#so interested to find out more about her i LOVE how ominous she is about possibly knowing us before

[reallyhatethiswebsite]

Hark! I submit an official request for Raphael and someone (dealer’s choice) getting hit with the old Sex Pollen. It could be a trick by Haarlep or a plant/mushroom releasing pollen/spores in Faerûn during one of his visits. I leave circumstances to your brilliant imagination.

I love the sex pollen trope and would love to see you write it :) As always, feel free to make him or both of them as tame or unhinged as you like! Thank you! 💕

❤️

Raph gets pollened ☺️

-

There was a lot of strange stuff to find laying about in the ruins of Moonrise Towers. Most of it caked in dirt, dust, and other unidentifiable substances. The kleptomaniac in Tav had her poking around, putting her mitts on everything before those little tiefling gobshites stripped the place bare.

She was enamoured by something: a big round vial that contained some viscous liquid which, when Tav cleaned the bottle a little, glowed an ominous dark purple. The stopper was wedged too tight to open. It had been fermenting for a long, long time. Tav had discovered the bottle in a box with a decrepit occult codex of some kind and a burned out incense holder. Bizarre findings that warranted further investigation – after she’d raided everything else of value, of course.

“Well, well. Where should I find the mouse but scurrying about in a ruined old attic? Apt.”

“Shit!”

Tav nearly leapt out of her skin. The bottle went flying, shattering on the ground. A thin, noxious violet gas began to seep from its shattered corpse. The smell was pungent, stomach-churning; like rotten eggs and swamp water. Tav coughed and gagged, eyes wet, glaring at the devil who’d startled her so badly. He stood there innocently, unassuming, a single eyebrow raised at her display of drama. So much for finding out what that potion did.

“Do you enjoy getting the jump on people, devil?” She said waspishly, moving further away from the mess. “Gods, that stinks.”

“Sometimes. Mortals are much more likely to agree to certain things when they’re frightened,” Raphael purred. He tilted his head, taking a small whiff of the gas. “Hmm…it smells like peaches to me.”

Peaches, sure. “What do you want?” Tav crossed her arms. Never turn your back on a devil. Especially this one.

“Merely to see why my favourite future client isn’t celebrating with the rest of her merry band,” said Raphael. Tav noticed he was surreptitiously inhaling deeper sniffs of the potion, like a dog that had caught an interesting scent on the wind. He may not have realised he was doing it. “After all, you freed the angel. You struck down the avatar of a God. One would think a hero of such calibre would at least raise a glass or two in victory, no?”

“I don’t like crowds,” muttered Tav, keenly aware he was mocking her. He was always mocking her. Raphael shifted his feet, coming just a bit closer.

“Yes, I know,” he said, his voice dropping an octave. “I know a lot about you, Tav. I know the kinds of people you used to do business with before the mindflayers took you. I know the kind of work you did. I know where you came from, and where you were going before all of this.”

“What?” Tav stared at him, aghast. A mix of horror and, inexplicably, intrigue squirmed in her belly. How did he know these things? Why did he know these things? Something was off, though. Raphael seemed, for a brief moment, as shocked by his words as she.

“All that is to say…” He adjusted his collar. Loosened it. “Hells. Why is it so damn warm all of a sudden?”

In a crumbling tower, battered by the chilling miasma of the shadow curse, the only warmth came from the Infernal himself. “It’s cold up here,” Tav said slowly. A bead of sweat rolled down Raphael’s temple in contrast. “Are…you okay?”

“What a stupid question,” the devil snapped. He was becoming flustered, a fetching flush spreading across his harsh cheeks and the bridge of his handsome nose. “I must return to the Hells. Goodbye.”

He clicked his fingers, intending to disappear in a burst of hellfire as usual, but nothing happened. A mere sputtering of sparks from his fingertips fluttered and died. Outraged, Raphael clicked them again, harder, as Tav watched with mounting anxiety. No portal opened. The devil went nowhere.

“Foolish little bint,” he snarled at her. Revealed his pointed canines when he sneered. Tav saw his pupils were rapidly expanding, consuming the sweet brown of his human irises. “What was in that bottle you dropped?”

“I don’t know,” Tav bit back. Always aggressive when she felt cornered. “And you’re the reason I dropped it in the first place. Maybe this will teach you to stop needlessly scaring people, though I bloody doubt it.”

“If you don’t watch your tongue when you speak to me, I’ll pluck it out of your filthy mouth,” Raphael threatened, low and throatily. He tugged his collar open completely, revealing his neck and some teasing wisps of chest hair.

“Oh I see, the devil’s feeling a bit poorly so he finally shows his true colours,” crooned Tav. “It’s about time. I was getting tired of your gentleman act, you know.”

“Ah…to have your skin hanging on a hook in my foyer would be such a delight…” Rumbled the devil, almost absently. He began to unfasten the buttons of his jacket.

“What are you doing?!” Barked Tav. He didn’t answer. Tossed his coat aside and moved onto the buttons of his fancy white shirt. It was damp with sweat – and this was when Tav noticed the bulge between Raphael’s legs. His cock, hard and proud, strained in the fabric of his trousers. A hot spike of desire shot through Tav’s body. “Oh, shit…”

The potion must have been some kind of demented aphrodisiac, made potent enough over time that just a few inhales was all it took. It must’ve been pretty strong indeed if Raphael was crumbling under its influence so fast. Except it wasn’t affecting Tav. She could admit – only to herself – that her tingles of arousal looking at Raphael’s big, deft, tawny hands work the small buttons of his clothes, at the glistening, hairy skin of his chest as he opened his shirt, at his puffy dark nipples, at the trail of fuzz going down his soft middle to vanish below his belt, at the outline of his erection, at the wet spot its leaking head made on his trousers…they were on Tav alone. She’d been attracted to the smarmy devil from the start.

Figuring all this out, Tav had one thing to consider as Raphael reached for his belt: what did she do?

Indulge, of course. An opportunity like this only appeared once in a lifetime. A street cat like Tav knew it better than most.

So she bit her lip, breath baited, as Raphael freed his cock and balls, both fat with need. Ogled as he furiously, shamelessly, rubbed his prick, squeezed its swollen sticky dark pink head, his tight scrotum bouncing with the force, staring right at her as he did. Sighed when he came in moments, grunting, cum spilling on the ground, all over his knuckles, everywhere. His expression was stormy, devoid of relief or rapture, his cock refusing to soften.

“It’s not enough,” he hissed even as he milked more cum from himself in oozing pearls that lazily trickled between his glans, teeth bared in frustration. “It’s not enough.”

He looked furious, frantic, frayed, and so, so fuckable.

“Come here, then,” said Tav, distantly aware of how breathy she sounded, “let’s try something else.”

He was on her in a second. A waiting predator pouncing on its prey. Tav could barely gasp before he was swallowing her mouth in harsh, biting kisses, one hand fisting the hair at the back of her head, the other holding her hip with bruising strength. Tav greedily put her hands all over him, yanking his silky too-perfect hair, scratching his slick chest and stomach, crushing handfuls of his pliant backside. He was like a furnace, radiating stifling heat. He smelled like cherries and musky sweat. So human, but for the hint of sulphur he simply couldn’t hide. His tongue tasted like wine and fire when he forced it into her mouth, hungrily licking behind her teeth. He was a man unravelling, so much desire pressed beneath the surface just waiting for an excuse like this to burst free, and Tav wanted to see it all.

“Wretch,” Raphael spat when they broke apart. The ribbons of saliva connecting their lips were tinged red. He’d bitten her bloody. “Invading my thoughts…my dreams…and now my body…”

“Your fault,” Tav retorted, crying out when he jerked her head back, rolling his aching prick against her clothed sex.

“Inside,” he growled, losing coherence, “need to be inside…”

He manhandled her, pushing her onto a nearby broken desk. With one hand, and in one yank, he pulled her trousers and smallclothes down to her ankles. Tav heard fabric rip but couldn’t find the will to care. The eerie, twisted moonlight coming in from jagged cracks in the stone, the cursed lands’ grotesque long shadows – these things stretched and warped Raphael’s silhouette into the monster he truly was. Tav swore she felt claws, fangs, horns, saw the glint of yellow eyes…but he was still a man, driven and desperate, who pried her thighs open and stuffed her full of his cock, who rocked up on the balls of his feet to get as deep inside her cunt as possible.

“Fuck,” she groaned, raking her fingernails down his back. She was wet and willing, but it had been a while, he’d entered her without preamble, and his cock was thick. He was unforgiving, selfish, searching only for his own pleasure. The stretch, the burn, as he used her, fucking her hard, fast, violent, was hideous and exquisite. She clenched her cunt around his cock and he came immediately, snorting into her ear like a rutting bull. Filled her womb with hot liquid release. She could feel it spurting out of his cock with every throb. He had so much to give, and still he didn’t stop. Couldn’t. Much to Tav’s delight.

There would be Hell to pay when this was over.

[aromanticasterisms]

okay penacony has been very fun so far but the only thing to actually make me say Oh Shit out loud was acheron saying yae sakura's line. anyway

[unclewaynemunson]

“I need to tell you something.”

Shitfuckno. Eddie doesn't even know why he's still surprised. This is how it always goes, after all. He should probably just give up and stop dating altogether – again.

Steve looks at him exactly as ominously as the words I need to tell you something require. Perfect Steve. Funny Steve. Sweet Steve. Sexy Steve. Steve, who Eddie had genuinely believed to be different.

Eddie sighs, barely suppressing a dark chuckle while he turns away from that perfect face. He doesn't want to look at Steve when he'll tell him the undoubtedly messed-up shit he's about to spill.

“Lemme guess, you're married?” That was what the last guy he dated told him, seven months after they got to know each other. It can't be much worse than that, can it?

Steve grabs Eddie's hand, causing him to involuntarily jerk up his head and meet his eyes.

“How did you know?”

Jesus H. Christ. Not again.

Eddie roughly pulls his hand out of Steve's grip and laughs a joyless laugh.

“Apparently I'm a good guesser.”

He stands up from the park bench the two of them had been sharing. “Well, Steve, this has been a blast. You should go back to your wife, or husband – don't tell me, I don't even wanna know – and I should um, get going. Maybe tell the next person right away what they'll be getting themselves into. Would save them a lot of wasted time, just in case cheating and going around other people's backs isn't really their thing, y'know.”

“Eddie, wait, let me explain!”

Eddie picks up his pace, but Steve, stubborn as he is, easily keeps up with him.

“I'm really not interested, man.”

“It's not – I'm not cheating on her!”

“Okay, so you have an open marriage, good for you. Still the kind of information you could've shared with me, say, three months ago, don't you think?”

“She's a lesbian.”

And that makes Eddie freeze on the spot. It takes Steve two steps before he realizes Eddie has stopped moving; he walks backwards until he's standing right in front of Eddie.

“She's my best friend,” he says, immediately using Eddie's stunned silence to his advantage. “Robin, my roommate – I told you all about her. We wanted to buy a house together and that turned out to be very complicated when you're not... Well, when you're not romantically involved. So we got married. For the, um, practical reasons. We never – we're like siblings. I love her like a sister. But she's also my wife. Platonically.”

It takes a few seconds until Steve's words sink in. Then, Eddie leaps forward and basically collapses into Steve's arms, needing to hold onto him to prevent himself from crashing to the ground.

Steve's arms are warm, strong, and as safe as ever.

“Eddie, are you okay?” Steve asks softly. His lips brush against Eddie's ear while he speaks, and worry colors his voice.

Perfect Steve. Too-good-to-be-true Steve.

“Jesus Christ, Steve,” is the only thing Eddie manages to say.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,” Steve says. “It's just – I've gotten some, um... Less than ideal reactions, in the past, whenever I told this when I was seeing someone. So I thought it'd be better to wait until things were getting serious.” He sighs, tangling his fingers in Eddie's hair. “I didn't wanna scare you off. Are we – are you okay?”

Eddie nods. He lifts his head from where it's resting against Steve's shoulder and raises his hands to squeeze them around Steve's face.

“We're okay,” he says. “And I'm sorry I didn't want to listen to you. I–” He stops; he can't find the words right away. It's still difficult to talk about those things; to let himself be vulnerable. But Steve has been honest with him, so it's only fair to return the favor.

“I've been hurt, Steve,” he confesses. “More than once. I've had some really shitty experiences with dudes not being honest with me. I thought that that was what was happening again, and I couldn't – I couldn't go through that again. Especially not with you.”

“Jesus, Eddie, I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay,” Eddie rushes to say, pulling Steve even closer towards him. “I trust you.” And as soon as these words leave his mouth, he knows it's the truth.

“I do want to be absolutely clear about one thing, though,” Steve says.

Eddie leans back in Steve's arms to give him an expectant look.

“Robin is my wife. I'm not planning on that to change anytime soon. We've been through a lot together. She's been the most important person in my life for years. We own a house and a dog together, and I love her more than anything. I like you a lot, and I promise you I'm all-in with you, but... Robin is still my number one. And that's not gonna change overnight. I need you to be okay with that.”

Eddie swallows. He looks into Steve's eyes. All he sees is a man who is honest, who loves his friends deeply, and who refuses to make any compromises when it comes to love – whether it be the platonic or the romantic kind.

It doesn't scare Eddie off; it only makes him fonder of Steve.

He smiles, glances around to check if they're alone, and presses a quick kiss against Steve's lips.

“I think I can live with that,” he says. “As long as I'm the only one who gets to do this.” He closes his eyes and lets his lips meet Steve's again.

The sigh that Steve breathes into their tentative kiss is one filled with relief.

[primofate]

Hello! I love your works! 💕 For request how about some fluff with Kabukimono/Kunikuzushi who wasn't abandoned by Ei and he lives in her temple? The reader is personal maid that takes care of Kuni and she has a lil crush on him ? Kuni is not aware of warm feelings he feels for her too! If it's not in your taste that's okay! I wish you and your family to always be healthy!

Oh God, this is so interesting I might get carried away. This is the problem with me and requests I find interesting. I just spend all my time working on ONE request lollllll. I'm so weak, I apologize.

Thank you for sticking with me, by the way. Appreciate the support.

Premise:

Kunikuzushi calls Raiden by "Ei" and sees her more of a sister than a "mother"

He houses the electro gnosis and it hasn't been taken away

Reader is a vision holder, but is not a fighter. More of a healer/support type of person.

He has his own quarters in Tenshukaku but for the purpose of the story his main home would be Shakkei Pavilion

Reader is not the only maid/servant he has.

I'm assuming that Kunikuzushi is way softer than "Scaramouche", but inherently there's still a hint of mischief and trickery in his ways.

Warnings:

I think I may have taken this too far and she's hardly a personal "maid" anymore >_> sorry I hope you still like it.

Story and headcanons start here:

The traits of a Kunikuzushi in love

Does not treat you like a maid.

"What're you doing?" he asks, eyeing the tea you place on the table, then darting up to meet your confused expression.

"...Giving you your daily tea?" You squeak out. You'd been new to the job. Probably a month or two in, and this was one of the daily routines that you had to do and prepare for. Every day was a different blend of tea, sometimes he requested for certain ones. You didn't think there was anything different about the way you did things today.

"Yes, thank you," he adds, but still stares straight at you. "But I meant why are you leaving?"

You blink. It feels like an eternity of silence passes for you didn't have an answer, but he fills it with his voice once again. "Sit down and join me, there isn't anything else for you to do, is there?"

Awkwardly, you slide onto the free zabuton adjacent to him. He calls for another maid, who enters with her head bowed. "...Kindly get another teacup for Y/N,"

"Oh, no, that's alright. I don't need--" you start, but the maid exits and Kunikuzushi abruptly starts talking again. "Ei says that you were hired to be my personal maid,"

You shift in your seat, still not certain about what you're supposed to do in this situation. "Yes, Young Master,"

His face curls into distaste, something about the title makes him uncomfortable but he doesn't protest. "In that case there isn't anything else for you to do except to cater to me, correct?"

You only think for a second. "...That would be...technically correct, yes,"

He hums and continues with what he was doing beforehand, practicing brushstrokes with black ink and parchment paper. "Then join me for tea, and let me know if my handwriting has improved,"

2. Gets irritated when you're on a day off

"Is there something wrong?" Ei asks, her eyes still closed. She peeks an eye open to look at Kunikuzushi's slightly annoyed expression and furrowed brows, then closes her eye again.

"Not at all, sister," but his tone is flat and he had not taken another sip of the tea served with his breakfast today.

There's a few seconds of silence followed by a hum from the Raiden Shogun. "...Then what is the ominous presence coming from your person, little one?"

There's a soft grunt, followed by shifting, a small sigh and a sort of huff. Ei is surprised every day by how much expression Kunikuzushi shows. She had always thought he was fragile, but perhaps he was slowly building his own personality. She finally opens her eyes when she hears a sort of mumble directed at her, she asks for it to be repeated again, as she hadn't heard it clearly.

"...This isn't how Y/N makes my tea," He looked to be a spoiled prince at that moment and it takes a lot for Ei not to break out into a chuckle at his statement.

"There's no way for them to always be around you, Kuni. Y/N deserves to rest from time to time," she states, starting on her own breakfast. There he goes again with that tiny huff, but he doesn't complain more, and opts to keep his mouth shut.

3. is more energetic when you're around--and his sister finally notices

The training session started rather early today. Though you sat on the sidelines watching Ei and Kunikuzushi battle it out, you had gotten used to the clash of electro against electro by this point.

At the beginning it was rather frightening, the sheer amount of power the two of them combined had. You were once scared to be struck by lightning on accident, now it was almost comforting to be around.

"You seem to have more reserves of energy on certain days," Ei exclaims as she sheathes her sword to mark the end of training. You might have imagined it, but you thought her eyes flick over to you for the fastest second.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, sister. It's just like any other day," Kunikuzushi slightly pants, catching his breath. You take that as a signal to stand and bow, then entering the training ring with a cloth in hand.

You scurry over next to him, and offer the cloth for him to take. He takes it with a slight smile, "Thank you, Y/N," and you nod in response.

"I have your change of clothes ready at the hot springs," you say and he always feel a sense of relief that you've got things under control and ready for him, specially after a long training session.

He thanks you again, and excuses himself. "I'll see you outside then, I won't be long," he promises, despite the fact that you've always told him he can take his time to freshen up.

He disappears first, and you bow towards the Raiden before turning to follow him.

"Y/N," the Raiden calls out to you just as Kunikuzushi leaves the room. You stop in your tracks and turn back around. You almost know what she's about to say.

"...Don't forget, what you were tasked to do, when the time arises," The Raiden whispers. There's a sort of melancholy in the way she says it but a definite determination in the way you answer.

"Of course, your grace,"

4. Feels a sense of insecurity when someone else shows interest towards you.

Despite your title being a "maid" you didn't wear the same purple uniform that all the servants were made to wear. You were still in uniform, but it was a rather official looking garb than what most had.

"It'll be a long meeting today," Kunikuzushi warns you. That was part of your duty now, tagging along wherever he went, and it was just something that he specifically asked you to do.

Diplomatic meetings were held from time to time, this time with a clan head. He was younger than you thought, with a good head on his shoulders. It was something about the import and export goods in the port of Ritou, something that you weren't concerned with, and something that you usually tuned out while waiting for the meeting to end.

Kunikuzushi doesn't quite know why he subjects you to such boring tasks. You could've stayed back at the Pavilion, but what exactly would you do there. It was just a different type of boring.

Contrary to what he thought, you hadn't found it boring at all. In a sense it was your job to watch after him and his needs, and so this was all part of your required tasks.

When the meeting was adjourned everyone stood to bow at each other, it wasn't at the last moment that the clan head acknowledged your presence.

"...Excuse me, though it's been a great chat and I do appreciate your grace's presence today...I'd been wondering," he motions a hand toward you, "if it was possible to grace me with your name,"

You stand there dumbfounded at first, until you realize he was talking to you. "Oh, me? I...am..." you hesitated because you didn't know if it was respectful for someone as low as you to even open your mouth. Each person in the room had their eyes on you now. Everyone, except Kunikuzushi, who had stared the man down as if trying to drown him in an endless gaze, answers for you.

"...This is Y/N," he looked to be thinking about what to say next. "...I'm indebted to them for looking after me all this time,"

"Ah," the clan leader pipes up, tearing his gaze away from you.

Ah what? You wonder. Not completely following the conversation. However, the next thing you know the clan leader had apologized, and Kunikuzushi abruptly turns and starts walking, leaving you to hurriedly follow after him in a slight daze.

5. Thinks about your well being

"Y/N, are you aware that I house the gnosis in my body?" he asked you one day.

"Yes, since the beginning, my lord," you don't know what brings this topic up. The gnosis was almost never talked about.

In the study, there's a moment of silence as he continues to practice his brush strokes. Each flick of his wrist is more precise than before, and you had the mind to compliment him.

"...If the day comes that someone attempts to take it... That's the only time I'd want you to leave me be. Do you understand?"

Your shoulders tense up for only a moment, your eyes tacked on to the calligraphic words he was painting. "...I understand,"

6. Wants to keep you safe

"May I ask your name and affiliation?" You stand at the main doors of Shakkei Pavilion. There are about 4 other servants behind you, standing straight and curious about the commotion.

"Signora, of the Fatui," An elegant looking lady, you thought, but what business could she have here?

"...and your reason for visiting, milady?" You attempt to be polite, offering a smile. Perhaps she was just lost...but that could not be the case, judging from the hoard of armored and weaponed men behind her.

"I heard that there was a person of note residing here," she smiles, her voice is sultry, matching the dress that she wore. She wasn't even trying to hide what she was after now. "I would like an audience with him,"

You turn your head the slightest bit towards a servant and nod at him, he takes the signal and proceeds inside the Pavilion. You turn your attention back to Signora and give her the most pleasant smile you could muster.

"I see. The young master is resting at the moment, I've sent someone in to check if he would like to entertain guests right now...but the chances are low. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow? I'll certainly tell him that you've come,"

"...Don't forget, what you were tasked to do, when the time arises,"

The chuckle that Signora lets out sends shivers down your spine, the men behind her start to step forward. "I'm afraid tomorrow would be too late, we'll welcome ourselves in now,"

"...Picking a personal "maid" was a long process, and you were chosen for a reason... When the time comes, there will be those who will attempt to take the gnosis,"

Signora walks forward, but stops in her tracks as a loud BANG BANG BANG resonates in the sky. Fireworks erupt, one by one, a cascading colour of red, and only red. A particular one stands out as it shoots up into the sky, it makes a loud sound, almost like its whistling and whizzing through the air, before it erupts, a trail of bright red smoke hovering in the night sky.

Signora scoffs and finally grins at you. "A signal fire. You're smarter than you look,"

"And if it so happens that we are far away from each other, you're to send a signal to alert me...From there on, what I need is time. Distract them, as much as you can, and keep Kunikuzushi away, as far as you can,"

"What's going on out here--" At the same time that Kunikuzushi appears at the top of the stairs. You turn to look at him once, and once only. You give him a reassuring smile as he asses the situation, eyes darting to and fro before landing on you.

"It'll be fine, milord," you whisper. He most likely couldn't even hear you where he stood. Perhaps the reassurance was for yourself. The ground rumbles, it feels almost like an earthquake. Vines, trees, roots, branches and leaves erupt from the ground behind you. Your dendro vision shines on your shoulder.

7. Won't let you go

"Y/N?!" Kunikuzushi shouts in confusion as the trees keep erupting. They become taller and taller, higher and higher and he can hardly see you now--

It hits him, what you were trying to do. This was a barrier to keep him inside the Pavilion, and to keep the intruders out. Out there with you.

"Y/N!" he starts running down the stairs as vine after vine weave into each other. He still has a glimpse of your back, but the shrubs and the leaves and the branches are closing in.

8. "Stop!"

The trees are higher than ever, forming a thick wall. His legs stumble, almost rolling down the stairs. There's an open hole left, if he could just reach it--

but roots start to swirl into it, he reaches, but his hand touches nothing but vines and soil. "No!" He looks up and around for an opening of any kind. There's none.

It's a solid wall of tangled trees and plant matter. He pushes into it with a grunt and it doesn't budge the slightest bit. When he stills, it's quiet. It's so incredibly quiet that one would not even think there was something happening on the other side of this artificial wall.

9. "This can't be happening,"

Is it a nightmare? He asks himself.

He reaches deep inside for the hidden reserves of electro energy, attempting to put pressure onto the wall, trying to get it to give in. He pushes hit after hit of electro energy spheres, and hit after hit it budges that slightest bit.

It's working, but not fast enough.

"Pathetic!" He says to himself, the words echoing into nothingness, voicing out how he felt about his own powers.

Had he used his full power before? No. There had never been a need to. Who would have thought he would attempt to because of you.

He pulls not only from his electro energy...now he pulls his energy even from the gnosis, and under no circumstance was he allowed to use the full extent of its power. Ei said it might break him...but how far was he willing to go?

10. "Just hang in there, I'm coming,"

The Raiden would be here soon.

Is what you kept telling yourself, despite your bruised and cut up appearance. It was easy enough to stall the Fatui soldiers. Signora was the real problem, and her pyro affinity was even more of a problem for you.

You find yourself cornered, and the crimson with of flames stares down at you. "I'll give you a chance," she starts, voice amused and perky. "Open this wall, and I'll let you live. It's as easy as that. There's no need to throw your life away protecting the gnosis. You're young, a whole life ahead of you,"

You tip your head up, eyes blurring for a split second, headache worsening. You probably hit your head somewhere during the chaos. "...It's not the gnosis I'm trying to protect,"

Signora frowns in disappointment, but says nothing else. She didn't like wasting her breath. She lifts her hand above your head and you see a flicker of flames.

Then a bright light.

A bright, purple light, engulfing the entirety of the open area. The two of you recoil and block your eyes.

11. "Back away. Don't touch Y/N,"

You're too tired to open your eyes. But its warm and comfortable. The words and sounds just turns into a buzz in your ears.

A snapshot of memories race through your mind, little pictures of everything in your life leading up to today. Yet most of it consisted of your time serving Kunikuzushi. Tending to him when he was sick, pointing at the cherry blossom tree while out on a walk, looking at the lanterns during the festival.

You were not a maid. You never felt like you were. You were a companion.

Then, your eyes snap open. You bolt up on the bed you're resting in and instantly regret the sudden action. "Augh..." you groan, falling back down on your elbows.

On closer inspection, no one else was in the room. It was just you. You slowly put yourself down to a laying position again, staring at the ceiling.

What happened? You ask yourself, coming up with no answers whatsoever.

12. "You...You're alive,"

It all comes back to you when you see him standing by the sliding door, a cup of water in his hand. You keep each other's gaze for the longest time, until he slowly walks over to the chair next to you...and slumps forward to bury his head into your white sheets.

"...Are you unhurt, milord...?" you whisper, for the silence seems so fragile.

"...Physically, yes," he mumbles. "Mentally...I'm...seething with rage and drowning in...something. I don't know what it is, I just..."

You let nothing be said between the two of you for a few more moments.

"I can breathe now," he continues, and you stay looking at the back of his head. "I can breathe now," he repeats. "That's what it felt like. As if I had lost my breath and it was hard to breathe," He picks his head up to glare at poor old you. "and then I'm angry because neither you nor Ei had told me anything about a plan...If it concerns me, I deserve to know!"

You wince at the sudden increase in volume, and he apologizes quickly. "S-Sorry, I'm...just..." again he struggles to find the words that names his feelings. There's so many things at the same time, it was hard for him to comprehend.

You pipe up for him, "Worried,"

He tosses the word back and forth in his head. Is that what this is? Worry? An emotion so crippling that he was unable to do anything else except wait for you to wake up.

"...but why?" He asks himself aloud. You trace the expressions on his face. He doesn't know.

But you do.

You know exactly why he was feeling that way because you feel it too.

13. "Please don't do that again,"

He almost begs you a few days later, when you've made a full recovery. He can't bear it. He can't imagine what worse things could have happened if he nor Ei didn't make it on time.

"Besides, there's no need to... Ei confiscated the gnosis from me..." he grumbles something about a punishment for using too much of its power.

You hum a little, and repeat what you told Signora. "It's not the gnosis I'm trying to protect,"

"...I can take care of myself just fine," he huffs, catching on to what you were implying.

"Oh, then it seems I'm out of a job, young master! A personal maid seems hardly necessary," you were only teasing, but something sort of switches on in his mind. He looks straight at you, and without any hesitation whatsoever,

14. "You are always necessary...Lest I find it hard to breathe,"

This was how he described how he felt, in this straightforward manner yet long winded way. You hide a smile.

Perhaps he'll never understand his own feelings, perhaps he will.

For you, being certain about yours was more than enough.

[elasticitymudflap]

hey I know the whole 'I did not care for winter king' thing pretty much summed it up but i'd LOVE to hear what you thought of that whole fucking episode.

IT IS SO FASCINATING TO MEEEEEEE, i mean obviously a 'role swap' universe would be regardless, but beyond the surface lies a lot of hints towards reasons why this world was so different and fucked up fundamentally!! again, my big theory is that no matter what happens our simon is not going to be able to access the crown again in any universe they visit as an extension of betty's wish, so yeah winter king's ass was probably doomed the second they set their sights on duplicating the crown but also, good , because fuck that guy

one thing that stands out to me is how our simon's morals are very different and a lot stronger than wk's, especially how he very clearly doesn't wish the madness of the crown on anyone but himself, but he can empathize with other victims of the crown. throughout the entire episode he's desperately trying to get the others to empathize with candy queen's situation as someone who knows what the madness of the crown feels like and how it warps you. but also, his approach to her is so...

like he actually vibes along to her song, compliments her "metaphor", and above all BEGS fionna and wk to see her as a person who deserves compassion, patience, and understanding... something he seemingly doesn't seem to extend to himself as ice king.

but even her madness seems somewhat suspect to him - just before her musical number he seems mystified as to why the crown's madness would make pb obsessed with him, when he knows from his reality that it's marceline that she's in love with. i'd actually argue that there is a hint of distrust towards winter king that he can't quite put into words at first, but simon's self-loathing at how "functional" his counterpart is seems to counteract his instinct and so he never pries too deeply into it.

there's this interesting reaction to pre-winter king ice king that stands out to me, almost like he's confused and doesn't recognize this specific anger and wrath to be a part of his own ice king experience. our ice king seemed to be much more of a depressed and ultimately harmless nuisance than the threatening figure he appears to be in that sequence. in fact, despite the madness, our ice king is actually quite consistent in there being a line not to cross with violence: he saves finn and jake from the hitman he accidentally hired, he refuses to kill marceline and finn when the empress commands him, he's even horrified at himself in 'I Remember You' when he pushes marceline. our ice king cares infinitely more about having friends and for people to love him and understand him than he is to actively "fix" or change himself, and in the short-circuit that is his mind he always seems to find a way to redirect his 'bad feelings' into doing something fun or impulsive than to stew in anger.

and simon isn't exactly taken in by the splendor of winter king's whole thing the way everyone else is, he doesn't stop questioning how he did it. how did he supposedly "conquer" the crown through "sheer force of will", how did he manage to get the 'best of both worlds'?

except we know it's not. and the mask-slip starts pretty ominously with his insistence that candy queen's kingdom is "forbidden". he slips up just for a moment and then returns to his whimsical wizard of oz-ass persona, and he looks almost guilty for letting on that there's something wrong here that should be avoided

which is something else i'm very fascinated by: winter king's obvious hypocrisy and the awareness of his unethical behaviour. he's quite callous in performatively pretending not to remember who betty is, and then only referring to her as "the dead one". he also seems confused by simon's heartbroken reaction to this callousness, but even more so to his characterization of her as "the great love of (his) life". he obviously has some of our simon's attachments to the past and memories of people he loved, he definitely knows and loved marceline, so why is she the only person he cares about enough to make an "ice person" of? he doesn't recall betty as someone he had a great love with - though he obviously knew who she was, so does that mean he still had some kind of relationship with her?

remember, the mere notion of finding betty so he could apologize to her literally meant so much to our simon that he was able to hide his surviving research on time portals from himself inside the ice castle, long after she would have died naturally had she even survived the mushroom war. and during the bellanoche fiasco he literally staved off death from losing his magic through sheer force of will; the intense motivation to see her kept him going in a decaying 1000 year old human body long enough for him to jump right back into his research and create a time portal to her to say goodbye. that's how much she means to him.

winter king doesn't know that betty is technically still alive, or how our simon was freed from the crown's curse. he simply offers simon a solution to reuniting with someone who he loved who is dead, without knowing how very different our betty's situation is. and that solution is to make an ice-person of that person from the time you loved them, even though you know it's "unethical".

... but betty being "dead" was always the case to our simon, he knew that she was dead because of course she was, it was hundreds of years in the future! but there was always a way back to her, and it was because of his relationship with one miss betty "ancient magic was my major" grof that he had this plan ready at his fingertips

so i think maybe either this world's simon didn't have a very strong relationship with betty, or he did but he had some reason to write her off as 'dead forever' and throw away the prospect of ever seeing her again. it's interesting that despite writing betty off, ice king's obsession with bubblegum persisted as a point of his madness and transferred to her, when even our ice king still cared a lot about "weird lady", though he didn't know who betty was.

in any case, he dismisses the subject very quickly with "jokes" that creating an ice person of someone you cared about, who died, would be unethical. and yet...

this, too, is very interesting to me. little ice marcy has marceline's actual axe bass, the axe which hunson brought with him to ooo after simon summoned him to take care of marceline when he had to leave her - marcy converted it into a bass herself of course. and the two definitely met and stayed alive together when marcy was a child

i've seen people theorize that marcy died in this memory here, but considering the presence of the axe i'm honestly not so sure. i mean, she grew up enough to gain and convert the axe to a bass, maybe she died of old age as a half-demon and never turned into a vampire? except that non-vamp marceline from farmworld seemed to still be kicking, what would an extra 12 years be to someone like her?

despite simon's pleas for fionna not to hurt candy queen and for them to help her, winter king INSISTS that she can't be helped, and that the only solution is for fionna to "knock her out", not kill her, because he would lose his conduit for the crown's madness and so this cycle will continue forever. winter king seemed committed to keeping the secret of how he "conquered" the crown, and who he hurt to manifest this reality of his, only to reveal it supposedly when simon was infected with the crown's madness again.

so why did no one stop winter king for 100 years? finn wouldn't have been born yet, but surely marceline, if she were vamped up and aware of what winter king had done, would try to stop him? but there's no sign of her in this world... save for her one possession we know she had later in her life, in the hands of an ice clone of her, frozen at a time in her life when she still loved simon unconditionally.

... i'll leave you with one VERY interesting production note steve wolfhard posted today about the blade he gave fionna, because it implies that even beyond this simon lacking some integral part of what makes him himself, the madness of the crown wasn't completely absent the way he'd thought it had been, so even in the end it wasn't a "perfect" solution to the madness.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep1 Musings - Looking for Home: Louis, Claudia & Daciana

They flip between siblings and parent so much even I was getting whiplash--no wonder Lou's confused. U_U

This was EEEEEEEEVIIIIIIL, AMC! 😭 Louis carrying Grace's wedding portrait, and using it to FAKE his identity in Europe, after Grace couldn't even go to Europe for her own honeymoon cuz Paul died--STOP IT! 😭😭

And you can hear just a few quick seconds of the DPDL lietmotif that always plays for Grace, Paul, and sibling!Claudia, before it takes this SUPER dark and ominous tone--the song has been tainted, just like Lou's relationship with Grace and Claudia was tainted.

Go AWF, Claudia!

And then she finds ONE, and it was so heartbreakingly touching.

I was hoping she was Alessandra, but nope, she's an AMC!OC, Daciana. I'm assuming they were nodding to one rando revenant:

And she is obviously the same "Anna" the kids were singing about--(very Gaunter O'Dimm of them, I love it 💀)--living like frikkin Baba Yaga in a grimy castle in the woods.

Daciana killed her own fledgling after Claudia blinded him--after the revanant AND Daciana attacked them first, but whatever. Cuz she said he wouldn't be able to hunt/feed with no eyes--so it can't heal; her fledglings are too effed up. She's officially the last one in the area.

And I get it now--the bear(?) head Claudia breaks off of the dead vampire's sarcophagus was a heraldric figurehead. Claudia showed it to Daciana, as a way of asking her who that dead vamp was.

She didn't want to tell them her story or hear theirs--but she wanted them to know about Cezare Romulo (RIP). (It's crazy how in 5 minutes The Vampire Daciana was way more effective than a whole hour of Dierdre Mayfair. 🙄😒) She complimented Claudia's blood, saying it tasted like the cream of the crop. Daciana only told them her name, and that she was waiting for her children--fledglings or real ones, who knows (I bet both).

Only for Daciana to kill herself right in front of them (RIP). 😔🔥

This is so sad, but it was obvious she was gonna do that.

Stop teasing the Children of Darkness after this Alessandra fake-out. She's got the same darkness in her that Nicki (AND Louis) had. And we know where that means. 🔥💀🔥

These vampires are STARVING--hungry for family, love, home: LIFE.

So is Claudia! 😭😭😭 She wants a blood spouse! She wants a companion!

So I LOVE that Morgan clocked Louis on Grace's photo--that ain't yo wife! The gaydar was beeping the second your pretty arse walked in!

Like, it's been established that Louis is a terrible liar-you don't need an investigative journalist to figure that much out. Louis is TOO honest--he was dumb AF for telling Morgan his real name! I get why he did it in the book--again: desperate to make a connection.

But on the show it comes across way different--Louis almost immediately tells Morgan his name (he doesn't do that for Emilia, even though SHE called him pretty! Istg I was picking up some flirtatiousness with Lou & Morgan; put those pheromones AWAY 😂). But you come across MIGHTY SUS if your Black arse is going around switching identities on all these twitchy Europeans, Louis!

Like baaaaaasicallllllyyyyyyy!!! 🤦 You see them shooting up corpses just to make sure--you think they won't shoot YOU!?!

Anyways, it's so cool that they made Morgan a photographer--so is THIS why Louis starts taking photos!? 🤩📸

Cuz I've been wondering how Louis makes money in Paris so they don't have to pickpocket anymore?

I love that they included this.

No matter where they go, they have to pose as Black servants and maids and VALETS and SLAVES, white folk are the same regardless of the country.

Which was an interesting parallel with Daciana, and how much they were hyping up America.

She was clearly nuts, but smart & sane enough to realize that 2 (two!) Black vampires had fled their oh-so-great "land of the free" to come to HER busted AF blown up war-torn country, so why should she expect to have any happiness over there?

I don't know a lick of Romanian, but I wonder if the "another one" she was referring to was the soldier, or the country. As Daciana realized that no matter who she made her new fledgling, and no matter which country she ran to, she'd be alone & unhappy without the people she loved--her HOME.

Home is where the HEART is! Claudia's been homeless this whole time! Daciana's got that huge castle, but lives all alone--she can't make proper fledglings. Meanwhile Louis still thinks NOLA is home, even after they killed everyone who knew them--"including" Lestat!

*sigh* I hate this effing show, it's so dang good. 😭

[kywaslost]

What’s up. I too have gotten hooked on Black Butler. After 3 years of not being in the fandom anymore. I have a fanfic idea for you.It’s a Ciel x reader so it’s going to be more on the angst side but still fluffy and funny if you look at it from an angle. It’s Ciel. C’mon.

So basically the reader is very similar to him. Being that she also has intense trauma and is extremely stoic and cold. On the other hand she’s also considered eerie and ominous looking. Soon Ciel after a while starts having feeling for the reader, he sees her as someone who understands him completely and fully. Ciel starts showing that he’s interested in being in a more intimate relationship with the reader other then just being partners. The reader of course rejects all these moves even though she also likes him, not only because he’s engaged but because she knows he’s a manipulator. After a long time of driving Sebastian insane with the pinning and rejecting, Lizzy finds out about Ciel’s feelings for the reader and confronts both of them. She’s lightly bitterly and is crying at first but she does want Ciel to be happy and is good friends with the reader (and she’s an Angel) so she doesn’t hold him back. Now the reader and Ciel are in a situation where they can show there feeling for each other freely but have no idea where to start.

Just so that you have a small reference to what I mean by a stoic and eerie looking reader I have a drawing of my Black Butler OC that you can take notes from (you don’t have to just here if you want lmfao)

Thank you, hopefully it’s not too long or complicated. You don’t have to write this if you don’t feel comfortable enough just tell me if you’re not going to write it or not. Have a good day!

Troubled Love - Ciel Phantomhive

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long! This is a long one that I wanted to take time on and work on when I felt like I could write this to the best of my ability. First of all, your drawing is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! I’m literally in love with it! I hope this turned out ok! I also completely skipped over the part where the reader is an angel and didn’t see it until I finished this, so I hope it’s ok that I left that bit out. Let me know if you’d like me to rewrite this properly <3

Warning/s: mentions of night terrors, mentions of panic attacks (no descriptions)

You had met the Earl Phantomhive around the time his parents had passed. You had met the Phantomhive through the grapevine of the Queen’s ‘guard dogs’, and didn’t really get to know the young boy until he returned, demon butler by his side. It was then the two of you were paired for missions. The Queen saw similarities between the two of you, and thought it would be well for you to become friends with the Earl.

You see, due to your past, you weren’t the most sociable person out there. You preferred to keep to yourself, and refrained from interacting with others as much as you could. It played in your favor that most feared you, both due to your reputation with the queen as well as the way you presented yourself. It was almost as if no one could touch you.

Until you officially met Ciel. The two of you worked well together. What you lacked in skill and intelligence, he made up for, and vice versa. It also helped that Sebastian was there. In fact, the demon butler and his master took a liking to you, even going as far as inviting you to stay at the Estate when they learned that you didn’t have an official residence. You agreed hesitantly. While you were comfortable around the two, you couldn’t bear the thought of being vulnerable around them. You were traumatized at a young age, leaving you plagued with nightmares and flashbacks from time to time. Opening yourself up to Ciel was a huge step for you, one you were unsure how to handle.

Ciel, on the other hand, was ecstatic. He’d never admit it, partially due to his personality and partially due to his engagement to Lizzy, but the Earl had begun developing feelings for you. It was more than a petty middle school crush that other boys his age experienced. He had been feeling this way for quite some time now, and couldn’t quite name his emotions until he spoke of it with Sebastian. It was worth the endless teasing that lasted weeks, but Ciel had now finally realized how much he truly loved you. And now you’re going to be living with him.

Ciel was unsure of how to show his love for you without a) making it obvious, and b) letting Lizzy know. Don’t get him wrong, Ciel truly did like Lizzy and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her, but he loved you more than her. The boy opted to spend time with you doing small things, such as reading together or just simply sitting in the same room as you as the two of you worked separately. You were hesitant of all this at first, because you were used to being alone so often, but over time you became more comfortable.

This time spent between the two of you went from silence to small chatter. Ciel would ask how your day has been, and you’d answer then return the question. It took months of living together and getting accustomed to each other’s emotions to begin discussing deeper topics. You were both severely traumatized children who never learned how to cope with said trauma. Sure, Ciel had Sebastian, but he was a demon and therefore was incapable of feeling human emotions. So he tried talking to you.

Ciel wouldn’t ever say much about the death of his family or the events that came afterwards, but he wanted to be vulnerable around you. The boy hoped that this would bring the two of you even closer, and then he’d be comfortable enough to confess his love for you. Except every time he tried to have a deep conversation, you would turn him down almost immediately. There was one week in particular when you were having vivid night terrors, causing you to get only a few hours of sleep a night. You would wake up screaming until you couldn’t anymore, and often suffered intense panic attacks afterwards. Usually Sebastian would try and help but you would only push him away, barely muttering about how you were alright and didn’t need any help.

These night terrors always woke Ciel, and after the third night he came bursting into your room in the place of Sebastian. He desperately tried to calm you down, to try and talk to you, but you refused his help. It broke his heart to see you this way, and to know that you were unwilling to accept his help hurt him even more. How could the two of you be together if you wouldn’t let him help you?

The next day during breakfast, Ciel offered to let you speak to him anytime about anything you needed. Whether it be to get something off of your chest, or just to rant about anything, he would be there for you. You weren’t sure how you felt about his offer, so you only nodded and took a bite of your food.

The Earl Phantomhive invited you on an afternoon walk after dinner. At first you hesitantly agreed, only because Sebastian would be following closely. Yet once you saw the extravagant clothing the boy was wearing, you quickly retreated back to your room and feigned illness. It took some convincing, but Ciel finally left you to ‘recover’. In reality, you curled up on the floor, leaning against the door as you silently cried to yourself. 

You were so torn between your emotions. It was blatantly obvious that Ciel saw you as more than just a friend, and he wanted to take your relationship to the next level. You wondered if your own emotions were just as easy to see. You wouldn’t admit it just yet, but you were beginning to fall for Ciel yourself. Although you hadn’t opened up much to the boy, it was easy to feel comfortable and see him. The two of you shared similar pasts, and you hadn’t met anyone else that made you feel as safe and comfortable as the Earl did. 

Despite your feelings for the boy, there was one major red flag following closely behind him. Ciel was a master manipulator. It was clear as day that Ciel knew just how to act to get what he wanted, knew what to say to get his way. You weren’t even sure if he had manipulated you at some point, he was that good. Oh, and he’s also engaged.

You wanted to take Ciel up on all of his romantic gestures. You wanted to go on late night walks with him, go to balls (even though neither of you particularly enjoyed them), or even just spend the evening together almost every night of the week. Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to give in to the urge.

This carried on for months. Ciel would ‘discreetly’ ask you out on small dates, and you would turn him down and most commonly retreat to your room. Once you left, Ciel’s small smile would fall and he would immediately turn to Sebastian with downcast eyes.

Sebastian was the only one Ciel could confess to at this point. He couldn’t go to Izzy, obviously, and he couldn’t go to you, so he was left with his demon butler. It was a part of their bedtime routine now. Sebastian would dress Ciel for bed, asking him about his day and his plans for the next. Ciel would grumble about paperwork before quickly changing the subject to his failed attempts of asking you out. He’d seek advice from the demon before turning in for the night. 

It wasn’t until six months after Ciel’s first attempt to ask you out that Lizzy was caught in the crossfire. It wasn’t intentional, and Ciel would have never said anything if he were aware of her presence. 

Lizzy had planned another surprise visit and stay at the Phantomhive Manor. She had arrived later than expected due to an extreme thunderstorm causing a delay in travel. Upon arriving at the manor, she let herself in and immediately ran to where she assumed Ciel would be in his study as her maid carried in her baggage. Lizzy quickly but silently ran to Ciel’s study, throwing open the door.

“Ciel!” she squealed in the highest pitch her voice could achieve. “Supri– oh.” Lizzy frowned slightly when she noticed the empty room. It looked as though Ciel hadn’t been there in a while. Shaking her head, the girl grinned widely yet again when she could hear faint voices coming from down the hall. Upon further expectation, she realized the voices were coming from the library. 

Elizabeth wasted no time in bursting into the room rather loudly, causing you and Ciel to quite literally jump out of your seats with fear. Ciel’s hand even ghosted over the firearm he had tucked into his boot. 

“Ciel!” Lizzy squeals again. She runs over to the two of you, about to tackle the poor boy in a hug before realizing what was going on between the two of you. 

You had to admit, this wasn’t the ideal position to see your fiance and your best friend in. It wasn't anything too terrible, but it could definitely raise some questions. You were practically laying in Ciel’s lap, your legs draped over his as your head rested against his shoulder. A book rested against your legs where Ciel was reading to you a mere moment ago. You both were dressed in your night clothes, and overall this was a very rare sight of Ciel. 

Lizzy’s smile immediately dropped to a deep frown, her bright green eyes welling with tears. “Y/N? Ciel? What’s going on?”

You jumped out of Ciel’s lap and to the other side of the couch. Your heart was beating out of your chest, fear coursing through your veins. This is exactly why you never wanted to act on your feelings for Ciel, for fear of ruining not only his relationship with Lizzy, but also your own. “Lizzy,” Ciel says quickly, standing and tossing the forgotten book onto the couch. He tried to reach out to the girl but she only took a step back and wiped at her eyes.

“I should have seen it coming,” she chokes through a broken cry. “I knew this day would come.” It takes a moment for Lizzy to calm herself down, but she wipes the last of her tears away as Ciel tries to comfort her.

“It’s ok,” she cuts him off from his senseless babbling, pushing his outstretched arms away. “I’ve known for a long time that this day would come.” Glossy green eyes met your e/c ones as she smiled softly. “I can see how much the two of you love each other,” she confesses. “And as much as I love the two of you, I can’t bear knowing I am what is keeping you from being together.” Lizzy’s gaze shifted to her fiance. “I love you Ciel. So much that I want you to be happy.” Her warm hands slowly reached for his own, giving them a gentle squeeze. “So I’m ending our engagement.” Pressing one last kiss against Ciel’s cheek, Lizzy let go. 

“I can only hope the best for the two of you.” Just like that, she was gone.

You and Ciel couldn’t bear to look at each other, let alone speak. You weren’t sure how to feel. You finally had the freedom to be with the man you were learning to love, yet at what cost? Did you just lose your best friend? What do you know? Ciel was asking himself the same questions. But it didn’t take long for him to drop beside you back on the couch, slowly turning to you. 

“What do we do now?” you asked, voice barely above a whisper. 

“I don’t know,” Ciel confessed. “To be honest, I think I need some time to process this.”

You nodded, then stood quickly. “Of course, I understand.” You retreated back to your bedroom as soon as possible, diving under the covers and staring at the ceiling. You were finally free to express your love for Ciel, yet unsure what the next steps were. It was going to take time to figure out your relationship status with the Earl, and what to do next, but it will be worth the wait.

[jeding-png]

Hello, I'm a manhwa reader, and I read some spoilers about the novel. I want to know why Winter turned back time? Because I don't know if I can trust the spoiler that I see or comment. Thank you:>

Hello and thank you for your question~!

The post contains spoilers from the novel! Very big! If you read the manhwa, or want to read the novel on your own, then don't read this post! Thank you!

At the end of the text, I attached a page from chapter 198 of the novel, where it is explained, but...

I'm a person who really likes discussions and debates, especially from readers who are just starting to read this story.

It would be wiser for me to answer your question right away... but wouldn't it be interesting for you to try to untangle this tangle yourself with only the manhwa chapters in your hands?

Let's start!

First of all, you should understand that Winter Verdandi is one of the most important characters of this story, with whom the events that happened to our Penelope flew by.

It seemed that at the center of the story was the greatest confrontation between Penelope and Ivonne, the two main characters of the game. But is it really so? Was Penelope only one of the main obstacles for the sweet protagonist of Normal Mode?

From here we begin to unravel our tangle.

Yes, it's true. Winter turned back time. And more than once. In addition to the question of why, there should also be an understanding that there were reasons for this.

Where do you get a reason to turn back time in an otome game? Moreover, we were told that Winter was a good ally of Ivonne. It was he who brought her to the duchy, helped her with her reputation, and warned of danger whenever Penelope wanted to harm her.

But is Ivonne Eckhart, the Duke's real daughter, really kind and sweet? And the manhwa already gave us many hints.

We first saw her in the island arc, where the girl appeared as the leader of the followers of Laila, who was called the goddess.

Brainwashing mls, absorbing people's souls... y'know, I'm not implying, but I wouldn't be friends with such people in the future-

Is this related to the reasons for the future need to turn back time? Of course! The confrontation between Laila's clan and sorcerers was already told by Winter (in the island arc as well).

So what can we say based on the manhwa? Maybe Ivonne brainwashed the others and... defeated Penelope? Could there be consequences from this..? Yup!

You see, having already known facts, I am slowly (very slowly-) bringing you to the explanation of all events.

Spoilers for the novel (now for sure answers-)

Daughter of the Duke Love Project is quite tender and romantic, with beautiful main characters, isn't it?

Let's have a genocide!

Sweet Ivonne turned out to be not so sweet (what a surprise). Remember that picture where Callisto was damn handsome, but Ivonne looked like a scarecrow?

Yes, exactly this frame. Ahem! Although the picture itself is quite bright, the shadow on the face of the main character seems ominous. No, don't believe that cute smile. After getting married to Callisto, Ivonne entered the imperial palace.

What happens when you leave one slightly evil girl who knows how to brainwash? That's right, she finds the artifacts she needs. In this situation, it is the Fang of the Golden Dragon.

The dragon, for a second of your attention, is not just a character for Callisto to do a compliment with Penelope's hair! No! This is the ancestor of the imperial family! The one who made the darkness hide miserably in the ground from the glow of his mighty wings!

But why does Ivonne need fangs? Did you really want to make a vampire cosplay for Halloween? You know... partly yes, because that's how she became immortal—

Now is the time for what? Genocide!

The girl's new party friends were too boring, so she freed her very bad brothers from an ancient artifact. Yes, this is a party of the Laila Clan, who decided to destroy the world and rule it together! They liked these kinds of parties.

But unfortunately for lovers of loud and destructive parties, and fortunately for all of humanity, Winter survived. Yes, he broke free from brainwashing. Yes, he killed a lot of people before that. And yes, he grew a beard-

We haven't talked about another important but paradoxical artifact of the VADD universe is the Mirror of Truth. It was thanks to him that Winter saw that Ivonne was not really good, and Penelope was the only one who tried to save everyone.

Winter shed tears of remorse, readers shed tears over the novel, I shed tears of lack of sleep. After all, Marquis Verdandi can not only make rabbits out of pacifiers but also such cool and dangerous things as turning back time!

Pluses: It prevented the world and people from perishing.

Cons: Winter didn't remember anything, Penelope's soul was damaged, Laila remembered everything and destroyed the world again and again.

If you compliment Winter that he's hot... then know that it won't be a compliment, you'll trigger angst flashbacks.

I remember those times when many argued because of such an act of Winter. Someone criticized him, someone approved the act. One way or another, but the sorcerer had no choice.

He pulled out all the stops for us to be able to read this manhwa/novel and cry over the Duke and Penelope interaction chapters, lol.

Anyway, I hope you are not too upset by my chaotic writing and possibly very stupid explanation... actually chapter 198 of the novel is the answer to your question :<

But this topic also covers others: how Ivonne and Laila are connected, what < System > really is, where Og Penelope has disappeared to... but those are other spoilers and topics for discussion. This post is actually a preview before the answer to these questions as well.

I hope I haven't dampened your interest in VADD, but just hinted that there will be a lot of events in the future! And I am sure that SUOL-nim makes an extraordinary and worthy adaptation to the novel!

Thank you very much for your attention! <3

The frames from the manhwa and the novel from the official English translation on Tapas.

[gaysindistress]

Sad girl - five

summary: James has an interesting new business proposal and one hell of a condition to deal with.

pairing: Mob!Bucky Barnes x Reader

warnings: cursing, guns, violence (it is a mob au after all), Bucky’s smartass, John Walker being a dick, jealousy, kissing

word count: 2.5k

part 4 | series masterlist

a/n: How are we feeling about the series so far? Are we liking it? Comments, questions, concerns? Thank you for all of the love!

taglist: @missvelvetsstuff @angelsincident @spencerreidisagorgman @ goldensunflowe-r @i-have-no-life-charlie @esposadomd @reader-without-a-story​ 

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on google/Pinterest

Friday rolled around much quicker and smoother than she had anticipated. James is rarely home and when he is, he’s in his office working. Natasha’s ominous door policy turned out to be exactly what she’d thought.

“Door open means come in. Cracked open means knock and closed means go upstairs,” he’d told Doll one night during dinner. Of course, she’d rolled her eyes because the infamous Mr. Stark had the exact same policy. She did wonder if it was just a crime boss thing. 

After spending more time getting ready than she’d liked to admit, she found herself standing in the foyer now waiting for James to join her. Steve and Natasha were talking about the security detail for the fundraiser off to the side while his other men were standing statue like around them. Mr. Stark also had men around him but never this many which lead her to ponder if James was involved with even shadier things than her father. She didn’t get much more time to worry about if she would wind up kidnapped or dead because the famous sound of his expensive shoes hitting the hard floors drowned out every thought. Steve and Natasha stop their conversation, turning into good little soldiers as did the other men in the room, standing up even straighter than before. 

“Look at you, Doll,” James announces while walking up to her, admiring how the fitted black dress hugged her body.

“Finally. You took longer than me to get ready,” she huffs with annoyance and shifts under his gaze. 

His mouth opens to say something but closes when he spots the ring he gave her adorning her hand, “I see you’re wearing your ring.”

Glancing down at her left hand, she pulls it out from his view to smooth the side of her dress down. 

“Of course I am. We’re announcing our engagement, aren’t we? It would look suspicious if I wasn’t wearing it.”

Holding up his hands in defense, “Touché.”

Stealing a look at him, she curses to herself and her body’s reaction to his entirely black outfit. She flushes seeing how his shirt isn’t buttoned up all of the way, flashing glimpses of his tan chest and that stupid chain. James seems to have a habit of never buttoning his shirts entirely or just wearing V-necks and it’s starting to cause issues between her and her body. 

“Oh before I forget, I got you something,” he seems quite proud of himself as he pulls a necklace box from the inside of his suit jacket. He opens it, extending it out as an olive branch. Inside the box lays a silver and diamond ‘B’ initial necklace, damn near identical to the ‘S’ one she’d crushed days earlier. 

“You’re stupider than I thought if you think I’m wearing that,” she attempts to sound menacing but it comes off more in a defiant child-like way. 

Pushing her hair off her shoulders, he takes the necklace out and clasps it around her neck so it can find its place among the other chain and pearl necklace she never takes off. 

“Looks like you’re wearing it now, Doll, and I’ve gotta say it looks like it belongs there,” he says lowly in her ear, warm breath causing a shiver to race down her spine. Taking a step back, he replaces her hair over her shoulder and flattens the necklace down, cold fingers brushing across her warm bare skin. 

“Oh fuck…” dies on her cherry red lips. 

“Time to go, Doll.” 

“You’re lucky I don’t backhand you for that.”

With one hand on the small of her back, he ushers her out of the door and into the black SUV, “Whatever you say.”

_______________________________________________

The drive to the fundraiser is awkward, to say the least. Steve has been chuckling to himself like a schoolboy every time he makes eye contact with her through the rearview mirror and Natasha keeps slapping his arm to shut him up. James has been typing away at his phone the entire time, smiling to himself. 

‘What the hell is he smiling about?’ she finds herself thinking. 

‘Oh get over yourself. He’s definitely texting his side piece. Oh god am I jealous? Get a fucking grip! You’re not a real couple. He can fuck whoever he wants. It’s not like you’re his real wife.’

Another Steve chuckle breaks her thoughts as she shoots him the best death glare she can muster. 

‘This all fake. None of this is real no matter how heavy your ring is or have flustered he makes you. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real,’ she keeps repeating to herself because god knows she’s going to be living in Hell if she doesn’t. 

The SUV rolls to a stop in front of her father’s tower, Stark Tower. People are streaming in the beacon of power, greed, and money and she can’t help but roll her eyes. Only her father would use his blood money to host a fundraiser and lord only knows what they’re supposed to be raising money for. All she knows is that there will be enough champagne to numb any emotions and decently terrible music that she’s sure her father picked himself without the help of Pepper. Exiting the SUV, hand in hand with James, they’re immediately greeted by her helicopter stepmother and unbothered father. 

“Darling! It’s so good to see you! You haven’t returned any of my calls, I was getting worried James had stolen you away,” her father lies through his pearly white teeth. Pepper just smiles beside him, eyeing her stepdaughter’s choice of dress. 

“Well, we were a little preoccupied celebrating,” James flashes a blinding smile at both of them as he continues to guide Doll up the stairs and into the tower. 

Her father wraps an arm around her shoulders, harshly ripping her away from James and into his side instead, “Smile. Everyone is looking at you and that rock on your hand.”

Smiling through gritted teeth, she pretends her father is being loving and supportive, “Let go of me.”

“Play nice.”

“Should’ve thought of that before you put me in this situation,” she whispers back through her forced smile and pulls herself out of his grasp. Her future husband’s hand finds its way onto her back again, keeping her at his side and professing a false display of affection. 

James leads them further into the fundraiser and away from her father but only to shove her into conversation with random people to announce their happy union. The old women smile fondly at James and his dazzling smile while giving her the fakest ‘congratulations’ they can muster. Their husbands leer at her chest causing the man at her side to clear his throat and pull ever closer to him, hiding her chest in his side. 

“You’d think the ring and the necklace would be enough to scare them off,” he whispers to her at one point. 

“And you’d assume these old bitches would stop trying to get into your pants at some point,” her remark causes him to choke on his drink and her to smile. 

“Oh James baby are you okay?” she feigns concern with mischief in her eyes as he recovers. 

“I’m more than okay, Doll,” he says proudly back to her. 

The night drags on and no amount of champagne will ease the pain of sucking up to the elite of the New York crime scene. The couple’s only relief is found in making snide comments to each other and when true friends come into save them from boring conversations. 

Sam Wilson was the first one to save them from a particularly disgusting couple. James has never been so happy to see his friend’s face before. However, the pleasure doesn’t last long when he feels her stiffen next to him. 

“Are you alright?”

She bats her eyes at him when she glances up, “Oh um we should probably move. Walker is on his way over here and unless you want a fight on your hands, I suggest we get out of here.”

Nodding, James leads her to the dance floor after hugging Sam goodbye. 

Taking her left hand in his right, he leads her into a dance as Julie London’s “Sway” plays. She curls her free arm around his neck and can unfortunately feel the heat of his other hand on her hip. 

“Is your father Italian?”

“What? No. At least not that I’m aware of. Why?”

His shoulders raised, “The music would say otherwise.”

She rests her forehead on his lapel, “Oh my god, he seems to think being a criminal in New York makes him some Italian mob boss.”

His chest rumbles with a laugh, “I’m sensing a story there.”

“Don’t even get me started on what he wanted to name me. Let’s just say I would’ve been the epitome of a mob boss daughter if he would’ve gotten his way.”

“Oh, I would love to hear it.”

“Antonietta Marie Stark,” an unknown voice speaks up from behind the couple. 

James spots John Walker in his pompous glory standing too close for comfort to Doll. 

“Can I help you?” she asks, incredibly bored and vexed by his intrusion. 

 “I heard you had gotten engaged so I came to congratulate the happy couple, sweetheart,” he says with a grimy smile. 

James pulls her into his side, away from John and further into his protection, “Thank you and you’re more than welcome to leave now.”

“I’m hurt, sweetheart, you didn’t call me to tell me that you had started seeing Barnes,” Walker continues to push his luck and in turn, James’ grip around her tightens. 

“Last time I checked, I didn’t have to run things by you, John. I’m not obligated to call you about anything.”

He shakes his head, laughing, “Funny how this all happened right after your dad got into some hot water with the government and only a few months after we last fucked.”

Her jaw drops at his crass words and the sheer audacity he has to say something like that in front of her supposed new fiancé.

“It’s time for you to leave,” anger is filling James’ body as John ogles her. He waves at Steve and some of these other men. 

“Get the fuck out of here before I put a bullet in you,” is the only thing James says to John as he nearly rips Doll’s arm out of her socket and pulls her towards the bathrooms. 

Not wanting to make an even bigger scene, she stumbles to keep up with his pace and doesn’t stray from his side. She can hear John trying to excuse his behavior as Steve escorts him out of the building but it’s lost on her because there is a very angry and dangerous man dragging her across the floor. He doesn’t say a single word or even look at her when he spots an empty conference and shoves her through the door, slamming it shut. 

“Sit,” he snaps, pacing as she sits down on the table behind her.  

“Care to explain what the fuck that was about?”

Rubbing where he had grabbed her, “It’s not anything to worry about. It was in the past.”

He stops his pacing to set his harsh and demanding blue eyes on her. The anger tensed his shoulders and rolled his hands into fists. He looks even bigger than he usually does which is a feat in itself. 

“Fucking excuse me?”

“I said it was in the past. It doesn’t matter.”

“Oh no, you don’t get to decide what it’s important or not. Start talking.”

She pushes herself back further on the table as James takes long strides to stand right in front of her, crowding her personal space. 

“We went out on a few dates and slept together a few times but that’s all. We weren’t officially together and he got bent out of shape that I was seeing other people too so he does whatever he can to piss me off.”

“How many times?” 

She stares back at him, his gaze burning holes into her with anger and jealousy. 

“How many times what, James? Are you jealous of that dickhead?”

“You know what I mean. How. Many. Times?” he punctuates each word by sliding himself in between her legs and planting his hands on either side of her hips. 

“Three,” her chest starts to heave at the closeness and the overwhelming feeling of him. 

“Three times and he’s that obsessed? Oh, Doll it must be heavenly if that’s all it took,” his hot breath ghosts over the column of her neck. He dips his head to kiss the side of her neck as his hands grab ahold of her hips, pulling her against him roughly. 

“If you’d just give up and stop being so stubborn, I could make you feel so good.”

His cologne fills her senses as she lolls her back, giving him even more access to nip and lick up her neck. He laughs darkly, ghosting a hand over her side and sliding it over the back of her neck. Grabbing a fist full of her hair, he pulls her head sharply to the side, “Are you going to give up?”

“Go fuck yourself.”

The hand slides to the front and grips her throat, a signet ring digging into her skin. Her hands fly up to hold onto his shoulders as his lips descend upon hers, hungrily devouring hers. There is nothing sweet or loving about the way their tongues are fighting against each other, red lipstick swearing across her face. 

Pulling back with her bottom lip in between his teeth, he admires the way she’s breathless and fluttering her eyes open, “Life could be so much better if you belonged to me, Doll.” 

“I don’t belong to anyone and most certainly not you,” she murmurs against his lips before capturing them in another clash of teeth and tongue. 

His hand tightens around her neck, choking the soft moan that escapes her mouth despite her best efforts to silence it. The moan only spurs him on as he pulls her impossibly closer, feeling the heat from between her legs on him. Moans continue to get up caught between their lips as he absolutely devours her. Her chest is pushed against his and he can feel the brush of hers against his every time she takes a breath and at the moment it’s very rapid. Her thighs twitch around his waist and it takes everything in to not sink down to his knees and explore. 

Resting his forehead against her, he pulls away panting. She’s the first to speak. 

“Keep kissing me like that when you’re jealous and I’ll only be more stubborn,” she laughs out of breath. 

The hand around her neck shifts to cup her jaw, thumb rubbing the ruined lipstick away. James shakes his head at her statement, eyes roaming her face. 

“I’ll just have to keep you locked up in that case.”

“I’d like to see you try,” she shoves his chest and he lets her push him away so she can stand on wobbly legs. He smirks at her, shifting to a smile when she gives him a look. 

“Let me help you, Doll, can’t have people getting the wrong idea,” he teases her as he wraps an arm around her waist and they leave the conference room to rejoin the fundraiser. 

[morethansky]

***TBB SPOILERS***

My primary takeaway from these last six episodes is that Hunter and Crosshair ARE SO MARRIED OH MY GOD. They do everything together, even little chores.

And my Crosshair-is-Hunter's-second agenda continues to thrive; since their reunion, Hunter has hardly made a decision without checking with Crosshair first.

The way I cackled at Crosshair looking up at a ship careening in the sky and being all put upon: "Uh-huh. That's the idiot I married. Unfortunately."

And then the way he hurriedly reached for his binocs when they saw the ship crash, and how the camera lingers on him to show his relief, sob. I see you and thank you for your service, shippers on the crew.

Finally a glimpse of the cadets! Thinking about them tasting ice cream for the first time makes me want to cry. How many clones have never tasted it...

I like that "Identity Crisis" was like a mirror of "Confined," but I think it could have been 15 minutes. To be fair to them, I feel this way about like 75% of the franchise.

So we were all very wrong about what was in the Vault. What was Palpatine even going in there for, honestly. I do quite like this foreshadowing of the Inquisitorius though.

The ominous hint about Emerie's past is interesting. Is the implication that Nala Se took Omega under her wing and abandoned the rest of the Omega clones? Like Jango, I guess.

I love that Tarkin's cameos are all about funding. Something about the Imps squabbling over government spending just delights me. I wonder if the end of that conversation actually means he's not going to be killed by the clones but by Palpatine instead? That'd be kind of disappointing tbh.

Hilarious to me that Fennec got an entire episode and Cad Bane got like two minutes of screentime. Like Asajj, he knows when to stay out of the plot. They did my boy Todo justice though, love that dumb droid.

I, a plushie enthusiast, approve of how this is adamantly a pro-plushie show. But how am I supposed to believe that Omega, who missed Lula so much she effectively cloned her, was just going to leave her there??? I guess that whole scene was just a way to remove her and the goggles from the ship before it exploded.

I'm in the middle of writing like five different Tech/Wrecker whump fics and even I wouldn't have written CX-2 effectively shooting Wrecker. My heart!!!

I was so worried about Gonky. Glad he's okay.

"Point of No Return" needed 15 more minutes, actually. I continually find it so jarring how quickly this show breezes through reactions. It would've been nice to see at least a little more from the Batch at the sight of their ship being blown up.

That ending...was not for me. Crosshair missing that shot after he was given an entire episode to figure out what was wrong and meditate is such a frustrating choice. What even is going to be the arc here? Is it really going to be him abandoning his weapon entirely? That should be an upswing in the plot, but at this point it'd be more believable for him to be like, "Man, fuck this, I'm over it," lmao.

I'm glad Omega at least chose to get captured. Everyone knows I've been pissed about the anti-heroic messaging of this show from the start, and given how afraid I was that they would just abandon the other clones, I'm very relieved Omega's had this arc of worrying about them. But it's so silly to retread this line of plot after the three kickass episodes covering this exact thing. These next episodes are absolutely about to be messy af, and it's a bummer how it'll take away from the impressive clarity of the first three.

Why does this show keep cutting the titular team off at the knees?? Seems like Omega will probably work with Emerie and Nala Se to contact the Batch and Echo/Rex with the coordinates, but that will mean that Hunter's group will once again be lost and searching in the meantime. And they didn't even get to find her the first time!

Truly the quintessential fandom show. Half of it makes me tear my hair out in frustration and the other half makes me shriek in delight.

[ladystarksneedle]

Of ladies and birds

(Helaena’s pov)

A/N: For @starstrucksnowing thank you so much for reaching out to me with this idea💞 I hope you like what I've done with it.

Thank you all for reading! Please do refer to this post as this little drabble is connected to it.

Word count: 712

It is a cloudy day when they're informed, at breakfast. Mother sits with her hands still clasped in prayer, telling them how their father wishes to see them. It is more of a summon than a request. It is no secret that he isn't well. She doesn't remember a time when he's ever been healthy, but his ailments have worsened considerably over the past few years. He's lost an eye now with half of his face covered in salves and bandages. She'd been to see him once before, when the loss was fresh. Her mother had applauded her for her kindness and the care she'd shown him, however it was mere curiosity and partial spite that had led her to his chambers. Covered in a fog of incense and dust, with his model of Old Valyria looming ominously, she'd glanced upon his face trying to hide her shock. He looked pitiful, a man on the precipice of death. Skin blackened, with protruding bones and labored grunts of pain interrupting the hollow heaves of his chest. She'd held his hand for a moment, only to get closer before leaving just as swiftly.

"Rhaenyra?"

Her sister had found her way to him even near death. Perhaps memories lingered in places even the gods couldn't reach. 

She finds herself at his doorstep again now, her brothers in tow. She's decided to leave the children behind, despite mother's insistence, his face will only serve to scare them. The royal apartments are the same as before, with the curtains pulled shut and a flurry of maesters at work. They bow as they reach him with Ser Criston closing the door behind. He's opted to stay indoors, she notices, looking back. Her mother's hands on the King's face give her reason enough. Fresh blood coats her fingers as she speaks to him in hushed tones informing him of their presence, wiping and adjusting his bandages. He grunts audibly and raises a bony finger beckoning them. Aegon bows his head looking anywhere but him. Aemond is the first to approach. He kneels beside her, enquiring about his health, monotonously reciting pleasantries, exactly as is expected of him. Mother tenses nearby as he speaks, yet smiles at him nevertheless. It is their turn to go next. Aegon shuffles behind her as she goes to sit beside him, gazing at him with pity and distaste. He yearns for him still, yet his presence only serves to deepen the wound he's inflicted upon them all. 

"Helaena", he croaks surprisingly. "How are you my butterfly?"

"I am well, father. As are the children."

"That is good. Very good. Your mother tells me they are growing well, yes."

"They are, father. They've begun to babble now."

"That is good. Good."

She looks at her mother imploringly, wishing to leave.

"And what have they said, hmm. A child's first words are a true delight."

"Lady and bird "

He looks at her now, his eye widening a fraction. 

"Those are, interesting words to use"

"They're very attentive. They've been watching me embroider a ladybird for a while, a present rather. Perhaps that they caught on to it out of curiosity."

"How curious indeed, and who" he stutters, "Who was the recipient of this delightful present "

"Ser Criston of course."

She hears shuffling behind her followed by an urgent cough. Her mother wrings her hands anxiously. Aemond and Aegon look at her wide eyed, suppressing their smirks.

"Indeed" her father croaks pitifully, extending his hand towards her. "You are very kind, my child, a most comely princess, caring for all our subjects."

"Ser Criston is hardly a subject father" she says tilting her head towards him.

"I think it is best we let the King rest my loves, we have kept him long enough." 

"That would be wise your grace," Maester Orwyle chimes in hurriedly, behind her.

As they rise together to leave, she glances back at him being tucked in apprehensively by their mother. Ser Criston gives her a subtle nod as she crosses the threshold.

"Perhaps you'd like to take that walk in the gardens today princess, I've heard it's a good day to spot a ladybird."

She beams up at him and nods. The incense lingers on.

Taglist: @witheredoffherwitch @arcielee @chompchompluke @barbieaemond

[crimsonedquill]

How they act in front of their crush (Hogwarts Legacy)

Poppy Sweeting 🦡

It’s not out of character for her to freeze up in the presence of other people, but this is different. Sweaty palms, glowing cheeks, stumbling over her words; it’s like she’s coming down with a bout of the flu.

Beasts trivia is the only topic she can discuss without immediately getting tongue-tied, so she mostly sticks to that for conversation fodder. Will spend a suspicious amount of time talking about mating rituals.

“Did you know that Fwoopers seduce each other with particular mating calls?” *imitates bird noises*

She tries dropping a lot of hints in the form of beast metaphors, but gets increasingly depressed when they fail to notice them. How do they not understand what she meant by Hippogriff love dances?

Natsai Onai 🦁

She doesn’t really get flustered, but she will start acting excessively nice and helpful (one oddity is that the ground suddenly seems to be littered with lost things)

“I believe you dropped this” *smiles whilst pulling out a random quill they have never seen before*

Of course her mother catches on. She will make sure they sit apart during her classes and she’ll call them to attention the minute she sees them even looking at each other, but that doesn’t stop her daughter from trying.

She loves sketching them on random pieces of parchment during other classes. Capturing their features in ink is almost therapeutic to her, allowing her to carry them with her even when they’re not physically present.

Imelda Reyes 🐍

Crushes? Pft. She doesn’t have time for them. It’s absolutely not like she loves the challenge or anything.

She’ll make them sweat buckets just like anyone else during Quidditch training, but in a way that suggests some obvious sexual tension.

“You need a tighter grip on that bat, like this” *aggressively squeezes their club wishing it was her throat*

She likes it when they don’t give in right away. Flirty looks, suggestive comments; she’ll just push them far enough until they finally break and she can devour them whole.

Ominis Gaunt 🐍

He’s usually very skilled at navigating via wand, which makes it all the more odd that he’s constantly brushing up too close against them.

“Pardon, how foolish of me” *bumps into them despite practically having the entire room to himself*

You might call him a bit of an old-fashioned romantic, so he ends up spending a lot of time writing poetry to express his feelings. Finding the right words to describe the way their voice makes him feel is the best way to enhance his ‘experience’ of them.

Sometimes, he just likes to hang back and listen to their conversations with others; he loves the sound of their laughter. (The added benefit being that he might pick up on any hints of mutual interest.)

Sebastian Sallow 🐍

Will definitely try to impress them with reckless stunts or some ominous-sounding incantation he found in an obscure book in the Restricted Section.

“Hey, watch this” *accidentally summons a demon from hell*

He won’t waste any opportunity to show off in their presence, especially during duels. Leander Prewett should be happy he isn’t a stain on the wall of the Defence Against the Dark classroom by the time he’s done.

His urge to act all macho mostly stems from a place of insecurity. Even though he doesn’t admit to it openly, he’s constantly fretting if he’s good enough for them.

Amit Thakkar 🦅

Of course, our good Ravenclaw boy wouldn’t engage in any unbecoming behaviour that would jeopardise his studies.

That said, making an extra effort to help out a fellow classmate doesn’t really count, does it?

“Allow me to help you with that” *blushes heavily when their hands touch as he’s adjusting their telescope*

Is definitely the type to do extensive research on their likes and preferences. Keeps a notebook on the things they do after school and their favourite classes to have a topic of conversation in case he has a chance to talk to them.

[hausofmamadas]

FRENCHIE | Queer!Mode, Detected

The Boys, Season 1, Ep 2 - Cherry | Season 2, Ep 3 - Over The Hill With the Swords of A 1000 Men, 6 - The Bloody Door’s Off, 8 - What I Know | Season 3, Ep 3 - Barbary Coast

∴

I’ve seen a lotta chatter in The Boys fandom (mostly on Reddit but also TikTok. Appropriately this take wasn’t on Tumblr much) that ppl were mad at Kripke and Co for taking an unforeseen “gay turn” with Frenchie’s character in S4 ..? And I’m over here with my Sherlock Holmes cap and pipe and tiny detective notebook just

trying to understand how these ppl didn’t pick up on the bipan vibes from this beautiful, majestic, so-French-he-can't-help-it butterfly.

(Also all this hand wringing about Frenchie "turning gay," te lo juro me esta eloqueciendo alaverga. Like canwenot with the bi-erasure, it’s giving Ashley telling Maeve she’s a lesbian bc is more “clear-cut” and easier to sell than bi. It’s just as insulting to call a bipan person gay as it is to call them straight. And I don’t mean like the use of gay as a catch all that a lotta us queers use sometimes interchangeably for queer, I talkin ppl acting as tho bipan isn't real and/or thinking Frenchie jumped out the closet as a gay man 3/4 of the way thru the show.)

And their confusion over this has got me confused. Like I didn’t even realize it was such a plot twist until I got on Reddit and a lotta ppl were screaming like Ned Stark's head just got cut off, or like it's some wild-ass writer's room shenanigans where the character is suddenly a diff person for no discernible reason. Like have you seen this man? Do you know where you are? Bc they’ve been dropping hints throughout the show. Case in point:

a) Little Nina and all that talk about her Sergei ahem it's Serge and his overwhelming enthusiasm for butt stuff and Vincent Cassel try to convince me Sr. Cassel wasn’t a childhood crush of Frenchie’s or someth and that’s why it’s his safe word. You can’t

b) this time he planted a fat smooch on Hughie’s face after finding out he leaked the compound V tip to the press (bonus points for his attempt to make out with mm before getting a no-homo hard pass)

c) this deep, abiding love of The Golden Girls this is unequivocally the gayest thing on the list

d) how he turned tricks in mad NYC before Little Nina locked that mf in a chastity belt and held him hostage by his penis he went to ‘work’ for Nina. -> Disclaimer: this is not to imply that queer ppl’s participation in sex work is bc they’re hypersexual. This is here to point out queer coding, as lgbtqia+ ppl are more at-risk for mental health issues stemming from severe trauma, food and housing insecurity, and addiction, often without access to the care they need to recover. So sex work becomes a viable vocation to survive bc unlike a regular 9-5, it’s more conducive to untreated mental health issues and substance use also it’s an easier market to get into than arms dealing or contract killing

e) this throuple arrangement btwn him, Cherie and Justin

f) His attempts to…er broaden mm’s horizons ?

g) the evident lack of knowledge or interest or acumen for this mysterious sportsball of which mm speaks of but he’ll still go on that dumb golf bachelor trip bc he loves his fraaand

h) this fondness for Eurotrash raves and dancing

And look, I might get it if they sprung it on us. But this shit has been since the beginning. The earliest indicator being ep 2 of S1 — THE FIRST EP HE’S IN. Hughie asks what it’s like to kill someone and Frenchie waxes poetic about his first hit (just before ominously dropping, "I carry them all with me" buried the lead on that one to Hughie's horror but to the delight of bbygirllovers like myself everywhere) and well, I think the evidence here speaks for itself

Like the dichot— nay, Bichotomy of talking about how mindblowingly hot this chick is whilst, in the same breath, gushing over her outfit. Okay I’m sure there’s a token straightmale who can id high-end designer brands on sight. I’m sure that unicorn exists somewhere, right, cuz humans contain multitudes. But this man? He just a bipan butterfly. So those who felt blindsided by Frenchie gettin’ dicked down, oh you beautiful, naive, sophisticated newborn babies. If not spelled out, it was so heavily implied, I saw the fling with whatshisname with the murdered fam whose name I’m too lazy to Goog and was like, “hm yes, the math is indeed mathing, these calculayshuns are correct”

Like u thot a mf dressed like this??? was straight ?

Mans is in a scoopneck bunny crop top that looks straighr from the juniors section of Forever21 with plaid pants and fuckingsjs suspenders iconic so to think he'd nary tarried in sausage-central before, well ... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

═

taglist: @drabbles-mc, @complete-nonsequitur, @rerorero-my-cherry, @ladygoatee, @tofuwildcard, @tinylittleobsessions

[oops-it-happened-again]

The Pretty Prince - Chapter 2

It bears repeating, I'm not looking for hostile discourse about camps and who's right and wrong. Please, do not come to me seeking to fight.

If this is not your vision, that's okay. Please don't come for me!

Also, I love Alicent, but - for the purpose of this fic - she's a villain :D

<- Chapter 1

Tags: @mamawiggers1980

Ellyn sets her plan into motion. It does not go as expected or desired, and she soon finds herself in hot water.

Words: 3,5k

Pairing: Aemond x Ellyn Baratheon (textual ghost)

Warnings: abuse, neglect, insecurity, arranged marriage, mention of brothel, mention of disfigurement, insults, slightly Aemond-apologetic, Aemond is a sad boy, mild violence, threats, sexual subtext & tension

Despite Hala’s protests, Ellyn proceeded to corner a poor woman leaving a nearby pillow house and convinced her to sell her the worn, translucent shift on her very body.

“This is a terrible idea,” her maid insisted again. “This city’s crawling with vermin—you don’t want to stay here. Let’s go home.”

Hala bit her lip guiltily. “If you’re lucky, none of you has to marry him. He might well die in the war he’s started.”

She knew that it was treason to say such a thing out loud, but she’d served Ellyn for too long and too faithfully to want to see her mistress bound to an amoral monster.

Having been all but born into service to the family, Hala had never known a life without Ellyn—they had been childhood companions and mutual adolescent confidantes, and, on many an ill-advised adventure, they’d only relied on each other before.

“My father gave his word, and I intend to keep it,” Ellyn replied in a steely tone. “I shall find out what I need to know, and then we can turn back.”

Sighing in exasperation, Hala thus dutifully followed her into the meandering labyrinth of King’s Landing’s smaller, less reputable streets.

They took a room in a small inn, and Hala would have much preferred if they’d asked the serving wench to bring up a plate of cold meat and dark bread, but Ellyn insisted on eating in the common room instead.

“Your grandsire has loved you too much,” the maid muttered disobligingly. “He’s spoiled you and given you strange notions about danger.”

“That may be so,” Ellyn agreed, “but I want to listen to what the people say.”

Unfortunately, they learned little and less. The smallfolk’s worries were centred around mundane considerations like the tightening blockade and the imminent end of summer rather than the intrigues of the crown.

From what she could gather from eavesdropping discreetly, those who did take an interest were rarely of one mind when it came to the “rightful” heir. One thing seemed clear, though, few were those who liked Aemond.

He was deemed useful, and the sheer size of his dragon was a source of reassurance and dread alike, but the man himself seemed to be but a bitter-tasting afterthought.

“Let’s retreat,” Hala pleaded again once their dinner had been consumed and their tankards emptied. “There’s nought more to be learned tonight.”

And, as much as Ellyn yearned to stay in the crowded, smoky room and listen to strangers talk about things she didn’t understand, she finally gave in.

She didn’t want to be found out too early by lingering overlong, so she let her faithful maid lead her away to where none would find her.

It felt as if she’d only just settled on the lumpy mattress when Ellyn awoke once more to the sound of distant wailing.

Being no stranger to ominous commotions in the middle of the night, she leapt up and padded to the window—the flimsy curtain felt greasy and grimy beneath her clammy fingers, and when she pulled it aside, she found that the street was alight with torches.

“What is it?” Hala joined her by the small cut-out in the rough wall.

“If only I knew,” Ellyn whispered, wishing desperately that her grandfather Boremund was alive still. He would have known what to do and how to act—he’d have instructed her on how to deal with his son’s potential overreaching and the prospect of wedlock.

As the two women looked on, spellbound, people hurried to and fro frantically, banging on doors and spreading their seemingly monumental tidings.

It took another hour at least for Ellyn and Hala to overhear a conversation outside the door to the small lodging house.

“They say the heir has been murdered—it was surely that one-eyed degenerate they were looking for. The King…”

The rest of the sentence was swallowed hastily as a tall, dark-clad, eerily familiar figure pushed its way through the throng of gossipmongers ruthlessly without even taking the time to inquire what had happened.

“It cannot be,” Hala whispered. “By the Seven—it mustn’t be. This is not a safe place, Milady, let’s leave now.”

Every fibre in Ellyn’s being knew that her maid was right, but she couldn’t overcome her instinctive reluctance.

“Someone is trying to murder one who might soon be my brother-in-law,” she murmured pensively.

“And a good thing too,” Hala hissed vehemently. “Cassandra can’t have him, he won’t have Maris, and you wouldn’t let him have Floris. So he might well be destined to become your Lord.”

“If that is so,” Ellyn whispered. “Is it not my duty to stand by him in his time of need?”

“Certainly not,” Hala exclaimed, clutching at her shoulders. “Come away, Milady, I beg you!”

“If he comes back tomorrow, Hala,” Ellyn said without taking her eyes off the milling street below. “I shall go down and enact my plan. I must know what kind of man he is.”

Clenching her teeth, Hala resolved that—if Aemond turned out to be even half the beast people thought him to be—she’d kill him with her own two hands.

“Where were you?” Alicent hissed, her eyes wide and frantic.

She reminded Aemond of a horse about to bolt through solid wood and cutting cables in its sheer panic.

“I was out,” he replied calmly. “Where’s my sister?”

When his mother’s eyes grew cold and hard, Aemond realised that he’d disappointed her once again. He’d failed to ask about his brother, his king, and she was eager to take this omission as an offence.

“Father has informed me that you were happy enough to plot behind our backs,” she hissed. “But when we needed you, you were nowhere to be found.”

Pressing his lips together so tightly it hurt to keep from asking where she had been when her grandson and the future of a tottering realm had been murdered in his bed, Aemond weathered her helpless disdain as he always had.

She didn’t even bother to dismiss him—the dowager queen simply drifted out of the room without another word, leaving him to his private thoughts and regrets.

All eyes were now on the royal family—the people wanted to see the bereaved mother and Viserys’s dignified, mournful widow while Aegon raged, and Otto connived coldly.

In this game of appearances, there was no place for one for whom nobody—not even his own kin—felt any sympathy.

Thus, Aemond stayed in the background, musing about Daemon’s daring plot obsessively; he was flattered to be considered so awful a threat, but he also felt unbearably guilty.

This was the second boy who’d been wrenched from his mother because of him. Of course, Aemond knew that he was but one part in the ponderous, terrible machine of war and succession, but he resented the fact that, rather than being an innocent cog, he was the teeth of the very monstrosity grinding his family to dust.

As the night wore on, he had to wonder whether his mother or grandsire would have taken such drastic measures if it had been Alicent’s second-born who’d been killed in an unfortunate accident. Probably not.

The next day, he was in a constant state of readiness. Nobody called on him to represent—Aemond should not have been surprised by that, but it hurt nevertheless to realise how little he was valued beyond his martial prowess.

The bitterness ebbing and surging within his tight throat was profoundly undignified, and—when at last he could take the silent rooms and empty halls no more—he fled the Keep to find solace in the arms of one who’d never denied him.

Of course, Madame Silvi was paid handsomely for her services, but he liked to imagine that she cared for him at least a little.

Here, in this pit of squalor and sin, he could shed the mask of cold indifference and haughty self-aggrandization to admit that he regretted the whole incident that had triggered such an avalanche of misery.

She listened—she understood.

“I’ll be right back,” the ageing prostitute whispered tenderly—she’d heard one of the younger girls squeal and wanted to make sure none of their patrons was taking more than he’d paid for.

Sitting up slowly, Aemond focused on the ribald jokes and raucous laughter just outside the small alcove.

“You’re not one of mine,” he heard Silvi hiss threateningly a short time later.

Helpless anger for which he’d yet to find an outlet coursed through his blood as Aemond slipped back into his breeches and strode out forcefully.

Following the familiar voice, he found Silvi clasping the slender wrist of a young girl whose dark, flashing eyes darted around the brothel nervously.

At a glance, he could tell that the shrewd lady of the night was right—not only was that pale girl not employed in this establishment, Aemond was even sure that she was no whore at all.

The teeth she bared in a rictus of panic were well-kept, and her even features were devoid of any trace of paint or other artifice.

“I’ll take care of this,” he grunted. “Say nothing to anyone—I’ll pay you well.”

Half-turning, Silvi gazed upon his face for a long moment, pondering, before she nodded curtly. “Very well. Do you require anything?”

“Wine,” Aemond said with a dangerously sharp smile. If this girl was one of the conspirators sent by Daemon, he’d find out soon enough.

“Take the last booth,” Silvi instructed. “I’ll make sure you won’t be disturbed.”

As soon as her beringed hand was withdrawn, Aemond’s closed like a vice around the slim wrist.

“Come!”

Thus, he dragged the feebly struggling stranger through a dirty curtain into a secluded half-room. “So, you’ve infiltrated a brothel, pretending to be a whore,” he drawled.

Ellyn’s stomach was in knots—she’d imagined this to go quite differently and cursed herself now for not having listened to Hala’s wise counsel.

“I am,” she said as firmly and assertively as she could.

“Prove it,” the Prince demanded, sitting down on the edge of the overly perfumed couch taking up most of the small alcove. “Go ahead!”

The object of her dangerous curiosity had evidently come to the aid of the madam in a haste for he wore neither tunic nor shoes.

Even more curious than this comparable state of nudity was the fact that he’d not bothered to don the eyepatch he was known to wear whenever he was seen in public.

As her mouth grew dry and her tongue heavy, Ellyn had to admit to herself that this sordid establishment could probably not fully be counted as “public”.

Aemond, oblivious to how flustered his bare chest and firm stomach made her, sucked his teeth impatiently.

His evident disbelief irked her, so Ellyn stepped forward brazenly but then stopped again, unsure of what to do next.

She’d never had a lover, and it showed.

Moreover, she was still overwhelmed by how quickly and inexorably she’d found herself enmeshed in an undeniable catastrophe.

How had she been to foresee that the eagle-eyed bawd would catch on almost instantly?

She’d wanted to learn more about Prince Aemond, but she’d never expected to be faced with the man himself—especially in such a shocking state of undress.

“Gods,” she sighed, lifting a hand as if to touch his cheek as the flickering light from the tapers flashed across the precious stone wedged into his shapely skull. “That must have hurt!”

An expression of genuine surprise, at once chased by something hardened and hurt, rippled across his face.

“You’re not convincing, girl,” he said in a cold tone.

Ellyn realised that she had to move lest she make a bad situation worse by regrettable indecision, so she went to him, straddling his thighs and pressing a coy kiss upon the corner of his mouth.

Before she could so much as congratulate herself for this brave act, he’d thrown himself around, pinning her wrists above her head and pressing her into the dirty mattress with his full weight.

“I knew it,” he snarled. “Of all the things a whore does willingly for the right sum, kisses are the one they are notoriously avaricious about. Who are you?”

Rearing up frantically against him, Ellyn—bereft of her hands to claw herself out—tried to kick and bite in her desperate attempt to break free from his painfully firm hold.

“Dirty spy! Murderess!” he spat, his one eye wide with boundless ire.

Ellyn turned her head in a vain attempt to shield her face from the blows she anticipated—she didn’t understand the terrible accusations he laid at her feet, and her mind was too befuddled with existential fear to even try to make sense of it.

“I came for you,” she whimpered.

“That’s what I thought. Go on then, here I am,” he said, his voice tired and hollow now as he lifted himself halfway off her and extended his arms. “Do your worst.”

Aemond flinched when those soft lips brushed against his own once more so hesitantly that it could hardly be called a proper kiss.

“Did it hurt very much? Did they have to reopen the wound to…put this in?” the woman asked, tracing the scar marring half of his face reverently.

He was about to ask her once more who she was when the shifting light unburied a confused memory in his mind.

“I’ve seen you before,” he whispered thoughtfully.

The hand espousing the sharp line of his cheek now was soft and free of calluses, and the youthful face blurring in and out of focus before his solitary eye was fresh and smooth.

Furthermore, he could make out a hint of violets and rain in the discreet scent emanating from her skin—she was high-born, and probably very far from home.

“Stand!” he rasped, peeling himself off her soft, yielding flesh.

His unrestrained violence had left dark bruises on her creamy skin, and he shivered in disgust at this renewed reminder of his poor self-control.

She did as she was told without protest, though, and—as he drank in the voluptuous curves beneath the all-but-transparent shift—he felt his body react with visceral hunger while his mind was still entangled in the puzzle of her identity.

He was convinced that she was not a base-born prostitute, yet she was undeniably bare underneath the borrowed or stolen garment, and he was tempted to take her at her word. If only for one night of blissful oblivion which he needed so desperately.

The strange maiden with the sensuous mouth had the face of a girl, but the swell of her chest and the roundness of her hips told him that she was indeed a woman fully grown.

She shifted uncomfortably beneath his unwavering inspection, and the soft light dancing across her sweet features finally made the puzzle pieces fall into place.

“You’re one of Baratheon’s daughters,” he gasped, struggling to comprehend how that could be true.

“Ellyn,” she confirmed softly and curtsied. “We’ve not yet had the pleasure to have a conversation—your visit was…cut short.”

“What have you done? Does your father know that you’re here?” Aemond inquired tensely. They needed Storm’s End as an ally, and his blood ran cold as he realised that he’d almost destroyed yet another vital advantage by taking the girl’s maidenhead or life.

She scoffed, throwing back her long, unbound hair with a practised flick. “I’d hardly be the first young girl to lose her mind and follow a handsome knight,” she declared in the tone of one who usually had a cocky answer to even the most pertinent of questions.

Aemond willed the floor to open beneath his feet and swallow him whole.

“Handsome…what are you talking about, woman? Your father will have my head for this! And yours as well!”

“No, he won’t. He’ll agree with whatever lie I devise—I’m the least important of his daughters, and, if nobody knows I’ve been here, he won’t even ask where I’ve gone.”

The candid, humble way in which she presented so gruesome a truth gave Aemond pause—he’d struggled with similar thoughts earlier, but, unlike him, Lady Ellyn seemed to have made her peace with her position within her family.

“You’ve made yourself out to be a whore,” he thundered, hiding his confusion behind effervescent anger. “What for?”

“Nobody knows but you,” she smiled. “I’ve come to find out whether you’re a monster. I’m looking out for my sisters.”

At that, his face froze into a moue of disbelief.

“I am,” he then said challengingly. “What now? Are those sisters, sitting comfortably at your father’s table, worth the terrible sacrifice you were willing to make?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Always. Also, I don’t believe you.”

“You find me…in a whorehouse, in a state of disarray and undress…and yet, you don’t flee. Are you completely mad, woman?” he spat, torn between his expectation that she’d turn away in horror and his desperate hope that she wouldn’t.

“I don’t believe so, no,” she gave back conversationally and shrugged. “You’re a Prince of the Realm, and thus, it’s well within your rights to spend your nights as you see fit.”

“Have you forgotten what has transpired in the skies above your familial sanctuary?” he pressed on, determined to push her away before her candid gentility seduced him into revealing more of his pain than anybody could ever see.

“Orys Baratheon took Walter Wyl’s hands and feet as repayment for the one hand he’d lost to his father,” Ellyn shrugged. “It would be disingenuous of me to fault you for your claim, gruesome as it might have been.”

Speechless, he got up and took the carafe off the sideboard to pour the overpriced dark, heavy wine into the cheap goblets a discreet servant had put at their disposal.

“You’re one of the first people to ask me whether it hurt,” he then said without turning around. “It did. It’s a long time ago, though, and it was worth the sacrifice.”

“For the good of the realm, yes,” she replied. He could hear the creaking of the bed as she sat down again, waiting for him to hand her the drink he was holding so tightly he was afraid the stem would break off the flimsy chalice. “Nevertheless, it must have been frightening and agonising for one so young. I’m sorry.”

At last, he managed to reassert control over his limbs and turn around—he felt oddly vulnerable as he stood, bare-chested, before one so precious and noble.

Lady Ellyn’s smile was soft and dreamy as she took the glass and sipped daintily. “I thank you for your hospitality,” she said courteously. “Mayhap, I should indeed return to my father’s keep.”

Intertwining strains of greed—carnal, mental, emotional—flared to life in Aemond’s very soul.

He knew that he deserved no ruth, yet he couldn’t bear the thought of letting go of the crumbs of kindness she’d granted him even after he’d detained and hurt her in a fit of blind rage.

“You cannot,” he barked. “The roads are no longer safe, and nobody is allowed to leave the city. Haven’t you heard what has transpired?”

Her face fell, but her eyes remained dry as she met his gaze steadily. “Then, my fate is sealed. If I fail to slip back before long, my name shall be ruined, and I shall have to throw myself at the mercy of the Faith. Not the worst fate for one as me…”

“No,” he hummed. “The Red Keep has been plunged into chaos and mayhem. Everyone is much distracted by the demise of the boy. I can smuggle you in—we can claim that you’ve come to keep my sister company in her hour of grief. Surely, your father would not refute so noble an endeavour?”

“He would not,” she agreed. “Nonetheless, I’ve arrived too early for that subterfuge to be credible, I’m afraid. Where would you hide me in the meantime? As we’ve established, I’m less talented an actress than I thought I was.”

“My rooms,” he croaked. “Nobody ever seeks me out there—you’d be safe.”

“That suits me perfectly,” she grinned impishly. “As I’ve said, I find you quite delightful to look at, and I would learn as much about you as I may.”

That fragile moment of nascent understanding was rudely interrupted by the madam shoving the curtain aside roughly.

“My Prince,” she declared. “Your brother just arrived. Shall I inform you once he’s left?”

Sighing deeply, Aemond handed her the empty carafe. “Yes. We shall need more wine. I shall need my belongings as well before anyone recognises them and seeks me out.”

Turning to Ellyn, he informed her tersely that they’d have to abide a little longer.

“Very well, my Prince,” she smiled. “Don’t trouble yourself on my behalf, though. I’m not offended by the absence of your usual trappings and masks.”

So, this was the second chapter.

⤳Masterlist

Thank you for reading! If you want to read more of this, please let me know! It's super sad and frustrating to write and post something without getting any kind of feedback.

[sleepingelvhen]

Work-Study Pt.1

Wriothesley/Reader NSFW

Minors DO NOT interact

MASTERLIST PART 1 PART 2

Working part-time as a Sigewinne's assistant, you find yourself enamored by the Duke of Meropide. One day when helping Sigewinne gather medicines, you discover on of the Duke's secrets and end up helping him in ways you never imagined.

The sounds of gears turning and clicking into place was all that filled the silence once the elevator descended below the ocean’s surface. Another day where you came down from the overworld of Fontaine to retrieve more medical supplies for Sigewinne and you still hadn’t quite gotten used to just how strange the change was. Going from bright scenery with the scent of the ocean upon the wind to being surrounded by cogs and mechanics and the ominous sound of being beneath the surface. It was almost like muted waves or bubbles surrounding your ears and pressuring your head.

Thankfully the ride down had gotten shorter in feeling from how often you did this for Sigewinne, so often that you felt your body relaxed when the doors opened to the underground mechanical world, the soft puff of metal and dust filling your nose now comforting than it was when you first stepped foot here. It had all become so…familiar…in a homey sense.

You made your way confidently to the infirmary, greeting the stark and silent guards as you went, trying to ignore the fact that they never once greeted you back. They treated everyone like a prisoner here, even guests, and especially you. A student from Sumeru, studying and taking notes upon the living conditions of the Fortress of Meropide, you had assumed it would make them less hostile. On the contrary, they seemed more peeved by your presence than some of the more violent denizens. 

But you kept yourself up, ignored the feeling of being watched and happily entered the infirmary where Sigewinne was patching up someone who looked like they went a little too hard in the boxing ring. She patted the man's arm and gestured for him to leave as you set the herbs and other ingredients onto her side table for organizing later.

“Good, you’re back! Thank you for taking care of that, I prefer to be available as often as I can.” Her voice was as sweet as her personality, the little Melusine smiling softly and swinging her little body to the sides in joy. Sigewinne skipped over to the table, looking through everything, often humming with consideration as she pulled some items aside.

“Aha! There’s one more thing I’d like you to do,” she wasn’t looking at you. In fact she had piled some small herbs into a mortar and pestle and began grinding away, her face strewn in a small focused face. 

“What else do you—”

“Give me a second!” She cut you off before you could speak and continued grinding and adding some liquids until she had a small vial of some sort of greenish liquid in her little palm.

“There! Alright, take this to Wriothesley.”

“Uhm…why?” You quickly regretted the dismissive tone you spoke in as Sigewinne shot you a sharp look, her face soon returned to her sweet smile.

“Because, it's to help him with an injury. Can’t keep himself out of trouble,” she sighed as she spoke and pushed the vial into your hands before shooing you out of the infirmary, shutting the door behind you.

With nothing else to do, you headed to Duke Wriothesley’s office. That was something you had definitely found unique about the Fortress of Meropide. Where most prisons simply had a warden who was basically a glorified guard, the warden here was a certified Duke and a previously convicted criminal. Everything about this place was interesting, you noted. Every day was similar and yet something new was happening all around. Not to mention the people you found company in were lovely, especially the Duke. 

Your face flushed as you thought about it, quickly shaking away your feelings as you knocked on Wriothesley’s office door.

“Come in.” His voice was gruff and forced, like he was in pain. 

His office was fairly neat and, of course, had a likeness to most rooms within the Fortress, the only difference being his was a little larger and he had a fairly nice desk. One he was sitting at, hunched over a bit with his fingers pressed into his temples.

“If this is about another fight breaking out, I’ll handle it–” He stopped once he noticed it was you and smiled softly, trying to mask his irritation and pain.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you were another guard. Come on in.”

You softly shut the door behind you and stepped up to his desk, setting the small vial of medicine in front of him.

“Order up from Sigewinne, pain medication for someone who ‘can’t stay out of trouble’. Her words, not mine.” 

Wriothesley chuckled and took the medicine like a shot, grimacing as it went down.

“Ugh, she….certainly knows how to make a tasty drink.” His sarcastic tone was one of the things you found endearing about him and you giggled a bit from the little joke. Wriothesley leaned back in his chair, looking a little proud of himself for getting you to laugh.

“So…how goes your research? I’ve heard much talk of our curious little ‘Sumeru mouse’.”

You froze at that and blushed, “Sumeru mouse? Is that what everyone is calling me?”

He chuckled, looking at you with his eyebrows cocked. 

“Indeed. Did you not know? Well, you’ve been the talk of the Fortress since you arrived, little mouse.”

That didn’t help your blush. Now he was giving you nicknames, and now your heart was fluttering.

“What kinds of things are they saying?” The question was just to try distracting yourself from the way his arms flex as he changes his sitting position. This time he leaned forward, elbows on his knees and…that was simply a little hotter than leaning back.

“Nothing bad, I assure you. If you were doing anything illegal, you’d be here in handcuffs.”

It was irritating how just the mention of something so small could make you shiver at the thought. Just the mention of ‘handcuffs’ had your mind whirling like some of the gears that spun around to make this place work. It was…difficult to hold the naughty thoughts and images at bay.

“You alright? You’re as quiet as a…mouse. A cute little mouse,” he laughed at his own little play on words, his mouth curved into a mischievous smirk.

“I’m fine…it’s just a little hot in here…I believe I’m more suited for the cold.” Your smile was unconvincing. You watched as he raised an eyebrow at that.

“Aren’t you from Sumeru?”

Shit. You slowly nodded and looked to the side, trying to think of something to say to get yourself out of this situation before you said anything stupid.

“A-anyways, I should probably get going–” You started to step away when Wriothesley growled in pain, wrapping his arm around his chest and doubling over. Only a second was wasted until you were at his side, kneeling so you were level with where he seemed to be injured.

“Wriothesley! What’s wrong?”

He grunted, choking back a cough as he rolled his neck, the sound of his bones cracking loud in the empty room. It didn’t seem like there was an obvious injury, but he looked like he had been in a lot of pain.

“Wriothesley.” Your voice lowered, almost like Sigewinne’s when talking to her patients. You had absolutely started mimicking some of her tendencies as a doctor.

“I’m fine…just some old pains…it’s what the medicine is for…you can leave,” he looked away, his face flushing a soft pink, obviously avoiding looking at you. But that wasn’t a good answer, you needed to know more.

“Something that has you doubling over in pain isn’t just something to brush off, tell me what it is.”

Wriothesley huffed, putting an arm in front of his face and taking a deep breath, almost like he was smelling the air. His breath was shaky and uncertain, his body shivering with a phantom chill.

“I…have a condition…and the medicine helps lessen it.”

“I’m going to need more than that.” You watch as he sighs, still keeping his face turned away from you.

“It’s something that comes and goes…you know like monthly…and usually the medicine helps but…it hasn’t started working so you should definitely leave right now.”

You reached out to touch his arm. “Wriothesley–”

A loud squeak escaped your mouth as you found yourself suddenly pushed down onto Wriothesley’s desk, one of his large hands holding your wrists together above your head, his body looming over your own.

He was panting deeply, his face a crimson red. You could hear the air as he sucked it in between clenched teeth. You noted the sharpness of his canines before turning to face him and his darkened eyes, his pupils blown wide.

“What…kind of condition?” Your voice was small but he cocked his head to the side. He heard you and he definitely ignored your question as he leaned in slowly, pushing his face into the crook of your neck. He breathed in deeply through his mouth, the heat of his breath against your throat making your body quiver in sudden pleasure.

“Fuck,” his voice shook as he took another deep breath of you. “You smell so damn good.”

“Wriothesley?”

He grunted and slowly pulled away, obviously fighting an urge to keep sniffing you. His hand stayed gripping your wrists, tighter than handcuffs could ever be.

“It’s like a…heat,” he growled it out, his voice quiet as if he were ashamed of it. “Like I’m a damn animal.”

Your face flushed a bright red upon realizing what he meant. You did always kind of think of him as a likeness to a wolf, minus the tail and ears. Though his hair sometimes made it look like he had ears.

“I…I never knew humans could…”

“Well I guess I’m an outlier,” he murmured under his breath, grunting in pain again as his free hand gripped his stomach. “You–you should leave…the medicine isn't working…so you should—should leave.”

But he wasn’t letting you go, his hand almost tightening again. You couldn’t exactly move, not like you wanted to. You had to admit, you were entranced by his eyes, how dark they were, how he looked at you with this…heat in them. 

“I guess I should…but…”

Wriothesley’s head shot up, his jaw tight from gritting his teeth, from holding back these urges he must have. Just how pent up is he from this condition? You were curious and absolutely interested in him more than ever now.

“We were talking about rumors earlier…well, I heard a rumor that you like someone..”

You were lying…you just wanted to know if you stayed because he liked you back and not just because he needed to put his cock into something.

Another growl escaped his throat, more primal than before but he nodded. Taking another sharp breath, the sound almost like a hiss.

“I do. What does this have to do with anything?”

“Who is it?” 

He seemed a bit taken aback and he looked at you incredulously.

“What?”

“Who is it?” You stared him dead in the eyes, determined to know if this would stand to be more than just ‘relieving stress’, if you had any reason at all to actually stay.

He lowered his head, pressing his brow against yours so his eyes bore into you. 

“Isn’t it obvious, little mouse?”

You couldn’t help the blush that dusted your cheeks. Despite the entire situation being what it was, your heart beat hard against your chest upon finally hearing what you had wanted for so long now. There was no denying you had an attraction to him since the beginning of your work studies here and now…now there was proof he felt it too.

“Then I think I’ll stay, if it’s all the same to you, my lord.”

A soft puff of laughter left his mouth and he licked his lips, his eyes roving your face, your lips, then down to see your body still caged beneath him.

“You sure?” His free hand traveled up one of your legs, lifting it to his waist by the crook of your knee. His body now slotted between your thighs, forcing them to spread to compensate for his larger frame. You nodded, assured of this, though a little intimidated.

Wriothesley leaned back a bit, looking down at you as if considering even though you knew how hard it was for him to hold himself back from simply lunging at the opportunity. His smirk turned into a wicked smile that matched his lust-filled eyes.

“Good.”

[yakuzabrainrotlive]

Did start Yakuza 5 yesterday! I played for 6 hours, had a BLAST. Finished chapter 1 and got a good amount of time put into chapter 2. I enjoyed going around town, grinding and doing side content. Had to gather my thoughts so posts had to come later. Yes, this is a two-parter.

My stats at the end of my little session:

Some thoughts below! I made NOTES for myself on characters and such this time around. This post is gonna be more plot and character speculation-focused; the next post will be more about gameplay mechanics, side content, general thoughts etc.!

Small-ish rant/monologue about protagonist numbers in the last section, though. Could have gone into part 2, but wanted it off my chest asap lmao

This title screen is sooooo not ominous!! I did not shiver in fear of what's to come when I saw it!! I'm sure Kiryu will be having a BLAST this game!

....🥲😭

SO! We're in 2012. Two years, huh. Seems like everything has kinda gone the opposite way from my wishes after the end of Y4, especially in regards to Kiryu.. or should I say, Suzuki's character. I really wanna know what happened in these past years to make him run away like this. He seems MISERABLE!! I feel bad for him😭

Daigo infodumping to Kiryu about Tojo business while Kiryu was just trying to get his paycheck was kind of funny to me, not gonna lie. But also kind of sad. Kiryu seems to be trying even harder to cut off anything Tojo from his life, even as Daigo was trying to reach out. I'm so curious about this time skip era!! Give me the tea!!

Okay. I was kinda assuming Morning Glory was gonna be left behind or kind of in the background (based on Kiryu's outfit), but... Haruka as well, huh. That's. Yeah. And he (debatably) hasn't straight up just abandoned them 100%, he's putting SIGNIFICANT and harsh distance between himself and the people he cares for. Ouch. Feels eerily similar to what he did in Y0 with Nishiki, Kazama, Reina and Kashiwagi.

This is all very... drastic. Changing his name, moving away and leaving EVERYONE behind? Including Haruka? This is exactly the opposite of what Kiryu was vowing to himself, to Daigo and even to Saejima in a way back in Y4. Either the writers changed their minds about his arc or something is off. I'm dreading finding out which one it is. Currently I feel like he's either actively in major danger right now, and hence decided to resort to such measures, OR something happened that he blames himself for.

I love Nakajima. He's so good! In general as a person (at least it seems that way) AND to Kiryu. Which probably means he's gonna die. RIP in advance, King🫡🫡

This dynamic is either gonna be absolutely insufferable, or maybe kind of okay. I have no predictions on how this will turn out, I was completely wrong about Kiryu's possible character arc in this game so... idk. Kiryu has blindsided me. But for now I don't think this will become a romance.

What I find interesting is the tidbit Nakajima gave about the situation where Kiryu saved her, where Nakajima also met him for the first time - Kiryu was getting DESTROYED in a fight. Kiryu, destroyer of whole clans, the one-man army, getting his shit kicked in by random local yakuza? Was he trying to refrain from using any sort of violence (even in self-defence??), or... was he recovering from significant injuries he got before the fight?

Now, I'm just assuming, based on Mayumi's character profile section and Nakajima's description of the woman Kiryu saved (she was very pretty) that Mayumi IS the woman Kiryu was defending when Nakajima first met him. I'm quite sure it was her.

What I wouldn't give to hear his thoughts in this scene... I was very conflicted the whole time; on one hand I wanted to SHAKE Kiryu and side with the Tojo guys. Why abandon Daigo? I understand it's probably just so he doesn't get stuck in another Tojo mess, but... it's Daigo!! Come on!! But I can also see that Kiryu feels... guilty?? Conflicted?? There was a storm of EMOTIONS brewing in his eyes. What a mess. He clearly doesn't like the situation but he also really wants NOTHING to do with it.

Kinda off topic, but massive props to those two for taking Kiryu on so boldly despite knowing who he is (was? I have no idea). They are Tojo men, they've heard the stories. Yet, they still tried. The balls on these guys!!

As for the man of the hour... Daigo. MIA - conveniently right before this alliance (opposed by some important people) gets to fully come to fruition, as the current leader of the Kansai group is dying soon🤔

I feel as though Daigo knew something would happen. He sought Kiryu out and was quite insistent to talk to him. At the beginning of the game I found the lore dump he dropped on Kiryu's unwilling mind weird and almost amusing, but looking back on it now... it almost feels like he was giving Kiryu information he'd need to solve the case if he happened to go missing. He even named possible suspects.

Why not go to a trusted clan member? They'd probably throw a hissy fit and wanna call everything off, maybe even start a new, very bloody conflict. All just because Daigo suspected something might happen to himself. This whole situation stinks.

Current theory: one, or all three, of the Kansai leader hopefuls are in cahoots with the uhhh *checks notes* Yahata(?) dude. The Yamagasa family captain. Why? To stop the alliance because they all hate the Tojo clan. They probably have Daigo locked up. Or maybe Daigo is dead already.

One final thing: was NOT thrilled to see "Part 1: Kiryu Kazuma" 😬 I was kinda hoping for a single-protag game, tbh 👉🏻👈🏻

Okay, hear me out! IF the other protag(s) is/are the Yakuza 4 lads, I'll be okay! But if there's a new guy (or, god forbid, 2 of them), I don't know if I'm gonna like that. I liked Y4 a lot, but it was also a lot to keep track of, and it felt like everyone got very little time in the spotlight - especially Kiryu and Saejima.

I'm almost suffering from... new protagonist fatigue after 4. I'm okay seeing many new side characters, but new playable characters with their own fighting styles that I have to learn, human relationships, backstories and motivations... Getting to know and to "bond with" another batch of new playable people seems like a very tiring task to get through at this point.

If we have 2+ protagonists, I want them to be from Y4 or earlier, because I already know them in a way and I'm not opposed to seeing more of them because it doesn't seem as overwhelming. I wanna see more of Saejima at least, if we HAVE to have alternating protagonists.