#Cavern of Doom

[vintagerpg]

The Cavern of Doom (1983) is the third Zork pick-your-path book. Most of the basic features are the same: two kids, a boy and a girl, explore the Great Underground Empire in a fairly linear quest suitable for young readers. It plays fast — you can probably solve it in about 30 minutes, it has one optimal path (I think), about 15 ways to die surprisingly grisly deaths and one trap for cheaters. Plot-wise, we’re exploring the titular cavern in hopes of finding the elves Max and Fred. As they are missing, so is a good deal of humor that was found in the previous book.

This one makes up for that lack by being the most like a Zork videogame in structure. You need to collect objects to solve challenges and you pick your way through a dungeoncrawl that, for the first time in the series, actually feels like the GUE to me. There are lots of grue. We even get to see what they look like, thanks to Dell Harris’ illustrations. I’m not sure how I feel about that broadly, but I do appreciate how toothy they are (I also have a hard time believing this Dell Harris is the same as the last book’s Dell Harris, to the point that I am wondering if it is a pen name). Phil Parks delivers a cover that is less awesome than the last volume’s but, I think, suits the book, and the larger Zork universe, quite nicely.

If you’re gonna get one Zork pick-your-path that isn’t tied to nostalgia for the cover, this is probably it.

[cavernclaw]

doom patrol yay ❤️.

[c7thetumbler]

Quick Game Reviews: September - December 2024

This is the game review post for the remaining 4 months I got too lazy to keep up with during the year! I'm going to skip my favorite game I played this year part for now, but I hope this provides some insight to someone somewhere.

Let's get it going!

Screenshot from my Gameplay

Colossal Caverns (Pikmin 2 mod)

^link to PikHacker's download site with all their mods.

Hot off my Super Mario Eclipse playthrough, I finally decided to give this a go! For those unaware, this is a Pikmin 2 hack that puts every boss, enemy, and treasure in a single, gigantic cave level and the challenge is to escape. The REAL challenge is to get all the treasure, and the REALLY INTENSE challenge it to defeat all the enemies. There are a number of customization options such as including the Onions underground, max Pikmin limit increase to 200, and some enemy health adjustment, but I would recommend you do those for one playthrough and then really try it without those changes so you really have to learn enemy behavior and feel how intense it can get.

This is a really fun hack, and I'd recommend it for Pikmin 2 vets. this isn't something you hop into if you've only played 4 though.

image stolen from a redditor

DOOM Eternal (Steam)

I'm a big OG Doom/Doom II fan, and Doom 2016 was pretty good, so I figured it was about time I played this single-player game.

Then I launched it in steam, already a layer of DRM that requires a login, and was immediately greeted with another login screen!

I uninstalled, may ask for a refund. Is it petty? Idk. The game may have a multiplayer component or online features, but there's 0 reason why I need to do that for a single player game. Hell, I feel like I have a pretty low bar given I've hooked up my Ubisoft account to Mario V Rabbids and Rayman, but that's also optional and the games work independent of it. I suspect if I looked for a pirated version, I could play this game without giving them my email address and logging in, so why are we doing this. The game doesn't even let me adjust options or take a screenshot without logging in

Splatoon 3: Grand Festival (Switch)

The final splatfest!

But not really!

This was actually a really cool in-game event. Not only did they extend the "finale" to the full 3 days and bring all 3 idol groups into play, they made an entirely new overworld map that adjusted and actively changed over the course of the three days.

The amount of love and polish that went into a very short, non-repeated in-game experience that fans from the past 10 years would absolutely enjoy is just unparalleled. In the first 2 days you could visit one of three stadiums which rotated which group was playing, but in the final day all three groups were performing together on the main stage with pyrotechnics and flying platforms and it was nuts. Over the course of the evening, the other venues actually caught fire and burned down while it continued, making it a more clear reference to Burning Man than it already was.

It did however fall to the typical downsides of a Splatfest in terms of gameplay. Even with three teams it was quite easy to get paired against your own team and have that entire battle not count towards your clout or your team score, and even though I played like 20 triple battles only 3 of them were against other teams. This is something of a long-running bug bear; I understand you want people to play frequently, but there should either be an option to say "Yes I will wait longer to fight against other teams" or a rewards incentive to play against your own team instead of just throwing it or being dissappointed when it happens. It also unfortunately suffers from the lack of matchmaking, and this was pretty clear when team past started getting prestige ranks in the double digits on day 2 vs a normal teams as well. That's a little trickier, as genuinely I can believe that people who picked Past are genuinely long-time players, but it's an unfortunate issue with competitive games with ladders.

The stage for the triple battles though was also cool. Personally I wasn't a big fan of it's layout, however if your team secured the Ultra Signal your idol group would actually come out and cheer you on, which was rad af. The whole event was just one big hypefest that really fit the style of the game, and the best send-off to date. I wish more games were able to do a big send-off like this rather than just slowly deteriorate and fall-oof, but that's an impossible standard and made me excited for the series' future.

Also, there was a Splatfest in October and they're still doing balance patches so it wasn't really a send-off but still

Image from download page

Super Mario and the Rainbow Stars (PC)

I forgot what pointed me to this game, but it's pretty good! definitely made by people who love the series and want to see a more cohesive world and Mario RPG level story inside a platformer. It's pretty fun and has a great amount of content despite only having 1 world so far!

Gameplay wise I do have some criticisms. The game tries to bring Mario Odyssey gameplay into a 2D platformer, and while sometimes that can work, it does feel a little out of place here. It's not bad, and the levels do a good job of showcasing it, but it feels a little out of place and I personally had issues with the movement options and the star throw at the same time.

Level design is another thing. I'm not sure if this was a limitation thing, a deliberate choice, or just coincidence, but basically every level has similar feel and recurring layouts. Specifically, you'll find yourself going up for a few jumps, then a part where you need to ground point or descend vertically, and then back up again in the next area. But the levels themselves aren't vertical, and in fact pretty limited in that direction, so seeing that same layout repeatedly makes it feel more like a fan game than a real one. It's difficult to describe, but picture the heartbeat line on an EKG and that's how your path typically seems to pan out. With this many movement options and gimmicks in the game, it would be cool if they took a more open-level style approach where you could skip some of these sections through some more technical, high jumps, branching paths, etc.

All that said though, it's still a very good fangame! Visuals are great, Music and Sound design are great, and there's a lot of love put into it. I'm hoping that the level design continues improving over time, and this could be a really iconic fangame.

Screenshot from the Steam Store Page

Spark the Electric Jester 2 (Steam)

This has been floating around my backlog for a while; I've tried it before but I got distracted by collectibles and didn't give it a real shot, so I figured I'd give it a go this time and just go through the game without obsessing.

Spark the Electric Jester is an indie game series that's based off of Sonic, and 2 is the first 3D one that builds off of Sonic Adventure 2's playstyle. It adds in combat as well, with combo building and timed parries which open up the attacker to your assault, but ultimately the game shines the most when it's just the classic Sonic 3D platforming.

Like real Sonic it's a little Janky; sometimes when you try and run up walls it doesn't quite stick right, some jumps are a bit strange, enemy targeting is finicky, but overall it's a fun time. The game itself is very short, taking me only 2.4 hours to beat between both my attempts, but I also didn't focus on doing the achievements and gathering the collectibles, of which each level has a few in their branching paths. Plot-wise, it suffers a little bit from taking itself a little too seriously and being a bit too complicated for my tastes, but that doesn't detract from the gameplay.

If you have a Sonic Adventure itch and this is on sale, it's worth a pick-up I'd say, but if you don't the game is just okay by its own merits. 3 is where the series really gets into its own.

Screenshot from the Steam store page

Spark the Electric Jester 3 (Steam)

This is like 2 but way better!

An actual, really well-polished love letter to Sonic Adventure 2, Spark 3 goes back to Spark being the main character and a less-linear level structure. Each level has a few challenges within them to keep you coming back and replaying, and the combat as a whole feels way better with some unlockable moves and even alternate characters to play as.

Again, the story is convoluted but you won't miss much if you skip straight to this one as they do a good job of recapping enough so you're not totally lost. I still think it takes itself a little to seriously, and I'm not a huge fan of how it gets near the end, but as a game it's a great experience.

Highly recommend this over the 2nd one for Sonic Adventure fans, though both are great games. The replayability and polish on this surpass even SA2 in those regards, imo.

Screenshot from Steam store page

Neon White (Steam)

Reminds me of Lovely Planet but with more polish and care placed into level design! I'm not too big a fan about how long the between-worlds sections can take with the plot, but I also haven't gotten very far in it.

Gameplay-wise, it's an FPS where you pick up cards to use guns/abilities to quickly defeat all the enemies and get to the end of a level as fast as you can. Replaying the level will open up other opportunities to get goodies or complete it faster by showing you a hint somewhere in the level that will save you enough time to get the highest rank. I really liked this game, but my attention span prevented me from getting very far. That's a me-problem though; this is a great pick-up for precision platforming and execution fans.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch)

I don't know how I feel about this game to be honest. I mean, I really like it but after I was done I was torn between "this game dragged on" and "I wish there was more to do".

To get started, this is a Zelda game where you play as Zelda, and instead of attacking directly you use a magic wand to copy and paste items and enemies to attack other enemies and solve challenges. It's a very fun concept, and I think they executed it well, but it runs into a few problems. First, when you find items and summons that let you bypass multiple things, you end up only ever using those. These get mitigated after a while with a few rooms and bosses that require specific elements, heights, wind obstacles etc. to get past, but "grab spider and climb wall" is a fairly early game discovery and a faithful one throughout nearly the whole game.

Second, narratively the game could use some work. I like the idea that Link is silent through the whole game, canonically, however Zelda really shouldn't have been. A game from Zelda's perspective has a lot of unique potential to tell a familiar story from a new angle using its own gameplay, but what really seems to have happened is we got "what if Link didn't have items but instead was kirby, and then also you can be Link normally sometimes." The game certainly shines in a lot of places with clever puzzles and copy interactions, but Zelda being the main character isn't explored upon and feels more like the gimmick than the gameplay gimmick. That on top of the entire game being about people fawning over how cool Link is and nobody outside of the castle knowing the princess of Hyrule somehow really cements that she can be done better, Nintendo. This point is also tough to bring up because it could easily be misconstrued as me saying "why ruin this game by making me play as a girl, UGH" but I would like to stress that I'm definitely not making that point; I'm saying they picked a character who is always crucial to the plot and arching theme of every game and didn't use that to the game's advantage. Also, every other Zelda game you should've been able to play as a girl don't @ me

As for the good parts though, they did a good job of world and puzzle design despite the issues with dominant solutions. I did 100% the game and run through areas multiple times to discover fun puzzles I hadn't seen before and cool hidden things that I would've missed had I not been so thorough. Ultimately this is a good game and I'd recommend it, but if possible try and find a way to play a bit of it first before dropping full price on it, as it may not be for every LoZ fan.

Super Nintendo World (Universal Studios Hollywood)

That's right; I went to a REAL LIFE VIDEO GAME!

And it was pretty cool! I'll open up top with a few caveats though:

Universal Studios struggles in comparison to Disney when it comes to immersion in their theme-parks, with their employees being not so much in character as much as people who are trying to keep a theme park going. In most areas this is fine, but SNW's facade and experience necessitates a bit more character work than they're clearly paying these people for.

Universal Studios Hollywood is cramped for space since it's actually a functioning Studio with over 20 sound stages and in the middle of an incredibly cramped city. As a result, there is only 1 ride, vs Japan's 2 (soon 3) and Orlando's 2. I also doubt they'll be adding the Donkey Kong Country to it.

This land requires that you pay $42 for the power up band, as without it you can only ride one ride, and the minigames/interactable content don't do anything if you don't have one. For families that didn't realize this, this is a huge bummer for kids who get to see a bunch of other people having a blast hitting blocks and getting coins, only for those same blocks to do an empty thud if you don't have one.

The space is way too small and without other rides. Since it's clearly USH's biggest draw at the moment and the ride easily gets to over an hour long wait and the missions encourage you riding it several times, it makes for an overwhelmingly crowded and anxious experience.

That all being said, I had a fun time there. With the power-up band and a smart phone, there are over 132 stamps to collect, including secret interactables in the world, collecting keys and coins to fight Bowser Jr (the biggest minigame in the area), completing minigames such as an interactable block wall that will stop a thwomp from falling, hitting timers to keep a piranha plant asleep, and timing a pow block hit to knock a koopa shell into a key. It's a really cool, well-done immersive experience and I appreciate that they made the whole place a game rather than a reference.

That being said, the band interactions could use some work. The Mario Kart ride is an interactable, AR 3D shooting game where you use koopa shells you get from item blocks to try and beat bowser's team, and while it's fun in its own right, the visors aren't wide enough to get a good view of everything, and the employees make no effort to tell you where to scan your band so that the ride actually counts in your app. As a result I had some fun with the ride itself, but my progress was not tracked and I was left wanting to try again only to be met with the 75 minute wait time, which we weren't doing. This would be mitigated with a much bigger park; you can encourage guests to re-run the same rides over and over again if all of them had similar band interactions, but with just the one it really grinds it all to a halt. The employees not explaining band interactions was a recurring issue; you'll spend a lot of time wondering if you're doing it right for some minigames and you don't know that somethings don't count as being completed, like character meet-ups, unless you make a point to ask and they let you scan something specific.

All-in-all, it's a fun experience but there's not too much there unless you're a freak like me, and it could still use a lot of work. I had a good time though and would go again, but the park being restricted to such a small space with only one real ride limits its potential, and on the whole it's an expensive experience.

If you do go though, I would highly recommend getting the early pass and going on a Tues/Wed/Thursday; Those are the cheapest, least crowded times, and the early pass will let you get in the Mario Kart ride without a wait if you're there on time. Avoid any times near holidays of course

Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch)

Super Mario Party gets a sequel!... I'm not sure how this is different branch than Superstars though. I guess more sub-modes and focus on switch-only motion controls? It's fine, that's a nitpick.

I'll start out by saying that its core Mario Party game mode is pretty good! Most board have their own gimmick, but as a whole it's pretty close to the style of Mario Party everyone knows and loves without trying to reinvent things to the point of over-complication. The inclusion of "Pro mode" is also nice, as it allows you to play solo without feeling like the computers are robbing you and makes every decision you make on the board actually mean something. I have yet to play this with friends, but this feels like a fun game night experience and a good entry in the series for sure.

I will say that pro-mode feels like a necessary option in this one though. Mario Party is known for having a lot of randomness, but this game in particular has a TON more minigames, random events, and just un-counter-able nonsense than Superstars did. It's a little frustrating because I want to play with more minigames, but a lot are dominated by what are basically that exploding bowser minigame in terms of luck. No idea why "Select a key, select a door, hope for the best" is in there.

It also boasts having a ton of minigames in its own right, which technically isn't wrong, but when you split it by game mode it comes up severely lacking. On the box it says there are over 100, but when you play the main mode, exclude the completely random ones, and while I try not to personally I understand that a large chunk of players exclude motion controls, You'll be seeing repeats within the same game over 10 turns, and there are really at most 40 available. That sucks! I feel like I speak for a lot of people when I say I don't mind them bringing back more mini-games from Superstars; they add more variety, are nostalgic, and genuinely people appreciate non-repetitiveness more than they would appreciate having "new" minigames that they end up seeing way too often.

In terms of some new mechanics, the free-roaming team mode and buddy system present in Island tour and then in Super Mario Party has been replace by a "Jamboree buddy" system. Roughly half the characters (The unique, non-minion ones) have the chance of appearing on the board, and passing them initiates a unique minigame that if you win lets them follow you for 3 turns and grants you special perks. Events will proc twice when you have them, including shops, coins from spaces, stars, and even Bowser spaces, which is a fun risk-reward feature. They can also be stolen after being won, which is a bit frustrating because all that takes is passing the player with them. Would've preferred a duel minigame, boo, and/or an item to challenge them instead. But regardless, the gimmick is fun and most of their special minigames are cool because they're uniquely tailored to the character. My main issue with this is that it would've been cool to have minigames for every character, but I understand that time constraints would make that difficult.

The lack of the previously mentioned team/partner modes is a little sad though. Those modes were definitely my favorite "new" game mode the series introduced, and the unique dice per character added some fun and strategy to the otherwise simplest aspect of the game: rolling the dice. I would've preferred it over a couple of the Game modes they added, which I'll get into.

Party-Planner Trek is their single player mode, where you select a character and wander across the 5 main board completing challenges and mini-games to collect stars, each board ending in a boss minigame where you team up with characters you may have found along the way. It fine as a game mode, not too exciting and introduces you to each board, but also not really that difficult or entertaining in its own right. It'll only take a couple hours to complete, and the story itself is pretty low stakes

Para-Troopa flight school has you holding the joy-cons out to your sides like wings and flapping/gliding with them to move around in game. Unfortunately this is where my experience with it gets in the way; I have essential tremors which unfortunately means that my small, constant shaking easily meses up the sensors and I have to make much bigger movements to compensate. It's not for me, and Toad's Item Factory I've not even tried for similar reasons. Rhythm Kitchen is also similar to a Super Mario Party Game Mode, but again I found it improperly reading movements I made so I'm just passing on all these.

Koopathlon is a fall-guys esque? game mode. Not sure if "A lot of players bumble around trying to get further than the rest" is a genre yet, but also it's a little different, like Super Mario 35 was. Basically you go against 19 other players and play 3 "solo" minigames in a row where you try and rack up more coins overall before a bowser minigame that can even the playing field more, as you're playing directly against the other players and if you get eliminated you get sent back more and more spaces depending on your current lead. The minigames then come back a difficulty level harder. It's fun, but not really worth more than a couple replays, in my opinion.

And then finally Bowser Kaboom Squad has you working as a group of 8 players trying to take down imposter bowser before 5 rounds are up, running around and breaking crates to load bombs into a canon while environmental enemies and bowser himself tries to take everyone out. This is the game mode other than the main one I spend the most time in. It's not too difficult or stressful, and I much prefer the cooperative nature of this rather than the chaoticness of Koopathlon, but again this suffers from a shallow mini-game pool and only 3 levels.

Thematically this game also suffers from being a recent Mario spin-off, where they're not allowed to stray far from the Mario formula. Indeed, every NPC is aa different color toad or a basic enemy with a hat, which makes the game a lot more bland when those characters are already playable. It's frustrating that in the Gamecube era they were very willing to embrace the variety of wacky characters they had like Piantas and wacky hosts, but after Odyssey, 3D world, Wonder, all the Luigi's Mansions, Princess Peach Showtime, and their RPG games we're back to "Kamek is the host, everyone is a toad or bad guy, and we made a fake Bowser." The Mario world has a lot of creative things in it; please start using them

Overall this sounds like a bad review, but I still quite enjoyed it as a Mario Party game. I think Superstars is still a better core Mario-party experience, but this definitely stands up in it's own right. But if you're looking for a lot more variety in minigames, I'd maybe pick this one up on sale or something later down the line.

Screenshot from the Steam store page

Shadow Generations (Steam)

Ohey, the best 3D Sonic game, which previously I would've qualified since Generations, but it's EVEN BETTER?

I had a lot of things on a Wishlist for a Sonic Generations remake/sequel, but I wouldn't have ever said "side expansion about Shadow" as one of them. But lo, it was a wonderful decision! Plotwise, the story is somewhat hampered by the fact that it takes place before Lost World, meaning nothing can substantially change with Shadow's character/ knowledge in future games like Forces, but they did a great job with his characterization none the less. His voice actor, whose been on the job for a while, still feels like he's trying just a bit too hard to be edgy, but not so bad that it detracts from everything more than just being like "Haha, edgehog"

Gameplay wise it's a vast improvement over the baseline Generations. It's in a different engine (more on that in the next review), but it's close enough to stay familiar while also being much smoother. Shadow's Doom powers add the sort of progression that Sonic's been flubbing with for quite some time, offering options that both improve movement and attacks in ways that allow you to properly branch paths in ways more interesting than "did you jump when the spring wasn't visible on the screen" that Generations liked to do.

Length wise, it's also pretty decent. I would say that I would've liked one more "world", something like Prison Island from Shadow the Hedgehog and a boss fight with a GUN robot. It was actually surprising that that game didn't get any level representation, and they opted to instead shove Radical Highway in every level. It was the first level you play as him in the series, but Doom being like "That's some nice platforming you're doing, shame if it were suddenly RADICAL HIGHWAY" every time got old. I would've rather they stuck with themes in the level, like Rail Canyon could shift to have weird gravity and parts from Mystic Manor, The ark could have you planet hopping like you did in the Rouge/Knuckles levels, Forces could've had the ruby fucking with everything. It would be more novel anyway.

But for those who like the boost style gameplay of 3D Sonic games, this is the best outing yet and worth picking up for $30 at least. If you've not played the original Generations, this is a great bundle.

Screenshot from the Steam store page

Sonic X Shadow Generations (Steam)

This is for the "remake" part of the bundle, which is just a slightly updated Sonic Generations. I did 100% both of the games in here.

I consider these to be separate games mostly because even the game considers them to be separate. Instead of remaking Sonic Generations in the engine they had access to, they really only did some slight, almost mod-like changes to the version of Sonic Generations that was already available on steam to account for Sonic being an asshole to Amy (for literally no reason, originally framing Sonic shoving his hand in her face to talk to tails as "cool", so a good change actually) and then plot changes for Shadow Generations to fit better in. This version of Sonic Generations is then launched after you select it in the starting menu, as if it was a launcher itself.

On the one hand, I'm okay with this because it was likely a rights/age of the engine issue that prevented them from updating the game significantly or remaking it entirely in the new engine. On the other... Modders have used Generations as the base for like 12 years now? It would've been cool to see them add in more levels, if only just the 3DS levels that now are unplayable through any modern means. Granted, the 3DS levels weren't good, but they had game representation in there that's now just completely lost.

Adding in new levels would've also been nice. Sega re-used, and will continue to re-use assets from the Sonic Generations, so there's justification for adding more substantial content from games that are overwhelmingly popular in the series and were missing from the original, ie anything from Advanced, Rush, 3D Blast, to newer games that never made it to 3D like Mania.

Gameplay wise, it's still pretty good. It definitely shows some of its age with level and mission design, but overall it was the best 3D Sonic experience since Adventure 2, and then undefeated until Shadow Generations in my mind.

I would recommend picking it up if you don't own Sonic Generations anyway, but if you've played it at all, especially recently, don't buy it for Sonic Generations; Buy it for Shadow

Screenshot from Steam store page

Sonic Origins (Steam)

So now I'm on a Sonic kick, and while I waited a while to pick this collection due to its price and also misleading release, I'm glad I did now the plus version is out and it was on sale.

Full disclosure, I'd never actually 100% CD and 3 & Knuckles. CD was a bit to complex for me (and I had no idea you had to go back in time and destroy the generators on every level), and I only ever had &Knuckles to play with originally. The removal of lives (optional) and the ability to use medals to replay levels and specials stages really allows for exploration of levels without fearing losing all your progress, and to makes a much more enjoyable experience on the whole. The music they had to replace is definitely worse than the originals, but easily overlooked. Otherwise, the games play well, the inclusion of Amy was a good choice (though I would've liked to have seen more classic characters for the price) and the other quality of life features are good as well. The 10 Game Gear games are nice, but none of them are really that memorable or play well on their own so that's passable.

If this is on sale for $5-10 and you haven't played all these games to death, I'd pick it up, but if you own these games in another form this is certainly a more polished way of enjoying them but nothing to drop too much on

Image from srb2 website

Sonic Robo Blast 2 (PC)

After an attempt to revisit Forces to continue my Sonic 100% streak up to 7, I decided to pick up one of the most beloved Sonic fangames which started out as a DOOM mod (and I think still is? I didn't research this tbh).

Overall I'd say it's pretty fun; the multitude of characters to play as cool and the levels feel more or less true to what a 3D classic sonic would be. I however didn't finish it, as I kept getting frustrated with the thok move, camera, and controls, and after all those 100%'s I kept needing to restart to find those chaos emeralds. Ultimately, I made the experience worse for myself to achieve an arbitrary goal.

The game is free and a really fun fangame, so give it a try but also understand the controls and movement aren't for everyone

Screenshot from my only god pack pull so far

Pokemon TCG Pocket (Android)

I hate Gacha Games. Blind Boxes are gambling. Therefore, this blind box F2P game is the worst thing I've ever downloaded on my phone.

Except it's not? I really can't explain it past Nostalgia for when I was 5 collecting Pokemon cards, especially since I suck at battling as much now as I did then, but there's just something cool about collecting all the pokemon and seeing all the cool card art. I am not immune to the dopamine rush of opening 2 card packs a day and a 1/5 chance of picking from friend's packs.

Gameplay wise it's a little simpler than the in-person game, but as a result smaller balance issues make greater impacts. In most cases for example, it's much better to get tails on the initial coin flip to go second, as the energy advantage is usually way more useful that the evolution advantage that the first player gets on turn 3. Also, a large number of decks rely on coin flips going well, and that can get frustrating very quickly when you're already relying on card draws being in your favor.

This game is a dangerous gateway drug into getting into TCGs for real. Use responsibly, and understand that when you drop your first buck on any gambling game you have crossed the biggest line to cross and it will be hard if not impossible to go back.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Switch)

I was so excited to see the series not only return, but in stylized 3D! I was very concerned this series was dead after the studio shut down.

That being said, this one is just... alright. The way it's structured with the constant return to hub and the disjointed islands is not doing it any favors. It might be more... "streamlined" I suppose, but what I really liked about the series was for the most part the world was interesting to explore and really bizarre and wacky. With every dungeon essentially being a rather small island among a vast, mostly empty ocean, it kinda feels a bit shallow.

It also unfortunately suffers from the issues that prevented Dream Team from being on of the greats, mainly the constant tutorials all the way up to the final boss and cutscenes explaining what just clearly happened on screen to you in case you weren't playing during the playable section where you did the thing.

Gameplay wise it's pretty solid; It can get pretty repetitive, especially in the first half the game when you're missing a lot of your kit and mainly just focus on jump attacks. But it's a M&L game, so even that feels really solid, and the battle plug system also adds a lot to the game. The characterization of Bowser, Jr., and his minions is also really solid.

Overall this game suffers from dragging on way too long, which I can't even say is because it's just too long a game or the dialogue and constant explanations really stretch it for all it's worth. I'd place this below Dream Team, as not a bad game but one with a number of flaws preventing it from being good. Worth a pick-up if it ever goes on sale, but also not a necessary experience like Superstar Saga, SMRPG, or TTYD.

Official Update Artwork by Hibachi (@HibachiX1)

Dead Estate: GOOD NIGHT! (Steam)

The final update for this game! I decided now would be as good a time as ever to catch up on those achievements. I never did, but only because of Assignment Anya (the last update I covered earlier this year).

This update adds a Dream route, which include 4 floors, a bonus floor that can appear in the main route, and some insane bosses leading to a unique ending for each characters and even more costumes! It's a really solid cap on the game and a great note to end on; I thoroughly enjoyed almost every moment with it.

If you've not picked up Dead Estate yet, it's now "complete" and definitely worth the purchase. If it's been a while, it''s worth a revisit (but warm up on some basic runs and challenges first)

Screenshot from the Steam store page

ATLYSS (Steam)

Once again it's proven that randy furries can make some of the best content known to man (I don't know if the creators of this, Pseudoregalia, or Dust an Elysian Tale are horny furries it's a joke I should probably delete this when I proofread it).

Atlyss is a Diablo-like game combined with a 3D platformer, where you can pick one of 6 races and then 3 classes to get a variety of skills, weapons, and attacks to overcome enemies, dungeons, and complete quests. It's very fun despite only having 2 dungeons in it so far, and even better when you grab a friend or few to do some dungeon runs. I'm very excited to see where the game goes!

This game really took off of course because of its character customization, which lets you slide bars all the way to the right to get absurd proportions and wear some pretty thirsty clothes. That being said, while its character designs are definitely what you would expect with a game that lets you do that, the amount of options lets you create some really cool looking characters. The game even makes a point to give you scrolls that let you learn the skills other races have innately pretty early on, so there's really no reason not to make your favorite character look how they want and then play them exactly how you want (because imp's life drain is insanely powerful)

You could wait for more content, but honestly there's a good 8 hours in there right now to mess around with a some built in replay ability, I very much recommend this one

Screenshot from the Steam store page

UFO 50 (Steam)

I'm gonna have a couple controversial reviews on this list I think, but maybe not too controversial.

This is a collection of NES style games, with on overarching narrative about this being a found classic console with these 50 games released in order in the 80s. The games themselves for the most part feel very modern in a way that's hard to describe. They lack that classic jank that NES games used to have, like the sprite limit flicker, bad hitboxes in ice climbers, etc that make it just enough not to hit my nostalgia buttons but also mechanics that are much more polished overall.

Total I think I played 15 games before I put this one down. Each game is actually a real game in its own right, ranging from RPGs, arcade style games, platformers, puzzle games, even some strategy games in there. I've definitely spent a lot more time in some games than others, but this is unfortunately where I run into a personal problem when it comes to compilation games. If I'm not excited to try every game in the bundle, I often time abandon it pretty quickly.

I understand this is a me problem and I may have just not found the crazy good ones yet, but these games for the most part all just felt like fine. None of them really grabbed me except one of the later ones where you play as a Spaceman and gather resources like the top-down sections in Blaster Master, but even that was hindered by the design choice to make you wait for meat to regen in your town before you can explore more.

Overall, I can tell a lot of love went into this compilation and i'm not faulting it for that. Personally, I just couldn't get too into a lot of these games in the modern era, and because of that I ended up dropping this compilation early. Your mileage may very!

Screenshot from Steam store page

Black Mesa (Steam)

The Half-Life 2 update that made it workshop compatible and contain every Episode reminded me of this! But mostly my friend Blossom sharing funny videos of it actually.

I actually wasn't a huge fan of original half-life that much; I find the sequel nails the tone and game feel a lot better, but again it's not bad. Certainly this is the definitive way to play the original, and worth picking up for that alone, but if you didn't like the OG half-life you're not going to get much mileage out of this

Screenshot from Steam store page

Marvel Rivals (Steam)

Overwatch but better! I think. It's very easy to get overwhelmed in this game, and clearly takes a lot of time to understand character dynamics and what is even going on, but honestly I enjoyed what little time I spent with this way, waaaaaaay more than any time I spent with Overwatch. Sniping also doesn't seem to be nearly as prevalent; a huge plus for people like me who, on top of knowing that snipers take away any fun from a game that balances around weapon strength/reload speed/range, are correct.

There's clearly some balancing issues, but overall since I'm never going to be playing competitive it's just a good time and I can look past that.

It scratches that hero shooter itch without fomo or demanding so much of your time. Definitely worth a try (with friends)

Screenshot from DLC Steam store page

Disney Dreamlight Valley: Storybook Vale (Switch)

This is again what my Sister plays when she visits (or I visit her), so this is from the perspective of someone who watches her play and occasionally when she doesn't complete timed events finishes those up after the visits.

I'll open up by saying that the game definitely runs a lot better overall. Granted, it's very far from perfect, but the game crashes are now few and far between, slowdown is a lot less common, the music no longer skips, and a lot of item spawning issues have been fixed. Granted, the slowdowns are still there, loading times are frankly unacceptable still, and the item management system still needs to be reworked to prevent forced loading screens if they're going to be this long, but it's good progress.

This expansion specifically adds a whole new land in the form of the Storybook vale, a world shaped vaguely like a book that has 3 biomes: a ruined library in the fall, a golden Greek paradise based off of Hercules, and a fairytale forest with references to Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty. It adds in 3 new befriendable characters (will like increase to 5 later), Merida from Brave, Flynn from Tangled, and the star of the show Hades from Hercules.

The lands themselves are much better design, going from geometric walls and winding paths found in the base game and last expansion to much larger, more detailed and open areas that allow you to see further into the distance and actually take in the sightlines. It also adds in a new mechanic, a net, which you use to gather Snippets (small creatures made out of paper) which you then use to rebuild a book and create art to advance the plot.

On the whole, it's more of the same gameplay loop but better polished. It's very easy to lose yourself running around and doing tasks, but since my sister isn't one for decorating the world that specific large aspect of the game gets lost.

The new characters are neat, though I've not seen Brave myself. Flynn is also an odd choice, as now all three main characters from Tangled, what I thought was one of Disney's weakest movies, are now present in the game when other majorly successful movies like Alice in Wonderland and 101 Dalmatians are nowhere to be seen.

My older reviews still mostly stand in terms of recommending this game at all, but the expansion offers a fair amount of new content and promises to release more throughout the year so it's not a bad game.

Luigi's Mansion 2 HD (Switch)

Aight so I have major beef with this one, to the point where I kinda want to do an extensive write-up on all the switch ports/remasters that Nintendo's done over the past 7 years. Their record kinda sucks but this is the worst by far.

This is just a straight port of Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon on the 3DS. It can only technically be called HD because of the resolution, but other than that, some lighting, and a few specific textures I cannot tell the difference between the two. Additionally, they did not fix any of the animations, something that's forgivable on the 3DS because the resolution's so small and it's a tiny console, but when you see animations in cutscenes just run out and characters freeze on the big screen it's frankly unacceptable to call this "HD." In a lot of games I review, I talk about how their jank is part of the charm, but this isn't just jank, it looks bad and lazy.

As far as new features: There aren't any. This game is virtually identical to the 3DS original, except there isn't 3D. I know a lot of people didn't like the 3D on that console, but I loved it and consider it a feature taken out. So to me, this is the equivalent of an upscaling mod on your PC. For nearly twice the price the game was 11 years ago. Absurd.

Gameplay wise, this is the weakest entry in the series by a mile. The constant interruptions from E. Gadd and the mission structure make it really difficult to get into the gameplay and environments since you're constantly being told what wacky thing just happened on screen or just straight up yanked out of the level back to the hub. It was again acceptable at the time because portable games typically get different experiences than you would expect from a home console, but on a home console it's just not an engaging experience.

I got this as a gift, and I spent the whole time playing thinking about how much a waste of money this was. Skip it and get Luigi's Mansion 3 if you haven't

Screenshot from the Steam store page

Awaria (Steam)

From the makers of Helltaker comes Helltaker but as a fast-paced arcade-like game instead! You play as a repair-lady who runs around between generators and generator part dispensers to fix them while being assaulted by ghost ladies with strange powers related to how they died. Then you smooch them at the end of each level. Pretty simple, but really addictive and easily overwhelming as parts take time to generate, you have a limited amount of time to fix generators, and you can only hold 2 items at once. As it introduces parts that take other parts to generate, it really forces you to strategize instantaneously while running around and dodging like a madman.

The difficulty is quite up there, but it wasn't anything insurmountable and I played it on Hard mode by default, which you don't have to do of course. I would highly recommend giving this one a go; it's another labor of love and insanely fun for the time you spend with it. Also it's free

Screenshot from Steam store page

Balatro (Steam)

I'm really bad at poker and I've only gotten to like Ante 4? in a run so far and that felt like a lot of luck by getting insane straight multipliers and then losing when I couldn't make a straight. Other than that, I really don't get it; it seems like a distilled rogue-lite in that they've removed core gameplay elements and turned it from a platformer/shooter/deckbuilder etc. to just playing cards, and while I typically enjoy that style of gameplay I need more than that out of a game. It just genuinely feels like luck.

Personally I would skip this, but it's also one of the most bought, played, and well-received games of 2024 so like my opinion's an outlier here.

Screenshot from Steam store page

Tower Factory (Steam Early Access)

This is a really neat idea! Basically a mix between your standard Tower Defense game and your endless factory maker (Satisfactory, Factorio, etc.) You basically have to create and optimize factory buildings and conveyor belts to get the resources you need, process them into different resources, and then use those top create the towers to defend this.

While doing this, you need to create light towers to further unlock the map and find Light Crystals, which you then use to defeat the wizard tower (enemy spawn point) which you also have to find. Maps are randomly generated, with your resource pools, obelisks that power up adjacent towers, resource/coin chests, and light crystals scatter across the map. This allows for your replays to be different every time each level, of which there are 4, progressively harder ones so far.

Despite not seeming like a lot, the replayability is high and in fact key, because you start off with very few towers and resources and may end up losing your first bout on each level, gaining coins depending on your performance at the end of the level. These coins can then be used to permanently upgrade and unlock new towers'/factory components to help you perform better on the next run.

It's pretty fun! It can get really hectic jumping between the two halves of the game, especially since resource pools can run out and you may need to refactor your factory during an intense wave, but the actual TD aspects of it are pretty simple so it's not overwhelming. It unfortunately falls into the pitfall that almost every genre crossover game has however, where if the audiences for both were a Venn diagram, the only people who would really get into the game would be at the intersection of both genres, not pools from both sides. The TD aspect is pretty simple, and the factory aspect seems so as well, and they have to be so in the intense moments you're not overwhelmed fine tuning either. Again, I like it, but it's very easy to tell it's not for everyone.

Keep in mind it's early access, but if you like TD and Factory games this might be worth a pick-up! or at least a follow to see when it nears completion if Early Access is understandably not your thing. I picked it up in the Steam winter sale.

And that's it! thank you for reading this far, and have a great 2025!

[viva-la-whump]

Whumptober/Whumperless Whump Event (WWE) - #9

Super short one this time

And even though it's short, this one has even more tags HERE

“It’s your fault!” Caleb screamed at them. “My master is dead and it’s because of you!” The teen turned and ran down the dark cave.

“Kid, wait!” Hunter called after him, intending to try and catch him, but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Let him go,” Crosshair urged. “We’re already down one man; we can’t risk losing you, too.”

Hunter sighed and looked to where Tech was trying to put splints on Wrecker’s legs with the few supplies and resources they had in this abandoned mine. They were down by a lot more than just one man.

The avalanche had started seemingly out of nowhere. They’d run as fast as they could in a desperate and futile attempt to escape it. By some miracle, they’d almost literally stumbled upon an open mine shaft and scrambled in. They’d been with General Bilaba’s battalion. She and her young commander or apprentice or padawan or whatever those mysterious Jedi called themselves had kept pace with them as they ran. Hunter was able to snatch the young man and toss him into the mine…but he hadn’t been fast enough to save the general.

The tunnel had collapsed behind them as the avalanche raged above them, falling rock and debris trapping Wrecker’s legs, breaking both of them. As far as Hunter knew, they were the only ones who’d survived the disaster, and now they were stuck inside the mountain until they could find some way to escape. But they couldn’t do that until they could devise some sort of litter for Wrecker.

And now Caleb had run off, angry and devastated over his master’s death.

Hunter sighed again as he turned away from where the kid had disappeared. There was nothing they could do for now, especially if he didn’t even want their help. The only hope they had, the only option before them, was to find a way to survive. And maybe, just maybe, Caleb would find a way, too.

[ajdrawshq]

why does pmd show us a volcano time gear and then never do anything with that. that time gear doesnt even exist bc all 5 already have known locations. what was that

[the-world-spear]

why do i hear boss music

you know it was a last-hour rush when i stopped drawing anything with proper composure and start dishing out scribbled memes like this (and also speedrunning simple-shaped characters)

Attack for SARCASTICEXISTENCE on Art Fight! Title has link to the same post on-site

[furiouslysleepinggreen]

I love indie horror games, no not the soulless mascot ones, those ones where it’s like, hey dude you gotta hunt a bunch of squirrels in order to make your dead skinless wife beautiful again by covering her headless body with them

[blkkizzat]

HILLS HAVE EYES, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?

THE HILLS HAVE EYES CHOSO X READER

a/n: part 1 teaser. cw: mentions of cannibalism, blood, murder. kidnapping. ptsd. slightly yan choso. more warnings in later parts. eventual smut. wc: 918 (fyi, no taglist <1k) kinktober m.list

The Hills Have Eyes Choso who first sees you through his binoculars as you are running for your life across a dusty open field.

Eso and Kechizu were leisurely chasing you, hooping and hollering taunts. Little did you know you weren't running towards the road but deeper in the desert towards the caves and their encampment at the old abandoned military base.

While Choso wasn't one to usually deny Eso and Kechizu their fun, they weren't the best trackers and would surely lose you or worse if you ran into the caves. With a sigh, Choso agiley descends from his perched outlook post to cut you off before you can reach the cavern opening.

You were a good distance ahead of him but this is his land, he knows it well, and still manages to cut you off right as you reach the entrance.

Choso's big looming figure stands in your path.

"Oh thank god!" Yet instead of terror in your eyes, Choso is taken aback as you look to him like your savior. Upon seeing him and his seemingly normal features you practically throw yourself into his arms, so happy to run into someone who was not a mutant.

Utterly touch-starved, this kind of embrace from a pretty girl was something extremely new for Choso.

Your small arms are littered with scrapes and oozing cuts that look far too painful for you to be desperately clinging to him to the degree you are. Fully pressed against him, the intense heat radiating off your body amplifies that of the scorching desert and for a few moments Choso feels dizzy as you sob harder into him.

You're babbling, words nearly nonsensical as they spill out of you:

About your tour bus getting lost in this desert two days ago, how the spiked wire placed in the middle of the road shredded the tires, and finally how mutants attacked your bus.

They'd ruthlessly killed the driver and scattered your friends across the desert leading you here to find him now.

Choso says nothing.

What can he say?

You'd find out sooner than later you were the only one remaining from that tour bus still alive. Instinctively comforting you despite your impending doom, Choso drapes his arms around you bringing you into his embrace. His hands, stained with the dried blood of all your friends, weaves into your hair and grips your soft waist.

Grasping your strands between his dirted fingers, Choso can't resist inhaling deeply.

You smell nice.

Of vanilla and sugar, simple flavors he had forgotten about until the scent of you stirred the comforting reminder.

The smell of his home.

The smell of his mother.

Her face flashed before his eyes and he pushed away the terrible memory he thought he'd buried deep enough it wouldn't resurface again.

But now Choso finds himself clinging to you just as desperately.

The child in him from all those years ago empathizing with the fragile lil desert dove that had flown so broken into his arms. An intense need he didn't fully understand surging through his body.

He'd protect you.

He'd be your salvation.

Unfortunately for you, it wouldn't be the rescue you wanted and Choso wasn't the hero he appeared to be.

Too distraught and broken—you don't notice this. Nor do you notice flesh caked to the machete at his hips or even question what a man looking like he'd been in the desert longer than you was doing out here—still alive.

None of the pieces fit but you are too grateful to question anything. Until you hear a twisted voice cut through your sobs and ring in your ears.

The chilling words leave you paralyzed. "Ha! Brother Choso! Ya caught 'er for us!"

Kechizu cheers.

Your eyes are now bulging out of your skull and by the time you attempt to push away from the man, you finally realize his hold isn't one of comfort but containment.

To your horror Choso whips you around, both his arms now wrapped around your midsection as the mutants who were chasing your—who you now know to be his brothers approaches you.

"She looks so tasty too! She'll cook up nice. All that runnin' n' cryin' making her nice and tender, I bet."

Eso quips, licking his lips at you.

You felt queasy, the overwhelming nausea that accompanies your despair making you retch. It's only the dehydration from being hunted in the desert for the past two days that keeps the bile in your stomach from rising to your throat when you realized the intentions of these mutants.

They were cannibals.

Not only were you going to die.

You were going to be eaten.

"Now, now...Eso, Kechizu—stand down, you two."

Choso's words are cheery yet chiding words of a kind older brother, which prompts the collective child-like groans from his two very grown mutant brothers—brothers who look nothing like their far more handsome, normal looking brother.

"We're going to keep her."

Choso now only holds you with one arm, yet it might as well be a muscular iron band welded across your waist. No amount of your squirming can make him budge an inch.

His free hand comes around to press the flat edge of his well-used machete against your exposed navel—instantly stopping your escape attempts lest the weapon cut into your flesh.

Choso's gruff heady voice puffs into your ear causing a chill of terror to quake down your spine as your sobs are renewed. "You'll be good for us, right ma?"

©blkkizzat 2024. do not steal works or gfx, do not translate.

a/n: needed to post something for Oct 1st and I'm PST so I still made it!! lol. note, i will continue this but not until the other kinktober stories are completed. this was just brainrot. fyi there will be elements of non con but no sa of reader. will be angsty and smutty mostly (choso with huge mommy kink). this story actually has a plot and depending on how long i wanna take it might be pretty long lol.

please reblog and comment. taglist if you have asked to be tagged in general kinktober or are on my general tag list (with dead dove checked) i will tag you in this for later parts. if not then comment below to be tagged.

[doomedandstoned]

CAVERN DEEP Share AI-Generated Music Video for “Primordial Basin”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Single Art by Max Malmer

CAVERN DEEP is a slow, heavy doom trio from Umeå, Sweden, founded 2019 with bassist Max Malmer, guitarist Kenny Oswald Dufvenberg, and drummer Dennis Sjödin creating an atmosphere that's as grim as the name implies.

The band released its first album through Interstellar Smoke Records to critical acclaim (topping on #7 on The Doom Charts) and now comes a second. "Part II - Breach" is a continuation on the concept of the first album about an archaeological expedition in the bowels of a great mountain (read it here). It features guests artists Susie McMullan of Brume, Johannes Behndig of Sarcophagus Now, and Thomas V Jäger of Monolord.

Today, we're auditing track no. 2, "Primordial Basin." There is a backstory to this track, which is part of a narrative spanning six songs in total. This one, admittedly out of context, was intriguing enough to share:

She is watching patiently. The engineer. The last of its kind. The theft of this essence from the otherworldly refuge was the final attempt. Embedded in the being below her is the code. Her design. Her revenge. Deep down in the basin, the putrid water stirs as the being breaks free from its membranous nursery. The engineer watches in silent triumph from afar as the being destroys everything in its path in blind newborn rage. Wading through the festering amniotic fluid it is pulled by an inner voice to the east.

The song unfurls a swirl of feedback, soft bass, and a mysterious riff delivered with razor sharp guitar tone. The doomed pacing and ornate song structure makes me think of something from the Baroque period, only darker. That, and the band Pilgrim.

Brume's McMullan joins two minutes in, which comes as a welcome release. Susie is one of my favorite singers in the heavy underground and her forlorn vocals reach rare shades of emotion. Don't miss the stinging and beautiful heavy metal solo at the 5:45 mark.

The music video does a good job of painting a mesmerizing tapestry for us visually. The band reveals: "It was made with a home-made AI created by Max, using only art that we have the rights to use." And good news if you like this one; there'll be one for each song.

Cavern Deep's Part II - Breach is scheduled for a July 14th release on vinyl (pre-order here) and CD (pre-order here) care of Bonebag Records. Stick it on a playlist with Candlemass, Spelljammer, and Brume.

Give ear...

WATCH & LISTEN: Cavern Deep - "Primordial Basin"

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

[unohanasblade]

The cute little girl misbehaved.

Synopsis: you messed up a pretty important dinner with your partner’s boss and it’s only fair they now take it out on you. Maybe you learned your lesson, or maybe you will keep on misbehaving to get another ride on their wicked carousel.

Warnings: fem!reader, vaginal sex, use of dildo, vaginal penetration, gagging the partner with a rag, spanking, hair pulling, overstimulation, spit as lube, vaginal fingering, public sex, manhandling, oral sex (fem!reader received it), rope as a restrain for your wrists, the partner is described with they/them pronouns because it could be either a woman or a man.

N.B: the list of characters I’ve thought about is at the bottom of this post.

Those luscious lips glistened under the silver rays of the moon, as your partner loomed over your frame to let you see what a mess you had made of their face. Your hands binded behind your back restrained your movements, your body their canvas to paint. You felt two digits probbing at your soaked entrance, circling your velvet cavern before sinking into it. You had lost the count of how many times you had seen the stars that night. Literally.

“You’re dripping”.

Their voice made you flinch, toes curling as you silently pleaded them to finally fill you up. You squirmed around, tears prickling at your lashes and copiously streaming down your cheeks, hoping they would finally fulfill your desire to feel them deep inside of you. No mercy was reserved to you and your doomed soul, though. You were at your limit, writhing like a leaf before a stronger gust of wind blew it off of a naked branch of a tree. Naked on the porch for everyone to see, you hoped people were fast asleep and not roaming down the streets at such a late hour.

A slap onto your oversensitive pussy made you whimper out, their fingers slipping out of your core to spread your labia. You felt something warm dripping over your pubes and dribbling down to your puffy lips. Saliva, it was their saliva. You stayed silent, watching them smearing it over your clitoris in circular motions. You began to whine, biting onto the rag they had shoved into your mouth because you weren’t apparently obedient enough to shut up.

“I won’t fuck you, if that’s what you wish for. You don’t deserve it” they said coolly, hand reaching up to grab a fistful of your hair and yanking your head back. You knew what they meant. They desired nothing more than stuff you full, but you had really crossed the lines earlier. They had asked you to behave, the dinner you had attended was important for their carreer. And what did you do instead of sitting at their right and limiting yourself to listen and eat?

You had tried to catch their attention by flirting with their future boss.

Furious beyond your imagination, they had been taking out their frustration on you since you had stepped back into your house. You mumbled a protest, as they sat behind you and pushed you forward harshly. Your cheek met the hard wood, probably a bruise was about to form on your cheekbone, greeting you in the morning. A slap on your rear made you jolt forwards, muffled whimpers leaving your throat, until you felt them shove something deep into your pussy. Your eyes widened, the stretch leaving you out of breath as you wriggled your waist to manifest your discomfort.

“Seven inches of dildo and you whimper out like a cat in heat. Insatiable, my lil’ slut who doesn’t know how to keep her legs closed” they reasoned, slipping the toy out only to leave the bulbous tip buried into you, before slamming it back inside wholly.

Your cunt clenched around the length, sucking it in, your thighs trembling while your ears were pierced by the obscene squelching sounds of your hole being brutalized. They scoffed, spreading your ass cheeks to have a better look at the toy disappearing into your pussy, stretching it so deliciously in front of their cold eyes. You didn’t expect them to reach their hands out and untie your hands, but when they told you the reason behind that gesture, you didn’t hesitate to comply to their request.

“Keep your cheeks spread, I need to see how you cum” they ordered you, watching how your tiny hands grasped the swells of your cheeks and kept them apart for them to admire their sacrilegious work of art.

The toy was pushed back deep into you fluidly, no resistance coming from your inner walls, while your hole accomodated to its size immediately. Delight washed over your body, eyes screwed shut, whilst you bit harshly onto the rag in your mouth. You were on the brink of coming undone and they knew it. The fine art of breaking you down and building you up afterwards was thrilling. Admittedly, they awaited for you to disobey them for relinquishing the sight of you whimpering for them, sprawled over the nearest surface like a meal for them to feast on. They wondered how far they could push you before you broke. But after all it was enough.

They thrusted the dildo into you harder, stimulating your g-spot on repeat, until they spotted your arousal gushing out of your abused, wet channel, causing the dildo to sprarkle under the natural illumination provided by the satellite up in the night sky. You never disappointed them, they had to admit it. But this time, they changed their mind: you needed to learn your lesson. When your back arched, manicured nails they paid for digging onto the plush of your ass, they pulled the dildo out. A sticky mess of your arousal and their spit poured out of your opening, pooling onto the ground underneath you. You were a messy girl, panting, unsatisfied, craving your incoming orgasm. But you didn’t get to bask into the blissful feeling of the after sex sensation.

They stood up, looking down at you with disdain clouding their eyes over “Stand up, dear. It’s time to go to bed” they cooed, opening the front door behind them and watching you shoot a desperate glance at them. They ignored your cry for help, just like they neglected you when you tried to convince them to fuck you on your shared bed.

“Bitches don’t get to cum”.

characters i thought of: dracule mihawk, toji fushiguro, unohana retsu, nico robin, suguru geto, sosuke aizen, muzan kibutsuji, shinobu kocho, zoro roronoa.

credits for the heart-shaped banners: @cafekitsune

[novaursa]

Legacy (but you will fly)

- Summary: Tywin was the man who saved you from Robert's wrath. He was also the man who doomed you.

- Pairing: targ!reader/Tywin Lannister

- Note: Some events and timeline don't match canon plot.

- Rating: Mature 16+

- Previous part: under lion's gaze

- Next part: winter is coming

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @oxymakestheworldgoround @luniaxi

The wind howled through the craggy cliffs of Casterly Rock as you stood before the gaping maw of the old mine entrance, its shadow swallowing the light. The air around you was heavy, carrying with it the scent of damp stone and something older—something ancient, as if the earth itself had secrets waiting to be uncovered. Behind you, a group of Tywin’s guards stood at attention, their hands resting on their sword hilts, their expressions tense.

Tywin himself stood a few paces back, his face carved from stone. His green eyes, sharp as flint, were fixed on you as though willing you to change your mind. The wind tugged at the crimson Lannister cloak draped over his shoulders, the only movement in his otherwise immovable stance.

“You’re certain about this?” Tywin’s voice was low, measured, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.

You turned your head slightly, meeting his gaze. “I have to do this, Tywin. He’s waiting for me.”

“And what if he’s not?” Tywin shot back, his tone clipped. “You’re walking into a cavern that hasn’t been stable in years, and after that, you’re putting yourself at the mercy of a dragon.”

“He came here for me,” you replied calmly, though your heart beat like a drum in your chest. “If there’s anyone he’ll listen to, it’s me.”

Tywin took a step forward, his gaze narrowing. “I will not stand here while you disappear into the dark and risk yourself for—”

“For what, Tywin?” you interrupted, turning fully to face him. Your voice was steady, though there was a fire in it now. “This is something I was born to do. You’ve always valued pragmatism over pride. Well, now I ask you to trust me and let me do what must be done.”

Tywin’s jaw tightened, the muscles flexing as he studied you. You could see the internal war on his face—the struggle between his need to control every piece on the board and the realization that, this time, he couldn’t.

“You will not go alone,” he finally said, his tone hard as iron.

You shook your head resolutely. “No. You and your men will stay here. If you come after me, you’ll only provoke him. Viserion will sense your intentions, and that will endanger us all.”

Tywin’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “You’re asking me to stand idle while you disappear into that pit.”

“I’m asking you to trust me,” you said, softer this time, stepping closer to him. “This is something only I can do. The dragon is part of me, Tywin—just as this place is part of you. You taught me to value reason, and reason tells me that this connection cannot be ignored.”

Tywin exhaled sharply, his gaze intense as it bored into yours. Finally, after a long silence, he gave a small nod. “If you do not return in one hour, I will send men after you.”

“Agreed,” you said, though you had no intention of needing rescue.

The silence lingered between you for a moment longer, but then Tywin’s hand lifted, his gloved fingers brushing your arm—a rare, silent gesture of his concern. “Be careful,” he said, his voice softer than you expected.

You offered him a faint smile, your fingers briefly grazing over his hand. “I will.”

Turning back toward the mine, you steeled yourself as the shadows yawned before you. The guards muttered among themselves, exchanging uneasy glances as they watched you cross the threshold. The sound of your boots against the stone echoed hollowly as you descended into the darkness.

With each step, the light from the entrance dimmed further, replaced by a deep, oppressive silence. You pressed forward, your hand grazing along the cold, rough walls of the mine. Faint echoes of dripping water reached your ears, the sound almost rhythmic in the stillness.

The further you went, the stronger the feeling became—an energy humming in the air, ancient and alive. It was as if the earth itself whispered to you, beckoning you closer. The temperature shifted as you ventured deeper, the air growing warmer, the scent of smoke faint but unmistakable.

“Viserion,” you whispered into the dark, the sound of his name swallowed by the vastness of the cavern.

A low, rumbling growl reverberated through the mine, the walls seeming to vibrate with the force of it. Your breath caught in your throat, but you forced yourself to press on. A faint glow appeared ahead, flickering and dancing like firelight. You rounded a corner, and there he was.

Viserion.

The dragon lay curled in a vast chamber at the heart of the mine, his cream-and-gold scales reflecting in the dark. His massive wings were folded against his sides, and his golden eyes snapped open the moment you entered. The glow of molten fire flickered deep within them as he lifted his head, nostrils flaring as he caught your scent.

“Viserion,” you said again, your voice calm and soothing despite the thunderous pounding of your heart. “It’s me.”

The dragon let out a low rumble, the sound vibrating through your chest as he uncurled, his massive form rising. The light of his scales lit the chamber, and as he stepped closer, his hot breath washed over you.

You raised your hands slowly, palms open, just as you had done the first time. “I know you came here for me,” you whispered. “I’m here now.”

Viserion’s head dipped low, his eyes locking onto yours. For a moment, it felt as though the world fell away—there was only you and the dragon, your breaths mingling as you stood together in the heart of the earth.

Slowly, tentatively, you reached out your hand, your fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against the rough texture of his snout. Viserion stilled, the fire in his eyes dimming to something softer, something familiar.

“I understand now,” you murmured, your voice barely audible over the sound of his breathing. “You were leading me here. To what? To why?”

Viserion let out a soft growl, pressing his snout more firmly into your touch. The warmth of his presence filled you with an indescribable calm, as though the dragon itself was reassuring you that this was only the beginning.

The entrance to the mines stood like a dark, gaping maw in the earth, its shadow stretching long across the worn ground. Tywin stood a short distance from it, arms crossed over his chest, his posture rigid as a blade. His green eyes, cold and unyielding, remained fixed on the opening, as though his focus alone might summon you back from the depths.

Around him, soldiers shifted uneasily, their hands never straying far from their weapons. Despite the orders to remain calm, the whispers among the men refused to die down. Words like dragon and curse passed from one mouth to another, carried on the wind like a contagion.

Lord Mace Tyrell, never one for silence, paced restlessly nearby, his ornate cloak dragging behind him, dirtied from the long ride. He looked toward the mine entrance with growing unease, as if expecting Viserion’s colossal form to emerge at any moment.

“This is madness, Lord Tywin,” Mace muttered, finally breaking the strained silence. His voice lacked its usual bluster, replaced by a quivering edge of fear. “We sit here like sheep waiting for the wolf. She’s been in there too long.”

Tywin didn’t so much as glance at him. “The hour isn’t yet spent.”

“And what then?” Mace pressed, stepping closer. “If she doesn’t return? What if the beast turns on her—or worse, comes for us?”

Tywin finally turned his head, his gaze sharp as steel. “Then I will deal with it.”

The confidence in his tone silenced Mace for a moment, though the Tyrell lord clearly found little comfort in it. He opened his mouth again, but before he could speak, the sound of hooves pounding against the stone path reached them. All eyes turned to the road leading down from the cliffs as a column of riders emerged, banners bearing the Lannister crimson fluttering in the wind.

At the head of the party rode Kevan Lannister, his armor dulled from travel, his brow furrowed in both concern and confusion. As he drew his horse to a halt, Kevan dismounted and handed his reins to one of his men before striding toward his brother.

“Tywin,” Kevan greeted, his voice steady but guarded as he surveyed the scene before him. His sharp eyes flicked to the mine entrance, then back to his brother. “I rode straight from the Riverlands when word reached me. They’re saying… Well, they’re saying things that are difficult to believe.”

Tywin turned to face him fully, his arms lowering to his sides. “What things?”

Kevan’s gaze swept the gathered soldiers, many of whom avoided his eye. He stepped closer, lowering his voice to keep their conversation private. “Men whispering on the front lines, even in Riverrun—rumors that a dragon lives beneath Casterly Rock.”

Tywin’s expression didn’t waver, though his jaw tightened subtly. “Rumors travel faster than truth.”

“Are they rumors?” Kevan pressed, his voice carrying an edge of disbelief. “Tywin, I need to hear it from you.”

For a long moment, the two brothers stood in silence, the wind tugging at their cloaks and the distant sound of the sea filling the spaces between their words. Finally, Tywin spoke, his voice low but firm. “A dragon has taken refuge here, in the old mines.”

Kevan’s face paled, his composure slipping for a fraction of a second. “Seven hells,” he muttered, running a hand over his beard. “How is this possible? Dragons are gone—dead—nothing more than bones in the crypts of King’s Landing.”

“And yet one remains here,” Tywin replied curtly. “Alive, and very real.”

Kevan glanced toward the mine entrance again, his unease growing. “And Y/N? The men say she—”

“She is in there now,” Tywin interrupted, his voice brooking no argument. “The dragon answers to her.”

Kevan blinked, visibly struggling to process his brother’s words. “This is dangerous, Tywin. Dragons bring ruin wherever they go. You know this better than anyone.”

“I know what dragons are,” Tywin replied coldly. “And I also know that control is possible.”

Kevan scoffed softly, though there was no humor in it. “Control? You think a dragon can be controlled?”

“If anyone can do it,” Tywin said, his voice steady, “she can.”

Kevan studied his brother carefully, searching for cracks in Tywin’s impenetrable armor. “And what of the realm? What will the king say when he learns a dragon now sleeps beneath the Rock?”

“The king will know nothing,” Tywin snapped, his patience fraying. “Not until I deem it necessary.”

Kevan’s lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze flicking to the uneasy soldiers nearby. “You cannot keep this hidden forever. Dragons are not secrets, Tywin. They’re fire and fury. The world will know, sooner or later.”

“And when it does,” Tywin said, his voice like iron, “it will know that the dragon answers to the House of Lannister.”

The words hung in the air, bold and unyielding. Kevan regarded him with a mixture of awe and concern, but before he could respond, a loud, guttural rumble reverberated from deep within the mine. The ground trembled slightly beneath their feet, and the guards took an instinctive step back, their hands flying to their swords.

Tywin’s eyes snapped toward the mine entrance, his gaze narrowing. Kevan followed his brother’s line of sight, his voice low and uneasy. “And what happens when the dragon decides it no longer answers to anyone?”

Tywin didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on the dark cavern. The soldiers exchanged nervous glances, whispering among themselves, but Tywin’s face remained unreadable.

They waited in silence, the tension stretching as thin as wire. The wind carried the faint sound of something deeper—something alive shifting in the mines, a distant growl that resonated through the earth like thunder.

Tywin stood unmoved, his gaze locked on the shadows before him. If he felt any doubt, he hid it behind the impenetrable mask of a man who had spent his life commanding not only armies but fate itself.

“It won’t come to that,” he said finally, though whether he was speaking to Kevan, the soldiers, or himself, no one could say.

The cavern pulsed with an ancient energy, the air heavy with heat and the faint shimmer of dust as Viserion continued to carve into the stone with massive claws. The scraping and grinding sound echoed endlessly off the walls, accompanied by the low, resonant growl of the dragon’s breath. The dim light cast by the molten veins of the earth danced off dragon’s cream-and-gold scales, highlighting every sharp ridge and sinew of her colossal form.

You stood at the edge of the chamber, your hands braced against the rough stone wall as you watched him with growing awe and realization. What you had thought was restless movement or instinctive digging was far more deliberate. He wasn’t just clawing at the rock—he was building something.

Dragonglass.

Shards of it, black and gleaming, littered the ground around her claws. Some he pushed into neat piles, others he layered carefully against the wall, fitting them together in a way that made no sense to you at first. And then you saw it: the beginnings of a nest—a crude but unmistakable formation of obsidian, jagged yet secure, a nest only a dragon could create.

A sudden, bone-deep chill crept into your spine despite the heat of the cavern. A nest. Viserion wasn’t just here by accident—he was called here, driven by instinct older than memory. And he was not a he. The realization struck you like a blow to the chest.

“You’re not just a dragon,” you murmured, stepping closer, your voice almost swallowed by the cavernous space. “You’re a mother.”

Viserion turned her massive head toward you, molten gold eyes narrowing slightly as if she understood your words. She huffed, sending a gust of hot air over you that rattled loose stones across the floor. Her claws resumed their work, the slow, steady scraping filling the silence again.

Your hand pressed to your temple as a strange, familiar hum rose in your mind, a vibration that set your teeth on edge. The cavern blurred slightly at the edges, shadows flickering where there were none. Brynden, the name came to you unbidden—the voice that had guided you so far.

"You cannot linger. It is time to move. The dragon knows where she must go."

“Where?” you whispered sharply, your voice echoing as if the cavern itself had heard you. “Where must we go?”

Viserion paused, turning her head once more. This time, there was something expectant in her gaze, something waiting. The voice in your mind grew quieter, as though a path had already been laid and it was for you alone to take the next step.

You swallowed hard, stepping closer to her massive foreleg. “We can’t stay here, can we?” You glanced up at her golden gaze, your voice firmer now. “Then let’s go.”

Viserion rumbled low in her throat, an almost pleased sound, as she rose to her full height. Her wings unfurled slightly, brushing against the walls, and the force of it sent loose shards of dragonglass clattering to the floor. She turned her body, presenting her massive flank, and in that moment, you knew what you had to do.

Your heart hammered wildly in your chest as you moved forward, placing a trembling hand on one of her scales. The texture was harder than armor, sharper than you expected—edges of her scales caught the light like shards of a broken blade.

“Don’t throw me off, Viserion,” you murmured, trying to steady your voice as you gripped the edge of her shoulder. “I need you to trust me as I trust you.”

You hoisted yourself up, clambering awkwardly at first as you tried to find a way to mount her massive frame. Each scale was a ridge of razor-sharp edges, and they dug into your palms as you climbed. You gasped as one particularly deep edge sliced through the fabric of your gown, nicking the skin of your thigh. Warm blood dripped down your leg, but you pushed forward, biting back the sting.

The scales cut deeper as you pulled yourself into position, straddling the base of her neck. You dug your knees into the muscle below her shoulders, the ridges of her spine pressing into your thighs. Your gown was shredded by now, crimson streaks staining the torn fabric where scales had caught and bitten into your skin. Each cut burned, but you gritted your teeth, refusing to let go.

Viserion let out a sharp, commanding shriek that reverberated through the cavern like a war cry. Her wings unfurled, and for a moment, the sheer size of her power stole your breath. The ground beneath you trembled as she shifted her weight, claws scraping against stone as she prepared to take flight.

“Steady,” you whispered, pressing your palms against the scales of her neck, feeling the immense heat radiating through them. “I’m with you.”

The dragon’s massive head turned slightly, her eyes shining as she regarded you one final time. Then, with a surge of power that rattled your very bones, she pushed off the ground.

The world spun as Viserion’s wings snapped open and the cavern blurred around you. You clung tightly to her spines, your fingers digging into her scales as wind rushed past, sending your hair whipping behind you. Pain sparked where your cuts met the rush of air, but you didn’t let go. You couldn’t.

The roar of her ascent filled your ears as she powered upward, breaking free of the mine and surging into the open sky. The light of the sun struck her scales, setting her hide ablaze in brilliance. For a moment, you looked down and saw the world fall away—the Rock, the people below, all of it shrinking beneath Viserion’s shadow.

And then you looked forward, gripping tightly as the wind tore at your face. You didn’t know where she was taking you, but the voice still hummed faintly in your mind, like an unspoken promise.

High Heart.

You leaned forward against her scales, your voice low but steady. “Take me there, Viserion.”

The dragon shrieked again, wings beating with powerful purpose, and you soared into the horizon together—toward destiny, toward something far greater than either of you had yet to understand.

The moment the rumble started—a deep, bone-shaking tremor that seemed to roll through the very ground—Tywin Lannister knew something was happening. He turned his gaze toward the mine entrance, its dark mouth now alive with a faint glow. A distant roar echoed from within, low and building in intensity until it became a deafening, primal cry.

Tywin’s soldiers, hardened men who had seen countless battles, shifted uneasily. Some backed away, their hands instinctively reaching for their swords, though they knew no blade could stop what was coming. Horses nearby reared and bucked, their wild eyes rolling as the air itself seemed to vibrate with tension. The dogs brought to the site howled, pulling at their leashes, desperate to escape.

“Steady!” Tywin barked sharply, his voice cutting through the chaos. “Hold your ground!”

His words had little effect. The earth trembled again, louder now, until suddenly—a sound like thunder cracked the air. The wind whipped through the clearing as the massive form of Viserion shot forth from the mine, her wings flaring wide as she burst into the open.

“Seven hells,” someone muttered, their voice barely audible over the rush of wind and the bellowing horses.

The great dragon soared into the sky, golden-cream scales glinting in the light. Dust and loose stones scattered in her wake, blinding those closest to the entrance. Tywin took a single step back, his cloak whipping violently behind him. His guards scrambled, some throwing themselves to the ground in panic as the massive beast soared low, the wind from her wings kicking up debris.

“Out of the way!” Kevan Lannister shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the chaos.

Tywin didn’t move. He stood firm, his gaze locked on the dragon’s back, where the unmistakable figure of you sat, your pale hair whipping wildly in the wind. For a moment, it seemed as though time had stilled. You were there, one hand clutching the base of Viserion’s spines, your form small against the sheer enormity of the beast, yet unshaken.

“She’s riding it,” one of the soldiers stammered, awe and disbelief thick in his voice.

Tywin’s face was unreadable, but his fists were clenched tightly at his sides as he watched you soar overhead. Viserion let out a thunderous roar, the sound enough to send men stumbling backward, hands flying to their ears.

“Control the horses!” Barristan Selmy barked, gripping the reins of one panicked mare as others bolted, nearly dragging their handlers into the dirt. Nearby, the livestock brought as bait screamed and scattered in every direction, a frenzy of hooves and dust.

“Make way! Hold them back!” Tywin shouted, his voice carrying above the din. Guards rushed to regain order, but it was futile; the animals were beyond calming now. One horse broke free entirely, galloping wildly down the path with a terrified shriek.

Viserion angled upward with a sharp tilt of her wings, pulling higher into the sky as if to remind them all of her dominance. A few men stared up, their faces pale, while others sank to their knees in what could only be described as terrified reverence.

Tywin’s eyes never left you. He tracked your form as the dragon rose above the cliffs, your silhouette framed against the blazing sun as you disappeared toward the distant horizon.

Kevan stepped up beside him, his face ashen, his voice tight. “Tywin… she’s gone.”

Tywin didn’t respond at first. His gaze lingered on the shrinking figure in the distance, the unspoken truth hanging heavy between them. Finally, he turned sharply, his voice cold and clipped. “Order the men to regain control of the livestock and horses. I want this site cleared by sundown.”

Kevan blinked, momentarily stunned by the sudden command. “You mean to—”

“I mean to bring order back to my lands,” Tywin snapped, cutting him off. His tone left no room for debate. “This changes nothing.”

Nothing, except everything.

The men hesitated before scrambling back to their tasks, chasing after the scattered animals and pulling disoriented horses back into line. Barristan Selmy approached Tywin, his expression grim as he surveyed the chaos. “You know where she’s going,” he said quietly, his voice firm but respectful.

Tywin turned his steely gaze to Barristan. “Wherever she goes, she’ll return.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Barristan asked, unflinching.

Tywin’s jaw tightened, his face hard as carved stone. “Then I will find her. And bring her back.”

The old knight held his gaze for a long moment before nodding once. “I’ll see the men back to order.”

As Barristan turned away, Tywin allowed himself a brief, solitary moment to exhale. His hands unclenched, though the tension in his shoulders remained. The sight of you on dragonback had stirred something deep within him—something he could not yet name. Pride. Fear. Possession.

“Foolish woman,” he muttered under his breath, though the words carried no heat. He cast one last glance toward the horizon where you had disappeared, the faintest flicker of emotion crossing his face before he turned and walked away, cloak billowing behind him.

The chamber was heavy with the low murmur of voices and the faint scratching of quills on parchment. A fortnight had passed, and the absence of your return had begun to settle over Casterly Rock like a dark cloud. Tywin Lannister stood at the head of the war table, his gaze unwavering as he looked over the gathered advisors, their faces grim. Kevan Lannister sat to his left, his usual calm replaced with unease, while others—lords, scouts, and captains—exchanged wary glances.

The fire in the hearth crackled softly, its warmth doing little to ease the chill that seemed to creep through the stone walls. Reports and rumors lay scattered across the table, carried in on parchment and uncertain voices.

Kevan broke the silence first, clearing his throat. “News from the Stormlands and the North,” he began, his voice steady but low. “Stannis Baratheon is dead. His forces have broken entirely—scattered to the winds. The Florents are rallying behind Lord Mace Tyrell in gratitude for their swift deliverance. Storm’s End and Dragonstone remain secured.”

A few murmurs of approval rumbled through the room, but Tywin barely reacted, his face carved into the same stern mask he always wore. “And the North?” he asked, his voice measured but carrying the weight of command.

One of the scouts stepped forward—a wiry man with the look of someone accustomed to hardship. “Cold winds have begun to blow, my lord,” he said, his tone cautious. “Our men in the field report strange weather patterns. There’s talk… of something stirring beyond the Wall.”

“Wildling nonsense,” one of the older lords muttered dismissively, shaking his head.

Tywin silenced the man with a single glance. “What else?”

The scout shifted uneasily. “Reports from the Riverlands, my lord. Travelers and merchants say a dragon has been sighted near the ruins of Harrenhal. Others swear it was seen as far south as Fairmarket. The creature leaves no destruction in its wake—only shadow and flame in the night sky.”

The room fell silent, the weight of the words settling like lead. Tywin’s jaw tightened ever so slightly, though he betrayed no other reaction. His gaze flicked to the map spread across the table, his finger tapping near the Riverlands.

“High Heart,” he muttered under his breath, almost to himself.

Kevan heard him and frowned. “You think she’s gone there?”

Tywin’s expression remained cold, but a faint flicker of something—a calculation, a conclusion—passed through his eyes. “She spoke of it before. A place of visions, of old magic. Whatever drives her, it led her there.”

Lord Tytos Brax, an older bannerman, folded his arms, clearly skeptical. “If she’s taken the dragon to the Riverlands, my lord, then she risks making a spectacle of herself. Rumors are already spreading like wildfire. The smallfolk speak of the return of the Targaryens.”

“And who spreads those whispers, I wonder?” Tywin cut in sharply, his gaze flicking toward the gathered men. “Fear makes men reckless. Rumors of dragons bring panic. I will not allow chaos to fester while we remain uncertain of her intentions.”

Kevan hesitated before speaking. “Do you still believe she’ll return, Tywin? It’s been two weeks. Dragons… they don’t belong in chains, and neither does she.”

Tywin’s sharp gaze snapped to his brother. “She will return,” he said firmly, his voice brooking no argument. “She will not abandon her son.”

The room was quiet again, save for the faint sound of wind rattling against the windowpanes. For all of Tywin’s certainty, the tension among the men remained palpable. Doubt lingered, though none dared speak it aloud.

“And if she doesn’t?” Lord Brax pressed, unwilling to let the question go unanswered. “What then?”

Tywin turned his icy gaze on him, his voice colder than the wind from the North. “Then I will bring her back myself, like I've said.”

Kevan leaned closer, his voice low enough for only Tywin to hear. “And what if she refuses?”

Tywin’s eyes narrowed, the faintest flicker of irritation crossing his face. “She will not refuse.”

Kevan nodded slowly, though the doubt lingered in his expression. “And the boy? What happens to him if the rumors spread further? If people begin to see him as—”

“He is my son and heir,” Tywin interrupted, his voice like steel. “Damon Lannister will remain under my protection.”

The men around the table exchanged glances, the tension settling back over the room like a shroud. Tywin looked down at the map once more, his finger tracing the route through the Riverlands. His thoughts were sharp and methodical, but beneath them lingered something deeper—something he would never admit aloud. A flicker of unease. Of frustration.

“She’ll come back,” he repeated quietly, as if reassuring himself more than anyone else. “She knows where she belongs.”

The chamber was quiet for a long moment before Tywin turned to the scout. “Double the patrols near the Riverlands. If the dragon is sighted again, I want a report immediately. No one speaks of this beyond these walls.”

“Yes, my lord,” the scout said quickly, bowing before retreating from the chamber.

Tywin straightened, his posture unyielding as he turned back to his gathered men. “This meeting is concluded. See to your tasks.”

The lords and captains filed out, their footsteps echoing down the stone hallways as the great doors closed behind them. Kevan lingered a moment longer, watching his brother carefully.

“You don’t truly know if she’ll return, do you?” Kevan asked quietly.

Tywin didn’t look at him as he replied, his voice steady and resolute. “No. But she is mine. And I know that much.”

With that, Tywin turned on his heel, his cloak sweeping behind him as he strode toward the window. Beyond the thick glass, the skies stretched endlessly toward the Riverlands, where whispers of dragons and shadows waited to be brought to heel.

[dragongirlpoet]

Dark Signs 2

Pt I I Pt III

Alucard x you

Synopsis: You asked Alucard for a favour. Now you have to be careful what you wished for. "To be born a dhampir is to be born a monster" - Vampire Hunter D

TW: Dark fantasy, horror & gore elements, blood, SMUT (Alucard is feral in this one) Explicit 🔞 I Words: 3.5k

Also to @skychaser777 hope you can sleep after this 😉

The hollow stone walls echoed my shaky breaths, caving them in, the thumping of my heart violent in my ears. My skin was pricked with goosebumps, foreboding dire dwellings. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Absurd question, considering everything was inherently far from right. 

There had only been one instance where I felt unsafe with Adrian. 

Located in the underbelly of Wallachia was a forgotten catacomb, a labyrinth where the dead and undead alike convened. I had been extracting bile from slaughtered night creatures, told to render powerful salves when mixed with mint, myrrh and…other herbs. 

Body sticky with sweat and hands grimy from reaching into revolting guts, I was almost to my fifth vial when a guttural growl stopped me dead in my tracks. 

From the marrows of a tunnel, a numbing cold, laced with strangled gnawing, reverberated through the passageways.

Every fibre of my being told me to run, alas I had all but the impudence of a child. Unsheathing my iron dagger, ensorcelled to wound even the most vile, I treaded warily towards my impending doom.  

The sight that awaited me was sickening. Crouched over bodies upon bodies of night creatures was a pallid, mangled man? His face was buried in their carcasses, marring at their flesh, lapping at their blood. 

Before I could take another breath, the man turned, face smeared with ravaged viscera and foul, curdled blood. He had hair like the purest wisps of wheat and eyes like dark, desecrated graves. 

I choked back a gasp.

“You foolish, foolish girl. You are not prepared for the evil that lurks here, feeds here..” his bellow was deafening, diabolical. Blood spilled from his fangs, splaying his torso tainted with innards and rotten flesh.

“Wh..who are…you?” I paced backwards as he stalked towards me.

“You don’t know who I am? Most fascinating…” he offered a smile so sinister, as if he had stumbled upon the most naive of fools he was soon to devour.

“I am the sun…rain…the darkness. I am sin made flesh and I am whom you should most fear. I am Alucard, son of Vlad Dracula Tepes.”

A loud “smash” rattled through the room as I retreated into our wooden dresser, knocking over a prized hourglass Alucard so often used to practise his script. The pair of glowering molten eyes trailed me — never blinking, burning caverns into my soul. 

I shifted my gaze downwards to avoid stepping into glass, but that was regrettably the least of my worries. Lifting my stare, those eyes were gone — quick as spectres passing through dimensions. 

Our chamber fell into a boundless black, and my human sight could not adjust acutely enough to the darkness. I flailed my arms about willing to grasp onto anything that could give me some bearing. Anxiety crept through me like poison ivy ensnaring a forsaken home. 

“Adrian? Stop this please! This isn’t funny.” The volatile rhythm of my heart suddenly became too loud, too unbearable. 

No amount of breaths could repress my violent trembling. A faint flicker from the corner caught my eye — Alucard’s heirloom sword. If his magical estoc was there…he is still in the room with me. 

The hairs on my arms shot up, little by little.

Out of nowhere, forceful, ice cold hands prised around my throat, yanking me out of my state of terror. From behind, Alucard, voice grave like a thousand infernal souls, growled into my ear, 

“Do you understand the gravity of what you’re asking?”

Whether it was fear or the vice-like grip around my neck, I couldn’t speak.

“Answer me.” 

He clamped tighter.

”Ye…yesss,” I wasn’t telling a lie. 

“Then let’s finish what we started, shall we?”

One minute I was in Alucard’s death grip, the next I was shoved, hard, into the stone wall, my face chafing against the abrasive mortar. I winced at the pain.

“You’re hurting me, Adrian!” 

Behind, he tightened his grip on my wrists, binding them into the small of my back. 

“Am I? Ohh…but you like danger, don’t you?...His other hand reached down to unfasten his pants, his erect cock sliding out… “You are drawn to the darkness, just as I am.” 

He trailed the words up and down my neck, pausing ever so subtly to savour the scent of blood in my veins. 

A small bead of sweat started trickling down my face…no, no, it was blood — from my collision with the wall.

Alucard went eerily still again. I felt a shift in his countenance, like a malevolent cloud obliterating sunshine. 

He was hungry.

With one knee, he forced my legs apart and hauled my nightdress up, my backside fully exposed. I could feel the tip of his length against my rear — throbbing, impatient. He snaked his hands all over my naked body, grabbing at my breasts, digging into my thighs. 

The scent of my blood set his every carnal need aflame. 

Adrian had always been prudent — he would excuse himself at the slightest scent of my exposed blood, isolating himself in the castle dungeons for hours, as if he deserved it. Deserved to be punished for his beastly urges, deserved to be condemned for being born a monster. 

Every blood-month I had would send him away for days — “I don’t want to hurt you. You’ve seen what I become when I feed… I’ll just be hunting, it’d be just a few days, and your cycle would end when I’m back,” he would say with a smile. A sad smile.

And I was utterly tired and heartbroken that my Adrian, so kind and full of love, would admonish himself, rip his spirit to shreds, for a fate that had been unfairly handed to him. I was going to end this, tonight.

Alucard nuzzled his face into my hair, taking in all my smells, heaving. His body was unyielding against mine — elegant marble against bewitching velvet. I could hear his vampiric heartbeat ringing in his ears, drowning out all sense of reason. He was an animal in heat. 

“You know I cannot control myself around you. And you know what your blood does to me… Do you know how long I haven’t fed?” 

His writhing cock was brandishing my cunt, starving for my hole.

“Do you know I think about what it’s like to have your blood in my veins? How much I want it, need it, desire it. 

How much I want my blood in you. And you ask this of me, tonight, when I’m sitting at the precipice of hunger and lust…”

There was a sharp intake of breath. 

“Hmmm you don’t know what’s coming for you. Once I do this there’s no turning back. 

Do you know how long I’ve been holding out for you? To be better for you. And now you ask this of me…”

At that he yanked at my hair, forcing my head to fall back. The red trace on my cheeks bowed complete to his mercy. 

Staring defiantly into his eyes, I said, “Do it, Adrian. I want you to.” 

Danger, danger.

A devious smile tugged at his lips. Alucard skimmed my neck with his mouth, bruising it with reckless kisses and parlous nips. He moved precariously to suck at the aquamarine veins running down my breasts, licking slow circles about my nipples. He was a wolf dallying with his food. 

A true vampire, hedonistic even in the slightest of pursuits, moving inevitably to the blood trail. He had waited so long for this. 

Alucard pushed his lips delicately into my face, afraid of spilling even the smallest of drops. My blood was a sacred river, a bath of worship he would praise forever. Shaking, he ravened the scarlet off my face, sucking at the open cut, willing for more. 

He was a mixture of muffled moans and enthralled ecstacy.

It was exhaultant. I adored being able to give Adrian what he most craved. 

Drinking in more than necessary, the whites of his eyes were no longer — entire sockets now overtaken with crepuscular crypts darker than the blood moon that hung outside.

Alucard’s cock twitched beneath me, length growing harder and bigger by the second. Grunting, he pumped his sex and slid it against my pussy. I was light-headed with anticipation, but he had merely fondled my folds, prodding at my entrance, testing to see how wet I was.

Perhaps he had been right. Perhaps a dissolute part of me yearned for the darkness, but what I’d wanted most of all was to know that I had years, centuries — immortality, to be with Adrian. 

Head over my shoulder with eyes like lacquered obsidians, he interlaced his fingers with mine, bringing them down to press at my clit. Flagging off from my most sensitive spot, he traced them up my body, slowly, torturously. 

“I wonder…” fingers caressing my abdomen… “how far up…” I gasped as he adjusted them higher… “my cock will go when I’m deep inside you…” Alas settling on a spot above my navel.

A sacred river spawned between my legs. 

Incapable of restraint any longer, I reached back to stroke his shaft, thumb stimulating his tip until his pre-load creamed my fingers. I lathered his fluids, relishing in the feel of his hallowed flesh tethered to my hands. 

“Fuuuck.” Alucard bristled against my touch, face buried in my neck. Below, he was thrusting at my entrance, not yet entering, readying me for his carnal devotion. 

”Adrian please, I need you. I want you inside…”  

His last thread of resolve snapped. He rammed his boner into me from behind, stretching me, engulfing me. My tender walls were a haven to his brutal thrusts, welcoming him in. Cock barely to his hilt, he spread my bottocks apart, plunging his engorged member in. 

“Ahh…ahh…” I whimpered, hands braced on the wall. 

“How are you still so tight…” he hissed, enraged he couldn’t yet feel all of me.

My fingers weaved into his hair, tugging as I leaned further back into him. This feral urge, I craved it. It was scarce enough to satiate the searing lust in me, so I ground impiously against his length like the unholy girl he wanted me to be. 

Tonight, he was to have his way. He was the nefarious overlord and I was but a malleable zealot. My hips were firmly held down by his hands — he wanted to control my rhythm. I was, afterall, his submissive little prey. 

Alucard forced his cum-stained fingers into my mouth, swirling them about the insides of my cheeks, wresting in and out of my plush lips. I licked at them greedily, suckling on his taste. He was so deft — hands and length penetrating me in a lyrical sync, sating me above and below.

I gagged when he stuck his fingers further down, my throat wedging tight. Tears rimmed my eyes but I continued hollowing my cheeks, head bobbing. “Such a good girl…” praising as he brushed hair off my face. I was to appear immaculate while being fucked indecent.

Hypnotised by his bulge assaulting my hole, I bit sinfully on his index, tearing his skin. He pulled out from my mouth, eyes transfixed on the blot of blood. 

“You’re being a naughty little lamb tonight…” His smile was insidious, like a serpent suffocating its meal.

My vampire smothered his blood over my parted lips. My tongue grazed over it, wiping it clean like I was the one writhing in blood lust. What I did had Alucard under a powerful spell. He plummeted his smug into me, our kisses heedless, crashing into each other in depraved lust. 

We sucked and bit them swollen, both of us unrestrained and shameless of our monstrous love. Under, he continued hammering his heat into me, hand pushing my cunt back to swallow more of him.

Alucard was never one to trifle with a perfect opportunity. Hands at his favourite spot, he rubbed his digits forcefully at all the places his cock didn’t already fill. My knees buckled at once from overstimulation. 

“Stay.” He landed a firm smack onto my soaking sex… “Still.”

“Or I won’t let you cum.” An order.

He bent me over, my backside raised to allow him easy entry. I compelled my wobbly legs to stand, muscles quivering at my bones.

“Good. Hands on the wall.” 

Like his obedient little lamb, I hoisted my arms on the cold stone, squeezing taut around my feral wolf.

I was begging, moaning his name, my being in complete disarray.

Content with how tight I was clenching around his shaft, Alucard drove his erection mercilessly into me, pounding so hard I was lifted off the ground. 

I cried out in pleasure and pain. “Adrian! Adrian please…”

“You like it when I’m rough with you, baby? You want me to turn you, and fucking you senseless comes with it,” he spat in between thrusts, dragging hair away from my ears to ascertain I could hear him loud and clear. 

I was so deliciously filled my lewdness spilled out onto my legs. Paths of sweet nectar trickled down my trembling thighs, glazing his girth with my wicked desire. 

I was so close.

Smelling my arousal and imminent climax, Alucard slammed faster into me, his own pace losing cadence. 

We were so close. 

He had everything timed perfectly. Just as he had countless times before — night creatures and wild animals — all unsuspecting pawns to his blood thirst. He was adept at hiding his deplorable little secret, but I knew better. 

Fangs fully exposed, he grazed them masterfully over my neck, humming at my veins and arteries. Quite like a skilled chef discerning food, he was choosing which would taste most exquisite. My scarlet vessels were pulsing in tempo with my heartbeat — palpitating, quivering, waiting.

“Are you frightened? I can feel your terror in my bones…” villainy laced his snarl like a wolf finally rid of sheep’s clothing. 

I had to inhale gulps of air to articulate my words, “No….” But what I said or what I thought mattered no longer. Gone was Adrian — human, moral, benign. A bestial, debased monster, instead, all consumed him. 

Soulless eyes searched me once more, as if to forewarn me about my perilous decision, as if the human in him was straining to break free of his chains to stop this atrocity.

There was no turning back now.

I offered my neck to him, reckless, bloodstreams on full display. At last, with Alucard’s throbbing cock still stuffed full inside, I felt the firestorm in my core and the crushing torrent soon overcame me. 

My release tonight felt different — cathartic. I was once again the delicate driftwood being dragged underwater — careless, aimless, going where the current took me. My limbs fell limp at my sides, my spirit devoid of vigour. And I knew why. 

Alucard’s fangs were buried in my neck, drinking my blood as if a divine offering. When did he bite me? I felt no pain, only a rapture so heavenly I ached for more. 

And so drink he did. Rivers of blood coated his lips, crimson tributaries surging down his throat. He sucked and lapped at my vital spark, clawing at my body so arduously as if I was the most cherished jewel of immeasurable value. 

Like a vampire deprived of debauchery, he drank me in like sweet sin. He had no beginning and no end. And rightfully so. I was profoundly proud of my Adrian. At long last, he no longer had to be ashamed of who he was. He was liberated. He was free. 

My racing heart was now a supine hum. I lay naked — pliant and frozen in his arms. The sleepy swell of the ocean lulled me into the black nothingness. I was rising and falling, so in harmony with the current.

Above, hazy sunbeams fractioned the waves like sparkling diamond necklaces. Beneath, the sombre abyss tugged at my essence, diffusing all manner of light. The ominous depth, though a macabre embrace, was one so full of promise. It was beckoning to me, calling my name — stay, stay, stay…

—

I awoke to a pall of infinite blackness. 

I had been dreaming. There were shadows — silhouettes, of people I couldn’t quite make out. They were whispering, a sonnet of hurried voices, as if going somewhere, but nowhere at the same time. Then there was a lambent flame — the colour of pale amber, always in the distance but never near. Always tailing, always watching…

Where was I? 

I could see nothing, hear nothing. I shifted slightly, and my shoulders were met by cool textile — silk? As more of my senses reconciled, I felt the mattress below me, a satiny divan not reminiscent of my bed. Muted was the air, hollow was the roof, and

…algid was my skin. 

I was in a coffin.  

Panic coiled through the ridges of my ribs, puncturing my heart like lethal thorns. I clawed and pounded at the wood…was I buried alive?

Alas, like the caves of hell being vaquished by divine light, the casket slid open, and I clambered onto a sprawling granite floor. I was heaving, frantic to take in air, clamouring at my chest as if ghostly hands were crushing my heart, splintering my valves. 

Where was Adrian?

A succession of torches adorned the upper vaults, the mellow ebb of light suddenly becoming glaring to my eyes, as if I had been staring directly at the sun. I could make out the phosphorescent ripples and saffron hues that wreathed the flames. 

The air smelled vaguely of mildew and crumbling concrete, while the scampering of rodents in between masonry thundered in my ears. I could hear them squeaking, the sounds of their bones compressing while they squeezed through cracks and crevices. 

I could hear their heartbeats — tiny surges of blood in their capillaries. 

Such fragile little things, I wonder what they’d feel when they’re crushed by the force of my teeth. If they’d feel pain, if any at all, as I drain them dry…

I was so, so hungry. 

My awareness had heightened ten-fold, the anarchy of it all confounding whatever human that was left in me. The sensation of everything all at once was too much to bear and I covered my ears to drown out the distress. 

Futile efforts indeed. 

“Adrian? Adrian…” My voice hoarse from wheezing.

Was this what he had to endure? Being so akin with the presence of entirety, enough to render one insane. Was this why he had been so loath to turn me?

I hauled myself off the ground, bidding my legs to what looked to be a door. Scarce a blink had passed than I was face to face with a metal threshold — intricate lineations etched faintly onto the frame. 

“Willing blood of the Raven Maiden,” — Enochian, words of ancient bygone, but Adrian and I had been avid philologists.

I didn’t concern myself with whether the translation had in fact referred to my blood, but I sank my fangs — a lurid extension — into my wrist and smeared them over the threshold. 

The magicked portal transported me to a bed chamber, a former bed chamber, now resembling the crux of a dense forest.

Creepers cleaved through stone, while poison vines slivered across furniture. Rich moss clung to the bed frame, eating away at the tulle canopy, embedding itself into rotted linen.

That chaise…it was ours. 

Horror flooded my senses as I glanced furtively around. 

Our armoire, our settee, our desk. 

Strewn across the floor, some shredded by tree roots dissecting the wooden panelling, lay stacks of disintegrating parchment like remnants of forgotten lore.

Vampiric speed overtaking, my eyes scanned the moth-eaten pages over. 

“Come back to me.”

“Come back to me.”

“Come back to me.”

I choked on my tears. 

“To be born a dhampir is to be born a monster.”

They fell like glass, shattering on the ink, eroding the paper more.

How long had I been asleep for?

“No, no, no…”  I wept into the emptiness, anguish imprisoning my lungs, blocking off air. In spite of being undead, I had a heart, and it bled — it bled crimson, pain and grief. It bled with all the words I wished I could take back. 

It bled with all the ache that I might never see Adrian again. 

I scoured the castle. Every tower, every room, every dungeon, each a shell of its former mirth. The scenes ran parallel  — overgrown foliage, wrecked furnishings, pillars atrophied by decay. Our home had been eaten away by the curse of time. There was no sign of life, no essence of Adrian. 

With a threshing hole in my heart, I raced past the lattice of abandon toward the main doors. As the iron portcullis lifted, I recoiled at the hell that awaited me. 

There, in the blistering winter, impaled upon rows and rows of stakes, dangled festering corpses of night creatures…and humans. 

What have I done?

Pt I I Pt III

[0bticeo]

lurk | feyd rautha

part 3 of five. (part 1.) (part 2.) (part 4.)

summary:

the baron is chuckling. you feel it coming, the sense of doom, in the way the court holds its breath, in the flash of uncertainty in the na-baron’s eyes.

“i have another gift for you.”

“her.”

you.

wc: 4k.

tw: blood, gore, possessive feyd rautha, bene gesserit shenanigans, determinism but make it sexy, bit of knife play, blood play, wound fucking, fingering, oral (fem recieving), somewhat sub feyd, breeding, inkpie, brief mention of cockwarming.

you’re kneeling. or rather, two guards are forcing you down on your knees, fingers digging in the meat of your shoulder until they reach the bone. you hold back a wince. 

you fail. 

your breath is heavy, stuttering little gasps leaving your lips with droplets of blood. your left side is on fire, each inhale pure, agonizing torture. use the voice and they’ll kill you.

you’re kneeling before baron vladimir harkonnen in his personal chambers, in a tattered robe. it’s filthy, the way he looks at you like you’re prized meat.

you bare your teeth.

“such defiance, atreides.” from the murky depths of his bath, he tilts his head. volutes of smoke escape his parted lips, slithering towards you. “tell me, why should i let you live?”

careful. 

plans within plans within plans. you can’t let your feeble control over the situation escape you. inhale. choke on your scream - like hell you’ll show him your pain.

“if i weren’t useful to your plans, i would be dead.”

an image flashes in your mind’s eye. a spider woven out of human flesh, the mangled bodies of harkonnen prisoners frankensteined together. barely alive. an eternity of torment.

the baron laughs, a deep, cavernous rumbling. it fills the penumbra, fills you with dread. your shoulders tense - nervous impulse. you’re not in control.

“fair enough.” he inches forward, the gigantic mass of him rippling through filthy waters. “where is your brother?”

pain. it ripples through you, sinks its claws in your chest and freezes there, a sinking weight. you can’t breathe. you push through.

“he’s already given his last breath to the sands of arrakis.”

“how would you know?”

“dreams.”

the answer escapes your gritted teeth with frightening rapidity. good. let him think pain clouds your judgment. let him see you as weaker than you really are. 

one of the guards tightens his hold, forces you to stand straight. blood drips down your lip. you will not scream.

“dreams?”

the subtle narrowing of his eyes. a quirk of his lip. disbelief. intrigue.

“i’ve followed my mother’s footsteps.” 

“ah, lady jessica.” 

keep her name out of your mouth. 

he leans back in the bathtub. silence settles. stretches. stretches. he’s pensive, the baron. his lips wrap at the end of the pipe, mouth like a maw swallowing it, releasing acrid smoke that burns you. spice.

(visions. shai hulud deemed your brother worthy. on they go. march south or die. maybe the sands haven’t consumed him yet.) 

nervous exhaustion settles in. they haven’t treated your wounds. it takes every ounce of energy to remain conscious, every inch of pride to will your muscles to stop trembling. your vision blurs at the edges.

“i’ll ask again, atreides. why should i let you live?”

bastard. you’re on your last legs. he has you cornered. 

“because you’d have to kill your heir if you don’t.”

now that catches his attention.

“go on.”

careful. there’s a thin line between usefulness and danger. do not step on the wrong side.

“he’s recognized me in the arena."

the ghost of his touch against the wicked scar of your forearm. the flash of a grin, black teeth like a promise inked at the back of your skull.

you fought well, atreides.

behind your back, your nails dig into your palms. 

“he’ll ruin you.”

“is that so?”

skepticism. amusement.

“do you think it wise to try and find out, baron?”

silence. fate looms over you. spins its web in the calculated gaze of the baron, gaze like cold steel cutting through you. 

your life is in his hands and he relishes in it. in having you, half bare before him, chest heaving with each stuttering breath, red darkening the black of your dress.

you watch him lick his lips and shiver with disgust.

“do you think it wise to threaten me when i have wiped your house from the surface of the known galaxy?”

oh, right on a silver platter.

your mouth drips shadows as you bare your teeth in a grin.

“only because you were backed up by the imperium and its sardaukar.” you cough. blood drips on the ground. “you were a pawn, and that scum of an emperor could deem you a threat, too.”

a beat.

he’s smiling.

“you’ll be of use, atreides.” 

a wave of his hand.

the guards move. drag you up until you’re standing on faltering legs. defiant, still. breath ragged, panting, blood pooling at your feet. you feel soiled, with the way the baron looks at you, eyes dragging down to your womb.

there’s a commotion behind you. you still. in your state, you’ve neglected to analyze your surroundings, only focusing on the biggest threat in the room. you didn’t take into account the harkonnen court behind you. atreides. the baron practically signed your death. 

shit.

your vision is darkening in the corners.

“i ought to drown you in that tub.”

feyd-rautha, voice a low growl borne out of primal fury. feyd-rautha, in dark robes, shadow among shadows. you catch the slow twitch of his pale hand, the instinctual gesture of nerves calling for a familiar blade. to kill or protect, you do not know.

the guards freeze. you’re left there, struggling to stand, sweat dripping down your back with the effort of staying upright. how utterly humiliating. 

“do not be hasty, my dear nephew.”

a ripple. the baron is chuckling. you feel it coming, the sense of doom, in the way the court holds its breath, in the flash of uncertainty in the na-baron’s eyes.

“i have another gift for you.”

“her.”

you. 

one step, two, until he’s facing you. 

he snarls at the guards. they let go of you. you collapse, only stopped from slamming upon the marble floors by two strong arms. 

he’s pulling you in his chest, arm wrapping around your waist. you shudder, nerves alight with the instinctual need to get away from this place, from the baron’s lecherous’ stare, from the court’s bloodlust. 

i must not fear. fear is the mind killer. fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. i will face my fear-

you don’t realize you’ve been shaking until a hand settles at the back of your head. warm. comforting. rubbing small circles in your scalp until you relax, if only by a fraction. he won’t let them harm you - you know it, deep in your soul. 

“yes, her.” dismissive. “and a bigger one. arrakis.”

you feel it, the way the na-baron’s body tenses, the ripple of the hard planes of his chest under the soft silk of his clothes. anticipation. unease. you press your cheek to his heart, listen to the erratic pulse of it.

“what about rabban?”

“he has failed to protect the spice production.”

paul. your fingers clench in your palm, piercing the skin.  

“tame arrakis feyd. free the spice, and i’ll make you emperor.”

you still. he who controls the spice has ultimate power over the known galaxy. power is power. knowledge is power.

“how?”

“use me.”

they still. rapt attention falls upon you. your fingers dig into the na-baron’s forearm like a vice to remain upright.

“if the great houses were to learn that the emperor ordered an entire house to be wiped out, they would question his authority. rebel. wage war until one comes on top.” you swallow blood. “you’ll have me as a living witness and weapon.”

“a weapon, huh?”

feyd-rautha looks down at you. there’s something awfully calculating in the way he assesses you, in the way his fingers curl over your hip - possessive. protective.

the baron rises by a fraction, mephistopheles bargaining.

“will you side with us, atreides?” 

you let out a shaky breath. laughter. you’re laughing at him, at the absurdity of the situation - you, last of your house, striking a deal with the devil for revenge.

“i will. i only ask for one thing in return - the emperor’s head.”

the baron’s gaze is riveted to you. he nods. bargain sealed.

“this must not leave this room.”

feyd-rautha springs into action, blades drawn out of their sheaths before the baron finishes his sentence.

bodies fall. 

carnifex. the butcher. oh, he’s gorgeous, feyd-rautha, twin blades slicing through gaping throats, droplets of blood landing on his pale cheek. 

the baron immerses himself in that wretched bath, until it’s only you and the apex predator that is him.

you take a step forward. two. three. until you’re facing him, slowly raising your hand. the motion alone has you gasping for breath. still, you persist, until your fingers settle on his cheek, thumb wiping away at the gore sprayed there. 

he leans into your touch, eyes half-lidded, nuzzling in your palm. his own hand cradles yours, warm, smearing blood on your skin. his lips press against your palm, against the many half-moons your nails have left in their wake. 

“come, my little atreides,” he mutters. “you need medical attention.” 

his eyes sink into yours, magnetic, all consuming. they dart to your parted lips, to the blood coating them. he leans in, breath like fire upon your soul, upon your awaiting mouth. 

your breath stutters.

oh.

“catch me, feyd.”

you fall. 

.

.

.

fall until you stand in the desert of arrakis. paul has his back turned to you, silhouette burning bright in your retina. corpses. they’re burning, all of them, and with the stench of sun-charred flesh rises a litany. lisan al gaib. 

lead them to paradise.

you want to scream. you want to reach out for cruel fate and rip her asunder with your bare hands until that twisted future is no more.

you do not know whether your brother is the kwisatz haderach. you do not know if there is a kwisatz haderach, what’s with the missionaria protectiva’s wretched tale.

warmth seeps in your womb, the gentle press of a lover’s hand. you do not know if the child you’ll bear will be the one. 

desert sands slips from your fingers.

you just want your family back. 

**

feyd doesn’t expect it, the moment you collapse in his arms with a whispered plea. still, he catches you. slides his arms under the back of your knees and pulls you close, where he knows no harm would come to you.

who would possibly dare to cross him? 

warmth spreads across his hand. blood, he realizes. your wound, that vicious strike of his hasn’t been treated. fury washes over him, gaping maw sinking in his heart. it is vicious, too, that fury.

it tells him of blood and death and destruction. death to the baron. death and misery upon those who’ve wronged you - doesn’t matter if he has to face the sardaukar, for he is legion. 

the hallways are empty. servants have long deserted the baron’s quarters, knowing not to disturb him. good. no one must know of your presence here. 

he looks down at you, at your wan face, at the blood dripping down your chin, spreading, spreading down your throat. 

he cannot let you die. 

he cannot compromise himself more than he already has by threatening the doctors to kill them should you die in their hands. he leaves you in their care and strides back to his own chambers. they’ll notify him of your condition. 

you, last atreides left standing. you, with your sharp wit, sharp blade and sharper smile. you, feral, snarling at him in the arena. you, hands dipped in ink darker than black, spreading it over his back. 

he had felt your warmth, back then. felt the softness of your skin on his, shivered as you ran over his deltoids, down to the rib - lower. each and every one of his nerves, raw, exposed, yearning for your touch. 

there had been a beat, a split second of hesitation on your part. blood calls for blood, and his house has spilled so much of your blood. it would have been easy for you to take a hold of his blade and sink it in his exposed back. 

he almost wanted you to do it.

(he had tilted his head, back then, a low growl leaving his lips at the mere thought of it. he could almost taste it, your sheer want.)

he, na-baron feyd-rautha harkonnen, lets his guard down, as if waiting for you to strike. why is that? 

his steps do not lead him to a place of honor. too much blood has been spilled in this palace - a tribute to harkonnen nature, really. verses upon verses of hymns interwoven with gore and the acrid scent of enemies torn asunder by their blades. hellish epics to those who died bloody.

retribution is second nature - and he expects it from you.

then why is he so soft around you?

you’re still an atreides. your only worth to his uncle as of now resides in this precise fact - that you remain a witness to your house’s demise. a hidden blade, ready to be sunk in the emperor’s back. 

his steps slow. 

there’s something.

you, standing in the arena, raising your head, voice distorted and hoarse, thousands of your foremothers screaming in righteous fury.

you will not perceive me as i am.

he hadn’t, not until his fingers met the jagged ends of your scar. 

a bene gesserit trick.

“are you lost, my lord na-baron?”

a silhouette in the shadows, shrouded in veils. he can only make out a smile - sweet, charming. not enough to conceal the sharpness beneath. witch. 

he remains silent. 

“what will you do with lady atreides?”

his resolve weakens. here, in the dead silence of the hall, he speaks:

“she will be mine.” a beat. the nervous twitch of his fingers, aching for a blade. “is it not what you intended, witch?”

he knows she is smiling, the bene gesserit facing him. 

plans within plans within plans. atreides, harkonnen, corrino, dozens of great houses and they’re none the wiser.

“it was.”

**

none of it is real, it is all an illusion - your touch is wrong, your judgment unjust, faltering. dreams have meaning, this must be one. you can still taste the sands of arrakis, hear the screams of the billions of people starving, begging-

you rise in your bed - information flashes.

a bed. bandages wrapped tightly around your side. harsh, cold walls. antiseptic. blood - a medical wing. 

feyd rautha.

you startle. he’s watching you, head slightly tilted to the side. assesses you still, gaze raking over the thin fabric of the covers.

his gaze is free to roam the expanse of your bare throat, to trail down to the dips of your collarbones, to the swell of your naked breasts. you shiver.

“is the sight to your liking, my lord na-baron?”

a chuckle like a rattlesnake. he steps closer, until he’s all but hovering above you, hand lightly pressing down on the mattress below.

“will you have me, my wife?”

you blink.

“we’re not-”

his fingers run up your wrist, press against the long scar marring your forearm. 

“does it truly matter? you were made to be mine.” slowly, he sinks to his knees, glacier eyes smoldering in the penumbra. “and i was made to be yours.”

generations of prefect planning for this - you, last atreides left standing, and him, feyd rautha harkonnen, alone in the same room, bred for one another, for the kwisatz haderach to be conceived.

you raise your hand, cradling his cheek.

“have me, feyd-rautha.”

he presses a kiss to your palm, your inner wrist. he grins, black teeth like a gaping maw ready to sink into the marrow of you. your pulse jumps at that, rabbit-quick against the thin skin of your wrist. he feels it, with the way his thumb presses down on the delicate flesh. 

his hand slithers under the covers, drags them down, until your side is completely exposed. he presses a kiss there, too, on the stitched up wound at your side. it’ll scar. a living, breathing reminder of him, of the kiss of his blade on your skin. the weapon is in his hand before you know it, slicing through bandages.

you feel his breath before you feel the press of his lips on your side. you gasp, fingers reaching for him, digging in his nape.

his tongue meets raw flesh, teeth worrying at the stitches until they snap. his nail rakes the cut, spreads its edges apart until liquid warmth blossoms at your side, trickling down your ribs. 

you scream.

his lips slam against your own. warm. scorching. bruising. he presses himself to you like he wants to sink in the marrow of you and taste.

your hand raises to his chest, a meek press against his heart, fingers weaving with the velvet shadows of his jacket. 

closer.

he growls. low, primal, needy. pushes his fingers in the gaping wound at your side - white hot pain surges through you. your mind grows blank. agony never felt so sweet. 

your lips part in a cry - he swallows it down with greedy laughter. 

you feel him smile against your lips, tongue reaching out for yours. heavy. you bring him closer. his hand twists, index curling up. you think he wants to reach your heart and never let go.

“feyd-”

he stills. nips at your lip one last time, backing away. a spider-web string of saliva links you both. he brings his fingers to his mouth, tasting you with a low hum. desire curls inside your lower belly.

“more,” you beg.

“where?”

you take his hand, bring it between your thighs, face heating up. he’s laughing, feyd rautha, the tip of his blood-soaked fingers brushing your cunt. 

you gasp at that, at the way he spreads you apart, sinks into you with shameless abandon. you whine as you feel his fingers curl oh so sweetly.

he’s watching you. leaning closer and closer, until you can feel his breath on your inner thigh, until- 

until his lips press against your heat, tongue lapping at you. you mewl, hand pressing him closer, nails sinking into his nape. you feel him growl against you, a low, needy sound as he tastes you, consumes you, tongue flicking against your clit.

something’s building in you, agonizingly warm, blistering fire spreading over your skin. a low vibration.

he’s purring, you realize, eyes closed in bliss as he laps at you, tongue delving into you, your essence running down his chin. you bite your lip until you taste blood. 

it’s all too much.

the way his fingers have you keening his name like holy prayer. the way his tongue burns a path of desire over your slit, skilled little licks having you thrash in his grip, the low vibration of his purr having you squirming in his grasp. his free hand tightens around your thigh, pulls you closer. 

his gaze flits to yours, glacier eyes melting under the weight of his desire. 

you cum with a whine of his name, a plea for him to stop, to give you more, to please please please, keep touching you. 

his eyes roll in the back of his skull at that. at the sight of you, lips parted in sinful euphoria, head thrown back under a tidal wave of pleasure. more. he needs more.

he grasps your hand, presses it against the length of his clothed cock, hard, throbbing, yearning for your touch.

“will you have me?”

“yes.”

as it was meant to be. him and you, bodies pressed so close nothing could come between the two of you, your nails digging in his back as he eases himself into you with a low hiss of pleasure.

him, pressing his lips in the crook of your neck, teeth nibbling at the tender flesh as his hips slowly rock into you.

“mine,” he growls, forehead against yours, picking up his pace until you’re gasping for breath. “mine.”

you close your fingers around his. press a kiss to his lips - you’re so full, so delectably full, your legs crossing over his lower back, driving him closer still.

his teeth break your skin, your lips painted over in blood. the sight has him moaning, reaching out between your legs to rub at your clit until you’re keening his name.

his release follows yours - he groans your name in the crook of your neck, hips stuttering madly against yours. 

your breaths mingle - two pieces of the same puzzle slotting against one another. complete. you’re whole, pressed against the broad expanse of his chest, his cock settled snugly in your pussy.

you can almost feel it, the satisfied smile of the reverend mother. an heir has been secured, deep in the confines of your womb, growing, second after second. a boy - the kwisatz haderach.

that wretched eons long plan doesn’t matter. not now, not when you run your knuckles against the sharp edge of his jaw, marveling at him.

“mine,” you mutter.

taglist: @kpopnstarwars @jaiuneamesolitaiire

[sitepathos]

I just thought of something. What if everything happened as usual with the kidnapping and torture, but it lasts for weeks before Alfred comes back and Reader turned into Deadpool and went on a rampage, killing criminals and yelling: Where is Francis?

So, you were tortured for weeks before being thrown into the Megamycete’s cavern.

You thought you hated the Bats more than anything.

But after pissing off your kidnappers, causing you to be tortured for weeks, you hate them more than anything in the world.

Your fury towards them is second only to Gotham’s criminal element.

Many believe Batman and his birds are saving the city.

But you know better; they’re dooming Gotham into a perpetual state of crime.

Think about it: criminal escapes, causes damage and death, Batman captures criminal and throws them into Arkham, criminal gets pissed and vows revenge, rinse and repeat.

All of Arkham have made it their mission to best the Bat and don’t care how many people suffer.

And all because Bruce is too much of a pussy to do what must be done.

You don’t dress up in a costume and beat up a tumor, you grab a knife and cut it out.

And the Megamycete agrees with you.

It’s absorbed so many people who’ve met horrible fates by the Batman-obsessed criminals and seeing you want to change that leads to it making a deal with you.

In exchange for exterminating every criminal in Gotham and finally putting an end to the Bats, it agrees to give you full access to its powers.

That night, you get revenge on your kidnappers and wipe out an entire criminal bar, leaving a message that this is only the beginning and when your work is done, every criminal in Gotham will be dead and the Bats would be saved for last.

You spend the next few months cutting a bloody swath across the city, killing every criminal, both major and minor, in every corner.

Jason was PISSED when he found out you had killed every last rapist, murderer, drug dealer, and mugger in Crime Alley.

That’s his territory, he wanted to be the one to do that, damn it!

The Bats are obsessed with finding the one responsible and it makes you giggle when you hear them talking about you, not suspecting that you, the long-forgotten black sheep of the Wayne Family, are the one they spend every waking second looking for.

Your masterpiece was when you decapitated Joker and left it in a box next to the Batsignal for them to find.

The look on Bruce’s face made you feel warm inside.

Finally, when the last criminal was put in the ground, you left a message for them, telling them that you’d be waiting for all of them at the top of Wayne Tower tomorrow night.

This was it, the moment you’d been building up to for months.

But it wasn’t enough to kill them.

You wanted to tell Bruce his greatest regret turned out to be better than him at keeping Gotham safe.

You wanted to make Dick feel like a failure of a big brother and that you grew up perfectly without him in your life.

You wanted to show Jason you were the stronger one.

You wanted to make Tim realize you were smarter than him.

You wanted to put an end of Stephanie jokes and pranks.

You wanted the world to hear Cassandra to cry out in pain before killing her.

You wanted Damian to realize you were the superior one.

And Bruce would be the last one you kill; you rip off his limbs slowly, one by one, until he was a limbless slab of meat writhing on the ground.

After that, you’d make him watch as you killed his children in the most gruesome ways possible and he could do nothing but watch and listen as they begged you for death.

Finally, when the last one lies dead, you’ll hold him up by the throat and make him watch as both Wayne Manor and Gotham Clocktower are devoured by the Megamycete’s roots, leaving him the only Bat alive.

With that done, you’ll take the form of both his parents and using their voices, tell him how they’ve always hated him and how disappointed they are in his choices and how he should’ve died instead of them that night.

With his spirit finally broken, you’ll leave him on the rooftop and fly away as the Megamycete’s roots tear into the Tower and send it crumbling down to the ground, taking the now broken Batman with it.

With your revenge complete, you’ll plunder the remains of Wayne Manor and take the sizable fortune for yourself before leaving this godforsaken city behind.

And with your new fortune?

Well, Momma always talked about buying a small yacht and sailing into the sunset.

Just like how so many of her books ended.

You’ve heard Fiji is beautiful this time of year.

[glavilio]

i love the command line... its as vast and mysterious as a grand cavern, sprawling in unseen directions until probed with the glow of your commands, the print lines glittering as they reflect in the dark. but follow the path, for one wrong move and you could come crashing down to the root layer and your doom. that's why it's called the terminal. you can even hear an echo (echo)

[discordantwritings]

The Sand Dragon and I Pt. 1 (Dragon! Sir Crocodile x Reader)

Part 1 / Part 2

Warnings: this chapter is SFW but the next one won’t be so still MDNI 18+, gn afab! Reader, Dragon Shifter! Sir Crocodile, the power dynamics are whack in this one not gonna lie, canon typical violence, Crocodile calls you pet

WC: 4.6k

Summary: You’re set to be sacrificed to the fearsome Dragon of the Sands as a tribute for your town. When you get down to the caves and get face to face with him however- you make a different choice.

Notes: this fic is for me ngl this is just me fully shoving my monsterfucking dragon loving desires onto sir crocodile and I hope other people like it

You knew long before your name was called that you were going to be the tribute to the sand dragon. No living family, you worked a non-essential job, healthy enough to make the journey to his cave- you checked all the sacrificial boxes. No one else seemed surprised either, very few people made the effort to even look sad for you. It was something that you were used to since you never made the effort to connect with anyone in your town.

You were independent- a symptom of your parents dying young and you having no family to take you in. No one else made the effort to help you, so you made no effort to help them whenever situations came up. You didn’t hate anyone, and no one hated you, but there was a large gap that you accepted a long time ago.

So when it was time to select a human tribute for the terrifying sand dragon that made his home in the caverns miles from your town- a ritual that happened once every 5 years to appease him on top of the annual gold tribute- everyone knew it was you. You had your bags packed at home already- not that you needed to pack much. The journey would take a day on horseback and as you strapped your bags to the horse’s saddle you couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

A sacrifice to be eaten, just like you.

A few people saw you off, mostly to be polite. A small token of appreciation to the person who was going to die so they could live worry free for another few years. It meant nothing to you.

The journey was painfully uneventful. Miles of sand dusting over craggy rocks with no other life in sight. You had hoped for something- anything- to keep your thoughts away from your impending doom but you never got that reprieve. So you stirred, and thought, and stewed until resentment and anger came bubbling up.

Why did you have to die? Just because your life sucked already? Because there was no one to stick up for you? Years of being alone suddenly tore through you- sadness hardening over into anger.

And then something else.

You don’t know what it is yet but it drives you to continue your journey until you reach the giant cavern opening jutting out of the dunes and rocks. You leave the horse at the entrance just underneath the lip of the cavern for some shade. Giving her your remaining water you leave her untied, hoping she’ll have a better chance than you.

It’s a long and dark journey down into the caverns below the desert, a single torch lighting your way. At first it was just rocks and sand lining the path down but soon it turned to bones and dented armor. You don’t look down for too long, knowing you’ll lose your nerve if you have to look at the discarded bodies knowing your skeleton might soon reside with them.

It takes you an hour, maybe, time is hard to gauge down here, to get to the first opening. Your torch lights only a fraction of the vast cavern but you quickly find you don’t need it- golden braziers line the stone walls and flicker with fire illuminating the space.

Initially you wonder if you were somehow transported somewhere else- because a place this nice existing in a deep underground cavern was vexing. The stone floor was covered in the most luxurious rugs you’ve ever seen. Deep reds, golds, and blacks overlap and you fight the urge to run your hands over the fabric. Mismatched furniture liters the space- all expensive in their own rights but seemingly misplaced as none of them are quite set up in a logical formation. A pleasant humidity hangs in the air and you look and see a small natural fountain in one of the far corners of the cave. On the opposite side of that there’s another tunnel that seems to continue down further into the earth.

What use does a dragon have for a living room?

“Seems like a little morsel has arrived at my doorstep.” A low voice echoes off the dark stone walls and practically shakes the ground you’re standing on. It’s hard to deny the deep instinct to run away- all of the cells in your body signal to you that this is a predator and you are prey.

From the far tunnel you hear the distinct sound of claws against stone and you know he’s coming. You hold your breath as a giant crocodile-esque head slides into view. If it wasn’t for the sheer size of this creature you think you could mistake him for a crocodile- the long flat snout and smooth scales resembling a mosaic across dark green skin. But the way the scales shine like emeralds flecked with gold set him apart. As his legs come into view your eyes are drawn to his front left leg. In contrast to the dark green of the rest of his body his front left leg from the elbow down was a bright shimmering gold. It almost seemed liquid the way it connected with his body but the way it landed with a hard thud with each step solidified its hardness. A deep gash ran across his snout, dull and long healed over. Bat like wings folded against his long body as he finally made the last few strides into the cavern with you.

It’s hard not to be in awe of a creature so terrifying yet stunning- fear overloading and loosing all meaning and giving way to appreciation. Colorless eyes lock in on you and his pupils contract into slivers. You truly and deeply feel like prey under his gaze.

“Your heart is beating so fast little tribute. Will you run? Will you fight? Or are you just going to stand there and let me eat you? I do love seeing how your little human brains scramble…” His maw opens and you see large, shining teeth- each probably as big as you. You’re not sure if a dragon can smile but you get the impression from his voice that he is, there must be something deeply amusing to him to see you falter under his gaze.

You don’t know what comes over you. That emotion that had puzzled you for the last day now rips up and into your throat, saying works your brain hasn’t even processed.

“What if I can make myself useful to you.”

Defiance.

That catches him off guard, his large head tilting slightly. He’s only confused for a second before he chuckles, a deep sound that shakes your ribcage. “Well this is new. And what do you think you could possibly do for me?”

And now your brain has caught up, desperately searching for good answers. “I can cook, I can clean, I can organize- I’m sure a dragon as important as yourself has much better things to do than worry about the day to day.”

There’s a painful silence as the dragon mauls over your answer, terrifying eyes dragging over your form. You have to bite the inside of your cheek to keep yourself grounded.

“I have to admit, it is an interesting proposition.” He steps closer and lowers his head to the ground, jaws only a few feet from you. “It wouldn’t be a good life, serving under me.”

“It would be a life.”

“I guess it would.” You feel the heat of his breath wash over you. “If you ever underperform I will not hesitate to kill you.”

“I understand.”

“And you will do whatever I ask?”

“I will.”

“Then we have a deal.”

You feel like you’ve just sold your soul to the devil. In a way, you probably have. But you don’t feel bad about it at all.

His head swings up and away from you, standing up and nearly scraping the ceiling. “You’ll stay in here until I clear out a space for you. I’ll lay out where you can and cannot go and what your daily routine should be.”

You nod, knowing he probably doesn’t need to hear much more from you.

“Get some rest. I’ll start working you to the bone tomorrow.”

And with that he leaves you, thundering steps disappearing into the depths of the further tunnels. When you can no longer hear and feel the steps you collapse to the ground, exhausted from bargaining for your life. Every muscle in your body had been tensed and you work your way through your body, individually willing your body to relax.

This was your life now. You needed to get used to this fucked up situation very fast.

Gathering yourself you find the largest couch and drag it over by the fountain and begin putting together your makeshift bed. It was surprisingly comfortable and the sound of running water did a lot to block out your worst thoughts.

You shut your eyes and before you know it a sleep of sheer exhaustion catches you, dragging you down into unconsciousness.

You’re not sure how much sleep you got, there was no way to tell the time this deep underground. But you feel as rested as you probably could get under the circumstances and quickly move the couch back to where you found it before the dragon could come and see you’ve disturbed his room. Piling your stuff neatly behind a rock on along the wall of the cavern you wait for your instructions.

You pace the heavily rugged floor trying to keep an ear out for the distinctive sound of a dragon approaching. You don’t have to wait too long for some noise- but it’s not what you expect. You hear regular human foot steps echo through the far tunnel- are you not the only human here? Did someone sneak past you in the middle of the night? All your questions are stopped in their tracks when a man walks out of the tunnel.

Well, not quite a man.

He’s mostly human, standing on two legs with tanned skin and slicked back black hair. Dressed in an immaculate suit with a fur lined cloak covering his broad shoulders. But of course- there were the other features. You first notice his hands- one covered in green scales and ending in sharp claws, the other a molten gold molded into similar claws. His ears are longer and more pointed than a humans and across his face is a long dark scar. And of course you can’t miss the thick crocodile tail dragging behind him, the same deep emerald green scales of the dragon you faced yesterday.

As he walks closer you notice that he’s still so much bigger than you- towering over your form by three feet or more. His eyes had the same reptilian slit to them as he looked you up and down.

Somewhere in the back of your mind you’d think you’d be remiss not to call him handsome. But the fear for your life drowns out most of those traitorous thoughts.

“Surprised to see you didn’t try and scamper off during the night.” His voice, while certainly not as loud, still resonates deep in your chest as it echoes off the tall stone walls of the cavern.

“I made a deal, I intend to see it through.” You make the choice not to look him in the eyes out of fear of disrespecting him.

“Good to see you have some sense. Here.” He reaches into his coat and pulls out a rolled up piece of paper. You take it and unfold it and see a map. “This is your map of my lair. I’ve labeled the caverns you can go in and which ones you can’t. You step a single foot into somewhere you’re not supposed to be- I’ll kill you.”

“Understood.” You reply, looking over the map. You knew this place had to be massive but looking over the paper in your hand it was so much vaster than you imagined. Dozens of caves and tunnels interlinking, going over and under each other. It made your head swim.

“I’ll guide you to the important rooms so you don’t get lost. But after that I expect you to be able to navigate on your own.” He starts walking and you follow close behind as you try and track where you’re going on the map.

You travel down deep, following him as he quickly navigates the tunnels. Thankfully everything is lit by the same type of flaming braziers that are in the large entrance cavern.

“You don’t need to worry about preparing food for me- I only eat every few months and I eat more than you could possibly physically handle. You’re here to keep my lair neat and organized. Initial cleaning of the caverns I indicate and then if you do a good job- and only if- you can begin cataloguing my hoard.” He doesn’t make any effort to speak directly to you or to make sure you’re matching his pace.

“Yes my… lord?” It comes off more of a question as you quickly realize you have no idea what to refer to him as.

He stops in his tracks so abruptly you almost collide with his tail, but thankfully you’re able to stop just short. “This is the dry food storage, silly human foods that they leave as tribute. Should be enough for you to live on.”

You peek in, expecting a sparse and dingy space but are pleasantly surprised when you see all manner of foods. Beans, grains, dried fruits, spices, and probably more in the dark wooden cabinets and shelves. You only have that brief moment before he is walking off again and you hastily follow.

“Sir Crocodile. That’s the best name you humans have given me, so you can refer to me as such. My true name is unpronounceable for human forms.”

You nod, not like he can see you but better safe than sorry. Only a few tunnels later he stops again and points to the smallest cavern yet. It’s not actually small by most definitions of the word but as you gaze in you might actually call it cozy.

There’s a mismatch of elegant furniture piled in there- a dresser, a cabinet, a large bed, and rugs covering the stone floor. The bed is unmade but linens sit on top of it and even from this distance you know they are higher quality than you have ever even seen.

“This is where you’ll be sleeping and existing when not performing your duties. I don’t want you out wandering when I haven’t assigned you something.” And then he’s back to walking. You were expecting to just be thrown in a bare room but seemingly he put forth some effort… you’re not sure what to think about that.

The next stretch of your journey is long and you purposefully make sure your eyes don’t wander into any caverns you’re not stopping at. You focus on tracing your path, finger dragging along the rough paper of the map as you go.

“This is the last cave you’ll be allowed in until you prove yourself trustworthy.” He stops and finally fully turns around to face you. “This is my surplus- the stuff left to me that I deemed not worthy of my hoard. It’s been sitting and collecting dust for too long. I need to know what exactly is here and if I should keep it in storage or dispose of it. After you’re done cleaning the previous spaces and the tunnels between you can get to work on organizing and cataloging everything in here.”

To call this place a mess would be kind. Layers of junk and books haphazardly thrown into a cave that you honestly can’t tell the size of. There’s only room to get maybe five feet through the entrance before the wall of stuff is piled nearly as high as the ceiling. And on top of everything is a thick layer of dust and dirt. This might take your lifetime to sort through.

You turn your glance back to Sir Crocodile and realize he’s been carefully watching you this whole time, sharp gaze dragging over your body. Suddenly it’s ten degrees hotter in the tunnel and you force your eyes back to the ground. Did he purposefully make his human form attractive or was that just the default? And why did you even find the creature that could kill you without a second thought attractive. Stupid stupid base instincts.

“I suggest you clean the tunnels first so you learn your way. Then the entrance, food storage, and lastly here. You clean your room on your own time. I expect you to work at least eight hours a day- keep track with this.” That golden clawed hand extends out and you see a pocket watch settled in his palm. You reach out and take it, fingertips gliding over the cold metal of his hand.

“Thank you sir.” Pressing the small button on the top you find out what time it is- just before noon.

“Do your best not to make too much noise. If there is something so completely wrong you cannot deal with yourself just yell. I will hear. Just like I will hear if you try to leave, understood?”

“Yes.” Silence hangs awkwardly in the air and you look upward for a second to see him glaring down at you.

“Yes sir.” You correct, and his face returns to neutral.

“Alright, don’t make yourself too comfortable. I’ll check back soon.” And with that he turns and walks away, down a tunnel that you don’t have permission to tread into.

You let out a long breath, taking in all of the information he’s just given you. Using your map you (slowly) make your way back up through the tunnels to where you started. As you passed by the few spaces you were allowed in you couldn’t help but think about how much better this whole situation was than you expected.

Sure, scrubbing rock for weeks wouldn’t be fun but you expected much worse like cleaning his scales or butchering meals. You even had a space of your own that rivaled your room back home. Of course there’s no sunlight and you have the hanging threat of being eaten alive but you can’t help but feel a weird sense of relief. It’s not like you have anyone that you miss or responsibilities that you’ve left behind. This was just the newest (and incredibly bizarre) chapter in your life.

Well.

Time to get cleaning.

It takes you two weeks to clean the entrance, food storage, and the tunnels connecting them all. You worked more than your mandatory hours- what else were you going to do anyways, stare at stone walls? The work wasn’t fun by any means, dragging water to and from the fountain in the entrance cave was a serious workout, but there was something fulfilling once you were completely done with a space.

The entrance was the easiest given the water source was right there. You had taken one of the worse looking rugs and ripped it up to use as you cloths figuring you shouldn’t pester Sir Crocodile for cleaning supplies when you could figure out something on your own. Once everything had been as cleared of sand and dust as it could get you got to organize out the room- something actually a little fun.

You matched together furniture and set it up perfectly for gatherings. Not like there was actually ever going to be a gathering but at least your arrangement will never be messed up. You made sure to leave ample room for a dragon sized being to make it from the far tunnel to the exit- he probably leaves at some point.

The food storage wasn’t that bad either. You worked your way through it in between cleaning the entry cave and the tunnels, mostly when it was time to eat. There was a huge variety of food, most expensive and long lasting. It made sense, given that it was meant for Sir Crocodile and that no one would offer him anything less than their best for fear of being eaten. You were eating better than you had been in a while.

Throwing yourself into the work you could nearly forget why you were here in the first place. You hadn’t seen Sir Crocodile since he gave you that initial tour- you hadn’t even heard or felt movement deeper in the tunnels. Despite having no signs of him you could still feel his presence somehow. Every time you turned around you expected to see him standing there, judging you. But he never was. Maybe it was a sign you were doing a good enough job but you had no confidence in that.

No matter if your job was up to the correct standards or not you were onto your final task- cleaning and organizing the overstock. Far away the most daunting task. You have your bucket and cloths but honestly you have no idea where to start.

“From the top.” That deep voice comes from right behind you and the yelp that leaves you as you jump is mortifying.

You whip around and see Sir Crocodile in his humanoid form, clearly pleased with the reaction he got from you. He’s got a nasty grin, showing that his teeth are just as sharp as they are in his draconic form.

“I’m sorry sir?” You do your best to return your heart rate to its normal rhythm as you straighten yourself out.

“You were trying to figure out how to start here. From the top. Taking anything from the base even if it seems loose might cause the whole pile to collapse and crush you to death.” There’s a few terrifying seconds where you think he can read your mind but you shove that away- it was probably incredibly obvious how lost you were.

“Thank you sir.” It was probably simple advice but getting a clear starting point was relieving.

“Of course, I couldn’t have my new pet getting killed after they’ve done some decent work.”

Your brain struggles to process that statement, a weird mix of emotions swirling in your stomach at his words. You shove it all down for now- you can parse through that later.

“I’m glad my work is up to your standards sir. Was there something you needed?” Your hands grip your water bucket tight as his gaze bores into you.

“I’m just making sure that you are still aware of my presence. For a human though, you do seem pretty competent. You haven’t even tried to run away once.” He steps closer to you, invading your space. “Why is that?”

“I-“ You suck in a breath as you try and fight the urge to cower. “I have nothing to go back to.”

His pupils are narrow slits as they rake over your face for a few painfully silent moments. He then straightens up, barely exiting your personal space. “Interesting.”

He turns and slowly walks away, a clawed hand waving in the air. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

You finally exhale when he leaves the space, able to relax just a bit. Shoving down all your thoughts for now you focus on cleaning in a way that doesn’t destabilize the pile and crush you. It works for a while as a distraction but you slowly lose your focus and need to stop for the day.

It wasn’t until you were tucked in bed that you allowed your emotions to surface.

“I couldn’t have my new pet getting killed after they’ve done some decent work.”

It should disgust you to be called a pet. It should be dehumanizing and humiliating to have someone else look at you and see you as something so small, something they own. You search and hope that’s what’s churning deep in your stomach.

It’s not.

A shameful realization washes over you as the words repeat in your head, that low, terrifying voice somehow praising you while putting you down. You weren’t disgusted.

Heat pools in the pit of your body, a sick reaction you couldn’t will away.

You loved when he called you his pet.

You were fucked.

For the next few weeks your work slowed considerably. Not because you were less motivated- but because the overstock room had so many wonderful things. Sure there was a fair share of junk- broken porcelain dishes, rotting wooden statues, things that are so beaten you can’t even hope to identify. But the things that aren’t junk are fascinating.

You find trinkets and toys that spin and dance in ways you can’t figure out. Jewelry that despite being dusty, rusted, or dented was still gorgeous. Hand woven blankets and rugs that you could see the time and energy put in despite the holes and fraying edges. And then there were the books.

Most were non-fiction and on topics you could have only ever hoped to have learned about. From science to history to mathematics and everything in between every single page was fascinating. Every day you collected all the new books you would find and saved them for yourself later.

You’ve made yourself a reading corner in that cavern- cast off rugs and blankets folded and placed over the stone so you can sit somewhat comfortably. You fall back to only working your exact hours so you can spend the rest of your time reading. Pages old and new fill your head and you can only wonder that if these were the books dismissed by the sand dragon- what books lay in his true hoard?

“And what are you doing?” How someone so large continues to sneak up on you you’ll never understand.

You jump up, fear gripping your chest as he catches you decidedly not working. His face is decidedly unamused and you think that maybe you’ve really fucked up.

“I-“ For a second you debate lying, debate saying that you were thumbing through the pages to properly organize the book. But you aren’t the best liar- certainly not in the face of someone so terrifying. “I’m spending my off time reading through some of your books sir. I figured asking if I could read through some of your spare books was a question I shouldn’t have bothered you with.”

“Smart move pet.” Your body relaxes slightly, having made the right move. “What are you reading?”

That question catches you off guard, not expecting him to care. “Oh, this is a book on astronomy.”

“And is that interesting to you?” You can’t tell if it’s just his natural tone that makes it sound almost like an accusation or if he’s judging you.

“It’s something I never had the chance to learn about before so I decided to take the opportunity to educate myself.”

Crocodile nods, seemingly pleased with your answer. “A good use of your spare time. Just don’t get carried away.”

“Yes, of course sir.”

And like that he’s gone again. The conversation lingers in your mind until the next day when you come back to the cavern to see a plush chair situated where your rugs had been set up.

You can’t stop yourself from flushing as you look over your gift. You try not to let your thoughts and emotions get away from you, there was probably a banal reason he put a chair in here for you. I mean, sitting on the floor was probably bad for your back and if it was bad for your back then your work could be impacted.

It’s that and not that he might care about you.

No matter what, reading is a lot nicer when you’re not sitting on a stone floor.