#maybe they’ve explored each other’s bodies and don’t discuss it

[1nsan3]

Spider/River/Reader

I am writing the River/Reader fic I promise, but the idea for this fic came to me today and wouldn't leave me alone. So here you have it.

Contains a drowning mention.

1460 words.

Rating: G

When River approached you about having an open relationship you were surprised, but not insulted. He explained it over kisses in bed, shared breakfasts, and nights in front of the TV. It was an ongoing discussion and you finally came to the conclusion that it wasn’t that you weren’t enough for him, but that his overflowing love could extend even further. So you agreed, while you weren’t interested in having another partner River was free to explore. Never in a million years did you think this is who he would pick.

—

The pub is crowded and noisy when you and River show up and it’s almost immediately overwhelming. Leading you outside River scans the beer garden for his boyfriend whom he’s introducing you to. When he spots him his eyes light up, and it warms you to see the joy clear on his face. This was the right decision, you think, he’s happy. As you walk through the crowd you spot Spider and your mood instantly falls. Spider was your nemesis back in training, and the only reason you earned the name Spout is because you were so prone to chewing him out for his selfish behavior. You knew Spider and River were friends back in the day, but that was a long time ago and the bad blood has been boiling between the two of them for years since. At least that’s what you thought. 

As River leads you notice that you’re getting closer and closer to Spider’s table and a dread creeps into the back of your mind. Glancing at Spider once more he doesn’t seem to even notice you approaching. He’s on his phone, clearly trying to ignore his surroundings. It’s only when River sits down across from him, pulling out a seat for you, that you let yourself feel the distress you’ve been suppressing. There’s no way Spider is River’s boyfriend, you think, increasingly frantic. I mean that’d be ridiculous, surely he has better taste than that, your thoughts spiral. It seems insane that not only would River date Spider, but that Spider would date River. Of course they have their growing antagonism, and sure maybe they do complain about each other more than is normal, and okay from what you’ve seen River does really like to get in Spider’s face and vice versa but… Oh my god, you think as it hits you, they’ve been attracted to each other the entire time.

“You’re finally here. I can’t believe you had me wait at this pub by myself, you know I hate these kinds of places.” Spider’s voice brings you out of your thoughts. God, you think, I have to be nice to Spider. “And who is this,” Spider asks, body turned towards you with judgment clear on his face.

“This is my girlfriend,” River answers. “Play nice.” 

“Darling, when have I ever done that?” It���s odd to hear Spider use a pet name, but not as odd as watching his and River’s strange form of flirting.

“You should remember me Spider, after all it’s not like we don’t have history.” The feeling in the air is strained almost immediately as you see Spider recognize you. At your side, you feel River tense and hold his breath in anticipation. 

“Spout.” It comes out terse, through clenched teeth.

“Spider” you respond, eyebrow cocked in challenge. 

“Okay… I’m going to get us some drinks.” River announces, before hurriedly making his exit. You and Spider stare at each other for another moment until he finally sneers. “I thought River would have better taste in women.” It’s so obvious that Spider is trying to get under your skin. You won’t let him. “Well clearly his taste in men leaves much to be desired.” There’s a flush that’s creeping up Spider’s neck, red and angry like he is. “He’s too good for you,” you continue, “You put him through hell. He may have forgotten that but I certainly won’t.” There’s a flash of hurt on Spider’s face, there and gone before being replaced by sheer rage.

“I will always be better than you, a pathetic woman who couldn’t even finish her training. How does it feel to know that I live your dream?” His words hit you deep, and just like that you remember why you never went to MI:5.

“At least I don’t work for a sanctimonious bitch like Taverner. I hear you sit at her side like a lap dog. Is it true that she doesn’t even know your name? You’re not important enough to be remembered I suppose.” Spider’s face is scarlet now, his knuckles white as he grips the table, clearly wanting to throw something at you like the child he is. 

“At least I didn’t let River drown!” He yells, standing over you. The rage that fills you is indescribable. It makes you see red and courses white hot through your veins. 

In hindsight, maybe River wanted you both to meet in a public place to avoid exactly this. 

You and Spider get kicked out of the bar just as River comes back with your drinks. His face is disappointed but not surprised. It feels worse than if he were angry.

—

The next week is spent cooling off at your flat and wondering how to apologize to River while also making it very clear that you will not apologize to Spider. The idea comes to you on a Friday afternoon. You get off of work at four on a Friday and so you pick up flowers and an “I’m sorry” cake from that bakery River likes and head over to his flat. Pulling out your key you open his door, only to find Spider already inside.

“What are you doing here?” The question comes out more of an accusation than anything, but you’re still feeling a little raw from your last meeting. 

Spider glares at you before saying, “I’m here to apologize, you twat. Why else would I be in this hideous place?” 

Now, River’s home leaves much to be desired, that’s certain. The walls are bare and the furniture is ancient. You’d been trying to get him to redecorate for months. So it’s not that Spider is wrong when he calls the flat hideous, but it still angers you anyways.

“Incredible way to start an apology. ‘I broke into your flat and I think that it’s hideous. Hope you forgive me oh-wonderful boyfriend.’ You should put that on a card, it’d sell out.” You fix Spider with a glare of your own. 

“I didn’t break in,” he says, “River gave me a key.” 

And doesn’t that just hit you like a ton of bricks. Spider has a key, because River trusts him. Because he’s River’s boyfriend. River gave you a key too, because River trusts you, the same way he trusts Spider.

You feel, suddenly, like an absolute ponce. 

Spider has given up awaiting your response and goes back to doing whatever he was doing before you interrupted him. A quick glance at the table shows two places set, and a fancy bottle of wine in the middle. Spider is making River an apology dinner, and you’re still holding your apology cake and flowers. Setting the cake down in the kitchen you navigate around Spider to find a vase for the flowers. It’s a strange sort of domestic. Clearly you both know your way around River’s kitchen, and you operate around one another with ease. There’s no talking, but the tension in the room comes down slowly, transitioning quickly into awkward silence. 

“I still think River has bad taste in men.” you blurt out. Spider doesn’t even give you a response, he just raises his eyebrow judgmentally. “But,” you continue, “I think you care about him. And we can’t help who we’re attracted to. So…”

“He does have bad taste in men.” Spider responds, “But he’s River, he has bad taste in everything. He can’t help it.” You laugh, and the tightness in your chest loosens just a bit. 

When River comes home he finds you and Spider sheepishly standing behind the dining table. There’s cake and wine and a wonderful meal shared as you both apologize profusely to him. The flowers are the centerpiece for your shared dinner and River smiles as he reaches out to hold hands with both of you, his fingers slipping in between yours, his rough hand tangled with Spider’s spindly one. 

You and Spider don’t apologize to each other that night, the apologies come later; after late nights spent talking about the past, about the future. And when River comes home from a long day at work to find you and Spider curled up around each other in his bed, he knows everything is going to be okay. 

[pissjesus]

Russel and murdoc for both

Absolutely cursed ugh your huge juicy brain

I’ve said once and I’ll say it again: they’re divorced

ELABORATION:

Enemies meme

* Everyone thinks 2D and Murdoc fight the most but 2D doesn’t like to fight so it’s mostly one sided— Russel and Murdoc absolutely fight the most

* Murdoc doesn’t *hate* Russel on a personal level, at least not anymore. He used to “hate everyone, and himself equally” as Russel says in the Apex Tapes, but now he’s a bit more agreeable and is more antagonistic than hateful.

* Russel, however, has very little patience for Murdoc’s bullshit

* Murdoc’s pretty scrappy but Russel can take him out with one blow, so Murdoc now (usually) knows better than to pick fights with Russel he can’t win

* Russel is soft-spoken by nature and rarely raises his voice— except towards Murdoc

* They reconcile for the sake of the music and also for Noodle, and over the years they’ve gotten better at it.

* Murdoc goes to Russel for serious problems because Russel won’t bullshit him, and Russel respects him more for admitting these things

* They both experience psychotic symptoms and help each other through them since they can understand what the other is going through

Ship meme

* Russel and Murdoc is the worst combo when it comes to having to share a bed because they’re both so sweaty and take up so much space. Spooning sounds fun in concept only

* Russel can’t really borrow anything of Murdoc’s but even if he did, he wouldn’t want to. Murdoc steals Russel’s shirts when all his laundry is too dirty for even him to tolerate

* Russel gave Murdoc the nickname Muds (which I love) and primarily calls him that, though sometimes will tweak it to “Mudsy Baby” but only if he’s being passive-aggressive or sarcastic. Murdoc throws “love” and “sweetheart” around, or addresses him as “Russel Love” or “Russel Baby.” He’ll also refer to Russel as “my wife”

* They show they care by doing things for each other without being asked, like Murdoc will order takeout for Russel if he’s been in a depressive slump and Russel will help pull Murdoc away from situations where he’s getting angry and needs to blow off steam somewhere else

* They don’t really “confess” anything so much as have an unspoken arrangement, but if one of them were to initiate anything, it’d probably be Murdoc

* Russel doesn’t *scream* over bugs but he doesn’t like them and would get one of the others to take care of it if he has a choice. Murdoc has no problem with bugs but unfortunately he’s more likely to pick it up and chase Russel with it than kill it

* They’re both the primary drivers in the band, but they hate the way the other drives. Murdoc thinks Russel drives too slow and hesitates too much when he has to merge so they miss exits, and Russel hates everything about the way Murdoc drives. However, Murdoc is somehow the only one that knows how to parallel park

* Russel actually enjoys cooking and likes trying new things. Murdoc can’t cook for shit, but he’s also basically banned from doing so. Whenever he offers to “help” Russel it’s just an excuse to pester him the whole time because he’s bored. However, he has Murdoc try things because he’s not picky like 2D and won’t just tell him it’s good if it isn’t like Noodle.

* Neither of them like PDA and would certainly not be caught *dead* being affectionate with each other, but Murdoc would kiss Russel antagonistically like Bugs Bunny

* Russel knows Murdoc is a whore and wouldn’t expect otherwise— if anything he’s like “please take him off my hands.” Murdoc has no reason to be “protective” of Russel but he tends to have attachment issues in general and feels threatened when he feels like the others could leave him

* Russel hasn’t really had any long-term relationships and doesn’t seek hook-ups like 2D and Murdoc (until Cello enters the picture yes I’m still working on the fic). He actually loved Del and has never really gotten over losing him— the first time when he was killed, and the second time when he was exorcised from him. Though he has a lot of grief from Del being exorcised, he also has a lot of anxiety and shame around intimacy because having Del possess him meant his thoughts and feelings were never truly private.

[amlovelies]

eyes wide shut

I’ve had this mostly finished for like months. posting it now so I don’t delete it. an attempt at ortega’s pov for the in the dark love scene

fandom: fhr pairing: Julia ortega/f!sidestep (cynthia basri) rating: M/E there’s some smuttyness also discussion of suicide words: 1.2k ao3

             It still feels like a dream. Any moment now, reality will come crashing in, the warm body trapped underneath Ortega’s will evaporate into the darkness, and she will be alone with her regrets.

               It hasn’t happened yet. Cyn is still here, still in her arms. She hasn’t run yet. She sighs as Julia runs her hands up her side, a deeper groan as she tangles her hand in her wild curls, pulls her closer, kisses her until they’re both breathless.

               It’s thrilling how affected she is, confirmation that the attraction wasn’t one sided like Julia sometimes feared. If the needy sounds spilling out of her mouth are any indication, she wants this badly, and maybe she needed the dark, and why hadn’t Julia thought of that earlier? Should have guessed. Should have guessed from the long layers, even in the worst of the summer heat.  

               Hard to think of that now over the thrill of feeling skin against skin. She’s so warm, tension bleeding away as Julia works her way down her body.

               Sloppy open-mouthed kisses along the edge of her collar bone, letting her free hand explore, slowly trailing down.

               A moan escaping Cyn as Julia’s hand cups her breast, running her thumb over the pebbling nipple. Her own hardening in response, at the way Cyn’s hips jerk forward against her thigh. They’ve only just begun and Cyn is already desperate for friction.

               It’s hard for Julia to hold back, wanting to let her hand delve down between Cyn’s legs, make her cum again and again. There will be time for that. Needs to make this last, she’s been waiting too long for this.

               Wishes she could see her face, could watch her eyes roll back, lashes fluttering against her cheeks. It’s easy to pull up a decade’s worth of dreams and fantasies, to imagine reactions to the soundtrack of whimpers and sighs escaping Cyn. It’s enough for now. More than enough.

               She hadn’t dared to hope to get this far. Plotted and planned, yes, but hope was something Ortega had lost a long time ago. The same day she lost Cynthia.

               Put that thought away. So many other things to focus on, like the expanse of Cyn’s bared torso trembling under her hands. It’s strange without sight, having to navigate by feel. Her senses heightened, trying to make up for the loss, trying to fill in the gaps. Is this how Cyn feels around her, missing that extra piece of input, all the other senses scrambling trying to make sense?

               The rough textures on her soft skin. Reading scars like braille under her fingertips, so many memories. There are words she doesn’t recognize, vocabulary she hasn’t learned yet. Burns and cuts and the puckering of poorly stitched skin.

                Each touch creating new questions which her mind is quick to supply answers for. Answers she doesn’t like, but that fit too easily to be ignored. Too many similarities for it all to be coincidence, telepathy too rare a gift.  She won’t complete the thought. Won’t let her self say the words because that will make it real, because that will mean she has to act.

               For now, she can pretend. For now, she can ignore the little voice in the back of her mind and focus on Cyn.

               Focusing on mapping out her contours, the sensitive patch of skin on her right side, the small divot on her left arm from a stab wound. Julia’s hand sliding down the arm towards Cyn’s wrist.  Under her fingers, she can feel scars. Ones she’d guessed might be there, but hadn’t wanted to look. Hadn’t wanted to have it confirmed. As if she could ignore Cyn’s hollow stare or the way she wrapped her arms around herself. As if she might break apart at any second, only willpower and stubbornness keeping her together.

                Did Heartbreak ever end? Did they ever really leave that room? Or is she still there trying to fight the gun away? Needing to save her, needing her to want to be saved. To stay. Not to leave. Juia can’t lose her. Can’t lose this.

               Not when Cyn has finally let her in. Not fully, and maybe that’s a fever dream, but more than she ever did before.        

               Julia presses her lips down on the scars, again and again, each touch of her lips an apology. For not being quick enough, for not being there, for not knowing what was waiting for Cyn on the other side of that window.

               Maybe the dark is better. Cynthia can’t see her face; Julia doesn’t have to try and hide; doesn’t have to try and pretend she isn’t gutted.

               She can’t lose her again. Can’t have her slip through her fingers, Julia wouldn’t survive it a second time. Wouldn’t want to. Maybe she can understand that ridge of scars a little better.  

               Cyn tries to pull her hand away as Julia trails kisses over her wrist, but Julia won’t let her. Not yet. She needs to do this, as if her lips have any ability to heal, but she can’t find the words, actions are all she has. A broken sob from Cyn cracks Julia open all over again.

               One final kiss, this time to the palm of her hand and Julia releases her. She expects it, but it still stings when she pulls her hand back, out of reach and lost in the darkness around them.

               “I love you,” Julia tells her because she doesn’t know what else to say, knows it isn’t enough, knows Cyn doesn’t believe her, but she hasn’t run so that has to count for something.

               She’s still here in her bed, still letting her touch her.

               Kisses that taste too much of unsaid things. Of lies and secrets and pain.

               Julia wants to stay like this forever. Cyn’s head resting on her chest, hands and legs intertwined, the slide of skin against each other.

               Sleep pulling at her corners, no reason to fight to keep her eyes open in the darkness. Safe, Cyn is safe in her arms.

               Wants to protest when Cyn starts to move, to shift away, pull her back and never let her leave. Use her hands and mouth and convince her to stay, just a little while longer. Julia isn’t ready to let the moment go, not ready to watch her pull away like she always does.

               Too soon she is moving away. Too soon she is slipping out of Julia’s hands, fumbling for her clothing in the darkness. Each layer being replaced, each wall being rebuilt, distance reestablished.

               Julia wants to reach out to grab her hand, pull her back into the bed with a laugh, not let her leave until morning, or ever. Never sounds good right about now.

               “You can turn the light on now,” her voice is hushed in the stillness of the bedroom.

               It’s never easy to watch Cyn walk away, to let her leave. Julia is all too aware that it could be the last time.  

               At least she isn’t running out the door like she’d done so many times before. Julia would rather drive her home, would rather she never leave, but she makes herself be content with watching her walk down the hall from her doorway.

               Cyn turns before descending, and she never used to do that before, turns with an intensity in her gaze and a small smile on her lips. It’s not the words she hasn’t returned yet, but Julia will take it. Will lock in away in her mind in the place where she has begun to let her hopes grow.

fhr taglist: @lord-king-saint @roxaroux @lilyoffandoms @plotbunny-bundle @stealthbaguette

[transdemigod]

Cutting Yourself Off from the Entities: A Comprehensive Guide

I am once again overanalyzing the Magnus Archives for fun. This topic is super interesting to me, and I haven’t seen it explored as much as other theories, so here we go.

So, you’ve pledged yourself to one of the Dread Powers, but decided that you’ve had enough of terrorizing others. Not to worry, there is a way out. Melanie King did it and lived all the way to the end of the series!

Here is the summary, though I’m sure a full explanation will be more satisfying:

To escape the Buried, lose yourself to the emptiness. To escape the Corruption, kill what loves you. To escape the Dark, give yourself to the sunlight. To escape the Desolation, choose kindness. To escape the End, cut yourself off from dreams. To escape the Eye, blind yourself. To escape the Flesh, give up control of your body. To escape the Hunt, tear out your teeth and claws. To escape the Lonely, bind yourself to others. To escape the Slaughter, remove your emotions. To escape the Spiral, destroy your voice. To escape the Stranger, make yourself known. To escape the Vast, trap yourself in a small place. To escape the Web, give up your autonomy.

The rest is under the cut. Let me know if you have any ideas that you think I missed, I would love to discuss theories.

We know for sure that the way to escape the Eye is to gouge your own eyes out. The other entities have less information, but we get a few clues here and there. In the season 4 Q&A, Jonny and Alex joke about leaving the service of the Stranger by running naked through the streets. They also mention that the Desolation can be left by an act of true altruism. With these details, as well as other details in the rest of the canon, we can make a list of criteria that must be satisfied for an act that will cut someone off from each of the 14 Entities.

Firstly, it isn’t enough to just stop feeding your god. Daisy and Jon both tried to abstain and ended up wasting away, and it is implied that they would have died if they had continued. Dying is certainly one possible way to escape the service of a Fear, but we’re going for living out the rest of your natural life here.

Secondly, there has to be some sacrifice made that relates to the specific power. This is where the Desolation’s explanation kind of falls apart; doing one good act doesn’t stop you from just continuing to be destructive, so the act must also include giving up the thing that ties you to your Entity. In the Stranger’s case, one could argue that exposing yourself does count as giving up your anonymity, and there are several Stranger avatars that seem to thrive on being unknown. My theory is that each Entity has a draw of some kind, a power that it gives its followers, which you would have to completely give up if you are to leave it for good. Jon mentioned that the blinding has to be permanent, so I’m assuming this applies to the others as well. Basically, the avatar who wishes to leave must give up something that one who does not wish to leave would never want to.

Third, the change can be physical or symbolic. Obviously blinding yourself is a very physical change, while committing acts of altruism or making yourself known are less so. Some of the Entities will have pretty clear parts of the body that connect you to the power, others will need a bit more of an explanation. In special cases where a person gets their power from an artifact or a Leitner, destroying the thing would probably be enough to cut them off from that power. And of course, if you are as lucky as Georgie Barker and manage to completely get rid of your fear, that would probably be enough to cut you off from them as well.

So, here are my explanations for what you would have to do to cut yourself off from each of the 14. I’m basing it on examples we get in the series, the few rules I have decided to set, and what would seem thematically or symbolically appropriate. Realistically, each individual would have their own personal journey and each avatar is different, but it’s more fun this way.

The Buried- The draw of the Buried is a little difficult to narrow down, we’ve heard about restfulness, the comfort of enclosed spaces, the desire to be a part of the earth, etc. The thing Buried avatars seem to dislike the most is wide open spaces, though I don’t know how that would translate to something you can change about yourself. How would a person cut themselves off from the earth? You could move to a place that is very open, but you could also just leave. I’m not sure if there is a way a person could give up the concept of space, so I’m probably going to have this same problem when I get to the Vast. Probably the only thing you could give up that makes sense is the type of space the Buried is tied to, so you’d have to keep away from enclosed spaces. However you’re supposed to do that, I have no idea. This one is just going to have to be a less satisfying answer, unless I find another idea later.

To escape the Buried, lose yourself to the emptiness.

The Corruption- Most people who get into the Corruption get filled with bugs, and we know from Jane that it is appealing because you have a sense of belonging and purpose. The Corruption focuses a lot on toxic love, and I think communities specifically because the things we think of as infections are multitudinous: insect hives, bacteria, fungal colonies, etc. Even in the case of that one guy with the beetle wife, it was implied that there would soon be many more beetles. So, I think to stop being fed by the Corruption, you have to get rid of the infection in whatever form it takes. The one woman in the statement about the cult ended up leaving, but she wasn’t a full avatar, so I think that would require a bit more drastic action. If Jane had wanted to leave, she would probably have had to kill every worm inside of her. Knowing what we know about her, she would never want to do that, but she also had no regrets about becoming the Hive. Someone like John Amherst would have to get rid of all the diseases inside of him, so it might be as simple as a hospital visit and getting pumped full of antibiotics. If you got hollowed out by bugs, you might have to fill in the space somehow to be able to move, but I’m sure you could find a way. Maybe some help from the Flesh? It does seems to be in opposition to the Corruption in many ways, so that would work thematically.

To escape the Corruption, kill what loves you.

The Dark- Another abstract one. What’s the opposite of blinding yourself? The Dark, aside from the literal definition, includes things like weird science and unknowable things that lurk in the dark. Seeking knowledge would be a good opposite to darkness, but that’s not making a sacrifice or a permanent change. It’s not very clear what avatars of the Dark would hate to lose. Manuela Dominguez describes hating the light, how traditional divinity and knowledge are unnatural as opposed to the dark state of the world. This might be another location based one. Apparently, the sunniest places in the world are in northern Africa and the southwest parts of America, so moving there might do it. There isn’t an easy permanent change to make, but committing yourself to being in the sunlight as much as possible would probably work. Change your sleep schedule, move somewhere sunny, just avoid the dark in general. Maybe even start worshipping the sun; that would be in opposition to the cult following the Dark has.

To escape the Dark, give yourself to the sunlight.

The Desolation- We know it’s an act of altruism. I think it might need some adjusting, though, to make it more of a sacrifice by the person who serves the Desolation. This fear is all about sacrifice and loss, so it’s a bit tricky to think of something a Desolation avatar could give up when they’ve already committed to giving up everything. Well, everything except themselves. Many avatars, like Jude Perry, have shown themselves to be selfish, but I don’t think even they would be opposed to going out in a blaze of glory. No, the hardest thing for them would be to settle down and live a prosperous life. This one probably would have to be continuous effort instead of one grand sacrifice. It doesn’t fit with the others, but it does fit the theme of the Desolation. Yeah, I’ve just gone in a big circle. Altruism does make the most sense. Just make sure that selfless gesture counts. It’s not a real choice if you don’t mean it. I guess that would be really difficult if you’re used to burning everything around you, so maybe it’s more of a sacrifice than I thought.

To escape the Desolation, choose kindness.

The End- We actually already have a canon answer for this one: lobotomize yourself. Adelard Dekker found an End avatar that was killing people with carbon monoxide through their dreams, and he stopped him by cutting through his pre-frontal cortex- the part of the brain that lets you dream. It’s implied that this didn’t completely work, but I think the reason for that is that the avatar was not the one to make the choice. It’s emphasized again and again that serving the fears is all about personal choice, so it makes sense that any attempt to cut someone off wouldn’t take if the person hasn’t decided to give up their connection. The End is associated with dreams in most appearances, so I believe that a person who chooses not to dream would no longer be bound to it. Oliver Banks could see those whose deaths were coming in his dreams, which directly led to him becoming an avatar, so if he had decided to stop dreaming, that would be it. This procedure might be a bit difficult, I can’t imagine performing your own lobotomy would go very well, but I’m sure getting someone else to do it would count if you were the one to make the decision. Of course, Terminus would still have you in the end, but that will happen no matter what you do.

To escape the End, cut yourself off from dreams.

The Eye- This one is already answered. The draw of the Eye is the power to watch, so you have to give that ability up. Simple, straightforward, and definitely fits the theme.

To escape the Eye, blind yourself.

The Flesh- Oh boy, this is a weird one. We have dysphoria, consumption, body horror, I can’t say this one sounds very appealing. But it must be, or else it wouldn’t have people serving it. A lot of the draw to serve the fears could be interpreted as dishing out what you can’t take. You don’t have to be afraid of being watched if you do the watching, you don’t have to fear harm if you harm them first. Maybe the appeal of Flesh is making others share that fear that you are nothing but meat. I don’t think it’s really possible for people to give up their corporeal form, unless it’s metaphorical but I have no idea what that could mean. I think those who serve the Flesh thrive on being “more” than others. More body parts, more mass in general. You could go on a diet or become a vegetarian, which I think the writers may have joked about once? I want a more concrete solution, though. Diets are easy to break. You can’t fully give up food without dying, so I guess you could give up the control of food. Giving up your sense of taste would be interesting, but I’m going to keep it more general. No easy answer for this one either.

To escape the Flesh, give up control of your body.

The Hunt- People are drawn to the Hunt by that deep, primal desire to chase and attack. Humans have both predator and prey instincts inside of us, so you would have to completely leave the predator behind to escape the Hunt. I think a good way to do this would be the get rid of your teeth, or nails, whichever you use to cause harm. Daisy was able to temporarily leave behind her power in the Buried, but as soon as she got out, she started starving. I think this is a good argument that you could partially cut off your power by using a power that opposes it in some way, but you would have to give up a part of yourself to make it stick. As soon as she had the freedom and ability to hunt again, that was when the urge came back, and she eventually succumbed to it. Getting rid of the parts of your body that do harm wouldn’t completely stop you if you were dedicated enough, but it’s the choice to do so that matters. This one is a bit more of a symbolic choice, and you could probably do something else to your body that would prevent it from hunting, but I am going with the cooler option.

To escape the Hunt, tear out your teeth and claws.

The Lonely- Probably all you have to do to escape the Lonely is just…be around other people. I’m sure this is easier said than done, but there are lots of ways to commit to other humans. Get married, join a club, make a blood pact and permanently bind yourself to another human. The possibilities are endless! This one, I think more than the others, would require a bit more of a continued effort. I know that the whole point is to make one drastic, permanent change, but the Lonely feels like something that’s easy to relapse into. Maybe it’s the depression metaphor, I don’t know, but I don’t think this one has as easy a solution as the others. It’s hard work forcing yourself to stay connected to others, and it’s something most people in real life struggle with. Giving up any of these powers is a difficult choice, which is the whole point. Life is hard, and we have to make tough decisions. Anyway, I’m okay letting this one be a bit more abstract.

To escape the Lonely, bind yourself to others.

The Slaughter- This one is very similar to the Hunt in terms of actions, so I think the solution might be similar as well. Destroying your weapon would fit well, but it is just way too easy to pick up something else and continue hacking and slashing away. To give up violence entirely, you might have to destroy a significant part of your body. For the Slaughter, I think we should go with a less physical act. The opposite of violence is healing, so maybe become a doctor? You would have to really commit to helping others instead of hurting them, and that is too easy to go back on. I think the sacrifice made here would have to be emotion. Anger and the desire to hurt would go away if you couldn’t feel anymore. I don’t know how you would do this, except through drugs, but that isn’t permanent. There is probably a part of the brain you could destroy that causes emotion. It’s not the same as the prefrontal cortex, which we destroyed back in the End section, so at least it’s not the same solution twice. Honestly, the drugs could work if you did them long term, it’s about the choice anyway. However you do it:

To escape the Slaughter, remove your emotions.

The Spiral- The draw of the Spiral is the power to lie and deceive. There are many ways to do this, and there are probably just as many ways to stop yourself from doing it. However, there is one way that I think fits very well and is absolutely a permanent change: destroy your voice. This is actually the first one I thought of because even though it’s not technically the only way to stop yourself from lying, it fits very well thematically. Michael as the Distortion calls itself the Throat of Delusion Incarnate, so what better way to break yourself off from the same power then by tearing out your throat? It’s not perfect, but I like it so much that I’m going to pick it. I don’t know how one would go about destroying one’s voice, except with very careful surgery. Or screaming for a very long time.

To escape the Spiral, destroy your voice.

The Stranger- We got our answer to this one in the Q&A. Run naked through the streets, and make sure to engage with everyone who talks to you so that you can’t hide. Utterly terrifying. It makes perfect sense though; we heard from the Not!Them that beings of the Stranger hate losing their anonymity. Whether by switching skins, tricking the mind, or looking so generic that no one can remember your face, being known is antithetical to the Stranger. There are probably other ways to go about losing your anonymity then running around naked. You could get up on a stage somewhere and pour your heart out, or publish an autobiography. Basically anything the Eye would like. As long as you are putting yourself out there in a way that you can’t take back, you should be able to successfully cut yourself off from that uncanny fear.

To escape the Stranger, make yourself known.

The Vast- This one might actually be easier than the Buried, because it’s not purely spatial. It includes things like longevity, our insignificance in the face of a massive universe, and large scary things in general. A Vast avatar would hate to be enclosed, but they would also hate to be made responsible. They enjoy making others afraid of their insignificance, but what if they were important to the universe? What if the world was actually very small, and they fit neatly into it instead of being lost? There’s a lot of different ways to go here, so narrowing down one sacrifice might not be the best answer. I can’t really think of any one action that makes a person feel as though the world is small and trapping them. Giving themselves to the Buried would, probably. A direct contrast is the easiest answer.

To escape the Vast, trap yourself in a small place.

The Web- Avatars of the Web are manipulators, through and through. There are so many ways to manipulate a person that no one action could prevent you from doing that, so this one would likely vary a lot between individuals. That movie director who had people puppet him in his own house comes to mind, I think giving up your freedom like that is a good way to do it. Being paralyzed wouldn’t stop you if you used your voice to control others, and giving up both would suck, but if that’s what you need to do, then I guess it’s your choice to make. Maybe all you would need to do is let someone else tell you what to do, and fully trust them. That would be difficult, coming from the Web where everything is tied together and you know how easy it is to manipulate you.

To escape the Web, give up your autonomy.

[phoenixyfriend]

Re; Ahsoka and Quinlan being the same age, now I'm picturing Ahsoka, Quinlan, and Rex eventually ending up in a weird sorta thruple where Quinlan comes in and out of the relationship but the door is kinda always open for him? And Rex spends a lot of mornings eyeing the tangle of orange and brown skin on the other side of the bed like he has no idea how he ended up here but he's (mostly) okay with that tbh

Context: Commander Buir in chronological order

YES okay so this is wild to me that people are invested in this but like half the time-travel fics with Ahsoka in the same age-group as Quinlan have me wondering if I should ship them. Let me just. Ho shit.

So, okay, I've explored a lot of possible dynamics but there's something really engaging about how Quinlan, trained as a Shadow before the Sith came back, could react to a War Padawan. Ahsoka isn't really infiltration material yet, she's very much a frontline fighter, but she's got a lot more experience with a kind of consistent dark atmosphere that most Jedi don't. They get exposed to plenty of dark stuff, sure, but not the kind of all-encompassing "this is my life for the last two years" thing that is usually reserved for the long-term field agents like Shadows and Watchmen.

The War Padawans, for all that they were supposed to be just normal Jedi Padawans, were living in the kind of consistently negative environment that's normally experienced by those Knighted Sentinels.

So Ahsoka, while still generally pretty young in these AUs, is a very odd kind of person to be around, because she's spunky and vivacious and snippy and affectionate and snarky and knows how to break every bone in your body from harrowing experience as the only thing standing between death and thousands of brothers.

And Quinlan, I imagine, really likes that about her. She gets it, and she's still an energetic and loving and trying to do her best to be a good person despite everything. He gravitates towards her and she... well, she's not blind. She can tell he's interested. And she's not upset about that.

ANYWAY, ONTO REX

So, Rex is... technically twelve. He hasn't exactly got a whole lot of experience with romance. He is also, up until the point of time-travel, legal property of the Senate and the Jedi Order, which means that Ahsoka, or at least her community, owns him. He was indoctrinated to serve her and that community. She also outranks him, for all that she usually lets him take the lead in the field due to experience. He's older than her physically and maturity-wise, but she's also had a grow-up-faster-than-you-should adolescence, and she has superpowers.

What I'm saying is, the power dynamic is fucked up.

(Unironically I spent hours last night realizing that it balances out a lot more than C*dywan does, which I'm censoring because by god do I not want discourse on this post. I like both ships, and don't want to argue about what's the most problematic. It's Star Wars. The only unproblematic ships are Bail/Breha and Owen/Beru.)

Here's the thing, though, because the main thing people seem to argue here is the age/maturity difference as a problem area:

The age difference in actual time is four years, which is smaller than the two main ships of the franchise (Han/Leia and Padme/Anakin, to be clear). The age difference in maturity is ??? We'll say that the clones started aging normally after they hit twenty, so the age difference in maturity is six years... which is still normal for SW ships.

(This is why I don't have any issues with the ship in a post-O66 context, once they've had a few years to move past the traumas and whatnot. The age stuff all evens out with time, they're a good team, and neither was grooming the other. It's not objectively any more problematic than most SW ships at that point, and I'm okay with that. They deserve to be happy if they want.)

But they get yanked away from all that structure of who owns what, who reports where, who has which rank, who's legally a person in the eyes of the Republic when they end up on Dagobah. Once they've registered when they are, the only remaining complications are:

He grew up in a cultlike environment and was indoctrinated to serve her (but has been replacing that indoctrination with genuine respect and affection for her as a person because they've worked together for two years).

She has superpowers (contextually not a big problem: we see several Force-Sensitive/Non-Sensitive ships that don't consider those powers a complicating element)

He's several years younger than her (canonically less of an issue than it could be: Cut got married and has kids) and has next to no experience with what a normal romance looks like except for hanging out on the edges of whatever the fuck his General has going on with the Senator

She's several years less mature than he is (...something of an issue)

So a lot of this is mostly okay. She feels weird about the fact that she's got more knowledge of romance and all that it entails. He feels weird about the fact that, despite her being older, he looks at her and sees someone that's still a little young, not quite a shiny. Except she is older than him, and he's seen her behead four people in a single move, and they've saved each other's lives more times than either of them can count anymore. He respects her, and the fact that she's babyfaced doesn't change the fact that, in terms of who they are as people and warriors, they're on a level playing field.

She still looks at him and mourns his lost childhood, and he still looks at her and takes a moment to see past the too-big eyes and adolescent proportions.

But they really, really care about each other, and maybe part of them is starting to recognize that there's a bit of a crush before they time-travel, but neither one wants to make a move. There's a lot of baggage on both sides, a lot of "but they're a child" and "but they're (literally vs functionally) below me in the chain of command, I can't take advantage of that" and all that fun stuff. It's the kind of situation where two people circle each other for ages without making a move, because actually making that move is terrifying on account of not knowing whether the other party knows they can say no, on top of the usual "what if it ruins our friendship?" thing.

What happens on Dagobah, though... is very tropey. They're sort of stranded until Ahsoka can fix the ship, and that takes time. The area is also very heavy with the Force, dense and heady with the energy it carries, and it's... actually really not great for Ahsoka. She keeps feeling like she's back on Mortis, and has nightmares from the trigger there, but also keeps hallucinating because she wasn't ready for the thickness of the energy (like Yoda) or still new enough to the Force that she couldn't feel how dense it all was (like Luke). She can't work on the engines as constantly as she'd like to get them out of there, and while Rex is a competent mechanic, he's not as skilled with it as the girl who jumped headfirst into lessons with Anakin.

Rex spends a lot of time holding Ahsoka and wiping her brow with a wet cloth while she's feverish and out of it. Yes we're going full Florence Nightingale romance here, let me have my fun.

They get the communications relay working earlier than the engine, find out the year is wrong, panic a bit. All is well. (It's not, but they're holding it together for now.)

Ahsoka keeps working on the engine when she's lucid. Rex keeps hunting up game and edible plants for them while she does. They cuddle at night, because it's not cold but it is empty of the people they care about, and they kind of want that reassurance of someone they trust and love at their back.

(Morai visits.)

(Daughter shows up in the nightmares, tells Ahsoka that age will not come for her beloved until the time is natural for it. The phrasing is dumb but she does manage to convey that the accelerated aging is no longer an issue, if it even was after they hit adulthood. Ahsoka is relieved.)

And, you know, emotions happen. She takes his hand while they're leaning up against each other. He kisses her forehead while she's having a bad spell. They cook together and tell jokes to keep sane and spar. They hug each other through nightmares and panic attacks. There is much blushing. There is much cuddling.

Once, they kiss.

They break apart, flushing and stammering and being very awkward about the whole thing, and make excuses to leave and panic about the fact that they!! Kissed!!!!!

A couple hours later they find each other again, and have a long and complicated discussion about why they like each other (war makes bedfellows, there's trust and affection and all that fun stuff) and why they're hesitant (age stuff, maturity stuff, prior indoctrination), and make the decision to take it slow. They cuddle, and kiss, and blush a lot because both of them are basically just dumb teens having their first real relationship.

They eventually leave the planet, make it to Coruscant, etc. It takes a bit for anyone except Obi-Wan to realize that something's changed between them. Most people didn't know them before, and Anakin's observation skills are currently at a very low ebb. But they sit together and hold hands, and flirt when they spar, and once or twice people find them kissing (both standard and Keldabe) in a corner while holding hands and then just smiling at each other like loons.

They end up rooming together because nobody has the heart to separate them after hearing about all the war stuff. Like yes attachment's bad, but these two do seem to understand loss of loved ones and recognize that they could lose each other at any time and death is natural and they won't lose their entire shit about it, and if even General Kenobi is anxious as hell about being separated from the people he fought side-by-side with for two years, then maybe it's just... really normal for those two to want each other's company, and everyone can just turn a blind eye to the romance happening.

They share a bed, but they only ever sleep in it. Like, there's some goodnight kisses and cuddles, but everything is very G-rated until they've had time to settle into being true equals instead of just the "well, I guess the power dynamics balance out? Maybe?" of before.

And just... yeah. Rex does not believe that he's in this good of a position whenever he has the time to think about it. He's got a girlfriend! A really pretty, smart, strong, skilled one! Who thinks he's a cool dude! How the fuck did a clone like him manage that? He wasn't even legally a person a year ago, how did he end up in bed with one of the most amazing people he's ever met? He spends multiple nights just staring at her while he tries to fall asleep, asking himself how he got here and just like... marveling at her. She's worth marveling at. He's in love and she's amazing and he has no idea how to handle it at all.

...yeah no I have a lot of feelings now.

[valjeans]

favourite earl carpenter club moments of 2021:

- ‘do y’all think earl carpenter and cameron blakely have ever explored each other’s bodies?’

- cameron blakely and earl carpenter are both missing from the staged concert. maybe they’re just having to isolate or maybe they’ve been arrested for brawling on a rooftop on the Isle of Wight.

- @mariussansmerci being convinced there was a mathematical formula to bradley jaden’s holiday dates (there was not).

- ‘submissive and breedable’

- earl carpenter being cast as claquesous in the les mis uk tour (still don’t believe this is real tbh)

- the discussion on the moral implications of trying to find him on tinder.

- earl’s suspiciously straight teeth.

- the intimacy of the bishop having his feet out.

- just relentlessly cyber bullying him, safe in the knowledge that he will never see these horrible things.

[chudleycanonficfest]

the hippogriffs and the flobberworms

Day 23, Post #2 by @accio-broom

Title: the hippogriffs and the flobberworms Author/Artist: accio-broom Pairing: Arthur & Ron Weasley (platonic) Prompt: slice of life Rating: T Trigger Warning(s) (if any): Mentions of sex lives and STDs, very cringe-worthy.

Arthur whistles as he roams the ground floor of the Burrow, searching for his youngest son. Ron’s best friend Hermione is due to arrive any day, ready to spend the latter part of the summer holiday with the Weasleys, but there are some things Arthur needs to speak to Ronald about before Miss Granger joins them.

He’s probably left this conversation a little late—Ron turned fourteen a few months ago—but this is the first time the youngest has shown any interest in the opposite sex. With the rather exciting activities coming up for their fourth school year, including a ball, it’s only inevitable that different feelings will start to stir.

Chuckling, Arthur reminisces about the conversations with his other sons. Bill, always cool as a frost salamander, kept his focus on his old Dad without any outward discomfort, even though Arthur made a complete mess as he told Bill about the facts of life. All of Arthur’s words came out in a massive jumble—he couldn’t even use the correct terms for various body parts and used all the wrong euphemisms. Arthur had been trying so hard to be a cool dad that he got himself far too worked up to make any sense. 

His second son, Charlie, was dismissive and didn’t seem interested in the mechanics of making love, which was disappointing given the amount of time Arthur had spent rehearsing, determined to get it right that time. Percy approached the conversation with logic and appropriate questions, discussing it as he would an important Ministry policy before thanking his dad then leaving the room without a backwards glance. In stark contrast, the twins cracked inappropriate jokes and turned the tables on Arthur, making him feel awkward as innuendo after innuendo spewed from their mouths.

Ron will be Arthur’s last chance to do “the talk”. Molly is responsible for dealing with Ginny, and they’ve probably already started. He doesn’t baulk at the female aspect of puberty, having lived with a woman for almost twenty-five years, he’s well versed in the potions and muggle contraptions they need to use, but he thought it only fair that Molly gets a go of this, too. It’s one of the essential parts of being a parent, after all. 

Although Arthur is well-seasoned in explaining the facts of life without going overboard with the detail or using cringe-worthy phrases now (although the twins did teach him a few new idioms), he has decided to step away from the ‘cool’ dad persona and go full-on over the top this time. 

He could make this easy for Ron, but why would Arthur want to spoil his own fun?

A flash of red hair leaving the broom shed catches his attention out of the kitchen window, and Arthur’s grin widens. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, but there is a light breeze, keeping the air fresh and cool. It’s the sort of day that would lead to him fishing in the lake at the bottom of the garden, but he has a task at hand that he needs to deal with first. 

Maybe there’ll be time for him to get his rod out later.

Pouring two glasses of lemonade from the jug Molly has left on the side, Arthur uses a cooling charm on them then steps out from the backdoor and onto the patio. 

“Ron,” he calls, smiling as his son turns his head around faster than a niffler chasing gold, looking like Arthur has caught Ron doing something that he shouldn’t. Probably skiving from the long list of chores Molly gave him this morning. “Come up and have a chat with your old Dad.”

Arthur eases himself into the bench under the wisteria with a groan. Although he isn’t all that old, having seven children and living through a war takes its toll on a guy’s body. Now, every joint clicks and complains every time he moves. Forget getting somewhere in a hurry; slow and steady is now the way to go.

Ron settles in the seat next to him. 

“What’s up, Dad?” he asks, smiling at Arthur. He takes the offered drink, gulping almost half of it in one go before letting out a loud, satisfied sigh.

“Hermione is coming to stay with us before we go to the World Cup, I hear? But not Harry?”

Ears turning pink, Ron turns his head to look out at the garden. “Y-yeah. We’re going to collect Harry in a few days, remember?”

“Oh, yes. I’m very excited to be visiting the Muggles. Will they tell me about eckeltricity? Should I take my battery collection?”

Ron laughs. “I don’t think the Dursleys will be too impressed with batteries, Dad. They use them every day.”

“Shame.” Arthur sighs, then turns his eyes to gaze the same way as Ron’s. “So, Hermione is a girl.”

“Er, yes, I guess so.”

“A girl you’re attracted to?” Arthur glances at Ron, whose face has turned as white as a ghost.

Ron reacts with a knee-jerk response, but the look on his face indicates that he’s not telling the whole truth. “No!”

“Are you sure? You and her have gotten close lately. Mum and I like her.” Arthur waits a moment for Ron to take back his first response, then tuts when he stays quiet. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone you do like soon. Anyway, as you already know, she’ll be staying in Ginny’s room with your sister, and I’m sure you’re clear on the rules of the house. Your Mum does not want any sneaking around or late-night visits.”

Arthur doesn’t hold the same views as his wife. Sure, he doesn’t want the kids to be sleeping in each other’s beds, but he remembers the conversations he and his friends had during the early hours of the morning when he was their age. If the children wanted to get up to something, Arthur would rather it happen under their roof where they’re safe than have them take unnecessary risks. He and Molly were young once, too, although it feels like a lifetime ago now.

“I know, Dad.”

“Good. And so you know, if you ever find yourself feeling conflicted or wanting some advice on how to ask a lady out, you can always come to me. Because being a teenage lad is a very confusing time, and the magic will heighten this, as well as the fact that you live in proximity to some charming young women. You might not feel it right now, but you’re on the precipice of being a man. Your voice has started breaking. Sure, it’s a little later than the others, but I’m sure that’s nothing to worry about. Everyone develops at their own pace, after all. Pretty soon, you’ll have hairs sprouting all over the place, even in places you wouldn’t expect it. I can’t remember when all of this started happening for me, but it was around your age. And don’t get me started on the wet dreams…”

“Merlin,” Ron sighs, now squirming in his seat, trying to make himself as small as possible. When Arthur checks again, his youngest is looking into the depths of his glass as if considering whether he could drown himself in there.

“Sex is healthy, son, especially if it’s with someone that you admire and love, whether that be a girl or a boy, Your mum and I don’t mind as long as you’re happy. And if you find the right person, then it can be amazing.”

A low groan emits from Ron’s mouth as he pushes himself further down the bench, attempting to put some distance between him and Arthur. 

“Please stop talking,” he pleads with bright red cheeks.

“Having a good sex life is nothing to be ashamed of, let me tell you. The seven of you weren’t delivered by the hippogriffs, after all. Not that we only have sex to procreate. Having you kids out of the house has done wonders for our love life. 

“While we’re on the subject, if you can’t get a partner, then there’s nothing wrong with taking matters into your own hand. Masturbation is very beneficial, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s important to explore your own body and learn the kind of things you like so that you can recreate those moments with a partner. I can tell you some useful charms if you need them—ones for when you’re with someone, and others for when you’re alone. Of course, there are some spells that are vital for you to learn. Safety is sexy, and you don’t want any little accidents happening.”

Ron runs his hand over his face as if trying to erase his dismay. “Dad. Please stop. I know all of this already. Not that I wa-I mean, do that sort of stuff.” 

He crosses his legs with a gulp, and Arthur feels a rush of joy. He’s succeeded in making his youngest son feel as awkward as possible. You have to take delight in the smallest of moments, especially the older you get. 

“Who told you?”

“I have five brothers and live in a dorm with four other boys. Also, Flitwick taught us the contraceptive charm last year.” Ron is still focused on his glass, looking like he wants to be a million miles away.

“Oh, right. ”

An irrational surge of disappointment crashes over Arthur. He should have realised that kids are far more advanced and talk much more than they did in his day. He should have bit the bludger earlier and nabbed him last summer.

“Well,” Arthur continues anyway, determined to see this through, “contraceptive charms aren’t the only things you need to learn. You need to ensure you protect yourself from Sexually Transmitted Diseases, or STDs, as well. Some of these can make you a little itchy, but others can be dangerous. You should go and see Madam Pomfrey if you think you might have one. Of course, you could always get some muggle con-domes. Fantastic little invention they are. Rather than trying to remember a load of different spells while you’re in the heat of passion, you can whack on a rubber and get to it.”

He doesn’t allow Ron’s small squeak to put him off his speech, now he’s in full flow again. “Talking about getting to it. Consent is important. When you decide to take that step, or even before when you snog someone, you need to make sure they want to do it too. Every step of the way. If they say no, you stop right away, even if they said yes only a minute previously. You must understand that. Never force yourself on someone, especially if they are drunk or otherwise intoxicated. If they can’t say yes, it’s a no-go. Got it?”

“I-I d-do,” Ron stutters, his voice strained under the embarrassment of the situation. “C-Can I go now?”

“Yes, yes, of course. But don’t forget that I’m here if you need anything, son. Even if you think it might get you into trouble. And look after Hermione, even if your feelings for her are only platonic. I admire the way you, her and Harry have formed a little group. The three of you are good for each other.”

Arthur reclines on the bench and closes his eyes, letting out a sigh as the sun warms his face. There’s no point getting one’s wand in a knot over spilt potion. He still managed to get Ron squirming like a flobberworm, so it was mostly a successful mission.

The bench shifts as Ron rises to his feet. He finishes his drink with a gulp and sets the glass down on the floor before shuffling away.

“Dad?” a small voice asks.

When Arthur opens his eyes, he spots Ron towering over him. When did he get so lanky? Ron is going to be the tallest of the family, for sure. There’s a smile on his face, though he still can’t meet his Dad’s gaze.

“Yeah, Son?” Arthur asks, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Thanks for trying.”

Ron shrugs, then wanders back down the garden, his gangly frame hunched over. Arthur marvels at Ron’s response. You think you fully understand your children, and then they do something that knocks you off your broom. But Ron is a decent lad, and Arthur knows he will go far, like the rest of them.

With a happy sigh, he leans back and closes his eyes again. He’s done an okay job at this parenting thing. As long as none of them gets arrested or tries to break into Gringotts, he can die a happy man.

[purplebass]

Romantic Development in COI

I’ve seen a few posts going around about people not being fond or not believing in Lucie and Jesse’s relationship development in Chain of Iron, so I thought I’d make a post to discuss this. And I will use Jordelia’s development to make you understand how Blackdale has a complete opposite development but it does have it.

Jordelia have known each other since they were kids, so they have this connection. We glimpsed it through the Days Past chapters, and we know that they’ve always liked each other but never openly said it, mostly because they were kids and because of the effect of the gracelet on James. 

Blackdale met in 1897, and we witnessed their meeting on paper. Unlike the other two, they didn’t have a connection until later, when they met each other in 1903 again. That’s because Lucie was 10 at the time, and Jesse was a ghost who was aware kids may be able to see him, so he probably didn’t think too much of it - she would not be able to see him anymore in the future, so why bother? Perhaps he lingered in Lucie’s mind, considering she had a mini adventure the night she met him. In fact when they meet again in 1903, it is clear that neither of them has forgotten about each other. 

This is a matter of life and death, and of public and private.

James and Cordelia are both alive, which means that even if he was wearing the gracelet and denying his feelings for the woman he loves, that he would eventually acknowledge when the thing is off, which is what happens, but Cordelia is departing London so it has to be delayed. But they have time to make up and have a talk. Jesse is dead, and only Lucie can see him, which is a shock to Jesse himself, because he thought that no one could do that unless they were kids. Unlike Jordelia, they don’t have time, because he is fading. 

Jordelia is in a sham marriage, so they are a married couple publicly. We are all aware that they love each other and that the author is taking time to make them reveal their feelings openly, because they are the main couple of this series. This is why their development seems more of the slow burn type, with them dancing around their issues and never resolving them. There is time to explore, time for confrontations, for romantic moments between them. James and Cordelia would want to do things. But they don’t act on their desire because James respects Cordelia and doesn’t want to take advantage of the situation, and Cordelia has self-worth and she also doesn’t want to engage in those activities when she thinks James’ heart is pledged to someone else. When it happens, because it will, the both of them will have revealed their feelings for each other, thus “granting” each other permission to seal this marriage. There is a moment in COI, when Cordelia goes to Sona, where she’s afraid her mother is going to ask her whether she consumed the marriage. Which means that the thought is in her mind, because we know how she’s bothered by James, how she gets shy from his glances alone, and how she blushes when they are in “marital” situations. And he is aware too, of course. Cordelia still doesn’t have the guts to reveal her feelings for James, in order not to be hurt (bc she thinks he loves Grace). While James wasn’t able to confess his true feelings because of the gracelet effect on him. We know that without the gracelet, James would have likely confessed to Cordelia he loved her already, don’t we. And I’m sure he will, but so far they have kept a few things from each other, and there’s been quite a lot of miscommunication.

Blackdale is not married in the legal sense, but it’s like they are. Jesse giving her his locket was like an understanding of sorts. The events in COG last one week, and we see how in that span, Jesse changes from being wary of the Herondales to trusting them because he sees that they are not like his mother told him. He and Lucie spend four months seeing each other every night, discussing things, enjoying each other’s company. They bond on literature, on writing, on mental things, on the abstract. Their connection is more emotional, and it goes on a deeper level, because they fell for each other’s souls. Of course, I’m not denying that they also like the exterior, the body. We’ve had a few times where Lucie checks him out, sees things about him that she hadn’t noticed. And we discover that he also did the same. The way Lucie appears in his memories is different than the image she has of herself. We know that they appreciate each other’s appearance, but their connection goes beyond that. And it all fits with the fact that Jesse was a ghost. Incorporeal. Some would say fictional, since only Lucie and two other people could see him. But at the same time, a solid presence in Lucie’s life, when she didn’t go to other people to reveal her worries and feelings. Their relationship is private, in fact no one knows until the end and they don’t even know the extent of Lucie’s connection to Jesse (maybe only Cordelia got it), but they are more honest about their feelings and desires. Whenever they argued, they discussed things and made up, so there is no miscommunication here. 

We don’t see what happens during those months between COG and COI, but that is not the point. The point here is that while Jordelia is more of a public couple where everyone knows that they are together (even if they say it’s for show), no one knows about Blackdale, not even Grace. Grace doesn’t seem to be aware that her brother and Lucie formed strong a bond, she just thinks Lucie is interested in his cause. Which, by any means, she started being interested in not because of pity, but because she understood that she may have done something to help him because of her power. The affection they both feel developed later, as they started spending more time together. 

Where Jordelia have all of the time in the world (hence their development is slow because otherwise this wouldn’t be a trilogy), Blackdale doesn’t. This is why Jesse tells her that he is happy to spend time with her as if they were married, and asks her to kiss him. He only does it because Lucie reveals her feelings, otherwise I guess he wouldn’t have dared, and he said so himself. Lucie’s confession let him be open about the things he would love to experience before he completely disappears. It is like a bucket list. And Lucie indulges, because she also wants to do those things. What matters here is the quality of the moments, not quantity. 

[saltymiraculer]

Ceremonial Kisses (Part 1 of 3)

Part 2

So I decided to try my hand at the “Marinette, the princess of China” trope and see how I did! Tell me what you think?

Also, the first chapter is going to be fluffy, the second chapter’ll have a sprinkling of salt, and the third chapter will be a mix of piles and piles of salt and some fluff. Be warned!

.

“I’ve got a big, big, big announcement for you today, class!“ Bustier chirped, clapping her hands to get their attention. “China’s princess will be coronated in a week and a half, the day she turns 18, as many of you know, and one class from the school will be selected to travel to China and watch the ceremony. Guess which class it was?“

“Uhhh…Mme. Mendeleiev’s!“

“Ooh, M. D’Argencourt’s? They’ve wanted that trip for weeks!“

“No, class, it’s ours! In three days, we’ll board the plane to Asia and have a few days to sightsee and explore, then attend the coronation on the second-to-last day!“

“Wow! Why our class?“ Kim asked.

Marinette knew exactly why. Marc had told her that the entire school was sick of Lila’s lies and wanted to enjoy the coronation without her butting in in the middle of the assembly to tell a ‘story’ about herself.

But she couldn’t just say that.

“You know, I actually know the princess,“ Lila said, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the room. “But her identity is being kept a secret for now. That’s how we landed the trip!“

“Wow, Lila!“

“That’s amazing!“

“So cool of you.“

“They know that’s stupid, right?“ Alya stage-whispered, earning a glare from Lila’s new puppy–more commonly known as Kim. She shrugged. “I’m just tellin’ the truth!“

Alya, who was now her only other supporter next to Nino (and technically Adrien, but she’d discuss that later–it was very complicated), had decided to Google Lila’s name during a sleepover and found…some rather incriminating Facebook posts.

After that, she was 100% team Marinette and an amazing friend, along with Nino, who had decided that he needed a theme song. No one knew why.

But they loved him anyways!

So while Bustier was rattling off facts about Chinese emperors and kings and queens, Nino was showing them his latest idea to expose Lila.

“Okay,“ he started. “First, we go to China. Then we do our sightseeing and shit, and then. I did some research, and we can ask the princess questions if we’re with a national news channel. Alya’s blog counts. For real, we can talk to the princess of China. And we ask her if she knows Lila.“

“Brilliant plan, Nino. I wonder how the princess will react to a few teenagers in the middle of a crowd of famous people.“

Nino frowned. “The princess is only, like, 17. She’ll probably notice us, Als.”

“Oh, that reminds me, your birthday’s on the same day as the coronation, Marinette! Weird, isn’t it? That you and the princess have the same birthday?“ Alya asked, pulling out her phone and swiping through something.

“Huh, yeah. You’re right. Maybe we can invite her to my birthday party?“

“Ooh, the wiki page says she likes custard buns, and I’m not sure how they know that,“ Nino chuckled. “but make sure to stock up on those.“

“Noted,“ Marinette said drily as Bustier turned to them with a condemning look on her face. “Alya! I hope what you’re doing on that phone relates to the lesson!“

“China’s princess’s identity is being kept a secret because the last two were sent death threats, dangerous items, highly innapropriate items, and several other things that prompted them to not reveal the princess until it was necessary.“

“C-correct, Alya. Good job.“

“Nice!“ Marinette mouthed, high-fiving Alya, who flipped her phone around to reveal a website about the princess.

                                                           -🌸-

The final bell rang as several of the students cheered. One school day until the trip over, three more to go. Alya swung her bag over her shoulder and bumped Marinette’s elbow. “We goin’ to your place to hang out?”

“Yeah, my dad’s out anyways and mom closed the bakery for the afternoon. let’s go!“ Alya took Nino’s hand and walked the short distance to Marinette’s house. They entered and immediately felt something off.

Ah, there it was.

Sabine was leaning over the counter with a cup of very strong-smelling peppermint tea beside her. She was rubbing her temples and muttering to herself in rapid Mandarin.

“Maman? Are you alright?“ Marinette asked worriedly. Alya and Nino stood by the door–they had only seen her like this once before, when her cousin had been run over and killed.

“Yes, dear, everything’s okay, it’s just–there’s something I need to tell you.“

“Oh, no, did something happen to someone?“

“No, no, everyone’s just fine. I can’t not tell you without there being serious problems.“

“So what is it? What’s so important you had to close the bakery?“

“You’re the princess. China’s princess. The one nobody knows about.“

“I’m what?!“ Marinette screeched, grabbing at her hair. “I’m the heir to the throne of the most populated country in the world, and you waited until a week before the coronation to tell me?!“

“Holy shit.“ Alya and Nino said simultaneously. Sabine stared at them, likely just realizing they were there.

“Oh. They know now, too. Perfect, that’s just what we need, a reporter knowing who–“

“Maman! Alya wouldn’t tell a soul, I know she wouldn’t.“

Sabine turned to Alya. “I’m sorry, dear, I’m just stressed. With that trip to China in a few days and all that, we’ll have to close down the bakery for about a week.”

“And we never close down the bakery.“ Marinette finished, putting a steady hand on her mom’s shoulder. “But I know just the person to run it while we’re gone.“

As she was about to say who exactly would run the bakery, Nino backed into the door, wide-eyed.

“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. My best friend…holy shit.“

“Nino, I know this is a lot, but we’ll have to stay calm,“ Alya said, grabbing his hand. “So we don’t spill her secret. That’s top priority, all right? Don’t–tell–anyone.“

Nino sighed. “Sorry, babe. This…“ he turned to Marinette. “Do you have any cookies?“

Marinette grinned and led them into the kitchen. “Of course! Chocolate chunk or raspberry frosted?“

“Raspberry, all the way!“

“There’s the Nino I know!“

After a quick cookie interval, Marinette pushed her plate away and sighed. “Anyone up for an impromptu sleepover? You all left a bunch of your clothes here the last few times.”

“Marinette. If you know us, you will know our answers.“ Alya said solemnly.

“Hell yeah. Wanna go choose which terrible rom-com to watch this time?“

They ended up settling on The Kissing Booth, one of Marinette’s personal favorites (”To lighten the tension, you know?” Alya had said. “Although the tension in here probably weighs the same as an obese hippopotamus at this point.”) and made a bowl of caramel popcorn, with a tiny bag of sea-salt Skinny Pop for Nino.

“Sugar on popcorn is a crime, man. I ain’t touching that.“

“You’ve tried it once, Nino.“

“Yes, and I hated it. Is there anything else to be said?“

So they spent the next two hours in a blanket fort that was made almost entirely of throw pillows laughing over Elle and Noah and Lee being idiots, with a few highlights such as the iconic “Ninth grade skirt, eleventh grade body” scene, where Alya snorted and said “You know, Lila’s skipped so much school, might as well be ninth grade brain, eleventh grade work.”

“Too true,“ Nino agreed. “The other day, she called Chloe’s mom Aurora Bourgeois. That was a pretty major mess-up.”

“Shhh! Let’s just watch the movie!“ Marinette said, effectively quieting them down.

They watched the rest in silence with the usual laughs., ending up falling asleep halfway through the second movie, snuggled up on their respective couches. Marinette mother shook them awake the next morning, telling them to take showers and eat breakfast and get dressed and for god’s sake, Marinette, finish your homework.

“Crap, crap, crapcrapcrap! Nino, we’re going to be late if we don’t get ready fast!“ Alya shouted as Marinette ran up the stairs to change. “Can I use your shower, M?“

“Sure!“ was the muffled reply.

After about 10 minutes of running around and shoving waffles in their mouths, they grabbed their bags and ran off to school.

They burst through the door in the nick of time, the bell ringing just as they plunked down their things.

Bustier wasn’t there five minutes into the class, so they started talking.

“Marinette, you have to listen to Nino’s latest track, it’s–“ Just as she was about to describe Nino’s latest track, a bouncy-ball the size of a walrus snashed through the wall, nearly taking off Kim’s head.

There was a cackle from outside. “I am Gradack! You will all feel the same sorrow that I did!“

                                                          -🌸-

The fight was over relatively fast, and everything was calmed down and restored before their next class. Turns out Chat Noir didn’t show, so Marinette had to ask Alya for assistance.

In hindsight, she probably should have picked a better place to transform.

“Tikki, spots on!“ After she transformed, she was about to go to Fu to get one of the Miraculous, when she heard a strangled gasp.

“…shit.“

“My best friend is the princess of goddamn China and Ladybug? What the fuck?! Who are you? How did I not know? When did–“

“Alya, I know the feeling, but you can’t tell anyone. Got it?“

“Nino?“

“Well,“ Marinette paused to think. “Yeah, I guess. I trust him enough. Now, take this and transform!“ she tossed Alya the hexagonal box, and after a quick transformation, they ran off to defeat the saddened graduate of an akuma.

As she said, it was an easy fight.

They comforted the victim with four minutes (each) to spare, then ran back to the locker rooms to transform back.

                                                   Time Skip!

It was the morning of the flight to China, and she was ecstatic. Of course, she had to get up at 3:45 in the morning, but it was worth it–the flight took off at six in the morning, of course.

She could see the logic of wanting to arrive at 12:00, but she would’ve much preferred a red-eye.

Then she wouldn’t have had to stay up all night reading, because no way in hell would she just wake up at 3:45 in the morning.

The alarm would’ve had to go off for hours.

But back to the morning, she poured herself a sasquatch-sized mug of coffee, with about a gallon of cream and enough sugar to put an entire city of diabetics into shock, she started getting dressed.

Trudging around and haphazardly pulling out shirts, she finally decided on a simple red-and-orange flannel, a white t-shirt, and a pair of cropped jeans.

The she downed the rest of her coffee with an apathetic “Bottoms up!” and slapped her cheeks.

She grapped her suitcase and walked outside to where her mother was typing away on a laptop in the pitch-black night.

“Mom, why are you up?“

“Because I have to drive you to the airport, that’s why. And no alarm would be able to wake me up at 3 in the morning.“

“Preach. I’m ready to go, so can we get in the car now?“

After driving to the airport and saying goodbye to her mom, she walked into the airport and immediately saw the group of sleepy teens (and a certain disheveled teacher) leaning on their suitcases, trying not to fall asleep.

Nino and Marinette were already there, their eyelids drooping. The only person who looked properly awake was Sabrina, who was–inevitably–holding a saucer out to Chloé, who was sipping from a teacup.

Alya rolled her eyes and walked over to Marinette and Nino. “Who’re we missing?”

“Kim and Rose. They’re carpooling, so they should be here any minute.“

Just as Marinette had said, a few seconds later, Rose and Kim walked into the airport. Kim was still wearing pajama pants.

                                           Another Time Skip!

“Marinette.“ Alya groaned, shaking Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette, wake up, we’re here.“

Marinette’s eyes fluttered open. “No. Five more minutes.”

“Everyone else is already off the plane!“

“Shit. Let’s go!“ Marinette said, jumping up, grabbing her purse (which she had recently learned concealed a kwami) and scrambling out the door.

Alya picked up the mini-backpack she now carried (which held Trixx, cookies, and some grape jelly) and followed her out the door.

Almost as soon as they stepped off the plane, they heard a loud wail.

“Great. She’s back on her bullshit.“

“I just can’t believe she would steal that, Lila! It’s so unlike her!“

“M-maybe, but there’s p-proof! Look!“

“Oh, great, what did we do this time?“ Alya asked exasperatedly. They watched as Lila held out the remains of–from what they could see from a meter away–a sketch of an orange mermaid gown with a black lace collar, ripped into quarters and laid out on the ground.

Marinette gasped beside her.

“That’s your dress, isn’t it?“

A small tear made its way down Marinette’s face. “It was going to be for you,” she said softly.

Alya threw her arms around Marinette and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s okay, sweetie. Once you’re princess, we’ll sue her for all she’s worth.”

Marinette detached herself from Alya and wiped her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, thanks, Alya.”

                                                         -🌸-

Nino stormed up to where Alya and Marinette were standing with a furious expression on his face.

“That fox,“ he seethed. “that bitchy little fox of a liar stole your drawing.“

Marinette chuckled wetly. “Yeah, we know.“

“Are you okay? I know how important they are to you.“

“I’m fine, Nino, and o–who the hell are you?“ A man in an oddly formal suit was standing next to her, holding out a small red envelope.

Marinette plucked the envelope from his fingers, opened it, and read the contents. She looked up and nodded at the suit-wearing guy.

“Good. In that case, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I’m going to need you to come with me.“ Alya and Nino immediately stepped in front of her in a protective shield.

“She’s not in trouble, is she?“

The strange man looked surprisingly amused. “Not at all–but you might want to come with us, too. You as well, headphone-boy.”

Nino put a hand on his chest and gasped in offense.

“Nino. He’s going to drive us to the palace. You’re coming, too, ya doof!“ Nino made a noise of realization and followed them out to where a black limousine was waiting.

They climbed in and drove off.

About five minutes into the drive, he moved his foot to the side, accidentally kicking a black box.

Just as he was preparing his final goodbyes, it sprung open, and inside was a junk food lover’s heaven.

“Dude.“

[tiecladartist]

Okay, spoilers beneath the cut because I have some issues with Rise of the Titans.

Tales of Arcadia is one of my favorite series ever. It handled the "Kid is the chosen one" situation brilliantly, every character had depth (even characters like Steve, Eli, the teachers, etc). Theme was expertly handled with each part of the series. Destiny, heroism and sacrifice for Trollhunters; Family, duty and home for 3-Below; Legacy, prejudice and family (again) for Wizards. Every season brought me to tears, made me laugh, made me fear for the safety of the characters and want good things for them after watching them sacrifice over and over again. It is a comfort show for me and always will be.

Now, the movie...

So, I don't think it was bad. I also don't think it was good, unfortunately. The animation took a bit of getting used to after bingeing everything else leading up to this, but I can't deny it was incredibly beautiful. It was especially nice to see places other than Arcadia and Akiridion-5. It started off strong with the train fight, and admittedly there were a lot of scenes I quite liked during the movie. But, just the scenes. I liked moments, but overall it didn't come together quite as well as the shows did.

The biggest factor is likely time. I doubt making this a movie was the initial plan since I know production companies enjoy snubbing out strong series for various reasons. Honestly, I was surprised we got an "ending" at all based on the trends of recent shows being forced to wrap things up prematurely. Even Wizards felt rushed compared to the others and as a result a lot of interesting concepts were brushed over quickly. I mean, I for one would've loved to see more Camelot "filler" shenanigans since those less plot-heavy episodes that we had throughout Trollhunters and 3-Below helped us explore the characters and grow to love them, and we didn't get quite as much of that with Douxie, Archie, Lancelot, Charlemagne, etc. But I digress, this post is supposed to be about the movie, not Wizards.

So yeah, I think Rise of the Titans should've been a show rather than a movie. We could have more time before Nari is captured, focusing on the "where are they now" of all the characters after the year we skipped. Jim gets to cook and eat human food after losing that passion when becoming a troll, adjusting to being human again! Maybe him and Toby talk about Barbara and Stickler being together and how it's kinda weird (Toby could compare it to having conflicting feelings over his Nana dating an alien). Krel and Aja have a call about how it is being the Queen and Steve interrupts because he misses Aja. Perhaps we hear Eli in the background doing something related to the "Secret weapon" and the call gets cut off quickly because this leads to a small disaster on Aja's end that she needs to go fix. Claire is practicing her magic with the help of Zoe while Douxie is off with Nari. NARI AND DOUXIE INTERACT WITH EACHOTHER AND WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE IT! (Like, I know that they were travelling together for a year and that that is why Douxie is sad when Nari dies, but it didn't impact at all outside of empathy because there was no emotional investment on my end towards their friendship). But yeah, we get to see what's going on with everyone, and then perhaps this first episode ends with the reveal of them being ready for a plan of sorts (luring the arcane order and cutting off their magic. That wouldn't be revealed though). Cut to the Arcane Order in their super secret clubhouse saying they're close to finding Nari and you get a decent cliffhanger.

Episode 2 would start with the train fight and go fairly the same way. We see Jim struggling with fighting with no armor. Or perhaps he has akiridion armor, but it's too rigid or keeps malfunctioning (doesn't fit, so to speak). Only difference is that Jim's arc wouldn't be about whether or not he's still the trollhunter, because we've been through that already and he knows. I could get having moments of doubt, but his full on denial was kinda out of place after everything he went through. Instead, it could be that he feels useless due to now being a burden in a fight. Or perhaps instead he's wrestling with guilt. He's blaming himself since the arcane order got the seals due to them trying to rescue him. Maybe both? Maybe he even misses his troll body and feels that he's too weak now. Yes, he's still the trollhunter, amulet or not, but he's feeling less and less capable of answering this particular call, and that bothers him. He doesn't want to be a burden after all. Fight ends with the train crash, arrest, Douxie swapping with Nari, all the same.

Now, this is where things would go very very differently. Have more time before Douxie and Nari switch back. Let the Arcane order monologue a little more. They want to reset the world because the balance has been shifted? Cool! Tell me more! Did they used to try to get along with the humans? Did they try diplomacy in the past only to fail due to the stubborn humans, and that's why they've decided to take drastic measures? Or if not, explore why they believe they're the ones allowed to decide the balance is off. Is it because they're powerful? Or how long they've been on Earth? Did they reset it in the past and thus know through experience? I don't mind not knowing, since not everything needs to be spelled out for the audience, but there was potential to make them characters rather than obstacles, and it wasn't really utilized to its full potential. Allow Douxie to pick their brains a little instead of immediately swapping him and Nari back and only succeeding in delaying things a few more hours. Hell, if it was a TV show I honestly would've had one or two episodes before doing that while we address how that initial failure (and the fact that magical creatures/aliens were revealed to the world) affected everyone.

Maybe I'll go through and like, actually plot out episodes and stuff, but since I only just finished watching, here's just some various things I'd change:

-Get rid of that whole Steve pregnancy. That was just out of place and rather than the "comedy" breaking the tension, it shattered it completely and distracted from everything. If you wanna explore his father-based character arc, maybe have him and Aja discussing the fact that now that she's queen, she'll need heirs. And maybe Steve isn't sure he could be a good dad due to his history with paternal figures. You could even have it that he's taking care of Nari while her and Douxie are switched, and that leads to a situation where he helps her out and realizes he may be a better dad than expected. Or perhaps Blinky gives him paternal advice. Or Strickler. Or even BARBARA AND JIM like, Steve couldn't be worse than Jim's dad, and letting Steve and Jim bond over that would be nice. There was so much potential, but instead, Steve was reduced to an out of place running gag instead of getting a resolution to his character arc. And hey, if you wanna keep the whole male akiridions give birth thing that's cool, but it's gotta be done in moments where it won't distract. Or, you could even have it be that it means Aja and Steve need to adopt because uh... she's inorganic and he's organic? His body likely isn't actually built for akiridion childbirth despite the movie glossing over this fact? And maybe Steve has mixed feelings about someone else being the dad of his kids, but Coach and him talk about how Coach isn't his biological dad, but that doesn't mean he loves Steve any less.

-GIVE DOUXIE MORE SCREEN TIME! Seriously, had this been a show he would have the most potential for character growth out of everyone. His series was the shortest, so really all he got was a confidence boost and moving past needing Merlin's approval. But there was so much to explore with him still. What was up with that extreme burst of magic after Merlin's death that was never brought up again? How has he been mentally handling singlehandedly guarding Nari against the Arcane order for a year? Once he and Nari switch back, does he feel guilt over not being able to protect her? "Merlin wouldn't have failed like that. He kept her safe for thousands of years, I lasted a little over one". Perhaps, in his constant desire to prove himself to the people he cares about, he takes risky moves to try and save Nari again and make up for his mistakes, similar to how Jim was acting in the movie. Eventually, when he and Nari meet up again when trying to break her controlled state, Douxie is apologizing and talking about how he wants to make things right. He sees Nari as a friend; as family, just as much as Archie, and he doesn't want to lose her like he lost Merlin. He doesn't want to lose anyone else (which would make Archie getting stuck in the other Trollmarket, and Nari's sacrifice even more painful later on if that still happened).

-Krel, Eli and Stewart also needed more time. I get it was a movie, so time was short, but still. Krel's entire thing is that he grew to see Earth as his true home, and we didn't get to address the fact that he was immediately at risk of losing it at all. Not to mention the sheer amount of stuff he'd built for everyone. Like, could you imagine an episode where, to break up the tension (in a proper way, not a weird pregnancy way), in the midst of everyone trying to figure out how to stop the titans, Krel has overworked himself fixing and managing everyone's tech. He has to spend a day resting and disasters ensue as no one knows how to fix any of the stuff he usually manages. Like the tech keeping Camelot afloat, for example. Stewart and Eli could be the ones that end up stepping up to fill the Krel sized gap for the day.

-And I know that these fillers would lower the tension a bit, but like, having the titans need to charge up after awakening (like, absorbing elemental energy or something), or perhaps making the Arcane Order have to collect certain things to break the seals in the first place that they had on their fortress but lost when that was destroyed , or any other kinda obstacle to give time between the train fight and the Titans waking up would give time for less plot-heavy, more character focused episodes. And even after the titans wake up, they were moving super slowly and walking across the planet. It's not like they'd be short on time despite the movie making it seem like walking from china to america was a short jog at most.

-Don't give Toby the amulet. Don't get me wrong, I love Toby very much and literally bawled out loud at his sacrifice scene. But like, it made no sense to give him the amulet? Jim doing everything again with years of Trollhunter experience would help solve a lot of problems from his first go around (and I'm not fully on board with the whole time reset in the first place. Resetting to the start of the movie, or even just the fight with Bellroc would be better). Jim knows the burdens of being a trollhunter first hand, and you really think he'd be okay dumping all that on Tobes? Toby, the guy completely content with being the wingman and helping the people he cares about. Toby, the guy who never worried about not having a grand destiny up until the movie. The guy who in his biggest dreams was a Duke, not a king. I think Toby was well aware of how important moral support is and wouldn't see it as a lame superpower. But even if he did, in a tv show they could explore that in a way where he comes to learn just how much that moral support does for his friends. And if you still want his moment of glorious sacrifice (because I count that as one of the well done moments), then do that! But rather than going back in time to save everyone, make it so they sacrifice the stone to turn back time a bit. Risk their victory to try saving Toby. Have them fight Bellroc together instead of it being just Jim, because it's trollhunters, not trollhunter. It always has been, always will.

-And if you're like "But if they don't go back then Strickler and Nomura stay dead!" Then how about they don't kill them for shock factor in the first place? Have Strickler badly injured instead, because by god Barbara deserves some happiness. And think of the potential scene of her treating his wounds, and the two of them think about how things have changed since that visit to trollmarket when they were both hurt. About how Strickler stuck around, and when Barbara thought she'd lost him it scared her. How she's sick of almost losing everyone she cares about. She could talk a bit about Jim's dad then too, and it could be revealed that Jim was outside because he was going to check on them, but stopped when he realized they were talking. And then later on, he asks about his dad, admitting he overheard, and we get that conversation they had in the movie. And if you keep the Nomura sacrifice, give her more of a moment ffs. Like, she deserved better! Have the death be a sacrifice to save someone else instead of just "oops I got caught and I'm in the sun now". Make it deliberate. Make it her decision after a life of serving others. Finally, she got to be the one in control of her fate, and she chose to protect the people she cared about.

There's so much more I could say about this and the potential that was killed by the lack of time, but this is getting long and I should probably try actually doing the work I need to do today.

Edit (Because this just popped in my head and I need to add it).

THEY WERE LITERALLY AROUND THE ROUND TABLE! THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (which like, screw that there are more than 9 heroes here to save the day) WERE THE NEW KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. They were there to protect the world, and like... did the bond between Lancelot and Steve just not exist anymore? Did that get timeline erased too? Could you imagine Steve fighting to protect the world, doing his best to protect the people he cared about so that he never loses someone like he lost Lance again? He gets to keep his promise to carry on the legacy of the Knights even after they died. THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE!!! THE SET UP WAS THERE!!! BUT NO! WE GET MPREG STEVE INSTEAD!!

[binniedeactivated]

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | ❦ 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐏𝐎𝐂!𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 | ❦  𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭!

𝐖/𝐂 | ❦ 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐱. 𝟐𝐤-𝟑𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 | ❦  𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞!

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 | ❦ 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞,  𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤, 𝐥𝐚𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐱

a/n; soft valentine’s day sex with soobin is my version of a ‘valentines day special’ lmao! enjoy babes xx

it was a stressful day for soobin as usual, and more than anything he wanted to curse bighit for the rest of their lasting days since they made him work on valentine’s day. but nevertheless he was excited to get back home to his beloved girlfriend maya.

they hadn’t discussed proper plans for the evening but even doing completely nothing in the house was fine to soobin, just as long as she was beside him he was alright. but maya didn’t just want to waste the day without doing anything. they’ve only been dating for several months and this would be their first valentine’s day together so she tried her best to make it count.

in the most provocative way possible.

soobin throws his keys on the counter while taking his coat off, kicking his shoes off while he was at it. the apartment was dimly lit and there were candles sitting on the kitchen counter top and rose petals trailing to their shared bedroom. soobin furrows an eyebrow, “babe? what’s all this?”.

after hearing no answer from her though he just follows the trail until he reached the doorway of the bedroom where a note splayed in the middle of the rose petals. he plucks it off the carpet unfolding it and reading her beautiful cursive handwriting, sit on the bed and wait for me baby ;)

just reading the note sent chills down his spine. the both of them have had sex before but it was never for a special occasion. he didn’t know what to expect. he obediently sat down at the edge of the bed rubbing his sweaty palms over his lap. other than the fact that he was nervous the bedroom set up looked beautiful. it was lit with nothing but candles and their was a soft melody playing in the background to set the mood. and it set the mood alright. soobin hadn’t even saw her yet and he was getting himself ready for whatever was about to happen.

the closet door opens suddenly, the red glow from the light inside was spilling onto the walls around it. soobin’s eyes waited patiently for her, his heart thumping excitedly in his chest. her transparent,  clear point toe heels walks steadily in front of her first like a model almost, and she appears wearing a red lacy bralette and cheeky red lacy panties that hugged her ass in such a way that made soobin’s mouth water. the bold red color complimented her cocoa brown skin perfectly. her puffy, sleek black hair was spiral curled and all pushed to one side of her shoulder, and almost as if she couldn’t do anything sexier she fluffs it a bit before walking towards him.

soobin was breathless by the time she approaches him, her dark and luminous brown eyes--goodness her eyes---the heat came back to him immediately and he swallows with wrecking nerves. she traces her fingers over his shoulder before sitting on his lap twisting her pretty glossed lips into a small smirk. “so? do you like it?”.

he glides his hands down to her waist hesitant to go down any further or else he’d be in for the hardest boner he’s ever had in his life. “you look so sexy. what is all this for?”. she cups his cheek with her hand. her lips were just a few centimeters away from his and it was like torture. he wanted to kiss them so bad. “this is what couples do on valentine’s day baby”.

“they do?”. soobin asks, marveling his eyes over her beautiful features as if he’s never seen them before.

“yes. why? what did you think we were going to do?”.

soobin rubs her thighs in thought. “i thought we were just going to watch a show together or something”. she laughs before giving him a small peck on his lips.

“no some couples go out on dates, small getaways，eat chocolates ---but most importantly they dress up and have sex”. she didn’t give him much room to think about it, immediately gifting him soft contained kisses along his collarbone. his breathing hitches and allows his hands to explore her body. knowing soobin, she already knew where his hands were headed.

he cups and grasps her ass with his large hands. the more he played with the soft, fatty globes of flesh the more turned on he became. she giggles into the next hickey she would give him. “you like my panties baby?”.

“yes i love them. can you wear panties like these more often?”.

she layers a sensual kiss on his lips now, basking in the shared breaths and body warmth. it was kisses like this soobin loved. indifferent and complaisant kisses that allowed them both to feed each other their emotions and for their hearts to beat together in flawless harmony. a kiss so beautiful it shattered his reality a bit when she broke away.

“they wouldn’t be as special if i wore them all the time would they?”. she presses her hand against his chest forcing him to lay back on the bed. “now, let’s get these clothes off you”. she lifts the hem of his shirt and soobin was quick to shed both his shirt and pants, tossing them to either sides of the bed. she presses her lips back onto his once he was finished.

the kiss was slow, sappy and sloppy but it was heated. with both of their eyes closed they made love to one another through their lips alone. she cups both of his cheeks and his hands found their way to her ass again, he really loved the way it felt in her panties. soft, plump and delicate he rubs it shamelessly. starting from the back of her thighs he works his way up, kneading both cheeks like dough and letting his hands go underneath the fabric just so he can grip it entirely. soobin’s ass rubs always had a way of turning her on, which explained why she was tongue kissing him a bit rougher than she planned.

she grinds against the tent in his pants, erotically moaning in his mouth. with the soft melodic music playing in the background, their make-out session was that much more intensified. “mmph why are you doing that--you know what it does to me”. she breathes. she was trying to take things slow but it wasn’t working. “this outfit is so sexy on you I can’t help myself”. he inches his lips back up to hers while letting his hands travel south again. this time while he was caressing it his fingers testingly rubs her slit, making her thighs twitch.

she slips her hand behind the waistband of his briefs and slides them down, letting his hard on slap against her in freedom. she was on her way to slide her own panties down before soobin stops her by clutching her wrists. “please don’t take these off”.

she chuckles a little, “how am I going to fuck you then babe?”.

soobin gulps a little nervous with what he was about to ask. “can you um--maybe slide them to the side and fuck me that way?”.

she smirks doing just as he asked and slid herself down on his length teasingly. his lips parted in utter satisfaction and lust with her walls clenched around him that way. and the little gasp of relief and shock that he gave when she done it, the one that he thought she didn’t hear, she loved it.

“like this baby?”. she asks already knowing the answer.

“yes please”. he replies with his eyes hazed. she rears her hips up before sinking them back down slowly with her hands splayed on soobin’s chest. soobin’s groans flooded the air. it was rare that maya ever rode him like this being that he was usually the one to take the lead in the bedroom. he loved the rare moments when she did take control but he was much too nervous to ask her to ride him even though he loved it. not only did she ride him well but he loved the way she looked while she did it, like a complete goddess.

he reaches up and slides his hands under her bralette, playing with her nipples with his fingers. “god babe--I think valentine’s day is my favorite holiday”. she comes back down with a short moan and licks her lips, chuckling soon after. “you like this stuff baby?”.

“yes it’s so hot---you look so pretty riding me right now”.

she cocks her head to the side giving him a smug grin. another groan withdrew from his lips. “awe, you said I look pretty?”. he blushes at the cocky face she made.

“yes you look pretty, you always look pretty”.

she leans down to softly peck him on his lips. “thank you baby. you’re such a sweetheart when you’re bottoming”.

soobin fixes his one hand behind his head and lets the other grasp her waist. he laughs at her comment. “I’m not bottoming”. she adored the way his eyes turned into crescent moons whenever he laughed.

“you’re a bottom right now. and you like it don’t you?”.

soobin opened his mouth to say something but she rolled her hips down in a particular way that made him curse underneath his breath. “fuck baby---why did you do that?”.

she smiles again. “to prove that you like bottoming”. he laughs. “why do you want to harass me with this? you’re supposed to be saying romantic stuff to me right now”.

she grins, grabbing both of his hands and mounting them on each of her boobs while she rode him a little harder. the seductive gaze she gave him made soobin want to cum right then and there.

“fine. I love you so much baby. these past few months you’ve been so good to me and I couldn’t ask for a better boyfriend”. she moans.

soobin licks his lips, “god-- I love you more and I promise to treat you like a princess for as long as you live”.

she puckers her lips in awe. “you’re so cute”.

“your boobs feel nice”. the both of them laugh in unison. “and your lips---please kiss me”. he adds.

“make me”. she teases. he cups her thigh before smacking it lightly. “kiss me”. he begs. “make me”. she repeats.

without hesitance he flips her over with a speed that made them both giggle into another sensual kiss. “why do you always think i’m playing with you?”. he reaches below and slides the thin fabric to the side like before. “now shut up so I can make you cum”.

and soobin did just as he said, thrusting up into her while kissing her forehead lovingly. her gaspy cries overcrowded the melodies as he fucked her to his heart’s desire until they both reached their highs. as soon as he was finished he collapsed down onto her chest with heavy breaths. he circles his fingers over her nipples not being able to resist her lingerie even still.

“i love you. thank you for dressing up sexy for me. i really like it”.

“I love you too soobin. maybe I’ll do it more often”.

he perks his head up excitedly like a small child. “really?”.

she giggles. “yes really. and I bought chocolate covered strawberries for us to eat while we watch a movie. but if you keep laying on me like this we’ll never get to them”.

soobin immediately gets up, shoving his legs in his briefs and dashes his way into the kitchen. “first one there gets more strawberries!”.

maya laughs in his trail. “soobin!! that’s not fair”.

[blu-joons]

He Comes Home From Tour ~ Kim Namjoon

Prompts: 23, 73, 74

You’d been waiting for months for the moment to watch the arrival doors open and see Namjoon walk through them, it had by far been the longest time the two of you had ever been apart, and by now, you were more than ready to have him home again.

With plenty of time to spare you’d arrived at the airport, parking your car so you had the perfect view to see when he would arrive. On your phone beside you was the flight tracker opened, watching as his flight edged closer and closer back to Seoul.

Once he had landed safely, Namjoon had sent you a text to know he was collecting his luggage, unaware that you’d already been at the airport for the best part of an hour just waiting for him. Plenty of security had been placed around the exit point in order to keep the boys safe, for your own security, you chose to stay in your car.

The opening of the doors caught your attention, the screams that came with it were faint, as the corners of your mouth turned up, knowing what was to come. Hobi was the first one to walk out with his suitcase, followed by Jimin and Jungkook, and then finally you saw him, stood side by side with Jin, politely acknowledging the crowds that had gathered just to catch a glimpse of the boys.

It took it out of you, resisting the urge to run out of the car and over to him, tapping against the steering wheel impatiently for the moment he’d turn to look out for you. It didn’t take long for his eyes to scan around, smiling once he spotted you sat in your car, hurrying to say goodbye to the boys and see you.

He quickly placed his case in the boot of your car, jumping into the passenger’s seat and throwing his arms around you, squeezing you tightly with numerous kisses placed against the side of your face.

“Hi,” you chuckled as you pulled away from him, resting your palm into his cheek, “welcome home.”

You could tell he was tired after the long flight, but with every part of him he wanted to stay awake for you and enjoy finally being able to be back in your company.

“Home,” you heard him whisper as he slipped his hands from back around you, allowing you to turn the ignition on, and pull away from the parking lot.

You turned to face him with a soft smile, “it’ll be a little while before we’re home yet Joon, the roads were a little busy on the way here, but I’ll try and get there quickly.”

“I’m already home,” he tiredly responded, “home is always with you.”

“You’ve barely been back five minutes and you’ve already started being cheesy,” you chuckled, resting your hand against his thigh.

As much as he wanted to close his eyes and relax, he wanted to savour the moment of being back with you a whole lot more. Tours always took it out of him, and time was often needed for the first few days when he got back to let him slip back into his usual routine.

“Your mum and dad are desperate to see you,” you informed him, smiling at his grin, “they’ve been ringing me constantly to organise when they can see you.”

“I’ll speak to them a bit later, maybe in a few days I’ll catch up with them,” he replied, “I just need you for now, I’ll let them know that I’m home safely though.”

As much as you knew how desperate his parents were to see him, you didn’t want to push anything in his tired state, simply nodding your head and making a mental note to make sure that he got in touch with them before he headed to sleep later that night.

“It’s funny how I explore so many places in the world, and something as basic as a supermarket can take my breath away,” he muttered to himself, “these are the streets that make me feel happiest and send a shiver down my spine.”

You glanced at his view from the window, “it’s been a while since you’ve seen these places.”

“Far too long,” he continued to mutter, pulling his jumper tighter around his body, “it’s like everything I’ve been stressed about has completely disappeared into oblivion here.”

All you could do was smile as he spoke, whenever he got tired, his heart always did the talking. “Do you want to stop off anywhere on the way home?”

“No, I just want to go home, I want to lock myself in a room with you and just breathe again, without no one else watching me or interrupting me.”

“I’m sure we can make that happen,” you smiled.

As soon as you pulled up outside your home, Namjoon’s hand was in yours, forgetting about his suitcase and pulling you through the front door. The two of you quickly slipped your shoes off before he shut the latch on the door and guided you through onto the bigger of your two sofas, wrapping his arms around you as he laid down into the cushions.

“There’s no place like this, is there? Just the two of us being able to lie down and enjoy each other’s company, in a space that only ever belongs to us.”

You turned your glance up to look at him, it broke your heart to see how hard he was trying to stay awake for your sake, you knew he was tired, as your hand brushed over the side of his face, feeling him nuzzle sleepy further into your palm.

“If you want to go to sleep Joon, I really don’t mind, we’ve got plenty of time now to catch up and do all the things that we love to do.”

“It’s hard when you make everything feel so easy, this is the best I’ve felt in so long,” he whispered, moving your hand so it rested around his chest.

You chuckled lightly, watching him smile as he felt the vibrations of your body against his. “Make the most of that feeling and just let your body tell you how it feels.”

“It honestly feels like it wants to sleep for an eternity.”

You weren’t going to argue with him, watching on as he continued to fight a losing battle with the exhaustion that had been with him from early on in the tour. But now he had you to take care of him and look after him once again.

“I’ve barely even asked about you since I got home, have you been looking after yourself too?”

You smiled reassuringly up at him, “I’ve been good, keeping myself busy whilst I counted down the days until you came home again.”

The best he could do was hum in response, feeling your grip loosen around him as his eyelids began to flutter shut and his head tilted, finally succumbing to sleep like you’d wanted him too, settling comfortably with you back in your arms.

The discussions, the memories, the catching ups and the stories could all wait for another time, now that you had him home you had all the time in the world to open up your next chapter with each other back by your sides.

The familiar snores you’d oddly missed whilst he was away soon began, refamiliarizing you with what your home truly meant to you.

“It’s so good to be home,” Namjoon faintly whispered.

“It’s pretty good to have you home too Joon.”

---

Masterlist

[thehappyrealityproject]

Message from Mariya:

Creating a Happy Reality

Hey everyone! I believe an update is in order! Last time I posted on my blog was September 2019, and now it’s April 2021.

First, I’d like to say that I’m very thankful for my friend, who agreed to type up this message and post it. I’m also very thankful for this incredible tech-free journey, which turned out to be more like a gradual letting go of things rather than letting go of everything that I wanted to let go of at once, and the many wonderful discoveries I made because of it. 

Recent discoveries: Not using artificial lights makes it a lot easier to go to bed earlier and promotes a sense of inner peace, while not checking the time lowers anxiety.

At the core of why I wanted to leave modern technology was a deep desire to reconnect with myself and the magic of real life. And the electrical sensitivity – which reflected my deep dissatisfaction – provided me with the motivation to actually do it.

“Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it.” – Rollo May

The aim of everyday modern technology is to get things done faster, but what that actually does is keep people away from fully living.

Relatable excerpt from a book I was recently writing:

“I see what’s going on here,” said George.

“You do?” I asked.

“Yes. People are skipping the journey and going straight to the destination. You want food? Pop a package in the microwave. You want clothes? Order some online. You want to travel to a new faraway place? A plane will get you there while you sleep. ‘Instant gratification,’ they say. Yet that’s not gratifying at all. Life isn’t about the destination, it’s all about the journey. There is joy in cooking. There is joy in growing your own food and making your own clothing, too. The end result contains only a tiny fraction of the joy compared to the whole experience. People have forgotten this. They’ve replaced the whole experience with activities that only leave them feeling empty, like sitting online all day or watching television. On the flip side, if they returned to the whole experience of things, they might appreciate it much more, knowing that the alternative is senseless; it literally doesn’t require most of the senses. So there is a great lesson in this, one that I’ve learned myself. Maybe that was the reason for why it all came to be this way,” he replied.

I learned that many of the things that people think they need and often seek happiness through are not only the very same things that distract them and keep them away from the happiness they seek (which happens to be our natural state), but also cause harm to them, the environment, and the very life that sustains us – stuff that we actually do need! 

For instance, something we really need – like clean air – is completely taken for granted and diminished because of car fumes (one of the top causes of air pollution) and smoking. The population of bees, which are vital to many of the foods we eat, is decreasing at an alarming rate because of cell phone signals and pesticides. 

Wild nature, another thing we really need, has also diminished. The less I distract myself, the more I feel like I need to be there. I wonder, are we all consciously or subconsciously distracting ourselves from that need? After all, deep down, we are wild creatures who were conditioned to be otherwise.  

In other words, we need much less than we think we do, and we need to protect and take better care of that which we actually do need.

As I was letting go of electronics/modern technology, another interesting thing happened: I became increasingly aware of the state of modern society, AKA the comfortable prison, and it didn’t take long for me to want to leave that behind as well.

I noticed that cities have significantly small amounts of trees; some blocks don’t have any at all. There’s concrete all around, “Keep Off the Grass” signs, overcrowded stores with plastic everywhere, car/train/construction noises, saturation of cars, car fumes, and contrails being dispersed in the sky, releasing carbon dioxide and soot into the atmosphere. Some people are afraid of opening windows because of fumes.

Suburbs have perfectly manicured lawns, so much so that nobody steps on top of them. “Private Property” signs. There’s still concrete all around. Nobody is outside. Why? They’re all inside, staring at screens.

More rural areas have power lines hanging everywhere. Any sensitive or energy-intuitive person can feel the unpleasant energy coming from them. Houses are farther away from each other, and there are larger lawns. More “Private Property” signs. Again, nobody is outside. Same reason. Whether here or in the suburbs, people don’t usually take walks, they take their car everywhere. Unless people choose to exercise, movement is minimized and so is strength. A common theme in these places is stagnation and isolation. 

Most people pollute their bodies with drugs, alcohol, or smoking, and it’s considered completely normal to do so. In fact, many of them get startled when they discover that someone chooses not to do that.

Ironically, organic food, AKA real food, which is our birthright, is considered a luxury now and costs more than fake food.

Is this what they call progression?

I just want to add that even if this really upsets some people, it’s important to know in order to be inspired to create some real and amazing changes. Once you know what is going on, you can turn your attention towards creating what you do want.

I never used to be one of those people who focused on global issues much, but they’ve gotten so out of hand that they are affecting normal day-to-day living. This is not normal.

Meanwhile, I was just looking for a quiet place in nature where I could take walks barefoot on grass (a very natural and beneficial practice), relax, breathe fresh clean air, and not have to ask someone to drive me to a state park.

Can you live in nature without a car? YES. By becoming more self-sufficient.

Last summer, I met a family that grows their own organic fruits and vegetables (and what a magical thing that is!) without any machinery. They shared their strawberries with me. By the way, there are books that teach you how to grow everything, even how to make your own flour and yarn. That’s how they learned their skills. 

I realized that you don’t actually need money to live a joyful life and that the money and exchanging goods and services system is an outdated fear-based system that completely eradicates the joy of giving – one of the highest joys we can experience here. Giving to receive doesn’t feel nearly as good. That’s why many people don’t feel comfortable with that system, even if they do what they enjoy.

So if modern technology or modern society isn’t progression, then what is?

Love. Becoming more loving and allowing yourself to be loved! 

Treating ourselves, others, and the planet with kindness and love, realizing that we’re all connected. That includes not using substances that pollute your own body. 

Falling in love with your uniqueness and the uniqueness of others. 

Falling in love with life!

That’s what it’s always been about, folks.

At this point, however, it’s also about creating a completely different and better way of life. So what I’d like to do is bring The Happy Reality Project into real life, where it was always meant to be, and create an intentional community that reflects happiness and the true meaning of progression. This community can later extend to other places around the world.

Details below:

I’m looking for people who feel like they’re done with modern society – done with distractions, staring at screens all day, being around drug use/alcohol/smoking, air pollution, light pollution, and all the other pollutions, the concrete jungle, the rat race, stagnation, hiding and feeling shame or being shamed for their own beautiful bodies, etc., and done with being under the spell that this is all normal. I’m looking for people who see through the illusion and know that this isn’t progression, but actually quite the opposite. I’m looking for people who want to create something new with me and would be interested in living off the grid without electricity or electronics, observing a sky full of stars, dancing to or playing live music, rediscovering the magic of nature, becoming more self-sufficient, and exploring what it truly means to be a human being and to naturally feel happy, free, and alive!

Let’s put life back into life!

Harmony and being in awe with life is the norm.

Location = open for discussion.

If you’re interested or have any ideas or suggestions, send an email to ------, where my friend has agreed to respond.

Almost 4 months later, update: The email has been deleted due to no responses. Perhaps the internet isn’t the best place to find people who want a lifestyle without electronics. Regardless, we still think it was important to share this message.

[gryffindorkxdraws]

Want to start off by saying that I love your mind! I was hoping to get your opinion on: what is it in jackunzel that makes it feel so right?

EDIT: changed a few things ehe

ngl i found this challenging cus it made me think of how the answer would vary per person (yeah i went there idk why sdjkknds) so lemme get logical for a sec here haha

what exactly is the definition of “feel right”? 

to make someone feel relaxed and comfortable, as merriam-webster states

simple as that, right? but wait there’s more

what makes something/someone go under that category? 

now from there it expands because there are so many ways of answering that with everyone having different opinions and mindsets.

fair warning before we push on, this is going to get messy (like a word vomit) with how i’m just going to pour out everything i can think off, but just know i really like this question hence the, uh, mess? lmao

so back to your question, what is it in jackunzel that makes it feel so right?

in one POV, it could be because of how rapunzel and jack represent the sun and the moon respectively, making them two contrasting sides who shouldn’t collide and yet, against all odds and opposing forces that would come between them, they did. 

and we can bet on the fact that they fought hard/struggled for it, depending on how fanfic writers play with it (reminds of this sun/moon au that sold me to this trope lmao).

just because others said it’s impossible or it’s against whatever, why should they listen to the “norm?” what even is considered “normal,” when the two can explore so much more of what they could be missing from life after stepping out of others’ shadows?

i just love sun/moon dynamics. i’m obsessed lmao i read the ones below somewhere and idk where but it’s been living in my head rent free and i can’t escape it tho feel free to correct me about any of these symbol topic!

like the Sun, thoughtful and full of energy to share with everyone, is connected with one’s self and known to, yeah, radiate warmth or light. it also symbolizes firmness, strength and power. oh and life too i guess?

while the Moon, subtle but full of mysteries and wonders, can also get emotional and sway others to be more nurturing. cus like it also symbolizes calmness, beauty, and nurture. plus eternity and enlightenment?

the list goes on if we head into more of what it both symbolize, but when these two celestial bodies get together, masculine and feminine energies unite. the Sun gives out life, while the Moon cultivates it.

i have no idea where i’m going but moving on

maybe it’s that taste of rebellion with going against the authorities/society/rules/of what has always been set to find out who they’re meant to be or, y’know, finding their identity without the shackles of others (like jack learning he has the potential to be a guardian and embracing it in his own time, and rapunzel realizing she’s the lost princess and works hard to be a good one), 

or there’s something about the mystery that follows the other because they’ve never met anyone quite like them (like exploring a world they’ve never set foot on), 

or finding all the good and bad in each other and in their differences, but still loving the other for who they are, 

or what one lacks the other makes up for it and vice versa. with or without them realizing they can help each other grow to be a better version of themselves.

opposites attract who are bound to be full of surprises.

but on the contrary, they could also be two peas of a pod. aight this definitely goes against what i said above with all the opposites and stuff, but hear me out.

while they grew up and learned how to cope with life differently, they somehow still share the same sentiments when it comes to, for example, reaching their goals. 

they have their own way to go about it, sure, but my point is they can reach a common ground better together compared when they’re with others.

like rapunzel with the lanterns, and jack with his memories. at first, one hesitated and wavered, while the other disagreed and pulled away. it was only after they saw a chance/realized this was it that they agreed in a heartbeat

they ultimately made the choice of diving in head first regardless of their initial thoughts in the first place. kinda like the moment they realized they can be a step closer to what they’ve been yearning for their whole life 

bam, out of the way, they’re coming through lmao

not only that, but they can also be soft, gentle, understanding despite rapunzel’s spontaneuosness and jack’s mischievousness. we’ve seen them interacting with children and they’re so good at lifting their spirits up to have some fun and that there will always be a tomorrow.

and with their peers too. rapunzel lights up even the darkest of rooms, may it be like fireworks to bring joy or a campfire to warm one’s heart. jack meanwhile keeps things light when everyone else feels tense, easing others to relax and remember there’s always a way out

don’t forget the way they both sacrifice themselves for who they care for. like, they just do that, putting others first before them. that scene of saving eugene and baby tooth aaahhhhdjhdskdjkbkfjdkjf

and when everything comes crashing down and the world feels heavy on their shoulders, they both know they’re not alone with the other there for them.

maybe it’s the mutual understanding they have for each other after opening up, and finding a friend/partner/home through the connection they made together,

or they could be a push and pull that leads them to showing an unexpected side of the other, but in reality they always had it in them and all they needed was someone to show the way,

or how they complement each other, but they’re not two halves of a whole, no, rather they’re already whole themselves and they only reminded each other that they are,

or it’s simply because they don’t feel the need to put up walls or anything of the likes, because they know that no matter what they’ll be accepted for who they are.

opposites who have so much more in common than they originally thought

in another POV it could be because of how they give such partners in crime vibe. lowkey or highkey, take your pick. nothing would stop them from moving forward to a new tomorrow, or honestly whatever it is they put their minds to. 

and i am here for that

like i said in one of my posts, “They were a magnet for trouble, with the Sun being a free-spirited and vivacious fellow, and with the Moon’s knack for mischief and being a rebel without cause.” 

while both are adventurous, ready to explore whatever is out there, all the while just wanting to have some fun, they still balance each other out.

with jack usually ready to do what he needs/wants to do (which helps rapunzel to trust her gut and take the risk. that he’ll be there for her whenever she’s ready to step out of her comfort zone and jump away from her tower)

and with rapunzel knowing how to handle sticky situations properly (which reminds jack that not everything has to be done harshly and abruptly. that while freezing someone could be fun, it won’t solve things in the long run)

am i making sense? idek but you’re stuck with me lol but before i forget and i can’t believe i just remembered now. the way they can help fill in on what the other is missing 

rapunzel wants to see the world, what goes out there, with the people, society, and history i feel. and jack can take her to wherever she wants to go. hell, he’ll even surprise her and bring her to places he’d think she’ll like.

with his experiences, he’s bound to have an endless list of plans for them to go through and it’s no surprise that she’ll love it, and (him) his gesture, nonetheless

jack wants to be noticed by others, to be seen and heard for who he is. and rapunzel is such a welcoming person that she accepts him wholeheartedly. give him the love he was deprived of for years. 

reassure him that even he has a place to call home because why would he be excluded from that? he deserves it just as much as she and everyone else does

also i like to think they brainstorm ideas together

maybe it’s how they’re both game for an adventure, sudden or not, and this makes it easy for them to team up together and take on the world

or the feeling of familiarity as they click and everything flows naturally to them, where nothing is forced or uncomfortable between them

or how it’s like they can hold on to each other, knowing the other won’t let go no matter what because they’ll always have each other through the ups and downs

or it’s in their shared smiles, mischievous sparks in their eyes, moving together to the music of their synchronized heartbeats, as they step forward to the vast unknown

finding the ‘one’ who understands them inside out that they feel at home with them

i’ve said so many things and threw out so many brain rot, but what exactly is my final answer? 

it’s simple: who knows? now before you toss me aside, and i hope not lmao, lemme just say even with that kind of final verdict, you can still find beauty in it. 

you see, there’s so much more to explore and delve into with jackunzel because of their potential, that i don’t want to make a set answer for your question. i’d rather much help you, and anyone else wondering, to come to an answer yourself and maybe even share/discuss it with others.

i’m running out of brain juice, but i at least hope this helped satisfy your curiosity behind your question since this is all i can give… for now, maybe? who knows lmao 

tho i’ll be honest and admit i based these on how i feel about jackunzel. so if ever someone else out there wants to add more points they thought of, feel free to add on this

[littledrummeraussie]

At Christmas All The Roads Lead Home | part 3

Christmas morning finds Ashton and Y/N reminiscing about their very first holiday together – with both of their flights cancelled the strangers make the hasty decision to rent a room until they can leave for their own destinations. The pair soon finds out that there’s much more than they’ve bargained for when there’s only one bed in their hotel room. story masterlist. | masterlist. word count: 5345 words tags/warnings: past: still an unhealthy load of flirting. they are still sharing food. slow dancing. a second of angst. thank god there's only one bed. smut. oral sex (female receiving). sex with protection. & present: dad!Ashton. fem!mom!reader. married fluff with kids and a dog. Christmas morning cuteness. tooth rotting fluff. nostalgia. slow dancing again. some light references to an upcoming sexual situation.

“How did we end up having sex?” your head leaned back against Ashton’s shoulder and he huffed with a chuckle, wrapping his arms more tightly around you.

“It was probably the eggnog we had with dinner. Or was it champagne?” his cheek rested against your temple and you nuzzled a little closer to him. “I don’t remember.”

“Or just the undeniable sexual tension,” you giggled, turning back to wash your used mugs and put them on the rack to dry. “There was a lot of flirting for sure.”

Bailey has already gone back upstairs to the boys and you decided to clean up a bit before doing the same. Ashton stepped behind you the moment you went to the sink and pushed his body against your back, locking you in his embrace. He lightly swayed with you, humming to a Christmas song that got stuck in his head from last night and before you knew it he already pulled you away from the counter, turning you around to grab your hand and waist and suddenly you were dancing in the kitchen, both of you barefoot and in your sleep clothes.

“We haven’t danced in forever,” he kissed the shell of your ear, his breath hot on your skin, and you melted against him, letting out a sigh.

“I remember dancing with you in our room,” you turned your head a little, pressing your lips against his in a sweet peck. “Before you’ve kissed me.”

“I still remember how you’ve looked in the Christmas lights,” he knocked his forehead against yours, eyes hooded but full of love. “Absolutely breathtaking. Just like now.”

“I was in a nice dress and heels and now I’m in my PJs,” you rolled your eyes with a smile as Ashton guided you towards the living room, dipping you a little before pulling you back against his chest.

“Told you: breathtaking,” he pushed his lips against yours, making it clear that the discussion was not up for debate anymore. “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

With that Ashton pulled your hips against his and you giggled into the crook of his neck as you felt his hard-on press against your stomach. You pushed yourself up on your tiptoes, smearing kisses on his cheek and lips, his only answer a breathy sigh.

“Is that for me?” you bit your bottom lip, a faint blush on both of your cheeks. “Do I still have that effect on you?”

“You have no fuckin’ idea,” he buried his face in your hair, taking another deep breath, inhaling you. “It’s been 7 years and I still fall in love with you every day.”

*****

“Have dinner with me?”

“I thought we just did that for the last two nights,” your eyes followed Ashton as he rounded the coffee table, sitting down next to you on the couch.

He’s been away for an hour, wanting to call up some people and have a walk while you finished watching a movie, still wearing your PJs and wrapped in one of the blankets. Ashton’s cheeks were pink from the cold (or maybe a blush that hid there), curls hanging over his forehead dampened by the snowy weather. His fingers ran through his hair to push it back, pulling his legs up on the sofa before slowly sliding a foot under your blanket, his toes cold against your bare ones even through his sock.

“I know, but… this is different,” he finally looked up at you when you didn’t pull away from his touch. “They are offering a fancy dinner for the guests downstairs and I thought that we could go too. There’s also a chance that I have already asked them to reserve a table for us.”

“You seem pretty confident that I’ll say yes,” you teased him, a smile pulling at your lips; both of you already knew the answer to his question.

“You’ve just told me that we’ve been having dinner together for the last two nights,” he quirked an eyebrow at you. “So why would tonight be any different?”

“You just told me it’s gonna be different,” you giggled and Ashton rolled his eyes at you. “But I would love to have dinner with you, yeah. Thank you for asking.”

Later that evening, when you were getting ready for dinner you found yourself thinking about this occasion and what it meant. Ashton could have just ordered dinner for the two of you, asking for room service and be done with it like any other night before. But he asked the staff to reserve a table for you, asked you if you wanted to join him – and that sounded a lot like a date for you. Even if it was only for one night.

Ashton was already waiting for you in the living room wearing a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a button or two undone at his neck. The moment he heard you entering he looked up, eyes going wide and lips parting, and you felt yourself blush under his gaze. You knew the little black dress looked good on you, but you did not expect a reaction like this from him – even if you were hoping for it. He quickly caught himself and stood up from the couch, stepping to you and looking you over.

“You look… breathtaking,” he finally said, his gaze locked on yours. “Are you sure you’re my date?”

“I don’t remember anyone else asking me,” the little word made your heart beat quicker and you chuckled, making Ashton do the same. “You’re really handsome as well.”

“Shall we then?” he motioned for the door and you nodded, leaving the room together.

Ashton offered his arm to you when you stepped outside and you accepted it, letting him lead you towards the elevators. Your eyes lingered on each other, smiles and giggles were shared as you arrived downstairs to the restaurant. He gave his name to a waiter and she led you to a table at the back, giving you some time to settle down. Ashton pulled the chair out for you, his fingers brushing against your shoulder before he sat down as well, his hand reaching for yours almost unconsciously before pulling it back like he didn’t do anything.

The waiter came back for your drink orders, and you both quickly decided that eggnog wasn’t really something you wanted to have, so you agreed on a glass of champagne to celebrate the holiday. Your drink and food soon arrived and a comfortable silence settled over the table, only interrupted by giggly remarks and not-so-quiet whispers that left the two of you breathless with laughter. Stealing bites from the other’s plate wasn’t surprising anymore, so you just let your foot lightly kick against Ashton’s whenever he reached over the table for which he curled his ankle around yours, giving you a toothy grin and a wink.

Maybe it was the champagne giving you courage, or maybe you just couldn’t help yourself anymore, but with dinner over and the two of you still sitting there sharing stories you let your hand wander, fingers lightly stroking over Ashton’s arm where it rested on the table. He followed you with his eyes, slowly turning his wrist so you could brush against the moon tattoos on the inside of his arm, drawing over the inked lines with your fingertips. You wanted to take a better look at them since that very first night, and it seemed like Ashton didn’t mind you exploring – the content smile pulling at his lips told you that he was more than okay with your ministrations.

Someone stepped to your table and you were ready to pull back, feeling like you had forgotten about yourself but Ashton loosely tangled your fingers together at the last moment, giving them a light squeeze. Your waiter was back with two plates that she put in front of you, telling how the cakes were a gift from the house as part of the fancy dinner you just had. When she left Ashton gave one more comforting squeeze to your hand before letting you reach for your fork to start on your dessert.

“I can already see you eyeing up my chocolate cake,” you took a bite of your dessert while giving Ashton a knowing look and he shrugged with a grin, a sparkle in his eyes.

“You should know me by now,” he licked some whipped cream off his fork, eyes never leaving you. “I swear they’ve brought two different cakes on purpose.”

“Want a bite?” you offered with a smile and Ashton nodded without hesitation.

You cut off a piece and leaned over the table, holding the fork up for him. Ashton opened his mouth, taking the offered cake between his lips, and that was the moment when the both of you realized that you actually used your own fork to feed him – and that you really didn’t mind sharing it with him. Your eyes were locked on each other as he licked his lips before complimenting the cake, already cutting off a piece from his own dessert and sharing it with you, this time using his own fork to feed it to you.

A smile was shared between the two of you, a light giggle bubbling up from your chest as you both turned back to your cakes. You’ve never felt this comfortable with anyone on a first date.

*****

“You think we could move to the couch?” Ashton lightly nipped your ear, fingers pushing under your shirt at your waist, his touch familiar and warm against your skin. “Just wanna make out with you like we used to.”

“How about you get the fire going…” you nodded towards the fireplace, a glint in your eyes. “…and we could do a little more than just making out, huh?”

*****

“Thank you for the dinner invitation. It was really lovely spending time with you. Again.”

“The pleasure was all mine.”

With dinner over you’ve decided that it was time to go back to your room and maybe watch another Christmas movie while trying to get news about your cancelled flights, seeing if the snowstorm settled down enough that you could travel again. There were no more words between you as you stepped into the elevator, the silence as comfortable as it always has been.

Ashton’s eyes were following the floor numbers while the back of his hand brushed against your hand, and you felt him curl his pinky finger around your own, the touch slow and a bit tentative until you let your fingers tangle with his, your hands loosely interlocked and slightly swinging between the two of you. His eyes moved from the numbers to you, giving you a soft look as his thumb stroked over your skin, and for a moment you let your head rest against his shoulder, your eyes closing as a hundred scenarios ran through your mind.

The elevator stopped with a short ding!, pulling you out of your daydreams. Ashton lightly tugged on your hand and led you down the hallway to your room, his hand still holding onto yours. He fumbled with the key, his cheeks slightly pink as he finally opened the door and let you inside. You knew he felt it too, how something has happened between the two of you, how the world shifted just a little bit inside the quiet of your hotel room, how something has changed between the then and the now.

The room was still dark with only the small Christmas tree giving off a colourful glow, and you let yourself get lost in the festive feeling of the holiday as you watched the lights dance around. You felt Ashton step behind you, his shoulder brushing against yours for a moment before you heard music coming from somewhere and his hand reached for yours, making you turn around. His phone was lying on the table, a slow song playing on the tiny speakers as he offered his hand to you and without hesitation you slipped your hand in his, the other one quickly finding its place up on his shoulder as he curled an arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

There was something really beautiful in that moment, something that took your breath away – maybe the Christmas lights or the music, or maybe just Ashton himself with his hazel eyes and dirty blond hair, looking at you like you were the single most beautiful thing in the entire world. You slowly swayed together, lips parted and eyes almost unblinking, like you were scared the moment would be broken if one of you blinked. The music slowly faded away, leaving the both of you in the silence, still holding onto each other.

Your hands slipped around his neck, fingers playing with the fabric of his black shirt as they smoothed over the collar, sliding down on the lapels and skipping over the first two buttons until you got to the one that was still done up on his chest. You lightly fumbled with the button, slowly undoing it and going for the next, fingertips just brushing against his skin under the fabric. But then you felt Ashton reach for your wrists and pull them back on his shoulders, and you felt heat crawl up your neck; in that moment you were sure you have misread all the little signs and that he will tell you that you should stop right then and there, and never talk about it again.

“I’m sorry, I– I shouldn’t have…” you stumbled over your words, voice small and eyes looking anywhere but at him, ready to pull away at any second.

“No, Y/N. No,” Ashton’s voice was soft and sweet, hands lightly cupping your jaw and tilting your head up to look back at him. “I just… just want to kiss you.”

He leaned forward, knocking his forehead against yours and once again you got lost in his eyes, ready to memorize all the colours before they slowly closed as he pressed his warm lips against yours. His eyelashes tickled your skin and you let your fingers slide into his hair at the nape of his neck, keeping him close as you kissed him back, lips slowly gliding against each other’s, the touch hesitant but curious. Ashton’s lips slightly parted as he tried to breathe and kiss you at the same time, a quiet moan slipping out when your tongue brushed against his. You sucked on his bottom lip, nipping it lightly with your teeth, and you felt his fingers tighten on your jaw, his kiss suddenly turning hungry and passionate.

Your fingers tangled into the lapels of his shirt as you held onto him, knees suddenly weak from the force of his kiss. He swallowed your moans and needy whines, arms curling around your waist as he pulled you to his chest; he was like a starved man, craving something only you could give him. His tongue licked into your mouth deepening the kiss and you felt dizzy from how much you wanted him.

Ashton pulled back for a moment, lips red and kiss-swollen, eyes dark in the colourful lights, and you couldn’t help but press your lips back against his, needing to feel them kiss you again. His grip on your hips tightened, slowly taking a few steps backwards to fall back against the couch, pulling you into his lap. Your fingers found their way back to his shirt, fumbling with the remaining buttons and undoing them quickly, palm pressing against his chest as your teeth closed around his bottom lip, pulling on it slightly. Ashton groaned, and before you could pull back to take a look at him he leaned forward, capturing your lips in another kiss, finishing it with a playful bite, just like the one you gave him.

He brushed the hair away from your neck, kissing and licking the soft skin as his hands slid up your back, slowly pulling down the zipper on the back of your dress. Your lips met in another kiss, palms cradling his jaw as he pulled you flush against his chest, and suddenly you felt hot feeling his hard cock press against you where you straddled his lap. The needy sounds leaving your lips made him grab your hips again to help you grind against his bulge and your fingers tugged on his button-up shirt, wanting to finally pull it off him.

With Ashton’s help you threw the shirt on the floor, wrapping your arms around his neck to hold onto him again. It was like he was waiting for this exact moment, suddenly rising from the couch and pushing you onto your back, climbing after you, lips kissing up your neck and along your jaw until he knocked his forehead against yours, out of breath and pupils blown wide. Both of you were panting, the air hot between the two of you as you looked at each other, waiting for what the other was going to say.

“Come to bed with me?” Ashton’s voice was husky with some softness to it, and you tangled your fingers into his hair, lightly brushing through it.

“What’s wrong with the couch?” you let out a breathy giggle and smiled at him, making him chuckle.

“I just need more space,” he mumbled against your lips, leaving small pecks on them. “You’ve told me that the bed is big enough for two and that you don’t mind sharing.”

“That’s true,” you nudged your nose against his, pressing another kiss on his mouth. “Alright, lead the way.”

Ashton pulled you up and gathered you in his arms, holding you tightly as he made his way to the bedroom, and you hid your face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. He pressed a kiss on your cheek before mumbling something that sounded a lot like ‘ready?’ then suddenly dropped you on the bed, crawling after you in a second. You kissed between giggles, his fingers pulling on your dress until he could finally remove it, tossing it next to the bed before going back to press another round of kisses on your neck and collarbones.

He followed the path down to your breasts, palms sliding up your arms and pulling on the straps of your bra, his lips already skimming against the warm skin he uncovered. The lingerie soon landed next to the dress, and Ashton held himself up above you, drinking you in with dark eyes and parted lips like he just couldn’t get enough of you.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed, already lowering his head to press open-mouthed kisses on your chest and you curled your hands around his biceps, squeezing them.

“Ash,” your voice was a whisper, a moan, or maybe even a needy plea, you weren’t sure; you just wanted him as close as possible.

“Trust me,” his eyes found yours as he looked up while his lips pressed a kiss between your breasts. “I know what I’m talking about.”

Your fingers were cradling through his hair as he kissed and licked the soft skin of your breasts, lips slowly closing around a nipple to run his tongue over it, sucking it gently. His palm cupped your other breast, thumb flicking against the hard nub as his teeth lightly bit the other one, and you tugged on the locks between your fingers, both wanting to keep him there and pull him up for a kiss. Ashton licked your nipples one after the other then slowly blew on them, the cool air making them harden even more, and you felt your back arching at the sensation.

“Beautiful,” he whispered again, pressing another set of open-mouthed kisses between your breasts and over your ribs, making his way down on your stomach.

You shifted on the bed already feeling heat pool between your legs, Ashton’s touches making you feel like your body was on fire. There were kisses left on your hip bones as he slowly slid away the lace of your panties, nose pressed against your skin and breath tickling you as he tugged it lower. He stopped only for a moment, eyes searching you, and you gave an encouraging squeeze to his shoulder to continue, his answer a kiss on your wrist before sliding the panties down on your legs.

His palms smoothed against your calves and the back of your knees, slowly stroking up your inner thighs, parting your legs to lie between them. The feeling of his fingers on your thighs tickled, making you giggle lightly, and Ashton gave you a crooked smile before pulling your legs over his shoulders, lips pressing kisses closer and closer to where you needed him. You fisted the sheets as he slowly licked over your slit, thumbs stroking your lips before spreading them to lick between your folds, tongue swirling around your clit at the top. He groaned at the taste, already diving back to lap at your pussy, and your fingers tangled into the hair at the back of his head, wanting to keep him between your legs.

His lips closed around your clit sucking it into his mouth while his fingers teased your entrance, not pushing in just rubbing the sensitive skin, licking over it fast just to slow it down again, his satisfied moans making you shiver. Hazel eyes were looking up at you with desire as he gave one last lick to your pussy, nose brushing against your swollen clit before pressing a kiss on the skin just above. Then Ashton pushed himself up, body hovering over you as you grabbed at each other, sharing sloppy kisses and swallowing the other’s needy sounds.

You felt him slightly tremble as your fingers ran down his chest, smoothing over muscles and sensitive nipples, a small laugh mixed with his sighs as you tickled a sensitive spot just under his ribs. Your palm curled around the bulge in his jeans, rubbing him through the fabric, making Ashton lightly bite into your shoulder to stifle the growl escaping him. His mouth was back on yours and you sucked on his bottom lip while fumbling with his belt, tugging on the button and zipper to free him from his jeans. His cock was hard and thick, soaking the thin fabric of his boxers where the tip leaked precum, and you reached for him, pulling him out of his underwear and giving him a few light strokes, making his eyes roll back.

“Is that all for me?” your voice was just above a whisper, lips brushing against his cheek as your thumb teased the tip of his cock, and you felt Ashton give a short nod.

“All of me is for you,” Ashton’s whine was music to your ears, his words making your heart beat quicker. “Fuck, Y/N–”

“I want you to,” your fist tightened around him while his fingers tangled into your hair, kissing you between words and moans, never getting enough of the feeling. “I want you, Ash, please.”

“You sure?” he knocked your foreheads together, nose nuzzling your skin and you nodded, squeezing his shoulder.

“Do you have any…?”

“Yeah. Just a second.”

His lips pressed another kiss against yours and slipped off the bed, pulling off the rest of his clothes before quickly searching through his bag, pulling a box of condoms out of an inside pocket. You sat up and watched him roll one onto his cock, biting your lip as you entertained yourself with the thought that he bought the package just because of you during one of his solo trips the day before – even if it wasn’t true it still made arousal bubble up in your lower stomach.

Ashton climbed back next to you, giving a squeeze to your hips as he sat against the headboard, motioning you to straddle his lap. Your thighs rested on both sides of his hips, bodies melting together as you kissed and caressed each other, his hands on your hips pulling you closer to his cock. You grabbed his hard length, rubbing your wet lips against him to coat him in your juices, your fingers tangling into his hair as you slowly let the tip slip inside you, both of you moaning as you worked yourself back on his cock.

“I didn’t plan on having sex during this trip at all,” his lips peppered kisses on your neck while pushing deeper, a whimper escaping you when you made sense of his words. “But you had me wrapped around your finger the moment I’ve met you and I couldn’t take chances.”

“Do I have that effect on you?” your fingers were still cradling through his curls as you settled in his lap, getting used to feeling him so deep inside you.

“You have no fucking idea,” he captured your lips in a kiss, hand cupping your jaw while the other stroked over your back soothingly.

Your hips slowly started moving on their own accord, your pleas whispered against Ashton’s lips urging him to do that same, and you felt him adjusting you in his lap, building his pace as he fucked up into you. His thrusts met yours as you were riding him, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room, your high-pitched moans stifled by his kisses. He grabbed a handful of your ass, making you ride his cock faster and faster until your thighs started to strain and you buried your face in his neck.

Ashton held you tightly as he moved you onto your back, pulling your legs around his waist, your heels digging into his ass. He held both your hands above your head, fingers tangled together and squeezing tightly as his hips snapped against yours, his skin dragging against your clit, making you shake and clench around him. With parted lips and foreheads pushed together you both felt your bodies shake, smearing kisses on cheeks and noses as Ashton buried his face in your neck, trying to catch his breath. For a few seconds he stayed there, his pants hot against your skin before pulling back up, tongue licking against your mouth before kissing you deeply.

“I can still go on,” he mumbled against your skin, hips lazily trusting into you, cock still hard inside you.

“Yeah, me too,” your thumbs stroked his cheeks, kissing his nose sweetly. “But you gotta move.”

A smile played at the corner of his mouth before pushing himself up, pulling you with him. You pecked his lips again, giving a small bite to the bottom one and he pouted at you when you moved away from him. You made sure to give him a flirty wink before moving to the end of the bed and grabbing the headboard, slightly wiggling your ass, making Ashton groan and kneel behind you. His lips attached themselves to the spot where neck meets shoulder, sucking the skin between his teeth as he swiped his cock up and down between your folds, finally pushing back in. He quickly started pounding you again, his movements jolting the bed and making the frame thump against the wall.

His chest melted against your back, lips still kissing and biting you as his hands travelled up from your hips to your breasts, cupping them in his palms and thumbing your hard nipples, making you squeeze your pussy around his cock. You felt the pleasure building in you again as his thick length dragged against the sweet spot inside you, and you let your moans freely spill out of you, mixed with pleas of ‘more’ and ‘harder’.

Suddenly you felt him pull you against his chest as he sat back on his heels, cock still buried deep inside you as he fucked you faster than before, teeth closing around your earlobe, his hand between your legs as he thumbed your clit, drawing quick circles on it. You grabbed onto his arm, head leaning back against his shoulder, repeating his name between whimpers, begging him to make you come again.

“Ash– ‘sh, please,” your lips pressed against his jaw, the kiss landing sloppily on his skin. “Please–”

“Want to see you cum on my cock,” his breath was hot on your ear, his voice full of lust and longing as he still fucked you. “Want to feel you cum on it, want you to squeeze me so hard that you make me cum too.”

You felt your body tremble and shake against his as he finally got you there, his words in your ear making you wish he would fuck you until morning came around. You whined as he pulled out, knowing he wasn’t done yet – knowing that you wanted him back inside you right away. Ashton’s lips pressed a series of kisses against your spine before turning you back around and lying on top of you, easily sliding back into your pussy. Your arms slid around his shoulders, nails digging into his skin as he kissed you passionately, swallowing each other’s moans while his hips snapped into you, his own orgasm approaching fast.

He mumbled against your lips, words of ‘beautiful’ and ‘please’ and your name whispered on your skin as you squeezed around him. Then his hips stuttered, abs tensing against you as he sucked in a breath, his sounds full of pleasure as his cock twitched and pulsed inside you. He lazily trusted into you a few more times, riding out his high with his forehead knocked against yours, dark hazel eyes staring into yours. His lips parted around another moan before smearing them against your lips in a kiss, and you buried your fingers into his hair again, playing with the damp locks as you lazily made out.

“I don’t wanna move,” Ashton nuzzled his nose against yours, eyes hazy and voice thick with sleep.

“Me neither,” you stroked your palm against the back of his neck and the top of his spine, making Ash let out a sound that almost sounded like purring.

“Let me clean you up, okay?”

You nodded, pressing your lips together in one more kiss before he pulled out, making you hiss a little. He leaned forward kissing the skin between your breasts, then went to the bathroom looking for a washcloth. By the time he got back he already got rid of the used condom, now focusing on wiping your thighs and between your legs before crawling back on the bed, settling next to you.

Ashton quickly pulled you to his side before grabbing the blankets, tucking them around your shoulders to keep you warm against his body. You pressed a kiss against his shoulder, nuzzling his skin sweetly before you snuggled against his chest. His fingers brushed through your hair, lightly playing with the tangled locks as he stroked them away from your face, his cheek resting against the top of your head. Silence settled over the room, the only sound the rustling sheets as you caressed each other, enjoying your afterglow.

“Ashton…”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m on your side…” your lips brushed against his throat, and you felt him lightly chuckle before kissing your forehead.

“Sure there are sides anymore? I thought we’ve got better at sharing,” his voice was soft and flirty, something you’ve got so used to in the last two days. “And in that case: I think I’m on your side.”

“My side is your side, and your side is my side,” he giggled as you drew patterns on his skin, pulling your hand to his lips to kiss your knuckles. “And since we’re so good at sharing… do you think we could have breakfast in bed?”

“Deal,” Ashton tilted your head up to kiss you, lips and tongues lazily brushing as you both hummed. “Anything else you wanna share with me?”

“I think I’m falling for you,” you confessed as you bit your lip, knowing this wasn’t what Ashton was thinking about.

“Too late,” he lightly shook his head, the soft smile still on his lips. “Because I already fell for you.”

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

» part 1 » part 2 » part 3 » part 4

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[chelsfic]

Leftovers - Part 7 - Nandor the Relentless x Reader Fanfic

Previous parts: Masterlist

A/N: Well...this was unexpected. I wasn’t planning to go in this direction quite YET, but the characters had minds of their own...

Summary: While planning for the upcoming biannual orgy, the reader gets a lesson in seduction from Laszlo and Nandor finally surrenders to his desire.

Warnings: Smut, Female reader, Blood drinking, First time, Loss of Virginity

---

Nadja’s voice echoes through the house as she rushes into the library clutching a letter in her hands.

“Laszlo! Nandor! Colin Robinson! House meeting!”

Guillermo trails after her carrying the rest of the mail. Bills, a grocery circular, and a stack of computer parts catalogs addressed to Colin. He drops the pile on an end table and takes an unobtrusive position by the doorway as the other housemates start to file in with varying expressions of annoyance, curiosity and boredom.

You’re the last one to arrive, traipsing into the room looking vastly under dressed, as always, compared to the old world vampires in their elegant finery. Even Colin and Guillermo keep it business casual. You, on the other hand, are dressed in a pair of neon pink capri leggings and the USA Men’s Basketball jersey you stole from Nandor. The jersey falls down to your knees and the wide arm holes reveal the sports bra you’re wearing underneath. When Nandor first caught you wearing it a couple weeks ago he’d groused at you about disrespecting his belongings. But then he found himself strangely pleased with how his garment dwarfed your smaller frame. He rather liked the idea of his human wearing his shirt. So, he stopped complaining.

You give him a cheeky grin and flounce the bottom of the shirt around your thighs saucily as you flop down beside him. It’s been just about a month since the rave and since things between you and Nandor...advanced. You’ve started secretly thinking of him as your vampire boyfriend. You spend more nights in his coffin than you do in your own bed and you’ve both enjoyed the closeness that comes with sleeping in an enclosed box. 

You’ve continued to touch, kiss, and explore each other physically. Your progress has been slow, though you’ve gone further and experienced more with Nandor than you ever have with anyone else. But he is being downright mulish about taking the next logical step. On the one hand it’s comforting to have a more experienced partner who is so willing to go slowly. On the other hand...you’re horny. And you can’t tell if he’s being considerate and cautious or if he’s being selfish and wanting the best of both worlds: sexy times and virgin blood.

You sit so that your leg brushes against his and take his hand, twining your fingers together happily. You probably look like a preteen with her first boyfriend but you don’t really care. 

Colin Robinson grins and his eyes flash blue as he drones, “PDA! Get a room, you guys.”

Nandor hisses angrily and you roll your eyes. You spot Guillermo standing rigidly by the door and wave him over, patting the cushion on your other side.

“Memo! Come sit down for the meeting,” you invite.

Guillermo’s eyes flick to his master automatically and Nandor proclaims, “Vampires--non-familiars only, Guillermo!”

“What!?” you exclaim, slapping his arm. “Stop being mean to Guillermo!”

“Mean!?” Nandor scoffs. “I’m not mean to Guillermo! I saved him from being executed by the Vampiric Council last year, didn’t I?”

Guillermo nods, “Yes, master...although I did save you as well--”

“And I let you have the human giving thanks holiday off, didn’t I?” he interrupts.

“That was...three years ago…” Guillermo mumbles.

Nandor is gearing up for a full on hissy fit but Nadja interrupts, “Enough! Gizmo, go and sit with the human, you know Nandor is going to surrender to her eventually and I have news to announce!”

You smile in triumph and Guillermo reluctantly slinks forward to sit on your other side, eyeing his master over your head with a worried look.

“That’s strike one, Guillermo,” Nandor grumbles irritably, as Nadja takes over.

“I didn’t want to tell you until I had their answer,” Nadja smiles beatifically and folds her hands over her heart, “but I petitioned the vampire orgy committee and they’ve decided to give us a second chance to host the biannual orgy! I explained that my husband had been unnaturally deranged by some putrid blood--”

“Don’t you mean, betrayed by my wife?” Laszlo interjects.

“--and so we’re hosting it this weekend!” Nadja finishes, ignoring her idiot husband.

“Wonderful!” Nandor cries, dropping your hand and standing up to pace the room. “We’ll need to begin preparations at once. Guillermo, I’m giving Nadja permission to boss you around. It needs to be perfect this time!”

“Thank you, Nandor,” Nadja trills, obviously euphoric with plan-making already. “This time we’ll chain the virgins up, so there’s no chance for the cheeky buggers to spoil our fun…”

“Excellent idea, darling!” Laszlo praises, eager to show his support and avoid sleeping in one of the basement coffins tonight.

Nandor nods, “Yes, good suggestion, Nadja. Guillermo, you’ll bring the chains up from the basement...”

Nandor continues rattling off orders and you listen with increasing bafflement and alarm. He’s clearly giddy as he lists the “supplies” they’ll need.

“The sex net, obviously… the swing… assorted dildos… we should get a few Devil’s butt plugs, shouldn’t we? Those were popular at Marcus’s orgy last year…”

You turn, wide-eyed, to Guillermo and find him looking resigned and pulling a notebook from his back pocket to write this down.

Laszlo, Nadja and even Colin Robinson join in the discussion and they don’t seem likely to lose momentum any time soon. 

Finally, you clear your throat and speak up, “Um...I’m sorry. So...you--all of you--go to...sex parties? Like, where you...have sex all--all together?”

God, could you sound more virginy? You direct the question to everyone in the room but your eyes focus on Nandor. He looks away with an uncomfortable grimace.

Nadja tuts and puts a hand to her forehead as she croons, “Oh my sweet, baby virgin! I have forgotten how stupid and innocent you are. Do you not know what an orgy is? It is like a dark, bacchanalia of the flesh… a joining of bodies into one, throbbing mass of pleasure. And it is a great honor to host it! Vampires from all over New York will attend.”

“But…” what you really want to do is talk to Nandor in private. Your mind is racing with half-formed concerns, but mainly you’re hoping your new vampire boyfriend isn’t planning to have casual sex with a dozen strangers after spending the last month refusing to deflower you because he’d rather preserve the taste of your blood than deepen your...well, what you’d thought of as your relationship.

But you can’t give a voice to these worries even if the idea of Nandor with someone else stabs at your heart. You don’t want to be the needy virgin. The silly little girl who thinks a 758-year-old vampire is interested in “going steady.” Are you being unreasonable? Are you being unrealistic? Are you being insensitive to vampire culture? All at once you feel tears stinging your eyes and you blink rapidly to clear them before anyone notices. 

“I know what you’re worrying about, my warrior,” Nadja breaks through your thoughts. “But you’ll be perfectly safe during the orgy. Look!”

She poofs into a cloud of vapor, reappearing a few seconds later holding a pair of matching plain white t-shirts with the words “Do Not Eat” printed on them. 

“One for you and one for Gizmo!” she exclaims with a proud smile as if this solves everything.

---

“So…” you start and then trail off, not really knowing what you want to say.

You’re up in the attic with Nadja and Laszlo, helping them sort through boxes with labels like “Sex Dungeon,” “In Case of Orgy,” and “Emergency Dildos.”

Laszlo uncovers something wedged behind the StairMaster and exults, “My darling! Do you remember this…?”

It looks like a dildo circa the Renaissance period, smooth and hand-carved with a leather harness attached. Laszlo throws his head back and his hands twitch excitedly at his sides as Nadja stalks up to him with a seductive smirk.

“Of course, I do, my naughty boy. And if you are good and don’t ruin this orgy with your moods then maybe we’ll have ourselves a nice little time with it…” her voice goes high-pitched and squeaky as she grabs the phallus out of Laszlo’s hands and strokes it along his jaw, bringing it up to his lips and squealing as he opens his mouth to run his tongue lewdly over the shiny, smooth wood.

“O-okay, I’m just going to give you guys some privacy…” you stand and start to make your way over to the stairs.

Nadja drops the dildo and calls after you, “Wait, mortal! You had something you wanted to ask?”

You stop in your tracks, turning back to the couple and taking a breath to steady yourself. You have to talk to someone about this.

“Yeah, it’s...well, Nandor and I haven’t had sex yet--”

“We can tell that very well, my yummy friend,” Laszlo cuts in and Nadja slaps his arm.

“Go on, little horny infant,” Nadja says encouragingly.

“--but we’ve done other stuff,” you continue, “and I...I have feelings for him. But the thing is, I’m not as comfortable as you all seem to be about...sharing…”

“Ahh!” Laszlo murmurs with an arch look. “And you don’t want a load of randy vampires diddling your man.”

“Right,” you confirm, heat spreading over your face under their scrutiny. “But he seems so excited and I...I still don’t really know if he feels the same way that I do…”

“Hmm, yes this is very tricky,” Nadja muses. “Of course...there are some vampire couples who attend and only pay attention to each other…”

“Bloody boring, if you ask me…”

“Shut up, Laszlo!” Nadja hisses. “Can’t you see our human needs us?”

“Alright, alright!” he says irritably. He turns in a small circle, rubbing his chin abstractly before snapping his fingers and pointing to you in excitement, “I’ve got it! It sounds to me like what you really need is a little help in seducing our warrior friend. Once you’ve done the dirty deed you can enslave him to your feminine wiles just like my darling Nadja did to me.”

“Good idea, Laszlo! Then you can attend the orgy together and if anyone tries to tempt him away you will do the whip on them!” Nadja declares with delight.

You’re not sure if she’s misusing roller derby lingo or actually suggesting that you use a whip on your rivals. Probably both…

“But he won’t have sex with me because he’s obsessed with my stupid blood…” you whine, plopping down on one of the boxes with an exasperated sigh. 

“Trust me, human. With our help, Nandor won’t know how to resist!” Laszlo assures you with a self-satisfied grin. “Nadja, darling, get the projector!”

“Oh, no, Laszlo...she’s just a poor human girl. Don’t subject her to your boring pornos…”

---

By the time you come down from the attic you’re pretty sure the image of Laszlo’s orgasm face is permanently burned into your brain. And you’re not exactly sure how “Vampire Tricked in Steamroom” is supposed to help you with your conundrum, but Laszlo’s proud enthusiasm is adorable. Nadja’s words as you walk down the stairs are a little more helpful.

“Nandor is just thinking too much with his fangs and not enough with his penis. Use your natural talents--” she glances meaningfully at your chest, “--to make him realize his mistake.”

You’re not sure you have it in you to play the seductress like Nadja does. Still, your footsteps automatically take you in the direction of Nandor’s room. When you walk into the crypt you find him bent over a long roll of paper on the floor with a paintbrush in his hand and glitter stuck all over his head. He holds his work up to show you with a proud grin.

It’s a banner with large, bright, sparkly letters spelling out, “Welcome Orgy Guests!”

“What do you think?” he asks shyly. “Too much glitter?”

You blink and bite back a laugh at the sight of your fearsome boyfriend with his hair and beard covered in glitter. He’s smiling at you, revealing the wicked gleam of his fangs and you’re suddenly overcome with the desire to kiss him until you’re covered in glitter too. You stride forward, gingerly taking the banner from his hands and setting it back down on the floor.

“Just the right amount of glitter,” you assure him and then you hop up, wrapping your arms around his neck and trusting that he’ll catch you with his strong arms. His beard is scratchy against your face as you claim his mouth with yours, kissing and nipping his lips with a needy growl. Okay, wow--maybe Laszlo’s cheesy movie instruction has some merit?

“I knew it,” Nandor smirks. “You like the glitter, don’t you? Like Twilight!”

“Shut up, Nandor,” you laugh, stroking your fingers through his thick hair and angling his head so you can kiss along the edge of his jaw. You playfully drag your teeth against his neck and his whole body shudders in response. 

Curious, you do it again and this time he moans low in his throat and gasps out your name. Your lips curl into a mischievous smile and you bite down sharply, not hard enough to break the skin but enough to bruise if he didn’t have supernatural healing.

“Gah! Human…” Nandor pants, walking you over to the luxuriously upholstered couch set against the wall and dropping down with you in his lap. His voice breaks as he begs, “Harder.”

You draw back, locking your eyes with his for a moment, your breath coming quick as you feel the stir of his hardening length beneath you. His eyes are nearly black with desire and he digs his fingers into your hips in encouragement and repeats himself, “Harder, my mortal.”

You bend forward, brushing your lips gently along the crook of his neck like always does before he feeds from you. You bring your hands to his collar and loosen the ruff of his shirt, pulling it aside and cradling his head as you sink down to bite. You’re tentative at first, somehow afraid of hurting him, but he growls in impatience and swats your butt with his open hand to spur you along. You increase the pressure, feeling his skin give beneath the blunt edges of your teeth and the cool, coppery taste of his thick blood spreading over your lips and tongue. You swallow it, lapping at his neck eagerly as he squirms beneath you and mewls in pleasured surrender. 

When you finally pull away, your mouth and chin are painted an obscene red and Nandor goes wild at the sight. He grabs the back of your neck and pulls you into a rough kiss, arching his hips upward so he can grind against you.

“Now, I get to taste you,” He whispers against your lips, shifting out from beneath you and kneeling on the floor between your legs.

“It’s not--” you’re out of breath and your head is spinning. “It’s too soon, baby”

He purrs at your use of the pet name and slides his hands up the outsides of your thighs, catching the waistband of your leggings and dragging them down your legs along with your underwear.

“There’s more than one way to taste you, my human,” he explains, pressing his palms to the insides of your knees and pushing your legs further apart. He drags his beard along the sensitive skin of your inner thigh, scenting you with a pleased sigh. He scoops you up in his hands, pulling you closer to the edge of the couch and finally lowering his face between your legs. His breath is cool against your heated flesh and then he’s dragging his tongue along your slit in one long stroke that ends on your needy, throbbing clitoris. 

“Oh my go--”

Nandor rears back, hissing, and you rush an apology, “Sorry, sorry, sorry! I forgot.”

“Be careful with that shit!” he grouses but then he’s dipping his head back down and attacking you with his mouth. 

He’s gentle and thorough and--you think--very good at this. A few times you feel the sharp edge of a fang just brush against your most sensitive skin and you start to flinch away but he shushes you and strokes his fingers along your thighs to settle your nerves. His lips and tongue move against your clitoris in perfect, rolling motions that have you melting under his attention. You let your hands fall down to rest in his glitter-specked hair and stroke your fingers along his temples as he laves and sucks. When the mounting tension in your core grows to be too much you roll your hips up, grinding yourself into his face and twisting your fingers in his hair as you cry out. 

Nandor climbs back onto the couch and settles beside you, watching with a pleased smile as you tremble and gasp through the aftershocks. He’s lazily palming himself through his trousers when you finally turn to him and press the full length of your body into his, capturing his lips for a kiss that tastes of mingled blood and arousal--both your essences combined. 

“I’m ready…” you whisper, sliding your hands beneath his loosened collar and along his shoulders. “If you can possibly stand my blood tasting all ordinary and non-virgin flavored…”

You emphasize the last statement by edging your leg between his and grinding your thigh against his fervent erection. Nandor groans loudly and it sounds like a surrender. 

“Yes…” he pants. “My human...yes. I’ll make you mine. But...but--” he growls in frustration “--wait a moment!”

He hops up, leaving you half naked and bemused on the couch as he darts around the room, locking the door, positioning a fur rug on the floor next to an ornate candelabra, and finally opening a drawer and removing a folded piece of paper.

He comes back to you, kneeling at your feet and handing you the sheet of paper. He watches with a gleam in his eyes as you open it.

Inside he’s written in glitter pen:

“Happy Deflowering!

Love,

Nandor the Relentless”

And there’s a drawing of you laying on a fur rug with an artfully modest sheet draped over your nude body and Nandor floating in the air above you, his cape flying out behind him and his fangs bared. Well...now you know he hasn’t been planning to keep you a virgin for all eternity...

You bark out a laugh and press the drawing to your heart as you look up at him and gush, “I love it, Nandor!”

His lips part in a light smile and he presses forward, taking your face in his hands and catching you with his intense eyes.

“I wanted it to be--” he frowns uncomfortably as he forms the word “--nice...for you, human. Perhaps we had a rocking start…”

“You mean with you kidnapping me, drinking my blood and treating me like a human snack pack?” you deadpan, but you dart in to peck his lips to show you’re only teasing.

“Yes, that,” he continues and his fingers are tracing light patterns through the hair at your temples. “But I...I do care about you, my mortal. For more than just your delicious blood…”

Finally hearing him say the words out loud starts your eyes misting and you set the drawing down on the couch beside you, reaching forward to take him in your arms and kiss his beautiful, stupid, warrior lips. 

Nandor is remarkably quick at removing his layers of clothing. By the time you’ve shed your stolen jersey and squirmed your way out of the sports bra, he’s completely naked. Vampire speed. He kneels on the fur rug before you, his pale skin reflecting the golden light of the candles, glowing with second-hand warmth. You forget to be bashful about your own nudity as you drink him in. Dark hair covers his chest and trails down his stomach into the dark nest around his proudly straining erection. 

His own dark eyes drop to linger on the lines of your body as he reaches out and draws you closer, laying you down on the plush rug and perching beside you. You draw your hands up under your chin automatically, but he takes them and draws your arms down to your sides, baring your body for his hungry gaze.

“You are more breathtaking than the Euphrates running red with the blood of my enemies,” he murmurs, brushing his fingertips over the peaks of your breasts and smiling as your nipples pebble under his touch. 

You smile and shake your head, gazing up at this gorgeous man and feeling, for once, entirely worthy and beautiful in someone else’s eyes. You joined roller derby hoping to gain some body-positivity, some confidence--which you have. But still, you’ve never before felt so attractive and powerful. Nandor bends down to kiss you, running one hand along the line of your neck and letting the other roam over your belly and down between your thighs. He strokes through your still wet slit, spreading your slick and rolling your clit between his fingers until you’re mewling into his lips. 

“You know…” Nandor murmurs, pushing your legs apart and shifting to seat himself between them, “there’s more than one reason they call me relentless, little human.”

The sound that falls from your lips is half-gasp and half-moan. He slides the head of his cock through your folds, coating himself in your arousal before finally--finally--pressing forward at your entrance. Even after a month of pining and yearning for this you still tense up at the final moment and Nandor kneads his hands into your hips with a soft coo, “Relax yourself, my mortal…”

He leans down to press a rough-stubbled kiss along the edge of your jaw as he finally slips inside of you and you feel, for the first time, the impossible and wonderful sensation of being filled by your lover as he gradually pushes deeper. For several seconds the pressure of him inside of you is all you can think about and it’s overwhelming. You bury your face into the crook of his neck, digging your teeth into the already healed skin.

“Does it hurt?” he asks, and there’s a distinctly vampiric edge of lustful curiosity that accompanies his concern. He’s rolling his hips against you in a slow, steady rhythm. 

“Mmhmm,” you murmur without removing your teeth from his neck. 

He slips a hand between your bodies and finds the hardened bud of your nipple with his fingers, rolling and stroking it as he continues rocking into you with deeper and deeper thrusts.

“Not for much longer,” he promises with a teasing pinch to your nipple.

His pace increases as the pain gradually ebbs into a delicious, burning ache that builds and builds. You throw back your head, keening each time he buries himself inside you. Nandor’s mouth falls open and he dips his head to run his lips over the throbbing pulse of your throat, feeling the rush of your hot blood beneath the surface and losing the steady control of his movements as he frantically ruts into you. 

“Mine, mine, mine,” he cries, wrenching his mouth away from your neck and instead slamming his lips to yours with an anguished moan as he goes rigid, pushing deeper inside of you as his release tears through him. He jerks his hips several more times, reaching between you to put his fingers on you and coax you towards your own peak as he softens inside of you.

He finally slips out of you, collapsing onto the rug at your side with a heavy groan. He hugs you to his chest, tucking your head beneath his chin and humming in pleasure. His skin is almost warm with your borrowed body heat, but where you are covered in a fine sheen of human sweat, he is as smooth and unaffected as ever.

Your muscles shake with involuntary tremors and he strokes his hands down your back comfortingly.

“Shut your eyes,” his voice is a low rumble that you can feel where your head rests against his chest. “Rest, my love.”

The word sends a warm rush around your heart and you smile, burying your face into his lovely chest hair. 

All your insecurities about the upcoming orgy are forgotten as your limbs grow heavy with exhaustion. You’re just starting to drift to sleep under the steady feel of his hands smoothing over your back when a sudden thought pops into your head.

“Nandor!” you poke your head up to meet his eyes. “Am I going to turn into a vampire?!”

He furrows his brow as he asks, “Why would you think that, human?”

“Well...I drank your blood…” you explain, relaxing back into his chest now that it seems you’re not on the brink of transitioning into an unholy creature of the night without warning.

Nandor laughs, “I would have to drink your blood first...almost all of it. And then feed you my blood. No, my human, you won’t become a vampire...not yet.”

You nod your head absently, letting your eyes drift shut without fully absorbing his last words.

---

A/N: ?????????

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