#Ml phillipe

[jessethegoat]

he's here and he's as beautiful as ever 🥺

looked like he has gain back the age he lost during his Leeds tenure 😅(again..just like Bielsa did. The transformation he'd been through during and post Leeds was night and day!)

[dangermousie]

Middle (sort of) of 2024 list - cdrama edition.

Yeah I realize it's neither the end of the year, nor half a year, but what's the point of being predictable? It's also gonna make my end of year post easier. This is only going to cover cdramas that aired in 2024; if I watched it but it was made in a different year, it’s not on the list.

DRAMAS WATCHED

(In order of liking from least to most as opposed to pure quality; I am including if I’ve seen enough to make up my mind; yes I realize that’s inaccurate, but that’s my list)

42 My Divine Emissary - it's actually a pretty good drama year when the worst cdrama I've checked out this year is merely utterly shrill and brain dead but not horrifyingly offensive to good taste.

41 Fight for Love - they had wonderful actors and a great premise and utterly wasted it. There might someday be a good drama about a female general torn between a royal and an enemy general but this ain't it.

40 Peacock in Wonderland - I am a few decades too old for this brain dead fest but I am glad Zhou Jun Wei is not canceled at least.

39 Her Fantastic Adventures - honestly, this, MDE and Revenger are all the same type of subgenre - they aren't offensive they are just as empty as air. This also suffers from casting an utter dud as ML and a charisma boat as SML. Why?

38 Lady Revenger Returns from the Fire - the main thing I remember from this is that Miles Wei must have stolen the wig maker's parking spot. That wig is the one that should have gone into the fire.

37 Your Trap/Imprisoned Love - the plot of this mini made no sense but the softcore vibes of sanitized 1990s cinemax were on point!

36 Fox Matchmaker: The Red Moon Pact - it's so pretty, so full of gorgeous costumes and actors and I enjoyed the first few eps, but ultimately it was like watching colorful paint dry. It was so dull, I couldn't even hate watch it, and that is more damning than anything.

35 The Unexpected Marriage - cutesy dumb period romcom. Could be worse, not that this is much of a praise.

34 Love’s Rebellion - so twee, so precious, so full of cutesy awful CGI and actors who aren't bothering. I am not sure why Zhang Linghe and Jing Tian are in this mess that looks like rainbow vomited on a xianxia set.

33 My Wife's Double Life - her life may be double but her brain is only half.

32 Jade's Fateful Love - I lost some braincells trying this one, but (a) it's gorgeous and (b) no transmigration say you? Multiple transmigration in first ep alone! Good for you, makers!

31 Follow My Heart - how do you have Luo Yunxi, Song Yi and Cheng Lei and waste them so utterly? First few eps were nice and then it's like exercise in how much you can tolerate before you call it quits.

30 Sword and Fairy 4 - it's kinda a mess but I loved the actors and some of the plots and you can do worse.

29 Blossoms in Adversity - dumb as a set of particularly dumb bricks and ML I don't think could act if his life depended on it, but it was strangely addictive and I watched it often before better dramas. It's just a genuinely good time somehow!

28 Judge Dee - it's not you it's me in action. It's smart and gorgeous and well acted, I just don't do procedurals.

27 The Substitute Princess’ Love - it's like some of those trashy web novels I enjoy. It was clearly cut, its budget was equivalent to loose change found in the pockets of makes of Fox Spirit Matchmaker, but it was a surprisingly fun watch, though I enjoyed the first half better than the second. Also as a drama old, it was a fun blast from the past seeing Dylan Kuo (if you have never watched the old twdrama The Outsiders, what are you even doing with your life?)

26 Rise from the Ashes - a wacky as hell mini where reborn FL wreaks revenge with help of her fake uncle as they carry on as some sort of Borgia/Phillip II of Spain fame hybrid. If you don't need to use your brain, you could have a worse time.

25 The Legend of Heroes - it suffered from me seeing other versions of this tale before that I liked more and not loving how dark looking it is but that cast is A+ and Wang Hongyi was a revelation as Yang Kang.

24 Beauty Strategy - a mini of what a few years ago would have been a proper angsty drama of palace scheming enemies while lovers, powerless emperor etc etc. Honestly, I loved it.

23 Lovesickness - this year's gender-reversed Ancient Love Song, not as artistic or good but still a good time about a woman traveling back in time and falling for a powerful but doomed duke.

22 Fragments of Kylin - demon slayer falls for a demon; this one came out of nowhere and didn't have much of a budget but is surprisingly lovely.

21 Enslaved by Love - the only reason it's not the most fucked up drama on this list is because Shadow Sect, Palace Shadows and Burning Flames exist. The ML is toxic enough to be banned by the Geneva convention but FL does get some of her own back and also if you ever wanted to see blindness curing sex, boy do I have a drama for you!

20 Secrets of the Shadow Sect - head of sect lady and her very very subby bodyguard. What's not to love?

19 Palace Shadows: Between Two Princes - ML pretends to be his own twin, bdsm and sluttiness ensues. I cannot even explain how wild this drama is but the acting is on point and way way fun!

18 Dashing Youth - I had no expectations of this drama (either indifferent to or dislike everyone in the cast, wuxia and wuxia-adjacent is rarely my genre, the number of characters is huge) but I loved how under its bright colors, it eventually gets very dark (it's quite old school that way) and somehow I am invested in everyone in the huge cast. This being a prequel to The Blood of Youth makes us know the fates of many of the characters and this adds the air of tragic inevitability to it all.)

17 The Last Immortal - a surprisingly sweet and touching xianxia that works largely because Zhao Lusi and Wang Anyu are so so so so solid separately and together.

16 Burning Flames - the most gonzo drama on this list. I love it for committing to insanity as it should (if you pick insane source material, commit.) Humans taking on the worst Gods since Olympus, fur and chains, sentient crystal FL, ML who goes from Crown Prince to mine slave to rebel leader, bare chests and fur, demon elves, a villain that leaches color from the world - this drama has everything and I loved its unhinged glory.

15 Lost You Forever 2 - it would have been higher except it fell apart in the last third so badly I am still wondering how the makers could misunderstand their own characters and their own narratives so badly. The first season was a masterpiece. This is a hot mess.

14 The Princess Royal/The Grand Princess - I am in the minority of finding this drama very mid. The acting was fine (except for former eunuch dude), the writing was fine, but I never really got invested alas. I don't even know why. I think it's just not my type of narrative; there was no intensity.

13 Different Princess - a ridiculous amount of fun and ship about an author falling through to her own novel and falling for the villain.

12 Sword and Fairy 6 - I love this tale; the young OTP (a whale weapon and a clone of her trigger? More wholesome than you think) who are so ride or die for each other, the other amazing characters (sect leader who has to live as a man and her "twin" who is an ancient trapped spirit, a wolf demon, etc...) It's just genuinely good and proof that targeted to younger audience doesn't have to be bad.

11 In Blossom - sure, we all know JJY can't act, but the narrative was so fun and the visuals were so gorgeous and Liu Xueyi so gorgeous and magnetic in his first proper Male Lead role, it was all worth it. I liked the first half when they were still cautious of each other more than the second but this is just a good time!

10 Hard to Find - my second favorite mini on the list, this is an aesthetic feast. The doomed couple from enemy kingdoms, the vengeance, the twists - if ever a mini deserved to be a proper drama, this would be it. But alas, if it was they'd probably not let it.

9 The Double - unhinged web novel vibe done so perfectly in the inimitable Yu Zheng style. The leads were so good even the amazing villains didn't truly steal the show. Like with a lot of cdramas, it lost a lot of steam in second half for me, but still a great watch.

8 Fortune Writer - the best mini this year and better than most "proper" cdramas (Douban raters agree), this tale of villains in love fighting the narrative has a lot to say about writing cliches and writing conventions. I love how clever it is and how it actually made me care for the characters.

7 Tender Light - except for that ending, this was in the running for my favorite 2024 cdrama. The writers' lack of ability to commit and carry through pushed it lower but otherwise it's a genuine masterpiece. The acting, the chemistry, the looping narrative, what it has to say about abuse and complicity of society and blazing your own moral path is something else.

6 Derailment - who knew a little quasi scifi modern would be this high but this one is amazing. If you watch one modern this year, make it this one. Our FL is a rich girl a little in the future who somehow wakes up in a different timeline a few years back in the body of that universe's version of her (who is poor and has been missing) and her one connection is a young man who was in love with that universe's version of her. I don't want to say more so as not to spoil because the twists are twisty but this is EVERYTHING and also addresses transmigration, what it means to love, what is ethical etc etc. And that OTP!

5 Snowfall - a fever dream of a vampire narrative set in an alternate universe of the Republican era, it's gorgeous, passionate, hella queer and just like watching the most amazing fanfic come to life.

4 Heroes - a complete masterpiece about three men about to be on the scrapheap of history in the Qing Dynasty about to fall (a constable devoted to obsolete norms, who spent his whole life studying for the imperial exam which got canceled, the world's best swordsman in the era of guns, and a former imperial guard who emerges from prison into a different world) whose stories intersect as they search for treasure and the women and other people in their lives. This is smart, impeccably acted, filmed in a stunning way, bleak and funny at once and - I don't use the term masterpiece often but I will use it here.

3 The Legend of Shen Li - I am often indifferent to xianxia that suffers from too much CGI, hella immaturity and not enough stakes. Shen Li is everything. It's gorgeously filmed, it's adult, it gives the story time to breathe and centers it on characters and relationships. And the OTP is everything you can ever dream of - it reunites Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, totally healing those Princess Agents wounds - their chemistry is still utter fire but the narrative supports them every step of the way.

2 Eternal Brotherhood - if JoL2 did not come out this year, this would be my favorite cdrama of the year. It's clearly a passion project with a small budget but this complex and grim tale of three rather different sworn brothers in a world at war is gorgeous, smart, well acted, dark and inspiring at once. There are shots that take my breath away, the love stories are amazing, the pace is perfect, and ohhh our complex mainsssssss.

1 Joy of Life 2 - nothing can beat this masterpiece. The first season was perfect and somehow the second is even more perfect. It's smart, it's funny, it's heartbreaking, the cast is still impeccable and Zhang Ruoyun still gives a completely jawdropping performance as the focus of all the madness Fan Xian. If you watch only one cdrama this year, make it this one.

FAVORITE DRAMA

Joy of Life 2 - there is not one second I forwarded, not one unnecessary scene, not one weak link character. It's a smart, fierce masterpiece.

Eternal Brotherhood is a runner up - it came out of nowhere and owned my whole heart. It's the sole other cdrama this year where I did not ff a second.

WORST DRAMA

My Divine Emissary - honestly, this is a decent year because even this drama was just "forget it" not burning hate.

FAVORITE MALE CHARACTER

Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun), Joy of Life 2 - how could it ever be anyone but smart, irreverent, fierce, broken, idealistic, funny Fan Xian. The man who fights against the horrors of the universe, who remains human while being so larger than life. This character is everything.

Runner up: Zhou Luo (Zhang Xincheng), Tender Light - idealistic loner who refuses to compromise his principles even as it would be easier to, even as it destroys his life, ZXC has always been a solid actor but here he is beyond.

Alternatively, Zichuan Xiu (Yang Xuwen), Eternal Brotherhood - only way to describe Xiu is "trauma sunshine." He's funny, he's irrevocably fucked up, he is magnetic and intense and he fights for his hopeless ideals and he breaks and he keeps going.

or Xing Zhi (Lin Gengxin), the lonely ancient god discovering the pleasure of life for the first time in aeons.

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER

Shen Li (Zhao Liying), The Legend of Shen Li - so fierce, so certain, so alive. She is a goddess but ZLY made her feel so real.

Runner up: Nan Ya (Tong Yao), Tender Light - an abuse victim who keeps trying to find a way out, she's strong and damaged and complex and honestly, one of the best performances this year.

Alternatively, Jiang Xiao Yuan (Liu Haocun), Derailment - she makes a character that in other hands would be boring or trite, someone I want to reach through to the screen and protect and love.

NEEDS TO BE MURDERED

99% of the denizens of the town in Tender Light - selfish every day denizens monstrous because of their very everydayness - they watch abuse and choose to blame the victim and gossip and enjoy the view. I hated them all.

FAVORITE SHIP

Shen Li x Xing Zhi, The Legend of Shen Li - the chemistry, the yearning, the slow inevitable collapse into admittance, the way he protects the world and she protects him, the way they dance around each other, her being the aggressor, his surrender to forbidden emotion, their utter mutual belief in each other's competence. They are everything to me.

Runner up: the OTP in Derailment. Those two went through some mind and soul breaking stuff and made it out.

FAVORITE SECONDARY OTP

Amusingly enough, Fu Xin Bo is the male actor in both - the crossdressing sect leader x wolf demon OTP in Sword and Fairy 6, and First Prince x Eldest Princess in Joy of Life 2. What can I say, man knows how to pick them. Those OTPs are both utterly adorable!

If we are talking about an OTP where it's not that it's not the main but it's not a ship-centric drama so they don't get much time, then we have either Fan Xian x Lin Wan'er from Joy of Life 2 - she is his peace and sanity

and Si Yilin x Ka Dan, Eternal Brotherhood - they are both such desperately good people in a mad world, tender with each other despite surrounding cruelty.

NOTP

The couple in Fox Spirit Matchmaker - such pretty people, and so bland and boring and pointless together. It was kinda amazing.

FAVORITE SCENE

God, so many good scenes this year so far - Fan Xian watching the death of the old censor and the aftermath, in JoL2; his confrontation with Wan'er after she finds out about the truth behind her brother's death, the scene where he poisons Second Prince, his scene with the registrar. Xiu giving up his future to protect the surrendered soldiers only to come back and find Di Lin executed them all in EB, the scene in Ning's bedroom when he tells her how he really feels because she can't hear, the very end of that season and Di Lin striding into the light, Ka Dan and SYL's night. The last scene of LYN and his girl in Heroes, the way Heroes always intercuts the golden past of the guard and princess and the dreary present (especially when we see her bicycle spin out of control back when and her husband lose it in the present and this time there is nobody to catch her), the big reveal in Derailment and the hairwashing scene, Mi Lan touching Vamp Daddy's face as their thing in Snowfall, and the cage stuff etc etc.

BIGGEST CRUSH

Shen Zhiheng (Gao Weiguang), Snowfall - Vamp Daddy made me hormonal in a way I haven't felt for a cdrama lead since the heady days of Darren Wang in The Wolf. Those outfits, that hair, that height, that restraint, that lack of restraint. THE CHAINS

BEST SCENE STEALER CHARACTER

Liu Duan Duan as Second Prince in Joy of Life 2 - what a performance! Unhinged, magnetic, pitiable, terrifying and always mesmerizing. The Second Prince is Fan Xian's foil and a worthy one. LDD is always a great actor, and with a role that actually gives him something to sink his teeth into - wow!

MVP OF THE YEAR

Liu Yuning (Heroes, Eternal Brotherhood) - there is only one actor who somehow managed to be a main character in two of my five top 2024 dramas. His ruthless, driven Di Lin in EB, who knows he's doomed as the ruler's executioner but has no other way forward, and the man out of time (best swordsman in a gun era) in Heroes are both unforgettable characters in amazing dramas.

ACTING SURPRISE

Ouyang Nana - Li Muge performs miracles. He made Yang Chaoye be good in Heroes (2022) and now Nana, who was always as wooden as a post, is a revelation as blind abused girl who becomes a vampire in Snowfall.

NEEDS A SEQUEL

Joy of Life 2 of course - I need to see the looming confrontation between Fan Xian and the emperor, though not sure how that will pass censorship.

NEEDS SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

FF button has cured me of finding contenders for this category, but perhaps cutting out a lot of terrible acting and lack of stage presence of "not yet a eunuch" dude in The Princess Royal, would have improved it.

TOO MANY SCISSORS TAKEN TO IT

Lost You Forever 2 - there were other issues with it, but all the cuts couldn't have helped with coherency.

TROPE THAT NEEDS TO DIE

Same as last year - the emperor cannot be irredeemable. WTF, China, you are a communist country! Though they are nibbling at the edges this year.

FAVORITE TROPE WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF

Men (and women) knowingly fighting for a doomed cause because otherwise they'd cease to be who they are.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Lost Your Forever 2 - the first season was my favorite drama of 2023 but LYF2 just fell apart so so so badly, it was almost fascinating. It totally eviscerated the characters and the meanings of the story.

BIGGEST GOOD SURPRISE

Three out of the top 5 dramas on my list are not dramas that were on my radar at all before airing - Heroes, Eternal Brotherhood and Snowfall were not anything I anticipated, let alone I realized how much I'd love them. Same for Derailment and Tender Light. This has been a year of surprises.

2024 DRAMAS I HAVEN’T SEEN THAT I MOST WANT TO WATCH

I have honestly watched almost everything I wanted. Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2 will be the one I will list since I still need to finish s1.

BEST NON-2024 DRAMA I’VE WATCHED IN 2024

Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty - I, a procedural and mystery hater (especially when there is close to no romance) somehow fell like a ton of bricks for this gorgeous, smart, impeccably acted show.

MOST ANTICIPATED

This is always a bad idea and kinda a curse but I really really want The Story of Pearl Girl, with Zhao Lusi and Liu Yuning because I love them separately and together and the thought of them reuniting is a dream come true. Also Eternal Brotherhood 2 (it's filmed but they can't air it until a year from EB1), Love of Nirvana with Ren Jialun and Li Landi, and Snowy Night: Timeless Love with Li Qin and Zheng Shunxi.

[sanjoongie]

βҽąʂէ ąղժ Ͳհҽ βҽąմէվ

🥀For the YOTV: Year of the Snake collab (ML) hosted by yours truly 🥀Pairing: The Beast! San x Belle! Reader (f) ft Shadow Men-at-Arms! YeoJoongMin 🥀Au: Beauty and The Beast Au, Fantasy au 🥀Genre: romance, smut, horror 🥀Trope: e2l 🥀Rated: 21+(very graphic, very dark), MINORS DO NOT FUCKING INTERACT 🥀Word Count: 14,814 🥀Summary: when your life is traded to a beast on a cursed winters night, you have no idea how exactly it is utter fate for a beast to fall in love with a beauty 🥀Soundtrack: enhypen's dark moon special album <memorabilia> the vibe is immaculate for this fic 🥀Beta's: @downtoamagicalland 🥀Author's Note: please note that the beginning of this fic starts out in 3rd person be reassured the majority of the fic is in 2nd pov!! Otherwise, i genuinely poured my heart and soul into this fic. I love Beauty and the Beast and it was so much fun to write a twisted version of it. Thank you to all my collab darlings who let me go on and on about it 💞 🥀Warnings below the cut!

🥀Warnings: insults, blood, death, violence/fighting, deception, mind games, manipulation, vomiting, threats of torture, taking one's life, choking, injuries from choking, intense descriptions of violence please be forewarned!!!, mental breakdown, vague mentions of nonconsensual touching, rape (not to reader)

🥀Kinks: dubcon, angry sex, predator/prey, scratch kink, bite kink, pet names (little one), public sex, size kink, dry grinding, dirty talk, choking kink, dumbification, praise kink, unprotected sex, creampie, oral (f), cum eating, blood kink

An open wagon chugs its way through a dark and foreboding forest. In the seat are two shrouded figures, a father and his daughter. The cart is being drawn by their faithful gelding through the moonlight filtered by bone-fingerling branches. Not a creature stirs and that should have been the first clue that nothing was right that eerie evening.

“Father, you should make Phillip gallop.” The daughter places a hesitant hand on her father’s bicep. “I feel uneasy riding this late at night. You heard what the village people say about the forest.”

The father’s eyes glance around as the ground raises on one side of the cart in a soft incline of a hill. It appears as if he is looking for any danger that his daughter senses. “Phillip has been going all day, Belle. He won’t survive a gallop. If we push just a little farther--”

A snap cuts off the father’s words. 

Belle’s shoulders square. “Just a quick gallop, Father, let’s go.”

The father raises his hands as if he’s going to snap the reins to indicate to the gelding that they should gallop, when a wolf launches itself into the back of the open wagon.

Belle spins around in the wagon, eyes wide with fear. She watches as the wolf braces itself to jump at Belle next, so she raises her arms to protect herself. 

“Belle, no!” The father shouts, throwing down the reins and intercepting the wolf.

“Father!” Belle yells as she watches in horror as the wolf and her father fall down the hill that the dirt road is built on. 

At the same unfortunate moment, one of the wagon’s wheels hits a pothole and one of the spokes breaks. Phillip whinnies, scared, and rears, pulling the reins from the wagon. With the jolt of the wood breaking, the cart slides to the side of the hill and tumbles with Belle in it. 

The last thing Belle sees as she lies on the ground is her father stretching his hand out to her as the wolf, and its now gathering pack, surrounds her father. Red covers her eyes and then her vision fades to black.

~~~

You regain consciousness but everything is fuzzy, only slowly coming into focus. The first thing that you realize is that your mouth tastes like blood. Then a roar attacks your eardrums. Were they both from the crash? 

You push a board off of you and groan. You feel various cuts and bruises along your body. Finally, you see why you hear roaring. It is not because your eardrums are slowly dying, but instead there is a great beast battling with wolves. 

All you can see is from behind, but it has a great hairy back. Claws extend from its hands and twisted horns from its head. It slashes downward and you watch as blood flies as the monster slashes open the belly of the wolf, innards spilling from the open wounds. Another wolf pounces on the monster’s back, and the monster roars. It reaches behind itself and throws the wolf with such force that you hear the wolf’s back crack with the force of hitting the ground. 

The monster turns around and bellows a roar of triumph and you realize that you had been mistaken. The hair back is in fact a fur coat. This monster was very humanoid. He still has the talons and the horns, and now that you could see his face you see he has fangs, but his visage is the most devastatingly handsome face you have ever had the pleasure of viewing.

Except now that the monster has finished with the wolves, his eyes are on you. They are dark and as he takes a step forward, the moonlight reflects back, and you find yourself having a hard time swallowing.

You look around wildly and your eyes land on your father’s body. You scramble towards your father, ignoring all the pain that racks through your body. 

“Father, Father,” You chant, bringing his head to your lap, looking for any signs of consciousness.

“He is dead,” the monster states from behind you.

You whip your head back in his direction but he’s simply taken only a few more steps towards you. “Did you kill him?” You accuse sharply.

The monster appears shocked for only a moment before tipping his head back and letting out a deep belly laugh. His fangs shine with his mouth open and your lips form a firm, stubborn line. 

“Why do you laugh?”

The monster threw his arms out wide. “Why, I’m your savior, that’s why.”

You threw a look of pure disbelief his way. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“I was hunting this pack of wolves on my land. I came across you as I finally caught up with them. Your father made a bargain with me and so I fought the wolves to save you. I was unable to save him but you live.”

“A likely story,” you grumble. “How do I not know you guided these rapid wolves to attack and this is not a scheme?”

“Believe me or not,” The monster shrugs his great shoulders. “I will have your side of the bargain held up.”

Your body curls around your father, tears hitting his pale face. “What side of the bargain? He is dead.”

“He didn’t bargain for his life. He bargained for yours.”

Your head snaps upwards to stare at the monster who has continued to approach you. “You are to come with me to my castle and live with me for the remainder of your life as my prisoner.”

Your body begins to tremble but you don’t dare break the gaze of the monster as his boots come abreast of your kneeling form on the ground. You have to crane your neck and you almost fall backwards if not for one great clawed hand catching you. 

“There’s no way that my father would have done this,” You whisper, unable to comprehend what was going on right now. 

“He wished for you to live,” the monster says stoically. “It was his final wish.”

You shook your head, in denial to your fate. “He would rather I die then live as the prisoner of some monster!” you shout. 

The monster snorts and turns around on his heel. “Come, Prisoner. I hope you have enough energy left in the night to drag your father’s corpse because I will not carry him for you.”

You let out a shout, that was part grief and part anger. To your surprise, the monster turns around, face eager and excited. You spit at his feet and grab both wrists of your father. 

You grunt and start to pull your father’s dead body. You pull up flush with the monster, who has not moved since you had shouted, you send him an expecting look. 

“Well? I do not very well know where my prison is, do I? I have a long night ahead of me if you are as dumb as a beast is!” You yell.

The monster growls. “Watch your tone.” 

Towering what you thought was seven feet, the monster has long strides and so you have a hard time keeping up. The forest itself attempts to slow your pace by putting rocks in your path and encouraging the branches to claw at your hair. Each pain-staken drag has you grunting and shouting. It seems like days before you approach your destination. 

“Welcome to your new home,” the monster announces to your back. 

You drop your father’s wrists and brush the sweat from your brow with your arm. You turn around to gaze at your new home.

The castle poses an intimidating figure in the night light. It’s bone-white stones cut into the dark sky. Cone tops and paired with gargolyed corners give it a mixture of fairy tale and imposing doom. You’re not sure if it’s luring victims to their deaths or warning all to stay far away. Either way, it suits your dark mood very well at the moment. 

A scared whinny breaks the silence. 

“Phillip!” You shout, cupping your mouth. “I’m here, Phillip!”

The faithful family gelding gallops towards you, through the forest and halts before you. Your eyes tear up again as your fist curls in Phillip’s mane. “At least you’re not dead.”

“Seems like a beast is smart enough to find its mistress,” the monster says beside you, sarcasm dripping from his fangs.

You shoot him a dirty look. “I don’t suppose you might help me put my father on Phillip’s back? Or would an act of kindness kill you?”

The monster folds his arms over his very broad chest. “I’ve done all the acts of kindness this evening I can afford. I spared your life; that’s enough.”

“Insufferable, barbaric, prick!” You squeal in anger.

You rip a piece from your cloak, tie it around your father’s wrists and manage to pull your father up and over Phillip’s back. You grab Phillip’s reins and drudge towards the castle. 

“Stables are over there.” 

The monster extends a talon towards a small building and you shudder.

“I know what a goddamn stable looks like,” you snap.

“There is feed and water for the horse. I will wait out here until you return.”

You tug Phillip towards the stable. You drop your father in one stall and open another for Phillip. 

“I’ll come back for you, Father,” you say to the night air. 

Phillip hangs his head over the bottom half of the door and nickers softly. 

You press your forehead to his forelock. “You should have run away. At least you wouldn’t have to suffer a monster as a master,” You whisper.

“Prisoner!” The monster yells.

“Coming, my lord,” you say with an insult in your tone.

“Do you curtsy pretty as well?” The monster mocks you back.

You make a mocking face and stride past him up, past a fountain that you don’t spare a glance at, and climb the stairs to the huge door. Even the doorknock is a snarling beast. 

“Fitting,” You mumble under your breath. 

“Out of the way, you thoughtless creature,” The monster growls, sweeping you out of the way easily.

You stumble and find your footing before he pushes open the door with all his weight, the wood separating into two doors. 

The lobby is shabby and not as rich as it should appear. It has the air of rot and musk. The carpet is threadbare and the curtain’s moth ridden. There isn’t a roaring fire in the grand fireplace, nor are there servants racing to take their master’s coat. 

He removes it and chucks it to the middle of a splitting, sweeping staircase. You can imagine there was once a coat rack there but no longer. Instead, the coat catches the outstretched arm of a statue. 

The removal of his coat reveals a tattoo down his spine. The phases of the moon are painted there and you have a hard time not starring. 

“This way!” The monster snaps his fingers and summons you to follow him up the stairs.

“What, no cell in the dungeons?” You mince.

“No,” the monster states. “The dungeons would be too cozy for you. A nice room in a tower, where the wind can keep you company sounds perfect for you.”

You stop in your tracks. Surely he wasn’t serious. You began to look around at your broken surroundings, sure you could find a table leg to stab the monster in the back.

The monster chuckles. “Don’t think about trying to escape. I’ll be on top of you before you can scream in terror.”

“I’m not scared of you,” You deny immediately.

“No?”

The monster strides towards you and looms over you. His eyes are hooded as he stares down at you. “I could tear you limb from limb.”

“But you won’t. You made a bargain.”

The monster's eyes narrow down on you. “I am still capable.” To prove his point, he snaps his teeth a hair’s breadth from your nose.

You blink but remain steadfast. “Of course, my lord.”

“Come, let’s get you freezing to death. Perhaps you’ll show some proper deference when you want to be warm.”

The monster veers east and he almost disappears in the shadowed hallway. Almost.

You are indeed given a room at the top of a perilous tower. The wind whistles through the cracks of the stone, making a tapestry on the wall flutter. A broken window has heaps of snow along the shards of glass. There is a bed and a wardrobe and a vanity. At least there’s that.

You wriggle past the great shape of the monster and then stand in the middle of the room. You didn’t plan on showing an ounce of weakness to your captor. You pull the skirt of your dress to your sides and you bend your knees into a curtsy.

“Thank you for the roof over my head, my lord,” You simper. 

The monster roars back and slams the door. You run towards it and then stop as you hear a lock turn in place. You are truly trapped here as a prisoner of a cruel monster.

“Is this the one?”

“Not much to look at, is she?”

“Are you sure she’s not…”

You feel something cold and fluttering against your side and frown. You curl further around yourself, in an attempt to keep your body warm. 

“Well, she’s still moving. You don’t suppose…?”

“Nah, there’s no way.”

“Did you check it?”

“Course I didn’t! He doesn’t let anyone near it!”

“Would be nice to know. I haven’t felt a tit since--”

You sat up quickly, now convinced the voices were not in your head. 

“What the hell?” You shout.

Three shadows flicker before you, on each side of the tattered bed you fell asleep on. Shadows, you decide, are a much vaguer description than what they actually are. The complicated version was that they seemed human, their faces, hands and feet human skin but the remainder of their bodies clothed in shadow. One is reaching out towards you and you slap his ‘hand’ but your own just passes through it. 

That particular shadow drops his hand back to his side. “No tits for me, I guess.”

“Be calm,” another informs you coolly. “We aren’t here to hurt you.”

“Yet,” the third adds.

“We can’t harm her anyways, what’s the point of threatening her?”

You lift a pillow and throw it through the abdomen of one of the shadow men. “Just leave me alone!”

One of them sighs. “We’re here to bring you to San. He says it's time for you to grovel. If you beg and plead him enough, he might feed you.”

You look at the deliverer of that message like he grew a second head. “I don’t think so.”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Your funeral.”

“Oh wait, didn’t he say to deliver a message? If she says no?”

“That’s right.” One of them clears their throat. “If you don’t come down to eat, you won’t eat until you do.”

“Fine, I’ll starve.” You grab another pillow and wrap your arms around it. “I’ve dined on dreams and depression before. It’s not half bad once you get used to it.”

“This is about to get goooood,” one of them says, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“I wonder if he’ll let us watch.”

“Might be able to convince him that it’s more humiliation for her if he does.”

The three shadow men leave your room, not bothering with the door as they have no corporeal form to speak of. But you can still hear their cruel laughter as they poof through the walls. 

What other form of torture was your life to endure?

In the end, it is not your hunger that pushes you to fold but the necessity of burying your father. 

You learn that the shadows' names are Hongjoong, Mingi and Yeosang. You don’t understand much about this castle but you learn that San’s fate and theirs are tied together. All of them blame San for their shadow state but depend on him, so it’s a twisted version of life, much like your own. You owe San your life but you also despise him.

“Well?” San broke through your deep thoughts.

The beast was sitting on a high back chair in front of the cold but beautiful fireplace. You had been staring listlessly at the carvings in the stone on the mantle, trying to find your words.

“Please, my lord. Will you allow me to bury my father?”

San is silent for a few minutes and it causes you to turn your gaze to your captor. He’s leaning forward, elbows bracing on his knees and his fingers curling around his sharp jaw to contemplate you. “You starve for days, refusing to bend the knee to me for anything I demand of you, yet this is what you’re willing to break for?”

You swallow nervously but raise your chin stubbornly. “He was the only thing that mattered in the world to me. He--” Your throat tightens as grief runs through you. “He was the only one in this world who cared for me, genuinely. So I must give him a proper bur--”

“It’s the middle of winter,” San cuts you off. “You won’t be able to break ground until spring.”

“I can--”

San throws a tin cup at you and it dings pitifully against the mantle next to your head. The mixture of a foul-smelling brew splashes you but you are unharmed by his temper. “By the time you manage to make a hole, it will be spring.”

“You would deny me even this?” You whisper hoarsely. “You truly are a beast.”

“Crawl and beg me for it.”

Your hands curl into fists, your nails digging into your palms. You have to curb any instinct to slap him across the face. You knew he could break you in a second. You flirt with the idea of letting him snap your neck but you have to honor your father’s dying wish. You can't follow him so quickly into the afterlife. 

So you descend to your knees slowly. 

San sits back in his chair, arms bracing against the armrests. A small, satisfied smile pulls one corner of his lip. “Much better.”

“Please…my lord…” You say with stilted words. “Please let me bury my father.”

San’s eyes become hooded as you move closer to him. “Lick my boot.”

You fought with your emotions and your pride; perseverance and grief won. 

You lean down, bringing your face close to San’s boot. You open your mouth hesitantly, especially as your peripherals pick up flickers of black. Mingi, Hongjoong and Yeosang are here to view your embarrassment, of course. Tears prick at the corner of your eyes, humiliation poking at you. Still, your tongue finds San’s boot. You watch in horror as a strip of spit appears on the beast’s boot. 

“Smart girl,” San purrs above you.

Mingi clears his throat. “Was it just me, or could you feel--”

“Shut up, Mingi” Hongjoong hushes his companion. 

“I could feel it,” Yeosang agrees, despite Hongjoong’s death glare. 

You raise to sit on your haunches, unsure how much subservience San needs for you to get what you want. “So, you’ll allow me to bury my father?”

“No, are you stupid?” San rolls his eyes. “I told you, the ground is too hard.”

“You treacherous curr,” You snarl. You grab his legs, pushing yourself up, and dig your fingers into his thighs. “You said--”

“I didn’t say I’d help you. I didn’t even say I’d agree to this farce. I simply instructed you to crawl and beg me for permission.”

“I will--”

One, sharp talon rests on your jugular. The sharp tip pushes against your skin but doesn’t break it. “Choose your next words carefully, Prisoner.”

“I will go back to my room now.” You swallow your anger but it gets stuck in your throat. You loathe yourself more than you loathe the monster you live with right now. 

“Hongjoong, take her.”

A toothy grin appears on San’s face. You wish nothing more than to kick that smug look off his face but, for now, you will settle with curling up in your musty bed. 

“Come on,” Hongjoong makes a shooing motion as he herds you towards the stairs.

“You are a coward!” You shout over your shoulder but stomp towards the staircase.

“Excuse me?”San growls behind you. 

“Oh shit,” Mingi whispers.

“I know you heard me. You're a beast after all, most beasts have good hearing. Or are you both dumb and deaf?”

A roar sends warning signals to your brain and you barely register the blur of gold along the railing until San is standing in front of you, shoulders heaving as he breathes heavy. 

“What did you just say?”

“I said--”

“Must you test my ability to keep you alive every day?” San snarls in your face.

“I just finished licking your boot for your evil little shadow servants’ entertainment and you dare wonder why I push your limits?” You say as you poke his chest with your forefinger.

“We're not his servants!” Hongjoong protests.

“More like men-at-arms!” Yeosang insists.

“You will eat today at my table or so help me.” San reaches out with a taloned hand but ultimately clenches his fist instead of wrapping it around your neck. “Today,” he emphasizes.

“Or so help you what, San?”

“Or I will leave your father's body for the wolves.”

“You wouldn't dare.”

But as you search his face, you only find firm resolve. He would. San would toss your father’s body to be torn apart by the beasts that had killed him. 

“Your heart is as black as your hair,” You spit.

“Dinner. In an hour. Mingi will bring you something to wear.”

“Something to wear? Do you just so happen to keep women's clothing lying around in this accursed castle?” You demand.

With a whirl of his favorite fur coat, San breezes past you. “And if you refuse to wear what Mingi brings you, you will come naked.”

You are silent as you walk up the winding staircase that takes you up through the narrow tower. 

Hongjoong isn’t silent, however. “You sure do know how to wind him up,” Hongjoong comments.

“Well, it’s not like he’s providing a precedent for being nice,” You mumble.

Hongjoong hums in agreement but casts a look over his shoulder. “You know, he hardly ever speaks to us.”

You roll your eyes. “I wish he’d do the same with me.”

Hongjoong shook his head. “You don’t get it.”

“Then make me get it, Hongjoong,” You snap.

By now, you are in front of the door of your bedroom. Hongjoong stands with his arms folded over his chest. “It’s not my place.”

“Then stop hinting at something you can’t talk about.” 

You breeze by the shadow man and slam your door. Not that that would stop him from coming inside.

Mingi comes in minutes later, a dress swishing in his arms. You are sitting at the vanity with its cracked mirror. It’s flowy, if not a bit worn around the edges. It's as if time itself has eaten away at it. He offers you the dress, his face curious.

“Will you go?” 

“I have no choice,” You say bitterly. “My father deserves better than being ripped apart by wolves.”

Mingi shrugs and then tosses the dress to you. When he doesn’t leave, you send him a glare.

Mingi leers. “It’s not like I haven’t peeked already.”

Your eyes hurt from the amount of eye rolling you’ve been doing lately. “Fine, ogle all you want. It’s not like I have any other freedoms.”

You discard your current dress, dirty and torn when you fell from the cart tumbling down the cliff, and slip into the one Mingi brought. There’s two layers: the underneath is white and the overdress blue.

You rub the fabric between your hands. “Why would he have something like this?”

Mingi’s face blanks. “We should get down there.”

Mingi disappears somewhere between you going back down the stairs in your new dress and arriving at the door to the dining hall. You say hall because it is exactly that: the room echoes as you open the door and you take in the decaying decadence of the room. San is sitting at the head of the table and you walk in hesitantly.

“You will sit here,” San commands.

The sharp noise of a chair scraping the bare floor makes you wince. You pick up your skirts and begin to make your way to the chair that San has pulled out for you. Once you sit down, San’s taloned hand sweeps behind the chair and pushes you in so tightly; you’re practically trapped against the table.

The table is empty, and just as you’re about to inquire if you must pretend to eat as well, San claps, and food magically appears along the table. It is filled to the brim and your mouth drops open. Nothing made sense in this cursed castle.

“Don’t ask,” San growls. “Just eat.”

You had never known a life of elevation. Your father was an inventor and was only able to keep you fed and clothed because of his ability to make complex clocks and sell them. Later on in life, you also grew to adore the complexity of putting a clock together, with its charm of ringing and making a dramatic scene. So when the food from the table melts in your mouth with the taste of spices you were not familiar with, you practically moan.

San tears into a turkey leg he unceremoniously rips from the turkey itself, and watches you closely. “Interesting, watching a peasant eat her first sumptuous meal ever.”

You can feel the heat of embarrassment climb up your neck but still you eat. Now that you were consuming food, you did not wish to be banished from it. Because you knew that was what would happen next if you opened your mouth.

When silence continues to greet San, he continues to fill it. You are reminded of the fact that Hongjoong had said that San rarely spoke to the shadow men. You wondered why that was?

“I will make a pyre for your father. You can find something to put his ashes in. Then we can put this whole matter behind us,” San says gruffly.

You drop the fork you had been using and it clunks against your porcelain plate. “What?”

San continues to consume his turkey leg and then throws the bone towards the dark wall of the dining hall. “A pyre. For your father’s dead body. I told you, you cannot break ground in the winter.”

“So…before? You weren’t trying to…” The words die in your mouth. 

“Trying to do what?” San raises his eyebrows in question.

You shake your head. “Nothing. Nevermind. Thank you.”

“I do not want a body rotting in my stables,” San says gruffly.

“May I…begin to come out of my room now?” You ask hesitantly.

“Have you learned to behave yourself?” San shoots back at you.

You feel embarrassment twist in your gut once again, recalling only an hour ago that you were licking San’s boots. “Do you require me to debase myself for you any longer?”

“I could.”

Your head shoots up to meet San’s eyes. His face is blank, haughty, typical from what you’ve seen of the beast. “You must lead a boring life if you’ve got nothing better to do that torture me.”

San’s eyes crackle with anger. “We are all prisoners to this estate. Including you.”

Hongjoong burst into the hall, not bothering with a door, like always. “My Lord, I have the--”

“Nevermind, Hongjoong. Our prisoner will be going back to her room.”

Hongjoong halts in his tracks. “My Lord?”

San jerks his chin in the direction of the exit. “Put everything back. Yeosang can escort her to her room. We are done.”

“You’re done, you mean,” You grumble.

San launches over the table and grips your jaw severely. “Do you know what you just ate?”

You frown up at him, your jaw aching from how San is clenching it. “Food?”

San practically drags you out of your chair, towards a floor length mirror in the hall. “Look in the mirror.”

You almost didn’t recognize yourself. Your hands were covered in blood and more blood dribbles down your chin and neck. You look like a deranged woman in the mirror. But San, he looks normal. His horns and taloned hands are gone. The look on his face, however, is not normal. His grin is maniacal as he stares into your eyes through the mirror. 

“Did you enjoy wolf meat? Did it satisfy your need for blood?”

“You are a monster,” You whisper. 

“Takes one to know one,” San whispers back.

You break the grip he has on your jaw and run out of the room. 

Why was it your lot in life to live with this monster?

You barely make it to the outside before your stomach heaves up everything you have eaten. The bile burns your throat and angry tears threaten to escape your eyes. You refuse, however, dashing them away, and you wipe your face with your dress. 

“He’s got a face anyone could love and yet his heart is blacker than coal,” a voice comes from the darkness of the night.

“Who’s there?”

“A ghost.”

You scoff. “Monsters, ghosts, shadow men. What doesn’t this castle have?”

“Love.”

You purse your lips together. “You won’t reveal yourself?”

“All you need to know is that you’re going to fail.”

“Fail at living here? I don’t doubt it. If not for my father’s dying wish being to live, I’d throw myself out of my tower window right now.”

“Don’t!” The ghost hisses. “You don’t want to be trapped here in the afterlife as well.”

You open your mouth to pose another question but Yeosang finds you outside. 

“Come on, Belle, better get you back up to your room.”

“Worried for my safety?” You say blithely. 

Yeosang chuckles. “If San kills you, where’s the fun in that?”

You roll your eyes heavily. “Torture seems to be in all your souls, huh?”

“You could say that.”

You stand in one of the many dead gardens around the castle. In the centre of what used to be a well-manicured lawn, a pyre is roughly built. The old, dry logs look more wild than you prefer. Then again, everything on this estate is twisted, isn't it?

The heat of the fire puffs against your face, reminding you that you haven’t said a word about your father.

“Maurice was a man whose brain was bigger than his thoughts. My father dreamed of creations that could only live out in his mind. Even given a thousand years, I don’t believe mechanics could catch up to his ideas. He loved my mother until the moment he died, never remarrying, despite bringing up a little girl. There was nothing my father wouldn’t do for me.”

You pause, needing to swallow down the pain that was bubbling back up in your throat. You push down the random thought bubble that your current situation was because of him. Your father simply did what he could for the sake of you. There was nothing wrong with that.

“This man--”

You throw your arm to dispel another hot gust blown towards you. The smoke from the wood should cover the smell of the burning corpse, but when a whiff of burning hair comes your way, you have to turn away completely.

“Did you bring something for him?”

San’s voice comes from behind you. You turn around to find his large form shielding you from the pyre. His face is devoid of any emotion. You should have known that words never swayed the beast. 

You raise a cerulean, cracked vase for your lord’s approval. “This is okay?”

San grunts and turns around. You can see how the light of the flame flickers across his face, as if any light is fruitless in its attempt to touch him. 

“You said your words. Leave the vase with me.”

Your eyebrows furrow in worry. “It should be me--”

“You’re too weak.” San cuts you off. “Go back inside.”

You feel the backlash of hurt and take a step back. “Fine,” You say with a chill to your tone. 

You stomp back the castle. You feel as if San’s words are stuck in your throat, choking you, filling you with distaste for yourself. Weak? You were surviving him, weren’t you?

You circle around the unattended-to paths until you find the fountain and the front of the castle. Once inside, you toss off your mink cloak, throwing it to the back of one of the upholstered coaches. You have no idea where your clothes are coming from but you hardly care for the fur San insists on the both of you donning, even if it does keep you warm. 

Now that you are free to roam the castle, no longer a prisoner to your tower room, you’ve come across many rooms and items that make your blood curl. It’s a game of chance of what you’ll find. Sometimes you find pity in your gut. This castle had clearly been the epitome of posh. It was sad to see it so ripped up.

Today, however, instead of turning east and exploring outwards from your tower, you choose to take a left at the top of the stairs. You know San disappears into this wing of the castle sometimes. Did he sleep down here?

Yeosang appears in front of you, his arms crossed across his chest. “You shouldn’t be here, Belle.”

You walk right through the shadow man, his form swallowing you up momentarily and then you come out the other side of him. “Stop me then.”

Mingi pulls from the shadows of the high ceiling-ed hallway. “You know we can’t physically, that’s rude.”

You raise a corner of your lip in derision. The way your hatred for the trio of shadow men nearly eclipses that of your spite towards San. “So sorry for your situation.”

“He can’t hurt us but he can hurt you.” Hongjoong’s form drips from the ceiling in one long line until it fully forms in front of you. 

“He’ll hurt me whether I go this way or not,” You scoff, unwilling to relive the few moments before the pyre for your father.

“You will know no anger like this one if he finds you down here, however,” Yeosang reaches out but his hand passes through your arm.

You shrug, the lingering coolness of his shadow giving you goosebumps. “He’s either a man of his word and keeps me alive or he doesn’t. I don’t care.”

The further into the wing you travel, the more torn up the entire place feels. You can imagine the temper tantrums San’s taloned hands and large shoulders is capable of wreaking havoc. He truly is a beast; no human would continue to make their surroundings this ripped up.

You follow the destruction until you come across a wide set of doors. It feels forbidden and you feel a jolt of excitement travel through you. You’ve had so little to be happy about these days. Perhaps this is exactly what you need.

“Belle.”

You turn around swiftly to see that the three shadowmen have not left you alone quite yet.

“Listen to me. I don’t care what you have to say. You’ve been nothing but little shits, no, worse, assistants in torture, to that beast you call lord. Either shut up or leave me be! I’m doing this.”

You hold your breath as you push the door open and take in what’s in front of you: a grand room with a balcony and large glass doors. A huge canopied bed sits on one side, while an entire sitting room is across it. You can spot the opulence of a lordling. San’s bad attitude definitely began from being spoiled and entitled. 

There’s a table near the glass doors and it seems to be calling for you. The closer you get, lifting your skirt to step over a broken mirror on the floor, you feel a pain in your chest. Absent-mindedly, you rub your chest, right above your heart, and approach the table.

There is a singular plant in the middle with a glass cover. Your pain only escalates but you have to see what the hell is being kept alive in San’s room. There is something small at the top of the clay pot. The pot itself is modeled after a rose in bloom. Odd. 

“What in the world?” You wonder out loud. 

You lean over the plant, reaching out a finger to dig into the soil and poke at the plant. 

“Uh oh,” Mingi whispers and that’s the only warning you get before San lets out a roar behind you.

“What do you think you’re doing?” San snarls and strides to where you are.

“What is that, San?” You demand.

You do not get an answer, for San wraps his taloned hand around your neck and slams you into the glass doors that lead to the balcony. The glass cracks and you feel your vision sparkle.

“You should not be here!”

You gasp as you attempt to inhale air but your windpipe is nearly cut off from how tight San’s hand is around your neck. It’s sad you can’t spit out your own poison but you find yourself getting giddy as your vision continues to narrow. Squeaky, croaking, creepy giggles escape your lips. 

“My lord!” Hongjoong appears at San’s elbow. “You need to let her go.”

“Where were you when she was scampering off into my rooms?” San demands.

His nails dig into the back of your neck, unrelentless, as Hongjoong answers. “We can hardly stop her! She can’t breathe!”

“What’s one more?” San whispers to himself.

Hongjoong’s hands wrap around San’s arm, despite not truly being able to hold on. “You said you liked this one! You know what’s at stake! My lord!”

Your vision has almost come down to a pinprick before San finally lets go of you and you fall to the floor. You cough and gasp as air finally enters your lungs. You bring your hands up to your neck. You wince, unsure if you can even speak. 

“Belle?” Mingi’s big eyes peer into your face. 

You held up a hand to indicate you’re alive. Yeosang lets out a sigh of relief. 

“You are allowed anywhere but here.” The beast stands in front of you, scowling down on your pitiful body. 

You take great joy in pushing your tongue out at him. Hongjoong snorts and then blanks his face. 

“You’ll need some cool water. Come on, Little Miss Curious. You’ve got your other seven lives, don’t you?”

You crawl around San and somehow manage to stand up but you need help from one of the posts on San's bed. 

The beast must be watching you, for he says next, “He’s in your room, if you were wondering.”

At least your father was put to rest now.

You can’t speak for weeks. The damage San did to you was almost irreparable. The magic table somehow managed to make meals that you could swallow, but that was the only reprieve you are given.

Unable to even speak to entertain yourself, you explore more of the east wing. Eventually, you find the remains of a library. The first day you struggle to even open a heavy curtain so that you can see what is in the library. The second day you almost die because of all the dust that’s accumulated. By the third day, you manage to haul a chair that’s not broken towards the large windows and find some books. By day four, you’re practically in heaven.

Day five is when your happiness breaks, however.

“So this is where you’ve buried yourself.”

You squeak and fall out of the chair where you had been laying across instead of properly sitting upright. Your book sprawls in front of you and you snatch it up. You dust off its cover and put it on the table, only for it to fall again.

You groan and then wince at the pain from your throat.

“What are you?--”

You begin to back away as San moves towards you. His fur coat sweeps along the floor, making a trail through the thick dust.

You hold up your hands in defense of yourself. “I--”

Your voice sounds like a rake over rocks and you swallow hard. San stares at you, his face blank.

You shuffle, giving San a wide berth. This causes him to lift an eyebrow at you. “Why are you acting like a skittish horse?”

You pull a face and point at your throat. You knew he wasn’t truly dumb.

San scratches the back of his neck. “Ah. About that. You see…”

You maneuver to San’s back, not interested in hearing how you were stupid, and bolt out of the library. You wish you had snatched a book but you think that might further prompt San to get angry at you.

You’re not so lucky.

“Hey, where are you going?” San shouts after you.

Your soft slippers have no grip and you are only able to slide shuffle along the floor to flee the library and the beast behind you. You can hear him pursuing you. His boots are squeaking across the worn wood of the floor.

It hurts like hell when you let out a noise of fear and slam into a wall, unable to halt your skittering. You shoot a look down the hallway and see that San is bounding down the hallway after you still.

“Wait!”

You push forward. If you make it outside, perhaps he’ll stop pursuing you?

You take the steps of the spiral dual staircase two at a time. How you manage to not trip and break your own neck is beyond you, but still you have hope as the doors are getting closer and closer.

“What is wrong with you?!”

San’s hand slams down on your shoulder and your feet shoot out in front of you as the momentum of your run looks to carry your limbs forward. You slam down on your ass and let out a squeal. You wiggle, desperate to get out of his hold. You know you’ll never win if he truly doesn’t want to let you go, but it seems you don’t want to die after all.

Your struggling only ensures that San clamps down on you more. You let out a noise of pain as his talons prick your collarbone and sternum.

San lets go of you immediately. Your hands find purchase and you push yourself up and scramble towards the doors to the outside. You think if you can make it past the fountain, you might lose yourself in one of the gardens. San usually bores of you quickly, seeing as how easy he dismisses you from dinners.

You know you’re wrong when you eat dirt. San’s body covers yours. He must have jumped on you to plant you into the ground. It’s cold and hard and you regret all your life choices that has brought you here to this moment. Mostly because you’re sure San has a weapon on him, because what was that hard thing near his hip?

“Stupid human, what are you running from?” San shouts.

All you can manage is a garbled yell in response. Your throat is burning; this is the most noise you’ve made in the weeks following your incident in the west wing.

San lets out a noise of frustration from the back of his throat and turns you around. He grabs both your wrists and pins you beneath him.

“Will you listen to me?” He snarls.

You stubbornly turn your head to the side with a huff. Hongjoong, Mingi and Yeosang come into your vision. Great, of course those three were here to see your demise at San’s hands once again.

“Perhaps if you strangle her again, she might be more inclined to listen!” Yeosang observes.

“She hasn’t gone back to the west wing since then, he’s got a point,” Mingi agrees.

“Will you two shut up?” Hongjoong commands.

“You can go in the library,” San says and your head snaps back to his face. His eyes widen for a moment and then he’s the one to avoid your gaze. “It’s not like anyone else is using it.”

You move beneath him again, attempting to raise your arms up but are unable to push back far before his hands push your arms against the ground again.

“Stop moving!” San hisses at you.

“Let…me…go!” You croak.

San presses his lips together. “I will. I will. Just. Stop. Struggling.”

You become limp like a dead fish. If that’s all it took to get him off you then you’d comply. It was cold on the ground.

San stands up, wrapping his coat around him, as if it was his comfort. What a weird gesture. You are certain he’s never cold. Otherwise, why would he walk around with just that damn jacket and no shirt under?

“I’m almost kinda sad she can’t speak any more. I miss their arguments,” Yeosang says in a stage whisper.

San turns around on his heel and is back up the stairs before Mingi can agree with Yeosang. Hongjoong, however, is staring right at you. You throw your hands up in a gesture that wonders what he’s thinking.

“Your horse is getting antsy. You should consider going on a walk with him,” Hongjoong says, completely surprising you.

Your head swivels towards where the stables are as you sit up. You're happy to see that your wrists don’t provide a matching look with your neck.

Your head turns back towards San’s back, fading into the darkness of the castle. Would he let you ride Phillip?

Hongjoong follows your gaze and clears his throat. “My lord?"

“What do you want, Hongjoong?” San’s voice is heard from the lobby.

“If Belle wishes to go on a short walk with her horse--”

“Where?” San snarls.

“Well, my lord, if you accompany her--”

“Fine!” San snaps. “Later, after dinner.”

A faint, conspiratory smile pulls at the corners of Hongjoong’s lips. “There you have it.”

You have a feeling in your gut that Hongjoong is up to something but you have no idea. Perhaps he wishes for another near-death incident to send you towards complete servitude of his lord?

And so begins another ritual of your day. As you dine in silence with San, ever unsure as to what exactly you’re eating, you go for walks with Phillipe and the beast. Even after your throat heals, you remain in silence the entire time, other than for a soft word to the only tie to your old life.

So you almost fall off Phillipe when San says he had a horse like Phillipe before.

San purses his lip to the side, unimpressed by your inability to keep your cool around him any longer.

“Wha--what was their name?” You ask.

“Her name was Beauty. She was black as night--”

You snort at the absurdity.

“...what?”

You send him a long look. “Of course your horse was black.”

“She was of the most expensive stock!” San protests.

“Of course, nothing less for our lord,” You reply.

“She was loyal to a fault. You’re lucky to have him,” San continues.

“You have the others,” you point out.

“They are not loyal,” San disagrees. “They do what I say because that is their place.”

“Well.” you lean down to pat Phillipe’s neck. “Phillipe will flee if it saves his own neck. Sometimes we’re all just scared.”

“Are you?” San asks. He reaches and grabs Phillipe’s reins, halting your walk. He stares up at you, waiting for your answer.

“I don’t want to be,” You choose to respond. “Should I be?”

“I am a beast,” San replies, as if that’s an answer in itself.

You tilt your head. “You certainly act like it.”

“I…” San falters with his words. “I haven’t had a reason to act like anything else but.”

You both remain in silence until you finish your circuit and arrive back at the castle. You wiggle off of Phillipe and are about to lead him back into the stable when San speaks up again.

“If I…act less like a beast…will you begin to speak again at dinner?”

You arrange Phillipe’s forelock. “Why would I do that?”

“Because the silence is insufferable!” San protests.

“It’s fine for me,” You reply.

“You are--” San lets out a noise of frustration. The hair on the back of your neck is the only warning you get before San grabs your arm and pulls you away from Phillipe. “I cannot kill you!”

“You have a funny way of showing it!” You shout up at him. “Let go of me!”

“No!” San shakes his head. “You only seem to listen to me if my hands are on you!”

You raise your head stubbornly but also to show your neck. “Go on then! Give me another beautiful bruise along my neck!”

San’s eyes narrow down at you. “I don’t want to strangle you.”

“Well, I want to!” You yell.

“Fine.”

You squeak as San falls to his knees. He grabs your hands and brings them to his neck. “We’ll be even, then.”

“Like I could harm you,” you mumble under your breath. “Your neck is like a tree trunk.”

“Do it,” San commands you softly.

You think about when San made you lick his boots and your hands unconsciously tighten around his throat. A sweet, soft whimper comes from San and something twists in your gut. You like it, you realize, and that makes you let him go.

As your hands drop to your sides, a slow, arrogant, crooked grin appears on San’s face. “Liked it, didn't you?”

“I am not a monster like you,” You scoff.

“Not yet,” San says.

You jolt upwards in your bed, wrapping your arms around yourself for warmth. Something had woken you out of a deep sleep. You hear a loud roar again and smash. What was going on?

You grab your fur coat, wrapping it around you tightly, and make your way down the tower’s winding staircase. You find San in front of the lobby’s main fireplace. His jacket is shrugged off, on the floor like a discarded skin. He’s brought one of the highback chairs close to the fire. You see his face wince as he pokes at--

“What happened?” You demand.

“More damn wolves,” San snarls. “They think they can just sweep into my territory even though I don’t mark every damn tree.”

Your bare feet move closer towards the monster that was your captor. “Are you…hurt?”

“Of course I’m hurt!” San shouts. 

He pokes at five deep gouges on his arm and then hisses at the pain it produces. 

You move to stand in front of him and see that the damage is even worse. There are bite marks on his shoulder too. “I can help--”

San’s head snaps upwards to meet your gaze with a fiery one of his own. “Why would you want to do that?”

You wave one of your hands to indicate somewhere around here were his men-at-arms. “They can fetch you the supplies but they can’t touch you, San.”

San begins to grumble under his breath. “You’ll only make it worse.”

“Then consider it… repayment,” You attempt again.

“Repayment for what?” San narrows his eyes at you.

“For…my father,” You swallow down the emotion that’s constricting your throat.

“Ah.” San’s face is unreadable. “Fine.”

“My lord,” Yeosang appears from the flickering shadows. 

“Get something to boil water in,” You recommend. “And some rags. We can boil them too. Is there some alcohol?”

Whatever you ask for, Mingi delivers swiftly. The three shadowmen watch you in silence as you prepare everything you need. You take a swig of the clear alcohol first, however, and then offer it to San. The fire only highlights San’s jawline as he tips his head back and drinks down the beverage. Some rivulets spill down both sides of his mouth and trail down his neck. 

“Leave some alcohol so we can clean your wounds,” You murmur.

San lets out a lusty ‘ah!’ as he finishes drinking. “Since when are you a nurse?”

You shake your head. “I’m not. Father was just a little clumsy with his tools. I used to patch him up. Nothing worse than a finger caught in between two cogs.”

Hongjoong squeezes and dries some of the boiled rags and offers them to you when you reach out. You grab the rag with one hand and then drench San’s arm with the alcohol.

San roars in pain and snatches his arm back. “That hurt!"

“Did you expect it to feel good?” You hiss back to him.

The alcohol that spilled into the rag is used to dab at the gouges on his arm. He flinches at the pain but he keeps his mouth shut. His eyes are on you, however, you can feel them burn into you.

“Why do you hunt the wolves?” You wonder.

“Because I am a monster,” San says with arrogance. 

You tsk at him. “That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only answer you--are you enjoying inflicting pain on me?” He yells.

“No, I do not,” You reply in a clipped tone. “You better stay still. I have yet to get that bite on your shoulder.”

Methodically, you wrap another clean rag that’s passed to you by Mingi this time around San’s wounded arm. The shadowmen are abnormally quiet for some reason. 

“They used to scare me. As a child,” San says in such a low tone, you almost don’t catch it.

Shock runs through you but you try not to show it. Odd to think of the monster before you as a small child. Instead, you lean over San and pat at the bite marks on his shoulder. 

“So you hunt them down?” You ask.

“I show them that they do not scare me any longer,” San allows. 

Hongjoong gives you the final rag that you wrap around San’s torso. You grab his opposite shoulder to make him lean forward so you can do your work. San is being awfully docile. You’re not sure exactly what’s going on. 

“There. You’re all set.” You clap your hands in finality. 

San’s silent and now you know why he’s being so docile. The entire time you weren’t working on wrapping his shoulder up, slanting the rag from shoulder to rib cage, he was staring down your dressing gown. 

“Get a good eyeful like Mingi, hmm?” You say, nonplussed.

San’s head jerks towards Mingi, who holds his hands up in defense. “Have you been staring at her naked form Song?” he growls.

“Of course not, my lord!” Mingi protests. “I wouldn’t even think of such a thing.”

You snort at the lie. San gets up out of the chair, a growl vibrating from his lips. “If I find out you’re lying to me…”

“Mingi’s stupid, but he’s not an idiot!” Yeosang protests. “We’ll leave you two to your evening, let's go.”

The three shadowmen melt into the shadows and then it’s just you and the beast. 

“I suppose a thank you is in order,” San says gruffly. 

You shake your head. “An eye for an eye. We are balanced now, you and I.”

San tilts his head. His skin appears even more bronze in the firelight. “I would not describe us as balanced, Belle.”

Your whole body rocks backwards. You were sure that was the first time San had referred to you by your first name. Not human. Not prisoner. But Belle.

You press your lips into a thin line. “No, I don’t suppose so.”

San offers you a clawed hand and you stare at it like it’s foreign. “Come with me.”

“I just patched you up! Surely you don’t intend to throw me back into my tower! Let me warm up by the fire for a bit at least!” You protest.

San shakes his head and his hair falls in his eyes. “No, we’re going to the west wing.”

You begin to back away slowly. “San, I haven’t gone back there. I swear.”

“Just take my damn hand!” San loses his temper again.

Trembling, you place your hand in his and then he’s suddenly dragging you into the darkness. 

Your heart is in your throat. You can hardly see anything, and so you trip and almost fall, if not for the firm grip San has of your hand. He doesn’t say a word, although he does growl a few times when he has to tug you forward. 

At last, you realize he’s taken you to his room. San doesn’t let go of your hand, even as he drags you over to the small table where the rose pottery is. You peer around San’s body, the moon phases barely visible along his spine, and you see the black thing that was in the middle of the table has grown. 

You try to move forward to examine it further but San jerks you back. “Wait.”

You wait, looking at him expectantly. His face is hard, not softening his sharp features one bit. 

“There is a curse on this estate. It stems from me. I once messed with the wrong woman. This plant is my only salvation.”

“What does it mean?” You ask.

“If the plant grows--if I right my wrong--I will be broken of this curse. The land will be restored. Mingi, Yeosang and Hongjoong will be human again.”

You remember the image of San in the mirror. Without his horns and taloned hands, he looked like… You gasp and bring one of your hands to your mouth. “Then you’ll no longer be a monster?”

San shakes his head. “You don’t understand.”

“Didn’t you bring me here to try to explain?” You’re confused.

“Belle…”

“Will I be free if the curse is broken?” You wonder next.

“Free?” San turns his head towards you, his eyes unreadable. “No. Your life is tied to mine.”

“Why?!” You shout at him. “I have done absolutely nothing to you! Nothing to deserve this! I freeze every night in that tower. I have to endure your mental and physical torture. So what if you feed me and take me for walks. Am I a pet to you?”

“I--” San’s jaw snaps shut and a muscle there tenses. “You will understand eventually.”

“Well, if you don’t explain it to me, how am I to get it?” You yell. “Never mind.” 

You tear your hand out of San’s grasp and stomp out of his room. That was the last time you showed an ounce of compassion to that beast!

The next day you sequester yourself in the library. You do whatever you can to escape your current reality. You read about a woman trapped in a tower but that’s too close to your current situation. You try for another but it’s two star crossed lovers. You close the book loudly and sigh. What was with your state of mind today?

Your stomach growls but you ignore it. You refuse to do anything that would make San’s life better. You won’t give him the satisfaction of eating with him or going on a walk with Phillipe or--

The library doors burst open, bouncing off the walls with the force they are pushed open with. “What are you doing in here?” San demands, walking straight to your spot in the chair.

“You said I could be in here!” You protest.

San runs a hand through his hair in frustration. “Yes I did. But what about dinner?”

“I’m not going anymore.”

San’s mouth opens and closes and then he’s scowling at you. “Yes, you are.”

You don’t know what you were thinking, but the next thing you know, you throw your book at San. It lands with a thwap on his chest and falls to the floor. “Stay away from me.”

“Belle,” San held his hands out as if to say he was harmless; as if he didn’t have claws that you’ve seen tore out wolf’s stomachs. 

“Don’t you ‘Belle’ me!” You shout at him. You try to put the chair between you and him. “I’m not going to dinner. And you can’t make me.”

“I can throw you over my shoulder and slap your ass if I so choose.” San folded his arms across his chest. “So either you get to that dining hall or I will make you.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Fine. I gave you a choice.”

San lunges for you and you squeal. San’s body is cutting off your escape route to the exit so you run further into the library instead. 

San’s belly chuckle chases after you. “You wanna play this game again?”

“It’s not a game!” You shout over your shoulder. 

You begin to eye the ladders to the second level. Perhaps you might be able to clamber up before San catches up with you. You quickly grab a rung and start to haul yourself up. 

Unfortunately for you, San’s advantage in height means he’s able to grab your waist and pull you down easily. 

“Got you!” San announces triumphantly. 

Just one of his arms wrapped around you is all he needs to do to keep your arms to yourself. Except that allows you to throw everything into your leg movement. You try to drive your heel into a very sensitive area but you only manage to dig into his inner thigh. San’s singular grunt is the only acknowledgment you’re even doing anything. 

“Now, let’s get back to the dining hall,” San says.

“Let go of me!” You insist. “I will bite you.”

San chuckles under his breath. “Don’t promise me a good time.”

Despite his clear warning, the only thing in your mind is to escape San’s confines. So you lower your head as far as you can and you bite into his arm. San hisses and then he begins to cackle. “Little one, you do not know what you’re getting into.”

“I will bite a chunk out of your arm if you don’t let me go--San!”

You’re pinned against a bookshelf but it’s not like the time San slammed you against the glass door. This time one hand is splayed along your chest to keep you there and his leg is in between yours. 

Your hands grab his bicep and dig your nails into the skin there, close to where your bite marks are. When San moans, you freeze in place.

That cruel, crooked smile that blooms on his face makes your face drain of blood. 

“I’m a beast, am I not? What better to get my blood pumping than with a chase and a bite.” You swallow hard but your mouth is devoid of any moisture when San leans in close so that one of his teeth skims your ear. “What would your little talons feel as they dug into my back, Little One?”

“What are you doing?” You whisper. 

“You know the best way to help with boiling over tempers?” San purrs.

“No.”

San leans back so that he can get a good look at your face. His thigh flexes and he pushes you higher up his leg. “No?”

“You let go of me right now,” You command.

You’re scared shitless of what is happening right now. When had the thin edge of anger and spite turned over into this…?

“Are you scared?” San tilts his head. “Your heartbeat is going wild in your chest.”

“I’m not scared!” You lie through your teeth. “I want you to leave me alone!”

San shakes his head. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can, you great, hulking beast! Let me go right now!” You struggle and then let out a whimper as your lower half grinds against San’s leg.

San’s eyes are dark with lust. “Will you use me for your pleasure? Is that how this will work? Get yourself worked up and then I can slide between your plump thighs--”

“Stop that! No! I’m not--!” You only manage to rub yourself further against San’s thigh. You clamp your teeth down on your treacherous lips. “Remove your thigh from between my legs. You are only proving how much of a beast you truly are.”

“Then you won’t be surprised when I don’t change my tune, will you?” San murmurs before his head dips and he tilts his head.

His nails only slightly prick into your skin, almost as if he’s a cat kneading his claws into you. “Let me taste your poisonous lips.”

“San.”

“Yes?” San’s lips hover over yours. You can feel his moist breath on your lips. If you even push out your lips too far, you’ll meet his.

“I hate you.”

“I hate you too,” San agrees and then presses his lips to yours.

He’s very careful with his fangs but that doesn’t stop him from playing his tongue against yours. He’s almost hungry for the kiss but you don’t have any thoughts to spare towards the why of this. It’s all you can do to keep up with his pace, unsure why exactly this feels so perfect. 

San breaks the kiss, his tongue remaining out of his mouth, and a string of spit breaks between the two of you. “I will have you, here and now.”

“You will not!” You squeal. 

San grabs one of your hands and presses it against his pelvis. He is throbbing under his thin pants, twitching in your hand. You cast aside the feeling of empowerment it gives you immediately. “I will.”

“We can’t--you are--the others--” 

Your mind races but you can’t settle on a good and true reason as to why this can’t happen. Who was going to walk in on you? The shadowmen? They wouldn’t dare, with the way San threw a fit when he heard about Mingi spying on you. By the feeling of your lower half, you knew that you weren’t opposed to it. But this beast was--you hated him! Didn’t you?

“Throw your anger at me, Little One. I can take it.”

San tilts his head in the opposite direction and tempts you with another kiss. This time he carefully nips your lower lip and when you gasp as he fully grips it between his teeth and pulls slightly. 

Your hand, still pressing against San’s erection, pushes harder against his length and he groans for you. 

“Wrap your legs around my waist,” San instructs you. 

Against your better judgement, you do exactly that. Your skirts push over your hips and it’s simply your hose and garter and nothing else in view. 

San’s fevered brow presses against yours as he takes it in. “You’re so tiny.”

“I…” You gulp and say more to yourself than anyone. “Babies come from there. Surely you’ll fit.”

San lets out a laugh that reverberates through his chest. “I have a feeling it will be a perfect fit for you.”

Before you can ask him what the hell he’s talking about, his taloned hands deftly undo the buttons to his pants and he pushes them down to his knees. He’s straining against his stomach. You can practically see the veins pulsing with need along his shaft. His cockhead is angry and red. He’s nothing like the arrogant Jongho that fucked you in your village. 

San takes a step back, if only to press both of his hands to your lower back. Your cunt lips press against his cock shaft with a very embarrassing, wet noise. It only entices San to look down at you with hooded eyes. “How delicious will the press of my cock be to your cunt?”

“Only one time, San,” You say as you lick your lips. 

San laughs deep in his throat. It almost sounds pained to your ears. “I have a feeling I won’t be able to quit you after one time.”

You flex your thighs so that you can hover over San’s mushroom cockhead. It splits you easily enough but it’s a stretch. He’s just so thick. His thumbs brush over the dimples in your back, soothing you. 

“Take your time.”

How you manage to endure sinking down on him, inch by inch, blows your mind. But you do it and soon your body adjusts to his thickness. “I--San--be careful.”

“Like fine china,” San murmurs under his breath. 

With one hand braced against the bookcase, he crooks his hips and you whimper. He takes his time with you but it quickly goes from worry to frustration. Your cunt is aching and he seems to be torturing and tempting you, as if he wants you to commit to memory how he feels inside of you; every damn inch of him. 

“You!” You gasp and start to roll your hips.

“Too much?” San smirks at you.

“Not. Enough.”

San's hand moves to squeeze your waist. “You said to be careful.”

“I need more,” You growl.

“I don't think you can handle more.”

You both watch as San pulls out, your inner lips gliding along as if beckoning his cock to not leave. 

“Faster,” You urge, wrapping your legs more firmly to get leverage. “Harder.”

“But you're such a fragile human.”

San eyes roll wildly. The whites of his eyes flash and you hold your breath as his hand finds your neck again. You squeeze your eyes shut and for a moment, you think, this will be the end of you. San's hand squeezes but you are still able to breathe. Each whistle of air into your lungs was sweet and lovely. But your end never came.

San's hips slam into you and you let out a choked cry. You're stuffed, truly fully stuffed and it feels like heaven.

Your air starts to come out in hammered puffs because of the way San is thrusting into you. Your brain goes blank and all you can focus on is the pending pleasure pouring through you. 

San lets go of your throat, if only to lean in to bury his face in the crook of your neck. His fangs play along the thin skin of your neck and you gasp. The lack of air seems to have heightened your senses. Everything feels more. 

“You're doing so well,” San praises you. “I told you; we’re a perfect fit.”

“San,” You moan his name. It's the only word you can form.

“Are you ready, Little One? You had better be coming because after I unload in you, I don't think I'll be able to stop,” San admits in a husky tone.

“In me?” You say in alarm.

“You needn't worry,” San hums. “I'm infertile for a human.”

You whimper as your climax builds. You wrap your arms behind San’s neck. “I need to come.”

San’s hands curl around your ass and legs from behind you and he untangles your legs around his waist. Your back scrapes the spines of some books as your body weight is forced back so that San can focus on pounding into you.

Your cries come out more urgently. Your climax is coming. You begin to chant San’s name, each single syllable coming out more whiny than the last. And when it finally bursts over you, you hold in your breath. 

Your walls fluttering around San is all he needs to ram into you with one swift thrust and twitch inside of you. You know you're in trouble when you can feel him dripping out of you--quickly and in copious amounts. He's dripping sweat onto your dress and he blinks hard like there's a threat of his soaked hair going to blind him. His lips are pink and plush. His eyes are dark but clear. You’ve never beheld him so…unguarded but also so natural. It was as if all his walls were down and after sex, he was in his true form.

“You're not leaving my bed for anything,” San pants.

“We're not in your bed right now, San,” You deadpan.

“Not yet.”

San pulls you off of him and sets you down. You can feel your face heat up as his cum dribbles down your thighs. Thank god for your dress settling down otherwise you were sure the sight of it would send you to an early grave. 

Once the beast does up his pants, he sweeps you up into his arms. “Your tiny legs can’t keep up with mine,” He growls and then he’s leaving the library and moving down the hallway toward the west wing.

Was he truly bringing you to his bed? This beast, that was so hot and cold with you, so careful to feed you crumbs of his life, was taking you to his inner sanctum…again? What was it that he was so sure you needed to know but also wanted to keep you away from?

Your inner thoughts come to a halt as San closes the doors to his room and he carefully dispatches you to his bed. It’s a bundle of worn blankets but it’s almost cozy in its chaos.

One of his claws catches on your dress to draw it upwards and he groans at the sight of his cum running down your legs. Before you can stop him, his tongue is cleaning you up. Your thighs are now wet with his saliva and he dives head first into your cunt.

“S-san!” You protest. You’re still sensitive from your orgasm and besides, his fangs!!

It was a mistake to call his name while he was between your thighs. His dark eyes roll up to meet yours but his tongue doesn’t stop. No, the beast continues to push in and out of your hole, his own cum seeping onto his pink tongue. 

You whimper at the sight and swallow to no avail. “You are disgusting.”

San only stops tongue-fucking you to say, “You just fucked a beast, what else would you expect?”

Your hands dive into his hair when his tongue finds your clit. He flattens his tongue and worries back and forth on your clit. Your legs close around his head but he patiently pushes your legs back to be spread on the bed. Your hands migrate to his horns. You wrap each hand around the twisted, obsidian horns and push him further into you. 

“San, San,” You whimper his name, bucking your hips up into his face. 

“Stay still, you’re going to--” San begins to growl but is interrupted by a sharp gasp from yourself. 

One of his fangs catches on your sensitive flesh. You watch as San’s pupils blow, seeing the blood on your cunt. And he dives right back in to lick it up. Soon, you forget the pain as he begins to suck on your clit eagerly. You whine because you can’t rock up against his face but your climax comes again, bursting through you like fireworks. 

You pant as the beast climbs up your body. His face is covered in your cum, and it’s tinged rose with your blood, and still he kisses you. His tongue tangles with yours, your cum rubbing onto your face. You grab the back of his head and return the kiss. You feel utterly debauched but you can’t help the fire that’s burning in your stomach. It’s not even quenched after two orgasms, in fact, it’s inflamed for more.

“I--I haven’t eaten all day, we can’t--”

San presses his hand to your chest and pins you back to the bed. “I will get you something. You stay here.”

“Nonsense! Two arms can carry back more--” You push upwards but San only pushes you back again. 

“I told you that you wouldn’t leave my bed for anything and I meant it,” San growls. 

“You…you trust me alone here?” You can’t help but ask.

San’s eyes flit around, suddenly unable to meet your gaze. “It’s fine.”

You send him a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You almost killed me for the same thing months ago!”

“It’s--”

“No!” You shout at him. “You’re not allowed to do this anymore. You can’t keep letting me in and then telling me that there’s a closet that I can’t open. I won’t do this anymore, San.”

San settles onto the side of the bed, his back to you. He turns his head to speak over his shoulder. “I can’t tell you. It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t. It’ll ruin everything. Be angry all you want. I can’t risk it all.”

And for once, you feel like he’s genuinely telling you the truth. As vague as it was. 

“Is it the curse?” You ask, putting a hand on his shoulder. Which draws your attention to his tattoo that runs the length of his spine. You trace the trail down his skin and his back muscles tense. “What does it all mean? And what does it have to do with me? And what about the ghost?”

San spins around and grabs your hand. “What ghost?”

You smile briefly and then shake your head. “I was delusional. It’s nothing.”

“Stay in my bed. I will bring you food. Then I will devour you some more.” You swear you see an excited smile on his face but San is gone from the room before you can confirm.

True to his word, you remain in San’s room--and his bed--for three whole days. He can only endure you to leave to relieve yourself and even then, he barely lets you take one step into the room before he’s carrying you back to his bed and slotting his body between your legs. 

You’ve lost the sense of where you end and San begins. All you know is the feeling of his hands on your body. You only know the scent of his musk as your face is buried into his muscular shoulder. The taste of his cum is the only flavor you know, no matter how much water you drink. He is the only thing you know, utterly and truly. 

Then, on the fourth day, something miraculous happens.

“San, your plant.” You point a finger to the rose pottery on the singular table by the balcony.

San launches himself out of bed and bounds towards the table. His eyes widen in extreme disbelief and he falls to his knees. 

“You’ve done it,” he whispers.

You crawl towards the foot of the bed, drawing a blanket over your naked body. There is a full rose that has bloomed from the pot. You aren’t certain but you are pretty sure roses don’t grow that quickly. And besides… why was this one black?

“I’ve done nothing but fuck you for the past three days, San. What are you talking about?”

“Get dressed,” San says excitedly. “We have to gather the others.”

“With what clothes, San, you keep ripping them off me,” You grumble. 

San grins and then he’s out the door, hollering for his shadow men.

“What’s got him so… what in the nine hells?” Mingi’s eyebrows are furrowed in utter confusion. “When did that happen?”

San is back with Yeosang on his heels. San has what looks like a dress in one hand, which he throws to the bed. “Mingi, Yeosang, go find Hongjoong and go to the ballroom. Belle, get dressed. Quickly!”

The shadow men are gone upon command and you quickly pull the dress over your head. “Why the ballroom?”

“Because that’s where it all began.” San’s face is pinched with past pain. 

The dress you wear is wonderous canary yellow, one that seems orange and red depending on where the sun hits. “San, what’s going on?”

San pulls you in for a tight hug and you freeze in his embrace, stiff and unsure. “All your questions will be answered. It’s finally happening.”

The five of you stand apace in the ballroom. San encapsulates your head in between his huge hands. Your whole world narrows down to just him, once again. 

“You have accepted me completely. For that, I can only repay you by committing my life to you.”

“San, what--”

“Once upon a time there was a beast who was cruel and handsome. He loved the power he held as a beast,” San murmurs to you.

“You… you were born like this?”

“The beast lived as he pleased. He wooed anyone and anything. He played with their hearts and bodies. And when he was bored of them, he discarded them.”

You knew San was cruel, you had been subject to such cruelty. But the way he was telling this story was making you feel uneasy.

“One day, his lover whom he had passed amongst his subordinates, revealed she was a witch. With her heartbroken, and her body used, she cursed the four men. The men at arms would become shadowmen, never able to touch another human ever again. And the beast…”

San’s eyes are dark and unreadable. They are like pools of water that never end, the deep dark water that never sees the light of day. 

“The beast had a very special curse placed on him. Every generation his soulmate would be born. And every time they were destined to cross paths. But if he was unable to woo her, to truly love her, to let her take his heart in return, then the curse would remain. The beast would never leave his estate. The men at arms would never know another’s touch. And some poor soul would be born over and over again, at the mercy of a beast’s black heart.”

“Are you saying I’m your soulmate? How did you know?”

A slow, crooked smile grows on San’s face. He appears… crazed, like he had been in the library. “Your father brought you to me.”

You deny this immediately. “My father would never!”

“Why do you think the sudden trip to sell his clocks came to be, Belle?”

“My father is scatter brained, San, he does this all the time. All of sudden he’ll decide to sell all his clocks. There’s hardly a pattern.”

“I’ll tell you why your father brought you to me.” San’s grin is stretched from ear to ear. He is maniacal. “You killed your lover. Your father saw your true form. He knew of the myth of the cursed beast. He was bringing you to me when the wolves attacked. The attack triggered your other form. You killed almost everyone and everything. I couldn't save your father. But he made me promise to keep you confined to the estate so you wouldn’t hurt anyone else. And it worked. For a time.”

There’s a small buzzing in your ear and you feel like you’re about to faint.

“See, I’m impatient to see my soulmate’s true form become her permanent form. So I provoked you. Treated you like horse manure on my boot. Ordered the others to do the same. The mirror  that first dinner showed you the truth: that you were a true monster. It’s why I cancelled the dance to woo you. You are not like the other ones. My true soulmate is connected with me. I am a beast. And so are you. ”

You shook your head. “You lie.”

“I…I thought you might risk the curse, might find a way to fuck it up. I let my anger get to me that night I almost killed you. I regretted that. Immensely. No other soulmate transformed before coming to me. You were the first. So, instead of attempting to provoke the beast side of you, I decided to learn who you were. The reading took me by surprise but you seemed to find solace in that room. But you triggered the beast side of me once again. Running away like a little white rabbit that is great prey? Writhing that sweet body of yours against mine as I pinned you to the ground?” San licks his lips lecherously. “You were tempting me.”

“But you still had to fall in love with me, the beast. The walks with your horse were good days for me. You reminded me of what life was like before this curse. The difference was that I wanted that life… with you. I provoked your other form again when I prompted you to choke me. That night you fixed me up? That wasn’t the wolves, my darling, that was you. You in your glorious form, rising from her slumber. We fought and it was grand. You won though. I may have been a little frustrated that you took me. But that’s when I decided that perhaps if I told you just the little of the curse that I could, that perhaps… perhaps everything might swing my way.”

San runs a taloned hand through his hair and completes the motion by curling them around his horn as well. He laughs to himself. “I should have known our bodies becoming one was the final key. What better truth exists than when two bodies join? There are no secrets then.”

“I see I was wrong.”

The ghost from before appears before you. You’ve already guessed it, she was the witch, trapped in her own curse on these lands. 

“Your heart is blacker than San’s. Bravo.”

You feel wetness on your face and you realize that you’re crying. It was like your body knew the truth already. Everything San said fit in place, like clockwork inside the creations your father made. The father you killed. You killed Jongho too. You were a monster. No wonder San was your soulmate. 

The rose that Hongjoong holds bursts and a wave of black passes through everyone and everything in the room. The ghost disappears. The air feels different.

“Yeosang!” Mingi shouts.

The shadowman is losing his shadow. Yeosang lifts his arms and watches in wonder as his clothes appear back on his body. The same happens to Mingi and Hongjoong. With a trembling hand, Mingi reaches out and puts his hand on Hongjoong’s chest. 

“We’re free,” Hongjoong whispers in disbelief. 

San pulls off his fur jacket and looks over his shoulder. The moon phase tattoo is fading as well. He lets the jacket drop to the floor and looks at you expectantly. 

“Wha--?” 

You suddenly scream in pain. Your skull feels like it’s going to split in two. Just as you bring your hands to your face, you gaze in horror as your nails lengthen and sharpen. You reach upwards to your head, already aware of what you’ll find. You choke on a sob when your fingers find horns sprouting from your head.

“There she is, my soulmate,” San announces. 

“I’m a monster,” You repeat to yourself.

Suddenly, everything clicks into place and you feel a new self settle over your shoulders.

“We can never repay you, Belle,” Mingi admits wistfully. “Maybe now--”

Your claw rips Mingi’s face off his skull. It flaps uselessly in your hand and you let it drop to the floor. 

“You’ll be the first to die, you horrible peeping tom,” You promise. 

You punch your hand through Mingi’s stomach, grab his spine and rip it out from his body. Mingi is dead instantly. It’s a pity, he should have suffered longer.

So you don’t make the same mistake with Hongjoong. You cut off Hongjoong’s balls and feed it to him. You make him chew each one and swallow them as he bleeds out. He cries soundlessly to himself and it makes your heart soar.

Yeosang appears mentally broken. Perhaps too much change at once? Either way, you decide to break his limbs inch by inch until he is simply a soggy sack of pebbles. You wish he screamed; you had a feeling you were missing out on the screams. 

And through it all, San stands there, and lets you have your fun. 

You point your finger at your soulmate. “You get in our bed right now. I will fuck you with the blood of my enemies on my skin.”

“What is my punishment, my love?” San appears eager and insane and nothing has appealed to you more in your entire life. 

You wrap your hands around San’s neck, still thick as a tree, but now with your talons and your monstrous strength, he’s a tree that could snap for you. You feel power throughout your body and you know what you’re capable of doing. 

“Your punishment is to know that I’ll be a better monster than you ever could be. You’ll always play second fiddle to me, San. Now and forever.”

“Yes, Love.”

San follows you as you stalk back towards the bedroom you proclaimed as yours like an eager puppy. What you saw in the mirror was the utter truth: you were the beast and San was the beauty.

How ironic.

[moonshynecybin]

i know marc is a liar and all but i actually don’t think he held back on purpose in valencia 2015… i believe him when he says he didn’t have extra motivation but i also believe he meant it when he said “(When we arrived) in Valencia, I say ‘Please we need to win the race because if not … he will complain.’” (from https://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/01/motorsport/marc-marquez-motogp-valentino-rossi/index.html) and that honestly makes it that much more tragic to me. i think he was waiting for an australia type moment but dani caught up to him and messed with his rhtym, which fwiw also seems to be mat oxley’s view:

“If both Repsol Hondas had managed to get past Lorenzo, then Rossi would have been champion. But they didn't. Perhaps Marquez was riding shotgun to Lorenzo. But if that's true, why was he on the Ml's tail throughout the race, with his body language - loud as always! - telling us he was building towards a last-lap attack, most likely at the final hairpin, which would give Lorenzo no chance to come back at him?

And why didn't he give Lorenzo an easy time, following him around at a respectful distance, rather than hassling him lap after lap? Those are all questions to which everyone has their own answers.

The only fact was that Lorenzo's M1 had better acceleration grip, so Marquez could never get the drive he needed to set up a pass at the next corner.

It is also worth pointing out that Valencia is a grim track for overtaking. It's a slow, narrow, one-line, follow-my-leader circuit with a dead-slow entry onto its only straight. It is the polar opposite of wide, fast and open Phillip Island. The Valencia layout leaves little opportunity for riders to prepare a pass exiting one corner and into the next, especially on heavy MotoGP bikes with traction control and carbon brakes. At five of the last nine dry-weather MotoGP races at the track there wasn't a single overtaking manoeuvre at the front. Not one.” (from https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/motorcycles/motogp/what-really-happened-motogps-2015-finale/)

[astr0exe]

I come to you requesting a Phillip Graves x extremely socially anxious TM reader, like so anxious that poor boy can't order his own food at a resturant or fast food place without making at least 20 grammatical errors in a 10 word sentence(too real)

Lil anxiety baby (me) basically gonna be projecting so bad on this but oh well !! Some sweet domestic fluff w/ dominant Graves who orders for you. :) short but sweet !! 3 posts in 9 hours is crazy lol ‼️i hope you like this ml <3 have a great day 🩶

Your hands are always shaking, or fidgeting with something, especially your husband’s hands. Graves is always there for you, even when it’s slightly embarrassing despite how smug and happy it makes him. He doesn’t even need to ask what your order is, already knowing (this man has amazing memory) from the last time you guys came here. His hand is hold yours softly, letting you play with his cold rings as you keep your head down at the table.

His voice is confident as he speaks, conveying both your orders to the server without a second glance or any hesitation. Smiling at you once he has ordered, knowing it helps you makes him happy. All he wants is to help you and for you to be happy. If that means ordering you food then he will do it until he dies.

[bravo4iscool]

HIIII I LOVE UR WRITING SO MUCHHH!! CAN U DO A NEIGHBOUR!GRAVES AND READER JUST MOVED INTO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THANK U ML🖤

HIII IM GLAD YOU LIKE IT HAHAHA. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH🤍🤍. as someone who’s a crazy perfectionist compliments and asks like that mean the absolute WORLD to me😭🫶🏼

this would be my first time writing something for graves but i’ll try my best!! i hope this isn’t too ooc for him, since i’ve never experienced him in the game before. i only have mw (since christmas lol) not mwII🥲

(masterlist)

REQUESTS/ASKS OPEN!

You hated moving. You absolutely hated moving. There was too much stress, too much heaving and too many boxes. Pretty much too much of everything.

You curse as you bend down to pick up another box when someone calls out for you: “Excuse me,” you straighten up and again turn around.

There’s a man standing a couple meters away from you, smiling. “Do you need help?” he asks and your expression changes from confused to surprised. “I’m Phillip by the way. I live in the flat beside yours,” he adds, remaining in his position.

“I uh-“ you look around you, staring at all the boxes, just waiting to be moved. “I think I could use help, yes…” you nervously chuckle, wiping a couple strands of hair out of your face. You really weren’t made for labour; absolutely not.

He smiles again and steps closer. “Which one is the heaviest?” he asks and you think for a moment. You didn’t really know…

“I guess that one,” you point at the one with all of your kitchen utensils. “I had help packing my car so I don’t really know which one is the most heavy.” You blush, rubbing your neck. Why is he making you all squirmy? You literally just met him.

“Alight,” he claps his hands together and picks that box up with ease. You stare at him for a second before you remind yourself that you should do the exact same. You try to follow him as fast as you can, almost tripping over your feet. You really can‘t get by without embarrassing yourself…

„You can just..put it here,“ you instruct him when you reached your flat, placing your box on the floor and pointing to your kitchen. „I‘ll sort it in later.“ He grunts out a ‚okay‘ and sets the box down.

And so you and him pick up box after box, placing them in your flat while you try to already sort them after their belongings. When the last box is safely secured in your bedroom you wipe your forehead and smile at him. „Thank you so much Phillip. I don’t think I would‘ve been able to do it so fast without you.“ You blush once again when he returns your smile, readjusting the sleeves of his sweatshirt.

„It was a pleasure,“ he cocks his head, looking around and heading for the door.

You walk two steps into his direction, „Can I thank you with a dinner? Obviously not…yet,“ you nervously chuckle and look around. It would take one or two weeks to fully settle in but…

He stops and turns around. „Dinner sounds good.“ He winks and you feel yourself blushing even more. You know him since like one hour. Why were you going crazy over him?

„Thank you again.“

„Not for that,“ he waves it off, saying one last ‚see you soon‘ before he leaves you alone in the mess that‘s supposed to be your new flat…

[gardenwalrus]

As George knew several more guitar chords than John or Paul, every time he showed them a new one they tried to write a song around it — and it was in this period, possibly at Upton Green, that Paul wrote one he called “In Spite of All the Danger,” a chugging and melodic country-flavoured number with a couple of extended lead guitar solos created by George. For this reason, the song was a unique deviation from the Lennon-McCartney credit: it went down as McCartney-Harrison. The tune of “In Spite of All the Danger” was entirely Paul’s, but it leaned heavily on the melody of Elvis’s “Trying to Get to You,” a song that includes the lyric “[in] spite of all that I’ve been through.” Using an existing song as inspiration for the writing of another is standard practice, but the rock and roll era was already littered with outrageous examples of plagiarism seemingly free of legal action — possibly because the song being copied was not entirely original to that composer either.

— Mark Lewisohn, Tune In (2013)

PM: And then there was Percy Phillips' place in Kensington [Liverpool] where we did 'That'll Be The Day' and 'In Spite Of All The Danger'. [...] Anyway, John did 'That'll Be The Day', which was one of our stage numbers, and George played the opening guitar notes and I harmonised with John singing lead. Then on the other side I sang the lead, I think so anyway. It was my song.* It's very similar to an Elvis song. It's me doing an Elvis. ML: Any particular Elvis song? PM: Yeah, but I'm a bit loathe to say which! "Yeah" is all I'm going to say on that. I know which one! It was one that I'd heard at scout camp when I was younger and I'd loved it. And when I came to write the first couple of songs at the age of about 14 that was one of them.

— Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (1988)

*Seventeen years later, without the advantage of hearing it in between times, John recalled what he could of the session: “The first thing we ever recorded was ‘That'll Be the Day, the Buddy Holly song, and one of Paul’s called ‘In Spite of All the Danger. It cost us fifteen shillings and we made it in the front room of some guy’s house that he called a recording studio. It had all the equipment, and it was a 78. And I sang both sides. I was such a bully in those days I didn’t even let Paul sing his own song. That’s the actual first recording we ever made.”

— Mark Lewisohn, Tune In (2013)

[wyllzel]

my very correct reviews of the bridgerton novels 😎

stars and spiciness (scale of 1-3) and tidbits below

please note that the following numbers are my opinion and largely exist relative to one another and to my limited understanding of the genre haha

The Duke and I (⭐ 3.5/5 +🔥): Ok I have very mixed feelings about this one haha 😞 The dub-con/non-con scene between the leads is framed as a mistake by the perpetrator (Daphne), which is good! But it's also not fully acknowledged or apologized for... which is bad... But at the same time, there's some really good things in this novel - the chemistry between the leads, Simon's persistent issues and Daphne realizing that she can't fix him overnight, Daphne recognizing her own privilege, the humor and comedic timing, Daphne's Weird Girlness...

The Viscount Who Loved Me (⭐ 4/5 +🔥🔥): Anthony as a character was very fascinating, and Kate's sororal relationship with Edwina was lovingly written! I also thought Quinn's approach to mental health as something unknowable & unpredictable was great (her descriptions of panic attacks were pretty spot-on too)

An Offer from a Gentleman (⭐ 2/5 +🔥🔥): 2 stars for Benedict chokeslamming the abusive stepmom, 0 stars for Benedict creating a toxic workplace environment 🤮

Romancing Mister Bridgerton (⭐ 4/5 +🔥): Penelope is a very interesting character, and the primary conflict being one of jealousy between the two leads was really interesting!? (ie. Colin is jealous of Penelope's success 👀)

To Sir Phillip, With Love (⭐ 5/5 +🔥🔥🔥): Really complex and I'm glad that a) Quinn allows her leads to make mistakes and b) Phillip was not insta-cured by marriage or A Woman's Healing Touch but instead had to do some self-reflection and come to conclusions on his own (with her help)

When He Was Wicked (⭐ 4.5/5 +🔥🔥🔥): 5 stars for Michael being pathetically in love, -0.5 stars for Michael being an active participant in English colonization 🫥 It's thematic, and his commentary sounded accurate to contemporary stuff I've read lmao, so I see the vision - but given that Quinn is a modern author, she should know better and it could've been handled better... The overall gothic/ghostly vibes were fascinating tho !

It's in His Kiss (⭐ 4/5 +🔥): Hyacinth is just like me fr, and Gareth was a nice change in pace from the Tall Dark And Handsome Brooding ML LOL Also the treasure hunt as a plot vehicle was fun!

sidenote but i just think it's so funny how phillip & michael each had a scene where they gave the FL an orgasm but didn't finish:

On the Way to the Wedding (⭐ 3.5/5 +🔥): Gregory is a goof and I appreciate his madly-in-love vibes, also he shot a man??!!?! A well-executed finale to such a vibrant series 👏

but to be clear, none of these books are perfect, and there are definitely tropes/moments that quinn likes playing to but that i find dicey (such as most, if not all, her male leads having "sexy" (?) anger issues lol... also she is not the best author if you're looking for a critique of english classism/imperialism lmao)

yet there are also a lot of really good and interesting things (mostly internal growth/conflict rather than external, haha) that she explores through the Bridgerton Regency Tropes Vehicle 👀

also i think it genuinely takes a hugely skillful author to write good humor / erotica, which quinn definitely excels at, so i will give her her flowers there 👍

AND it's interesting to read a modern american woman's interpretation of early 19th century upper-class english society 👀 there's some interesting things going on there w historicity and the non/necessity of accuracy 👀 and ofc american-english cultural relations haha

phillip got up and jerked off in the bathroom LOL

meanwhile michael, possibly horniest man alive, just took a cold shower lmaooo

idk why this is so funny to me

also phillip and michael get extra kudos for going down on their love interests (gareth might have as well, i can't remember, if he did then good for him too)

and i will end this post on that note lol

[belmottetower]

This is a silly question, but if I want to get into soccer/football then…

Where do I even start?

I enjoy watching soccer games. If I had to pick a favorite sport, it would be that. But I’m not necessarily a “fan” of it, or I guess a follower of it, when I think I’d like to be.

Oooh not at all a silly question! So if you already enjoy watching football matches then I think you're basically there already! Since you're asking me, I assume you maybe want to get specifically into the Premier League, because I wouldn't know where to start when recommending MLS teams ow how to get into it. In terms of just like, where to watch the Prem in the US NBC, USA Network, NBCSports.com and Peacock all show it. And you might have a sports bar or a pub near you that would show games if you don't have access to any of the above.The current season is about to finish, but it starts again in August. In terms of getting into a team...first things first just watch some of the matches and maybe see if there is a particular team you enjoy watching more. If there are teams you do enjoy watching - for whatever reason - I'd recommend following a few of them on the social media platform of your choice because teams social media is always utterly ridiculous and I love it - not least because the players are a big reason why I like the teams I support, and getting to watch, for instance, Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, and Kal Phillips take penalties through a window is always fun. I support four Premier League teams, which is a bit controversial to some, but I kind of want different things from all of them, and like them for a different reasons, and I don't like people gatekeeping how someone chooses to enjoy something so I ignore those people haha. The only team I'd tell you not to support right now is Arsenal, but that's because I hate them for not suspending Thomas Partey for as long as he's being investigated for rape.

Not sure if this remotely helpful in answering, but if you have any more specific questions about how the Prem works, or teams I am happy to talk football haha.

[louislupin]

phillip exudes such pnw energy and i love him (can’t wait for the mls to be back so i can see him in the flesh)

[maia-estates]

How to Get Started with Real Estate Investment

Real estate investment can be a lucrative and rewarding venture, providing a steady income stream and potential for long-term appreciation. However, getting started can be daunting for beginners. This guide will walk you through the essential steps to begin your real estate investment journey, ensuring you have a solid foundation to build upon.

1. Educate Yourself

Before diving into real estate investment, it's crucial to educate yourself about the industry. There are numerous resources available, including books, online courses, podcasts, and blogs. Some recommended books include "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller, and "Investing in Rental Properties for Beginners" by Lisa Phillips. Understanding the basics of real estate, investment strategies, and market dynamics will help you make informed decisions.

2. Set Clear Investment Goals

Determine what you want to achieve with your real estate investments. Are you looking for immediate cash flow, long-term appreciation, or a combination of both? Your goals will influence your investment strategy, the types of properties you choose, and your overall approach. Setting clear, measurable, and realistic goals will provide direction and keep you focused.

3. Assess Your Financial Situation

Real estate investment requires capital, so it's essential to assess your financial situation. Calculate your net worth, analyze your income and expenses, and determine how much money you can allocate to real estate investments. Consider consulting with a financial advisor to ensure you're in a solid financial position to start investing. Additionally, research different financing options, such as mortgages, home equity loans, and private lenders.

4. Choose Your Investment Strategy

There are various real estate investment strategies to choose from, each with its pros and cons. Some popular strategies include:

Buy and Hold: Purchasing properties to rent out for steady cash flow and long-term appreciation.

Fix and Flip: Buying undervalued properties, renovating them, and selling them for a profit.

Wholesaling: Finding discounted properties, putting them under contract, and selling the contract to another investor for a fee.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): Investing in publicly traded companies that own and manage real estate portfolios.

Choose a strategy that aligns with your goals, risk tolerance, and available resources.

5. Research and Analyze Markets

Location is a critical factor in real estate investment. Research different markets to identify areas with strong growth potential, high demand for rentals, and favorable economic conditions. Look for indicators such as job growth, population growth, low crime rates, and good school districts. Websites like Zillow, Redfin, and local MLS listings can provide valuable market data. Additionally, network with local real estate agents, investors, and property managers to gain insights into specific neighborhoods.

6. Build a Team of Professionals

Successful real estate investing requires a team of professionals to support you. Your team should include:

- Real Estate Agent: A knowledgeable agent can help you find and evaluate properties.

- Mortgage Broker/Lender: They can assist with financing options and securing loans.

- Real Estate Attorney: Legal expertise is essential for navigating contracts and regulations.

- Accountant/Tax Advisor: They can provide advice on tax implications and financial planning.

- Contractor/Handyman: Reliable contractors are crucial for property maintenance and renovations.

Building a strong team will help you make informed decisions and streamline the investment process.

7. Start Small and Scale Gradually

As a beginner, it's wise to start with a small, manageable investment. This could be a single-family home, a duplex, or a small multi-family property. Starting small allows you to gain experience, learn the ropes, and minimize risks. As you become more comfortable and knowledgeable, you can gradually scale your portfolio by acquiring more properties or exploring different investment strategies.

8. Perform Due Diligence

Before purchasing a property, conduct thorough due diligence to assess its condition, value, and potential for returns. This includes:

-Property Inspection:  Hire a professional inspector to identify any structural or mechanical issues.

-Comparable Market Analysis (CMA): Evaluate similar properties in the area to determine a fair purchase price.

-Cash Flow Analysis: Calculate potential rental income, expenses, and cash flow to ensure the property will be profitable.

-Review of Legal and Zoning Issues: Ensure the property complies with local regulations and zoning laws.

Thorough due diligence will help you avoid costly mistakes and make informed investment decisions.

9. Secure Financing

Once you've identified a property and completed due diligence, secure financing to purchase the property. Work with your mortgage broker or lender to finalize loan terms and complete the necessary paperwork. Be prepared to provide documentation, such as income statements, credit reports, and proof of funds for the down payment.

10. Manage Your Investment

Effective property management is crucial for maximizing returns and maintaining the value of your investment. If you choose to manage the property yourself, be prepared to handle tenant screening, lease agreements, maintenance, and rent collection. Alternatively, you can hire a professional property management company to handle these tasks for a fee. Regularly monitor the property's performance, address any issues promptly, and keep detailed records of all transactions and expenses.

11. Explore Investment Opportunities in Bangalore

For those interested in investing in real estate in Bangalore, the market offers a plethora of options ranging from super luxury apartments in Bangalore to upcoming luxury projects in Bangalore. The city is known for its high-end residential projects developed by some of the top builders in Bangalore. Investing in property in Bangalore can provide significant returns due to the city's rapid growth and demand for premium housing.

Conclusion

Getting started with real estate investment requires careful planning, education, and a strategic approach. By following these steps, you can build a solid foundation for your investment journey and work towards achieving your financial goals. Remember, real estate investing is a long-term commitment that requires patience, diligence, and continuous learning. With the right mindset and resources, you can successfully navigate the world of real estate and reap the rewards of your investments. Happy investing!

[windfallgardenschenleyfarms]

Japanese Maple Propagation by Hardwood Cuttings 

Culture and Propagation of Japanese Maple

Guy Phillips

Professional Paper submitted to the Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Forestry

As mentioned previously, hardwood cuttings are those that are taken during the dormant season. For a deciduous species such as Japanese maple, this means that the cutting is merely a stick with some dormant buds that is stuck in a suitable medium. The lack of foliage allows a propagator to forget the worrisome balance between keeping leaf surfaces evenly moist while at the same time maintaining the medium at a state not too moist, and well aerated. For hardwood cuttings, bottom heat is recommended, but air temperatures can remain cool, ideally below the 15.5oC (60oF) range, especially at night. These environmental factors – no misting, moderate bottom heat, and little to no air heat result in a very economically efficient way to propagate. The fact that dormant cuttings are taken during the time of year when nursery activity is all but dormant too, means another kind of economy and efficiency is achieved as well: the economy and efficiency of time. One paper from the annals of the Combined Proceedings of the International Plant Propagator's Society stood almost alone on this subject. I include a summary of it here because I consider the notion of hardwood cuttings of Japanese maple to be of unrealized merit. 

The experiment with hardwood cuttings was begun due to a surplus of grafting scion material. The greatest success has been had with Acer palmatum 'Atropurpureum' varieties. This is the name commonly given to Japanese maples that have red colored leaves of varying shades and retain this trait, in varying degrees, when propagated from seed. Successful rooting and survival of this variety has been between 60 – 70%. However, experiments with the dissected leaf varieties have proven more challenging, as is common for these same types when propagated by softwood cuttings. Success is often as low as 25% (Carville, 1975). 

Cuttings were taken from field stock plants during the first week of January (Rhode Island). Material was between 4.8 - 9.5 mm (3/16 – 3/8 inch) thickness; possessing 2 –3 nodes. The previous season’s growth is taken, ideally as thick as possible, 15 - 20 cm (6 –8 inches) long. Wounds were made, 2 on each cutting, 19 - 25 mm (3/4 - 1 inch) long. Many hormonal solutions have been tried and Jiffy Grow TM was found to be the best. (10 second dip; 29 mL (1 oz.) Jiffy GrowTM to 87 mL (3 oz.) water; Jiffy GrowTM is a mixture of IBA .5%, NAA .5%. boron .0175%, phenylmercuric acid .01%). Medium is a 2 parts peat / 1 part perlite. Medium was slightly firmed and watered; cuttings were stuck; all was watered again then “ignored”. The temperature of the medium was kept between 15.5 - 20oC (60 – 68 ̊F). Air temperatures were kept below 20oC (60 ̊F) at night; no mention of the daytime temperatures. “Excessive top heat and /or overwatering will lead to complete failure, thus my statement to the effect that the cuttings should be ignored. The medium should feel almost dry to the touch and at no time during the first 4 weeks should you be able to squeeze water from a handful of the mix (Carville, 1975, p. 40)" 

Roots appear in about 4 weeks (callus in 15 days). Vegetative buds will soon be swelling after roots have been observed. It is imperative not to overwater during this time. Roots will rot very easily at this point. Newly emerging leaves need shading. A mild fungicidal solution is thought to be helpful in controlling Botrytis fungal infection. By mid- March the rooted cuttings can be potted, perhaps planted into fields directly in milder climates. 3.77 - 7.5 L (1 – 2 gallon) potted plants can be expected to reach 30 - 38 cm (12 – 15 inches) tall by late August (Carville, 1975). 

Carville (1975) concludes by noting, “Unit cost of production is far less than that from softwood cuttings and is considerably less than that from graftage (p. 41).” Another advantage he mentions is that rooted hardwood cuttings are in “phase” with the normal spring time growing conditions and therefore no extra work nor fuss needs to be placed on the necessity of forcing growth before fall, as is the case with softwood cuttings (Carville, 1975). 

I found only one other article on the subject of hardwood cuttings of Japanese maple. A researcher in Poland used Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum (again, this name indicates generic red leaf Japanese maple) to test various times and temperatures of storage of hardwood material prior to sticking into pots of a 1:1 peat and sand medium. It was found that cuttings obtained in November, stored in plastic bags at 55.4 ̊F for 3 weeks and then stored at 35.6 ̊F for 6 weeks worked best. The researcher suggests that the storage period improves callus and root initiation so that the timing of root growth does not lag behind the development of bud break, once the cuttings are stuck (Marcinkowski, 1988). 

January 18, 2024 Nothing to lose trying to root these Red Cut Leaf Japanese Maples cuttings from a branch vandalized & broken off a once beautiful healthy potted tree at Oakland Ave. & Forbes in Oakland.

[findasongblog]

Find A Song about worshipping false gods

My Life Story - I'm a God

The modestly titled ‘I’m a God’ is not an autobiographical reference to singer/songwriter Jake’s on-stage pop star moves but a shopping list of deities, some more deserving of reverence than others. Shillingford said; “I wanted to highlight how the media lazily awards everything and everyone divine status and consider if worshiping false gods is embedded in our DNA. I remember reading that even Prince Phillip was seen as a god by the Yaohnanen people”. He went onto say “It's a classic MLS listing song similar to 12 Reasons Why I Love Her - by juxtaposing a real god next to a false idol it creates a collage of lyrical contrasts.”

Added to FAS Spotify playlists indie pop and our times.

via Musosoup

[iwasbored777]

I went through Fandom Wiki to find info about Frozer for an ask and I'm crying at the end card cuz it's super dramatic love hexagon in the centre and then you have Phillipe girlbossing/not giving a single f*ck in the background 😂😂😂😂😂

[coatl-cuddles]

Looking good Gabe

[chrvstenpress]

lafc /// el tráfico ‘20

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