#the same for the relationship between daemon and surreal | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

namfine · 4 years

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◕ | 𝕬𝖈𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 : 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕕𝕠𝕩 | ◕

Sloth is a state of dejection that leads to spiritual apathy.

- - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

Δ pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Δ word count: 6.5k

Δ summary: His company is magmatic, languid and persistent. He is a viscous fire that keeps you on your toes, suspended over the edge. Its static, bubbling up slowly and encompassing all the memories that now felt so far away. Will you stay where its warm and the pleasures are many, or will you cross the threshold he’ll tell you isn’t there?

Δ Tags: 18+, Yoongi x reader, established relationship, smut, unprotected sex, bathtub sex, fingering(f receiving), daemon au, mind fuck, angst? kinda? -ish, mad quarantine vibes.

Δ part: 4 of 7 of our Seven Deadly Sins Milestone Challenge.

⋫ Link to Master List here

Δ a/n: Hey guys! welcome to chapter 4 of our Seven Deadly Sins series! I hope yall are prepared cuz this one gets.. surreal. Only 3 more sins to go, stay tuned because it only goes deeper from here ;P

-umami~

You loved your apartment you had together, you really did. It was cute and cozy, decorated in cool sky blues and pretty white accents. Your couch was lush and cushioned, as well as your bed and all your little bar stools that lined your kitchen nook. Four stools -because there was a time where you were expecting guests.

But that didn’t matter anymore, you weren’t concerned with other people anyway. You could barely remember a time when you could connect with anyone outside of Yoongi. The memories you did have were hazy and dark, you had a feeling that they weren’t things you needed to shine a light on. They seemed so out of place with how things felt now.

Similarly, there was one thing in your shared apartment that felt out of place. It was something of Yoongi’s from his past. He insisted on keeping it out in the open, right on the coffee table so it’s allure could distract you from your shows. It was an old hourglass. The glass was cloudy, and oxidized copper turned the spokes a textured sea green. It was large, and full of black sand that he told you was volcanic. The strangest part about it was that it was so old that it didn’t work anymore. He told you the sand must have sat too long and hardened. That didn’t sound possible to you, but you couldn’t argue with the results. It stood smack dab in the center of your white coffee table, the portions of black sand evenly distributed inside of each glass bubble. You knew it was important to him, some huge part of his history that he wouldn’t elaborate on. But most days to you -it was just an eye sore.

Some nights when it was really quiet, you swore you could hear it humming before a single drop of sand would fall.

It was rare that anything new would happen in your shared apartment, most days kept the same mindless routine. But tonight you felt particularly hungry for something different. You were out of ideas and inspiration; as usual, but you had a few tricks in finding it again. On nights like these you liked to hang over your balcony ledge and wait for something to strike you.

You watched the city lights and the busy cars rushing by. They looked like little toy cars in the distance, all lit up and full of so much urgency that they made your head spin. You figured your own car must have collected dust by now. Maybe the gas had expired and corroded some tricky little fuel lines, or maybe it had been so long that your seat cushions were sprouting daisies. You wished you could check, but the notion was silly. Yoongi would say something like “Why check on something you never need to use?” Or “We can’t go look even if we wanted to, you know that.” And he would be right. Ever since the front door disappeared there was no way to leave.. -Not that you even wanted to, you had everything you needed here in your cozy sky blue apartment. A fridge that stocked itself, a warm bed, hot water, and your carefree boyfriend to spend all this time with. It was surreal that this was how your life had been for as long as you could grasp, or maybe it was surreal that there was ever a time before this.

But something about the noise from up there was mesmerizing to you. It made you feel less… trapped.

You felt trapped; somewhere deep down, but you also had this overwhelming feeling of never wanting to leave. Of just wanting to live out the rest of your days in Yoongi’s arms, all cooped up in your cozy little apartment that had two too many stools and a broken hourglass.

Thinking about it, you remembered that the clock’s never worked right either. You had one that sat above the stove in your kitchen; nothing special, but it was big enough that you could see it from most places in the open apartment. Sometimes you would sit and count the seconds as you watched them tick; because you had more than enough time to be counting seconds, but they never ticked on time. Sometimes they were four seconds off, sometimes seven, other times they ticked backwards or sometimes not at all. You just wanted one clock that could work properly, but Yoongi always said they were useless when you had no schedules to stick to. He was right, but you still wanted a way to keep track of the days, the months, the years. You had no idea how long it had been. It was long enough that anything that happened before felt detached, but not long enough for you to have aged. Or to have gone mad..

You sighed as you watched the little people off in the distance and how they lived their lives so far away from you. You wondered how exciting their lives were out there, and what kinds of places that must be traveling to. Shopping malls, and coffee shops, office buildings and movie theaters. Those things all felt almost imaginary to you know.

You started to hear a rustling behind you. You smiled to yourself, you were wondering where he had been. There were only three rooms in your world after all, it was hard not to always bump into each other.

He walked up behind you like he often had on nights likes these, and he wrapped his warm arms around you. You relaxed into his embrace, any tenseness and worries you were feeling before melting away like butter in his arms. He kept you close to his chest, his lips starting to leave light kisses and goosebumps along the gentle curve of your neck.

You felt enveloped by him, his scent of lavender and cedarwood filling the air around you. You pressed yourself back further into him, pushing yourself off of the ledge. He grasped his hands around your hips, leaning up to kiss at the spot behind your ear.

"Do you want to go back inside?" He questioned, and you turned to nuzzle your nose into his neck. You hummed there, thinking about it a little longer. You hadn’t been struck with your new idea yet..

“Hmm.. Not yet.” You focused on the way his chest rose and fell behind you. Slow and gradual, and you could feel his steady pulse against your lips.

“Do you want me to stay? Or am I distracting.” He pulled you in a little tighter when he said that, and he caught the lob of your ear lightly between his teeth before he pulled. You hummed again, very much enjoying the feeling of having him wrapped around you like this. His lips turning soft against your skin. You pressed your hips back into him; just to check something. You chuckled before you replied.

“You are distracting -But I don’t want you to leave. Maybe you can help me?” He was no fool to what you were doing, or to the light playfulness in your voice. He gripped his hands around your hips and pulled your closer, digging his own hips into your back side.

“Help with what? Baby.” His voice was gruff against your ear now, it made you shiver in his clutches. You hummed once more, fighting to keep your mind on track and to not think about how nice his member felt stiffening against your ass.

“I’m not sure what we should eat tonight.”

“I can think of a few things.” You giggled at the suggestiveness in his voice, turning around to peck him on the cheek and to scurry your way back inside. The surprised look in his eyes was heartwarming, there was just that little twinge of disappointment that you’d gotten away from him so soon. He shook his head a little, moving his soft black hair out of his eyes.

“I’m serious! I’m tired of eating the same old things, I wanna try something new!” You skipped up into your kitchen as you yelled back to him, knowing full well that he would follow you.

“Like what?” He asked, stopping half way into the living room, between the couch, and the hourglass.

“I’m not sure.. That's what I need your help for.” You gleamed, stepping across the tiles to spin your stools out of restlessness.

“Well.. Lets see.” He thought aloud as he sat himself down, staring into the murky glass as he searched for an idea. “What do we have to work with?”

“It seems like I eventually find everything I ever need.. So.. I guess the options are endless!” You chimed, moving to rummage through your cabinets.

“I’m not sure if I remember any dishes you don’t already make..” You frowned at that. That's what you were afraid of, it was an excuse he had for a lot of things. But you understood because you were beginning to feel the same way.

“Really?? Didn’t you use to travel a lot? You must know so many more things I could try than I do." He scrunched his brows, his eyes falling back on that old hourglass again.

“Yeah but.. That was a long time ago, I don’t remember." He paused, turning back to you with a sparkle in his eyes. "Why don’t you make that fancy pasta of yours and we’ll add something new?” you lent him a weak smile, not wanting to dampen his excitement even though his idea wasn't exactly what you were looking for.. And you knew where this was going.

“New like what?” He paused again, his eyes going wide as he tried to recall something from the back of his mind.

“I'm not sure, calamari?” You hummed and nodded at his idea as you watched him slowly racking his brain.

“I’ve done that.” It hurt a little to give him the bad news, but it was true. You'd made pasta with calamari within the last few weeks.

“What about shrimp?” You nodded along again this time before u sent the blow.

“I’ve done that too.” His eyebrows furrowed, and you knew he was trying so hard to think of something fresh and new. It wasn't his fault he couldn't remember, you knew that. You turned away, walking up to dig through your fridge. Sometimes inspiration came to you in there, especially if you opened and closed it enough times..

“Broccoli?” You sighed, spotting the broccoli tucked away in the vegetable crisper just as he said it. “That too..” You were thinking about giving up and just making something you always make when he popped up beside you suddenly and slammed his hands on the counter like he'd just thought of the best thing.

“What about… all together? Have you tried that yet?” You stopped, turning back to him with the chill of the refrigerator still cooling the room.

“I haven't, do you think that would be good?” His smile was warm and confident as he looked at you. It was calming, just as his presence always was.

“I think anything you ever cook is good baby, but let me know if you want an assistant. You know I’m always here for you.”

The pasta turned out alright, just like he said. It was ready, but he had gone missing again like he sometimes did. It was strangely endearing that he could always find a quiet place to himself in such a small space. You called for him with little luck, so you started to look for him. There were only two other rooms so there weren’t many places for him to be hiding, but somehow he stumped you every time.

You started your way down the narrow hallway, your old hall light flickering above you. You were headed towards your bedroom door on the right when you noticed something strange you didn’t remember being there. Another door? This one on the left side just adjacent to your bedroom. You swore that wasn’t there.. You had no broom closets, and the bathroom’s only entrance was through the bedroom. This was.. New. Even though it looked very old. Cracked and missing paint setting it in high contrast against the rest of your apartment. There was no way it was something you could have just overlooked. It was.. strange, and you felt your heart beginning to race as you came closer to it. Had your memory really gotten so bad that you’d forgotten a whole other room..? You were beginning to not trust yourself.. To not trust your reality. Something had always seemed unusual here but Yoongi could always calm those thoughts away from you.. But Yoongi wasn’t here.

You pressed your ear to the misplaced door; timidly, seeing if you could hear anything on the other side. Maybe it held a water heater? Or the electrical system? You thought, pulling strings to just make sense of it. You heard a clicking inside, and some very faint humming. Neither of which calmed your nerves.

“Yoongi..!?” You called again, hoping that he could hear you from wherever he was and that he could come calm your racing heart, and maybe inform you on what you had forgotten.

“I’m in here! -The door is open!” He answered finally, but his answer didn’t help you any. His voice sounded from inside the room and it only made you feel more out of your wits.

You fought with your anxieties as you slowly placed your hand around the rusty door knob. It was hot to the touch.. You turned it; slowly, peering inside the room to look for traces of him.

It was dark inside, that hum growing louder now that the door couldn’t keep it contained. Your eyes grew wide as you tried to adjust them to the darkness.

“Yoongi?..” You could see piles of books littered around the room, and old computer parts. Dusty equipment and piles of old trinkets you could barely identify. Everything seemed to be painted in a thick layer of dust, dirty cobwebs connecting each pile to another. The smell was.. Old, stale. Like the room hadn't seen fresh air in millennia. But despite all you could see in the room, you hadn’t seen him yet.

“Over here!” You heard him, his warm voice slowing your heart rate; if even just a little, as you darted your eyes along the darkness in search of him. There was something large and black at the end of the room, textured and bumpy. You traced your eyes up from the bottom of it, following along with how the light hit it from behind. On your way up you saw big black feathers, hundreds of them, old but beautiful. And then they moved.. Flexing straight out to the sides like something worrisome preparing for flight. You began to tremble but you couldn’t pull your eyes away, you kept them on their slow path up reaching features that startled you. It’s face.. You knew that face; you loved that face. But it was corrupted here, scaled and frightening with gleaming diamond blue eyes. It smiled at you and you recognized that look and the love in those icy eyes.

You screamed. You didn’t understand, you couldn’t. You needed things to halt, to stop. You remembered you had seen him like that before.. Maybe often.. Maybe he always looked like that.

Yoongi.

You turned away from the room, slamming the door and pressing your back against it.

You..

What were you doing?

“Looking for Yoongi.” You thought. You saw your bedroom door in front of you and you walked up and opened it not even questioning why your heart was racing so hard. You flipped the light switch on and peered around in search of him, to no avail. A moment later he startled you, coming up and hugging you from behind.

“Hey, is dinner done already? I could have helped.” You shivered, spinning around with a sudden urge to see his face. His kind brown eyes greeted you, his sweet smile proving contagious.

“It was just pasta, and it's not like I was making it from scratch.” You hugged him, resting your cheek on his shoulder and feeling your heart calm to its usual speed.

“Have you tried that yet? Maybe that could be something fun we could try together next time.” You blinked, looking up at him in surprise.

“..I haven’t. I love that idea though, but I’m not sure I know how-”

“I’m sure I have a cookbook that will tell us somewhere. Wanna try it tomorrow? We could make lasagna.” You giggled, basking in his enthusiasm.

“It’s a date.” A date, you had forgotten about those until you said it. Was anything in this apartment ever really a date when you could never leave..? You reached something deep in your mind then, the taste of rich aged wine, the taste of cream and sugar, laughter.. Images of unspeakable things. Things that excited you. He noticed the change in your demeanor; you could tell when something moved behind his eyes, but he hid it well.

“A date. -Hey.. I know you’ve seemed a little restless lately, why don’t we try something different?” You stepped back from him to get a good read on his face, your head tilting to the side.

“What do you mean?” He smirked at you.

“I have an idea, I’ll show you after dinner.”

He didn’t want you to know what he had planned yet. He kissed you sweetly after dinner, spinning in his stool and scurrying over to your small wine case. He grabbed a bottle; one he had been saving, along with two glasses before he dashed down the hall into your shared bedroom. A quick shout of “Don’t peek till it's ready!! And don’t worry about the dishes!” before he was out of sight.

You felt a little lost now, impatient with nothing to hold your focus. You spun around to look over at your balcony again, the white curtains fluttering in the wind. It was picking up, the doors starting to flex and sway back and forth. You stared at them a good while before you decided it might be time to shut them for the night. You made it over to close them softly, giving a quiet “goodnight” to the outside world before you shut your curtains.

He startled you again, this time you didn’t even hear him before his hand was pulling yours to follow him through the apartment and back down the hall. He was in such a hurry and it was unusual for him, but this kind of spontaneity was what you felt like you were missing. He dragged you through the bedroom, a giddiness in his stature. He rounded you past the bed and led you to face the closed door of your bathroom. You giggled.

“What did you do?”

“Hush, you’ll see. One things first though.”

“Hmm?”

He grazed his hands against your waist, pulling your shirt up enough for you to get the hint. You reached to lift the flimsy fabric up and over your head, and he gently fisted your hair in his hand to help you get it out of the way. He released his fist, letting your hair fall messely over your bare shoulders. You heard him fiddling to throw his own shirt over his head from behind you, he was fast and it was no time before his hands were back around your waist, lowering their way down to your hips where he tucked his thumbs under the waistband. He released a hand from the task, bringing the free one up to rub along your stomach and up over your ribs. He glided it up until the tips of his fingers were teasing under your bra. He leaned down to kiss your neck again like he did before, only this time there was no escaping the heat he made you feel.

“I think you’ll like the surprise, It’s nothing special but.-”

“-I’m assuming there’s warm water and us both naked involved, I’m pretty sure I’ll love it.” You teased, hastily working to pull the rest of your clothes off faster than he was going. Despite your wiggling to get your pants all the way off of your ankles, he still had his hands all over you. And once you were up right again he was already pulling you back into his bare chest. You wrapped your arms loosely over his shoulder as his hands coyly wandered down to rest on your ass. You smirked at his behavior, pushing away from him to finally work his pants down since he was stalling. He grinned, taken a little off guard, but he complied when you needed him too.

He kicked them over, finally, and then for the second time that night he did something you weren’t expecting. He spun you around, pressing you tits first against the closed door. You gasped at the sudden cold against your nipples, and then groaned when you felt him grind his hips hard against your ass. He kept a hand on your hip, pulling them back so your ass remained up in the air where he wanted it. You braced your hands on the door, shivering when you felt his nails lightly tracing the curve of your spine. You could feel his length hard between your thighs as he dug his hips into you, and then he curled over to kiss at your shoulders, brushing your hair out of the way as he did so.

“-I want you wet before I dip you in the water.” He whispered, his voice sinful against your spine. He traced his other hand back around your waist and down your abdomen, he twisted his wrist and curled his fingers against your heat. He spread your lower lips with his pointer and middle fingers, sliding them back and slowly dipping the tips shallowly into your entrance.

“I’m there-” You gasped.

“Yeah you are..” He pushed both fingers all the way in as he spoke, pressing the heel of his hand against your heat as your mouth opened wide in a sigh. The hand around your hip reached around to squeeze the tender flesh of your ass and you could feel yourself clenching hard around his fingers. He chuckled before he pulled them out and stepped back to give you room to breath.

“You can peek now.” You paused a moment to collect yourself before slowly opening the door.

It was warm and welcoming inside the bathroom, golden candlelight flickering and casting a subtle glow around the whole room and the white tile from every corner. You smiled at the two glasses of wine he had placed on the porcelain edge of the tub, one glass already half empty.

The tub was full, a thick layer of sudds coating the surface with steam you could see coming up from where you were standing. He passed you, patting your shoulder before he walked up to place himself in the water. You watch him as he lowered himself, there was a shadow larger than him that followed. Two great fluttering masses that shifted and flickered in the candle light. He locked eyes with you, tilting his head in a question.

“Are you coming?”

“Um -Of course.” You shook it off, bounding over to test the water. He watched you curiously with his back against the porcelain, you dipping your fingers in to make sure it wasn't too hot. -And it wasn’t, just somewhere in between warm and scalding. You stepped in slowly, turning your back to him. He reached his hands up to grasp your hips out of instinct, helping you lower in and rest yourself against his steaming chest. Your hips nestled between his legs. You sighed, allowing all of your inhibitions to wash away in the water. He brushed your hair aside, hot water sliding off his arms and against your skin as he handed you a glass of wine. You took the glass from him, watching his hands as they moved in front of you. He took his own glass and brought his other arm hot across your shoulders.

“We should make a toast.”

“To what?” You questioned.

“.. To longer days, and new ideas.” You smiled and scrunched your nose up at his toast, clinking your glass with his. “And lots of wine.” You added, taking a sip from your glass. It tasted rich and full, but there was something very familiar about it. You glanced over the side of the tub in search of the bottle. You picked it up to read the label after setting your glass back down on the edge. Laveyan vineyards.

“This is the stuff you’ve been saving, right?” He hummed, the vibrations penetrating through you and making you shiver.

“Yeah, it's from an old friend. I thought it was finally time..” You gleamed, feeling honored he would crack something open from so long ago just because you had been feeling stuck. “Do you like it?" You took another sip, slower and more this time. “Yeah, something about it is really unique.” Or maybe it was just such a contrast to the same old brand you had usually been drinking from, you weren’t sure.

You continued taking slow slips of wine, letting the subtle haze fill your senses while his hands slowly roamed your body. He liked to take his time in everything, making sure to graze his fingertips along every inch of your body. Down your arms, and between your fingers, and then back up and along your collar bones. His hands stayed so hot in contrast to the cold air as it battled to suck away the warmth on your skin. You shivered when he dipped his fingers between your breasts and along your sternum. You watched him graze his knuckles against your ribs, making little thumps and waves in the water with every pass. And then he was gliding them back up to tickle along the underside of your breasts. You sighed, leaning up into his touch just hoping he would speed up a little. He chuckled at your desperation, kissing the side of your head before his hand dipped below the surface. You flinched when he suddenly grabbed your thigh, and flinched again when you heard him slamming his glass down on the edge of the tub. He grabbed you around the shoulders firmly this time, his arm like hot steel. You could feel his breath on your neck as you stretched it back for him, and your eyes started to roll back when you felt his sharp teeth grave against your skin. You shivered under the weight of him, the shadows in the room growing along with your anticipation. The shadows felt like eyes on you, and you were thrumming under them. You skin alight, your legs trembling. He had distracted you fully with his teeth and then his lips, you’d forgotten the hand he left idly around your thigh. His hand moved, and then his fingers curled back against your heat just as his breathy lips reached your ear.

“Should I make you wait?” He teased, his hand reaching up to grip hot digits around your jaw. He tilted your head to the side more, and sucked sloppy kisses into your pulse point. You melted into him, moaning as you felt his fingers dip easily inside of you. He dipped them in slowly, letting you really enjoy the stretch as the feeling melded with the sensation he was giving you on your neck. He sucked hard, grazing his tongue against the skin before he would dig his sharp teeth in. He had your head spinning already, and the steam and wine were only helping your dazed state. You’d forgotten he asked you something entirely when he curled his fingers up inside of you, the pads of them grazing that spongy spot inside of you that made you see stars. He barely moved them, lightly rubbing his fingertips back and forth and holding you as you started to sigh and tremble.

“How long do you think you’ll last?” His lips vibrated against your skin as he spoke, but you didn’t have an answer. He added more pressure on that spot inside of you, angling his fingers away to the point where you could feel the hot water starting to mix with your slick as it entered you. He released your jaw to grope at your breasts again, and you head fell back to dribble against his shoulder. You wanted him to do more, to move more, to fuck you with his fingers like it was a competition. But this slow languid pace was something he was an expert at, speeding to the finish line would be so much less fun. Besides, you loved it when he toyed with you like this, when he touched and teased you for hours until all of your senses were screaming, and every touch was fire. The orgasms he could give you.. They would rip right through you, and they lasted so long. You could feel them start, could feel time slowing as every muscle in your body tensed up and sent shock waves against your skin. One by one, you could almost count the muscles clenching if you weren’t too dazed in ecstasy to think.

He uncurled his fingers, sinking them back inside you to the knuckles where he rested them. You huffed, rolling your head over to hide your face in his neck. He chuckles again, the soft sound bouncing against the walls before he pulled his fingers from you entirely. He tipped your face up to press his lips against your own. You could taste the wine on him, the scent of lavender still heavy on his skin. You reached up to cup his face as he kissed you, moving it shortly to thread into his hair. He licked your lips, testing his teeth against them before slipping his tongue into your mouth. You hummed into him, sliding your silken muscle against his own. You felt him sigh into you, a gasp leaving his lips as your tongue tickled his inner cheek. He grew hungrier as he continued, gradually leaning into you and kissing you as deeply as he could at such a tight angle.

You could feel his cock twitching against your back now, it pulsed thickly behind you. You were trying not to think so much about it being so close because thinking about it only ever made it harder for you to be patient.

Thankfully tonight he had other plans -mid kiss he gripped both hands around your hips and lifted you up. You gasped into his mouth, flailing your hands out to catch the sides of the tub. You felt your hand tipping your glass over before you could stop yourself, you heard it shatter on the floor but neither of you let that stop you, his lips now locked against your shoulders. You felt him letting one of your hips go to reach down up under you now that you could help with your balance. He started to line himself up with your entrance, letting himself go and helping you to ease down onto him. You sunk down slowly, the water making waves that kissed against your thighs from all the movement. You could sink down fast, but he had you trained so well, you knew he would stop you. His strong hands would be holding you back; hell, he might have even pulled himself out and made you wait longer. You only lowered yourself down as quickly as he would allow, his strong arms still keeping you steady.

The stretch was almost painful, the blunt head of his cock pushing stiffly into you. The water helped, it eased the slight burn that every new inch deeper he entered you would bring. You hissed, angling your hips when you felt the head of his cock slide past that spot inside of you. He started to groan, a low sound that shook the air. You parted your lips and let your head fall back, just enjoying the moment.

He pulled you down harder once you were reaching closer to his base, and then he thrust into you hard. You were so unbelievable full of him, his cock wholey nestled and pressing against every soft spot inside of you, his head pressed flush against your cervix. Your walls were fluttering and squelching, struggling to hold his full girth.

“Lean back baby.” His voice was strained as he spoke, but he kept the pitch steady. You leaned back, trying to relax your shoulders against his chest and the cold rim of the tub. You were already gasping in rhythm with the waves, and your clenching cunt.

He lifted your hips back up, keeping your weight tilted back at your shoulders. You groaned at the way he slipped half way out of you, your feet catching on the edges of the tub to help keep you from falling. He slapped his hips back into yours a moment later when you weren’t expecting it. You moaned and gripped the tub so hard your knuckles were turning white. Before you could catch a breath he was slamming in and out of you again, the water splashing up around you and onto the floor with the force of his thrusts. He kept his pace steady, slamming his cock against that spot inside of you that made you shudder. You moaned and whined, his name on your lips. Sweet like the wine. You weren’t use to this from him, this force, this speed. You shivered thinking about how sweet and fresh he was being for you tonight.

You hung a leg over the ledge to giving him more leverage and an easier angle. He groaned, his pace gradually rising. You whimpered.

“Shit -s-shit.”

He grunted, his face falling forward as the feelings consumed him.

You felt the air growing warmer, smelt something like sulfur sneaking its way into the sweetened aroma. You focused on keeping your eyes open, watching the water as it splashed, watching Yoongi’s hips moving up from beneath you. You noticed those shadows again, the twin black masses from before. They started to span out around you, the one against the wall stretching forward. For a moment it grew crisper, jagged and smooth around its many edges. The one that crept around your left side fluttered before you, stretching and curling above you as the other strained itself against the wall, pushing the now unlit candles that sat against the edge into the water. It beat itself against the wall, like it was struggling in rhythm with Yoongi’s thrusts.

You weren’t scared.. A part of you knew that they had always been there. The shadows at Yoongi’s back.

His pace started to waver as he was losing himself. He was close, and so were you. You closed your eyes again, feeling smooth feathers as they tickled your skin, his sharp nails as they dug deep into your thighs. And finally that cord inside of you snapped. You moaned out, your voice pitching higher and cracking at its peak. Each wave of pleasure hit with a lead weight, threatening to consume you fully with every pass. You felt him Struggling to fuck up into you, struggling to keep you at the right angle. You used what little leverage you had to bounce yourself against him, feeling his cum starting to coat your plush walls. Every sound that escaped his lips was something beautiful, something you would treasure as long as you could.

He slowed, finally, near dropping you as he felt exhaustion taking over. You sighed, basking in the afterglow. You could still see his wings, and you were happy this time. They were beautiful and intricate, shinny from the water. You reached out to touch one of them hoping for once that this was real. The feathers quivered against your fingertips.

“Y/n?” He sounded startled, his voice still raspy and low. “Can you see them?..” His arms wrapped around you again as you ran a finger against the edge of one of the feathers.

“Yeah.. “ It swayed then, bending and flexing inward before fluttering in around you. You felt his head drop against your shoulder just as you felt his wings tighten around the both of you. You felt so safe in his embrace, loved. But you remembered something else, something that jolted you back up. The wings parted way for you quickly, disappearing back into the shadows as smoothly as they came.

You had to check before you forgot again.

You rushed out of the tub, paying little attention to the glass on the floor. You felt sharp cuts blooming on your soles but they only made you move faster. You snatched your robe off the door and ran as quick as you could down the hall. That strange door on the left was there.. But what about the front door?

You heard him shouting after you, heard the water as he rushed out of the bath to follow you. But he wasn’t quick enough, you made it. Just in front of the front door you thought for so long wasn’t there. It was just a lie, a glamour. This whole time you could have walked right out and you never knew.

“Y/n! Wait!” Your hand was already on the knob, your other holding your robe closed. You looked back at him with shock in your eyes. Before you stood the creature from before, the one with the diamond eyes and the face you loved.

“Y/n.. if you leave I’ll never see you again.” You felt the pain in his voice and the weight of his words. But the exit you had been longing for was right there.

“Come with me?” You pleaded, you wanted so badly for him to come. You weren’t sure what he was; you were barely sure who he was, but you knew his heart and you wanted him to escape this place just as much as you wanted to leave it.

“I can’t” He sounded so defeated as he stepped forward, the dark image of him fading and revealing the man you were use to.

“What- why? The door is right here Yoongi! Let's leave this place! We can go anywhere we want!” You fought him, your hand still firmly gripped around the door handle because you were scared if it wasn’t it would disappear again. You reached your other hand to him, but he wouldn’t take it.

“I can’t y/n. The door isn’t there for me, I can’t see it.. It’s just a wall, it's always only been a wall.”

“If it's just a wall then how did I get here? How did we meet?” He shook his head, shivering and then glancing back to his hourglass.

“I can’t remember.” He turned back. “And I can’t make you stay-”

“I’ll come back for you.” You stated, and a timid smile greeted you. “I’ll bring the whole building down if I have to.” He only nodded, turning his gaze to the floor.

“Yeah.. I’ll be here.” You huffed, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him closer so that you could peck him on the lips. You weren’t going to make this a goodbye, because it wasn’t.

You opened the door quickly and stepped out, letting it close quietly behind you.

You..

What were you doing?

#bts smut #yoongi smut #yoongi x reader #bts demon au #seven deadly sins series #bts imagines #admin umami #namfine

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mydearjonah · 4 years

Text

jenni’s TMA fic recs

for Elena @wellbustmybuffers but also anyone who wants it.

i have spent a lot of time reading fanfiction, and i have read (at this point) almost everything that has piqued my interest in the tma ao3 tag from it’s inception to roughly july 18th, 2020. this is an absolutely non-exhaustive list of my all-time favorites. i tried to pick the things that stuck in my mind the best. it is also heavily skewed, naturally, by my own personal preferences.

to see all that i have bookmarked (as well as my own work), go here. i stand by all of these fics & only bookmark if i was really impressed with something.

i marked the ones that i rec the absolute STRONGEST with a star.

jonmartin

☆ A Measure Outside of the Lines by Rend_Herring; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22202806

imo i consider this to be THE scottish safehouse period fic. scottish safe-house period is a great sub-genre of jonmartin fic that i highly rec to you, elena, especially if you’re just coming off of 159, and this is my favorite and the one that i feel captures their personalities and dynamic the best. highly, highly recommend; one of my top three favorites in the whole fandom.

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22230022/chapters/53078617

“Post-season-four Jon and Martin time travel back to the season one Archives.”

extremely well-written jonmartin timetravel shenanigans pining. really, really good jonmartin content. i would describe the genre as “time travel fix-it au romantic comedy.”

take sides in divided cells by bibliocratic; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456720

“Martin's father comes back into his life.“

post-series 5 jonmartin happily ever after set-up that allows the author to delve deeply into martin’s psyche. fanfiction at it’s finest.

Dethroned by inkedinserendipity; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22342663

post-series take. warning for major character death. this is peak well-written yet sad & indulgent angst-y jonmartin.

Be Your Raincoat by free_smarcher; https://archiveofourown.org/works/23479480

“It's a rainy night at the tail end of 2013, and Arctic Monkeys' latest record is everywhere - including at the pub where a young Martin Blackwood is hung up on his coworker from the Institute.”

pre-series oneshot that i adore for three reasons. 1) the jonmartin pining is absolutely excellent, in-character, gorgeous, 2) the author has a very sharp grasp on martin blackwood specifically that i think is rare in the fandom and 3) the author PERFECTLY captured the late 2013 Arctic Monkeys perpetual AM album zeitgeist in a way that makes me specifically feel SUPER nostalgic.

The Watford Gap by chewsdaychillin; https://archiveofourown.org/works/24886216

“a Martin and his relationship w the og three study w class/accent discourse, pet names, slang, and tenderness. jonmartin north/south power couple“

pre-series oneshot jonmartin pining that i cannot recommend enough. author has an extremely good grasp on s1 characterization as well as british sociocultural realities. this fic makes me very emotional for a lot of reasons.

jonmartin but with heavy monster!jon (and written before s5 aired so speculative as to the endgame plot--still rec tho if you like monster!jon)

☆ ceylon, assam, and darjeeling by Sciosa; https://archiveofourown.org/works/20577347/chapters/48849719

“People do not bring Jonathon Sims tea. Martin Blackwood, newly-minted archival assistant, has apparently not received this memo.”

i absolutely cannot express how much i adore this fic. it’s a three-parter that follows the jm relationship as it develops through the lens of martin making jon tea. the final part is the real whammy. i have read this fic repeatedly and cried each time.

Fall into the night with you by ZaliaChimera; https://archiveofourown.org/works/19851157

“It's the end of the world, and Martin has one more thing to do before it is the end of him too. There is a calm wrapped thickly around the Institute, the eye of the storm, and Martin climbs.“

for me, this is the absolute peak monster!jon/martin. i will not lie, you gotta heed the warnings on this fic. but the end of this fic haunts me.

lonely eyes

a note: i LOVE lonely eyes but a lot of it is really smutty or slice of life. i tried to choose the fics that i thought captured both characters the best and were smart & intentional about the dynamic. elena, if u ever go down the lonely eyes road & are interested in other recs, please let me know!

☆ Luck Be A Lady Tonight by prodigy; https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257240

“In 2014, Elias Bouchard takes a rare trip outside of his comfort zone. Peter Lukas wastes a bunch of money. You'd be surprised how many things can go wrong for two beings of cosmic power.”

this is a black comedy casino episode lonely eyes take that is one of my favorite pieces of work in this fandom and also, honestly, one of my favorite pieces of fiction straight up that i have ever read. prodigy has an extremely sharp grasp on both peter and elias (but especially peter), and they breathe life into the world of mag in a way that is absolutely unparalleled, even at times by the original series imo.

walled up in your kingdom with radio wires by Ronabird; https://archiveofourown.org/works/24465679

so i’m not gonna lie i’ve never read His Dark Materials but this is a daemon au that i just can’t get enough of. it’s a short lonely eyes piece; the basic gist of it is that peter has lost a bet and now jonah gets to meet his daemon. this fic has everything that i want and rarely get in lonely eyes works: statements on both peter and jonah’s characters, and their dynamic sharply written. again, the last lines of this piece have stayed with me as well.

jonelias (i’m sorry...)

note: none of these are terribly explicit but instead largely it is about their dynamic.

a fish hook, an open eye by marrowbones; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22351618

“Jon and Martin take a surreal holiday after escaping the Lonely. Everything would be fine if only Jon's strange dreams of Jonah Magnus would stop.”

this is a jonmartin fic in equal turn. set during the scottish safehouse period. essentially, jon is trying to reconcile that fact that elias is jonah while also being visited by him in his dreams. this is one of the first jonelias fics written after the “elias is jonah magnus” reveal, and i think it is still one of the absolute best. the author does a phenomenal job capturing this looming, atmospheric sense of dread. they also totally nail jonah magnus and the jonelias dynamic.

thieves in the temple by havisham; https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287711

“Elias wins and takes Jon out on the town.“

very short; shares a lot of the same dna as a fish hook, an open eye. essentially a dream-state meeting between the two of them during early s5. “a perfect fic.”

Eye to Eye by Dribbledscribbles; https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194554

“In which Jonah Magnus attempts a post-apocalyptic pep talk.“

a s5 pep talk from jonah, who the author absolutely NAILS, to jon. this is not a fic with a happy ending so be warned. but it is a very satisfying read and the ending is... not quite a twist, but a really well done, dark reveal.

heterochromia by screechfox; https://archiveofourown.org/works/21186011

“After Jon drags Martin out of the Lonely, Jon and Elias trade an eye for an eye. Quite literally.“

post-ep 159. this is basically a jonmartinelias fic, honestly. i am adding this here because i love it SO MUCH but also it is so intensely up my particular alley. hurt/comfort/angst. also GORE AND BODY HORROR. but it wraps up to be weirdly sweet. i cry every time ngl i’ve read this fic a lot. it’s because i’m a monsterfucker i’m sorry.

a love that tastes like spring by sugarboat; https://archiveofourown.org/works/20189953

this is a comically well-written jonelias hanahaki fanfic. that’s it. that’s the plot. it’s amazing. it’s basically a shojo oneshot except with in-character jon and elias. this is one of the first fics i read in this fandom that totally blew me away.

stand-alones/gen/other

☆ The Timeline of the Theseus by Applea; https://archiveofourown.org/works/24018289/chapters/57784525

“Jon tries to force the Spiral to send him back, but the Sprial's corridors never twist things quite the way you want them to. Back in 1996, Elias has no idea why or how the Eye made such a powerful Avatar out of an 8 year old, especially when said 8 year old doesn't actually know he has any powers at all. Clearly such a child cannot be left outside the Institute's care.”

i absolutely cannot say enough about this fic. this is one of the few works of fiction i’ve read in my life that i was so obsessed with i genuinely ruined my sleep schedule to finish. this fic is absolutely HILARIOUS. essentially, jon is an extremely powerful 8 year old w/ no knowledge of who he is who is being raised by jonah, who is completely out of his depth. also has a nice touch of gertrudeagnes & the author really nails their dynamic/the tragedy of their relationship...

☆ Scarred Ground by DictionaryWrites; https://archiveofourown.org/works/21791737/chapters/51999124

this is a really interesting work of fiction just generally. it features a non-linear narrative, plays with a lot of unreality, and has a great deal of time wonkiness. i actually can’t explain the plot without giving it away, which i resolutely do not want to do because piecing together what is going on is a huge part of the fun. martin is the primary character, but everyone is featured. jonmartin and lonely eyes are the two ships. one of my favorite works in the fandom.

the last lines/final reveal absolutely tore me apart. i cried like a baby.

patterns by fadewords; https://archiveofourown.org/works/22015792

“Jon is ill and can't stop Knowing things. Daisy helps.“

long and worth it. very well-written. the author is very talented and essentially uses the world/set up of mag and the beholding to play. set during s4. everyone is extremely in character.

out in the drowning deep by Wildehack; https://archiveofourown.org/works/21473506

“Basira holds it together.”

basira-centric s5 speculative fic. it has since been jossed but that’s no matter. this is one of the best basira fics in the fandom imo, and honestly the only one that i’ve read that i feel really nails her character and her relationship with daisy specifically. in general as well, this is a really fun speculative take on the apocalypse written before s5 aired.

Chasm-e-Baddoor by kashinoha; https://archiveofourown.org/works/23917396/chapters/57510853

“Wherein Jonah Magnus gets acquainted with defeat at the hands of his associates. Repeatedly.”

lonely eyes a little but overall gen. essentially just a very well-written 3 piece suite about instances over the course of jonah magnus’ long life when he gets absolutely schooled by people within it. the gertrude piece is my favorite, to the point where i consider it canon.

And All Should Cry, Beware! Beware! by OldSwinburne; https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623179/

“When the Eye decides to select a new Avatar, it chooses Martin Blackwood, the Poet, rather than Jonathan Sims, the Archivist.“

very unique & well-written monster!martin that haunts me.

avatar groupchat by gayprophets; https://archiveofourown.org/works/21599185/chapters/51501598

fun gen popular chatfic. one of the only chatfics i’ve ever read where everyone is in character. a must-read in the fandom. lots of laughs to be had. i like that they bully elias.

this is really just the surface!! there’s A LOT that’s still on my to-read list, and also obviously a lot of new and probably phenomenal work has been published since july 18th that i have to catch up on. i hope that you enjoy!!! i love fanfiction and there’s a lot of really unique and fun stuff in this fandom

#me #/#my stuff #jonelias #jonmartin #lonely eyes #ships tagged for my own blog's purposes

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shuvva · 7 years

Text

Samara ideas (also some Jazz/general worldbuilding stuff/mild spoilers):

Has some sort of plant powers but I’m still deciding how far to go with those. I need them to fall under the umbrella of daemon/psychic powers so that I don’t have to do a whole thing about ‘why does this one person have plant powers how does this fit into the laws of this universe’

I’m gonna have her have psychic powers from the start because I never really like the whole ‘she became immortal and got powers after Jazz resurrected her’ thing. Now, she had powers to begin with and Jazz resurrecting her just gave her a power boost + regeneration/extended lifespan, which is consistent with the rest of my daemon/psychic characters.

I stg I have to find a better word than ‘psychic’ Psychic is...just a placeholder word for the time being.

I really like the idea that despite having psychic powers before psychic powers were common and her partner being a daemon, she’s a scientist who is just generally skeptical about psychic powers and magic and tries to figure out how all of that stuff works scientifically.

Honestly I think most of Jazz’s inner circle are the type of people who are skeptical about daemons and magic, for varying reasons (scientific, religious, existential, etc). Not so much in the ‘daemons don’t exist’ way, but in the ‘daemons claiming that they have special unknowable magical powers and that gives them a right to rule over everyone else is a crock of shit’ way. The kind of people least likely to fall in with a cult. (Now I kind of wish I had structured it so that there were more daemons on Earth than just Jazz’s abusive family, to see if they would consider them a traitor of sorts.)

Hair changes color with the seasons (green in spring/summer, auburn in fall, salt/pepper in winter). She had darker hair when she was younger, so the color change was less pronounced then.

Haven’t decided if her hair all changes at once or if it just starts growing a different color. The latter would make it...weird and stripy unless she has really short hair.

She’s more soft butch and fluffier than in previous incarnations. (She’s a Maine Coon now)

She lost her eye to an infection when she was young, and has a couple different prosthetics for it. (So you can draw her with a normal looking eye if you’re feeling LAZY)

She was the original Sulla resistance back when she was a teenager/young adult - she kept an eye (lol) on him and the general daemon shenanigans when he was in America and living in the same area as her. She and Jazz hung out together secretly after Jazz was more than willing to give her dirt on Sulla, which culminated in them essentially eloping and running off to go to college/become time agents after Sulla’s minions tried to kill both of them. (This was...like...RIGHT after the Alexei debacle)

By ‘tried to kill’ I mean ‘actually did kill but Jazz can...y’know...raise the dead’.

Most of her time agent work involved obtaining seeds/samples of endangered plants from the past and cultivating/outcrossing them in the present day to save them from extinction/genetic meltdown via monocultures/etc.If I’m going to go with the idea of the (early Act 1 spoiler) extradimensional ruins of DIS being overrun by plants, that’s her work. When the rift formed, one of her greenhouses got sucked through and exposed to the outside environment, and the plants just got...really successful and spread everywhere. Maybe they were an experimental crop that was meant to feed on extradimensional energy/pollution/etc and the rift just made them go crazy. Solves the questions of where (late Act 1 spoiler) the people living there get their food. Given that the purpose of that experiment likely was meant to improve on ways of growing food in urban environments...mission fucking accomplished.

At this point I’m not really even sure if her relationship with Jazz is platonic or romantic or some in-between. I guess officially I consider them to be ‘partners’ - whatever that means to you.

She’s either bi or lesbian. Basically she’s not really interested in men (closeted 50′s Jazz doesn’t count), but I don’t want someone to make...like...a fucking callout post about how shipping her with Jazz is problematic or something.

Brynnmara is probably problematic on some level but them having a rivalry with at least some sexual tension is kind of funny to me. (Idk it’s mostly a crack ship anyways)

I feel like she’s Native American but IDK if that plus the whole plant thing + being kind of aloof turns her into a stereotype

Personality-wise I’m kind of thinking Katara + Kanaya + Ron Swanson + various science professors I have had over the years. Also a lot of Ana Amari. (Although admittedly I don’t know a ton about Overwatch)

Kind of has social anxiety and hates being in the spotlight. She prefers to do stuff behind-the-scenes and let Jazz deal with people

Tries to be funny but isn’t very good at it. Her sense of humor is like...dry overly specific science jokes and gallows humor that Jazz thinks is funny but no one else really gets. (Alternatively, her sense of humor is kind of like the surreal existential humor on here so the people who get her jokes are Jazz and millennials with existential despair which happens to be most of the Substrate squad)

Neutral good in the main universe, chaotic good in the Daemonswap universe. Different upbringing and the like. Both of them would shove their foot down Scott Pruitt’s throat, but the Daemonswap version of her is probably a little more...explicit about it. Jazz is also neutral good but closer to lawful good.

#spoilers but like...Act 1 spoilers #substrate #Samara #dfjhdkjshks I have neglected her for so long idk if she really even had much of a character before #so a lot of this is new and still kind of up in the air

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dothegravitybounce · 3 years

Text

Well here* it is my review for The Queen's Weapon

*that is a goodreads link by the way

This book was a good addition to the Black Jewels Series and I'm here to prove it.

For that, I have to first say that I'm on Surreal's side always will and always will be. The first time I ever read Daughter of the Blood I hated it, and I mostly hated Surreal. The story and its basic concepts stayed with me, at the back of my head, always singing for me to come back, enough that 2 years later I picked it up again and fell in love with it. At my second read the first thought that went through my mind was how similar I was to Surreal, we talk the same way, have somewhat similar backgrounds, react to the world the same way, we're physically described similarly as well. That's when I knew this book had a message for me.

I feel like a lot of fans of the series, even the ones who proclaim to have Surreal as a favorite, undermine her role in the books. She is a lot of the times a driving force, a catalyst for the plot to move forward. In the first book only, she is the second point of view we're introduced, she is Dorothea granddaughter, she finds Briarwood before everyone else, she gets to meet every sigle one of the girls in there, and the end culminates with her saving Jaenelle Angelline (and Daemon). This is no small part, she's not our main character of course, that's clearly Daemon (if after 11 books you still think it's Jaenelle, then please there's no way to be discussing the book then), but she clearly has great importance to the story and that's why I'm convinced, at the end of The Queen's Weapons, that Anne Bishop wasn't actually trying to undo any of what's happened before.

And there's reasons to it. Anne Bishop's first published work is a short story called "Match Girl", published in a collection book before The Black Jewels existed. If you're a snoopy like me, you'll probably get around to reading it. The story is a retelling of the fairy tale "The little match girl", but beyond that, it's a suspiciously familiar story of a orphaned girl who has to roam the streets and ends up in prostitution to be able to survive, at all times she dreams of crossing a suspiciously familiar mountain where things are right and she could finally be happy. Reminds you of anything?

After 11 books things are not different. All of the short stories for The Black Jewels are centered around Surreal. I feel like a lot of the fans haven't read them, but my favorite is "The Price" and it should be available in the main books, it's very very short but in its few words it tells a lot about what happens inside Surreal's mind and tells a lot about her relationship with Daemon as well, if you haven't read it you should. Lots of people say they've skipped Tangled Webs when they shouldn't. That book is relevant, all of them are there's no skipping if you want to truly understand this story. But that one is relevant to Twilight's Dawn and following.

The Queen's Weapons is an answer to a fan favorite question of how Dorothea came to be. And it does provides an aswer, I'll be nice and resume it for you now: it's convenience. Dorothea, and now Delora are convenient people in which evil can hide. "If she can do it, why can I not?" This is a phrase constantly repeated by Jaenelle Saetien throughout the book. "Everyone else can do it".

Oh Jaenelle Satien... this was a master play by Anne, honestly. Who's better to go through this journey of discovering how Dorothea came to be then her own offspring. The Black Jewels have always worked by telling the story with parallels, you need to understand them to understand its message. In result, a lot is left in between the lines and the reader has to put the work in. This is something that I've always criticized about the books, even though in this one I feel like Anne tried to be as direct and clear as she could without treating the audience as idiots. In Queen's Weapon though, characters lines are usually followed by a piece of thought or narrative that explains exactly the intention and the feelings behind. That's not something that happens in the previous books, so readers do come with misjudgements to this one.

And misjudgements is the one word for this experience. Before the book released, we were all bombarded with the news that things weren't going to go smoothly and that, sadly, the child we all thought would be the most precious ever, was in the center of trouble. We wanted to hate her, we already hated her but I don't think Anne will let us. Having read it now, I'm glad that Jaenelle Satien is the person she is and that she committed the mistakes she did. An incredible character and another very brave choice from our author. Make her be the perfect follow up for Jaenelle Angelline, be an angel with no mistakes? No, why would you choose the boring path? Make her powerful, curious and inquisitive like Jaenelle Angelline, make her tenacious, stubborn, self reliant and a free spirit like her mother Surreal, and make her ambitious and rebellious like her grandmother Dorothea. This is honestly an amazing combination, I came out of this book wanting to know who Saeti will become and what she'll go through. This is a story worth telling, I know that Titian and Daemonar will be okay in the future because they see themselves as extensions of the family. Saeti, on the other hand knows she's not and she has to become something that is only hers.

And that's the most brilliant of it all. Jaenelle Saetien is Daemon, Surreal AND Jaenelle Angelline's dreams made flesh. What these 3 have in common? The whish to be themselves fully. This is a common thing between Daemon and Surreal through these lasts books, and is said by Jaenelle Angelline to Saeti: "you're me but without the pain". And it's true, if Jaenelle Angelline had never seen the horrors that people under Dorothea's wing could do she'd become like her or even worse. "Everyone one else can do it" why can't she not? She's more powerful isn't she? This is a perfect parallel. Jaenelle Satien is Jaenelle Angelline without the pain but also without the burden and responsibilities that comes with her jewel and position. The lesson with The Black Jewels was always that with power and privilege, responsibility and care are necessary, otherwise it brews corruption, it's not a coincidence that our heroes and villains are rulers. And the lesson is still the same here. Isn't that exactly what we've been seeing in the world in these lasts times? Well I digress.

For Jaenelle Satien her way to find herself and be fully herself was to disconnect from her family. Isn't that exactly Jaenelle Angelline's journey? That she chose again and again to sacrifice herself even after death to stand up for her responsibilities and take care of her loved ones? From not leaving Chaillot before being hurt because she had to protect Wilhemina, to all the way coming back from her existence solely on the Misty Place to take care of the family. She cannot be herself fully, she has always to be Queen, to be Witch so the realms can be reminded of the right ways. That's her burden, and without that burden Jaenelle Satien falls into Delora's trap. That was Dorothea's plan in the first book: find who was the special girl, take her from her family and raise her under her control.

Jaenelle Satien doesn't come out wrong because of her parents misdoings, Daemon and Surreal aren't bad parents AT ALL. They did and gave her the best, they just didn't want her to have the same nightmares as they did. She does what she does because she doesn't want to embrace those who came before her, because she wants something that is solely hers. Then why Lucivar's children don't come out like that? At first, I was also thinking they were narratively privileged, that Anne was on their side and not on JS side, trying to demonize her, but in truth it's none of that. It's on these characters essences, they WANT to be their families follow up, so they ask for guidance and help when needed. Jaenelle Satien simply doesn't, it's not on her nature, she's a free spirit, curious, stubborn, ambitious like her predecessors. She wants to discover the world by herself and only by herself and by that she cuts her family and hurts them. She had countless of times to talk about what was going on, about her insecurities, to doubt Delora and her friends, even at the house party at the end she had at least 3 different times to come around, but because she felt like a shadow she chose not to.

Isn't that exactly what happened with Surreal in the Queen's Bargain? Thinking that she had to solve everything by herself, alone and refuse help? At the time I read that book, I honestly thought that it was trying to undermine Surreal like a lot of readers thought too, making a villain of an adored character. After a re-read and specially after reading this one, I understand everything so much better. Surreal was making her family a burden to herself because she thought she had to, "isn't that what everyone else does?", she thought she had to be absolutely perfect to be married to Daemon, to erase her past. Isn't that the lesson she learned in the last book? That like everyone else in the family she could ask for help, she could lean on the others and on Witch, she didn't have to forget who she was and what she went through, she just had to actively make the choice to ask? And again, I talked about it in my last review, the one thing that would make me give up my love for The Black Jewels was if the relationship between Surreal and Jaenelle Angelline was destroyed. And this book just strengthens it, every single interaction between them made me cry tears of joy. Witch made sure she wasn't something between Surreal's family, but something that could bring it together. Even then, she gives Surreal the choice to leave if she didn't feel like that's enough, if she didn't feel like she's being done right and she'll not be judged if she decides to leave. And Surreal doesn't leave, after all this is her family and her love, why would she give up everything when she can have a nice relationship with Daemon the rest of his life (like literally, he promised), be with friends and family? Why would she choose loneliness? Some of us even thought that she would commit suicide, or die or be written off, but why? That would be the bad choice from Anne Bishop. That is the ending villains get, actual characters we're supposed to hate. Our heros learn their lessons and find happiness in their own way, isn't it? And that's how I know that Surreal and Saeti are treasured characters just like everyone else, they're just the catalysts, the things that make the story move forward and they're important.

And oh Daemon and Surreal.... I think I can not put into words how much I love these two. Together and separate. Before coming to this book, I thought that the events would drive them apart. It doesn't happen, they actually have never been this love dovey in any other books! Not even when Jaenelle Saetien goes against Surreal, not even when Daemon is told he'd have to kill JS. They were always there for each other, from discovering all the atrocities being done in Dhemlam to parting ways from their daughter. And mostly important, something that bothered me and others in the last book, HE comes for her, he never dismisses her, acknowledges all her grievances stays by her side and respects all their boundaries. After all wasn't that exactly what they were for each other back in the first book when they still lived in Terreille? Friends, true partners. It's a beautiful love story honestly, from the very first book they have a beautiful love story. I feel like everyone always sees their love story as beginning in Twilight's Dawn, but after countless rereads of the entire series, I know their love story has been told little by little since the first book. Paralleling and intertwined with Daemon's love with Jaenelle Angelline but always there, and The Queen's Weapons just reinforces this. It's not your easy rom-com romance, this is a love story that goes beyond husband and wife and that makes it even more special. The same way Daemon and Jaenelle's love story goes beyond life and death. I love these two, I love what Anne Bishop built with them, I have never found a couple I adored this much in any piece of media, romance or not, that equals the strength that exists here. It's unparalleled and I would choose to go through it all again.

Some people finished the book thinking they're going to live a separate life but that's not what's is implied at all. Surreal talks about and is involved in the school at the Hall, she specifically talks about the tutors joining the family table for dinner, and she's involved in the organization of the students house settling like choosing their dorms and all. She's clearly involved, she's not going anywhere people lol. I think everyone interpreted that way because of her conversation with Jaenelle, she metions getting a house away from Daemon. But I saw it as a direct response to her knowing that he'll die sooner than she thought and before her. He's a constant on her life, the person she trusts the most and is mostly familiar with since always. She'll have to eventually learn how to live without him, get used to the idea so it doesn't happen like Saetan or Rainier whom she lost suddenly.

Wich brings me back to her broken motherly bond with Jaenelle Saetien. I think people are misinterpreting that as well. Do you honestly think she stopped loving her daughter? Is that what you actually read? Did she not cry because her daughter words hurt, and because Jaenelle Saetien was being blind to her mistakes, like a mother does? Did she not cry when she found out that Jaenelle Saetien was going to be executed? Was she not scared of whatever punishment Witch put over JS? Didn't she care for Jaenelle Satien's body all the days she was stuck in the Briarwood nightmare, like a mother? Didn't she, after all that happened, welcome Jaenelle Saetien to the sanctuary she founded because she thought it would be a good way for the girl to overcome her mistakes and the things she saw at Briarwood, the same way it was for herself?? Are none of these motherly actions? Is this what someone that never cared for that role, for the child would do? Isn't it unfair to say their relationship was shallow, fake? Because that's not what I read. She gives up the title of Mother yes, because that's what Jaenelle Saetien wants, and she knows she'll regret. She tells Daemon exactly that, Jaenelle Saetien will regret judging her mother because that's what she did with Titian, and she regrets it. Doesn't she talk specifically about how similar they are? She'll never stop loving her like a mother, never stop caring.

That is exactly what Daemon's says on his last interaction with Jaenelle Saetien at the end of the book when he says that yes they can exchange letters, he'll never stop caring for her even if she decides to distance herself. And oh my god in this part I ugly cried like never before, it wasn't tears while reading it was full on bawling, I actually had to put my phone (yay expensive ebook gang!!) away. The Black Jewels is very comforting because to me and a lot of the other fans it touches on scars and helps heal them. Maybe that's why I can't see the wrongs people are seeing in this one. But this moment was a treasure to me, absolutely special.

And oh Daemon... Can we ever love you any less?? Do we love you too much?? Will we have to, like Surreal, start to brace ourselves to let go of you because your time is coming? Will you, like your father leave us with only the memories of the love we had for you? Are we ever going to find comfort elsewhere or are you truly the perfect hero?

I never liked male protagonists. I would actually avoid them at all costs. Maybe if I never had come into The Black Jewels thinking it was a story about Jaenelle and Daemon would solely be her tag along, I wouldn't be able to like him as much as I do now. Everyday I get impressed on how much of a perfect fantasy he is from beginning to end. On the facebook group we get posts about actors people think could have his face, we go from radom male models, to the newest (and best imo) addition Rege-Jean Page, to people who refuse to give him a face because no real beauty would suit him. A perfect fantasy inside and out of the book. Before coming into this I thought this book would finally spoil Daemon for me. In my last review I said I didn't want him to regress into who he was at the Trilogy, a messy, lost, purposeless man who lived to chase something he thought was lost. And that's not what he gets, if not he learns once again that he has to stay and be connected to the living, pass on his knowledge, take care of the realm and love his family until his body can't stay alive anymore. Different from his father that spent centuries locked out in hell, who lost a son (Peyton, the favorite before Daemon came along) to Dorothea and Hekatah's interferences. He refuses to give up on Jaenelle Saetien, I don't know if the parallels between Peyton and her were intentional, but they're certainly there. It's such a simple lesson for him that it makes me wonder if being simple is exactly what makes Daemon as a character so good. I KNOW this is not the end to The Black Jewels, because we'll have to see Daemon's final moments. And I'm honestly not sad, like him I don't want to rush that moment, but I know it will be a beautiful ending to a beautiful journey and I'll happily wait.

To end this infinite wall of text. Zoey is a nice addition and brings representation to a series that had almost none. I love her relationship with Titian, I think they'll grow up well and there's a lot of world and lore exploration that could be done with this so I'd like to see them in the future. Daemonar is like Lucivar the voice of reason, I don't like him as much as I like Lucivar but Anne Bishop clearly has plans for him (as said in Tersa's vision) so we'll see what's going to come. In the last book I felt like Lucivar was a bit tossed to the side as well, but I'm happy in this one he and Daemonar could get closer to Witch, but then again it's just the character essence, he's simply not prone to drama so it's hard to not get overshadowed by everything else going on. Marian is surprisingly always funny, I did thought she'd get a bit more scenes, but it's nothing really important or that hindered my enjoyment.

I feel like this book required a lot of maturity to deal with expectations and attachments to characters, from the author and from the readers. And I'm pleased with the results, messing with your characters happy endings and still coming out with a good story that reinforces the thematic outline of the entire series, calls back and resolves past issues and events and delivers even more interesting characters is not an easy task, you have to be a brave author to face the fact your reader might have different interpretations that'll result in them disliking your book. And to me Anne Bishop dealt with this perfectly, I feared I was going to be manipulated into a story and that's not how I came out of it all, despite already judging the story badly from spoilers and early reviews. I came to this book expecting to hate it and say goodbye to the series. She convinced me to fall in love with the Black Jewels again, after 11 books nonetheless!!!! This is no easy task at all, it requires a lot of skill. I admire her work a lot. If you've been saddened and disappointed by either The Twilight's Dawn or The Queen's Weapon give this book a chance. A fair one, read it for what it is and not what you idealize it to be. You'll catch yourself feeling very similarly to when you first read Daughter of the Blood, whatever that might mean to you personally.

Anyway, this book was ridiculously long for a Black Jewels book, so this review is ridiculously long as well, also I paid R$100 on this so I'll write a wall of text if I want to. I actually ended up liking that it was long, it had space for the necessary scenes to happen in a well told way, so I'm not complaining. Except for the Scelties, I hate them, have always hated them and will forever hate them. (I'm zoophobic animals as pets is not a reality to me they're just beasts, but I guess they're cute ones lol)

See y'all in the next one 😘 (or in the comments section, or in the next reread idk)

#otp: daemon and surreal #otp: your room is always ready for you #the black jewels trilogy #the black jewels #the black jewels series #anne bishop #tbj 🖤💎#I wanted to have it on Tumblr as well because it's truly complete I had to cut some parts to post on goodreads #i hope the text cut actually works #get ready for wall of text #now I'm going to sleep

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