#and i enlisted like all my friends to help me come to a consensus here lol

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Primer on writing Ed's hair care!

I love writing about Ed's hair! He has lots of beautiful hair, and it's obviously very well taken-care-of. I love reading fics that include Ed's hair care routines, too, but I know that a lot of white authors might not be confident about writing a man of color caring for his hair.

So, I wanted to put out a quick cheat sheet to help! This isn't an in-depth guide, but I hope it's a good primer so you can confidently include scenes touching on Ed's hair care. I really recommend checking out some natural hair subreddits if you want to go more in-depth so you can get ideas for the everyday frustrations and styles Ed might have.

Common misconceptions:

Ed will not need to wash his hair as often as you might assume he should. Natural hair textures tend to get very dry and brittle when washed too frequently because over-washing removes protective oils from our scalp and hair and dries it out. Ed probably only needs to wash his hair a couple times a week at most (he'll have figured out what works for him and his hair). This doesn't mean he's dirty or unclean, and it doesn't mean he won't shower or clean himself - he'll just probably put his hair up in a shower cap to keep it dry when he showers on days that aren't wash days.

Ed's hair care will look different than Stede's, and if he wants to let Stede help him care for his hair, he'll probably need to teach him how. Ed might have different brushes for detangling and styling his hair, and they'll definitely look different from Stede's. He also won't be able to use the same products as Stede does, or he might damage or over-dry his hair because many hair products meant for white/straight hair will over-strip the oils from natural hair.

A few things to avoid: Ed's hair is always depicted in the show as clean, well-styled, and perfectly presentable. It is not wild, untamed, or unmanageable just because it's got some texture.

Everyday care!

On the daily, Ed will probably rely on a few products to help him keep his hair looking beautiful. Coconut/castor oil is a go-to for locking in moisture (he can also use moisturizing creams or sprays in a modern AU), twisting creams and butters will help him style his hair into twists and braids, detangling sprays and/or creams help with bad hair days, and a curl-defining spray will help him get his hair looking great in the mornings.

On wash days, Ed will want to use a hydrating shampoo and a nourishing conditioner. Between wash days, leave-in conditioners will help him keep his hair moisturized and control frizz (leave-in conditioners don't get rinsed out, and he'll typically apply them after lightly wetting his hair).

Ed will likely want to put his hair into a protective style before bed so it doesn't get tangled and frizzy during the night. Putting his hair up in a sleep bonnet can help protect his hair while he sleeps, but as a fellow guy with longer hair, I can guess he won't like how he'll wake up with a bunch of his hair looking and feeling flat from sleeping on it. Putting his hair up in braids or twists are great ways to protect it while he sleeps so he wakes up with defined, happy hair! Pro-tip: he probably knows that wetting his hair before putting it into protective styles will help define his curls.

Around the water!

In canon settings or in AUs where Ed lives on or visits the beach, hair care is especially important! Salt air and swimming in the ocean can be very hard on natural hair, and Ed will want to be diligent about moisturizing to help control frizz and keep his hair from drying out.

Before swimming, if he can, there are a few things Ed can do to keep his hair happy. Natural hair really absorbs water, so wetting it before a swim can limit the amount of saltwater (or, in a pool, chlorine) his hair is able to soak up. It's also a good idea to put his hair in a protective style like braids before swimming.

After being in the water, again, Ed will want to wet his hair! After a swim in salt water, rinsing his hair with cool fresh water will keep his hair much happier.

If he's going to be swimming a lot, Ed will want to be very intentional with keeping his hair moisturized! Leave-in conditioners will be his best friend.

Why does this matter?

For people of color, our hair really matters. Our hair is an important way we express ourselves and feel connected to our culture. And controlling natural hair is one way that colonized societies continue to oppress and marginalize people of color. We're often policed and exoticized for our hair - like how the rich assholes on the party boat in s1e5 tried to touch Ed's beard without his permission. Taking care with how we depict Ed's hair isn't just fun and interesting, it helps make this fandom a more welcoming, inclusive space for fans of color.

[write-ur-wrongs]

Facing Your Demons

Jaskier x Reader 1785 words

TW: implied sexual assault, seeing an abuser in public, panic attacks, and references to trauma. I did my best to avoid explicit details but tread carefully. 

A huge thank you to @bubblegumfanfics for trusting me with this request - I hope I’ve done it justice :”)

Request: Something where the reader was a*saulted in the in the past and has a flashback or she sees her ex that did it and Jaskier ends up comforting the reader, telling her how much she means to him (accidental love confession? Maybe? I love those) while Geralt is dealing with her ex. The reader says she feel the same way but she can't give Jaskier anything sexual because it makes her uncomfortable. But jaskier says he'll be with her regardless and that he loves her and if she ever wanted to try he will oblige and if she doesn't like it he'll stop

It was only one contract, meant to last no more than a fortnight. It should have been an easy in-and-out arrangement; your client got nervous, enlisted a Witcher’s help, and you agreed against your better judgement to stay on and split the earnings. While you’d dealt with this type of apparition before, you were tired, and figured it wouldn’t hurt to work alongside someone tailormade for the trade.

It was only supposed to be for the one job. It should have never gone on like this. You should have never allowed yourself to be charmed by the Geralt’s friend, the bard. You shouldn’t have grown comfortable working alongside Geralt, earning twice the coin by doubling your work. Hell, you should have refused to travel with them while working that first contract. Because maybe if you’d done that, you wouldn’t have found yourself so heavily linked to the pair of them.

Maybe if you’d had kept your distance, you wouldn’t be where you are now.

And you so desperately did not want to be where you were now.  

Cowering in the dank, stuffy corner of this horrid tavern, trapped between Geralt’s gargantuan frame and Jaskier’s far-too-close body, you were stuck looking the devil in the eye.

Okay, don’t be dramatic, you thought desperately, clinging to whatever silver lining you could get your trembling hands on to stay afloat, you haven’t actually looked him in the eye.

But still, you’d seen him, and the memories you’d spent so long trying to scrub away were worming their way back into the forefront of your mind, traveling down your body like furious snakes. Each memory burning with venom over everywhere he’d touched you.

“Hey, Y/N, you alright?”  Jaskier asked, reaching over to lay a comforting hand on your arm.

At the contact, however, you recoiled so violently away from him that you practically slammed yourself into Geralt. The combined sensation of Jaskier’s warm, calloused fingers on your arm and Geralt’s broad, hard chest against your shoulder sent blaring alarms of panic through you. Everything was too loud; everyone was too close.

You jerked your knees up in an attempt to curl yourself into a ball but ended up slamming both knees, hard, under the table. Surprised by the sudden ruckus, Geralt swore loudly beside you as Jaskier yelped, jumping back as his beer spilt and splashed across the table and onto his lap.

Both knees were now throbbing angrily, your head felt as if it had been filled with cotton, and your mouth watered dangerously as panic-induced nausea crashed over you. I can’t be here, a voice screamed inside your mind, I can’t be here with him.

“Y/N, what the hell-” Geralt started, stopping short when he finally saw the state you were in; the pallor of your skin paired with your wide, vacant eyes were horrifically familiar. It was something he’d seen in the faces of traumatized villagers whose lives were ruined by war, and in soldiers who’d just seen their comrades killed.  

Geralt met Jaskier’s eyes over your head and knew that they were thinking the same thing.

Without speaking, Jaskier pushed the table away from you as Geralt scooped you up and began marching steadily towards the exit. Once outside, Geralt gently set you down on a bench as Jaskier materialized by your side with a cup of water.

You’d been so focused on the devil’s face that you’d barely registered the change of scenery, but when your back hit the cool rock wall behind the bench, you were pulled back to reality. Startled, you blinked back unshed tears and let your eyes focus on the two concerned faces before you.

Your breathing slowed, and as you were coming too you heard Jaskier as Geralt whether he should splash the water he’d brought onto your face.

“N-no,” you breathed, feeling more grounded with every passing second, “please don’t.”

Geralt hummed knowingly and smacked the bard upside the head, scolding him for his ridiculous proposal, eliciting another yelp from Jaskier. “It was just an idea!” he hissed defensively, earning only a vacant stare from you and a glare from Geralt.

Frustrated and inexplicably jealous to see Geralt assume the dominant protective role, Jaskier knelt in front of you and scanned your face for a sign. His brows furrowed as he watched your lips mumble something inaudibly. “What is it?” he encouraged you gently, resting a hand next to you on the bench, but decisively not onto you.

“I can’t be here,” you said, barely above a whisper, “I can’t be here with him.”

Jaskier looked back at Geralt inquisitively, as if assuming he’d know you better since he got so defensive earlier. But when Geralt shrugged unperceptively in response, Jaskier felt strangely vindicated and turned back to you confidently.

“Be here with who, love?” he tried, meeting your eyes and doing his best to communicate non-verbally that you could trust him.

“The devil,” you murmured, your eyes finding the man over Jaskier’s head, through the tavern’s window.

The two men turned to follow your gaze. Upon spotting the man they assumed to be devil – a pompous soldier, gesticulating wildly as he held audience in the tavern – their eyes met briefly, eyebrows quirked, before coming back to you.

“You mean, that ridiculous ass?” Jaskier asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“The one in red? you asked.

“That’s the ass,” he replied, eyes sad as a tentative smile played at the corner of his lips, hoping you’d mirror the act.

You nodded silently, eyes meeting his fleetingly. “We, um, I mean he –” you broke off unable to continue, your eyes now closed as memories washed over you like acid.

“You were… together?” he tried, looking back to Geralt for support but getting nothing back but a non-committal shrug.

“I was, I mean he – um,” you swallowed thickly before going on, “we were.”

“And it was bad?” Jaskier was whispering now, meeting you at your energy.

You hesitated before responding, and that brief moment of silence broke Jaskier completely as he imagined the worst.

“It was,” you replied finally, meeting his eyes head-on, “not consensual.”

What happened next happened quickly.

Geralt swore loudly, his hands closing into tight fists as Jaskier swore in a way you’d never imagined him capable.

“Geralt!” Jaskier called over his shoulder, saying his name more like a command, begging his friend to take action.

“Way ahead of you, Jask,” he replied, already stalking his way back into the tavern.

When the tavern door slammed shut behind Geralt, Jaskier sprang to his feet before tentatively sitting by your side. His hand hovered over yours momentarily before he thought better of it and brought his hand back to rest on his own lap. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked.

“I can’t,” you choked out, putting your own hand over his, surprising both of you.

“That’s alright,” he breathed, placing his other hand over yours lightly, “you don’t ever need to think about it ever again. Geralt is taking care of it.” As he spoke, he swung a leg over the bench and turned so that his body faced yours squarely.

“But Geralt doesn’t get involved in human conflict,” you said, swiping at the tears that had managed to fall as you tucked a leg under yourself to angle yourself in his direction.

Jaskier’s eyes flit momentarily to the tavern’s window before quickly coming back to meet yours. “No, but he does kill monsters,” he assured, “and specializes in demons.”

“Do you think he’ll kill him?” you ask quietly, crossing your arms defensively over your chest.

“Hard to say,” he tried to answer, but was interrupted by loud crash followed by shouting coming from within the tavern, “but, huh, I think it’s fair to say you won’t ever need to worry about him again.”

You nodded lightly, trying and failing to hold Jaskier’s gaze. He was looking at you with such intensity, with a warmth you definitely didn’t think you deserved.  “Don’t look at me like that, Jask.”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, bringing his eyes down to your still-intertwined hands. “I just hate to think of anything bad ever happening to you. I wish I could have known you then… that I could have protected you, that I could have,” he hesitated, considering his next words carefully, “that I could have loved you the way you deserve to be loved.”

“Oh, Jask…”

“No, no, darling, you don’t need to say anything. Please don’t feel obligated,” he blurted out, immediate regret burning at his cheeks, “I’m so incredibly stupid and selfish! I’m so sorry I-I just, seeing you like this it just, argh! I shouldn’t have said it-”

“Jaskier, please,” you interject, placing a feather-light hand over his chest, the pads of your fingers ghosting over the flesh exposed at his collar, “it’s not that. I’m… honestly I’m glad you said it.”

“Yeah?” he asked timidly, looking up at you through his thick lashes.

“Yeah,” you breathed, “I think I feel the same way… about wishing I could, know your love. Be able to love you, freely.”

“Yeah?” he murmured once more; eyes hesitantly alight with hope.

“Yeah,” a teary laugh escaping your lips. “But Jaskier, I’m afraid that I won’t be able to, you know, love you in the way you need.”

“Y/N, hey,” he cooed, your confession bolstering his confidence, “all I need is to know your heart. Knowing you love me is enough.”

“Jask, I don’t think you’re understanding me –”

“My sweet girl, look at me,” he pleaded, bringing his head down to hold your gaze through the curtain of your tear-soaked lashes, “so long as you’ll have me, I’ll be by your side. And I promise you, nothing will happen unless you’re ready and you want it. Nothing.”

“Yeah?” you ask, your eyes scanning his for any hint of mal-intent or deception but finding only earnest adoration.

“Hell yeah,” he whispered, bringing his forehead to rest against yours. 

Just then, Geralt immerged from the tavern and wiped his blood-soaked blade against the tall grass as he spoke. “We’re leaving.”

“Way ahead of you,” you parroted in a small voice, letting Jaskier pull you to your feet, before you ran to your horses.

You didn’t feel ready to ride out yourself, so you hopped behind Jaskier as Geralt led your horse behind him on Roach. As you put more distance between you and the tavern behind you, you found yourself growing ever calmer. Until finally, with your arms wrapped tightly around Jaskier’s waist and your face pushed between his shoulder blades, you took your first full breath of the evening and realized, incredulously, that you knew you were going to be okay.

[lysershine]

willwoodimagines lore??

So! It gets deeper, because @willwoodimagines did not lie, this shit goes back a while. This is gonna be a long post, because I halfass nothing, so have a read more so this doesn’t murder my blog or your dash.

 If you wish to proceed, good luck! 

Alright, you’re stuck in here with me now. Welcome to hell. The first thing I located is a link attached to One’s part of the introduction that leads to lots of binary which reads:

“hello? is this working? i don't know if this is going to be removed or not so please write this down. or don't. but remember it we're all still down here. it's hard to post cries for help now. the last time we tried it did not go well. but you're reading this, which, thank god i guess none of us know where we are. we were not given our own address. which makes alot of sense. listen just keep attempting to send us messages we are seeing them even if we cannot respond thank you, mod 1”

So that’s horrific. The italics in their intro also spell out “help me”, I assumed that was a joke the first time I saw it but FUCK IT we’re going full conspiracy so we’ll say that’s a genuine cry for help. They are “down” somewhere and captured, so you know, normal Tuesday night! 

The oldest thing I found that might be connected to lore is this post where One insinuates that Two is like, trapped below them somehow? But I think that’s probably an unconnected joke, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of anything between that and the second-oldest link.

However, another more-recent thing that is more-conceivably lore alludes to Two being trapped near One but not with them. I point out the tags on this post:

The oldest post that I think is definitely lore is this one right here, from Three:

The first link following the 100 follower announcement is found in this post from Three, and the binary reads:

“Listen carefully. The video that Will (Wood) be posted is extremely important. Do not skip it.“

Fair enough! So the post immediately following that is, indeed, of a video courtesy of Two, of them sprinting through a tunnel and then out into the woods. This is immediately followed by this post from Three, where they seem to assert that something, -- presumably an escape plan, -- is now in action. They are immediately shut down, however, by One in this post. However, that post has a link to MORE binary, and it reads:

“hello? can you read this? mod 2 is free! and hopefully will be coming back for us both. you all did absolutely nothing to help so i'm not thanking you for this. however i am thanking you for following us all! you've given us moral support thank you, mod 1“

So I’m assuming that whomever or whatever is keeping the lot of them has access in some capacity to this tumblr, because One is quietly supporting these endeavors but also trying to keep them quiet, saying in the tags that Three is “scaring the public”. 

One follows this up with another post, apologizing for the pandemonium on the blog with a link to even more fucking binary attached. This time, it reads:

“we're not in ddlc. i am not monika. listen to me closely. mod 3 and i are still stuck here. we have been posting cries for help for weeks. go look for them! they're like easter eggs. just for you! thank you, mod 1“

Welp. Here I fucking am, One. Are you proud? Are you fucking happy yet? I’m the official lorekeeper for the fucking willwoodimagines blog are you pleased?

Anyway.

Two posts shortly after, saying that he’s reached a McDonald’s and bit a guy to escape. Which, fair enough, good for him! He also adds in the tags that everything will be okay soon. So, that’s great! 

EXCEPT.

AS I AM FUCKING WRITING THIS GODDAMNED POST, ONE GIVES ME MORE LORE. I am not mad. Anyway.

One just now posted this, another apology for today’s chaos but with two links! Yay me! Link one directs you to a groupchat, the Will Wood Imagines HQ, a chat between the three mods, detailing Two’s escape and everyone’s very odd adoration for fast food. But then again, Three says they’ve been eating slop for a while, so. Fair enough.

In this conversation there seems to be a bit of confusion over who exactly put them in the cellar where they’re captured, but the consensus seems to be that it is indeed Will Wood himself who is keeping them prisoner. However, Two also asserts that very soon he will be able to save One and Three, apparently with the help of Will? Who is also probably their captor? So that’s a little odd and I’m trying to uncross those wires in my head but I have nothing yet. What I do have for certain, though, is the second link in One’s post. It leads to binary, which when translated, becomes:

“i do think it's less endearing and more terrifying how people on a blogging website care more about my freedom than my own friends and family did i dont need to sign this. you know who it's from“

And this is the part where, -- had I not just read that they were probably maybe idk sort of hostages of Will, -- I would be super incredibly concerned. But I’m glad I scare you, One, I hope you appreciate my dedication to your bullshit. <3

This is all that exists as of the moment I hit the post button! So, as I understand it, here’s the story so far:

One, Two, and Three are captives, probably of Will Wood. They are kept in a cellar, -- One and Three appear to be together and Two seems to have been held separately. As of today, Two attacked their captor and escaped, running out of the woods where they found their way to civilization. Out in civilization, they got McDonalds and met Will Wood. (Oddly enough they make a distinction that they know Will from his documentary, which might have something to do with something but I’m not sure what yet.) Will, -- who again, is probably their kidnapper, -- is enlisted to help Two rescue One and Three. 

Will (Wood) it work? I don’t know! But as more lore comes to light, I will be sure to update!! How has my life come to this!! :D

[lovingonrepeat]

Hi baby!!! I just wanna say if you’re struggling with Sungjin’s enlistment (especially the way he announced it which is just whensbfnf it’s so on brand for him it is PAINFUL), particularly because he’s the first enlistment for you since getting into Kpop, know that you’re not alone. I think anyone who follows/supports/biases Korean born male idols goes through a similar experience, especially when it’s your bias (or perhaps your ult). For me it was EXO’s Suho’s enlistment last year that, while I knew was coming because of his age, still hurt when it happened, because it was my first (I started following EXO after Xiumin and DO’s enlistments). And then more recently with Chanyeol’s announcement, it hurt my heart so very very deeply, because he is my ultimate bias, but I will say his enlistment announcement somehow stung less. And I know Baekhyun’s is soon too, and hopefully that one will sting less too.

What I’m trying to say is— the first one is the hardest. But oh, the gifts they leave us with— the music, the content, the memories, there’s so much to hold on to to pass the time! It’s almost been a year since Junmyeon’s enlistment already and it feels like it was yesterday that he left. Think of it this way too, the sooner they go, the sooner they come back. I can empathize with Sungjin’s announcement specifically because it comes after a long hiatus from him, because Chanyeol’s was slightly similar— we got one day of him back and then not 24 hours later the press release went out. The consensus among exo-I’s I see is that while being in the military certainly isn’t a vacation, to be a civilian and out of the public eye is... well, we (myself and a good number of others) all feel very complexly that this will be good for him, to be not Chanyeol the rapper but Park Chan Yeol, the 28 year old Korean man. I can’t help but think a little similarly for Sungjin. And I know that he will do well and come back to us safely.

What I’m trying to say is if you’re feeling a lot— anguish, fear, sadness, if it makes you cry, worry about the future, and creates and empty pit inside you, it’s normal, the sadness aches, it’s okay to feel them. Let yourself feel them but don’t let them consume you. Be gentle with yourself. Find solace and comfort in other MyDay who’ll being waiting patiently alongside you, it makes the time pass by more quickly for sure. I follow an EXO military countdown blog, Holding for EXO, and it genuinely makes my heart so happy to see the posts and memories every day as the gap between time served and time remaining wanes smaller and smaller and smaller.

Much love to you sweetness 🖤 feel your feels, and remember, he’ll come back to you soon. You’ll get through it, I promise 🖤🖤🖤✨

I’m so dumb I had written a whole response to this and then accidentally closed the tab before hitting post and totally lost it LOL. I’ll try to remember what I had posted. But anon, thank you so much for taking the time to send this message. 

The first thing I wanted to say was that I realized that I totally forgot that J.Seph is in the military too, and he’s actually the first idol I stan who has enlisted. But they had said that they had postponed his enlistment, and he did it at a time where he’ll be back for live shows, and he’s the only one who has to enlist from KARD cuz Matt doesn’t have to. Plus, he’s still active on Instagram, so I don’t feel like I miss him too much.

But I’m also just very confused about the enlistments to begin with, because we have J.Seph (born June ‘92) who’s enlisted already, and then we have someone like Shownu (also born June ‘92) who hasn’t yet. WHICH TO BE CLEAR IM NOT SAYING I WANT SHOWNU IN THE MILITARY! I’m just saying with idols that I stan from the ‘92 line (Jin, Shownu, Baekhyun) not having enlisted yet, I didn’t even realize that idols from ‘93 like Sungjin were at their enlistment point already. And the way he said it made it sound like he’s starting the chain of enlistments in Day6, which also means the chain of idols I stan enlisting cuz I stan a lot that are around that age and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I also will never forgive corona for coming and preventing me from living out my goal of seeing Day6 live before they enlisted. 

I’ll definitely be ok, and I think I might’ve lost the point a couple times here, but I’m just sad. I was really looking forward to the new Day6 album and finally having ot5 back after nearly a year, but if they promote this album on music shows it’s just not gonna be the same. Also, if anyone has bothered to read this and you stan Day6, please hmu cuz I have zero MyDay friends that I know of lol and would love to make some. But once again thank you so so much for this message. It means a lot. I’m gonna go listen to Feeling Good and cry now lol (not seriously cry, but cry inside lol)

[seokjinsdisciple]

Mine

vampire!jinyoung x reader

jinyoung enlists your help to get free blood, but he never thought things would turn out like this.

requested, unedited

warnings: a lot of blood licking/drinking, unprotected sex, non-consensual biting, one of the vampire characters wants to die, doll, pussy eating, drinking, swearing, i think thats it?

word count: 3.7k

It wasn’t unusual for there to be an unwanted visitor in your hospital. In fact, more often than not there was an addict trying to get into the drug supplies, but an intruder in the Blood Bank was new. You worked the night shift, and you often found yourself in situations that, frankly, the day shift nurses would never have to deal with. Most nights, you were unbothered, but there was something about tonight that had been...weird. 

You made your way further into the dark room, your eyes slowly adjust to the lack of light that was completely opposite to the stark white light in the hall. At first, you didn’t see him. His dark clothing helping him to blend in, but as you approached his figure became more clear. As if he could hear you, even from this distance, he froze. Head turning slowly to face you. 

If you had been a day nurse, you would’ve screamed, maybe even ran away, but you didn’t. Maybe you were curious, maybe you were just plain stupid, all you knew was that man had glowing red eyes. Try as you might to attribute what you saw to exhaustion and lack of sleep, you knew you’d be lying to yourself. So here you were, standing in front of a man with glowing red eyes, and the both of you were frozen. 

With a shaky cough and your confidence built, “Sir, you can’t be in here,” came out of your mouth before you could stop yourself. You could see the man shove something into his pocket, and before you could protest any further, he tried pushing around you to the door, but stopped when he noticed the bright lights in the hall. 

Your brows scrunched in confusion, if he hadn’t come in that door, how did he get in here?

You tried to stop him as he turned to come back towards you, but he was too strong. He scrambled past you with ease, and when you tried to follow, your arm scraped across the broken glass of the cabinet he had been searching through. While it hurt, you didn’t think much of it, at least, not until your eyes flew back to the escaping stranger. He stood, still, the only movement coming from his heaving chest.  You had been freaked out before, but now, as absolute silence filled the room, you were scared. He still didn’t face you, it was as if he was frozen. In an instant, the atmosphere changed, his hands recklessly tearing at his pockets to get whatever it was that he had stolen out. You were left stunned as you realized what he was now ravenously drinking from, a blood bag. 

“What are you doing?” you shrieked, hurrying over to the stranger, and pulling at his arm. In an instant, his hand was wrapped around your wrist, blood dripping from his mouth and his eyes burning into where blood was dripping from your fresh cut. 

“You stupid little girl,” he hissed, bringing your arm up to his mouth and smirking, “your blood smells so...delicious,” he growled, tongue running across your wound. You were frozen, you had no clue what to do, especially as his teeth were getting so close to biting into your arm. With his teeth just centimeters away from sinking into your flesh, the light flickered on. One of your shocked coworkers stood at the door, her eyes widening as the man who had been about to attack you hurried to the window and jumped out. 

You stood there in shock as she rushed to you, her questions mixing with your own in your head. Thoughts swirled in your brain as you mindlessly followed her. Why the hell was he drinking blood? Who was he? Why were his eyes red? Why were you about to let him… do whatever it was he was about to do to you?

You winced as she cleaned your wound, trying to imagine how the rest of your shift would go. You only had a few hours left, and although you were shaken up, your curiosity was overpowering any fears that you had. 

The rest of your shift flew by, your work keeping you busy, but not busy enough to occupy your mind. As you glanced down at your blood-soaked shoes, courteous of the visitor who had been in your mind all night, you huffed out a curse. You didn’t want to have to clean your shoes, but there was no way you would be walking around your next shift looking like you just came from a horror film. 

You pulled your coat closer to your body as you walked out of the hospital. You were used to walking home, you had been doing it for a while, but you never got used to the bone-chilling wind that happens at 3AM. As you walked, you felt eyes watching you, your apartment wasn’t far now, and although you felt a little creeped out, you were sure it would pass. Your heart started beating faster as you heard footsteps fall in time with your own. You glanced into the window of a shop as you passed, but there was no one behind you. You tried to shake the eerie feeling that you were being followed, but your fears just rose. 

It wasn’t until you passed an alleyway that your worst fears were imagined. A hand pulled you hard, as another covered your mouth, effectively muffling your scream. You tried to fight as the man pushed you against the wall, but his strength was far greater than anything you had ever encountered. 

You watched helplessly as he ripped your coat and bandage off, “You don’t realize how dangerous it is to be walking around with blood that smells that good.”

At this point, you were just baffled, what were the odds of getting attacked twice in one night by two different people who were both obsessed with blood. You saw his eyes go red, and when he saw your unfazed reaction, you resisted rolling your eyes. He was confused you weren’t shocked to see his eye change, but he didn’t know you had been through this already. You had escaped one stranger tonight, you could escape another. 

As he tried to steady you enough to bite you, you wriggled. You were going to get free, you were determined. Neither of you noticed the man coming until he was already knocking down your attacker. You did a double-take at your savior, recognizing his face as the stranger from earlier. As if this night couldn’t get any worse. 

“Bang Chan, I told you to stay away from her,” the man from before said as he wrestled with who you now knew to be Bang Chan. 

“How was I supposed to know she was the one you were talking about?” He hisses back, rolling on top of the man and throwing a punch before quickly being flipped over again, “I’m hungry, boss. And she was walking down the street smelling soo delicious.”

You watched as the two continued to fight, backing away slowly to not draw any attention to yourself. When you were far enough away, you ran, their angry voices fading away as your feet carried you through streets and into a pub. 

After all that had happened to you tonight, you deserve a drink. You sidled up to the bar, sitting in the seat farthest away from the rest of the patrons. You needed a moment to think and relax and have a drink. So that’s what you did. You had one drink, and then another, and then one more. You weren’t drinking quickly, burning some time before heading home. 

As you motioned to the bartender to close your tab, a voice rang out. 

“I’ll cover her drinks, and can I have a shot of gin, please,” the voice from earlier rang out from behind you. You sighed as the man sat next to you, “You really are a difficult human to find.”

You just glanced at him, his skin perfect, and face obnoxiously handsome. “And you are sure hard to get rid of,” you quipped back, annoyed to find yourself in his presence again. 

He chuckled, his teeth normal when you checked. This made him smile again, “I’m a little less starving now, so I look a little nicer.”

You just nodded, trying to ignore the multitude of questions from swirling in your brain and effectively ignore him. 

“You can’t be thinking about ignoring me now, can you doll?” His eyebrow quirked, a knowing smile gracing his lips as your eyes widened. 

“What can’t you do?” You practically groaned, tired of every new… ability he seemingly developed.

“I’m not invisible,” He laughed, “Well, unless you include my reflection.”

His cocky attitude was starting to wear down your will to ignore him. As much as you hated to admit it, he was funny. 

“What do you want from me? Besides my blood, anyway?” You asked. 

He glanced down as he let out another chuckle, “You can offer me something special, something that would help me and my friends.”

You nodded at this, you figured he was talking about the blood bank attached to your hospital. What you didn’t understand was why you? There were several other local hospitals, all with blood banks. 

“But you’re pretty, doll. And smart too,” He spoke, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“Mm-” You hummed, curiosity still filling your head with questions, “and what exactly do I gain by helping you?”

“My protection, and the fact that I won’t kill you for refusing me,” his eyes flashed red, as if warning you to press your luck. When he put it that way, you didn’t have much of a choice, more concerned for your own safety.  

“I’m Jinyoung,” he introduced himself as the bartender collected his money, “Let’s get you home, Y/N.”

He was true to his word, walking you home from the bar, and promising to walk you home from work whenever you had a shift. He left you his number and a promise that one of the members of his coven would be in touch about the details.

 Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Jinyoung walked you home after every shift, and you gave the coven as much blood as you can without drawing suspicion. Now, your system was a well-oiled one. Not as clumsy as you had been in the beginning, you were getting away with taking more and more. Jinyoung was often texting you, and in normal situations, you would have considered him a good friend. He was always touchy with you, but he never crossed any boundaries. You weren’t sure how it worked with vampire boys, but you were pretty sure he liked you. 

The first time you had ever gone to the JYP coven’s base, whispers filled the halls. Things like “oh, so that’s boss’s girl” and “she’s pretty”. These weren’t the first suspicions you had, but they proved to be the most convincing. Especially because of the way Jinyoung reacted to the new fledgling calling you pretty. Safe to say, you and Jinyoung were close. So naturally, you were a little concerned when he texted you that he was unable to walk you home tonight because there was a big meeting with another coven. 

It must’ve been serious for Jinyoung to abandon you, something he had never once done. You knew you’d be fine, the only trouble you had ever had walking home being the trouble that Jinyoung himself had caused. Really, you should’ve put it together earlier. You knew about the meeting, and you knew the only other coven in town were JYP’s rivals. You realized it too late, something you figured out as you were being dragged off of the streets and into a van. 

Your captors weren’t cruel, but you knew it was because you were being used as a bargaining chip. You felt especially bad after skipping the last month of self-defense classes (as Jinyoung insisted). Maybe you would have some idea of what to do to be less helpless. To be less human. But you didn’t, and now you were tied to this very uncomfortable chair while you waited.

You had no concept of how long you had been in the room, it had felt like hours, days even. You wondered if the hospital would report you missing, or if they would just end up firing you for missing so many shifts. 

You jumped as the door opened, a man appearing before you with your phone in his hand. 

“Answer and tell him you’re ok,” The man commanded, giving you no sympathy as he held the phone up to your ear.

“Y/N?” Jinyoung's voice rang out of the receiver, “Are you hurt, what are they doing to you, where are you?”

“I’m ok Jinyoung,” You started, “They haven’t don- hey!”

The man taking the receiver and pressing the end call. “Sorry, doll, but he wouldn’t stop calling.”

The man dragged his finger across your jawline and down your neck, tapping lightly on the space between your shoulder and neck. Bile rose in your throat at him calling you doll and the way his hands lingered on you. You turned your head to avoid his touch, the nickname doll ringing through your ears. Jinyoung’s nickname for you, and no one else's. 

“Ah ah,” the man tsked your wriggling, eyes briefly going red as he pressed harshly on your shoulder, “I’m in charge here.”

“What do you want from me?” You questioned your resolve to get out of this mess building within you. 

The man just laughed, “You humans, always thinking the world revolves around you. I was surprised when Jinyoung brought you into his operation, though it was a little stupid, honestly. Why steal blood when there are billions of walking blood banks walking around the world? What’s really interesting though, Y/N, are his feelings for you.”

“Jinyoung and I are just friends,” you tried, to which the man just laughed. You felt the lump in your throat grow, you had a feeling you weren’t gonna make this out alive that easily. 

“Oh, darling. Jinyoung loves you, in fact,” he started, smiling as his phone buzzed,” he just killed twelve of my men to come and find you. I didn’t get it at first, you are just an average human, not even that cute. But now that I have you here,” he paused, sliding a knife (that you had no idea when he grabbed) through your palm, “now that I can smell your blood, I know why.”

You tried to shimmy away from him, but there was nothing you could do as he licked the blood from your new cut. 

“Why are you doing this?” You asked, tears starting to fall as his fangs started to dig into your wrist. “He’s gonna kill you!”

“Doll,” he smiled a sickeningly sweet smile, “When you’ve been alive for thousands of years, death is the best present you can get.”

Your fear increased with his words. If his goal was to be killed, he would have no care if you lived or died. In fact, you wouldn’t be shocked if he would kill you, just to piss Jinyoung off. You winced as his teeth dug deeper into your arm, his bloodthirsty moans filling the otherwise quiet room. He dropped your arm, blood running down his chin as he moved towards your neck. 

“It’s time now doll,” he whispered, fangs touching your skin gently. 

“Get the fuck away from her, Jimin.” 

You breathed a sigh of relief, Jinyoung was here, Jinyoung was going to save you. You shuddered as you felt Jimin smile against the crux of your neck.

“It took you long enough, Jinyoung,” he whispered, grunting in pain as Jinyoung drove a stake through his heart. 

You were pretty sure that the blood dripping from Jimin’s mouth was no longer yours, and instead his own. It was darker, almost black. It covered his chin and his neck. He winked at you, before closing his eyes, his breathing slowing. Jinyoung was quick to push him off of you, his body quickly going limp. You hadn’t realized how much blood you had lost until you noticed your vision fading. You knew Jinyoung was saying something to you, you could see his mouth moving, but your ears were ringing as he got you free and picked you up. 

The next time you opened your eyes, you were in a strange bedroom. If the man sitting in the chair next to you was any indication of whose room you were in, then you knew you were ok. Jinyoung jumped up when he noticed your eyes had opened. 

“Are you ok?” He hurried over, large hand caressing your face, “Can I get you anything?”

You looked away, tears filling your eyes, “Jinyoung…”

“Doll, why are you crying? What’s happening?”

You felt his other hand gently force your head back so that he could look into your eyes. ‘

“Jimin-” you started, Jinyoung immediately tensing at the mere mention of his name, “Why did he take me?”

Jinyoung looked away, and you were positive that had he been human, he would be blushing. 

“You mean a lot to me, Y/N. More than you will ever know,” he smiled sadly.

“Will you please just tell me that you’re in love with me so that I can kiss your stupid face?” you groaned, a stray tear falling down your face. Jinyoung paused at your words, searching your face for any sign of joke. When he didn’t see one, he grinned, pressing his lips against your own. 

He was the first to break away, a whine erupting from your throat at the lack of contact. This alone was enough for him to kiss you again. Deeper, and passionately. You felt his love, radiating from his cold body, your heart rate increasing as he ran his hands over your chest and down your sides. 

“Someone’s excited,” he groaned, pressing a gentle kiss to your collarbone and resting his ear against the spot on your chest where your heart lay. “You have no idea how happy I am that I can hear this again. You’re ok.”

“I’m ok,” you whispered, breath hitching as he squeezed your chest. He helped you shimmy the white shirt that clad your body off and immediately dove into your breasts. He rolled one of your nipples between his finger, a moan escaping your mouth as he took the other into his mouth. You hadn’t seen Jinyoung this emotional, he was littering kisses on every part of your skin, placing more in the areas where Jimin’s bites lingered. 

From your experience in the coven, you knew vampires didn’t like it when others bite what they think to be theirs. One of the reasons Bang Chan had been heavily reprimanded for attacking you was because Jinyoung had claimed you. You were his. 

Your heart soared at the thought, and Jinyoung smirked against your chest, clearly reading your thoughts. 

“Say it,” he growled, pressing a wet kiss against your abdomen and moving to your core. 

“I’m yours, Jinyoung.”

He lost his composure then, eating your core like he was starved. Not that you were complaining. You couldn’t stay still, the pleasure multiplying from your core and warming your whole body. 

Moan after moan spilled from your lips as Jinyoung brought you closer to the edge. You were begging him now, desperate to get your release. He ignored your pleas, pressing a final kiss on your clit before tearing his clothes off. He pumped his member a few times before pushing himself into your tight heat. You both groaned, Jinyoung sinking all the way into you. He let out a curse before he started moving, giving you only a second to adjust to him. The burn felt good and tickled at the knot that had been building before. 

His pace was sloppy, probably due to the fact he hadn’t had sex in hundreds of years. However, he knew how to use his length. Maneuvering your legs to hit all of the spots that had you breathless. You were getting close again, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of the bite Jimin had left on your wrist. 

“Jinyoung, bite me.”

Jinyoung’s eyes snapped open, his pace slowing as he looked at you incredulously, “There’s no way, you’ve lost so much blood.”

“Jinyoung, please,” you begged, your core tightening around his cock and causing him to groan, “I don’t want his marks to be the only thing on me.”

Jinyoung just pressed a kiss to your forehead, starting up his pace again. “No, doll. I promise I won’t be able to control myself when I know you are stronger.”

You just whined, but he pressed a warning kiss to your lips. You were both moaning into the kiss, and you weren’t sure how it happened, but you found yourself with a split lip. All of Jinyoung’s control was out of the window at the sight of your blood. His pace quickening as he licked your cut and into your mouth. At the taste of your blood, his eyes shifted into the red you had seen months ago in the hospital. 

He hovered in the crook of your neck, whispering, “Are you sure you are ok with this?”

“God, please, Jinyoung.”

You came as his fangs punctured your sin. Jinyoung quickly licking up your spilling blood. You felt his cock twitch within you, but he was still desperately biting your chest and tasting your blood. 

You knew he hadn’t bit very deep, because you were barely spilling any blood, but Jinyoung didn’t seem to care. He pressed soothing kisses everywhere he could reach. Whispering one word over and over. 

“Mine.”

[thatyanderecritic]

NoStranger

Title: NoStranger

Media: App Game. Made by Matthew O’Connell and Scott Mulligan

Yandere(s): Adam

Yandere Scale: 1/5

Criticism written by: Kai

Editor: Julie

Review:

Hey there, everyone. It’s been a while since we last had a proper review on this blog. With everything that’s been going on, things have been a little crazy, but in-between moments, I have been playing some mobile games. I enjoy a good ol’ text-based adventure game, but one day, the app store recommended this particular app… NoStranger. I wasn’t expecting much, but surprisingly, the game grew on me, but most of all, I came to love the surprise yandere: Adam. Let’s get into the review…

NoStranger is a game reminiscent of games such as Her Story and Simulacra. It’s a blend of found footage style gameplay and ARG where you solve puzzles by going to various websites and social media accounts while talking with a “stranger” and connected the story. Admittedly, NoStranger is an outdated game. It was made about three years ago, and it shows based on the writing, obsolete app functions, and the ancient blog posts you use to solve puzzles. But, for what it was, it’s still good as a staple for being ahead of its time.

The story is rather straightforward. You, the player, one day downloaded a chatting app and get connected to a stranger who goes by the name Adam. The two of you spend a lot of time chatting and solving Adam’s puzzles. He enlisted your help in finding specific individuals to research for his “book.” In the end, you find out that he’s been killing these people because he believed they got in the way between him and his ex-girlfriend, Pepper. In the end, Pepper finds out and commits suicide. Following suit, Adam gives you one final good-bye and kills himself.

Well… that’s what I gathered while playing. The “actual” story is somewhat interpretive, but this story seems to be the common consensus for the players. I see it, and that this was what the authors were most likely implying, but to me, it seemed like a forced narrative when I look to the build-up and final conclusion. Overall, Adam was a normal and down to earth character while certain parts of the story went… weird. Like it took me away from my suspension of disbelief to make me scratch my head and wonder what the authors were thinking when writing certain parts. It felt somewhat out of the blue, thus why I say the writing is dated. In the end, the whole stalking and killing narrative seems kind of rushed and out of the blue. Okay, okay, not “totally” out of the blue. There were little hints here and there that it wasn’t a book study and that he still clings on to his ex. But again, it feels very reasonable and a different narrative, such as helping Adam… like genuine help, not an “accessory to crime” help.

I’ll be frank, Adam charmed the socks off me. Right from the start, Adam began talking about morality and the meaning of life. I ate that shit up, my dudes. It reminds me of the types of talk Julie, and I would often have, which made me fond of him rather quickly. He was a relatable character to me with the things that plagued him. If he was a real person, I might have genuinely fallen in love with him, haha. But it just makes me sad when I see other reviews chalk him up as some “Creepy murderous stalking psychopath.” He was more than that, he was a friend, and he hoped that the player thought him as such too. But unfortunately, I notice a lot of people were too hung up that this is supposed to be a “horror” game. Acting smug going: “OMG Adam is so obviously a creeper. Like who ask people for directions to a hospital or talk about morality. He’s such a bad guy.” I press X for doubt on that smh.

Aughhhhh, I really wish he was real without the authors pushing a narrative. I can imagine all the fun late-night talks about life and death or solving his puzzles.  At the end of the game, I had the silly thought crossing, “Adam, no. You’re the only person besides Julie who fascinates my mind like this. Come back!” Haha.

This certainly was a game that would hit harder to players who have high EQ or suffers from “protagonist syndrome” who believe their moral code should be followed by everyone. But this game had no real effect for a person like me, someone with loose moral code. That is to say… if you plan to play this game after all my gushing, then be wary of a couple of things. The biggest is that it will challenge your idea of morals… well, it’s kind of like “Baby’s first moral conflict,” but if you never experience it before, you may have a hard time getting along with Adam. Next is the puzzles. Most of the puzzles are easy, but some are challenging and timed. If you don’t like puzzles, then you won’t enjoy the puzzles here, haha. Thankfully there is a walkthrough. Admittedly, after the first couple of puzzles, I just began to use the walkthrough because I had more fun picking at Adam’s than the actual game parts. Finally, the wait time. You actually have to wait for periods of time until Adam comes back from whatever he’s doing. I advise using your hints during the massive time waits. I wasted all my hints before the end, and I had to wait for 24 hours. Yikes!

Overall, I give Adam a pity point and use it as an excuse to shine some light on the game, haha. It’s pretty hard to score Adam since we hardly know anything about him, and his interactions are pretty reasonable. The ending was both straightforward and vague, but I have no fucking clue why he even liked this Pepper chick (HE SHOULD HAVE LOVED MEEEEEEE >:U lol jk). As I said, the concluding narrative seems like BS to me, but I guess it’s the thought that counts. It seems like this was the author’s first game.

Do I recommend playing this game? Yes. Play it for the yandere? Not really. Play it to becomes friends with Adam? Yes.

Overall Score: 5/10

(PS. There are points in the game where Adam asks you for information about yourself. Don’t sweat too much. The makers don’t hold any data and Adam doesn’t do anything with it. It’s just for immersion and a cute little ending bonus which I’ll show a screenshot below)

[thedistantstorm]

Dawning Delights 08: Secrets and Plans

Summary: Hawthorne invites her newfound family in the Tower to experience a City-Style Dawning with the family that took her in years ago. The holiday is not without it’s charm, or aggravation, and certainly has plenty of surprises in store. A season-inspired, trope-tastic story about a family forged by something greater than blood, finding reasons to enjoy the season - and cherish each other. Main Post

Pairings: Hawthorne/Zavala, Sloane/Amanda, Devrim/Marc

“It sounds like you two had fun,” Ikora says, when Zavala hits command at midday. “Maybe I’ll get snowed in next. Bring a couple good books, some of my nicer teas.” She hands him a datascroll. He’s the one who’s been making the news, the Tower has somehow been strangely uneventful with both its Commander and Clan Stewardess trapped in the elements at their Red War stronghold. She taps a finger to the side of her face before crossing her arms in front of her. “Though, I won’t be exposing any well-contained secrets, leaving my fireteam with the fallout…”

“It was time, Ikora.”

The deadpan expression on her face says she's well aware of that. It's hardly a secret amongst those who knew them best. Still, that didn't mean it would all be smooth sailing. She spares him the lecture on all that, though. No one thinks through their choices quite like the Commander.

Instead, when she speaks, her voice is that weedling, informative alto. “The Arach was quite pleased when the news broke. He went out drinking in your honor. I found him loitering in the Bazaar just before dawn. I believe he meant to wait for the Executor, but," She makes a little sway of her shoulders, "I suggested it might be wise to sleep it off."

“Lovely.”

“Yes. I’m sure our holiday party will be full of Dawning cheer,” She deadpans. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go buy my gift for this week’s soiree.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

She rolls her eyes, but her irritation doesn’t last. “I think you've done enough,” The Warlock muses wryly.

He exhales. Not many would know it as relief; He does not appear to break his composure. But Ikora is not most, and her teasing does not appear kind . "How long will it take them to settle, do you think?"

Ikora turns her head, takes a look around the room. It's empty. "If it was only this, a week. It's hardly new news."

"But?"

Ikora smiles, almost indulgent. "Though plenty of our brood suggests otherwise, my crystal ball doesn't have all the answers. But," She muses, "I don’t need it to know it will certainly be an entertaining new year."

“To say the least,” He answers, a bit exasperated.

There is nothing further to say, and she can see the anxiety of all the work he’s missed by being off the grid last night, so she takes her leave. After all, she does have to buy a present for the gift exchange. But she’s been tasked with acquiring another gift as well.

While Ikora did not often appreciate being made the messenger, in this case, she's happy to oblige. She, like most Guardians, had somewhat of a soft spot for Amanda. More than that, however, Ikora had a true friend in Sloane.

The last few years have been hard. For everyone. Sometimes, she struggles with it still, the emotions she cannot name or express beyond disgruntled behavior toward her Ghost. This year, she's trying. She can't say she'll be the most jazzed up person, or filled with the holiday spirit, but she's going to make an attempt to find joy.

Mortality frightens her, even as immortal as she is. And with the darkness - the threat of another Great Disaster, a second collapse - seemingly approaching, the best way to combat such a thing is with joy. More aptly, hope.

But she cannot waste time thinking about this now. It is what it is. There is much to be done. Sloane had asked her to find a gift for Amanda, a decoy. Only two people on the Tower's staff knew she'd be returning. That plan was not terribly intricate, it just hinged on keeping Zavala and Amanda in the dark. The latter was difficult right up until she left for the holidays. A present would distract her, somewhat.

Ikora had considered routing Sloane through the Farm, but she didn’t want eyes on her if it could be helped. Considering the prior evening’s events, word travelled too fast. This close to the Dawning’s zenith, any hasty moves would be largely obvious. In fact, she’s thankful for the warm cloak she’s wearing to conceal her identity as she browses the Tower’s market.

Years of listening to Cayde talk about his apology gifts for Amanda when he inevitably broke something or otherwise failed to be on the good side of a bet and didn’t have quite enough glimmer to back it up lent enough fuel for presents for the young Shipwright. She liked very specific, very homebrewed liquor, lightning-in-your-veins coffee, and anything that might be more illegal than street-certified when it came to her sparrows. Sloane would err on the side of legal, she thinks, shoving thoughts of her lost friend into the back of her mind. But Sloane would approve of - and likely partake in - some small-batch moonshine from a distillery that had just recently regained its footing following the War.

That settled, the Warlock had her heading. She only needed to find something appropriate for Hawthorne.

-/

The days leading up to the end of the year - work-wise - are far more busy than Zavala anticipates. Before, he’d bring home his work, catch up with it while sipping tea, then spend the rest of his time crocheting or reading for leisure, maybe having a pint with Shaxx or Cayde, indulge the latter in a few hands of poker while Ikora sipped wine and laughed at his inevitable loss in a quiet celebration of the year to come. The workflow with two Vanguard instead of three has slowly runoff into manageable territory, but it’s Sloane that helps him with what he has left to do. Sloane, who always comes through when he needs her.

This year, he enlists her help early. Despite the fact that she has no real plans, and Titan’s celebration growing smaller each year with Guardians being called back from their rainy outpost, he does not want to monopolize her time, and would stress about things done if he’d left for the holiday and she still had his work to do. After all, this year, the last five days of the formal holiday - the time in which the Consensus is in recess, and its representatives are granted leave - are to be spent with Suraya.

“I don’t miss being dragged into those awful parties,” She tells him, when they’re amiably co-existing in a video conference. She reads through a report, double checks his numbers on a tablet and sends the raw data back to him with her approval.

“They do leave a bit to be desired.”

“Amanda told me Jalaal was up to something with the gift exchange,” She imparts in a quieter, less formal tone.

Zavala sighs. “Well, when is he not?” He sets aside the stack he’s been sifting through - it’s nothing that will be sorted before the end of the year and therefore not worth his valuable time. He reaches for the bottle of beer that sits upon a coaster near his workstation, taking a pull of it.

This, since the war, was the closest to ringing in the holiday they could manage. It was a private arrangement between the two of them. Both Zavala and Sloane made themselves unavailable and dedicated an hour or two to discussion, wrapping up their yearly reports and wishing each other good fortune and a happy Dawning in the way good friends did.

“I do regret that I spent the majority of my resources on getting Devrim home for the holidays. I would have liked to get you here as well, have this-” He sloshes his half-full beer for emphasis, “In person.”

“Yeah well,” She trails off, mumbling something, ending with a hasty swig of her own. “Wait.” She looks into the feed directly, the lines around her eyes crinkling as she looks at him, incredulous. “You got Devrim to come home?”

“Ah,” He shrugs. “I wanted to surprise her.”

“You said-”

“It’s surprise one of two,” Zavala elaborates, a secretive smile gracing his usually expressionless lips for just a moment. “If you know what I mean.”

“Wait, Suraya said she didn’t tell you.” Sloane stares at him. “Did Ikora? There was no way-”

Zavala’s blue gaze snaps up to hers and she resists the urge to gulp under his scrutiny. They are talking about two very different things. Two very different things, she realizes.

“Ah, forget it, Sir. It’s nothing.”

“Sloane...” That wheedling tone makes her sigh, but she does her best to be strong. It’s supposed to be a surprise. She can’t- “It’s unlike you to keep secrets,” He says and she groans.

“I can’t tell you. Please don’t-”

“Ages of battle. Centuries of having each other’s backs both on and off the battlefield.” He tilts his head, fixing her with a stare she’s never been able to resist and he knows.

“Commander, this is cruel.”

He inspects his fingernails, glancing back up at the camera as though he’s looking into his deputy’s soul. “I assure you, this is not cruel. Your guilt is of your own design.”

“I-” She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. It’s a losing battle. She just has to hope he doesn’t ruin everything, thereby making Suraya furious with her. “When do you see Amanda next?”

“She is meeting us at Marc and Devrim’s home tomorrow afternoon. With the party tonight, I doubt I’ll cross paths with her.”

Sloane exhales again. “You’re sure.”

His gaze shifts, expression tipping into concerned territory. “What’s going on? Is something wrong? You’re not-”

The Deputy Commander looks scandalized that he’d even suggest what that helpless, understanding gaze does with nary a word. “No! Heavens, no!” She’s shaking her head, eyes flicking to her hands - folded in front of her on the table. “We make due, everything’s fine. You know I-” She shakes her head, not wanting to venture into that territory. Still a bit of a conflict of interest, and it’s a subject they treat with care. “Look. Suraya and Ikora did something.” She pauses, trying to parse the words without being terribly blunt. “Together. For Amanda.”

He gestures for her to continue.

“You know, for being the greatest tactician of all time, Zavala, you’re a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to this sort of thing.” She tilts the rest of her beer into her mouth, letting it drop back to the metal table with a loud thunk. His eyes narrow. “I mean no offense, Sir,” She says, venturing back into formalities. “I just thought you’d have figured it out.”

“You’ve been acting strangely since you got on the line. Normally you’d have finished half that case by now-” He looks to the case of beer beside her on the table. She’s only finished one.

She shrugs. “The crew can have them. I’m sure they’ll be grateful for the gift.”

“Sloane?”

Sheepishly, she sighs. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow?”

-/

Sloane has been on comms with the both of them before. When she’d discovered they were together, purely by coincidence, she’d chalked it up as making sense. She was looking forward to being able to see it in person, to make her own opinions on the matter.

That being said, this is unlike anything she’s ever experienced.

He looks cowed, finally waving her off. His earlier words echo in her head: ‘Ages of battle. Centuries of combat,’ and yet he’s at the mercy of a thirty-something-year-old woman. And that woman has been ranting at him for a solid four minutes now. Zavala is usually done after two, interjecting with a well-thought counter.

“I’ll make every effort to avoid her,” The Commander is saying. “She won’t-”

“She’s been planning to meet us in the morning, just like she’s been meeting at our place every time we go over there. This won’t be any different.” Suraya exhales, shakily. She’s wringing her hands now. Sloane can read the anxiety. More than that, she can read Zavala not knowing how to make him calm.

“I’ll handle this,” Ikora says. “I can make up a shipment she needs to handle. I can ensure sure she doesn’t come near him, Hawthorne.”

She nods to Ikora before swiveling back to Zavala. Sloane cringes at it. “I swear to you, if you blab to her, I’m going to be furious with you. Do you understand?” Suraya’s hands are on her hips, her normally sharp eyes made dangerous, sharpened by kohl liner and dark shadow. She’s dressed in a sweater rather than her poncho, hair mostly slicked back, but a few little wisps frame her face. It’s a striking contrast, though not unpleasant. Between them and facing the video unit, Ikora stands with her arms crossed, stoic. She seems… blank.

Sloane frowns, and Ikora’s eyes sharpen in a way that’s terribly intimidating. Sloane rears back as Ikora regards Suraya, asking, “Does that work for you?”

The Clan Stewardess sighs, finally breaking a very serious staring contest with the Commander. Finally, she says, “If you’re sure, I trust you. This one won’t be leaving my sight until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Poor thing,” Ikora quips back, sarcastic - as if he’d be anywhere else - and when Zavala meets her gaze behind Suraya’s back, the Warlock dips her head in an elegant nod that has seemingly little to do with the conversation at hand. “You two get going. I’ll finish with the techs and meet you at the Core.”

The duo nods. Suraya looks over her shoulder at Sloane on the screen. “I’m not mad,” She says as she parts, and Zavala exhales in relief beside her. “I knew he’d figure it out one way or another. I just… want Amanda to have this, and for him,” She jerks a thumb at Zavala, “Not to beat himself up because he can’t keep anything from her.” A breath later, she revises, “That’s not related to work, anyway.”

When they leave, the automated doors slide shut with a hydraulic whoosh behind them. “How are you going to figure something out for her for the morning this short notice? She said there’s nothing coming in.”

“That was close,” Ikora’s Ghost comments mildly, appearing in motes of Light. “I’m glad you knew that console opened, or she absolutely would have seen it.”

She nods to him, then comments, “You’re correct, Sloane. I’ll need you to trust me.”

“I do, but-”

“It’s been planned for two months now,” Ikora divulges, pulling open a small hatch under the center console. Ophiuchus hovers over her shoulder and transmats whatever is in the drawer into her Vault. It looks like a small box.

“Two months?” Sloane asks, confused. “Zavala said Devrim came home two days ago-”

“Don’t worry about it. It would have been far more last minute, but if it eases Suraya’s anxiety, I’ll tell Amanda tonight.” She turns to her partner. “Let Marc know we’re on our way, please.”

“On it,” Ophiuchus agrees, dipping in a sort-of bow before erupting back into sparks.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing of consequence to you. Suraya has her plan, and Zavala has his.” She smiles. “I’m prepared to intervene personally should Amanda get ahead of herself.” She apprises Sloane, “You just keep up the rouse and try to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be… something.”

[hanzi83]

It is an interesting time for me in this season of the year and it scares me. It is often a mistake to give out the updates of your mental health, when you live in a world of vultures who want to destroy you and play with your mental illness like it is their toy. But I don’t wear my flaws as a badge of honor but rather as a shield to fend off people who are paid to fuck with people online or in real life. It is that time of the year where my depression reaches a darker level and because I never wanted to take it seriously and being a flawed and mentally ill person seemed to be cool because it leaves people talking and it is more interesting because of the train wreck feature that exists for people’s amusement so you tend to play to that more often and so much so that people think that is what you are and low and behold that is what you become, especially when someone such as myself had such an empty existence prior mentally and struggling with this mental illness and I thought I had it taken care of and never took it seriously because there is such a stigma with mental illness, even when we are preaching that people need to admit they have a problem, none of these spokespeople want to acknowledge what has helped cause this and that is where it becomes “You don’t want to take responsibility, you just want to blame others” and the common consensus is that the person complaining about people in charge or people at top they are deemed crazy and when something happens to them later, they will pat themselves on the back on how they tried to show compassion and they wished things would be better. That right there is a extreme mental illness in that.

You don’t know how many times I envision telling people off, people who tell me that their business is none of my business, yet they secretly have me monitored and are up to date with what I am doing and who I am talking to, and they have the audacity to question me on why I should know what is happening. When you become a part of the Stern show, you are pegged to have an interesting life. In my opinion, your life becomes chaotic and full of a false reality, and as the years have gone by it has become clearer this is a program I have been secretly enlisted to. I am so monitored, people in the system can only limit their conversation with me and play dumb about what is happening, but will still leave subtle hints that they want the best for me and refer to it as “We want what is best for you’ like I am some kind of pet project that a whole team has been recruited to experiment on. Even if things were revealed and I was magically vindicated for everything I have been through, seemingly, because officially it is my delusion of grandeur, as my friend would like to put it, and that anything I think is not a fact, it is just a stupid conspiracy, but even if I was somehow vindicated from all of this, I would not be able to recover. It has been too much. I was already a pussy to begin with.

I feel I have contributed more than what is lead on and have helped people in my life, beneath the surface, and if I wasn’t a valuable commodity to the people above, they wouldn’t let me be here. They have secretly exploited me and others and others have been beaten into submission so badly they can’t even talk about it because people will chastise them. It might come across like people who are just reacting, but with the internet it has become easier to become a target of people who possess a power and can harass you nonstop and with the narcissistic generation of needing the constant attention, especially for someone like me, who has no other use but being someone who became famous, when everyone now a days has become a famous or have connection with important people. I have been exploited mentally, and it makes it worse that others have profited off it secretly and still have the audacity to pretend they live regular lives.

And I feel the need to write this during this season to melt the anger away, but the lack of reaction will make me angrier, because I know people are aware of what I am doing and when I am writing. They won’t just see this when it is officially posted, it will be seen as I am typing it, because even when I type out my thoughts in this personal journal on my technology they move my cursor all over the place and make their presence known. I have gone to media outlets to talk about this and no one will touch it. These people won’t investigate it because they are all controlled, they know what kind of power Howard Stern has. Yeah he isn’t relevant in pop culture anymore, but make no mistake that someone like him has a lot of fucking power behind the scenes, enough to ruin people’s lives and play with their mental illness.

I am constantly being told I am being watched and that people are having meetings about me etc. Now you will say these people are just assholes making it up, and maybe they are right, but these people are still paid to put out that paranoia towards me. They feel no compassion. The scary part is this could be people I know, it could people in the industry, because these people are immature and with the secret groups that people have online in various amounts of forums, it becomes easier to spy on someone. It makes me think people in the system have a license to commit misconduct and are allowed to do illegal stuff and even if I contacted people in power, they would be bought off. People like me are experiments. No one will believe it and I should expect that, because I have misbehaved and said some of the most vile things because of my mental illness and just lashing out, so why would anyone believe me and the people who do, won’t do anything because they don’t have any power in this system, or if they do, they certainly don’t care enough.

They even withhold me seeing a therapist after pressuring me to see one. They are making it worse for me and making my condition worse. I have become immune to this stuff but every now and then I reflect if I am being played and are people pissing me off on purpose and then envisioning future arguments because people will try to take anything I have and people from my past do have vengeance on their mind because they will never get over me not reaching out and I can tell they can’t be trusted because they just lie to me about everything and try to downplay what they have gotten to do, and it makes me think if that is done because if something good happens, they will inject themselves into my business, after having the luxury of getting to do whatever they want and being able to go backstage at events while I have been mentally tortured.

It is just bad when I complain about this so openly because it makes me look entitled, when there were secret emails and messages exchanged as part of an agreement with others of what they get if they cosign something or they call into a show or help produce a segment etc, and I did those things without realizing there is value because once you are a part of the Stern world, you have some kind of value in the system but because they don’t explain the hidden rules, that officially don’t exist, you just think people who complain are entitled, when the system itself has been entitled by getting free content out of characters for their show and then leaving them with nothing but scraps while their pockets have been lined up nice and their elitist friends just laugh at these pieces of shits because we are the leeches of society, and not the ones who are so rich and luxurious who can do good things, but choose it to fuck with people’s mental health.

I am all over the place, but this is how scatter brained I am because I have these constant thoughts in my head constantly and I am having imaginary arguments with myself and how I would handle future events and how these people have used me to distract me. It feels good temporarily to be invited places, but when it isn’t being done for genuine reasons and being done to distract me from being in certain places, it hurts and it hurts  bad and by putting this out there, it will probably make it worse because these people can secretly still fuck with me and no one will believe me or will never want to believe me, because they don’t want to piss off people with real power, but if I dare complain about any of this, they will get their revenge on me.

It makes me wonder, especially during this season, why I am still alive on this planet. This thought is so redundant and tired, but it doesn’t stop me from thinking about it constantly. People will always want to get revenge on me and I will feel the need to become a darker person because that is how the world is and instead of becoming what I hate in this world, I would rather just die and be left alone. People will say I am being crazy for thinking that, but these same people want me to live so they can continuously lie to me about certain things and what connections they have. I am not as close with people I used to know and when I am around socially, I feel I have nothing to talk about. And “Remember when” is a lowest form of conversation, and that is what half of my conversation is like because I only have my memories with these people, and the last decade or so, I have just been in this basement while everyone else has gotten to do cool shit and they have to keep it from me. I just don’t see the point.

People tell me subtly that people need me here, and it makes it seem like there is no genuine care there, it is just because I bring some kind of value to this world, it makes everyone situation a little better, but I have to be the pariah that makes people sympathize with others who are the ones responsible for the way I am. It might not be official or acknowledged, but I haven’t just been some useless asshole in his mom’s basement. I didn’t sell my soul in 2011 and didn’t want to be a propaganda tool and be limited with what can be said, I didn’t want to be complicit in bad behavior, and assumed ALL of it was evil, even though there are elements of good,  and that is why the old guard is being baited out with these sex scandals and rape cases etc, if there was no good in the world, these things wouldn’t be exposed at all, even if the narratives are limited, but I didn’t want to be someone who lied about stuff at other people’s expense and knowing about future events that will take place and not being able to say anything, and it fucked with so much I basically threw it all away that the system had no choice but to just hype me up as someone who is a mentally ill pot head in his mom’s basement and I am so mentally ill, that people in the system who have it good, are pointing out and bullying mentally ill people. I am either a mentally ill person not to be taken seriously, or I am someone of importance when all these resources are being thrown together to fuck with my reality and fuck with my head.

I wonder what will need to happen for people in the media to actually investigate all of this, or be open minded to what could be happening. It feels like people sense something will go down because the trolling has been much more aggressive lately and these people don’t plan on stopping. They will bombard any platform I am on with their comments and admitting they are being paid to do this but no one takes it seriously because they can just say they are joking. It is sad because it is like they are pushing me to do something violent to someone else or me. It really disturbs me how evil people can be and seem so normal on the surface. They have their normal lives with a wife and kid; they don’t even talk to them for the most part, but give the illusion of a normal existence, when most of these people are communicating within secret groups to organize online attacks.

I need to get some of this off my chest because we are reaching a darker time in my mental illness, this is the beginning of when I am so much more prone to this dark behavior and it continues until March or so, but even as much as spring and summer should make you feel more joyous, it doesn’t feel that way for me, because this depression is all year round and it always starts from here and people I know or the trolls who are just Stern’s subservient assholes, will keep pounding on me mentally and they won’t be happy until I attempt something. They spread rumors about me, whether its me being dead, or being gay. They push that gay stuff on me, because they feel ashamed that they live in the closet, and that some of them had to do gay stuff behind the scenes, and because I expose that forced homoerotic type of ritualistic shit, they try to push it on me like I am hiding something. Instead of dealing with their own, they decided to marry in a straight marriage and then think it won’t fuck with them, because look at how much mentally ill stuff they are involved with to fuck with people.

It wouldn’t bother me nearly as much if these people weren’t paid to do this, and that their point system of what they receive behind the scenes relied upon getting a reaction from people. I react they win, I don’t react, it gives them more authority to beat me down even more mentally. I just want transparency and people to admit they are doing this. It is such cowardice if its people who are known or who actually know me personally do partake in this and then pretend they are nice people who would never do such thing. You want me to trust these people in the future? My own family and friends have disdain for me and it seems like they don’t even care about how much more mentally ill I will become.

I never know if I am invited because people genuinely want me out there and still repeat the same bullshit or is it to cover their bases for when something cool happens to me. I don’t want to be here and I will never have interest. I will never forgive them for making me the step child of this fucking world and that poor them for having to deal with me, and if that is the case they shouldn’t need me here. Come on you can kill me, you can do it subtly and no one would know because I live such an unhealthy life and I am also crazy. You people win regardless. Why do you need me here? I know they love to make you think life is random and that is to rid themselves of guilt of knowing this world is designed to be chaotic and be system sacrifices and that we really don’t have the power we think we do.

I didn’t break any ground in this blog but time to time I need to write it out instead of stuttering it out on periscope and I get quite grossed out by looking at my ugly face. I hope with me expressing it, it helps these people actually have a conscience but I don’t think these people have any kind of soul and they just want to harass you and because I point it out to get it off my chest, they will continue with their transparency plus secrecy and will know I can’t say anything because if I say something slight off, they will use my mental illness against me, anything to take away any of the blame on them because they are perfect human beings and everyone thinks they are the greatest friend and greatest humanitarian that has ever lived, and they get to have the connections to hang out with whoever they want. Then make it seem it is in my own head, and they wouldn’t have any of it if it weren’t for me, and since they know I am valuable to the system, they do me small favors to make it seem like they are being good out of the goodness of their heart, when they do it because they will use it against me. They have gotten to experience so much luxurious shit and they hide it because if I ever get a shot at it, they can intercept it with their bullshit.

I just want out of here. Even if these thoughts are invalid and I am just some delusional idiot who concocted all of this out of nowhere, why would you want someone like this existing? Why would you even want me around my nephews or my friends kids at all, I am a disturbed individual and obviously a bad person because I feel I have been so fucked mentally I am not allowed to do anything and if I am allowed to do anything, I have to have people accompany me places, especially comedy related. These people have already concocted and politic a planned fan base so it makes it seem like I need them. It is disturbing and it is like they are trying to get in on anything I do. I just want to be on my own. I work better on my own, I don’t like having to cater to what others want because they secretly want to fuck them, guy or girl.  I just want to be gone from here and if I have to live, let me go as far away as possible so I never have to interact with anyone. People in general don’t like me for real, they never will. I have to accept it and I have to remind myself, because there are moments of good times.

I wouldn’t want to be with any chick because I don’t want to put my mental illness on all of these women, or just a woman, I can’t imagine many women would want to be with this, unless I could do something for them, but it’s okay. It is for the best, I would wonder fucked up shit like who she fucked, does she have diseases etc, and it would drive me crazy. I am best on my own and as lonely and sad as it gets it is for the better, because I just think I am not a pleasant person and there are better people than me that should be alive instead of me. I am just a waste to this planet. I am not putting myself down for the sympathy, I just want to show you this is who I am when my mental illness kicks in and you people still want this person alive? Why? You get a kick out of someone being this fucked up that you can play with? Fuck you and anyone who has done this to another person and then blame them solely because you know that people will not believe that person. It is so fucking gross. I guess these independent media outlets who claim they aren’t like mainstream media are waiting for something to actually happen to me before they can start covering how I am the victim of gang stalking and how they enlist people who are mentally ill and are conspiracy type people into these programs to stalk and make their lives uncomfortable. No one feels bad about it whatsoever and people will get away with it scot free. It will take something fucked up to happen to me before it will get notice.

Howard can get away with anything, so much so, none of the industry types who have deemed him a feminist etc would speak up on the mentally ill shit he has done and what kind of fucked up things he will continue to do and then play dumb about it, and no one can even mention how he is really a Trump supporter and contributor because he had people fooled with being a Hilary supporter. He will go at Trump a little, but will not get as crazy as he did in the past with politics in general and now claims he doesn’t really have an opinion. It seems sketchy but he has even fooled his fan base with him being PC and that is why he is horrible human being now, that is how fucked the narrative is. Obviously this is hitting someone hard because as I type this, my cursor keeps moving around. I can’t prove it because I never know when they will do it or when they won’t do it. It is disturbing. I can’t even write my own thoughts in private without feeling like I am being watched.

Again it is probably all in my head and I am the sole reason any of this is happening, it is all randomness and I am just making excuses so never believe anything I have ever done. Forgive me to people who know me for all the conspiracy theorist shit i say and spew constantly, I am the one who is a nobody and think I am some important person in this world, I am just a delusional shit head and it is even more reason why you should just end me and you can be open about what you are doing, instead of just plotting behind the scenes to assure yourselves protection and keeping me out of commission 

[scarlet-soldier-in-an-impala]

Weekly Reading List #16

Hey y'all… it’s time for my weekly reading list. Hope you enjoy these fics as much as I did. If you do, please let the writers know and leave feedback on their fics. You can catch up on my previous reading lists here.

About Dean's Dreams by @fanforfanatic **flangst** (Dean x Reader) Summary: Dean writes letters to the woman of his dreams. As in, the woman he’s with when he’s asleep. Rating: Brief smut Warnings: Mentions of canon events THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! Although I kinda felt where you were going with this story, it was great. I enjoyed every second of it... I loved how you threaded your story through the canon events. Stunning work!

(Gif by @jessica-bones-winchester​)

Kill Zone (Part 6) (Masterlist) series in progress by @thing-you-do-with-that-thing **smut** (AU!Dean x Reader) Preview: FBI agent Y/N Singer and her partner Castiel Novak find themselves working on a string of gruesome and cold blooded murders. The angle and precession of the kill shots leads them to enlist the help of an expert in the field - former Us military Captain and elite-sniper , Dean Winchester. However, when tables turn and evidence points fingers at the last person she expected, how does Y/N deal with it? Warnings: minor character death, mention of past character deaths, hinted ptsd, couch sex is complicated, oral sex (female and male receiving), unsafe sex (because I was to lazy to work in a condom - let’s asume she is on the pill but wear them always!) I love this series so much and I really like how the story went on, Dean's so beautifully written and it's so freaking thrilling ... though I've got a feeling, that something's fishy. Kari, you're not planning a major plot twist, do you???!!

Perfect (Part 12) (Masterlist, series complete) by @supernatural-jackles **smut** (Jensen x Reader) You and Jensen have been friends for as long as you both can remember. You have stuck together through thick and thin, good times and bad; everything. What happens when Jensen accidentally blurts out that he has a girlfriend when he doesn’t? How will your friendship be effected when he asks you to be his fake girlfriend? Warnings: Smut, Fluff, Angst  Damn, the ending was perfect. This whole series was amazing. All the fluff and angst had me constantly on the edge. The relationship between the two was heartbreakingly beautiful and it was indeed 'perfect'. Thank you so much for this series!!!

(Gif by @electricmonk333)

Knight In Dark Flannel by @manawhaat **smut** (Dean x Claire) Summary: Dean can't shake the anxiety, the thoughts of how this all could habe been so much worse. Claire is in the same boat, and the two of them turn to each other for relief. Warnings: Spn s12 spoilers, slightly angsty feels, slight anxiety, smut of all kinds (Including unprotected. Don't follow my bad example, wrap it up kids.), virgin!Claire (mostly virgin), Sam hoarding stealing free food for Dean because they're fucking adorable little vulture babies. Ok, first I wanna say, you're a freaking wizard. Neither I'm a fan of Claire  (and therefore I was not particular fond of s12e16) nor of virgin!fics... but thanks to @mrswhozeewhatsis I stumbled over this fic and her comment intrigued me so I gave it a try... and WOW... this was stunningly beautiful!!! Dean's feelings took my breath away and the chemistry between them was amazing. This was such a delicate and amazing fic, I loved it!!

Long, Lean And Lethal by @winchestersnco **smut** (Dean x Reader) Summary: The Reader finally takes things into her own hands when it comes to her feelings for Dean.  Warnings: Consensual voyeurism, mutual masturbation, Reader being sneaky, Dean being cheeky. Good God... woman, are you trying to kill me?! This was incredibly hot and I really needed a minute after that to calm down.

How One Day Changed Everything by @atwistoffate **fluff** (AU!Dean x Reader) Summary: Dean has been your best friend since when you were four. But is he just that? (Best friends to lovers - College AU) Warnings: None, just fluffy fluff Oh gosh, this was so sweet and funny. Dean sneaking his way into the readers heart was freaking cute.

Mark Me Up @winchester-smut **smut** (Dean x Reader) Imagine Dean being turned on by the idea of being marked up and showed off… Warnings: Semi-Smut, Oral (Male Receiving) Reading how Dean is turned on by specific things, does things to me. I read this one in the waiting room at my doctor's office and I could barely hold it together. This was hot af... and I want this. All of it.

Rhythm Of The Beat (Part 3) (Part 2) (Part 1) by @ilostmyshoe-79​ **smut** (Dean x Sam) Summary: Sam and Dean get trapped in a vault after being turned into women by an ancient Egyptian god. Because of course they did. There’s only one way to get free. Because of course there is. Warning: Wincest, gender swapping, smut This was freakingly hot and the gender swap was beautifully written. You write the gender swap so good, I'm a big fan of Trading Spaces as well and I was very excited for this one. Your Wincest feels are heartbreakingly beautiful, great work, as usual.

Research by @wheresthekillswitch **smut** (Sam x Reader) Gif inspired Fic (s12e18), Sam's POV Warnings: So much unprotected sex. Language. A little bit of angsty longing. Wow. Just wow. This was such an amazing read. I loved that side of Sam and it left me kinda sad. He deserves to be happy and I can see him there, with the reader.

Doin' It Like Sam Winchester by @mysaintsasinner **smut** (Sam x Reader) Warnings:  Smut, of course, Dom!Sam if you squint, oral (female receiving), fingering, dirty talk, Sam saying ‘gotta get you ready for me’ because I swear to Chuck that would be the hottest thing ever to hear in RL. Possible angst at the end but it doesnt last long. Sam being Sam. Well, this is what I call a lucky mistake... like very lucky. I guess I'm not the only one, who wants to be woken up like this from Sam. Beautifully written, love it!

 Sexy Bastard by @dancing-the-hellfire-rumba **fluff** (Sam x Reader) Warnings:  fluff–ish, a smudge of angst if you squint Damn, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been so restrained. Gosh, all the sexual tension would've killed me. I loved seeing Sam being such a tease.

[greatdrams]

Introducing… The British Bourbon Society

Getting on for a year ago now I was approached by two men at a bar who asked me to join their group.

Alright, caveat. It was a Bourbon tasting, and the men in question were founders of the newly-formed British Bourbon Society. I don’t really use Facebook for whisk(e)y purposes. I don’t really use Facebook for anything these days, but membership to the society was free, and my outlets for Bourbon nerdery few and far between.

Several superb tastings, dinners and American whiskey conversations later I am a huge advocate of the BBS, and even do most of the scribbling for their blog. In fact just last week I helped them choose their first Single Barrel. In short, joining this completely free society was one of the best decisions I’ve made since I got into whisk(e)y, and I’d actively encourage anyone even slightly interested in Bourbon to do the same. Hence this.

As the British Bourbon Society gets close to its first anniversary, I sat down with three of the co-founders, Andrew (@thebourbonator) Ed T (@londonliquor) & Ed R (@whiskybunker), to discuss how BBS came about and what's coming up next.

First thing’s first, how did the British Bourbon Society come about?

Ed T: BBS started out at Milroy's of Soho back in 2016. Six of us first got to know each through a small American whiskey group on Twitter that we'd created. We then met up at Milroy's one night to check out their whisky selection and that's where we came up with the idea for BBS. We all loved American whiskey and didn't understand why there were hundreds of Scotch whisky clubs in the UK but nothing similar for American whiskey. So we decided to set one up. We had two main aims: putting on great tasting events and creating a friendly, unpretentious community. The BBS Facebook group came first and then the website followed a little bit later. The six original members (including @mcrbourbon, @edkinguk and @barrelproofandy) are still all involved in BBS, which is great.

The BBS has been going almost a year now. What are your highlights?

Ed T: Seeing how BBS has grown to over 600 members in the past year has been really exciting. We've put on more than ten tasting events and dinners for BBS members in that time, often hosted by representatives of our favourite distilleries, and they've all sold out. Organising the Pappy Van Winkle blind tasting dinner and the Four Roses 'ten bourbon recipe' tasting with Brent Elliott, Four Roses Master Distiller are both highlights for me.

Ed R: Many highlights for me, but echoing Ed, just watching how the group has grown so rapidly in a short period of time and with such passionate members has been really awesome. We’ve worked hard to make it something unique and from having spoken to many people in the industry, the general consensus seems to be that we’ve managed to approach the idea of a ‘whisk(e)y society’ in a modern and refreshing way. In terms of events, my highlights would be our first event at Barbecoa, the Pappy Van Winkle dinner at Burger & Lobster and the Michter’s event at Milroy’s. I’d class all of those as hugely important to the growth of BBS - milestone events if you will. Oh, and getting our own single barrel is obviously a monumental highlight too.

Andrew: For me, the highlights have been many and I'm constantly surprised by what BBS achieves together.  Making contact with and visiting the European Bourbon and Rye Association (EBRA) in Zurich was a definite highlight – they presented us with the kind of hospitality that shows exactly why I love the bourbon community and cannot wait to reciprocate. When we first met up at Milroy’s over a year ago, one of the many (now realised) pipedreams was to be the first UK American whiskey group to obtain a barrel from a distillery. We’ve been lucky enough to forge relationships with a lot of the industry in our short time as BBS and are proud to say that we recently obtained our first single barrel with FEW Whiskey in Evanston, Illinois, which for me typifies how far we have come since we first met at Milroy’s. The biggest highlight for me aside from all of the amazing opportunities we have had to drink unbelievable hooch, has been meeting some amazing people in BBS, many of whom I feel privileged to call close friends today. We have created more than a whiskey group; it’s a community that continues to grow together and I’m excited for everything that comes next.

Bourbon – and American whiskey generally – is really gaining ground in the UK. How do you see the next few years playing out?

Ed T: American whiskey is growing massively in the UK right now and I don't think that will change anytime soon provided the distilleries, distributors and retailers play their cards right. Fundamentally, consumers need to be able to get hold of good American whisky at reasonable prices. A few retailers have recently started selling American whisky at inflated secondary market prices and that's a real shame. If prices get out of control, consumers will get disillusioned and look elsewhere – for example, there are loads of great aged rums out there right now at good prices.

As with Scotch or Japanese whisky, there are certain ‘cult’ Bourbons and ryes commanding vast price tags and quickly being ‘flipped’ online. What’s your stance on this; do you perceive it as a problem, and if so, what’s the solution?

Ed T: Flipping's become a big problem in the past year or so. Pappy Van Winkle and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection immediately sell out and re-appear on UK auction sites a few days later for crazy prices. Whiskey drinkers lose out - the flippers are the only ones who benefit in that scenario.

BBS has been trying to make sure that these releases go to customers who'll actually drink them! For example, we recently collaborated with Milroy's of Soho to put on a Blanton's Tasting and Pappy Van Winkle Raffle, which sold out in minutes. If you won the Pappy raffle, you could buy bottles of Pappy at retail prices - the only rule was you had to take the foil off the bottle right away. We were lucky enough to go to a HiSpirits dinner with Preston Van Winkle recently and he was a big fan of that approach.

At the other end of the spectrum, and beyond the usual supermarket suspects, what are your top tips for Bourbon value?

Ed R:  Often people make the assumption that you have to spend a lot of money to get a great whiskey and that just isn’t true at all. We’re big fans of brands like Four Roses, Michter's, Blanton’s and Buffalo Trace because they offer excellent juice at very accessible price points. Four Roses Small Batch and Single Barrel are both excellent whiskies for the money. The regular - but very palatable - Buffalo Trace comes to mind too. You can find the latter for around £20-£25 a bottle and for that price brands like JD and supermarket own brand ‘Kentucky style’ bourbons don’t even compare in my opinion.

Just to touch on the supermarket own brands for a moment, I’d generally be wary of them. If it’s going in a mixer for a party on a Saturday night then great but if you want to sit down and truly appreciate a nice drop, it's worth looking elsewhere.

Andrew: Value is in the eye of the beholder and one man’s Pappy is another man’s Woodford Reserve, so whilst collecting bottles can be fun, buy what you like to drink and you’ll never feel short changed. Outside of what is available readily in the UK (which has been growing exponentially) don’t be afraid to scour the internet for pan-European honey holes where bottles scarcely seen on the secondary market can be found gathering dust at RRP. Admittedly, the internet is both a blessing and a curse in this regard and acute knowledge of secondary value has all but made stumbling upon dusty gems as common as finding a winter truffle in Epping Forrest. That said, it doesn’t make the thrill of the hunt any less enjoyable. 

Ed T: Elijah Craig Barrel Proof isn't particularly cheap but it's great value and you can still find it on the shelves. It's just as good as some of the massively hyped American whiskies that people will pay hundreds for on auction sites.

Bottling your own barrel of Bourbon makes quite a statement. There can’t be too many groups doing that in the UK. How did that come about?

Andrew: Paul Hletko, Master Distiller of FEW has been in the BBS Facebook Group for a number of months offering information on bottle releases and sharing knowledge of the distillation process to our members, so he was aware of what BBS was about. This coupled with our friendship with Maverick Drinks who distribute FEW in the UK led to our first BBS barrel. When we reached out to Paul directly to ask for a barrel, we were overwhelmed by the response as four samples from different barrels selected in his rickhouse landed promptly at my door and our tasting to select them shortly followed. Paul Hletko, John Young, (UK FEW Brand Ambassador), Michael Vachon and James Goggins (Maverick Drinks) have been staunch supporters of BBS and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with them.

Ed R: We work collaboratively across BBS, and all of us have varying skill sets that come in helpful. I happen to work in the creative sector so was able to enlist the help of the design team at the agency I work for to create our own bespoke label for the FEW bottle. Everyone has a voice and is able to suggest ideas; that’s how we’ve always been, and that was exactly the same for the bottle design. In true whiskey fashion, there’s a story behind the label and some little nods to our short history. I know we’re all really excited to reveal what it looks like soon – that and our new BBS logo.  

Is producing your own bottlings the long-term raison d’être for the BBS? A sort of American whiskey answer to the SMWS? 

Ed T: Working with distilleries to release BBS Single Barrels is definitely something that we're really excited about. BBS' main aim is to develop a great American whisky community right here in the UK and BBS Single Barrels certainly help to achieve that.

How can people join the BBS, and what’s on the immediate horizon?

Ed T: It's as simple as joining the BBS Facebook Group. Anyone who's interested should also check out the BBS website, which has our blog and whisky reviews, as well as the BBS Twitter and Instagram pages.

BBS has some great events on the horizon. The First Anniversary party is happening on 22nd April at Barbecoa and Milroy's of Soho. Our friends from EBRA will be flying over to join us for that one. Two very special Four Roses tastings with Benji Purslow, Four Roses' UK Ambassador, are taking place at Milroy's of Soho on 10th April and 15th May. We'll be tasting all 10 recipes of Four Roses, which isn't something that happens very often because the bottles are so hard to find. Finally, the BBS FEW Single Barrel should be released fairly soon, so there's a lot to look forward to.

Big thanks to Andrew, Ed T and Ed R for sharing their thoughts and experiences. Free membership, regular tastings, and Pappy Van Winkle at its actual retail price. What more could you want?

American whiskey fans – you know what to do.

Cheers!

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The post Introducing… The British Bourbon Society appeared first on GreatDrams.

from GreatDrams http://ift.tt/2noV1Mp Greg

[bornfromscarletcords]

EBON VERSE (Tentative Title)

THIS WORK IS UNFINISHED

Daniel Ranger was doing his best to live an ordinary and uneventful life, and despite his best efforts, he was met with minimal success. According to his neighbors, acquaintances, coworkers, fellow dog lovers, and the muggers who always felt the mysterious instinct not to follow him into dark alleys, he looked pretty normal. He was reasonably attractive, with dark hair, dark skin, and a muscular physique. His eyes were a little strange, as they were a very light brown, honey colored, and when it was dark or when the light shined on them they almost looked gold.  From the way he moved, many thought he might have been a soldier. From the way he could disappear almost without a trace, many thought he was a superhero...or an assassin. However, from they way he talked many people found their presumptions about him fading away. “He was so polite, so charming, someone like that couldn’t hurt a fly”, was more or less their general consensus. To say that Daniel was putting on an act wouldn’t be entirely fair as he honestly didn’t want to cause too much trouble, as trouble could attract attention from unsavory forces he’d rather avoid. With that said, it still might have been a stretch to say he honestly cared about how “so and so’s” aunt Bernice was doing in her retirement home across the country.

Daniel had experienced a lot of...stress in his former life, and so one day he decided that he would leave these hardships behind and start over. He said goodbye to his people and the place he had known as home in order to find another one. He kept a few trinkets to remember them by but most of those things were locked in a storage compartment, though he did carry a necklace that his matron had given to him. He rarely took it off but this might have been more unconscious as he seldom thought about it and when people brought it up he said as few words about it as possible.

It wasn’t exactly Daniel’s fault he was experiencing so little success in his endeavors. When he first arrived in this region he had done well in finding a modest apartment, a job at a local bookstore, and establishing himself as an average joe just looking to skate by. The problems arose when, despite his intentions, others wished to pry and poke at his masquerade. It was usually because they wanted something from him, or needed a new form of entertainment. He didn’t always like it but he had learned enough about bureaucracy to pleasantly misdirect the more susceptible busy-bodies. The stubborn and aware, however, he often had to scare away with talents he had hoped he wouldn’t have to use. Worse still, were the ones who wouldn’t be scared off. These folk had the audacity of asking him to lunch, or sharing heartfelt/life changing moments with him. How dare they form a true connection with him.

Anyway these devious schemers who he couldn’t seem to shake often, intentionally or unintentionally, involved him in tasks and events which painstakingly involved him using talents from his former existence. As much as he would have liked these tasks to have had a clean end, every time he thought they were over they’d just crawl their way back with some new variation to them, like the flu or brunch.  

One the main contributors to the absence of normality in his life was Sarina Miyamoto. She was a young woman of Japanese heritage, and Daniel had met her five years before the main events of this story when she was just graduating high school. This should have been a purely uneventful time of celebration for her, but it seemed the fate’s desired more peculiar circumstances. Sarina discovered that she was a part of an extra-dimensional clan of fox creatures, who wished her to rejoin them as one of their priestesses. Sarina had been looking for some excitement in her life, but that was a bit much, so one thing led to another and she ended up enlisting the help of Mr. Ranger. Why she had done this may have just been another one of the fate’s jests, but she explained to him that he seemed to be shrouded in mystery, like he had seen so many strange things that he could face just about anything. Daniel didn’t want to get involved, in fact this was just the type of thing he wanted to avoid the most, but Sarina reminded him too much of friends he’d left behind and the people he had once sworn to protect. The following events were about as far from normal as things could get. The fox clan tested Daniel and eventually found him worthy enough of guiding Sarina (well, their phrasing went something like “the Ookami will lead her”) until she decided to seek them out on her own. Daniel was not happy that they seemed to imply she was now his responsibility, but playing along was one of the few ways that event would end without a lot of dead bodies/aN inter-dimensional disaster.

Daniel found Sarina to be witty, generally skilled, and well humored. He didn’t like admitting it but he enjoyed her company even when she insisted that she was his sidekick (as she grew older exchanged this monicker for “super-partner”). She had once persuaded him to discuss a little about his past where he made the snafu of revealing that he “had been charged with serving and upholding justice” amongst his people. Well Sarina was thinking about what she should focus her studies on and this statement of his implied, to her, that she should pursue a career in law. So Daniel led her down the path of a being an upstanding citizen, you say, that’s not so terrible. Except for the fact that Sarina was mischievous by nature, and liked to convince Daniel into helping her study during his free time, that was when she wasn’t bending every rule or finding every loophole she could so that she could point out how flimsy the law actually was. Daniel didn’t mind her rebelliousness, he actually admired her tenacity and thoughtfulness, he just couldn’t help but feel as if the world might have been a little safer if he had just said he “used to cook pies”.  

Another contributor to his lack of a blissfully forgetful existence was Eydis. One night, Daniel had the misfortune of seeing a large group of men following a lone woman. Daniel didn’t like giving into assumptions, as they could so often be cliche, but something inside of him felt the need to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. He stuck to the shadows, a short distance off. When he saw them beginning to draw many unsavory items he moved to intervene but, as things turned out, his efforts were not needed. The woman screamed, but the men soon joined her. Blood sprayed and poured in a fevered dance of carnage. Limbs were torn, thrown, throats were opened, bellies spilt, and all in a matter of seconds. When the cause of the slaughter finally slowed down long enough for Daniel to get a good look at them, he was intrigued but not exactly pleased. She had long blonde hair braided down her back, on this night. Her skin was like moonlight, almost translucent. She was dressed like she ran a biker gang in her spare time: a brown leather jacket, a black shirt which had a flaming, dancing, skeleton on it, simple jeans, and cowboy...well, cowgirl boots on (without the spurs). At that moment her eyes were burning an angry bloody color but Daniel tried not to look into them. He would come to know that in her less frenzied state they were a soothing blue color. However on this night, he was more concerned with what she was going to do with the terrified, yet unharmed woman, and himself. The biker-lady stalked towards the woman like a lioness to her cub. She tenderly stroked her hair and lifted her chin so that they were staring each other in the eyes. After a moment the woman calmed down and began walking away. Then all that remained on that nigh abandoned street were Daniel, still in the shadows, the biker-lady, and many mutilated corpses.

“I know you’re here fenris, no need to stand on ceremony.” The biker-lady said gazing in his direction. Daniel stepped a little closer into view.

“You let the woman go? Why?” Daniel said.  

“Well it would hardly be a rescue if I had killed her.” The biker woman said, grinning slightly. She had a comely face, and as menacing as fangs could be, her flash of pale bone was not displeasing.

“You know her?” Daniel said.

“Yes, she is a,” She seemed to be struggling for the word, “a friend. Which gives me a reason to be here, but why were you going to put yourself at risk to help a stranger?”

“Old habit, and it would hardly have been a risk. A friend you say?” Daniel said.

“Ah, you doubt my kind could form such a connection?” The biker-lady said.

“I have my doubts about everything, so I’ll save my prejudices for another night. Will she remember what took place here?”

“Doubtful. Maybe she’ll think she had a bad dream or something. I’m not as good as some, but bending minds is not outside of my capabilities.” She said.

“What do you plan to do with the bodies?” he said.

“I called someone beforehand, they should be here soon.” She said.

“I’m not interrupting your midnight snack am I?” Daniel said. At that the biker-lady licked some blood off of her palm. In that moment another image superimposed itself over her, at least in Daniel’s mind. She looked like a nordic warrior, armed with a spear and covered in furs and metal. The image faded almost as soon as it came but it’s remnants would always stay with him.

“Nah, losers taste like mud.” She said kicking one of the bodies, it traveled a couple of feet.

“If that is all, then I should probably be on my way, before your ‘someone’ arrives.” Daniel said turning too leave.

“I would like a name fenris. I was almost indebted to you.”

“I’m not sure if it is healthy for us to mingle.” He said.

“In a polluted region breathing isn’t healthy, yet people do it anyway.” She said. Daniel shrugged and gave her his, in turn she gave him hers. She was Eydis.

This would not be the last night Daniel spent with Eydis, much to his chagrin. To be clear, she was usually only terrible to her enemies, yet it was very clear she was on unfamiliar ground when it came to getting along with Mr. Ranger. Around a week after their first meeting, Daniel realized that he was being followed, which caused him to take many out of the way routes before losing his pursuer and dashing home. This went on for a couple of evenings until he finally confronted the person who had been tailing him. In his mind it could have been anyone, but lo and behold, when he finally used his nose, he noticed a familiar scent. Daniel was pretty annoyed when he discovered what Eydis had been up to. Her reasoning had been, that she wanted to know why he lived such an unusual life. He told her that although it might seem boring it was very fulfilling in a subdued way. He told her to stop following him, and she left. A couple of nights later, she knocks on the door to his house. He had tried to be careful but apparently she had been more determined than she let on. He was going to be mad at her until she asked him for help. She explained that she had created the the vampire who had claim over the local territories (at least for as far as the vampires were concerned), which meant they were close or at least had a lot of history between them. However she refused to officially join his hold, preferring instead to live (well un-live) a life of relative freedom. It was the cause of some strife in their relationship, but she suspected the real reason he was upset about it was more political. He couldn’t or wouldn’t claim her as an asset if she wouldn’t yield to his rule, and as a powerful child of the night she was a very desirable prize. She had heard that a couple of vampires from another hold were in town looking for her. It was under the ruse of some all but ancient feud, but when the local ruler refused to assist her unless she joined his cause she came to the conclusion he must have played some part in the matter. Potentially to push her into his, metaphorical, grasp.

Daniel wanted to shut the door right then and there, but he came to the conclusion that somehow this nonsense would spill over to involve him one way or another and that he might as well get ahead of it. He offered his assistance. Eydis further explained that the rival vampires were beginning to target some of her allies unaffiliated with the hold or another equally substantial (known) force. Basically they were picking on those who couldn’t defend themselves. Daniel’s feathers were suitably ruffled at this and in the course of that week Eydis and he executed numerous vampires and prevented nearly as many “innocent” deaths. Near the end of their campaign however, Eydis was severely wounded. She needed blood, potent blood, and in their isolated locale there was little of that to go around. So, even though she warned him that exchanging blood might bond him to her (she might become his “master”) they did so anyway. With her life (un-life) saved they congratulated themselves on a job well done, and decided they wouldn’t be strangers to one another. A couple of nights later they found out that they might not have much choice in the matter. Eydis approached him stating that she had felt a type of fuzzy something leading to him, in her mind. She tried to “tug” on it to see if she really did have dominion over him but she felt like she had been moved instead. Then she asked him to give her an order, and although he was confused he told her to clean his book shelf. Her expression sort of glossed over for a second and she moved a couple of inches, but then she regained her composure. Apparently somehow the bond had gotten reversed, and he had become her “master”. Daniel was not comfortable with the idea of slavery, it was full of too much temptation and heartache. He expressed his concerns to her and she said “I’ll admit this is surprising, and though I’ve heard of something like this occurring it is very rare. Still I have a decent knowledge of these bonds, and I am a willful creature in my own right so as long as you don’t abuse it we should be fine.” What she didn’t say was that she would nonchalantly call him Master, or Milord as if it was only to be expected or that she would grow fond of the bond because it meant he wouldn’t just be able to up and leave without telling her. Something she suspected he might do if he got tired of her company. In all fairness, Daniel didn’t tell her that he had a likely suspect for what had caused the bonds reversal. It was that strange necklace which was almost always with him.

Then there was the dragon. A couple of wildfires had been flaring up in the surrounding forest, which was something of great concern for the local populace. It was Sarina who convinced Daniel to investigate. Her wording went something like “How can you pretend to be normal if everyone you want to fool is burnt to a crisp.” She then sweetened the deal by adding “And if it really is just a couple of natural phenomenon then I will buy you ice cream.” Daniel liked ice cream, it was so icy and creamy. So Daniel and his partner in crime solving went out to check the territory surrounding the fires. It was Sarina who had found the portal. She noticed a haziness in the air, when too much heat is present, except this haziness seemed to form a symbol. When Sarina reached out to touch it, Daniel reached to pull her back but it was too late. They both went tumbling through into the dragon’s den. When they saw the giant of a creature they felt the need to quote various films about what happens when people bring dinosaurs back to life. They would have acted on this need but they seemed to have lost the ability speak in the presence of those great jaws, wicked claws, gargantuan wings and serpent like tail. It was a beautiful creature, in a horrifying way. They understood why people might hunt, revere and flee from such a great beast. Their attention was so focused on the creature and its scarlet scales that when they took a look around they were even more surprised. The idea of a dragon’s den, in their minds implied a desolate and dangerous cavern littered with jewels. Well there was treasure but instead of being littered on the ground it adorned the walls and furniture or was tightly packed in chests. The desolate cave looked more like a hidden palace, albeit from medieval times, but it was still impressive and smacked of prestige and great wealth. The color scheme was various shades of red orange, violet and black, and after awhile Daniel couldn’t help but associate the images and colors with that of outer space. It was like walking in the void, stunning and haunting all at the same time. Then the dragon spoke.

“Intruders, snacks, champions? What are you and by what right do you enter my domain?” The dragon said. The voice sounded female, divine, and bestial all at the same time. Sarina and Daniel exchanged a glance.

“We’ll go with the option that doesn’t get us eaten or killed.” Sarina said.

“What my friend here is trying to say is that we mean you no harm nor any disrespect. We entered here by accident, and if you allow it we will leave without incident.” Daniel said.

“Hmmm, you don’t seem to be lying, but even if I wanted you to go I couldn’t allow you to.” The dragon said shifting around as if she were uncomfortable, it reminded Sarina of dogs circling their resting area for a better spot.

“What do you mean, this domain is under your command is it not?” Daniel said.

“Are you mocking me?” The dragon said a small jet of flame spewing from her mouth as smoke rose from her nostrils.

“Of course not, he’s just wants to understand the situation better, it’s not everyday we meet a creature as awesome and magnificent as yourself.” Sarina said. The dragon seemed pleased and preened herself.

“Well, I am fairly impressive aren’t I?” She said.

“You’re extraordinary.” Daniel said.

“To answer your question, this domain is an extension of my will, my mind, my heart and soul. It shares that trait with most of my powers. I have influence with it but I could no sooner control it than I could control my own emotions. I feel what I feel, and this domain does what it pleases for the most part.” The dragon said.

“So, it’s alive?” Daniel said.

“It has intentions, whether that makes it alive is a can of worms I don’t feel like opening. I’m more interested in why it showed its door to you.”

“Perhaps because it knew we were here to help. The fires are endangering the town and the wildlife. If we can do anything to stop them then we will.” Sarina said. Daniel gave her a look like he didn’t like her volunteering their services to large and dangerous magical creatures.

“As I said, my powers are not completely under my control. Many dragons prefer to fly powerfully and free so to speak, so we are not entirely well versed when it comes to restraining ourselves. I have a wound inside, it causes me great distress and I fear it has made my abilities more volatile than usual. I thought locking myself away here might limit the damage but it seems it did not work as well as I might have hoped.” The dragon said.

“I know the feeling. When I first came to this land I tried to suppress a part of myself; put it to sleep while I was awake. It seemed to work, but whenever I was asleep it would have its day. Finally after waking up, naked, in the woods, surrounded by half eaten woodland creatures I realized whatever I was doing wasn’t working.” Daniel said.

“What did you do?” The dragon said.   

“I had to face myself. Choosing another way of life is one thing but rejecting who you are inside is another. As soon as I realized that we were able to get along just fine again. It was hard, but so are a lot of things.”

“We?” The dragon said, then its amber eyes flashed brightly. “Oh, I see, I hadn’t noticed at first. You are varg.” She said.

“I don’t mean to interrupt but do you need us to find you a doctor or something?” Sarina said.

“No the wound is not physical, it is a wound of the heart and soul.”

“They can be the most painful and the most deadly.” Daniel said.

“How can we help?” Sarina said.

“I require a Champion, someone I can bestow my flame upon who will not be destroyed by it in turn. It must be a person of honor, great virtue, and or one of righteous authority. My flame would erase most others.

“Well, you heard the dragon, you’re up Sarina.” Daniel said patting her on the back.

“What, why me?” Sarina said.

“You’re interested in studying law right?” Daniel said.  

“Yeah eventually, but if I’m being honest, I’m a little too cynical of the whole institution to risk getting barbecued. You actually used to be a justice, or whatever, for a living you totally got this.” Sarina said, pushing him forward.

“You’re forgetting to mention the fact that I left that life behind and currently spend my time misleading humans into thinking I’m just an average book salesman.” Daniel said.

“Glad to see you’re both so eager.” The dragon said, the sarcasm all but permeating the air. “If you can’t decide, then I will, I choose the varg. Little vixen, you have much potential and even now greatness shines from you but at the moment he is the most powerful which I think means he is most likely to survive the process.” The dragon said.

“Well, straight from the dragon’s mouth. You heard her Daniel, your power dwarfs mine,” Sarina said.

“If I survive you’re buying me ice cream later. Actually scratch that, even if I don’t buy one for my ghost.” Daniel grumbled as he prowled over to the dragon.  

“Fair enough, that’s why I like you oh eminent one.” Sarina said.

“What do I need to do?” Daniel said.

“Over in that corner you’ll find a chair as well as…. well you’ll know it when you see it. It will take the shape of an instrument of some sort, but if you let your soul speak to it, it will fashion itself in the form of your choosing.”

“Interesting. Then what.”

“You come back here and play.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, the idea is that the music will serve as a bridge of sorts through which our souls can connect. My soul is fire so you will be enveloped in flame. If your soul is weak or...nevermind, just dig deep and play from your truth. The instrument works from your deeper emotions and intentions so even if you had no experience it would probably still sing. I guess the ritual is supposed to symbolize me relying on someone else. Dragons with power can become too proud to ask for help. Anyway by allowing another to feel me, I can finally feel my own truth. The wound will heal, or at least become healthier.” The Dragon said. Daniel went to get the tools at first he was holding a violin but when he sat down it turned into a guitar.

“I think it would help if I knew your name and you mine. Something we can connect to. I go by Daniel Ranger in these parts.” Daniel said after strumming a couple of notes on the guitar. It sounded like the instrument it was supposed to be but there were also other notes in there as if there were a whole ensemble hidden in the room. An orchestra of phantoms.

“Well I’ve had many names.” The dragon said.

“Anyone will do.” Daniel said.

“Some come from very dangerous languages.” The dragon said.

“That’s okay, you could even make one up, we wouldn’t know.” Sarina said as she hunkered down behind a large couch.

“Okay, I think I have one that will work, Seren Malak Mishal. Ren for short, if that works for you.” Ren said, and Daniel began to play. The decor, illustrations, and even the air  within the palace began to dance and hum. From behind cover Sarina whistled along as she wondered if the whole universe was moving to the tune. There was still the sound like many were playing through one, and yet it was clear that Daniel was steering the course; the song howled and loped in a way that was entirely his own. Then Ren began to sing along as well. It was a sound of ferocity, wildness, and miracles; of a fire that could create or end the world. The harmony made the two glow and Ren’s form seemed to shift into pure light and flame. Her blaze engulfed Daniel but his verse filled her. She tilted her head back as if baying to the full moon. Magic and radiant color flashed through the room, the music died down, and where a dragon once stood there was a woman. She had hair like molten rubies; it curled and flowed as it pleased down her back. At first she was naked, and then she looked somewhat demonic in armor of bones and black scales which seemed to be attached to her. Horns sprouted from her head as draconic wings beat once, twice, three times before she changed again, looking something like a great, and human, woman. She wore a long dress which could have made been worn by a queen or a mystic of countless mysteries.

“Your soul is a perplexing one Daniel Varg. In it is a great pride, almost like the dark ones who challenged heaven above, or perhaps that of the creature which cast them down. There is a hunger which tries to feast on the many sorrows which surround it but in these things it finds no sustenance. Hollow glories litter your thoughts, and with each reflection they fade even more, and yet your spirit keeps reaching, keeps clawing forward. You will hunt the place you truly belong until the end of days and maybe even beyond. And should peace and fate fail you, you would kill your way to the garden of your choosing, stalking forward on a road made of corpses. You carry the hopes of many, and in trying to balance them you tilt the axis of the world. Within your claws is the heart of truth. Your vision may be the first and last judge to all it visits. Look well and deeply.” Ren said.

“I’m just a book salesmen.” Daniel said, and at first Ren looked confused but then she laughed a great and beautiful sound which filled the room, as if made by something far larger.

Daniel was exhausted after playing and Sarina had to help him move. Ren was able to send them through the portal back to their land, which was a good sign. Before she did however she said they were always welcome, especially her Champion. That night Daniel had some of the best sleep he’d ever experienced, but he woke a little here or there and when he did he could have sworn his muzzle was buried in hair like a crimson sun, as clawed fingers clutched at welcoming flesh. Perhaps he’d been dreaming.

Now of course Daniel had met with other people and entertained other adventures throughout the duration of his self imposed exile, however the point where the main events of this story should unfurl has arrived. Don’t worry, his past and his other relationships will be explored as well. Enjoy the tantalizing occurrences which ceaselessly thwart his attempts at a simple life. They were cultivated from many branches of thought to garden this peculiar plot.                

[atlien]

The Real Housewives of Atlanta returns after a short hiatus with the 12th episode of it’s 10th season (February 11, 2018).

Two weeks ago, we were left with a cliffhanger as Cynthia Bailey received a bit of bad news about her new beau during Kandi Burruss’ Essence Cover party.

[READ: RHOA Recap: 5 Things Revealed on Season 10, Ep 11 “Tea is of The Essence + Watch Full Video]

This week’s episode is titled, “Peaches Be Trippin'” as the ladies all prepare for their upcoming girl’s trip to Barcelona.

Bravo synopsis:

Cynthia deals with the fallout from Porsha’s news about Will, leading her to question their budding relationship. Porsha sits down with an unexpected ally, while Kenya begins shifting priorities after some potentially life changing news. Cynthia enlists NeNe’s help in getting all the girls together for a girls’ trip to Barcelona and Porsha attempts to squash all of the beef in the group by hosting a vegan dinner. As everyone gets ready to leave for Barcelona, the ladies are all shocked to learn who is – and who isn’t – going to Spain.

Recap + full video below…

Will wants to know what he “signed up for”…

This week, finally get to find out what happened after Cynthia got word from Eva that her new man has a girlfriend.

Apparently when the drama died down, Porsha offered even more “tea” as she told Cynthia that she heard that Will was using her as an “opportunity”.

As Will escorts the emotional model home, he gets even more offended by her questions and poses the question any opportunist would ask:

What opportunity am I going to get from being around you? Do I get a Ferrari? You gonna get me a Lamborghini? You gonna buy me a house. I’ve got a house. I’ve got a theatre room.

Apparently Will has it all… except he’s never had the platform of RHOA prior to Cynthia.

Interestingly enough, during their ride home he wonders aloud what all he “signed up for”.

Moving on…

Mama Joyce shows some compassion…

Mama Joyce seems a bit kinder and gentler these days as she meets with Porsha (allegedly without Kandi’s knowledge) to get a better understanding of Kandi and Porsha’s fallout.

Joyce, the true leader of the Kandi Koated Clique, wants to know exactly how Porsha could have ever believed that her daughter would try to drug and rape her.

Porsha expresses remorse and states that she only believed it because her BEST FRIEND, who happened to be an ATTORNEY, told her that she head it WITH HER OWN EARS.

Clearly it’s still open season on Phaedra Parks and this time, Joyce has got the gun as she helps Porsha push the knife deeper into Parks’ back.

Each and every one of her fellow cast mates seem to feel that Porsha bears some burden when it comes to spreading the rumor, but apparently Mama Joyce is giving her the benefit of the doubt (presumably due to the fact that Mama Joyce HATES Phaedra).

Mama Joyce actually seems impressed that Porsha was such a die hard friend to Phaedra and tells her that she thinks she deserves forgiveness. For what its worth, Mama Joyce assures Porsha that Kandi will come around soon.

Soon… being the operative term since it took almost 20 years for the songstress to forgive her fellow Xscape members and that “forgiveness” is still being questioned.

Kenya’s “inconclusive” pregnancy scare…

Kenya says she’s 6 weeks late for her period, so she thinks she may be pregnant. The newly wedded beauty queen is joined by her cousin, Chef Che Moore at the doctor’s office for a pregnancy test.

Apparently Kenya and her huzzzbannn have been humping like rabbits (whenever they’re actually in the same state) and she believes that she may finally be pregnant.

Unfortunately, the doctor says that the test is “inconclusive” so she’s going to have to submit some blood for further testing.

For the record, Kenya didn’t appear to be pregnant when she was in Egypt two weeks ago. She was also spotted at the Bronner Bros. hair show this past weekend in Atlanta and the overall consensus is that she’s NOT pregnant at this time.

Excited vs Stupid: Cynthia’s Unhealthy Attachment To her Next & Her Ex…

Nene and Cynthia discuss Bailey’s recent dating woes over lunch. Nene offers some solid advice to her friend as she tells her to take it slow and “don’t be stupid” when it comes to Will.

Nene also notes that Peter Thomas, is probably more Cynthia’s speed as she’s been known to prefer a man whose a little more rough around the edges.

Cynthia apparently agrees as she meets with her “ex” husband later on during the episode.

It’s also during this lunch that Cynthia reveals she wants to plan a girl’s trip to Barcelona to move past all of her relationship woes. She and Nene then discuss who should all be invited… Eva? Kim? Marlo?

‘Sure, invite them all’ Nene says, even though she has her doubts that Kim will actually travel with them.

On a related note, Cynthia has a lunch date with Peter and it seems the couple still has quite a spark.

Peter CLAIMS he moved because he doesn’t want to run into Cynthia with anyone else, but I find it odd that he comes back into town every other weekend to do just that.

I’ve already shared my thoughts a thousand times about how I feel Cynthia and Peter are pulling a “Nene & Gregg” (click HERE if you missed that) and if Peter’s confessional is any indication, he’ll clearly be around for Cynthia as long as she wants him there.

The “No Beef” Party…

Since Kandi invited Porsha to her Essence event and Nene invited her to Barcelona, Porsha feels it’s a great time to invite the girls over to her home to further foster their relationship.

Porsha decides to hava a “no beef” party filled with vegan dishes from her new chef and of course she’s left high and dry and Nene, Kenya, and Kandi all have other plans.

No worries though because “friends” of the show Marlo, Shamea and KKKim are there to pick up their slack alongside peach holders Cynthia Bailey and Sheree Whitfield.

The ladies all seemed to have fun during Porsha’s dinner. The laughter flowed as well as the tea and the shade!

Cynthia admits she called Peter, she confesses that she still “loves” him. Marlo confesses that she has to visit a “friend” in an old folks home.

When Cynthia announces the “girl’s trip,” Kim wants to attend but says she has to bring Kroy because of her health issues.

Marlo, who appeared to be SUPER DRUNK, then calls out Kim and asks if for once, she could travel with the “African-American” girls since she always finds an excuse not to go.

Kim (and Kenya) Get Booted From Barcelona Trip…

The ladies all load up and head out to Barcelona for their girl’s trip.

Kim is adamant that she’s not traveling without Kroy and that is an issue with the other ladies who feel that since they can’t bring their husbands, neither can she.

For that reason alone, Kim gets booted from the trip.

Kandi notes in her confessional that if Kim can’t travel without her husband, she should stay at home… which she does.

Kenya is held back for another reason. She’s being “punished” by the higher ups at the network for her secret wedding. I discussed that in the post below.

[FLASHBACK: #RHOA Tea: The REAL Reason Kenya and Kim Aren’t On The Barcelona Girl’s Trip…]

Sheree seems to be the only person who is ok with Kim bringing Kroy along as she states that if Kim’s man want’s to sit in the parking lot, she doesn’t see a problem with it.

Honorable mention: Nene blasting Kim about Kroy’s booty implants.

Who knows what she’ll be doing while she’s at home. Maybe she’s getting Kroy a new set of booty implants.

In case you missed it, I also shared a few of my thoughts about the episode last night LIVE on Youtube:

Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel to catch my next livestream.

What did you think of this week’s episode of RHOA?

#RHOA Recap: 6 Things Revealed During Season 10, Episode 12 ‘Peaches Be Trippin’ + Watch Full Video… The Real Housewives of Atlanta returns after a short hiatus with the 12th episode of it's 10th season (February 11, 2018).