#THE ENTIRETY OF THE THIRD VERSE

[ohworm-writes]

"John Price's song is this" "John Price's song is that" No. It isn't. You're wrong. His song is 'Man of War' by Radiohead.

End of discussion.

[king-of-tragedy]

My Favorite Lines From Each Song on TMM

(Because I can and because this is one of my favorite activities to do)

"I wish I was God! I'd never trip up! And if I did, well so fuckin' what!?"

"I"m better off a stick. I'm better off a stone! I'm better off a jerk. I'm better off alone!"

"I spent last night blowing up my life, now you won't see me again"

"I'm MUCH too dumb!"

"I wanna be big like my plans...so why am I so tiny and why am I so mad? It's Inertia—"

"I can't have sex and we both get quiet"

"There's a hole in the bottom of my brain, but when you love me the hole goes away"

"Getting a life's a little like dying"

"Acapulco, Tel Aviv, and maybe Japan. And pretty people yell at me to follow the dance"

"I'm quite aware I'll never write a cool song :/"

"We won't cry about it, no we'll be manly men"

"You gotta get better you're all that I've got! But don't take forever you're not here for long! I've gotta get better, I'm all that I've got! For two or three minutes then I'm gone."

[ravangie]

that's it i'm calling Dreamworks I'm being like hey DREAMWORKS drop whatever you're doing I rewrote the entirety of Shrek the Third LET'S DO SHREK-VERSE I propose my all-female universe we're gonna have: lesbians, Holding out for a hero 2.0 but with Princess Charming and the Witches as the performers and Fiona and the Princesses as the sabateurs, found family trope, working through the fear of responsibility on one hand, working through the need for constant validation on the other hand, AND NO TODDLER NIGHTMARES. Only the bestest of the best c'mon let's go let's go let's go

(we're gonna keep the scene where Shrek says that she used to think that she was a monster as well, but then she learned not to listen to people and be who she truly is, that's a good scene, there specifically for me to cry to)

[souls-foreclosed]

Chapter IX: De Civitate Dei

Second Verse: LOVE - “The Fool“ (202)

(DEC 24 - 2024)

Come, let us adore it - the end of 2nd Verse: LOVE. Nothing is the same as when I started working on this part of the chapter. I lost my old job and found a completely different one. There is a new love in my life. I developed a completely new schedule for working on the comic and art in general, after spending a much longer time than anticipated unable to draw at all. AND I am missing an organ... actually I don't miss it that much, it was only causing trouble towards the end. Life came at me fast, but it's been a learning experience. Taking a longer break from updating felt right. Therefore, the comic will go on hiatus until March 4th, 2025. On that day, the 5th anniversary of Souls Foreclosed, Third Verse: HOPE will launch, at 1 page per week every Wednesday. Hopefully with a few double updates here and there we might see the end of the comic by mid 2026. And to think I had hoped to rid myself of this Sisyphean boulder by 2025... Volume VI-2, "Enchiridion: LOVE" will be available late January 2025! It collects the entirety of 2nd Verse: LOVE, plus some bonus material. Look out for announcements on my socials. Generally, following me on Bluesky or Instagram seems to be a good and just thing everyone should be doing, because I am abhorrently good at posting. With all that said and done, all there is left is to keep the fire alive. Build a communist future together and all that jazz. Yours Truly, Sev Wildfang

Archive No.: 782

[valentine-cafe]

I... I need a Jingyi 209 scaring the shit out of his assistant so bad! I want to know what is it like.

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ verse 209 jìngyí

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍮 ꒱ snake monster x reader, mad doctor x reader ⊹ ۪ ࣪

One knock on the door to the clinic office, two knocks on the door. yet, both are swallowed in the heavy silence that has loomed for the entirety of your workday.

“dr. herrera? might I come in? I have new documentation in regards to the latest subject case.” there was no answer from behind the bounds of the door.

the only indicator that the man was present inside of the office was the obvious sign reading: occupied, on the door and that feel of a living being in there, and your hairs stand on end from the lack response.

your boss was always ever the responsive and talkative man — you have never encountered such a heavy feel to his presence before.

usually, he’d have opened the door by the first knock, giving you a welcoming smile and warm words, beckoning you to enter the office and join him. however, it’d seem today was different. . . much different from how many of your days at the doctor’s clinic had gone.

and it was odd, it was only 3 o’clock, sunny and vibrant day outside, with a bustling atmosphere on the streets — yet here, there were no faces in sight — the entirety of valence was empty even as you had sought the entrance and the clinic floor. not a single human being in sight.

you had began to wonder whether valence was under a lockdown of sorts and you had just been misinformed, and even as you had checked your sign in documents for the day, for at the very least the sixth time in a row. nothing hinted towards such thing.

which lead you to the third knock on the man’s door, that had you scampering away from it when in response you heard a massive, shallow slam against the wooden surface from the other side.

the rustling from behind the door made it quite clear that it was something large that had been thrown, something living as well.

you caught just the sounds of the smallest rasps and harsh breaths being inhaled, before the sound of gurgling wretched loudly from the other side and to the clinic.

and then there was nothing — other than the clear, deep red blood, seeping out from the crack of the door.

it was hard to not let out a scream at the sight. your entire body stiffening and shaking involuntarily.

you felt every muscle lock into place, cramping and tensing — you are forgetting to breathe, are you not? but how can you. any breath could alert whatever was on the other side of the door.

but oh you’d knocked already, hadn’t you?

what would have been alerted by your rapid steps away from the door or your breath had already paid close attention to the three knocks against the wood.

your lungs feel as if they squeeze together so much all your access to oxygen has been closed off and you attempt to continue to step away and get to the staircase as quick as possible until the door before you unlocks with that faint click.

halting, your eyes force you to watch the door creak open and a pair of beady amber eyes staring back at you through the small crack. a toned face concealed by shadow and darkness facing you, while you catch the faintest outline of an arm sticking out from the corner of the doorway.

it’s clear that it’s limp. the muscle and tissue looks like it has dislodged itself almost.

shifting downwards to crouch down and look up at you from the shadows, just like a snake watching its prey, the figure pushes out the remains of a mangled corpse.

throat slit, and face ripped off it is unidentifiable, you have no clue how that was even possible — the limbs of the corpse broken and torn.

for once your lungs cooperate as you exhale a loud screech at the sight itself, an arrangement of cries leaving your throat involuntarily. while tears run down your face.

the corpse is let go of and in an almost slithering, smooth and graceful motion, jìngyí makes his way over to you, covering your mouth with his bloodied hands, leaving you screaming more and trying to pull away.

however the man has a firm grip on you, eyes moving down to look straight into yours as he hushes you softly, crooning quietly.

“shhhhhshh. . . shhhhh. it is okay, do not tell anyone about this and you will be fine. stop crying.”

“wh-why- wh- whywhywhy— why would you— what—” you stammer and continue to cry, “please let go of me—”

“no dear i am afraid i cannot, you have seen quite a lot. and i need to make sure i have a loyal assisstant.” he sighs clawing into your arms.

“so do we have an agreement?”

[galaxyostars]

The de Rolo kids are public schooled.

Preface

So I've been thinking. I don't believe Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third would (at least immediately) allow someone other than him, Vex, and perhaps the rest of Vox Machina, to privately tutor his kids. I'm using a combination of CR and TLOVM here, as the main campaign playthrough doesn't really linger much on Percy's relationship with Anders as the animation does, but the overall gist is that Anders betrayed the de Rolo family in favour of working for the Briarwoods (and in CR's case, Vecna).

You're the face I saw when murder entered my heart.

^ Percy, to his teacher, Professor Anders.

Home-tutoring

Is it impossible for Percy and Vex to teach their kids? Absolutely not. Is it impossible for them to teach their five kids, whilst also maintaining their own hobbies (and lives)? Eh... it's doable, but doing a Master's degree in Education myself, I cannot imagine the level of Percy's intended teaching and their kids' learning after Gwendolyn was born being left to just Percy and Vex as being remotely comfortable for them.

But then you have to consider what type of learning these kids are maintaining. I think Percy was initially within a factory model of education (based on what we saw in TLOVM) but broke out of it when he was on his own and started tinkering. I'm not well-versed with Vex's formal education -- I imagine she has one outside of her learned practical skills given she was in Syngorn for an amount of time with Syldor, but I imagine her idea of education is probably a little more "free" than Percy's. I like to think they had a conversation about what their kids' education would look like. Vex is not like Caleb and Beau in the Mighty Nein who constantly go to the library for additional information about anything and everything they don't know, but is instead already knowledgable, can deduce using logical reasoning, or goes and asks someone else (not to say Caleb and Beau can't do this either, but regardless). I think that indicates she's probably a little more world-wise than she is interested in classroom etiquette.

(Note: Taliesen Jaffe has joked that Percy probably took hits of pot now and then, delivered by Keyleth/Vax!Crow, to get through the day with his children around ("Do you see how many kids that is? Oh my god."))

I should also point out the interaction with Gwendolyn indicates she's at least accustomed to Percy's office/library where there are rules in place and it sounds like he might've said "Leave the book" because his kids have been taking them and not putting them back (which probably mortified him upon first incident).

Public Education

There is, however, an alternative I do like very much: this generation of de Rolo kids may actually be "public-schooled" (or at least, the Whitestone version of that).

Again, speaking as an Aussie pre-service teacher, it's a lot harder to be a good teacher while also planning to overthrow your government/be a cult leader at the same time when you've got a class of 20+ kids to look after and educate. Doable, but rather unlikely. Vex might've actually thought it safer and more to Percy's liking to put their kids' education into the system they have a direct gubernatorial say over, rather than allowing an educator direct access to his home, his family.

This would not only benefit the de Rolos, but also other lower/middle-class families in Whitestone, as there's no doubt they'd pump that education system with as much coin as would benefit their kids' learning.

Additionally, mentioning the pot joke again, it gets said five kids out of the home giving these parents some peace and quiet.

Obviously there'd be nobility etiquette teaching they'd have to undergo, but it's probably much, much easier to do that in-house than it is the entirety of their education.

I put it to you, fellow Critters: At what point, if any, would Percy relinquish the education of his kids to someone outside of Vox Machina? And, would that be in a regular school classroom with other kids?

[simonnesavoie]

My favorite Tallahassee lyrics as of now in no particular order or emotional reasons

"I want to say I'm sorry for stuff I haven't done yet Things will shortly get completely out of hand" Old College Try

"Our conversations are like minefields No one's found a safe way through one yet" Southwood Plantation Road. Actually, the entirety of that song is magnificent.

"People say friends don't destroy one another What do they know about friends?" Game Shows Touch Our Lives

The entire third verse of Alpha Rats Nest

"My dreams are haunted by armies, armies of ghosts Faces too blurry to make out Numbers far too high to measure" Idylls of the King

I'd say that's all but it never will be. Stellar album.

[novelmonger]

Moments That Bring Me Joy: The Sound of Music

(Reminder that "joy" doesn't necessarily mean "happiness.")

The iconic spinning around at the beginning of the movie, and then, "The hiiiiills are aliiiiiive!"

Maria running back to get her…headpiece thing, I don't know what it's called ^^'

When we'd watch this as kids, my siblings and I would joke that when the nuns start singing "Hallelujah" at the end of the service, they were happy it was over. Maybe that's in poor taste, but I think of that every time I see this movie ^^'

Right at the end of this whole delightful song about what Maria's like, she rushes in, splashes some water on her face, and then almost barrels past them, proving everything that's just been said XD And then she just rolls her eyes, shrugs, and trudges away.

"You know how Sister Berta always makes me kiss the floor after we've had a disagreement? Well, lately I've taken to kissing the floor when I see her coming, just to save time."

"I'm your new governess, Captain!" "And I'm the old butler." "Oh. Well, how do you do?" *shakes his hand vigorously*

"When we enter the abbey, our worldly clothes are given to the poor." "What about this one?" "The poor didn't want this one."

The first tiny hint of a smile from the Captain when Gretel fails to say her name c:

"Fraulein, were you this much trouble at the abbey?" "Oh, much more, sir!"

The look on the Captain's face when Maria says they should thank the Lord for the food - like a little boy who's just been scolded! XD

"Oh, they're all right, Captain, they're just happy." *inconsolable sobbing*

"And I forgot the other boy, what's his name? Well, God bless Whatshisname."

"You're not frightened of a thunderstorm, are you?" *Gretel shakes her head, then immediately rushes into Maria's arms*

The entirety of "My Favorite Things"

"And do you or do you not have trouble remembering such simple instructions?" "Only during thunderstorms, sir."

The "Do Re Mi" song <3

"Well?" "Whell what?" (You have no idea how many times my siblings and I have quoted this one random line XD)

The way the Captain has to fight so hard to not smile when Maria and the children fall out of the boat XD

"My heart will be blessed with the sound of music, and I'll sing once more." This hits so much harder as an adult than it did when I was a kid. I definitely understood the significance of the Captain singing again, why he stopped when his first wife died, and how singing again opened his heart to his children once more…but somehow the words of the song seem even more significant now.

All the subtle expressions on the adults' faces during "Edelweiss" as they begin to realize there might be some attraction forming between the Captain and Maria.

"So Long, Goodbye" and all the times we've sung snatches of it when saying goodnight ^_^

"You flatter me, Captain." "Oh, how clumsy of me. I meant to accuse you."

Everything about the pink lemonade. It's so random, I'd almost think it was product placement XD

"Strawberries?" "It's been so cold lately, they turned blue!"

I was today years old when I realized that the dress Maria's wearing when she returns to the Von Trapps is the same one the new postulant was wearing when Maria goes to talk to the Reverend Mother ^^'

"Gretel, what happened to your finger?" "It got caught." "Caught in what?" "Friedrich's teeth."

I've always loved exciting stories of people hiding and running from Nazis, so I always loved the climax where they have to out-fox them so they can escape.

When the whole crowd joins in singing "Edelweiss"

Fraulein Sweiger (or however you spell that), who keeps on bowing when she receives third prize in the competition

"I lift up mine eyes to the hills; from whence cometh my help?" This verse means so much to me :') <3

The tension when the Nazis shine the flashlights through the bars! Yes, this brings me joy.

"You'll never be one of them."

The nuns bringing out the car parts they removed from the Nazis' cars! The last spoken lines in the movie are them confessing their sins! I love it XD

[rabbiaharon]

I’m not very familiar with Torah so forgive me if this is a dumb question, but in the law it says not to punish a child for the sins of his father and yet during the exodus G-d killed the first born Egyptian children for the sins of their fathers against the Jewish people. even though the law came after the exodus isn’t that a moral inconsistency on G-d’s part? I’ve asked this question many times online and haven’t received an answer, and I’m not jewish so I don’t have anyone to ask irl

I apologize for how long this took, I didn’t mean to deny you your answer, but I’ve had a tenuous relationship at best with Tumblr these days due to rising antisemitism, and I did take a nearly 6 year hiatus. It’s not a dumb question at all, but a question fundamental to jewish theology, and one with ample examples across all of mikrah and mishnah. In fact, the Talmud asks almost this exact question in Tractate Berachos (7a), comparing two verses: the first one “he visits the sins of the fathers on their children, on the third generation, and on the fourth” (פּוקד עון אַבות על הבנים על שלשים ועל רבעים - Shemos 34:7), and the second one “children shall not die by the sins of their fathers, by one’s own sin they will die” (בנים לא ימותו על אבות - Devarim 24:16).

The Talmud observes that these two pesukim appear to contradict each other, and then resolves the contradiction: The former posuk, which states that a person will be punished for the sin of their ancestors up to the 4th generation is if they retain and continue the ways of their forefathers, in other words, doing the same set of sins. The novelty being that they are only held responsible until the 4th generation, rather than forever as long as they maintain the same evils. What’s cool about this, from a comparative theology perspective, is that a proper reading of this posuk entirely eliminates the Xtian idea of Original Sin, being that even if we were following in the ways of Adam and Chava in their decision to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we are more than 4 generations away from that sin, so we can certainly not be held responsible for it.

The second posuk, which explains that a person is only responsible for their own sin, refers to a situation where the child has not followed the wicked ways of their fathers.

There is an additional aspect to this comparison as well, which is that the first posuk refers to punishment meted out by Hashem, such as in the situation of the Egyptians, whereas the second posuk refers to the punishment meted out by the Rabbinical Courts below.

To address the situation you brought up in your initial question, why were the firstborn killed for the sin of their fathers? They weren’t, per say. Not exclusively. They played a role in their fathers’ sins. They took part in throwing jewish babies into the river. They were the priests of Egyptian idolatry and the greatest opponents towards letting the jews serve G-d, particularly because our method of service often involved the sacrifice of the things they worshipped. In fact, they didn’t “change their minds” about letting the jews go until they saw the jews tying sheep to their bedposts for the Pesach sacrifice, and when they [the first born] asked, the jews said “G-d is going to kill the firstborn and then we’ll be leaving anyway”. In other words, their change of heart wasn’t out of a desire to actually repent, but entirely born out of self-interest.

In addition, one without context can assume, based on this circumstance, that G-d metes out indiscriminate collective punishment, since every single one of the firstborn of Egypt were killed, except Pharaoh himself, and that the entirety of Egypt suffered as a result of all of this. This is also inaccurate, as G-d ensured that all the citizen Mitzrim had an opportunity to take part in the sin, by causing Pharaoh to withhold the straw they needed to make mortar and bricks. Two centuries earlier, in exchange for selling them food during the years of famine, Yosef acquired all the physical land in Egypt on behalf of Pharaoh… In other words, all of Egypt was living on royal land, and when Pharaoh stopped giving the jews pre-cut straw, the assumption was that they would go into the fields of Egyptiants - fields that belonged to the government - and cut the straw needed to complete their requisite service to the king. Instead, civilians who were previously uninvolved would savagely beat jews that came to collect the straw, which gave them a role in the sin which eventually destroyed Egypt. Thus, even if you apply the same rules to the heavenly court and the earthly court, no moral inconsistency is present.

This ties in to the big issue that all the goyim on this website who harbor the mental illness formerly known as judenhass have made their rallying cry to attack innocent jews from all over the world - Gaza. As a teacher, I have very deep sympathy for children in Gaza, as a general rule, who did not sign up to be used as human shields for a terrorist organization. Their parents? As a teacher, even if they were innocent of direct involvement with Hamas, but have not tried to leave Gaza and emigrate to another, safer country, I hate them with a consummate hatred. Why? Because they have endangered their own children, and as a teacher, I cannot abide that. From a torah perspective? Every child who wants to terrorize Jews because it makes their parents proud, wants to kill jews to buy their parents’ favor, and doesn’t once question whether killing innocent people is the correct course of action, will almost undoubtedly share their parents’ fate, as they have a deep desire to share in their sin.

Still, regardless of their “status”, our main focus should be on our own actions. We should strive to discern the innocent from the guilty. Even if we cannot always make that distinction we still have to act for the sake of Heaven. We must strive to work on our own behavior, so that when Rosh Hashanah comes, Hashem will see our efforts and give us his help, as revealed good, as we pass into a new year, may it be a year of redemption.

[breakandbuildfiction]

Shirou Emyia Is OP As HELL

I find it very interesting both narratively and conceptually that the subjectively main character of a great deal of the Fate Series is by the rules of his own universe practically a failure as a mage and an inconsequential existence among Servants-- the combat 'class' or species depending on your own interpretation-- and yet he is still not only one of the most successful mages and effective combatants in his own verse, but if his same magical skillset were to be imposed on a character in practically any other fantasy universe-- or if he just straight up got picked up and thrown into another universe using a canonical way to do that with the 2nd Magic-- he would instantly be considered one of the most impressive mages and warriors ever.

Seriously, Shirou is one of the mages to have come closest to mastering or at least utilizing the Third Magic, the magic that revolves around the manipulation and manifestation of the soul, by being capable of projecting his soul into the physical world as a Reality Marble. If memory serves this ability is said to be so rare that only a dozen humans in all of history are said to have been able to accomplish the same feat outside of when they come back as Heroic Spirits, in which case it is still considered exceedingly rare.

He is also probably the mage closest to learning how to use the Denial of Nothingness (which is THINK is the Fourth Magic, but I googled it and the Fourth Magic is not named or described, so it might be the First Magic which has something to do with the creation of Metaphysical Energy and/or Substances as opposed to the usage of such things like most if not all other forms of magecraft does... if I understand it right at least... the wiki says the magic is still unexplained in its entirety) thanks to his creation of and growing mastery of Tracing.

Speaking of Tracing, his ability to use that spell/combination of spells comes at least in part from his affinity for and mastery of Structural Grasping, which at his level allows him to instantly learn everything there is to know about a physical object's physical and magical properties along with its communitive history either by just LOOKING AT IT or in some cases by touching it. Though admittingly this is limited by him only being able to instantly memorize and reliably recall and understand that information be it physical or magical if the physical object is a Sword or an object closely related to the concept of Swords such as Spears, Knives, Shields, et cetra (With the seeming exception of Rao Ais which doesn’t seem to have a physical component and is instead a purely metaphysical existence that interacts with the physical world by invoking the very concept of the shield used in the Trojan War). He can then recreate those things at will with his magecraft and enhance or alter those properties with seemingly minimal effort! He's able to do this with ANY non-divine object and can even somewhat pull it off with some divine constructs as well! Though again, he is held back by his own status as a human, though in this case it has to do with his below-average to average levels of magical energy as much as it does the human brain's limitations on what it can perceive and how much information it can store at once.

That's TWO True Magics he's at the very least closer to than pretty much anyone else alive, on top of having so much skill with a spell that for some reason most mages consider nearly useless that he could steal the research of any mage that specializes in using Mystic Codes or otherwise uses them as a medium for their research or spellcasting and by doing so probably figure out some of the flaws that have been overlooked for generations thanks to getting the full rundown of the entire creation process and having COUNTLESS other Mystic Codes and Nobel Phantasms to compare it to practically simultaneously!

AND, let's not forget that the master of the Second Magic once gave the blueprints to his own Mystic Code that straight up uses a version of said Second Magic to the Tohsakas and even after several generations they couldn't recreate even a lesser version of it, and yet in one timeline Shirou was able to do just that in like, a day. This in turn, thanks to the fact that the Code was in the shape of a short sword, means at minimum that version of Shirou if not the others that eventually went to the Clocktower with Rin theoretically has access to at least a watered-down version of the Second Magic as well! And I'm pretty sure that when that happened it was revealed that Shirou's Reality Marble can produce rare or even non-existent materials within its confines that can then be used to make new swords/Mystic Codes that never existed before using Shirous's thoughts and desires in place of an actual forge and that Shirou can then Trace them into reality! The man can literally design magic weapons that should not be able to exist for one reason or another and then pull them out of his soul to use in a fight without having to figure out how to or spend the time required to actually make them. He just needs the final result to work. AND HE CAN THEN TREAT THEM AS DISPOSABLES NO MATTER HOW EXPENSIVE OR TIME-CONSUMING THEY WOULD BE TO CREATE FOR ANY OTHER MAGUS!

And all of this, ALL OF THIS, is primarily focused on how his magic stands in terms of Magical Research, not about how it would affect his status as a terrifying god-tier combatant. Though of course there is some considerable overlap. So WHY is he considered a failure of a mage? Because in the Nasuverse a mage's skill/what rate they are isn't measured or determined by how high their mastery of a spell is or their accomplishments outside of discovering a route to Akasha, but instead by how many different spells they know how to cast and how much power they can put into them. Shirou can only perform I think three or four spells (Structural Grasping, Projection, Reinforcement, and I think Alteration, though I remember some quotes saying he only has one spell, that being Unlimited Blade Works, and all his other spells are just lesser versions of it he is able to use) that are all considered trash tier and is nearly incapable of learning more. In almost any other setting being able to use three or four spells to accomplish what Shirou is able to pull off would be considered worthy of legends and everyone would be scrambling to work with him on the study and creation of Mystic Codes, but he got screwed over by being from a verse that only cares about quantity and rarity, not quality.

[100beep]

The Linyue Festival

Of all that Liyue is famous for, music is not traditionally part of it. They have a few native musicians, some of which are quite good, but they aren’t nearly as well-known as other nations’ music. However, Rex Lapis does care for music - and so, every four years, Liyue hosts the Linyue Festival.

The first festival was, despite Rex Lapis’s patronage, a small affair with only a few actual musicians attending. The second one picked up a lot of steam from Mondstadt’s bards, due mostly to the endorsement of Venti. And the subsequent ones simply snowballed, the honors from Rex Lapis gaining prestige and competition.

The four hundred and seventieth festival is nearly canceled because of Morax’s death. It’s saved by a timely intervention by Venti. “It’s what he would have wanted,” he successfully argues. (He knows that it is, in fact, what Zhongli wants.)

He also manages to convince Xiao to attend. “It’s to remember Rex Lapis,” he says. “And how long has it been since you’ve heard me play?” The answer to that last question is about fifteen years, which is a long time even for a pair of immortals.

“And whose fault would that be?” Xiao grumbles, but nevertheless agrees to attend - although not to sing as Venti also tries to convince him to.

\The festival traditionally takes place over seven days. The first half of the last day will be dedicated to tributes to Morax - Venti had argued against that change unsuccessfully, not least because Xiao had been on the other side of that argument. As “one of those closest to him,” Xiao is offered the role of judge several times, all of which he denies. It is, however, the only part of the festival he plans to attend in its entirety. For every other category, he chooses only a few musicians to minimize the effects of karma. Venti, who, as the seventy-two time winner has managed to talk his way into seven of the twelve categories plus the opening and closing, is always one of them. He hadn’t managed to talk his way onto the first performance, instead coming third. The first two are nearly as good, Xiao thinks, even without Venti’s healing abilities.

Venti is about to take the stage when Xiao hears his name called in… was that Vanarana? He’s there in an instant, spear drawn, ready to take on whatever is threatening whoever called him. Which, he quickly determines, is the avatar of Marana. He leaps into battle alongside the Traveler, quickly defeating it and its minions. And then another two times when it revives somehow.

“Thank you,” says the Traveler.

“Paimon doesn’t think they could have survived without you,” Paimon says.

“You’re welcome,” says Xiao. Then he gusts away through the maze that is Vanarana - he’d been here before, and not willingly.

He’d given up hope of hearing Venti’s performance, but he does manage to return in time for the last half of the closing verse.

Despite the length of that song - from past experiences, it takes anywhere from nine to fourteen minutes depending on the mood Venti’s in - he’s still met with thunderous applause… and then rushed off the stage by the manager of the competition.

“Thanks to the great length of that performance, I don’t have time for my usual speeches,” she says, to gales of laughter. “Next up is Yun Jin…”

Xiao gusts away. Yun Jin is skillful, but he doesn’t enjoy her singing.

The second half of the day is dedicated to war songs, one of the few categories that Venti isn’t participating in. Nor does Xiao care much for war songs, despite Venti’s insistence that he could perform well. After the afternoon’s performances are complete, Xiao tries to find Venti and fails. Despite Venti’s many attempts to teach him, he never could use the wind to find people - “to hear something other than your name,” as Venti put it. After about half an hour of searching through the various taverns in the city, he leaves the city once more, returning to his role as protector.

The second day is traditionally quieter after the excitement of the opening, which makes it both more pleasant and safer for Xiao to listen. Venti’s performances run nearly back-to-back, ending the morning and beginning the afternoon, with a five-minute intermission between them.

Xiao appears before Yanfei’s performance, which comes just before Venti’s. He’d been rather surprised to see her here and came entirely out of curiosity. And he’s not the only one - he can see Cloud Retainer there as well. He’s even more surprised when she turns out to be a pretty good singer - it was not what he’d expect from her.

Venti’s first performance of the day is apparently one he wrote himself. (He’d refused to tell anyone anything about it beforehand, saying that he wanted a surprise. He hadn’t even told the organizers, only that it wouldn’t be nearly as long as the first one.) He’s saying as much on stage when Xiao hears a call and disappears.

He reappears in the forest of Wuwang Hill somewhere even he doesn’t recognize. The ghosts of humans are not normally a problem. But apparently, they still scare children - which is why he’s called here now.

As soon as he appears, the child in question runs behind him and hides his face in Xiao’s legs. “There’s a ghost,” he says, voice shaking. He looks around - he can see spirits everywhere, but there’s only one strong enough for mortals to see it. To his surprise, it is indeed a malicious spirit of some kind, a poltergeist that feeds on fear.

He ignores the spirit for now and tells the child “Don’t be afraid. If you’re not afraid, it can’t hurt you,” trying to be comforting

The child looks at him. “I can try,” he says. Then he shouts at the spirit “Go away! I’m not scared!”

Xiao almost laughs at the sudden turnaround.

The poltergeist makes one last rush at the child, then turns and floats off.

The child turns to Xiao. “I think I’m lost.”

Xiao extends a hand, says “Hold on,” and gusts above the forest to see where they are. Once he’s oriented himself, he speeds towards Qingce Village. Once he arrives, going slower than he normally would, he sets the child down. “Do you know how to get home from here?” he asks.

The child nods and runs off.

Xiao gusts back to the harbor, to find, of course, that Venti’s performances are both done. Time must run differently on Wuwang - he swears that he was gone for less than three minutes, but intermission alone is five. He remains for the next few performances, then leaves.

Once more, he searches for Venti after the day’s performances are done, and once more, he fails to find him.

The next few days repeat in a similar fashion. Right around the time Venti begins his performance, Xiao gets called away for increasingly trivial reasons. Normally, he wouldn’t mind such calls, but their precise timing makes it rather annoying. The second time the Traveler calls him, he nearly snaps at them when it turns out they only wanted an inhuman opinion on their cuisine. Which again, he’d normally be happy to provide, but it’s really a bad time. And given it’s in the far end of the Sumerian desert - why the Traveler is cooking there and how Xiangling got there, Xiao doesn’t know - even if he returns as soon as he can, he’ll miss the end of Venti’s performance. And every time Xiao tries to find Venti, he can’t, to the point where he suspects Venti’s avoiding him for some reason.

As planned, the last day’s morning is dedicated to remembering Rex Lapis, and as planned, Xiao attends the entire morning. It’s the first time he properly hears Venti over the festival - no one calls him for the entire morning.

Venti’s last performance is the beginning of the end - or less dramatically, the first performance of the last day’s afternoon. And, of course, as soon as he’s introduced, Xiao gets called away.

After the end of the competition are the awards, which Xiao does stay for out of curiosity, and at which Venti wins his seventy-third first place. And after the awards, Xiao tries once more to find Venti, and this time succeeds when Venti calls him to a room in Dawn Winery.

“Where have you been?” they ask each other almost in unison.

Venti laughs and then answers. “It was one of the conditions of the festival that I don’t go out and get drunk every night. Apparently, mortals don’t get better at music the more drunk they are.”

“You’ve spent so long in bars, you should know how drunk mortals act,” Xiao answers.

“Probably…” Venti laughs again. Then he turns more serious. “But where were you for most of the festival? I was starting to worry because I didn’t see you.”

“I kept getting called away,” Xiao answers. “Somehow it always happened as soon as you took the stage.”

Venti nods. “And of course, you being… you, you’d never turn down a call.”

“Of course not. You can still call me even after so many calls to get rid of stray cats,” Xiao answers.

Venti laughs, then cuts himself off. “I forgot about that,” he says. “Since you never managed to hear me, would you like a… private show?”

The way Venti asks makes Xiao think that there’s another meaning there. “Yes, but just the music,” he answers.

Venti grins and pulls his harp out from… wherever he keeps it and begins playing. For a second, Xiao’s paranoid that another call will come, but it doesn’t, and he relaxes to the music.

As soon as he closes his eyes, a wind picks up, moving him around. He assumes that it’s Venti messing with him again and doesn’t pay attention to it until his head is dropped in Venti’s lap.

He looks up in surprise and sees Venti grinning down at him. Venti releases the harp midair, playing one-handed while the other hand strokes through Xiao’s hair.

Half an hour later, Xiao has fallen asleep. Adepti don’t need to sleep, but they still can. Venti moves him very carefully off his lap, then lies beside him.

[fic-recs-4myself]

What is your favourite Drarry fic and favourite Wolfstar fic?

First of hi!! I think you are my first ask ever, this blog is purely my fanfic reblogs repository so it's nice to see someone else here.

I wouldn't say I have one only favorite of this but I can give you a top five

WOLFSTAR TOP 5

A. All the young dudes by MsKingBean89

This one's mandatory but I have to admit I never finished it. I'm too scared to read the ending even if I already know what happens.

But I just love how their characters are portrayed especially Remus!

B. Text Talk by Merlywhirls

This one's also a classic but, It's so cute, so sad, so adorable and unique. Truly something to read over and over again.

C. (The entirety of )Discard Verse by picascribit

Im pasting the series summary here because I can't describe it better and everyone should give it a chance. Beware of the warnings tho!

Non-magic Wolfstar AU romance set in contemporary Seattle. Sirius is a mixed race White/Japanese trans man, and an assistant librarian at the Seattle Public Library. Remus is Latino and an HIV+ homeless college student and sex worker. There are some angsty bits, but overall it's not a downer.

My sweet Remus is the strongest person alive in every fic I love him so much.

D. Pray the gay away by orphan account

Remus' parents send him to a Christian camp designed to help him control his “Same Sex Attraction”. Once there, Remus finds himself rooming with the devilishly handsome bad-boy, Sirius Black. Will he give in to temptation? Could the attraction he feels for Sirius be more than physical? Non-Magical 1970s AU

Amazing work it's as beautiful as it's sad. Again beware warnings.

E. Don't fuck this up lupin by blibberinghumdiggory

Short cute soulmates au fic

DRARRY TOP 5

A. F*ck! by shushu_yaoi_lj

Cute and hot an so much fun to read

B. The importance of being Draco Malfoy by poppyhills

The amnesia fic you didn't know you needed but I can assure you you do. It's so much fun and such an unique view of Draco's mind.

C. Dear cousin, love Regulus by LLAPI115 and XxTheDarkLordxX

Quite honestly the drarry takes a backseat to all the character work Draco does but still beautiful and necessary read

D. Chaos is my second home by

This is the third work of the series and you should probably read the other ones to understand but basically it's our boys with a whole less trauma sort of. Since Vernon and Lucius died when their kids are babes their upbringing is really different and their relationship later has a whole other first steps and I loved all the thought put into their characters.

E. Silk Sheets

Purely porn without (much) plot but I believe it deserves a special mention because of all the times I have read it.

Welp! That's it, honestly I just checked my AO3 bookmarks to make this list but it was really nice to remember all these lovely fics sorry I didn't tag them but you can find them by name or author on AO3. I have a bunch more of fics left especially drarry so let me know if you want me to post another list!

[cast-you-dxwn]

New verse: The Sword of Lucifer

When the Great Fall was near its end, Saint Michael found himself standing over his Fallen Brother, his dearest sibling, Lucifer.

At the mercy of Gods Executioner, the younger begged the Great Saint for his help, told him of Sera’s lies, that the Seraphim had denied his desire to simply leave Heaven and live upon Earth in peace, as a human.

Love won out over Order in Michael’s heart, and he picked his brother up, healing his wounds, and ordered his men to march on the council chamber, to bring the Council to account for the bloodshed that now filled the golden streets of their Fathers realm.

The Archangel Gabriel would not listen to reason, and marshaled the rest of the Legions against these newest rebels, and together the two brothers fell, along with the entirety of the First, Second, and Third Legions, cast into hell and sentenced to eternal damnation.

Profaned, the Fallen Archangel had refused to fall into melancholy, picking his brother up and marshaling his men, keeping them from sinking into despair in the flames and darkness that surrounded them. For now, with Lucifer and Lilith at their head, they would carve out a new Kingdom, an order to rival Heavens. They would keep the Sinners in line, they would serve the Great Plan even from here, though Heaven had abandoned them.

When the Exterminations came, the Exorcists met with an organized, trained, and utterly implacable military force, which beat back the angelic exterminators. And so would repeat, year upon year, into eternity.

Unless something is to change.

[emmedoesntdomath]

YOU WANT A CHARACTER WE KNOW ABOUT

FINE TELL ME ABOUT

KATHERINE MOTHERFREAKING PLUMBER

OKAY AGGRESSION?!?!?!? ANYWAYS-

so katherine (✨motherfucking✨) plumber/pulitzer is- BY FAR- the most unrealistic character in the entirety of the newsies ‘verse, and that’s just a fact. sorry. does this mean I do not adore the woman? don’t put words in my mouth (BRONTEEEEE MY LOVE).

in reality, joseph pulitzer’s daughter katherine died at age 2, from pneumonia. she was the third of seven, and not the only child to pass from illness (her older sister, lucille, who was their father’s favorite, died at 17). as one can probably infer, she was not a journalist who wrote under the byline of katherine plumber.

furthermore, while women were most certainly ALLOWED to be journalists, it was typically common for them to be restricted to the socials, reviews of literatures, and advice columns (this was referenced in the stage version). there are exceptions to this that exist, and i will acknowledge that (look up nellie bly), but that…was typically about it. again. exceptions. noted.

the more important tidbit is that KATHERINE would not have been allowed to be a journalist. she would not have been allowed to be an enterprising woman given her high status. regardless of the journalistic abilities of women, katherine’s own position would have been heavily regulated and diminished.

now that we’ve successfully established that there is little historical basis for her character, let us get to the fun stuff!!!

look, katherine and jack’s relationship in newsies isn’t love, and that NEEDS to be made clear- and that’s okay, actually. they don’t need to be in love. if anything, it’s lust at first sight, because they’re attracted to each other (jack’s also attracted to davey, but do we talk about that? nooooooo) (that was obviously a joke). even then, though, the banter is a tad boring (read: it’s a disney show. it has to be pg. i have full confidence that the banter would have been fabulous if given a full chance).

but katherine ADORES the newsies, because to her, they are the little lost children that she has adopted (no takebacksies). jack thinks she’s insane for willingly inserting herself into the mess, but everyone knows that jack has no room to talk about being insane, so it’s all good. race calls her their stepmom, and she didn’t even get the joke for the first couple WEEKS after he said it (we all know who their mother is) (that’s right, it’s our favorite walking mouth).

she’s best friends with sarah. interpret that as you will.

also, she and race would totally have a girls brunch every saturday where they’d just get drunk off cheap margaritas and shit talk everyone. it would be glorious.

[bajisms]

LF tokyo revengers 1x1 !

please only interact with this post if you're 18+ ! i am 21+ myself and do not want to engage in any roleplay interactions with minors, thanks! (i'd also prefer to age up our characters to at least 18 for whatever plot we end up doing as well)

characters i have high muse for atm: baji, chifuyu, mikey, kazutora, koko

characters i'd like to write against: all the above mentioned characters + takemichi, inui

i've fallen into a tokyo revengers brainrot over the past few months - i've seen the entirety of the anime and recently started reading the manga (so please bear with me during the plotting process hehe) i'm not super picky about plots, i LOVE angst, but i can do most canon timelines as well as anything au!verse for our ship. i have a few plots in mind (both canon and au wise) but ultimately i'd love to brainstorm plots that we can both be happy with together!

because i'm currently working from home, i have a lot of free time on my hands, but i'm a very chill writer and will not push for replies with my only condition being that i'm also not pushed for replies. i can be speedy, but i have adhd so i can also be a little slow at times and simply ask for mutual patience ^^ i prefer writing in para, third person present tense, but i'm pretty flexible and prefer quality over quantity.

if you're interested in writing with me and want to brainstorm something together, just like this post and i'll reach out to you! i also don't mind being messaged first, so just lmk! i prefer writing on discord btw, but i can write on tumblr as well (it'll just be slower because i haven't written here in a long time lol)

[alexanderlightweight]

writing wednesday prompt: alec in a cock cage. orgasm control, emphasis on control. his pleasure belongs to magnus, to be given/taken away at m's whim.

so i actually wrote this as part of the spoils of war verse because i wrote the first part of that chapter earlier and realized this would tie in so well. so i hope you enjoy,

-

“Do you know what this is?” Magnus asks casually as he summons the golden medallion he was supposed to use as his spousal gift. The magic in it is thick and heavy, a vicious crudeness to the deep want and the cruel barbed hooks of the soul magic that it will tether itself to Alexander with. Magnus slowly lets himself unravel the metal and magic of it until it’s mass of fluid tendrils.

“The oaths connected to this are unbreakable, irremovable.” Magnus murmurs, voice a mocking tease. “Whatever I make with it, wherever I place it on you, it can never come off without my touch, my demand and my magic.” Alexander is shaking under Magnus’ touch, desperately trying to hold back the tears Magnus has pushed him to. “I’ll always be able to find you—” Magnus promises, a dark threat in his voice as he finally cups Alexander’s cock. “No realm will be able to keep you from me.”

Alexander flinches, lashes fluttering and wet as he tries to stay still and not fight the pain of overstimulation as Magnus toys with his cock. It’s a pretty thing, long and curving just so and it’s going to look gorgeous trussed up in Magnus’ magic and bound to his command just as thoroughly as Alexander’s soul will be.

Alexander’s slit is crying, wet and abused with how much Magnus’ has been teasing it. The fluid metal of their oath slips into it easily enough and then hardens. Alexander keens at the sensation, body convulsing with tiny judders as he tries so hard to be good and stay still. Magnus fucks the sound in and out of his cock for a moment as he tests the give.  It’s tight and Alexander’s cock is still limp despite being filled which is what Magnus wants. Alexander’s body is going to have to fight and struggle to get hard without Magnus’ express permission and aid. The intense pain of pleasure continually denied will have him squirming in Magnus’ arms — and then Magnus finishes it.

The entirety of the cock cage is made from magic and cold metal. It keeps Alexander’s cock bound under Magnus’ control and safe and Magnus locks it with the magical imprint of his signet ring. Alexander is crying silently, tears staining his face with salt. He’s an absolute vision and if Magnus were a less powerful demonic prince, he wouldn’t risk showing Alexander off.

As it is, Magnus is going to enjoy proving to the shadowworld just who Alexander belongs to.

Tremors are running through his boy’s body, his legs shaking as Magnus pushes them apart and Alexander parts his legs slowly, gaze still unfocused from his orgasm and Magnus’ cruel entertainment.

Magnus kneels between him and opens him with magic before pressing two fingers to Alexander’s hole and pressing in demandingly. Alexander whines but just spreads his legs a little farther and Magnus adds a third finger before he decides he’s been nice enough.

Magnus slicks himself up and fucks into Alexander, hands on his hips and leaving bruises from how hard he’s gripping. Alexander tightens around him with every desperate sob Magnus fucks from his hoarse throat. Magnus lets go of him to fist a hand in his hair and pull him up. It’s less of a kiss and more Magnus tongue-fucking into his mouth, depriving Alexander’s of everything that isn’t pleasure and he’s shuddering and crying as his body fights to get hard, and he can’t.

He whines whenever his caged cock is jostled and when Magnus pulls away from Alexander’s mouth, he tries to follow, teeth scraping over Magnus’ shoulder. Magnus takes a moment to just keep him still, leash kept short, pulling Alexander down and away from him so Magnus can press a hand on Alexander’s lower belly and feel the drag of his own cock claiming his boy.

“You’re not going to come again tonight—” Magnus promises his boy and chuckles when Alexander mewls in desperate pleading. “No sweetheart, you’re not getting your way.” Alexander tightens around him and Magnus croons, dark satisfaction growing in his chest as Alexander sends him a pouting, mulish look. Alexander doesn’t even realize how he’s milking Magnus’ cock, or the adorable stubbornness that have his legs wrapping around Magnus’ waist, heels wrinkling Magnus’ waistcoat.

It means that Magnus is equally trapped and has to fuck into his boy with small little jerks so that his cock kisses Alexander’s prostate. When Magnus’ finds the right angle, he keeps with it cruelly. Alexander is keening and Magnus has to use magic to pin his wrists down, his fingers desperate and nearly ripping Magnus’ shirt.

It must be pure torture, stimulated from his cock and his prostate and unable to get hard and Magnus laughs, delighted and relishing in it as he mouths at Alexander’s neck and leaves a mark with his teeth, high above where any collar will reach.

It’s a delicious thrill of Magnus, keeping his cock warm and deep inside his boy as Alexander flutters around him. Magnus tightens his hold on the leash and as Alexander is choking, whimpering on sensation, Magnus comes. Alexander clenches tightly and whines as he does, his thighs a near painful hold around Magnus.

They catch their breath on the stone floor and Magnus slowly pulls out before getting Alexander up and turning so he can look over his back and ass.

Alexander’s skin is raw, like he’s been scrapped over rough stone for hours instead of the quick fuck they had time for. Magnus clucks his tongue and drags his nails lightly over the marks and then he pats Alexander’s sore, swelling ass. His boy flinches and tightens and Magnus teases him with two fingers to his hole, delighted at how easily he slips in and how Alexander’s shudders, eyes sliding shut as he tries to keep Magnus’ fingers. He’s wet and warm and Magnus brushes his goatee over the raw expanse of Alexander’s shoulder as he pulls his fingers free.

“You’ll have to be good, keep yourself tight for me so you don’t make a mess during the banquet.” Magnus muses, because he has absolutely no intention of plugging Alexander when he’s not going to be able to enjoy teasing him. Alexander gives him a glare but doesn’t say anything, he can’t when it’s clear the only reason he’s standing is because Magnus’ is holding him up.

Magnus’ fucked the claves training right out of his boy, so much so that Alexander won’t be able to leave the room without clinging to Magnus.

When Magnus walks him through the banquet hall, everyone is going to know exactly why Alexander is limping. It’s amusing enough a thought, that he’s distracted enough that he almost misses Alexander trying to step away from him.

—

“And what does my lovely boy think he’s doing?”

Alec pauses at the question, because Magnus sounds amused, in a way that Alec already knows is dangerous. Despite how enticing Magnus sounds, Alec shivers because he doesn’t know what more Magnus thinks he can wring and demand from Alec’s body.

“Gett’ng dressed.” Alec manages to rasp, and his eyes slide shut at the already familiar feeling of a warm hand on his hip. Fingertips trace the bruises Magnus left on him and then press down. Alec can’t hold back the whimper it plucks from his throat and Magnus tuts, mock sympathetic as he presses the length of himself against Alec’s body. He’s firm and warm and even though he’s dressed still, his cock is a wet, half-hard press against Alec’s body.

“Kneel darling, we’ll need to get ourselves presentable if you’re in such a hurry.”

Alec kneels and finds out immediately what Magnus wants when his wet, half-hard cock slaps against Alec’s cheek. His breath hitches and Magnus must see something in his face because he chuckles, crown of his cock drooling against Alec’s lips. “Kiss me farewell, Alexander, and tuck me in. As much as I’d love to stay close, keep myself inside of you during the meal, I’m afraid the clave officials might die of shock and then where would this treaty be.”

There’s some shameful and strange yearning that stirs in Alec at the idea of being so undeniably claimed by Magnus in a way that makes their bond irrefutable. Still, he tries not to think about it and lets his mouth part slowly as he reaches out, trying to remember what he learned, what he felt from Magnus’ own mouth claiming his own. It’s sloppy and wet and each mockery of a kiss fills the air with a slick, obscene noise and he finds himself chasing the taste and the feeling of Magnus hardening on his tongue.

It’s not until he’s pulled off, sides heaving and eyes full of tears with Magnus’ grip tight on the leash, pulling Alec away and up. “Don’t tempt me—” Magnus tells him, a dark promise that Alec wants him to follow through on.

Instead, he’s forced to obey, and he carefully tucks Magnus’ wet, hard cock into his pants and then zips him up. Alec is absently chasing the taste of Magnus’ pre-come, licking his fingers without even realizing it until Magnus’ is dropping the cloak over him with a groan.

“Magnus?” Alec manages to ask, voice barely a whisper now and his wrists are sore from Magnus bound him down earlier with magic.

“There, now we’re both presentable.”

Magnus sounds smug in a dangerous was, the kind that is futile to argue with and Alec’s not sure if it’s horror or desire that’s making his blood pound in his ears.

“Magnus—” he starts to say but dark golden eyes are staring at him, watching him greedily. There’s a dare in the hunger of Magnus’ gaze and Alec swallows, realizing that if he even thinks about arguing, Magnus will prove his claim tenfold rather than allow the challenge to exist.

So, Alec struggles to his feet, leans into Magnus when an arm is wrapped around his waist and stumbles, barefoot and following.

Fill with Magnus’ come and wearing nothing but proof of Magnus’ claim.

—

Alexander’s long legs do him no favors as Magnus leads him through the banquet room and then makes him slowly climb the stairs to their unity table. There is a throne for him and a chair for Alexander and Magnus scoffs, snapping his fingers.

The guests and witnesses don’t seem to notice the change, not with all of their eyes staring at Alexander. It both thrills and irks Magnus. It has been a long time since he has both wanted to show off even more and gouge out the eyes of all who glance upon his treasures.

It must be startling for them, because gone is the image of a strong, brave and sacrificial warrior.

Magnus’ boy is obedient and quiet as he’s led, barefoot and limping as he’s guided by leash and magic. Alexander’s ears are tipped pink, but his shoulders are set, and he doesn’t stumble, his trust in Magnus’ strength secure. He moves carefully, as if he’s worried the cloak will slip open and expose the rest of Magnus’ claim to him.

It won’t, Magnus will not suffer the gaze of so many unworthy eyes on his boy and so Alexander is safe from view, for now.

Alexander’s chair is gone when they get to the table and Magnus pulls the enlarged throne out with a flicker of magic. He sits and pats next to him and Alexander shudders but obeys. His broad, tall form presses up deliciously against Magnus and Magnus wonders if Alexander’s guard is going to let down now. If he’s going to forget to keep himself clenched tightly, so that when he stands at the end of dinner, his thighs and legs will be stained with Magnus’ come.

The food is exactly to Magnus’ preference though he’s not sure about Alexander’s own. It’s not really a problem when Alexander is reliant on Magnus, his hands keeping the cloak closed tight and his mouth opening obediently for morsels of food or sips of a drink.

It’s distracting, the way Alexander’s carefully licks sauce and crumbs from the pads of Magnus’ fingers, but his boy also isn’t relaxing. He’ll lose himself for a moment, plush lips wrapping around Magnus’ fingers and sucking and then he’ll lower his gaze and pull away as if he’s concerned by the audience.

It’s entertaining for about a half hour but by then Magnus is bored. He reaches over, under the cloak and cups Alexander’s cock, letting his rings clink against the metal of Alexander’s cage. He taps his fingers, the metal singing with little chimes as it reverberates.

“Such a tedious affair—” Magnus murmurs, fully aware that he’s speaking of his own wedding banquet. “When I take you to Edom, you’ll see how much better it is.”

Alexander’s eyes are wide, and he stiffens, something incredulous in his body language.

“Oh, did you really think I was going to leave you here?” Magnus asks, amused despite himself, “that I was going to limit myself to only tasting you when I visit? Oh no, pretty boy. You’re mine and you’re going to stay mine.”

Magnus taps his clawed ring against where the sound is snug and deep in Alexander’s slit. His boy bites back a mewl, eyes watering and unable to move away from the torture Magnus is teasing him with.

“You’ll enjoy it. Warming my cock on my throne. Me fucking you on a plain of destruction, perhaps I’d even take you to another world. Destroy an army or to and fuck you with the blood of an entire continent. Would you enjoy that? There’s plenty of mundanes across the dimensions, I doubt they’ll be missed.”

Alexander is trying so hard to ignore Magnus’ words and actions, but Magnus is tired of playing nice and acting polite and he runs his hand down Alexander’s thighs.

“I’m going to fuck you again, darling, soon. One way or another, so either beg me nicely for us to leave early, or I’ll fuck you here.” It’s an empty threat, because Magnus won’t fuck Alexander in front of people who so clearly won’t be able to appreciate it. The nephilim side of the room is just looking for an excuse to insult his boy and Magnus will be damned if he gives them the opportunity.

He’s going to crown his charming little angel and tie him up so tightly to Edom that Alexander’s pleasure will affect the whole of Magnus’ realm. Magnus’ boy is going to be so enshrined in the ties of Magnus’ birthright that this whim of Alexander’s pleasure will be the pull of Edom’s moons, shifting the gravity of an entire realm.

Alexander shudders and pulls the cloak tighter around himself and then he leans over, kisses the shell of Magnus’ ear and murmurs, “please, Magnus. Take me away.”