#No one's being disrespectful in the notes

[sansaorgana]

— MOTHER'S LOVE

PAIRING �� Na-Baron Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x fem!Reader

SUMMARY — After arriving on Giedi Prime to marry Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, you find out the secret his family was hiding from you – he has a daughter. You quickly realise he has no idea about fatherhood but you step up to take care of the little girl.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — OH MY GOOOOD Anyone still remember me and my fics?! 🤣 This one is a bit different because it includes Feyd as a single dad lmao However, it's not super fluffy either. They're Harkonnens, after all, and the Reader is not exactly a good person either. 🙈 I googled some canon info on Dune Wiki but I didn't follow the events 1:1 (as usual).

WARNINGS — arranged marriage, Feyd's traumatic past mentioned, Feyd being a kinda neglecting father (he cares in his own way and don't worry, there is no actual abuse), Lady Margot is 💀 and it was no accident, Reader is power hungry and greedy (and she adapts to the Harkonnens quickly)

WORD COUNT — 7, 290

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

MOTHER'S LOVE

You didn’t have many expectations before arriving on Giedi Prime. You knew that your husband-to-be was a brutal man but you were old enough to be aware of the fact that most men were this way. You were quite excited in a way because you knew what your union would bring and what your union would eventually make you – an Empress.

Your father had been a close friend of the Emperor and he had been helping him to prevent the war with the Harkonnens who were holding too much power and resources for their own good. However, after a few incidents in which the Emperor had chosen not to show your father proper respect – your father had drastically changed the side of the conflict. He was a wealthy and powerful man as well and connecting your family with the Harkonnens was granting them to win the upcoming war with the Imperial forces quite easily. It was a matter of time when it would happen.

You were supposed to marry Baron Harkonnen’s nephew and heir, which would make you an Empress one day. It was a vicious union; born out of greed for power instead of any love or affection. In fact, you hadn’t even met Feyd-Rautha personally but you had heard rumours about him.

As it had been mentioned – you knew he was brutal. But you also knew all men were. Your own father had turned his back on the Emperor so suddenly and treacherously, after centuries of the families working together. Had it not been brutal as well? Brutality came in many different shapes and forms. 

Your father’s wealth and army were helpful but not significant enough for him to dictate any conditions. For his help, the Harkonnens had offered only one important thing – you becoming the future Empress. However, all the glory would be theirs and your father would remain nothing but a close friend, expanding his wealth freely. You often wondered how much the Emperor must have had disrespected your father for him to choose the Harkonnens to be his new overlords. However, you did not complain.

You wanted to be the Empress.

But in order to become her, you had to survive the Harkonnens and Giedi Prime first.

You were greeted with all the honours on this unfriendly, deathly planet. However, your husband was not a part of the greeting committee. Neither was his uncle, whose health was decreasing lately. Many suspected he would die soon, which would make you a Baroness much quicker than expected, however you were not sure about your future husband’s approach towards your union. If he wasn’t so keen on marrying you, he could change his mind the moment he no longer had to listen to his uncle. That was why you hoped to get married before Baron Harkonnen would die – to secure your position on Giedi Prime as Feyd-Rautha’s lawful wife.

People who greeted you on Giedi Prime were mostly servants of different ranks. You could distinguish them by robes but they all looked very similar if not identical. They were sickly pale, some of them had pitch-black eyes and they were all bald. The servants of the lowest rank looked like clones and you suspected that was what they truly were indeed. They had their necks marked with tattoos indicating their low status.

Servants of higher ranks looked more proper – their clothes were nice, their facial features were more natural and they actually talked to you, meanwhile the low rank servants remained silent and avoided your gaze.

You were taken to your new chambers inside the huge and black fortress in the heart of the planet. You were given a whole wing and a huge bedroom that had not been occupied in decades – ever since Baron Harkonnen’s mother had died.

“Won’t I be quite lonely here?” You asked a male servant who was showing you around. You didn’t like him already because something about his creepy smile and observing eyes was sending shivers down your spine.

“What do you mean, my Lady?” He tilted his bald head slightly and blinked a few times as if he was a robot experiencing a glitch in his system.

“The whole wing of the fortress is all for me?”

“Well, you have guards and servants here, my Lady,” he pointed out.

“They are not… equal companions, are they?” You explained, trying not to sound too cruel. But servants on Giedi Prime probably found your statement to be extremely gentle. They were used to much worse treatment from their masters.

“You are not the only inhabitant of this part of the fortress, my Lady,” the man told you, a little nervously.

You furrowed your brows.

“Care to explain?” You tried to hide your insecurity by looking around the room and pretending to admire the black furniture. 

“Countess Marie has her room nearby,” the servant explained and you smiled slightly when you found out there was, after all, some female Harkonnen around who would perhaps be a friend to you.

Your first thought was that she was Count Rabban’s wife – your future husband’s sister-in-law.

“Oh! There is some countess?” You asked, excitedly. “How old is she?”

“She…” the servant took a deep breath in. “She is six, my Lady.”

“Six?” You asked, your smile dropping as your heart froze inside your chest. “She’s… She’s a child?”

Many awful things you had heard of the Harkonnens but child-brides had never been any part of those stories.

The servant must have immediately realised what you were thinking.

“Oh! No, no, my Lady, she is not a wife…!” He assured you. “She is… Family,” he explained, mysteriously. “Either way, I shall leave you now to rest after long and exhausting travel. I will send a maid for you later to bring you dinner and keep you company, my Lady,” the servant nodded and left the room as the rest of the servants left behind him. The guards stayed behind the heavy doors to make sure you were safe… and to make sure you were no danger either.

You took a deep breath in as you looked around. Everything seemed to be so big and scary on this planet but you promised yourself that you would survive and adapt to it and you didn’t plan on changing that.

After dinner, when your maid left you to sleep, you sneaked out of the bedroom to walk around a little and to explore more of the fortress. You promised the confused guards you’d be back soon enough but you also asked them to search for you if you wouldn’t come back in a long time since there was a big chance of you getting lost. They agreed to it and you walked away, very proud of yourself.

As you were walking down the dark and empty corridor, after a short while you felt somebody’s presence around you. A pair of eyes following you around, which made you swallow thickly. Your heart pounded fast but as you looked behind you, no one seemed to be there. You thought it was your brain playing tricks on you in this unfriendly environment and you tried to remember that the Harkonnens were your new family and they would not hurt you.

Gathering the courage again, you calmed down and continued your walk when – suddenly and out of the darkness – you heard a giggle.

A childish, girly giggle with a hint of malice despite its innocent sound. You froze, widened your eyes and looked around.

“I’ve imagined you differently,” a girly voice announced and when your ears found the source of it, you turned around to face it.

The girl turned on the orb of light she was holding. But it was not in front of you – it was behind you. You turned around once more and she chuckled, visibly proud of herself for playing tricks on you.

She had to be Countess Marie the servant had mentioned earlier – she was around six years old and she surely had Harkonnen blood in her. Her eyes were bright blue and her skin was snow-white. However, she was not bald – she had long and blond hair, which was braided. Her clothes were black and she had a small dagger attached to her hip.

“Countess Marie, I assume,” you extended your hand towards her in a friendly manner. “I am (Y/N) of the House (Y/L/N),” you introduced yourself.

“I know who you are,” Marie shrugged her arms and allowed the orb of light to float around her freely now as she took the dagger out and began to play with it.

It made you feel uneasy as you retreated your hand which she hadn’t shaken. She wouldn’t actually hurt you, would she?

“O-oh, yeah?” You asked. “Well, that’s nice… You see, I had no idea about you until a few hours ago,” you cracked a smile.

“I’m not significant. I’m a bastard,” the girl shrugged her arms again. “And I promised not to bother you but I was curious,” she admitted.

“Promised not to bother me?” You were surprised. “Honey, who did you promise such a thing and why?”

Honey, you had called her – despite her demeanour, she was still a little girl and it was difficult to see her as anything else.

She didn’t seem to mind, though. In fact, she ignored that.

“I promised my daddy and grandpa not to bother you,” she explained.

“Oh, I see,” you nodded, assuming that she treated the Baron as her grandfather. “Are you Count Rabban’s daughter?” You decided to ask more openly now.

She widened her eyes at your question.

“No-o,” she shook her head and hid her dagger. “I’m a Harkonnen,” she told you, proudly.

You began to understand the situation and you couldn’t help but grow angry – how could they hide this fact from you?!

“Well, darling, either way, it is late already and you should be in bed,” you extended your hand towards her again but she took a step back. You retreated your hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s simply not a good time for little girls to be outside their bedrooms.”

“Daddy says I can go to bed at any time I want as long as I am up early for my training,” she explained and then she looked down. “Or… Are you changing the rules now?”

“I am not changing any rules between you and your daddy, it is not my right to do so,” you explained, softly. “However, I would sleep better knowing that you are safe in your bed,” you said.

“What do you care?” Countess Marie asked.

“How could I not, angel? Come on, let’s go to bed,” you nodded your head and she eventually agreed although she also rolled her eyes.

She showed you where her chambers were and you watched her walk past her guards and back into her room. After that, you went back to your bedroom as well but you couldn’t sleep at night.

How could they hide from you that your husband had a daughter?

You demanded to see your husband-to-be after breakfast, although you were advised against by many servants. Mornings were for Feyd-Rautha’s combat training and he should not be interrupted.

However, you could not wait for the meeting. You demanded to be taken to him and the guards had to follow your command although you could see they were not happy about it.

You rushed behind them through the corridors full of servants and Harkonnen noblemen that were turning their heads to take a better look at you. They were curious about you because you were a foreigner, a daughter of the infamous and treacherous Lord but you also stood out with your normal looks that seemed to be exotic on Giedi Prime.

When you arrived at the training grounds, you crossed the nearly magical border between the interior and exterior. Now, you were exposed to the radioactive sunlight, which caused the world around you to be black and white. You knew that the fortress was shielded from the deathly amount of radiation but it was not making anything outside colourful.

The very first sound that greeted you was an animalistic roar coming out of a warrior’s throat. He was standing in the middle of the courtyard with a dagger in his hand as a muscular slave-warrior in front of him kneeled down and fell over after his own throat had been sliced open. The victorious warrior raised his hand to show off the bloody knife and a smaller, clean knife raised behind him. You squinted your eyes and spotted Countess Marie cheering and mimicking the man in the middle.

“That is Feyd-Rautha, my Lady,” the servant whispered to you.

Your heart skipped a beat. Your future husband looked terrifying, especially in black-and-white. His eyes were snake-like, his head was bald and his body was very muscular yet flexible. He spotted you and after a while of hesitation, he walked towards you quite angrily, which caused all the servants to take a few steps back but you stayed in your position, refusing to show fear so openly.

The closer he was, the more handsome you were realising he seemed to be. It was nearly unnatural for a Harkonnen to be so attractive but here he stood – right in front of you. Young, healthy, strong and attractive in a mysterious and fascinating way. He was a perfect warrior – of that you were sure.

But would he be a perfect Emperor?

“Why are you interrupting my training?” He asked. His voice surprised you – it sounded very deep and unsettling.

“I couldn’t wait to meet you,” you answered.

“You are interrupting my training,” he pointed out.

“Surely, you can take a little break to meet your future wife?” You cracked a smile.

Feyd-Rautha seemed to be confused. Finally, his little girl emerged from behind him with a big grin on her face.

“Daddy, don’t be so grim! Lady (Y/N) is nice!” She announced and you breathed out of relief. For some reason, this little menace seemed to like you already.

“Oh, yeah?” Feyd-Rautha tilted his head at you and smirked. “Well, nice little things don’t last long on Giedi Prime, haven’t I told you?”

“Your daughter seems to be doing well, na-baron,” you dared to say and he squinted his eyes.

“I don’t raise her to be nice. And you should not bother with her at all anyway,” he explained and sighed a little. “Nevermind, you have interrupted my training already. Let’s go and talk somewhere,” he pointed at the doors leading back inside the fortress.

“Can I go with you?” Countess Marie asked.

“No,” Feyd-Rautha told her. “You go back to your room and attend your classes.”

“But–”

Feyd didn’t bother to listen to that, though. He walked past his daughter.

“How about you coming to my chambers after your classes and we’ll get to know each other better then?” You asked the girl with a smile.

“I can’t visit other people alone in their chambers except for my daddy,” she widened her eyes. “He doesn’t allow that. It’s dangerous,” she added and you furrowed your brows.

He seemed not to care much about this little girl but then, when it came to certain aspects, he was nearly overprotective.

“I will talk to him and if he still doesn’t allow it, we’ll invite some servants as well, how about that?” You asked her and she nodded with a smile.

You reached out to caress her face but she flinched, so you took a step back again.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“It’s fine but he doesn’t allow strangers to touch me,” she explained. “Unless they’re servants who help me change clothes and all that – unless it’s necessary, you see.”

“I see,” you nodded. “Well, see you later, Marie.”

“See you later, Lady (Y/N).”

After that, you hurried back inside the fortress to enter it through the same doors your husband-to-be had entered a few moments earlier. In fact, they were still open because Feyd was holding them for you with an annoyed expression.

“Sorry,” you smiled awkwardly at him when you finally were both inside the fortress. Here, where colours were visible, he didn’t seem to gain much more colours himself. His skin seemed to be a bit less white and his eyes were the same shade as Marie’s but that was it. He was still mostly black-and-white.

“You don’t have to befriend her,” Feyd-Rautha announced. “She is a bastard,” he explained. “If we don’t produce any heirs, she might become my na-baroness but I don’t think this will happen. Noblemen here wouldn’t accept a female leader anyway,” he shrugged his arms.

“How can you say that?” You asked him. “Let me be clear, I do not know much of you or your history but I do not accept the way you treat your daughter or me. Why is she not significant? Why was her existence hidden from me? Are women only objects here? Pawns? I am aware we hold less power on Giedi Prime but I was not told that women have no rights here,” you crossed your arms.

“Do not be daft,” Feyd-Rautha rolled his eyes and leaned on the black marble pillar inside the hall. “After my seventeenth birthday a Bene Gesserit witch used me to manipulate the bloodlines. It is an accident I barely remember,” Feyd-Rautha said. “I don’t like being out of control and at that moment I had none. She became pregnant with my child and wanted to raise Marie as another Bene Gesserit witch. Some sisters of that order are more loyal to the Harkonnens than their convent – that’s how I found out about my daughter. I killed her mother and her husband. I wanted to kill the girl, too, but I took her in to raise her as a warrior instead. After all, she’s my blood,” he shrugged his arms.

Both him and Marie tended to shrug their arms a lot – showing off how little they cared about literally everything. It was quite… adorable.

“You changed your mind because she is your child,” you pointed out, pretending not to be moved by the story. In fact, it terrified you that he admitted so openly to murder the mother of his child, although you were aware of the rumour that he had killed his own mother.

It would be very easy for him to kill you off, too, eventually…

“She is,” Feyd-Rautha nodded. “Us, Harkonnens, we have different ways of raising children than you, that’s it.”

“I don’t want to interfere or change your ways,” you explained. “But I refuse to pretend she doesn’t exist. As you said, she is a bastard and a girl, therefore she is no threat to me or any children I will bear,” you announced and he raised his eyebrows as if he was a little surprised and impressed.

As usual – he shrugged his arms.

“Can I spend time with her alone? Can I touch her?” You asked, more carefully now. “I feel like this child is not being hugged enough.”

“Harkonnens don’t hug,” Feyd growled.

“I just don’t understand why–”

“You can,” he interrupted you. “As my future wife, you can but the rule exists for a reason. It is to protect her and I don’t want you to extend the exception to other people as well.”

“Protect her from what?” You asked, furrowing your brows.

“My uncle,” he answered and a long silence occurred.

“I see…” You took a deep breath in. “I… Well, it was nice to meet you, finally,” you admitted. “I must go now, the wedding takes place in a week from now and I have lots of preparations.”

“Don’t lock your bedroom doors in the evening,” he whispered and you raised your eyebrow at him. “I’ll claim you tonight,” he said casually.

“E-excuse me?” You asked.

“You heard me well, pet,” he smirked.

“The wedding takes place in a–”

“The fuck do I care about the wedding? You’re mine now,” Feyd shrugged his arms and walked away, leaving you scared and confused.

What if he claims you and then throws you away, accusing you of being spoiled and unfit for marriage? That would be a disaster.

Marie came to your chambers in the afternoon and you watched her go through your things with a smile on your lips. Perhaps it was a little rude of her to be so nosy but you were simply glad there was at least one ally in this fortress that you had. And, for some reason, despite her odd nature, you found her rather amusing and adorable.

“I’m glad your father allowed us to spend time together,” you said.

“Yes, it is now only you and him I am allowed to be alone with,” she pointed out. “It’s as if you were my mummy,” she said and your smile dropped when you remembered what he did to hers.

Did she know about it?

“My mother’s dead, you know?” She asked. “She was a bad person and daddy had to kill her.”

“I… I know,” you admitted. “Don’t you miss her?”

“I don’t remember her,” Marie shrugged her arms. “And she was a bad person. Bad people shouldn’t live,” she explained.

“Who defines bad, Marie?” You asked, curiously. After all, it was an odd thing to hear such a thing coming from a Harkonnen.

“Daddy does,” she nearly rolled her eyes, as if you were asking silly questions. “What is that?” She pointed at a white veil you had brought with yourself from your homeplanet.

“It’s for the wedding,” you explained.

“They’re going to laugh at you,” Marie chuckled. “Brides don’t wear such things here.”

“Oh? And what do they wear?” You asked.

“Different types of veils but not this… Whatever that is. And the colour is awful as well,” she pointed out.

“It’s lace, Marie. And it’s white,” you explained, patiently.

“White is a colour for servants,” she said and threw the veil away as you realised that, in fact, most white clothes you had seen on Giedi Prime were on the backs of servants.

“I don’t want people to laugh at me,” you admitted. “Will you help me?”

“Sure, I can. You’re going to be an Empress one day, you can’t look ridiculous!” Marie exclaimed and you chuckled. “What? You think I’m funny?” She asked.

“No, darling, I think you’re quite adorable,” you admitted and opened your arms.

She hesitantly approached you and you hugged her but she remained stiff as if she didn’t know what was happening. Perhaps Feyd was right and the Harkonnens didn’t hug.

“Why are you calling me these things?” She asked and you furrowed your brows. “Honey, darling, angel… I don’t understand,” Marie said.

“That’s how we address children where I am from,” you explained. “They’re nice things to say.”

“But I am not nice,” Marie protested and winced a little.

“Yes, you are, darling,” you assured her. “You’re a very nice little girl. A strong warrior, too, I am sure. But these two don’t have to contradict each other.”

“I would have to ask daddy about that,” Marie sighed and went back to looking through your things.

You watched her with a smile although there was a sense of dread rising with each given moment as well since you could feel the time passing and inevitably bringing you closer to the nighttime.

Feyd-Rautha was incredibly precise. In fact, a week later, on the day of your wedding ceremony, you were already carrying his son – the unnaturally advanced Harkonnen technology was able to confirm that on the night before.

You were both shocked and impressed by that and also by the fact Feyd was announcing that to everyone already during the wedding ceremonies and all those noble Harkonnens were cheering proudly instead of accusing you of infamy and adultery.

You wore red for that day – and so did little Marie. You were holding her hand by the wedding table and she was telling you funny facts about the scary Harkonnen noblemen surrounding you, which made you feel less intimidated by them. It was obvious to everyone that she had grown attached to you very quickly and everyone wondered why but you didn’t need to be a genius to know. You were coming from a planet where children were being treated well, like children instead of small adults being trained, and you knew they needed attention and affection to feel safe and loved. You were giving Marie all the things no one had ever been giving to her.

Whatever Feyd was thinking of that you had no idea. He was mostly excited about his son and heir you were pregnant with. As a husband he was treating you in a similar way he treated his daughter – he was rather indifferent but showed that he cared at times.

Oddly, you weren’t scared of him – you could sense that he was treating you like a business partner in a sense. After all, the two of you would rule the whole empire together one day. You had to work it out somehow.

During your wedding party, he left you for a while for a meeting with his uncle and a strange Bene Gesserit woman that came from an outer world. You thought she was a usual wedding guest but apparently she also visited to deal with some business here and you tried to hide the fact that it annoyed you how you were left out of this meeting.

“What do you think this might be about?” You asked Marie.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged her arms. “I’m technically a Bene Gesserit, too, you know?”

“But you’re not being trained, are you?”

“No, daddy doesn’t allow that. They’re bad people,” she shrugged her arms. “Can we eat more cake?”

“Absolutely!” You smiled widely.

Two weeks later you were in Marie’s chambers, reading history books to her. Bored in the fortress and not being given any real duties because of your blessed state, you replaced half of Marie’s tutors and you were teaching her yourself whatever you were able to.

She seemed to be quite distracted on that day, though. She was lazily playing with her dagger and looking out of the window as you were reading to her about other planets.

“How do colours look like outside Giedi Prime?” She asked suddenly. “I mean, outside. If I were on a different planet,” she explained.

“You don’t remember?” You asked and put the book down. Marie shook her head. “Well, it’s very colourful. Depends on a planet, of course, some are mostly green, some mostly yellow, some mostly blue. Some have lots of forests, some have lots of water and some have lots of sand.”

“Why?”

“It depends on temperatures and minerals that can be found on those planets. When our ancestors were colonising the universe, they were shaping the planets to inhabit them but there were limits within each of them. For example, you cannot make Giedi Prime look like Arrakis because of how different their suns are,” you explained. “Why are you asking, darling? Would you like to go and see a different planet? I might convince your daddy to let us leave to my homeplanet after the baby is born. Would you like to go with me?”

Marie shrugged her arms and looked away again.

“Will my brother look more like you or my daddy?” She asked.

“I certainly hope he will be a mix of both. Like you are a mix, are you not, honey? You have beautiful hair,” you smiled at her and caressed the blonde braid.

“I hope he has hair, too,” Marie smiled but her eyes remained sad. “Do you think he would like me?”

“Would? I’m sure he will adore you, Marie!” You caressed her cheek and her lower lip trembled. “What is it?”

“They haven’t told you,” she sniffled and you shook your head, feeling your heart sink deeper into your chest. “That Bene Gesserit lady who came when you married my daddy… She was here for me. They will take me soon with them and train me at their convent.”

“But you said your daddy didn’t want that,” you gasped.

“Well, now he has you and the baby,” she shrugged her arms but it was obvious that she cared.

She cared very much.

“Marie, I won’t let them take you away,” you cupped her face and looked deep into her bright eyes, so identical to her father’s. Yet so different – they weren’t so cold and empty like his.

Now, they were scared.

“How?” She asked, sadly. “You have no real power here,” she reminded you and it felt like a slap that even a child could see the truth about your position.

Usually, you were only seeing Feyd in the evenings inside the chambers you were now sharing with him as his wife. He hadn’t particularly asked for it but you had just moved in there and he hadn’t said anything negative about it.

You were sitting up in your bed when he entered and took a look at you before starting to take off his gear.

“How’s my son?” He asked.

“Is that all you care about?” You asked, angrily. Your unusual answer surprised him, so he turned his head around with furrowed brows.

“What else should I care about?” He inquired.

“You have a daughter as well,” you reminded him and he sighed, looking away again and going back to undressing himself. “I know the way she was conceived was far from ideal but it is not her fault.”

“I have told you not to bother yourself with her,” he mumbled out.

“What?!” You jumped out of the bed and crossed your arms. “If the child I’m carrying was a girl, would you treat her the same?”

“It would be different,” Feyd rolled his eyes. “I didn’t want Marie to spend time with you because my uncle said she could ruin our union. Apparently, he wasn’t wrong but in the opposite way. She’s not ruining our union because you hate her. She’s ruining it because you started to think you’re her mother,” Feyd growled angrily. “But she has no mother.”

“Because you killed her!” You were growing frustrated with his logic. “And now you’re sending her away! You said you hated Bene Gesserit witches! You told Marie that they were bad people and now you’re sending her away to them!”

“Has she told you?” Feyd was annoyed by that as he stepped out of his gear, wearing nothing but his underwear now. He never bothered with wearing pyjamas to bed, so he just passed you by and laid on the bed with a relaxed sigh, as if you were not in the middle of an argument.

The funny fact about him was that he couldn’t really argue – he wasn’t used to people disagreeing with him. Not people who were of lower status than him at least. And, as his wife, you unfortunately had a lower status because you were a woman.

“I don’t want Marie to go. She has to stay,” you stood above him with your arms still crossed.

“I am her father, the decision is mine. I didn’t want to send her there but they came here, they explained they needed her. She’s a part of their program. If we don’t listen to them, Bene Gesserit might turn their backs on us and we need their support if we’re going to take over the imperial throne,” Feyd explained and reached his hand out to touch your belly a little. “The medic said you shouldn’t get too emotional in your state, so calm down.”

But him telling you to calm down had an opposite effect, obviously.

“She’s not a part of a program!” You slapped his hand away, watching his eyes darken with anger. “She’s a child, Feyd! And fuck those Bene Gesserit witches! Fuck them, we don’t need them!”

“We need a religious institution to control the masses,” Feyd’s jaw clenched.

“Then we’ll create our own religion to replace theirs. We’ll turn people against them. I don’t want to be an Empress of an Empire I don’t have full control of. The Bene Gesserit are too dangerous and too independent.”

“Not if Marie becomes their Reverend Mother one day,” Feyd smirked.

Oh, so they already had a plan. The Baron must have come up with it. Men loved to plan out women’s whole lives like that.

“If I was her, I wouldn’t help us even a bit. I would hate us for sending me away,” you spat out, angrily.

“Such a vengeful little thing, just like your father, hm? Treacherous little snake, you would turn your back on everyone just for the sake of it,” Feyd moved up and now his face was so close to yours that your noses were nearly brushing each other.

“And you’re any different?” You asked but you answered before he could. “Yes, you are. You are different because I could never be so indifferent towards my own child. She loves you, how can you not see that? She calls you daddy, she mimics you, she wants to be like you. She trains with you, she cheers when you’re in the arena, she’s so proud of you. She believes every single fucking thing you say to her and some of those are malicious lies. Do you even realise how lucky you are to have her in your life?” You asked and kept looking at him with anger.

Feyd went silent, though, and you could see his facial features softened a little.

“It is not something I’ve been trained for,” he admitted.

“What?”

“Being a father,” he admitted. “I’ve been trained to kill and endure pain. To rule and obey my uncle. That is all I know. I always assumed that my future wife would raise my children. I don’t know how to do that.”

And in that moment you pitied him but you knew he would hate your pity, so you tried not to show it.

“I know,” you reached out to cup his face and he flinched just like Marie had flinched in the beginning. However, he allowed you to touch him and you cracked a smile while caressing his cheeks softly. “I know, darling, but I am here now and I can be a mother to her. I want to be a mother to her. If you send her away now, I will never forgive you. And neither will she,” you whispered.

“Some things I cannot control. They demand her to go with them,” he swallowed thickly, looking up at you with mesmerised eyes. You enjoyed that feeling.

“They demand? They demand you? You’re Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. You can tell them to go fuck themselves. If you don’t, that will mean that you won’t be able to protect our children either. I thought I married a strong man who would lead a whole universe one day. A ruthless leader, no compromise,” you caressed his cheeks some more, knowing perfectly well that you were manipulating him in the process.

“You’re different than I’ve expected,” Feyd confessed, his lips now brushing yours in a way that was making you feel tingly.

“I’ve heard that before,” you smiled and leaned in to finally close the gap between you two with a passionate kiss. You hoped he would listen to you.

Only time would tell.

You were with Marie in the courtyard when you saw the mysterious ship arrive and land nearby the fortress. You recognised it immediately – it belonged to the Bene Gesserit order.

Marie looked up at you with big, scared eyes. She could be a bold little girl with a dagger attached to her hip but in times like this she was just a terrified and lonely little baby. You didn’t want her to feel this way. Not now and not ever.

“I won’t let them take you,” you mouthed out but she looked down, unsurely. 

You held her hand and squeezed it tightly to walk her back inside and go to her room but on your way you were stopped by a servant telling you that Countess Marie was expected in the great hall where Baron Harkonnen resided.

You nodded at the servant and changed your route to go to the place where they were expecting Marie. However, you wouldn’t leave her alone there. No, you would go with her and try to defend her as much as you could. 

The room was huge, dark and nearly empty. The Baron was floating above everyone maliciously, connected to all sorts of machines and devices that were increasing in size with each given day. Speaking of his days – they were surely counted. Both you and Feyd couldn’t wait for the one when he would simply die.

Feyd was there as well, with his hands crossed behind his back. He looked nervous when you and Marie arrived as some old Bene Gesserit woman was standing there and staring at the little girl.

“There she is, Marie Fenring, Margot’s daughter,” the Bene Gesserit greeted her and Marie clinged to the black skirt of your dress.

“She’s a Harkonnen,” Feyd pointed out.

“Such a shame your wife is carrying a son. Your combination was unexpected and unplanned in our program but it certainly is interesting,” the woman continued. “Such varieties can enrich our system.”

“What are you doing here?” You asked, rudely, as you put your hand on Marie’s shoulder.

“Forgive the young ones,” Baron Harkonnen coughed as he mumbled out. “My nephew and his wife need a lesson or two about manners,” he tried to laugh. “Of course, you can take the little one with you. Let’s get it over with.”

“No, she cannot. I do not allow that,” you took a step ahead to hide Marie behind you.

“You know I don’t need permission, na-baroness,” the Bene Gesserit smirked. “Don’t make me use The Voice on you when you’re in such a blessed state,” she added with irony.

“If you do that, I’ll kill you,” Feyd barked at her. “If you touch my wife or my daughter, you’re dead,” he threatened.

“Calm down, boy!” His uncle scolded him.

“I am far too important and powerful to be scared of you. Do you think you can kill off a Bene Gesserit sister like me with no consequences?” She laughed at him as she raised her eyebrow cockily.

“That is exactly what I can do as your Emperor,” he tilted his head.

“You’re not one yet, are you? And you won’t be one without our help,” the woman was growing angry but her frustration was aimed at your husband instead of you now.

“We don’t need your help,” you moved closer to Feyd and Marie reached out her little hand towards her daddy. He didn’t hold it, so she clung to his suit with it as she was holding onto your skirt with the other. “My husband and I do not need help from anyone and the days of your sisterhood are being counted just as much as the Baron’s or the Emperor’s. Nobody is going to tell us what we can or have to do. The new order is coming and it’s coming soon,” you stated.

“Such insolence! My Baron, have you heard that?!” The Bene Gesserit looked behind her to look at your husband’s uncle but he was coughing uncontrollably and the servants were already helping him to float out of the room.

She realised that Baron Harkonnen wasn’t in power anymore. You straightened your back when she laid her eyes back at you.

“You do not have friends amongst the Harkonnens anymore,” Feyd said, calmly.

“Unless you cooperate,” you added with a smile.

“Cooperate how?” She asked.

“Let’s start with not taking our daughter away,” you said without thinking and then you felt your cheeks heating up when you realised you had called Marie your daughter.

You hoped it wouldn't make the little Countess or her father angry.

“I see,” the Bene Gesserit woman nodded and clasped her hands. “You’ve adapted quickly. Not many people believed you would survive here but I was one of the few who knew your father’s true nature. We knew that if you were at least half a viper he is, you would adapt here very well.”

“Oh, thank you,” you gave her a fake, charming smile.

“I know that some of my sisters are more loyal to the Harkonnens than our cause,” the woman revealed with a mysterious smile as if she was threatening you with controversial secrets.

“I suggest befriending them then,” you nodded with a smile. “ Quickly, if I were you.”

She left after that, clearly uncomfortable. You could see how she was itching to use The Voice on you but she had to be terrified of Feyd’s threats.

When the heavy doors closed behind her, you felt Marie’s hold onto your skirt loosening. You looked down and realised that Feyd was holding her hand after all – you had no idea when he had begun squeezing it but it warmed your heart.

“Thank you…” Marie’s lower lip trembled.

“Harkonnens don’t cry,” Feyd scolded her.

“Yes, they do,” you crouched down and hugged little Marie. She wrapped her arms around you and you caressed her hair. “Little Harkonnen girls can do whatever they want,” you added and patted her back.

“As long as it’s something father and mother allow,” Feyd added and you cracked a smile. He seemed to be fine with you becoming Marie’s mother.

“Yes, as long as mummy and daddy approve,” you moved away a bit and fixed Marie’s hair.

“Will you really be my mummy?” Marie asked with eyes full of tears.

“Of course, honey. My sweet angel, my darling,” you kissed her cheeks.

“What if I become a bad person like my real mother?” She asked and you went silent for a while. You didn’t know what to say to that.

“You won’t,” Feyd put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re not her,” he assured her and she smiled.

A maid interrupted you all as she was looking for Marie because her tutor had been waiting for her. So, you wiped your girl’s cheeks from tears and sent her away with the maid so she could attend her class.

“What if she finds out the truth one day?” You asked Feyd.

“What truth?” He squinted his eyes.

“That her mother wasn’t exactly evil. That you didn’t have to kill her, it was just the fact that your ego was hurt so much because you had been used like thousands of noble men before you,” you teased and caressed your belly to remind him of your pregnancy in case he would get angry.

“Oh, please,” Feyd laughed, though. He approached you and stood so close that his nose brushed with yours. He liked to show you affection like this, you had realised that lately. Rubbing your nose with his carefully as if he was an animal sniffing the scent of his mate. He was an animal in many ways, after all. But you would domesticate him, of that you were sure.

Just like his daughter, he just needed a little attention and affection.

“She won’t mind,” he assured you. “She’s going to be my daughter raised by you. Brutality and treachery won’t make her flinch,” he added proudly and you chuckled before caressing his cheeks gently.

“Why should they?” You whispered and kissed him lovingly.

You were sure now that by his side you could feel safe and he would protect you and your family even if it was someone as powerful as the Bene Gesserit to threaten you. 

MASTERLIST

[hidden-poet]

Outlaw

Summary: After nearly a year of mystery presents, your gift giver finally reveals himself to be none other then the outlaw Billy-the-kid.

AN: Okay, you caught me, I don't know how to play poker.

It started one morning with a pair of beautiful gloves left at your doorstep. They were still in the box that the shopkeeper sent the purchaser home in. But when you went to the convenience store, Lewis the owner would not tell you who left the gift. 

Who knows, he said, lots of people buy gloves. He cant keep track of every purchase. He would not look you in the eye, nor was he unable to keep himself from his work. 

With clear intent he did not want to talk to you about it, you left him. He was clearly worried about something, you shouldn’t have bothered him with such a silly task. It was a nice gift. You should focus on being thankful for it. 

You made a point to wear them often to let the gift giver know you liked them. No one ever stepped forward to claim such a nice gesture. 

The next gift was from out of town. A gold wrist watch. 

Lewis would never stock anything so grand. Not for the small town of Westfield. 

It gave you another clue to who the secret gift giver could be. 

Still no one sprang to mind.

Every month a new gift would turn up. On your twentieth birthday, a note was finally left. ‘Happy birthday’ it read. You could tell whoever wrote it did so with care. The writing was messy but there were clear attempts of trying to be neat. 

You knew no one with such handwriting. The daming clue only confusing you further. 

The letter came with a gold bracelet and field picked flowers. You recognized the flowers from the meadow just over the hill. The person must have come east. 

It drove you crazy not knowing who it could be. More so, that they visited often and yet you had never caught sight of them. You tried staying up. But you never knew when the stranger would come, and they always seemed to know when you were asleep. 

You put the bracelet on, keeping the note in the draw of your vanity. Your father wanted you to sell the gifts to help pay for things on the farm but you refused. You would never disrespect the gift giver in that way. 

You would hide the gifts from your father. He only knew about a few. You would wake early to ensure that he never saw anything too valuable. He would soon stop demanding and just start taking. 

Seeing as you got no gift from your father, he offered to allow you to accompany him to the tavern for his nightly drink. Although you knew you would sit there for hours with only one cup of tea, you agreed to go if only for an excuse to wear your new bracelet that you kept hidden under your riding glove. 

Your father was a tavern regular, nearly everyone knew him as he entered the doors. 

A few said hello to you in passing as you made your way to the bar. Your father carried on without you going to the private booth where his rowdy and drunk friends were stored away. 

You had hoped he would first buy you a cup of tea before disappearing but he had to wait for you to clean up after dinner and get ready which made him late in his usual routine. 

The bartender greets you but you hop away from the counter so he could serve people with money. 

From the corner of your eye, you could see William Bonney staring at you from his card game. Joel Humprhy sat across from him who you knew well from your school years. 

A familiar face was a pleasant sight so you bee lined over to him, and away from the other men who had begun to draw closer. 

“Miss Y/n”, Billy greeted, rising from his seat, and pulling out the wooden chair next to him so you could sit, “how are you this evening?”. 

“Very well, thank you” you smile at him as you sit, and he returns one back almost shyly. 

“Gentlemen”, you greet the table, “Apologies for interrupting your game”.

“Good evening, beautiful”, Joel greeted, tilting his hat towards you. 

“Would you like to play?” Billy asked. 

He throws his cards in the middle like it was already decided. 

“Redraw the cards, Henry”. The men at the table groan, but submit the cards back. 

“Thank you, Mr Bonney but I will watch. I’d prefer to waste my money on a sweet then lose it to you on a card game”, you say. 

“Come on, I’ll put in for you”, he offers. 

“Thank you, Mr Bonney, but I must really turn down your offer. I solom follow the game”

Billy ignores you, throwing two lots of coins into the pot. 

“Deal won’t you, henry”, Billy spoke in a soft voice. 

He shuffles his chair closer to you, his leg almost touching yours.

“I’ll help you”, he offers, “better you’re here next to me then over by the bar by yourself”. 

He nods for you to pick up your card, and you do, showing him the hand you had been dealt. 

“Fold”, the man to you left called, throwing his cards down. 

“Bet”, Joel declares. He winks at you as he throws two more coins in the middle. 

You look at Billy, wondering what it all meant. You couldn’t remember the hierarchy  of cards.

‘I’ll fold, you keep going” Billy orders. Watching him turn his own cards in and yet throwing more money down rose your anxiety levels.

“Well darling”, Joel drawled from across the table, “what now?”

“She aint your darling”, billy shot back. He shuffles closer and gently organises your cards in rank. 

“We’ll get rid of these two”, he whispers in your ear.

The two cards on the end are tugged from the deck and given back to the dealer who gives you two more. Billy organises them once more while Joel makes the same move. 

Joel whistles upon receiving his two new cards. You feel Billy’s breathy chuckle against your shoulder. 

“What do you say to a rise, Billy?” Joel asks, “three for three”. 

Billy eyes turn from the cards to you. You never realised how blue they were. 

“What do you think, darling? Can we take him?” Billy asks in a playful manner. 

You turn back to your cards. Three of a kind. You were pretty sure it wasn’t a bad hand from memory. Joel’s whistle threw you off, it was perforative.Merely a joke to get Billy to laugh. 

You felt shy under the mens stare. The red of your cheeks burning as you slowly and unsurely nodded your head. 

Billy reached for his pile and threw three more coins down. 

“Alright, show em’” the dealer demanded. 

Joel whistled once more, slapping his cards down on the table with a grin. 

Billy forces your hand down on the table and you examine the difference. 

“Flush!” Joel announces. 

“What does that mean?”, you ask Billy. 

“It means, Joel is a god damn cheat”, he says looking at his friend with a smile before turning back to you, “and you’ve lost”.

“Oh”, your cheeks turned red from embarrassment. It was a quick defeat and Billy’s money was now being scooped into another pile. 

“It’s alright”, Billy tells you, “just part of the game”. 

He throws the cards back and they are reshuffled and distributed once more.

“Oh no” you tell Henry who plays you a hand. 

You go to push them back to the dealer but Billy’s hand comes down and flattens over yours. 

“Game aint over yet”, he says. His tone was almost disappointed. 

“Yeah”, Joel agreed from across the table, “You aint going anywhere while Billy’s money’s on the line”.

Joel laughed, slapping the table with so much force it shook from his thumping. 

“Shut up now would ya”, Billy growled.

“My father is due shortly. I’ll just watch”, you state. 

Billy’s hand remained on top of yours, refusing to budge as you tried to push the card back. 

His blue eyes bore down at you making you feel unsteady. 

“Okay”, you tell Billy in a soft voice, “one more round”, you relent. 

His hand almost instantly lifts off yours. It was a relief when his eyes went from you to his cards. 

“Alright boys, and the fine Miss Y/n” Joel tilts his hat in your direction as he spoke, “Lets hear what ya got”. 

“Damn you, henry! Thats the second hand”, the man at the table complained, throwing his cards down. 

“Vern, a royal flush wouldn’t help your ass”, Henry argued back, “Now if you’re folded sit there and be quiet”. 

The man grumbles but does as he is told and the table places their bets. 

Joel raises once more with the same smirk. Billy undeterred meets the bet. He then takes a peak at yours, three of a kind. 

“She’ll play on”, he announces to the group, adding money to the pot for you. 

Joel pushes his hat up from his head, and sits up straighter at the news. 

“Yew, that’s what we like to hear”, Joel cheers now more focused on his cards. 

The men trade in cards, and you follow suit taking the two odds from your deck and passing them back to Henry. 

“That’s right”, Billy praises. 

Two more cards are given back to you, but they make no difference to your hand. 

 Joel, however, is pleased with his. Making a large gleeful cry and raising the bet. 

Billy scoffs, unbothered by the mans display. 

“Hope you brought your purse tonight, Billy”, Joel hollard. 

“You ever shut up?” Billy playfully asks, throwing more money in, “Your big mouth gives you away. I’ll raise two sheilings”. 

It signaled your turn, but you were unable to make a play. 

It wasn’t your money wasted. You think about folding, Billy wouldn’t be forced to meet the best, but his last two raises would be lost. 

As if Billy could sense your hesitation, he drew closer, necessarily bending so his head was at shoulder height while he stared at your cards.  

“Raise” he told you. 

The men around the table looked at you expecting the answer from your own lips. 

“Raise” you re-affirmed. 

Billy threw more money into the centre. The clanging sound making you shudder at the wealth that could be lost. 

“God damn you, Billy” Joel threw his card down, his actions speaking for him, “fold”. 

Billy smiles, from the corner of his eye you see him look at you before scraping his chair along the floor and angling himself across from you. The last two players of the game. Only one with knowledge of what they were doing. 

“Well Miss, what will it be?”, he asks you, pulling his cards close to his chest. 

Billy already knew what cards you had. You thought his question was a joke. 

“Raise” you joke. 

The men at the table laugh but Billy lets out a low whistle, looking at his money on the table. 

“How much?” he questions. 

“It all” you jest again uninterested, but Billy refuses to take it as a joke. 

‘Well what would that leave me to counter with?”, he asks. 

You eye him. He had his gun kept firmly on his hip. He wouldn’t give that up even as a joke. Your eyes travel up from his boots and cotton pants, over his faded blue shirt and overalls, to the hat he always wore. 

“You hat” you announce, “throw your hat in the pot if you think your cards are that good”. 

You attempt to laugh it off with the rest of the group but Billy’s hat lands in the centre. 

“Alright, honey, lay them flat”, he demands. 

You roll your eyes and lay your cards down for all to see. 

Billy doesn’t show his, instead just throws them face down and drags the pile towards you. 

His hat is placed on your head, falling just over your eyes. 

‘‘Think about all the candy you can buy with that”, Billy calls as the money stops in front of you. 

The men hollar at the news, drawing the attention of the saloon. 

Your father pokes his head out from the private booths to see you sitting at the poker table. It ended the night in an instant. Your father storms out, not bothering to bid goodbye to his friends. 

You throw Billys hat in his lap as you stand quickly. 

Billy rises also, coming face to face with your father. 

“Sir, it was my fault”, he got out before your father could say a word. 

Your father was always strict. He had a sure tell of anger, his neck would turn a bright red color as it did now. 

Your arm is taken in a harsh grip. Billy’s eyes darken and his face stills into a scowl. 

“What are you men thinking involving a young woman in your games”, your father scolded. 

“Ah, we were just keeping her entertained”, Joel reasoned. 

“A poker table aint no place for women”, your father fought. 

“But the bar by herself is fine”, Billy now said. His fierce gaze aimed at the old man. 

Your father is silent as he gains the attention of Billy. There were rumors about who he was before Westfeild, that your father would rather not be put to test. 

“I’ll be taken my daughter home now, gentlemen”, your arm is pulled away from the table. 

You glance behind you as you make your way from the bar. Billy had not returned to his game like the others, but remained stagnant in his anger. 

Your father gives you an earful as he pulls you through the tavern. You knew it would be a while before he invited you back again. It would be only farm work and walks to town for supplies until he forgot your trespass. 

The grip on your arm is left as your father unties the horses from their stake, but his mouth remains reprimanding you while his hands worked. 

A reprieve was given when the bar keeper yelled out of the back door to your father that he had forgotten his hat. 

Your father didn’t bring a hat, but the bar keeper would not let him go without getting it first. 

Your father relents after a series of back and forth, leaving you to mind the horses while he went back to the booth for his imaginary hat. 

The night was warm so you didn’t mind standing out in the near dark by yourself. You pat your horse, knowing you wouldn’t be allowed to ride him for at least the next week. 

Your father could be mean in his scritness. Some of his consequences didn’t relate to the crime. 

You wondered why your father got so upset. Women often watched men play poker. The wealthy women sometimes played. It was hardly scandalous. 

As the backdoor shut after your father, a dark, tall figure emerges from the side of the taven, coming across to you. 

At first it frightened you, but as he got closer you recognized the figure as Billy’s. A harmless creature. 

“Miss y/n, are you alright?”, he asks as he approaches. 

You smile at Billy, just faintly making him out in the dark. 

“Fine, Mr Bonney. Thank you. My father can sometimes be over protective”, you explain, “Ever since my mother died, I am all he’s got left”.

“He still shouldn’t have grabbed you like that”, Billy reasonsed, “you weren’t doing nothing wrong. Just having a little fun. I wouldn’t have let them take advantage of you”.

His familiar way of talking was surprising. You had spoken to him a few times at church, smiled at him in passing, but nothing to warrant such a friendly way of talking. You wouldn’t count him amongst the strangers but certainly not amongst the friends. 

“Thank you for your concern, Mr Bonney, but it’s unnecessary. My father-he”, you think about finishing the sentence. 

He wasn’t always like that? He has a heavy hand but not always cruel? He was your father and could treat you how he saw fit?

“Is your arm okay?” Billy redirects you from your topic. 

“Fine”, you breathe, although you were sure to wake to find bruises. 

You saw Billys head nod in the darkness before he reached into his pocket and pulled something from it.

“Your winnings” Billy accounces, holding up a small purse.

You laugh at him when he takes his hat from his head and offers it out to you alongside the money. 

“To take a mans’ money and hat would leave him with little else. No, I shall leave you with both, Mr Bonney. Thank you for letting me play”. 

“Well”, he says, opening a purse and taking a few coins out, “at least take enough to buy yourself tea and cake, for your birthday”. 

He holds out the coins between his fingers but you don’t take it. 

“How did you know it was my birthday?’, you question him. 

“I must have heard your daddy say it”, he says after a pause. 

“Go on, take it”, he urges, stressing the money in his hand. 

You open your palm to him and the coins drop in. A few coins would be helpful.

“Thank you, Mr Bonney, that’s very generous”, you praise. 

“Would you stop calling me Mr Bonney? I aint that much older than you”, he protests. 

“If you stop calling me Miss”, you conter. 

Billy places his hand on his belt, you could see a faint smirk across his face that revealed itself when his head raised while nodding. 

“I reckon I can do that”, he agrees. 

“Billy!” the tavern keep yelled out the backdoor before quickly disappearing back inside. 

You now realise Billy was behind the hat debacle. 

“I was hoping to see you again”, Billy admits. 

 “I am not too sure my father will allow me out of the estate for a while”. Your blood now raced thinking about your father catching sight of you with Billy. The tavern had yelled out a warning he was coming. 

“Well I can come to you”, Billy pushes. 

“Billy, my father”, you urge. 

He takes a step back from you, retreating further into the darkness. 

“I’ll be taking my leave then. Goodnight, Miss Y/n. Happy birthday”, his voice was low and quiet.

You wanted to reassure him that if it was up to you things would be different. To somehow spare his feelings after he had been so kind to you. 

But as your father emerges from the back door, Billy disappears into the darkness. 

Your father is in a better mood, carrying a hat that did not belong to him. 

You never mention Billy to him, but as you go to bed that night, you clutch his coins in your hand. 

The next month a brand new hat, and a pouch of sweets are the gift left at your doorstep. 

It crosses your mind that the gift giver could be Billy. He had given himself away by giving a gift so personal. Or could your gift giver be someone else who overheard you at the tavern?

Who else? Billy has been so friendly towards you as if he knew you better than he actually did. Could the mystery be solved?

You leave the gifts on the doorstep. Suddenly, it all felt scary. Billy had come to Westfield for a new life, but his reputation preceded him. He was still wanted for murder in three cities. He would be hunted and hanged if not for his gun skills. 

Westfield had accepted him after proving his usefulness in running off the unwanted. His kind and gentle nature often had people forgetting that the name Billy- the -kid held more weight then an anecdotal nickname. 

You had not forgotten. Billy was handsome but for a husband you wanted someone placid and meek. The opposite of your father. 

You now felt silly for allowing him to continue for as long as you did. You were blind sided by the gifts, and now you have placed yourself in a tight situation. 

You decide to sell the gifts and give the money to your father like he wanted. It now felt wrong to keep the gifts given by an outlaw. 

Lewis the shopkeeper was glad to take them off your hands. Your father was glad to have the money, and in turn, was less harsh with you. 

Your punishment was over, and you were now allowed back your freedom. 

You took it with liberty. Glad to be away from your home estate. It was late afternoon when you were returning home. Your father would complain about a late dinner. But perhaps with his new wealth, he may have taken to the tavern and would leave you in peace. 

The sun was setting past the mountains, you quicken your pace before dark but as you race past the school, you feel an arms snake around your waist, and a large hand clamp around your mouth. 

Before you could react you were pressed against the wall of the school, hidden out of sight. 

Billy stood in front of you, keeping his forearm across your chest to keep you in place. He looked angry but spoke in a calm manner. 

“Making me buy them twice was rude”, he criticized, planting the new hat that was left on your doorstep on your head. 

“So it was you”, you confirmed. 

“What were you doing selling the gifts? They were for you”, he scolded. 

His face was mere inches from yours. With his hand now free from the gift, he repositions himself so either hand was on the wall by the side of your face. 

“My father is expecting me”, you say instead. You attempt to free yourself by going under his arm but he pushes you back to the centre. 

“You think I give a fuck about your father”, his hand lands back against the wall, his fingers so close, they almost brush your skin.

“You know how many times I've thought about killing him?”, Billy admits. You try to avoid his gaze but he follows your head with his own. 

“Every night I left those gifts, I thought about just walking up those steps and killing him while he slept. How easy it would be to find you in the next bedroom. Why?” he accuses in an angry tone, like his feelings were your fault, “I aint that sort of man so why when it comes to you. Do I feel that way?”.

“I know exactly what sort of man you are. You should ask the towns gossips, they can paint you a pretty good picture of Billy- the- kid”, you provoke. 

You felt angry that you had been fooled. That so many of the townspeople had been fooled too. You believed people could change, you were kind to Billy at first for that reason. While others shunned his background, you encouraged people to  allow him to redeem himself. Now you realise people change but their nature lies in wait.

“I want to be your man”, Billy admits softly, “I can take care of you. Take you away from your father. He wouldn’t lay a hand on you again”. 

You avoid looking at him, casting your gaze to the street in hope there would be someone passing by that you could call to. 

Billy didn’t like this, taking your head in his hand he yanks your face back in his direction and plants a deep kiss on your lips. You push against his broad shoulders and he wraps his arms around your waist once more to bring you tightly against him. 

When he breaks the kiss, he keeps his hold on you so you are still pressed against him. 

“Y/n, I cant keep doing this. Watching from the shadows is driving me crazy. I can’t live like this. I won’t allow you to call on anyone else but me”, he declares. 

“Billy, let go of me”, you tell him, trying to yank yourself from his grip. 

“I aint letting you go until I get the answer I want”, he demands, “say you’ll marry me”. 

“No”, you resolve. Your husband will be gentle and kind. Not a brute and not a murder. 

“Say it”, he demands through gritted teeth. 

“NO” you scream back in his face. You raise your knee into his manhood and he drops his hold on you. 

You stumble forward, attempting to break into a run but your wrist is caught, and Billy slips in pain, tugging you to the ground as he falls. 

As soon as you hit the ground, Billy is crawling on top of you and pinning your hands to the ground with his own. 

“It’s alright, it’s alright”, he tells you over your screaming. 

You kick, attempting to buck him off but he is too heavy. 

“I told you, I aint taking no for an answer. You want Billy-the-kid, alright, well here he is”. 

The click of a gun next to your ear stilled you. You could think of few worse deaths than being shot in an alley. 

“Now get up” he asserts. 

With his body weight slowly peeling off you, you follow him into a standing position with your hands raised in surrender. 

“Billy”, you try.

‘Shut up. Just shut up” he spits, “I’ve watched your father treat you horribly for the past year. Now I couldn’t save my mother from men like him, but I can save you, so just shut up and do as you are told”.

He takes your arm in his spare hand and leads you to the back of the school house where his horse was waiting.  It was a relief when he holstered his gun to untie the reins. He takes the hat that is half falling off your head and shoves it in the side saddle.

“Billy, my father has never hurt me”, you reason with him. He may be a little heavy handed at times, and irresponsible with his wage but to call him someone you needed saving from was a stretch. You wondered if Billy even believed it. 

You watch as he leans against his horse with his eyes closed. His hold no longer on your arm. 

“Get on the horse, Y/n. Or I swear I will, and I’ll ride to your father's house, and kill him where he stands”. 

You pull yourself up on the saddle, and Billy follows suit, taking the reins into his hands and directing his horse out of town. 

You notice the bags tied around the horse, and your belly knots to think that Billy does not intend to return. 

“Billy, where are we going?” you question, as he rides too fast past the boundary of Westfield. 

He doesn’t answer you, causing your mind to race. What would your father think? Would Billy hurt you? Why did he need to leave town?

Your tears pool and drop from your eyes. You had been so stupid to think accepting those gifts would have no consequences. Billy continues riding until he reaches the clearing that would lead to the next town over. At that point he slows his horse to a walking pace and notices your crying. 

“Hey”, he says, placing both reins in one hand so he could brush your tears away. You push your head further away from him, moving away from his touch. 

You could feel him move behind you, reaching down to pull something from his side saddle. 

“Here”, he announces, thrusting a wanted poster in front of you. The sketch of the man was ugly and mean. Scars littered across his face, one directly across his big bushy eyebrow. 

A hefty reward boasted across the bottom and top of the page, speaking of the mans danger. Wanted dead or alive, it said. 

“Montvile. We are going to Montvile”, Billy said, “I have a reliable source who said he passed through there last”.

“You’re going after the reward?”, you gasp. This man was wanted for a series of murders and robberies. The price on his head was a warning more than a incentive. 

“Figure we use the money towards a house. Anywhere you’d like. A few cattle and sheep. That money could give us a new start”.

He takes the poster out of your hands and places it back in its place. 

“Why take me? It’d be quicker to go alone”, you say. 

Billy stops the horse to give weight to his words, “Because I could bear the thought of leaving you. Not for as long as it takes to find him. When you sold my gifts to lewis, I knew it wouldn’t matter if I took you now or when I returned. It was always going to be this way wasn’t it?”.

“Billy, I am sorry”, you cry, “I didn't know it was you”. 

“It’s alright”, he tells you. 

You feel his hands twist you in the saddle, you try your best to follow his wordless hands until you are fully turned around facing him. 

He pulls your hips down back into the saddle and close to him.

“What are you doing?” you ask as he wraps your arms around his torso. 

He takes the reins back into his hands and the horse begins to trot again. 

Your hands dig into the fabric of his vest. Facing backwards meant you were unsteady and although Billy's arms guarded either side of you, you were worried about falling off. 

The feeling of riding forward but looking backward left you feeling sick so you dug your face into his neck to ease the queasiness. You could smell the sweat on his skin. 

“Just rest now. Everything is going to be alright”, he says.

The journey remains like that until night falls completely. You had no idea where you were but Billy seemed to know the path well. Navigating it despite the dark. 

You see nothing for miles, until you come across a small church house with candles lighting the inside. 

Billy halts his horse once more, and unwraps your arms from himself so he could jump down. He reaches up for you and you are grateful to get down. 

“Why are we here?”, you ask him. Would you sleep here tonight under the presence of god?

“Old friend owes me a favour”, he responds. 

You wonder if you could get help. Surely, there would be another apart from Billy’s friend. 

To your dismay, there was only a single preacher, knelt down in prayer. 

Billy greets him in spanish. The men returns in the same. 

He eyes you curiously as billy speaks, making you wonder what Billy was saying. 

The tone of the conversation turns from confused to bewilderment. The men argue in a different language and you stand there hand in hand with Billy trying to figure out what was being said. 

Billy hand goes to his gun, what must have been a warring escapes his lips and the preacher man turns to the alter, grabbing his bible from the podium. 

Billy follows him, dragging you along behind him. 

“What’s going on?”, you say loudly. 

Billy brings you to stand in front of the Preacher next to him, and the man begins to recite something in spanish. 

By the time you figure out its wedding vows, your window to stop it was narrow. 

You step back wanting nothing more than to flee to the exit. Billy yanks you forward again. 

You fight with Billy trying to free your hand from him. When you twist it free, Billy latches on to your arms with both his hands. 

“No, stop it”, you protest. 

You shove him harshly, trying to twist yourself from his hold. The Preacher man continues as you struggle in Billy hold. 

Billy brings you tightly against him so you have less wiggle room. You drop your weight in response and he follows you to the ground where the fight continues. 

The preacher stumbles upon his words but finds them quickly. 

‘Stop” you beg him, reaching out to touch his shoe. 

Billy's hand clamps down on yours and forces it to your chest.In an attempt to break free, you elbow him in the stomach which offers you more movement but no real chance of freedom. 

Billy uses his strength to flip you on your back where he could pin you under his weight. Your hands are pressed into the wooden floor by his hands on your wrists. 

“Está Hecho?” Billy shouts at the Preacher. 

“Si, si”, the Preacher man appeases. He does the sign of the cross. A blessing over yours and Billy's marriage. 

Billy turns back to you, smashing his lips against yours in a quick kiss. Word would circulate through the county. The Preacher would put your names in a log book for all to see. 

The Preacher tries to speak to you in spanish. An apology you guessed from his tone and posture. 

Billy spoke for you while you sobbed on the ground. A marriage under God was binding. Would God recognise a marriage under duress? People would. A preacher had made a vow for you in front of God. you were now bound to Billy. 

“Gracias, Amigo” were Billy’s last words before he picked you up from the ground and carried you out of the church. 

 He jolts you slightly by tensing his arms up and then releasing back into a more comfortable stance. 

“Please stop crying. I aint that bad” he says. 

He lowers you back onto your feet so he could help you back onto his horse. He swings up first and then hoists you up into the same awkward position as before. 

You bury your head into his vest to quieten your cries. What would you tell your father? He would never believe you. 

“Just a few more miles and then we’ll set up camp for the night” he kisses the side of your head before continuing, “Mrs Bonney”. 

[madockisser]

I saw your Valerian analysis and was curious about you describe him as an Unseelie fae. Was that mentioned in the books ? I like that detail though because in the tfota the terms and “unseelie”namd “seelie” aren’t mentioned a lot.

TFOTA: Seelie and Unseelie Fae

hii, no it’s not outright said that Val is unseelie, I’d like to delve into why i think this! I know you didn’t rly ask but here’s my take on the terms unseelie and seelie! (Also pls feel free to add your own takes, I’d really love to hear them!)

I recall when reading- i had NO idea what this meant. BUT. there are many descriptions of these terms. it’s popular amongst fae culture and folklore. What i say below may or may not resonate with you but it’s just what i gathered from reading!!

In my head, i associate it with politics, seelie and unseelie is like a mindset, rather than a court (though courts are described as being either seelie or unseelie). i know that it’s popular to associate seelie with summer and spring courts and unseelie w winter and fall courts but i think the terms can attribute to any fae. just depends on that singular faerie

Note: there may be a reason jude doesn’t really mention these terms in her monologue. I think in her pov, it just doesn’t matter. All the fae are tricksters and mischievous to her. all of them have the potential to hurt her. Seelie or no.

Seelie fae are usually a lot less randomly violent and human hating than Unseelie. Seelie can mostly be peaceful and are the types of faeries that chill out in trees playing lutes and dancing around in circles and stuff. But this doesn’t mean they’re “the good faeries!” they can still be mischievous. they can cause trouble and even go out of their way to harm humans if they may gather some amusement or fun from it.

(To me, these are the kinds of faeries that will make you tell them a riddle before killing you lol. Whereas the Unseelie may just outright murder for the heck of it)

They are likely to resort to violence if they are disrespected, offended, or wronged. Just like any faerie.

Whereas unseelie fae are more outright bloodthirsty, they may hurt humans and other faeries for pure delight. Maybe it sates their bloodlust. Maybe they simply crave the thrill of the kill. Depends on the faerie. This doesn’t mean they are “the bad faeries!” Not all of them will be outright cruel. Some just want power. To me, madoc had a lot of unseelie qualities. Redcaps are actually considered an “unseelie species” in some faerie folklore. Not sure if this is canon in Hollys universe.

Add on: in some folklore, it is said that the seelie fae are beautiful, cute and kind. While the unseelie are frightening, evil and cruel. In this authors universe, this does not seem to be the case. Where all fae, seelie or unseelie, can be frightening or beautiful or both, while simultaneously being kind or cruel or both.

Typically, these faeries stay within their own courts, (assuming they are not solitary/wild fae) there are seelie and unseelie courts, and as seen in Lord Roibens court, they mingle because the court- or rather- courtS that lord roiben inherited, were two separate courts merged into one. The court of flowers and the court of Night. one seelie and one unseelie (if I’m remembering correctly)

I assume that Queen Annetts court is the same, since she is titled a queen and therefore has more land, so the seelie and the unseelie just hang out together.

Add on: in some more faerie folklore, it is also said that seelie fae and unseelie fae have beef. Sometimes it is no more than petty squabbles, other times it can mean war. i can imagine that this may be true in Black’s universe as well, though it is not outright elaborated on.

As well as of course- the High court, which seemed majorly Seelie under Eldreds rule. I’m not sure the high court would ever outright choose to associated with the title of seelie or unseelie though. They all just seem to be doing whatever over there- though respect and honor is big w the high court. It was seelie until balekin got hold of it and then a lot of ppl started acting all unseelie (emphasis on all faeries having pretty chaotic and inconsistent qualities, seelie and unseelie doesn’t really determine who they are or what they’ll do.)

Random note/ fun fact: in faerie folklore, it is said that Queen Mab was unseelie. Though whether this is true for Holly Blacks interpretation of the Faerie Queen- i am not sure.

Last note(sorry): there are two representatives/ ministers on the former High King Eldreds (now Cardans) living council, Mikkel, a representative from an unseelie court, and Nihuar, a representative from a Seelie court. I assume they’d come from the largest Seelie/unseelie court that had sworn w the high king. Not stated where they came from exactly.

Moral of the story: i mostly see it as a political stance and a mindset. These faeries seem to get along, especially within the high court where there are all kinds of fae. Eldreds own children seem to be simultaneously seelie and unseelie, so who knows. The way madocs acts makes me see it more as a mindset than anything else. Just behaving in the different ways that they think will get them the most power/fun/blood or whatever motivates them. idk I’ve lost the plot guys

As for valerian: it’s pretty clear to me that he’s unseelie bc of his obvious hatred for humans, his outright bloodlust for ALL creatures, his bragging of going to the mortal world and torturing humans, his sadistic and sexual interest in hurting even his friends, etc. one moment stands out to me about his character, (in htkoelths) when valerian watched as a tree woman fell from a table and sap(blood) flowed from her side/mouth with “strange fascination”

these are just characteristics commonly found in the stereotypical unseelie fae. Maybe he comes from an unseelie court? Who knows where he even came from lmao

while it’s not outright stated, it’s just what i assume! I’m not totally sure if the terms apply to a singular faerie, their mindset, their court, or their species, which may be up to the reader?

There are a LOT of different perspectives on these terms, so please feel free to add on or correct me! I’d love a broader view on them! 🫶 thank you for the ask!

[new-author3]

Title: More Than a Number

Synopsis: After a difficult race, Lewis is consumed by frustration and the feeling of being just another number to his team. In the silence of his driver’s room, it’s SN’s presence that brings him back to himself.

Content Warnings: Mild emotional tension, post-race comfort, strong emotional bond, soft romance, and Formula 1 setting.

Word Count: Approximately 1,000 words

The door shut behind him with a dull thud. The room felt far too small to hold everything he was feeling. The helmet was thrown onto the couch with more force than necessary. The gloves followed, yanked off with frustration. And then, silence. A silence louder than any team radio.

Lewis sat on the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees, hands over his face. Eyes closed, trying to steady the storm in his chest — a bitter mix of helplessness and indignation. A feeling that would linger far longer than this race, all because of a strategy that so clearly favored his teammate. This... this wasn't teamwork.

The door opened slowly. He didn’t need to look — he knew it was her. SN entered with the calm of someone who already understood his silences, closing the door behind her as if sealing the world out.

“You heard everything, didn’t you?” he asked, still not looking up.

She approached quietly and knelt in front of him, resting her hands gently on his knees.

“I did... we all did,” her voice was low, steady. “I heard you being brilliant. And I heard them acting like it meant nothing.”

Lewis finally looked at her. His eyes were damp, not from tears, but from rage held in. Frustration only she could read.

“They told me to hold position for the DRS. Used me to protect Charles.” He shook his head, voice tight. “I didn’t come here to be just a number. But today... that’s exactly what I was.”

SN moved closer, cupping his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze.

“You’re not just a number, Lewis. You never were. They might try to reduce you to that, but you're the reason so many people still believe in Formula 1. And me... I believe in you. Always.”

Lewis exhaled deeply, his hands sliding to hold hers, gripping them tightly.

“I felt alone out there.”

“But you’re not,” she whispered, leaning in to press her lips softly to his — just for a second, like sealing a promise. “I’m here. And as long as you keep fighting, I’ll be right beside you. On good days, on days like this... and on every one still to come.”

He rested his forehead against hers, eyes closed, breathing just a little calmer.

“Thank you… I needed this. That race was hard.”

“Always. Because I know you beyond the helmet, Lewis. And nothing — not team orders, not paddock politics, not bad tyre calls — can take that away from you. I believe in you. Your fans believe in you. I know it's tough... but we’ll get through it together.”

There, in the refuge of his driver’s room, Lewis finally allowed himself to breathe. The weight hadn’t lifted entirely, but it was a little easier to carry after hearing her voice. With her by his side, the outside world could wait. And maybe, just maybe, he had found something even more important than victory… a home.

-------------------------------------------------------

Author’s Note:

This story was born from my own frustration with Ferrari during the Miami GP. It was disappointing to see how they treated Hamilton — especially considering everything he represents in this sport. The strategy, the orders, the disrespect... it was all incredibly frustrating. And if we, as fans, felt that way, I can only imagine how heavy it must have been for him. This story is my way of giving him some comfort — even if only in fiction. Because in the end, we all need someone who reminds us who we are, especially on our hardest days.

[hindahoney]

Wild and revolutionary concept: maybe don't treat converts like trash just because they're converts? And also don't ask someone if they're a convert in a public setting?

[kalashnikovlobotomy]

serious and significantly less serious

[noirandchocolate]

Y’know, it’s always frustrating in a fandom when a regular ol’ fan makes a claim or states a theory and couches it in terms of “the creators meant this” or “the creator said this,” providing zero actual evidence of the creator saying or meaning “this,” and then thereafter other fans who’ve read the post or heard about it through the grapevine just assume that yes, this interpretation is canon, because “the creator said so” or “the creator obviously meant it.”

This can of course also happen without the original poster making a definite claim the creator did something; they can even say, “I think the creator meant this,” and if enough people read and think “oh hey that makes sense” about the post, later on there will still be people who act like it’s not just a fan-theory, it’s canon somehow.

Frustrating when you don’t share what is essentially a headcanon that’s risen to prominence. (Especially when the creator has actually, provably said the exact opposite thing.) But really, it’s frustrating regardless, because like…nobody asks for evidence? Not “what is there in canon that supports this theory” but “upon what extrinsic proof are you basing your claim that ‘the creator said/meant’.”

Plenty of neat fan-theories and headcanons have some support in canon. But if you’re gonna say “this IS CANON because THE CREATOR SAID/MEANT,” you’ve got to do more than just say that!

(Except, I guess you don’t. Because people will just learn to parrot you without evidence anyway.)

[braceletofteeth]

If you want to be happy, I hope it comes true.

I hope you will be happy too.

[qumiiiquinnquin]

i feel like one of the worst people in the world right now. but at least my semester is over

[fatherforgivemeforihavesinned]

so this person kept completely disregarding the guidelines then made a post n tagged it as a celeb on tumblr pretending the celeb made the post n i asked them to follow the guidelines n they blocked me and kept doing as they pleased for 3 or more days the celeb thing was the last straw so they got removed n blocked n now they're making new blogs trying to get back in like why ugh

[beloveliness]

finished it like 3 minutes ago and immediately see this on my dash lol

it is really good. if you got a few hours to kill and dont really listen to rap or something, check this out and then check out other fd videos cause he's a well-known essayist for a reason and he's got like a bazillion other (not often as long) videos, many of which are again on u.s. black culture or hip hop. i think shawncee also is great to watch - not an essayist, a streamer (with edited youtube uploads) but he's still analytical and opinionated so if you want to watch live reaction from mid-beef or actually listen to the disses, i suggest also watching his content from when they were coming out. it was The rap battle of the century and i think fd's video adequately puts that in perspective which i feel like i havent seen from some other public commentary. i really like that he actually touched on differences between beefs then and now. also fd did a stream with hasanabi and theneedledrop/anthony fantano (longtime youtube music reviewer) on hasan's channel a bit ago so you know. also look up that time drake was popping out just to show a coconut cookie recipe, very alarming behaviour. WE NEED NEW TORONTO REP DAMN IT

listen. i honestly do try my best to not be bitchy about stuff. but if you not-joking-joked that you wanted to watch a video essay from hbomb on the kendrick-drake rap beef. i think that you are obligated to watch fd signifier's 3 hour video essay. i KNOW the watch time is not the issue.

[welshattack]

i think the entire silksong/switch 2 rumor thing bc of william's tweet is really really funny but i was afraid it would make people get pissed at team cherry again. taking a peek into the replies to leth literally just saying the game is being worked on, and yeah they already are. i forgot how much of a toxic cesspool twitter is

[partiallysame]

Being Price’s lil wife

-Task force 141 knew Price was married. Man wore his ring religiously, always putting it back on the second they were in the helicopter/plane/whatever after each mission

-He’d come to work with a lunch packed with a cute lil heart note

-To be honest they all assumed you were the same age as Price (old) He always said he’d been “married for years” (3)

-They never knew your name, Price only ever referred to you as The Missus

-Gaz swore Price had a photo of you in his wallet (he did) but they never knew what you looked like untilllllllll

-You called your husband simply to complain. The AC had gone out and the repair man wouldn't be able to get there for a couple days. No no this simply would not do, his perfect lil lady could not be uncomfortable in her own home he wouldn’t have it but fuck he’s out of the country for a few more days. His team however is not and while stupid, they do know how to do maintenance work (why? Just because.)

-He called his team for a very important mission. Gave them the address, accompanied with “I don’t want to hear a fucking thing about you causing any trouble or being disrespectful to the Missus you hear?” The boys were absolutely giddy to finally see the ever so important Missus.

-The second you opened the door Soap was apologizing for having the wrong house and oh so politely asked if you knew where the Price household was. This had to be the wrong one because there you stood, pretty young thing, big doe eyes. Standing in just a big shirt ending at the very tops of your thighs, lashes batting at the three soldiers standing at your door.

-“You’ve got the right place. John told me you were coming, please come in.” You had to hold in a giggle, watching all of their eyes go wide. Gaz immediately looking at the sky, the floor, anywhere but the wife of his captain that he was just undressing with his eyes.

-When you turned to guide them into the house they all saw PRICE printed on the back of the large tshirt just barely covering your ass (this is your own home pants are never required and its hot as hell without the ac). Now it was Ghost’s turn to look anywhere but at you.

-As they worked you’d bring them water or snacks. They now understood why Price kept you hidden from them. The perfect lil housewife. The woman of all of their dreams already taken.

-When they were finished they went to the kitchen to inform you they were done only to find a full meal set on the table waiting for them but worst of all? There you were reaching up to the top cabinet. On your tippy toes, your shirt (Price’s shirt) riding up enough to expose the bottom of your ass and lacey pink panties. Soap had to bite his knuckle to keep from groaning. Ghost grabbing the tops of his teammates heads, turning them away from the incredible sight in front of them.

-Price was right to keep you hidden from them

-They might just have to sneak in and break something every time Price was out of town if it meant this is what they got to see.

Price's lil wife Masterlist

[amplexadversary]

I fucking hate what the race to the bottom has done to the "official" translations of more than one fucking manga now.

Fucking Kodansha started translating Witch Hat, so the scanlators stopped doing so, but the official version is so fucking lazy.

They aren't even checking if the romanizations of character names read as intended in the target language, let alone fitting the translated vocabulary to the context! You need people on your team that can read intent from the Japanese text AND the English one, because the latter is going to need proofreading! Getting the vibe of the text right of the original version gains nothing if you don't also have someone who can replicate it in the target language! If that someone's the same person that's great but you very much have to have both skillsets on your translation team!!!!

It's perfectly possible to preserve the meaning and style of the original, even to the point where from sentence structure that gets rearranged to preserve a reveal or a metaphor is introduced to the new audience for the first time WITHOUT the text feeling janky in the target language! I've seen it! It used to be the norm before the race to the bottom trend in business got so universal since the mid to late tens! Stop being lazy and give your fucking translators the time and pay to do a good fucking job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still haven't forgiven what this trend did to Dungeon Meshi and I don't think that grudge is ever going to go away. You could have called it "Dungeon Food," or "Cooking in the Dungeon" and kept the bluntness of the original. You could have spun it up fancily as a kind of title familiar to the audience, and called it "The Chef's Guide to Dungeoneering" or "The Survivalist's Guide to Dungeon Food," or even "Man Versus Dungeon," in a play on Man v Wild. You could have straight up kept the Japanese title and either explained in a translator's note or added a subtitle that repeats the concept in English. Even "Delicious in the Dungeon," while still awkward as all SHIT, still scans as a sentence that makes sense! Why did you go with your actual fucking decision???!?!?!??!!? How hard is "Dungeon Meshi: A Practical Guide to Cooking Monsters?" That took me less than a minute!

If it's worth doing at all in an official capacity, it's worth doing it properly and leveraging your fucking corporate-scale resources to do a better job! Taking advantage of the unspoken agreement that scanlators have to yield to an official translation only to basically undercut them and do a worse job is scummy as all hell! Just fucking pick one of the major scanlator teams and hire them if you're going to cut corners!

Stop lowering the standards of quality stop lowering the standards of quality stop it stop it stop it STOP IT STOP IT!

Like, there's room to argue whether a more literal or more tone-tailored or even a highly creative Ace Attorney-Style translation is most appropriate for a particular work but at least PICK ONE and put in the effort to do that style translation as well as possible! And by ''put in the effort" I mean pay your fucking translators enough that they can take the time to do it right!!!

[dailymanners]

Tips and ideas for how to respond when someone is being rude to you

For personal reasons I won't get into, I have a history of just freezing when some is rude / hostile / aggressive / condescending / patronizing / etc. It's obviously not something I'm happy about at all, most people who freeze or fawn aren't happy about it and would change it if they could.

One day I confided in my co-worker, a middle aged woman in her 50's, that this is something I struggle with. Considering how confident and assertive she always struck me as, I was shocked when she told me this is also something she's struggled with.

The advice she gave me is to just memorize and practice a few broad statements or reactions that you can pull out of your pocket so to speak when someone is being rude or disrespectful to you. It's not easy if you're someone who's been conditioned to freeze or fawn, but practice helps. Practice saying these things when you're alone. Put up a sticky note next to your bed or on your bathroom mirror with these phrases and practice them when you see them. Practice saying these with a partner or trusted friend, role-play scenarios where you might need to use these phrases.

Here's a few phrases that have worked for me. The nice thing about them is that they tend to shut down the situation rather than escalating, while still letting the aggressor know that you don't find their behavior acceptable.

"Are you okay?"

This works well in professional settings, because it's not like your work place's residential bully can run to HR about you asking if they're okay (but they might if you try to retaliate and give them a taste of their own medicine). However, it still effectively sends the message "I think there's something wrong with your behavior and don't accept it". It's also not likely the response they're expecting, so it'll likely throw them off and prevent further verbal aggression.

"Could you repeat that for me? I didn't catch what you said."

This one is most effective for people you believe to actually have a conscious and might regret what they said if they actually thought about it a little more. I find that often when I do this one, when people repeat the rude/snippy/patronizing/etc thing they either shamefully stumble over their words and show some remorse, or they change altogether what they say. In the off chance they don't regret what they said and end up repeating exactly what they said, this at least buys you some time to think of a better reaction since you're no longer caught off guard by a sudden rude and snippy remark.

"Can you explain what you mean by that?"

Similar logic to the last one. Often when people are being rude/snippy/patronizing/etc they're caught up in their own emotions in that moment and didn't think it through. This is a polite and civil way of putting their rude behavior in the spotlight and making them reconsider what they said. The other advantage to this one is that in case you did misread their intentions and they meant no harm by what they said or did, this gives them an opportunity to clarify that, instead of you just feeling bad over a statement or actions they actually had no ill intentions with.

If anyone has any further examples of reactions / responses / statements that have worked for them, I'd love to hear about them. I'm new to studying the art of how to civilly yet effectively shut down bad behavior from others, so I'm always open to hearing more suggestions.

[notquitecanon]

Tf141 x reader idea nsfw mdni

This is what I was thinking about WHILE TAKING MY FINAL TODAY. The brain rot is actually rotting.

So I keep having this idea about being the tf141’s technical analyst (think Garcia from criminal minds kinda beat)

And part of your job is reviewing websites and links visited by any government equipment. Including the tablets/ work phones/ laptops the boys use on base / in the field , just to make sure nothing is a security threat. Keep things secure and tight.

You’re mature enough not to blink twice at the porn websites, and how the visits to them spike while they’re in the field . They’re hotblooded men, it makes sense.

You do blink.. at least once.. seeing how their searches seem to mirror their teammates. Soap’s masked men searches, Gaz’s bearded daddy type thing, Ghost’s affliction for Scottish gym rats, and Price’s varied tastes.

*ok so this squad was a little messy*

But ok, the websites are secure enough. You make a mental note to look into some additional antivirus software for them but move on. Except… now it’s hard not to read into Price’s lingering shoulder pats on his team. It’s harder not to notice how Gaz brings Coffee and Tea to his teammates with a soft smile. Ghost’s intense watchful eyes softening ever so slightly when someone made a joke said something kind. And wait… did Johnny just smack someone’s ass??? And hey, you could swear Gaz and Johnny *weren’t* wearing those shirts before they mysteriously disappeared for half an hour.

Whatever, it’s a hard job. They deserve a little stress relief. you’re happy for them. Maybe a little jealous because that’s a big ole sandwich (LOTS of meat) anyone would want to be in. Maybe you blush when Johnny and Kyle sit on either side of you in the mess hall… maybe you get a little sidetracked when going over hacked intel with Ghost and Price, how they both lean over your shoulder as they look at your screen…

Focus. FOCUS.

So, imagine your surprise when one day as your clearing some of the links that Soap’s tablet had visited that weekend. And his searches sound familiar- your build, your hair color, your features….

Soon you find something similar going through Price’s, and then Gaz’s… (the only reason you don’t see it on Ghost’s is because he watches over Soap’s shoulder). All of them searching for porn where the actress looks like you…

You should feel violated. Uncomfortable. Disrespected… but you don’t. If anything, you feel a little hot under the collar. Maybe a little embarrassed.

Maybe it was time to remind the boys that you can in fact see their internet searches. If you can manage to look them in the eyes.

Anyways do I have something here or…???

Turns out I had something. Part 2