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"Police Commemoration Day"#trending#viral
Police Commemoration Day Importance is observed every year to honour the sacrifices made by police officers in the line of duty. This day is a reminder of the courage and dedication shown by our law enforcement personnel. In this, we explore the significance of Police Commemoration Day, the history behind it, and why it remains an essential event for recognizing the bravery of our officers. We also discuss the ceremonies and traditions associated with this day and how communities across the nation show their appreciation.
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#PoliceCommemorationDay#HonorOurHeroes#BraveOfficers#RememberingSacrifice#LawEnforcementTribute#PoliceDay2024#RespectForPolice#NeverForget#PoliceService#TributeToBravery#trending#viral
#Police Commemoration Day#Police Commemoration Day importance#Police Day tribute#honoring police officers#bravery of law enforcement#sacrifices of police#why celebrate Police Day#police service tribute#law enforcement appreciation#history of Police Commemoration Day#ceremonies for police commemoration#remembering fallen officers#police remembrance#police day significance#tribute to brave officers#importance of Police Commemoration Day#police commemoration day 2024#role of police in society#recognizing police bravery
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okay so, here's the thing. the genius of hometown is that it's the anti-country song by excellence, except it's set to a country beat. bear with me.
the "hometown" in question isn't some idyllic rural small town -- it's the urban slums of new jersey. the singer doesn't reminisce on bygone days of innocence in the sun -- she remembers the drug use, police corruption, and countless car accidents that claimed teenage lives. the star quarterback isn't a dashing young hero -- the very first verse opens with his death from an overdose, and he spends the remainder of the song playing football in heaven, perpetually 17 years old.
the song isn't an exultation of small town values or nostalgic americana. the lyrics "the american dream means staying young forever" are sinister beneath the upbeat melody, because to be remembered as the ideal all-american boy / girl next door, you have to die young enough to never become anything else -- or, alternatively, you have to stay trapped in your high school days forever, never escaping your "hometown". and the song seems to pose the question; aren't they kind of the same thing?
granted, the singer does seem to be paying tribute to those days and to the countless young people she grew up with who never got to grow old -- davey from the football team serving as the prime example -- but it's more of an elegy than an ode. it's in mourning, not in admiration.
and all of this grime and grit is set to the sunny, lighthearted strings of a country-esque guitar and a twangy lilt, to the point that, for someone who isn't paying attention to the lyrics, this song could just as easily blend in with the very music it's criticizing.
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hibernate.
rating: explicit. 18+ only. length: 6,152 content: Arthur Morgan x f!reader, animal hunting mentions, cannon-accurate outlaw behavior, cowboy meet cute, Arthur Morgan is a simp, snowed in, fluff, smut [v fingering, unprotected p in v, creampie, cockwarming], kink(s) [spit as lube]
it was like fate insisted on the two of you colliding.
The first time you’d met Arthur Morgan was a lovely March night in New Hanover, opportunities abound as the hustle and bustle of life was at its highest point of the year, the weather the most tolerable for moving about. Returning from an evening of fishing now that the water wasn’t frozen in some areas and sketching birds by the river when he stumbled across a lone figure boarding train – well after midnight. He followed on horseback under the cover of trees in anticipation, joined by your own horse shortly after. He followed alongside with a hold of the strange horse’s reins until the train came to a stop.
He'd strained to hear you, considered boarding after you to clean up any straggling guards – it wasn’t his business, so he didn’t – but curiosity held him close. When the sound of police approaching quickly began you emerged to the top of the train, looking around desperately for your horse. Temporarily frozen when the moonlight caught your face and confirmed to the man that you were a woman, he recovered just in time to spring into action.
It had been Arthur who had led your horse to you and instructed you to follow. It was Arthur’s path that led you away from the law and eventually far enough away to be free of their hunting.
“Are you some kinda lunatic, lady?” he questioned when the two of you slowed side-by-side under the cover of thick trees, his face hard-set and stern. “You coulda gotten yourself tossed away for a long time back there.”
“I didn’t, though,” you laughed, and despite the feeling that burned in him that he couldn’t quite place as anger or worry Arthur’s stomach flipped at the sound and the way your laugh reached your eyes. You adjusted your hat with a playful smile on your lips, keeping the reins to your horse in one hand.
“Thanks to me,” he asserted, the stress causing him to light up a cigarette and adjust his hat. His eyes caught your gaze and you held it, appreciating his handsome features for a moment as your smile twisted wider.
“I would’ve figured it out, cowboy – you can be sure of that.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve seen your face on ‘wanted’ posters, Mr. Morgan,” you proclaimed, tone proud as you called him on his identity. He took another drag from his cigarette before leaning forward comfortably in his saddle, outstretching a hand toward you.
“Arthur,” he offered, amusement flashing across his features when you shook his hand firmly. “And I’ve seen yours, too. What is it they call you…?”
“The Panther,” you replied, that proud tone ever-present in your voice. “A nice tribute to my best hunt.”
His poker face was too well-trained to reveal that he was impressed – that he was intrigued.
“Well next time you go thinkin’ of doing something so goddamn stupid like rob a train at midnight alone,” he began, gruff voice filled with frustration as he attempted to present his unamused façade. “You could invoke that particular nickname and be a little more subtle.”
The second time was just as circumstantial. It was July – the heat sweltering, the air sticky, the fireflies sparkling in fields at night. You’d been riding for days, hunting gators in the swamps for weeks and now headed back to a more familiar area where you felt more at home. Just past Emerald Ranch you’d spotted him on the road ahead – his hat unmistakable and burned into your mind, his horse giving away his identity to anyone who knew it.
There was no questioning if he’d want your company – you didn’t even give it a thought. Instead, you’d hastened your own horse to catch up with him.
“Where ya headed, cowboy?” you questioned as you approached from behind, adjusting your hat back on your head to offer more of your face to him. Your voice immediately sent a shiver down his spine, the barely-there smile crossing his features unmissed by you.
Four months trying to remember your face and voice hadn’t done it any justice.
“Valentine,” he replied, slowing his horse’s stride to match yours. The two of you set a lazy pace, in no real hurry to get anywhere. “You following me now, cat?”
“Like I ain’t got better things to do, Mr. Morgan?” you joked, nose scrunching as you smiled. The Summer sun had done beautiful things for your color, he noted. “Give you $50 and shine your guns if you can beat me there.”
“Are you tryin’ to race me?” he questioned with a subtle laugh, raising an eyebrow in your direction.
“Won’t be much of a race, cowboy.”
He let out a real, genuine, albeit short laugh at that. The sound filled the air around you, made birds vacate trees. Your heart soared away alongside them.
“And what is it you want if you win?”
“A nice bottle of whisky,” you replied after a brief moment of thought, reaching your hand to rub your horse’s neck gently. Arthur had forgotten how gentle your hands were with everything they touched – the rediscovery lighting up his mind. “And a hot meal at your camp.”
“Can’t promise the gang’ll let you eat at camp without drinking, too.”
“Which is why I asked for a bottle of whisky,” you remarked, that shit-eating grin he was starting to love spreading on your face again. “Do we have a deal?”
“Hope your horse is fast enough to back up that mouth of yours,” he quipped back, intentionally antagonizing you as he started to pick up the speed slightly. “Or that you’ve got plenty of gun oil.”
You shot forward then, the dust of the road kicking up behind you as you left Arthur behind on a road you both knew well. In reality he could’ve caught you – could’ve even won if he’d pushed his horse hard enough – but the sound of your laughter in the cool evening air was reason enough to lose.
It wasn’t a surprise when you crossed over into the town first.
“You cheated,” he argued as he approached, allowing his horse to slow to a reasonable speed for being around other people. “Got a head start. Doesn’t count.”
“You’re just a sore loser.”
“Maybe I am,” he replied, reaching up to remove his hat to resituate his wind-blown hair. You were momentarily transfixed on his fingers running through the strands that looked soft – maybe in need of a wash but soft nonetheless – but quickly wished he’d left it messy. “Weren’t mean you didn’t get a head start, cat.”
“Oh, like a couple steps mattered,” you entered an easy banter with him, just like the two of you had done in the Spring. He’d missed it – hadn’t realized how much he had until then. “Coulda given you a five-minute head start and still would’ve beat you and that slowpoke horse you ride.”
“Anybody ever tell you you’re difficult?”
“Heard it a couple times,” there was that smile again – the nose crinkling one. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep his thoughts to himself with you smiling that way – at him. You jumped down from your stallion and hitched him with ease, feeding the massive animal a small snack in appreciation of his efforts. “I can compromise. I buy the whisky, but I still get a hot meal at your camp.”
He pondered your proposal only briefly before nodding, letting out an affirmative huff in agreeance. “I’ll meet you at the butcher when you’re done.”
You gave your horse a gentle pat and nodded, turning back to meet his gaze. “Sell that fox pelt I have up on Scratch, will ya?”
Easy. Simple. Honest. Sensible. Arthur loved having you around camp that night – and the night after when you’d been convinced to stay again by the women – though it was hardly just them that enjoyed your company. You’d made easy companions in the camp with your sharp tongue and ability to hold your alcohol. You had plenty of stories to share with Arthur’s chosen family – each one of them genuinely interesting to the gang.
Everyone knew the fact Arthur had brought you around meant you were a good person. The beauty was a bonus, he’d been informed in privacy. He’d only told Sean to shut his mouth in response. Arthur slept by the fire that night so you could sleep in his cot, and if anyone else in the gang saw the way he’d sat up for at least an hour with his eyes transfixed on your sleeping figure in his bed.
It was Fall, October to be exact, the next time he heard from you – this time you had taken fate into your own hands to seek out his company. He was certain he’d never be able to dispose the letter you’d penned and sent to his camp.
Dear Arthur, Kinda strange to call you “dear”, huh? Anyway, I have a job comin’ up in Saint Denis that involves me boarding a train quite late at night and remembering our conversation earlier this year I thought I may ask you to join. Job is planned for the night of October 18, the Saturday after next. I’ll meet you the Friday before at the saloon in Van Horn if you plan on joining me. I do hope you join me. Hope that gang of yours isn’t being too rough on you.
He arrived in Van Horn a day early and rented himself a room – and a bath – so he was prepared for the meeting. He was in the saloon before you, his chest clenching as you walked in through the swinging doors.
You’d taken a page from his book and clearly bathed recently as well, and you were dressed for the first time in front of him in feminine attire. The sight of you in a skirt shouldn’t have affected him the way it did – it was embarrassing for a man his age. It didn’t prevent the pressure building at his waist, nor did it stop him from speaking his mind.
“You had to wear that damn skirt, didn’t ya?” he questioned when you joined him, a smile spreading across your face. It was hardly a gentlemanly way to greet you, but then again, he was hardly a gentleman. “Knew what you were doin’ puttin’ that on with me coming in today…”
“You complained so much about the pants last time I figured I’d save myself the headache,” you replied, sliding into a chair next to him and crossing your legs for emphasis. “You don’t like it?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, kitten,” he’d practically purred – a new tone between the two of you. There was no denying that you wanted to hear it more, and you nearly chose to forget the real reason you were now sitting beside him.
“I need to look the part tomorrow for the job,” you replied quickly, eager to squash the tension now building between the two of you, unwilling to allow the job to go forgotten. There was too much money at stake. “Have to board a real nice train when it leaves out of Saint Denis tomorrow night. There’s a safe onboard I’d like to get my hands into.”
“Can’t just rob it the old-fashioned way?”
“Someone didn’t like the last time I did that,” you teased, feeling pleased with the smile it earned. “Figured I’d board and crack the safe.”
“Why you need me then?”
“Need someone to play my husband and keep watch while I’m workin’ on the safe.”
“Your husband,” he huffed out with another laugh, a brief shake to his head. The term had always been silly to him, just as silly as the idea of marriage was to you as a whole, really – and yet, there was no denying the clench in both of your chests at the mere thought. The imaginary suggestion manifested in brief images of domesticity, the vision of you sleeping in his cot in July flashing in his mind.
You didn’t miss the slight redness to his cheeks, he didn’t miss how your smile fluttered into something laced with affection. For all your joking demeanor, it was still clear that there was some secretive sincerity beneath the surface – that you cared for Arthur. And on Arthur’s part, well…he wouldn’t ride across the country to work for just anyone.
“Yes,” you replied when you’d pulled yourself from the depths of his eyes. “A woman travelling with her husband is far less likely to draw attention than if I were alone.”
You thought there would be some protest, though if you’d seen even a fraction of the thoughts Arthur had conjured up in the preceding months you’d never have to question it. To you what seemed to be him conceding was actually the outlaw taking a step he’d long considered taking with you the next chance he got.
Arthur just wanted to spend time with you – there were probably very few things he’d say no to right now in regard to you. He wouldn’t go admitting that out loud anytime soon either.
“Fine, I’ll go along with your little plan. Only so you don’t go gettin’ yourself arrested.”
“Great!” you exclaimed, the brightness that covered your face blinding but serving as confirmation that he was making the right choice. The money he was sure to get would be a bonus, too. “I got you a wedding ring. Looks like it’ll fit. You can sell it when the job’s done, as a thank you.”
“You get it off a dead body?”
“He didn’t need it anymore.”
There was that goddamn feeling in his chest again.
This was the fourth time destiny had crossed your path with Arthur Morgan’s.
Now, the ring still lay in the outside pouch of his satchel, the cool metal brushing against the tips of his calloused fingers often daily in a physical reminder of you. Today, feeling the pull of being apart from you for four months now and into the new year, he’d been clutching the metal in his gloved hands as he led his horse through the far North. Seeking the solitary bliss of being alone in the mountains for the winter, he had opted to simply ride and camp, sketching in his journal and enjoying the snow dusted scenery. Arthur’s plan was soon thwarted as a snowstorm began to roll in.
He'd been riding along the same worn path to make his way down the mountain when he noticed horse tracks leading into the thick forest – a horse, by the look of it, with no reemergence to be seen. Opting to do the honorable thing, Arthur pursued the trail, weaving through trees atop his own horse until he came to a small clearing where you were setting predator bait.
He didn’t know the kind of words to describe the way he felt seeing you right in front of him.
“Are you some kinda lunatic, cat?”
If he had a way with words, he’d tell you that your smile was brighter than the sun itself – fleeting shooting stars, the North Star when he’s lost.
“That’s not the first time you’ve asked me that question, Mister Morgan,” you replied, standing up and patting your horse as your gaze remained transfixed on him now. Even at this distance you could see the blue in his coat had electrified his eyes, the tone a perfect match for the world around you. You found it hard to form any further rebuttal.
“Won’t be the last either, given you’re doing something fucking crazy every time I see you,” he teased, finally giving into the natural ease he felt with you. The light air between the two of you had finally lulled him into a sense of comfort around you – he was willing to admit he was concerned, in his own way. “There’s a storm rollin’ in. You trying to freeze to death?”
“Trying to hunt a white wolf,” you replied, glancing back at the bait you’d just set and adjusting the bow you held in your hands, an arrow already grasped between two fingers.
Fuckin’ hell, Arthur thought. ‘Course that’s what you’re out here doing.
“You ain’t gonna be hunting much of anything when you turn into an icicle,” he replied, hopeful that you would understand his taunting was coming from a place of concern – not control. “You got Scratch nearby?”
“I suppose you’re right,” you smiled, slipping the arrow back into the quiver on your back and whistling to call your horse back to you. You mounted up on the animal easily, Arthur taking the moment to appreciate how languid your movements were – how graceful. His eyes lingered at your waist for a moment longer than was decent.
“If I remember right there’s a cabin just up the road. Been empty the last few times I rode by,” he explained, his words offering more than just a place to shield from the freeze.
Arthur wanted to spend time with you. You’d truly have to be a lunatic to think otherwise.
“Lead the way, cowboy.”
The snow picked up as the two of you rode side-by-side, both of your horses slowing as the powder piled up, creating heavier footsteps. While Arthur spoke to his horse beside you to soothe her through the storm, you could feel his eyes consistently on you despite the painful whip of flakes against his unshielded cheeks.
What could have been a short ride in the summer extended in the weather, and by the time the cabin approached view you had begun to shiver – something Arthur took note of. When he climbed from his horse he unrolled the blanket on the back of his saddle, passing it up to you before grabbing his shotgun.
“I’ll check inside, you try not to shiver s’much you fall off your horse.”
He disappeared into the cabin, your mind focusing on the sounds of him moving about rather the piling snow that was sure to trap you for days. Keeping yourself wrapped in his blanket provided the additional comfort of his lingering scent, and you found yourself clutching the fabric tighter and tighter as the moments passed.
“This’ll be fine ‘til the storm’s passed,” he announced as he exited through the doors, voice raised so you could hear him over the wind. “You go on in while I get some firewood and hitch the horses.”
“I can help, you know,” you offered, eyebrows pulling together to communicate your frustration.
“Would you stop your arguing for once and go inside out of this shit?”
By the time Arthur made his way in from the storm you’d used what wood remained in the cabin to start a fire, the flames warming the air around it quickly. The mattress was considerably dirty and out of the question, so you were validated in the decision to carry in your bedrolls and blankets, having set them up comfortably in front of the fire.
His heavy boots sounded on the floor as he approached where you sat on the floor from behind, and while you couldn’t see him, you could feel his eyes on you.
“Already got a fire going?”
“Uh huh,” you replied, noting the subtle shake to his voice. Arthur was strong, but he was human, and he was cold. The fact that he not only was willing to but insisted on suffering for you caused a knot to form in your stomach. “Got some whisky if you need help warming up.”
He simply grunted affirmatively in reply, setting the stack of wood carefully to the side and picking out the driest pieces to tend the fire with now. You tempted to hand the bottle out to him, the liquid going ignored as he began to peel off layer by layer, tossing the soaked clothing to the side lazily with little regard for how they ended up. Normally you’d have stood to hang the clothes, but you found yourself spellbound by the way Arthur’s muscles flexed with each movement under the simple wet damp button up shirt – the last remaining layer.
When he was somewhat comfortable, he turned to face you, eyes flashing with amusement as he took the bottle from your fingers. You were certain your mouth was hanging open and he’d caught you. At the moment, you could hardly bring yourself to care.
Hours passed as the two of you got warm and caught up over the last few weeks. You sat opposite one another, both wrapped in your own blankets and full of enough whisky to ignore the storm outside – to ignore everything but one another. Arthur hadn’t missed that most of your clothes lie neatly folded atop the countertop. The thought was repeating in his mind – the heavy question of what exactly remained under the blanket haunting him.
He couldn’t be blamed for not being a good listener.
“Arthur, are you even listenin’ to me?”
“Not a fuckin’ word,” he replied with one more small swig of whisky from the bottle, setting it well out of the way to the side. “Stop fuckin’ doin’ that if you want me to listen.”
“Doing what?”
You knew damn well what.
“Lookin’ at me like you want me to come crawl on top of you.”
Why on Earth would you ever stop doing that?
“No.”
Your mouth was going to drive him to insanity one day. He wasn’t going to do a single thing about it.
“Did you just tell me ‘No’?”
“Yeah, Arthur, I surely did,” you replied, quick and agile as you were on your feet. He was beginning to think you may only talk to hm this way, and that thought alone was enough to make him want to reach out to you. “Hoping you take the hint.”
The blanket he’d been using for himself was discarded to the side, your words finally snapping the thin thread of control that remained in him. He extended one arm outward toward the floor to support himself, outstretching his legs to be situated in a more comfortable position before his eyes found yours again.
“Come on over here,” his invitation came thick as molasses and dripping just as sweet, his free hand patting his right thigh to give his words deeper meaning. “Bring the blanket.”
Arthur had finally figured out how to get you to stop arguing and basked in the glory of the moment as you crawled to him carefully, finding a comfortable seat in his lap as you straddled his thighs. He savored the view as you wrapped your arms around his neck, encompassing you both with the blanket, your face illuminated by the golden glow of the well-tended fire – beautiful, warm, inviting.
He was more than happy to finally accept.
“Are you gonna kiss me, Arthur?”
He knew you were trying to sound resolute as you always did – firm and demanding and impossible to deny. While those things lingered – he doubted they could ever truly be gone from you – what really laced your words was the quietest of whines. He sat up fully, bringing his torso closer to yours and grasping your hips in both hands, all the while your heart beating faster and faster in anticipation.
When you opened your mouth to let your protest be known again, he took his opportunity to claim your lips in a long-awaited kiss, the feeling of his lips caressing yours sucking the air from your chest immediately. He opted to slide his hands to your lower back to bring you in closer, pressing your chests together as he kissed you hungrily. Touch starved and overwhelmed by the feeling of you returning his kiss with soft lips he sought more of your skin, sliding his hands up the back of the loose blouse you remained in.
“Clothes are still wet,” he grumbled against your lips, displeased by the cool touch to your skin that remained. You scrambled to reinitiate the kiss, your lips catching his bottom lip as a whine slipped through your lips. A quiet chuckle rumbled through his chest as he nuzzled your cheek with his nose.
“Take them off, then,” you breathed out, bowing your head to press a delicate kiss to his neck. His own breath caught, arms wrapping tighter around you – almost too tight, almost too crushing. You made no move to stop him as you began to test the best places to leave your kisses, spurring him to release his hold on you to start peeling the last layers from both of you.
Your lips brushed against the shell of his ear when all that remained were intimate coverings, a shaky groan rolling through his chest. His hands engulfed you, sliding up your torso until he cupped your breasts, dipping his head to claim your lips again.
That kiss was hungry – starved – clumsy in ways that screamed of desperation. His thumbs rubbed over your nipples lightly, a smile evident on his lips despite the fact he continued to kiss you as a moan slipped from your throat. It spiraled from there, both of your hands exploring, your fingers the best thing he’d felt against his skin in a long time. As the pressure built heavier at your waist his hands trailed lower, one stopping to grasp your waist, the other slipping into the waistband of your underwear.
He'd never heard music that sounded as good as the sound of the moan that left you as his thick fingers swiped through your wet folds, an appreciative hum shaking in his throat as you burrowed your face in his neck.
“You’re already soaked for me, darlin’,” he rasped, his voice getting lower and lower with each word. He began to sink his index finger into you, grasping your hip tighter in his other hand. “Fuckin’ tight, too. Hell.”
“Arthur…”
“Aw, hush,” he cooed, turning his head to press a kiss to your temple as he curled his finger inside you, pulling a quiet whimper from you. “No point tryin’ to talk right now, darlin’ – just lemme take care of ya.”
He could take his sweet time, Arthur Morgan. He was a patient man, especially when it came to you, and never more-so than now as he began to work his finger in and out of your clenching heat. He added a second finger soon, pressing the heel of his hand to your clit to give you more pressure, which you gladly accepted by rocking your hips into it.
As he pumped his fingers into you he began to trail kisses lower, the kisses growing heavier and wetter the further down he went. By the time he nipped at your hip with his teeth lightly you were breathless, eyes squeezed shut as you lost yourself to pleasure. He kissed across your waistline as he pulled your underwear down, smiling against your skin lightly when you kicked them free with frustrated fervor.
Nothing up to this point compared to the feeling of Arthur sliding his tongue from his fingers to your clit, giving the sensitive bundle of nerves a soft suck. He repeated the motion as you struggled to even moan, your hands grasping at the blankets now on the floor beneath you as you tried to rock your hips into his face desperately.
“Easy, now,” Arthur reprimanded with quiet reverence behind his words, turning his head to press a kiss to your inner thigh softly. “I’m takin’ my time with you, don’t rush me.”
You finally opened your eyes, ready to give him an earful about being a tease, only to be frozen once again faced with the sight of Arthur, golden illuminated by the fire and somehow still wearing his hat tipped back on his head. You maintained eye contact with him as you reached forward with your hands, removing the hat with one hand and placing it on your own head as your fingers ran through his hair, giving a soft tug at the end.
The growl vibrated through him and you as he connected his lips to your clit, pumping his fingers into you and connecting the tips, curling them skillfully to rub against the sensitive patch deep within you as he sucked your clit. All the while he maintained eye contact, even when he removed his mouth from you with one final flick of his tongue, just as he removed his fingers from you.
“Arthur…” you whimpered in protest, tugging his hair again to try to bring him back to your needy core.
“Hush,” he instructed tenderly, slipping his hands under your ass and grasping firmly to lift your waist from the floor. He soaked in the view of your glistening folds at this angle and tested how it looked to watch one of his fingers slip into you before removing it, licking his lips again. “You are a pretty little thing, ain’t ya?”
Your reply was sucked from your chest and altered into a cry of pleasure as he spit on your folds, smearing the liquid around before connecting his thumb to your clit, rubbing a figure eight. Supporting your raised hips still with one hand he continued to rub your clit, now using his tongue to fuck into you rather than his fingers, tasting you how he’d wanted to for nearly a year now.
The pressure continued to build and boil, eventually reaching a point of eruption – all the usual signs there with your shaking thighs, shorter and desperate breaths, your nails scratching against his temple as you gripped whatever you could. Arthur figured it was a previously unknown bonus to him keeping his hair a little on the longer side. He groaned to encourage you, switching his movements to pump his fingers into you again, circling your clit with his tongue until you became incendiary, your first orgasm washing through you with white hot heat.
He continued to lap at your folds as you came, removing his tongue from you occasionally only to kiss your thighs and mutter tender praises as you came back down to your body. When you had some sense about yourself, he was crawling back up you, pressing kisses to your stomach and breasts before he reached your lips, offering you a taste of your own honey sweet pleasure on his tongue.
When the adoration filled amorous kiss ended so Arthur could breathe you began to trail kisses down his neck again, following a trail to his chest before his index finger caught under your chin, lifting you back up to him, cerulean eyes questioning.
“Your turn,” you offered, slipping one of your hands into the waistband of his underwear and wrapping your fingers around his throbbing cock slowly. Running your finger over the velvet head you smeared the pre-spend leaking already, biting at your swollen bottom lip when he moaned.
“Not tonight, sweet thing,” he declined, his hesitation clear in his voice. You began to rub him gently – slowly – too damn slow – causing his eyes to roll back briefly. “You wrap these lips around me, and I won’t last long enough t’ fuck you.”
“Please.”
You didn’t truly know what you were begging for – for him to test himself and allow you to take his already throbbing cock into your mouth or for him to follow through on that promise to fuck you. Luckily, Arthur seemed to know exactly what your words were asking for – what you needed.
He reached to remove your hand from his cock gently, freeing himself of his underwear before he gently moved you to your side, lying beside you with his back to the fire to shield you from getting too much heat, to ensure you didn’t get hurt. One arm wrapped around your waist while the other slid to cup your cheek in his hand, bringing you in closer to him as he kissed you again.
As much fun as he’d been having teasing, he was done with the games now, and could no longer find the patience. He reached to lift your leg around his waist before grasping his cock, rubbing against your still-soaked entrance for a moment to gather some lubrication before he sank into you. Inch by inch disappeared into your velvet channel, the kiss practically halting as you gasped. He leaned his forehead against yours instead, grasping your waist gently as he continued to slip into you.
“Atta fuckin’ girl,” he breathed out. The large hand that still cupped your cheek slipped downward to rest against your neck instead, his fingertips digging into your skin in attempt to steady himself, to savor your pulse beneath his touch. “Takin’ me so good. You doin’ okay?”
You nodded as you stared into his eyes, pupils blown wide and mouth hanging open already at the feeling of him stretching you, almost too full but not something you’d be willing to give up anytime soon. When he’d fully seated himself within you, his cock buried to the hilt he released a shaky groan of his own, his eyes briefly closing as he savored the feeling of being wrapped up in you.
“Goddamn you’re tight,” he groaned out, pressing several light kisses to your lips before grinding his hips into yours slightly. “Shoulda crawled ‘tween your legs months ago.”
“Would…ah…woulda let you,” you managed to reply, pressing your lips to his in an unabashedly salacious kiss, already perfecting how to slot your lips against his in a way that left him craving more. He couldn’t hold back his movements any longer and began to pump into you repeatedly, setting a wanton and quick pace that somehow managed to remain tender and reverent.
He could only be tender for so long, desperation and months of waiting and yearning building in him. His movements began to get sloppy sooner than he’d have liked, though he felt better when your walls began to flutter and clench around him, your thigh shaking around his hip slightly. He picked up his pace to a much more relentless one, driving his cock into you and into your spongy cervix repeatedly as his grunts became more frequent, pressing kisses to your neck now.
“Want you to finish while I’m inside you,” he instructed, though there was something so subtly desperate behind his words – a quiet beg that only someone who knew him would recognize. “Think you can do that for me, darlin’?”
You nodded before leaning your head back again, quiet cries leaving your lips as he connected his thumb to your clit again, immediately choosing a relentless pace to rub in circles. You were almost certain you’d do anything he asked and soon enough you were pushed over the edge again, your walls clenching him so tight he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to remove himself. He did his best to continue pumping into you roughly now as he sought his own release, certain you wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow. Like you’d need to, anyway.
“F-fill me up, Arthur,” you begged unexpectedly through your euphoria, and he didn’t need anything else to convince him. With only a few more bruising thrusts he stilled inside you as he emptied his seed in hot ropes into you, groaning loudly as he lazily leaned his forehead to yours again, his own eyes screwed shut.
He didn’t remove himself from you when you’d both ridden your orgasms, instead holding you close and reaching to cover the two of you in one of the blankets that was on the floor. He wrapped his arms around you tightly to hold you closer to him, slipping one of his legs between yours for additional comfort and warmth. Still semi-hard with plenty of stamina to offer you couldn’t ignore the feeling of him seated in you still, buried as deep as possible as he brushed his nose against yours.
“Be a whole lot warmer this way,” he offered, giving a subtle move of his hips to emphasize the meaning behind his words. He pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose before reaching upward to kiss your forehead, leaving his lips resting there. He was right – you did finally feel warm.
“Mm,” was all you could reply, laying your head against his shoulders and closing your eyes, burrowing your face into his neck. He smiled as you managed to press lazy kisses into his neck before wrapping your arms around him as well.
“Think I’ll keep you here all winter,” he offered after several blissful moments, his head leaning to rest on the top of yours as his own eyes closed. He pressed one final kiss to your temple before succumbing to the comfort of you fully.
“Always knew you were a big teddy bear, Arthur,” you teased. How you managed to run your mouth still after he’d fucked you right was beyond him – but it was also probably a reason he’d want to keep fucking you.
“We’ll call it hibernation, then.”
masterlist. red dead redemption masterlist.
#arthur morgan#arthur morgan x reader#arthur morgan x you#arthur morgan fanfiction#arthur morgan smut#red dead redemption 2#rdr2 fanfic#rdr2 smut
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A Tribute To Helmets
I grew up during the Apollo space missions, and whilst I didn't show a particular interest in NASA's exploits, I received a kid's space suit and helmet as a present. I vividly recall how different things sounded when I put the helmet over my head. I think that was the point when my kinky fascination for helmets began.
From my childhood, I remember watching an episode of the early Flash Gordon series (in monochrome) where Ming places a helmet on the head of one of his dissenting subordinates. Once the helmet was strapped on, the man became compliant, passive and drone-like.
At that moment I realised that something designed for safety and protection could also have very nefarious uses. Combined with visual and audio stimulation, the helmet could also contain electronic circuitry that can disrupt the natural processes in the brain. Helmets could also contain syringes, which can deliver chemicals and other substances directly into the head to suppress and indivual's throughts.
So here is my AI tribute to the Helmet, and how, when placed on the head it can strip away emotion, knowledge, purpose and individuality.
This man in his early twenties was just starting out in life. He had dreams of being successful, having the perfect suburban life - wife, kids and the kind of home people dream of. He had just agreed to join a multinational conglomerate, and as part of his induction he was required to take a medical. So on the appropriate day at the specifed time he turns up for what he thought would be a routine appointment.
On arrival, he was taken into a private room. He was asked to disrobe and was given a set of leathers and boots to wear, which, despite all his reservations he put on.
Once the leathers were zipped up and boots were on his feet, he was escorted to a room where a lab assistant placed a full-face helmet onto his head. He was then taken into a room filled with tech and video screens. The technician typed some commands into a computer and the helmet activated.
Isolated wearing the helmet, he was subjected to audio and visual stimulation; stripping away his own throughts and identity. Replacing it with a predetermined 'template', which the company would deploy as necessary. Thoughts of family, kids and friends replaced with absolute loyalty to the company.
'Physical' completed, the company has deployed him 'into the field'. Now a biker, his primary objective is to ride around and recruit candidates to join the company.
Meanwhile...
Some scientists are about to record the disruptive effects of their advanced helmets on three 'volunteers'. Once the helmets are fitted the volunteers will follow instructions and head to drone processing.
Elsewhere, two cyclists have been given new 'aerodynamic' helmets for a week to try.
Affixed to their heads, they will have no desire to ever remove their helmets - ever.
Sticking with a sport theme, the new coach has provided the team with revolutionary and technologically advanced helmets. These not only offer superior protection to the head, but also allow the coach a direct interface into the players' minds. It's going to be a successful season for this team.
There are worried faced amongst this army platoon - and they should be worried.
They will follow the General's orders to place the helmet on their heads. When they do their individual thoughts will become suppressed as they turn into droned soldiers. No more briefings, no reliance on old technology like radio transmissions, which can be hacked into by the enemy. The helmet will ensure all orders issued by the commanders are transmitted directly into their brains.
There are changes afoot in civilian life too. A new force for law and order is being created. One by one members of the police force are invited to undergo a routine medical.
Soon they will all be fitted with helmets; permanently connecting them directly to the company network, with orders transmitted directly into their brains.
There is to be a zero tolerance of crime - even minor misdemeanors. So they begin to 'clean up the streets'.
Chavs and scallies are rounded up and each one is fitted with a helmet...
Once the work of the helmet is done, a new 'drone' is sent out onto the streets as a 'recruiter' for the company.
They're also recruiting in colleges and universities...
And back in the boardroom, the executives are monitoring progress of the company's plan.
Each member of the so-called 'C-suite' has been given a helmet to allow speedier decision making and negate the need for laptops, smartphones and video screens. Directly connected to the company's network through their helmet, they follow the instructions fed directly into their brains - following them to the letter. After all each helmet ensures they are exemplary servants of the company.
Hope you enjoyed my AI tribute to the helmet. Depending on the feedback I might do a second helmet blog.
Oh, in case you were wondering which is my favourite helmet, it's my Arai Corser, pictured below.
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The Lost Haven (11/16)
[ modern mafia • Aemond x niece • female ]
[ warnings: incest obviously, sex content, smut, the angst, semi-public intimacy, cockwarming, description of someone being shot, violence, uncomfortable conversations, bad, bad things ]
[ description: The vacation from eight years ago still haunts his memories and doesn't let him forget what happened between him and his niece, the daughter of his sister and Harwin Strong. Their paths separate and he immerses himself in his father's mafia world until the day she calls him for the first time since those events. Sexual tension, dark, dangerous, withdrawn, thirsty Aemond. ]
Author’s note: As promised, this is another, this time official modern version of The Fall from the Heavens. In this version, Daemon is not related to the family, but is simply Rhaenyra's husband and the leader of the second gang, Alys and Larys are also not related to each other, but Larys is Harwin's brother. I will partly refer to the original series, hiding some easter eggs, and some will be a completely new, fresh plot. As in every universe, only Aemond calls her Rhaenys and this is not her real name (she is unnamed character and the others also do not know that he calls her that). There will be a lot more brutality and angst in this version, so watch out. You can read this as a standalone story.
Series & Characters Moodboard Aemond & Rhaenys Moodboard
* English is not my first language. Please, do not repost. Enjoy! *
Next chapters: Masterlist
_____
He got his girlfriend back.
Not quite in the way he had imagined, but the thought of him being her boyfriend and her taking it seriously made him feel a wave of confidence after years of doubt.
It had to do not so much with the fact that he had gained what he wanted, but rather with the idea that although his grandfather had accustomed him to the thought that there was a path for him only by his side, he now knew otherwise.
Criston Cole had been the first person to reveal to him how tense the situation was among their men, how furious they were that Otto had decided out of sheer spite to bet on Aegon, his pawn, putting too much power in his hands.
Aegon's orders and the fact that some of their bodyguards now had to listen to him made them turn to him, looking for another alternative.
He was their alternative and presented them with his plan.
Having known them for so many years, aware of what their strengths and weaknesses were, he assigned them tasks, spreading his net over the city, slowly tightening the noose around all the places that had ever belonged to Larys Strong.
He had promised his Rhaenys that he would never kill or harm anyone again, at least not in the way he had done so far, so he decided to rely on his wits and logic. He offered the old owners to help pay their debts and cooperate with them in exchange for them giving up the clubs without a fight.
Those who did not agree experienced a loud gunfight and a bit of fear: he paid the police in advance to stay out of it, so no police car came to the addresses indicated even when someone called the police station.
His grandfather was furious and that pleased him most of all.
By focusing on the fight with Daemon he had completely let go of the subject of Larys' legacy and had paid the price. He also felt pride, because in a way he had regained what belonged to the father of the woman he loved, so it was also a tribute to her.
She only allowed him to see her once a week, but they wrote to each other constantly: he out of sheer longing, she to make sure he was still alive.
Sitting on the couch in Heavenly Beach, despite his employees sitting around him, partying with the girls who were apparently most attracted to gangsters, he sat with his head in his phone, writing a message to her, feeling like a teenager in high school.
He grinned involuntarily as he read her reply, feeling the thrill as he did every time she teased him.
She was trying to keep him at a distance and push him away, he knew that.
He swallowed hard when, a moment later, his phone vibrated and his eyes were presented with a photograph of her lying on her stomach, on her body only her panties and top, from under which a little fragment of her breast was peeking out, pressed against the sheet, her loose hair spread in disarray, her lips parted in a sweet, dreamy, warm expression.
He stared at the picture for a moment, feeling involuntarily that he grew hot, his manhood swollen in his trousers. He ran his hand over his chin, sinking into the world of his fantasies, having not been able to experience fulfilment with her for weeks despite her allowing him to touch her.
Partly.
"What are you doing, boss? Have some fun with us. Alice is lovely and lonely." Said Allan, embracing one of the girls, pretty and slim, who giggled quietly, looking him boldly straight in the face.
He got up without a word and went out the back exit to smoke a cigarette, dialing her phone number on the way. She didn't answer for a long time, as was her usual habit, but after a while he heard her sigh on the other end, indicating her impatience.
"– I asked you so many times – why are you doing this? –"
"– I wanted to hear your voice –" He hummed, taking a drag, tilting his head back, enjoying this moment.
Silence answered him on the other side.
"– my grandfather is trying to contact me – to make a deal – to make me his successor again – but I don't know if I want it – what do you think? –" He asked, taking a drag again, the tip of his cigarette turning red with a quiet hiss.
He heard her swallow hard, horrified by his words.
"– don't do it – don't go back there –" She whispered.
They were both silent for a long moment.
"– I'm worried about my mother – she's torn between Criston and her father, she's begging me to come back – she and Cole had an affair for many years, even before my father died –" He said indifferently, looking up at the sky, spotting the outline of a crescent moon among the darkness.
"– did you know about this? –" She asked shocked, and he sighed heavily.
"– yes –"
His girlfriend grunted, trying to speak quietly.
"– she's not part of all this – let her stay out of it – your grandfather's reign won't last forever – Otto wants you to worry about such things – he knows you love and care for her – he'll treat her and Helaena as bargaining chips –"
He nodded, letting out a loud puff of smoke through his nose, having exactly the same opinion as her, surprised at how much peace he felt.
She was the only one who could understand him.
She was the only one he could get advice from.
She was the only one he could trust.
"Thank you. Sleep well."
"I'm here for you." She muttered quickly, as if she feared he was about to hang up.
He hummed under his breath, extinguishing the remnants of his cigarette on the metal basket, feeling the warmth in his heart at her words.
"I know."
The next day, the sight of her in the library filled him with both euphoria and frustration – he knew she wasn't wearing a bra to annoy him, at the same time tempting him when he knew he couldn't take her, and wanting him to know that any other men could look shamelessly at her nipples.
All his anger at her and what she was doing to him vanished when she pulled her shirt off, her half-naked body covered from the others only by a few rows of bookcases.
Thank goodness it was summer and no one went there.
Her nipples were swollen and hard under his tongue, her breast plump and soft between his fingers. The smell of her naked skin, the heat that emanated from her, her hands clenched in his hair, holding him close drove him mad. His groan vibrated through her soft skin as he felt her hips begin to roll deliberately back and forth, rubbing against his throbbing, swollen manhood.
"– fuck, let me – please – just this once –" He mumbled, switching from one of her breasts to the other, slightly larger, which could not be seen at first glance.
The thought of being so close to her and yet not being able to have all of her, like he had then, that night, was driving him crazy.
This was her punishment for what he had done to her.
He sighed as she rose suddenly from her knees, putting her T-shirt over her head, his hand involuntarily going to her calf, wanting to hold her, his body hot with desire, his heart pounding like mad in his chest.
Not yet.
Just a moment longer.
"– baby –"
"– next week Professor Addams is organising a private excavations two hours away from our town – it's a site in one of the medieval fortresses of our region, very important and he needs volunteers – I've offered to let you come and to count it as your student practices, so that you would have to make up less of them during the academic year – professor will rent rooms for all of us in a hotel nearby – if you come and do your best, I'll let you sleep with me –" She said lightly, throwing him a calm, expectant look, like a teacher looking at her student.
He swallowed hard and stood up with her, shocked, his length pulsed hard at her words.
I'll let you sleep with me.
"– do you mean it? –" He asked with difficulty, unsure if he could stand it any longer, if he knew whether he could pass the next test she wanted to put before him.
"– yes, but it's two weeks – you'd then either have to give up your job, or drive to do your errands at night and come back in the morning –" She explained as if nothing had ever happened, grabbing her backpack.
He caught her around the waist and pulled her aggressively to himself, making her body slam into his, his heart in his throat.
"– promise me –"
Instead of words, she did what she'd forbidden him to do since they'd started dating: her wonderfully moist, swollen lips pressed against his, and he groaned loudly, shocked. He sighed, pressing her body closer to his as her slick tongue slid between his teeth, licking him invitingly, making his cock swell painfully hard in his trousers.
I'm not going to make it, he thought, I'm just going to rip her panties off and fuck her on the floor.
She, however, pushed him away, looking at him with her mouth wide open, in her eyes pleading, warmth, affection.
Everything he wanted so badly.
"– I'll write you all the details later – take it seriously –" She mumbled out with a pain from which he felt his heart squeeze, not knowing how to act, feeling with desperation that he was unable to wait any longer.
"– I love you –" He muttered, something in her gaze from which he grew hot.
"– I love you too –"
He stared at her like an idiot, feeling like he was running out of breath, because here she was, for the first time responding to his confession, for the first time saying those words.
I love you too.
He felt something inside him break, that if he didn't feel her right away he would just start crying.
"– I need you – please –"
"– be there –" She mumbled and walked out, leaving him alone.
He thought it was pathetic that he was so desperate that he hid his face in his hands and burst out crying.
He longed for her closeness, for her tenderness, and she only gave him moments when he craved hours, days, months.
He thought heaven and earth might collapse, but he had to go to these goddamn excavations, if only to spend two weeks fucking her all night.
"Two weeks? You shouldn't disappear for that long. The situation is precarious." Said Cole, shaking his head, sitting with him over a drink that same evening.
"I'll be available at night, I'll come by a few times to keep an eye on things. It's only a two-hour drive from here. This case is really important to me." He said, and Criston hummed with understanding.
"I'll do my best, but let's keep in touch."
He nodded at his words.
"Call if something happens."
Even the news that perhaps her ex would be part of their escapade couldn't spoil his mood: he wasn't sure he'd been this excited and terrified at the same time since he was a small child.
On the one hand, it was a dream come true for him, on top of it being in her company; on the other, it was a leap into the deep end of the unknown in a group of people who were strangers and who he didn't know if they would accept him.
He couldn't help the fact that he didn't like to talk much, that others' questions made him uncomfortable, that he felt cornered when too many people looked at him at once.
Nevertheless, as soon as he got the message from her that Daemon had been gone for a few hours, waiting a few streets behind the hotel so as not to arouse suspicion, he pulled up in the car park and got out of the car, looking around.
He thought she would be waiting for him, but he couldn't see her anywhere.
This made him do what he hated to do, which was to ask a stranger something.
A couple of students, looking at him with surprise in their eyes, showed him the way, telling him that his girlfriend was in the area where the research was to take place.
Walking there from a distance, he thought with awe that it was a huge project: there was a gigantic stone fortress towering over them, around which he understood there had been many wooden houses in medieval times, of which there was now no trace.
He swallowed hard when he heard her voice from afar and stepped uncertainly into one of the tents, all eyes on him.
He felt warmth in his heart seeing that she smiled at the sight of him, her eyes shining with pure happiness.
She loved him.
Not even the rage at the sight of Robb could take away the satisfaction he felt at what he had done to her, at the ease with which her body had taken him in as soon as the door from their hotel room had closed behind them.
He wasn't sure if his brain was functioning at all during this act, because he was too stunned by pleasure and desire, the simple, primitive thrusting into her again and again with low, pathetic groans of delight.
She was so wonderfully warm, moist and soft, squeezing and enveloping his cock so perfectly, that he felt like crying.
His niece.
That night they made love twice more, completely bare, with no shame or regret, no thoughts of morality or propriety. What he focused on were her moans, her cunt squeezing him in convulsions of pleasure, dripping with her desire, his lips melting with hers in sticky, loud, deep kisses full of their tongues and saliva, their fingers entwined together in a tender embrace over her head.
They fell asleep cuddled into each other like little children, stirring with difficulty on the single, cramped bed exactly as they had then, eight years ago.
He felt, looking at her peaceful face immersed in sleep every time he awoke in the night, that he had regained something.
He had regained her.
In the morning, to their frustration, their alarm clock woke them up. They were both sleepy and half-unconscious when they showered together, soaping each other's bodies and hair, brushing their lips lazily against each other's, running their hands over each other's naked, wet bodies.
There was something wonderfully natural about the way her figure clung to his, seeking refuge in his embrace, his arms pressing her against his body, his hand stroking her hair, her eyes closed in complete peace.
They both felt it.
His niece froze and blinked when she saw him start to dress, putting on exactly the same clothes as usual.
"No. After all, we will be working in sand and dirt. I told you to take something to change into." She said, and he scratched his chin, recognising that perhaps, indeed, his black trousers and Tshirt were not a good idea for such heat.
"I took my tracksuit bottoms and some other old clothes, but I won't look very neat in that." He confessed with embarrassment, rummaging through his bag.
She knelt down beside him, looking through his things together, apparently trying to find something that would be suitable.
"You have to be comfortable first and foremost. And you have to have a baseball cap."
"What?"
"I took one for you. Otherwise you'll get sunstroke."
It occurred to him, when he'd put on everything she'd told him to, that he looked like a drunk from under the shop. He was relieved when it turned out that she herself had dressed in a similar way, a white Tshirt and tracksuit shorts on her body, a baseball cap on her head, her hair tied up in a braid.
If they were going to look like drunks from under the shop, then at least together.
As soon as they reached the tent where they were all supposed to gather it became apparent that if he had come dressed the way he wanted to, he would have made an idiot of himself.
They all looked alike, dressed in bright, light clothes that might as well have been pyjamas. He pressed his lips together, spotting Robb among the other students.
He hoped he had heard her moans as he walked past their room.
How good she felt with him as he took her for himself again and again.
The professor greeted them and assigned them their tasks. To his surprise and relief at the same time, the man divided them into three groups. One was to be led by himself, another by Robb and the third by his girlfriend.
Her words that she was his assistant and how much the professor trusted her were not mere boasts, he thought with admiration.
He had, of course, been assigned to her group and was relieved at the thought that for the rest of his stay he wouldn't have to look at her ex any more than necessary.
His Rhaenys knew most of the people she worked with, who were simply her colleagues from the lower years of their studies. They had specific spaces designated for research and their task for the day was simple: digging.
Of course, the upper layers of the earth were removed by special excavators, but at some point they had to work by hand so as not to destroy any artifacts hidden beneath the surface.
There was something liberating and relaxing about the fact that this activity of driving a shovel deep into the ground and digging a big hole in it didn't require him to think too much.
After a few hours, he already understood why his niece had made him put a baseball cap on his head and why they had each brought a couple of big bottles of water for themselves: sweat was running down his back from the heat and from time to time he had to take a break to drink.
To his relief, even though the people in the group were talking to each other, fooling around and laughing, they didn't drag him into any discussions or distract him from his work. Rhaenys was digging too, approaching each person when they expressed the opinion that they might have come across some historical relic.
After only half an hour, one of the girls stumbled upon a coin from the 19th century.
The real excitement he felt was when his shovel hit something that clanked as if it were made of metal.
"Rhaenys?" He called, and though the people around him didn't know who he meant, his niece walked up to him, cocking her head in curiosity, her face all pink with exertion.
"What's wrong?" She asked softly, and he hit the spot he had just dug with his shovel again, intending to make the same sound.
His discovery piqued interest.
He crouched down, letting his girlfriend, more experienced and confident in what she was doing, take the smaller shovel, digging around the object, one of her colleagues took the brush, shaking the dust off its surface.
"It's a German pistol. Second World War. Very good condition." He stated, and his girlfriend nodded.
"Yes, the Germans were in this fortress in the 1940s. Good job, Aemond, secure it and sign it. Give this object a number as I explained to you this morning." She said, patting him on the back, and he nodded.
"Your first find. Feels cool, doesn't it?" Said the boy, whose name he understood was Cregan, but he didn't know what he was supposed to answer him, feeling uncomfortable at the thought that everyone was looking at him.
"Yeah." He muttered, looking down at his knuckles, for some reason losing the confidence he gained at night in clubs when he was about to put a gun to someone's head.
When he wasn't about to hurt or scare someone he was helpless and didn't know how to act.
They had spent the whole day doing manual labour and although his erection had swollen all over feeling her naked body pressed against his under the refreshing shower, he didn't even have the strength to move, let alone fuck her hard.
So he ended up making soft, tender love to her, his hips rocking lazily inside her, sinking again and again into the tightness of her sticky, throbbing cunt.
Her naked back was nestled against his sweaty chest, his face snuggled against the hollow of her neck as his fingers dug deeper into her fleshy folds with her quiver of pleasure, his free hand holding her thigh spread wide, allowing him to reach as deep as possible with the tip of his erection.
"– no – it hurts –" She muttered, and he froze and stopped moving, rising up on his elbow, his breath deep and heavy, his heart pounding fast in his chest.
"– what, baby? –" He whispered, placing a soft, gentle kiss on her cheek, wanting to make amends to her for whatever he had done to her. She turned her face towards him, stroking his bare arm.
"– when you're too deep – it hurts –" She confessed.
"– 'm sorry –" He hummed, their lips joined in a sticky, wet, tender kiss. He ran the tip of his nose over her face, his cock twitching deep inside her while his thumb teased her swollen clit with lazy, circular motions, her body twitching again and again in pleasure.
He swallowed hard as she rose up and slid his erection out of her, thinking with horror that she had had enough of him and intended to sleep separately, she, however, turned to face him. He sighed, surprised, as her fingers gently grasped the base of his manhood, all soaked from her wetness, directing the swollen, pink head of it against her slit.
With a tentative, slow thrust of his hips he opened her on his fat length, sliding into her slick walls with ease, sinking anew into her wonderful warmth that soothed him.
He moaned softly as she threw her arms around his neck, as her bare breasts pressed against his chest, as her puffy, sweet lips joined his in a greedy, deep kiss full of affection and tenderness. He sank his fingers into the soft skin of her back and buttocks, beginning to pound into her anew, feeling her completely differently in this angle.
They began to pant into each other's throats, licking and teasing each other, a wonderful shudder shook his body as her lips traveled lower, to his jaw, to his neck, to his shoulders, kissing and sucking on him, leaving wet, warm marks behind.
"– fuck – ah –" He exhaled, feeling his cock throbbing hard inside her fleshy walls, the wonderful tingling in his lower abdomen and testicles filling his head with utter emptiness, pure desire to fill her with his seed.
Their foreheads pressed against each other and their bodies intertwined in a loving, close embrace as they began to chase their fulfilment, loud, sticky splats building their way to release.
"– u-uncle – 'm close –" She mewled like a child, her sweet, leaking cunt beginning to clench on his cock, sucking it inside her. He kissed her temple, snuggling her into his body, slamming into her with loud grunts of pleasure.
"– me too, baby – my sweet little girl –" He exhaled and threw his head back, feeling a wonderful, overpowering relief, his erection beginning to pulsate deep inside her, filling her with his semen.
She moaned, rising and falling on his quivering erection, reaching her own peak with a innocent, girlish moan of delight, sending him into a state of complete ecstasy. They hugged each other, saying nothing more, not separating their bodies, wanting to remain as they were now, as close as possible.
The presence of her body right beside him, the fact that her sticky pussy was warming his soft manhood, his arms and hands entwined in a tender embrace made him sleep a stony, peaceful sleep, tired and satisfied.
To his relief, Criston had kept him informed of the state of affairs and it appeared that relative calm prevailed apart from a few minor incidents, so his presence on the scene was not necessary for the time being.
He took malicious satisfaction in the moments when his niece would be called by Daemon, wanting to make sure she was okay. She would talk to him on the phone while his hands traveled over her naked body, stroking her thighs, belly and breasts, his lips brushing gently against the skin of her neck, merely teasing her.
She usually tried to pull away from him when his thumb, seemingly by accident, ran over her nipple, when his fingers sank tentatively into her womanhood, leaking all over from her moisture and his spend with which he had filled her moments before.
Although he was a grown man, he felt like he was a child again.
In the days that followed, he felt that he loosened up a bit with the group of people he had to work with – he didn't talk to them and concentrated on his tasks, but it seemed to him that they simply stopped paying attention to him, which suited him. They were not spiteful or unpleasant about it: they apparently recognised that this was his nature and left him alone.
His Rhaenys was a different person at work: she smiled and joked a lot, easily having dozens of conversations with all sorts of people, even those she didn't know, winning their sympathy. He somehow admired how unforced her talkativeness, assertiveness and empathy were, how easily she made difficult decisions when others were panicking.
"– fuck – I think I broke it –" Cregan said, leaning over something that looked from a distance like a vase still half-buried in the ground.
"– call the restorers – get them to secure the cavities so nothing else breaks and they're able to put it back together later –" She said without a trace of annoyance or aggression. The boy nodded in agreement and stepped out of the big, wide hole they were sitting in, doing exactly what she'd told her.
"You're good at this." He stated as they sat alone at breakfast break under one of the trees, looking at the large stone fortress stretching out before their eyes.
Although their group sat elsewhere, she chose to stay with him, as she always did.
He felt an uncomfortable squeeze in his heart at the thought that, as much as he wanted to, he didn't fit in with neither her friends nor the world.
He was a perpetual obstacle to her, a wall between what she deserved and the miserable scraps she suffered in his presence through his vanity.
She looked at him and cocked her head, a wide smile on her face.
She was happy.
"What do you mean?" She asked, in some natural reflex cuddling her face into his, her hand on his shoulder. He kissed the tip of her nose, stroking her skin with his palm, feeling a subconscious surge of desire, as he always did when she showed him tenderness and interest.
"You're made for this job. For being with these people. But you need to sit with me instead." He muttered wearily, looking down at his fingers in shame.
"I don't have to. No one is forcing me to."
"You're afraid that if you leave me, I'll become the way I was. You're paying the price for my satisfaction."
She leaned in, wanting to look at his face, but he closed his eyes, feeling shame and regret, for some reason unable to enjoy it all, to relax, to let go.
"You would want this, wouldn't you? For me to disappoint you. To pack up and go home, to escape what is uncomfortable for you. Loneliness is safe, I know that better than anyone. But if you want to be alone, what are you doing here?" She asked.
He looked at her and shook his head, feeling tears burning under his eyelids.
"I don't know. I feel good and bad at the same time. I'm fulfilling my dream, I have you, but I can't enjoy it all because in the back of my mind I'm wondering if Cole is going to call me at night to tell me all hell has broken loose. It's like what's going on right now is a dream, and I'm aware that I'm going to wake up. As if I have to watch something I know I'll lose one day." He mouthed, bursting out crying, choking on his own tears. He covered his ears with his hands and leaned his head between his knees, panting loudly, feeling like he was just experiencing a panic attack.
"– God, Aemond – calm down – calm down, I'm here – this isn't a dream – my feelings for you – the fact that you're here – it's all real – don't you feel it? –" She asked in a whisper, enclosing him in the warm, safe embrace of her arms, pressing his face between her breasts where he took refuge.
He closed his eyes, concentrating only on her fingers combing through his hair, on her warmth, on her scent, on the softness of her body.
She didn't let go of him for a moment, stroking his head, neck and back, placing a tender kiss on his temple once in a while. Slowly his breathing calmed, the pounding of his heart slowed, and his body relaxed in her soft, caring, loving arms.
She let him settle on her thighs, let him snuggle into her lap: she stroked him like a small child, saying nothing, letting him just be, drawing on her closeness, her understanding, her wisdom and kindness.
He thought that if he could die now, in her embrace, he would be happy.
Her words and closeness gave him comfort and for that afternoon, looking at her from afar, sitting on the sand, he thought he was truly happy.
Truly at peace.
And then he saw five missed calls from Cole and one message from him.
"I'll go with you." She said, watching as he changed into his normal clothes.
"No fucking way." He growled, looking at her with impatience, wanting her to get the idea out of her head.
"I'll be waiting for you in the car. Don't leave me alone." She begged.
"No. I'll be back before dawn. I promise." He said, kissing her forehead quickly and left, feeling that if he looked at her again, he wouldn't be able to drive there.
Some part of him dreaded going back there, as if being in the light for so long would blind him to the point where he wouldn't be able to see anything in the dark.
Late in the evening, he arrived at Heavenly Beach and went inside, asking one of the bodyguards what had happened. The man nodded towards one of the lodges – his brother was spread out in the company of three girls enjoying himself at his best, buying everyone a round of shots.
"He didn't pay for anything, boss. He says you're the one paying for the booze and the whores tonight."
He moved towards him feeling his jaw clench in rage, the loud music around him ringing in his ears, the twinkling lights around him making him feel like he was about to vomit.
Aegon spotted him and stood up from the couch, pointing at him with his hand.
"Here is my brother. To him you owe such a great party tonight, applause for him!" He called out, the drunken part of the club guests echoed him in euphoria, but the rest were silent, looking at them with concern.
"I think my brother drank too much." He said coldly, towering over him after a moment, looking at him with a dispassionate gaze. "And he doesn't know that he's going to pay for what he ordered and the women he brought with him himself."
"And where's your woman? Hm? Our pretty niece. Did you know, guys, that he kissed her when they were kids? He was already fucked up then." Aegon sneered, taking a loud sip of whisky from his glass, embracing one of his women, a pretty, blue-eyed blonde with his arm.
His men looked at each other in dismay, apart from the background music all around them complete silence.
"Get up, take your whores and get out of my club. Now." He said in a voice that didn't bear objecting, but Aegon only laughed and sighed.
"You know what the worst part is? He's still fucking her. My father was lying dead and he was in the next room banging that poor girl. Tell us, did you rape her? You surely did, she would never want you of her own free will. But in what position? Missionary? No, no, I know! In doggy-style, like a hound. You have always been faithful like a dog. Woof, woof!" He scoffed, and something snapped inside him.
His brother froze, looking at him with big eyes as he pointed his gun straight at his forehead, the girls around him squealed in terror and broke out of his embrace, moving as far away from them as they could.
"– wow, wow, wow – calm down, have you completely lost your fucking mind? –" Aegon asked in a trembling voice, raising his hands in a gesture of submission, and for some reason he grinned broadly.
"– I didn't rape her – she wanted it – we did it a few more times after that – she was always good to me, unlike you – we're together now, you know? –" He hummed, cocking his head with an expression of satisfaction on his face, thinking in the back of his mind that this was who he just was, who he wanted to become.
He felt powerful, strong, invincible.
"– what the fuck are you talking about? –" Aegon muttered, shaking his head as if he thought his younger brother had simply gone mad.
He, however, had never felt his mind so sharp and focused before.
"– our grandfather made you his successor to reason with me – before our father died he said he would pass everything on to me and that was his original plan – but after Larys put the rape pill in her drink, I couldn't let him live – I don't expect you to understand that though – loyalty, devotion, affection – look at you – you must have pissed your pants with fear, am I wrong? – stand up, show yourself to everyone –" He sneered, raising his voice defiantly so that everyone could hear him.
There was complete silence all around them.
"– I said stand up –" He growled seeing that his brother was looking at him with big eyes red from tears, his mouth quivering in horror and humiliation.
Yes, he thought.
Feel what I felt.
He, completely naked then, standing up to his waist in water, his face all swollen from tears.
"– it's an unpleasant feeling, hm? – humiliation –" He said, watching as Aegon stood up slowly, the large, dark stain on his light-coloured trousers suggesting he was right.
He grinned at him and thought that such a lesson would be enough for him, lowering his gun, but his brother threw himself at him, climbing onto the table, wanting to get him with his own hands, and in a subconscious, involuntary reflex he fired.
His brother gasped heavily, as if surprised, and grabbed himself by the stomach, falling backwards onto the couch, another dark spot forming where he pressed his hand.
"– you fucking shot me –" He mumbled out, and he shook his head, feeling his whole body freeze, people around him screaming and running away, his and Aegon's bodyguards starting to shoot at each other, causing a general panic.
Cole grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him towards the side exit, saying loudly that they should call an ambulance.
He saw her sweet face, felt the embrace of her warm arms, her moist lips placing tender kisses on his face.
He thought that if Aegon died, she would never forgive him.
He promised her that whatever happened, he wouldn't be a murderer.
"– this son of a bitch has to survive – do you understand? –" He said and turned, running up the stairs, several of his bodyguards moving towards his brother, trying to stop the bleeding.
Criston nodded and pulled out his phone to make a call to the hospital.
By the time he walked him to his car the ambulance was on its way.
"– get out of here – hide somewhere – you shot him low in the stomach – I think he'll make it – I'll let you know when I find out something –"
He nodded and sit inside the car, hearing the gunshots again – Criston fell to the ground and hid under one of the trucks while he started to back up and with a squeal of tyres drove ahead.
Only now, heading ahead through streets full of lamplight did he wonder what he had actually done.
He had shot his brother.
He told him their secret.
Everyone heard it, Daemon would find out, and she would be in danger.
He swallowed hard, running his hand over his face, thinking that he just wanted Aegon to feel what he had felt for so many years, that he wanted to teach him a lesson, show him who was in charge, who was better, smarter, cleverer.
Who was the better son, the better brother, the better lover, the better man.
But for the first time he asked himself, was he really better than him?
He was just as scared, just as helpless, just as small.
He had nearly killed his older brother.
That thought, and the realisation that Aegon really might not have made it, caused him to burst into a loud, hysterical sob, and cover his mouth with his hand, trying to silence the sound that was coming from it.
As he drove ahead all he could feel was fear, fear of her gaze, her disgust, her rejection.
Why would she want to be at the side of someone like him?
When he arrived it was almost morning, dozens of missed calls from her and messages asking if and when he would be back were evidence that she had been up all night.
Before he walked into their room, he stood outside the door for a moment, wondering how he was supposed to explain this to her, what to say so she wouldn't tell him to pack up and get out of her life.
He had ruined everything.
When he opened the door he had the feeling that his whole body was quivering, stiff and tense: her gaze, her eyes and cheeks were red from tears, her eyebrows arched in pain told him that she was convinced that he had left her, that he had deceived her, that he had used her again.
She rose and wanted to throw herself into his arms, but he spoke up faster, not wanting to deceive her.
"I shot Aegon."
She stopped in her half-step, looking at him in disbelief, her expression seeming as if she hadn't understood what he'd said.
"What?"
He drew in a loud breath, feeling that he was a little boy again, a terrified child who had broken a very expensive, valuable vase and had to explain why it had happened.
"He was fucking mocking me. He implied that I raped you. In my own club. In front of my men." He muttered as if it changed anything, realising how pathetic he sounded.
The thought that he had lost everything again, that there was no way she could forgive him made him hide his face in his hands and just weep.
All he wanted was for her to hug him, to tell him that everything was going to be alright, that she knew he had hurt and abused him all his life, that she had witnessed it herself.
That she understood that something had simply snapped inside him.
"Is he...is he dead?"
He swallowed hard, trying to calm himself, his breath heavy and hitched in panic, his heart pounding like mad in his chest.
"I don't know. I shot him in the stomach and he's in hospital. He threw himself at me and scared me and I just fired. He saw I had a fucking gun in my hand!" He exclaimed as if he was ten years old and had just told his mum why his brother was lying unconscious on the floor after their fight.
"So you didn't kill him, did you? You didn't mean to do it. It was an accident. He scared you and you fired, but if he hadn't, you wouldn't have shot him." She said slowly in a trembling, terrified voice, and he lowered his hands, looking at her with big eyes, thinking that some part of him wanted to kill him then.
And then he remembered that after he felt that justice had been done, his hand with the gun lowered.
"– I – I just wanted him to stop laughing – he asked if I acted like a dog when I raped you – and I – God, baby, I told him about us in front of everyone – that we are together –" He mouthed, shaking his head, feeling completely naked, her expression of sadness and disappointment made him just sit on the bed, hide his face in his hands and cry, cry, cry.
"– I didn't mean it – I didn't know what to do – he wanted to humiliate me – me and you by spreading such rumours – I decided it was better to tell the truth than – I don't know – I'm so sorry –" He mumbled, himself not knowing where he was going with this thought, feeling a huge, cold emptiness.
He tensed all over hearing her footsteps, lifting his gaze to her, thinking for some reason that she was going to slap him.
She, however, knelt between his thighs, cupping his cheeks in her hands.
"– it would have come out eventually anyway – Aemond, I need to know what is going on inside your mind – if you –"
She asked, but was interrupted by the sound of his phone. He took it quickly out of his pocket seeing that his mother was calling him and swallowed hard feeling that he couldn't do it.
"– pick up – you have to do it, maybe she knows if Aegon is alive –"
But what if his brother was dead?
If he killed him with his own hands?
"– I can't – I don't want to –"
"– Aemond – prove to me who you are – take responsibility –"
He covered his face with his hand as he answered and put his phone to his ear.
"– is he alive? –" He muttered.
"– thank God yes – Aemond –" Alicent said, but he didn't let her finish, afraid of what she wanted to tell him.
That he had already been disgusting as a child and was a disgusting man now too.
"– I'm sorry – I'm sorry, Mum, it was an accident, I swear – he was drunk and he threw himself at me seeing that I had a gun in my hand and I just –"
"– I know – Aegon told me everything – he admitted he provoked you – but I don't understand how you could have let this happen – you are brothers – you almost killed each other for what? – for a few bags of drugs, thick files of money? –" She asked, and he closed his eyes, warm tears one after another flowing down his cheeks.
"– he said I raped her –"
Alicent was silent for a moment.
"– where are you now? – come to the hospital – apologise to each other, explain everything, start all over again –" His mother pleaded, but he wasn't sure if there was anything left that they could fix.
"– I don't know if I want to see him ever again, Mum – I want to rest – let him know I hope he recovers quickly and that I'm sorry –" He muttered and hung up, feeling he had nothing more to say to her.
His niece looked at him in pain, her hands on his thighs as she knelt between his legs.
If Alys had been sitting in her place, all he would have thought about was putting his cock down her throat, but in her case, there was something in her expression that made him crave something completely different, but equally intense.
"– please, embrace me –" He mumbled out, before hot tears again ran down his face one by one, his sobs so pitiful that she stood up quickly, frightened, and let their silhouettes fall together on the bed.
It wasn't until her arms hugged him into her chest, when his hands closed on her back, that he felt his whole body trembling.
"– close your eyes – breathe –" She whispered, pressing her cheek to the top of his head, her fingers combing lazily through his short hair.
He did as she said and tried to focus only on the air he was letting in and out of his mouth, all around them the quiet singing of birds amid the rising sun.
"– don't leave me –" He muttered, snuggling tighter into her warm, familiar body, her wonderful scent filling his entire lungs.
He heard her sigh softly, her hand stroked his back reassuringly.
"– I know how much you are suffering – I am here – you are safe now –" She said, and he felt his heart stop for a moment.
I know how much you are suffering.
I am here.
You are safe now.
He had longed to hear this from his mother, his father, his brother, from her for so many years that when it finally happened his body just froze.
"– I love you –" He whispered, however differently than usual, feeling like he was suffocating. "– God, I love you so much –"
His niece texted her friend that she and him had poisoned themselves with something and that they would come to work later, wanting him to take at least a little nap, knowing that he would fall into despair if she left him alone even for a moment.
He fell asleep only when he unbuttoned her shirt and cuddled his face between her bare, plump breasts, the warmth and softness of her naked body, her long fingers running over his head soothed him.
Despite what he feared, she understood him.
It's always been this way.
When she woke him, telling him she had to go, he begged her to just let him stay as he was, her skin warm and drenched with her scent, his body pressed against hers in a natural, vulnerable embrace.
"– I have to – I should have been there hours ago – but you stay, get some sleep –" She whispered, stroking his head. His eyebrows arched in pain as he shook his head at her words, roaming his hands over her body in a gesture of desperation, trying to stop her.
"– no – no –"
"– Aemond – please –" She said in pain, pressing him against her again hearing his heavy, loud breath, tears squeezing into his eyes.
She sighed.
"– come with me then –"
And he did, because he didn't want to be alone.
When they went outside for the first time she took his hand in hers, exactly like when they were little children playing on the beach. He tried to control himself, but the squeeze in his throat was proof that he wanted to cry again.
He was so exhausted.
"– don't work today – sit under the tree – I'll be next to you –" She said when they got there, but he shook his head and squeezed her fingers tighter between his own.
She looked at him with a gaze in which he saw everything – worry, affection, concern, sadness, understanding, desire. He felt his heart grow hot as his free hand rose to her face, running gently over her jawline, and she nuzzled her cheek into it, closing her eyes.
He leaned in and kissed her as if it was the most natural thing he'd ever done – her lips welcomed him with gentleness and tenderness, parting before his tongue, letting him slide it lazily inside. Her fingers stroked his neck as they clung to each other, sunk only in that sweet, sticky pleasure, humming contentedly, not caring if anyone saw it.
And then he heard it.
The screech of tyres.
By the time he heard her squeal and turned to see what was happening Daemon was already standing in front of him, his fist hit him in the face so hard that he fell to the ground, losing his hearing for a moment.
"– STOP IT –" He heard her scream as her step-father turned him onto his back, punching him with his fist again, again and again, warm liquid trickled from his nose, but he did not resist.
"– I promised you this –" He hissed with rage. "– I promised you that if you didn't leave her alone, I would kill you with my own hands –"
"– DAD, STOP – STOP, STOP, STOP –" She whimpered, trying to pull him away, several people interrupted their work, wanting to see what was happening, looking at this scene in disbelief.
Finally, professor Addams and Robb came out of the tent, hearing loud screams outside.
"– what is the meaning of this? – stop immediately, that's my student! –" The professor shouted. Daemon laughed and stood up from his knees, pointing his finger at her.
"– and that's my daughter and I'm taking her home –"
"– no –"
Daemon looked at her in a way that made her tremble with fear, his jaw clenched as tightly as if it was about to burst.
"– with you I will speak later –" He growled.
"– I won't go with you –"
Daemon wanted to grab her arm, and in a natural reaction he wanted to get up and protect her, however he was preceded by Robb, standing between her and her father.
"– she said no – she's an adult – should I call the police? – he can sue you for assault, you know that? –" He asked, a long, heavy silence fell around them.
He stood up, looking at him, then at her, Daemon's gaze fixed on her face.
"– if you don't come back with me, I can no longer protect you – you will break your mother's heart –" He said coldly, his words intended only for her.
He looked at her in horror, feeling his heart pounding like mad.
Her gaze when her eyes finally turned towards him was full of fear that because of him she would lose her future, her family, her peace of mind and everything she had before he stormed into her life again.
"– you promised me –" He muttered in a trembling voice, looking only at her, the only person who could give him what he desired.
She had promised him that if he tried, if he came here, if he changed, they would spend two weeks together.
"– I did –" She whispered and he felt his heart stop, convinced that this was it.
Their end.
"– let's get back to work –" She said and turned as if nothing had happened, heading towards one of the tents, startling him and everyone around him.
"– come here, I said! –" Growled Daemon, wanting to lunge at her and take her home by force, but Robb blocked his way again.
"– enough – one more step and I'll really call the police –" He threatened, her step-father's gaze shifting to his face after a moment.
He turned away, angry and pale, his hands clenched into fists as he got into his car and drove off with a loud screech.
Feeling his heart pounding like mad and not wanting to be left alone with Robb, he moved after her, adrenaline pulsing hard through his veins.
She had sacrificed herself for him.
Her family, her home.
Just for him.
When he stepped inside he wanted to embrace her, but she shook her head.
"Sit down. I'll get you some ice. Your cheek is all swollen." She said calmly, taking a few cubes out of the fridge and it was only then that he saw how much her hands were trembling.
"– baby – come here –" He whispered, gently placing his hand on the back of her head, and although she resisted for a moment, she finally allowed him to put his arms around her and cuddle her into him.
Her body was shaking.
"– I know, baby – it was very scary – I'm here –" He hummed tenderly, stroking her hair and back, his face pressed against the hollow of her neck.
"– I don't think I have anywhere to go back to –" She mumbled out with difficulty, heartbroken, and burst out into a quiet, exasperated cry.
He swallowed hard, hugging her tighter to him, coming up with an idea he knew their family would definitely not like.
"– you will live with me –"
#modern aemond#modern aemond targaryen#modern aemond angst#dark modern aemond#dark aemond#dark aemond targaryen#aemond targaryen#aemond one eye#hotd aemond#prince aemond#aemond fanfiction#aemond fic#aemond fanfic#aemond targaryen fanfiction#prince aemond targaryen#aemond angst#aemond fluff#modern aemond fluff#hotd fanfiction#hotd angst#hotd fanfic#hotd fic#hotd smut#aemond smut#ewan mitchell fanfiction#aemond x niece#aemond x female#aemond x female character#aemond targaryen smut#aemond targaryen angst
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6 Things I Learned from the Lisa Frankenstein Commentary
We don’t get movies like Lisa Franeknstein often, which is a shame because it’s endlessly charming yet delightfully twisted. While it disappointed at the box office, it has "cult classic" written all over it.
The coming-of-age horror-comedy is out today on Blu-ray and DVD. Among the special features is an audio commentary by Zelda Williams. Here are 6 things I learned…
1. Catch Me If You Can inspired the opening credit sequence.
The opening credit sequence, which briefly depicts the Creature's love story from his previous life in the style of Victorian shadow box art, was inspired by Catch Me If You Can.
"We wanted to do something interesting with the credits in this bit. I was really inspired by Catch Me If You Can, which I thought the opening credits were particularly interesting and helped establish the story before we ever got to it. And because Creature doesn't speak this whole movie, I wanted an opportunity to show what his life would have been like."
2. The film was originally intended to be rated R.
Although Lisa Frankenstein pushes the PG-13 rating as far as it can go, it was originally intended to be a hard R. Williams cites the party scene, in which Lisa originally smoked a laced joint rather than drinking a PCP cocktail, as a difficult revision.
"This is where stuff got a little complicated when we were going from R-rated to PG-13. Originally there was a coated joint they were passing around. This is one of the only scenes that I'm not sure I'm as fond of in comparison to the joint stuff. Most of the rest of the changes were fine, but this one I find very strange. It's just a very different reaction and interaction than what used to be there. However, these are the things that happen when making a movie."
3. Creature is an homage to Day of the Dead's Bub.
Not only Lisa is seen watching George A. Romero's Day of the Dead in the film, but the Creature is an homage to its iconic zombie, Bub.
"Creature for me is definitely an homage to Buster Keaton, but he's also an homage to the zombie you just saw on screen, Bub, who was in Day of the Dead, a Romero movie that I'm very fond of. It was an incredibly emotive and a very intelligent zombie and ended up getting revenge against the asshole in the movie. It was one of my favorite monsters ever made, so when I could put that on screen during the movie, it made me very happy."
4. Zelda hid a tribute to her father, Robin Williams.
Williams is the daughter of Robin Williams, and she included his 1983 comedy album, Throbbing Python of Love, among the records scattered on the floor in Lisa's living room.
"Oh, there's Dad! We used one of Dad's vinyl albums because we had to scatter some across the floor." She refers to it as "a little, mini Easter Egg for me."
5. The police officers are named after John Waters.
The police officers in the film are Officer John (played by Walker Babington) and Officer Waters (Sylvia Grace Crim) — named on a whim in honor of cult filmmaker, John Waters.
"They asked me to name the cops, because obviously they needed to have name tags, so I named them Officer John and Officer Waters." She thought no one would notice since they're so small, but a viewer pointed it out at a test screening.
6. The film is sprinkled with movie references.
Williams wore her influences on her sleeve with her directorial debut, and she pointed out several references on the commentary:
A Trip to the Moon (clip featured in Lisa's surreal dream sequence)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (stylistic inspiration on the dream sequence)
Weird Science (the party scene)
Suspiria (red lighting during drug sequence)
My Boyfriend's Back (camera shot from inside a grave looking up at characters)
Kill Bill (weapon point-of-view shot)
E.T. (a boy on a bike — played by Diablo Cody's son — at the end)
Notting Hill (reading together on a bench at the end)
Lisa Frankenstein is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital via Universal.
#lisa frankenstein#zelda williams#diablo cody#kathryn newton#cole sprouse#article#review#dvd#gift#liza soberano#henry eikenberry#joe chrest#carla gugino#horror#horror comedy
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Dove (part six)
Leon Kennedy x female reader - the slowest, slow burn I swear Part one. Part two. Part three. Part four. Part five.
After the two of you had finished dinner, you’d began clicking through the channels in search of something to watch. It was far too early to go to bed, or even pretend to go to it - you’d just be staring at the ceiling, alone with your thoughts. Leon had insisted on taking the dishes to the kitchen despite your offer to help, said he’d leave them in the sink to soak. You know that’s a task you’re not going to be able to handle until your arm is free of the sling, fingers unsplintered. You want to say you’ll do all the cooking and cleaning when you can, but that implies that you think you’ll still be in the safe house, with him, in however long it’ll take to be free of the sling...
By all intents and purposes, Leon had planned to wait until you’d gone to bed to pull together his report, but the fact that Hunnigan hadn’t replied to his text yet was giving him an unsettled feeling in his gut. Maybe she was doing it on purpose, tit for tat - no information for him until he gave information to her.
After setting the dishes and pan in soapy water to return to later, he’d come back to the sofa and picked the laptop up off the coffee table, almost reluctantly.
“Er, I’m gonna start my report now, if that’s all right?”
You look at him, noting the laptop now tucked under his arm. The report, of course – he hadn’t typed it up yet, couldn’t have, not when you’d sobbed and then napped all over him.
It’s like emotional whiplash - the soft, almost domestic moments where you could pretend this whole situation was normal - it’s dinner and a movie with a friend, first date vibes but both of you too cautious to make a move.
And then there’s the startling reminder that, no, actually, you’re not even home, in a one-bedroom bungalow, no idea where you are in the state, or what state, with a man, a bodyguard you hardly know, after very nearly being murdered the day before and could possibly be murdered in the days to come.
You must’ve stared too long in response as he raises his arm to rub the back of his head – you wonder if it’s a nervous habit.
“It’s nothing to worry about, Dove. The report’s just a formality after the interview earlier, and it’s better that I submit today. It’s fine if you’d prefer not to be in the room, though. If you’re not comfortable, I can wait until you’ve gone to bed.”
“Oh… No, go ahead.”
“Are you sure? I’ll be listening over the audio again but I’ll use headphones, so…”
“Yeah. It’s fine – needs to be done, as you said.” You smile, turning your head back to the TV to end the conversation.
Leon had sat on the other couch, laptop resting on his knees, plugged in a pair of in-ear headphones. For over an hour, you’d heard him tap away at the keys, brows furrowed in concentration when you’d chance a look his way. The last few times his eyes haven’t been on the laptop screen but that of the TV, watching the dumb romance movie you’d settled on during your channel searching, hoping it would prove a good distraction.
“Leon…” You feel rude for interrupting his work, but he’d tugged out an earbud, hasn’t typed anything in a good while now, definitely not since the last ad break.
Not that you were keeping track.
“Mm?” He hums in response.
“Can I…?” He looks over as you clear your throat - start over. “Can I ask you something? If you’ve got a minute.”
There it is - the encouraging smile. “Of course, Dove.”
“It’s going to sound stupid, but those things – were they BOWs?”
“The Lickers?” The smile drops as he tugs out the other earbud. “Yeah, they are.”
“Lickers?” It sounds too cutesy for what they are, like a lollipop brand for kids and not indescribable monstrosities.
“There’s probably some scientific name that Umbrella would use, but that term came from a cop that first saw them in the Raccoon City Police Department. I guess we kinda kept the name as a weird tribute.”
“Right.” Maybe it was the cop’s way of trying to make them less terrifying on first sight.
“Why do you ask?”
“I didn’t think BOWs were actually…” You swallow, though you know it’s not going to dislodge the lump in your throat now. “..things, if that makes sense. Like, I knew we were trying to protect the public from biological warfare threats, but I thought it was man-made diseases, or poisoning the water supply… That sort of stuff.”
“You’re not wrong. Those things were once human, mutated by a man-made virus. I’ve had a fair amount of experience with different iterations of the virus over the years, unfortunately.”
“Mutated…?” You feel sick as the image once again flashes in your mind’s eye, the grotesque features of the Lickers juxtaposed with those of humans, your colleagues… “Fuck.”
“Yeah - fuck.”
“God,” you exhale, but it doesn’t feel enough. “I’ve been so naïve to what I’ve even been doing all these years - I didn’t know what we were actually trying to prevent.”
“You sound like you think you’ve been doing something wrong.”
“Well, maybe I have.” You protest. “What if I missed something that led to that the other day?”
“You did not miss anything.” He says firmly, closing the laptop – you’re not sure if he’s concluded his report or not. “Is that what happened to everyone - they were infected and then they mutated into those… those things?” You can’t bring yourself to say the identifier out loud.
“No, Dove, the… The bodies they recovered matched with the amount of people signed into the premises. Excluding you, obviously.”
“So, someone brought them there and set them on us?”
“Maybe. They’re still working on how they got in the building. They don’t exactly use doors, so…” He laughs, though it’s half-hearted.
The lump feels too big in your throat, tears burn at your eyes as you drop your head down but you know you’re not quick enough.
Leon stands, soft footsteps on the carpet as he circles round the coffee table and sits down a cushion’s width away from you.
“Sorry – it was a bad joke.”
You shake your head, sniffling a little, eyes fixed on your thighs. “No, it’s not that, or you. It’s so stupid, but I wish I could go back and stop it…”
“I know.” He places a hand down on the sofa, swivels his knees in your direction. “But it doesn’t help to think like that – trust me. And I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to keep going.”
“And you’ve faced those things before.”
“More times than I’d like to count.”
“How do you stop them?” You look up then, wiping away the tears from your cheek with the heel of your left hand.
“You couldn’t have done anything differently back there, if that’s what you’re thinking. A couple of gunshots to the head or an explosion is the only thing that’ll stop them.”
“You can’t… you know, turn them back?”
He shakes his head, looking solemn. “Afraid not.”
“Maybe for the best. I don’t think I’d want to be turned back if I’d…” If you’d ripped off your colleague’s head.
“Hey, that is not going to happen to you.” He leans forward, places his hand on your knee - having you fall asleep in his arms earlier has removed all sort of boundaries, it seems. “I promise.”
You shake your head then. “You can’t promise that.”
“I can. I am going to keep you safe.” He pauses – wind it in a little, Kennedy. “And if it makes you feel better, you won’t be the first. Want my credentials? I rescued the President’s daughter from a cult, got her home safe.”
“The President’s daughter?” You hadn’t heard about that, but then again why would you? Probably wouldn’t want it announced to the world that the leader of the free world’s daughter had been abducted.
“Mm. She had a codename and all – Baby Eagle.”
“But you would know her name.”
“Yeah, but still used codenames on official comms.”
“So, what would happen if I told you my name?”
“Er, well, I’d…” There’s the arm raise, rubbing the back of his neck again. “I’d have to report in to HQ that your identity had been compromised, I’d be redeployed elsewhere and you’d get a new security detail.”
“Why?”
“Part of your protection is that I’m not a risk of revealing your identity if hostile forces used… certain methods of interrogation if we were to be captured.”
Your stomach twists at the code. “Torture?”
“I suppose.” He shrugs, like he’s going to collect your mail or water your plants when you’re on vacation as a favour.
“No, you can’t… How can you shrug at the prospect of being tortured for me? You don’t even know me.”
Leon wants to say he does know you, not completely but there’s things he’s picked up over the course of the day that he feels reasonably confident on. You don’t do good with sitting idle, has the feeling you keep yourself busy when you’re not locked in four walls. He got the feeling you’re thorough and proud of your work, or you were before this doubt crept in.
You like coffee with a splash of creamer, honey in your oatmeal. You don’t have any close friends or family nearby that will be wondering why you’ve gone AWOL just yet… ..and you’re definitely single, because if you had someone waiting at home you would’ve mentioned it they spoke about whisking you away to a safe house, or when Hunnigan said she was going to search your place.
He smiles. “I know you don’t deserve any of what’s happened to you over the last 24 hours, and that’s reason enough.”
“How can you be so sure I don’t?”
“Experience, Dove. Been in this line of work for a long time and, more importantly, I’ve been where you’ve been, okay?”
“Okay.” You nod, relenting. “Sorry, my head’s just…”
He squeezes your knee. “I know.”
--
You leave the bathroom later that evening – Leon had ducked in at some point and prepared your toothbrush again – and find him leaned over the sink, scrubbing at a pan and a cloth draped over his shoulder. He’s left out the medicine – two painkillers, two sleeping pills - on the counter, next to a glass of water. It feels oddly domesticated again for what all of this is.
You walk over to the counter, slowly, as he continues washing the dishes.
“I forgot to ask earlier. Have there been any updates?”
He turns, gives you a sympathetic smile. “Not yet. But it’s only the first full day of the investigation, so I’m sure I’ll hear something soon, especially since I’ve sent the report over.”
He’d sent it whilst you were in the bathroom, half-expected Hunnigan to ring right there and then but his cell had remained silent, so he’d moved his attention to the dishes.
“Yeah, suppose other things will take precedence too.” Other things meaning families to inform… What would they tell them?
You take a swig of water before picking up the pills, swallowing them all down in one. Knowing how quick the sleeping aids helped yesterday, you’re aware there’s only a limited time before you’ll feel the effects kick in.
“Well, goodnight, Leon.”
“Wait a sec.” He pulls the cloth off his shoulders and hurriedly dries his hands as you watch on, curiously. He fiddles with the watch around his wrist, pressing a button on the side, then undoing the strap before he holds it out to you. “Here, so you can tell the time. I know there’s no clock in there, so…”
You stare at the offering, not raising your hand to take it. “But what about you?”
“Got my cell.” He pats his pocket, then holds the watch out again. “It’s yours, if you want it.”
You step forward to take it, gripping it a little too tightly in your fingers. It must be your imagination because it feels warm, but that can’t be right.
“Sleep well, Dove.”
Without another thought, you lean up on your tip-toes and press a kiss on his stubbled cheek.
“Thank you.”
You swivel on your heels and walk into the bedroom, closing the door without looking back, missing out on the sight of a flustered DSO agent in the kitchen.
If it wasn’t for the sleeping pills now coursing their way through your system, you would’ve been up for hours longer, heart pounding at what you just did. Instead, you climb into bed, close your eyes and it isn’t long at all until sleep washes over you, his watch still clasped in your hand.
--
Leon’s phone finally vibrates with Hunnigan’s caller ID as he enters back into the living area after finishing his perimeter check. Had to do two rounds of the building because he knew he was too distracted on the first by your kiss, admonishing himself for being so put out of joint by a simple gesture. After his second, more thorough check of the area and confident there was still no sign of any unwanted guests, he’d headed back into the building, making sure everything was locked up before he answered the call – placing the phone up to his ear on the opposite cheek that you had kissed.
“Hunnigan!” He answers, a little too jovial, would lower if his voice if he wasn’t confident you’ll be fast asleep by the amount of time that’s passed since you took your medication. “I was getting worried you’d forgotten all about me.”
“I’m sure.” Her voice is a little tense, but he can tell she’s tired. “Just finished your report.”
“And?”
“Well, it’s not exactly airtight.”
He rubs the bridge of his nose, holding in a sigh. “What happened to innocent before proven guilty?”
“That’s why I’ve put Dove in a safehouse with you, rather than in a cell.”
“So, restrictions remain?”
“Restrictions remain.”
He rolls his eyes, grateful it’s not a video call. “Did you search her place?”
“Unfortunately not. The President wanted the surveillance department back up and running ASAP, so all available manpower had been diverted to that. The tech analyst, however, has confirmed that the breach on the database yesterday wasn’t what you’d call successful.”
Leon walks around the sofa, drops on it a little too heavy. “You don’t sound particularly thrilled by that.”
“I’m not - the attempt itself was successful, but as soon as the system detected the forced entry, it wiped itself. Every subject that was still under surveillance has been lost.”
“Maybe that’s what they were trying to achieve.” He frowns. “Is there seriously no back-up server?”
“Analyst seemed to think it was their protocol, but it’s just a theory. Everyone who knew exactly how that division had their server set up is no longer with us.”
There’s a pause and he can hear Hunnigan tapping away at her keyboard as usual. “There is something I need to inform you of, though.”
“Right.”
“The tech analyst found the CCTV feeds have been tapped. They couldn’t trace where the feed was being diverted to, but it was definitely a system not within the DSO infrastructure. It’d been active since the attack, but they cut the connection when they discovered it.”
Leon frowns. “So, you’re saying that whoever orchestrated the attack could’ve been watching the cameras since.”
“Mm.”
“And if their objective was to leave no survivors…” Leon’s eyes focus on your bedroom door.
Hunnigan stops typing. “They’ll know they’ve failed.”
--
Part seven.
Masterlist . Requests welcome . Commissions/Ko-Fi
Comments, follows, likes and reblogs make my day!
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Somewhere out there within the dark woods of somewhere or another, in days some time past, there was a town. And that town worshipped one god, and that god was a hole.
Yes, a massive hole, at the center of their town. Deep and dark, perhaps leading all the way down to oblivion. Some people said the god lived at the bottom of the hole, others said that the god was the hole itself, or even the shadows that lay within. They had no temples, no alters, only the hole. And the hole of the hole demanded things of them. It was hungry, strangely hungry. It did not have sacfices, it demanded tribute. Taxes in a way. People would scrounge up what little money they had for the hole, and the hole promised back that it would give them good things in return.
There were those who warned them of the hole. The cryptids of the dark forest, and the occultists and demon hunters, and even the deep ones that lay in the dark ocean and the scaled men of the forgotten ruins. But the townsfolk didn't listen, the hole made them feel good. It felt good to give it money. And even though they never exactly saw how the hole must have been helping them. How could it not be helping them if they had given it so much. And soon the hole banished all supernatural things but itself, and the people said the hole was making them safe.
And soon the hole was bigger. What was once the size of a well had grown to being big enough to consume a house. And soon the town changed, the hole began to be its center, the entire town shifted so that all public life was around the hole. And soon those who didn't like the hole, or who questioned it, where seen as evil or strange people, greedy for not wanting to give the hole their money, they were seen as selfish and entitled, entitled to all the hole's benefits without paying their share. It was a tragedy when someone grew up to move out of the town and not follow the hole.
And soon the hole had more and more demands. And everyone listened as it grew larger and larger. Soon it didn't want money, it wanted things too, televisions, automobiles, books, family relics, grandma's ashes, works of art, perhaps even beloved pets. And it became taboo not just to question it, but to feel sad when you lost something to the hole. You couldn't say you missed it, or replace it too soon, the hole wanted you to not have it, you were so obviously wrong to miss it. You didn't just have to give to the hole, you had to understand that it was improving your life.
There was a movement of young people, who wanted to get rid of the hole. But it was too late by then, they had no other gods, no other spirits or creatures, and the hole was as large as a city block. And either way, the town police belonged to the hole now, and they would kill for it, and they would die for it. Some young rebels moved away. But most found themselves not being able to give up their family, their freinds, and their safety to fight the hole. So for a time they pretended to like it, and when you do something, and say something for long enough it can become your truth, and soon enough those who pretended to live the hole truly did love it.
And soon there was no music or movies that the hole didn't approve of. Everyone followed the hole's rules. And everyone loved the hole so dearly and so brightly. They couldn't imagine a town without a hole. When they thought of other towns they imagined that they must have had holes too, and every idea of a place without it was sad and depressing. And as the hole was then a quarter of the size of the town, it was hungry, and demanded not just things but flesh. And people happily gave, it would be weird to not want to give. They gave eyes, ears, teeth, testicles, tounges, fingers and toes and hands and feet and arms and legs. And they didn't miss their body parts at all. And when one day the hole demanded people jump in, and give their lives to it, they didn't mind or question at all, it didn't feel like death, and nobody missed that they weren't there.
And now, in the dark woods, there is a hole where a town used to be. It has eaten the entire the thing, every last inch and citizen of it. It is not satisfied. But it has grown all that it could. And one must wonder if the hole is lonely now, or if it knows that it has done all it ever hoped to.
#196#worldbuilding#writing#my worldbuilding#my writing#fantasy#urban fantasy#magical realism#original fiction#flash fiction#short stories#short story#short fiction#original story#eldrich horror#eldrichcore#eldrich#eldritchcore#eldritch horror#eldritch#cosmic horror#dystopia#dystopian#anti capitalist#anti capitalism#horror stories#horror fiction#horror#weird fiction#leftism
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1970 Dodge Challenger
The legend returns: Unveiling the powerful 1970 Dodge Challenger ‘Black Ghost’ with its iconic HEMI V8 engine
Posted on March 4, 2024
Emerging from its mysterious past as a street drag racer piloted by a police officer, the 1970 Dodge Challenger “Black Ghost” has now claimed the title of the most coveted classic Mopar.
Honoring its legacy, Dodge has introduced a contemporary tribute based on the 2023 Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. In addition to this homage, the enigmatic “Black Ghost” is gearing up for its moment in the spotlight at an upcoming auction.
Captivating audiences at Kissimmee 2023 in January, the “Black Ghost” was proudly displayed alongside its contemporary counterpart. For those eager to witness its numbers-matching 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) HEMI V8 come to life, YouTube’s “DtRockstar1” recently shared footage of the legendary vehicle making its grand appearance at a few classic car events.
Although the video doesn’t showcase drag racing or burnouts, the striking all-black 1970 Challenger, now road-worthy after years in storage, is a breathtaking sight. Remarkably, the car remains in near-original condition, save for a few upgrades like a rebuilt brake booster, new carbs, radiator, master cylinder, and tires.
But what truly sets the “Black Ghost” apart from other classic cars, and how did it earn its intriguing moniker?
The original owner, Godfrey Qualls, was a Detroit police officer by day and a secretive drag racer by night. Risking his career, he would make unexpected appearances at local gatherings, dominate quarter-mile races, and then mysteriously vanish.
While Godfrey’s Challenger wasn’t entirely stock during its racing heyday, he kept modifications minimal, opting for a muffler delete, an aftermarket coil, and slick rear tires on stock wheels.
The HEMI V8’s impressive 425-horsepower output was more than enough for him to claim countless victories before disappearing for good in 1975. By then, the “Black Ghost” had already secured its legendary status in Detroit.
The enigmatic Challenger driver’s true identity remained a secret for decades until Godfrey revealed his thrilling drag-racing tales to his son, Gregory. Inheriting the car when his father passed away, Gregory brought the “Black Ghost” to light in 2017, sharing the astounding story of officer Qualls and his legendary vehicle.
Beyond its captivating history, this Mopar is an exceptional rarity from the golden age of muscle cars. Of the nearly 77,000 Challengers sold in 1970, a mere 356 were equipped with the formidable 426-cubic-inch HEMI V8. Godfrey’s choice of a four-speed manual gearbox further refines the car’s status to one of just 136 produced.
But the exclusivity doesn’t end there. With the added SE package, it’s one of only 60 Challengers ordered with the bundle. Considering the color and other options, it’s possible that fewer than 10 such examples were ever made.
In summary, this Challenger is the epitome of rarity, boasting a captivating story worthy of a book. It stands as a highly collectible classic that could very well be more valuable than any other 1970 Challenger in existence.
#dodge challenger#hemi#car#cars#muscle car#american muscle#mopar#moparperformance#moparnation#moparworld#dodge#challenger
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Earth42! Miles Morales x fem!Reader
ATSV SPOILERS
(Edited) ——— (Part 1) (Part 2)
• fluff to angst
• tw: mentions of death
• google translate used, so excuse any mistakes
• short! • Miles loves to spoil you
• little bit OOC, Miles has a soft spot for you
• not proofread!!
”Where next, mí amor?” He grabbed your hand.
You and Miles were out on a date, and he was spoiling you.. like a lot.
But you’re not complaining though.
He’s gentle with you, which is unlike his apathetic and cold demeanor.
But you are his [name]. His world, his love. He would do anything for you if it ended up withyou safe and happy.
“Miles.. isn’t this a bit much? We’ve been out all day and you’re carrying so many bags.” You looked at him, slight confusion in your eyes.
He has bags all around his arms. He didn’t let you carry anything. He didn’t want you to, he heave you major princess treatment.
“nonsense, mí amor… it’s never too much when it comes to you.” His grip on your hand got tighter.
You had no clue where Miles got all this money from, it’s kind of concerning to you. But he’s not gonna tell you, so you just go with it.
“oh.. okay then.. how about.. uh.. the jewelry store?”
“Of course.”
He went the rest of the day spoiling you, and being affectionate.
”I love you, [name]. Mí amor… mí vida… mi bella querida.“ he kissed your cheek. Wrapping an arm around your waist.
.
Everything was great, it was all fine. Nothing bad could happen, right? .
.
Your date was later over, he went home while you went to work.
That’s when everything went terribly wrong. .
.
Meanwhile…
.
.
Miles was slouching on his couch, he was thinking about you, and how much he loved spending time with you… then, he saw the news channel. It was live.
The whole world stopped for him. There was a crumbling building… and it was falling to you.
That’s when he saw his dad too. He had ran to you, attempting to help, but it was too late. Miles watched it all from the TV. .
He was crying. He hadn’t noticed. But he did when it all sunk in… you were dead. His darling, his world. Was dead.
.
All he could do now was beg for you to walk through the apartment door, coming to see him again with a bright smile on your face.
He was waiting for his dad to come home, with dinner in his hands from Miles’s favorite restaurant.
He would never witness either of those ever again. .
As soon as he could, Miles and his uncle Aaron made a tribute to you and his dad with graffiti on the brick wall on the roof of the apartment complex. .
.
His father was smiling in the portrait. In his police uniform…
JEFFERSON DAVIS: BELOVED HUSBAND, AND FATHER.
.
You were also smiling. But Miles’s had painted a halo around your head. You were his angel after all, but now you were truly an Angel.
[NAME, L.NAME]: BELOVED FRIEND, BELOVED DARLING.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
#fluff to angst#ansgt#tw death#tw blo0d#miles morales#prowler miles#earth 42#spider man: across the spider verse#across the spiderverse#Death#tw gun violence#tw gunfire#loss of a loved one#heavy angst
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okay everyone… the deep dive you’ve all been very patiently waiting for… i recommend putting on the “the departed” “the godfather” or “goodfellas” soundtracks while reading this!
thanks to the anons who sent in info about all of this. huge thanks to the anon who was able to reveal some personal information about the family (from the same town).
when i got an ask saying sway’s gf’s family is (ex)-mafia i went looking for proof, and that sent me down a huge rabbit hole…
IMPORTANT NOTE: this is currently under editing/review as i add/clarify further info
Links to Alessandra’s IG & Alessandra’s VSCO
Alessandra’s Background
Alessandra is 21 years old, turning 22 at some point this year (2002 birth year). She graduated high school in 2020 (source).
Alessandra’s family is from Leominster, Massachusetts. They lived there for many generations. Alessandra grew up in a home described as a “chateau” with horses and a dog. A picture of the house can be found below, up to you to decide whether it looks like a chateau or not. The town rumor is that they are ~7th Generation Italian Royalty. They used to vacation to their home on the coast of Puerto Rico during February vacation every year. They still go there often, as you can see on her social media accounts.
She now lives and works in the Northend of Boston. Her and her sister (Anina) are in the same big friend group and have both been described as nice, fun, private, and quiet. Her sister works as a “marketing intern” according to LinkedIn. Alessandra’s job is unknown. They and some of the Bruins players frequent Lincoln in Southie in Boston.
Alessandra has been dating Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman since ~Fall 2023. Apparently Alessandra and Jeremy are very cute together in public.
Salvatelli Family Background (Maternal Side)
Here is a family tree to help you visualize this:
Alessandra’s mother (Monique) and aunt (Toni) operate Paisano’s Pizza and Spirits, which they have done since 2019, although the business has been in the family for many years.
In 2007, the restaurant had their liquor license suspended for two days after finding its owner (Toni) hindered a police investigation. Here is an excerpt from the article, the link is here but it’s paywalled.
If you guys want to learn how to bypass hard paywalls on Google Chrome, let me know!
Essentially, Toni’s boyfriend got in a bar fight, and Toni (one of the owners) rushed him out the back door then did not comply with a police officer’s request later that night to give him the security video.
In 2023, the restaurant posted on their Instagram account congratulating Alessandra on running the Boston Marathon.
The restaurant is located in a hole in the wall strip mall and has mediocre reviews.
The article linked above mentions that Toni (and Monique) are the daughters of John Salvatelli, a former City Councillor. He and his brother Robert Salvatelli were both city councillors in Leominster for many years - Robert since at least 1999 and John since around the same time. In early 2005 Robert was voted in as City Council president, supported by his brother John.
Robert Salvatelli retired from this role in 2015. John was a City Councillor for 10 years. Previously, Robert was a teacher and principal at one of the town’s elementary schools.
Iacaboni Family Background (Paternal Side)
Note 1: Their surname is sometimes spelled Iacaboni, and sometimes spelled Iacoboni. I found articles using both spellings referring to the same people.
Note 2: David was Frank Sr.'s stepson. His mother is unknown.
1980s & 1990s
source
Frank Iacaboni Sr. was convicted of being a major player in a multimillion-dollar bookmaking ring.
He "has been paying tribute to the Mafia for years", according to law enforcement sources.
In the mid-1980s, Frank Iacaboni Sr. complained that convicted Boston mobsters Robert Carrozza and Dennis (Champagne) LePore ransacked his home and made off with an estimated $250,000, according to sources.
Police say Burton (Chico) Krantz, the region's preeminent bookmaker, mediated the dispute, in which Iacaboni agreed to pay his tribute without complaint, and the Boston Mafiosi agreed not to kill him.
1993
Sources say David Iacaboni, who was adopted by his stepfather, always resented his father's failure to acknowledge him. But they say, the Iacabonis apparently made some form of reconciliation several years ago when David Iacaboni returned from a brief stay in Florida. That rapprochement ended, however, when David Iacaboni and his wife, Lori, were indicted in 1993 for marijuana trafficking.
Sources say Frank Iacaboni tried to file criminal charges against David for allegedly selling a Corvette he had given to Frank. The elder Iacaboni had also blamed his son for a December 1993 fire at his home. No charges were ever filed, however. After David Iacaboni and his wife were sentenced to 10 years in prison last January, David Iacaboni approached US Attorney Donald K. Stern, offering to lead authorities to the body of Richard Tuttle Jr. in exchange for his wife being released. Stern agreed to the deal.
September 1995
A suspected prowler was killed and a police officer was seriously wounded outside of Frank (Alessandra’s grandfather’s) Iacaboni's house.
Frank’s son, David, who I believe is Alessandra’s paternal uncle, was convicted in the murder of a man in July 1995.
(source)
(source)
January 1996: (source)
FBI agents raided the home of convicted bookmaker Frank E. Iacaboni, shortly after the start of the Super Bowl. No arrests were made, but FBI agents, assisted by state and local police, confiscated some cash.
"It was a sad day for gamblers in Leominster," said one source, who asked not to be identified.
Iacaboni's ranch-style home at 640 Union St. was the scene of a bloody shootout in September after a man opened fire on two police officers who were investigating a complaint of a prowler.
Police sources have said the man may have been trying to steal gambling money from Iacaboni. The shooting is still under investigation by state police.
FBI spokesman Pete S. Ginieres said he could neither confirm nor deny Sunday's raid.
However, Leominster Police Capt. Thomas J. Bisol said local police helped FBI agents execute a search warrant at Iacaboni's house.
Bisol said other homes in the city were also searched. Bisol declined to provide any more details.
"This is an FBI matter," he said.
On Sept. 15 1995, two police officers were called to Iacaboni's house to respond to a call of a prowler outside the home.
Officers Dwayne Flowers and Thomas R. Kent found John J. MacNeil in the garage of the house. MacNeil, 47, charged at the two officers, firing from two hand guns.
MacNeil was killed by police after exchanging more than 26 rounds of gunfire. Kent, 32, who was shot in the chest by MacNeil, is still recovering from his injury.
Police sources at the time said they were investigating the possibility that MacNeil was sent to the house by Iacaboni's estranged son, David M. Iacaboni.
MacNeil was a cellmate of the younger Iacaboni at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. Police sources said they were looking to see if David Iacaboni sent MacNeil to his father's house to steal gambling receipts, or to kill his father, or to do both.
The police sources said Frank Iacaboni was known to keep large amounts of cash in a safe inside his house.
Frank E. Iacaboni was one of 18 people arrested in 1983 on gaming charges as a result of a state police investigation into illegal gambling. He pleaded guilty to 21 counts of using a telephone for gaming and 13 counts of conspiracy to register bets. He was fined $4,250.
Wednesday, Jan 24 1996:
David Iacaboni was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison for killing Richard A. Tuttle Jr. of Lancaster in November 1989.
The younger Iacaboni pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge. He told authorities he killed Tuttle during an argument about a drug sale.
2002-2008: Charges laid, legal documents, case notes
In March 2002, Frank Iacaboni pleaded guilty to charges arising out of his operation of an illegal gambling business.
From 1995 through March 1998, Iacaboni conducted an illegal sports gambling operation in and around Leominster, Massachusetts. Iacaboni's business included a few different "offices" headed by individuals hired to take bets from gamblers over the telephone. Iacaboni also ran a "football ticket" business; bettors paid between $1 and $10 per "ticket," a card on which they checked off four or more predictions in dozens of upcoming games.
Aug 13, 2002 - U.S. v. Iacaboni
Oct 21, 2002 - U.S. v. Iacoboni
Mar 30, 2004 - U.S. v. Iacaboni, other source
April 2005: Indictment handed down on charges of racketeering against 12 men
October 2008: Outline of the criminal case below
March 2009: (source) (source)
In March 2009, Arthur Gianelli, Dennis Albertelli and his wife Giselle, and Frank Iacaboni of Leominster (Alessandra's grandfather) were on trial in federal court for numerous crimes.
Mary Ann Gianelli pleaded guilty to 19 counts of racketeering, money laundering, filing false tax returns, and illegal structuring of cash transactions. Under a plea agreement, the federal government dropped an additional 141 money laundering counts against her.
Her husband was Mafia associate Arthur Gianelli. She helped him run his illegal gambling business after he was indicted on federal racketeering charges in 2005 and placed under house arrest.
Mary Ann Gianelli's sister, Elizabeth, is married to John J. Connolly. Connolly is a former FBI agent who was convicted of federal racketeering charges for protecting long-time informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi from prosecution. He was also convicted of murder in Florida in November 2008 for plotting with the two gangsters to orchestrate the 1982 slaying of a Boston businessman.
Arthur headed a sprawling criminal enterprise whose members were involved in gambling, money laundering, loan sharking, arson, and extortion. Him and his three co-defendents listed above, including Alessandra’s paternal grandfather Frank Iacaboni, committed hundreds of crimes between 1999 and 2005.
Millions of dollars flowed through the organization's gambling operation, which took bets on football games and later shifted its operation from Massachusetts to an Internet operation in Costa Rica. The organization also created phony companies to hide profits. Gianelli had ties to the Mafia, making weekly payments to reputed New England underboss Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio.
Note: for more info on the Patriarca crime family (Carmen is now the boss), there are links at the end of the post under Appendix A.
One of the victim’s of this organized crime crew was Boston Bruins Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers. He was threatened by a leg breaker for not repaying a loan.
Gianelli, Dennis Albertelli, and Frank Iacoboni were also charged with arson for allegedly plotting to burn down the Big Dog Sports Grille in North Reading in 2003 in an attempt to intimidate the owners into selling them another bar that they were poised to open in Lynnfield.
November 9, 2009: (source)
Frank Iacaboni was sentenced to 15 years and 3 months in federal prison and fined $10,000 for his role in a gambling and extortion ring.
He was sentenced in U.S. District Court on charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, use of fire to commit extortion, attempted arson of the Big Dog Sports Grille in Reading Nov. 13, 2003, and operating illegal sports and football card gambling businesses.
The Judge noted that he received 29 letters on Mr. Iacaboni’s behalf, including those from a state representative and a city councilor. Those two letters were from state Rep. Dennis A. Rosa and Ward 4 City Councilor Robert A. Salvatelli, both of Leominster. (Alessandra’s maternal great uncle!).
Summary of Findings
Alessandra’s maternal family is extremely powerful and well-connected in Leominster. They have held/still hold positions of power in schools, government, and local business. Her maternal great uncle vouched for her paternal grandfather when he was charged by the federal government for multiple crimes in association with the Mafia. Her paternal uncle was convicted for murdering a man in 1995.
Her maternal family owns the Paisano’s pizza "restaurant", but this is only the tip of the iceberg. It is very likely that their businesses are all fronts for money laundering, illegal gambling, tax evasion, and more. At the very least, her maternal family has been involved in trying to lessen the charges for her paternal family.
Hope you all enjoyed this deep dive ☕️
Appendix A
Patriarca / La Cosa Nostra Crime Family
The bosses of the Boston Mafia
Alleged Underboss of the New England Family of La Cosa Nostra Sentenced to Six Years in Prison
New England mafia underboss Carmen DiNunzio back on the streets
Old Patriarca Famiglia: The Cheeseman Cometh?
VIDEO: How The Mafia CONQUERED Boston | The Patriarca Family Part 1
VIDEO: How The Mafia CONQUERED Boston | The Patriarca Family Part 2
VIDEO: Current State of the Patriarca Crime Family
#a. iacaboni#pls let me know if any corrections need to be made!#this was a labor of love lol#j. swayman#deep dive
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A Southern California business owner was shot and killed Friday by a man who objected to an LGBTQ+ Pride flag displayed at her clothing store, officials said.
America, 2023.
Frankly, I'm shocked to read that the cops gave the killer a bullet and not a trophy. Fuck the police but good shot.
(Yes, I am absolutely furious.)
It's not a popular statement to make, but I am grateful for all of the people who call themselves our allies and show up when it matters. I am grateful for the life that Laura Ann Carleton lived, for her commitment to being a visible ally in her community, and I am outraged that her life was cut short.
But I do have to say this:
I am also angry that the death of a cishet ally is already receiving more public outrage than the wave of transphobia that has been taking place in this country this year. I am angry because the death of an ally is already getting more media attention than the innumerable acts of violence committed against queer and trans people every day in this country ever will.
We are in a critical and dangerous time for queer and trans rights, for the safety of queer and trans people, and for freedom of expression in general.
Allies? Speak up.
And, conservatives? Anti-queer Christians? Trans-exclusionary feminists? I don't want to hear your pointless platitudes. I'm not interested in your "thoughts and prayers" or your preaching about how "violence is never the answer". You're complicit in these acts of violence against the LGBTQIA community and against our allies. Own your shit and be fucking silent.
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Update to "So this is the geekiest thing I've ever posted about Endeavour..."
So way back in February I wrote about the gunshot scene in Exeunt and some rather geeky symbolism that came out of the fact that the church was called "All Angels" in the script—short for "St. Michael and All Angels." You can go back and read about that here.
But for a while now, I've been waiting for it to be September 29th so I can say: Wait! There's more!
September 29th is the traditional feast day of St. Michael. It is also Colin Dexter's birthday. As it happens, it's also when the world was first introduced to Morse. The main narrative of the first Inspector Morse novel, Last Bus to Woodstock, opens with the words, "Wednesday, September 29th."
So in a sense, Colin and Morse share a September 29th birthdate. Given Dexter's cryptic tendencies, I don't for a minute think this was accidental.
La fontaine Saint-Michel, Francisque-Joseph Duret
Now the fact that September 29th also the feast of St. Michael is something that Russell Lewis may or may not have chosen to intentionally build upon—but it's sure fun to think about--because it's another layer on top of what's already one heck of a layer cake.
September 29th is Colin Dexter's birthday
September 29th is the date of Morse's first appearance in Last Bus to Woodstock.
The gunshot scene occurring at St. Michael's and All Angels gives it full Pagan-Endeavour-Morse symbolism (see Feb post).
Michael is the patron saint of police officers.
Finally, you can also throw in Michael's traditional role as guardian of the dead, a point raised by @te_angeli on Twitter in response to the February post, where she said:
"St Michael is, more generally, the warrior-protector of justice. He also happens to be the Christian angel of death - a psychopomp who not only walks the newly departed to their judgment, but stays to advocate for them. ...which, to think of it, had been a large part - perhaps the main part - of E.'s earthly function."
It's all more over-the-top geekiness but I find it hard to resist.
Of course I'd be negligent if I didn't include a disclaimer, courtesy of S4E1: Game:
THURSDAY: Right! Just don't go making something out of nothing, that's all. MORSE: That’s what we do, isn't it? THURSDAY: That’s what you do.
Well, it's certainly what I do. It's half the fun.
**Note: Author Mike Ripley's lovely tribute to Colin Dexter first drew my attention to the connection between Colin's birthday and the appearance of Inspector Morse.
#itv endeavour#endeavour morse#shaun evans#the sunday free for all#the sunday confessional#happy birthday to colin dexter and endeavour morse#making something out of nothing...#it's what we do
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About Harold and P.Diddy
The pictures in the DM story are definitely from the Diana concert in 2007. If you look innthe background of them, you see Prince William and then CH press secretary Paddy Haverson (2003 - 2012).
The pictures were widely circulated in UK media at the time. Harold looked super chuffed to be hanginb out with Kanye and P.Diddy and other musicians while William floated about in the background though i think he also took a picture with Kanye and P.Diddy.
As for when P.Diddy's parties started.....i was a teen in the 90s. Just as there were stories about R. Kelly and Aliyah and shoddy behaviour, so were stories about P.Diddy.
Though at the time there was this wierd criminal gangs thing going on with East coast rappers ( led by Biggie Smalks and P.Diddy) vs West coast rappers led by Suge Knight. The entire thing seemed dangerous as hell because you heard about Dr Dre and Vanilla Ice being bodily threatened into signing away the rights to their records and or being pressed into signing with the record company he ran. East vs West feud culminated in Tupac and Biggie being shot.
Somehow, P.Diddy made his image over witn that Police song tribute to Biggie and then started dating JLO whilst pretending to be a reformed man at best or the innocent victim of that East vs West coast feud with fingers pointing at Suge Knight who didn't help matters by being a genuinely scary guy.
Then on a night out to a club, soneone either got shot or there was a drive by, and the guns were discovered in the car that P.Diddy and JLO was travelling in.
JLO dropped and ran away from P.Diddy the minute she was released from the police station and she's never looked back.
P.Diddy started throwing these huge public parties - His White parties became legendary. Even featured on an episode of Sex and the City except they substituted P.Diddy for Richard.
However, you'd hear all this other stuff going on at the same time. Different parties. JayZ was mentioned at these other parties. As Wendy Williams says,' the streets were talking...'
You heard about the s3xual grooming of young stars in the R& B/ Hip Hop world especially male stars was merely whispered eg then 14yr old Usher, Little Bow Wow, Tevin Campbell. All alleged to have been groomed by P.Diddy. These days Usher gives interviews in which he admits to attending wild private parties with P.Diddy when he lived with him for a year. Everyone glosses over his age when he was doing this.
And that girlband, Danity Kane that he created in 2005 were already accusing him of sordid behaviour and abuse though everyone dismissed them as sour grapes because they didn't become stars on the level of an Usher / Tevin Campbell / Little Bow Wow.
By the time 2010 rolled around, the streets were talking louder, but everyone ignored it because P.Diddy wasn't as much in our faces.
I honestly think that if Cassie his ex-girlfriend hadn't sued him and he settled that suit less than 24hrs after it was filed to the tune of $30M, i think he'd have gotten away with this.
But trust me when i say that P.Diddy's misdeeds are as sordid as R. Kelly and possibly worse if the whispers of what he did in that West vs East coast feud are true.
The only shocker about all this is T.D. Jakes who was outed as a frequent attendee at these other parties.
I'm so tired of reverred preachers having rotten, margot filled feet of clay.
*****
All of this. 💯.
I was going to reblog one of my posts from last week where I said “there’s nothing happening. Wait till the next celeb scandal breaks and then worry if KP is still in the news” (because the new celeb scandal is here) and decided not to dredge up old feelings since Kate’s Friday Statement quelled a lot of it.
But I still want to say what I was going to say and anon, you’ve submitted the PERFECT post.
This P. Diddy lawsuit, especially the RICO part and yesterday’s raid, is huge. The ripple effects are going to be significant.
Just look at all the people mentioned in anon’s post. They mentioned everyone I was writing about - Jennifer Lopez, R. Kelly, Aaliyah, Suge Knight, East Coast vs West Coast.
The rap industry is quaking in their boots. It’s going to get messy.
And also, Jennifer Lopez is having a mini-PR crisis of her own. It’s not as bad as what KP has been going through, but it has the potential to be - people are calling out her ego and bad behavior (she consistently ranks in top 10 worst celebs to meet) and her new film bombed. If she wants to stop all the bad press she’s getting, she’s going to roll on P. Diddy in a tell-all couch confession about how horrific life was with him and now she can finally speak out.
But there’s one guy having a good time with this:
50 Cent has been telling about P. Diddy for YEARS.
His victory lap on Twitter is most deserved.
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The Scottish actor David McCallum was born on 19th September 1933.
Born as David Keith McCallum, Jr in Maryhill, Glasgow, the second of two sons of Dorothy Dorman, a cellist, and orchestral violinist David McCallum Sr. When he was three, his family moved to London for his father to play as concertmaster in the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Early in the Second World War, he was evacuated back to Scotland, where he lived with his mother at Gartocharn by Loch Lomond.
McCallum won a scholarship to University College School, a boys’ independent school in Hampstead, London, where, encouraged by his parents to prepare for a career in music, he played the oboe.In 1946 he began doing boy voices for the BBC radio repertory company. Also involved in local amateur drama, at age 17, he appeared as Oberon in an open-air production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Play and Pageant Union. He left school at age 18 and was conscripted, joining the 3rd Battalion the Middlesex Regiment, which was seconded to the Royal West African Frontier Force.In March 1954 he was promoted to Lieutenant. After leaving the army he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (also in London), where Joan Collins was a classmate.
David McCallum’s acting career has spanned six decades; however, these days he is best known for his starring role on the police procedural NCIS as medical examiner as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. I first really remember McCallum for his role in another US show, The Invisible Man which ran for 13 episodes in the 70’s. McCallum by then was a veteran of many TV and Film roles, starting in the 50’s including Our Mutual Friend and The Eustace Diamonds, in the 60’s he was in several ITV Playhouse shows before moving across the Atlantic to take roles in The Outer Limits and his big break as Illya Kuryakin in several incantations of The Man from Uncle.
His most notable films were The Greatest Story Ever Told as Judas Iscariot and of course Ashley-Pitt ‘Dispersal’ in The Great Escape.
As well as the aforementioned Invisible Man in the 70’s he took time to pop back over to our shores to star in two quality series, as Flt. Lt. Simon Carter in Colditz and Alan Breck Stewart in an adaption of Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Kidnapped.
The 80’s saw him team up with the lovely Joanna Lumley in Sapphire & Steel and several guest roles in the likes of The A Team, Hart to Hart and Murder, She Wrote as well as a one off reprise of Illya in the TV movie The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
The 90’s saw David in Cluedo and Trainer on our TV screens over here and American science-fiction series VR-5 in the states..
During the last 20 years or so he has been in the kids TV show, Ben 10: Omniverse as the voice of Professor Paradox and of course Donald Horatio “Ducky” Mallard in a remarkable 436 episodes of the popular NCIS.
David has been married twice. He married his first wife Jill Ireland in 1957. They met on the set of the movie Hell Drivers. Together, they had two sons and a daughter, Paul, Jason and Valentine, with Jason being the only one who was adopted. In 1963, David introduced Jill to his co-star on The Great Escape, Charles Bronson, and she left David and married Charles in 1968. In 1967,
David McCallum passed away aged 90 on September 23rd last year, he is survived by his wife of 56 years, Katherine McCallum, his sons Paul McCallum, Valentine McCallum and Peter McCallum, his daughter Sophie McCallum and his eight grandchildren. NCIS paid tribute to him in an episode called The Stories We Leave Behind when the tagents find comfort in working on one of his unfinished cases. The episode features clips from several old shows.
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GRACE TOUR DIARY: April 3rd 2025 - New York City
The red roses were the first thing Grace woke up to the next morning. She could see them in their vase as they sat on the vanity table of the bedroom of her hotel suite, and the team had already packed away the teddy bear. It was going to be a long but hectic day—soundcheck, go through any rehearsals of pieces that needed a last-minute touch, and then it would be the concert, and afterwards, straight to the airport to head to Seoul.
It was a little vacation, but at the same time, the concert that the idol industry and the government had put together as a tribute to BTS had fallen right in the middle of her tour. It was a little amusing that they would do this after everything that they had put BTS as a group through.
None of the boys would be performing, with those in the military given leave to attend. It had been put to her while she was planning her own concert whether she would attend or perform, seeing as she would be the only member to do so (something she questioned as to why she would be the only one performing but it was easier to bite your lip and say nothing).
There had been a lot of secret planning and a lot of secret rehearsals with those idols and groups already signed up, and somehow Seokjin had found out. He had accidentally seen the concert plans and set list, seeing Grace’s name predominantly with some of their hardest yet popular songs. Sworn to secrecy, Seokjin locked his mouth up, threw away the key, and said nothing.
Yet the red roses and the note meant he hadn’t forgotten she would be flying into Seoul tomorrow, undercover to hide the fact she was back in the country.
But that was later, and right now, Grace had to perform on the last night of the American leg of her tour.
Second nights were always easy—it was the same thing; maybe one or two costume changes added a bit of variety to the night—same venue, crew, dancers, city. There had been no major hiccups other than one VCR didn’t play on time for when it was needed, and some dancers wanted a run-through of two songs, In My Head and Dangerous Woman. Everyone knew the songs like the back of their hands, but sometimes a refresher was needed.
After all, it had been a while since they had put together the concert with all the songs, VCRs, costumes, and dance routines.
A long, refreshing shower woke up Grace, and she could see that her blonde dye would need a top-up soon. That would need to be added to the list of things to do the moment she got to Seoul, and that list was growing every moment.
“Just think about your own concert, not that one coming up,” she muttered to herself as she changed into her casual clothes to go and get breakfast and meet up with the team.
There was nothing to report over breakfast, and with plenty of time until she had to drive over to the Barclays Center, she packed up everything in her room and mournfully looked at the red roses. They wouldn’t be able to come on the flight with her, and as much as she wanted to take them with her, it wasn’t going to be practical. So the note was tucked carefully into her purse and with instructions to give the flowers to someone who would appreciate them for longer than she could, Grace was ready to go home.
Rehearsals went smoothly, and any little knots were worked out. Dancers were happy, the team were happy, the venue staff were happy, people selling food and merchandise were happy, and all Grace had to do was wait.
She hated waiting and was one of the most impatient people in the group, always just wanting to get on stage and just go for it. The wait to get into costume, grab her mic, pump up her dancers, and then finally, finally, get on stage - it allowed for unwanted thoughts to creep into the mind.
What if no one turned up? You sold out the stadium for two nights in 10 seconds.
What if there was a threat? There is plenty of security and police around to stop it.
What if you mess up? You’ve done this job for nearly thirteen years, so what?
As the costume for the opening segment slid up her legs, Grace allowed herself to relax. The chatter of the staff and the noise of the crowd above her allowed the nervousness and anxiety to wash away. The moment the mic was in her hand and her team was pumped up, the idol persona washed over her, and in that moment she was Grace of BTS.
“New York!”
The crowd was even louder than the night before. The lights, the signs, the costumes, the people - it was just bigger and louder and more hyped up than anything she had seen. It was as if they knew this would be the last time they would see a BTS member until they were all back together again and back for their world tour.
“Welcome to the In My Head tour! Are you ready to help me finish this leg of the tour?”
Grace grinned at the noise in return and nodded, letting the crowd and their feelings hype her up through every performance.
And when it got towards the end, when they knew the BTS song was coming, the noise grew.
“This is the last night of the American leg of the tour, and it seemed only right to have this song for this moment. I just wanted to say thank you to all of the team, staff, dancers, band, venue staff, and, of course, ARMY. You have come out in your thousands to fill up this stadium of 17,000. And to those who are outside, I hope to see you all soon when we will hopefully be back as an eight. Until then, let me remind you of a special place.”
The instrumental of Magic Shop soon started, and it took all of Grace’s professionalism not to stop singing and burst into tears. Hearing 17,000 voices sing along to a Korean song that was written with ARMY in mind, and after all the hard work, pressure, tiredness, and sickness and everything else that came along with creating this tour, this song meant more than anything.
She had a good cry in Sejin’s arms when she got backstage, and her bodyguard stood in front of them, not even letting the normal BANGTAN BOMB cameras capture this moment. Every bit of emotion that had been built up from releasing her own solo album to now was coming over in a wave of tears. Sniffling quietly as the make-up artists cleared her face of make-up, her last costume off and packed away, and she was back in normal clothes as handfuls of tissues were passed her way.
��Sorry,” she chuckled as she wiped her nose.
“Nothing to be sorry for,” Sejin sighed. “I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already. The Grammy's, I think, were a good sign of you starting to realise what the music industry and the world think of you, and it wasn’t because of what band you belong to.”
“It was just listening to them all sing Magic Shop. It was as if I felt every bit of their emotion and thought in that one song. That all their worries and happy thoughts came at me at once, knowing they were happy to see me but sad at the same time because who knows when we can come back here?” The tissue in her hands was replaced with a new one from her bodyguard and Grace let out a huge sigh.
“I want to go home,” she chuckled and rubbed a hand over her face.
While some of the team were going to stay behind to pack up costumes and make sure they arrived at the next location as well as the stage, the rest of them would be heading home for a little break. Not that Grace, Sejin, Hana, the bodyguards, or the make-up/costume team were going to have much time.
The drive to the airport was quiet. The Barclays Center faded from view, as well as the few concertgoers still hanging around. And the lights of the highway from Brooklyn down to Queens illuminated the car now and then, and finally, the JFK airport came into view.
Check-in was handled quietly and discreetly, with the private plane ready to go. As much as Grace had baulked at the idea of even having a private plane, especially one that would fly to Seoul, the government had already booked it for her to make sure that she flew home safely and arrived on time to get to rehearsals for their tribute concert.
It was awkward getting on a plane where everyone treated you like you were royalty, but once she was in her seat with a blanket thrown over her, Grace didn’t care. There were fifteen hours of flying to get through and much-needed sleep to be caught up on.
But first.
Grace pulled out her phone and opened up the messages to Seokjin.
‘ On the plane and ready to fly home. See you in about sixteen hours.’
The reply came just as she fell asleep.
‘I’m already counting down the minutes. See you at the airport. Love you.’
#bts 8th member#bts eighth member#bts additional member#bts female member#bts fic#bts fanfiction#grace chu
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