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avelera · 8 months ago

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I’m dying for your thoughts on what is going on in Dubai with the triangulation of Armand and Daniel in Dubai because nothing in 2.05 explain ms what they(beddeath vampires) could want him to tell them as referenced earlier in the season or warrant all the Rashid pageantry. Especially not with how Armand looks at Daniel like he just got home from the wars.

Your takes are exquisite and I’d love to hear them.

Ok, I THINK you're asking what the hell is going on with Daniel and Armand and Louis and the longing looks Armand keeps shooting Daniel and I might be missing some nuance to your question but that is the question I'm gonna answer because I can't stop thinking about it.

Ok. Ok, ok, SO!! The biggest question I think we're facing as of 2.05 is did the Devil's Minion chapter of Queen of the Damned ever happen?

For the uninitiated (LOTS of BOOK SPOILERS but like the books have been out for decades, sorry): Louis/Armand is like... not a thing. At least, it's not one of the big love affairs of the series compared to Louis/Lestat. I mean they've had a situationship but they're definitely not a long devoted love affair going right up to the beginning of the events of Vampire Lestat/Queen of the Damned, which is where the show seems to take place. They traveled together for a bit after the events of Interview with the Vampire but then parted ways because What Happened In Paris changed Louis irrevocably.

The big love of Armand's life in the books is Daniel.

And we learn this in the chapter of Queen of the Damned called the Devil's Minion.

Because Armand stumbles upon "The Interviewer" and falls in love and they have this fucked up whirlwind torrid romance where Daniel teaches Armand about the modern world and basically "how to be fascinating" and Daniel begs over and over to be made into a vampire.

Lots of stuff happens between them but short, TRAGIC version is that Armand does make Daniel into a vampire and it breaks Daniel's mind. He's not a cool powerful vampire once he's turned, he's basically a vegetable, he loses his mind and becomes a hollow husk of himself. (Ironically, insane-new-vampire!Daniel is left in the care of Marius of all people lol)

SO, from the book reader perspective, I shot upright on my couch when I saw old Daniel. Because Old Daniel means we're in... some flavor of happy AU? We're in an AU where Armand did the "responsible" thing and didn't give Daniel the Dark Gift, so Daniel got to grow old and actually be a person instead of being the Devil's Minion where Armand became his whole personality and then he lost his mind.

Thing is, since S1, I've been assuming, like others I think, that we're in an AU where the Devil's Minion didn't happen at all. That Daniel did the interview, he and Louis parted ways, and now he's back to finish it. It seemed neat, clear, if a little confusing for book fans because Daniel/Armand is one of THE great love affairs and it seems like it just got skipped entirely, which kind of makes sense since no other film version has really delved into it, right?

WRONG. OK, so with the longing looks that begin RIGHT when Armand finally reveals himself, the whole mic drop moment of "Armand, the love of my life" while Armand stares at Daniel, almost seeming to plead with his eyes "GET ME AWAY FROM HIM" and looking at Daniel with such longing, going into SEASON 2 where we learn that ok, the 1970s beat was WAY more complicated than it seems, Louis' memory is very faulty, Armand has actively tampered with both of them and we DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH....?

So my current theory is: the Devil's Minion DID happen.

Armand and Daniel had their love affair, but instead of turning Daniel, which by the way he had to be talked into doing because of Daniel's suicide attempt basically, Armand set him free. But CLEARLY he continued to stalk and pine after Daniel, if he was there at Daniel's fucking engagement reading his girlfriend's mind enough to tell Daniel what she was really thinking then. Armand was definitely still OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE. And, IMO, has been the whole time.

Now, what does this mean going forward? What do I think is going on?

Armand wants out of his relationship with Louis but he's chronically, pathologically, incapable of breaking up with anyone. He used Lestat to break up the Children of Darkness, he used Louis to break up the Theatre des Vampires, and now he's using Daniel to end this fucked up marriage he and Louis are in.

Armand is doing this first by consenting to renew the interview, Louis gets a walk down memory lane, remembers how much he loves Lestat. Not to solidify their bond with how good things are now, but to break it up with nostalgia.

Armand is also going to reveal things he's hidden from Louis, I think. Like the fact Armand killed Claudia. I think right now they're both operating under the excuse that Santiago and the coven did it in defiance of Armand but that is simply not true, Armand ordered her death to get Louis all to himself. But (book canon) her death broke Louis so basically Armand destroyed what he wanted in Louis in the gaining of him.

Armand also misses Daniel. He's doing the classic passive lover thing, using the next lover to get rid of the current one. That's why he picked Daniel specifically as the vehicle of his liberation. Boy wants to get white knighted in the most fucked up way possible. Evidence: every single painfully longing, puppy dog look he shoots Daniel's way and how those looks only get more intense the more Louis waxes poetic about how great the Loumand relationship is.

Armand appears as Rashid in order to establish for plausible deniability for Louis that he DIDN'T have a relationship with Daniel OR, if Louis knows about it, that he really did do as promised and wiped Daniel's mind. Look, Daniel doesn't even remember him! When he's standing right there! Pretending to be Rashid! He definitely didn't summon his former lover here to break up Louis and him, obviously this is JUST about Louis' desire to do the interview haha, definitely not trying to bring his old ex to break up his current relationship the guy doesn't even remember who he is.

In conclusion: Armand still wants to fuck that boy old man. And he wants to get rid of Louis by making Louis break up with him because that's how Armand rolls. And that's why this whole ridiculous pantomime is happening, because Armand will never, ever be the active party in the breakup because the boy is way, way too fucked up by his supremely fucked up life up to this point to ever be the initiator. Instead he will always, always manipulate those around him to do what he wants.

#iwtv #iwtv spoilers #loumand #the devil's minion #daniel molloy #vampire chronicles #iwtv meta

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quitealotofsodapop · 4 months ago

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HOLD ON THE F€€k YOU MEAN FEMALE SAI TAI SUI-

IF THIS IS HEADING WHERE I THINK IT IS DOWS THAT MEAN JING IS- OR NEZHA MIGHT-

prev.

Well its more like...

LEF: "Hey since you denounced me as your goddaughter - mind if I steal your strongest (and now mortal) son as my husband? K thanks! Byyyyyeeee!!!" Li Jing: "EHHH!?" Nezha, on earth:

The character I'm referencing is: Lady Earth Flow/Half-Guanyin/Golden Nosed Albino Rat/Mouse Spirit. An infamous literal and figurative maneater, so much so that most adaptations show her as a vampire. Her MO is to target monks to SA and eat them for their yang energy. Tripitaka is nearly a victim in the novel, if not for the fact he was deep inside the monastery with a cold. Wukong however is nearly assaulted in his monk glamour - which he responds understandably by trying to kill the spirit with Ruyi Jingu Bang.

Later it is discovered in the villain's lair that she's a goddaughter to Li Jing - he spared her life after she became an uplifted mouse spirit. But she took the opportunity to become something even worse...

Curiously, Li Jing mentions having a little daughter in Jttw - a six year old girl named Zhenying who's not even old enough to fly or cause mischief. He briefly gets very confused when Wukong shows up claiming his daughter is assaulting and eating monks. Though Zhenying likely only exists for the joke.

Lady Earth Flow is subdued by Li Jing's army and is denounced as Li Jing's goddaughter, her fate left up to the Tathagata Buddha.

So here comes the TMKATI au; where its been a couple hundred years, and Nezha is on earth after getting exiled from Heaven by the Jade Emperor. He's about his awkward and rebellious late-teen years, and he and the Noodle Family have been arguing for some time about what he'll want to do when he graduates.

Lady Earth Flow, having escaped/revived, decides to exploit a boy's trust so to take a hit at him and his father... Living as a school counsellor, she has many victims ripe for the picking - but for the Lotus Prince to fall into her lap is a chance far too good to miss.

Don't worry, nothing too bad happens to our dear boy. Even if him and his guardians are arguing, he still shoots off a text to his little siblings + Sandy about where he's going. And no matter his age he's pretty distrusting of authority.

LEF severely underestimates how much the depowered god can fight back. And how much Li Jing cares for his son...

LEF has gained power in last few centuries, albeit lazily; pinning the Pagoda King with spiritual clones when he comes to his son's rescue.

LEF discovers the poppet made from Nezha's shorn hair and laughs. He's still crying about him? His little boy is about to become a man!

The mouse spirit alights the poppet with the fire from her oil lanterns.

Li Jing sees his youngest son's life flash before his eyes. And sees red.

He hugs Nezha tight afterwards, telling him that it's ok and that it's all over, all whilst covered in his former-goddaughter's blood. Nezha stares blankly, hugging his father tighter than he's ever had in last thousands of years. He saw the memento his father held so dear - one made by a parent in mourning.

The rest of the parents show up shortly afterwards, worried out of their minds for the same boy.

Lady Earth Flow is sent packing to King Yama himself. But not before she gets arrested by mortal police for her crimes.

#sa mention tw #tmkati au #the monkey king and the infant #the monkey king and the infant au #lmk nezha #lmk lady earth flow #lmk li jing #lmk aus #lmk #lego monkie kid

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tiny-wooden-robot-fics · 5 months ago

Text

Magnolia - Chapter Seventeen

Rating: Explicit Media: Jujutsu Kaisen Pairing(s): Geto Suguru x Original Female Character, Geto Suguru x Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru x Gojo Satoru x Original Female Character Additional Tags: Vampire AU, Dark Themes, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Depression, Loneliness, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Smut

A/N: Tags will be added as chapters are updated. Please be mindful of the tags and warnings at the beginning of each chapter, as they will tell you what you need to know about the content within.

Minors, DNI.

Summary:

“Actions are so honest, aren’t they?” This comes from Satoru, and she looks back at him, her expression quizzical. “You aren’t saying much of anything with your words, and yet you’re still speaking,” he points out. She’s still in his lap, his hands on her hips, and he’s using his thumbs to trace little circles there, through the thin fabric of her dress.

“Take this dress, for instance,” he goes on. “Sure, the color compliments your skin… but let’s be honest. There aren’t many colors that don’t compliment your skin. You would’ve looked just as nice wearing the red one, or the green one, or even that black one with the lace around the bottom. But you chose the one that matches my eyes. Why is that, Lia?”

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Chapter Warnings: Spit

A/N: I said I was going to post more regularly, and then I got sick. 🤷🏾‍♀️ If you're still here following this, I appreciate you and I'm sorry for the infrequent updates lately.

Chapter Seventeen: X-Rays

It is the first time Satoru has ever kissed her.

In the dim lighting of a packed club, with Suguru’s grounding presence firmly at her back, his arms around her waist holding her close.

Here in this hot, crowded room, where the EDM bass is so loud it feels like it’s pumping through her veins… with Satoru’s hands on her hips and his tongue in her mouth and half a dozen pairs of sharp, jealous eyes watching it happen.

He kisses her like he means it. It steals her breath and scrapes every coherent thought out of her head, replaces the music in her veins with blood that pumps hot and fast, takes all the strength out of her legs and makes her feel she’ll either float or fall.

It’s deep and messy, and when he pulls back to let her breathe again, he can’t tell if the shine on her lips is from his mouth or hers.

He finds he doesn’t particularly care; either way, he likes the way it looks.

“Satoru,” Suguru murmurs reproachfully. “You know better. This is a public place.”

He meets the other man’s eyes over the top of Lia’s head, a smirk twitching at his lips. “You heard her - that woman won’t stop staring. I figured she must think she’s watching a show and I just wanted to give her something worth watching.”

Suguru is not impressed. “You didn’t even ask her if it was okay,” he points out.

Satoru peers down at Lia. “Can I kiss you?”

His belated question and the way he looks as he phrases it makes her laugh, even as the tiny flame of desire in the pit of her stomach grows bigger and bigger, fanned by the oxygen of his kiss.

“Yes,” she answers around her laughter, looking up at him. “You can kiss me---”

“See?” His tone is almost gloating when he looks at Suguru. “She said it’s fine.”

“---but not here,” she adds.

He looks back at her.

Is this what you’ve seen, Suguru? He wonders. Is this the look she wore when you had her? Her skin doesn’t lend itself to blushing in the form of pink cheeks, but he can tell she’s flushed all the same. There’s a light in her gaze that isn’t normally there, transforming plain brown eyes into something that would give his own uncanny blues a run for their money in a showdown.

She’s so pretty like this, and seeing her this way for the first time stirs something in his gut.

“Yeah,” he agrees quietly, thoughtfully. “I don’t think I like the idea of anybody else seeing you like this.”

“Do you want to go home, Lia?”

The question comes from Suguru, asked softly as he rests his chin on her shoulder. The words themselves are benign, but she knows the question holds a deeper meaning. By asking her if she wants to go home, he is asking her if she wants, and if she will indulge in that want once they’re back in the privacy of their home.

She doesn’t even have to think about it.

“I want to go home.”

Slim-hipped and fluent and of lovely motion, Living to the tip of every bone, And ah, too exquisitely vivid-moving Ever to lie wanly down alone--- To lie forever down so still and slender, Tracing on the ancient screen of night That naked and pale writing of the wonder Of your beauty breathing in the light. -Max Eastman, X Rays (excerpt)

Kissing Satoru is different from kissing Suguru, but no less addictive.

His hands on her hips are a different shape, but just as warm. He takes, takes, takes what he wants, and there is nothing tentative in his touch. It makes her feel emboldened, makes her want to do the same.

Suguru is like the knot that ties them all together… setting her in Satoru’s lap, watching the way they taste each other. Satoru is so pretty, with his blue, blue eyes and his flushed cheeks and his plump lips, slick with her spit… so pretty that not even Suguru can resist him.

He leans over, that curtain of dark hair falling into his face and obscuring her view. Lia doesn’t want it obscured, though - she wants to see it - so she reaches out and brushes his hair back from his face, tucking it behind his ear so that nothing blocks her view. It’s so natural… so practiced and familiar, the two of them sharing a kiss. Pink cheeks and heavy breathing and that line of spit connecting their lips when Suguru pulls back.

It makes her squirm in Satoru’s lap, makes her want more.

She watches as a look passes between them. She can’t read the look, but she sees the way Suguru reaches out and gently cups Satoru’s face in his palm, the way he taps his thumb against Satoru’s cheek. Satoru tilts his head back, opens his mouth, looking at her out of the corner of his eye even as Suguru gathers the spit in his mouth, pooling it on his tongue and letting it drip down onto Satoru’s.

She isn’t even aware of the soft, strangled noise she makes in the back of her throat. All she knows is that she wants, she wants, she wants. Whatever these two will give her, she wants it. She’s desperate for it in a way she’s never felt before, and it shows all over her face.

It makes Satoru laugh. “Suguru, I think she’s feeling left out.”

“Hm?” Suguru looks down at her with a fond smile. “Are you feeling left out, Lia?”

If asked before today, she might have expressed disgust at the idea of anyone spitting in her mouth. She might have turned her nose up in disdain at the very thought, wondering why anyone would find such a notion appealing in any way.

Here in this room, at this moment, she feels like a completely different person. It’s written all over her face, she knows, but she nods anyway.

“Hmm,” Suguru hums thoughtfully, exchanging another look with Satoru. “I suppose I should give her what she wants then, shouldn’t I?”

“It would be mean not to,” Satoru agrees with a smirk.

He cradles her face in both of his hands, thumbs gently caressing her cheeks and his eyes looking into hers. “Open up for me, pretty… wide as you can.” The words are murmured softly, but they are a command all the same.

It surprises her how much she likes being told what to do.

Obediently, she opens her mouth. She can feel Satoru’s eyes on her and Suguru, hardly breathing as he looks between the two of them. Her eyes are on Suguru, watching him gather saliva on his tongue, letting it pool there and drip down onto her tongue the same way he did for Satoru.

He flashes her a tender, satisfied smile before tapping on her cheek and uttering just one word - “Swallow.”

She does.

It’s hard to look away from those blue eyes. Lia has never been hypnotized, but she wonders if this is what it feels like… to be in the grasp of a power greater than your own, to be unable to resist the pull of that power. To know that even if you could resist, you wouldn’t want to. “Because you said you’d be looking at me.”

She doesn’t know what he’s expecting her to say, but what she’s said seems to please him. “I see,” is all he says after a moment. He looks over at Suguru, who is perched on the arm of the sofa.

Suguru has been quietly watching the exchange, an affectionate smile on his face. “Don’t be surprised if he dresses you up from now on,” he shrugs. “One of his many taglines should be ‘you know Gojo Satoru likes you when he treats you like a paper doll.’”

“If all the clothes end up looking this nice on me, I don’t think I would mind,” Lia laughs.

Satoru’s face lights up. “In that case, I added a little something to the pile of dresses on your bed just before we left.”

She looks at him expectantly. “What is it?”

“Why don’t you go look for yourself?” His tone is teasing, and it makes her curious.

“Is it something I can wear now?”

He purses his lips thoughtfully. “Well now, that’s up to you.”

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Tag list: @therealestpussyeater

#tinywoodenrobotfics #black oc #JJK #Jujutsu Kaisen #Jujutsu Kaisen fanfic #JJK fanfic #Satosugu #Jujutsu Kaisen fics #Geto Suguru x OC #Gojo Satoru x OC #JJK x OC #JJK smut

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torchickentacos · 2 months ago

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do you have any pokeani fic recs for the classic vibe (read: the content is unhinged and wild)

Referencing this post- long reply but I give a few pointers in these fics' direction at the end!

I'm gonna be so honest anon, I'm not sure I want to actively rec some of them 😭 A lot of them are very of-their-time (usually 2007-2013) and, while HILARIOUS, often contain things that I really don't want to 'recommend' (homophobia, sexism, a lot of slutshaming, some REALLY out of pocket stuff that is not properly warned for, etc). OBVIOUSLY I am not reccing the yikes of things so much as the rest of it (the hilarious unhinged side), but the current fandomscape leans bad-faith and assumey and I'm just not keen to fuck around and find out tbh. Ye olde fic reccing takes a level of understanding of other time periods and attitudes and customs in fandom and on FFN that I'm... not sure that all of tumblr is always very good at tbh lol. If you guys really want me to and if we can all understand that it was a different time and that enjoyment of batshit insane fics does not equal agreement with everything said or depicted in them, then come back and I'll consider it again. But for now, I'm MORE than happy to tell you guys the best ways to find them on your own lmao. It's not hard once you get it down, and anything I'd rec, I've found through this method.

First off, FFN's search system is just frustrating imo. Between a less-than-intuitive UI and people not bothering to tag characters and ships and genres properly, using it the same way you'd filter stuff on Ao3 is a fool's errand (unless you're doing it by word count/completed/etc, which is objective and automatically tallied I think). You're better off using key words. I usually ignore the filters. The only thing I filter by is fandom at the start page (all of Pokemon is under 'games' in FFN and I don't bother narrowing it down to animeverse personally due to aforementioned mistagging or an entire lack thereof).

So, what key words do I use? When looking for that specific brand of insane campy 2000s kitschy wild unhinged stuff, I usually default to searches like "PS CS IS" (poke contest ikari, there's a lotta stuff in there, sometimes there's ORS/LGS/OS/ES/AS etc and you won't always know the acronym and it's just a surprise tbh) or trope related searches like "Assassin" or "High school" or "Vampire" other words you might find in a summary. You can also search by character names (in the search bar and not in the actual filters, which are not reliable in my experience). I'd say to go for tropes and AUs as far as keywords go. I'd ALSO say to not filter by completed, because that'll filter out a lot of two-week-passion-projects that someone dropped as soon as it got flamed, and there's some fun ones in there.

That's about it, but if you find one good fic then it's worth checking the rest of what the writer has. A lot of them have a bunch of unfinished fics and there's some hidden gems. Have a good time reading, and the search is half the fun! Come back with any funny lines you find if you want :)

#it's so hard because I truly love these classic era insane fics but you've gotta understand that they're from like 2008 #and I'm just not going to open myself up to any possible bad-faith interpretations.#it's also hard because like while I'm not a big blogger #there's enough of you guys that I am hesitant to do name/title-dropping for this sort of thing specifically.#I don't want someone to see this and think we're doing it to make fun of the fics #and if someone went and did that from a rec of mine then I'd be really fucking sad about it.#I love these insane 2000s fics even though a lot of them are flawed and a little yikes sometimes.#it's not an ironic enjoyment at all. it's genuine. They're nostalgic and fun and unreserved (albeit-again-a lil' yikes).#they're from when a lot of people wrote only for themselves and leaned fully into that level of self indulgence #and it's really sweet in a way to read them so much later and to see how much fun someone had writing it #now that we're all older and more aware of what we make and more nervous about how it's perceived and aware of quality.#you also tended to see a lot of author's notes about school and summer camp and writing between life #and it's just. idk. it's got such a specific feeling to it. like damn I hope [author] had a nice choir rehearsal in 2009.#I hope their swim meet went well and that their dad stopped being annoying or whatever.#none of this is ever to make fun of the fics or to be mean-spirited. i would hope that people know at this point that I LOVE cringe #thank you very much lol.#I am cringe's number one defender. go be cringe and genuine. it's better than being condescending and bored.

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elisaintime · 10 months ago

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The post-episode 3 shift

FRESH POST!

So we were talking about how AMC's Interview with the Vampire Season 1 handles their choice of making Louis a black man in the early 1900s. This is a really cool change the show made in its AU version of IWTV, and it brought in a whole lot of subjects to explore that didn't exist in the books, making the TV show a very different work of art. But all the initial ideas for this show came from a cishet white man, and while he down the line had assistance from poc collaborators, I still think the show had areas where it could have done better with regards to some of the story beats, character arcs, and plot progression. The other thread got unwieldy with multiple reblog trees, but it's here for reference: https://www.tumblr.com/elisaintime/748738811357462528/woah-i-must-have-missed-something-why-are-people You can see everyone else's discussion in the notes.

I love discussions like this! Please talk to me about vampire chronicles! I live for it! I'm posting this now because I am disappointed that a few people seem to not be understanding several things I said. Maybe I said it unclearly, or maybe they're projecting and jumping to conclusions.

Kind of like how this poster does:

I deleted/banned every single comment on my videos that talked negatively about the show making Louis and Claudia black or deriding it for trying to be woke (and there were a bunch!). I delete block and ban all forms of hate speech. My channel is absolutely not a safe space for racists or bigots of any kind.

As you can see in the screencap, there is nothing in these comments that is about the race changes. These comments are talking about other changes the show made from the books and don't touch on race at all. The poster who screencapped them is jumping to the conclusion that these commenters liking the books better than the show automatically makes them racist, and that these are racist comments. And this screencap is specifically what I was referencing at the beginning of the other thread. Several people have said this now, that my YT comments section makes a safe space for racists. But these are not racist comments, and there is no evidence that the commenters are racist. This is projection and assumption. If you DO ever notice a racist comment on any of my videos, that I somehow missed, please bring it to my attention so that I can immediately delete and ban the user from ever commenting on my channel again.

But back to the show itself and my critique of it. I'm always here for talking about vampire-related writing! Let's go!

I still stand by what I said in my videos about the few issues I had with the show's scripts. If you watched my videos or follow all I've said about the show here on tumblr or elsewhere, you'll know how excited about this show I've been from the very beginning, how obsessively into it I am, following every aspect of production and behind the scenes news. You may even be in one of the multiple discord servers with me where we talk about the show constantly. There was much I really enjoyed about season 1, which I was outspoken about in my videos, and people keep seeming to forget. My videos had a greater percentage of positivity in them than negativity. But yes, I did have critiques as well, just like I do with every single piece of vampire media I discuss on my channel--it's the entire point of my channel!--and those mostly had to do with inconsistency in the writing.

What I've said is that the DRIVING FORCE of the plot wasn’t about Louis's struggles with chafing against society as a black man after episode 3, not that there was no more racism. I said he was obviously still immersed in systemic racism all around him, which the show showed us with visual details in the background, despite no one talking about them. This is fine, we don't need it spelled out for us. TV is a visual medium, and that's what the images are there for. But my discussion is about his character MOTIVATIONS on a writing level. His want vs need. His goal vs obstacle. If you're unversed on the techniques of story writing and plot structure, I recommend Blake Snyder's book Save the Cat as a crash course. In ep 1-3, for Louis, it was about being respected as a man equal to others among his society, the citizens of New Orleans, his colleagues and business rivals. Fighting for social opportunities that were limited to him because he is black. That story ends with episode 3 and a new story begins. I’m not saying this is a bad thing. I just said I NOTICED it.

After it all burns down, Louis stops focusing on society respecting him as a human being (which was ironic to begin with, because he’s not human anymore) and his driving plot becomes about making and keeping a family and such. Obviously race is still an element of that in a mixed marriage, but it’s not about his business or social standing anymore, these parts of his life that were SO IMPORTANT to him in the first three episodes. In the books, vampires stop caring about that kind of stuff the second they are made, but the show changed it to take Louis a few years to get there instead of it happening instantly.

Obviously racism doesn't magically disappear or stop mattering once he accepts his vampire nature (which Lestat kind of promises him it will), but it does shift to being a background element for what we see on screen. He is not focused on it anymore, when it used to be the primary driving force of his plot. We hardly even get to see Louis interact with (racist) society again til the finale (and I made this observation on episode 5, which the end-of-episode credits told us was written by a white person). For example, the police that come to their door are bigoted to him and Lestat because they’re gay, but meanwhile, they act completely colorblind. At this point, Louis’s character motivations are about fear of them being caught for murder, and his emotions regarding how Claudia is struggling with her eternal child body and lashing out--about keeping his family together. Not about his racial struggles as a businessman and citizen in outward society.

Yes, we all know there were non-white people in the writer’s room (thank god! Can you imagine?? If there weren’t any, we’d all have been raging from the very beginning! Did you read RJ’s episode 1 script draft before it got revised with the input of black/queer/female editors? OOF), but the choice to completely shift Louis’s driving character motivations away from his impassioned societal race struggle to something different after 3 episodes was part of the original season outline made by white people before any poc were brought on to the team.

And again, I didn’t say it was a bad thing, it was just something I NOTICED, and the way the show executed it felt very abrupt and clunky. Did I want the cops to not be colorblind and get in some racial digs and microaggressions while they were at Louis’s house? Ew no. But I did NOTICE that they didn’t do that, and how it was so different from the way Louis was spoken to by white people in the first 3 episodes. Did the white writer of this episode perhaps feel uncomfortable going there?

The season told two different stories for Louis, with an abrupt turn in the arc after episode 3. It didn’t feel like an arc at all, but a sharp angle. Starting with Claudia, Louis’s primary drives and character motivations completely change. He no longer wants to be an important businessman respected in society, he becomes “the housewife,” and never once seems to miss his desperately-fought-for social status at all. This comes back to what I said about the show being weakened by trying to shove in too much book stuff. Ep1-3 were all these cool new original ideas from the show with Louis having entirely new character motivations based on the show's changes to his background. They were naturally driven by what him being black in 1910 now meant. But after that story was done, it abruptly shifts back to more of how he in in the books, and trying to suddenly pull him back to his book personality/motivations/goals after giving us this whole new organically-evolved self in 1-3 was notable. I noticed it.

All in all, I think it probably would have worked much better on a writing level if it was treated as two separate mini seasons instead of presenting itself as an attempt at one coherent whole.

#amc interview with the vampire #vampire chronicles #maven of the eventide

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prince-rowan-of-the-forest · 11 months ago

Text

Ship of Dreams

----

“You know - they say this ship can’t sink, it was all in the papers, impossible - they said.”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve heard,” Roman shrugged, shifting just a little closer. He wished he could wrap his arms around him, press kisses to his cheeks - pink with the cold - but they couldn’t, not in public. Roman hoped that was something that would change one day.

“If… if she did sink - what would we do?” Virgil asked, eyes still trained on the frothing wake the ship left in its path.

“Why, I’d swim us to America, of course, I promise,” Roman said, reaching over to brush his fingers over Virgil’s jaw, so he’d look over at him, “But she won’t sink, don’t worry so much my darling.”

----

| Ao3 |

Warnings: Major Character Death, Minor character deat Drowning, panic, hypothermia. Vampire bites. Implied/referenced homophobia. Technically self harm., Vomit

Pairings: Prinxiety

Word Count: 4646

Notes: puhleasseeee read the warnings on this one <3

Hi all this is NOT my usual kind of fic and this one's gonna need some context AND some warnings.

So this is a fic I wrote for a RP au I'm doing on discord, which is why it may seem like it's lacking context. To add some basic needed context: Roman is an immortal vampire, Virgil is his boyfriend/lover - at the point of the fic they've been together about five and a bit years. This fic details how Virgil dies, and is a major point in his backstory for the RP. Everything else should be obvious in the fic <3

----

Roman had hardly ever seen Virgil so excited as he ran into his arms, waving the pair of tickets he had just bought in his hand. Having fairly rich parents did come with perks, after all, and Virgil had finally managed to convince them to send over the money they’d need to go to America. Roman could have paid for them himself, but Virgil had wanted to do this one himself - and second class tickets were incredibly expensive, not even thinking about first. They were lucky Virgil’s parents had agreed to let him move further away - they already weren’t too happy about him living in England, let alone America.

Still, he was pulled into a tight hug, Virgil’s warm hand pressed into the small of his back and the other resting on his hip. Never would he get used to the warmth of human touch. Virgil pressed his lips to the shell of Roman’s ear and then yelped indignantly as Roman picked him up to spin them around with a cheer of celebration.

“I can’t wait to show you America,” Roman said once he’d set Virgil back on his feet, a grin broke out on his face.

“I still want to see these apparent secret tunnels of yours,” Virgil said, pinching his arm playfully, Roman yelped when he did, as if it hurt when he had barely felt it at all, “Need to see what you’re constantly raving about.”

“There are secret tunnels! I had them built myself!” Roman cried indignantly, Virgil had never believed him about his secret rooms and tunnels in his mansion back in America, Roman couldn’t wait to show him.

“Well I’d like to see them,” He huffed, “I won’t believe you until I do.”

“A week, my Stormcloud,” Roman said, meeting Virgil’s eyes with a bright smile, “A week, and I’ll be able to show you all you’ve ever wanted to see.”

Virgil punched him in the arm, “You’re such a sap.”

—-

“Isn’t she huge ?” Roman said, looking up at the ship they were to be sailing on. It was a warm day, sunny and midmorning. The ship itself was to sail at noon, but Virgil had always been nervous about timings, so they were here just a little bit early - almost ten am. Virgil yanked Roman’s hat over his face and huffed whilst he flailed and cried out indignantly.

“That’s why she’s called ‘Titanic’,” Virgil said, rolling his eyes, only making Roman laugh

“I knew that, you fusspot, come on.”

“No you come on, slowpoke,” Virgil said, whacking Roman in the arm before running off towards the ship. Running after him, Roman cried out with a laugh, weaving between people whilst keeping a hand on his hat. He knew that the people around must think him insane, but he didn’t care much when he finally found Virgil waiting for him near the second class gangway - he was fairly certain that the only reason he’d stopped was the fact that Roman needed the ticket he carried to follow him onto the ship itself. The guard checked their tickets - Roman Prince and Virgil Garcia - and handed them back to Virgil, who stepped up onto the gangway and stopped, leaning back to offer Roman a hand, smiling brightly.

For a moment, Roman was stopped dead in awe at how beautiful his partner looked, the cool wind whipping his dark hair around his face and his eyes lit up with a smile as he shook his hand, waiting for Roman to take it. Quickly he snapped out of it, reaching for Virgil’s hand and letting himself be led onto the Ship of Dreams.

Their rooms were lovely. Far better than they had expected with carpeted floors and mahogany furniture. Roman had honestly expected worse - though everyone had been saying that this ship was ahead of her time. According to the newspapers the ship’s facilities were more lavish and comfortable than any other for all classes, but he still hadn’t expected this.

“You want top bunk?” Virgil asked, already putting his bags up there - he already knew what Roman’s answer would be before he asked the question.

“I want to cuddle with you,” He said with a pout, making Virgil laugh.

Gesturing to the bed, Virgil shrugged, “It’ll be tight.”

“I know you don’t care about that,” Roman rolled his eyes, “You’d be happy if I had to lie on top of you.”

Virgil shrugged, “You got me.”

Rolling his eyes, Roman put his own bag on the top bunk with Virgil’s, glancing around, “You know - since we’re here early…”

“That’s your plotting tone, you’re plotting something,” Virgil said, crossing his arms.

“Well… we arrived so early, and there aren’t many people here yet… why don’t we go explore instead of hiding in here?”

With a small frown on his face, Virgil looked Roman over, he was still wearing a cloak and his hat, but… “...Are you sure the sun won’t bother you?”

“Such a worrywort,” Roman shakes his head grimly, “I’ll be fine, dearest, come on - I want to see what they’re hiding from us in first class.”

“Princey!” Virgil hissed as Roman stood up, grabbing his hand and pulling him along, “We can’t go there!”

Roman turned back to him with a smile, “Hey, they’re not here yet! It’s barely even ten and the trains haven’t arrived, why don’t we have a bit of fun, right?”

Shaking his head, Virgil made his way after Roman to explore the first class areas whilst they could.

—-

“This place is plain awful,” Virgil mumbled as they looked over the second class dining room. It was already nearly full of people gathering for dinner and crowded, neither of them were a fan of crowded spaces for their own reasons. Roman winced.

“What’s the chance they’d let you take a plate and go?” He asked, tilting his head, Virgil grumbled something unintelligible before grabbing Roman’s wrist and leading him to an emptier spot on one of the large, long tables and sitting down. Roman sighed and sat next to him, hooking his foot over Virgil’s for reassurance. When they were approached by a waiter, Roman declined anything and Virgil ordered and scoffed his food as fast as he could so they could get out of there.

The walk back to their stateroom down on E deck (so many stairs, Roman had offered to carry Virgil down them, he’d refused) felt like an age. When they had finally gotten there, Virgil gently pushed him down onto the sofa in their room, taking his own seat sideways in his lap, and pulling his hair back.

“Your turn,” He said, leaning back against him. Roman frowned.

“Virgil, love-” Roman started, before Virgil cut him off.

“You’re gonna protest because you do this every time but you haven’t drank anything in three days, Princey,” Virgil said, leaning over to pull him into a kiss, “And I don’t want you to be hungry whilst we’re tryna have fun, got it?”

Roman sighed, carefully brushing Virgil’s hair back and pulling his jacket down so it sat around his waist instead. Virgil immediately relaxed into him as his lips barely brushed over his neck.

“I don’t like doing this,” Roman said softly, Virgil shivered at the cool brush of his lips.

“I know,” Virgil said, reaching around him to start untying his hair, “I wish there was a better way for you to get what you need.”

Really, in Roman’s mind, he didn’t have much hope for something like that. He was scared he would have to keep doing this forever, and after Virgil…. Without Virgil he would have to go back to hunting.

Taking a deep breath, just the way Virgil had taught him, he nodded, “That would be nice, for now I’m… grateful that you let me have you.”

“Well I’m grateful that you can do it for me,” Virgil said, gently patting Roman’s chest, “You know I need the relaxation sometimes.”

“You’re going to get addicted to my venom at some point and then neither of us will be happy,” Roman pointed out, giving him a little nudge. Virgil huffed.

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Who knows?”

“Just shut up and bite me, Princey.”

—-

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Roman said, tone a little wistful as he leant on the railing, leaning over just a little to look at the ship’s wake. It still amazed him how such a heavy thing was able to stay afloat, let alone move so quickly.

Leaning on the railing with him, just a little ways away, Virgil hummed. His hair blew back with a particularly strong gust of wind that had his jacket billowing around his legs and Roman laughed.

“A little cold though, hm?”

“Just a bit,” Virgil grumbled. Crossing his arms on the railing and looking down at the water, “You know - they say this ship can’t sink, it was all in the papers, impossible - they said.”

“If… if she did sink - what would we do?” Virgil asked, eyes still trained on the frothing wake the ship left in its path.

“Why, I’d swim us to America, of course, I promise I’d still get us there,” Roman said, reaching over to brush his fingers over Virgil’s jaw, so he’d look over at him, “But she won’t sink, don’t worry so much my darling.”

“Mm…” Virgil hummed, looking back at the water, “It’s a little scary, isn’t it? I mean - I know we’ve both done it before, but… leaving everything we know? Isn’t that terrifying?”

“A little,” Roman agreed, “I like to think of it more as an adventure - it helps with the nerves.”

He had been on so many adventures in his time, moving all over England, visiting Spain, going to America. Virgil had only ever travelled from his home in Spain to England, it was still a terrifying journey - especially for Virgil, who worried too much about such little things.

“You look lovely in this light,” Roman says, glancing towards the sun where it slowly approached the horizon, “I’d love to paint you in it.”

He made a wide gesture and when his hand left the railing, his glove clung to the metal.

They slept soundly together that night, curled up in each other’s arms. That would be the last time they would ever do so.

—

The third day of their trip had started normally - aside from an odd ‘off’ feeling that Roman had quickly brushed off, not wanting to worry Virgil. They had gone about the day just like any other - Roman had wanted to see what the library on board had to offer (not much he hadn’t already read) but they had stayed in there half the morning until lunch, where they’d made their way towards the dining hall early in order to secure seats at the ends on the tables instead of being stuck between a bunch of strangers.

As the sun began to set, the pair returned to the stern of the ship to once more watch the sea, the night was clear and crisp that night - with not a cloud in sight.

“It’s getting dark,” Virgil commented as the sun slowly sank below the horizon.

“Do you want to go back inside?” Roman asked, tilting his head, it was definitely starting to get colder out here.

Virgil’s gaze travelled from the horizon up to Roman’s face, and then beyond him to where the first stars were starting to peek through the sunset, “Would you like to stargaze?” He asked, “Maybe after dinner? It looks like the night’ll be clear enough.”

“You think so?” Roman asked, joining him in looking upwards.

“Do you see a cloud up there?”

“I suppose not,” Roman chuckles, placing his hand on top of Virgil's on the railing, “Well now I’m excited to gaze at the stars with you, come - let’s have dinner quickly.”

An hour later when they returned to the deck it was fully dark, dark enough for Roman and Virgil to sneak up to the first class promenade on A-Deck where they could get a much better view without the ship’s smokestacks in the way. Luckily for them they weren’t noticed and found a cosy bench to curl up on. Roman let down his hair for Virgil to run his hands through as they watched the stars.

At some point Virgil fell asleep whilst Roman talked mindlessly about the constellations - most of which he had made up. He had always found it more relaxing when Roman talked, the sound of his voice soothing him. For the few hours that Virgil slept, Roman held him, his cheek rested atop Virgil’s head as he continued to watch the stars above them and the dark sea ahead. It was peaceful at night, with barely even a breeze, though it was cold.

By the time Virgil woke again, Roman thought it must have been some time past midnight, he wasn’t too sure, though Virgil was groggy and mumbling something about not knowing where they were. Roman told him that he’d fallen asleep.

“Oh you must be freezing,” Virgil said softly, sitting up a little more and looking at him, “We’ve been out here for hours-”

“I’m fine, really,” Roman waved him off. Sure, it was cold, but Roman didn’t mind all that much. Huffing - clearly not accepting that answer - Virgil shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around Roman’s shoulders. A triumphant smile on his face when Roman practically melted into it. He stuck his tongue out in retaliation.

“Oh put that away,” Virgil said, obviously trying not to laugh as he sticks his tongue out at Roman too.

“You hypocrite!” Roman cried, a hand to his heart with an offended gasp. Virgil turned away as he burst out laughing, giving Roman the chance to put on the jacket properly.

Looking back at him, Virgil crossed his arms, “I’m not getting that back now until we go inside, am I?”

“Absolutely not,” Roman says, shaking his head solemnly.

“Ro… oh shit! Ro - look at that,” Virgil said, grabbing Roman’s arm and pointing somewhere ahead of them. Roman’s eyes widened a little, “Is that an iceberg?”

“...I think so,” Roman nodded, frowning, an iceberg that they looked to be heading straight for, no less, “They’ve seen it - I can hear them - they’re turning the ship, it’s alright.”

“Oh, good,” Virgil says, leaning back into Roman’s side where they sat on the bench.

It wasn’t alright.

Virgil let out a short lived sigh of relief as the bow of the ship passed the iceberg ahead of them, before yelping in alarm when the whole ship creaked and screeched in protest and started to shudder and shake - grabbing onto Roman’s arm and staring up at where chunks of ice were breaking off of the berg and landing with a crash on the deck. Neither of them seemed to have words for a moment as they watched it pass.

“I didn’t realise icebergs were so big…” Roman said softly - it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. He didn’t know what he should have expected from an iceberg - but it wasn’t something so huge and monstrous as that.

Keeping tight hold of Roman’s arm, Virgil stood, Roman going with him so they wouldn’t have to separate. They made their way over to the edge of the ship. Roman put a careful hand on Virgil’s back as they leant over, trying to see what damage had been done.

“We can’t see from here,” Roman said, worry lacing his voice as Virgil turned back to look at him.

“What do we do?” He asks, “Do they know?”

“I’m sure they know,” Roman nodded, glancing around. A few more people had come up onto the deck now, looking around in confusion. The iceberg itself was already far in the distance when Roman felt the ship shudder to a halt beneath his feet, “Yeah, they know.”

Frowning, Virgil leant into Roman’s side, “How bad do you think it was?”

Roman stayed quiet and listened, though it was hard to hear into the wheelhouse with the people now on the deck murmuring and chattering quietly. Virgil waited patiently for an answer, and the answer Roman ended up with was not a good one.

“She’s sinking,” Roman said, voice small, Virgil looked up at him in horror as Roman started to panic, “It’s bad - really bad -the iceberg tore up the side of the ship -”

Quickly, Virgil squeezed Roman’s arm, putting a hand on his face, “It’s okay, shh, breath Princey.”

“Virgil -”

“Roman,” Virgil told him, “It’ll be okay-”

“Virgil there’s not enough lifeboats,” Roman interrupted him, still listening to what the officers were whispering about above them, “Not everyone is going to be able to make it - not even half-”

Putting both hands on Roman’s cheeks now, Virgil gave him a gentle kiss, “It’s okay, Ro, they’ll get help - there's other ships, precautions and stuff -”

“How are you not panicking?” Roman asked, looking over at him, Virgil looked back.

“I am - I’m just - you’re panicking,” Virgil said, “So I have to stay calm - one of us does.”

“That’s not - it doesn’t work like that,” Roman shook his head.

“Would you rather I be panicking right now?”

“...No,”

“Then shush - and lets just - lets just figure out what to do.”

—-

It was chaos. With Virgil clinging to Roman’s arm for dear life, Roman led them through the crowd from lifeboat to lifeboat, trying like many others to find one that would let them on. Women and children only, they all said, getting the men to stand back whilst women of all ages and children were piled onto the boats. Roman noticed one boat launched half full and almost shed a tear right then. Virgil helped a set of twins with curly red hair into the nearest lifeboat - they seemed to have lost their parents in the half-panicked crowd - he wasn’t allowed to follow them in. A surge of panic had overtaken him when Virgil had left his side and it never faded despite getting him back moments later.

They kept trying, the crowds grew more and more frantic, the number of people on the deck only grew despite more lifeboats being launched. Roman thought he might strangle the next officer who wouldn’t let Virgil on.

That surge of panic from before had never quite left him, only grown stronger and stronger as time passed and people got more and more panicked around them too. The yelling was deafening, Virgil had covered his ears some time ago, flinching every time someone screamed or shouted too close. People pushed and shoved their way to the front, someone elbowed Virgil and Roman hissed viciously at the man - he didn’t care who he was. The poor guy had backed off, terrified, just like everyone else.

The band was still playing. Virgil remarked on it bitterly as they passed the trio for the second time. “Music to drown by? Now I know we’re in first class.”

Roman couldn’t help how the remark had made him wince. First class, that’s who was up here. A few of the lucky second and third class who’d come up to investigate in the first place. Where were the hundreds of people who weren’t first class? How many people had been abandoned to die in the bowels of this ship?

Tilting, the ship was tilting. Walking down the deck to the last boat felt like walking down a muddy hill. They could see the water now, so much closer, at the bow of the ship - where they’d been sitting just two hours ago - water was almost rising over the railings now.

There were no lifeboats left.

They had tried desperately, checked everywhere, none. No boats were left, Roman could see them in the distance, sailing away. He could hear the screaming of a thousand people, left, waiting, scared, clinging to a sinking ship, hundreds of people left alone and scared to die. Virgil looked at Roman, eyes wide as water spilled onto the promenade they had snuck onto to explore just three days ago, the promenade on which they had sat to watch the stars.

“What do we do?” He whispered. Roman choked back a sob, he didn’t have an answer.

Still he dragged Virgil up the ship as it tilted, they followed the screaming crowd as they ran for the stern, no matter the hopelessness that was quickly filling his heart and spilling over into his head. Roman still held Virgil tightly as the ship tore itself in half, he still screamed with Virgil and everyone else as she crashed back into the water. Virgil was trembling, with cold or fear or both Roman didn’t know.

“It’s going to be cold,” Roman said, Virgil was momentarily stripped of his panic to stare at him.

“Pretty redundant statement, Princey,” he gritted out as they clung to a metal fence,

“You’ll have to hold your breath,” Roman said anyway, “And don’t let go of me - I’ll get us to the surface.”

Virgil didn’t bite back this time, the ship had started to go down again, they could feel it, the flip of their stomachs, like this was just a demented, awful, fairground ride.

Just as Roman had said to, Virgil clung to him when they were sucked down by the water into the void the ship had left. Kicking for the surface, Roman pulled Virgil out of the water, where he spluttered and spat out salt water. People all around them were screaming and yelling, splashing in the water, he held Virgil close as everyone looked for something to cling to, anything to keep them afloat.

“They’ll come back,” Roman said to a violently shivering Virgil, with a death grip on the jacket he was still wearing, later he would wonder whether giving the jacket back could have saved him, he hadn’t thought of it before, “They’ll save you, they’ll save you.”

Both of them, somehow, knew it wasn’t true.

It got quiet, it got quiet too quickly.

“They’re dying,” Virgil whispered, his voice cracking and small. His breath fogged in front of him, Roman could see his lips were turning blue and saltwater turned to frost on his eyelashes, “I’m- I’m going to die, Roman, you have to-”

“No,” Roman shook his head violently, he too had frost on his lashes, in his hair, though it was shaken off. He couldn’t succumb to hypothermia, after all, “No you won’t, I won’t, they’ll come back, they have to.”

“Roman please,” Virgil whispered, “Please turn me.”

“Virgil,” He whispered, “I-”

“Do it, Roman, please,” He begged, his words stuttering and forced through his quickly slowing shivers. He didn’t have time, the lifeboats weren’t coming back, they wouldn’t make it.

He supposed swimming to America wasn’t so far-fetched an idea after all.

“Okay,” he said, pained, but there was no choice, he would die otherwise, “Okay - okay.”

His fangs sank into Virgil’s neck, his skin was freezing, his blood felt like ice pouring down Roman’s throat, tears slipped down his cheeks only to freeze halfway there as Virgil fell limp in his arms.

A sob ripped its way from his throat as he pulled away, leaving blood to trickle from the bite despite Virgil’s heart no longer beating.

Through his tears he tore open his wrist with his own fang, holding the bleeding wound over his loves parted lips even as his skin knitted itself together again. He knew it was useless, he had been too late.

It was far too late when a boat did come back.

The death all around him had made Roman sick, he’d vomited at least once by now, lungs hurting though he didn’t need to breathe, heart heavy though it didn’t beat. He clung to Virgil’s lifeless body even as they tried to pull him aboard.

Weakly he fought them, but even he was weak and tired from the water, sobs still wracked his body with every moment. Roman hadn’t cried this much since he was human.

The officer had to break Virgil’s frozen fingers to loosen his grip on the jacket Roman still wore. His jacket, Virgil’s jacket, which he refused to let them take off of him in favour of dry blankets when they boarded the Carpathia even when they promised him he’d get it back. He’d screamed when they pulled Virgil’s corpse away from him, pulled him back when he’d tried to reach for him again, held him down as he cried out in anguish as his love sank under the water.

They called him mad in whispers aboard the Carpathia, crew and passengers alike, when she arrived to save them, hours too late though she was the only one who had come. An officer was assigned to watch him after he had tried to throw himself overboard within hours, he had to get back to him, find him, he’d promised that they’d see America, he’d told him that he’d swim if he had to and if they let him he would. Virgil didn’t deserve to rot at the bottom of the Atlantic.

But Roman had been too weak for that, he was too weak to save him, too weak to go back to him, too weak to make good on any of his promises. All he could do was cling to the jacket he wore and the blanket they had given him. He sat so still and unmoving that they worried he was in shock, they’d sent for a doctor and Roman had pushed him away when he’d tried to diagnose him with hysteria. Still he cried but he didn’t scream, he didn’t try and throw himself over the railings again, they had moved too far for that now and Roman knew he wouldn’t make it. He knew he wasn’t strong enough anymore.

The moment the statue of liberty passed over him was supposed to be a happy one, one he could share with the person he loved as they embarked on such a wondrous adventure. But it was only Roman who passed under that statue as rain poured down over them, it was only Roman who got to see her in her glory - even in the rain she was beautiful, he thought Virgil would’ve loved to see it.

“Your name, sir?” An officer asked as he reached the gate, expression blank and eyes absent, hands shaking as they clenched the jacket that still smelled of saltwater and death. He looked up, finding himself unable to make eye contact with the man, though he had a kind face, a sympathetic look in his eyes. Roman couldn’t stand it, he didn’t need sympathy, he needed something no-one could give him back.

“Roman,” He said, tone flat.

“And your surname>?” he prompted. Someone behind him in the line huffed in annoyance. Roman’s hand worried a frayed seam in the jacket - he would have to fix it when he got home, he couldn’t lose this too. The last thing Virgil had given to him.

Not the last.

“Roman Garcia,” He said, trying to sound confident. The man nodded with a smile and wrote down his name before waving him off.

Roman Prince had left England hand in hand with the person he loved, waving to no-one aboard the Ship of Dreams, full of hope and excited for the future - they both had been.

Roman Garcia stepped onto the grounds of America alone, hand and heart equally empty, from a ship that had been the only one to answer their call for aid. A ship that had not been fast enough to save him.

----

Tags: @full-of-roman-angst-trash @your-local-random-dino @cutebisexualmess @glacierruler @roseianxiety @bella-bugatti-frogetti-baguetti @scalesfeathersnfur @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat @littlerat2 (if anyone wants to be added, let me know!)

#sanders sides #prinxiety #roman sanders #virgil sanders #major character death #sanders side fic #ts roman #ts virgil #sanders sides fanfiction #rowans writings

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steddiemicrofic · 11 months ago

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Steddie Microfic March 22nd-31st Masterlist

Under Pressure by @stranger-stardustt | Rated T | cw: cursing | tags: high school au, science fair, pre-relationship

It's a Sign by @rindecisions | Rated T | cw: cursing | tags: meet cute, forced proximity, high school

Found what I'm looking for by @madaboutmunson | Rated T | cw: cursing, reference to alcohol

So Hungry… by @rindecisions | Rated M | cw: stalking, mention of blood | tags: vampire eddie, stalking, bloodlust

POP! by @madaboutmunson | Rated T | cw: cursing, reference to drug deal

The Sketchbook by @medusapelagia | Rated E | cw: mention of blowjob, implied reference to sex

putting a pin in a daydream by @sailing-through-hawkins | Rated T | no cw | tags: stobin being stobin, eddie having horny thoughts

untitled by @thefreakandthehair | Rated M | no cw

class vivisection by @loveinhawkins | Rated G | cw: implied/referenced homophobia | tags: missing scene, pre-season 2

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddiemicrofic #steddiemicroficmarch #stranger things #masterlist

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browneyesandhair · 8 months ago

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flickr

Jar of Hearts by Cupcakemolotov

Summary:

In a society where vampire allegiance is worn openly on their skin, Caroline Forbes is anomaly. She woke from transition marked by a single triangle. For six decades, she's hidden the truth of her allegiance, refusing to abandon what family she has left. Klaus Mikaelson's sudden appearance in Chicago bodes well for no one. For Klaus has spent five hundred years burying the truth of his curse, given as bloody vengeance for the death of Katerina. Klaus has a soulmate.

Relationship: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson

Characters: Bonnie Bennett, Rebekah Mikaelson, Abby Bennett Wilson,

Additional Tags: AU, AU - Canon Divergence, AU - Soulmates, Torture, Aftermath of Torture, AU - Dark, Psychological Torture, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, Blood and Violence, Threats of Violence, Blood and Gore, Gore, Sex, Vaginal Sex, Porn with Plot, Porn with Feelings, Wall Sex, Implied/Referenced Blow Jobs, gore and sex, vampire caroline forbes, hybrid klaus mikaelson,

Notes: I don't know if its clear yet how much I love soulmates. But this is exactly that and I love it a lot. (This may be a duplicate of my soulmate selection, but I don't care). This story is so wonderful. Caroline hiding? Incredible.

(This is part of my year of recs. I'm trying to share some of my favorite stories on tumblr. I've set up a series of Soulmate recs for each month on the 15th, but these will be randomly dispersed throughout the year.)

#tvd #the vampire diaries #caroline forbes #klaus mikaelson #klaroline #fic #rec #fanfic #year of recs #2024 fanfic list of favs #don't look at the photos #I got them on flikr #trying to avoid copyright issues #hope you enjoy

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inevitably-johnlocked · 10 months ago

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Hi Steph, how are you lovely? Thank you again for everything you do for us! I'm sort of in the mood for fun Johnlock marijuana fics. John and Sherlock accidentally or not so accidentally getting high (and preferably naughty). I just finished lifeonmars' 'Smoke' and itching for more 🤭

Hi Nonny!

AHHHH okay I honestly don't think I HAVE any that I've read? If I do they'll be on one of my Drugs lists:

Self Harm, Danger Nights, and Drugs

Drugs and Drugging Pt 2

Drugs and Drugging Pt 3

I did a quick look on my MFL list and here is what showed up when I did a tag search... I haven't read them so I don't know if the drugs referenced IS pot/weed... If anyone has others that they can or would like to add, please do!

RECREATIONAL DRUG USE (MFLs)

Smoke by lifeonmars (T, 4,827 w., 1 Ch. || Marijuana, Recreational Drug Use, Fluff, Humour, Rock and Roll) – Sometimes time and space collide to show you something you've been missing. Sherlock's pipe helps.

Better Than by pandoras_chaos (E, 9,869 w. || Marijuana / Drug Use, Oral / Anal Sex, Awkwardness, Pining) – Mrs Hudson looked up at him and started giggling, seemingly unable to help herself as she clutched at her stomach and leaned back into the sofa cushions. Sherlock felt his face twitch, and he tried to contain the rumbling chuckles as they spilled forth from his throat, but it was useless. "The thing about John...?" she prompted after a few minutes of breathless laughter. "Ah! Yes," Sherlock sighed, reaching for the ashtray and collecting the expertly rolled joint, "The thing about John is..." he brought the lighter up to the end of the paper, took a drag and held it for a moment, feeling his chest expand with the fragrant smoke. "He's..." he exhaled long and low. "He's fucking brilliant." Mrs Hudson let loose a bark of high, girlish laughter. "You mean he's brilliant at fucking, dear," she corrected, reaching for the bag of crisps on the table. Sherlock felt his cheeks flush, but his face split into a sly grin. "I wouldn't know, Hudders." He sighed a bit wistfully, "I really wouldn't know."

Sit Pretty For Me by LipstickDaddy (E, 19,502 w., 10 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting Pre-S1, Recreational Drug Use, Light BDSM, Strangers to Lovers, Matchmaker Mike, Light Angst, Happy Ending) – What if John and Sherlock met once before, at an underground sex club, a decade before Mike Stamford introduced them that afternoon at Bart’s?

On Dates, Drugs, and Destiny by squire (T, 20,055 w., 3 Ch. || ASiP Divergence, Romance, Arranged Marriage, Crack, Humour, Fluff, Angst, Misunderstandings, Love Confessions, Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Jealousy, Friends to Lovers, Courting, Drugs / Recreational Drug use, Case-Related Drug Use, Sherlock Being an Idiot, Meddling Mycroft) – When Sherlock Holmes and John Watson first meet in the lab at Bart's, it isn't actually for the first time. But why does only one of them know this - and should the other one keep the secret, or will revealing the truth ruin their friendship forever? A story of John being not Sherlock's date, of Sherlock being around way too much drugs, and a Destiny that always has to have the last word.

Heart on a String by AngelSpirit (E, 23,257 w., 1 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Alternate First Meeting, First Kiss / Time, Infidelity, Angst, Fluff, Kidlock/Teenlock, Mentions of Recreational Drug Use) – John and Sherlock got married with Cracker Jack rings when they were 7 yrs old. It wasn’t official, but for their whole lives they took it very seriously.

Gilded Cages by MaryLouLeach (E, 52,323 w., 21 Ch. || Supernatural Creatures AU || Rape/Non-Con, Graphic Violence, Suicide Attempt, Attempted Murder, Vampires and Werewolves, Blood Drinking, Slavery, Dom/Sub Undertones, Torture, Anal Sex, Turning, Recreational Drug Use, Drug Addiction, Dark Sherlock, Protective Mycroft, Possessive Sherlock, Bonding, War, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Angst, Child Abuse) – The vampire remained motionless in the dark of his prison; his eyes clasped shut as if he were sleeping. However Vampires didn’t sleep, or rather this one did not. Sleeping would bring dreams; dreams were solely a human condition, whereas nightmares, nightmares were what plagued the sleep of the immortal. Sherlock knew he was a monster, and even now in this hellish prison locked in the unfurnished room, he felt the darkness of soul start to fester. Pushing at him and all he wished to do was silence it, he needed his fix needed more. The last addict he fed on wasn’t enough. He needed more, needed to shut out the screaming that plagued him that weighed him down and kept him shackled to his hunger. Part 1 of the GILDED series

Your Many Tendencies Series by apliddell (T, 52,222+ w. across 5 works || WiP || Femlock, POC Characters, Enby Character, Sherlock’s Violin, YouTuber John, UST, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, Domesticity, Fluff, Recreational Drug Use, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock’s Past, First Kiss, Love Confessions, John’s Family, Christmas, Anxious Sherlock, Hurt / Comfort, Institutional Racism) – John Watson returns to London after a long absence, somewhat the worse for wear. She meets Sherlock Holmes, and starts feeling excited about life again.

Save Me or Let Me Drown by GubraithianFire (E, 72,986 w., 16 Ch. || Shameless AU || Dysfunctional Family, Alcoholism, Recreational Drug Use, Angst, Humour, Clubbing, Bipolar Disorder, Custody Battle, Mutual Pining, Family Fluff, Smut, Handcuffs, Anal Sex, Shower Sex, Rimming, Come Shot, Angst With Happy Ending) – How Sherlock escaped from his family, John sacrificed everything to his, and how, together, they built their own. Part 1 of the The Watsons series

Filthy/Gorgeous by MirabileLectu (E, 87,951 w., 12 Ch. || Prostitution, Alternate First Meeting, First Time, Recreational Drug Use, Drugs, Angst, Drama)– Even if this was legal, even if there was nothing technically wrong with what he was doing he knew that if he were caught, or if he were seen by someone he knew, or if he were found out in any way the shame would never, ever die. What would his regiment say? What would his family say? What would anyone say if they discovered that John was currently in a cab on the way to pick up a male prostitute for the evening?

To Light Another's Path by BeautifulFiction (E, 128,654 w., 19 Ch. || Post-TGG, Sick Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drug Addiction / Recreational Drug Use, First Time / Kiss, Case Fic) – Teaching John to observe seems to be a losing battle, but when Sherlock falls ill and submits himself to John's care, will he realise that there is more to life than the science of deduction? Meanwhile, there is a murder to solve, and John must try and convince Sherlock not to sacrifice his own health for the sake of the case.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #drugs and drugging fics #drugs cw #recreational drugs fics

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icanttypo · 1 year ago

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OH MY GOD, I JUST REALIZED. EPISODE 7 HAS SO MANY ADDITIONAL SYMBOLIC TAROT REFERENCES. I WAS HALF ASLEEP AND I JUST. SHOT UP IN A COLD SWEAT. SO LISTEN TO MY SLEEP DEPRIVED RAMBLE ABOUT ONE OF MY HOBBIES AND MY HYPERFIXATION. I WON'T ADD SCREENSHOTS OF THE SCENES, BUT I'LL PROVIDE TAROT CARDS WHEN NECESSARY!

1. "The Star": This one is the most obvious because of the stakes miniseries. We already know the pattern of all the vampires being named after tarot cards, yadda yadda. The star in tarot comes right after the tower, symbolizing rebirth and hope in the wake of destruction. Clearly, this is meant to be two metaphors in a trenchcoat because if you consider her backstory in this universe, her becoming the daughter of the vampire queen is somewhat of a more hopeful end. If you ignore the fact that almost everyone died in that universe, at least. Also baby Finn??? What's going to happen to him??? Please??? Am I the only one terrified about that baby??? BUT ANYWAYS OFF TOPIC. TAROT TIME.

2. "The Tower": Although not explicitly referenced, though maybe they did call it the tower idk, is what comes before the star, a sudden upheavel. You can see it pictured as below.

The tower, although generally thought to be a negative card like death, is actually more of a positive one. Yes, sudden change is scary, but if a house is built on shaky foundations, no matter what, it will fall. This card is only negative if you refuse to accept life for what it is, which seems to be pretty in line with the theme of Fiona and Cake so far.

You'll immediately see the parallel to the final scene if you look at this picture. With the birds (or vampires) falling with them, the smoke and the tower, with a dark sky... The only difference is Bonnie and Marcy were holding one another, which I find to be interesting. There's many different decks, but considering the AT crew is probably going off of the Rider-Waite deck, (yes I spelled it wrong, sue me), I hardly believe that was unintentional. I think it's to go to show that even if they may not be happily in love in every universe, you can't deny that there is some kind of soulmate au fuckery going on. Their two options in any given universe is: ride together, and / or die together.

I'm pretty sure there was also The Devil symbology with The King, and there was something going on with Simon's bones, but I'll leave that for tomorrow.

#fionna and cake #tarot #adventure time #I'm going apeshit over these last two episodes #AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE KISS AT THE END THAT WAS SO CUTE #and aaaah!!! all the symbology and themes and and aaagh #please send help im going into adventure time hell

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whumpcloud · 2 years ago

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TE | PC: Swap AU - Thrown Away

masterlist

content: bloodbag whumpee, vampire caretaker(s), intimate whumper, begging for death, broken bones + blood, referenced muzzling and beating, very very brief reference to noncon

Vincent is out of it. The world has been a blur for months now, and all he has the strength to do anymore is lie here and wait until he can be useful again. Though he isn't sure how useful he can really be, at the moment. He has no more blood left to offer, no more bones to safely break, not even enough of a mind to make it fun when it gets twisted and damaged like every other part of him.

The door clicks, and Vincent glances up. A vague, familiar feeling of fear grips him.

"Vincent, dear, you look awful," Lyfelde says, faux-softness in his tone. Vincent closes his eyes again as Lyfelde's hand cups his face. "Poor thing. You really have nothing left to give, hm?"

"Do you need something, Mr Lyfelde?" Vincent asks. "I'm exhausted…"

Lyfelde only ever wants two things anymore - Vincent as bait, or Vincent in his bed. Today, Vincent is finding himself hoping it's the former. But at least Lyfelde wants him.

As if Lyfelde ever wanted him at all, and not just someone to take advantage of. But that's not something Vincent lets himself think about.

"Come on, get up."

Vincent knows better than to disobey, but even pushing himself to sit up properly is an effort that makes his body tremble.

"Oh, Vincent." Lyfelde laughs softly as he helps Vincent to his feet. "It's alright. It'll be over soon enough."

Oh. Lyfelde doesn't want him.

Vincent wishes he could wonder what Lyfelde means, but he's known for a while. One day Lyfelde was going to let the bloodbag be killed. Vincent is desperate for that, at this point. For it to just end and go back to the way it was before Clary. But it won't.

So he doesn't struggle or complain, even as Lyfelde lays him in the trunk of a car. He just curls up, knowing what's coming. The car jolts his limp body, and he does an equal amount of nothing when Lyfelde lifts him out of the car. It isn't as though he has a choice, anyway. He doesn't have the strength to make a choice.

Lyfelde props him up against a wall, and pulls out a pocket knife, taking Vincent's hand and gently cutting a line through his palm. These things barely hurt anymore.

"You'll make a nice snack for some lucky bloodsucker," Lyfelde says, like he's stifling laughter. "You did well for so long, dear. But there's nothing much left in that pretty head of yours, is there? No fun at all."

Vincent can't say that Lyfelde is wrong. He bristles at the words anyway, and watches blearily as Lyfelde walks off.

At least he'll spend his last moments being useful. That's all he ever is.

Sunset, he thinks, as he stares up at the sky. Of course Lyfelde wouldn't put himself in danger just to abandon Vincent. And it means there's an entire night left for a vampire to find him and make this stop.

Vincent doesn't close his eyes until the sun is out of sight, and savours the memory.

---

Someone got messy with a meal, Cai thinks. That's what it smells like, anyway. That, or it's vampire hunters again. Cai is getting sick of them using themselves or each other as bait. Humans have such pathetic ideas.

Still, he hasn't eaten in a few days, and he's quick enough that he can get away if it's a trap. So he follows his nose.

Oh. That isn't bait, for sure. That's someone else's sloppy seconds, thrown onto the ground without a thought. If Cai couldn't hear the heartbeat he'd have thought the man was dead.

Cai crouches down. "Hey."

The human lets out a small, pained sound. "Are you a vampire?"

Cai tilts his head. "Yeah. Why?"

"Can you kill me when you're finished?"

Normally, Cai wouldn't bother answering and just do whatever he felt like doing. He isn't in a particularly murderous mood tonight, but that's really besides the point. Something has happened to this human. Whoever had him before did something awful to him.

"I don't want to leave you dead on the street, honestly," Cai says flatly. "I'll take you back with me. I'll bury you in the garden."

"...okay," the human breathes. "That sounds nice."

It probably shouldn't, Cai thinks. But it isn't his business if this human wants to die. He easily hoists the human over his shoulder and walks back to the house.

By the time Cai slams open the door, the human is fully unconscious, and Cai drops him unceremoniously onto the coffee table.

"I got dinner," Cai signs.

Clary freezes completely, her eyes widening. She grips the fabric of the sofa hard enough to tear it. Vincent, her Vincent, passed out on the coffee table, bruised all over, broken fingers and bloodstained skin, bite marks on his neck as though he's been someone's chewtoy.

"Dinner?" Clary squeaks.

"Is there something wrong with it?"

"That's Vincent." If Clary still breathed, she would be hyperventilating. "Vincent w-who--"

"Oh." Cai's face falls a bit. "He asked to die anyway. Do you want to kill him or will I?"

She feels faint. "He asked?"

"Yeah."

She could kill him. She could kill him, and who would know? Who would care? She wouldn't.

Lyfelde might.

"This could be a trap," Clary says suddenly. "By Lyfelde. To get me back. Or kill us."

Cai hesitates. "Would he really do that to Vincent?"

"I… I wouldn't put it past him." Clary looks over Vincent again. He's far too pale. "You have no idea what Lyfelde was like. I-If he was the one who- who had me, I- I wouldn't have gotten out, I--"

"Okay, I understand." Cai sits down next to Clary and squeezes her shoulder. "What are we going to do, then?"

Clary stares at Vincent, a million thoughts in her mind, and only one seems like the right answer. She thought she'd feel something if she saw him like this. Broken and battered. But there's no catharsis, no relief. He just looks older and more tired and less like the Vincent she knew and more like a dead man walking.

"Keep him," she says, finally. "If it's a trap, we'll be hurt worse for killing him. If it isn't, then there's no point in killing him like… this. It wouldn't feel any good."

The only way she will get any catharsis is with her own two hands wringing Vincent's neck.

"We can leave him on the couch," Clary mumbles.

---

Vincent… wakes?

Fear sets in. He asked to be killed, he knows he did, why would they keep him? He's a stupid, broken bloodbag, and he's barely even useful for that. A panicked sob escapes him.

A moment later there's someone looking over him. Same blonde hair and brown eyes, but the face is far, far more familiar this time, and Vincent squeezes his eyes shut again.

"Oh no, Clary," he whimpers.

He's utterly defenceless. She could rip his throat out with her teeth right now and he could do nothing to stop her. Tears stream down the sides of his face.

"Vincent," she says, and Vincent feels as though if he opens his eyes, he's going to see hers blazing in anger.

"I'm sorry!" he blurts out, bracing himself to be hurt. "I'm so, so sorry, I'm- I--"

"Stop talking."

He promptly shuts his mouth. He'd never speak again if she asked it of him.

Clary sits on the coffee table. She looks nice. He got so used to seeing her muzzled and bound and beaten that it's odd that she's simply… sitting there.

"Are you just apologising because you think I'm going to hurt you?" she asks, almost hisses it.

"N-No!" It's not quite the truth, and Clary only has to glare at him again to get him to admit it. "Yes! I'm sorry, please don't kill me, please, I- I can be useful, I--"

"Useful?" Clary snaps. "How exactly can you be useful to me?"

"M-My blood, my blood, you can feed from me!" Vincent tilts his neck, and Clary can only see even more scars and bruises that make her insides twist. "I'm j-just a bloodbag now anyway, I can- I can take it!"

Clary doesn't even know where to begin. Vincent, a bloodbag. If he didn't look the same, she would wonder if he was Vincent at all.

"I'm not going to feed from you." Clary folds her arms. "You look like shit and your blood smells gross."

Of course. He's only a bloodbag for vampires who can do no better. "Y-You can hurt me! I deserve it, I d-deserve it for everything I did to you."

"Stop babbling, I swear to God," Clary snarls. "What happened to you since I escaped?"

Vincent swallows. A lot of things he doesn't want to repeat. A lot of crying, and screaming, and begging. Being alone. Not being alone enough.

"M-Mr Lyfelde…" is all he manages to say, and Clary hates it, hates it, because the only thing in the world that can make her feel bad for Vincent is a bastard named Ambrose Lyfelde.

She hides her face in her hands. "I hate you."

"I…" Vincent swallows. I hate you and me, too. "I know."

A short, tense silence ensues.

"When was the last time you ate?" Clary asks, eventually, her voice softer than she expected it to be.

"U-Um…" Vincent tries his hardest to remember. "Last… night."

"...I'll send Cai out to get you something to eat," she sighs. "Maybe your blood will smell nicer after that."

So he can still be useful. She's caring enough to give him food. He's trapped here, he accepted that reality as soon as he saw her, but he might be okay. He wants to die - who wouldn't want to die by now? - but he knows Clary wouldn't be merciful enough to give him a death that wasn't excruciatingly painful.

That's something. It's good enough. Vincent lets himself pass out again.

(not sure if i'll write/post more, but if i do, please let me know if you don't wanna be on au taglists!) taglist: @whumpsday @whumpycries @whumpwillow @why-not-ask-me-a-better-question @whumpshaped @suspicious-whumping-egg @chiswhumpcorner @melancholy-in-the-morning @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @bloodinkandashes @whump-me-all-night-long @sickophantic @itsmyworld23 @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @annablogsposts @whumpdreamz @thebirdsofgay @sonder35

#polly's prose #things end | people change #te | pc swap au #clary nikitin #cai nikitin #vincent maddox #whump #whump writing #again no promises on continuing but. teehee

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sugareey-makes-stuff · 1 year ago

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I have no idea where this came from, but I decided to write a thing when I saw that Crimson_Fanfic_Writer_7 needed some cheering up and asked for Sterek, angst and hurt/comfort for TML's Drabble for Dopamine. This was honestly supposed to be 500 words, but somehow transformed into a mini monster of its own. Inspired by @whumptember's alternative prompts, "You don't deserve this." and "It should have been me." Mind the tags below. Title: The Walls Came Crashing Down (<- on AO3) Rating: Teen Ship: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski WC: 4.2k Tags: AU- Canon Divergence, Post-Kanima Arc, Post-Nogitsune Arc, SPN S1 Ep5 Bloody Mary, Urban Legends, Whump, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Stiles Stilinski, Hurt Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin Saves the Day, Derek Hale to the Rescue, Unconsciousness, Implied/Referenced Torture, Survivor Guilt, Regret, Blood and Injury, Panic Attacks, Crying, Canon-Typical Violence, Pack, Stiles Needs a Hug, Derek Hale Comforts Stiles, POV Stiles, Hopeful Ending Summary:

"Stop thinking so hard, or you’re going to bleed." Surely it couldn’t be—wasn’t his Pack supposed to be duking things out with vampires right now? But a very solid and reassuring hand squeezed his own. Grounding him. Holding on, as if to drain away his pain. There was only one person who always did this whenever he got hurt. "Derek?" Stiles whispered, his voice raw and scratchy. * [Or: A mission goes horribly wrong, and Stiles finally figures out where he stands with Derek.]

Okay, so this fic is different from what I usually lean toward. Yeah, I'm an angst and hurt/comfort person, but it's rare for me to write about the whumpier and bloodier things. Reading it is one thing, but writing it really makes you wonder about a lot (ie. how everything physical is tied in with all things mental and emotional), and making sure to double-check things like facts and tagging. Also, I've been wanting to write a Bloody Mary thing for...a decade? I don't even know...there's something about common myths and urban legends that's so interesting and eerie. Love the lore and the potential for all the suspense, mystery and action that can come out of each and every story. Throw in some hurt characters, and hey, I guess things gotta get bad before they get better? Feels that pull, that's what it's about. This really was a treat to write, lbh. And I will look for an excuse for Stiles and Derek to make each other feel better. They've seen some Stuff, and they 1000% deserve all the comfort and hugs. Anyway, something new for the fall and pre-spooky season. I hope you give this a read when you have a chance. Enjoy!

#whumptember2023 #teen wolf #sterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #teen wolf fanfiction #fic rec #self rec #my fic #sugareey #altprompt two: You don’t deserve this #altprompt four: It should’ve been me

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nightcolorz · 1 year ago

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🌍 and 🔍 obviously for Armand

Fuck yes tysm anon looooove this animal!!!! "Obviously for Armand" is killing me like yes so true he is my brand

🔎: something about the modern era not referenced in the books that you think [insert character] would find upsetting or confusing + why?

This almost feels too obvious but the invasion of Ukraine I imagine would be pretty triggering and upsetting for Armand. For pretty self explanatory grew up in Kiev under invasion slash power of Ghengis Khan subsequent kidnapping and selling trauma.

On a less serious note I think Armand would find combat video games rlly confusing lmao. Ik this is probably a hot take but I have reasoning ! In devil's minion Armand describes to Daniel how he doesn't understand war or violence between men cuz violence to him isn't something he would ever choose, it's not exciting to him and it doesnt like call to him the way he imagines it does to other ppl, he is only so violent because he was born into violence raised to become used to pain and as a vampire violence is inherent + necessary.

So like I imagine if he found out about first person shooters killing games etc he wouldn't understand why they exist 😭 I think he'd really enjoy the technological and mechanic aspects that go into a game and find them really appealing for that reason (I could def see Armand having a gamer phase) but conceptually killing games would confuse him. I imagine while crushing Daniel in call of duty Armand's questioning him the whole time over why it is so overwhelmingly common for mortals to design experiences were they can fantsize about taking life while Daniel is just like oh my god Armand its not that deep ur distracting me 😭

🌍: if [insert character] were human and so was everyone else, what would their life be like? for example: what would their career be? where would they live? what about their relationship to [insert character]?

Oooo don't u dare activate human au brain (excitement). I love human aus cuz it strips away any supernatural justification for the characters being so fucked up and instantly reduces them to guys who r just like that it's so funny.

I could see Armand as an interior designer, smth sort of formulaic but still artistic. Interior design calls to me for him cuz of his passion for designing his loved ones elaborately lavish living spaces as a form of love language (trinity gate, night island). Obvs I have a human au and my Armand live's in New York, so I'm gonna go with that. Interior designer living in New York Lmao whose in the worst ever pseudo polycule with his old friend (derogatory) Lestat, Lestat's husband Armands ex husband (non literal) slash current boyfriend Louis and his bitch he keeps on a leash and does kink with in non consenting public spaces Daniel.

It feels so silly saying this cuz my fic is literally a social media au but I think that in a general human au Armand would not use social media like he'd have accounts and use the Internet but I can not see him blogging tweeting tiktoking etc. having a social media presence requires a certain level of gratification and enjoyment with sharing urself with others and being a public figure that army doesnt have lmao he hates to be perceived + consumed and thats what being online is all about ❤️

Anyways relationship wise I think Daniel is the most interesting to talk about in a human au cuz there relationship is so centrally vampiric like the whole conflict and crazy devotion comes from that, and in my heart and soul a human devil's minion has the same insanity that is justified by Daniel just being very mentally ill and Armand just being very into bdsm and blood play role play shit, love wins. Kidding they r both very mentally ill, I imagine the vampire conflict would translate into daniel being crazy obsessed with Armand and desperately longing for a deeper emotional intimacy and commitment, maybe even marriage, and armand keeps pushing him away cuz for trauma reasons he likes to keep ppl at arms length, so they r just doing bdsm shit but they r in love and army doesn't know what to do with that cuz the vulnerability of being emotionally intimate is scarier then physical esp when u have the power in the sexual dynamic. also Daniel alcoholism plus Armand every disorder and trauma is a formula for big blow out arguments all the time. Maybe they get healthy one day and adopt some fuck ass kid or two (Benji and sybelle wink wink)

Human au Marius wise makes me shudder cuz the most canon accurate stand in would be Marius adopts Armand when he's a kid or takes him in, fosters him, etc which is pretty hashtag disturbing 😭 but if I were to write a human au that's not millennia gate (my fic) that's what I'd do 😊

Armands history with Lestat and Louis I imagine would be pretty similar to canon just to a smaller less vampiric scale cuz queer ppl r just like that they r all exes they r all dating and having casual sex and marrying. I would elaborate more on this but I would just be semi spoiling my plans for my fic Lmao so ig stay tuned

Anyways love u for this anon I love Armand love that animal he is my fav ever shrieks and explodes

#tvc #the vampire chronicles #vampire chronicles #vc #armand #ask game #the vampire armand #vampire armand

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tiny-wooden-robot-fics · 3 days ago

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Magnolia - Chapter Twenty

A/N: Tags will be added as chapters are updated. Please be mindful of the tags and warnings at the beginning of each chapter, as they will tell you what you need to know about the content within.

Minors, DNI.

Summary:

“I know you’re only teasing, but I don’t like it when you say that. I would never replace you.”

“Even if I deserved it?”

Suguru looks sharply at him. “What makes you think you’d ever deserve to be replaced?”

He shrugs. “I was gone for decades, Suguru.”

“Satoru… why did you stay away for so long?”

Chapter Navigation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Chapter Masterlist

Read on AO3

Chapter Warnings: Blood drinking, character death, mentions of hunting and killing animals, mentions of suicide/suicide attempt

Chapter Twenty: Stay

Author's Note:

If you've come this far - to the end of the story - it means you've shown a great deal of patience with me as I've written this story. For that, I'm so, so thankful. I hope reading this has been as enjoyable for you as writing it has been for me.

-Val 💙

Is it like this In death’s other kingdom Waking alone At the hour when we are Trembling with tenderness Lips that would kiss Form prayers to broken stone. The eyes are not here There are no eyes here In this valley of dying stars In this hollow valley This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms -T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men (excerpt)

“Are you sure I haven’t been replaced?”

Satoru grins, watching Suguru watch Lia. She’s still sleeping - worn out, to be more precise - and Satoru wonders if she’s naturally inclined to sleep on her left, or if there’s some instinct that moved her to curl into Suguru’s side that way.

They’re speaking in low murmurs over her head, trying not to wake her. “I know you’re only teasing, but I don’t like it when you say that. I would never replace you.” “Even if I deserved it?”

Suguru looks sharply at him. “What makes you think you’d ever deserve to be replaced?” He shrugs. “I was gone for decades, Suguru.”

“Satoru… why did you stay away for so long?”

“The truth? I felt guilty.”

“What for?”

“For going back to a place you couldn’t.” He sighs, sinking back into the sheets and looking up at the ceiling. “It wasn’t until I got back there that I realized I couldn’t change anything… I couldn’t change their minds. I didn’t want to tell you I’d failed, either. So I just kept… moving from place to place, thinking maybe it was better if I didn’t come back with nothing to show for it, and framed it like I just enjoyed travelling so much that I couldn’t stand to be tied down to one place forever.”

“Dummy,” Suguru laughs. “You didn’t need to go back and change anything for me… but I appreciate that you tried.” He pauses. “And you should know I would’ve always welcomed you back.”

“Now you tell me.” But he’s smiling, and Suguru can tell he’s relieved. He wonders how long Satoru has been carrying that weight on his shoulders.

“When you vowed to be bound to me for all time, I didn’t mean for you to take it literally. I know you like to travel, and I know there’ll be times you’ll wanna go.” He looks fondly down at the woman sleeping next to him. “Besides, I guess it never mattered much that you were gone for so long.” “Because you knew I’d be back someday?” “Hm. I guess you could say that.” Suguru thinks about it for a moment. “I was lonely, I guess… and I missed you. Knowing you were always there and would come back eventually, that tempered the loneliness a bit. Being lonely is easier to bear when you know someone loves you, and you know you have forever to be with them again.

“But then I met her,” he goes on. “And I guess it reminded me that not everybody is like us… and feeling something like this for somebody who won’t be around forever is…” He doesn’t finish the thought. “So ask her.”

“Ask her what?”

“Ask her if she wants to be around forever. I know you, Suguru. You don’t share your heart. The fact that the three of us are here together means you’re playing for keeps.”

Suguru wants to refute his words, but he finds that he can’t.

“You said once before that you wouldn’t know how to bring it up to someone who, two years ago, didn’t want to live at all. I’m sure that’s changed by now.”

“You really think so?”

Satoru, with his cocky grin and his bright blue eyes. “I would bet my extraordinarily long life on it.”

The sky is gray now.

Time sits on that thin precipice between sunset and night. Dusk, she remembers - it’s called dusk. But here in the middle of the woods, under the thick canopy of trees surrounding her, the dark feels closer to night.

Her hands are visibly shaking as she looks down at what’s in them. For all that she has tried her best to talk herself into feeling numb about this, her nerves have still managed to betray her.

If this is the right thing to do, why does it feel so horribly wrong?

“I don’t… want to die.” She whispers it into the trees, but there is no answer.

“Please,” she pleads with the dark gray sky. “Let me be useful… I don’t want to die.”

The sky says nothing - it only stares back at her, that yawning expanse of gray.

“I don’t want to die,” she’s crying now. “Please… I don’t want to die… I want to be loved, to be useful. I don’t want to die, I don’t want---”

“That’s---” Whatever Suguru is intending to say in response dies on his lips when Lia mumbles something.

“...don’t want to die, please… I don’t want… die---”

“Suguru…”

“Yeah, I know.” She’s starting to thrash now, mumbling the same broken sentence over and over, tears rolling out of her still-closed eyes. “Lia.” He shakes her shoulder gently. “Lia, wake up, you’re having a bad dream.”

He shakes her shoulder again, more firmly, and this time her eyes fly open. “I don’t want to die,” she sobs. Disoriented, she blinks up at him. “Suguru?”

“You were having a nightmare.” He looks down at her, concerned.

“A hell of a nightmare, if your waking words are anything to go by,” Satoru adds.

Her breath hitches in her chest, a half-sob. “I dreamed I was back in the woods again,” she says softly.

“The woods?”

“The woods where Suguru found me.”

“Ah.” Satoru draws in a sharp breath. “Ouch.”

“It was the same night,” she goes on. “And I’d… gone there to do the same thing. But I didn’t want to. It felt wrong, and I didn’t want to do it.”

She’s crying again, and Satoru gathers her in his arms while Suguru reaches for the box of tissues on the nightstand. “You know, Lia,” Satoru says after a moment, his voice quiet. “I’m really glad Suguru found you that night. Or should I say, I’m really glad you found him?” He looks at Suguru over her head. “I’m glad the two of you found each other.”

Lia raises her head, turning her tearstained face up towards him. “Are you really? You aren’t angry?”

It makes him laugh, but she knows he’s not laughing at her. He pulls her closer to him, warm hands rubbing soothing circles on her back. “Are you kidding me? You obviously make him happy. It seems like he makes you happy. And I gotta admit, seeing you both happy makes me happy.”

She rests her head on his chest. “But I’m… still not quite sure how I fit into this equation.”

“How about the third in a sequence of three? That makes a complete set.” This time it’s Suguru addressing her.

“But the two of you had a nice life together before, without me.”

The men exchange another glance above her head. “I think, considering how comfortably we seem to have settled together since I’ve been back,” Satoru starts, “it wouldn’t be overstating it to say we can have just as nice of a life together now, with you. Wouldn’t you agree, Suguru?”

“He’s right,” Suguru nods. “Besides… if you really want to know the truth, it feels a little like Satoru and I had drifted somewhat apart. Still loving each other, but not really having a life together.”

“You were a little bit like the thread that pulled us back together,” Satoru finishes. “More than that, I think I can speak for Suguru when I say we both love you for reasons outside of bringing us back together.”

She looks up at him. “Does that mean I can stay here, with the two of you?”

“For as long as you want.” He looks pointedly at Suguru. “I think… Suguru might have something to ask you, to that effect.”

“Ask me?” She looks over her shoulder.

“Lia… I’d like to ask you to stay with us. For a long time. How would you feel about that?”

“A long time?” She thinks she might know what he’s asking, but she doesn’t want to assume. “H-how long?”

And there it is, the sight she’s come to know and love so well: Suguru, giving her that warm, kind smile. “For as long as we live.”

“Do you trust me?”

He asks the question softly, his eyes meeting hers. Searching for something - perhaps fear, or hesitation.

She thought she would be afraid. After all, it wasn’t long ago that she’d woken from a nightmare with the voiced reluctance to succumb to death still on her lips.

But this… this is different. She isn’t afraid. Not of this. “I trust you, Suguru.” His hand is resting on her heart, and she reaches up to cover it with her own. “With my life.”

He looks at her for a moment longer, and then he smiles. “I won’t lie to you, Lia. It’s going to hurt---”

“Like a bitch,” Satoru chimes in from beside her. “It hurts like a bitch.”

“---but only for a little while.”

She takes a deep breath. “But I won’t be alone.”

“Of course not.” Suguru lifts her hand to his mouth and presses a kiss to her palm. “We’ll be right here.”

“You can squeeze my hand,” Satoru offers. “Like in the movies, when a woman’s going into labor and she squeezes her husband’s hand because he’s the one who did that to her.”

It makes her laugh. “Don’t complain if I break your fingers.”

“I promise I won’t.” He grins. He hands the porcelain bowl to her. “For you, ma cherie, the finest quality vampire blood, aged a combined total of five hundred and twenty-four years---”

Lia’s eyes go wide. “Five hundred and twenty-four?” She glances at Suguru. “Does that mean… you’re both…”

“Yes,” Suguru sighs. “Please don’t make any jokes about the age gap.”

She opens her mouth, then thinks better of it and closes it. Later. She can make those jokes later.

She’ll have forever to catch up, after all.

She accepts the bowl from Satoru. When it’s empty, she hands it back to him. One more deep breath to steady her nerves, and then she nods at Suguru. “I’m ready.”

He wants to ask her if she’s sure, if this is what she really wants. Looking at the resolve in her eyes, he thinks asking her might actually be an insult. “Satoru,” he calls softly.

Understanding without explanation, the two of them are perfectly in sync. Satoru reaches for Lia, grasping her hand in his.

When Suguru slips the knife into her chest, she lets out a pained groan and her hand tightens around Satoru’s. She starts to thrash, but he holds her still.

“I know… I know it hurts, Princess,” Satoru coos. “Remember, it’s just for a little while, okay? We’ll be here, we’re not going anywhere.”

The pain is worse than anything she’s felt before. Worse than breaking her ankle in seventh grade, worse than nearly slicing open her thumb with a kitchen knife when she was nineteen.

Worse even, than slitting her own wrists two years ago.

It’s odd, she thinks. I can feel the life draining out of me, just like it did then. But it’s… different this time around. There’s no sadness. There’s something to look forward to on the other side of this.

I’m… actually happy.

It’s the last thought she has before she fades.

When she wakes, the sun has set. She’s alone in bed, dressed in one of Satoru’s old t-shirts and a pair of shorts. She takes a deep breath, expecting pain to flare in her chest. There is no pain, and she wonders if they’ve dressed the area with some kind of anesthetic. She’s reaching under the shirt when the bedroom door opens.

“Oh! You’re awake!” Satoru pokes his head in, then turns toward the hallway. “Suguru, Lia’s awake.” He comes in, bouncing onto the bed beside her. “How do you feel?”

She tries to think of an accurate way to describe it: that buzzy, heightened, amped-up feeling she has. “Hyper,” is the best she can do.

He laughs. “That’s normal. You feel more energetic, yeah?”

She nods. Then she narrows her eyes. “And I can see you clearly… but I’m not wearing my glasses.”

“Perfect vision,” he grins. “One of the perks. Accelerated healing, too,” he adds, motioning to her chest. “No pain, right?”

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Suguru calls from the doorway. “Is Satoru explaining your new powers to you?”

“New powers?” She looks at him uncertainly.

“I hadn’t gotten around to that yet, but we should probably talk about it.” Satoru raises his finger. “Don’t be surprised at the amount of glasses you will break or walls you’ll run into for the next few weeks.” At her look of confusion, he continues. “Your new life comes with an increase in speed and strength - along with other heightened abilities like perfect vision and more acute senses - and it takes a while to get adjusted to that.”

“Does that mean I’ll finally be strong enough to pin you down?” She laughs.

The smile Satoru gives her makes her face hot. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, pretty girl.”

“Don’t feel pressured to hunt,” Suguru tells her, joining her and Satoru on the bed. “That’s… something else that takes some getting used to.”

“And you don’t have to do it at all if you don’t want to,” Satoru adds. “I have other ways of getting you what you need.”

It’s all so much, so much to remember and think about and process. She tries not to think about it all at once, tries to focus on the feelings.

Almost as if he’s read her mind, Suguru reaches for her hand. “How are you feeling, Lia?”

His question is worded nearly the same way that Satoru’s was, and yet it’s somehow different. Suddenly the feelings hit her all in a rush, bubbling up in her chest and spilling out of her mouth. “Grateful… loved… happy,” she babbles. She doesn’t realize she’s crying until Suguru reaches up and brushes her tears away with his fingers.

“I’m glad.” They are only two words, but within those two words, she hears all of those feelings in her heart mirrored back at her. “I’m really glad.”

Before you came, Things were as they should be: The sky was the dead-end of sight, The road was just a road, wine merely wine. Now everything is like my heart, A color at the edge of blood: The grey of your absence, the color of poison, of thorns, The gold when we meet, the season ablaze, The yellow of autumn, the red of flowers, of flames, And the black when you cover the earth With the coal of dead fires And the sky, the road, the glass of wine? The sky is a shirt wet with tears, The road a vein about to break, And the glass of wine a mirror in which The sky, the road, the world keep changing. Don’t leave now that you’re here--- Stay. So the world may become like itself again: So the sky may be the sky, The road a road, And the glass of wine not a mirror, just a glass of wine. -Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Before You Came

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