#Me when I have to openly announce and admit to my feelings.

[microwavedelivery]

I don't even have to write head cannons if the book is going to share things like this. IM silly MY thoughts about them are silly oh yeah?!?? Well the books states that the demon likes to take naps. ESPECIALLY after a big meal;. boy I sure. sure hope I don't mischaractrize him!!!!!! He doesn't need to sleep but he can if he wants and apparently also holds the power to sleep for an indefinite amount of time if he'd like. How sweet. I mean. He is a snake that;s what snakes do they eat their food and then go curl up somewhere or something but. I don't really know how much of him was written with the consideration of "Oh he does this because snake behavior" and is mostly just he does it because that is just simply him. I can't remember what century(I'm assuming also the 19th century again) but he says it himself in the show as well I'm pretty sure that he slept through most of it so. Whether you want to count the book or show as two separate things, it at least checks out that Crowley naps. Which. solidifies a thought that I like to have that I do not have the nerve to say it out loud because it would be. potentially sappy. At least a fluffy thought at that. And I fear I've said too much already.

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Or like. What is. What isnthis

There is another thing that I want to say about this bit but I am saving it cause it gets mentioned down below* but. First of all I love Crowley using the "Game Over, Insert Coin?" expression and I also love Aziraphale not understanding it. Cause in the show there's kinda a whole thing it is very clear that Aziraphale is still attached to 1900s(or older) things like having a gramophone that he constantly uses or the only phones that he uses to receive/make calls with is things like rotary phones and whatnot. And that way he dresses and things and stuff he enjoys is like all a pre-techy internet boom. The one time he gets his hands on a phone that has a touch screen he is borrowing it from a stranger and he doesn't even use it properly, he uses some sort of 'magic'(I say magic like that because I'm not sure how to label their powers) to use it. Like he just tells the phone out loud to call his phone, the one that sits on his desk in his book shop. And this is like. An early looking 2006 phone, when they were just little square bricks. And even then I don't think any phone, regardless of how modern, would be able to call another cell phone without at some point having the number input into it, whether through clicking on the call button on a webpage or putting it in yourself! And it;s not like. that is a contact name and. it was a strangers phone how would it know and. and. what sort of power even is that that you can just announce to any cellular device "Hey, call the phone on my desk" and t works flawlessly. And this is a wall of text. And I am 98% sure he did that because he didn't know how to nagivate the phone in the first place. And he also does another little magic thingy and when he hands the phone back to the stranger it is fixed of all it's cracks and damage.

And I mean throughout the show we see Crowley Very MuchTM be with it and in the times. Aziraphale's outfit never strays too far from what it already is and his hairstyle doesn't really ever change at all either, but Crowley's outfits very much are where you could pinpoint almost immediately whatever era he is from cause of it, and he goes through a variety of hair lengths and styles and even at a point or two facial hair. And. I almost want to do some separate post on that even if it is literally just going to me being stupid. Even when we aren't getting flashbacked and the show is taking place in the current day, Crowley gets his haircut and a new style within like the first episode or two, and there really isn't that much of a time gap between the first two episodes if I remember correctly... And he does use a mobile phone and how one of his schemes was taking out all of the telephones for about 45 minutes in London during everyone's lunch break so. And if he is making Game Over and Insert Coin jokes then he is at least aware of arcade games in some capacity. I think their contrast is neat.

And. I did not anticipate that tangent getting that long but. This is one of the excerpts where I'm like. seeing the show before hand really alters how Im reading this because in the book it simply states that Aziraphale is sort of shrugging off Crowley's temptations but because I saw the series my brain is visualizing it more in the sense of his shrugging being a bit more unsure and his eyebrows are furrowed and has a bit of a complex unreadable expression because it is a moment where he is having to face his want to be a good angel and follow with Heaven's plan but he is struggling a bit with it because it is not a plan that he is wanting to go through with(and he and Crowley proceed to loophole a solution that ultimately saves Earth so it turns out okay.)

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Sorry the first line here is really killing me because what a phrasing to go with. What a descriptor. And since I've seen the show I KNOW that he does eventually get his hands on it so I'm curious to see how that is going to play out.

*Aziraphale has it mentioned in the show that apperently he wears cologne and goes to a barber and. That is making me giggle so badly so much. Cause it like. it makes sense!!! he likes to be proper and. For some reason in the book adaptation it keeps mentioning that he has really nice manicured hands and. Why am I being subjected to having these such particular things cross my mind. Cause I understand keeping your nails trimmed or like lotion to keep your hands moisturized or soft but specifically manicured?? fine fine we get it you look nice and smell nice and you're cute and handsome I already knew this beforhand. Now I have to think about him going to a barber or getting his hands done. Long hard heavy in love sigh. 36 pages in and already his hand getting pointed out twice.

Which I find ultimately a bit funny because before I started the book I got a picture of Aziraphale's hand because I noticed he had been wearing a ring on his pinky finger that I didn't catch before and now all of this.

[eraenaa]

Loathe to Love

Aemond Targaryen x Strong Reader Tag List

Synopsis: Seeking forgiveness is not a thing Aemond bothers himself with, but that quickly changes when he deeply offended you.

Warnings: ¿Softer Aemond?, Mature, 18+, P in V Sex, Fingering, Oral Sex (F receiving), Targcest, Not Proofread 

Word Count: 6,411

Prequel: Blessed Curse

A/N: Based on a request where they wanted "Reader is Rhaenyra's daughter, who, like her brothers, doesn't have Valyrian characteristics. A scene like at dinner, in which Aemond accuses his nephews of being strong and, consequently, his wife too." (!Not related to the past two fics that were Aemond x Reader Wife!)

A blessing or a curse? Neither of you knew how to take and label this marriage devised by your grandsire. It was a final plea to unite your estranged family, offering you as Aemond’s bride because the King’s fading mind was still set on how you and Aemond were entirely fond of each other in childhood. However, that sentiment had completely changed during the fateful night in Driftmark. Whatever fondness you and your uncle had in childhood had rolled away with the tides in your supposed father’s home. Affection turned into animosity, and animosity quickly turned into resentment.

However, with the marriage you and Aemond were succumbed to, you both tried your most ardent effort to work through past differences. And with half a year since your union, you and Aemond had almost fully buried the grievances you harbored against each other. Gone now was the reluctant prince who stood by the end of Sept waiting for his bride, who was practically dragged down the aisle. Looks of unbridled hatred had faded and turned to looks of passion and longing. Deep-rooted loathing was slowly fading into love that both of you had yet to admit to the other. 

You broke fast in the gardens with your husband, a daily tradition that you and him established since the first days of your marriage. Most of the time, it would be just the two of you, but on some days, you two would be joined by his siblings and his mother, who surprisingly did not hold such great bitterness for you when compared to other members of your kin. And on a day such as this, you were joined by the queen and her only daughter, Helaena. “I saw the maids preparing some of the guest chambers. Are we to host a lord and their house, my Queen?” You asked your mother through marriage with a tilt of your head, your hand intertwined with your husband’s under a table, hidden from anyone’s view. 

Aemond raised his eye from the book he was reading and placed it on his mother. “Not particularly guests… your mother and your brothers are set to visit,” She replied, and your brows shot up in surprise. Aemond turned to you, plush lips agape in shock. “Did you not know?” The queen asked, and you shook your head. “No… they had not written to me about such matters,” You said, your lips twitching into a smile of excitement as you had terribly missed our family. You turned to your husband; whatever reaction he had was hidden behind his ever-stoic expression. However, you did feel his hold on your hand grow tighter. Though his animosity towards you had died with every kiss shared and every hour spent in each other’s arms, you could not say that that would be the case for the other members of your family. You could practically feel the tantalizing anger within radiating off him. 

“I’m going to the tiltyard,” Aemond suddenly announced and abruptly stood up, making you sigh. His mother and sister nodded, but before his departure from breakfast, you felt him place a chaste kiss on your temple before walking off. Leaving you wide-eyed and blushing before his kin for neither of you had displayed such affections so openly. The touches and kisses and pleasures you shared were saved for the privacy of your marital chambers, and to have him do such an affectionate action in front of others was completely uncharacteristic of him. You lower your head as you feel your cheeks burn red, but if you had kept your head held up high, you would see a small smile on the queen’s lips, for she too was shocked and amused by her son’s actions. Never had she imagined for her favored son to find a wife that would bring out the warmth and tenderness in him that everyone believed to be lost the day his eye was taken by your younger brother.

For the rest of the day, you were busied with your engagements with the other ladies of the court to the point that the day had faded into the night. It was past the usual time of your supper, and you were certain your husband was preparing himself for bed, which is why it was a surprise when you entered your marital chambers with Aemond seated by the table where a meal for both of you lay, untouched. “You still have not eaten?” You asked as you stood behind your seat that was across your husband’s. “I was waiting for you,” Was all he said, as he motioned for you to sit. You blinked at him; the warm, flickering light of the fire illuminated his silver locks that were unique to your house but you had not inherited. The silhouette cast made his angular, Valyrian features more prominent, and you could not help but feel a small pang of jealousy, for you were never blessed with such acclaimed features that your house was celebrated for. 

You licked your lips and removed your gaze from your husband’s lilac eye. You took your seat and quietly watched him as he placed items of food onto your plate. “You should have eaten earlier,” you said quietly, knowing that Aemond’s last meal was the one you shared in the morning, for your husband did not eat luncheon nor any other small meal to aid him between the morning and the evening. “Like I’ve said, I was waiting for you,” He said as he poured wine into your chalice. You flashed him a small smile of gratitude, and like always, he gave a quiet nod of acknowledgment. “How was your day?” You asked before taking a bit of the temped meal that had been waiting for you along with your husband. “Fine. I trained, I read, and then accompanied my grandsire with business,” he said and took a sip of wine. “And yours?” He asked, and you smiled as you began to recall your day. 

Aemond nodded along as he ate, and you went on to tell him about your day. He had no intention of telling you, but this was his second-most favorite time of each day. He quickly had gotten used to listening to you babble and tell him about the ventures you had just hours before. He had no particular care about the subjects of which you spoke of; all he cared about was hearing you speak. Watching you as you would reenact your encounters or how your expression would change when you told him about the latest gossip in court. He would always note how your voice would grow an octave higher when you spoke of an event you found most entertaining or exciting, and he loved gazing into your beguiling, brown eyes that would twinkle in the candlelight.

“Will you accompany me tomorrow?” You asked as you had finished retelling your day to your husband. “To where?” Aemond asked as he was slightly disappointed that you did not have many anecdotes to share that night; you would usually have prolonged stories that Aemond would listen attentively to until he had fished his meal. “To welcome my mother, father, and brothers by the pits when they arrive,” You say and play with the peas on your plate. Aemond was silent for a moment; you took in a deep breath and thought that perhaps your request was a bit much for him. Though you expected him to act civilly with your kin, wanting him to join you in welcoming them was perhaps a bit much. “Nevermind… I ca—“ Your husband interrupted your sentence. “I shall join you,” he said, and your lips agape in shock once more. 

Aemond bit his tongue to hinder himself from smiling widely at the expression that flashed before your pretty face. His urges announced himself as his eye caught your plump lips parted; amusement and arousal swirling within him. “You will?” You asked, making certain you had heard no false agreement. “My lady wife had made a simple request; of course, I shall oblige it,” He answered and felt his heart flutter as a beaming smile spread to your lips. Aemond felt fire in his veins as you stood from your seat and went to him to place a supposed chaste kiss on his lips, but Aemond wanted more. You gasped as you were pulled to sit on his lap, your kiss deepening with each moment and your body aching with need as Aemond’s hands were holding your waist and the other cupping your cheek. You feel your husband’s need through his trousers and through your dress. 

You moaned at the taste of wine on his tongue. His hand traveled toward your bosom, cupping your tit through the bodice of your dress, his fingers undoing the laces of your gown but the two of you never parted your intertwined lips. Aemond groaned as you accidentally bit his lip, but you would take it that he liked the occurrence as you felt his hips buck upwards and seek friction. Aemond reluctantly parted your lips to gasp for air; he watched you pant, eyes filled with longing and lust, lips swollen and shined with a glossy shine of him. 

You yelped as your husband punched you on the table, sweeping away the meal you two had just shared, the plates and cutlery falling onto the floor with a loud noise, but neither of you heard as you two were completely lost and dazed with want for each other. You pulled Aemond towards you as you wanted to feel his lips once more. Aemond had fully undone the laces of your gown, and you felt the sleeves of it draping off and the hem of it being risen by your husband. You hummed in question as you felt Aemond push you to lie down on the wooden table. You propped yourself by your elbows to see what he was doing. Your eyes locked with his lone one as he sank to his knees. The hem of your dress had bundled up to your waist, and Aemond placed his cold hands at each of your thighs. 

You bit harshly at your lower lip as he placed kisses on each side of your thighs, nipping the soft skin making you whimper at the stinging pain that he would immediately soothe with his tongue. “Aemond,” you called as he continued to tease you, his tongue licking strips upward to your needing heart but would abruptly stop before inching closer towards the place you need his tongue most. “Yes, wife?” He hummed, and you huffed as you sensed tease in his voice. “Please,” You pleaded in ancient tongue, and there was a long pause before he obliged your request. You breathed heavily as Aemond sucked on your delicate pearl, him humming in delight as he tasted your essence and as well to add to your pleasure. 

Your moans accompanied the crackle of the fire as Aemond inserted two of his fingers, him curling the calloused digits and spurring you quickly to your peak. You could not understand how he was so skilled in such endeavors, able to make you quickly come undone even though he confessed himself that before you, he had only laid with a woman once, on the behest of his older brother. 

Aemond smirked as he gazed at you laying on the table you two had your meals on, your pretty face that everyone tried to sell as plain still contorted in pleasure that he was the cause of. Aemond brought his fingers to his lips and sucked the essence of you clean, his other hand undoing the laces of his trousers as his cock painfully sought to be inside you. Aemond had always believed himself to be indifferent to the acts of intimacy, but he quickly learned that that sentiment was completely false when it came to you. On the night after your marriage, he had no plan to partake in the marital act, ready to cut his palm and pretend he beaded you so the court would not have a new gossip piece in the morning. However, that plan was quickly forgotten by just the sight of you undressing behind a divider. The candlelight illuminated your form and created a silhouette of your frame undressing and caused Aemond to need greatly. And ever since that night, the pleasures of the flesh he always thought he was indifferent to quickly turned, and he now harbored the same needing patterns he saw in his brother that he used to frown upon. 

Aemond locked your lips and assisted you off the table, you had thought he would lead you towards your bed, but you frowned through your kiss as he turned you around in his arms, your back resting against his chest, his pulsating length resting against your still hiked up gown. You feel Aemond’s lips move from your lip to your neck, his cold hands forcing your gown downwards and letting it pool at your feet, leaving you exposed. You whispered as his hands made their way to cup and squeeze your breast. The sensitive buds grew taut at the coldness of touch. You hear Aemond take in a deep breath of your scent, and you let out a bubbling moan as his length is placed in the crevice of your bottom, Aemond letting it glide in between your bum. 

You gasped in shock as you felt Aemond push you down onto the table, bending you over the sturdy wood and abruptly entering you without warning. You let out a wry moan as you did not know if you should focus on the pain or pleasure he gave. Aemond bit harshly at his lip as he was incredibly pleasured by the new angle he was taking you in, as well as the sight of you bent over the wooden table. He bundled your dark hair into his hands, feeling the soft silky waves and pulling on it and earning a moan from your lips and caused a further tightening in your cunt. “It would seem that my wife likes to be fucked like a common whore,” He gritted in between thrusts. Aemond knew he pleasured you well, but with this new position, your moans had only grown louder than the past times you had laid. Your cunt grew tighter and more wet, and you were quicker to come undone once more. 

“Yes… yes, Aemond! Don’t stop, please, don’t stop!” You cried as he pounded at you from behind. Aemond griped the plump flesh of your behind, watching as the skin grew red from his hold; he moved his hands to your waist as he felt the urge of release coming to him as well. Your moans rang louder in his ears, his name slipping from your lips, urging him to come quickly than past nights. He groaned out your name as he spilled his seed deep inside you, hoping that his seed would finally take as he was already zealous with the thought of you swole with his child. Your dazed mind could barely comprehend Aemond assisting you up from your bent position because all your body could focus on was the peak you had reached and his lips against yours once more. You let your husband carry you to bed, him tucking you in his arms like always, and you drifted to sleep wholly satisfied. 

Aemond placed his gaze upon you, who was practically bouncing in excitement at your spot next to him. You two stood by the pits as a welcoming party for your kin. Aemond placed great restrain upon himself to not let his animosity show when he spotted your brothers landing your little dragons. “Sister!” He heard the boy who took his eye scream, and Aemond felt you let go of his hand to run to your brother. He did not want to entertain the small pang in his heart as you readily let go of his hold to run and warmly embrace the boy who had maimed him beyond repair, but he knew that with your marriage, whatever fondness and understanding you and Aemond had and will develop will be divided with your love for your true family. 

“Oh, I’ve missed you!” You gushed and kissed Lucerys’ cheek; you smiled widely that even though your brother was on the cusp of adolescence, he melted of talc and your mother’s oils. “Your favoritism is showing, sister,” You hear Jacaerys tease, and you sigh in amusement, letting go of Lucerys and moving to embrace your older brother. 

Aemond watched you as you greeted your family with such open warmth and love that he and his kin were never accustomed to. Aemond shifted his gaze to your younger brother, who had a wary look in his oak eyes. Aemond bit his cheeks as he stared down the boy who cowardly shifted his gaze and went closer to you, like a little scared pup hiding behind Aemond’s wife. 

“Where are Baela and Rheana?” You asked as you let go of your embrace of Jacaerys,  looking around the pits. “They went on the ship along with Joffery and the babes. They shall reach by nightfall,” he answered, and you nodded. Your brother’s gaze shifted between you and your husband, who stood by the side, “How… how are you, sister? Is…” He trailed as Aemond challenged his gaze. You gave him a small smile, “I’m fine, Jacaerys, perfectly fine, better now that you are all here.” You said, and Jacaerys hesitantly nodded, not completely believing your sentiments. “Tala,” You hear yourself being called by your stepfather, who stands beside your mother, and you hurriedly go in their direction. “My sweet girl!” Your mother smiled and kissed your cheek as you went to embrace her. “You look more cheery since we left you. Are they treating you well? Or do I have to behead that cunt of a husband that you have?” Daemon asked, and your smile faltered at his words. “Father,” You warned, and you heard him sigh. “They are treating me perfectly well,” You said, and just like Jacaerys, Daemond gave an unconvinced nod. 

You turn to Aemond, who still stands idly by the side; you make hastened steps towards your husband as members of your family remove their riding gear. “Do you wish to return to the keep?” You asked, learning he had grown bored and impatient. He turned his body to face you, his brow raised in question. “I could ride with them in the wheelhouse; you can return to your training if you wish,” You smiled. Aemond studied your eyes; he knew that the words you uttered were for his benefit, but he could not help but think it was you driving him away as you would rather spend time with your family than him. 

“It is not that I wish for you to leave, but if you would rather return to your training or reading, I would completely understand,” You added, and Aemond froze at your words; it was as if you could read his mind. He did not know how you did it, but you had this ability to know things about him without him even saying them out loud. He was quick to learn that you could see past his hardened exterior and see the intent and thoughts he kept to himself. You were the only person who knew him with such a deep level of understanding. “It is fine. I shall wait for you, and we could ride back together to the keep,” He said, and his cold heart ran warm as you flashed him with your beaming smile. 

“What did they do to her?” Jacaerys asked as he stood near his brother and parents. “That last time we were here, she was completely ready to sail off to Essos just to escape him,” he added, and Daemon shook his head, removing himself from the conversation as he, too, was perplexed at how you completely turned your views towards this marriage. “I believe that is what love does,” Rhaenyra sighed, and Daemon scoffed in ridicule from a distance, and Jacaerys quickly shook his head. “Love? You practically had to drag her down the aisle! That is not love… that is some work by a potion slipped into her wine!” Jacaerys disagreed, and your mother breathed out a laugh. “Believe what you want, but your sister is stronger than to let a potion alter her emotions; that affection is brought by love,” She sighed as she, too, was surprised by the outcome of this marriage but was entirely pleased to learn that you found love in a person that all believed had none. 

When all of you returned to the castle, your husband went straight to the tiltyard whilst your parents set off to visit your grandsire. You, however, accompanied your brothers as they wanted to tour around the keep that was once their home. Throughout your whole tour, you could not help but grow curious at the curious and prying glances thrown at the three of you that had faded during the moons of your return to the Red Keep. “They keep staring at us,” You hear Lucerys whisper to Jacareys, who still kept his head held high despite being in the den of vipers. 

“Ignore them,” You whispered to your younger brother. You smile as Jacaeyrs pulls Lucerys towards the tiltyard, hurriedly going down the steps to explore the place they used to frequent as children. You stood by the railings, your eyes catching the flutter of silver hair, your husband training with his sword along with Ser Criston, whom he battled with. You stood steady by your spot by the balcony that overlooks the tiltyard, leaning in on the railing as you watched Aemond impressively train with his sword. It was truly a wonder to watch Aemond with his sword; he was able to command the room with each swing and movement he did. Captivating everyone as he simulated the battlefield, even your brothers stopped their reminiscing to watch him train. Far was he from the little boy he tripped over his wooden sword and struggled to even keep it upright. 

“Well done, my prince, you will be winning tourneys at no time,” You hear Ser Kristen compliment the prince he had molded into a warrior as the tip of Aemond’s sword placed at the knight’s neck. “I don’t give a shit about tourneys,” You hear your husband reply as you descended down the stairs, making your way to your brothers. “Nephews, have you come to train?” He asked as you paused behind Lucerys and Jacaerys. Aemond’s challenging gaze turned to you, who announced her presence. You stared into his lilac eye and saw it somewhat softened. Aemond clenched his jaw and lowered his sword as the crowd that surrounded him began to dissolve. A clear path leading to you was made, and Aemond crossed it, forgetting about his want to challenge his nephews.

“You were most impressive with your sword,” You complimented lowly as you felt Aemond guide you to the side, and he placed his hand on your lower back. “I am glad that you found that impressive, little wife,” He hummed and wiped his sword, ignoring the stares of your brothers who stood by the side. “Perhaps I should wonder more often to the tiltyard; I would not want to miss an opportunity to watch my husband best the most acclaimed knights of the realm.” You feel your heart flutter as Aemond’s lips twitch into a small smirk. “Perhaps you should,” He said, unable to control the amusement that laced his voice and shinned brightly in his eye. 

“Do you believe what Mother says? That they are in love?” Jacaerys whispered to Lucerys, who looked at you smiling upon your husband, “I… I do not know, perhaps,” he whispered as he noted that the smile on your lips was no pretense nor was it forced. And the gleam in your eyes could only be translated into love. Lucerys shifted his gaze back to his brother as you walked off and Aemond returned to training. “But how? How could our sister love someone like him?” Jacaerys asked incredulously, his voice growing a bit louder. 

Aemond clenched his jaw as he heard your brother’s words. It was a danger to all that rage was quickly bubbling inside him, and he had a weapon in his hold. The one-eyed prince took in deep breaths to calm himself, reminding himself that you were just by the side waiting and watching him. 

But a gnawing feeling in his gut had settled, and he too started to wonder as to how you could ever love someone like him. It is no secret that you and he were raised with opposing views of the world and even clashing families as well. His mother never approved of how your mother had raised you; everything about yours and your brother’s conception and upbringing had brought shame upon the Targaryen name and reputation. And the years before were nothing short of hatred. Yes, the both of you were fond of each other in childhood, but is that enough to undo the following years of animosity and contempt? Will these past moons that were filled with shared understanding and longing be enough to undo the resentment of the past? 

It was enough for him. You were enough of a reason for him to let go of the grudges and grievances harbored. By some divine, paradoxical power, your blessed touch was the only touch that could tend and stitch Aemond’s broken past created by your own kin. Even with all the traditions and honor that were desecrated by your mere birth, Aemond could not help but love you, even if he had not said it out loud. No matter your differences, no matter the truth of your illegitimacy, he loved you truly. 

However, that overflowing affection he had towards you was for you and you alone. The civility he knew that he should display was slipping out from his hold as old hatred for your brothers was starting to wake, and Aemond was not entirely certain if he could control the burning rage in his veins once more. 

You sat next to your husband for a rare family dinner; it was the first time the whole of your clan had been together since your and Aemond’s wedding. You smiled fondly as Baela and Rhaena had already arrived along with your youngest brothers, who were now fast asleep in the nursery. You kept your secret hold on Aemond’s hand as the dinner proceeded, your heart full of joy as you wanted to erase the emotions you were feeling the last time the whole of the family was together with something more pleasant. Gone now was the hatred and agony you felt in your heart as your grandsire ordered your marriage with Aemond. The only thing you now felt for your husband was love. It could be considered ridiculous that with just half a year of marriage, all the deep-rooted anger and ire from the past had completely decimated and turned into blooming love, but that was the truth of it. 

“It both gladdens my heart and fills me with sorrow to see these faces around the table.” The king said “The faces most dear to me in all the world, yet grown so distant from each other in the years past.” His final plea for peace was supposed to be yours and Aemond’s marriage, but that seemed to do little for the others to bury the grievances made years before. Your hold on Aemond’s hand tightened as you Grandsire removed his mask and exposed his decaying face. “My own face is no longer a handsome one… if indeed it ever was. But tonight, I wish you to see me as I am. Not just a king… But your father.” He said and turned to his children, “Your brother,” the king turned to Daemon. “Your husband,” he said to the queen. “And your grandsire.” He finished turning to you and your siblings. “Who may not, it seems…walk for much longer among you. Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts.” He ended. 

You were so entrapped by the speech given by your grandsire that you had not even realized that in the midst of that heartfelt moment, your husband was having a contest of stares amongst your brothers. Not a word by the king affected nor lessened the hatred in their hearts for each other. 

You watched and listened intently as toast from both sides of your families started to circulate to the table, obliging the king’s request for civility and the possibility of unification for your house. By the end of the toasts, the intimate feast once more commenced, and your smile only grew with each passing moment of peace. However, it was quickly taken from you as a roasted pig was placed in front of you and Aemond, our gaze flying to your younger brother, who snickered as he recalled the cruel jest they made at Aemond’s expense years before. “Lucerys,” you hissed sharply in warning. Your heart skipped a beat as your husband let go of your hold and slammed his clenched fist on the table, rendering the room silent. “Final tribute,” He announced, the attention of the entire room upon him. 

“To the health of my nephews. Jace… Luc… and Joffery,” He began, and you felt your hands grow cold at his words, already knowing where this would lead. “Each of them handsome, wise…” He trailed, catching your eyes that pleaded for him to stop and not speak of offense. He, however, ignored your pleas. “Strong,” He ended, and you feel your heart painfully pit in your chest. Your gaze flew to your lap, and you softly shook your head in disappointment, for you had foolishly believed that your husband would at least grow somewhat sensitive at the matter of you and your brother’s true paternity. “Come. Let us drain our cups to these three strong boys!” He announced, and you felt a painful twist in your stomach. 

The peaceful meal between your kin that you had longed for had turned ugly and violent; you shook your head as your husband and his brother, along with your brothers, waltzed back into old patterns and began to brawl and fight each other. You shook your head and stood from your seat, quietly exiting the room and leaving the fight that the other tried to break up. Aemond watched your departing figure, disappointment oozing off your frame as you exited the hall. He turned to your brothers' red and angered faces, and it only dawned upon him the severity of his offense. He was ready to go after you, but his mother pulling on his arm hindered him, the queen scolding her grown son as if he were a boy. 

Moments after, Aemond rushed to your chambers in dire need to speak with you, but you were not there. Aemond walked the darkened corridors of the keep, searching every spot you would frequent but to no avail. Aemond halted in his steps as he heard footsteps and voices approaching. “I’ve told you that they were not suited for each other,” Aemond heard your stepfather say, voice enraged. “You saw how openly he disparaged and humiliated her and her siblings— what more if they were behind closed doors?” Daemon seethed, him having half the mind to march to the king and demand an annulment of your marriage with Aemond.

Aemond clenched his fists in anger as he heard how low the opinion of your stepfather had of him, but that anger was being overpowered by guilt as he recalled your pleading face earlier as you quietly begged him not to speak offense. But Aemond could no longer control himself as being in the presence of your brothers brought back the uninhibited rage he genuinely thought he could control for your sake. Aemond took in a deep breath and stomped off, determined to find you. He scoured the entirety of the keep in search of you, with each passing moment that you were not found added to his guilt and the pang in his chest. It was nearing the hour of the wolf, and Aemond still had not found you. Aemond rarely felt fear; he refused to be in fear of anything, but just by just the mere hours of your absence had him drowning in dread and despair.

Aemond thought of retiring back to your chambers and perhaps try to find you when the sun had risen, but his body could not physically rest without your presence. Aemond found him straying towards the gardens, his feet carrying him towards the weirwood tree that you two had often frequented in childhood. He halted in his steps as he heard quiet sobs and sniffling, his knees growing weak at the sight of your body curled upon the trunk of the tree, your face in your hands as you tried to stifle your sobs. Aemond made cautious steps towards you, swallowing thickly as he had never succumbed to such guilt and pain before; it was unbearable to see you cry— more so for he knew that the reason for your tears was him. 

Aemond felt his breathing caught in his throat as you lifted your gaze, and your bloodshot eyes met his. “Why?” You managed to ask, your voice hoarse and filled with emotion. It was too much; Aemond wanted to fall to his knees and ask for your forgiveness; he could not take the way you stared up at him with such great sadness. “Why… why would you do such a thing? Why could you not l…” You could not even make yourself finish your words as a bubbling sob of angered sadness took over you. You tightly shut your eyes as Aemond fell on his knees before you, trying to take hold of your hand, but you over away from his touch. 

“I know of the resentment you have for my siblings— for me because we are bastards and because Lucerys had taken your eye. It was foolish for me to think that with our marriage, perhaps that enmity in you would lessen or at least be concealed enough that you would not seek out revenge so… so openly and as well as disparage me and my honor,” You say, your voice shaking as you try to take hold of your cries. “I did not mean to offend you; that was not aimed toward you,” Aemond said, and you shook your head. “They are my brothers, Aemond. Questioning their paternity means to question mine as well. Wounding them would be wounding me as well,” You countered and shook your head as Aemond moved to take hold of your hands. 

“I… I know it is difficult for you to be subjected to a room with my kin— especially my brothers, but could you not have let this one-night slide past peacefully? I am not seeking out your forgiveness; I was just hoping for something that resembled peace, just for one night,” You said lowly, voice trembling with your sobs and the cool night air that gusted around the gardens. Aemond sighed and rested his head against your clasped hands, still on his knees as you sat before him dejectedly. “I’m… I’m sorry, my love,” He whispered, and you froze, trying to decipher if you had heard him correctly. Never once had you heard him apologize nor use such an endearment. 

“I apologize. I was consumed by my anger, and I could not control my rage. I should have kept my composure,” He said and looked up at your face, tear-stained cheeks flushed with sadness, bloodshot eyes in question, and pink lips agape in mystification. “I’m sorry,” Aemond said once more and placed a kiss on your knuckles. The word felt foreign on his tongue, but at the same time, it rolled effortlessly as he knew it would be his saving grace not to lose you. You sat quietly, uncertain what to reply, though you had been enveloped in rage and sorrow, by Aemond’s actions, it somehow miraculously faded by his words and touch. 

“You called me ‘love’,” was all you could manage to say, the word still ringing in your ears even though you knew you should focus on the other matter. Aemond scrunched his brows as he gazed at your face, “I… I suppose I did,” He said, not even realizing the word slipped out his lips. He had been wanting to call you that endearment for weeks now, but he thought you would not take it well or that the softness and affection of it would lessen his stoic exterior. “Do you love me?” You could not help but ask, preparing yourself for the blow if it proves that your judgment was false. Aemond’s cold hands turned a degree colder as you asked the question. With each moment of silence, you feel your heart pit further, your mind scolding you for asking such a query. After another moment of prolonged silence, you sighed and were ready to stand, ready to mourn a different type of sadness. 

“Of course I do,” Aemond finally spoke, “I love you,” He added, determined for you to believe his words. You were stunned at his confession that words eluded you, and all you could do was pull him close and kiss his lips. “I do not care about your paternity. I don’t think I ever truly did… I only acted as such to appease my mother and her father. And I know I have played the part well, acting as if I harbor loathing for you ever since childhood, but I could never resent you, not truly.” Aemond sighed as your lips parted, and you smiled widely against his lips. Tears of melancholy turned into tears of glee. 

“You love me,” You mused as you cupped his cheeks, your thumb gently brushing the raised skin of his scar. “I love you.” Aemond confirmed, and he hummed as you kissed his lips once more. The events at supper were long forgotten as you and he finally shared the affection you both harbored long ago but were just too afraid to say out loud. 

[sweetdispatch]

She's making me happy - L. Hughes

pairing: Luke Hughes x girlfriend!reader

summary: Luke never shared his love life with his family until he met you

warning: swear words

words: 1.6k

note: i had the idea in my head for quite some time but thanks to request from my sweet @toasttt11, this pushed me to finally write about it

masterlist

---

Luke was always a quiet guy if it came to a relationship. He had a girlfriend in high school but he never openly admitted to this. For him, it wasn’t something to share with everyone, being aware that any minute this might end up and he didn’t want to explain why the things ended up. At university, he had situationships and hook ups but it was the same case. He didn’t feel the need to brag about it to people. 

Jack and Quinn were confident that Luke is putting his whole focus on hockey because he never said anything about any girl. He hadn’t said a word to his brothers about girls in his environment or asked for advice. They tried to force him to talk about this a couple times but he shrugged it off saying that having a girlfriend is not his priority. 

This changed when Luke met you. He bumped into you at one of the bars in New Jersey and spilled his drink on you. He felt embarrassed and wanted to apologise to you. You said it’s nothing but he insisted. Knowing that he won’t let it go, you agreed to go with him for a coffee as a payback. You two spent a fun day together, laughing about the situation. 

Luke could swear that he never met such a beautiful person inside and outside. You felt the same towards him. This one coffee turned into weekly dates and after a month, he asked you to be his girlfriend. Happily you agreed. This was a year ago. You two celebrated one year anniversary without anyone from his friends and family knowing that you’re together. 

Luke met your friends and parents and they absolutely loved him and saw how much happiness he’s bringing to you. On the other hand, he didn’t meet you with his friends and family. You understood his point of view and never pressed him to do it. You knew that he needed his time and he was grateful for your patience. 

After his rookie year in the NHL, Luke moved out from Jack’ apartment. His brother hadn’t seen anything weird in this decision. He felt that his younger brother needed his own space and he understood it. The truth was that Luke was moving into your apartment. Things became serious between you two and he felt that you’re his soulmate. 

You and Luke were living together and it was like a dream come true. He felt so comfortable around you and vice versa. This brought you even closer together because every free moment, he was glued to your side. He was affectionate and couldn’t keep his hands from you. He knew that you’re made for him and decided to finally say something about you to his brother.

“I might have a weird question” Luke started talking to Jack while leaving the arena after their final game of the season. 

“I’m listening” Jack looked at him with a confused face expression.

“Do you think I can bring my girlfriend for summer?” He asked. Jack froze in place when he heard the word “girlfriend” while Luke was walking to the car. 

“Girlfriend” Jack said and Luke turned around to face him. “Since when have you had a girlfriend?” 

“Since my rookie year” He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing.

“You’re in a relationship for a year and you didn’t say anything? What the fuck Luke” Jack raised his voice a little bit.

“I didn’t feel the need to announce it and tell you about every girl I’ve been but Y/N… She’s special, living with her made me realise that she’s the one” Jack’ eyes widened. 

“You’re living with her? That’s why you moved out from me?” Luke nodded. “Okay, it’s a lot for me… My younger brother was hiding his girlfriend for a year and moved in with her and didn’t say a word to anyone” Jack sighed and continued. “Coming back to your question, of course you can bring her with you, but I hope you’re aware of the fact that me, Quinn, mom and dad are gonna be asking questions” 

“I am but I’ll survive it. Y/N also will. We’ve already talked about this” Jack closed the gap and pulled Luke into a hug.

“I can’t believe that you have someone. I’m so happy for you but it would be nice to know about this earlier” Luke laughed at his words.  

You two arrived at his family's lake house. Luke was excited that he finally felt confident to show you to his parents and brothers but you were scared. You wanted to make the best impression, knowing how much he cares about his family and their opinion. You stood in front of the door for a minute.

“Ready?” Luke asked you. You took a deep breath and nodded. He grabbed your hand and walked with you into the house. His steps went straight into the living room where everyone was sitting. You were hiding behind his back.

“Luke! We missed you” His parents hugged him and you stood in the entry watching the scene. You could feel his brothers eyes on you. 

“I wanted to introduce someone for you” Luke pulled you softly from behind and now, you were standing in front of him. “This is Y/N… she’s my girlfriend” 

“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. Luke talked a lot about you” You said and heard Jack’ comment.

“Wish we could say the same thing about you” Luke rolled his eyes. 

“Don’t be rude Jack, I’m sure Luke had his reasons to keep her in secret” His mum Ellen replied and looked at you. “It’s nice to meet you” She hugged you. 

After meeting everyone, Luke sat on the couch and pulled you on his lap. You sat there, answering questions about your life and how you’ve met Luke. Everyone could see the affection he was giving to you. He was tracing his fingers on your leg and kept you tightly hugged to him. This was new to them, seeing him in this state. 

The next day, you, Luke and his brothers went on a boat trip on the lake. They saw how Luke was applying suncream on your body gently like you could break under his touch. It made them happy to see Luke finally having someone by his side. On a boat, you sat on the floor and placed your head on his thigh. He was playing with your hair and Jack saw in his younger brother’ eyes love when he was looking down at you. 

When you returned to the house, you and Luke stayed in the garden when his brothers went inside. He placed a blanket on the grass and you two laid there. You two were watching the clouds in the sky and talked about what shapes you are seeing. You spent some time there. Quinn went to tell you that the dinner was ready but before he stepped out, he looked at two of you. You were laying on top of Luke, chest to chest, playing with his curls while he was having his hands on your back. Quinn smiled at the sight and felt bad that he had to break the intimate moment between you two. 

For dinner, his mum prepared pasta with sauce and meatballs. You never liked meatballs but you felt bad to decline them. You didn’t want to be rude so you placed them on your place. Luke knew that you don’t like them, that's why he was taking them secretly from your plate. His mum saw this and her heart melted. This was a simple gesture from him but meant a lot to her. It showed that he cared about you deeply and paid attention to your words. 

Luke’s dad, Jim, invited you and him for golf. You never tried this sport and was sceptical about his idea but after Luke convinced you, promising that he’ll teach you, eventually you agreed. His dad was far from your and his son’s league but the three of you had fun on the golf course. You couldn’t shoot the ball perfectly and Luke decided to help you. He stood behind you and placed his hands on top of yours, helping you with the move. His dad was watching you two from afar and could tell that his youngest son cares about you. 

For the next week, his whole family was watching interactions between you two. They never saw Luke in love but they were delighted seeing him all giggly around you. His hand was glued to you and he never let you from his sight. He wanted to be sure you’re alright and your comfort was his priority. You changed him for the better and they were grateful for his happiness. One night, all of you were sitting in the garden when you fell asleep on Luke’s shoulder. He noticed this and threw a blanket around you so you won’t get cold.

“It’s so good to see you happy” His mum said and everyone agreed with her. 

“She’s making me happy” Luke smiled and looked at your sleeping figure.

“We can tell it, we’ve watched you two this week and you’re made for each other” Quinn told him and turned his head to face him. “I’m glad that you finally found your person” 

“But I’m still pissed that you didn’t tell me earlier. We’re spending everyday together and you somehow gatekeeped her from my knowledge” Jack muttered. 

“I just didn’t want to rush things. I wanted to enjoy time with her alone and see where this will go” 

“Nevertheless, we’re happy for you Luke” His dad said and Luke’ smile grew bigger. 

Luke was delighted that his family loved you as much as he loved you.

[saintlucretia]

Devil Wears A Suit

part Ⅰ

Pairings: Outpost!Michael Langdon x Female!Reader

Warnings: Mention of murder. Hot devil's son. Sexual harassment? Michael Langdon.

Summary: Y/N is a purple at Outpost 3 and gets interviewed by Mr. Langdon.

A/N: I will go to hell for this and I am not opposing if he will be there too.

After 18 months at the underground Outpost life was as dreadful as being killed by a bomb explosion. Or worse. A bunch of snobs and shallow cowards. It was clear as day, that it was just a matter of time before everyone was at each other's throats. 

It wasn’t the Outpost itself or the fact that we are the last human beings on this planet that made everything so depressing. It was boredom. A hole in my head. The only bearable person here was Mr. Gallant. Without his company at the dining table, I could have stuck a fork into my neck.

That evening Ms. Venable announced to us about a visitor. The agent of the Cooperative. Even though she remained calm as usual I sensed a note of fear in her voice. So it means this new man has great authority. I was grateful for any kind of entertainment, even if it meant a bloody revolution. After 18 months with the same people, fresh meat is always dainty.

Ms. Venable ended her speech when a tall man with long blond hair entered the room. He had a dark aura. The aura of power.

“My name is Langdon and I represent The Cooperative,” he said, circling our table. “Humanity is on the brink of failure.”

I glanced at the other residents of the Outpost. They all looked tense and nervous, especially Ms. Venable. She seemed almost afraid of him. Only Mr. Gallant seemed as amused as me. We glanced at each other and I immediately understood what was on his mind. After all, he had a good taste in men.

“My arrival here was crucial to the survival of civilized life on Earth.” His speech was persuasive, words sharp and his blue eyes pierced into all of us. Such an ability to capture everyone's attention was making me delighted.

He stopped at the head of the table and continued. “The three other compounds have been overrun and destroyed.”

“What happened to the people inside?” asked Timothy worried. 

“Massacred,” answered Langdon and I think I caught the shadow of a grin on his face.

I bit my lip to stop myself from chuckling. I had to admit, this Langdon was a very attractive man. And Mr. Gallant was obviously admiring his appearance too. But there was something about The Cooperative representative that made me feel uneasy. It was as if he was hiding something. Something very bad. 

“In the knowledge that this very moment might occur, we built a failsafe… The Sanctuary,” he said, placing his hands behind his back. “I have been sent to determine if any of you are worthy and fit to join us. The Cooperative has developed a particular and rigorous questioning technique we like to call ‘Cooperating’. Simply, I will determine if you belong.”

I remained silent, analyzing the situation. Everyone seemed wary and looked at others with distrust. Only Coco didn’t have enough brains to remain silent and tried to openly express her dissatisfaction. Fortunately, her tirade was abruptly suppressed.

“I volunteer to go first.” Mr. Gallant raised his hand. 

“And so you shall,” Langdon said threateningly, looking us over. He had a cold, calculating look in his eyes. I had a feeling that he already knew who he was going to select.

“The process should only take me a couple of days, so you won’t be kept in suspense forever. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.” I felt his gaze on me and barely restrained myself from looking away. 

Langdon left the room and everyone immediately started to argue. A bunch of morons, all of them. I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair, observing the conversation. Everyone began to share their suspicions and guesses, but of course, they were all too wrapped up in their own fear to notice the whole thing. The Cooperative looked at us as laboratory rats and no one seemed to see that. Pathetic. 

I let out a sigh of annoyance and left the room.

                                                      ✦✦✦

I ran into Malcolm in the hallway an hour later and looked at him questioningly. 

“Oh, darling, I almost had a heart attack." He came closer and started whispering "I'm a bit scared of him. He is definitely hot as hell, but twice as evil."

I chuckled. "Well, that's quite a review. Did he tell you anything new?"  

Mr. Gallant leaned even closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "He asked me a lot of personal questions...I mean really personal."  

I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

“Like my sexuality for example. And my nana. And other… things. Pretty intimate. I felt so uncomfortable, but I tried to keep it cool.” 

My eyebrows furrowed in interest. So these "Cooperating" sessions were, indeed, quite unique. It seemed like Langdon wanted to know every minuscule detail about each person. I began to wonder what kind of "personal" questions he would ask me. I also began to wonder why I was so looking forward to the moment. 

“I felt like he was trying to rip out my soul.” Added Malcolm in a whisper.

I smirked. "Well, that's quite a dramatic way to describe it." Malcolm chuckled nervously but I had a feeling that he wasn't exaggerating. Langdon was certainly not the type of man that you could fool easily. He could see right through people.

But something was intriguing. I felt a strange thrill at the idea of uncovering the depth of Langdon's scrutiny. 

 "I guess I'll have to brace myself for my turn then," I said nonchalantly.

“Good luck sweetheart.” We kissed each other on the cheek and went in different directions.

I slowly walked to my quarters, lost in thought. I was feeling an inexplicable mixture of excitement and curiosity. The thought of being examined by Langdon, being exposed under the watchful gaze of his sharp eyes, was somehow appealing. God, I have to stop.

I shook my head firmly, trying to dismiss these thoughts. "This is ridiculous," I mumbled to myself softly.

Suddenly I heard something. Something like a scream perhaps. I stopped and looked around. There was no one except me in this dimly lit hall. And then this sound again. More like a whisper now. Millions of whispers. My head began to spin slightly. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. Silence. Everything went quiet. I turned around and flinched as I saw Langdon behind me.

“Mrs. Y/S, I’d like to talk with you next.” 

I looked up at Langdon with a surprised expression, silently cursing myself for being so lost in my thoughts to the point of not noticing him coming closer. His presence was so powerful that it still made my heart flutter even now.

"Lead the way," I replied, trying to maintain my composure. 

Langdon didn't bother answering, simply gesturing for me to follow him. I walked behind him through the maze of halls and rooms. 

We finally reached the entrance to what appeared to be his cabinet. Langdon stepped aside, allowing me to enter first. Entering the room, I noticed how dark and ominous it felt. The walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with old leather-bound volumes. The main source of light was a fireplace.

Langdon gestured for me to sit down on the armchair across from him. I lowered myself gently, straightening my purple dress. 

He studied me, wanted me to be nervous, wanted me to crack. I knew this game. I have played this game with many different powerful men, who think they are Gods because they have dicks. I never lose in a game like this.

His eyes searched my face, trying to find any sign of weakness. But I held his gaze firmly, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me intimidated.

I leaned back in my seat, a small smirk on my lips. "I see you're expecting me to be quivering in my boots," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

Langdon chuckled darkly. "Is that so?" he asked, leaning slightly forward. 

A silence fell between us, and I held his gaze without flinching. Something about his demeanor made my heart beat a little faster, but I was determined not to show it.

“I prefer conversations to be effective, Mr. Langdon.”

Langdon raised an eyebrow at my remark, a smirk forming his lips. He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest. "Straight to the point, are we?" 

He studied me for a moment, his eyes still locked onto mine.

"Well, I can appreciate a straightforward woman," he said, his voice surprisingly smooth. "It makes the process much more efficient."

He paused for a moment, his gaze never faltering. "Ms. Y/S," he began, my name rolling off his tongue like a sinful whisper. "Allow me to ask you a personal question."

“Ask,” I replied.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. His eyes were laser-focused on me, and I could practically feel his gaze trying to pierce through my soul. 

"What do you fear the most?" he asked, his tone almost gentle.

I was caught off guard by the question and made a mistake. Langdon noticed the slight flicker of surprise in my eyes. He chuckled softly. "That's what I thought," he said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "You may have mastered the art of bravado, but everyone has a weakness," he continued. "And I'm here to find yours." 

I watched him back and after crossing my legs answered "I fear being surrounded by idiots for the rest of my life." I needled.

Langdon raised an eyebrow, visibly amused. "Well, you certainly have a way with words, don't you?", he said, his lips curling into a smirk.

He leaned back in his seat, studying me closely. "Being trapped in a group of lesser minds for eternity may be torturous, especially for a woman of your... intelligence."

“For a man of your power, it’s a pity that you use flattery as a term of manipulation,” I said, tilting my head in a mocking manner. 

Langdon chuckled, clearly enjoying the challenge. "Ah, so observant," he said, still maintaining his smirk. 

He leaned slightly forward, his gaze never leaving mine. "I'm not just using flattery, Ms. Y/S. I do recognize your intellect. But don't mistake my compliments for manipulation. I simply use the tools at my disposal."

“Huh.”

Langdon chuckled again, clearly appreciating my dry response. "You have a sharp tongue," he said, his voice dripping with amusement. “It may be your unique feature or a pathetic attempt to hide your fear.”

I could feel a flicker of irritation at his words, but I forced myself to remain impassive. Langdon was trying to get a reaction out of me, and I was determined not to give him the satisfaction.

"Perhaps it's a little bit of both," I replied, my voice cool and steady. "Or perhaps you're simply not used to people who don't cower easily in front of someone higher in rank."

He stood up from his seat and started circling me slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the room. “Be careful, Ms. Y/S. Your bold attitude is admirable, but at some point, this can play a cruel joke on you.”  His gaze burned into me as he studied me from every possible angle.

“I appreciate the warning,” I said coldly. “I don't fear intimidation tactics.”

“You are a brave woman.” Langdon's voice was suddenly close behind me, his breath lingering on the nape of my neck. A small shiver ran down my spine, and I had to suppress the urge to turn around and look at him.

“A little too brave, some would say.” he continued, his words almost a whisper. “Tell me, Ms. Y/S, is it hard to be the smartest in the room? To be forced to communicate with idiots?”

There was a hint of mockery in his tone that made me nauseous. But I still refused to let him see any sign of weakness. I sat up straighter in my chair, lifting my chin.

“It can be... annoying at times,” I admitted.

“It is irritating how arrogant the upper class is, isn’t it? Especially toward women.” I felt the touch of his fingers on my arm and I barely restrained myself from snatching my hand away. “The world before the bombs wasn’t that much brighter than this one, was it? They all mistreated you, and never took you seriously… Does the idea of them having everything infuriate you?”

His words hit a nerve, the subtle truth in them cutting through my defenses. Yes, the world before the bombings was far from perfect, and I had my fair share of disappointments.

But I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had managed to hit a weak spot. I turned my head slightly, meeting his gaze. “And what makes you think you're any different from them?”

He chuckled darkly, his fingers trailing along my skin, tracing patterns against the fabric of my dress. His nonchalant arrogance was both infuriating and strangely enthralling. 

“Oh, I never claimed to be any different," he responded, his voice low and husky. “But I will say this - I appreciate intelligence, especially in women. I can see your potential.”

“Potential,” I repeated, struggling to keep my tone even. “For what, exactly?”

Langdon ignored my question. His hands, now both on my arms, crawled up to my shoulders. “Have you ever thought about punishing them? About finally showing what you are capable of, so they would never think you are only ‘pretty face’ again?” His breath tickled my ear. “Have you ever thought about making them scared of you?”

His hands on my shoulders were deceptively gentle, yet they seemed to burn against my skin through the fabric of my dress. His breath was warm against my ear as he whispered his words, making my breath hitch in my throat. 

I felt a strange mixture of anger and... excitement at his words. The thought had crossed my mind more than once if I was being honest with myself. To show them ALL how strong and brilliant I truly was. To shuffle a knife into someone’s throat. I remained silent. 

“I sense this force in you, Y/N.”

His voice seemed to fill the space between us, wrapping around me like a dark, intimate spell. He leaned closer, his chest almost pressed against my back. His hands remained on my shoulders, his fingers gently massaging my tense muscles. 

There was something about his voice, the way he said my name, that sent a shiver down my spine. It was as if he could see right through me, past the cool exterior I had been trying to maintain. He knew about the anger, the desire, the fire burning within me.

“I can tell you have a dark side,” he murmured, his voice deep and low. 

“I-I don’t know what you are talking about.” 

“Yes, you do.” His hands continue to stroke my shoulders gently. He was amused by my denial.

“You don't have to play coy with me, Ms. Y/N," he said, his voice velvety smooth. “I can feel it radiating off of you. That simmering anger, that burning desire."

Langdon leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing against my ear. “You want... power. And I can promise you that.”

His words were a seductive murmur, weaving their way into my mind and planting thoughts of power and revenge. It was as if he knew exactly what buttons to push, what desires to awaken within me. 

"Power," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. My mind was swimming, both alarmed and intrigued by his proposal. I felt like I was hypnotized. "Why… What’s the point?"

Langdon chuckled softly, noticing the effect his words were having on me. He stepped away from me, his hands finally leaving my shoulders. He walked around the chair, standing in front of me again.

"Because, my dear," he began, "I've observed your potential. Your intelligence, your resourcefulness, your strength. You're not like the other people in this house. You have ambition. And ambition can lead to power."

He tilted up my chin gently, so I could meet his gaze. "And I can help you achieve it." His thumb traced my jawline, sending a shiver down my spine.

When his finger brushed against my bottom lip I grabbed his hand, stopping him. He smirked and leaned closer, his face only a few inches away from mine.

“Something wrong, Ms. Y/S?” he asked, his tone laced with mockery. “Did my touch... unsettle you?”

With a swift, almost graceful movement, Langdon sank to his knees in front of me. His hand found its way to my knee, the warmth of his palm seeping through the fabric of my dress.

“I think the interview is over,” I said, trying to stand up, but he pressed on my knee, not letting me get up.

“I will decide if it’s over or not, Ms. Y/S,” Langdon smirked at my silence, slowly running his hand higher up my thigh. He could clearly see the effect he was having on me, the slight tremble in my body.

“What?” he drawled, his voice dripping with mockery. “No witty comeback? No clever quip? Seems like you're losing your grip.”

"Losing my grip?" I repeated, trying to keep my voice steady. "Hardly. I am just amused by your behavior." Even a blind person would see my bluff and feign confidence.

“Oh? Really?” He stood up a bit, leaning closer to my face, almost whispering in my mouth. His proximity was intoxicating, his breath hot against my lips. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage, the desire coursing through my veins like a current. He slowly brushed his lips against mine and I felt a touch of his tongue on my bottom lip. 

It felt like drugs. It felt better than drugs. His tongue teasingly tracing along my bottom lip sent a shiver down my spine, making my legs tremble beneath me. It was overwhelming. I have never felt like this before. In that very second I could do anything for this man.

Suddenly he stopped and looked me right into my eyes, smirking satisfiedly almost like he read a thought that just got in my mind.

He stood up, turning away from me and I bit my tongue not to moan in disappointment. 

“We’re done for today, Ms. Y/S. It was a pleasure talking to you,” He said, opening the door for me. Smirk remained on his face, but Langdon seemed very calm. As if he didn’t just kneel and almost kiss me two minutes ago. 

I needed a few seconds to understand what had happened, so I blinked and then quickly stood up walking toward the door.

“Hope you have a good night, Ms. Y/S,” he said watching me and I can swear, as he was saying that, his hand slid to cover his groin and he definitely wanted me to notice that. 

“Good night, Mr. Langdon,” I mumbled and left the room. 

What the fuck has just happened?

part two

[writingwisterias]

Maybe this is a bit vague... But how do you think eras Leon would be like. At discovering he's gay... Like he fell in love with male reader... I just need something with male reader...

Btw can I be ⭐ anon? Im the anon who requested something with ftm reader once:3 hiii!! sending u hugs just cuz I love u, ur my favorite writer frfr🔥🔥

Hello!! Welcome yes you can be ⭐! Hopefully you'll pop by to chat!! Sorry it took me a while to reply!!

Returning all the hugs because you are so sweet ily2! I can definitely do something like that for you or try my best!

Warnings: Fluff, Comfort, Male! Reader

RE2:

Because of the time era being Gay wasn't something openly talked about within the company he keeps

So when he meets you and he has this attraction I think he would freak out slightly and just be generally confused

I don't think he would be the type of person to shy away from it in terms of talking to you

It's only then that he understands and you sort of leave him at that. He'll come to you when he's ready

It will take a while for him to admit his crush to you and is shocked when you reply with "I know"

It feels right and comfortable...easily slotting into the role and space with you!

RE4R:

He already had his suspicions of his sexuality but meeting you only confirmed it

He'll take a while to try and figure out if you like him back

When he eventually announces to you about his crush

You are surprised

Not in a bad way just with his history you would have thought he wasn't

You both move pretty quickly into dating and for once everything seems to feel right for him

Infinite darkness:

Flirts with women to cover it up, not in a bad way just in the sense it's easier

So when he tells you he likes you it comes as a shock

Again because you have only seen him make advances to women

You grow nervous in the beginning worried about how your relationship will be viewed by other people because he flirted with so many others

But he'll comfort you and reassure you any chance he gets

It is weird when he switches up suddenly so he expects you to need a few weeks/months to adjust to his news

Damnation:

He actually realises his crush on you after spending the night with Ada (The one that's mentioned in the film)

He messages you shortly after getting back asking to talk

It wasn't unusual for him to do this, he normally does after a hard mission just to get away and forget about it

You were shocked when he admitted he liked you, explaining his thought process and asking for advice on how to continue

Neither of you has spoken about this before despite being close friends for a while.

So it is a surprise to him when you return his feelings

He's all giddy for once actually smiling like he's got something good going for him.

RE6:

Over time naturally, he's sort of realised himself it only becomes more intense when he meets you

Because he's confident I think he comes onto you fairly strong and it is a bit confusing and overwhelming

He changes his approach quickly and offers you some smaller dates etc

Huge with quality time so your relationship progresses with him just wanting to be in your space. He'll spend a lot of time with you

However, when it comes to the first kiss, he's relying on you to initiate that just because he's nervous

Vendetta:

Tell you drunkenly he thinks he's gay but hasn't fully figured it out yet

You wait for the morning for him to talk to you about it sober; not wanting to bring it up in case he isn't ready for you to know or it's not true

It's a few days later when he approaches you with the subject again, this time he's sober...or as sober as he can be

It's been a few weeks since he last spoke to you that night, so you are a little bit hurt by it

But he has a huge heart-to-heart with you about everything

ending the conversation with an offer to dinner

You take him up on it, finding joy in the visible change of his attitude and the blush that coats his cheek when you kiss him

Death Island:

Invites you to dinner where he then brings up the topic

It's refreshing he's so open about it and actually asks you out

He takes things slow wanting to help you adjust and work at your own pace

But also it's new to him as well so he wants to make sure it is right

You are his first relationship with the other sex after all

It is a sweet relationship, bringing in some domestic moments as his work sort of slows down a bit

He is the first to kiss you though, he made sure of that. Planning a whole day out just to do it at the end

[atamascolily]

Walpurgis no Kaiten SIDE:HOMURA trailer reactions

I admit, when this was first announced, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal. I was expecting something similar to the Wnk 1.1 trailer, which had an extra scene tacked on but what otherwise identical to the original release. I was not expecting an entirely remixed version combining both of the previous trailers + new footage, with a lot to unpack!

Because of the way SHAFT creates the films, backgrounds are done separately from character animation and then combined. Still, there's something very eerie about seeing these otherwise familiar shots devoid of people,not to mention the symbolism of the empty thrones combined with the shot of Devil Homura being cast down.

Once again, I repeat my assertion that in spite of their obvious differences, these two spaces are two versions of the same thing--"reality" and "illusion" (inasmuch as those terms apply anymore in this space.)

The shot of the spinning fans and stained glass are from the same location as the staircase tower where the headband!Homura is falling. Also, if you look closely, you'll note a familiar figure in the crossed shadows at the center of the screen, partially hidden behind the fan. Kyubey spotted, this is not a drill.

(How does this space work? I have no idea, but I'd bet money that it rotates so that the orientation is constantly changing, because "spinning in circles" is such a big theme, both visually and metaphorically.)

Nagisa has died and gone to heaven (literally on both counts) and is now consuming a parafait as big as her head. She's never going back, lol.

There is a teddy bear in a cage visible in the background along with a monogrammed "R". Granted, witches are supposed to use runes, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't remind me of Roberta the Birdcage Witch, who appears briefly in episode 10 of the original series. (It contains human legs and not a teddy bear, though.) Considering that Charlotte's birthday candles appear behind Mami in a different shot, it sure seems like witches and attributes of their labyrinth may be openly manifesting in Mitakihara as reality breaks down.

Oh, and speaking of hands, you can see the mark on Nagisa's nail in this shot, so she's definitely still a magical girl.

The bears also appears as winged cherubs in the carousel scene a few moments later. The heralds of the Last Judgement sounding the trumpets? A symbol of childhood innocence? Another spinning thing that goes around and around? Being taken for a ride? All of the above?

Once again, Nagisa and her double are juxtaposed here as mirror images and reflections of each other, and they're enjoying themselves immensely.

This scene of an unknown hand reaching out to caress a comatose Homura's face and examine her teeth like a horse is disturbing and rightly so. I've seen a lot of people saying that this is the same hand that stabs the salamander, and I agree--this is our primary antagonist, whoever she is (pity her nails aren't visible, as that would give the game away).

[As an aside: what is this unknown person wearing, because it sure isn't a Mitakihara school uniform.]

This is the same Homura that is visible through the mirror--their eyes and headbands are the same. I knew something was off about this when I saw it in the original trailer, and now I have proof. Ditto for my assertion that this movie is going to involve constructs and artificial persons--that may be Homura, but right now it's an empty shell with no personality. The real question is why construct it in the first place?

Also, I might be reading too much into this, but I think it's unwise to assume that the hand that is holding the mirror belongs to the Homura reflected within it. I think this is the unknown person (let's be real, probably also the antagonist Homura) giving instructions to her minion/doll/construct/Homunculus. For evidence, I just have a gut feeling that this movie is going to do screwy things with selfhood and mirrors and reflections, and also the background in the mirror appears to be more like the background in the face-caressing shot than it does the background of the sky in the shot itself. We'll find out when the movie comes out what's actually going on there.

Examining the teeth is a Nutcracker reference, but it sure doesn't make this scene any less disturbing.

What happens next is not shown, but given the general theme of "people falling backwards", I expect that this Homura construct will do the same thing. Where else is there for her to go?

The background light in this scene makes me wonder if it takes place at the same time (or at least the same time of day) as Devil Homura falling. And now we get to see the aftermath!

This is the stunned face of someone who fucked around and is just now finding out. Note the crossed shadows over her face (same as with Kyubey above) and how one eye is cover/one wing is still intact--more "half" imagery.

(But who threw her down? Who threw her down?? Did she fall on her own or was she pushed??)

However, you can't keep Homura down for long, and she immediately counterattacks, summoning her salamander (who is now swole as hell) for a power-up. This is the money shot of the trailer and for good reason--it's visceral and compelling. Magical girls are powered by their emotions and here Homura takes the manifestation of all her feelings straight into her heart; it doesn't get any more symbolic than this.

In addition to being straight out of The Adolescence of Utena, what's most striking to me about this scene is how the world is literally dissolving into blood. We saw the same thing in Rebellion when Homulilly manifested, so whatever happens next will likely parallel that scene in some fashion or another.

Also, yes her wings are partially white now. No, I don't know what that means. I don't know what any of the feathers means, exactly.

The giant salamander concerns me: what the hell has it been eating to get so big? Considering that Homulilly's nature is self-sufficiency, i.e. she draws strength from her own suffering, this does not bode well for Homura at all....

Last but not least, we have Madoka surrounded by some kind of "spirits" representing anonymous, faceless young women in virginal white gowns a la Princess Serenity from Sailor Moon. Combined with the cathedral aesthetic, my guess is that these represent the Eternal Feminine within the Law of Cycles and/or Madoka herself, which she is oblivious to. There are 15 of them, as 14-15 continues to be a significant number in this franchise for reasons I still don't fully understand.

There isn't an official translation that I know of, but piecing together the trailer voice-over with what's come before and what people are saying with my rudimentary Japanese, I think it goes like this:

Watashi wa kibou no tomo ni - "I will go with hope" in Madoka's own voice, from original trailer

Zankoku no made ni yasashii kagayaki, - "A cruelly gentle glow", new dialogue, spoken with multiple voices.

kibou wa anata to tomoni - "Hope will go with you" in Madoka's own voice, also from original trailer

watakushi no inori no kigen - "the origin of my prayer", new dialogue, multiple voices, using the formal feminine pronoun watakushi, which no one in the cast has historically used for themselves. Hence why I think these voices are part of the Law of Cycles/the Eternal Feminine - it would make sense for them to use this pronoun!

anata to kanaeta kiseki wa kitto watashitachi o michibiite kureru.-"The miracle I made with you will surely guide us" in Madoka's own voice, also from original trailer.

sono yasashi-sa de anata o kizutsukete shimau - "I will hurt you with my kindness", Homura, new dialogue.

(EDIT: Official English version is up, and I was wrong about the last line, it's "With that kindness, you yourself will be hurt". They also translate the second line as "A radiance so kind, that it is even cruel", which ties back into the imagery for the Law of Cycles and also Homura's remark in the original anime about kindness leading to greater cruelties.)

Also, while I haven't tried this myself, I've seen several fans report that if you play the scene backwards, you get Homura saying "shiawase no tame ni" (for happiness) as she transforms, so it looks like we did get some backmasking, just as I'd hoped, and I'm so delighted to have called that one.

[k-s-morgan]

Hey K, have you seen the controversy around Hugh Dancy’s answers to hannigram-related questions at the Fan expo? Some fans are mad saying he’s a Hannigram denier but I’ve been in this fandom for 11 years now and honestly, reading his answers, he’s still saying the same stuff he always did though? So I’m a bit confused as to why people are angry with his answers?

He always acknowledged they loved each other, that it was a romance, but platonic. Also, I think he’s got a very British sense of humor and is sarcastic and ironic a lot and was never really into discussing hannigram as an openly gay romance, but more so because he is a literal guy in the way he communicates. Tons of Brits are like that. Especially actors, they’re not keen on doing fan service or saying what people like to hear. Mads on the other hand, loves enticing the audience and talking about Hannigram the way they want to hear.

All in all, maybe it’s bc some of these people are new to the fandom, but I literally think that this was just Hugh being Hugh and he gave mostly the same responses as he’s done in the past. It’s a mix of his sense of humor and the tone of the fan expo which is light and not necessarily a proper interview where he’d be more serious and give long answers.

Overall, what do you think?

Hi! Yes, I know a lot of people were unhappy with Hugh's responses - I'm not watching the fandom as closely as I used to, but I'm still keeping an eye on it.

I agree with you in that I heard nothing new. In my opinion, the problem lies in the reputation of 'Hannibal' fandom. We're known as a (mostly) cozy place where the biggest M/M ship is canon and actively supported by cast, writers, and the director. They all said so many wonderful things over the years, things that keep being repeated and are taken as a fandom Bible.

That's why people might still be unpleasantly surprised when they hear Hugh's reserved, distant replies, or Mads' weirdly shallow answers, or Bryan's ideas that are all over the place.

The truth is, ten years separate these people from their work. Hugh in particular hasn't even seen S3 as a complete product, at least from what I lasted heard. Besides, they all have been inconsistent even when the show was airing - Hugh has an interesting habit of saying different things depending on what kind of interview he's giving and who he's with. As an example, in the commentary to S3, he agreed with Bryan that Will was jealous of Bedelia and snapping at her because of it, but then later, he said Will disliked Bedelia for basically being a bad person, with jealousy being unrelated to it.

I'll be the first person to admit that some of Hugh's (and others') answers make no sense or contradict the show, but over the years, I got very used to it, to the point where it doesn't faze me any longer.

Hugh thinks it would take Will 7 season to fall in love with Hannibal, even though 7 seasons haven't been in the plans for over a decade (as Bryan has settled on 5 ages ago), and Will's silence to Bedelia's question and his further choices clearly meant to show he reciprocates? Ok. Hugh things Will's feelings for Hannibal are unrelated to his feelings regarding his own darkness? Fine - at least he acknowledged Will is dark because sometimes there are some denials about it. He thinks Will's decision to betray Jack and Alana and get a bunch of innocent people killed has nothing to do with his love for Hannibal? Lol, but all right.

I don't believe S4 will ever happen. Now, if it's announced, and then I keep hearing the stuff I really don't like, I might get worried, but as it is, I just save the things I agree with and ignore the rest :D The show is over, and we are all invited to come up with our own version of Will and Hannibal's future life. I'm also absolutely certain that we, passionate fans, know the show much, much better than people who were involved in it a decade ago. I mean, if I finished writing a fic 2 years ago, then a reader who just read it will probably know it better than I do at this point. It's natural.

Also, during this reunion, so many wonderful things were said, too. About Hannibal inviting Molly 'for dinner' and Will describing him as a 'therapist' to her, Hannibal urging Will to lose at least a dog or two out of the thousand when they are on the run, Will being annoyed by Hannibal's fussy kitchen habits, etc.

Basically, I don't think we heard anything new or bad. Some answers might have been frustrating, but the good still tops the bad, in my opinion - and the bad isn't all that relevant.

[obv10usly]

Have you seen that clip of great British actors on the same stage reciting “to be or not to be, that is the question,” while emphasising different words and giving completely different meaning to the line?

That’s what I feel about dan’s “Trying to Live My Truth.” Let me explain…

When the video was out, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Of course it was. We missed dan. It was his first video in 3 months. We were so proud though clearly we didn’t know what that truth was. He alluded to things, quite explicitly at times, but never really spelled it out.

At the time I thought,

“okay. It doesn’t matter. It takes guts already to admit to yourself this much. And he doesn’t owe his truth to anyone, least of all us. He’s TRYING at least, and he’s openly admitting it in a really good and inspiring video too. It’s great he’s on the right path.”

Then June 2019 came and we finally knew the TRUTH he was alluding to in the video. TTLMT is now full of comments made in 2019 saying how it hit different. It did and we’re beyond proud. But I couldn’t help wondering often what was on his mind at that point in time.

Then! In 2022 we finally got an answer for that. Dan wasn’t doing well at all in 2018. II tour almost didn’t happen as he didn’t think he could’ve gone through with it without coming out first.

He felt he wasn’t living HIS truth. He would spend the whole year pondering this.

Thinking about this today while watching old DanAndPhilGames videos (as you do) it suddenly hit me like a brick in the face that TTLMT was published 2 days after “Can Dan and Phil Survive Fortnite?!” You know, the one where these happened:

"We can make a life together up there."

"I will find you in any world phil"

Maybe the emphasis was on the word in TTLMT that I didn’t think was significant in that way after all.

Dan was trying to LIVE his truth. He wasn’t trying to announce it. He was actively, decidedly /living/ it in front of us.

Many called 2018 their “glass closet” era and that’s just it. I just feel blessed to have been there to witness everything I just talked about here as it happened.

And yeah, that’s how I ended up comparing dan howell to shakespeare on twitter. (Yeah I posted this to twitter first lol) Didn’t see that coming, did ya?

[cymraegdragon21]

The Dragon Challenge

Birthday Bash Prompt 7 - Dragons

'I beg your pardon, your majesty?' said Natori in confusion, surely he had misheard.

'Do you wish me to repeat myself?' growled the Cat King.

'Forgive me sire but I thought that you said that you wanted a dragon.' replied Natori.

'That's right Babe.' he grinned.

'But why?' asked his advisor in disbelief.

'I don't have one.' responded the Cat King as if it was the most obvious answer in the word.

Natori stared at him. The king had requested many strange things over the years but this had to be the most obscure.

'I don't think that it will be easy. There are no dragons in the Cat Kingdom.' explained Natori.

'Then we will need to look outside of the kingdom.' grinned the long hair 'I'm the king and everything I want I'll get.'

'Yes sire.' sighed Natori trying to think how this would even be possible. 'It's just that this is a more difficult ask.'

The Cat King sat on his throne stroking his moustache before his grin widened making Natori quake about what idea had entered his head.

'Why don't we make this a challenge for my subjects?' suggested the king 'We'll have to give them some sort of incentive of course. A prize for bravery.'

'Sire it's very dangerous.' gasped his advisor 'Some of them may die!'

'It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.' he growled 'Now go and start putting the announcement of the challenge together. You're dismissed.'

'Yes your majesty.' sighed Natori before bowing and turning to leave the room.

He pulled the curtain aside and exited the room. He was so distracted by his own thoughts he didn't see the cat coming in the opposite direction and he crashed into them causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. He looked up in surprise to see Prince Lune standing over him looking concerned whilst offering him a paw to help him back up.

'Is everything all right Natori? You seem rather distracted.' asked Lune.

'Apologies your highness. I should have been looking where I was going.' he apologised as he stood up brushing down his robe.

Lune looked over him critically.

'Father has asked you for something ridiculous again, hasn't he.' stated Lune.

Natori looked at him nervously not feeling he could speak so openly in the corridor. Lune understood the look on his father's advisor's face.

'Follow me to my study.' he said before turning around and heading back the way he had come.

'Yes your highness.' responded Natori before following him.

Lune sighed. His father seemed to be falling further into his madness. Whatever next? Catnap a human? Lune ran a paw between his ears in frustration over what Natori had told him. If his father was going to issue such a challenge there wouldn't be anything he could do to stop him. He thought about how his father's history of blowing things up when irritated was bad enough but that would be nothing compared to the carnage a fire breathing dragon could do. He groaned. It was an impossible task but that didn't mean that cats wouldn't get hurt attempting the challenge lured in by the prize his father planned to offer. As he was mulling things over a pretty white maid came in with his afternoon tea. He offered her a weak smile whilst rubbing his temples.

'Do you have a headache your highness?' she asked.

'Yes, my father.' he murmured.

The young cat attempted to hide her giggle behind her paw. They had known each other for six months since Yuki came to work at the castle. They had developed an easy friendship and if Lune admitted it to himself he had a soft spot for her.

'Father wants a dragon.' he said eventually.

Yuki almost dropped the tea pot in surprise.

'I somehow need to stop the mayhem this may cause without him finding out and somehow he gets a dragon.' continued the prince with a sigh.

Yuki looked thoughtful as she offered him a biscuit.

'Why don't you contact the Cat Bureau for help?' she suggested.

'The Cat Bureau?' he repeated.

'Yes, they are an advisory service who offer their help with cases brought to them. I've heard the one in charge is a creation.' explained Yuki.

Prince Lune leaned back in his seat and looked at her.  Perhaps this was the answer to his problem.

'Tell me about this Cat Bureau.' he smiled.

A couple of days later, once he had caught up with his duties Lune set up a portal from his study that would take him to the Cat Bureau. He stepped out onto the cobbles and looked around the courtyard. One building in particular seemed to stand out so he headed towards it. He knocked on the double doors and waited. Within a few minutes he heard footsteps approaching and the door opened to reveal the cat creation Yuki had spoken about.

'Good afternoon. Welcome to the Bureau.' he greeted ' I am Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. How may we be of service?'

'Good afternoon. I'm Prince Lune of the Cat Kingdom. I really do hope that you will be able to help us.' he sighed.

'Please come in your highness. If you can explain what assistance you are requiring then we can see if the Bureau will be able to help.' replied Baron.

'Thank you.' nodded Lune.

Lune took a seat on the sofa and showed his appreciation when handed a cup of tea. 

'Now what seems to be the problem?' asked Baron as he took his own seat.

'I don't really know where to begin.' sighed Lune.

'Well what is the biggest issue?' replied Baron.

'My father ..' began Lune 'Well he has flights of fancy I suppose you could say. He decides that he wants something and then he must have it.'

'Oh and what is it that would be so troubling?' asked Baron.

'A dragon' replied Lune causing Baron to almost drop his cup in surprise 'It's the most ridiculous request I think I have ever heard him ask. The last thing we need is a fire breathing dragon on the loose. It's bad enough that Father has a store of explosives. He almost took down one of the towers the other day.'

Baron looked over at the frustrated royal. This certainly was an unusual case that had been brought to the Bureau's doors.

'May I ask how he plans to get hold of a dragon?' he enquired.

He noticed the young prince grip his paws into fists.

'He intends to hold a challenge open to all and reward the one who succeeds greatly.' he replied 'I really fear for the lives of our citizens.'

'What is the prize that is tempting enough for them to consider risking their lives?' asked Baron.

'As much fish as they can eat.' responded Lune.

'Now I thought they had only just been able to restock the lake.' came a voice from behind causing Lune to jump and turn his head.

'How do you know about that?' he asked the large white cat who had just entered the Bureau.

Muta shrugged as he continued towards the kitchen to investigate the cupboard. Lune turned back to Baron to find the creation in deep thought.

'Has his majesty ever seen a real dragon?' he asked finally.

'No.' replied Lune shaking his head 'There are no dragons in the Cat Kingdom. He has only heard about them from stories.'

'You said he had a stock of explosives which I presume you could gain access to?' continued Baron.

'Yes.' responded Lune slowly not entirely sure where this could be leading.

'Don't worry your highness, I am confident the Cat Bureau can assist. No lives will be lost and the Cat King will get his dragon.' assured Baron.

A look of shock passed over the prince's face before he rearranged his features into a practised more neutral state.

'If you can truly do this I'll give you whatever you want.' replied Lune.

'There is no need for that your highness.' smiled Baron 'Now please tell me more about the challenge so we can prepared in advance.'

A few days later Natori was nervously standing behind the curtain at the edge of the balcony which overlooked the castle's inner courtyard. Below was where those who had signed up to the dragon challenge had gathered. Having spoken with Lune he was aware that the Cat Bureau would be amongst them ready to play their role. He still wasn't sure how they were going to achieve the impossible task which made him anxious. As he attempted to sneak a peak at the cats below he felt a claw run down his spine causing him to stiffen.

'Hey Babe.' the king purred in his ear 'Is everything ready?'

'Ye yes your majesty.' stuttered Natori more at the physical closeness of the king more than anything else.

'Excellent.' he grinned 'Looks like we have a good number of adventurers to go and fetch me my dragon.'

'Yes your majesty.' nodded Natori.

'Right, it's show time!' exclaimed the king heading out onto the balcony to address the crowd below leaving Natori behind breathing in and out into his paw to stop himself panicking.

Time passed and no dragon was presented. Potential adventurers returned exhausted but empty pawed. Natori was grateful that none had received any injuries but he could feel the king getting increasingly agitated at not getting what he wanted. He was just contemplating how he was going to appease his monarch of the inevitable when Natoru came flying through the curtained door with an ecstatic grin.

'A pair of adventurers have returned.' he squeaked 'They have captured a dragon and have brought it to the kingdom.'

Natori stood up in shock before remembering what Lune had said about the Cat Bureau. This must be their doing. His stomach flipped with anxiety, not certain what the outcome would be.

'They say that they have contained the dragon in a cave not too far away and wish to present to his majesty as soon as possible.' continued Natoru.

'Very well.' sighed Natori feeling impending doom 'Inform them that we will be there shortly. His majesty is currently having a massage.'

The shorter cat squeaked again before disappearing out the way he had come.

Natori wrung his paws anxiously as they approached the cave. He already knew that many called him neurotic behind his back but this was serious.  A dragon could mean the end of the Cat Kingdom. He watched as the king swaggered confidently in front of him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a paw touched the sleeve of his robe.

'Don't worry Natori. It's all going to plan.' assured Lune 'No-one is going to get hurt I promise you.'

'I do hope that you are right your highness.' he sighed.

As they were led towards the cave by one of the Bureau members posing as a dragon wrangler Natori wondered where the larger cat was. A loud noise filled the air similar to an explosion causing all thoughts to fly out of his head.

'Ah it seems like he's awake.' said Baron cheerfully as he led them.

The bang was followed by a couple more and the sound of rocks falling.

'Sounds like a marvellous dragon Babe.' grinned the Cat King.

'Indeed your majesty.' nodded Baron 'Not much further now.'

'We're all doomed.' thought Natori despite the prince's assurances.

Baron slowed down as they came closer towards the mouth of the cave. The eager king attempted to head straight in causing Baron to put his arm out.

'Forgive me your majesty but dragon's can be especially grumpy when first awake. If you will allow me, I'll go in and bring him out.' he explained. 'If you would mind just standing be the side.

Natori quickly manoeuvred the king and his heir away from the mouth of the cave. Only a few minutes later a plume of fire shot out of the darkness covering the area where they had been previously standing. 

'Well that could have been a little awkward.' laughed Baron before he removed a coil of rope from his belt. 'He is rather grumpy today. Please remain here whilst I go and fetch him for you.'

By this time Natori was practically hyperventilating. He waited for the inevitable scream and further fire but there was nothing but silence. Eventually Baron returned leading out a lizard. The group gathered were surprised as its size, not much larger than a cat when on all fours. Although smaller than expected the creature certainly looked like a dragon in the stories minus the wings. The creature flicked it tongue.

'What is that Babe?' asked the Cat King.

'It's a Pogona your majesty.' explained Baron 'A small but mighty dragon.'

It certainly packs a punch from what we experienced earlier.' confirmed Lune 'Will we be able to control it?'

'Of course. Once he knows who his master is. They can be quite docile with their handlers.' replied Baron confidently 'If you would like to approach your majesty.'

For all his confidence the Cat King was looking uneasy. He moved forward too quickly which cause the ruff on the dragon to puff up and his head to bob up and down.

'Careful your majesty.' murmured Baron 'You need to approach more gently.'

The king nodded and did as advised. When he was within arms length he reached his paw out to touch the dragon's head.

'It feels cool.' he muttered in surprise.

'Yes dragons are cold blooded. He will enjoy sunbathing so the Cat Kingdom is a perfect environment.' replied Baron as he handed over the rope 'Congratulations your majesty. You now have your dragon.'

'I'm going to call him Norbert.' he grinned 'Come on Babe. Let's show you your new home.'

'I'll go with you Father.' said Lune before turning to Baron 'Natori can discuss the reward with you.'

'Of course your highness.' replied Baron with a bow.

Natori seemed glued to the spot as he watched the two cats lead the strange creature away. He turned to Baron to discover Muta had suddenly joined them. The large cat smelt of smoke.

'Are you certain the kingdom isn't in danger?' asked Natori 'Prince Lune kept assuring me bit I still feel uneasy.'

'Of course. The bearded dragon is a rather docile creature.' confirmed Baron.

'So we are unlikely to be eaten?' replied Natori.

'Not unless you're an insect.' laughed Muta 'They are mostly vegetarian.'

Natori's eyes widened.

'What about the explosions and the fire?' he demanded.

'Well Prince Lune was kind enough to allow us to take a sample of his father's collection. Also Muta is a cat of many skills and from his time in a travelling circus he learnt the art of fire breathing.' explained Baron.

'Singed my fur a few times in the beginning.' laughed the large white cat.

'So we are all safe?' asked Natori needing confirmation.

'Yes, the dragon is no threat. As long as handled correctly the most he is likely to do is hiss. He should thrive well in the Cat Kingdom but if his majesty becomes forgetful of him once the novelty has worn off we can return him to his native Australia in the Human World.' replied Baron.

For the first time in a very long time Natori felt his body sag with relief.

'Thank you Cat Bureau.' he murmured. 

[mooseyspooky]

Sometimes I think about that interview that Morrissey gave to a french magazine announcing The Smiths breakup and he said that the band had gotten too close, desperately close to one another. I mean, he was obviously talking about he and Johnny. Then in a interview a few years later, Marr said that he hated the sexual tension that usually happens when you are in a band or something like that. I feel they both have given some clues about the breakup. A part of me thinks Johnny felt confused about being attracted to Moz and about his own sexuality. That's why he tried to act like a lad in the 90s. To me it was more than obvious that Morrissey became obsessed about jm and in a way, it was his first toxic love.

Yes, I've reblogged that interview before. I don't recall the Johnny interview you're talking about off hand, but...yeah.

I mean, there's so many layers to this. It's very easy to see Moz as the problem and absolve Johnny of the blame because he's "straight." Which, I completely don't believe. Johnny may not like to say it outright, but he's been sexually attracted to men many times in his life and his need for physical touch from men he finds attractive puts him firmly in the bisexual category to me. Johnny clung to Moz constantly, held him, slept against him, held his hand on plane rides to calm him down. Johnny spent all his free time with Moz, hardly ever seeing Angie - and when he did see Angie, Moz was with him most times. This happened with Bernard in the 90s, as well. Johnny hung out almost exclusively with a gay crowd back in the early 80s and had an openly gay best friend, Andrew Berry.

It's easy for me to see Moz overstepping boundaries when Johnny didn't seem to have any. He loved Moz writing queer coded music, has admitted he pushed for it - Johnny let Simon Wolstencroft go because he didn't like it. If Moz thought he had a chance with Johnny, well. I can't blame him. It must have been a huge slap in the face when Johnny told Angie hey let's get married, and then threw a shitty wedding the next day. To have spent that much time with someone, to be elbow to elbow with them, for months. To have written so many love songs. To have written What Do You See In Her/Him and been so fully convinced that Johnny was his - only for Johnny to just be like no, actually Angie and I are getting hitched now. She's apparently the one, true love of my life. Like, that's some serious mixed messaging.

So if Johnny "hates" the sexual tension, well. He only has himself to blame, I feel. And his shift in appearance during the 90s was surface level at best when he was doing the exact same thing to Bernard for the entire decade.

[astromechas]

Okay YES this is great, but as a stupid FeMC fan, I have some things to say:

*assuming the leaks and rumors are true, and based on how they got “ReLOAD” correct, let’s just roll with it.

This was Atlus’ opportunity to create a definitive version of Persona 3. Like THIS IS THE ONE TO PLAY, not FES, not P3P, THIS. Fresh with all the content, not a story beat missing, everything.

Visual upgrade? Of course. Everything looks stunning, on par with Persona 5, which was exactly what everyone was hoping for as far as the visual fidelity of the game goes.

So why, Atlus? Why would you choose not to include FeMC? (or are they?) ( potentially delusional rant incoming but tldr; it would be stupid of them to cut her )

Atlus admitted years ago during the pre-release period of Q2 that the inclusion of FeMC provided their biggest boom for pre-orders in that game. The devs openly stated in an interview that they did not expect her trailer to create so much hype around the game, which ultimately resulted in their sales marking at a higher number than anticipated.

Then there was Atlus’ decision to port P3P over FES to the next console generation. Some people speculated that such a decision was indicative of Atlus’ intentions not to include her in the remake, thus P3P being players’ only chance to play as her. Which I call BS. Why would Atlus make the dumb ass decision to tell on themselves and say "Hey, see this content here? Yeah fuck you, we’re cutting it from the remake!”

It’s especially suspect considering for some people, that port of P3P might’ve been their first EVER experience with P3. I know a lot of us have been fans for a long time, but for some people, that slew of ports was their first opportunity to dip their toes into the franchise. Imagine how shocked those people will be with they play the remake only to find a whole route of content cut.

And lastly, Atlus’ constant promotion of FeMC during the 25th anniversary, following their decision to wholly cut her from the 20th anniversary five years prior.

All of this feels like Atlus’ desperate attempt to remind people that FeMC exists (not that we needed their help) when they could’ve just as easily ported FES to next gen consoles, excluded her from the 25th anniversary, and focused fully on making sure the usual MC remained at the forefront of people’s minds.

Finally, I think its important to remember two points: Atlus hasn’t officially announced this game, and it’s slated release period is Q1 2024, leaving plenty of marketing time before the game comes out.

I think it’s perfectly reasonable for Atlus to throw all of their marketing into the original MC, showing him off, giving him all the bells and whistles to kick start the hype, and then reveal FeMC at a later date. Other ‘anime-esque’ game devs do exactly the same: Caligula, Honkai: Star Rail, etc.

Just because this initial trailer doesn’t include her doesn’t mean she’s been cut entirely. I truly think Atlus knows all too well how much she means to some fans (and how much money they could potentially lose by not including her) for them to completely exclude her from the remake.

With that being said, if all’s said and done and she still isn’t there, believe me, I won’t be playing ReLOAD on day one. Partially because I’m bitter, but also because I don’t have $60-70 USD to be spending on a game that excludes one of my most precious video game characters.

[steel-shadow]

The prince of Piltover stood in front of house Ferros with a deadly glint in her single good eye. A cybernetic hextexh contact lense rested in her blind eye giving her sight temporarily. Her rifle rested in her right hand as she waited for the woman to appear.

Eyes narrowed as she finally answered and the tall blue haired woman took a step forward. "I saw the .. gift you gave to my Chevalier," Cait's dark cold tone left her lips as she started down Camille as of she were her prey.

"you make one more move like that, and you'll have to answer to me," this wasnt a warning, it was a threat. One Caitlyn would not back down from

Camille had not been expecting visitors this evening, let alone from the Kiramman girl. When the servant announced her, Camille saw no reason to adjust her evening routine. She emerged from her quarters dressed in soft, flowing sleeping robes, her hair unbound and resting against her shoulders. Her prosthetic legs, for once, were fitted with comfortable slippers instead of their usual sharp blades, a concession to relaxation rather than readiness.

As she opened the door, her gaze settled on Caitlyn with a detached curiosity, her expression betraying little more than mild boredom. If the girl had come seeking urgency or decorum, she would find neither. Not tonight.

A single brow arched at Caitlyn’s words, the faintest flicker of intrigue crossing her otherwise composed features. Bold, she mused. The girl had fire — she’d give her that much. A fire that shaped her every word into an unmistakable threat.

Camille’s gaze drifted deliberately, trailing from Caitlyn’s tense form to the weapon at her side. A small pause followed before her eyes returned, settling on the girl with a cool detachment. Her analysis was methodical, precise, as though weighing the girl’s intent against the weight of her own indifference.

An unnerving silence stretched on as Camille pondered. The girl’s fury was admirable, in a way, though naïve. Did Caitlyn truly understand the stakes, the intricate game being played above her head? Camille had better things to do than to squander with a Pawn with delusions of grandeur. And yet, the Steel Shadow knew better than to openly antagonize Caitlyn. The Kiramann name carried weight. A weight that could bolster Caitlyn’s crusade for justice or turn the tide against those who, like Camille, could oppose the Prince. And she knew that stability often required sacrifice.

With a short, resigned sigh, the Steel Shadow finally spoke, her tone cold and clipped. "I must remind you that I am not one of your blunt object enforcers. Although, it seems you've chosen to forgo the proper formalities."

She paused briefly to straighten her posture, her hands now clasped behind her back. "As for your comment regarding my ‘move’ on your Chevalier, I must admit, I find it lacking in logic. She is a Zaunite, and my gift — no more than a token — represents nothing but an indulgence in the customs of her own people." She tilted her head ever so slightly, a faint smirk playing at the corner of her lips. "However, rest assured, I’ll ensure you’re included on the gift list next year, so you needn't feel... overlooked."

Her voice lowered, every word dragging contempt barely disguised as disinterest. "Now, is there anything else, Counselor Kiramman?"

[nickmpreg]

been meaning to ask for awhile now and now I feel brave enough to, can I hear about the fanverse incident

claps my hands together . so this might get long you’re just going to have to bear with me . some details may be foggy in my head because it’s been probably a year since ive cared or really paid much more attention than what my friends told me to it but this is , essentially , what i remember the most and what makes the fanverse a fucking disaster

so the fanverse predates the Republican donation stuff by about a year . when it was announced i think the games that stood out the most to people were the joy of creation , popgoes , candy’s , flumpty’s , and the fnaf 1 remaster ( that i’ll spend so much time on . there’s so much stuff on phisnom alone ) . TJOC and candy’s don’t really have a lot to say on them , because the creators are normal people ( ? ) who just wanted to make fnaf fan projects , and if they could make some money via assistance from Scott by means such as selling on steam and possible merchandise , of course they were gonna take it

i don’t wanna say that the cracks started to show when the creator of flumpty was outed as a pedophile and openly admitted to it and banned himself from any online space to go better himself or whatever , but i will say that you could probably guess things were only going to go downhill from there when Scott made no public statement . i guess if you’re a dick rider you can argue that fnaf has an audience of children who don’t really need to be hearing a lengthy statement from the series creator about how pedophilia is a bad thing because Obviously , but he Has made statements about that before . he cut ties with pinkypills ( supposedly ) because of her comics that portrayed william as a pedophile . this isn’t meant to come off as a defense of pinkypills because she’s a genuinely terrible person , but one would think that a real life human person grooming a minor and admitting to it would be worse than possibly having someone read a comic that would have others perceive your fictional character as a pedophile . moving on

popgoes is being developed by kane carter who’s his own brand of something . he has such a bad tendency of saying stupid shit on his Twitter and then when someone goes ‘hey man this sounds a little stupid’ he will bug out and post some heated rant before going nuclear and locking his account , rinse and repeat for however many years it’s been . <- that’s why i joke that i have beef with him . because he did that to me circa 2020 when i made a joke about his old sister location theory about it being an underground sex dungeon or something He just had to make sure i knew at 14 years old that he wasn’t serious ! and it was a product of lack of knowledge of the time or whatever . i don’t hold that against him btw i just think it’s objectively a little funny . i think in terms of fanverse reception popgoes is still held in a really high regard because it seems to be one of the only projects that’s still actually being fucking worked on . if kane carter wasn’t such a fucking bizarre guy on his Twitter im sure that he’d still have a crumb of good faith left to anyone other than the people who have been following him since he made popgoes as a one off thing and probably feel some sort of obligation to keep going

Stares At You . and phisnom . phisnom is a special guy . he was the one who was assigned to remake fnaf 1 but make it Scarier or something . i feel it’s important to say that phisnom has gone on record saying that redesigns ( such as the ones in analog horror ) that just take the base design but make it grimy and ‘scarier’ are lazy and don’t actually add anything to their base design . i don’t inherently disagree with his take but seriously look at this

yeah man you’re really dodging the ‘making it scarier just because’ allegations with this one . i honestly think that aside from the joy of creation which is just like a really impressive fan game this was probably the second most hyped up one because it was being sold as a remake to the first and it was being funded by Scott’s money . objectively for the time it felt a little bit cool and i drew fan art for it ( which i still think is cute . i wish that phisnom didn’t suck so much fucking cock and balls so that i didn’t feel bad about looking at it but it’s whatever )

where the problems with phisnom reach a head is that he’s a cunt . like really just a cunt i don’t know how else to put it . there’s nothing wrong with someone wanting to have an audience of adults or whatever especially if the thought of having an audience of children makes you uncomfortable there is Nothing wrong with that , but when you sign on to make a remake of FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDYS you need to know what kind of fan base you’re signing up for .

phisnom’s twitter is 18+ , but he would get interactions from minors all the time . whether or not you blame the minors is up to you i guess but Again , when you’re posting about your five nights at Freddy’s project unless its just straight up porn it’s kind of absurd to think that everyone here is going to be a strong hearty adult . like let’s be so for real we all know the adults in the room aren’t funding your fan game .

what you probably heard is that after he played the ruin dlc he didn’t like it . since the dlc had just come out it had its recency bias and a kid replied to his tweet about it and then phisnom quote retweeted them and inadvertently sent his audience who aren’t stalking him for fnaf over to this child and send him gore and porn . obviously a person can’t control what their fan base does but when people were like ‘hey dude your community is sending a child gore and porn’ instead of making a tweet like ‘i don’t want you guys to do that’ he posted an ‘apology’ that just led back to a rick roll . obviously at this point he kind of just looks like an edgy child and people go to their lord and savior Scott Cawthon to get something done

by the way , i didn’t mention this yet , but this phisnom stuff happened in like July-august of last year , so it’s not like this was that long ago . that being said you also have to wonder Hey . where’s fnaf+ by now . because that was also the question that a lot of people ran back to . so you’re getting funded by both Scott cawthon and an audience of fans who are expecting a project that the creator himself managed to shit out in about a month , while you’ve been given three years to recreate some source material and you’re not done yet ? what’s taking so long ?

all of this combined into one melting pot led fnaf+ to getting canceled . go figure . scott never released his own statement on it because he’s off doing god knows but phisnom did , which basically said he’s done with fnaf and don’t ask about it or fnaf+ as a project anymore because he’s not completing it and he would like to do other project .

im sure there’s stuff i missed because of the aforementioned brain fog all the way at the start but yes . the fanverse is a fucking disaster . the joy of creation and candy’s are pretty good though

[popculturebuffet]

Pride Month: The Pride Season 1 Review: Their Here, There Queer, Get Used To It (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people. It's pride month and once again i'm late to the party as things have been hectic, in this case catching up on stuff and then just having my body and mood crash entirely for a week. But we're back and once again Kev has some rainbow flavored treats he wants me to hand out. Also some stuff to review.

This time we're kicking things off with a look at 2011 comic The Pride, starting with it's first mini series later renamed The Pride Season 1 after coming to comixology.

The Pride comes from gay comic writer and gay rights advocate Joe Glass. Glass has written a ton of queer comics i'm curious to check out, with the pride being one of his first and most notable works and one that he still dives into ocasionally, writing a sequel for Comixology in 2017, a spinoff series the Pride Adventures, with a summer special and new mini series, Agenda Dysphoria, coming this year.

The Pride follows it's universe's first, and possibly comics first all queer superhero team after openly queer superhero Fabman feels the community isn't getting nearly enough representation on the bigger team, with this universe's justice league stand in being outright homophobic at best. So he gathers all the queer superheroes he knows and together they fight for truth, justice and acceptance, while dealing with a mad preacher who plans to turn people with the superhero gene into his servants to take over the world, as you do and be a homophobic jackass, as the church often do.

The Pride seemed to be a modest success, and is something I was curious to check out: I read the first issue years ago when season 2 was announced.. and wasn't impressed, but when Kev pitched it I figured it'd be a neat thing to look at. See if I was wrong about the book and it was better than I expected or if it was just meh. So join me under the cut for pride as their here, their queer, and they've got a bear, their the pride.

The pride is drawn by Gavin Mitchell, who does a decent job, having a cartoony style with sketchy lines I feel fits the book's old school tone with modern values approach well. The weird thing is.. Mitchell only draws HALF the series, drawing thesee first two issuea nd then issue 5, so the series does suffer a bit from the art being consitant, some is good, some is not, so keep that in mind as you see panels.

We open to a news report as some jerky reporters report on various other superheroes, including Crabman and Lobster boy, a mustached crabman.

And his young soon to be dead ward. I... badly want a spinoff with this guy I mean look at him

He's a crab man with a mustache, a human hand for some reason, and a sucession of lobster boys who died horribly but don't seem to be his fault. I also like how Fabman smiles at this. Like he just loves how rediculous the world of superheroics is. But seriously if a crab dealing with severe losses on a regular basis who dresses like Freddy Mercury isn't a spinoff pitch you want to hear, I don't know what I can possibly offer you as you clearly lost lost the abliity to feel joy long ago. Now if your against it because he MIGHT have murdered a teenager.. fair point. I don't think he did on purpose justding by his OH CRAP face, but still fair.

Fabman's in his civies.. kinda dealing with the fact the hosts of the newscast casually throw out homophobic shit about him rescuing "a hunk" and outright use the term trick. You know Kent Brockman may sell out to our ant overlords but he never pulled that shit.

This unease from the broadcast compounds when we cut to some kids playing with their toys.. and one brings out a fabman figure. The two other kids turn into homophobic shit lords... only for Fabman to show up and scare the crap out of them. They super run away and the kid, Billy talks to his faviorit hero, admitting he didn't choose to be diffrent, and wondering why people suck, hoping one day they can see how great fabman is. Fabman wonders that too.. and the gears turn in his head

We get a one page interlude as we meet our villians, the reverend and basher. The reverend has basher kill a guy for complaning about exploding a little, how dare he before rambling ominously about "Ma plans".

Fabman starts to round up the heroes who will be thwartin "ma plans". We first meet Frost, An english heroine, transwoman and lesbian into punishing "Naughty Boys". She's as cold as her power set, but game for whatever her friend has plan. She was beating up some assholes in an ally who made the mistake of trying to accost her. She's the best.

Next is White Trash, A tatooed white man with super tough skin who runs some gang bangers off a basketball court but has one of the kids he saved used the f slur. I do like this bit, with Fabman saying "it ruins the good feeling every time dosen't it".. that even rescuing someone as a queer person.. can have the person still be homophobic. White Trash brushes it off as while it does indeed suck, he's a kid: Kids can change... and is honored to meet fabman and hear him out.

We next meet my faviorites out of the pride as some homophic assholes are mid hate crime when one of them ups and hits another and we meet Angel, pansexual drag queen with the powers of a confusion field that messes up the brain pans for those nearbye and makes them attack their foes and Bear, hard gay man who can turn into a literal bear. While having a Bear turn into a bear is the most on the nose thing imaginable I can't help but love it for it's sheer audacity and the bear gets fleshed out so much over the series he's hard not to love. The two are close friends and a duo and Angel mentions Fabs offer.

The final initial member of our party is Queen Sapphire, an amazon whose black gay wonder woman, Nubia before she got to be that, and whose stopping an asshole throwing a brick at someone working at planned parenthood and who runs straight into fabman's abs. Lucky asshole. Fabman invites his new friend Sapphire to the meeting.

Th group meet at the gay bar, gay bar, gay bar Fabulosa, Fabman's hq. Fabman gets into it briefly with Angel over not including T in calling this a SLBG meetup.. this was long before non binary and asexual were as known or accepted, something I have heard the sequel corrects and is forgiviable given when this came out. I also like this as it shows queer people can mistakes in their own community. And having seen the massive dumptrucks of biphobia int eh owl house fandom (Though most of us are awesome) over Huntlow.. can confirm.

Speaking of which at least for this arc the team has none which does bother me a bit as there's a B in the term.. but no actually bi members of the team. I do respect Glass not adding one just to have one and going with the characters he had, so it dosen't ruin the book for me, but it is something I hope later mini series course corrects as the team DOES expand in season 2.

Fabman gives his full pitch

And it's sad that most of the speech still holds. The first part.. never really felt like a thing in comics: Sure homophobic jackasses exist and always have, but most queer heroes were taken seriously in universe. The problem was, and still is, that a lot of queer heroes are lower profiled, either due to being introduced later or being firmly established as straight. There's exceptions like Iceman and Wonder Woman, but both came out AFTER this series was published, and even now while there are more queer heroes than ever before, it tends to be a dice roll if any actually get pushed. As Fabman later points out, teams might have a queer member or two, but they generally tend to just hav eone. And when you look at the major super teams right now their pretty bone dry in terms of queer members: The Avengers, as good as the current roster is, has exactly zero queer members. The Justice League when last around had two (Black Canary and Hipolita). The Titans, dc's current main team has zero. I"m not knocking the writers, I get ediotrial has a say, but it gets to the heart of the issue: most of the biggest heroes were throughly established as straight. Jonathan Kent, Superman, is one of the few exceptoins and even then DC has no idea what the fuck to do with him after his initial push wasn't the roaring sucess they hoped for. While Queer Rep, IS way better these days, the lack of visablity is still an issue. For all this mini's issues i'm glad the pride exist for that reason alone: why NOT have an almost entirely queer superteam? one that welcomes the straights sure, but is mostly queer people being who they are and fighting for the world like any other team, while also repping the community. If the big two can't make superman gay, make your own superman who is. Who has all the ideals of the character, but just happens to like guys and wear even tighter fitting pants. Seriously I may not be into fabman but I respect his giant crotch bulge in the panel above. Size isn't evertyhing but it's still fucking impressive.

As for media rep while sexless is slowly being weeded out, he wasn't wrong at the time nad even now having the gay character be a joke machine is still a common device.

At any rate the team soon gets an audition: Twink.. who starts by taking his shirt off

I do love everyone's reaction to him stripping down and worry when he says he dosen't want to ruin his close. He dosen't have a super dong like fabman though, his power is instead.. basically colossus. This is Twink, a younger member.

And now as Fabman goes to recurit the team's final member with everyone on board, let's take a moment to adress the elephant in the room. Some of the cast falls into typical LBGTQS+ niches to the point it COULD feel sterotypical. I mean fabman runs a gay bar, gay bar, gay bar, and is camp as hell, and well.. do I really have to outline where guys named the Bear and the Twink fit into the gay community. And that's just what I do know as while being bi, I don't know how say Angel reads to a drag audience or Frost to a trans one.

From my limited perspective though it mostly works: The most overt refrences.. are coming from a gay man himself and feel firmly tounge in cheek, while the characters themselves are well fleshed out, something I missed on first read as I only made it one issue. As the series goes on they get depth to them that really helps them stand out.

With that they have a team.. but they need one last member. Naturally it's down to Fabman to go to a seedy bar to recurit him. Which may be an uphill battle as someone else in the community already tried.

Yeah our final member wolf.. is wolverine combined with batman but gay. Granted Marvel would have a gay wolverine soon after this, but props to Glass he did it first and Logan does have a lot of hairy gay man energy in him, so it makes sense. He has logan's gruff nature, love of bars and denim off duty, and batman's millions, detective skills and lack of powers. I love their back and forth: The two feel like old pals which is something hard to pull off sometimes in fiction, to make it feel that lived in without sounding force but the two trade barbs, Fabs treis to drink whisky and spits it out and eventually a barfight happens as a homophobic asshole makes a deal of it. Twink steps in to help and Fabs reveals WHY he needs Wolf for the team: Training. The team is good.. but haven't trained as a team and twink in paticular, while good for a rookie with his self training, hasn't had proper training yet. Wolf decides what the hell and our team is complete and so's issue 1.

We then get a few origin storys, something sprinkled thorughout the first few issues: First up is white trash, a kid in a poor community whose dad abused him, heavily implied to be because he was gay, and who eventually had enough, kicked the man's homophobic ass and became a force for good in his community. Then we have Wolf, who in a flashback is being considered by the justice division. Wolf is buisnessman thomas everett, who inherted a company when his parents died in a carcrash and had already been training to be a vigilinate. His massive success gets him the spot.. and we'll find out why he lost it later.

Next issue opens with Wolf in their danger room thing, having just cleaned up and showed off for a very impressed rest of the team. Fabman reveals he didn't just get wolf as a trainer: Wolf will be co-leader: while Fabs is the groups overall head, Wolf will be in charge in the field and of training the team.

Twink is super smitten by wolf and a big fan, having seen him in the justice division and wondering why he quit. As I alluded to earlier though.. he didn't. The bastards fired him and he's not ashamed to share why: Brian was closted as a hero as first, getting his big call to the majors, but teamed up with Fabs. While the two were never a thing, it was nice to have someone to confide in.

Unfortuantley the tabolids being the dicks they were caugh ton to the tow's friendship and glommed onto it. The Division.. were less than sympathetic, and asked if he was gay. When he said yes.. they dropped him. Mostly Superdude, the lead, who was concerned about their "family friendly image", which can go straight to hell and is also eerily accurate of how hard it was to get queer characters into children's media. Wolf's over it, though he also figures they weren't All on board with this shit, the Venusian in paticular being uncomfortable as their species has no concept of gender. It's nice nod to nonbinary folks and judging from tv tropes, this gets dug into a bit more next series. I do grant this is with the issue that most nonbinary characters tend to be aliens , but it dosen't feel like the cheat it usually is here, just a nod to a community just starting to pop out and the fact they explore what that means next time. I also wouldn't mind if mainstream jonnn was nonbinary, even if he still used masculine pronouns.

The next day the crew heads for their first training session, with Angel making sure Bear's up to this healthwise. We'll find out why soon enough, for now though he flirts a bit with white trash as the trio and frost head up to find Queen Sapphire and Twink duking it out. Turns out this is his plan: Have them spar so they can find out each other's weaknesses. They were also supposed to be here way sooner and he admits he's going to ride them hard. He dosen't use that exact phrasing because of the book we're in, but they need to be ready. They've worked indvidually but they haven't really worked with teams. It's something i've seen in superhero comics before, it was an issue when the x-men roster was cut in half by the mutant massacre and had to restock with people who either only had worked solo or with one othe rperson (Psylocke and Dazzler) or never done proper superhero work let alone team work (Longshot). The team is good, it's why Fabman recurited them but I like that they don't function as a team out of a box and don't have that team experince most superheroes have. In a mainstream comics universe 9/10 heroes have been on a team at some point and thus even if theirs synergy issues, the team can still work effectively enough.

Fabman interrupts as a fire has happened at another gay bar and they need to go save that shit as they really couldn't ask for a better debut. He's a bit TOO jazzed about that part, but still, even untrained, it's a simple search and rescue. Even if a villian is there, they don't need to be in top shape yet.

At the fire Wolf has Angel work crowd control and twink wisely points out he'll be more of a danger as a metal man inside a raging furance, so he's given back door duty. I swear to god these innuendos are not intentional.. they are fun though.

As frost uses her powers to cool things down a bit, they find the culprit holding some surviviors hostage:" Firebomb, a guy with charred skin, cool googles and a love of hate crimes. Seriously the guy throws the F slur around casually. The villians in this book.. are about as subtle in thier bigotry as a captain planet villian is at looting the enviromrment. And their bigotry.

Thankfully for our heroes Frost easily cancels out his powers while his attempt to flee gets interupted by a metal fist to the face. Our heroes first outing, I swear to fucking god they won't stop, is a rousing success. The pride then make their grand debut to the press, with Fabman even expertly fielding the slightly insenstive question of "Are you only going to rescue gay people" Of course not. This is simply about standing out and letting queer heroes shine. Their the pride and their here to stay.. and unforutantely for them the reverned is watching and one of them is now key to his plans.

Secret origins next. Angels is just a fun monologue of her other half explaning who she is and why she does this: Someone has to keep her "babies" in the community safe. Muscle Mary gets a more proper one, a nice twist on Wondy's origin: Like the amazons of theymiscera, they had man visit for the first time in forever but it was less plesant with one killing her mom. Showing ultimate compassion she choose to take them back instead, going herself to find the good in the world and protect it, debuting at a pride parade, hence the muscle mary moniker.

So next issue opens with the news. They even called april o neil the star reporter, who took a break from turtles business to do a man on the street. That also implies some form of ninja turtles exist in this universe. Crossover when IDW?

There's a mix of genuine support, your usual bigoted idiots, and one oprah knockoff questoning if they need yet another super team. The short answer yes, the long answer go fuck yourself. The worst of it though is that one journalist outs that the bear has HIV. Be sure that you see that he has HIV but it's not aids. He dosen't got the AIDS.

Twink is shocked by this and leaves for some air. Bear follows him and the following scene.. is one of my faviorites. While Twink is nervous and dosen't know much about AIDS, worrying it might be an issue in their line of work, Bear assures him it's fine: it's only transmitable fluid to fluid and he takes goo denough care of himself that it transfering by blood, imprable enough given he has super endurance meaning the only person who could bust him open is someone likely invunerable, is VERY unlikely and already is as it'd take a lot to get there. The two are good and with a ton of calls coming in the team answer them.. badly.

Twink gets the worst of it though as his parents called. They hadn't contacted him since they sent him to a camp to cure his powers.

We cut back to the reverend plotting ominously. Yeah this happens.. a LOT over the series and is most of what he does. You'd THINK this would be a way to flesh him out, figure out who this guy is as a villian and why he's sucha homophobic piece of shit. I'm not asking for a tragic backstory, but i'm asking for more characters than "BLER RELIGION GAYS BAD BLEGH". While, especially on diving in closer for this review, the main cast is good, the antagonists are just.. pahtetically one note. The Reverend is just a hateful old man who wants to take over the world. There's nothing to it.

Compare this to X-Men, because that's my baseline and it always will be: This comparison is a little left field as they had their own evil reverend, reverend stryker. Striker was also an evil old man plotting genocide and who hated a minority, in this case mutants, a stand in for real live evangelicals.. but the diffrence is the reverend.. was smart. Instead of Doing his evil work out in the open or relying on a convoluted scheme like this rev, he simply pedaled his ministries on tv. And given this rev has mind control powers, you wonder why he didn't just think to do that in the first place and work on broadcasting it before he got excomjmunicated. Striker is both more intresting and more dangeorus because like far too many bigots, he THINKS he's right, and tries to use respectablity politics. This guy.. is juts one lunatic with magic knowledge of genetics and a hulk literally named basher.

Back with our heroes they have isssues as Angel and Frost are refusing to train figuring their experinced enough, not getting their good ALONE not as a team. Even Bear sides with Wolf on this one. Unfortunately this argument about training.. comes just as someone else wants to argue with the team: The Justice Divsion ar ehere. Turns out the scanner for HQ hadn't been setup which Wolf is rightfully miffed by.

The JD are led by Superdued, the guy at the forfront of the "Kick wolf out for being gay" charge and head of the team. Think worst timeline shaggy rogers but with super powers. They've come to tell the team to stop.

I do like this bit as it riffs on a common trope in comics that frustrates the hell out of me and i'm glad to see it torn apart here with a much less sympathetic team to boot. See DC has a VERY bad habit of having the Justice League act like judgmental asses and try to put a stop to a super team. The Avengers have done this on occasion too, see the New Warriors series from marvel now, but it's very much a league thing. They've done it to Young Justice, the 2003 Version of the Teen Titans, the rebirth Titans, the rebirth Teen Titans, and just casually flipping through the redhood and the outlaws graphic novel from web toon while at barnes and noble, those versions do it to the outlaws. There's likely more I have no idea about. And that's not getting into Bruce's uber dickish habbit of trying to run any vigilante he dosen't like out of gotham. Sometimes the instinct is right like with Savant, most of the time he just dosent like not having control. The League is the big name in the land sure, I can respect that, but their not god. They shouldn't have a right to judge other teams unless said teams are say edgelord harmful asshats like the elitie or outright super villians. Yes the titans and YJ were their sidekicks, but they were also overseen by one of their own in the case of young justice, and experinced heroes in the case of The Teen Titans.

So it's very satisfying to see the pride. stonewall their wish.com counterparts, especially since Superdued talking over everyone.. actually stops the venusian from making actual progress as they make the valid point they might not be ready and may of got them to agree to simply not go out in the field for a bit instead of Earth 3 Spicoli and his bird friend trying to convience them to "stand down" or "Join other teams', both options they clearly don't want nor asked for. It's a nice exercise in false allyship: how most of the division just wants to shut them down.. when if they REALLY cared about them not dying: offer to train them. No reallly. Wolf is doing it and he got his tactics from them, if your that concerned about them dyign and not about them being openly queer if inexperinced as a team on this level, offer team training. They'd still likely refuse.. but the fact they jump right to disbanding instead of helping them be better unmasks how they simply don't want to deal with a superteam that's both this gay and clearly wont' just bend the knee because the big 7 showed up.

So naturally a fight insues. and our team do hold well.. till Angel makes a mistake and uses her powers. Problem is.. Venusean is a telepath so it broadcasts it to EVERYONE and destroys the place. The Justice Assholes leave.. but proved a point: They may not be ready. And wolf agrees.. not that they shoudln't be a team, fuck those guys, but that they weren't ready and Angel now gets why train as a team: because you don't know how your powers might interact in a fight. In good situations you can create a circut and do a super teamwork combo. In bad... it trips up your allies and you. Still Wolf's calling a break and while Fabman is worried this might've been a bad idea, wolf assures him no, he did what had to be done and this willw ork promise.

The two have a longer talk, and Wolf makes a valid point, and a meta point about why this team exists: The big teams often have maybe ONE person of color or two women and the women rarely lead. A team that's diverse stands out. And he's sadly not wrong. Marvel IS having Captain Marvel lead the avengers right now, but previously leaders were Cap, Sam Wilson Cap, and Cap again bitches. Sam is black, so that helps a little, but in general marvel tends to default to cap, while DC defaults to supes. John Kent wasn't even in the league in his time as head superman. These aren't bad characters, I love Supes and Cap a lot, but it's tied to my point earlier: There aren't a ton of a-list, big powerful queer characters in marvel or dc. Plenty of queer characters but for DC"s biggest it's just harely and wondy (And Ivy when she's on the good guys side), with Alan Scott for the JSA and for Marvel it's Teddy, Wiccan and Hercules for the avengers, no one for the fantastic four, and Iceman, Magik, Captain Britan, and Kitty Pryde out of the major x-men (Though to the x-men's credit there is a lot more queer characters than most comics stables) and Magik and Kitty haven't really gotten to explore their bi sides yet, both being confirmed bisexual in a one off joke and a panel that went nowhere repsectively. The PRide has it's faults.. but it is very nice for the core of a superhero universe to be it's queer characters. Hopefully they get more poc, but it's still more gay than most teams have.

Meanwhile Basher kills a bussload of people and kidnaps one. This turns out to be Bear's son with Bear getting the whole we have your kid speil after coming back from a night out with White Trash, who he also brought home. So a bit of a wash all things considered.

Origins again: This time it's , Da Bear, and his origin is one of my faviorites: he was a closted gay man who didn't realize he was gay till he became a bear man one day. In this verse, some people get their powers from the "X-Cel Virus" basically their verison of the x gene mixed with the viral nature of generator rex's nanites. He found out he was gay, got a divorce , and soon got HIV but soldiers on anyway.

We then get Fabmans one I honestly love. He's Stephen Wainwright: he always knew he was gay and not only did his parents catch on before he came out, but they were fully supportive, being nothing but proud of their son. Stephen, like the hero he's modeld after, is a kind hearted soul who only wants to help, helping consule those in his community and offer support. He later opened his bar simply to give his community a place to relax and be safe. It's this kind, open nature and pride in who he is that attracted some aliens, who had been watching him.. which would be creepy if they weren't clearly looking for a pargon of virtue to bestow powers on. Okay i'ts still a little creepy but hey they gave him powers for being a good person who isn't remotely ashamed of who he is and who always wanted to help people. I'm not going to judge too harshly. So like his parents and Stephen himself they coudln't be prouder.

The next issue opens with the team all meeting early in the morning, most not in costume. Angel had a show already so their the only one ready besides the Bear. We also get details on his relationship with his son and heartwarmingly.. it's really good. While The Bear and his ex wife naturally weren't on the best terms after the breakup, she never hid his son from him nor kept him. So while Jacob didn't grow up near his dad, the two did know each other and Bear couldn't be prouder

While the Bear wants to go after basher NOW, Wolf tells him to ease up a bit: not because he dosen't care.. but because it's an obvious trap. Bear naturally can't wait for common sense and rushes off. Thankfully.. Wolf saw this coming and his assuring shoulder pat included a tracer. He's going to have Angel fill him in, try to figure out who the hell basher is and hopefully fast enough to get there before this guy can really hurt bear.

Bear meets basher and Basher is naturally a dick, using the f slur, calling bear "Riddled with diseas" and generally being punchable. He wants bear though, and easily wrecks our poor ursine pal. Luckily our pal has pals of his own and a fight begins. The fight takes up most of the issue and is nicely tense with Basher essentially being a homophobic juggernaught. And while as a character his characterization begins and ends with "I don't like the gays", he is a decent threat at least. OUr heroes try EVERYTHING.. and come up short. They do dent the guy a bit.. but not enough and while Bear's son , Jake, chimes in, Bear's rage after Basher punts him gives the asshole the opening he needs to knock out or pal and run off with him.

Origins time again. This time frost is first as she has an interview with a reporter.. and freezes his research as she's worked hard to hide her past pre transition. She's not ashamed of being trans, and it seems Fabman knows, but her family disowning her fo rbeing who she always was is clearly a sore spot.

Next is twink who writes to his parents. It tells us mostly what the text has: he's a big superhero fanboy who always was one. Getting powers was the happiest day of his life.. but his parents instead feared this and sent him to madman to try an dcure him. Given the gay conversion therapy parallels you can probably guess WHO they sent him to. I certainly did. He's happy with who he is though and his freedom.

Issue 5 opens with the pride having a wake. Naturally assholes are protesting it. It's a weird thing.. but I respect the comic for using the f slur. It's not for shock value, it's simply being realistic, and it's something queer people face every day. It's something a lot of comics would censor but glass knows is necessary.

The pride haven't given up... but have a good justifcation for doing this: as Fabman points out superheroes have learned to "hope for the best, expect the worst". Given how many heroes end up dead but come back or were never dead, fair point. It's also been a few weeks, giving the team time offscreen to train. Speaking of which.. wolf asks Owen, aka Cub, to join the team. While Cub is straight.. Wolf genuinely dosen't care. It's not about exclusion, i'ts about family and right now Cub coudl use one. He tearfully accepts.

We also get introduced to Angel OUT of costume, Kele Amos and his wife. Everyone's happy to meet her and finds out Angel is pansexual. There's four absences though: Fab Man is taking the loss personally, even more than Angel and Owen who vow revenge, so White Trash went to find him, while Frost... seemingly didn't care to show up. Sapphire was absent.. because she went to go confront her at the gay bar gay bar, but not the gay bar gay bar gay bar in front of their HQ.

Frost is seemingly not effected.. but Sapphire sees through it: she's afraid to cry and be vunerable and while Frost is offended for a second.. she breaks down. The two end up embrasing and while Frost tries to come out at trans, Sapphire assures her she knows all she needs to know.

Their not the only hookup either as WOlf and Twink have a training session, with Twink frustrated they have no leads an daccidently bodying Wolf across the room. He kisses him in the heat of it, Wolf kisses him back. Another couple paired off.

Finally we get to White Trash and Fabman. Fabs naturally blames himself, but White Trash shuts that shit down: Harvey knew the risks, was out there every day in spite of them, and was proud of who he is and this team. He makes a cabaret refrence, for a drag queen he once knew and life is a cabaret: sometims it's good, sometimes it sucks balls. But you'll never get the good if you don't live it.. and making this team.. is living. So White Trash gets him ready to go out.. they don't kiss thoguh. Not his type. Also can Fabman mystically sense when other people ar ebanging or are the others hooking up that much of a forgone conclusion he just assumes it's happening.

After all this hooking up, Wolf gets a spooky spirit message from Bear, whose alive... Basher's using him for his evil mind control plot, revealing it's an evil mind control plot. Seriously is there anything about this guy that isn't a cliche wrapped in hate speech?

At any rate we get a brief scene showing the team's been training hard, leveling up.. and after Cub takes on the highest level of training bot himself, beheading it.

We end the issue on Bassher making a grand announcment to the world as he holds up Bear's bloody body hooked to the machine.

Final issue. As basher makes his announcment Cub, White Trash and Angel and Twink wonder why nothing's happening to them. Their all x-cel positive while the rest of the team has diffrent means. Since it's the only one I forgot to mention, frost got hers via surgery.

Taking an art break the art this issue is decent. Not as good as the other issues but fine. The other issue.s. minus the last one which swapped artists constantly including weirdly ending on Mark ellerby's art. And I fucking love mark ellerby's art but it's more cartoony and din't fit the ominous ending at all.

Our heroes have bigger issues as it turns out most of Justice Division is X-Positive, and thus only Morningstar (the bird asshole form before ) and the Venusian are left as they crash into Pride HQ. Luckily our heroes have been training for this.. both combat and specifically kicking the Justice Divisions assholes which give no homo zonker harris just suantered in trying to shut them down and a fight broke out rather easily, fair point. It pays off as the Pride easily take them down, with Angel in particular getting a nice subtle bit of redemption for botching the last fight, narrowing her focus to just superdude and sending him to the moon. After finishing up with a ncie combo attack, using fabs and morningstar's light powers on Twink's shiny skin to drive the last Divison Member left, a midnighter knockoff who also can move through shadows, down. Wolf also bluntly tells the Venusian and Morningstar to stay put for two reasons despite their insitance that, as the big team they should do it: One, they just koed most of their team, and two, they need someone to protect the city while they hopefully handle this. On this reread for transcribing this review as it's a perfect contrast to the first fight: The first time out most of the team squared up against someone, fighting one on one, a subtle detail I didn't notice but highlights how while they are a team, their not WORKING as one. While tw oget taken out solo, frost targeting bluebird's vocal cords and Sapphire/Muscle Mary easily handeling Mighty Miss (Their wonder woman at home), the first is a strategy they worked out just in case wolf prompts her for, and the rest are all taken out with team work. While it disapointing all the actual training happend off screen, it's an excellent way to show how it's paid off. I would've liked to see them come together as a team, no comment, but I also understand Glass likely could only get the six issues and judging from the fill in artists and especailly issue 5 being a whole GAGLE of various artists and clearly not being intended for that kind of setup, self publishing was a nightmare. It's no wonder the second volume had comixology's help and the third was funded with Kickstarter, to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. So it's that Hazbin Hotel issue of having to cram EVERYTHING they can into 6 issues as they may not get more. It hurts the story a little, but I understand the impulse and thus i'm a bit more forgiving if the story still mostly works.

Thankfully said dream earlier allowed Wolf to track them. As he explains when they get into their dope jet the crusier, there was some sand at the scene that was diffrent, coming from a former nuclear test site. Luckily for our heroes the radiation has gone down enough that the radiation isn't an issue.. but allowed them to track the Reverend down. We also get his backstory: the Reverend is Reverend William Franklin, who was kicked out after he was caught using his powers to brainwash his congregation. I like to think bibleman did it. At any rate his powers didn't work on X-Cels, hence his need for bear.

The team split up: Most of the team stays out front, with Angel taking out most of the brainwashed heroes the rev's summoned, while the team as a whole minus fabman, wolf, twink and frost fight basher. Wolf, Twink and Frost take on the rev's forces.. and it turns out.. they were also a distraction as Fabman cleans house. Outside the res tof the team has an excellent rematch with basher another nice reflection; Before each member fought him one at a time, this time they all work together and angel uses her powers to allow the others to sucker him. It's something I wished i'd noticed on first read as this book is REALLY good at having the team.. work as an actual team once their good and pumped in this last issue. Most team books tend to have them hit em one at a time, but if you have a team.. why not have them do a circuit. I'm not against the group fighting alone, but this and x-men 97 show why a good super circuit is awesome.

White Trash ALMOST kills basher but backs away.. unfortunately though.. cub does not and slits his throat. WEll I mean Basher did deserve it but i'ts not good for the kid himself to murder a guy ya know? As he sobs to his dad as he's freed though Fabman.. is also close, ready to go full red eyes superman on the homophobe.. but being the bigger man dosen't. He destroys the reverends book so he can't channel his powers again, which was just directly pulled out of his perfectly toned ass but whatever. The day is saved.

Their greeted by the entire superhero community they just saved.. who all cheer them. The Pride proved themselves and it while basher's about as complicated as a piece of cardboard, I give the comic credit for having an organic way for them to earn the superhero communites respect.

With that there's just one last bit of buisness, an epilogue finishing up where we began: two months later the Pride are now one of the world's most popular superteam, with both of the anchors no longer being homophobic jackasses.. I doubt they've actually changed, they just recognize they can't make snide queer jokes about the world's saviors. The pride are getting medals of valor while, fair play to them, the justice division not only admitted they had a don't ask don't tell policy but have removed it. The latters the bear minimum and never should've been a thing. The formers.. the part they get more credit for: it's rare for a public figure not forced into it by overwhelming evidence to admit they did something awful, so the divison not only admitting what they likely did to wolf, but likely apologizing for it is big.

Fabman meets with billy and the bullies have also changed their tune finding him awesome. Fabman is here because Billy.. is the one that inspired him to do this. The world wouldn't of been saved and he wouldn't have his new family without them. Billy returns the favor giving fabman his old action figure after fabs gives him a new one, wanting to give fabs a token of where this started.. and his thanks. The why.. brings a tear to our heroes eyes. He fought hard.. and now the world sees Fabman the way billy did, sees all of the pride that way and we end on fabs proudly flying away with the kids telling him to go change the world. Cheesy but it works.

The Pride... is pretty damn good. When I started writing this review, I found it okay. But as often happens my opinon changed the more I engaged with the work. Sometimes that goes the other way: I liked temple of Doom and Lion King II less the more I had to think about them. But here seeing all the little touches, how it has a decently fleshed out cast in such a short time span (With only Sapphire feeling underdeveloped by the end and even she's still decently fleshed out), and how the team slowly grow. It's not perfect: A LOT of the commentary is on the nose with all the villians being one not ebigots. I'm not asking them to be likeable, i'm asking for their to be layers to thier bigotry and hatred, how they operate. The book is not subtle and while it hurts it in the antagonist department, and the rev himself is dispatched cartoonishly easy, it helps everywhere else: As I thought about it the book does raise some really valid points about the big two. it'd be nice if the justice divisoin weren't cardboard cutouts themselves, but it's still a nice commentary on how superhero books tend to have one or two queer people on a team if at all. The Pride isn't subtle, is a tad messy at times.. but i'ts a lot of fun an da concept i'm shocked took this long to happen. An all queer super team is a brilliant concept and I can't wait to see what happens with them next time, next year. I'm all for making the Pride a permenant pride month fixture if this does well enough. For now it was a fun ride and I hope you enjoyed me jawing about it. Thanks for reading.

[attic-club-sandwich]

To Ascend Again

Summary: After falling from the Celestial Realm, the seven brothers must rely on each other emotionally to cope with the loss of their sister, Lilith. Meanwhile, they are also trying to adjust to their new forms and heal both the physical and emotional wounds caused by the Celestial War. Their bonds become stronger than ever since the fall, and they learn to rise again from the calamity that befell them.

Genre: Angst/Hurt

A/N: Here is Chapter 7, sorry for the wait! I've officially decided to make the chapters longer. So buckle up. This Chapter is a conclusion of the HoL tour. We pretty much know the layout of the house by now so I didn't feel it necessary to cover everything. But later chapters will bring some of the rooms (*cough* Lilith's room *cough*) into the story. But I hope you enjoy most of the chapter is Levi's POV! I'm going to try and dedicate a chapter to each of the brothers' perspectives so we can really get in and dissect what they're feeling.

Taglist: @obey-me-posts @amberrskiies

Masterlist

Read on Ao3

Chapter 7: The Avatar of Envy

The tour of the House of Lamentation was taking longer than intended as the brothers explored the house and took note of which bedrooms they wanted to occupy. Asmo of course chose the bedroom with the biggest and most extravagant bathroom, which was quick to start an argument amongst the brothers.

“That’s not fair at all, why does HE have to get the good bathroom?” Levi whined. His amber eyes glowed a deep orange hue as he felt his sin of envy begin to take over. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was undeniably jealous of Asmo. All he wanted was to soak in a bathtub, rather than standing under the harsh droplets of water from a shower. Asmo had a huge smile on his face as he hummed to himself. “Because I’M the Avatar of Lust, darling! My appearance is vital to my status!” Levi groweld in response, knowing Asmo was taking notice of his jealousy. Diavolo let out a hearty laugh as he led the brothers back down the staircase. “There’s no need to worry, Leviathan. Each of your rooms has its own personal bathroom connected.” Lucifer sighed, he really wished his brothers didn’t announce their criticisms so openly in front of Diavolo. They should be lucky that they even have a place to stay thanks to the Demon Prince’s generosity. He watched as Levi groaned, itching the side of his neck. He was progressively getting more and more irritated and he couldn’t figure out why. “Leviathan, what’s the matter?” Lucifer asked as they all made their way back into the entryway of the house. He had also noticed how irritable his younger brother was becoming. “My neck is itchy, and I feel like I'm drying out.” he huffed. Barbatos made his way over to Levi, and touched the now very angry red spot on his neck. “Not to worry, Leviathan. You just need some hydration. The gills you possess in your demon form act very much like the gills of the aquatic species. Therefore, you should take care to make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day as it will most likely cause you to transform.” Levi gaped at him, unsure how to feel about this new discovery. He was still having difficulties controlling when his demon form took over, but now he had gills to worry about?

Barbatos bowed, stepping back to Diavolo’s side. “I think we’ve covered just about everything, so please feel free to retire for the evening. I can imagine how tired you all must be.” The demon prince was about to make his way out the door when he stopped, suddenly remembering something important. “Oh, Lucifer! We will return tomorrow morning with a few items for you all. I have something that will prove to be useful for you as you settle into the Devildom. Not to mention I’d like to discuss the details of getting you all enrolled in my Academy.” Lucifer dipped his head in response. “Of course, I’ll be sure we’re all ready when you arrive.” Diavolo gave him one last smile as Barbatos shooed him out the door. “Let’s leave them to relax, My Lord.” he said as they left, the door shutting behind them. Once they were gone, Lucifer turned around to face his brothers. They were chatting amongst themselves when all of a sudden his stomach growled. The next task at hand was to figure out dinner and how he would manage to feed all 7 of them. “Would any of you care to join me to find something for dinner to bring back?” Everyone nodded except for Levi, who was sitting on one of the couches in the entryway looking miserable. “Leviathan, how about you go to your room and have a bath?” The 3rd born glanced up at him and nodded weakly. “Okay. Bring me back something somewhat edible.” he said, getting up and heading for the staircase. “And not fish, either.” he added, looking pale. Lucifer chuckled. “Got it. As for the rest of you… Mammon, how about you come along with me. Beel, Belphie, Asmo and Satan, you stay here and relax for a bit.” 

***

Levi’s room was well, to put it one way, unique. As if there weren’t enough surprises in store for him, the plain walls and ceiling were magically transformed into a giant fish tank. He had a feeling that Diavolo set it up that way for him knowing he would choose it. After having his powers assessed, his form is very much like a serpent or sea creature, so he found that being surrounded by water is very soothing. Levi stood in the center of his new bedroom, taking in the gentle sounds of flowing water from the tank. He could feel himself beginning to relax, the anxiety from the day beginning to lift from his shoulders. “Diavolo, thank you so much…” he whispered to himself. He made his way to his bathroom, and almost cried at the sight of the bathtub. He quickly turned on the faucet, and stripped his way out of his clothes. As he waited for the water in the bath to warm up slightly, he couldn’t help but glance at himself in the large mirror above the sink. He hadn’t fully taken in his demon form since his fall, and he was still not quite used to it and the effects it had on his body. He brought a hand up to touch his neck, feeling the delicate, aquamarine scales and the grooves of his gills hidden underneath. Levi shivered at the feel of them, dropping his hand to his side. His amber eyes filled with tears as he glanced down at himself. While his wounds were pretty much healed from his fall, some scars still remain etched into his skin as a reminder for his sins. He had also immediately noticed some obvious changes to his body in this form from the beginning, and he found that he was honestly quite disgusted with himself. Who could ever love me when I look like this? He thought. The burning in his neck was enough to pull him from his negative thoughts and he finally stepped into the bath. He sighed in relief as he sank down into the water. After soaking for a couple of minutes, the burning subsided. He leaned his head back and allowed his eyes to close. 

He woke up to knocking on the bathroom door. “Levi, are you okay in there? Dinner is here.” It was Lucifer’s voice. “Y-Yeah, just don’t come in! I’ll be down in a sec!” he called, water splashing out of the tub as he quickly attempted to cover himself just in case his brother felt like barging in. “It’s fine, just come down whenever you’re ready.” Lucifer said. He sounds tired, Levi thought. He felt a pang of sadness in his chest as he got out of the tub. He knew his brothers were each dealing with their own issues regarding their new forms as well as still mourning the loss of their sister. Once again, tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He hadn’t allowed himself to think much about the loss of Lilith. He wasn’t ready to accept it yet. Shaking his head, he quickly got dressed again and made his way back downstairs to the dining room. “Finally Levi! Did ya shrivel up in there? Get over here I'm starvin’.” Mammon said, opening up one of the many take-out containers lining the table. Levi was thankful it was only burgers this time since he was still getting a taste for Devildom food. At least he hadn’t audibly gagged like Asmo did once at Diavolo’s castle. He smiled to himself, remembering how upset Lucifer had gotten at him, as it reminded him of the old times together in the Celestial Realm. The room was silent as they all dug into their meals. Everyone was exhausted from the day, and were anxious to retreat to their rooms. Lucifer finally broke the silence, clearing his throat. “As you all know, Diavolo is coming back over tomorrow to tell us about the Academy he expects us to attend.” They all glanced up at him, still chewing their food. Levi studied his elder brother’s face as he continued. He had dark bags under his eyes, and his crimson eyes were devoid of any real emotion as he continued, “So I would suggest that you all go get ready for bed after you finish eating.” he said. No one argued with him, more than likely they noticed the state Lucifer was in as well. Suddenly, they all began to hear a soft snoring coming from the end of the table. They all glanced down to see Belphie with his head down in his fries, his burger only half eaten. Levi followed the rest of his brothers as they snickered. Even Lucifer laughed, which he could hardly believe. He hasn’t heard his older brother truly laugh in quite some time.  “Someone take him to bed, already.” he said, chuckling. Beel got up from the table and lifted his twin brother into his arms. “I got him. Since we’re sharing a room, I guess we’ll both be heading to bed. Good night everyone.” he said as he headed out of the dining room. “Oh, and save his leftovers in case he gets hungry in the middle of the night.” 

Levi yawned as his other brothers began to file out of the dining room. He and Mammon were the last to leave since they stayed to help clean up. “Ya feelin’ better Levi?” he asked as they began to head upstairs. Levi nodded, giving him a weak smile. “Yeah, a little. I didn’t realize how much of a toll my demon form took on me.” Mammon hummed in agreement. “I feel that. I can’t control mine from takin’ over either so don’t go feelin’ bad or nothin’, okay?” Levi couldn’t help but glance up at the twisted horns that were now poking through his brother’s snowy white hair. He also noticed his wings on his lower back that drooped behind him as he walked, the material of the shirt he was wearing now torn and frayed where they had ripped through. He’s obviously seen Mammon’s form plenty of times now since their fall, but this was the first time he was really taking it in. “Thanks, Mammon. I appreciate that.” he said, fidgeting with his hands. Mammon patted him on the back. “Don’t mention it, I um. I want to try and be there for you guys more.” he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, here’s your stop.” Levi glanced back up to see they were already at his room. “Thanks. Goodnight, Mammon. And u-um, I’m here for you too. Y-You know. In case you need anything. ” he stuttered, glancing away from Mammon’s golden gaze. Laughing, Mammon reached out and messed up Levi’s own hair. “H-Hey!” he protested. “Goodnight, little bro.” Mammon said, hurrying down the hallway as Levi called after him, “I’m not that much younger than you, you know!” 

*** Levi had fallen asleep in his bathtub. He didn’t know why, but something about the tall, porcelain walls were extremely comforting to him. It’s as if they were keeping him safe. Confined. Hidden from the dark, unfamiliar territory of the Devildom. He stretched awake, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He hadn’t been awoken by any knocks on his door, so he figured it was still pretty early. Getting up out of his tub, he headed out of the bathroom and into his room. It felt so…empty. The bare walls that weren’t taken up by the fish tank were staring back at him, begging to be covered. Back in the Celestial Realm, they weren’t allowed to indulge in any sort of personal decor in their rooms, as it was a sign of materialism which was considered to be a Sin. In a way, he felt a sort of relief wash over him at the fact that he had the freedom to decorate his new space anyway he wanted. But what do I even like anymore? He wondered, biting his lower lip. Back in the Celestial Realm, he did indulge in some hobbies from the Human World, but he was always forbidden from pursuing them. He’s always possessed the tendency to hyperfixate and go a little overboard and he tried his best to keep that to himself.

 The tile floor was cold on his bare feet as he approached his bedroom door. He paused when he heard the sound of yelling coming from somewhere in the house. Quickly, he yanked open his door and ran out into the hallway. “Lucifer?!” he yelled, running in the direction of where the voices were coming from. One was definitely his eldest brother’s voice, and he could hear the sound of something crashing and hitting the floor. The sounds took him into the kitchen, where he saw Lucifer in his demon form and a very pissed off looking Satan. He shivered, feeling the heavy tension in the air. “Fuck you, Lucifer!” the little blonde boy yelled, baring his fangs. Levi’s eyes widened, unsure of where his little brother learned that sort of word. Probably spending too much time around Mammon, he thought. His older brother did have quite the foul mouth lately. “That will be enough out of you, Satan.” Lucifer snarled, his lip curling in disgust. Levi glanced between them and noticed an entire pan of what appeared to be scrambled eggs on the ground. “W-What is going on here?” Levi said, nervously. Lucifer whipped around at the sound of his voice. “Your brother decided he didn’t want eggs for breakfast.” Satan let out a low growl, his barbed tail lashing back and forth behind him. “You guys aren’t my brothers.” Levi took a step forward, holding his hands up and preparing himself to transform if need be. “Hey Satan, wait-” Before he could finish his sentence, Satan took off from the kitchen wiping his tear filled eyes. Lucifer sighed and began to pick up the eggs off the floor. “I don’t know what we’re going to do about him. I’m sorry if we woke you, Levi.” The Avatar of Envy shook his head. “I-I was up already…Um…Where did we get the eggs?” He asked, wanting to avoid talking about the incident with Satan. Lucifer glanced at the fridge. “Apparently the Little D’s left us some basic ingredients.” Levi nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. “Want to help? I’d rather get breakfast over with before Diavolo and Barbatos arrive.” Together, they got to work on making a new batch of eggs, as well as frying some bacon while Levi handled toast and drinks. 

Levi almost dropped the glass he was pouring juice into when he heard Lucifer begin to hum behind him. He recognized the tune immediately; He used to sing the lullaby to him and his younger brothers when they were scared, usually from some sort of nightmare that plagued their dreams in the middle of the night. Levi smiled softly as he remembered going into Lucifer’s room one night to already see the Twins being comforted by him. They did share the same dreams sometimes, so it only made sense that both of them were there. Speaking of the Twins, at some point Beel must have entered the kitchen, lured in by the smell of food cooking. “Good morning Beel. Help us set the table, breakfast is almost ready.”  Lucifer said. Beel nodded enthusiastically. “Sure, it smells delicious.” As the three of them continued to get the table set for breakfast, the rest of the brothers began to trickle in, all except for Satan. “Hey Lucifer, um.. What about Satan?” Levi whispered as they stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Lucifer shook his head. “He’ll come down when he’s ready. Or hungry enough.” Lucifer cleared his throat, catching the attention of the other 4 brothers. “Now the rest of you, eat up. Diavolo and Barbatos will be arriving soon.” 

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Nimona

or How to Not Worry & Channel Your Inner Limp Bizkit

In the year before 2020, it was announced that Blue Sky Studios was adapting ND Stevenson's hit graphic novel. Everything changed though when Disney was on that bullshit post-Fox buyout, where to our surprise Blue Sky and Nimona would be shut down. The latter's cancellation hit especially hard understanding it was almost finished anyways, but that's Disney for you. Long as you don't say gay and give 'em your money, they'll stay out of the way. Leave it to Netflix to let the film rebound from Super Hell and finally make it to both the big and small screen; makes you forget they're garbage at anything else. All in all, Blue Sky had the last laugh one more time but was Nimona able to bring the flavorful fireworks or did we get a weak flare that fumbled before the 4th of July?

Well, I will declare now that the film... is fun. If it wasn't fun, that means Disney made it and would remake it live-action around 2040. This film is a ride-or-die by its titular protagonist and lads, I can't lie...

PROTECT. THIS. GODDAMN. SMILE.

Nimona is both a bundle of chaotic joy and an entity that deserved far better. She's like the manifestation of Limp Bizkit, 2000s punk, and B-tier shitposting rolled into an unapologetic but deeply frustrated rebel. I've seen naysayers before release going, "She's another attitude girl archetype" and like no. She has that raw gremlin bastard energy, but she's never an annoying bitch and that's big difference. The best thing is that you're with Ballister in getting to know her; it surprisingly hard for folk to be accepting of somebody harmless who's more comfortable with themselves than anyone lets on. She's not a character I felt forced to sympathize with nor was intrusive on Ballister's story. She's not exactly the focus, but she earned being the star of this movie.

I got major Haruhi and Kyon vibes from their dynamic and it's great

Plotwise, there's a good flow to it all that makes this rewatchable thrill. If there's one major gripe I have is that while Nimona and Ballister have a great dynamic, there's a part in the 2nd act involving them and the villain that was a bit rushed. I will admit to not have read the book, but while I do know the tone is different given they were probably going for an all age rating, I say things didn't feel too compromised. My mind is blown enough that we got an animated kids movie with two, COUNT 'EM TWO, openly queer protagonists. No winks and nudges towards Ballister being gay, no scatterbrained subtlety on Nimona's genderfluid existence, and thank balls their story exists as more than being a preachy memoir. These two get to just BE and live to go on a crime spree justice adventure. That is what I've wanted for longer than any of you think and this delivered. Any criticisms I could have I felt was diluted by the actual fun this was.

And if you've seen Iron Giant, you probably will love this movie

To conclude, I am wondering of a timeline where this wasn't originally cancelled and Blue Sky didn't get axed. This was as much their movie as it is Annapurna and DNEG who helped finish it. People said it looked "unfinished" but then again, given the situation I can cut it some slack because it still plays out gorgeously. Like you know Blue Sky got most of it done, but you think about the changes in direction and ponder if this was the best outcome for the film. It is poetic though, a phoenix forced to burn out but gets to revive as a stronger, if not more so, being that people finally get to see. For Nate, this is undoubtedly a dream come true. As for me, not since Puss in Boots The Last Wish have I been delighted to call this a...

9/10 ABSOLUTE BANGER