters a desolate bunker in Greenland to find his father. Inside, you must solve puzzles using the proprietary physics engine, and occasionally avoid enemies; namely, rabid dogs. There is combat in Penumbra, but it is discouraged, and there are many ways of getting around enemies. You could sneak by them, you could run, you could bait them with meat or distract them with a flare. You could throw explosives (a quick but costly kill) or use physics objects to slow their pursuit. You could even lure them into an enclosed area and trap them, or use environmental obstacles to kill them without your input. It's an interesting angle of immersion that I haven't seen much; so many immersive sims will give you all sorts of weapons and gizmos and character upgrades for dealing with enemies in unique ways, but these usually boil down to a fancy way of killing them that isn't just shooting them in the face. This idea of discouraged but viable combat is what I want to replicate.

Prey 2006 is pretty obscure (mostly due to Prey 2017 making it impossible to search for, and it's removed from Steam) but quite interesting. You play as a Native American guy named Tommy, who gets abducted by aliens, and has to fight through their massive bio-organic ship to save his girlfriend Jen. The game uses seamless portals, one year before Portal, as well as loads of interesting tricks like non-Euclidian level geometry and alterable gravity (such as walking on walls and ceilings). It's really cool. The relevant thing for my game is that Tommy canonically dies within the first hour. After this, he's taken to a spirit world by his grandfather, where he gains spirit-walking powers and a ghost of his childhood pet, a hawk named Talon. When you die again in-game, you're taken back to the spirit world, to battle the "dishonored dead" and regain your health and spirit power. I really like games that deal with death in a canon sense - instead of restarting at a checkpoint, your character has legitimately died and returned to life. I want to explain respawning in Sinister in a similar way; you're in the afterlife, so technically, you're already dead.

Pathologic is a game I can't say enough good things about. It's a mega-obscure Russian game, about (in simple terms) a strange town, a string of murders, and a plague. You have twelve days to explore the town, uncover its mysteries, save your Bound (a group of people who are connected by fate) and save yourself. You'll have to make tough decisions, scavenge for supplies, learn the town's esoteric customs, and all while discovering the secrets of the Sand Plague. When I was first deciding what I wanted the project to be about, Pathologic was my main inspiration for the key themes: "Exploration in an unfamiliar world". The gameplay is primarily walking about, but you will occasionally get into combat. Stakes are very high in the game, and so you are encouraged to run and hide in buildings just as much as you are encouraged to fight. This more visceral and realistic approach to combat rather than just "shoot the bad men" is another thing I want to replicate in Sinister.

[scotianostra]

November 12th 1094 saw The Battle of Monthechin.

Also called The Battle of Mondynes after the area near in what is now Aberdeenshire, this was a bloody fight between the armies of Donald III Bane King Duncan the Second and his half brothers - Etmond mac Máel Coluim Edmund and Domnall mac Máel Coluim Donald

The background is Duncan, the son of King Malcolm lll by his first wife Ingibiorg, was sent to the English Court of William the Conqueror as a guarantee that Malcolm would not attack England. When Malcolm died his brother Donald Bain seized the throne, but with English support Duncan deposed his uncle to become Duncan II of Scotland or Donnchad mac Máel Coluim in ancient Gaelic.

It all came down to the succession to the throne, the old system of Tanistry had been replaced, Tanstry was a custom among various Celtic tribes, most notably in Scotland, where the king or chief of the clan was elected by family heads in full assembly, this system of succession left the headship open to the ambitious and was a frequent source of strife both in families and between the clans. Tanistry in Scotland wasn’t officially abolished until the reign of James I over 300 years later and replaced with Primogeniture, which is still used today, more or less, this system is where the paternally acknowledged, firstborn son to inherit his parent’s entire or main estate, this was in preference to illegitimate births, this is why Mary Queen of Scots had a right to the English throne, as Elizabeth was, in the eyes of the catholic church, illegitimate, but that’s a different story.

In Spring 1094, Duncan, Malcolm’s first born came north into Scotland with the support of an English and Norman army and deposed his uncle and his step-brother, placing himself on the throne as Duncan II. But Duncan was seen as acting on behalf of William II and he received very little support within Scotland. The withdrawal of William’s troops later in the year left Duncan very exposed.

Duncan was ambushed and killed in battle, having reigned for less than seven months. Primary sources are unclear about the exact manner of his death. The Annals of Inisfallen report that “Donnchadh [Duncan] son of Mael Coluim [Malcolm], king of Alba, was slain by Domnall [Donald], son of Donnchadh [Duncan]. That same Domnall, moreover, afterwards took the kingship of Alba.” The Annals of Ulster report that “Donnchad son of Mael Coluim, king of Scotland, was treacherously killed by his own brothers Domnall and Edmond”. As Duncan had no brothers by those names, the text probably points to his uncle Donald and half-brother Edmund, though later texts identify a noble by the name of Máel Petair of Mearns (Malpeder) as the actual murderer. The picture is a 167th century depiction of our short lived King of Alba one of a series painted by Jacob de Wet II, a Dutch artist working in Scotland from 1673 the series has eighteen full-lengths portraits which illustrate the genealogy of the royal house of Scotland from Fergus I (who ascended the throne in 330 BC) to James VII.

Confused, well the much more able Ian Colville explains it much better than an amateur like me on his blog here http://iainthepict.blogspot.com/…/11/death-of-duncan-ii.html

[sparrowsingsstories]

9, 14, and 15 please!

Oh Fun!

9. Lone Wanderer or always with a companion (or more)? Sooo...Mercy used to travel with just Dogmeat. Then Preston sent her out to a settlement that sent her to Corvega? And after that, she started dragging him with her. Because WTF...she sat outside of that pit for 4 DAYS. But now she travels with MacCready and Deacon. Or Deacon and Nick. Or Deacon, Nick, and Hancock. Or...you get the picture. Because Mac gets Really Mad when Mercy gets hurt - and she's been hurt A Lot More sense those meat-heads (as Nick calls them) entered her life.

Sparrow travels either with her Mama & Papa, with Darcy for jobs (if he's around), or by herself. She used to get really upset with Darcy for inviting himself along on jobs, but she has to admit it's nice to have help.

Frankie either travels with the band or with Beau. And since the band settled down in Jamaica Plains, it's all Beau. The two of them on his motorcycle? Hell yeah!

14. What are their hobbies? Mercy jokes that MacCready, Deacon, and Jake are her hobbies. Then she looks mournful because Who Has The Time My God. Or maybe annoying the BOS? Making Danse look absolutely terrified of her? But seriously, it's cooking. Mercy loves to cook and read a good book.

Sparrow...um. Stealing sandwiches from Aiden (Sim Settlements 2). Asking Bean to teach her how to read and write. Petting the llamas at the paddock. Climbing trees. Laying with Darcy and asking him questions.

Frankie - Frankie would like you to know that Beau IS her hobby, thank you very much that man is the hottest damn thing. Also cooking and then having Southern moments with Mercy, playing banjo on the porch, writing songs, watching Haywire spin around Jamaica Plains with a cat on their head and Beau...everything comes back to Beau.

15. Chems/booze/cannibalism/vices in general? Mercy - likes rum and colas. She gets two in her and she passes out cold. Also cookies. Does somehow collecting three lovers count as a vice?

Sparrow - snack cakes. SNACK. CAKES. She doesn't drink or do drugs. Because Sparrow, on a good day, is 80 pounds. So food tends to be a vice, in her mind. She does think murder is an acceptable way to deal with most problems - something her adopted mother is working on. She'd like you to know that cuddles from Bean and Darcy Kisses are better than anything, though.

Frankie - Tequila. Hard Cider. She doesn't do many drugs, but doesn't mind if Beau does. She's got a naughty streak a mile wide and likes when Beau marks her up during sex so she can flaunt it - though not when she's doing her burlesque shows cause the bruising mars the look. Fluffy clothing like ruffled panties. Beau. She says Beau is her drug of choice.

[the-firebird69]

FULL MATCH - Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant - WWE Championship Match: Wr...

He is of course in trouble again and it's these idiots and they're saying that I caused the fight with him and Dave And I did not. This is a hell of a match people are wondering how many rounds it went and it went a lot and it usually does not it's two different fighting styles and two different bodies and I'm sure it represents something but it's unique and Hulk Hogan is a big person. At this point in time I was about 7 foot 6 he's A and he was probably about 6 foot 8 and he's pretty big OK that's a big guy sixteen is big that's about 10 inches more than our sun but about a foot but when you're standing next to someone you can't see behind them the person because he's so big. And I thought that they were a little big and he did too he said that guy is huge so he moved away and we know who he is it was actually Mac blockbuster and he was in the mall with Lori and our friend here said you're in danger and sent it to her quietly when he was looking the other way and she said I gotta get away from him and she goes ohh I have to go to the restroom and she left the other way and Mack Daddy saw him and I saw him move and got people and that's what it's like being big and I'll tell you what he was big he was bigger than Hulk Hogan ohh yeah by far it was like Brad when he was in shape but on like a 7 foot frame yeah he was up there and my grandson knows it 'cause he sees me he says who's This guy I don't recognize him. And that's what it was like in this a message there and these little bugs are so damn annoying. There's too many of them they don't like the air conditioning but boy they are pain. So we have all that's going on but he wanted to see what kind of fighting style he has and he uses mine a little bit but he's not very big so he uses like throws and holes and he pushes people pretty well actually and like smashes their hands away I saw him do that a bunch of times doesn't want you touching him and doesn't want to get into a fight so he smashes the hands away and he says I've actually had enough and they go away most of the time it's a very weird scene with these guys and then they like never stop it's like they're doing it on purpose and they got completely creamed by Max and his people. And I do have confidence that his people can kick their **** because my grandson is a baby for his race and kind he is one of the biggest just shaped different he's more like a hulk others have different shapes to them and different strengths his father and mother from Africa here have huge pecks just gigantic and the rest of them is are is pretty big really big but it's out of proportion and arms are massive and it's more like gorilla but he's a mix but he got juiced with the giant stuff big time he's gonna be a really big boy. And people want to see the Hulk wrestle and they won't let him they won't let any of the Hulks wrestle but they have the rock there so they're wondering why that is and they say it'll cost too many fights and my grandson says he doesn't know which way to go on it because they get in trouble. And if they're in front of everybody right now these more luck will start streaming bloody murder and stick them in an apartment somewhere and just wear them down and we get that. So he So he's kind to us because we're the same but he's very small compared to us no he's not very small he's small he doesn't really care he makes jokes all the time. And he's going to start getting bigger pretty soon it might be a lot sooner than people think because the hit is gonna occur maybe today this afternoon and tomorrow the winds will be here and it's gonna keep on going back and forth but eventually they get here but it's gonna lower the amount that gets here a lot of people get sick because it is radiation. I'll probably get pretty big he says he might reach 17 inches and if he sees me he might say bring it bro and imitate Tommy F and say that he's the character from Seahawk it's kind of weird name like Andrew and II recall it's a very lame name the name is horrible he said much better names so he he wants to do that and I suggest he's not do it to me he says that's probably true but he wants me to be around so you can see him big and pressed in and he's got a paid seat. Yep she's worth it. Wants to know so it's a full report in the morning and yeah that's great ohh my god the hell it's torture. Yeah just to hang around 'cause it's a good thing. Often and stuff she says she's laughing and stuff. That she was just doing it to say it he says yeah a lot of people thought that and you have to keep it going like mash the movie the TV show so I'm laughing going yeah that's fun the movie TV show. You said that in like the 40s or something. So here we go he wrestles in fights like me a little not a time because he's not big he moves around real fast which is different and real fast if you're not watching he's gonna be behind you and I seen him do it too he really hops to it he's trying to stop the fight he's trying to get out of it he doesn't want to get in trouble he doesn't want to hurt anybody or get hurt or having a **** **** code go out And there are code makers they say that's what it is we're gonna run out of space he says. This event is gonna take place and it kinda helped us a lot and then falling down and right on everybody and they're not gonna make it I feel bad and he does too we don't wanna see you go but you're harmful to us and that's not why you're making a big mistake is why you shouldn't take them all on and you're insisting on firing on civilians to prove a point when they know who you are and it's not how it works.

Andre the Giant

[rowan-blood]

Deirdre and Naoise

Deirdre

Deirdre (/ˈdɪərdrə, -dri/ DEER-drə, -⁠dree, Irish: [ˈdʲɛɾʲdʲɾʲə]; Old Irish: Derdriu [ˈdʲerʲðrʲĭŭ]) is a tragic heroine in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is also known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (Irish: Deirdre an Bhróin).

Deirdre was the daughter of the royal storyteller Fedlimid mac Daill. Before she was born, Cathbad the chief druid at the court of Conchobar mac Nessa, king of Ulster, prophesied that Fedlimid's daughter would grow up to be very beautiful, but that kings and lords would go to war over her, much blood would be shed because of her, and Ulster's three greatest warriors would be forced into exile for her sake.

Hearing this, many urged Fedlimid to kill the baby at birth, but Conchobar, aroused by the description of her future beauty, decided to keep the child for himself. He took Deirdre away from her family and had her brought up in seclusion by Leabharcham, a poet and wise woman, and planned to marry Deirdre when she was old enough. As a young girl, living isolated in the woodlands, Deirdre told Leabharcham one snowy day that she would love a man with the colours she had seen when a raven landed in the snow with its prey: hair the color of the raven, skin as white as snow, and cheeks as red as blood.

Leabharcham told her she was describing Naoise, a handsome young warrior, hunter and singer at Conchobar's court. With the collusion of Leabharcham, Deirdre met Naoise and they fell in love. Accompanied by his brothers Ardan and Ainnle (the other two sons of Uisneach), Naoise and Deirdre fled to Scotland. They lived a happy life there, hunting and fishing and living in beautiful places; one place associated with them is Loch Etive. Some versions of the story mention that Deirdre and Naoise had children, a son, Gaiar, and a daughter, Aebgreine, who were fostered by Manannan Mac Lir.

A painting of Deirdre in A book of myths (1915), by Helen Stratton.

However, the furious, humiliated Conchobar tracked them down. He sent Fergus mac Róich to them with an invitation to return and Fergus's own promise of safe conduct home. On the way back to Emain Macha, Conchobar had Fergus waylaid, forced by his personal geis (an obligation) to accept an invitation to a feast.

Fergus sent Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach on to Emain Macha with his son to protect them. When they arrived, Conchobar sent Leabharcham to spy on Deirdre, to see if she had lost her beauty. Leabharcham, to protect Deirdre, told the king that Deirdre was now ugly and aged. Conchobar then sent another spy, Gelbann, who managed to catch a glimpse of Deirdre but was seen by Naoise, who threw a gold chess piece at him and put out his eye.

The spy managed to get back to Conchobar, and told him that Deirdre was as beautiful as ever. Conchobar called his warriors to attack the Red Branch house where Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach were lodging. Naoise and his brothers fought valiantly, aided by a few Red Branch warriors, before Conchobar evoked their oath of loyalty to him and had Deirdre dragged to his side. At this point, Éogan mac Durthacht threw a spear, killing Naoise, and his brothers were killed shortly afterward.

Fergus and his men arrived after the battle. Fergus was outraged by this betrayal of his word, and went into exile in Connacht. He later fought against Ulster for Ailill and Medb in the war of the Táin Bó Cúailnge (the Cattle Raid of Cooley), sometimes referred to as "the Irish Iliad".

Deirdre's Lament, drawing by J. H. Bacon, c. 1905

After the death of Naoise, Conchobar took Deirdre as his wife. After a year, angered by Deirdre's continuing coldness toward him, Conchobar asked her whom in the world she hated the most, besides himself. She answered "Éogan mac Durthacht", the man who had murdered Naoise. Conchobar said that he would give her to Éogan. As she was being taken to Éogan, Conchobar taunted her, saying she looked like a ewe between two rams. At this, Deirdre threw herself from the chariot, dashing her head to pieces against a rock.

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Naoise

In Irish mythology, Naisi, Noíse or Noisiu (modern spelling: Naoise [ˈn̪ˠiːʃə]) was the nephew of King Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster, and a son of Uisneach (or Uisliu). He is mentioned in the tale known as the Tragic Tale of the Sons of Uisnech, or Exiles of the Sons of Uisnech, usually found within the set of stories in the Táin Bó Cúailnge, part of the Ulster Cycle. In the tale he becomes the lover of Deirdre, a woman of great beauty, who is also desired by the king of Ulster Conchobar mac Nessa, and so the lovers go with Naoise's two brothers into exile in Scotland (Alba). Eventually, Conchobar seeks to get them to return, but a series of unfortunate events (including a geas placed on Fergus mac Róich their protector and escort, as well as Naoise and his brothers' repeated disregard for Deirdre's prophetic warnings) and the treachery of Conchobar brought on by his desire for Deirdre, leads to tragedy. The tale climaxes with battle at the Red Branch house at Emain Macha, with many dead including Naoise, his brothers Ainle and Ardan, and Conchobar's son Fiacha. Ultimately the sons of Uisnech are killed in one blow delivered by Maine Red Hand son of the King of Norway (or by Éogan mac Durthacht depending on source). The whole event leads to considerable strife between Ulster and Connacht, the disinheritance of Conchobar and his descendants to the title King of Ulster, and the destruction of Emain Macha.

Naoise's and Deirdre's story appears in the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle raid of Cooley), in the story part sometimes entitled "The Tragical Death of the Sons of Usnach". The following summary is based on the translations of Whitley Stokes and O'Flanagan edited in (Hull 1898), Naoise here rendered as Naisi in the text :

When Deirdre was born, Cathbad the druid named her, and prophesied that she would cause much trouble and strife - on hearing this the assembled lords would have had her killed then, but king Conchobar prevented it and decided to have her brought up in seclusion, and that when she was old enough, he would marry her. She grew up to outshine other women of the time in beauty.

One snowy day when she saw her foster father kill a calf, on which a raven fell to drink the animals blood - she said she wanted a husband who had in him the three colors she saw - hair the color of the raven, cheeks red like the calf's blood, and skin the color of snow. She was told that such a man existed in the house of Conchobar - named Naisi (Naoise), son of Usnach, son of Conall Flatnailed, son of Rury the Great. She asked that she might speak with him, in secret. Naisi met with her, and she declared her love for him, and asked to elope, which he agreed to, though he was tardy to carry out, for fear of Conchobar.

Naoise carrying Deirdre, along with his two brothers. Illustration by John D. Batten in Celtic Fairy Tales (1892).

Thus Naisi and his two brothers, Ainle and Ardan, together with and one hundred and fifty warriors, went to Scotland and entered the paid service of the King of Scotland. The Scottish King heard of Deirdre's great beauty and too tried to get her for himself, on which Naisi and his brothers left for an island in the sea, after many battles with the king's men.

Conchobar was at another feast with his people, and asked them if they wanted for anything. They replied they had no want, except the loss of their kinsmen Naisi, Ainle, and Ardan - because of the woman Deirdre. Having heard this Conchobar decided to send an envoy. However Naisi was prohibited from returning to Ireland except with either Cúchulainn, Conall Cernach, or Fergus mac Ross. Conchobar chose Fergus to go fetch for them.

Fergus journeyed to Loch Etive in Alba (Scotland), and found the hunting lodges of the Naisi and his two brothers, but there was no recent sign of them. Fergus then went to the harbor and made a loud call for them, which was heard by Naisi and Deirdre. Naisi said he had heard an Irish voice, and so had Deirdre, but she lied and said she thought it was a Scottish voice. Fergus called again, and the same happened; and then a third time, and Naisi became sure it was Fergus' voice and asked Ardan to go and meet him.

Deirdre confessed that she had recognized the voice, but concealed the truth as she had a vision the previous night, of three birds from Emain Macha bringing honey in their beaks but returning with blood in their beaks - she interpreted this as meaning that the messenger came with a false promise of peace. Nevertheless, they greeted Fergus warmly, and he then told him of his task as envoy, to make them return to Ulster. The exiles spoke of their missing Ireland, but Deirdre still did not wish to go out of worry - Fergus promised he would give them his protection against any in Ireland, and so Naisi agreed to return.

On the way they came to the fort of Borrach (son of Annte). Borrach welcomed them, and offered a feast (as Conchobar had instructed him to do), but placed Fergus under a geasa not to leave the feast until it was finished. Fergus became flustered, telling Borrach that he had promised to bring the three back to Emain Macha on the same day that they returned to Ireland. Fergus decided to stay at the feast and send his own two sons with the returning exiles back to Emain Macha.

The exiles left Borrach's place. Deirdre counseled Naisi to stay at the island of Cuilenn, but Fergus's sons (Illann the Fair, and Buinne the Ruthless Red) spoke against it. Then they went to the White Cairn of Watching on Slaib Fuad, but Deirdre fell behind, and fell asleep. Naisi turned back and found her as she awoke from a dream. She told Naisi of her dream - in it she sees Naisi and Illann headless, but Buinne not with them. Next the party went to Ard na Sailech. Again Deirdre had premonitions, envisioning a 'cloud of blood' over Naisi, Ainle, and Ardan's head. She counselled that they should go to Dún Delgan (Dundalk) and stay until Fergus could join them, or seek Cúchulainn as escort, but the brothers were not worried, and did not follow her advice.

They then went straight to Emain Macha. On reaching it Deirdre foretold a way they could tell whether or not Concobar would do them ill - if they were invited into Cochobar's house they were safe, but if they were invited into the house of the Red Branch without Concobar then evil was intended for them.

At Emain Macha they knocked, and on telling the doorman who it was Concobar said to send them to the Red Branch house. Deirdre suggested they leave, but the men would not, lest they be called timid. They entered the house of the Red Branch, and were served with great food and drink - all the servants drank and ate and became merry, but the exiles would not eat or drink. Naisi then called for Concobar's chessboard (the Cennchaem) to be brought so they could play - at the same time Conchobar inquired of Deirdre, asking if she was still so beautiful. Concobar's envoy (Levarcham) returned and told him who was there, and that Deirdre was changed from when she left.

Conchobar sent messengers to tell him of Deirdre's appearance twice more. Then he spoke to Tréndorn saying "do you know who killed my father (and three brothers)?" - Tréndhorn replied it was Naisi - then Conchobar sent him report on Deirdre's appearance. As he spied through a window he was spotted, and Naisi threw a chess piece at him so well he lost an eye - he returned to Conchobar and told him "The woman whose form and feature are loveliest in the world is there, and Naisi would be king of the world if she were left to him." Conchobar became enraged and ordered an assault on the Red Branch house.

A the house Conchobar and his men, and the Naisi and his exchanged words, then fighting began. Buinne slew many of Conchobar's men, but Conchobar asked his price, and bribed him with land, and he deserted his companions. The Illann came forth and killed many of Conchobar's men, and would not take a bribe like his brother. Conchobar asked for his own son Fiacha, born on the same night as Illann. He gave Fiacha his arms, but after a hard fight, Illann won. Conchobar's shield made a great sound when its wielder was in distress, and Conall son of Amargin heard it, thinking Conchobar was in need, and came - seeing the scene of the battle he took his spear (Culghlas) and killed Illann. Wounded, Illann asked who had done it, and told them he was there to guard Naisi and his brothers - on hearing this Conall was sorry, and killed Fiacha in revenge. Illann called Naisi to the fight, then died.

Ardan defended the Red Branch house on the first night, slaying many; the next night Ainle defended; on the third night Naisi defended, also killing many attackers. The three then formed a shield around Deirdre, and leapt outside the walls of Emain. Concobar told his druid Cathbad to put an enchantment on the escapees, stating that if he did so he would not harm the. Cathad conjured water to prevent them. Concobar then called for someone to kill Naisi but none from Ulster would. However one Maine Red-hand from Norway, whose father and brothers had been killed by Naisi, was willing to do the beheading.

Ardan said he should die first, as the youngest, but Ainle offered himself; Naisi gave his exceptional sword, which was from Manannán mac Lir himself, to Maine, and Maine killed all three with it, in one blow. Deirdre kissed her dead husband and drank his blood, and sang a long lament. She then flung herself into Naisi's grave and died.

Cathbad cursed Emain Macha because of the evil of that day, and said that neither Conchobar nor his descendants would ever possess it again. Fergus came the next day, and saw the disaster, and (together with Cormac conloinggeas and Dubhtach daelultach) gave battle to Conchobar, brought the destruction of Emain Macha, together with Conchobar's women. Fergus then sought aid from Ailill King of Connacht, and Maeve the queen. Much of Ulster was raided or destroyed, with hostilities continuing for several years.

[jayne-hecate-writer]

Holy ****... I've only gone and done a sequel!

A long time ago, in a lifetime very different to that which I have now, I wrote a novel. An actual, proper-ish novel (this is open to debate obviously, given the reception it received.) in which I sent a character I had created on a road trip into her past and that of her family. It was a violent, unpleasant and politically insensitive story, based on corrupt politics, vampires and murder for hire. I entitled this novel 'Leticia, Sunset Hunter' and was genuinely proud of what I had written.

My partner and I desperately tried to find a publisher or an agent to release the novel, but being the weird neuro-atypical freak that I am, I was barely able to believe in myself, let alone the power of my words. So after three hundred letters, with only one positive reply who never write back again, I called it a day and retreated into my shell, like a sad little snail, scared of the big wide world. The rejection felt like a cricket bat to the stomach, I had been judged harshly by the world of publishing and I did not take that judgement well.

Time went by and I remembered the words of my dear friend and mentor Mr Smith... “Have you looked into modern electronic publishing?” As an early adopter of the Apple Mac, Mr Smith was way ahead of me in terms of modern gadgets. He had iPods before anyone else had ePods! (sorry for the poor alphabetical pun!). He read his morning paper on the first generation iPad and knowing him, he was probably on first name terms with Steve Jobs. Sadly both of these men are now dead and in truth I greatly loved one of them and miss him to this day.

My first attempt at publishing was with a book of short stories. This was also my first attempt at editing a piece of my writing and I was abysmal at it. The short stories contained spelling mistakes, missed letters, lost words, changes in font and variable font size. It was a beautiful disaster, but I still loved it. This went up on Amazon Kindle and I sold at least three to well meaning friends, who let me down gently as to the quality of what they had paid for. As you would expect for such a service, Amazon took seventy percent of the profit and I received a few pence for each copy sold, which after a few months added up to the grand total of fifty three... Pence.

So releasing Leticia on Kindle was probably my best bet. I worked for months, preparing the story, working on the edits and slowly going insane. My therapist helped me deal with the feelings of failure with some kind words. “By publishing on Kindle, you are staying true to the purity of your own voice.” So publish her I did and the feelings of shame and self doubt grew like a tumour in my belly. Leticia was far from perfect and in truth I would write a very different book now, but I have to be true to the purity of my voice. The me of then who wrote Leticia, was desperate to be loved. So when I recently edited Leticia, I made sure that I was kind to the me of then and all I changed was the formatting mistakes and a couple of blindingly awful spelling or grammatical errors. I also gave Leticia a new cover, ready to be joined by her sequel, David.

When people have pets, they give them cute, lovable names (except for poor black kittens who often end up being named after something demonic), my cat for example has an adorable name. He is a sixteen year old ginger tabby called Jasper Doodahs and as I write this, he is curled up fast asleep between my ankles. Naming books is just as difficult as naming pets, if not more so. I can only imagine how many modern pets have been named Grogu or other Star Wars names, I know of at least one Ahsoka, who is a beautiful little silver tabby queen. The problem with books is that you cannot use names from films, it gets very confusing if you do and can be problematic when Lawyers are called in to ask you to stop. So I use human names for my books and here I present David : Dark Walker.

What is David about? Well, it picks up hours after the end of Leticia, with David on his way to meet Rosalind, Leticia's mother, when a woman from his long forgotten past reaches out to him. From there we have yet more travel, through this world and into others with violent and unpleasant outcomes and then right at the end, we lead into a final sequel. I wish that I could tell you more about the sequel, but as we speak, the plan is in its most basic form and nothing has been written other than a few introductory lines of text.

David is finally available now and is book two in the Vampyrican trilogy. At just over one hundred and twenty thousand words, you get around ten thousand words for roughly each pound you spend on my book. I started writing David in 2017 and since then we have had Brexit, a global pandemic, financial collapse, war in Europe and an awful lot of unnecessary deaths caused by the piss poor performance of politicians globally. None of this appears in David, well none of the real stuff anyway, but there is plenty of technocratic theocracy and maybe hints of cyber punk, with maybe a lot of love for and influence from my favourite movie of all time, Bladerunner.

What this means is that with my greater experience of being a writer now, I asked someone else to pass their eye across my final manuscript and they corrected a number of irritating mistakes for me. I still do not have the money to be able to pay an editor what they are worth to professionally work on my book, but this is hopefully a better step forwards with the reading experience for my readers. So I implore you, go and read my new novel, buy it on Kindle and/or paperback. If you live local to me, I can even sign a paperback for you. What I can tell you, should you wish to read my Vampyrican trilogy, you will be getting the purity of my voice, albeit a voice that has changed and matured over the years. I still love Leticia, but David is better and who knows, the final in the series might well be better again, when she lands on your kindle reader or bookshelf. Actually, there is a hint, book three has a girl's name and she is a character all of her own.