#so she sacrifices herself to save her monster family and the world

[yuesya]

Mechamaru is a sad character, even though his anger at Shiki, to me, is honestly misplaced and more like self-loathing, envy, and commiseration.

It’s honestly sad what happens to Mechamaru because he did get the short end of the stick when it comes to Heavenly Restriction, didn’t he? He only wanted to have a healthy body, and in canon, he got it.

But what did it cost, really?

Because in the end, Mechamaru did in some way betray the jujutsu sorcerers. He can tell himself that he was desperate and he had the right to try and better his life when no one else cared to or was able to help him. He was in a shitty situation and tried fixing it first chance that presented it, but it doesn’t erase the fact that he betrayed his comrades. He indirectly (?)aided in the tragedy that happened by facitilating information to the curses, which HELPED Kenjaku’s plans, and he died for it. Here, he’s alive to suffer the consequences of ill-fated choices.

He wasn’t wrong to want it. He’s wrong because ultimately, his actions were an act of betrayal.

He feels remorse for his betrayal. He feels guilty. He feels angry at Shiki, because his gamble failed and here she stood as a shining bastion of a “perfect” life.

Though as seen in here, Shiki probably doesn’t give a single fuck about Mechamaru’s feelings. Only that his betrayal put the jujutsu society - and in turn, her family and friends - in jeopardy and that it went against the rules that Shiki was following ONLY because her family and friends wanted her too. Her moral and logic is pretty skewed, after all. Her first reaction to him being turned into a monster is to render him immobile VIA limbs breaking which honestly is NOT the first thing people do, but it’s admittedly in a twisted way the most optimal way to subdue transfigurated!Mechamaru.

TBH wrong is wrong. Betrayal is betrayal. Mechamaru isn’t an innocent victim who tried saving himself. How many more people would die and did die in the jujutsu world because he aided the curses? How many people died in Liyue because here the curses tried getting rid of Shiki?

Which brings me to another point: Whether it was voluntary or not, because of his betrayal which fed the curses informations and had Shiki hunting after them, Mechamaru ended up as a tool in the ambush against Shiki. Mahito tried using him as a shield, but unfortunately for him and the curses, Shiki’s reasoning is far too settled in pragmatic reasoning and logic to a certain point, after which she settled into brute force or death. She wouldn’t sacrifice herself for just Mechamaru, after all, nor be squirmish about breaking some limbs or killing some people.

Kinda shameless to be angry at the girl who you involuntarily aided in ambushing, no?

It’s just. The first time I read the short about Mechamaru (which was STILL amazing btw) I felt sorry for him.

The next few times I reread it though, I was like wait a minute, this doesn’t sound right, this guy is making Shiki to be the bad guy in interrogating him when he “just tried helping himself and he didn’t truly mean to betray the jujutsu society qwq!!!” because she has a perfect life but BITCH so many people just died LMFAOO Shiki here just doing her job and being hated, my poor girl (though she doesn’t care).

Mechamaru lost his gamble in using Mahito and turned into an even worse monster.

Likewise, the curses lost their gamble in trying to delete Shiki and were all basically wiped out in minutes lmao. They probably didn’t expect the Gojo Satoru Expy to actually be a Gojo Satoru 2.0 lol.

Shiki just doing her job, stuck in another world. :( And she had promised her cousin to make a detour to buy sweets, too rip. :(

(which brings me to another point i’m not gonna expand: Satoru and Shiki’s relationship? I LOVELOVELOVE IT!! The opposing powers they present! Satoru is not truly the sole “honored one”! Satoru has someone who somewhat understands the way he looks at the world! Who will stand by his decision and trust! Who’s willing to murder a bitch or a few for him! They’re two peas in a pod, sometimes HE has to be the moral compass for Shiki even! HIM! THE Gojo Satoru! A moral compass!!! 😂😂😂)

!! I am bouncing a bit in excitement from this haha.

Mechamaru! Is a very very unfortunate character. His attempt to outsmart Kenjaku and the Special Grade curses was not something that ended well for anyone. The information that he provided them allowed Kenjaku's faction to set up the test run at the Goodwill Event and break into the warehouse, stealing the Death Paintings and Sukuna's fingers. If we think about what happened in Shibuya, where Sukuna was able to cause as much devastation as he did because of ingesting the additional fingers... arguably Mechamaru played a definite role in allowing this situation to occur in the first place.

Mechamaru wants to be healed. He wants to have a normal body, and be a normal student of Kyoto High with his friends.

In exchange, he betrays the school -but he's not really betraying them, Mechamaru tells himself. Look, he's even been careful enough to extract a binding vow for his friends to be unharmed. And it's not as if he really intends to throw in his lot with Geto. As soon as he gets what he wants, he'll turn on them. Mechamaru doesn't need to kill them in order to win; all he needs to do is escape and find sanctuary with Gojo Satoru. And with the intel that he'll have in his hands, Gojo will definitely protect him. Then, they'll be able to counter their enemies properly from there-

We all know how that turns out in the end, though. The many casualties that result from Kenjaku's plans... Mechamaru might not be responsible, but he's certainly not blameless in allowing Kenjaku to set things into motion.

Mechamaru strikes me as a character who has a strong confidence and ego, which is balanced at the same time by a helpless sense of inferiority and anger. He knows that he's a powerful sorcerer, and he's the only sorcerer whose range covers an entire country -not even Gojo Satoru can do that! And Mechamaru is observant, and intelligent. He hates the limitations imposed upon him by his body, and he wants ever so badly to see for himself the world that he can only interact with through his puppets-

Shiki gets the brunt of that, in this particular AU.

Mechamaru lives. He lives, but he's angry and guilty and oh how he regrets, without truly regretting. Sorcerers are selfish creatures, and Mechamaru is no different.

Here Gojo Shiki stands in front of him, beautiful and powerful and perfect, looking down on him like Mechamaru means absolutely nothing. Given the turmoil that Mechamaru is currently experiencing... it's only natural that he lashes out at her.

(It's no excuse. But it is a reason.)

In contrast to Mechamaru's complicated feelings towards her, Shiki is fairly indifferent about him in return, despite his role as a lure in the 'ambush' for her. She simply protects him because she was assigned to retrieve Mechamaru for an interrogation. Shiki can't retrieve him if he's dead.

... So that just means she'll need to do her best to keep him alive, until she manages to find a way home.

[aingeal98]

More aos rambles but I find it so interesting that Coulson, despite being the one May and Daisy look to as a man with a good heart when they themselves feel like monsters, is the one who would risk everything including other people to save them. Like if Daisy is in danger and the only option to save her is a plan where every other agent has a 95% chance of dying, he's doing it. And he's very openly hypocritical about it to the point that everyone else calls out his double standards. Mace saying "When it comes to May and Daisy you can't be objective." and Lincoln and May pointing out how he'd sacrifice every inhuman but never Daisy. Like he cares very deeply about Fitz and Simmons but he makes decisions that puts them at risks that I just can't see him doing if it was Daisy. And Coulson very rarely feels bad about it, he stands by his hypocrisy and desire to protect his daughter. Even when it comes to Daisy's own wishes, he cares too much to let her sacrifice herself.

Meanwhile May doesn't love Daisy any less, quite possibly even loves her more by the end of the series, but she also is just more... understanding and respectful of Daisy's autonomy and wishes. Like if Daisy were to die or sacrifice herself May would never recover, would be the last to leave the grave side. But at the same time she wouldn't risk every agent to save her, choosing instead to believe in Daisy's ability to beat the impossible like she's done time and time again. And I don't think she would have knocked Daisy out to drag her home when she was scared of ending the world. She would have stayed with her, and that would likely have been what twisted Daisy's arm to get her home. 'If you're going to be stupidly sacrificial and stay then so am I, because we're too alike. I know how you think and I know that's how to checkmate your self destructive impulses.'

I'm not saying one is morally better than the other, they're both just parents who love their kid and want to protect her. But Coulson, who's viewed by most people as essentially just some suit with a good heart, would order every man he commands to fight a suicide battle if it was the only way to keep Daisy alive. Meanwhile May would be first in line to fight that battle, and she would win! But she would never drag anyone else down. She's as practical and ruthless as Coulson, even more so sometimes. But having been the one to train Daisy, her protection comes in the form of unshakeable belief in the good Daisy is capable of, and a gentle but solid place to rest whenever things don't go as planned. If she thinks Daisy's making a mistake she'll say it to her face, but she's more... open, than Coulson is, to letting Daisy fumble around and find her own way. She'll still be there to beat up anyone that threatens her kid and offer wisdom in the aftermath, but it's less impulsive than Coulson.

Coulson idolizes Captain America as a hero for the same heroic traits he sees in May and Daisy. He believes that they are Special people, and they must go on even if he doesn't. But those very same traits that makes them so special in his eyes are what makes them feel like they have to be the one to jump on the grenade and protect their team, all while Coulson is trying to keep them as far away from the grenade as possible. And they both see a goodness in him and in each other that they don't believe they posses themselves. They're all somewhat correct and also all a little blinded by how much they love each other, but that's just how families are.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hello, can I request a Female Sanji Reader with Yandere Thor, Poseidon, Hades, Qin Shi Huang, Jack, Hercules, Ares, Hermes, Buddha, Zerofuku, Beelzebub, Tesla, Hajun and Loki who’s a chef, and to everyone’s surprise, is actually a Human Fighter (No one believes this beautiful and flirty woman is a fighter… until they discover her Bounty as a pirate from her world as ‘Black Leg Y/N’)

Imagine everyone’s surprise when Reader refuses to use a Volundr, but instead uses her legs, and everyone loses their absolute MIND over reader ‘flying’ (Sky Walk), using Observation and Armament Haki, which can actually harm the gods, her Raid Suit and Diable Jambe, and Reader loudly proclaiming that she’ll never use her hands to fight as they’re only meant for cooking

Reader was going easy on her Opponent, but he just has to open his mouth and insult Brunhilde and the Valkyries Sisters, calling them ‘Harlots’, which sets Reader off and goes batshit calling God Opponent a lot of colorful names, though he did get the upper hand by trapping Reader’s legs and began to crush her, and everyone thought Reader was dead… until she revealed herself with her body bent awkwardly (Cue to both Humans and Gods screaming) as she bends her body back to place, and while she was distracted, her opponent was aiming for her neck, only for his weapon to shatter upon impact, which shocked everyone, as Reader yelled in anger “That hurt you Bastard!” (And wins her fight)

Reader wins her fight but everyone demands to know if Reader is a Demi-God or some sort of monster… only for a pink haired man named Reiji (Genderbent Reiju) comes in to explain that Reader, along with himself and their other brothers were experimented as children, and tells Reader’s tragic tale of being ‘The Failure of Germa’, but is the success of their late mother who willingly drank a special concoction to have at least one of her children normal, and was willing to sacrifice her health and life just for one of her children to live as a normal human (And Reader had to deal with her family’s abuse, until she ran away and found a new father in Zeff, who raised her to cook, fight and take care of herself)

Imagine their fury when they learn Reader was in an arranged marriage, and her Husband-to-be was planning to kill her (Yet Reader doesn’t even hate him, rather she’s still kind to him) and was even willing to save her family, that has been nothing but abusive and horrible to her (This reveals that Reader has a kind and caring heart, which is shown even more with her feeding mice and anyone who’s hungry)

They’re even more shocked that Reader is a Royal, yet is incredibly humble, kind and laid back, as she defends a chef from an angry deity who was throwing his plate of food at her face (Only for Reader to grab it and harshly scold said god for their stupidity, and apologizes to the chef for spilling the food on the floor and proceeds to eat it, and just compliments Chef for the delicious meal, which makes Chef swoon and cry) as Reader reveals she despises those who waste food and men who would harm women

Sorry if this is a lot, I love Sanji (He’s the gentleman of men)

-You were very popular around Valhalla, yes you were stunningly beautiful, and so warm and cheerful, flirting with every man hat was single, and being so warm, inviting and protective of woman, but the real secret to your popularity was your food!

-You had so many visitors to the restaurant you worked in, helping out the chef, because you enjoyed cooking so much and there were so many, humans and gods, who flocked from all over to eat your delicious cooking!

-When you walked out as a fighter for Ragnarok, jaws dropped all around as you gave a dainty twirl, waving your arms around, calling out happily to the crowd.

-Your opponent looked irritated that you were a woman, and he was quick to underestimate you, big mistake!

-You quickly had everyone’s attention, using Sky Walk to leap up high into the air, literally walking on air before you front flipped, spinning rapidly down to your opponent, “Diable Jambe!”

-Your leg seemed to illuminate with flames as you came down hard, sending your opponent’s skull into the ground below, breaking it under the force.

-When you backflipped away from him you heard many cheering for you while others were in awe of your skills.

-Zeus shouted down, “How are you so powerful?!” Heimdall then announced while your opponent was trying to stand up, “I can answer that! Before her untimely death, Y/N was a notorious pirate, Black Leg Y/N! She sailed the Seven Seas as part of one of the strongest crews ever and had one of the highest bounties in the world!!”

-The crowd was immediately in an uproar, many cheering and many yelling out in shock while your hands came to your hips, a grin on your lips.

-When your opponent was finally back on his feet, you quickly went on the attack, using a barrage of rapid kicks, easily taking care of business.

-He shouted at you as you blocked his blow with your leg, “Why aren’t you using your hands?!” you kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back, “These hands are for cooking only, bastard!!”

-He managed to land a harsh blow on you, trapping you under a large piece of the arena ground that he ripped out, crushing you beneath it, a sharp scream leaving your lips.

-You managed to get free, barely dodging a fatal blow, your body was broken, bloody, and crooked, you heard people all over screaming before you tensed your body and you body started to contort, dislocated bones relocated, bones cracking.

-You inhaled deeply through your nose before you charged, your knee meeting his nose, “THAT HURT!!”

-Many were commenting if you were a demi-goddess, while others were concerned you were a demon, but a man with soft bubblegum pink hair spoke, “No, she’s a human, just a very strong one.”

-Attention turned to him, your older brother, Reiji, as he explained yours and his past, that you were both nobles, which stunned so many people, because you were so humble and kind, compared to other royals.

-An actual king whom you kicked in the face told the tale that he had been screaming at a young female chef and threw the plate at her, and you came to her defense, kicking him in the face before scolding him for not only wasting his food, but for attacking a woman. He quickly learned to respect women after that.

-Reiji continued, telling everyone around about your mother, who nearly killed herself to ensure that at least one of her children would not be a weapon, and that child was you, the only girl amongst 4 brothers.

-Many were outraged to hear of the cruelty you had faced, not only from your family, giving Reiji the only pass as he had been the one to help you escape, where you had found Zeff, who raised you.

-Jaws dropped as your valkyrie partner fused with you, forming a Raid Suit, and your opponent shouted, “You humans and those harlots are nothing but a bunch of cheats!!”

-The raid suit immediately fell away as you charged, your Armament Haki covering your legs as you kicked him straight back into the wall, “Respect women you bastard!!!”

-Reiji chuckled, leaning his chin on his hand, “I remember when she was like this at her wedding~” eyes turned quickly on him, as a camera had gotten onto him somehow and he was telling your tale of how your fiancé was ready to kill you on your wedding day, as well as your whole family, but you harbored no ill feelings towards him.

-Many were stunned by your kind hard, hearing that you saved your family, despite despising them all, except for Reiji, because you didn’t want them to die, but you had proved your strength to them before running back off with your crew.

-You won your fight, humanity and gods alike cheering for you, hearing what a strong woman you were, and how kind and warm hearted you were, despite your hardships as you grinned up at your big brother and he chuckled warmly down at you.

-Thor- He met you backstage as soon as you made it there and your eyes turned into hearts, “Thor~~~!!” he chuckled softly, catching you in a hug, pecking your forehead softly before he picked you up princess style, making your cheeks turn a bit red, “I knew you were going to win, Y/N.” you grinned up at him, “It was a good battle, but he made the mistake of insulting my friend!” he chuckled once more, taking you to the infirmary, relief filling him, as he was worried a few times, like when you got crushed. He was glad you were still here with him.

-Poseidon- You beamed brightly, running over to him, “Poseidon~!” he turned, seeing you still bloody and injured from your fight, and he was quick to have you in his arms, “You’re injured, idiot. I need to get you patched up.” You beamed brightly up at him, pecking his cheek which he did glance down at you for, not smiling, but you did see this face soften only slightly, “I almost attacked him when he hurt you. Nobody is allowed to hurt you.” You blushed cutely, holding your cheeks, which made him smile softly.

-Hades- He found you in the infirmary, getting x-rays of your bones that had been broken and you beamed brightly as he walked in, “My love!” he chuckled, coming over and pecked your cheek, but stayed out of the way for the examination. His scowl deepened as he saw the multitude of bandages on you, the wounds, his fury growing to see that this other god, who was lucky he was dead, had put his hands on you and caused you pain. He didn’t notice you were finished until you hugged him, his head on your chest, “Hades, let’s go get something to eat! I’;; cook for you!” he was quick to refuse, having you in his arms again, “You’re not, you’re going to rest.” You pouted lightly, but he wasn’t budging.

-Qin Shi Huang- In the infirmary, you were being patched up before you heard the rumbling of someone charging closer and closer before the door opened, revealing your love and you instantly melted, “Huang~” he was quick to have his hands on your face, inspecting the wounds and the bandages carefully, “Are you hurt? Of course, you are- what am I saying?! Is she all right? Are you all right?” you pecked his cheek after pulling him down, halting his rant but the valkyrie nurses thought it was rather funny before you had him sit next to you so you could lean your head on his shoulder, “I had no idea you were so strong!” you beamed, flexing your arm, “I’ve had lots of practice and experience!” he laughed warmly, leaning over to peck your cheek.

-Jack- He was waiting for you and your partner to arrive backstage; she grinned as she saw Jack waiting for you, rushing off to peek back behind the corner as Jack embraced you, pecking your forehead, “You had me worried there for a moment my dear. I am glad that you are back by my side.” you wrapped your arms around his neck, standing on the tips of your toes, pecking his lips, “Of course Jack, I gave you my word I would come back!” he chuckled softly, brushing your hair behind your ear, “Yes you did, I’m sorry to have doubted you.” You weren’t bothered, not in the slightest, before he led you to his room to patch you up himself.

-Hercules- He was running towards you, “Y/N!” as you arrived backstage and you grinned, opening your arms wide, “Hercules!” he swept you up into his arm, twirling around which made you giggle warmly as you hugged him before he tilted your head up and kissed you so passionately, one of your legs popped up. You were flushed when he pulled back before he picked you up, holding you like you were made of glass, “Don’t you ever scare me like that again!” you apologized, but you knew he wasn’t angry, at you at least, he was more furious that you had been so badly hurt, another man putting his hands on you. You could feel the heat radiating from Hercules, but that was quickly remedied with a couple of kisses and lots of affection afterwards.

-Ares- He met you in the infirmary, his eyes wide to see you so bruised and beat up, but he relaxed as you grinned over at him, “Hang tight handsome! I need to wash off and change so I can get patched up!” he nodded and waited patiently and when you came out, you could see the furious aura surrounding him, seeing all of the wounds. He, however, couldn’t do much, as you took a seat on his lap, keeping him there as he would dare not move you, something you knew and used to your advantage and something the nurses thought was cute as you spoke with him about your fight, finding it rather fun, except for the injuries. He pecked your forehead gently, saying nothing, but you could tell he was still pouting, which was adorable!

-Hermes- As soon as you and your valkyrie said your goodbyes, hugging each other, you were in his arms, sweeping you easily off your feet. You beamed up at him, “My love!” he chuckled softly, enjoying your kisses as he was focused on getting you to the infirmary, “You were amazing out there, Y/N. Were you really a pirate?” You just laughed warmly, your arms around his neck, “I was, but I was a chef first, then I was the cook on my crew!” he was surprised to learn this, as you didn’t really talk much about your past, other than your friends and Zeff and your time as a cook. He enjoyed learning this new side about you, wanting to learn more and more, a soft smile on his face.

-Buddha- You found him lounging on your couch in your waiting room after you got bandaged up, holding your jacket and vest in your hands, leaving only your sleeveless shirt on, as you had been quite roughed up. You smiled warmly as he opened his arms, wanting cuddles and he was quick to have you wrapped in his arms as you sighed in content, pressing a soft kiss to his collar bone as he moved his lollipop from one side of his mouth to the other, “I knew you were strong but…damn, that was hot!” you blushed cutely, sitting up, “You think so?” he grinned, locking his hands behind your back, “Absolutely! Seeing you kick ass like that was delicious.” You laughed at his slight tease before he pecked your forehead softly, telling you to get some rest.

-Zerofuku- The child ran for you as you made it backstage, “Y/N!” you could see he was crying as he was quick to leap into your arms, hugging you tightly, his face pressed into your chest for a moment before he pulled back, “You’re hurt!” you brushed his tears away, but gave him a warm grin, “But I’m alive! C’mon, let’s go get me patched up then we can go relax!” he cheered, holding onto your hand and actually dragged you after him to the infirmary, as he didn’t like seeing you in pain. He sat beside you, holding onto your arm like he was the one being treated, which was rather cute as you pecked his forehead softly, making him beam up at you. He was so stinking cute!

-Beelzebub- You yawned softly as you walked into your private waiting room, jacket and vest off and your shirt untucked and only barely buttoned, as you were covered in bandages. You let out a small squeak, seeing your lover sitting there, waiting for you before he was quick to come over, seeing your now bandaged wounds as you smiled warmly up at him, “Told you I’d win!” he couldn’t keep the smile from his lips, nodding, “Yes you did, and now- you’re resting until further notice!” he gave you no room to argue, sweeping you off your feet and carrying you over to the couch before sitting down, holding you in his lap. You arms were around his neck as you enjoyed his warmth, “Guess I will rest, only if you hold me.” he chuckled, his arms encircling your waist, holding you close.

-Nikola- Poor baby was nearly in tears when you made it back to him, greeting him with a bright smile, despite being bloody and bruised and he was quick to have you in his arms, sprinting to the infirmary, begging the nurses to save you. It’s not like you were dying, but you couldn’t stand seeing that poor heartbroken look on his face. You had been taking all the treatments with not even a whimper before you spoke, “Nikola, I want you to hold my hand, I’m scared~” the nurses thought it was cute that he took it so seriously, immediately sitting at your side, holding your hand and talking about his research, to distract you, unaware that you were the one distracting him!

-Hajun- The nurses were nervous under his fierce gaze, watching them patch you up. He didn’t like other’s touching you, not even other females, but he was allowing it only because they were helping you at the moment. You leaned your head on his arm, trying to get his attention on you and off of the poor nurse, but you couldn’t say anything, as you knew he was worried about you, which warmed your heart. In a rare soft moment, he brushed your hair from your face, “Does it hurt?” you smiled softly up at him, “It does, but it will heal. That’s proof that I’m alive!” he pressed a soft kiss into your hair, breathing out a bit deeply as he relaxed, you were alive, that’s all that mattered.

-Loki- Despite being the one injured, you were the one comforting him as you laid in one of the infirmary beds, his head on your lap, arms around your waist, pouting, as his shoulders were sagging, and he wasn’t talking. You didn’t like seeing your lover quiet, because he was only quiet when he was sleeping, or upset, and he wasn’t sleeping. You scratched his head gently, stroking through his hair and he nuzzled down into you a bit deeper and he froze when he felt you flinch, hitting one of the wounds that was a bit more tender. He pulled back instantly, looking scared, his eyes meeting yours and you instantly smiled, opening your arms, “I want a proper hug!” he smiled softly, saying nothing but carefully crawled forward and hugged you properly, feeling you, feeling that you were still with him.

[chaoticstarlightwonderland]

One Piece x Dungeon Meshi AU

Specifically where the straw hats act out the dungeon meshi story with some slight alterations

I was thinking about a One Piece au with Delicious in Dungeon and how you would put the stories together and it seemed like the obvious thing would be to have Roger as the dead king at the beginning of the story. But that made me realise- What would Luffy be like in this world?

Roger, instead of his canon self who died with a smile, this version is filled with regrets. I’m assume his crew and other people close to him would be in the cursed kingdom. That includes buggy, shanks, and Ace. Without Shanks and Ace, what would Luffy grow up to be.

In canon, it was revealed from a young age he wanted to do something great to change the world, which turned into deciding to be pirate king thanks to Shanks. But there’s no great pirate era just a dungeon amongst many other dungeons all across the world.

So this is where a get a bit… “creative” with what Luffy will be in this AU. Brace yourselves.

Luffy is actually the half-elf in this AU and is known famously as “the least elf-like elf you would ever meet.” His grandfather Garp is a full elf who left Luffy with a group of humans to raise him. He learns just how badly the long-lived races can treat the short ones, which builds an anti-authoritarian attitude. While he is still cheery and adventure-loving self, he is fully aware that he will outlive all the friends he will ever make. Which gives him an idea, “If only every race could have the same lifespan.”

Such a powerful goal can seem very attractive to certain hungry demons…

But before all that happens, let’s talk about some of the others!

Zoro is a half-Ogre from the Eastern Archipelago. He left with his Tall Man cousin Kuina, the latter leaving because she didn’t wanted to escape an engagement and hone her magic. (They are canon cousins in the Shimotsuki family, I’m saying Zoro’s Roronoa ancestry are ogres/oni).

As you might guess, Kuina is the one that gets eaten by the red dragon and sacrifices herself to save the party.

Usopp is a half-gnome magic user. (I know another mixed race but I was reading and apparently many gnomes have vision problems and we couldn’t have that for Usopp). He has excellent vision from his human father, Yasopp. He became entranced by stories of adventuring and wanted to become one himself when he grew up. (Yasopp is probably dead from old age cuz gnomes are long-lived). Usopp is also the resident hair expert in the group like Marcille. (He and Robin are the canon hairdressers in the straw hats so it’s fate).

Nami is a half-foot trying to get rich to help her mother and sister on their family farm. She doesn’t have Chilchuck’s spouse and children problems but I reckon she gets a lot of slack from other half-foots for not settling down and getting married.

Sanji I think is a full elf fighter. Judge is an elf race supremacist. Sora is her kind self but only Reiju and Sanji grew up to be decent people. And even then Reiju is still forced to work for the family as the heir due to politics. Sanji escaped, but spent a long time on the streets half-starved. He could only make a living working lousy jobs for unscrupulous adventurers. One day he was left behind as bait in a dungeon but rescued by a dwarf named Zeff. Zeff took Sanji under his wing. Teaching everything he knows about monster cooking so that Sanji would never have to go hungry again. (Sanji was probably a little older than canon when he met Zeff). Zeff eventually started a restaurant within a dungeon, that isn’t very popular cuz of the monster meat taboo, but it’s known for being a good last resort and has saved many adventurers. Unfortunately one day the dungeon ended up closing up and Zeff and Sanji were left adrift again. They end up at the new dungeon where the rest of the straw hats are. Zeff is trying to make a living above ground to save up for a new restaurant and Sanji goes into adventuring to help. Sanji is an infamous eccentric elf cuz of the way he is helpless around the ladies and how open he is with monster cooking. While his food smells really good, he hasn’t been able to get anyone else to try it until Luffy came along.

While some of the other straw hats got sadder stories but Nami I think got off easy here lol.

Anyway I hope any of this makes sense.

[paragonrobits]

So the primary parallels between Marshall Lee and the Star’s stories, going back to back, seems to say two things:

The business world Ms Abadeer wants her son to go in is Hell; an evil place of cutthroat decisions where all that matters is what you want and getting it no matter the moral compromises you make. It’s the same as the Nightosphere, and a fairly direct translation from Ooo’s fantastical nature to the mundane world. It seems to be a universal constant; Abadeer wants the child who left them to take up the family business, even though they very much don’t want to and find the concept repellant.

So we see the Star, Marceline at her worst; a childish monster that murders without hesitation or concern, without any empathy for anyone but herself and the father figure she adores, who forces her minions to destroy themselves out of fear. There is nothing of the heroine that saved Ooo’s humans from vampire threats even as they ran away from her; this isn’t a person who wants to protect anyone.

She has very much entered the family business.

But as a contrast, we see that Lee is NOT like her. He is an incarnation of Marceline at their best; a humble person who left the business world on purpose and intends to never go back, but sacrifices his happiness for someone he just met, to make someone else happy and give them their dream.

The same applies to Gary/Gumball, and he acts as a contrast to the Bonnibel of Vampire World, though this arguably shows PB as more of a heroine, though a ruthless and rough one suited to the world she has to endure. She’s harsh, uncompromising and indifferent, evidently willing to run over seemingly harmless civilians (though with the implicit point that this particular scam has been used to trick her, and in a world like hers, she can’t afford to take risks) and barely blinks at one of her few friends and soldiers dying. And again, she is a daughter of the Vampire World; she is harsh, and cold and perhaps even callous, because she MUST be to survive such an awful place, just like how Farmworld Finn is closed off, tired and wary.

Gary shows a side of PB at their best, too. He doesn’t seem to really want to rule anything, but just to make the stuff he likes without having a demanding boss make him compromise his artistic ambitions; he’s horrified at the prospect of someone subjecting themselves to a miserable fate for his own benefit, and immediately drops his prospects so they don’t have to do that.

This shows PB and Marceline at their best; sacrificing something, taking responsibility and making the calls others shouldn’t have to. And it begs the question; much of what’s going on reflects on Simon in some way, even if its just the multiverse assuring him that yes, he DOES matter even as an ordinary guy with no power. Perhaps we do see it here, because they ARE inside his head, and it may be that his thoughts and mind influencing them.

The big thing about Simon that makes him important isn’t the power of the crown, but his impact on people, his restraint, and his willingness to let himself suffer because he believes its better that HE suffers than the world does. He might not be there in person, but perhaps an aspect of him is still influencing them, to make the best decisions they can.

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

Okay, time for Homura Akemi propaganda. How is she a tragedy?

Well, she’s a bullied Japanese 14 year old orphan raised in a Catholic school, very weak and socially stunted from years of hospital care for heart disease. No one seems to care about her and no adult ever checks on her. When she transfers into a shiny new school, she immediately realizes that she is years behind her peers because of chronic illness. She feels hopeless. But wait! There’s someone who wants to be her friend: Madoka, a very kind and normal girl with a loving family, her exact opposite. It turns out that Madoka is a magical girl! Now she has friends who enjoy her company and people who care.

And then they all die to an enemy that destroys cities. She makes a wish for time travel to help them. She fails. She tries again. She keeps failing.

It’s that she keeps finding out more and more horrible things about their situation. Magical girls are a scam for desperate children who want agency, only to become literal despair monsters lashing out at a world that does not care about them when their dreams are shattered. It’s that her friends are already in too deep at the START of her loop so she can’t be honest with them without turning them into monsters. It’s that through no fault of her own she has no one to ask for help. It’s that she keeps trying anyway, first to help everyone, and then to help only Madoka as her mind can’t take the despair of the rest of her friends dying anymore. Her friends hate her and fight her while Madoka has no idea who she is, all the while she grows to love them and resent them and make deep bonds with them that always go away next loop. It’s both her choice and never her choice: if she dares to give up, she’ll turn into a monster from the despair of suffering for nothing.

In the end, Madoka sacrifices her happy life and turns into a goddess who never stops working and never interacts with anyone except to save their soul from becoming a monster. Homura is the only one who remembers that she exists. She’s left with LESS than nothing: watching Madoka’s blissfully oblivious family while fighting (new) monsters, working together with friends she doesn’t know how to trust anymore, while trying to accept that she basically did all of that for YEARS for a girl that continues to suffer. She destroyed her sanity and personality for nothing. Her enemy cheerfully gaslights her into thinking that she made it all up.

Through their experiments Homura becomes a despair monster, where we are shown that her greatest, deepest desire is…. to have magical adventures with her friends, in a world where they’re all safe and happy and together. Homura realizes that it’s fake and that their enemies are using Madoka’s love for her to lure Madoka for a trap. So she destroys her own paradise and tries to die to stop their enemy from ever harming Madoka again. When this doesn’t work (BECAUSE HER FRIENDS STOP HER), she pulls Madoka from godhood in a desperate last attempt to save her. This WORKS. Homura becomes a kind of god, too.

She has ultimate power, so she…. revives several people, puts all of them safe and sound back to their lives, gives Madoka back to her family, has a scene where she renounces any hope of kindness or friendship from Madoka, tries to antagonize the rest of her friends, and then calls herself a demon for denying Madoka’s final wish.

The story so far ends with her flinging herself off a cliff. But don’t worry! It’s symbolic, because the next movie’s trailer suggests that she will hopelessly fight her friends again just to scrape a few more years of all of them being alive. She has totally accepted that she’s irredeemably evil for trying to help them and that she has to be their enemy so that they live.

Homura is a teenager that thinks she’s a demon while she just wants everything to be okay. Her great evil desire is for Madoka to be happy. All the care and love that her friends show her is used against her. They are constantly becoming her enemies even as she tries to keep them happy and alive. Even having the power to crush any threat is making her suffer. Absolutely nothing ever goes well for this girl, and this is just scraping the surface.

[Propaganda]

[fizzigigsimmer]

Fargo Season Five: Finale thoughts.

I AM UNWELL. I have never seen a piece of television so beautiful. More of me just rambling and processing my thoughts beneath the cut. Spoilers naturally for the season.

Oh boy. I’m going to start this off by saying preemptively that I know there is going to be a portion of the audience who feels underwhelmed by this finale. In comparison to seasons past, this last episode was surprisingly lite on the blood. The epic showdown and fantastic shoot outs that Fargo has become known for was quite literally skipped over. The feeling is anti-climatic and that won’t sit well with some.

But here’s why I don’t give a shit and wouldn’t have it any other way.

This season wound us up. It brought us to a place where we were on the edge of our seats, so certain that the only way out for Dorthy, if she got out at all was going to be pathed in blood and bodies. We thought that the only way for Dorthy to be free was to rip and tear and destroy all who tried to stand in her way. We wouldn’t have blamed her. What else can she do, in a world that is kill or be killed. Fight or die. Conquer or be conqured.

But that was never the point of Dot’s story. Her story has been about how to live this entire time, and the secret to living is not more death. It’s acceptance and forgiveness. It’s empathy for your fellow man and a helping hand. It’s sacrifice, doing the right thing even when it costs us everything.It’s learning to bear the burden of the unfair, because those sacrifices are rarely made by the people with the most to give and the least to lose. It’s giving what you can, and leveraging the privileges you have for the greater good and learning to appreciate those around you. It’s putting aside our bias to find common ground and appreciate the best in each other. It’s a meal made with helping hands. It’s oatmeal cookies. It’s a buttery biscuit. It’s love.

👏🏾

I will forever love this season for giving me Dot’s story. For telling a story about abusers and survivors without the cinderella syndrome. For showing abuse survivors as they are in reality : complex human beings with flaws, phobias, bias, and toxic coping mechanisms just like everyone else. The only truly innocent character in the entire season was Scotty, a child and that is purposeful. Everyone else is just human, and it’s the choices they make that are important and define their fates.

Roy chooses to be a cowardly monster until the very end and so Lorraine sentences him to a lifetime of feeling the suffering he’s dealt to others. Feeling what it is to be weak and small and violated and at the mercy of the system. We stan a queen.

Lorraine didn’t have to open Dot’s file and hear her truth, or accept it for that matter and at first she had no interest in educating herself about the woman she disdained and tried to discard. But she chose to open that file and reckon with Dot’s past, and not only that she let it change her and how she lived going forward. It changes her for the better in small but significant ways. It saves Dot, preserves her family and allows for the chain of events that lead to Roy getting his just deserts. *Side note, Dot hugging her and her not knowing how to deal with such a kind touch and intimate moment is such a mood. 😆 I laughed out loud.

Indira was laden down by a man who could only love himself, but still she chose to get up every day and try to serve her community. Even when nobody else cared, she cared about finding the truth and helping the real victim in it even if it cost her everything. The only person she didn’t know how to fight for was herself but Dot and Lorraine showed her how. We stan a principled Queen who knows her own value!

Witt. 😭 😭 😭 In a lot of ways Indira and Witt are two sides of the same coin. They are both sentinels. Principled individuals who truly want to serve the greater good. And it’s so meaningful that the two characters showing us what true justice - true law and order - should look like, are marginalized individuals. While Indira’s struggles as a brown woman in the police force are less pronounced for a more internal subplot, the narrative does such a beautiful job of showing us the battle against external powers through Whitt. He is a state trooper. A good and dignified man worthy of his badge and yet his authority is always challenged and he is constantly reminded by those around him that he is less than. There’s a huge emphasis on names and their meaning throughout the season, and the importance of what we call people. But few characters bother to remember his name. He’s called Boy or Son more than any other character on the show. Every time he stands up for Dorthy and goes into battle we’re made aware of his powerlessness despite the badge he wears. He’s powerless to stop Gator stealing evidence. He’s consistently demeaned and threatened, and yet he chooses to bear it all with grace. He chooses to stay his course and help Dot, even when he has the least power and the most to lose. He dies alone, without backup and the last words he hears are Roy’s “Don’t fight it, it’s over now Son.” It’s not fair. It’s not right. But in so many ways he saved Dot’s life. He’s a big part of the reason she gets to go home. She’s the last character to say his name. “I’m looking for my trooper. Whitt Farr.” I cried. Still crying.

Gator. Gator, Gator, Gator, Gator. 😭 I will probably do a longer post about this someday when I’ve fully processed it all, but for now… I was fully expecting for Gator to have a “last moment act of goodness” through killing Roy, and probably die himself. My Billy girlies know what I am talking about. I’ve seen it over and over again in books and movies. I have talked about this many times over the years in multiple fandoms, but our society loves to write “the human villain” for their capacity to emotionally hook an audience. But they have no idea what to do with that humanity once it is written, and that’s because we ourselves barely know how to live once we’ve been at our lowest and done our worst. We don’t know how to forgive ourselves or others, and we don’t know how to heal and move on. We’re afraid of the work required when you live past the redemptive moment. We resent the work required and the loneliness of it. It’s boring and difficult and messy and it never seems to end. It’s so much easier just to write characters who either choose not to change or die sacrificially. But we need more than that. We need to see and to believe that it’s worth it - clawing your way through the dark, searching for light - doing the right thing and learning from the pain of yesterday. We also need to know that we will find someone waiting on the other side for us, who sees that struggle and believes in our potential. This is what Billy Hargrove deserved. This is what anyone who has ever been abused and abandoned deserves. This is what everyone who wants to change and chooses to do it deserves.

Ole. What a phenomenal use of magical realism this character is. He is the man who has swallowed the sins of mankind for centuries. He’s carried the burden of our atrocities and our most inhumane impulses until he forgot his name, his place of birth, or even how to dream. Until he became a function of the system. Tit for tat. Eye for eye. The man who ensures that the debtors pay their debts. A soldier. Until he became a code and forgot how to be a man. His use of the third person as if he is narrating the life of All Men from some position outside himself is so profound in the face of the truth he finally shares with Dot and her family. A truth he’s probably never shared before. He echos Gator’s character in a fashion. He’s a soldier who doesn’t know how to dream, a victim of an unjust system, but deep down he yearns to be better.

The old woman whose house he invades is never named, simply called “Mama Munch” and we see how he takes on an almost childlike role with her. She asks him what he wants, and the answer is pancakes - reminiscent of Scotty’s love of all things breakfast for dinner - and it’s of course deeper than pancakes. He wants to feel a mother’s love and a child’s ability to take comfort in it. But he can’t. Because he has invaded her life, and even when he guards the door the war gets inside. She’s abused by an ungrateful child and then killed on her own front step. Ole came to Dot’s house to continue the cycle and perform the only function he knows, but Dot reminds him that he can choose. He can choose to stop swallowing the fruit of the poisoned tree. He can choose to remember beautiful things. He can choose mercy. He can choose kindness. He can forgive and he too can be forgiven.

Dorthy Lyon’s story was always about more than survival of the fittest. It was about more than the fight to live on and get back to the people who loved her and find a safe space for herself. Her story was about rejecting the lie we’ve all been told since birth.

That life is like a prison. You’re born and then you’re shuffled into groups, separated by class and race, and within those groups the strongest rise to the top. And until death it’s an endless fight to take take, and hold onto what you take.

Dot’s story presents us with an alternative viewpoint. That life can be devastating, but it can also be beautiful and it all comes down to who we choose to be.

[sounknownvoid]

Dean is the ghost sis in s2:"Playthings"

Something just occurred to me in my current anti-dean haze- coz- i-watched-s9-s13- again....

I honest to god tnink s2-"playthings" is foreshadowing..... about dean and what HE DOES BECOME...n what sam does to counter...

Basically, similar to the ghost-sister, he's the older brother that cant let sam go....and like the old woman who sacrifices herself to save her family n the world to stop her sister - sam knows exactly what dean is like and what experiencing dean's "love" for sam will do to himself coz he knows first hand how abusive dean can be,how aggressive,violent,obsessive he is....even before/without the moc ...

In addition to his own co-dependency n love for his brother, its also possibly one of the main reasons he stayed with dean - to ensure his violent, abusive brother's attentions were (mostly) trained on him as much as possible (or the monster hunting) n kept trying to influence him for the better.... he was the only one who could, after all - everyone else was either trying to use dean for their own ends (john, crowley or zacchariah or even chuck for his 'narrative' etc) or too smitten (cas,charlie,benny) by him so ended up only enabling him ....

sam was the only one who knew dean, loved him enough to stay with him n try to influence him for the better n knew what he was giving up...n on some level dean knew it and let him n couldnt let his only means of salvation go....hence his eternal guilt too...a twisted love that hurts em both coz neither can move forward - a true 'ouroboros' devouring them both...

Ultimately, sam staying with dean all his life is essentially similar to what the old-lady's actions are when she says "yes" to her sister n agrees to play with her all her after-life....

n this also maybe explains why sam seems to go "backwards" from his more "healthier" behaviours at the start n worsens in later seasons....its stockholm syndrome or abuse wearing him down after 200-years or love or despair as he keeps choosing dean - over n over through all his awfulness so he could save the world, people and dean - god, the strength - the sheer fucken STRENGTH OF WILL & CHARACTER to keep that up with full commitment to his brother all his life ... jesus i've made myself cry now .... need to go touch grass... back in a few days!...:)...

[chocolatecake47]

Rayla is like: 

Watched her parents leave “I watched you leave"/"Stood there and watched you walk away, from everything we had”, - them being gone/missing for most of her childhood (“but when will you be back?”) “Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again, and you were just gone and gone, gone and gone”- Their ghosting/outcasting “Cause I honestly believed in you/Holdin’ on, the days drag on" - Her trauma and stigma around her parents betrayal slowly isolating her from everyone “My friends from home don’t know what to say”

Coming on a mission of vengeance and murder at only 15 years old and choosing to change the narrative (“My heart for Xadia!/Say the word and I’ll go back into that tower with you!”) “People look at me like I'm a monster"/"I brought a knife to a gunfight"/"when I fought you used to tell me I was brave” - Fighting her father for people she doesn’t know just because its the right thing “they strike to kill and you know I will"/"you had to kill me but it killed you just the same” - Getting ghosted herself and literally being able to travel all over the world and go anymore but not the place she grew up in “And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home” - Believing in her core that she’s not good enough even though she did the right thing, believing everyone is right to be disappointed in her (“they’re right to reject me! I’m never good enough and I never will be!”) “I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting"/"They used to cheer when they saw my face, now I fear I have fallen from grace”  - Truly believing that her pain is irrelevant “I know my pain is such an imposition” because she thinks she doesn’t matter “Always taking up too much space or time”, - Expresses surprise over being loved because no one has ever been so open about it or loved her in her hardest darkest moments “starry eyes sparking up my darkest night"/"Rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky, and he feels like home” - Thinking she has to defend her parents honor and die because of their supposed failure (“All of this happened because my parents ran away, so I have to stay and defend the dragon queen”) “Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me”/“Remember how I said I’d die for you?”- Thinking it is her job to save everyone without letting anyone be there for her but it always ends up being more complicated “Never a clean break, no one here to save me”

The war finally over, everyone thinking things were finally ‘calming down’ but she was distracted, stressed, looking for closure, her mind kept reeling until her body finally did as well “Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke”, - Waking up from nightmares with the reality of 3 of her parents being dead crashing over her and holding strong to that sacrificing mentality ("They said that, sometimes, we make sacrifices so that the ones we love don’t have to. It’s part of protecting them”) “I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke, and all of my heroes died all alone, help me hold on to you”, Waking from horrible nightmares that Viren has done something to Callum which results in her leaving before he can leave her “I wake up screaming from dreaming, one day I’ll watch as your leaving, and life will loose all its meaning, for the last time”, Desperately wanting her logic to be understood ("Please Callum, this is about who I am") "You say, “I don’t understand,” and I say, “I know you don’t” - Had such a fear the world would divide them it tore at her inside until she couldn’t bear it “I loved you in spite of, deep fears that the world would divide us” - Leaving without telling him  (“Don’t follow me, and don’t look for me {I have to go}.”) “Left Cornelia Street before you even knew I was gone” - Her self-sabotaging brain thinking that despite the love the last two weeks have given her she still wasn’t deserving of good things, and she had to leave because thats what they (meaning her family) did (“But I can’t let you stop me, Callum. No matter how much I want to. I wish I could say that we will see each other again, but I don’t know if we will.”) “Don’t pretend its such a mystery, think about the place where you first met me”, - Believing she’s a burden and her parents aren’t Callum’s problem to deal with/she’s not Callum’s problem to deal with anymore (“from doing what I know I have to do. Leaving.”) “I’m not your problem anymore”, - desperately hoping that he doesn’t hate her even though she’s hurt him, because she thinks she’s doing the right thing by building an illusion to protect him (“Please don’t hate me when that illusion fades, Callum.”)“Never wanted you to hate me” - desperately hoping he’ll still trust her and want her after “Will you forgive my soul when you’re too wise to trust me and too old to care?” - Searching everywhere for any trace of Viren, any trace of what happened to her parents to make the wound stop bleeding “Trace the evidence, make it make some sense, why the wound is still bleeding” - the thought of Callum being something that got her through her hardest times alone “And when I was shipwrecked, I thought of you/When it was real enough, to get me through" - the idea of coming home to Callum & Ezran being the only thing keeping her going “And I just want to run to you, And every time I don’t, I almost do”,

Not knowing what to say, not knowing how to turn up empty-handed after two years, not knowing what to do to make things better, but only knowing that she is falling apart and is goddamn trying her best and she needs him (“All day I’ve, I mean, all week really, I’ve been so nervous and kind of edge-frazzled, you know?”) “And maybe I don’t quite know what to say, but I’m here in your doorway; I just wanted you to know that this is me trying”/“Standing in front of you saying, “I’m sorry for that night”, - The part of her brain that is mean to her thinking its justified if Callum doesn’t want to be with her anymore after what she’s done “So if the chain is on your door I understand” but deep down her heart wants him to say that it wasn’t her fault and everything will be okay and they will be best friends again and that he understands her twisted logic and forgives her for it “Tell me that you’re still mine, tell me that we’ll be just fine, even when I loose my mind/tell me that its not my fault, tell me that I’m all you want, even when I break your heart” - knowing that she has a lot of trust to rebuild with a lot of people “There are so many lines that I’ve crossed unforgiven” -resulting to wait forever, offering to put his heart back together, and promising to never leave again, “I want you for worse or for better, I would wait for ever and ever, broke your heart, I’ll put it back together” because he is the best thing that ever happened to her and the best thing thats ever been hers even if she is realizing it and admitting to it a little late (“the best thing I ever had: you”) “You are the best thing thats ever been mine”.

Long story short the world screwed her over and over and over again. She was the prey so much she quickly had to become the archer in order to survive.

PS. I didn’t want to tag every song cuz then it gets launched into a whole different side of Tumblr, but if you’re wondering where I pulled lyrics from they are all listed under the cut in (hopefully) chronological order (even though I did repeat songs a couple times but not lyrics!)

Haunted 

This Love

White horse

Your on your own kid

Castles Crumbling

Call it what you want

Mad woman

My tears ricochet (this song is so Rayla/Runaan-coded omg)

You’re loosing me

Tolerate it

Long story short

Ours 

False God

Breathe

Daylight

The Archer (this song is also so Rayla-coded)

Anti-Hero

Dancing with our hands tied

Cornelia Street

Getaway Car

Exile

Hits different 

Evermore 

I almost do (Rayllum-coded for sure)

This is me trying

Back to December (this is the most Rayllum-coded song I've ever heard)

Afterglow (i pulled the whole bridge from here basically)

How you get the girl

Mine

[claudiaaaana]

The Flame Dragon God's Bride

Pairing: Nalu/Natsu x Lucy

Synopsis: After every quinquennial period, a young lass is chosen as an offering to the flame dragon god.

Warning: This story is all about inter-species relationships, and cr3amp13.

—o—

Every five years, in Lucy’s village, a sacrifice was made.

It was said that many years ago, a great dragon descended from the heavens. The flames that he blew onto the Earth gave birth to life, and so the world was born. Living alone was lonely, and so the dragon implanted his seed into the fields and gave birth to man who worshipped and comforted him.

Or at least, that is what the older caretakers at the orphanage told her. “Listen, Lucy,” the scarlet-haired woman admonishes. Erza had, after all, always been a stern person. “This is important to know. It’s the year of harvest, you know. You’ve come of age this year!”

Lucy had never taken much stock in gods, demons, monsters, or humans. They could all screw themselves as far as she was concerned. Even if the dragon god was real, what good was he if he did nothing about the suffering of the people in this village? Every three years the crops began to wane and people began to starve. It was a blight of the land, or so the “wise” elders stated. Her parents had been killed when she was still very young – killed when someone had stolen from them for food.

What kind of “god” allowed that?

She makes a face at the older woman and sticks out her tongue. Erza flicks her forehead and her friend, Juvia sits beside her, all prim and proper, like she always did and rolls her eyes at her antics.

“I could care less about a harvest year,” Lucy bites back. And she really couldn’t. Every harvest year, an untouched girl who had come of age who chosen by the dragon. She had always been too young to attend the choosing ceremony, and she had no idea how girls were chosen, but she did know what happened after. The girl would need to satisfy the Dragon’s lust, indulging him for an entire month before being sent back into the village.

After that, the crops would flourish, and the girl would be regarded as a martyr. She would never marry, but she and her family would be well cared for. 

"I’ll run if I’m the chosen!"

“And you’ll be captured and dragged back,” Erza reprimands, voice sharp. “Becoming a bride for the Dragon god is a great honor–”

“Being used as a toy is an honor?” The blonde-haired girl asks back crossly. With a sigh, she huffs when she hears annoyed sounds behind her. She nearly flips them off off, but she holds herself back.

“The tribute’s sacrifice is a great honor, by giving herself to the dragon, she in turn brings her village good tidings and a bountiful harvest!” Erza continues.

At this point, Lucy just nods in order to get Erza to leave her alone. Huffily, she looks at the calendar. The day of harvest was tomorrow.

It’s fine, she thinks. That day will come and go, just like all days.

She’s able to swipe some bread and cheese from the kitchen which she brings to her bunkmate after that annoying lesson. She was of age now and would soon need to leave.

Lucy takes a look around the run-down orphanage. It was tiny, having only a few rooms. One large room for all of the abandoned teens and children, a school room for education, a kitchen, and a large bathing area. It was practically falling apart, but it was the only place that she had ever known for years. Her eyes sting, and she wipes them quickly before any of the moisture that had gathered there could fall. It was fine. She wouldn’t miss this stupid place.

She’d need to get a job quickly, and save up enough so that she could leave.

Maybe she’d even find a way to leave the village.

Cana is laying on the lower bunk bed in the sleeping area, somewhat sober, when Lucy finds her. She throws her the bread, and the young woman with dark brown hair catches it with a smirk.

“How was the dragon bride spiel?”

Lucy rolls her eyes, “Boring. You’re lucky you don’t have to go. Must be nice for your part, huh,” she plops down onto the bed beside her. Cana breaks the bread in half and hands her a piece of it, which she accepts gratefully. She bites into it and chews. The bread was stale and old, just like this falling apart building, and the entire fucking village.

Cana falls quiet.

“You don’t think you’ll be chosen, will ya? I'm gonna miss having you around. Though, it was just for the time being, still...”

Lucy frowns. That had been a thought she had tried to push out of her own head. There would be only 20 girls attending the choosing ceremony tomorrow, and she was one of them. The odds weren’t good, but the others were just as likely to be chosen. She chews on the tip of her thumb, nibbling at the skin until it was red and peeling slightly in the dry air.

She gives her companion a wide smile. “Of course not!”

The choosing day arrives the following day – she, Juvia, and some of the other girls are all brought to the foot of the dragon’s mountain. Here, many of the village elders lived, taking direct command from the dragon who lived at the very top. Lady Erza leads them to a large clearing, where many of the wise men sit in wait for them. She had seen them all before. Once a year, all of them came down to the village, in order to minister gospel to the rest of the citizens. Cana had once told her that it seemed like they were less interested in ministering and more invested in scoping out any girls who were close to coming of age for the following harvest.

Lucy had to agree with her.

The men are all old, with wrinkled faces and leering smiles as they regard all of them.

It instantly makes Lucy feel sick.

“How lucky you all are,” one of the elders say, who called himself Hades. “One of you is very close to paradise, you will give yourself to the dragon, and in turn, your village will prosper. Is there a greater honor?” He calls out. Some of the other men snicker, looking at all of them.

She wasn’t naive enough to not understand what those looks meant. The other women seem to shrink, looking down demurely, but Lucy looks at them all head on, eyes narrowed and teeth grit.

Another elder, named Porla seems to have noticed.

“Is there a problem, girl?” He asks, his voice silky, but dangerous. “You look upset. Do you not want to give yourself to the dragon?” A hush falls over the crowd of girls, who all give her worried glances. Juvia grabs her hand from beside her.

“Don’t,” the calmer girl warns. It was clear as day how that man’s comment had made her blood boil. She can feel heat on the back of her neck, searing her very soul. She trembles, and bites her lip so hard that she can taste blood in her mouth. “Don’t.”

“I suppose that is up to the dragon,” Lucy growls in response.

The elders glare at her, but Porla just seems amused. He doesn’t move from his spot. His eyes crinkle, as though he knew something that she didn’t. She’s not sure why, but she’s unnerved and drops his gaze, bringing her eyes down to the cool stone beneath her feet. “I suppose that it is,” there’s an almost gleeful quality to his voice. It’s shuddersome, but she squashes down her fear.

She wouldn’t let him intimidate her.

It’s not me, she thinks, tries to reassure herself. It could be anyone. It’s not me.

She can feel all of the other girls’ eyes on her. Somehow, the atmosphere had changed, as though they were all relieved. It was if they knew as well, that she had made a mistake. She bites into her lip, hard.

Juvia’s hand is firm on her wrist, but even she could see that the blue-haired girl looked grim.

“Kneel,” Porla says to them all. “Kneel and wait. We will confer with one another before we reveal our choice to you all.” He gives the blonde girl another smile, and she knows.

Confer.

Choice.

Those words played over and over again in her head as her characteristic boldness evaporated. A tense chill grips her as the men whisper amongst themselves.They would be the ones choosing the sacrifice.

Stupid, she thinks, panicked. Why can’t you ever shut up for once? Erza and Cana tried to warn you to hold your tongue –

It’s not a long conference at all. The men speak for about five minutes total before they announce their choice.

“Lucy Heartfilia,” Porla says with a leering smile. “Rejoice!” He claps his hands together, eyes filled with an almost perverse malice. She can’t look up. She can’t.

Was this really happening?

“You will be the dragon’s chosen bride!”

It takes about five guards to wrestle her to the ground.

She’s proud to have given three of them black eyes and to have busted the other two’s lips. She breaks one of their noses and is satisfied to have their blood on her hands. Lucy hits the ground, hard. She struggles against the weight pinning her down, and watches as one who’s nose she had broken raises his hand, preparing to strike her.

“No!” One of the elders call, “The dragon will be upset if she’s damaged!”

She hears the guard snarl, glaring down at her. Then, he smirks cruelly as he wipes the blood from his nose and smears it across her face. She gags, and spits at him. “You won’t have as much fight once the dragon has ruined you,” he sneers.

She manages to raise her knee, thrusting it up hard into his balls and has never been more satisfied to see a man cry then she is at that moment.

Eventually, Erza is brought in to speak with her.

She looks upset, and Lucy has a difficult time meeting her eyes. Gently, she comes and squeezes her shoulders. “Lucy,” she says firmly. “You must comply.”

“But–”

“No, buts,” the older woman says firmly, “This is your duty to perform now. The land with continue to stagnant if you don’t,” and Lucy bites the inside of her cheeks so hard that she can taste blood. Duty? Responsibility? She had never had a choice in any of this! Not in being born in this shitty village – not in her parents dying – and certainly not in practically raising herself at that shitty orphanage of years. Now she would be forced to “please” some faceless god?

“It’s not fair,” she whispers, and her eyes begin to blur. “Erza, it’s not fair.”

Erza’s eyes soften as she’s pulled into a tight embrace. Lucy clings to her, not wanting to let go. She had always been tough on her, and all of the other children. It was because she cared, even if she was a pious woman. Erza had been an older orphan at that point when she had first arrived, before she had chosen to work at the place that had always been her home. She had been nothing but a sobbing little girl at the time, and the older girl had comforted her.

Now, she’s doing it again. “It’s not fair at all – but you have to.” It’s cruel of her, but she adds. “Think of the future. After this, you’ll be stable for the rest of your life. You’ll be able to get a real home, if you want to leave.”

A real home – but at what cost?

It feels as though all of her energy has left her, evaporating.

“Alright,” Lucy whispers dully.

From that point on, she complies.

She bids Cana and Juvia goodbye. She is shown a room at the top of tower where the elders live. She is presented two handmaidens who tell her that tomorrow would begin the month of harvest. “You’ll meet Master E.N.D. there.”

Lucy blinks blearily. “E.N.D.?”

The handmaid, a petite young girl with blue colored hair and eyes smiles. “That’s what the elders call the dragon god. I don't know what it means, though,” she explains.

Master...E.N.D.

He was the one who had caused all of this.

Her husband.

Lucy is woken up promptly as sunrise by the small, blue-haired handmaiden. She called herself Levy and implores her to refer to her familiarly. “I’m here to serve you, m’lady. There’s no need for formality,” the sweet girl says with a bright smile. She seems nice. Lucy wonders what she feels about all of this.

“You don’t need to call me that,” she says in response. “Just call me by my given name. I’m not anyone special.”

“But you are!” Levy says, voice filled with conviction. “You’re the dragon’s bride!”

Lucy grimaces. How could she ever forget?

“Have you seen many of the brides before?” Lucy asks dully as she’s led to the baths. It’s a large basin in the middle of the room, filled with hot water and different scented oils. Lucy undresses as Levy begins to help her bathe, moving to wash her hair. “I only saw the previous one,” the bluenette says. “I haven’t been here that long and that was five years ago.”

The last bride had been a woman called Sorano. She had always been a wild woman, somewhat like herself in that regard. She had volunteered to be the bride when the time came and relished in the lifestyle that being a former bride afforded her. None of the men made advances on her after that, and the woman seemed thrilled about this. She had always seemed more interested in the numerous female friends who she hosted at her home.

Lucy had heard her say that the dragon had freed her. Whatever that meant. Sorano had always been strange, even to her.

“Do you know what the ceremonies entail?” she asks.

Levy stills, soapy fingers still in her hair.

“I–I’m not allowed to say, Lu-chan,” she says, looking apologetic. Lucy sighs. Of course. It figured that would be the case. She would find out when the time came and not a moment before.

“The dragon isn’t bad, though,” Levy says softly.

What?

“You’ve seen him?”

“Y-Yes,” the bluenette says. “Sometimes he comes down from the mountain even when it isn’t a harvest year.”

Lucy isn’t sure what to make of the other girl’s words. She seemed to be a meek girl. Perhaps that was the reason she thought that?

What was the dragon like? The stories described him as fearsome beast, both monster and god. She didn’t know what to expect at all. None of the few women that she had seen return from a harvest ever seemed hurt or injured. The stigma attached to the role was enough to make women fear being chosen, though.

It’s not like that matters right now, Lucy thinks. She was already here.

When she had been cleaned and dressed by Levy and another hand maid, she is taken back out to that large clearing. The elders are waiting once more for her. She’s dressed in a long and flowing kimono, one that hands slightly from her shoulders. Ornate jewels and flowers have been weaved through her hair.

The elders smile at her, and Porla’s smile seems to be the biggest of all. She glares at him as she is told to kneel in the middle of the clearing. She didn’t see anything nearby. It leads her to wonder if this was another one of the elders’ tricks, meant to make her suffer even more. “Close your eyes,” she is ordered, and she does so, not wanting to fight anymore.

And then she feels a powerful gust of wind, one that makes her hair and clothing fly all around her from the force of it. She gasps, eyes flying open and she is completely floored by what she sees.

“A monster?” She whispers to herself.

That was the only way that she could describe the large creature in front of her. It was quite large, taller than most buildings. Several long and thick tendrils on its scaly back was covered in large, black eyes with slitted red pupils. The blood red creature seems to settle down in front of her, with all of the elders behind it. They have moved back, making even more space for the creature. Its eyes, including the ones on its tendrils, seem to focus on her, and the muzzle of its large, gaping mouth opens, tongue lolling out for a moment before it closes.

Was this the dragon...god?

Lucy trembles, unable to move as she stares up at the creature in both awe and terror.

The dragon crawls towards her, getting closer to her space. Out of instinct, her breath hitches and she leans backwards. The creature notices this and thick smoke comes out of its nostrils, making the girl still. The dragon sits on all fours, leveling its two primary eyes on her level before leaning backwards and sitting on its haunches. All of its tendrils suddenly came into her view and narrowing all of its eyes on her little form.

I’m going to die, she thinks to herself. There was no way that she could handle a beast of that size. He would rip her to pieces. He’d eat her, he’d kill her. This had all been a lie, and she was going to be food for this creature! How had they managed to hide something like this for so long? How in the world had no one known about this creature? Had all of the tributes been sworn to secrecy after whatever was done to them?

Her legs tremble, as she watches the dragon stretches its arm – reaching for her.

Run.

And yet, she couldn’t. Her body was paralyzed, and she could hardly feel her legs. There would be no escaping a creature of that size. He would hunt her down easily.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die, I’m going to die –

Gently, she feels the rough claw of the dragon stroke her cheek. Lucy blinks, her eyes feel wet and so do her cheeks, at least until the claw begin to wipe the tears from her eyes. The creature touches her so softly, that she’s taken aback, gaping at him until her face was completely dry and her shivering had stopped.

It wasn’t hurting her?

Two tendrils going underneath her arm pits and lifting her up so that she is kneeling in the grass. It’s gentle with her, careful not to hurt her even as its rough claw brush her lips.

Then, she hears a voice – one that reverberates throughout her being. It’s loud and masculine, and can only be coming from the dragon.

“There is nothing to fear,” it – he says. “I will not hurt you.” Two simple sentences, and yet, she believes him. The fear leaves her at that moment, leaving only curiosity and confusion. This was the same god that demanded sacrifices and caused blight?

It was then, that the wisest elder, Porla, speaks, “The month of harvest will now begin,” says the man. “For a month, you will be bathed in the seed of the dragon through you, the land will be revitalized and will become fruitful once more,” he explains. It takes a moment for Lucy to process what he was saying.

His seed?

“At the end of the month,” says a different wise elder. “The dragon will take your maidenhead and the rite will be complete.”

She feels uneasy hearing those words, though it was no different from what she had expected from the moment that she had been chosen. The dragon retrieves its claw from her cheeks, but its tendrils were still wrapped around her, keeping her steady, and his many eyes had an almost soft look to them, despite the dragon's terrifying appearance. It really seemed as though he had no intention to hurt her.

Was she supposed to really believe that, though?

—o—

Soon after the meeting ceremony, the blonde girl, Lucy, is taken back to her room.

She looks back at the dark red dragon as her handmaidens come and gently pull her away from him, and he allows his tendrils to release her, drawing back into himself as he watches her go. Lucy looks curious, nothing like the terrified girl that he had first been greeted with after making his appearance. He never enjoyed this rites, especially not when the women he was meant to take always seemed to terrified, or resigned to their fate.

It was a necessary evil, part of the curse that had been placed on the land by that evil woman.

"Every few years, your land will wither and turn to ash. All life will die and fade, sinking back into the ground from whence it had come."

"Unless, of course – you trample over the dignity of a human woman – she will never know love again."

"And neither will you."

He grimaces as he thinks back to the wicked witch with thickly braided scarlet hair. This was his punishment for defying her all of those centuries ago.

A blight. And a curse.

Still, he’s curious enough about this girl to let his many eyes follow her back to her room. He had seen her before. Sometimes, he watched over the village that he had first built many, many years ago. He had seen many of them grow, and he had seen many of them die. Lucy had always been a girl who had stood out amongst the others. She was often disobedient and fiery. It had caught his eye during that time – and he had asked the elders to keep an eye out for her, as a girl like that would probably not be broken from the ceremony that had to happen. Sometimes, it took a much longer time to the girls who were brought to him over the years to lose their fear of him, no matter how gentle he had tried to be.

Some never did.

Ignoring the elders, he goes to where he knows Lucy must be. Tributes always stayed in the same room, the highest room on the manor, and she is there when he kneels down onto his knees, to look inside. She was there, and the handmaids were beginning to remove the jewels from her hair when their eyes meet once more, through the large oval window that was on the far left of the room. She tenses as she notices his presence, startled by seeing one of his two primary eyes peering down at her and he quickly moves away, leaving her in peace.

Right. Curious or not, he was still a monsterous being. And she still wasn’t here by choice.

—o—

He had come to visit her.

It’s something that she mulls over all night – his gentleness, the soft way that he had looked at her. He was a grotesque looking thing. How could someone who demanded sacrifices be so kind? Was this some kind of trick? He had even watched her from outside of her room, as though to check up on her.

She doesn’t understand.

Lucy is brought back to the clearing the following day. This time, she is dressed far more simply, in a plain white robe. Her hair is loose, falling down on her waistline as she kneels down onto the grass. She looks up at the massive creature who was sitting down in front of her. Today would be the first day of the fertility rite, and she had no idea what to really expect. You will be bathed in his seed. She grimaces. Perhaps she had a better idea about it then she had previously believed. Lucy worries her bottom lip with her teeth as she bends her head, looking down at the grass, and waits.

And waits.

Then, she hears a large groan escape from the dragon's mouth. She looks up, just in time to see something large and hard protruding from its abdomen. It’s huge, throbbing and it takes only a moment before she realizes exactly what it is. Her lips part as she watches as its huge claw wraps around it and begins to stroke. She hears a large rumble, one that makes the ground reverberate with the force of it, and she looks up, watching in awe.

She had never seen anything like this.

The dragon's many eyes on its tendrils slide closed, and its primary two eyes on his head looking at her, half lidded as though hazy with pleasure as he strokes himself. The elders are further away, watching the entire display and Lucy just feel…strange. It takes some time for her to identify what the feeling building in the pit of her stomach was. She hadn’t felt it often, usually late at night, when she felt far too restless to sleep. A warmth, one that left her legs tingling.

This goes on for several more minutes, with Lucy sitting in confusion until suddenly she hears the dragon gasp.

There’s a large tremor that seems to go up along his body, one that makes him sway slightly, and then she watches as the massive member twitches, and then overflows. It shoots from him, a large burst of it spurting onto her shoulders, chest, and covering her dress. None of it falls onto her face, but she can feel the warm, white liquid covering her skin, seeping into her clothes.

It’s warm.

Lucy flushes, as she hear the dragon breathe deeply as he sits back, then as though exhausted. He seems to soften, long appendage seeming to sink back into its skin as though it had never even been there to begin with. Still stunned, she raises her hand, still covered in the warm white fluids. Just feeling it against her is enough to make the heat in the pit of her belly to increase, until it is boiling.

She finds herself panting, flushed.

What was this?

Her hands tremble, as do her legs and her thighs and she’s unable to stop herself. Her thighs squeeze together, trying to calm herself. What is this? What is this? Her heart is hammering in her chest. Her eyes slide back over to the dragon’s large, heaving form. He seemed relaxed, now, and she watches his claw reaches towards her. This time, she isn’t afraid when it caresses her cheek.

She’s not even afraid when it wraps around her, lifting her into the air, as though weighed nothing. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and she doesn’t struggle when when she’s brought high up to his mouth. Instead, the feeling only increases. Her hands tighten on the hand around her, especially when a long tendril comes to rest underneath her bottom, allowing her to comfortably sit.

When she’s close enough to the dragon’s mouth, she’s able to hear him speak.

“Are you alright, young one?”

His voice is quiet, this time. It’s not booming like the first time he had spoke, as though he were trying to keep this conversation between the two of them. Lucy nods somewhat shyly, still confused at the feelings that were running through her body, this heat, that left her flesh yearning for something.

“I-I’m alright,” she answers, and his reptile eyes crinkle, as though thrilled and relieved. Almost like a smile.

She doesn’t have much time to contemplate this new knowledge, nor the strangeness in her body as she’s set back onto the ground. Her eyes follow him, though and she opens her mouth to speak once more.

“The first day of ceremony has been complete!” Cries one of the elders, then, jolting her from her thoughts. “The tribute may now return to her quarters to bathe,” Porla seems amused, “You will be back tomorrow at the same time,” the mirth in his eyes tells her that he took her confusion and trembling for fear.

But it wasn’t, strangely.

It was something else entirely.

That night, she feels oddly lonely.

She isn’t used to sleeping by herself, and without the noise of all of the other children from the orphanage, it’s impossible to fall asleep. It’s just too quiet, and her body still feels too warm from earlier. Even in the bath, Lucy had been unable to get the feeling of his seed off of his skin. She could still feel where it had touched, feel it on her. She turns in her bed, frustrated as she throws the blankets off of her body. The bed was soft – softer than anything that they had back home at that orphanage. The sheets were made of satin and made her sweat.

Why did she feel like this?

She’s throbbing at her core, right between her legs, and after much frustration, she lifts her nightgown and touches right at the spot where the ache was the worst.

“H-Haaah,” she groans. She never usually had time to do this kind of thing, and she tries not to think about why she is doing this. It was strange. That such a beast would have such an effect on her.

It doesn’t take long for her to come, not when she’s this worked up. She stares up at the ceiling, and catches one of the large eyes of the dragon at her window for only a moment before it is gone. For a moment, she wonders if she’s imagined it, before realizing that she hadn’t.

Even stranger is that she doesn’t mind.

The next few days pass more or less the same. She is bathed in his seed, and then made to clean herself before going back to her room where she touched herself to alleviate the same desire that had sprung into her heart. She can sense that he’s always around, watching her – and in some ways, that knowledge only spurs her actions on even further.

Lucy tries not to think about what any of that might mean.

But his attention is beginning to excite her.

She felt almost thrilled whenever she was brought to that clearing now, and the thoughts of how the dragon and looked, felt, didn’t leave her even as the sun set and moonlight shone through the blinds in her room. Is he casting some kind of spell on me?

She should hate this like she had when she first came here. She should spurn his touch and what was expected of her.

But, she didn’t.

She’s curious.

If she was going to be a toy and if she had to go through all of this whether she liked it or not, then she might as well enjoy it, right? Either way, she’d still be cast back into town after all of this – a pariah. A well cared for pariah, but a pariah nonetheless.

And the dragon was gentle.

She should take advantage of that, right? She’d have no one else after all of this, anyway.

—o—

There were two rules to this curse – changing into his human form can only be done at sunset, and the fertility rite must be performed every five years.

It put strain on his body, and he didn’t often even bother with the transformation, but he’s too interested in this new tribute to stop himself. She was a puzzling woman, leaving the blinds of her window open, as though she were hoping that he was watching her. He had watched her after that first night, intrigued by how quickly she had come around to him. It had taken the other tributes much longer, and even then, they seemed to regard him with a resigned obligation. They understood what their role was, but they didn’t fear or hate him.

It was all that he could ask her.

With this girl, he could see a spark of interest in her eyes and he could smell her arousal, something that he didn’t think that he would ever get the chance to experience from a woman. At least not since this curse had begun.

She had touched herself that night, a sight that had shocked him. He had watched until she reached her completion and he had never seen a more beautiful sight. This girl flushed and gasping, hips lifting off of the bed as she buried her fingers deep inside of herself left him feeling a warmth, a longing that he hadn’t felt for years.

Afterwards, he finds himself making his way to her room, either peering through the window or sneaking his tendril into the room in the dead of night in order to watch her.

And so, an ill-advised habit had developed.

Idiot, he thinks to himself, clenching at his chest. She’s going to leave soon, just like all of the others.

This was reality. She would come to resent him, too. It was only a matter of time.

—o—

There is a deviation from their typical pattern after two weeks.

As usual, she is brought to the clearing, she watches as the dragon pleasures himself, and then she’s covered in it, from head to toe.

Unlike the other times, this time, she’s far too curious. Unable to help herself, she finds herself licking her fingers. It didn’t smell or taste bad. In fact, the dragon’s seed was delicious and sweet.

His many eyes are all staring this time, all watching her with a dark, but interested precision.

Then, he speaks. “Do you like that, little one?” He asks in a deep, rumbling voice.

Lucy flushes, and tries to keep herself still even though she is beginning to feel incredibly hot just from being coated in it. Every day, she’s gets hotter and hotter until she has to quell the fire by touching herself in the dark of night. She had a feeling that the dragon had been watching as she had caught a glimpse of his eyes through her windows. She had never been bold enough to do anything here, though not in front of the elders, or the dragon.

But something about the way that he looked at her made her want to test this beast far more.

The elders watch, faces stony, at least until one of her hands drops down, reaching underneath the robe that had been prepared for her. Her skin is still slick with his seed as she finds her clit, rubbing it as she meets his eyes. She hears a low rumble that comes from the dragon as one of his tendrils wrap around her, giving her privacy from the elders. Many eyes line the tendril, all watching her as her fingers begin to work. “You’re–,” the air seems to grow heavy as he speaks. “What are you–?”

She doesn’t allow him to answer as she brushes her lips against the tendril, leaning against it as her fingers sink into herself. She’s not sure why she’s doing any of this, but the breathless way that the creature sounds, the way the very air seems to shudder around her spurs her on.

Lucy never felt this free before.

She knew it was a perverse game for those elders, but for her, it was becoming something she actually enjoyed. It wasn’t like she would do any of this normally though, she’s just doing what her body wants her to do. The dragon’s seed creates a nice lubrication, making it easier to work for fingers, deep into herself, deeper than they’ve ever gone as she writhes.

“Aaah!” She moans.

For a moment, she wonders what exactly she’s doing.

What do you want? If the dragon can do as he pleases with you, then why not do the same to him?

Right.

Her lips don’t stop moving over the pulsing thick scaly tendril wrapping around her as she lavishes it with kisses. She can feel the dragon breathing, gasping.

Was it sensitive?

She isn’t allowed to chase that thought much further, however, as the pressure building in the pit of her belly swells to a breaking point. Lucy shudders, gasping loudly as waves of bliss roll through her body. Her hips stutter, grinding until she was finally calm.

The dragon’s eyes don’t leave her the entire time.

For a moment, Lucy wonders if this was what power felt like.

After the ceremony, the maidens take her away to bathe her clean and have her eat some food. She feels tired. She still can’t help but slip in a finger inside of her to finger some of his seed out of herself. She wonders if she should be more modest, but can’t find it within herself to care. Soon, she’d be a pariah, anyway.

She pushes her finger into her mouth, tasting it and shuddering with pleasure. Some of the handmaids tease her for being so amorous.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more enthusiastic tribute,” they tell her when she’s struck by the urge to touch herself again. Lucy is not at all surprised to see one of the tendril's large eyes watching her from outside of the bathing room’s window.

And she finds herself pushing her fingers inside of herself again, this time letting the creature see as she tastes it. After that, she feels the eyes of the creature on her all night. She doesn’t mind, and even leaves the window open and the curtains pushed back so that he can see inside of her room.

She had felt resentment for it before – for the god that allowed people to suffer like she had in this perverse village, but now… she wasn’t sure what she felt. He didn’t seem to want to cause her any harm.

It was the opposite, in fact.

—o—

To say that Natsu was taken aback by this girl, would be putting his feelings lightly.

Never had a tribute been so bold, so enthusiastic to participate in the ceremonies. She wasn’t disgusted with his dragon form, a fact that warmed his heart.

He wants to reach out to her.

She was quite a wild little thing, and it seemed as though she were teasing him. He has never felt like this before, there had been attraction but not like this.

Changing form doesn’t help his ardor, nor does stroking himself to completion. It only makes him grow hotter, make him yearn that much more desperately for this girl. On his human form, he’s doused himself under icy frigid water in one of the compound’s many baths, and it does nothing to relieve him. He can still feel sweat dripping down his neck. The want inside of him had grown to an almost unbearable point. Desperate, he tries to locate her from his mind’s eye and finds that she’s asleep, silk sheets wrapped around her pale form.

Her long golden hair had been done into a loose braid and her nose twitches in her sleep.

He finds himself getting out of the tub, and towards her bedroom. He closes his palm over her eyes and feels her stir.

“Relax,” he murmurs, “it’s just me.”

He feels the tension in her body fade away. “...Master E.N.D.?” She asks quietly. 

He smile at her. She was a perceptive one, wasn’t she? 

“Yes,” he says, “Close your eyes now. You aren’t allowed to see me until the ceremony, especially in this form.” He instructs as he removes his hand from her eyes. She had done as she was told, and he uses one of the ribbons he sees near her night stand to tie around her eyes, like a blindfold.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be here either, Master E.N.D,” she notes. “I can’t see you, but you’re already breaking one of your own rules,” and this has Natsu chuckling. She was a bold one.

“True,” Natsu drawls, “But humor me. You’ve had quite the effect on me, young one,” he says, smoothing his hand down her nightgown and grasping her breasts. “I’ve never seen a maid pleasure herself with my seed before,” he lifts her gown and is pleased to see that she is not wearing anything underneath.

He sees her cleanly shaven cunt and smiles. He can already smell her arousal.

Lucy squirms. “It feels nice... being covered in your seed,” she’s flushing, like it was hard to admit.

“Does it?”

She bites her lip, nodding her head with a small hum. The flush on the apples of her cheeks are lovely, as is the glossiness of her pale skin. She was quite a beautiful girl.

He had known she would be one of his maidens for a long time. But he never thought he would feel so strongly about it.

“I suppose you can hardly wait for the full ceremony then,” she inhales sharply when his lips ghost over her throat, he tugs her nightgown lower and lower until it’s slipped beneath her.

He cups her breasts and runs his tongue over the hardened buds. She lets out a small whine. Rutting her hips in a needy fashion.

“Would you like me to touch you?” He places a hand on her belly, caressing the soft skin slowly and watching her grow breathless and writhe.

“Y-Yes,” she moans, “I can’t wait... you can use me.”

What a bold girl!

He’s shocked into chuckling, kissing her sweet lips.

“You are quite lovely, but I cannot, not yet at least.”

She pouts, making him laugh. She was that eager, was she?

“Don’t worry,” he whispers, “After this month is up, I will have your body for the entire night,” Natsu says, sliding his scaled human hand in between her legs. The little nymph is dripping wet. And he’s momentarily shocked to see some of his seed spill out from inside of her. He smiles, “Did you not wash all of my seed away?”

“No,” Lucy says quietly, “Some of the handmaids insisted, but it feels so warm inside of me. I didn’t want to stop feeling you,” and Natsu has to suppress a shudder. What a girl. Had he ever encountered a maiden like this before? Most of them had let him do as he liked out of obligation or had been demure or shy.

Never had one been so enthusiastic, so wanton for him.

He sighs, pushing two fingers inside of her. It’s a tight fit, and her inner muscles squeeze around his fingers so greedily, like she didn’t want to let him go as he touches her. Lucy whimpers, rutting her hips, and he presses his own arousal against her hip as he pleasures her, trying to find some relief for himself as well.

She’s so warm.

“M-Master!” She cries out, and comes so easily for him. His fingers are drenched when he pulls them out, tasting her as she had also done for him.

Delicious.

Her eyes darken, lips parting as if she wanted to follow the lines of his lips and the strength of his tongue against her own.

He wishes he could use her right now. But he can’t. Not yet. He nips at her throat. “I didn’t say that you could come yet, nymph.”

She whimpers, “It feels so good. I couldn’t help it…”

And then, “Was that bad? Am I doing something wrong?”

Ah, she didn’t understand. He smiles, delighted by how innocent she was. There was so much he was going to be able to teach her.

“It’s not too bad,” He murmurs, “You’ve come before I asked you too, I want to train you so you won’t do that.” He pushes his fingers back inside of her. Long and scaly, yet inside of her they feel soft and she immediately bites back a whimper that still manages to escape her throat.

“Good girl,” he purrs, she was practically squeezing him up. “Does it feel nice?”

She breathes harshly, nodding her head and bucking her hips to get more feeling inside of her, she was so close again, her hand inches closer to her clit to stroke herself but he pins it back with one of his tendrils from his back.

“Not yet, love.” He chuckles, "Why don’t you lift your hips?” She does as he asks, she was willing to do anything as long as this feeling stayed. She was so close, she was close to bursting at the seams, her heart was hammering in her chest.

“Fuck yourself,” he groaned, and she immediately starts rutting her hips slowly, picking up pace as her body adjusts to the movement, she gets wetter. Much wetter and drips onto her silk sheets, the knot was so close to bursting inside her stomach, she could see stars behind her eyes and then –

He was gone. The ribbon falls from her eyes and all that conveyed his previous presence was a whoosh of wind and her lace curtains billowing.    

Lucy is left momentarily stunned as her brain tries to comprehend what had just occurred. The pleasure had dulled to a sharp throb and she squeezes her thighs together, looking back and forth. She sees the eye of the dragon looking at her from behind her open window, crinkled in amusement. Lucy frowns deeply and then narrows her eyes at him.

“That was mean!” She hears a rumble of what must be laughter, and she angrily turns over in bed away from him.

She’s still so hot.

She tries to push her hand between her legs, trying to soothe herself, but a tendril shoots from the massive body of the dragon, coming through the window and stopping her.

“A-Are you serious?” She asks in disbelief, and then huffs as she lays down, she wiggles her hips, before giving up. She couldn’t get enough friction this way, and it wasn’t like the dragon was going to allow her to finish herself off. Would he be this way until the end of the month? Lucy pales. She wasn’t sure if she could go that long, and she looks at him desperately from the window, but he had already left, ascending back into his lair above on the mountain above the village.

She curses loudly.

It was a very long time before she got any sleep.

The following morning, Lucy wakes up frustrated and groggy. She is taken by the handmaids to be washed and soaked in warm, scented oils. Then, she is given breakfast and is forced to sit with some of the village elders. She frowns, hating their leering stares. She didn’t mind it when the dragon looked at her or touched her, though.

“You seem quite eager to be taken by the dragon,” one of them says, “More eager than any of the others have been.”

“Should I cry and scream instead?” Lucy asks coldly. “Would that get you off more?” One of them yells about her being undisciplined, and stands up, preparing to strike her.

And then, just as fast, his hand is missing.

He screams, falling to the floor, and she sees one of the scaly eyed tentacles of the dragon, waving menacingly in front of all of the elders. They scramble to help the man, but none of them dare to speak to her or try to touch her again.

Lucy is shocked.

He had done that, for her?

His voice reverberates throughout the entire compound. “None shall harm this woman,” the dragon says, “For she is mine.”

It was clear that this was not up for debate.

Lucy isn’t sure what to make of it, but she feels a thrill go up her spine, both of fear and of joy. No one had ever cared enough about her to hurt someone else for her sake. And yet – the dragon did?

Throughout the day, the elder’s compound is abuzz with gossip about what had happened. In all of the years of a maiden being chosen, never had the dragon saw fit to interfere with the elders.

Until now.

Later, she is ushered into the ceremony garden, where the handmaids strip her and she stands underneath the massive form of the dragon. His body was large, towering over all of them like a building and she lies down on the bed of flowers waiting to begin.  

They’ve weaved small white flowers through her hair and placed a main crown of gardenias atop of her head. Her cheeks were pink and her lips moistened with oil.

She looks exquisite.

It had only just began and her body already felt so hot. The Dragon’s eyes all close in on her and her flush only expands until it touches every expanse of her skin and he motions for her to move closer. She’s quick to oblige, as she watches the tendrils shoots out to begin their work.

She doesn’t know why she thinks about it but she feels like teasing him a little.

She presses her folds apart, giving him a nice view over her pink slit, reminding him of how he had really left her unsatisfied the night before. His groan rumbles through the garden as the tendrils stroke over the skin faster and harder than before.

She sneaks a hand over her cunt, closing it slowly with her fingers pointed downward so they sink slightly inside of her opening, before coming back drenched. She holds the fingers up, separating them and showing him the sticky substance before popping them into her mouth, licking them clean.

He cums so quickly that she’s almost taken aback, the thick creamy substance coating her body. She licks the bit around her mouth and shudders.

Insolent girl, he would have her right now if he wanted to.

No, she was just teasing him. She lays back, spreading her legs apart and spreading her cunt and letting the second onslaught of his essence to completely coat her lower region and douse her cunt.

It’s enough to leave her gasping and writhing, legs kicking out as her heart hammers away inside of her chest.

He stands for a moment, jaw clenched.

Minx.

It feels so good. It makes her wonder if there was something inside of his seed, something that made her feel even more needy that she ever has. She wants to come so badly, and she pushes three fingers inside of herself, curling them and staring up at the massive eyes that were all trained at her body.

“Can I come now?” She asks, desperate, and she’s relieved when he does nothing to stop her. She sees a subtle nod of his head and she doubles her efforts, rubbing her clit in tandem with her fingers. Her hips tilt forward, trying to get closer, closer. His seed feels so warm as she pushes it inside of herself, heating up her inner flesh until finally, she’s screaming.

She trembles as she comes in front of the elders, and the entire compound.

But none of that mattered, because he could see her. “Thank you,” she whispers feverishly. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she whispers it like a prayer, until she feels the claws from the dragon wrap around her protectively, and gently raising her up before placing her on her still trembling legs.

She leans against it, and then presses her lips against the claw.

She feels him rumble, pleased.

Lucy smiles. She had done a good job, then. She is saddened when she is pulled away to be bathed again. Many of the handmaid’s gossip around her. Levy washes her hair, “He’s quite taken with you, Lu-chan!” She says. Lucy liked bluenette most out of all of them. She often spent time with her even when she wasn’t being prepped for her sessions with the dragon.

“Do you think so?”

“Yes,” Levy says, giggling, “But I’m sure you knew that already,” and the blonde girl nods. Truth be told, she was also taken with the dragon god, even he was a beast feared by many. She wondered what his smaller form looked like. Had he blindfolded her because he was afraid she would find him hideous?

She would have to reassure him that wasn’t the case.

He comes to her room again that night, but this time, he turns her around onto her hands and knees, making her keep her ass up, and her face buried in the pillows. “I still can’t see you?” Lucy complains, but she obeys.

“Not yet,” He says softly, running his hand over her ass and thighs. “You did well today, I was quite surprised.”

She smiles into the pillow, wiggling her ass at him. “I wanted to make you happy too.”

That draws him to a pause. Had she? Why? As much as he loved the attention she gave him, the way she was so taken by him. He couldn’t help but wonder why. Surely, there had to be a reason.

He needed to know what it was, because these feelings inside of him were killing him.

“You can touch me,” she murmurs, “I belong to you.”

He’s quiet. “Is that so?” He sinks onto his knees, pressing his face in between her legs. Licking her delicious cunt with vigor that he doesn’t realize how he’s made her cum over and over again.

“N-No more,” she murmurs, “Come here…”

He couldn’t.

“Come here, Master E.N.D.” She says more firmly.

He really, really couldn’t. There were rules to all of this. And yet, she is tempting him, with her slick and inviting looking cunt. She’s drenched all of the way to her thighs from her orgasms, and he can feel her sweet essence on his chin and cheeks. He hadn’t even noticed how ravenous he had been for this young girl. He sighs, this time, spreading her cheeks and dragging his tongue along her puckered opening.

Lucy squeals.

“W-What are you doing?!” She asks, and she tries to sit up. He chuckles, pushing her face gently back into the pillows. “That’s dirty!” She protests.

“There isn’t a single filthy part of you,” Natsu admonishes, dipping his tongue inside of that opening, and running his fingers along her clit. She whimpers, squirming before she’s coming again. “You see? It feels good, doesn’t it?” He’s filled with affection for her as he hears her whimper and sob. He wants to show her all of the pleasure that he could bring her.

He had seen her sometimes, when she was still young, she had led a hard life.

“I want you,” she cries. “I want you now,” she is begging now, and trying to sit up. He has to use his tendrils to pin her down in place. Even though he’s throbbing with need now. He’s so unbearably hard.

“You have to be patient,” Natsu says, his own voice trembling as he slowly strokes himself, staring down at her body. Her skin is all flushed, ass raised high in the air for him as she trembles.

“Why?” Lucy rasps. “I want you to use me –”

“I know you do,” Natsu moans, stroking harder. He spreads her wider, looking down at her glistening slit, imagining how wet and warm she will feel around him. His breath comes out in soft growls, pumping himself. He touches between her legs, coating his hand with her wetness and uses it as added lubrication.

Lucy can hear it. “Master E.N–,” she tries again, feeling so hot. He had her hands pinned down so she couldn’t touch herself either, and then she hears him gasp loudly, and then there was warmth on her ass and thighs.

His seed.

And then he was gone again.

—o—

The handmaidens bring her to a warm bath early in the morning, washing her hair with a fragrant soap and washing her body with a rag. Dressing her in a gown made of dark lace and chiffon. There were no ceremonies today but she was brought before the Dragon to receive her gift.

Lucy can only think of one thing that he would really be able to give her and he was making both himself and her wait for that for an entire month so anything material he might give her was really useless.

In front of the elders at breakfast, the royal guards present her with a collection of expensive dresses, a hair pin made of precious stones held together by gold and a basket of baby rabbits that she takes to much faster than the previous gifts.

“Go on girl,” One of the elders yells gruffly, “Thank him, it’s an honor to receive anything from the Master."

She holds the pin of gold in her hand and looks at the collection of dresses. There were far too many than she will ever really need. She already had clothing and hair clips that she had been given before. She’s never been the materialistic type, having never received much of anything before being chosen. But even though she’s had a taste of luxurious food and dresses, beautiful jewelry and the likes, she couldn’t find any particular attachment to the items.  

There was however things she did want to have.

“Um, if I could ask for something ...” 

The elders gasp, murmuring amongst themselves at her guts to reject the Master’s gifts.

Natsu holds up his claw to quiet everyone and allow Lucy to speak.

Her cheeks redden, she feels silly and naive for this, but the worse he could tell her is no, right?

“Um, the orphanage I grew up in, I haven’t seen those kids in a while. I was hoping that even though I can’t visit them, may I exchange the gifts for toys for them?”

There’s silence all around her and she feels her cheeks heat up some more but she knew she couldn’t lose her nerve now. “T-They’re all little kids, there isn’t much to do in the orphanage and sometimes we get things people don’t want. But they’re still kids and what kids don’t want brand new toys, right? If it’s not too much, I don’t really need these,” she says gesturing to the dresses and the gold hair pin, “I’d just like them to have something to call their own.”

There are many furious whispers, and talk of her “insolence” but Natsu silences them all again. “If that is what you wish,” the dragon’s deep voice fills the room. He sounds so different in this form then he did when he came to visit her. “Then it will be done,” his primary two slitted eyes looks at the chief elder.

“Give toys to all of the children at that orphanage,” he says, “The best of the best,” and many of the elders are scrambling out of the room to get started on fulfilling the request. Many of the others stare in awe, shocked that he was caving to some silly girl’s whim. Lucy smiles and bows.

“Thank you,” she whispers, and he’s reminded of her fervent thanks the previous day when he had allowed her to come. He uses his rough claw to caress her cheek before he takes the hair ornament and pins it into place in her hair to her surprise.

“You still want me to have it?” Lucy asks, surprised.

She sees his many eyes crinkle, and knows that he’s saying “Yes.” And she smiles, bringing the claw to her and kissing it.

She feels it shiver.

He wouldn’t be able to return this girl to her home once this was all over. She was his now.

The next day, there are also no ceremonies. She is allowed to explore the compound as she pleases, but finds herself missing the company of the Dragon. He hadn’t come to her the previous night, to her disappointment. She hadn’t even seen him at all watching her as he normally did, at least until she goes into the ceremony garden and sees him curled up, sleeping peacefully in his dragon form.

He was so big.

Lucy finds herself wondering where he came from. Then again, he was a god, wasn’t he? Maybe he had just always existed? She moves closer to him, and then leans against his massive face, right against the muzzle of his jaws. His primary eyes open from the slight contact and she smiles.

“Good morning,” she says warmly. “Do you normally sleep here? I thought you lived on top of the mountain.”

He usually did, but he wanted to be close to her, in case she needed him.

She takes a seat in front of him. She was dressed in a plain cotton dress with shorts underneath it. Her feet were bare and she seemed to be enjoying the cool day it was in the gardens.

“You didn’t come to visit me last night,” She pouted. “I stayed up waiting for you!”

His eyes crinkle in amusement again, and his nostrils flares with hot smoke. She was a sweet little thing, so adamant in enticing him to take her. But he wouldn’t bend so quickly, no matter how much he wanted to.

He had his plans and rules were meant to be followed, as it always has been. He had to preserve the tradition for the safety of everyone living in that village.

He pulls a jasmine from a bush, placing it in her hair and making her giggle. She sees a book laying by his massive form and for a moment, she tries to imagine him reading it with his tendrils, making her giggle more.

He looks confused for a moment before she explains why she was laughing.

“Would you like me to tell you a story?” She asks. "I actually liked reading and writing stories. Maybe it’ll help you nap some more, you look tired.”

The dragon growls, more like purrs. So she reads him a story of the trickster rabbit and the wise turtle. Little Wendy always liked that story and she did too, even if it made rabbits sound like little assholes. She even made different voices for the two characters.

“Sorry, force of habit, the children from my village usually want me to sound animated.”

He thinks it's adorable, he could listen to her talk forever.

Ironically, it’s her that falls asleep while talking to him, having reached for his spiritual book and reading the complex script for herself, that he couldn't even pronounce them right but for this girl is just a piece of cake.

He pulls her closer, letting her slip on top of his palm and the two snoozed together until the evening.

That night he visits her, and her room is shrouded in darkness. It was a complete eclipse, the last day before the new moon, so the land was at its darkest to prepare for it. Lucy sits with her chin resting atop of her forearms as she tries to look out her window in the pitch darkness.

She hears the fluttering of curtains, and slow elegant steps coming her way. She tries to cue her ears into the sound, she didn’t need to guess who it was. She instantly closes her eyes.

Even though she couldn’t see a thing, he could see her just fine. Her face was puffy from the nap she had taken earlier, her hair still wet from her bath and her sleeping dress sticking to her form from the leftover moisture of her bath.

She smiles, where she thinks he is.

“Master E.N.D.?”

He smiles back, though he knew she couldn’t see him. He slides into bed beside her, and pulls her close against him. She was still frustrated that she couldn’t see him. Curious, she brings her hands to his face, tracing his features with her fingers. His face didn’t feel inhuman at all. In fact, it felt just like a human’s face.

There were large eyes, a small and cute nose, and soft lips. His cheeks were soft, too.

Almost human.

But she can feel rough and silk scales covering the side of his neck and some part of his face. She threaded her fingers in his surprisingly soft locks, only to find two large horns sitting atop of his head.

“You feel human, but at the same time, not at all,” she says, making him laugh. 

“How do you think I looked like?”

She pouts at his teasing. “I don’t know? Like a small version of how you normally look?” 

His arms felt as though they were covered in a snake’s scales, though his body did feel like a man’s. He laughs harder. “I guess I expected you to be covered in scales, at least,” she continues. He kisses her forehead, gently, and she can feel her skin grow even warmer.

“I can make my form into anything that I like,” Natsu says, “My true form is what you see normally, but it is not a good form for blending in among humans or making love to a beautiful girl,” he drawled teasingly. He can feel the blood rushing underneath her skin. She was flustered. Good.

“You c-couldn’t make love to me like that?”

He snorts, “No, not the way that I want to, at least,” he says, “I couldn’t truly be inside of you or feel you,” he runs a hand down along her hip, smiling as he smells her arousal spike. What a cute girl. Just speaking to her like that was enough to make her want him.

“You’d like to try? To make love in that form?”

“I want you in any form,” she admits. “N-No one else has shown me kindness like you have,” she says, and his heart breaks somewhat. She took all of this as kindness? He feels guilty, this ritual had started years ago. A fertility right for the land, but even he knew it wasn’t exactly kind for the women chosen, though he always tried to be gentle with them.

“Have many people hurt you, little one?”

Lucy nods. “People have always been horrible to orphans,” she murmurs. “They think we’re bad luck – or greedy and bad. I was angry at first, when I was chosen as the maiden for this rite, but I’m glad that I was now.”

Natsu sighs, running his fingers through her hair. “You’re a sweet girl,” he whispers. “No one will hurt you anymore,” he promises, and leans forward to kiss her. She gasps and then relaxes, clinging to him as she pressed herself harder against him, hungry for his affection.

He pushes her down onto her back, climbing on top of her as their kiss continues. She’s breathless when he begins to kiss along the column of her throat. “W-Will you finally use me tonight?”

Natsu chuckles. “So tempting. But no. Just keep your eyes closed.”

She deflates, but wraps her arms around his neck and allows him to kiss her breathless again, pushing her sleeping dress open and letting his hands caress her smooth body. She whimpers against his lips, parting her legs and letting him feel her cunt with his scaly fingers.

It makes her belly quiver. Just the memory of what happened that night, it was really enough to get her worked up by herself.

He can smell another spike in her arousal and nearly gives into the desires she so desperately wanted him to indulge, but he would need to hold on for one more night. It would be over tomorrow, when he would have her as his.

He pulls back, sitting up and Lucy follows in confusion, trying to reach for him blindly. He in turn, pushes the dress down her shoulders and guides her onto his lap, laying back and pulling her to inch over closer and closer until she was sitting right on his mouth.

“A-Ah! What is this?” She asks in surprise, rubbing herself against his naughty tongue.

He reaches over to hold her down by her hips, closing his lips over the labial folds and wedging his tongue in between them to get a nice taste of her essence. Her eyes squeeze in pleasure, falling back from the sensation.

“T-That’s so good…” She whimpers, rubbing her hips more enthusiastically. “Please, do it again.”

This was good, he loves how much she enjoys this. The closeness of it, how she was finding pleasure from it as well. She lets out another sharp squeak, as she loses all reservations and begins riding his tongue, his hands hold her in place by her ass and after a lot of teasing, he finally manages to press his tongue inside of her hot opening, making her erupt all over his face.

Lucy trembles in the aftermath, especially as he continues licking at her until she has to get up just to get away from the torturous pleasure. She sits beside him, dazed and he licks his lips.

He kisses her again, letting her taste herself before pulling away.

“Master E.N.D.,” she begs, “Please.”

He knows exactly what she is asking for. He is filled with a need of his own. He shakes his head, forgetting that she couldn't see him, kissing the side of her mouth. “Tomorrow I will have you,” Natsu says, “I promise you. You did so well this month, little one,” he says, this time moving down to tug her stiffened nipples into his mouth. He moves between one and the other, until he can feel her coming again.

She’s sobbing now. “I want it. I want it so bad.”

“I know,” Natsu says, pressing a thigh in between her legs and letting her rut against him. He grinds his hips against her as well, and it brings some relief but it’s not enough. Not when he’s this hard. He groans as he feels himself let go, coming and staining her body, and feels her own warmth on his thigh.

He growls.

He had to leave. He was going to take her right now if he stayed. One of her hand tugs his horn, while the other hugs him by the neck tightly, though, wrapping her legs around his hips.

Natsu rasps, stunned. “Lucy–”

“It’s okay,” she says, “We can do it now, can’t we? I feel so hot, Master…”

He wanted nothing more than to sink inside of her warm cunt. He kisses her again, and then pins her arms down as he extradites himself and rushes away, out of the window before she can grab him again. Had she managed to latch onto him, he would’ve given in.

He spends the rest of the night, hard and hot with need, fruitlessly stroking himself, trying to calm down. He had to wait. He had to be patient.

Morning would come.

Eventually, morning does come, and Lucy is all too eager to prepare for the ceremony.

She’s led to the baths and soaked and scrubbed clean, her hair was dried and placed in a simple plait that the handmaidens decorate with flowers and she placed in a sheer white gown that left nothing to the imagination but still created an alluring silhouette of her figure. They place the barest of paint on her lips and line her eyes, her cheeks were already flushed as they were and before she knew it, her eagerness has her entering the garden alone.

There is a bed this time, round and large, with canopies that were pulled back. The sheets were white and made of spun silk. The handmaidens situate her on the bed, keeping her gown in tact for the Master to take off for himself.

Lucy’s so nervous, she can feel the bed tremble underneath her. She has her back to him when he walks forward, completely bare as he stops at the edge of the bed, on the other side.

She turns around slowly, to be met with the sight of someone she hadn’t even expected.

The night before, she had felt his features with her hand, under her fingers they felt human but in front of her, the man with his salmon pink locks, two dark glowing horns, a scar on his cheeks, and reptile-like green eyes with a tint of red flames hues on them, was ethereally beautiful.

She can’t wait any longer. They’ve waited enough.

“Master E.N.D.,” she purrs, “Take me.”

Such a wanton little thing.

Natsu smiles, and it is really is beautiful to see. He had such strong features, and Lucy finds herself flushing as he spreads her legs and settles in between them. She runs her fingers over his soft lips, and he takes one of them into his mouth, sucking on them, and pricking them with his stinging fangs before moving his mouth down to kiss her wrist.

“We can get right to it, right?” Natsu asks, cock throbbing. He didn’t think that he could handle much foreplay right now. Not when he was in so much need. Lucy nods eagerly, spreading her legs wider, welcoming him.

“Please, please,” she begs, “I need to feel you. I want to be used by you,” she sounds so eager, and he laughs as he grabs his cock and rubs it along her slit, lubing it with her wetness before pressing it against her hot opening. He pushes inside slowly, eyes locked with hers the entire time as he begins to fill her.

The stretch is almost unbearable.

Lucy whimpers as she’s filled. It’s painful, but she can’t help but watch in awe as he slowly pushes inside of her. Natsu purrs, “You want to watch, nymph?” He asks, and then pushes in the rest of the way, hilting inside of her.

She wails the moment that they’re joined, nails dinging crescent moons into the skin of his shoulders. She’s so hot inside, squeezing his cock tightly, and spirits, it’s even better than he had imagined her to feel. She clenches around him so nicely, but he can tell that she’s in pain.

Licking his thumb, he brings his hand in between them to rub at her clit. She clenches harder and he growls.

“You have to relax,” he instructs, “Or else I won’t be able to control myself.”

“...Then don’t,” she whispers.

She was incredible little thing, he holds her gaze for a moment too long to absolutely make sure she meant it. A part of him still felt deeply unnerved by how she was so okay with all of this.

“Master E.N.D.,” she moans, “Please…”

He can’t say no after that. Not with the way she clenches around him and the way her eyes flutter shut, head tipping back from the forceful push and pull friction he’s begun slowly.

She gasps, running her fingers down his back, arching into him with every pained whimper that had a bit of ringing mewl to it in the end.

It feels so good.

This is what he had been so against at before? She hardly recognizes the fact that there were a group of leering elders watching her make love with him. She didn’t care about any of that as long as he continued this and made her feel so nice.

He decides to ease the pressure and bring her long legs over his shoulders, finding her to be quite flexible enough for that and when he makes the plunge again with her legs mounted, it’s the closeness that makes all the difference.

She sobs, reaching overhead to claw at the pillows and dig her head into the comfy mattress as he thrusts in faster and faster. The bed was making it’s protests known; she felt it in the ache of her hips but it was too good to stop.

Her eyes were rolling to the back of her head, she was so close!

“Cum for me,” he growled, thumbing her clit faster.

She scratches her nails up his arms and sobs. “Do it inside!”

And really, how could he deny her when she asked that nicely? She would be his undoing. It was somewhat unnerving to think about how this girl had managed to wrap him completely around her finger in only a month’s time. It was hard to even think about what he would do when she returned home the following day. His jaw clenches. She wouldn’t be doing that at all, not after seducing him like this.

He grabs her hips, kissing along her ankles as he lifts her just slightly, gaining more leverage as he thrusts harder and harder. She’s squeezing around him so nicely, and sobs and releases a shrill cry as she comes, her body quaking violently from the force of her orgasm. He can feel her clenching around him, as though trying to milk his cock from the pressure he was feeling around his cock.

He pounds harder, smiling as he watches her eyes roll and she begins to drool.

“M-Master E.N...D.,” she implores, “I–I want to feel it. Inside. Please,” her eyes are pleading, as though she’s so desperate.

Adorable.

He braces his hands on the side of her head, leaning down to kiss her, just slightly as one last thrust makes the tension in the pit of his belly overflow. He groans loudly, sheathing himself within her, so that he can feel the crown of her cervix right against the head of his cock as he comes. It leaves him in thick spurts, and Lucy sobs, hands twisting in the sheets as she looks down, watching as he belly begin to swell with the pure quantity of it.

 “Look at how much I’ve filled you up,” he says, running his hand across her belly. He feels her shudder, and her cunt seems to squeeze around him even more, as though trying to ring even more out of him. So insatiable, even now.

Tears filled honey eyes gazes up on him when he suddenly started to thrust slowly inside of her. Slitted eyes trained on her as he drawls out, "We're not done yet."

Lucy gasps in surprise when Natsu suddenly pulls out of her entirely, thick white liquid oozing out of her, and he grips her hips and flips her over her tummy, flat against the mattress, and hands firmly lift up her ass to push himself back in with a thrust that makes him realize how damp she is, both with her and his juices, sucking his cock greedily. Natsu kisses her shoulders with passion, feeling her hips buck against him, desperate to feel him.

"Is this okay?"

"Yes, yes," she reassures, moaning against the mattress. He's so deep, so thick inside of her, her eyes water from the pleasure, shivering when Natsu positions his mouth to breathe on her ear.

"So tight," he groans against her, one hand at her back and the other fisting in her hair. "You feel so good…"

Lucy grips the sheets around her.

"M-Make me come again…Please."

He holds her chin from behind, pounding a little faster.

"You wanna come for the second time?" He asks, and she gasps, unable to answer.

Natsu slides his tongue on the skin of her shoulder blades, slowing down the pace of his hips, prompting out a shaky moan from her.

"M—Master!"

He leans against her ear, moving slowly.

"You want me to fuck you harder?"

She's going to die, and his name is the only word that follows when her whines prevent her from forming any coherent sentences. She keeps imploring, please, please, and he hides his face in the curve of her neck when his hips start to pick up speed, gripping her hair harder, making the bed trembling, fingers reaching south to press three fingers on her clit, rubbing steady circles until she's so close he has to stop her.

"W-Wait…"

Lucy groans, mouth pressed to the sheets as her voice keeps rising its pitch, knuckles turning white from the force of her grip around her, reaching out behind her to scratch his arm.

He wraps his arm around her waist, going faster, deeper, and she comes with a shudder in the exact moment he grinds his fingers on her clit, the feeling of her cunt squeezing him to death is what makes him release almost immediately, thrusting one, two, five times more until he releases, deeply inside of her, and it seems as if it will never be enough.

They're both about to collapse, Natsu's fingers keep rubbing circles on her as his hips keep thrusting lazily, feeling her body melting in his arms, becoming another part of him. His rough and strong chest presses flat against her back when it's done, butterflies tugging inside her tummy as waves of pleasure still curse in the form of whimpers, she can feel his breathing on her back, his forehead lying on her neck as he tries to retrieve the air that was lost.

Her face buried in the pillow, hair sticking in all the right places, she looks completely defeated. He smiles, chuckling a little and turns her head sideways. He kisses her cheeks and in the corner of her lips.

“Are you happy now?” Natsu asks, still staying inside of her. 

Lucy nods, “It’s...warm,” she whispers, dazed. “I love it,” she murmurs.

He laughs breathlessly, moving her bangs out of her eyes and pressing a kiss to her temple. When he finally pulls out and flips her over on her back, he leans back just to watch some of his essence trickle out of her.

It makes his belly clench how she curls her toes and bites her lips at the sensation, running her hands over her belly with a smooth curve.

He pulls the canopies open and affords them some privacy. She settles in his arms with a soft sigh, planting kisses on his cheeks and lips.

“Thank you,” she mumbles, feeling so giddy. She would miss this place but she was honored having gotten to know him.

He hugs her wordlessly, squeezing her in his arms. She runs her fingers through his hair, gently lulling him to sleep soon after.

Evening rolls around and the garden is lit up with stained glass lanterns. The maidens take her away to get cleaned up and taken back to her room to pack her things. Lucy leans against Levy’s gentle fingers as the bluenette rinses the suds out of her hair.

Lucy really wished she didn’t have to go. She did miss those kids though, so at least she would be back with them.

The village would have a good harvest. Everyone gets what they want in the end.

“I’ll come visit you, Lu-chan,” Levy says happily. Lucy smiles gently and tells the petite girl about her life with the kids and how she wanted to introduce her friend to them.

She dresses in a plain cotton dress, the same one she had brought from her old life and slips on her slippers before walking back to her room. She wanted to put off the realization that this was goodbye for as long as possible.

Stopping at her door, she blinks at the black clad figure standing by her window.

“Master E.N.D.?” She steps in with a smile. “What are you doing here?”

It was so surreal to see him in her room after the nights spent in obscurity, even now the events that occurred earlier in the day feel more like a fever dream than a reality.

"Drop the honorifics. Just Natsu is fine." He steps forward, inviting her into his arms and holds her for a moment.

“I’ve decided that there will be no more harvest tributes from now on.”

She stiffens.

“And... you will not go back. I–I want you to stay with me.”

Her eyes are large and owlish. “Huh?” Lucy asks, not understanding. Had she misheard him? There was no way that he meant that, was there? “But the harvest is important–,” she says, dazed. “What will happen if it’s not done? Wouldn’t the crops fail and wither?”

Natsu sighs, “There is no rule saying that I can’t do the tribute with the same woman,” he says with a smile. He runs his fingers through her golden silk hair, kissing her forehead. “Most women dislike being chosen, so it was thought to be easier if they only had to make that sacrifice once, but if you enjoy this and being with me... then there should be no problem with you staying,” he explains.

He doesn’t expect the girl to burst into tears.

Tears slide down her cheeks, and her lips tremble as she throws her arms around his neck. She pulls him tightly against her, burying her face in his chest and dampening his skin with her tears. He’s shocked into silence as he watches her. Gently, he cradles her face in his hands, making her look at him. He wipes her tears. “Why are you crying?” He asks softly.

“Would you rather return home?” His heart twists at the thought. He didn’t want to let her go, but also didn’t want her to be miserable. Maybe he had been mistaken in assuming she wanted this as well? Had she only enjoyed the physical aspect of their joining?

“I’m happy,” she whispers, wiping at her eyes. “Y-You really want to stay with me, Natsu?”

He breathes, relieved.

“Always.”

[sillyprettyfairy]

The phenomenon of enjoying something as a kid and then getting older with more complex emotions and thoughts and a more life experience and revisiting the thing you loved when you were a child and having a strong emotional response to it?

It's one of the reasons I love Monster High so much.

I remember, as a kid, loving how edgy and cool and unique everything about MH was. Draculaura was my favorite character. I loved watching the movies when they aired on Nick and eventually got a 13 Wishes DVD. I only had one MH doll and it was Ghouls Rule Cleo and she looked so different compared to all my other toys.

I loved Barbie too. I loved lots of other things. But as I got older, I always seemed to return to Monster High for some reason. I kept getting drawn back in as a tween and as a teen because it just felt so different. MH always felt so different.

I decided about maybe 2 or so years ago to rewatch the entire catalog of MH movies and webisodes. And I cried. And I still cry when I watch a lot of the movies.

For the little kid who felt so misunderstood and alone and was constantly branded as loud and annoying and extra Monster High was a place where those things would not have mattered and could have even just been seen as a part of who I am. For the kid who never got to express themselves through their fashion they wanted to. For the kid that felt like they wanted so very badly to be anyone other than themself. Monster High was really the only school that has ever accepted me.

And as an "adult" who has reflected a lot on those things and why I am the way I am now and who I'll be in the future, I cry and will probably continue to cry when I watch the hybrids support each other and the fused ghouls or watch Frankie sacrifice herself to save all of her friends. All of the friends she has found family in. I'll keep crying when I watch WDGFIL and see the spell placed on Draculaura be broken by just a box of shit that reminds her of all the time she's spent with Clawd.

This emotional reaction that feels a little funny when I think about how the whole franchise at that point was mostly meant for like 12-year-old little girls just makes sense on further inspection.

When you live in a world where everything that makes you stand out or look or sound or feel different than everyone else is seen as bad and wrong and worth suppressing and despising, the world of Monster High just feels so safe and wonderful.

When Frankie's limbs flying off can be inconvenient but also useful and normal and fine. When Clawdeen helps Draculaura put on her makeup because she can't use mirrors. When Abbey is misunderstood by everyone and then given the space to cry actually be understood and appreciated.

When you see how all of these different kinds of monsters have "freaky flaws" and drastic parts of their appearance or abilities and interests that are treated so regularly or even celebrated and accepted or accommodated and they are reinforcing that they are fine as is. They are enough

You may begin to feel that, maybe, you might be enough too.

[transgamerthoughts]

Her Only Weapons Were Her Tears

Tears of the Kingdom's main objective, spelled out in the player's quest log right from the start is simple: find princess Zelda. Whether you explore every dungeon and follow the plot, complete a smattering before accidentally diving into Ganondorf’s lair, or rush with a speedrunner's fury into the final battle hardly matters.

All road's seek the same princess. All roads seek a shining sword. 

Let's chat about ending things and whether princess are saved and the horizons are clear. Should they be?

It's simple really! You have one job, Link! Find the princess!

Normally, that's a long process that takes players through a massive world as well as the skies about and depths below. In seeking the princess, players chart a massive path from shrine to shrine, side quest to side quest, and dungeon to dungeon. They seek power, gain heart pieces and increase their stamina, and acquire sagely spirits to aid them along the way. I'm not going to pick apart the paths players can take. Link can arrive in the Imprisoning Chamber beneath Hyrule Castle with a full arsenal of diamond tipped arrows and swords fused with monster bones. He can arrive completely naked.

He will arrive. He will slay the evil Demon King Ganondorf. He always finds his princess.

Zelda has changed. Flung into the far past at the start of the game, the princess meets King Rauru and Queen Sonia, the founders of the Kingdom of Hyrule. Zelda has arrived at a turning point in history; as Link prepares to fight Ganondorf in the future, she is already fighting that battle in the past. Growing close to the king and queen, Zelda joins with them and a cadre of sages to fight Ganondorf as he lays waste to the world. The "end" starts when Sonia is killed in an act of duplicity that grants Ganondorf access to one of the Zonai "secret stone," relics of immense power held by the royal family and sages. They grant access to near-limitless magical energy and can even gift individuals with immortality.

There's a catch to that final part. In order to use a secret stone to gain immortality, the stone must be consumed. This process changes the individual into an ageless dragon. It also robs the individual of all sapience. Time cannot touch you but it comes at the cost of individuality. You have no thinking mind, all is endless sleep and instinct. You sleep.

As Ganondof uses his stolen stone to raise armies of monsters, Rauru and the sages (including Zelda as a nascent sage of time) battle Ganondorf.. Zelda survives and is left with Rauru’s stone after using his strength to seal the Demon King away. It is a temporary reprieve Recalling how, in the present, the Ganon shatters Link’s sword—the legendary evil-sealing Master Sword—a long term gambit is crafted. The sword itself is unknowingly sent back in time to Zelda where she consumes Rauru’s stone and transforms into a mighty dragon. The blade rests upon her head where it will regain power over untold ages until Link can recover it. Zelda has given Link everything he needs. And in doing so, she gives all of herself.

I’m not interested in a discussion focusing on if Zelda’s sacrifice plays into gender tropes. That’s an easy yes but I also think “the princess should save herself” is a boring way to look at the series or games more broadly. The story is as we have it. Zelda soars the skies with the Master Sword, she has shed all vestiges of her thinking mind, and only Link will be able to change that. But how much should it change? What kind of story are we telling?

I’ve spent most of my experience with Tears of the Kingdom sharing progress with friends in a private Discord. Our notes and discoveries were highly redacted and covered in spoiler warnings throughout everyone’s progress but more and more people have completed the game. It’s led to a discussion of the ending—which untangles much of the tragedy of Zelda’s sacrifice—and if something more melancholy is more fitting than the utter triumph our heroes know when the credits roll.

Let’s break it down: one way or another Link will obtain the Master Sword. If the player follows the story, they are invariably guided towards the Light Dragon that roams the world map. Many side paths also drive them this way. Seek the dragon, oh valiant knight, and you will claim the blessed sword. If you’re simply curious and climb on the soaring dragon’s back, you might even find it by chance.

If you don’t bother with any of this, you receive the sword in the final battle anyway. Ganondorf consumes his own stone after failing to best Link in combat. He transforms into a twisted dragon spewing corrosive gloom. The final boss fight takes place high in the sky where Link finds himself on the Light Dragon’s back. If the player hasn’t recovered the Master Sword, there it rests upon the dragon’s back. All roads converge.

Depending on the path a player takes, they might reach the Light Dragon after collecting the various dragon’s tears present at the ground zero sites of many ancient geoglyphs. The tears contain visions of the past; they weave Zelda’s story with Link’s modern day wanderings. Collect enough and the Light Dragon soars to the sky, weeping a final tear that explains all.

Zelda has been crying for centuries.

Link soars upon the dragon's back—a footing gained only by Zelda’s sacrifice—and plunges the sword into Ganon’s draconic form. He receives a parting gift: the spirits of Sonia and Rauru release Zelda from her timeless prison. The princess falls and falls…

Link dives…

The princess falls… She falls…… He dives… He reaches out…. She is falling but so close…

He grabs her hand. They fall. Together, they land within a lake. The sun shines and she wakes. There are tears in her eyes

Objective complete. You have found princess Zelda.

The question stirring amongst my friends is whether or not all is too well. Is the resolution of the story, although beautiful and carved within our memories, perhaps a bit too clean?

Ah, well…

There is a time and place, even now, for stories of hope and complete victory over the darkness eating away at the world. My favorite story is one of these; the pirates sail against the evil empire and save the world from foes both modern and ancient before sailing off to the horizon. These stories speak to us because they allow us to believe in heroes. The tale cries out: “it is never too late!”

It is never too late to save the world. It might be too late for a clean and perfectly happy ending.

Tears of the Kingdom’s ending is immaculate in presentation. From the player’s initial dive into the depths beneath Hyrule Castle all the way until the last dive to catch Princess Zelda, the entire sequence soars. I’ve been playing Zelda games since 1998 and this was the first time I burst into tears playing a Zelda game. The music swelled, Link dived down, and he did what he failed to do at the start of the game when Zelda first fell further into the depths and backwards in time. It is the perfect capstone to nearly-perfect game.

There’s the argument for a happy ending in a nutshell. I measure the success in tears. I shed them years ago for my favorite game and I shed them here and now. There is a glorious release found within the water, a wonderful affirmation of the fairy tale. In dark times, these tales hold immense power.

These are dark times and Tears of the Kingdom is a wonderful fairy tale. In spite of this, and even allowing for the fantasy setting, it’s fair to ask: is this a story for our current times or a beautiful dream?

The story which matches our times does not have a clean ending. Zelda does not magically heal from her sacrifice. In this version, she continues to sail the skies and though she may not weep, the princess will never be found. Not as she was. There has been a change wrought through blood and tears and no matter how sweet the victory, the world does not revert to a status quo. Objective complete. But…

The possibility of this ending has stirred plenty of discussion amongst my friends and peers. There is a general consensus that perhaps it would be best that Zelda remain shackled in her draconic form. Not because that is the “mature” thing to do but rather because such an ending is more honest and of our times. We’ve seen how power responds to those who act against it. The response is violent and swift. It is measured in blood and tears.

There will be a day when the demons and their kings are cast down but the scars of the rule will remain etched upon the land and found most painfully in the absence of those who made sacrifices along the way. The sorrow transforms victory but time does not turn back and no miracle is coming to rewind things until the blood is back in our veins and the tears flow back from where they came.

Which is better? The story when the princess awakens safely amongst the grass and flowers or where she sails forever upon the winds? There is a Hyrule where the Light Dragon sails eternally as a monument to the costs of fighting the Demon King. Of what was lost.

There is a Hyrule with an undying Zelda.

That’s probably the more “honest” version of the story even if it’s not the most magical or player-pleasing. Practically, there’s a version of Zelda where her sacrifice is lasting and true; one where a status quo is fundamentally shifted. Where stories and games further along this point always contain a dragon in the sky. There was a bold card to play with Tears of the Kingdom even if the ending as it stands is beautiful. Hell, even if the goddess blessed another brave woman who unites with a loyal warrior to fight the forces of evil… there might still be a dragon in the sky. A Zelda-eternal hovering above all as a reminder of what it takes to be brave. As sure and solid as Death Mountain itself. Always watching. Sometimes crying.

It doesn’t matter if the tears are for joy or sorrow. They’d fall on the world below and the waters would bloom flowers with light and love. Because those are her weapons.

And, you know... magic swords gotta get their magic from somewhere.

[flower1622]

Ranking Female Characters of PJO:

1. Sally

It's Sally. She is totally a survivor. She has to worry many times about her demigod son, who doesn't live for a long time. Despite being a human, she is not afraid to face a god or monster to protect or save her son.

2. Rachel

If People hate her, so I like. She is really amazing on her way. She is nice and kind to everyone else, especially to Percy. She is so much better than another girl that doesn't care to be rude to other people, even her boyfriend. Rachel is a special human since she is an oracle. Despite not being a demigod, she is not afraid to face monsters or gods either. She is really a person that has to deal with many visisons and possible nightmares in her head. For me, she is still the best option for Percy. The most healthy one.

3. Clarisse

Totally a badass. Even though she is a bully, I guess she got a little better over the years. Except maybe for her dad, Clarisse is also not afraid to face any god or monster, even without her weapons. If she has to fight using only her hands, she will. Annabeth is not the only smart girl in pjo, Clarisse is still smart and strong. I guess she can understand about battle strategies since her father is the god of war. Clarisse is a survivor too. She survived with zombies (I don't remember what they were) and went to rescue Chris all by herself (If I'm not mistaken).

4. Hazel

I don't know much about Hazel since I didn't read HOO (I can't even remember much from PJO either), but from I saw people commenting, she seems a nice and kind girl that may have suffered a lot in the past. Just like Nico, I think she is also stuck in time?

5. Silena

She seems really kind and nice. Unfortunately, the girl was manipulated...but in the end became a heroine. Her mother Aphrodite also looks pretty awesome!Like mother, like daughter!

6. Thalia

She is not one of my favourite characters, but she seems the kind of person that would save the world at any costs even if she had to sacrifice her own family and friends. She wouldn't let emotions take control over her. Not only her, but also Artemis and the other hunters.

7. Meg:

She seems pretty smart and cool! I like that she was the only one (from what I could see) that chose stay by Apollo's side even with his arrogance. I think she always saw that he wasn't so bad after all.

8. Persephone

So sweet and kind. I guess she would be Solangelo number 1 fan. She likes them. I think she may see Nico as her own son. She always tries to be friendly to others, which is good because she can kind teach Hades to be more gentle with others. She is really a good influence for him.

9. Demeter

This goddess can be a little scary sometimes, but I understand that she worries about her daughter in the underwold. It's so nice to see Demeter tolerating Hades because of Persephone.

10. Juniper

I don't remember about this character (I'm not reading the books anymore), but from I can see she is the romantic partner for Grover if I'm not mistaken. She seems nice and sweet. I think they would make a cute pair.

[ifknlovenicodiangelo]

PJO characters & their mental state!

grover. yes i included this mf stop the grover erasure. dude is quite chill, but also has put a lot of expectations on himself, including taking the blame for thalia -> tree transformation and Sally’s abduction. also the whole pizazz with the Council of- i forget the name but all them dumb satyr dudes would have caused him to have imposter syndrome. he has anxiety, paranoid 24/7, OH and OCD.

jason. mans went through some stuff being raises by wolves, but i think because that is literally all he knew when he grew up, he wouldn’t have been affected by it much until camp jupiter, where he would have to adjust aswell as rising up to being praetor with big responsibilities and expectations. not to mention! he was abducted and had memory wiped. i reckon hes a bit of a perfectionist, has anxiety but can mask it pretty well. idk about what types of actual illnesses he has

fank, i mean, i feel like apart from his life threatening stick, and his weird ass upbringing/background, dude didn’t have a lot going for him mental wise. but he also 100% has paranoia, thanatophobia (intense fear of dying), umm and occasional anxiety. plus inferiority complex

piper. she lived with the fact that she was going do betray her best friend and bf in exchange for her dads life, finds out her relationship w Jason isn’t even valid, and watches her dad go insane. goes on a world saving quest and watches her first love die in front of her, all while trying to figure out her sexuality

hazel. she grew up as the weird kid, AND was a woc in 19… 40s? which would not have helped her situation. powers that she knew got people killed or badly hurt, and didn’t know how to control it or stop it. then homegirl is stripped from her only home and the only boy that looked out for her (and she loved!!! 😕) to some fuckn place in who knows where. cut to the chase she had to sacrifice herself to save the world for some weird earth god lady at 13. THEN REVIVED? into the modern world and has to adjust as a legionnaire and save the world. at thirteen

percy. ABUSIVE FATHER, MOTHER ABDUCTED AT RIPE AGE OF 12. two world saving prophecies! went through tartarus, and also has mad expectations (from others, but actually mostly from himself). dude has hella PTSD. its triggered by things like alcohol (duh), smell of monsters, and occasionally blood, depending on the situation. also fear dying alone.

reyna my fav girl never caught a break since day 1 fr. after literally everything she had to go through to even arrive at Camp Jupiter (fighting for her life against pirates, parting ways with her sister, her only family!, and being dumped with a life altering prophecy from Aphrodite) shes bumped up to the highest role possible, expecting to carry the legion with no support, no break, for like 9 years or so. the one person she even remotely cared for was abducted, comes back with a gf, and leaves again, leaving her alone to carry the legion and watch so many of her soldiers fall in battle. SHES TIRED AND BURNT OUT AF

annabeth. oh boy, girl runs away so so young from her bitch ass dad who cares nothing less of her, learns to fight for her life on the street with two others like her. gets hit with a prophecy that someone will come to camp to save her and be her lifelong love or something like that (correct my rust brain) and finds out this person is part of the great prophecy claiming he must save the world or will die. goes on TWO world saving quests, in which she protects percy by getting stabbed instead of him, watches her old crush/idol idk betray her then die, face her greatest fear as a daughter of Athena alone, and fall into Tartarus. burnt out gifted kid. probably has OCD, def has arachnophobia, basophobia (fear of falling), and insane PTSD!

leo. i feel like this is overlooked so much, but at like 5, mans watched his mum die in a fire that he accidentally started, was abandoned by the rest of his family, never had a home, literally running between foster homes or on the street (FOR LIKE 9 YEARS) and had to live with his own uncontrollable powers that caused the death of his mum. trauma and depression going crazy for this fella. imposter syndrome. fear of dying alone. autistic

nico. enough said

[eclipsecrowned]

+6 NEW MUSES ADDED!

Baldur's Gate update pack, including two PCs and four canons, spanning from the original games to 3. All have been added to the Mobile Muse Page, but the bios will also be posted under the cut. Like for me to approach you to plot with any of them!

Viconia DeVir (Canon, Divergent as of BG3 ; FC TBD ; Drow ; 300+ ; Pansexual ; Cis woman, She/Her ; Cleric ;  Darkness calls to her. She rejects it, too, in her own ways, wearing Gods like statement pieces to be doffed when the new trend arrives. Raised a priestess of Lolth, Viconia found herself heretical in her refusal to sacrifice an innocent or to offer her own neck to saveh er House. Fleeing to te surface after life in the Underdark became untenable, life on the surface proved its own special layer of the Hells. Yet there was always opportnity for a woman of her wits and beauty, and falling in Shar's faithful was the first turning point in her life under the sun. The second was falling in with a team of adventurers, led by a young Bhaalspawn who could easily play both protector and pawn to Viconia. An able Cleric and an acerbic wit, she wears her disdain as armor and refuses to let others near enough to hurt her. Yet much can change in the flow of time, and the world might see one last divine betrayal on the part of Menzoberranzan's prodigal daughter.)

Ismail of Candlekeep (Player Character ; Haaz Sleiman ; Human ; 20-50s ; Bisexual ; Cis male, He/Him ; Wizard ; The Bhaalspawn of legend, who rose up against his own blood to fight for Faerun. Though his journey began inauspiciously, as a young man thrown into the world for the first time, he carved out a name for himself as mage and alleged hero. Though his methods and morality might be controversial at time, his pragmatic approach to the world has a way of opening doors and keeping alliances flexible, which serves his own ends neatly. Upon emptying the throne of Bhaal and seeming to smite his divine father, he retired from adventuring for a time, returning to the road only when his family was threatened. As of the Absolute crisis, the man has been dead for nearly a century -- but his tale, it seems, does not end there, or with any peace.)

Haer'Dalis (Canon ; FC TBD ; Tiefling ; Appears late 20s ; Bisexual ; Masc, He/Him ; Bard ; One troupe's visionary is another company's madman, and one plane's rebel is another plane's monster. Haer'Dalis has always been adept at walking between poles, the son of an Elven planeswalker and a lady Fiend, claiming to be Tiefling when skewing a bit closer to Hell than most can imagine. Still, there's whimsy in his darkness, and fire in his veins that calls for adventure. How lucky, then, that he crosses the path of a seasoned leader intent on saving the Material Plane from threats beyond the understanding of most. Acting as fool and advisor in equal measure, Haer'Dalis rises to the occasion to play hero. It's just one of several roles he has been called to perform, and he relishes the opportunity. If he can find new connections among the happy troupe, whatever shape they might take, then so much the better.)

Miruna Blackthorn (Player Character / Companion ; Julia Ormond ; (Alleged) High Elf ; 35 ; Pansexual ; Femme, She/Her ; Bard ; Divine blood is not the only kind that runs. Rivers of it lie in her wake, innocent and enemy alike, with a sundered mind that was once cold and clear as a diamond. But ambition was her folly, both her own and that of her companions. All she knows now is the Nautiloid, the crash, and the ghost of kills from another life. There is a beast in her demanding to be fed, and in a world so full of horror, she finds it hard to argue for resistance. Yet if she is not the leader of this merry band, she is content to throw her lot with those who know more than she does, and act according to what benefits the needs of the group. Yet try as she might ot obscure her darkness under beauty and song, it gathers in her eyes and clots her throat. A horrific mystery, Miruna does what she can to understand her past and discover who she was -- and whatever she might become.)

Thaniel (Canon ; FC TBD ; Nature Spirit ; Ageless, appears as a child ; No ; Masc, He/Him ; Mage-Adjacent ; Once, there was a boy who dwelt among his father's dominion, singular upon the earth, a living splinter of the Heartlands. Bound to that same land, he pursued life with all a child's demanding, seeking companionship and challenge. It was the sort of life from a storybook, but every fairy tale has its ending. Another father's loss was the downfall of Silvanus' rule of the region, and the Oakfather's son fell into the shadows. Yet one of his friends never forgot him, and a part of him lived on in the remains of what had been Thaniel's home. After one hundred years, new pages are written into the story, promising potential rescue and hope for the future, and to reunions of both friends and self. Never you mind his queer ways, his young voice speaking of slaying tyrants. He is no true child, and was not wrought of mortal hands, and a hundred years is as long to him as it is to mayflies like his saviors.)

Vellioth the Martinet (Canon ; Jeremy Irons ; Half-Elf / Vampire ; Ageless, phys. 50s ; Bisexual ; Cis, He/Him ; Fighter ; His name is torn from the histories, his portraits burned on a pyre, but Vellioth will never be simply a memory. He is as much a part of the Szarr estate as the stones, and not just in metaphor. A mercenary whose history has been lost, he came to serve Donella Szarr exclusively in his prime, and was favored and broken by his lady over the years til she saw fit to make an 'equal' of him. Serving the Szarrs even in undeath, he lost his connection to his god, his community, and even himself. But it was a trifling price for immortality, and his god did demand that some serve while others rule. It was only on a whim that the Szarrs were destroyed but for a single boy, that Vellioth usurped his Maker and ruled her shadow empire. Once secure in his power, he focused on expanding his influence as Master Vampire and Banite, enforcing discipline among the Spawn. Yet the Szarr boy he spared rose up in due time, as is the way of the world. A third death followed, but even this was not peace. Bound to the estate he once served and ruled, Vellioth's spirit lingers there, whispering of his killer's failures, watching with joy as the boy turns towards slavery to the infernal for what he calls true power.)

[shallowrambles]

A bad Dean, "Abbadon."

So after seeing how closely some of Henry's and Cas's words line up, in some cases almost word-for-word…

I've been thinking a lot about the spectre of Josie Sands...and the initial shadow self to Josie: the OG knight of Hell, Abaddon.

Abbadon seized on Josie's sacrificial sense of love to defeat enemies and secure her position in Hell, the way Crowley will seize on Dean's self-sacrifice for his fam and loved ones to secure his Hell position.

And idk, it's just so interesting as a lead-in to how I think of Dean's next arc, which is a reversal of power. Cas gets to get the idealized role of Dean, reading ppl and taking care: talking almost like a thematic narrator at times, a mouthpiece for "killing of innocents" and "not becoming a monster", a de facto “wife” with (clown college?) Colette (Colt?) treatment. Sam gets to do the ballad of the Campbell "my-way-of-the-highway," taking extremes to keep his family safe.

When Dean moves to the Cain parallel and enters his full-on reversal arc, Charlie gets killed, and it's "Sam's fault," the way that Kevin getting killed was "Dean's fault." It's notably reversed. (Albeit in a Sam fashion, with more, uh, "Sam-typical" strategies.)

////

Anyway, back to Dean and the mark. After knocking out Crowley's enemy, Dean will continue on a failed crusade to save Cas from his enemy, Metatron. The implication is that defeating Metatron will get the angels home, and maybe even release Cas from his work obligations. Obligations which Dean has been, once more, struggling with.

///

Anyway. Abaddon could indeed be a "shadow" Josie, a stand-in for her worst self: her darkest, deepest jealousy. Josie is actually a lot like Hannah. She's a figure that is "more like Henry." She's in Henry's social class, higher ranking, "more equal" and "closer to him" through work.

Josie is committed to the cause (like Cas's lieutenant Rachel was), and she entices the Henry away from Millie and John, the way Hannah takes Cas away from his human family.

I mean, there's also this whole line running through SPN that we need work and work gives us purpose, but it can spiral into meaninglessness when it takes us away from our loved ones. (Hunting functions the same way. Live to work; work to live etc etc.)

Anyway, BOTH Josie and Hannah try to renew his loyalties to career and underline to him how important his work is:

//

Back in season 9, Dean is weird at the sight of Hannah, and Sam shoots Dean a weird side-eye for it. Feeling like an outsider, and bristling at seeing the work that "takes Cas away from them," at being in Cas's "frat bro world" again, Dean immediately jumps to trying to show off his and Sam's skills.

///

SPNwin Millie and Ada.

Seems like women who worked with Henry were a fear of Millie's. After giving (misplaced, presumptive) "parenting advice" to Millie (hi, that's so Sam-coded for her to be a know-it-all here!), Ada puts her whole foot in her mouth, and Millie's back straightens up SO FAST.

But Ada clocks Millie's defensiveness, so underlines that she and Henry just worked together:

Ada is herself a parent, but she was so gloriously annoying in this scene at first. I'm with Millie on Ada's stock advice of John needing more time, more space--that he'd be fine:

"Wow you learn all that from one week on the road with my son?"

Ada recovers with some grace, giving Millie the address where John's staying for her peace of mind, and Millie thanks her for that.

Like the protective jasmine, Millie still loves Henry, so Ada coming out of the gate so ham-fisted was pretty ill-chosen, haha! Poor dear.

Millie's journey will be accepting that Henry made his mistakes (Ada says of Henry in this very convo: "He had his secrets. He made his mistakes." BUT Henry was always motivated by love and wanting to protect them, and Millie makes her peace with that.

The same way Dean makes his peace with Cas wanting to protect him in The Trap in taking on the Mark and in Despair with, "She's gonna kill you, and then she's gonna kill me." There's some tacit acceptance for HOW Cas operates in the last season.

Societal expectations of protection are in the mix. But also fear.